I'm a green/herbal tea addict. I'll be the first to admit that. So, I thought I'd discuss something a little different for a change... Just in case you were bored of me banging on and on about makeup.
If you hadn't already guessed, I'm talking about this relatively new tea from Twinings: The Double Mint Sensation. Or Intensely Double Mint. Whatever you want to call it. It's basically peppermint tea, but also with added peppermint oil, so that's where the 'double' bit comes from...
If you're in dire need of a warm, but seriously refreshing beverage, this is a great one to try.
You get 20 sachets in a box. I love the fact that they come in sachets rather than unwrapped bags, because it's easier to take them out and about with you. You can take them to work, or just leave one in your handbag in case you get an emergency case of 'tea-withdrawal'.*
*It happens a lot to English people. Don't judge us, okay?
You probably don't even need to brush your teeth after drinking this, because your breath is so minty and fresh. I would clean your teeth anyway though... So that they don't end up going rotten and falling out...
The longer you leave the bag in, the mintier the tea is, obviously. Twinings advise you to infuse for 3-4 minutes, but leave the bag in longer if you want a seriously minty kick.
Dear Reader, this post isn't sponsored. Having said that, if Twinings see this and want to send me free tea, they're very welcome. HINT HINT.
If you fancy trying it, you can buy a pack for £2-£2.50 from any UK supermarket!
Ooh, I suppose you could call this Foundation Friday, couldn't you? If you like alliteration as much as me...
You lucky lot. Two foundation reviews in as many days! I bought this a few months ago from Superdrug, but felt that even the Normal/Dry skin one was quite drying on my skin, so it was retired to the 'redundant makeup shelf'. I rescued it the other week and decided to trial it especially for you lovely readers.
For starters the formula is quite gloopy. You really have to work it into your skin to get good coverage and you have to be quick while applying it, or else it gets streaky... I applied this with my lifesaver AKA. the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.
The foundation comes with a screw lid, without a pump dispenser, so you literally have to pour it out onto the back of your hand. Which is, of course, potentially messy and you run the risk of suffering from spillages and wasting the product if too much comes out at once. It's not ideal, is it?
However, it is REALLY long-lasting. Revlon claims that it lasts for 24 hours, but I don't wear my foundation for that long so can't confirm this. Who does?!
The product comes in two types: Normal/Dry and Normal/Oily. I'm using the former rather than the latter. Revlon are catering for essentially what are two different markets with the same product. Aren't they clever?
There are a great range of shades! You know what I'm like, constantly moaning about how cosmetics companies fail to deliver adequate products for super-pale people... So it's great that Revlon, like Rimmel, are leading the way of drugstore brands catering for really pale skin. I've been using 110 Ivory; the lightest shade, of course...
You definitely don't need a primer to give this foundation extra staying power, but may need one to mask the appearance of fine lines - which it can sink into a little. So, if you suffer from the odd wrinkle here and there, it's maybe better to pop some primer on underneath to stop it sinking in to those fine lines.
I've found that the product offers medium to heavy coverage. It can sometimes feel a bit too heavy on my skin. I like my skin to be able to breathe properly under foundation and this is sometimes a bit too much for me. Which aptly brings me to my next point...
I'm not sure if this causes spots... Or if it's just coincidence that I've had breakouts the last two times that I've used this. I really don't know, but if you do suffer from quite bad acne, it might be better to look for something a bit 'lighter'.
The only definite problem that I've experienced with this foundation is unfortunately a big one. It seems to have aggravated my eczema. If you've never read my blog before, I'm a bit weird and suffer from eczema on my eyelids... This basically means that I have to be careful with regards to beauty products. I have noticed tightness around that area and after wearing it I had to crack out the hydrocortisone cream for the first time in months.*
*Dear Reader, do not put hydrocortisone cream on your face... You're not supposed to! The only reason I do is because the doctor told me to... And doctors scare me... So I do what they say.
The finish, with a light dusting of ELF HD Powder on top, is a matte one. I've even had compliments on how good my skin looks when wearing this foundation! In addition to this, it doesn't really oxidise or get ridiculously oily on my skin (in certain oilier areas) after a few hours... A huge bonus and saves me from dragging blotting papers around with me everywhere, just in case the dreaded shininess occurs!
You can pick this up for £12.99. So it's quite good value, but is hitting the top end of the high street foundation price range.
Advantages:
The finish, with a light dusting of ELF HD Powder on top, is a matte one. I've even had compliments on how good my skin looks when wearing this foundation! In addition to this, it doesn't really oxidise or get ridiculously oily on my skin (in certain oilier areas) after a few hours... A huge bonus and saves me from dragging blotting papers around with me everywhere, just in case the dreaded shininess occurs!
You can pick this up for £12.99. So it's quite good value, but is hitting the top end of the high street foundation price range.
I would honestly recommend this to anyone, as long as you don't have problem skin. It's a really fantastic, but very overlooked, foundation.
So, to recap...
- Shades for those with deathly pallors!
- SPF 20,
- Long-lasting,
- Leaves a lovely matte finish.
Disadvantages:
- Potentially drying,
- Quite heavy on skin,
- Lid could equate to spillages and messiness,
- Potentially spot-causing.
I've heard so many great things about this foundation. I've seen loads of blogs lauding it and YouTubers raving about it. So, with all the hype about this product, I was keen to try it out for myself... But did it live up to my high expectations?
To answer the above question, 'Yes and no', but mainly no... I bought this quite a few months back, I tried it once. It made me look orange. I put it aside on the 'redundant makeup shelf' and left it well alone; for fear of being mistaken for a satsuma should I leave the house wearing it.
I have obviously used it a handful of times since, but every time I catch a glimpse of that orange mug of mine, I regret not using something more 'deathly-pale'. It looks orange straight away; not like it's oxidising on my skin after application. It's just way too dark, I'm not exaggerating. You only have to look at that picture above for proof.
I tried 'No. 51 Vanille Clair', which is the lightest shade on offer. I'll be honest, being exceptionally pale does not make it easy to buy any foundation or concealer products; but I swear some cosmetics companies take the mickey a bit. 'Ivory' and 'Porcelain' are still normally bright orange...
There are so many foundations out there that I would love to try that are just too dark for me. This, unfortunately, is one of those. I heard such great things about it and it didn't look too orange on my hand under the bright lights of Boots, so I thought I'd take a risk...
...It kind of backfired, because as I'm sat writing this whilst wearing the foundation, I look like I've just waltzed off the set of TOWIE: the irradiant orange hue to my face is quite hard to miss. (I took my dog for a walk like this too. The milkman saw me... Hopefully he didn't think I'm the lovechild of David Dickinson and Gemma Collins).
I do like this foundation. It's feels moisturising on my skin, without looking too oily or shiny. That's a hard balance to find and Bourjois have done it very well with this product. I just wish that they made it in lighter shades. I daren't use this foundation without having fake-tanned myself up to the eyeballs; or else I have the dreaded 'orange-face-white-everything-else' look going on, which really isn't good.
On the plus side, it looks quite natural (in texture) and it feels quite light and airy on my skin, despite it giving quite good coverage. It's easy to blend into skin with just your fingers, although I'm sure it'd work just as well with a brush or sponge. It's quite 'liquid-y', so you've got time to really work it into your skin before it dries, unlike some other thicker foundations.
Bourjois boast that this product has fruit in it and if fruit's good for you dietary needs, it's got to be good plastered all over your face too, right...?
I would recommend this product to anyone who isn't ghostly pale or has really dry or really oily skin. That narrows down the market a little, but I'm sure Bourjois still make shedloads of money from this otherwise great foundation.
Advantages:
- Skin-Loving ingredients,
- Readily available in high-street stores,
- Moisturising without being oily,
- Relatively cheap at £9.99
Disadvantages:
- Way too orange for me (which I'm honestly disappointed about),
- Too small a range of shades to cater for everyone,
- Scented - Which may irritate particularly sensitive skin,
- Potentially clings to dry skin patches.
*Ooh, shiny new mascara alert.* You know me, I'm incredibly picky when it comes to mascaras... So will this self-professed 'wonderful' mascara live up to my high standards?
You may well have seen Georgia May Jagger sashaying around making eyes at people while wearing this mascara on the TV ad recently? She was advertising this in style; as she does with all new Rimmel products, except when Kate Moss feels like sashaying in instead...
Anyway, back to the mascara... I picked this Boots a couple of weeks ago because I'm not ashamed to say that I'm hopelessly addicted to mascara. It costs £7.99, but I bought on offer for £5.99... Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be on offer anymore. Sorry!
It contains argon oil, which seems to be everywhere at the moment! It claims to moisturise your lashes while you're wearing it. Impressive, if you've got dry lashes. I wouldn't be able to tell you if it's worked for me or not... I genuinely can't comment because I've not really used it for long enough. I've been using it on and off for less than a fortnight, so it's perhaps no where near enough to have had any effect...?
I would say that this is perfect for a day look, but you'd maybe need something a tad more dramatic for night time. It's really great for giving my lashes length, but it's not that fantastic at giving them loads of volume. That's fine for daytime wear, but at night, you might want a mascara with a bit more kick.*
*Don't kick your eyes.
*Don't kick your eyes.
The one thing that I really dislike about this mascara is the smudging. I know that not everyone necessarily has this problem, but I do unfortunately get this with a lot of mascaras. And it really dissuades me from using this one. Even if I curl my eyelashes to give them lift, the dreaded smudging still occurs. If you're lucky enough not to struggle with smudging, then I'm sure you'll love this mascara! It's just not ideal to have to keep on checking your eyes in a mirror throughout the day, to ensure that you haven't turned into a panda.
The brush is slightly similar in feel to Benefit's They're Real's - Albeit a bit fatter and without the 'ball' of spikes at the end of the wand. There's no clumping either, which is fantastic! One great thing about this mascara is that it's easy to create a slightly cat-eyed look, if that's your cup of tea...
(...People aren't going to mistake you for a moggy, but it looks eye-catching... Get it? Ha.)
The packaging, as you can see, is a copper-coloured curved tube. Rimmel always go the extra mile to ensure that their products catch your eye.
Unfortunately, this mascara is only available in Black. There's no Black/Brown option, which I tend to opt for if it's available. I don't think that Rimmel offer a waterproof version either.
N.B. As a complete, self-confessed grammar pedant, the name irritates me ever-so slightly. I'm sure that Rimmel are trying to say that it makes your lashes look fuller, which it does, and also wonderful... I get that, but it doesn't stop me being a Grammar Nazi about it...
So, to recap...
Advantages:
- Great for daytime wear,
- Offers fantastic lift to lashes,
- Cheap,
- No clumping.
Disadvantages:
- SMUDGING,
- Unsure if 'conditioning effect' actually works,
- Not available in Black/Brown or Waterproof,
- Plastic wand - Not ideal for those who prefer fibre brushes.
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