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Tuesday 25 September 2012

Mini Boots Haul- L'oreal Color Riche polish, Real Techniques Core Collection and Garnier No Streaks Bronzer

This actually wasn't quite so mini to begin with- apart from the below, there was also Girls Aloud eyelashes (the Nicola ones are absolutely brilliant- couldn't recommend them enough. Natural looking and ridiculously easy to apply with a very cool vintage style flick on the ends. Love), a repurchase of the Collection concealer (review to follow at a later date), hair clips and ties, a No. 7 eyeliner and a Kate Moss lipstick that I haven't even opened yet. What I have used and can tell you about are the following:


1) I was looking for a solid red coloured nail varnish to go with an outfit for a wedding and as I had already used and reviewed 3 of the L'oreal Color Riche polishes here and highly rated their application and longevity, I said I'd give this shade- 'Rouge Cancan' a go. I wasn't disappointed, this is the perfect shade of true red, again application was a doddle and with a top coat, I got a good few days out of it chip free. Huzzah!



2) Anyone with a vague interest in beauty or beauty blogging will have heard of the Real Techniques brushes by Samantha Chapman, of Pixiwoo fame. I hadn't previously used these brushes but was in need of some new ones and this set was twenty something quid, for four brushes, which I thought was fairly decent. Anyway, this is the "core collection" for a "flawless base, with high definition results" to "look pixel perfect even in harsh light" using "ultra smooth taklon brushes". Right so. 
It contains a Detailer Brush (suggested use is as a concealer or lipstick brush), a Pointed Foundation Brush (for liquid foundation to build custom coverage), a Buffing Brush (for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundation), a Contour Brush (to apply highlighter etc) and the Panoramic Case (brush case that doubles as a stand to display the brushes in). So far I've used the detailer brush just for lipstick cause it's tiny! The pointed foundation brush is really small too so I've been using that as a concealer brush and as a general "foundation finishing" brush. I've been using the Buffing brush for a flawless finish when used with my YSL bronzer. Lastly, I haven't actually used the Contour brush yet so I can't really comment on that. The case also handily has spaces for three more brushes, which is great. So basically I'm not using any of the brushes for their intended purposes. Having said that, these are good quality and have been excellent for my chosen uses. Think I'll try their stippling brush next.



3) I was also in need of a new fake tan- I wanted one as easy to apply as the Rimmel wash off one that wouldn't actually..eh, wash off. I had read a positive review of Garnier's No Streaks Bronzer so I said I'd give that a go. It's a tinted gel with added golden shimmer. Garnier claim it's quick drying, natural looking with no self-tan smell. In fairness, it is quick drying and if well applied (i.e if not applied at 1am after two glasses of prosecco with a fake tan mitt that has just fallen into a sink full of water) then it is streak-free. When I did my arms and upper body I used a (dry) mitt and it applied really well with a great finish. However, my legs were more problematic due to the (wet) mitt application, so it ended badly. Obviously my own fault. Also, I don't think I exfoliated enough so ended up with some super tanned areas- in between toes etc. Nice. It does still have that fake tan smell as it's drying, although not as strong as some other tans. As a tinted lotion, there's no guessing while you're applying it as to where it's going, which is handy if you wouldn't generally consider yourself to be that great at self tanning- again, like the sort of person who applies tan at 1am after a few jars. My main issue with this is when it's wearing off- it has that dreaded leprosy look I abhor and then it took aaages to scrub it off. Gah. Not the worst tan ever but nor is it in line for the coveted title of "Holy Grail of Tans". 

Has anyone any better tan or foundation brush recommendations for me? Please, enable me to spend more money! :-)

6 comments:

  1. Great haul. I loves my real techniques brushes ;) x

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    1. Yeah, I'm really liking them, definitely interested in checking out a few of the others! :) xx

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  2. Great haul really want to try those brushes!

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    1. Yeah, they're really good, definitely want to try a few more from the range!x

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  3. Oooh I've been desperate to try those brushes for ages :-) That red polish is absolutely gorgeous too xxx

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  4. I also have the core collection, which i absolutely love! I also don't really use them in the way they're meant to be used. I love the pointed foundation brush as a concealer brush for my under eyes, it works like a dream :)

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