Review: Silisponge

Before I begin, no matter what happens, no matter what crazy inventions come out this year, the silisponge is definitely my product of the year. It's literally changed my life. No really. 

The sili-what?

The silisponge is a silicone make up sponge basically. I wouldn't actually call it a sponge as it doesn't soak up any product. It's cheaply made and is just wonderful at applying and blending make up. I bought this bad boy towards the beginning of the year and haven't gone back to applying my make using brushes or my fingers. 

What? Where? How?

I bought my silisponge off eBay. It's not the official silisponge but I thought to myself, how fake or different can a silicone sponge be? The one I received was amazing quality. I have heard there are some really bad dupes out there though that break really easily or irriates skin, but mine has been great so far! They seem to come in a variety of shapes and sizes - I've opted for the tear shaped one rather than the long rectagular-ish one just because I find the shape suits how I apply make up more. 

Pros

• It's extremely easy to clean in comparison to a beauty sponge or brush, literally takes less than 2 minutes with some gentle hand soap or baby shampoo and it's good as new again
• Doesn't soak up product meaning your foundation bottle will last longer, a little really goes a long way using this
• Great rounded shapes, helps blend make up into creases and corners
• As it's not a sponge, it won't retain bacteria or pick up a lot of dust / dead skin cells etc
• Comes in a variety of shapes and colours / designs
• Super cheap to replace if it rips 
• Pretty durable (just keep it away from tweezers etc) 

Cons

• Has a tendency to smear make up rather than blend evenly - I find this depends on what make up you're applying with it, whilst it's great for applying BB cream (this is what I use it for on a daily basis) or creamier foundations, it's not so great at applying foundations that are more matte / dry in texture 
• Not as multipurpose as a beauty blender - you can't really use this product for compact powders for example 
• Can be easily ripped / perforated by tweezers - I keep mine in a little pouch inside my make up bag as I also have tweezers floating around in there
• Takes a bit of practice or getting used to once you first use it, it's not the easiest of make up tools to use in comparison to the beauty blender or standard foundation brushes

Overall, despite the cons, I'm super happy with my silisponge. As I use BB cream on a daily basis, it's great for serving the purpose of applying it. I'm getting less spots as my silisponge is cleaned everyday (as it's so easy to clean) and it's great at blending my BB cream to give me that dewy look. However, as the foundation I used is more of a dry texture (I've been using Kill Cover Foundation), I still find using my beauty blender better than the silisponge for now. 

SHOPAHOLIC.

I am so excited. I just bought so much today. 

Soooo today, instead of having a chilled park day with le boyfriend, I decided to drag him shopping. What started as an innocent “I need to go and pick up my click-and-collect order” turned into a massive shopping haul. Here’s what I bought:

• A pair of black high waisted shorts from H&M (YUSSSS finally, I have bought another pair of these babies that I’m happy with) 
• A perfume atomiser from a really cute shop down Carnaby Street called Pylones - yes, I have no idea why on earth I need this, I just wanted one because I lost my old one ages ago on a night out ;__;
• Make up stuff that I don't really need but want from E.L.F.
• Concealer brush (my current one is a bit old and streaky...)
• Foundation brush (I have one but I will probably like this one more... because it's shaped differently)
• Highlighter brush (I've never had one okay?)
• Lip exfoliator (!?!?!)
• Face palette 

Ok so maybe in retrospect it's not that much stuff I bought but just know that I just went through my wardrobe and found so many pieces of unworn clothing still with their tags on. 

Pre-Release Review: Clinique Pop Lip Colour & Primer

Hola!~

So the Clinque Pop Lip Colour & Primer "officially" launches later today nationwide! What better time to do a review than in the early hours of the morning of release day?

I'm not a huge lipstick fan, I'm more of a lip balm girl because lip balms are just more subtle and does the job of moisturising my lips when I need to. I've always seen lipsticks just highlight the dryness of my lips in really unflattering ways even after that dry toothbrush trick. So sadly, lipsticks haven't been at the very top of my necessities when it comes to make up.

But having seen these new "balmy" Clinique Pop Lip Colour & Primer lipsticks, I couldn't resist buying one, or two... or three to try out. After deliberating for just about forever, the ones I bought were Cola Pop, Poppy Pop and Melon Pop (L-R).

These lipsticks are split into 4 groups - you can google the whole range but the Cola Pop one I have is from the Nudes category and the other 2 are from the Tawnies category. I decided to choose a light neutral coral shade (Melon Pop) for everyday, a slightly brighter pink-orange shade (Poppy Pop) for summery days where I feel a bit more... daring with make up and a dark red/maroon shade (Cola Pop) for evening wear - each suitable for different occasions. Completely skipping Pinks and Violets because pink and purple lipstick is not my thing and the other Nudes seemed too plain.

The packaging is absolutely beautiful, I've even kept the original box it comes in because I'm a huge hoarder and they're just too lovely to throw away! 

Having changed my mind multiple times about them, I've come to the conclusion that I love each one in a different way. Bear in mind, these lipsticks are super pigmented, I was surprised at how pigmented the Melon Pop one was despite seeing other bloggers review them. They're also very balmy hence the 'Primer' part and is excellent for long lasting wear. These lipsticks seem to keep my lips hydrated for a long time, it feels like I'm wearing a super pigmented lip balm rather than a lipstick. 

Here are the swatches: 

I'd say the colours look slightly different to the colour on the packaging - not massively but it definitely varies from skin tone to skin tone. The Cola Pop one looked a lot darker than I anticipated, it's by far the darkest lipstick I've ever tried on but it's a blue-based red lipstick that compliments my skin tone really well! With my choice in the corals, corals can never go wrong with Asian skin but I was surprised at how bright the Poppy Pop one was, it definitely looks more orange on my lips - it's a great colour for the summer as I have a natural coral tint to my lips this one definitely accentuates it more. Finally, the Melon Pop is wonderful, I'm a plain Jane most days so this one tops my list out of the 3, it's pigmented but not too much that screams attention, it's subtly pink with a tint of coral which is perfect for dress down days or days where I tend to go simple with my make up. 

Out of the 3, Melon Pop tops my list, it's versatile and can be dressed up or down. Cola Pop would be my second because despite it being uber dark, it's actually super sexy when worn! Poppy Pop would be third as it's pretty damn bright for my liking and I'd probably have to blot it down a bit along with some translucent power to make it less harsh. 

Sadly, these lipsticks fall short when compared to my MAC Cremesheen lipstick. I have a beautiful coral shade that is somewhere between Melon Pop and Poppy Pop, not to mention the MAC Cremesheen range smells like vanilla which makes me love it even more. That being said, these Clinique lipsticks are definitely worth the money, they launch today with a price tag of £16 each (MAC Cremesheen range is £15 each) and the quality of these lipsticks is luxurious with the metal cap, square design, primer formula. I reckon these Clinique lipsticks are better value for money compared to MAC.

Go grab yours today at your nearest Clinique counter! 

Review: Simple Illuminating Radiance Cream

I haven't done a review in a while because I've been so snowed under with work and catching up on sleep! Legit excuse, I swear. 

I bought this product a while back when it came out, I was slightly conscious of the whole 'illuminating' and 'radiance' marketing because that usually means it might contain sparkly stuff in it like a similar 'radiant' BB cream that I bought once. Usually, I stay away from these products because I don't want to look like a vampire from Twilight with sparkly skin in the daylight but actually, this product isn't as sparkly as I thought it would be. 

Texture-wise, it's really light and smooth, exactly like cream except it's of a beige colour rather than white. In comparison to the Simple Light Moisturiser I use daily, this one is slightly thicker but still manages to absorb well into my skin. A little goes a long way so I only needed to pump about 3 times to cover my whole face - a pump is pretty small, about a pea sized amount. It's not sticky at all as is exactly as it's advertised - a light, odourless moisturiser

Appearance-wise, it's not noticeably sparkly but when exposed to white light, you can subtly see some sparkly bits. It doesn't make me look greasy either and stayed on my face the whole day, keeping dry patches well hydrated throughout.  

I probably wouldn't use this product under make up as it may look excessive when you pile BB cream/foundation over it but it'll definitely be a part of my skincare on days where I'm not wearing make up! I feel it's a great substitute for make up on dress down days as you don't have to take it off and it does make your skin look brighter and healthier. 

I'd definitely buy this cream again once mine runs out, the packing is beautiful and the pump bottle gives it a much more luxurious feel compared to other Simple creams. The pricing is slightly high for a 50ml cream (£7.99) but it does do wonders to my skin and a little goes a very long way, I'm expecting mine to last a while before I need to replenish my stock! 

Review: Nivea Fruity Shine Cherry Lip Balm

For some reason Vaseline isn't doing it for me this winter, maybe it's the wind or the heating in the office but my lips just won't hold moisture and are constantly flaking. So on my lunch break at work today, I went to hunt for something stronger and meant to pick up the Blistex Relief Cream but instead Nivea's Fruity Shine range caught my eye. 

The range comes in 6 yummy scents/colours at the moment: Peach, Watermelon, Cherry, Strawberry, Pink Guava and Pomegranate. I don't own a tinted lip balm yet so I thought I'd try out the cherry one for starters, the Cherry, Strawberry and Pomegranate ones look quite similar in colour so I assume they give the same sort of tint to your lips. I've always been a fan of all things cherry-ish so this one was the obvious choice for me. 

I was quite surprised when I opened the lip balm to use, the stick is really red, looks almost like a standard red lipstick. Surprisingly, the colour - not so much, it gives just about the right amount of tint without making your lips look like you're wearing lipstick. Also gives that shimmery look without feeling overly greasy like Vaseline. What I particularly like about this balm is that it doesn't feel too waxy like most stick balms I've used before (I'm looking at chapstick on this one...), the stick glides smoothly onto your lips without making the dry areas look obvious. 

The scent is gorgeous, doesn't have that waxy smell that some scented lip balms give off. It also does well to lock in moisture and help re-hydrate dry areas, my flaking was gone by the end of the day! I've only applied this 3 times today and already my lips feel smoother. 

Would definitely recommend this lip balm to anyone looking for something stronger than Vaseline. Of course, the Blistex Relief Cream would be my best bet for really dry and sore lips but since my lips weren't really at that point yet, this was a good choice of purchase! Only £1.66 at Superdrugs for now!  

Review: Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

Having heard so many great things about this eyeliner on top of it winning an award from teen Vogue, I thought that this would be the ultimate eyeliner I have been searching for. With a hefty (hefty to me anyway) price tag of £12, you'd think this eyeliner must be something worth buying. I've never heard of the brand Eyeko before so having missed the opportunity to nab one for free from Glamour one month, I decided to buy the Skinny Liquid Eyeliner to try it out.

I must say, to me, this eyeliner was rubbish. After you apply your bb cream/foundation/powder, it does not glide on nicely like it should. Instead you're there trying to apply it and re-apply it over and over to get a solid black line over your top lid. I mean, eventually you do get there but what I was expecting was something that would be pigmented enough to glide over base make-up without having to go over the same line again and again to achieve this. Also, if you're a liquid liner newbie, you might end up thickening the line instead - panda eyes anyone? 

However, despite the problem with application, I do like the nib on this eyeliner, I like how it's designed so you can easily control the thickness of the line. I would actually love this eyeliner if it was a bit more pigmented so it actually goes over base make-up. If you're considering trying liquid liner from Eyeko I'd also recommend the waterproof Eye Do Liquid Liner just because this skinny one rubs off way too easily for my liking. It could rain and you'd be missing a chunk of your eyeliner - not pretty.

In any case, I don't think I'll be re-purchasing another Eyeko liquid liner in the near future. I actually bought the Rimmel ScandalEyes Precision Micro Liner today instead to try out, guess I'm still hunting for my ideal liquid liner!