Product Review: Maybelline Baby Lips

Somewhat of a cult item at the moment is Maybellines answer to chapped lips. I've heard so many good things about these balms that I thought it was probably time to give these a try. These retail at £2.99 from boots, so pretty cheap, maybe not as affordable as a Vaseline tin or Chapstick, but there is the added bonus that 3 out of the range are tinted. They also claim to give intensive care and 8 hour hydration. I've picked up Pink Punch and Peach Kiss.

Peach kiss is the first swatch, it's very sheer in colour, but has a slight shimmer. I like it as it's flattering and subtlety pretty. Pink punch is a little more opaque, and can be a little unforgiving of cracked lips (which isn't great as it's a product for such lip types...). It's still nice and a wearable colour. Both have a sweet scent, and glide on with ease. Both feel nourishing, as a balm should. 

The packaging feels a little cheap and unstable, but I suppose you can't expect much when it's only a few pounds to buy. As for its effect, I don't think it's better than other normal lip balms, it does absorb and wear off over about an hour so it needs reapplying regularly. The colour doesn't build up as it doesn't have staining properties. 

Overall I think they are nice balms, but nothing too special. However I am enjoying having one in my handbag to pull out when needed in this cold weather!

Foxy x

Product Review: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer

Primers for me are a kind of uughh product. I don't often use them, maybe only for special occasions even, but I just think sometimes it's just another product your face doesn't need. I do have some large pores and uneven texture, so yes a primer can be good for me. However when it comes to it, I don't often notice a big enough difference or think it prolongs foundation wear by a noticeable amount. I might not be giving primers a fair chance, I suppose I just haven't found the right one for me! 

But, down to the review! I picked L'Oreal's smoothing resurfacing primer before Christmas, I was doing a typical 3 for 2 haul and this caught my eye. I. Must have misread the £14.29 price tag, because I don't think I would have brought it if I had realised! But I was hoping that as it was quite expensive, it should be quite good.

Starting with the packaging, it's a 15ml glass jar, which does seem quite small for the money. But the thing that infuriates me the most about this product is that it sticks to itself. It's hard to describe, but it's nothing like a moose or cream, it reminds me of Chinese sticky rice, as if you try and take a small amount to use, you end up with a huge lump. Which is then a complete arse to get back in the jar, as it picks up more product instead of depositing it. Grrrr! That's enough to put me off.

The product itself is very smooth and applies nicely, with a mattifying finish as you can see from the above before and after pic. It feels nice and does hide pores, however once you apply foundation over the top it feels like the two products together are sliding about all over my face. It's as if the product sits on the face rather than sink in. I really want to like it as it cost enough, but it feels thick with other products over the top. After powder and what have you it looks fine, I'm not sure about staying power, I haven't really used it enough to test it, but I think I was put off by how it feels and behaves enough to be able to do this review. 

I will use it up eventually but I defiantly won't repurchase. I think there are other primers out there that may be more suited to me!

Foxy x

The studio resurfacing primer is available to buy from Boots and Superdrug for £14.29 of I haven't put you off already! 

Illamasqua Haul - there was a sale. I'm sorry.

Illamasqua is a brand I'm in such love with at the moment, it's a brand that embraces individuality like in other, and with a slogan like 'make up for your alter ego' you can expect some bright colours and extreme looks from people who use the brand. They quite often post out there looks on thief social media sites, some of which are just incredible. So when they had a sale, I jumped, I actually made two orders... Cause they dropped the prices and added new stuff :D

Light Liquid foundation in 135

Usually £27 brought for £10

A beautiful light base, a product I already had thanks to a blog swap, but this is a little darker. It's fairly sheer, but that's a given really from the product name! It gives a little colour to even out skin tone and a nice natural glow. It's great for everyday wear, and looks great when set with a powder. My other one is in colour 133, but no where near finished, so this will be put by for a while.

False Eye Lashes in 07

Usually £12 brought for £5.

I love a good pair of lashes, and these were the most natural looking in the sale. The brand is fairly alternative to the other high end brands so you can probably imagine how outrageously fabulous the others there! I'm looking forward to wearing these, as I would expect lashes worth £12 to be darn good! 

Pure Pigment in Static and Furore

Usually £16.50 brought for £7.50 each

I'm excited about these too! They are loose powder pigments which I'll probably use on my eyes but being loose they could be use pretty much anywhere! The website claims that it's supposed to be played with, which brings some odd images to mind.. Anyway! Static is a white pearl kind of colour with an iridescent shimmer, so stunning, it would look great tapped over pink shadow. Furore is more of a light peach taupe, which would great in a natural eye look. I hope to have fun with these soon.

Liquid Metal in Surge

Usually 17.50 brought for £7.50

Kind of like a cream shadow this is described as a molten pewter shade, which is beautiful, a really wearable metallic. I think it would make a great base for a smokey eye, another product I can't wait to play with.

Freak Eau de Parfum Gift Set (35ml with nail polish and medium pencil liner)

Usually £60 brought for £20. 

This gift set looked like an absolute steal, seeming there were three full sized products and that the perfume is loved by quite a lot of people. I'm terrible at describing scents so I'm not going to try! But it's growing on me, I'm not 100% sure of it currently, it's a rather deep evening scent, definitely not something for everyday wear. With it came a nail varnish in the shade Baptiste, which is a dark purple shade and slightly metallic. I don't paint my nails often, as I don't often have any! But next time I have acrylics done or have passable natural ones, this is going on! And lastly, a medium pencil in Sophie, which is charcoal black.

Really excited by my little haul! And looking forward to getting some good use out of it :) I did also order a cream foundation, however it arrived with a completely empty pan! Illamasqua were great about it and quickly sent out a replacement. So fantastic costumer service too. I would have included it, but I've left it round the boyfriends house.. Typical! 

Did anyone else take advantage of the Illamasqua sale?

Foxy x 

Skin care is Simple - a beginners guide.

When I was younger my mum used to tell me all the time that good skincare was important, wash your face and moisturise so you don't look like me when your older. 

I wish I had listened a little sooner, but it's never too late to look after your skin and rescue it from the toll of life. And the great thing is, it's really easy. The perfect combination is to cleanse, tone and moisturise day and night, which I use a spa brand for. But as I'm always from home so often I've got a smaller kit with the bare essentials, which happen to be perfect for those new to skin care.

Simple are a great brand who use vitamins in their products to promote healthy skin, and not much else. All their formulas are unfragranced and carry a clean natural scent, but are also great for people with sensitive skin. Also it's affordable and you can pick it up anywhere! So let's assume it's first thing in the morning:

Simple Kind to Skin refreshing wash gel.

£3.00 from Tesco

Morning skincare is quite simple, as it should be fairly clear from the night before, but make washing your face a priority and you'll always have clear skin. This wash is, as it says, is really refreshing, so great to wake up with. There are other types available, for oily or problem skin etc, so have a good look, there might be something better suited to your skin type. Obviously depending on your age you might be prone to breakouts, it's happens to everyone at some stage but it is important to keep your face clean. For severe cases, you can seek help from your GP.

Simple Kind to Skin cleansing facial wipes

£3.00 from Tesco

I'll use one of these wipes to remove any remaining dirt from my face and makeup that I might have missed. I find that mascara tends to linger and even after Ive washed my face I've still got black eyes. These wipes will give your skin vitamins while also being soft of the face.

Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating light Moisturiser

£3.50 from Tesco

Putting moisture into your skin is important to keep it youthful and prevent signs of ageing such as wrinkles and tight skin. By doing this we will hopefully have firm smooth skin for years to come. I will apply this all over the face and let it absorb into my skin. After this I will apply my makeup and I'm done till the evening. 

Simple Kind to Eyes eye makeup Remover

£3.00 from Tesco.

In the evening I'll start my regime again by removing my eye makeup with a little of this on a cotton pad, one for each eye. What's great about this product is that it's free from oil so doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy. Although it's a bit of a myth that your can't fight oil with oil. Once I've removed my makeup I'll wash my face and moisturise again before bed. And that's it! Four simple products to perfect skin.

Tesco currently has a 3 for £5 offer on selected items (at time of writing) so perfect oppotunity to save some money! Hope this helps a few people!

Foxy x

*this post is not sponsored*

Drugstore Haul! Time to hide the debit card..

It's that time where I spend too much money but get pretty things in exchange! Yay! But someone pass me a bucket of water cause I need to stick my debit card in ice..

Let's start with lip products:

Revlon Colorburst Matte and Lacquer Balms

£7.99, currently exclusive to Boots, 3 for 2 available at time of writing.

I currently own a balm stain from Revlon in the shade honey, which is beautiful. Although I'm in a panick at the moment as I can't find it. But these seem just as nice, I brought the matte balm in 205 Elusive and the lacquer in 105 Demure. Even though I went to a fairly large store, there were only 4 of each type available, (there are 10 shades in each balm) and I'm not a huge fan of bright reds or oranges. I'm tempted to order more online. The colour payoff is nice, however its not very forgiving of my dry flaky lips. I need to wear these a few more times before judging I think.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

£6.49 Boots

These have been around for quite sometime now, and a few more colours have been introduced since the launch. I've swatched these many times and been put off for some reason, but I took the plunge and went for number 101 Celestial. Its a your lips but better type shade, with a gloss like finish. I've heard they do dry and the finish changes, but I haven't fully tested it. I'd like to try a few more shades as these have been raved about by so many bloggers, I really don't want to miss the party (even if I have arrived fasionably late!). 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

£7.99 Boots

These are fabulous, and I think most people know it! Raved about so much across the blogosphere, these are a creamy light balm, with a slight glossy look. I already have two, but these were on offer at £5 each at Superdrug so I had to pick up a few more, these are 080 Strawberry Shortcake and 025 Peach Parfait. I will do a full review soon, as they becoming a bit of a staple! 

Sleek True Colour Lipstick

£4.99 Superdrug

I own one sleek lipstick in the colour Liquer, and I adore it! So naturally I became curious about other shades. Sleek is a great brand, really affordable and well known to bloggers because of their range of eyeshadow palettes. I've picked up two shades with a sheen finish in Barely There and Babydoll. I already regret buying Babydoll. It's so light that it makes me look strangely tanned (I am the girl who will pick up the lightest foundation shade without testing' as I have no need to) which was horrible. It reminded me of 'those girls' from school with a horrible orange tan and light lips. I'm going to have to wear this over something or mixed if I'm going to get any use from it. Barely there is good though, another your lips but better shade, with a slight orange tone. I plan on doing a post about Sleek soon with some product reviews.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Kajal eyeliner.

£3.99 Boots

Brought on reccomendation as I realised I was missing a decent pencil eyeliner. I picked up 001 Black and 005 Nude. I got nude purely to use in the waterline to make the appearance of bigger eyes. Looking forward to testing these, but from swatching them they are really soft and creamy, so excited about these!

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume Mascara

£5.99 introductory offer, usually £8.99, Superdrug

I've already written a full review on this, so I want say too much, apart from the fact I feel a little disappointed. I brought this in black, also comes in turquoise and violet.

Revlon Lash Potion Mascara

£9.99 Superdrug

I love this mascara, I already own it in Blackened Brown, as I stupidly picked up the wrong colour so as this was on special at £5 at super drug I thought it a good opportunity to pick up blackest black.

Max Factor Face Infinity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation.

£11.99 Boots

Seeming that Cover Girls Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation is such a big deal right now, I thought it nessicary to try out the Max Factor counterpart. Seeming that they are sister companies, both owned by Proctor and Gamble, I can only assume that the formulations are the same. It claims to be a primer, concealer and foundation in one, so I recon it's going to be quite a heavy coverage, but I'm excited to try this.

Revlon Highlighting Palette

£8.99 Boots

This looks so gorgeous! A shimmer brick with rose gold and pink tones to highlight the face. Dead excited to use this, I've picked up the newest shade 020 Rose Glow. I've been tempted by many of these type products recently and as it was on 3 for 2, it was the perfect chance. I'll write again once I've had a good play!

I did buy some falsies as you can see in the top photo, they were reduced to £1.50 thanks to damaged packaging (score!) they are Eylure evening wear lashes in 120. 

Well done if you've read this far! Such a long post, sorry about that! If you've tried any if these products let me know what you think :)

Foxy x

Glossy Box: January - back to basics.

I've been subscribed to Glossy Box for the past 6 months now, and quite look forward to coming home to a beautiful box of beauty surprises. There are now quite a few beauty boxes available, all designed to give you samples of luxury or up and coming brands ranging from skin care, to hair care and cosmetics. 

This month the fan base was stirred a little, as GB put back dispatch by about a week with the excuse that the box had had a face lift for the new year. However when boxes started arriving (dispatch was staggered over 3 days - I was one of the last to receive my box, typical!) angry posts from subscribers started appearing on GB's page. Many complaining about the quality of the items in the box, and some claiming the face lift wasn't worth the wait and that the original box was better. But let's get onto what I received! 

So here is the contents of my box, the box itself has changed shape slightly and it's now got a gloss finish. Inside is pretty much the same, but the ribbon is now branded (can no longer to wrap gifts damn it!). It looks nice enough, the glossy box is now glossy but I don't think a change was needed to be honest. Now! The contents, starting with the positives:

Anatomicals 'Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer' Wake up under eye Patches.

£6 for 3 pack. Sample size of 2, value of £4.

I was skeptical about these when I saw other posts before getting mine, however I'm feeling quite good about them now. I have a strange sleep pattern and I don't think it's going my eyes any favors. It's a half an hour treatment which you apply to your undereyes after cleansing. I'm going to pop these in the fridge for my next hangover *cough* Sunday *cough*. 

Beauty UK CC Cream

£4.99 for 25ml (full size received)

I'm so glad I got this instead of the Vaseline moisturiser sample that most subscribers received! Manly because I've wanted to try out a CC Cream for a while (nearly pixed up Max Factors but resisted) but also because the Vaseline sample was the main subject of many peoples complaints, which I can understand. It's come in the lightest shade (only 3 available) which is natural. I'm worried that it does look a little dark, but I am hidiously pale so that might be why... I'll give this a go, but Beauty UK is one of the cheaper drugstore brands, so I'm not putting my hopes too high on this one. 

Now for the few items that didn't really float my boat:

The Vintage Cosmetic Company Floral Slanted Tweezers

£8.00 (full size obviously!)

This is the only spoiler from GB this month, which didn't really excite me too much, I do already own tweezers. I suppose these will come in use, but I've not heard that many good things so far. Also I don't like floral patterns, but that's me being picky.

Balance Me Super toning body wash

£10.25 for 250ml. Sample size of 50ml, value of £2.05.

I've got a few body washes on the go, it's not really something that I'm looking for at the moment, but this will be nice for travelling. It says it's also good to use in the bath, as a soak, which I'm probably more likely to do.

Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream.

£13.50 for 33g. Two samples of 3g, value of £2.70.

This hasn't excited me purely as it's another cream, and I've had quite a few lately. But it seems to be the Japanese version of skin food, and a wonder product for dry areas so I've decided to test it out on the boyfriends elbows. Glamorous hey. 

Overall box value: £21.74.

Not too bad on the value front, I will use everything from the box, but I can see why many people are happy. If it wasn't for the CC cream, I wouldn't be that content. I will say though that I thought the brands in these boxes were supposed to be high end, as on their website they have a page of brands that I've never seen in my boxes! Also there wasn't a large variety of products this month, looking at other blogs and photos. I will continue my subscription for now, but I am considering other beauty boxes.

So how did everyone else feel about their box?

Foxy x

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara - First Impressions!

Hi everyone! 

On my recent beauty haul I talked myself into buying L'Oreal's new mascara, Miss Manga. I'm pretty sure everyone has seen the adverts here in the uk, and there seems to be quite a buzz about the product. It's currently on an introductory offer, pretty much everywhere at £5.99. 

I had managed to resist for a while, however I'm too curious for my own good. The product comes in three colours, black, turquoise and violet. I've never been a fan of coloured mascara so black was the obvious choice. There isn't a waterproof formulation at this point by the looks of things. The product claims to intensify and amplify lashes with volume and hold. The brush is cone shaped to catch corner lashes and bends 360 degrees.

There is a tutorial on the website which I haven't watched yet. I've applied this over the last two days in the way I usually apply mascara. I will watch the video to see if I'm missing the trick here! I've gone from root to tip using a back and forth motion as I go to separate lashes. The bending wand is such a pain! It means that when trying to apply pressure the brush goes in all sorts of directions and you end up covering your face in black product. Not cool! And because of this my lashes seem to clump together giving me the appearance of 5 lashes instead of my usual number. I've ended up having to use a clean spoolie to try and part my lashes straight after applying, which makes the process longer. 

However! For some reason this is really great for bottom lashes! It seems to pick them up nicely and much better than any of my other mascaras. However it seems kind of odd to use two types when one should really do both. 

At the moment I'm really not impressed, and I think this is down to the brush design as application can be difficult and messy. I will watch the videos that L'Oreal have posted and see if I can get this to work for me. I'll keep you posted!

Foxy x

Rimmel's 'Wake Me Up' foundation & concealer - First Impressions!

Now I know that this isn't a new product, however it's one I've never used before and it's a bloggers favorite, so I thought it was time to jump on board the hype train and test it for myself!

Wake Me Up has an anti-fatigue formula, designed to brighten the appearance of the face and give a natural glow in both products. But let's start with the foundation. Looking at the product through the bottle it does remind me of Revlon's Photoready foundation due to the light shimmer flecks I can see through the liquid, if this is anything like Photoready I'll be really happy as it's my all time favorite foundation! It uses a pump, which is orange like the lid, but has quite a small dispensing hole. However it's quite controllable and therefore I can't imagine you would ever accidently waste and product. The liquid does have a slight scent, which is fairly pleasant and I quite like it, but I do know that this could be a turn off for some people.

I'm applying the products to moisterised skin, using only the Wake Me Up foundation and Consealer in 100 Ivory and 010 Ivory (no primers etc) and set with Maxfactor Creme Puff in truly fair. 

The foundation applies to the skin well, giving a medium coverage. I guess it could be built up for a more heavy coverage but I would worry it could give a false skin effect due to the lightening properties in her formula. On the skin it looks a little sheer, I prefer a matte look and that's why I set with a powder. It's also recommended to use powders so that it has a better chance if staying put. There is a very slight shimmer, but nothing that can be seen by other people. This shade was the lightest available and I think it's a tiny bit too dark for me, however I am very fair! 

Before setting I did apply some concealer to blemishes as well as under the eyes, and along red patches. I'm not sure I feel as good as I did about the foundation here, as the product says it can cover blemishes as well as brighten dark circles. It does look good as an illumiator, however I can still my blemishes after using both products as a dark spot on the face. I will continue to use it though as I find it hard to make my mind up about concealers quickly. 

Overall I do like the foundation after my first use, which I'm surprised at seeming a few months ago I swatched it and wasn't convinced. I'm glad I've given it a second chance. The concealer isn't quite winning me over at the moment, but I will give it another chance.

I will report back in a months time to see if my opinions have changed! Is there anyone out there who doesn't like this foundation?

Foxy x

(Available for £8.99 and £5.49 on boots.co.uk)

Welcome to Foxy Beauty's new home!

Hi everyone!

I've decided to move my blog from Tumblr, to blogger, mostly because I wanted to connect more with the blogging world as well as having more creative control. I found Tumblr to be a little restrictive, and not many serious bloggers use it, it's mostly just image sharing and not much blog content. 

I want to try and make blogging more of a habit, I started Foxy Beauty with the intention of trying out reviewing, reporting on hauls and such like. But so far I haven't really made too much of a great start! So hopefully with this fresh start and new year I'm going to make more effort, starting tomorrow! 

I'm hoping to connect with and follow other beauty bloggers so please get in touch :)

Foxy x