Review

I mentioned in this post that I'd picked up Rimmel's Brow This Way as a cheaper alternative, as I couldn't bring myself to take the plunge and pay £17.50 for Benefit's Gimme Brow. I also mentioned that I'd picked up the shade medium blonde which, as you can see, my hair clearly isn't. Over the past week I've been using it almost everyday both alone and on top Faint from the Naked Basics Palette. Whilst I can't compare it directly or indicate how much of a dupe it actually is of Gimme Brow, I can tell you what I think:

Shade: I personally think anyone with medium blonde hair would find this to be too dark, however it definitely does have warm undertones which wouldn't make it suitable for all brunettes either; luckily, it's pretty much a perfect match for me but the colours available definitely don't cater for everyone. Whilst I find it looks lovely and natural actually on the hairs, if it splodges onto the skin in sparser areas the colour does tend to look a bit funny so, especially when I was first using it, I often had to go back in with a cotton bud to clean up. 3/5

Application: Definitely becomes easier with practice! I'd never used a product anything like this so faced with the overloading of the brush as often happens with new things, I didn't find it the easiest. It also tends to unavoidably highlight any stray hairs and whilst this is perfectly fine for a natural looking brow, if you want to achieve something a bit more defined it works better if applied over a powder. 4/5

Wear: The colour neither changed nor budged. I found no problem with the wear at all even when faced with sweat or rain. It doesn't smudge if you scratch your eyebrow or something during the day, yet is still easy to remove in the evening. 5/5

(Pictured, is without any other products on the brows, although I would add that mine are naturally quite dark and dense.)

Overall, taking into account shade, application and wear, I'd give it a S.A.W. score of  12/15 (that's so appeasing that that rhymes!), but with it only costing £3.99 it's definitely worth a try! It will be interesting though to see how long it lasts before it dries up in the tube, or whether I finish it before it does.

Have you tried either Brow This Way or Gimme Brow? What did you think?

Lara xo

P.S. I recently joined Twitter and I'd love it if you could follow me on there. You can find me @LaraM_W - thank you!

Simple Age Resisting Skincare | Review

Day Cream,  Eye Cream & Cleansing Wipes

When it comes to skincare products, I don't really have any kind of loyalty, so when I picked these products up in Boots a couple of months ago, it would have simply been because they were on offer. Now being 18 I'm not really at the age yet where I have to greatly worry about ageing skin however I would say I can be quite animated expression wise so do have fine lines beginning to form both on the forehead and under my eyes. Either way, this range from Simple claims to fight premature ageing and there can be no harm in starting that too soon!

Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Day Cream (£6.99 for 50ml at Boots here)

When I first used this, I was actually surprised it was marketed specifically as a day cream as it is quite thick and rich in texture, reminding me more of a night cream. There is an actual night cream available in the range however I personally use this for both morning and evening. Being thick,rich and creamy it does take a little time to absorb and certainly isn't for those lazy mornings where you try and shove on moisturiser before your face is fully dry as then it really does just sit on the surface. However, I was recently told when having a facial that my skin has become quite dry so I feel the thicker texture of this really has been helping. In terms of age resisting properties I would say it does leave a youthful glowy finish which I feel is still visible after applying a face of makeup and fine lines on my forehead I have noticed to be reduced. But aside from this my favourite thing really is the packaging. Maybe I've just never tried expensive enough skincare but I love that this comes with a pump applicator rather than having to mess around squeezing product out of a tube and it inevitably being hard to control the amount you get. This dispenses the perfect amount and at 50ml it's a decent sized product which I feel will last a long time.

Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Eye Cream (£6.99 for 15ml at Boots here)

I've never really consistently used an eye cream apart from when it's come in a set of skincare products so I don't really have much to compare this too. Despite claiming to be age resisting and containing 6 loving nutrients to revitalise and regenerate, I have noticed no difference regarding fine under eye lines. The area, however, is considerably more hydrated and I find concealer applies much smoother (but is still prone to considerable creasing later in the day if untouched). Unlike the Simple Eye makeup remover which I had such trouble with intense stinging if it came anywhere near my eyes, I've had no problems with this at all. I would say this is better than not regularly using an eye cream, as I was formerly doing, but I think there will be considerably better ones out there.

Simple Regeneration Age Resisting Cleansing Wipes (£3.99 for 25 wipes at Boots here)

As a general rule, I try to avoid using face wipes, only using them when I'm sleeping over somewhere and removing with a wipe is a better alternative than not at all or if I'm wearing heavy makeup to remove most of it before doing a full cleanse. I like that these don't dry up quickly once removed from the packaging, allowing enough time and having enough product on to clean your entire face with one wipe (I use one side for eyes and then go over the entire face with the second side). It makes me feel slighter better when I use them knowing they contain age resisiting benefits however I definitely don't use them regularly enough to know if this is true. Overall a good standard face wipe that does it's job.

As far as basics go, I think the range is good; none are particularly stand out products with miraculous results but I guess I'll see in 10, 20, 30, years time whether or not the age resisting was successful. 

These products, along with the other lines from Simple skincare are currently all on 3 for 2 at Boots.

Do you have any skincare staples or have you tried any of these?

Lara xo 

Magnifibres Brush-On False Lashes | Review

Instantly lengthen lashes by up to 5mm?

The Magnifibres Brush-On False Eyelashes came in the Glamour Beauty Edit box from Latest in Beauty which is still available here however can also be purchased separately here. The product claims to extend your own lashes by up to 5mm without the glue and fuss of false lashes. The steps are as follows:

Step 1 - Apply your own mascara

Step 2 - Immediately apply a coat of Magnifibres

Step 3 - Wait 30-60 seconds then apply a second coat of your mascara to cover the white fibres

Having been using this consistently for a week now, I've found that the results do vary depending on the formula of the mascara. Wetter textures such as Benefit's They're Real I've found give better results as more of the white fibres cling to the lashes. It's easiest to do one eye at a time so the mascara doesn't dry, however I would sometimes say it's been hard to get my lashes to exactly match with one eye applying better then showing better results. I've had no white fall out from the fibres and have always managed to completely cover them without it altering the blackness of the mascara. However, once of twice my eyes have felt slightly itchy for a minute after application before I blink and clear them. 

In terms of lengthening, I think it's great compared to natural lashes but that there isn't too much of an obvious difference when compared to 2 coats of a lengthening mascara again like They're Real as shown below.

Left - natural, Right - coat of They're Real followed by Magnifibres followed by another coat of They're Real

Left - 2 coats They're Real, Right - Magnifibres as above

However, using Magnifibres does make it considerably easier to achieve this same length without the worry of clumping. I would say it gets the same results but in much less time and effort than simply layering mascara. I always find the tips of my lashes look more fluttery and separated than the mess I can sometimes end up in using just mascara. Yet it also doesn't make my lashes look tip heavy, instead evenly adding volume throughout.

It wears perfectly all day with no transferring onto my lids or with any black bits dropping down. Removing it I also have no issue with as it doesn't really feel any different from normal mascara and I haven't found my lashes to fall out which is always a worry. 

Overall, for me it is much less of a faff than I originally expected it to be so is definitely something than can be either incorporated into an everyday routine or the steps repeated multiple times for a special occasion. Photos of the product itself as well as the other items included in the Glamour Beauty Edit can be found in this post.

Lara xo