Superdrug Vitamin E Eye Cream: Worst Product Ever? | Review

I've been gone. It's been a while. I have one word: Dissertation. (Two words: KILL ME!!)

Since I've not been sharing my love for beauty products on this piece of the web before, I thought I'd get back into the flow by writing about a product I truly HATE. (Maybe I'm just a negative nelly, but I love hearing about things that people hate. Plus, the more dangerous thing about reading blogs is wanting to buy everything you see. Sometimes it's nice to save money knowing what NOT to buy)

I have never been offended so much by a product in my life, much less an eye cream. I physically shudder to think about applying it again.

If you've come to this page from google because you were looking to this as a possible eye cream in your skin care arsenal, let me stop you there. Turn around. Forget it. This is not for you! How do I know? Read on..

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh. If you want a pasty, thick eye cream which dries your skin out and also manages to stay white on your skin- you will LOVE this. For the rest of us who look for qualities such as moisturising, comfortable etc. this is not for us.

The only thing I can compare this to is a high factor sun cream. You know the ones that no matter how much you rub them in, you still get a white caste? That is what this does. It's not a good look having two white eyes.

I TRIED to put makeup on top.. and I thought I'd got away with it. Two hours later, in the middle of town, I saw myself in the mirror. My under eye area looked like it was crumbling away. My skin is dry, and occasionally flakey. But this was a whole new level. 

This only costs £2.99, and in my opinion this still makes it incredibly over priced. You couldn't pay me £10 to finish this tube (honestly- I'm a student. I like money. But no experience this unpleasant is worth a tenner).

A quick run down:

Packaging: For £2.99, about what you expect. A bit boring.. but it is an eye cream. Prefer it in a tube to a tub, so thumbs up for that.

Formula: Umm, thick, pasty, drying. Generally unpleasant.

Application: TERRIBLE. In the pictures above, I had to rub it into my hand quite a bit, and was still left with whiteness. Under your eyes, that isn't going to be a good thing. Delicate skin!!! The packaging even says to tap gently to apply it. If you use this eye cream everyday, you will get wrinkles. You need to tug at your eyes for a good couple of minutes to get this to sink in at all, and who wants to do that?

Bottom line. Do not buy.

Has anybody reading this tried it? Did you actually.. like it? I'd be interested to know. I've read some other review and they're all pretty negative.

P.S. I really like all of the other Superdrug Vitamin E range. I own the moisturisers, oil, cleanser, exfoliator etc. so I thought the eye cream would be good.. what a disappointment.


P.P.S. I'm hoping to come back with one blog entry a week for the next month or so. 

November 2012 Favourites

I am so happy to be doing my November favourites because that means IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS.  So here we go..

Burt's Bees lip Balm- Since I first posted about this here, I have burned my way through it and even bought a second one. I am never using another lip balm again. It applies beautifully and smoothly and seems to melt a little on contact with your skin. It doesn't feel heavy or sticky and after a couple of minutes you can't feel it on your lips at all, but they feel moiturised and nourished. I cannot recommend this enough. They're a bit pricier than your average lip balm at £3.69, but I cannot urge you enough to get this. Skip lunch, rob your Granny, become a drug dealer to buy this if you think it's too much to pay. (OK, please don't do these things, I want to say it's worth doing those things for, but I think your Granny would disagree) HG FO' SHO!

Soap & Glory kick ass concealer- I was bit 'hmmm' about this for a while. I bought it about six months ago, but never used it much. I don' know what changed, but in November I decided to give it another go and WOW. I use the salmony side to conceal dark circles (obviously) and I use the yellowy colour to do my brows. This is such a great colour match for me. Lining this around my brows makes them look so much neater than they really are and my dark circles are GONE. Another HG? Perhaps. (I just noticed while uploading the pics that it looks like I've hit pan on the salmony shade)

St. Moriz tanning mousse in 'Medium'-  I rocked this in the colour 'Dark' during summer, but I thought I'd tone it down a little for winter. I don't actually usually tan in winter, and just rock my natrual ghostly appearance. I'M AN ENGLISH ROSE, DAMMIT. Buuut, the weather's been a bit poopy and I had an urge to inject some colour into my skin (not literally 'inject' like those disturbing tanning injections you can buy online). So I did. I was soo happy with the results of this. It looked natural and faded evenly. It perked me up during the winter blues. LOVE!

L'Oreal night cream-  I love a couple of things about this. One, the packaging is glass. How sophisticated I feel getting my moisturiser out of a glass jar. Luckily I haven't had to travel, but when I fly next week, I'll probably be hating the packaging. And 2, how his makes my skin feel when I wake up. It's very rich, thick heavy. Perfect for a night cream, and you certainly don't want to mistake this for a day cream because you will look like a greasy mess. But by morning my skin has drunk it all up an my skin feels plump and moisturised. I will be sad when this runs out.

Nails Inc. 'James St.'- This is one of the colours which was free in this months Glamour. Shockingly I do not own a classic red, and this is has filled the void very efficiently. What is more elegant than a red nail? I have worn this a couple of times throughout the month, and even if I've been in a jumper and jeans, I've felt a bit classier than usual.

Charles Worthington Intense Rescue Melting Balm- There was a lot of hype around this after Fleur de Force mentioned it a couple of times, so I thought why not give it a go. I like that the first ingredients are ACTUAL OILS. In so many products, the first ingredients are water, silicones, sulphates etc. and that is going to do NOTHING for your hair, except maybe damage it further. I usually use pure oils (Argan, Macadamia, Coconut) over night before I wash, but they've been replaced with this in November. Because it has a selection of different oils, I figure they can all offer my hair different things, rather than just using the one oil. There are some chemical nasties near the end of the ingredients though, so it's not a 100% amazing product. However, this smells delicious and makes my skin feel soft and smooth. 

Miscellaneous favourite:

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. IS IT TOO SOON? I DON'T CARE!!

Primark Angelica Nail Colour in 'Tantrum' | Review

Pictures taken two days after application, with two coats. Excuse my cuticles.

I'm no nail polish snob. But I did once try one from Primark and it was absolutely vile.

The other day though a stand caught my eye, which in my peripheral vision looked like an Essie stand. 

I wanted something a little different and 'Tantrum' stood out to me amongst the billions of other beautiful colours.

I would describe it as a purple/gold oil spill with fine glitter.. If that's an adequate description.

Packaging: 

Really nice. The white top looks a little cheap and I think if it was black it would look a lot nicer. But it still looks good. The writing is directly on the bottle and not just on some cheap sticker so I think it feels and looks like it came from somewhere a bit posher than Primarni.

Formula: 

Very nice. Two coats and it was opaque. It also dried in a reasonably good amount of time.

Brush:

 HORRIBLE! This is the only thing which lets the product down. It's too big and .. 'Floppy' so it's a bit tricky to apply. But it's not unusable.

Colour: 

Luuurve it. I think it's quite unique. It reminds me a little of O.P.I.'s 'The World is Not Enough' but, you know, purple. I've also layered a coat of this on top of some dark nail polishes and it looks rather lovely.

Longevity: 

The same as usual for me. 2-3 days without chipping. So not bad.

Colour selection: 

Brilliant. They had a great selection of glitters, duochromes etc. and lots of dupes of much expensive brands (I spotted a dupe for Model's Own 'Indian Ocean')

I'm really pleased I picked this up and think I'll be donning my nails with it a lot this Autumn/Winter. Have you tried anything from this line?

Price: £2.50

October 2012 Favourites

L-R: MAC Rubenesque, Revlon 'Crush', Chanel Tan de Soleil.. and a club stamp

My first ever favourites post. I'm so excited. But sad that it's late. I've had quite a few favourites recently, but thought I'd keep it short and sweet to my ABSO FAVES.

-Chanel Tan De Soleil Bronzing Makeup Base: I never really liked the look of this, I'd swatched it a few times at the counter and gasped (gasped!) at how orange it was. For some unknown reason I was possessed to buy it one day. I wanted to use it as a cream contour which it's OK for, but it really does excel at making you looked sun kissed.. and not orange. Perfect for the winter when I can't be bothered to fake tan but don't want to look like I have some sort of deficiency going on. Obviously I don't think it would be ideal for summer in the heat, when I prefer to use a powder (NARS Laguna), but I'm not a huge fan of powders in the colder months, so I think that's when Chanel can step in. Above pictures show it when I initially bought it, and after about 8 uses. INTERESTING FACT: You know the brand UNE in Superdrug and Boots? They are apparently owned by Bourjois (who I believe either own, or are owned by Chanel). UNE do a BB Cream Bronzer for £15 for 7.5g. Chanel's Bronzing make up base is £30 for 30g. Meaning that gram for gram, UNE are charging twice as much as Chanel.

-Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 'Buff' for Dry Skin: First of all, it is just totally ingenious that they do this foundation for different skin types. Every other brand should follow Revlon's lead on this. Secondly, this is my PERFECT COLOUR MATCH. I'm a big blender and bronzer, so I'm never too persnickety (btw, that's my favourite word of the month) about colour match, but it's nice to have an exact match! I was expecting this to feel mask-like and look cakey but I actually find it's perfect for every day use for me. The lack of pump is annoying, but I work my way around it just fine.

-MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot: My first Paint Pot (***cheer***). Probably should have gone for Bare Study, Soft Ochre or Painterly, but they're going on my Christmas list instead. LOVE this colour, but only in a light wash. An opaque layer of this looks like I have pink eye or some other kind of gross eye infection. How ever this simply does not crease on me. After using this and the Mayebelline Color Tattoos, I don't think I'm ever going to go back to eye primers, because cream eyeshadows (not the Illamasqua ones- CREASE CITY) work perfectly for me as a base, and can be used on their own as an eye colour.

-Zara Rose Gold Perfume: I did a review on this little beauty HERE.

-Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: Didn't really need this but it was 3 for 2 in Boots. I use it for my Chanel Bronzing blah blah and I think it's perfect for that. I prefer it to the buffing brush if truth be told, which has no been neglected. Sorry buffing brush.

-Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Crush': Since buying this in September, it's been the only thing on my lips (other than lip balm). However, I don't think it lasts all day, and I do find it drying. So.. I guess as a moisturising stain, it's a fail for me. But I love the colour and it lasts longer than other lip products, I can also just apply my lip balm over the top of it without worrying about ruining it.

Miscellaneous favourite: HALLOWEEN. I have had too much fun doing my makeup this halloween.

Sleek Life's a Peach Blush | Review

Bottom swatch is applied quite heavily, and above it is blended in

Recently, my blush collection has grown out of control, but this is one of my favourites of them all (and that is saying a lot).
Yes, it's a hideous bright orange in the pan. And if you're a fan of Sleek's blushes, you'll know that they're very pigmented. Luckily this blush is incredibly sheer so instead of looking like patches of you are turning into an orange, you'll just have a nice subtle glow about you.
I use a Real Techniques Blush brush to apply it, which is perhaps not ideal. I find the brush brilliant for working with blushes which are very pigmented, because it doesn't pick up too much product, and blends nicely. As this is very sheer however, you have to put a little more effort in. This works for me though, because I use this blush when I want to look like I haven't got any on, but magically have a peachy flush to my cheeks. How sly.

While I think the colour of this would look beautiful on darker skin tones, I don't think the colour pay off is great enough. While this shows up subtly on my pale skin, I think women who are darker would really struggle to have this show up at all, which is a shame because as I said, I think the colour in the pan would look beautiful on darker skin. 

I can't believe this is my first peach blush. While all of my pinks will always have a place in my heart, I think 'Life's a Peach' will have a place on my face for the foreseeable future. 

Available at Superdrug for £4.29

Zara Woman Rose Gold Eau de Toilette | Review

I've never reviewed a perfume before, and I don't think I ever will again. My ability to describe scents is none existent. There's some sort of block between my nose, brain and mouth. I simply cannot manage anything beyond 'Sweet', 'Spicy' or.. 'Vanilla.' 

WHY AM I EVEN WRITING THIS?

1) I couldn't see any other review for it

2) It's incredibly cheap

3) I really like it.

I should probably just stop there.

I bought this because I didn't want to use my high end perfumes every single day anymore. It seems like a waste when they sometimes cost over £70 a bottle. I'd heard some good things about Zara perfumes, and when I was in their recently, they caught my eye. After smelling them all, I decided this one was my favourite (and most expensive at £15.99) and off I went.. to pay.

Description from Zara:

Oriental-floral: Magnolia leaves, green notes, orange flower, golden amber and musk.

I won't even try to butcher the description any more. I will say that it's very nice, lasts a good amount of time and is £15.99 for 100ml which is a BARGAIN!! 

I have taken to filling my Travalo with it so I can spritz on the go if I feel like I need a top up. A 100ml glass bottle is NOT an ideal addition to your handbag. Fiiinally, the bottle is so cute. It's Rose Gold (as the name suggests), which I didn't realise until I got it home. I know Rose Gold has been a big thing with people lately, so maybe it will appeal.

Sorry this has been a crap 'review' but to be honest, when I read words on a page describing a perfume, I don't get too excited about it. I definitely need to smell things in real life to get any sort of idea if I'll like it. So basically, if you're in Zara soon, I'd highly recommend checking these out, if you haven't before. They start from £5.99, which is very cheap. At first some of them smell overpoweringly of alcohol, but this does wear off.

Dry Winter Lips | Favourite Products

This will be my fourth winter in Scotland, and it is pretty bloody cold. Like my skin, my lips get destroyed in the weather. But these are the products which I feel save my lips from become chapped horrible messes.

-Blistex Intensive Moisturiser- I apply this at night before I go to bed to hydrate my lips over night. In the morning they feel so smooth and soft. The reason I only apply this at night is because it can leave a bit of white residue, and I don't want to worry about that when I'm reapplying throughout the day. A lot of people dislike the smell of this, but it doesn't really bother me. £2.59

-Burt's Bees Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil- I love three things about this product: 1) It does the job, it keeps my lips moiturised 2) It smells and tastes great and 3) The ingredients. Unlike the other two products here, Aqua isn't near the top of the ingredients, followed by a bunch of chemicals. The first three ingredients in this are Sunflower Seed Oil, Beeswax and Coconut Oil. Good stuff, and great for your lips. £3.69

-Blistex Lip Brilliance Blushing- This isn't exactly a necessity, but I added it to the list because it has a little bit of a tint to it, which sometimes you want. It smells and tastes stronger than the Burt's Bees lip balm, but is equally as nice. I have quite pigmented lips, so the colour doesn't show up brilliantly on me, but if your lips aren't a very strong colour, it would probably show up better. £2.59


If you haven't tried any of these products, I'd highly recommend them. I do have a lot of pot lip balms lying around, from Vaseline, Carmex and Blistex but with long nails, they're just impossible to use, so I'm 100% opting for sticks (is that the right word?) this year.