Month: January 2016

Freedom Makeup London Pro Studio Moisture Cream

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Hello my little buttons!

I’ve been on the lookout for a good moisturiser for some time now, I have fairly oily skin but due to the cold weather have started getting dry patches which my foundation is loving sticking to. I normally use really light products such as hydrating gels or mattifying creams to stop the oil slick thoughout day but this wasn’t helping the dry patches. I tried a few other creams that I had samples of and although it was helping the dry patches the rest of my face wasn’t thanking me for it, they were too heavy for my combo skin type. I noticed that one of my fav brands, Freedom Makeup London had a half price sale on so thought this would be a great opportunity to try some of their new skin care and hopefully find a moisturiser to be a staple in my collection. I chose the Pro studio moisture cream, normally £7 but as it was half price I paid £3.50. (the offer is still on at http://freedommakeuplondon.com) I was happy with the price as if I did like this product it would be easy to replace. There’s nothing worse than loving a sample size skin care product and finding out the full size is £50, I know you know what I’m talking about lol.

The cream came on a big glass pot, simple white and silver packaging, I liked it. Under the lid is a smaller removable lid that fits right over the opening of the jar which I have kept to keep out air and bacteria as much as I can. I usually go for creams in tubes so I’m not touching and contaminating the product inside, but my hands are clean whenever I apply my skin care products anyway and I don’t share them with anyone so it’s not put me off. The cream contains ‘skin nourishing’ ingredients such as ‘olive derived squalane and shea butter’ to ‘firm, protect and rejuvenate’ and you get 50ml/1.69Fl. Oz.

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I have been using the cream for a few weeks now and think I’ve got a pretty good feel for it. This cream is awesome!! I’ve been using it daytime as well as night, my dry patches have gone and i’m not a dripping greasy mess. I can wear it alone or under makeup, it’s a great all rounder! Even my makeup is going on smoother, my skin looks so much better than it did and the fact I’ll cream my face up before makeup is a testament to the brilliance of this cream. I’m so pleased to have found a cream that I can use everyday that is affordable and works with my skin, I’m 28 and I’ve not started wrinkling up yet but it is inevitable so the more I can do to help my skins elasticity and texture, the better!!! I also think it’s going to last me for ages, as you can see in the photo after 2 weeks I’ve hardly made a dent, a little goes a long way and it sinks in nice and quick too. Its got a lovely light scent to it, it’s fresh but not over powering. A lovely little cream I will happily recommend! 

Have you tried this cream? I’d love to hear in the comments below! I’ll be reviewing a few other Freedom skincare items I bought throughout the week so of you’d like to read more scroll down my blog until you see this:

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Becca xxx

£5 dupe for Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow?!

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Hello my little buttons!

Recently I purchased Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow in the shade blonde for £15, soon after that I found out Freedom Makeup London also did a blonde brow pomade for £5, naturally I ordered it lol! The past two weeks has been the battle of the brows, to see how these both perform side by side and if Freedom Makeups version could really be a good dupe for me to recommend. I blogged a first impression of the dipbrow and long story short I loved it, so easy to use, great colour, lasts litrally all day. It really does something magic to your brows, if you have used it you know what I mean! It is avaliable in 11 shades, you receive 4g of product and it has a 6 month expiry after opening. I ordered mine through http://beautybay.com and received free delivery (I’m in the UK)

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The first thing I noticed about the Freedom Makeup brow pomade in comparison to dipbrow was how similar the packaging is, both are cute little glass pots with sleek black lids. The next thing I noticed, that really shocked me was how similar the colours were!

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Freedoms was a hair darker (do you see what I did there haha) but the similarity is impressive. Anyone with blonde hair/brows knows that most drugstore ‘blonde’ products really aren’t blonde, and even if they look blonde in the pan when you apply them they seem far darker. Don’t get me wrong these are still a darker shade of blonde but thats perfect for my brows and I imagine if you had lighter brow hair it would appear lighter on the skin. Getting back to my original point it’s hard to find affordable blonde brow products but the Freedom pomade was spot on. They felt very similar in texture and throughout the day both swatches lasted equally as well on the back of my hand, once they had set they didn’t budge. I also thought it was fab that Freedom also carried 11 shades, which again for drug store is a rarity. There is less product though, you get 2.5g but the product expires after 12 months instead of 6 so if you didn’t use it every day it’s still good for twice as long as the dipbrow and it is £10 cheaper. I ordered mine through http://freedommakeuplondon.com

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Next up are the brow swatches, again super impressive! They both acheive a very similar result which I wasn’t expecting. I found the Freedom pomade adhered to the hair slightly more than the skin but after good comb through with my spoolie it evened out nicely. I found the dipbrow adhered to skin and hair more smoothly but I would still brush them through so really it doesn’t matter too much. With both products you can lightly fill in your brows or go full on defined “instabrow” depending on what you prefer.

In conclusion I think the Freedom pomade is a brilliant dupe for the more pricey dipbrow, both are fantastic and get the job done. They both wear well and last all day with no flaking or running all over your face in the rain (nothing worse than loosing your brows!). The shade range in both lines is unbelievable there really is something for everyone, what more could you want for your brows? What’s your fav brow product? I’d love you hear in the comments below!

Becca x

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Anastasia Beverly Hills ‘dipbrow’ first impressions!

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Hello my little buttons!

I finally gave in, after months and months of seeing the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow everywhere the hype became too much for me to contain… and I bought it! For those of you that don’t know, dipbrow is a  brow pomade that claims to be waterproof, smudge free, creamy, perfect for oily skin and as well as gliding on the skin it adheres to the brow hairs. Big claims for a tiny pot! Its also avalible in a whopping 11 shades and is priced at around £15.

First impressions of the packaging were good, it has a high end feel to it, simple but cute. I ordered the colour blonde, I would say it’s a touch darker than I though it would be but a lot more blonde than most of the ‘blonde’ products out there and it still look fairly natural.

To apply the product I ended up using a real techniques eyeliner brush as my brows are fairly thin, due to over plucking as a teen!!! (don’t do it girls!) I think for a first try it worked fine but in future I will definitely be using a stiffer brush for more control and clean lines.
True to its word the product was super creamy it applied smoothy and evenly, filling in all my brow gaps with ease. I was amazed how quick and easy it was! I like my brows fairly natural but it’s great to have the option, with the correct brush of course, to really shape and define them. What amazed me most is how well it lasted, it’s insane. Today was wet, windy, cold and just horrible. All my make up has either disappeared or is half way down my face,  but the brows are still perfect. Seriously, they look the same as they did this morning. Just incredible. I even had a few of my friends comment on how neat and tidy they looked, which as we know is in the top 3 favourite compliments of all time. Here is a pic I snapped earlier, sorry it’s not 100% in focus I didn’t realise until I uploaded it. So professional I know!

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In conclusion, if you don’t have this product you need it in your life, buy buy buy!!! I’d love to hear what you think, do you have this product? What’s your favourite brow product?

Becca xx

Starskin, my first sheet mask experience

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Hello my little buttons!

In 2015 sheet masks were everywhere, amusing photos of people ‘masked up’ flooded the beauty community as well as discussions of the benefits.
I love a good face mask, and without regular use I can really tell the different in my skins texture so for me it’s an important step in my skin care routine.

Recently I received a Skinstar sheet mask worth £8.50 in my glossy box so thought it was a great opportunity to have a play! I really liked the packaging, as well as being a cute pink colour it looked like a movie poster. In place of the star filled cast was all the things the mask boasts to do to do your skin, such as hydrating and firming. So far so good!

I ran myself a bath, and lit my woodwork candle to get the full ‘spa at home’ experience, I then cleansed my face and patted it dry. I moved the serum around the packet so it was evenly spread, I then opened the packed and tried placing the gigantic mask on my face. I thought I was going crazy, it kept slipping down my face and I couldn’t get it to stick all over. I kept thinking this doesn’t look right what is wrong with this mask how could anyone find this a pleasant experience?! How on earth will it stay on for 20 whole minutes?! I was then invaded by my other half and our 2 children, everyone got a lovely shock as I looked like I was wearing a hockey mask. I explained the dilemma to my other half, who then very sensibly asked “did you read the instructions?” to which I quietly replied…. “no” on further inspection turns out I haven’t removed the plastic around the mask!!! Once the plastic was removed it made a lot more sense lol it easily stuck to my face including the nooks and crannies around my nose. It did feel more like a second skin, made of jelly lol. After around 5 minutes my face started to feel freezing, I was also couldn’t relax as I was very aware how close the product was to my eyes and mouth. I managed to keep it on the whole 20 minutes was it was such a receive to take it off and try and heat my chilly face up. As instructed I rubbed the rest of the serum into my face and neck.

Once the product had sunk in I noticed my skin was very nourished and quite bouncy actually, it defiantly had a glow to it. After a few hours i did start getting very greasy,  I have combo skin but think this mask would be great for really dry skin as I do think it was a bit heavy for mine. One benefit I really did notice and enjoy was that my pores around my the next day seemed to have shrunk making them less noticeable.
Overall I don’t think sheet masks are for me, I didn’t like the cold slimy feeling as I suspected I wouldn’t and I didn’t feel the mask benefits were worth it, for my skin anyway. I can think of a few people that would love this mask it’s just a shame it made me so greasy!!! I’d love to hear what you think, have you tried this mask? What’s your favourite sheet mask?