Hi Ladies

Let’s take a look at my First Impressions of the products I tried in December!

We will start with skincare, body care and hair care, and then move onto makeup.

I bought The Body Shop Honeymania Body Butter and Perfume ages ago, and I decided to try them out last month. Layering scents always helps the scent linger longer! So, how did this pair do? I love this scent, I can’t believe it took me so long to try Honeymania. I mean, it’s not Moringa, but it is pretty wonderful! I love pairing the Body Butter with the Perfume, it definitely makes the scent last longer. As usual, The Body Shop Body Butter never disappoints! The perfume is an Eau de Toilette, so it isn’t as concentrated or long lasting as Eau de Parfum, but I really like the scent. And, for R150 you can’t go wrong.

I won’t go into much detail about these two *Juliette Armand products, since there is a full review and giveaway here.

I started trying the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads, and I am really enjoying this product. Although I think you have to use these daily to see a difference. Using the rest of the products in this range would also help the results. I use these a couple of times a week when my skin feels a bit dull.

*Pureology Smooth Perfection Intense Smoothing Cream was featured in my December Favourites here, so I won’t talk much about it here.

The Kings & Queens Cinnamon Orange Shower Gel is wow! Who knew the combination of cinnamon and orange could be so good? Well it is! I am currently using this as a hand wash, and I love the scent.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost was given to me by my boyfriend, and it really does give skin a boost. It primes skin well and perfects the skin, while adding radiance too. I love using this under makeup as a primer. You can also use it on its own over moisturiser for a healthy glow.

Dirty Works Face Scrub definitely gets rid of dull skin to reveal a radiant you. It contains Menthol which gives a tingling cooling sensation, as well as fruit extracts to gently exfoliate. It also contains some granules which physically exfoliate your skin. I like this scrub, and I will definitely use it often. I think sensitive skin types may not agree well with this product as it can be a bit intense.

The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask is meant to draw impurities from pores without drying the skin. And I definitely think it delivers! After using this my skin feels and looks cleansed. I love that although this is a deep cleansing clay mask, it also contains minerals to condition and revitalise the skin. This is one of my favourite masks of the moment!

I received this *Dove Antiperspirant a while ago. Although I am not a fan of sprays, I prefer roll-on, this wasn’t bad. I am not sure about the smoother or softer claims, but if you like sprays then you might like this. It keeps underarms dry, has a fresh scent, and doesn’t transfer to your clothes.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Toner is a great toner, I like that it doesn’t dry out the skin. I put some in a spray bottle, and used it as a cooling spray-on toner after cleansing and before moisturising. I am really bad when it comes to toner, and I don’t really see the point, since I double cleanse and then use micellar water.

I am loving the Garnier BB Cream Eye Roll-On, so much so that it is in my December Favourites here.

Revlon Photoready Skinlights in Bare Light, Peach Light and Bronze Light: I have been mixing these into foundation or BB cream for a radiant finish. When I need a little extra glow I dot some over foundation on the top of my cheekbones. My favourite is Bronze Light for mixing in foundation or BB cream, and Peach Light for dotting on my cheekbones. This is definitely a good buy!

Essence Metal Glam Blush doesn’t show up on my skin tone, so off to the blog sale it goes here.

Catrice Le Grand Bleu Liquid Highlighter is a twist up brush on highlighter that gives skin a subtle highlight. It is easy to use, and I quite like it.

I love this Catrice Check and Tweed Highlighter Powder. It is a matte highlighter, similiar to the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Highlighter. The darker embossed design has some shimmer in it, so when you swirl your brush around you get some shimmer. This is my favourite highlighter of the moment!

*Benefit They’re Real Mascara is a great volumising mascara. I don’t think I can do two coats of this without clumping, but one coat is perfect for me! I like that it doesn’t smudge or flake and it is easy to remove too.

*Benefit Gimme Brow is great for holding brows in place. I find that I still need to fill my brows in though, since I have some sparseness on the edge. It has a tint which doesn’t show up on my black eyebrows, as well as some fibers which are invisible to me. There is no crunchiness which is a huge plus! For those who need to add a tint and some fullness to fine brow hairs this is the perfect answer.

Catrice Lash and Brow Designer was one of my December Favourites, so you can read about it here.

Although Softlips is not the most moisturising lip balm, I like the slim size, which fits perfectly into my purse.

Essence Liquid Lipstick in Show Off! and Beauty Secret. I featured Show Off! in my December Favourites here. Beauty Secret is also a really great colour, more on the nude side, but also great pigment, relatively long lasting and non-drying.

Makeup Revolution Iconic Blush Bronze and Brighten Palette. I featured Flush in my December Favourites here. These are really great palettes, I have only tried Flush and Golden Hot, as I figured I don’t need four! So, I have the two others up on my Blog Sale here.

Essence Road Trip Blush and Highlighter Duo doesn’t suit me, so off to my Blog Sale it goes here.

Essence Hello Autumn Multi Colour Powder is a really nice face powder. It gives a subtle glow to the skin, I like to use it as a finishing powder and buff it into my skin. And just look at that design!

Catrice Thrilling Me Softly Smooth Blush Stick in Feverish and Dardevil. I love how easy to use these are. I take my Real Techniques Duo Fibre Contour (which you can read more about here) and swirl it around the blush stick and then blend onto my cheeks. These are incredibly pigmented and long lasting. I prefer Daredevil to Feverish, so Feverish has been added to my blog sale.

I love the finish of this Accessorize Baked Bronzer in Bermuda Shade 4. It is highly pigmented, so it is easy to over do and end up looking like an Oompa Loompa. You need to use a very light hand, but the finish of this product is great. It is extremely warm toned, and I don’t think I will get much use out of it even though I love the finish, so to the blog sale it goes.

Accessorize Baked Blusher in Quiver and Starlet is what I expect the Hourglass Blushes to be like. They are light and glowy, with a slight pigment, no shimmer, just a glow. Pure lit from within perfection. If you can find one of these blushers, do yourself a favour and get one! I bought these at Clicks a while ago, and I can’t seem to find them anymore. If you can’t find these, the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes are possibly similiar (since they are meant to be Hourglass dupes), you can check those out here. I haven’t tried them yet though.

I received a huge Catrice package recently and the *Catrice Luxury Lashes Mascara was included. This is the nicest smelling mascara ever! I think that is due to the Cashmere Proteins, since it smells like a lovely hair treatment! I really like this mascara, no clumping, smells nice (since when is that part of the criteria), no smudging and of course adds vava volume. This is a great affordable mascara option. Luckily for one of you, a couple of the products I received in the package I had already bought, so there will be an amazing Catrice Giveaway soon!

I also received this *Catrice Eye’Matic Dip Liner in the package. This is an ultra black liquid liner with a good applicator, you can use the point of the dip liner, or you can use it slanted, both ways work really well. It is easy to apply, smooth and highly pigmented, although you do need a steady hand. I have always been a fan of Catrice eye products and I would definitely recommend this one!

LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in Bombshell and Pin-Up. These lip products were a bit of a hit and a miss depending on the shade you bought. Although the application is not the smoothest, I do like the colour payoff, and there is nothing a little blending with your finger won’t fix. I like to apply lip balm before hand so that there is a good base to apply on.

Catrice Tinted Lip Glow is a subtle pink tinted lip balm that adjusts based on the ph of your skin. The more layers and the more often you apply, the more intense the colour. The lip balm is quite moisturising, but I wouldn’t use it as my every day lip balm, I prefer something a bit more nourishing.

Cotton On Rubi Cosmetics Lipstick, unfortunately I don’t know the name of the shade, since it was on the wrapping instead of the packaging… Which sucks. I really like this colour though, good pigmentation, non-drying and affordable.

Maybelline Popsticks Crystal Pink Lipstick is similiar to the Catrice Lip Glow, but with a more glossy look. I really like this product, it gives a subtle glossy tint to the lips. You can usually find these in the sales section at Clicks and Dischem.

Thanks for reading Ladies!

*Press Samples