The Tuesday Review: Benefit Dandelion Box Blush

I've had this product for a good few months now, having kindly received it as a gift on my birthday, back in the summer. At first I was quite unimpressed with how little it showed up on my tanned skin, and ended up rarely using it, other than occassionally as a subtle highlight as it was so pale compared to my skin. Fast forward a few months, and my skin is a good few shades lighter and I can finally see why people give so much love to this product.

I have to say, I'm really not a fan of the scent of this powder, to me it smells very grannyish, but to be honest the scent of a product really doesn't have an overall effect on whether I like it or not. As with all of Benefit's boxed powders, the packaging isn't the most practical thing in the world, but I am impressed with the brush that it comes with. I don't keep it in the box as I find that it tends to chip bits off the powder, and I actually use the brush for a different product: bronzer. I find that its the perfect shaped brush to contour with, but more about that in a later post.

The blush itself is a pale pink colour with a hint of shimmer, and isn't overly pigmented. It gives you a really fresh and alive look when applied to pale skin, and helps to brighten up your complexion. You can never go over the top with this, and you don't have to be too precise with your application as it is quite sheer and looks good as a highlight. In fact, Benefit actually suggest applying a small amount over your whole face as a brightening finishing powder. I am yet to try this but I can imagine it will work very well for me as I have yellow toned skin so this should help to neutralise it a little.

As for wear time, I find that this does last me through most of the day, and when it does fade, the shimmer remains so my skin still looks lovely and glowing. Having tested the wear time in the colder months, I actually wouldn't consider trying to carry on using this in the summer as my skin needs something super long lasting to keep it in place throughout its oiler moments, however it is absolutely perfect for a light flush of colour in autumn and winter.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Rimmel Kate Moss 107 Lipstick

A month or so ago I finally jumped on the bandwagon and bought one of the most raved about lipsticks EVER. I'm one of those people that refuses to follow the hype about products but then a few months later I decide that maybe I should try it ahah. A deep red lipstick is pretty much essential in Autumn and Winter and I didn't have one so I thought that I should try the Rimmel Kate Moss 107 as everyone seems to love it so much.

The bright red packaging is great because I can easily find it in my collection, and the lid clicks really firmly shut which I like because I'm always scared that the lid of my lipstick is going to come off in my bag. As you probably already know, 107 is a deep red, berry colour that works on most skin tones. I have slightly tanned pale skin and it looks amazing on me if I do say so myself. It really compliments my skin and somehow makes it look clearer.

The formula is slightly drying so a good lip balm underneath is required, but it isn't so bad that my lips take days to recover. The colour is very opaque so the bullet will last me forever. I find that this is a great colour for the evenings, and during the day I will sometimes press the lipstick onto my lips to leave a sheer tint. This gives my lips an autumnal berry tone without being too out there.

Overall this is a great lipstick for this time of year, day and night, and although the formula is quite dry, I find this preferable to it smudging and having a short wear time.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Clearasil Superfruits Face Scrub

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have recently started using a new face scrub and this is it. I hadn't used anything from Clearasil in a while so I thought it would be good to see how things had moved on and give this ago.

Firstly, who doesn't love the girly pink packaging! The scrub itself is even pale pink which makes me very happy hahah. It comes out the tube very thick so I like to mix it in my hands with a bit of water first to make it easier to spread over my face. One of the things I love about this product is that it has just the right abrasiveness, the bits of scrub aren't so small that they don't do anything, but they aren't so big that it would make the scrub unsuitable for daily use. It lathers up very slightly which I personally like because I feel as if my face has been thoroughly washed when a product foams up.

The scent of this is fresh and fruity, but isn't very strong so don't be put off if you don't like the smell of raspberry and cranberry (although I personally love it). Just before starting to use this, I had a few breakouts, but this cleared them up in no time, and has helped to reduce scarring from previous spots.Ultimately, it has made my skin a lot clearer and has somewhat helped to control oil throughout the day too.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Herbal Essences Bee Strong Hair Mask

My hair is super soft, like unstyablely soft, but it is also dehydrated and weak so I needed a mask that was nourishing and would make my hair stronger, without making it softer that it already is. Insert the Herbal Essences Bee Strong Mask.

It may seem like every product I feature on my blog I am in love with, however this is because if I'm unimpressed with a product I tend to get rid of it and move on to something better before it can cause too much damage; only the best is good enough for me! Also, I tend to do my research before buying a product so I never end up buying many products that I don't like, therefore if you're on a budget, I would really recommend reading a few different reviews of a product before taking the plunge.

Back to what we're here for and on with the review of this hair mask. Firstly, the packaging is a large tub, meaning you get plenty of product, and the only thing I don't like about it is that the yellow colour really doesn't match my bathroom, but hey, I can look past that.

This mask smells AMAZING! It smells like honey, but also has a typical shampoo smell so that your hair is still left smelling fresh. The scent does actually linger as well so your hair is left smelling wonderful until you next wash it.

The mask itself is lovely and smooth and glides over your hair really easily. I actually use this over my hair to give it all a moisture boost as it doesn't leave my roots greasy in the slightest. If I'm in a rush I'll leave it on for 5 minutes or so while I shave in the shower, but if I have longer I will leave it in for a good half an hour to an hour while I have a nice bath. When I wash it out my hair is left feeling soft, but not too silky and slippery.

After blow drying, this mask makes my hair feel thicker because the strengthening qualities help to widen each hair strand. Since using this for the last few months, I have noticed less hair breakage which my hair was previously very prone to because the strands are so thin.

Overall I am highly impressed with this hair mask considering its price point, and I will be trying more from the brand. What other herbal essences products would you recommend?

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

Last month I used up yet another Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, and decided it was about time I tried a new one. I had been using the Collection one for a couple of years, without even considering other options so I was excited to see what else was out there. The Maybelline concealer caught my eye with its sleek packaging and fairly large shade selection for a drugstore brand.

The packaging is plastic, though it does have the appearance of glass, and has minimal text, making it look more sophisticated. It has a doe foot applicator, which I really like, however, the suction of the applicator seems to lead to a lot of concealer getting stuck around the screw part of the tube. I'm not sure why this is, but it is resulting in a fair amount of wastage which is quite frustrating.

I have the shade 20, which is a yellow toned mid nude kind of shade. I bought it when I was more tanned, so it is getting a bit dark for me now, but it fits my skin perfectly when I have a bit of fake tan on, especially since my skin is naturally very yellow. Compared to the Collection concealer, this is very runny, however it still offers great coverage. The thinner texture makes it easy to blend, but it does mean you have to work in thin layers, otherwise it won't set.

This is definitely more of a blemish concealer, rather than an under eye one because it isn't very brightening, however I do plan on getting a lighter colour for when I'm not so tanned, which may work as an under eye concealer when I have fake tan on as it will be lighter than my skin tone.

Have you tried this concealer before? What did you think of it?

emma x

ps. I made a twitter account, and would love it if you could follow me @bowsandbeautyx . There will be regular updates and previews to new posts, as well as personal tweets so you can get to know me better.

The Tuesday Review: Tresemme Hairspray

I actually came across this hairspray back in the summer when I went on holiday (take me back!), and was looking for a travel size one to take away with me. This was the chosen one and I have since bought a full size version as I loved it so much.

The packaging is very sleek with a black can and silver and purple accents. There were various sizes available and I bought the biggest 500ml one because it was the best value for money, however next time I think I would purchase the next size down. The bottle is just so huge and heavy that it is quite hard to manoeuvre around my head, strange as it sounds.

One of the things I like the most about this hairspray is that it has such a fine mist, meaning it doesn't weigh your hair down because of the size of the droplets. This gives it even better hold. I bought the 4th strength one as against the strongest hold because I wanted my hair to still have a bit of flow and movement to it, and that is exactly what this does. When I curl my hair, using this ensures that the curls stay all stay, but it still allows them to move, making the style look more natural and relaxed.

There's not a lot more to say about this because essentially it is just a hairspray, however I do really like it and the scent isn't too offensive either.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: Nivea Night Cream

Hey guys! Today's review is another skincare review. The reason for this is that I previously only had one moisturiser, but when it ran out I decided to replace it with an SPF one for the daytime and a richer one for the nighttime. I reviewed my daytime moisturiser here, and today I will be reviewing my night cream: the regenerating night cream by Nivea, which is targeted at normal/combination skin. For reference, my skin is oily around my t-zone, but normal everywhere else, with no dry patches.

Starting with the packaging, I really like that this comes in a glass pot as it makes it seem more highend and luxurious. However, it does make is unsuitable for travel, and the actual pot doesn't have much information on it, so you may need to keep the outer packaging if you want the ingredient list and other details about the cream.

The formula itself is very thick so it does feel quite heavy on the face, but you leave it on overnight so by the morning it has all sunk in and your skin feels lovely and soft. Although it is thick, it's not at all oily, so my skin didn't get overwhelmed by it. I actually feel that by giving my skin a moisture boost, it doesn't create as much oil. I think that although my skin fits the target audience for this product, it would be suitable for all skin types as it is moisturising enough for dryer skin, but it isn't an oily formula, so oily skinned people would get on well with it too.

Overall I would really recommend this night cream, and I think that for just £4 it is an amazing product, especially considering the price of high end night cream, which can often be more than £40.

emma x

The Tuesday Review: MAC Paint Pot

I know I have mentioned this product a fair few times in my most recent posts, but I thought that it needed a dedicated post being as I love it so much. On the MAC website these cost £15.50 but I actually got this in an outlet for £10.50. Originally I wanted to get the shade 'Barely Branded' but when I saw that I could save £5 by getting this shade ('Let's Skate') instead, I decided that it was definitely worth it as the colours are so similar.

I have only tried one other cream eyeshadow, and that was a Maybelline Colour Tattoo, which I really wasn't very impressed with if I'm honest. Therefore I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to like this either, but boy was I wrong, so I really want to stress that if you tried a cream eyeshadow and didn't enjoy it, you shouldn't be put off trying other brands. The formula of this is really smooth and blendable. It is very soft, making it easy to apply and blend over your eye. It sets quickly meaning it won't smudge when you move on to the next stage of your makeup, but you still have plenty of time to work with it.

I love that the shade is so wearable and perfect for days when you don't have much time to spend doing your makeup. A quick swipe of this and you're good to go, but it can also be used in smokier looks as a base or highlight. The icy colour and shimmer makes it perfect for wintery looks, in fact, for some reason the shade really reminds me of the film Frozen, so I would love to use it for an Elsa inspired look!

Overall I would definitely recommend giving these a try as I have fallen head over heels in love with the one I have and am desperate to buy another shade, I just can't choose which one!

emma x