Liz Earle Skincare Review

Yes, yet another Liz Earle review. Anyone reading this will probably have read a similar review and therefore i'm going to keep it short. ish. However, the main reason i feel compelled to write this is because of how impressed i have been. I'd been wanting to try the range for ages and having finally used up some old Dermalogica products i allowed myself to purchase the hot cloth cleanser, the toner and also a couple of hair products which i will review separately. The first thing i was impressed with was the packaging, and also the generosity of the lovely people at Liz Earle. I was given a travel size hot cloth cleanser, a travel size moisturiser and samples of the new skin tint, all for free. 


Next, some background about my skin. I have always been plagued with blemishes, since my early teens, and have never really found anything that works for me. I have times of the month etc when it would be worse but i would always have one or two blemishes. And then they would scar so badly that i use concealer on them for weeks, if not months. To add to this, in the last year or so i've noticed my skin has become more oily and i have more blackheads. 


Now i have been using the cleanse, tone and moisturise routine for a month, i can safely say my skin has never been so good. I can't work out exactly what it is that has made the difference. I think it has definately helped sticking to the same products and not changing ever other night like i used to. I also think the hot cloth routine is probably key, as it really makes sure that all traces of makeup are gone and the skin is exfoliated, which i'm convinced is helping blemishes to heal quicker and scar less. The toner doesn't strip any oils from my face, unlike the Clinique toner that i was previously using, and the moisturiser (for oily skin) seems to balance out the oily and dry areas on my face. 


I should mention that i am using the Liz Earle products in conjunction with my Clarisonic Mia so it is difficult to tell which is making the most difference but I believe that the Clarisonic is probably just helping the other products to work better. I would recommend that everyone tries Liz Earle. I was skeptical about it working miracles for me, as nothing else ever has. It is less expensive than many other brands i have tried and i currently have no desire to try any other skincare brand, which for a beauty addict is really saying something. I also really liked the sample of the Sheer Skin Tint, and am contemplating buying the full size, but i don't feel i have tried it for long enough to review it just yet. I only hope that i continue to see results from Liz Earle products and my skin doesn't decide to rebel. 

I'd like one of these please

Benefit B.Right Skincare

Benefit were kind enough to give me a sample box of three items from their new skincare range (launches april 16th in stores), which is geared towards those looking for long term brightening solutions. Above are the five full sized products that are launching in April. A further three, specialised products will be released around a month later. 

This rather cute little box came with three miniature goodies inside.

Triple Performing Facial Emulsion

Foamingly Clean Face Wash

It's Potent Eye Cream

I love the new packaging, it's certainly a vast improvement on the old, mismatched range. I also like the refreshing smell of all the products, (cucumber and light floral). If anyone remembers B. Spot, it smells similar. However, the scent is fairly strong, and in general i believe that fragrance free or very lightly fragranced products are better for your skin, less likely to cause a reaction, and would therefore probably appeal to a wider audience for this reason, to compete with companies like Clinique.


I've been using these products for a couple of weeks now and while i like all three, i feel it's too early to tell if my skin is any brighter or clearer, especially as i usually break out when first changing skincare regime. Benefit claim they have invented a revolutionary new Tri-Radiance complex for this range. Although this sounds like marketing garble, i think there could be some truth in there. My favourite is probably the eye cream, which feels lovely when applied. I'm not a huge fan of foaming face washes, but i do like the way this one feels, and the moisturiser is nice and light.


I think the highlights of the range are actually the two products that i don't have, the Total Moisture cream (contains mango butter) and Refined Finish facial polish. These both feel really good and when i used these on my hands, i could definately see a brightening and smoothing effect. I think Total Moisture would be an ideal night cream and i recommend that if you are thinking of trying the range, i would start with the scrub and a moisturiser and then the eye cream if you suffer from dark circles and tired eyes. I'm interested to hear what other people think about this range, please let me know!

Glamour and Clinique

This is a quick and actually completely out of date post but i just wanted to point out to any of you who weren't already aware that Glamour magazine have got a fantastic free gift this month in the shape of 10 different Clinique goodies to celebrate their 10th birthday. These range from skincare to makeup and all are definately worth the £2 even if they are small sizes. I bought two and this is what i got: 

Clinique Superbalm moisturising lip gloss in Grapefruit
Clinique Take the day off eye makeup remover 

If you can still get hold of them i strongly suggest you go out and grab as many as you can...now!

Pondering over tinted moisturisers

I know that this is a much covered subject and this is quite a long ramble (apologies), but i thought i'd share my experiences with tinted moisturisers because i prefer them to a heavy foundation any day and i've used a fair few in my time. Today i will be reviewing these three as they are the best ones i've come accross lately. 

I need to improve my photo taking skills, work in progress.

 So these are the following:

• Dermalogica sheer tint moisturiser in light £20
• Laura Mercier illuminating tinted moisturiser in bare radiance £32
• Benefit You Rebel lite £23.50

The first thing to note is just how different they are in shade. The Dermalogica is on the pinkish side, the You Rebel is very yellow based and the Laura Mercier is somewhere in the middle, almost neutral but leaning slightly beigy yellow. I'm a neutral/cool toned NW15 or lighter, so the Dermalogica and Laura Mercier work best for me colour wise. If you are pale and yellow toned (NC15/20) i think that You Rebel would be perfect for you. I'm still amazed at how different companies cater for "fair skin" and from these swatches alone you can see how difficult it can be to find a good colour match. 


Dermalogica Sheer Tint Moisturiser 
I had been using this religiously for months because i loved that being a skincare range, it felt like it was good for my skin and i loved the shade. It gave a very sheer coverage, just enough to even out the skin tone a little. However i would rarely wear this alone, usually using a mineral foundation on top as the coverage is so light. The price is probably not worth it as the tube is so small so although i like this product, i doubt i will repurchase. Also worth noting it has quite a clayish smell, some people might find this unpleasant. 


Benefit You Rebel Lite
Next i moved on to You Rebel TM. I used this because i love the consistency, it's very creamy and the tube is great, you can squeeze the product out like toothpaste, making sure you don't waste any. I also really like the smell, and apart from drugstore brands, i wasn't aware of many other TM's at the time and so believed this was the best around. I think that the original colour is a great product for those who have a more tanned complexion or want a light instant face (or body) tan. However, i think Benefit have fumbled the lite formula and either need to think about making the product more neutral toned or bringing out more shades in general. This is certainly too yellow based to really flatter my complexion and I feel that presuming all people will fit into a dark or light category shows a lack of awareness for the needs of their customers.


Saying that i can get this colour to work for me, but mainly because again, the coverage is sheer, more so than the original colour, and i would probably only wear this alone on holiday or in summer. I think that the price isn't too bad because the product lasts so long and as i said the tube is economical. I would consider repurchasing, if only the colour was a little less yellow i would love this. 


Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser
This is my newest addition. I had heard loads of people raving about LM on other blogs and thought i'd splash out and give it a try. I went for the illuminating formula as i felt that this had the best colour match for me and i felt i needed some added "glow" over the winter months. At the moment, i loooove this product and have been using it now for around 3/4 months. The reviews were not wrong and it is the best TM i have ever used. I do think that it is more the consistency of a foundation than a TM but for me over the last few months this has been ideal. I currently wear this with a little powder over the top or mixed with another foundation to tone down the glow a little. I don't find that it is too shimmery, although i am yet to try it on a hot sunny day, when it would really show up. 


I feel that the LM is almost not comparable to the other two TM's because they feel like they serve a different purpose. i use LM as a foundation and Dermalogica/You Rebel as a moisturiser with a hint of colour. I will probably repurchase LM but i'd also really like to try the non illuminating oil free version. If i feel that porcelain can work for me i will probably try this one out for the summer. Yes they are expensive, but for something i use every day i'm happy to pay the £32 and honestly i feel that most of the time (there are exceptions) you get what you pay for.


In Conclusion
I've been impressed in different ways by all three but Laura Mercier Illuminating TM is definately worth trying if you havn't already, it is one of the rare products that has lived up to the hype. If you have darker skin i would also try You Rebel original and You Rebel Lite for NC15/20s because these are still good products and a little more affordable. 

Makeup storage/my shrine

I thought that i would do a post about my makeup storage because i enjoy seeing the ways that other people come up with and seeing other people's collections. I've always wanted to own a proper dressing table and have my own little area to organise my makeup. I recently moved house and finally i've got almost exactly what i wanted. i've just about got things in a way that makes sense, but i will have to re-shuffle as my collection grows. So here it is...

Excuse the clothes on chair...

Long shot - dressing table 

Eye pencils, glitters, eyeliners 

Face products - other drawers are lips, palettes/brushes and odd bits/bottles

Jewellery stand

My home made makeup brush holder. apologies for poor quality photo.

My new spotlights and small perfume collection

Now, i do cheat a little bit because i keep a lot of my makeup in my wardrobe or at my own house, however, most of what i really use is here and i'm pleased with how it's turned out, i'm not a tidy person by nature and i try hard to keep this area looking nice. The pictures don't show but i also keep my straighteners and hairdryer on hooks at the side of the dressing table. In case anyone is interested here is a list of where i got everything from:

• mirrored dressing table - M & S
• mirror - Next
• jewellery stand - was a present 
• makeup dividers in drawers - Muji, 
• makeup brush holder - the mirrored box and silver/black beads are both from Hobbycraft
• spotlight shelf - Clas Olsen. 

I hope this is interesting for some of you. Show me some of your beauty storage solutions! 

Benefit Goodies!

Look what the postman brought me...

...yay! Ok this is actually my allocation for work rather than my own cash spent but it's still fun and exciting to get loads of new stuff! I had pondered long and hard over which items i wanted to get. This is my first allocation and i mainly wanted to get useful items that i didn't already have, plus a few presents for friends/family. I'm unsure what bits i'll keep and what i'll sell or give away but keep your eyes peeled for reviews on some of these items, if anyone has requests for any products let me know, happy to oblige. So this is what i got: 

• Hoola bronzer
• Stay Don't Stray primer
• Magic Ink
• That Gal
• Girl Meets Pearl
• Birthday Suit Creaseless Cream 
• Bikini Line eyeshadow
• Eyecon eye cream
• Gabbi bag
• Talent brush
• Fluff Shadow brush

As i work with these products every day i have a pretty good idea about how well they work etc. but so far i'm loving That Gal, (i'd previously run out) because it brightens up my reeeally dull looking winter skin, and admittedly i'd use it just for the smell. I'm also loving the perfect combo of the Talent brush and creaseless cream shadows, plus very happy to finally have my hands on Birthday Suit after wanting this for about four years! It's a nice shimmery everyday wearable colour that i've been using on its own or with Mac bronze or Get Figgy creaseless cream in the crease/outer V. I've got some more experimenting to do but I'll try and do a look using all or most of these items soon...