MaXfactor 2000 Calorie Mascara Review

Hi Pretty people!


    I return to you with another review! Mascara is fast becoming the new foundation of drugstores, or Boots to you and I, due to its many different formulations, wands and price ranges.  Also much to the delight of people who, like myself, love a bargain many drugstore buys are rivalling their higher end counter parts. 

    A while back I used a Maxfactor mascara that I really loved, and decided to find it and repurchase after falling in love with Maxfactor again, totally due to their new campaign with the beautiful Gwyenth Paltrow. I particularly love the sixties recreation below, so beautiful and feminine and just DEVINE! I have to say when I contacted Maxfactor about the products used in this picture they replied very quickly and were exceptionally nice, and nice staff will always encourage me to come back to a brand. Take note!:) 
      
                                               

    So off I went to buy the mascara, but I just could not remember which one I'd originally bought! So I decided to go with the 2000 Calorie in black, mostly because it was reasonable priced, €10.99. By the way I've since remembered it was the Masterpiece Max mascara I bought. 

   Well, first of all, this mascara has a very strong smell. The brush is quite large, and is roughly the same width the whole way along until it tapers slightly at the tip. The brush comes out saturated with the mascara which even when you wipe off the excess, is still heavily coated. This can lead to clumping of the lashes especially at the roots which is not a good look! Also the large brush makes it difficult to get to the inner corner and bottom lashes.  During the day there was a fair bit of smudging on the bottom lashes, but the top lashes held reasonably well. It doesn't hold curl fantastically well, but it isn't water proof, a formulation which is known for holding curl as best as possible. 

I took some pictures of before and after to let you see the mascara for yourself.

Eyes with no mascara 

                                       

Eyes with mascara just applied

  So, as you see the mascara is quite black and does add some length to the lashes, but can be clumpy. Bottom line I won't be repurchasing this as I'm just not happy with the brush and the strong smell coming from it. It wasn't too difficult to remove with my Nivea remover, but it did crumble a little while i was removing it, making it harder to keep out of the eyes, not good for sensitive eyes!

  Maxfactor's Lash Extension Effect has a much smaller brush so I think I'm going to give that one a try next, has anyone tried this? A beauty guru on YouTube recently made the very valid point that if you like the brush from one mascara just keep it and use it with other mascara, it might be a pain to keep clean though, what do you guys think? At least now I know to look for mascaras with a small wand to try next, can anyone recommend one? 

   Thanks so much for reading and I'd love to read your comments, thoughts and reviews! Be kind to yourself, and others. xx

Review of Ziaja SenSitive Soothing Day Cream and Micellar Water

Hi Pretty people!


                Once again,I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! It's hard to believe that it's been a week since my last post, but in that time I was shopping in Dublin and have some amazing buys to show you guys in the weeks to come! I also took on foster kittens, who at this moment are having a great time chasing my fingers across the keyboard! If anyone can give a kitten a good home let me know!:) 

                                     

Molly and Charlie helping me write!

       I would also like to dedicate this post to my wonderful friend Zoe who's 21 today. Its such a pain in the a•• I couldn't make it due to stupid train and bus systems, but I hope you've a wonderful day hun:)

        Ok, so on to the review! As the title would suggest, this review is on Ziaja's SenSitive skin day cream and miscellar water. I have done a review on the enzyme peel product from this range before and was so happy with it I decided to try these out. Ziaja is a Polish range, which has several, very affordable lines and can be bought in most chemists and online. I'll leave the link for the Irish online store below.

                 

         

      The miscellar water is €4.99 for 200mls, is ph balanced,dermatologically and allergy tested and has 0% parabens, alcohol or perfume. It's active ingredients are provitamin B5 and allantoin, which is an anti irritant and has moisturising properties. You apply to the skin with cotton pads and there's no need to rinse. So does it do the job? 

        You're still going to need an eye make up remover with this for a start, but it is very good at removing other makeup. When I first purchased this I used it as my general face cleanser, and to be honest I wasn't thrilled with the results. During the day I did notice my skin was looking very oily around the chin area, and I felt had to use the water to cleanse again. In fairness to the product at the moment I am really struggling with blockages and lumps on the right side of my face, and my chin and nose always have black heads. Ironically, I read an article about the bacteria on your phone possibly causing spots and since I have started using my head phones, it has definitely made a difference! Get that anti bacterial wipe now! 

Eeeeeeew!

      So instead of using the miscellar water as a skin cleanser I have just been using it to remove make up and it does a lovely job. I think if you had good sensitive skin this would be lovely for you, as it did leave the non problematic areas of my skin really soft and clean, but its just too gentle to tackle my problem areas. I would defienitly recommend using this in preference of a face wipe if you're too tired to  'double cleanse' at any stage. It's very economical as you don't need to use too much of this product, and it is brilliant at taking off face makeup. Bottom line, I will be repurchasing this as it is an excellent, good value make up remover that leaves behind no residue and isn't full of harsh chemicals. 

                                 

     On to the Soothing Day Cream! It retails at €6.99 for 50ml, is ph balanced,  has no silicones, mineral oil or perfume, has an SPF of 20 and protects from UVA and UVB rays. This product is marketed for sensitive, dry and itchy skin, which it doesn't point out on the front of the box! Due to this it is just too heavy for my skin, and reminds me of a lighter formulation of aqueous cream. I think is not so much for sensitive skin, as for dry skin that suffers irritations and can't cope with chemicals. Unless you actually have this type of skin, rather than just sensitive skin, I wouldn't recommend this product. It is a pity as this product has a lot going for it and if they brought this out in a milk version I would definitely try it. 

                                                   

  So, there's my honest opinion on these products! Has anyone else tried out this range, or other lines in the range? What did people think? Can anyone help me on my quest to find a good moisturiser?! 

   Enjoy what ever you get up to this weekend and lots of love from me, Charlie and Molly!xxxx

Link to Irish store online: http://www.originalbeauty.ie/store/index.php?main_page=index 

Eye make-up remover for very sensitive eyes

       
         I have very sensitive eyes, especially when it comes to make up remover! This, along with dark circles and very thin skin around my eyes, made finding a make up remover which didn't sting my eyes and took off all the makeup a challenge to say the least. Most cream based products seemed to seep into my eyes no matter how careful I was when I used them, and the oil based removers simply caused the same problems,left me with flakes of mascara and shiny eyes! 

      Then my prayers were answered! While browsing through my instagram feed, I came across a recommendation from the wonderful makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, which was the Nivea Daily Essentials Double Effect eye make up remover. Since it was my mom who picked this up I didn't realise it was an oil based product until I got it home :/ I decided to give it a try none the less and I am delighted with it! 

    In order to remove all, yes all, types of eye products simply give the product a really good shake, apply to cotton wool and hold gently to the eye for about a minute. Quick tip here; hospital grade cotton wool can sometimes have sharp..bits in it, so if you can use the cotton rounds, even if its just for your eye make up, your eyes will thank you in the long run! There's no rubbing required with this product, and don't forget to use the other side of the cotton wool, the product goes a long way. 

     Now for the practicalities. It retails for €4.25 for 125mls. I have seen it in loads of places including the bigger Pennys and definitely in Dunnes Stores. Its safe for contact lens wearers, suitable for all skin types and is ophth...ophthmal....its good for your eyes! 

    So, does anyone else with sensitive eyes have any recommendations? I always love to hear how other people get on with products and any questions please ask:)

Yaaaay for Nivea!