Bobbi Brown Dupe from the High-street!

Every do often you swatch a product and think "ooh that me reminds of X"

Well not that long I was sent this lovely Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick compact which is described as follows

"For an instant glow that's like moonlight, sunlight and candlelight, all at once, take this full feathery brush, twirl around the compact and sweep across the face. The result is addictive"

It comes packaged inside this wonderfully sleek black palette with the Bobbi Brown logo/insignia clearly visible and you can read more about it HERE from my review.

Then I happened to be in Boots waiting for a prescription and I had 5-10 minutes to wait (dangerous) so was having a swatching session, well I am a beauty blogger after all, when I swatched a compact from Seventeen, called the Shimmer Brick, and it immediately reminded me of the Bobbi Brown compact and therefore is a great dupe.

Now to me, the idea of the a dupe is a product which is similar, not the same and this Seventeen compact for me, is just that.  The Seventeen compact is described as being:

"A shimmering powder that creates a beautiful pink bronzed glow. Sweep a brush through all 4 shades, then lightly dust onto cheekbones"

So what do they look like?

When I swatched both products together, which you can see below, the Bobbi Brown one is the top swatch and Seventeen the bottom one

So not a perfect match by any means but they are quite similar and if you look at the two swatches, I actually prefer the Seventeen swatch because the colour is so stunning, that said the Bobbi Brown swatch is equally beautiful and is one I wear quite a lot.

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick would cost you around £32.50 and the Seventeen Shimmer Brick costs just £4.99 - huge saving!

Have you found a good dupe lately?

Go Balmy Lip Balms from George At Asda

Wondering around Asda on a Sunday morning as you do, getting there too early to pay for your shopping, can lead to my wandering around and buying things on impulse.  My Asda has just had a make-over, nice though that is, nothing is where it was and I find that insanely annoying, I don't take well to change!  

That said, the beauty section is a little bit better than it was, mainly because there are now bits of make-up present, so when I came across these really cute lipbalms, it would have been rude not to pick them up and try them. I had been looking for some little gifts to go into a birthday box I was making and these fit the bill.

Every brand it seems is bringing their own lip balms out, Maybelline did it with Baby Lips, Collection have just done it with their Little Mix branding which you can read about HERE, Barry M have done it with Cor Balmy and Collection also have their Mardi Gras range, so for Asda to get in on the act is not a surprise.

The Go Balmy Asda range comes in four different shades and scents:

No.1 is Mint and the balm is see through, sheer some might say and to go with the mint scent the Go Balmy writing is in mint green.

No.2 is strawberry scented and is a light pink shade again with the Go Balmy wording in a light pink

No.3 is Cherry and the lip balm for this is a much deeper shade of pink, almost red and the writing matches the colour

No.4 is honey scented, this one is quite sweetly scented, though not over-powering and the lip balm is beige shade, an inbetween orange and brown colour whereas the writing on the tube is a bright orange.

Once applied they are surprisingly quite moisturising and there is a very slight hint of the colour when applied to your lips, but it isn't long lasting and they are quite good for wearing over lipstick.

These lips balms are currently on offer for £1.99 but have an RRP of £2.50, so they are definitely worth trying and would make a great gift for a youngster.

Have you tried these balms?

Paul & Joe SS14 Collection

I was recently invited to a blogger event in swanky Mayfair with Paul & Joe.  Before that event, whilst I had heard of the brand, I didnt know much about them nor had I tried any of the products.  

There is something quite fascinating about men who are make-up artists for me and when international make-up artist Craig-Ryan French introduced himself to me, I was immediately in awe.  As the evening got underway as we sat in a theatre style setting eating some amazing nibbles and drinking some fabulous drinks, Craig-Ryan told us about his passion for film make-up and illustrated to us all how he uses Paul & Joe in all of the films he worked on, which was truly phenomenal.

As the evening got underway, we were treated to a demonstration of an everyday make-up look using Paul & Joe make-up as well as being given some handy hints and tips as well as some advice on over-highlighting that brow bone!!  The event itself was to launch the new Paul & Joe’s “Ice cream cool” SS14 collection. One of the products which really caught my attention was the 'Melting Moments' which are ice-cream swirled creamy cheek colours in Berry Sunday, Orange Sorbet and Chocolate Mint Gelate which you swipe your finger over to create a stunning combination of the three colours and guess what - yes it smells exactly like its description!

Then within the actual launch of products there is the massive range of nail polishes which with over 25 shades has more than something for everyone.  The bottles which are very vintage inspired are really stunning to look at.  The polish itself is really glossy and you need no more than two coats to have this fabulous look.  They cost £12 each, so they aren't cheap, but they are beautiful.  I have shade 12 which is called La Piscine, a lovely baby blue shade.

Released back in October 2013, The glossy lip colours are again stunning to look at.  They are available in ten different shades.  Once on your lips, for me they are definitely more of a gloss than anything else and depending on what you are doing, they have a last-ability of a few hours, so not too long wearing, but a lovely splash of colour.  I have shade 4 which is described as being Flamingo an invitingly juicy coral.  They cost £20 each.

The final part of the new collection are the eye shadow palettes which are again beautiful to look at and the best thing about them is that you can choose your case!   There are three different ones to choose from - A Feminine floral case, fun and flirty felines and bursts of flowers which is a bit retro.  Once you have chose your case you simply pop your compact into it.

The compacts are available in eight different trio of shades which you can see HERE and the one I have is no.3 Le Jardin des Fleurs/Garden of flowers and it encompasses a playful combination of fresh green, flower pink and a touch of lavender for the shades.  Not the most pigmented but they do have a great wear time of 5-6 hours, the pink being my favourite and most used shade of the three.  The  cases cost £7 each and the palette trios £23.

You can find all these items at Paul and Joe stockists now - online and in store from Selfridges, Harrods, Fenwick Bond Street and ASOS.

Are you a fan of  the Paul and Joe range? Do you have a favourite product?

Superdrug Glycolic Overnight Peel

I am one of the biggest fans you will possibly ever meet when it comes to Origins overnight mask, for me it has been an absolute godsend and it is one of those products which would quite probably get the holy grail status. But... then I was able to try the Superdrug Glycolic Overnight Peel**.

I haven't used that many products from their own Naturally Radiant range, though I know how popular the hot cloth cleanser became quite a hit with fellow bloggers, but I wasn't tempted to try it.

However, a quick blurb of a product can always change your mind and make you want to read it and that blurb for me was this:"This week sees the launch of the Glycolic Overnight Peel from Superdrug. When applied at night and washed off in the morning, the peel evens skintone and smoothes fine lines and wrinkles, leaving the skin brighter and more refined".

This Glycolic Overnight Peel, contains glycolic acid, vitamin C and fruit extracts such as Kiwi and Mulberry to boost and brighten your skin overnight. These ingredients work together to revive radiance, even out your skin tone and with the glycolic acid it also helps to smooth fine lines and wrinkles.

To use, simply apply a pea sized amount on your fingertips onto your face (avoiding the eyes) and then you leave it on overnight and wash it off the following morning.  Superdrug state that you should use an SPF the following morning after using this product and that is because of the Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) which can leave your skin more sensitive to sunshine, but if like me you wear SPF everyday (regardless of the weather) then you should be fine.

The gel is clear and see through and has a slight fruity scent to it but for me it is more floral and a further look at the ingredients tell me that there is also Lotus Flower extract also included.

So how well does it work?  I have used this gel for the last 4 weeks, not every night because I don't think my skin needs it, but at least twice a week.  Once applied on the skin, it does take a while to sink in and settle as it is quite watery, so it is best to apply at least 20-30 minutes before going to bed.  The following morning, you cannot feel this gel whatsoever and nor is your face rock hard as though you have applied a clay mask.  I always wash this off in the shower, which is the first thing I do once I have got out bed, with warm water and a muslin cloth. 

As soon as that it is done, the first time I used this product I was surprised to find my skin as soft as it was, you know when something is a lot less expensive than your current product and though you want it to be better, it rarely is, well bloggers I have to say, this one from Superdrug is as good as the Origins overnight mask.  My skin is soft, smooth, feels moisturised, my pores are unclogged which was not something I had been counting on, there is no sign of the slight dryness on my cheeks and I had a radiant glow.  I absolutely love it and I would now think twice about repurchasing from Origins.

This overnight mask from Superdrug has an RRP of £5.99 which makes it an absolute bargain and something I will definitely be repurchasing.

Have you tried this product from Superdrug?  

Do you use a similar product?