#QuickReview – Diorshow Mascara

We love a little luxury here at thebeautyobsession, and whilst we know there are many, many budget brands that offer fabulous products at great prices, sometime we just can’t help ourselves from going a little high end! 

Diorshow is one of the many mascaras we have on the go at any one time, but it’s also one of the few that we’ve repurchased time and time again.

To start with, it’s Dior! Like we’ve said, there’s something very indulgent about trawling the makeup counters at your nearest department store and knowing that you can buy with confidence. Not only are there some knowledgeable assistants on hand to help, department stores are normally very good at accepting exchanges if you don’t like a product – we’ve done it a number of times. Plus it’s nice every now and again to feel like you’re treating yourself! 

Diorshow comes with a large thick brush, which at first look does seem a little too big. However, it picks up just the right amount of product and is great for creating a dramatic effect. The mascara isn’t too wet, but is easy to apply across the top lashes. If you’re worried about the brush, it does take a little getting use to so that you don’t get any product on the lid, but placing a finger behind the lashes does help with this. 

It is a little harder to use this one on the bottom lashes, due to the size of the brush. Then again we normally use a different waterproof mascara on the bottom lashes anyway.

The pigment in Diorshow is fantastic, it really is the blackest black and the formula helps create real volume in the lashes. We think they look instantly thicker, and wouldn’t be without this for our nights out or days when we want to make a big impression! 

We have also tried the newer version; Diorshow Blackout, which is supposed to give your lashes even more volume. However, we found the formula far too wet and quite difficult to apply. It left our lashes quite clumpy, so we promptly returned it and exchanged it for the original. We have yet to try the rotating version so would be really interested to hear any feedback or reviews.

Have you ever tried Diorshow, if so what did you think? Have you got a favourite product where the newer version hasn’t been as good in your opinion? 

Diorshow lowest prices – £19.55 from escentuals, £17.95 from ClickFragrance

Barry M Wink Black Marker Pen for Eyes

Don’t tell anyone, but it’s taken us years to master the art of applying eyeliner! We’ve tried so many pencils, gels and liquids over the years and we think we’ve finally just about got the knack (thank you youtube videos!). That said, we welcome anything that makes getting the right line and flick easier, so have been pleased to see lots of eyeliner pens arriving on the market lately.

Barry M’s Wink, a black marker pen for eyes caught our eye on our last Superdrug trip. We like the bright yet simple packaging, and as always with Barry M, we like the price!

It literally is a felt tip for your eyes, the pointed nib means you can draw a really fine line, or you can tilt it slightly to get a more dramatic, thicker line. We love how easy it is to use, no messing about with a brush and pot of gel, or one of those little pots with the fiddly applicator brush, you just use it as you would a pencil, but get a liquid liner effect.

It dries very quickly and doesn’t smudge easily once it’s on. Always good things on a night out!

We think the colour could be slightly darker, it isn’t quite as dramatic as we’d like, especially when applied over eyeshadows. With a bit more pigment and/or a slightly thicker formula, this would be our go to product, however for now we’ll be using it when we’re in a hurry and can’t be faffing with our usual gel liner. It’ll also be a clutch bag staple for touch ups on nights out!

You can buy Barry M Wink for £4.59 here.

Have you used a pen style liner? What did you think? Let us know your favourites!

KA-POW! Katy Perry Colour Pop Lashes

We have to admit, we’re not usually swayed by celebrity endorsements when it comes to beauty products. For us, it doesn’t matter if there’s a pop star or reality star on the front of a product, it’s only the quality that actually counts! However, when we got the release through for the new Colour Pop Lash range, which is the latest collaboration between Eylure and Katy Perry, we were pleasantly surprised. Firstly we love all things pop art, so like the bright, in your face branding a lot. Secondly, we think it’s a pretty inspired collaboration in this case! Katy Perry is know for her fun, colourful image with her bright hair and quirky makeup and outfits, and Eylure are the lash experts so we had high hopes for the range. There are four new designs, all with different shades to attract attention and bring out the colour of your eyes. All four are suitably named after super hero sound effects. Here’s what Eylure have to say about them;

 

 

 

 

KA-POW! Oh Wow, Ka-Pow!  These violet tipped beauties are a special gift for all eye shades but will add extra Pow-er to brown hued eyes.  Be your own alter-ego by ditching the dull and buffing up those beautiful eyes…  It really is your brand new secret weapon.  Holy Lash Power!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KA-BOOM! Make room for Ka-Boom!  It’s the secret agent working for the blue-tification of most eye colours yet will really add snap and pop to the bluey shades.  One flutter of your super-powered peepers and you’ll never look back.  Introducing…Gal Wonder!

 

 

 

          

   

 

 

 

KA-ZAAM! ‘Scuse me Ma’am, its Ka-Zaam!  Your eyes are moments away from a Superhero make-over…Little lash flares are made to be built up into something truly fabulous.  Go all out and use all three jewel tones in one look or pick your favourite and layer them up to skyscraper heights.  Zoinks!

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

KA-CHING! It’s m’thing, Ka-Ching!  A normal gal by day, a fabulously lashed super-vixen by night… This proud-as-a-peacock toned lash is the best sidekick a busy beauty can have.  It works with all eye colours, helps you look amazing and works your look tirelessly for hours!  Ka-ka-ka-ka-CHING!          

 

 

 

 

 

We got our paws on Ka-Pow which are long, fine and fluttery with two layers of purple-tipped lashes. The colour is really subtle so we don’t think they look tacky or too in your face, but it does draw attention to your eyes and bring out the colour a little more. The lashes themselves are of the great standard we’ve come to expect from Eylure, they’re light and easy to wear and lasted all night. We love them, what do you think?

The Katy Perry Colour Pop range will hit Boots and Superdrug stores nationwide from January 2013, priced at £6.45 a pair. 

MUA The Artiste Collection Palette – Fab or Drab?

When MUA Cosmetics announced they’d launched their new Fur Effect Nails, we couldn’t resist jumping straight online that afternoon and getting our order in (review coming soon). As is often the case with MUA, when our package arrived, there was a little extra present. This time it was the Artiste Collection.

Being addicted to their Undressed Palette, which is one of our daily staples, we’ve been meaning to try some more of their shadow palettes for a while. The Artiste Collection is slightly different, as it also contains two blushers, a bronzer and a highlighting shade as well as the six eyeshadows.

Firstly, we have to say thanks to the little elves that work in the MUA warehouse! The palette was wrapped in so much bubble wrap, the postman could have thrown it at the front door and it still wouldn’t have broken! The palette is a little bigger than MUA’s standard shadow palettes due to the extra products, and it comes with a sponge applicator. Not something we use, but some people do find they get a good finish from them.

Once we actually managed to wrestle it from the bubble wrap, we were instantly struck by how pretty the palette is. The six eyeshadows are all in bright, colourful shades with a marbling effect throughout each one. The shades looked very wearable with a good range of neutral tones to complement the brighter ones.

As you can see from the swatches, even when dry, all the shadows are well pigmented with lots of shimmer.

For a more dramatic look, when we swatched them wet, the shades really pop! Perfect if you wanted to glam up your look for the evening.

The blushers come in two shades of dusky pink, which would suit almost all skintones. You could follow the top tip from Karla Powell, MUA’s resident makeup artist, who recommends always using two shades of blusher to define the cheeks. (Read our interview with her here).

The bronzer is matt without shimmer, so would be great to use alongside the highlighter as a contouring shade. You can read how to Conquer Contouring here.

In regards to ingredients, the palette does contain a lot of talcs and parabens, but considering the quality of the product and the fact that the Artiste Collection is usually only £6, we are incredibly impressed.

Definitely FAB in our opinion! You can purchase the Artiste Collection online from the MUAStore or in Superdrug.

December 2012 Glossybox Review

We haven’t reviewed a beauty box for a while as we haven’t been that impressed with the latest offerings, however we thought that as it’s Christmas, we’d share the December Glossybox. Hopefully all the subscribers have had theirs now so it won’t be too much of a spoiler! She Said Beauty sent out a box in December, and then announced it would be their last, as they have decided to stop their subscription box service and stick to the online forum they do best. In our opinion, that’s no bad thing as their boxes haven’t been up to standard lately.

The thing is, beauty boxes are actually quite a difficult offering to have. They’re a great idea, and when done well they’re fab. However, it seems that many companies really struggle to hit the mark. With companies like She Said Beauty and Feel Unique being great at their main revenue streams, yet unsuccessful at beauty boxes, it seems subscribers have very high standards!

We think that sometimes beauty boxes get confused about what subscribers want, and likewise, sometimes subscribers have unrealistic expectations as to what will be arriving on their doorsteps. The aim of beauty boxes is to bring subscribers the latest in beauty, things that they probably haven’t tried before, from up and coming, emerging brands. That means that we don’t expect full size products all the time, although they are a nice bonus, but we definitely don’t want sachets and tat! We need to be able to actually try enough of the product to entice us to buy the full size products, which is what the box firms need to be explaining to their brands. Perhaps this is why only dedicated beauty box companies seem to succeed? It takes a lot of time and effort to build those kind of relationships, not just something that you can add on as an aside.

Anyway, moving onto Glossybox this month. We were really pleased with this Christmas box, in silver instead of the usual pink.

Containing six products instead of the usual five, and most were from brands we haven’t tried before which is great.

From left clockwise: LA Science Follicle Stimulating Shampoo, Rituals Magic Touch, Seche Nail Lacquer, Ayuuri Purifying Neem Face Wash, Glossybox Blusher, Sleek True Colour Lipstick

LA Science Follicle Stimulating Shampoo – Full Size £14.99 (30ml Inc)

These are sachets, which as we’ve already said we’re not keen on, however there are three included, all of which feel like they hold a decent amount, so we’re looking forward to using these. A little tip for using sachets is to stick a pin in them rather than ripping them open. It stops the product from drying out and being wasted.

Rituals Magic Touch – Full Size £15 (70ml Inc)

This is a good size miniature worth £5. We have loads of body creams to use up, but we’ll get round to trying this soon as it smells lovely.

Seche Nail Lacquer – Full Size £9.95 (Full Size Inc)

We’ve not used this brand before, but the shade, Lumiere, is a gorgeous, shimmering rose gold/peach colour which we can’t wait to try.

Ayuuri Purifying Neem Face Wash – Full Size £4.95 (Full Size Inc)

Another brand we’ve not come across. There were two different face washes in the boxes this month, the other being Tumeric & Bergamot, however the purifying seems like it will suit our skin type well, so we’re happy! The price is very reasonable as well, so if we like it it will definitely be something we’d consider buying ourselves.

Glossybox Blusher (Box Exclusive)

We’re not normally a fan of own label freebies, but this blusher, in Glossy Rosewood, is created for Glossybox by Kryolan and we love their products so have high hopes for this one.

Sleek True Colour Lipstick

We’ve used other Sleek products before but haven’t tried their lipsticks before. This shade, O.M.G, is a really lovely orange-toned red which we really want to try out.

There were also lots of discount codes included, for products that have been featured throughout 2012, which is great for anyone wanting to purchase full size products they’ve already tried.

 

Did you get a Glossybox this month? What did you think? If you subscribe to any beauty boxes, let us know which ones and what you love/hate about them! 

Glossybox is a monthly subscription service costing £10 plus £2.95 P&P. You can subscribe here for a monthly, quarterly, six month or yearly subscription. And as a little treat for our readers, you can receive 20% off your first box by using the code AFFJAN20.

*Disclaimer* We pay for our own subscription to Glossybox and our review is 100% independent. 

 

Skin Salvation Facial Oil

Having combination skin we do often suffer from the dreaded shiny T-Zone, so traditionally we’ve steered clear of any really heavy moisturisers and likewise anything oily. However, as we’ve learnt over the years, you still need to hydrate oily skin, and the drier areas of our face really welcome it as well. We’ve noticed that facial oils are becoming more and more popular lately, and we predict that’s they’ll be even bigger in 2013.

We were delighted to try the newest addition to the Beatitude range; Skin Salvation Facial Oil. Beatitude are a new luxury aromatherapy brand who are making a name from themselves with bathing oils, soaps and now their facial oil, combining high quality ingredients with their knowledge of essential oils and aromatherapy to ensure their products are incredibly high quality and effective.

Skin Salvation comes in a glass bottle with a pump dispenser, which is very handy as oil can tend to be rather messy! The smell is gorgeous, it’s hard to describe but its literally the scent of relaxation! Containing only 100% pure essential and plant oils Skin Salvation is enriched with Oat Oil, Camellia Oil, Peach Kernel Oil, Rosehip Oil, Daikon Radish, Black Cumin Seed, Squalene (Olive source), Evening Primrose and Natural Vitamin E. Its all of these beauties that give it it’s natural scent, and have a real impact on the skin. The three key ingredients though are Rose, Neroli and Immortelle Oils, which those who know their stuff will recognise as proven anti-aging wonder oils.

You only need to use 2/3 pumps to get enough to cover the whole face and neck area, and massaging it in not only makes us feel like we’re giving our skin a real treat, it also helps us relax before bedtime. Beatitude founder Rebecca O’Connor is an experienced beauty therapist and has put together a video showing you how to massage your face yourself to ensure you’re getting the best out of your products – you can watch it here. We try to follow these tips ourselves, especially the movement which targets lines on the forehead!

Despite being an oil, it is surprisingly light once applied. You can feel it on top of the skin at first, but within 5 minutes it really sinks in and leaves skin feeling really soft. So ridiculously soft and smooth in fact, that when we first started using Skin Salvation we kept touching our face in almost disbelief!

We’ve been using it for a few weeks now and can really notice the difference. Our skin is softer and smoother but also brighter and a little plumper. If we don’t use if for a few nights we do notice our skin appears duller and drier. It’s definitely made its way into our regular nighttime routine for good! Now we just want them to make a body oil that has the same affect!

You can buy Skin Salvation for £36 from Beatitude’s website or through their other stockists.