Concealer Concept: Laura Mercier vs. Soap & Glory

Hi everyone, sorry it has been absolutely ages since I posted an article but I have for you here today a VERY long post, it is about concealers. More specifically the Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer (pictured below left) and the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot (pictured below right.)

The concept of both concealers is the same. There is a peachy toned concealer for brightening and concealing the under eye area and because of it's peachy tone only has that one use. And it also has a more yellow/beige toned concealer that is for general face use, to cover redness or blemishes etc. And finally both of these concealer pots have a powder to set included, the Laura Mercier has a loose mineral powder in the bottom, where as the Soap & Glory has a pressed translucent powder above where the mirror is (as will be pictured below.) Recently I haven't been wearing foundation because frankly, it was too much effort and my skin is looking quite good at the moment so I didn't see much point. So I have been using both of these concealer pots on different occasions and now it is time for me to start the review! I am going to do a categorical comparison for this review.

Peachy Under Eye Concealer:

Laura Mercier

 S&G

I suffer quite badly with dark under eye circles (probably because I don't get enough sleep) and so for me the peachy concealer is the best part of this concealer concept. In both pots I noticed that the peachy concealer is much more creamy and easier to blend than the other face concealer which seemed a bit thicker and definitely less creamy. 

The Laura Mercier peachy concealer (also known as the Secret Concealer) is an excellent concealer. I think it is by far my favourite under eye concealer, EVER. It is super creamy, feels light on the skin yet gives amazing coverage. It isn't tacky or sticky in the slightest which makes it super easy to blend in with your fingers. It covers up my under eye circles brilliantly and effortlessly, and so if this whole concept isn't your cup of tea and you just wanted an under eye concealer, than I would recommend just purchasing this product as all three elements of the Laura Mercier pot can be purchased separately  When this runs out, I will be definitely purchasing at least the under eye concealer, it's fab! It lasts all day too (and I have oily skin) although I do powder my skin every few hours due to my oily-ness which I am super self conscious about.

The S&G peachy concealer (also known as the under eye brightening concealer) has the similar concept of being peach toned to counteract the blue/purple tones that we get from under eye circles. The S&G concealer does a good job at correcting my under eye circles and blends into the skin averagely well if used over a foundation, however, when I apply this to my bare skin (as recently I've been skipping out on foundation) it becomes a real pain to blend in. It feels really tacky and not creamy at all which can make it a bit difficult to blend in and as a result I end up applying too much product so it feels and can look quite cakey too. The staying power is average however if I know that I am going to have my makeup on for a while, then this is definitely not my first choice of under eye concealer. (I normally use my Collection 2000 lasting perfection.)

Peachy Under Eye Concealer:

Laura Mercier: 5 STARS 

S&G: 3 STARS 

(The staying powder and consistency are a bit weak although lovely product if used under the right conditions.)

Face Concealer:

The pictures are already above so I'm not going to bother posting them again, but the face concealer is the more yellow/beige toned concealer of the two. I am from the far east (I call myself mixed race yellow) and so I have a really yellowy skintone, and so it wasn't a problem for me that these two face concealers looked quite yellow in the pan. However when I got them I did see that this would cause problems for some people. Some of my friends are extremely pink toned and this part of the deal would be a total waste for them. And so for me, the peachy concealer is what really makes these two products.

The Laura Mercier face concealer (also known as the Secret Camouflage concealer) has a really strange consistency. It took me ages to wear down the almost 'skin' that had formed over it in order to actually get some bloody product out! But by the time I had got to the real business, I was quite pleased. The concealer is thick enough to give good coverage over blemishes or the red patches I have around my nose, but not so thick that it becomes a pain to blend. Yes it is probably one of the thickest concealers I have ever used but it certainly does the job so I don't mind too much. This concealer doesn't crease either, an issue that I have when I blend my Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer around my nose which I was very pleased with. And if I don't blow my nose or touch the concealer throughout the day, it stays put pretty well.

The S&G face concealer (also known as the superwear face concealer) didn't impress me much however I think it is still an okay product. The issue I have is the coverage, it basically does nothing to cover any blemishes or redness that I may have which annoys me immensely because I have to use another concealer over it which to me just feels like it defeats the objective. The consistency is lovely, it is much creamier than the Laura Mercier face concealer as it blends much more comfortably however as it doesn't really do much for me, I don't really think it is that great.

Face Concealer:

Laura Mercier: 4 STARS 

(Could do with being a bit more creamy.)

S&G: 3 STARS

(It has a nice consistency but not high enough coverage for me.)

Setting Powder:

Laura Mercier

S&G

I am a powder FIEND, I find powder extremely important in doing my makeup because I have quite oily skin and an incredibly oily T-zone. However I don't really stay unfaithful to my Rimmel Stay Matte and my bareminerals powders so I don't really use either of these powders to be perfectly honest.

The Laura Mercier Powder (also known as the Loose Setting Powder) is a loose powder which does annoy me. I mean I get that it is supposed to give you a flawless finish and all that but I don't need a cloud all over my black leggings every time I unscrew the bottom of this pot. I mean, it is a good powder, especially to set the concealers I just don't like the hassle of it being loose. I like that it is stored underneath the concealers though as this makes it much more user friendly as I can just use the concealers on top and the powder can just stay in the bottom where I never have to see it.

The S&G powder (also known as the concealer setting powder) is a bit rubbish to be honest. It is translucent which I normally don't have a problem with but this just makes me weary about looking like an ashy ghost. The little pan it comes in is a bit rubbish too because I can't get a good swirl of powder onto my brush and the powder puff it comes with is a bit rubbish too, it is flimsy and just annoys me. I like that this is pressed although because the packaging isn't sturdy and it is above the concealers, sometimes it just flips down which is also something that irritates me, especially while I am actually using the concealers.

Setting Powder:

Laura Mercier: 4 STARS

(Nice powder but it being loose is just a massive inconvenience.)

S&G: 1 STAR

(Everything about this powder annoys me and it just sucks as a product.)

Packaging:

The Laura Mercier packaging is BEAUTIFUL, it is cute and sleek and has a really pretty shimmery brown plastic which just has that expensive sort of feel while not being tacky or cheap. It has a good mirror and I like that the powder is stored underneath as I can just leave it screwed and not even need to worry about it. I can't really fault this to be honest, it is just really nice and compact (which is essential as I don't like big hassle packaging) and it feels sturdy and durable.

Along with most S&G products, this has quite erm 'exciting' packaging, it may appeal to some but I just think  that it looks quite gawdy and I don't really like it. The packaging has already split on me so one of the hinges has come off which means it doesn't really click shut properly. This wouldn't be an issue if the powder wasn;t stored at the top as this just attacks my hands every time I open the product. It just feels cheap and it's already broken and I've only had it for a few months!

Packaging:

Laura Mercier: 5 STARS

(It's just beautiful.)

S&G: 2 STARS

(Looks cheap and feels cheap.)

Overall:

I think that the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot is definitely the winner for me. There are three other shades (one lighter and two darker than mine) so you should hopefully be able to find your match where as the S&G only has two shades which are both darker than me, so if you're any paler than I am (I'm about a MAC NC25) you will struggle to find this S&G product suited to your skintone.

The Laura Mercier just has a better quality feel about all of it, the packaging feels lovely, the concealers are creamy with good coverage and the powder if good if you can be bothered with the hassle. While the S&G has a nice peachy concealer, the powder is absolutely awful and the face concealer needs assistance which are two major downfalls for me.

Overall Ratings (Out of 20 stars):

Laura Mercier: 18

S&G: 9

It's a bit awkward that the S&G scored half of what the Laura Mercier did, however the Laura Mercier costs £29 (although I had a gift voucher which is why I bought it) and when I bought the S&G it was on offer for only £7. The fact that the S&G concealer costs less than a quarter of what the Laura Mercier costs I think it is still a good purchase. You get about three times more product in the S&G set so if you're about value, definitely check it out next time you're in Boots. If you're looking into these products definitely swatch them first as the colour match may be a bit off, but I totally recommend both, whether you just want a taste of the product or are looking for something heavy duty.

I hope you guys enjoyed this blogpost, it took me forever to write! I hope it was detailed enough etc and has helped you out.

Until next time, Nikki xxx

Review: Simple Rapid Action Spot Zapper

Hello there! Sorry it has been a bit of a while since I last posted but I've been bogged down with work and such, however today, I have a review for you all! YAY :D

It is on the Simple Spotless Skin Rapid Action Spot Zapper. And just as a warning, this is NOT going to be a positive review...

The product is supposedly meant to reduce your spots, especially the redness in four hours :O And I couldn't even believe these mysterious claims on this packaging, and boy were these claims wrong!

The packaging is this little silver rollerball which you apply directly onto your spot. Now somehow, this doesn't seem hygienic to me... Repeatedly rolling something onto a problematic area of your face? I think not.

The rollerball feels nice and all because it's cold but seriously. its such a waste of packaging, a squirty nozzle would have been much more efficient in my opinion.

Now the actual product... Was SHAMEFUL. It is this kind of watery solution which leaves your skin feeling gross because there is this weird sort of film sitting on your skin. And I wouldn't have even minded if the product actually did something to my spots, but it literally did nothing... I just had this gross stuff sat on my face for hours and if anything it made my face feel itchy and more irritated! The areas that you apply this on become really dry, sore and horrible afterwards too, something that I definitely was not pleased about...

Conclusion - This product was sticky, gross, made my skin horrible afterwards, didn't help my spots and is just a big waste of time! I think I might just stick to leaving my spots alone...

Star Rating - 1 star (I love this brand too much to give it 0!)

I was really disappointed too, Simple is probably my favourite skincare brand too :( Hopefully a positive review will be coming up soon!

Until next time lovelies, Nikki xxx

Epic Nail or Epic Fail? - The Black Nail rises...

Hello blogger-bees! Today's post is another nail post... Now I know I was going to review that BB Cream that I mentioned in my other youtube video but I haven't taken photos yet so this will have to do :)

The nail polish that I currently have on is a black nail polish... Now that shouldn't be a shocker considering I get called an Emo and what-not on public transport but I haven't ever had black nail polish on before *gasp*

This polish is a L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail polish in the colour 'Blackswan' for which I still need to see the movie for. I purchased this from WAITROSE (because who knew that you could get nail polish from the supermarket?) and they had a deal which was two polishes for £7 which I thought was a bargain!

Now I LOVE this colour, the finish is beautiful too, it is really glossy which I like (I do have a top coat on though.) And I really like the formula, it isn't too thick or thin or gloopy, although it could be a little less sheer and more opaque but ya know, that's life...

But the issue I had, was with the packaging...

I actually really like the bottle because I thought it was cute and sleek, but it is the most annoying thing to use! The bottle is so skinny that every time I put the brush back into the bottle, I feel like the impact is going to make the bottle spill over... And in fact that did happen when I painted the other colour I bought a few days ago... So that annoyed me... And the bottle is almost barrel like too and has a long sort of tunnel to get to the polish which is annoying because you have to submerge the whole friggin thing back deep into the bottle to get any product which annoyed me. And also... The brush...

Now the brush is also an issue. The brush is one of those large brushes which is supposed to paint your whole nail, however because I have really long and skinny nails... There was absolutely no way possible for me to paint my skinnier finger nails without getting a whole lot of black polish all over my fingers. WHICH WAS A PAIN IN THE NECK :/ If you have skinnier finger nails you might have an issue, however on my wider nails such as my thumb, this brush was great.

Conclusion - Great Colour, Great Formula, Lovely looking packaging, but impractical to use.

Epic Nail or Epic Fail Rating - 3 stars

Hope that was helpful :) I should have some reviews coming up though so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Until next time, see you soon :) Nikki xxx

Bye! xxx

Epic Nail or Epic Fail? - Mmm Minty

Bonjour bloggers! Today's post is another Epic Nail or Epic Fail post, currently I have the Barry M nail paint in Mint Green on my nails which is my new nail polish obsession!

Now I'm not a huge fan of these nail polishes (as expressed in my cheap and chic combo post) as I find that some of the lighter shades are way too sheer and runny. But I think I've hit a good'un here with this colour! 

Now not only is this sort of shade of green most likely my FAVOURITE COLOUR but this nail polish is superb! I love the tiny brush which is good for easy and precise application and I love the consistency too as it is the perfect medium between thick and thin. 

The colour has lasted me pretty well too (not sure its this or my epic topcoat that I use) and so this is a total win, I'm so pleased! My Black Cherries nail polish (to which I haven't actually posted about yet...) might have to move over, I love this colour! It's actually a bit brighter in real life but as usual, my camera sucks! I think when it comes to fall this polish won't be a good colour (my friend Fareha actually said that it was too bright for her so she only wore it for a day!) but I think if you're brave enough, it is a good choice :)

Now (it's like all of my new paragraphs start with NOW) but I am returning to school soon (as mentioned in my youtube videos I think) and so this series might have to halt while I'm at school as we can't wear nail polish there... :(

But until next time, Nikki xxx

See ya later lovelies :) xxx

Review: The New Boots Botanics Range

Hello blogger-lings! I am doing a review today on the new boots botanics range! This range has recently been 'reformulated' I guess and so they have new products out, some of which I have tried! There are four ranges which are:
- The All Bright Range which is supposed to brighten up your face basically, I have the eye makeup remover from this range (which I wasn't too impressed with if you keep reading)
- The Organics Range which has the organic products which range from being 100 percent organic or only partially organic
- The Ultra Calm Range which is designed for sensitive skin, although I do not have particularly sensitive skin, my skin has been known in the past to act up to some skincare products
- The Youth Replenishing Range which is designed for the older markets, it is the anti-aging sort of thing but seeing as I am only a teenager, this range wasn't really essential for me and so I do not own anything from this range that I can comment on.

Rosewater Toning Spritz:

The first is my FAVOURITE of the three products that I have tried, as I guess this is sort of a 3 in 1 review. It is the Rosewater Toning Spritz which is essentially a toner but you get to squirt it on your face, it is from the organics range, probably my favourite range out of the Botanics stuff.

(I apologize for the really dull shooting but my camera went a bit mental when the flash was on and so this was what I had to settle for.)

I really love this toner, I haven't tried a lot of toners to be frank but I did find that this was one was extremely refreshing, it literally just woke up my face which I loved about this product. It is 100 percent organic too which for some unknown reason makes me happy (don't ask why) and so I was thrilled. The toner isn't really designed to do anything miraculous for your face but it claims to remove the last particles of makeup on your skin (which I didn't really notice because I'm quite thorough with removing my makeup anyway) and it doesn't particularly smooth your skin or have any other specific skin care bonuses, it is just meant to be refreshing, which is it! I love using this product in the morning, it smells like turkish delight (due to the rosewater) and so that is a total bonus for me! It sinks into the skin really quickly, doesn't leave any residue or your skin feeling dry or oily and so is just a lovely product, probably my new favourite skincare item!

The nozzle is really good at misting too which I like, I hate ones that just sort of squirt the product all in one place but this product really doesn't do that, BONUS!

Normal Retail: £4.99 but currently £3.33

Rating: 5 STARS!

Soothing Eye Makeup Remover (from the All Bright range):

This is my least favourite product by far out of the three, it is the soothing eye makeup remover which is from the all bright collection, something that I firstly don't understand as how is my eye makeup remover supposed to make my eye area bright? Answer, it doesn't, I hate this product... Well maybe not hate, but it certainly hates me...

Firstly, this is a makeup removing oil, and I know it is an oil so I was expecting it to be oily while applying obviously but somehow it managed to make my whole eye area feel like some sort of butter factory for the whole night, BLEH! This product is not only oily when using it, which is just gross and I do not appreciate it, but it also has a really dodgy sort of lingering after smell, if it were possible. It doesn't smell while you use it but afterwards my hands stank of the gross hibiscus or whatever was in this product.

It is soothing, sort of, I suppose. It didn't irritate my eyes like some other eye makeup removers I have used in the past but it certainly wasn't irritation free. I didn't notice anything while using it but the next morning, my eyes were extremely dry and crusty and ugh just disgusting as a result of this product. I used this product about 4 times and I seem to be mildly sort of allergic to it! It does remove the makeup I guess, you still need to scrub which annoyed me (and my sensitive eyes!) but it got most of my eye makeup off (bar my Max Factor 24 hour false lash effect mascara.)

It has a really stupid nozzle sort of thing too, it is a really stupid sort of mid sized hole which is too large for you to squirt it out onto cotton wool but then too small for you to just tip it upside down and get a nice amount of product, another downside!

Normal Retail: £3.99 but currently £2.66

Rating: 1 star, I guess it removed the makeup...

Gentle Cleansing Cream (from the Ultra Calm range):

This product is a cleanser and so is designed to remove one's makeup. In that area I really liked the product because it removed all my makeup really nicely, didn't leave anything behind at all which I really liked. The consistency of the product is great too because it is a sort of lotion, it isn't too thick to spread nicely over your face but isn't too runny that it feels like it will literally dribble down your face.

So as a cleanser, I LOVE this product, I use it all the time to remove my makeup now and couldn't be happier. Although the only issue that I have with this product is that it burns after I use it. Now I'm not talking like my skin melting off but it sort of feels like someone is squirting acid at my face or something, straight after I use it my skin feels like its burning and on fire which is an uncomfortable sort of thing really... The pain goes away after I use my toning spritz or after a minute and it isn't a deal breaker for me, but isn't this supposed to be from the line that does the SENSITIVE SKIN product?

That confuses me...

But all in all, it is a good product and I recommend it, I think I just have kind of dodgy skin to be honest. But if you have like SUPER SUPER SUPER SENSITIVE skin, I wouldn't try it just to be safe!

Normal Retail: £4.49 but currently £2.99

Rating - 4 stars (would have been 5 if it wasn't for the burning...)

And that was a long blog post eh? I hope you enjoyed this post, I really enjoyed writing it and should hopefully be purchasing some more Botanics products! The whole range is on a 1/3 off at Boots at the moment so I recommend checking it out!

Until next time, Nikki xxx

Epic Nail or Epic Fail? - Do I want my life oranged?

Hello there! It's been a while but here is another Epic Nail or Epic Fail instalment! I was on holiday last week and actually had a different polish on then (which will most probably feature soon as I am OBSESSED with that other colour) but for now, let's deal with Rimmel's I heart lasting finish polish in 'Orange your life' shall we?

Now this polish is one of my summer favourite polishes (truth be told I've worn this twice now which is pretty epic for someone as fickle as I am) but I personally don't like this colour anymore... WAH

I really wanted to love this polish as I had worn it once before yet somehow this time it looked so much more orange... I know the colour is called 'Orange your life' but last time it looked a lot more sort of coral pink based orange and now its like some tangerine exploded all over my nails :/

This polish is a great orange colour though so if you have a kind of pale skin tone that isn't as yellow toned as mine, this could be your new orange product! But for my yellowness, it just doesn't cut it, it looks really dodgy on my hands right now... I might go wash it off to be honest...

In summary, this polish is great, the application is smooth with the really nice skinny brush, the polish is opaque enough to coat but not thick and gloopy, I personally love these nail polishes by Rimmel and so highly recommend them, but unfortunately this colour just doesn't cut it for me :(

Epic Nail or Epic Fail rating: 3 due to the great polish but the disappointing colour
Until next time, Nikki xxx

Epic Nail or Epic Fail? - Cheap & Chic Combo

Hey again! I had this nail on a few days ago and I forgot to post it, FAIL ON MY PART! So here it is:

It is a combination of OPI's Designer...de better from their Muppets collection and Barry M's Blue Moon. I painted the blue on my thumb, pinky and ring finger and then OPI on my index and middle fingers. I was pretty pleased with my combination except my friend Amanda said 'why do you have two randomly coloured nails' but who cares what she thinks, eh?

As far as nail polishes go, OPI is basically the epitome of nail polishes and everyone within the beauty world knows that so that polish was a total dream to paint on. I only had the mini version but the nail polish glided on smoothly without gloops and wasn't sheer at all. But the Barry M was a different story, I'm a big fan of some of their other polishes but this was a bit of a hassle. The nail polish was far too runny and totally sheer too, I would recommend the darker colours as far as Barry M goes, they are much more opaque.

In the end when I had coated up enough and was happy I used my usual top coat and was set! Although... I had this nail on for two days and went bowling... Nail polish is not designed for bowling...

The OPI had been fine with a little chip at the edges but the Barry M had totally exploded off my nails into a blue mess of nail polish remains which was lovely. Barry M nail polish staying power isn't that great...

Conclusion: Love the colours! OPI was a dream to apply and had great staying power but the Barry M was such a hassle I'm not sure whether the colour rescues it from that...

Overall Rating: Meh Nail... 2.5 stars

Do you use more than one colour on your nails? Let me know! Nikki xxx