Disappointing Products from Brands I Love

It's not that often that I end up disappointed by products that I buy because I do a lot of research first and love to read reviews from bloggers I trust,  but sometimes a dud slips through the checks and I have four of them here today. What makes these products even more disappointing is that they are from brands that I generally love!

The ultimate nourishing mask for dry skin - Clarins SOS Comfort Mask

Regular readers will know that I am a skincare lover - I love nothing more than pampering myself and taking care of my skin. I have a good routine going so for a product to make it into my regular lineup, it has to be pretty amazing but that is what has happened since I received Clarins SOS Comfort Mask. Clarins recently added three new masks to their line up: SOS Hydra for dehydrated skin, SOS Pure for oily and combination skin and SOS Comfort for dry skin, which is the one I chose as my skin is more dry than dehydrated, although I must admit that I am tempted by the Hydra mask too. 

5 brilliant foundations for dry skin

All skin types face problems when it comes to finding a foundation that works. Oily skin faces the battle of foundation becoming shiny and not lasting longer than a few hours, for those with combination skin, it can be difficult to find a foundation that is even all over and lasts in the t-zone and for dry skin, like mine, it can be difficult to find a foundation that doesn't age the skin, cling to particularly dry patches and cake. I have spent many years (and a lot of money) trying lots of foundations and have compiled a list of five that I find work really well on my dry skin, which I want to share with you today. I tend to favour a dewy finish but some of these are more satin or luminous than dewy but if you generally like the "lit from within" look, you will like all of these foundations. Obviously, skincare is very important no matter what your skin type and all bases will apply better to exfoliated, moisturised and primed skin.

Brand Focus #8: Too Faced

It's brand focus time again (check out my other brand focus posts here) and this month it's Too Faced. I know that this is a brand is quite divisive due to the kitsch packaging but I would urge you to get past the packaging if it isn't to your taste, because the majority of the products are excellent quality - the eyeshadows being some of my favourites ever.

Five products that I have repeatedly repurchased for 10-17 years!

No matter how many new products I add to my collection, there are five that are constantly repurchased - I'm talking staples that have been in my life for between 10 and 17 years at this stage and will be for the foreseeable future! If that isn't testament to how amazing they are, then I don't know what is. They have all appeared on the blog several times but today I thought I'd compile them into one post and tell you why I love them so much.

My MAC Lip Pencil Collection with swatches

Much like my lipstick collection, MAC is also the brand that I own most of when it comes to lip liners. I have always worn lip pencils because my bottom lip is fuller than my top lip so I like to even it up with liner without going too Kylie Jenneresque. I really like MAC lip pencils because they aren't too stiff in texture so they don't drag on the lips, are pigmented, comfortable to wear, pretty long-wearing and they offer a huge variety of shades.