I am slightly late with my First Impressions post this month!
I have been trying out quite a few new products, so let’s jump right in.
Collection Cosmetics is an affordable UK makeup brand. I picked these up at Boots a while ago. The blush quad is stunning, I love to swirl my brush around in all four colours and apply with a fluffy blush brush. The Mosaic Bronzers don’t suit me much, and the Highlight and Bronzer Quad also don’t do much for me. All three are going to my Blog Sale. The Blush and Highlight Cream Duo is amazing, travel friendly and gives a great flush and glow to the skin.
My boyfriend bought this Bath and Body Works Forever Midnight Body Cream for me, and it smells amazing! It is really moisturising too, and when I use this I don’t even have to use perfume, it is just that good! I really wish Bath and Body Works would come to South Africa.
Makeup Revolution Vivid Blush Lacquer is a bit like a cheek paint, it is super pigmented, and the finish is between a cheek stain and a cream blush. I like all of the shades, but two are quite similiar, so the shade Rush is going to my Blog Sale.
I received these Almay Eye Makeup Remover Pads* in a press drop ages ago, and I only decided to try them out recently. I am not a fan, the pads are really thin, like filter paper, and the remover is very oily. It does remove makeup really well, but I don’t like the oil slick that is left around my eyes.
I bought this Claire’s Slant Tip Eye Liner from Clicks a while ago, in the hope that I have found a dupe for the Benefit Push-up Liner. Well, I haven’t. The liner itself applies well, and has a kohl like finish. It isn’t very pigmented though. The slanted tip is quite big, so the line it makes is pretty thick, but if you are into thick dramatic lines you might like this.
Lipidol Sunscreen Oil is awesome, it doesn’t have a very high spf, but it gives skin that nice oiled up look. It isn’t greasy and absorbs pretty quickly. I wouldn’t use this for a proper outside day, since I don’t think the spf coverage is good enough, but for those half outside summer days I think it is pretty cool!
Oh So Heavenly Overnight Treatment Foot Balm is okay, I think it is best for winter since it is quite greasy, and is best used with socks over. I prefer the normal foot cream from this range, I will finish it, but I won’t repurchase it.
If Bio-Oil had an amazing moisurising cleanser sister, this would be it! I am loving this! It is rich, doesn’t have a grapefruit scent, moisturises and cleanses without being drying or greasy. And the best part, it is about R50 at Dischem.
I really like this Oh So Heavenly Berry Goodness Hand Cream, it is more like a hand butter to me, it smells nice, is really moisturising, and affordable! This is definitely a good option for dry hands on a budget.
I received this Pink Happiness First Love* perfume from Revlon a while ago, and it is a perfect summer fragrance, light and sweet. It also has a bit of an exotic flavour to it. Loving it for summer!
Need to get your hips and thighs in shape for summer? This is the product for you, Elancyl Cellu Slim*. I haven’t used this enough to comment on the slimming effects, but I love that it doesn’t have a gross smell. The scent is pretty nice, and the cream is quite moisturising too.
This human + kind BB Cream in medium/dark is a bit weird. It dries so so quickly, so you literally have to blend in a second, which is pretty annoying, but the finish is amazing! I don’t know how but it just looks so blended and perfect, even though I had to rush to blend it in.
The human + kind Hand, Elbow and Foot Cream was really disappointing. It wasn’t moisturising enough for my hands, never mind my feet and elbows. I wouldn’t recommend this.
The Revlon ColorSilk Luminista surprised me. My hair is basically pitch black, yet this colour picked up so nicely! It gave me a really nice dark golden brown. And I only left it on for the specified time.
Benefit Bathina smells amazing! Another gift from my boyfriend, I love this shimmering balm, and the festive season is the perfect time to use it!
I must admit I had no hope for these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish strips in Crowd Surfer, but I was pleasantly surprised. It contains 16 strips, so you are sure to find the perfect fit for your nails. They dry out pretty quickly, so once you open the sealed packet you are done. There are 8 strips per packet, I used one packet for both hands, so you could get two applications from a box. You just apply it to you nail, press it down firmly, file off the edges and you are good to go. It says 10 days of wear on the box, but mine started chipping after about 4 days. The finish is exactly like nail polish, it doesn’t look like you have stuck anything on which is pretty amazing! I will show you the finished mani on Monday next week.
Another Makeup Revolution product is the Lip Lava, a liquid lipstick with good pigmentation without being super drying. The middle shade didn’t suit me much, so to my Blog Sale it goes here. These are great budget friendly liquid lipstick options!
The Sorbet Cleansing Oil did not impress me at all. You can read more about it here.
The Body Shop Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue smells amazing, exactly like mint sweets. It is really thick and moisturising, this is definitely one of my favourite foot butters of all time!
Nip + Fab Instant Radiance Wrinkle Fix Moisturiser is not very moisturising. It has that signature scent, which I love, but I don’t think I would repurchase this. It is okay for hot summer days as a light moisturiser, but it is not good enough for dry skin.
The Freeman Revealing Peel Off Mask is awesome! I love Freeman masks, so effective and affordable. These sachets are about R16 at Dischem and are perfect for trying all the different types of Freeman masks, and you can get 2-3 uses out of them, I usually share it with my mom. When I peeled off this mask I felt so clean, as if all my pores were just unclogged and everything was brought up to the surface. Slightly gross, but so satisfying!
The new REN Wake Wonderful Night Time Facial is part of the Radiance range, and is an overnight mask that is meant to work while you sleep, and you wake up wonderful, as the name suggests. For softer, smoother more radiant skin. I definitely saw a difference in my skin, it looked healthier and more radiant, the only issue I have with this product is the scent, it really is terrible. Luckily it doesn’t last long at all. You are supposed to apply this after your serum and before your moisturiser, but I just applied it directly onto my skin, and it worked perfectly fine. There was a slight tingling, but nothing major, and personally I love that tingling, a sign that something is going on.
Juliette Armand SPF 30 Sun Film is a sunscreen gel, with a slight tint. The best part about it, is there is no white oily residue left on the skin. It is light and non greasy, and the perfect summer companion. It also adapts to all skin tones. No more getting out the water and looking like a ghost! Also, don’t forget to enter my Juliette Armand Giveaway here.
Fennel Ginger Bread Body Yogurt smells like real ginger bread, I love it! It isn’t very moisturising, but that is expected from a body yogurt, I am a fan of thicker body lotions and body butters.
I do not like the Fennel Fresh Pineapple Body Butter. The scent is way too artificial and weird, I like how moisturising it is, but I cannot deal with the scent. There are far better scents to try in this range!
A whole lot of NYX goodies! You can read my full review here.
Lastly, some more Makeup Revolution beauties! You can read my full review here. The Too Faced Blush lookalike is on my Blog Sale here.
Thanks for reading Ladies!
Pingback: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Mani | PrettifulBlog
Love love this post… diverse range of products here and i learn about new brands from your posts 🙂 tempted to try the Revlon Coloursilk! Salon colour gets pretty expensive… love that NYX haul!! Im in JHb for a few days think im goin to make the most of it for products i cant get in Durban lol. Thanks 4 the great info xo
Thanks! Yip, it really picked up well even on my black thick hair. Oh awesome! Enjoy!
Interesting products – I would like to try the Hydra Oil. Looking forward to that mani on Monday?.
Can you suggest a eyebrow tint for home use?
Hydra oil is really awesome! And so affordable compared to other shower oils. I know Ardell and Eyelure have them at Dischem. But I have never tried them.