DHC Liquid Eyeliner

If you follow my Instagram then you may have seen (who knows for sure with Instagram!) that I received a very generous PR package that contained a load of DHC products. I don't know an awful lot about DHC as a brand but the two products I've always wanted to try are their cleansing oil and their liquid liner, so I was delighted to find both in my parcel. 

Since mastering the art of liquid liner my liner of choice has been in the form of a felt tip style liner with a thin pointed nib and hopefully (as I can't judge this from just looking at the product) a good flow. I'd heard good things about the DHC Liquid Eyeliner and it looked like my perfect product. 

The first time I used the product (and actually the second time as well) I loved it. It does flow well, has a thin accurate nib and is easy to use. However, I have personally hit a problem with the product that is down to me rather than the product itself. The first time I used it I had no problem at all with it until I woke up the following morning with a swollen eye lid, like a had a particularly nasty sty. At first I didn't link this to the product at all and after a few days it went down. 

I used the eyeliner again the following week and again I woke up the following morning with a swollen eye, this time the lower lid (is that part actually called a lid?). This time it was worse and it took several days for it to go down. In fact a little whitehead developed right on the edge of my eye lid, inside my lashes and against my eye ball. I know I really shouldn't have done, but I was disturbed by it, so I gave it a little squeeze and it went and my eye went down again. 

I would really like to try the liner again in case it was just a coincidence that the two issues with my eyes occurred when I had used the liner, but I don't think I should because this is my eyes, one of which is already damaged, so I don't want to risk it. I assume there is something in the product that I'm allergic to, so despite how much I enjoyed using it, I don't think I should use it again.

Have you tried the DHC Liquid Eyeliner? 

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New in from Collection

I have several issues with the skin on my face, but the one I'm going to talk about in this post is redness. I've suffered with redness for years now and although it does sometimes look a lot better than others it has never disappeared completely. I mostly suffer across my cheeks, where I believe it is most common to suffer from redness, and depending on the state of my chin at the time I may have some redness there from a breakout or residual scarring. I did go to the doctors about it many years ago but was just told there was nothing they could do to help. Rosacea wasn't mentioned at all so I have no idea if that is what is the cause of my redness or not.

I used to use a green concealer/corrector but for some reason haven't used one for years now and have instead just relied on standard concealer. When I spotted that Collection were releasing some colour correctors within the Lasting Perfection collection I decided to give the Collection Lasting Perfection Colour Correction Concealer in green a try.

To be honest I was really surprised to actually find one in my local Superdrug that hadn't been opened/tested, but it was the only one there. While checking out the stand I discovered Collection had also just released a make-up fixing spray. I was planning to replace my L'Oreal Infallible one, which is pretty much empty, but they've increased the price by £1 recently. As the Collection Primed & Ready Make-up Fixing Spray is cheaper and was also on introductory offer I decided to give that a try instead. 

As the Colour Correcting Concealer is within the Lasting Perfection line it has exactly the same packaging as the existing concealer. It has a clear tube so you can see at a glance in your make-up bag that it's a green concealer and it has a doe foot applicator for applying the product. Recently I have used a green primer, but despite the product being green you couldn't tell it was green once applied. With this you can really tell it's green! You only need a small amount and I'd definitely recommend using this under your foundation because the slightly green tinge you're left with after blending doesn't quite disappear completely. This does completely knock out any redness through leaving an evened out (slightly green tinged) skin tone. 

The Collection Primed & Ready Make-up Fixing Spray comes in a simple black plastic 100ml bottle with silver/white writing. You can't see how much is left in the bottle but it's quite easy to tell how much is left by the weight and giving it a shake. The first time I sprayed this I was really impressed with the spray itself. Although the L'Oreal Infallible one had a pretty good spray on it this one sprays in a perfect even mist that doesn't leave your face feeling a little on the wet side. In fact I can't always quite feel it and probably end up using a little too much thinking I've missed. I haven't found this to leave me with any kind of powdery residue and it does what it's supposed to do; it helps my make-up stay in place longer and look better. 

You can find the Primed & Ready Make-up Fixing Spray (£5.99) at both Boots and Superdrug but I believe the Collection Lasting Perfection Colour Correcting Concealers (£4.19) might be exclusive to Superdrug.

Have you given either product a try?

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Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Class Act Growth Boosting & Thickening mascara

Last week I reviewed the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Divine Lips lipsticks and this week I'm moving on to the mascara from the same range. So far the lipsticks from the Timeless Beauty range have been a big hit with me (overlooking a few shades that don't suit me) and the powder from the Duo Compact not so much. Unfortunately the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Class Act Boosting & Thickening mascara* also falls into the not really for me category.

As well as being a mascara this claims to be a treatment promising longer, thicker and fuller lashes in 30 days. The claim is that lashes will be 169% longer and 13% thicker when applied every day adding an extra 1mm growth in a month. To be honest I'm a little confused by these figures and am wondering if they are actually the wrong way round. 169% longer would mean lashes become over double the length they currently are, which seems unrealistic, especially when growth is supposed to be 1mm in a month. 13% appears much more realistic when it comes to additional length. Similarly, a 13% increase in thickness when it comes to something as thin as an eyes lashes is nothing, but a 169% increase would mean lashes more than double in thickness, which is much more realistic.

In terms of packaging this is exactly the same as the packaging on the lipsticks but just longer. It's the sort of packaging I would consider holding onto after the product is finished with as it's perfect as a blog picture prop for those rose gold lovers. The lid unscrews to reveal a reasonably chunky natural bristle brush that is a little thicker at one end and tapers slightly towards the lid of the product.

It does have a nice formula, maybe a little too wet for some people, but it can get a bit clumpy if you're not careful with your application. This is one where I don't even attempt to try and get to the lashes in the inner corner of my eye because every single time I attempt it I get mascara on my eye lid that I then have to attempt to clean up. I also don't really attempt to try and get down to the bottom of my lashes, which I really should do if possible as my lashes are blonde, as the brush feels too chunky and I do end up with it on my eye lid. Once applied this does provide some good volume and a little length.

It's not a difficult one to remove (my method of choice is an oil cleanser) but I do find that it smudges through the day and it's not one you can nap in unless you're a back napper and your eyes don't go near the pillow.

Unfortunately I can't comment on whether this made a visible difference in the length and thickness of my lashes because I just didn't enjoy using it enough to keep up with it for 30 days. I drifted back to other open mascaras I had that I enjoyed using more.

Not that I can remember the last time I actually bought a mascara myself but I'm not one for spending more than £10 on a product like this. The only exception if I had the spare cash would be Benefit's BADgal or They're Real. At £20 this isn't one I would consider purchasing myself.

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Orly Breathable Treatment + Color nail varnishes

Breathable nail varnishes are certainly not a new thing, I believe they may have been around since 2012/13, if not before that, but they don't appear to have become particularly popular. The constant wearing of nail varnish is not particularly good for your nails and ideally nails should be left bare regularly to allow them to recover. Nail varnish usually forms a barrier over the nail that prevents air getting to it and causes nails to become dry. There are plenty of strengthening treatments around, but ideally you should reapply daily to really see the benefits and so this means you can't really wear a colour over the top. 

There are also religious implications for breathable nail varnish. Before Muslim prayer women are required to wash their hands and arms and traditional nail varnish prevents water from making contact with the nail, meaning the nails are unwashed. A breathable nail varnish means water can reach the nail and therefore is suitable to be worn during prayer. 

Although I don't wear nail varnish all the time (it doesn't last long enough on me so I'd be painting every few days) my nails aren't in amazing condition. They tend to be quite dry and split/flaky and I suffer with 'fault lines' down a few of them. But I only really tend to remember to regularly apply strengthener when they get really bad. So when I received an email about the Orly Breathable Treatment + Color* nail varnishes I thought I'd give them a try. 

The Orly Breathable Treatment + Color nail varnishes contain vitamin C, pro-vitamin B5 and argan oil and are inspired by the technology of contact lens, allowing air to pass through the colour and penetrate the nail promoting growth, increasing thickness and helping damaged nails to heal by keeping them hydrated. The formula also apparently includes adhesion promoters and shine additives meaning you don't need a base coat or topcoat. This is pretty handy because using a base coat or topcoat or both would obviously ruin the whole breathable bit. Not having to use a base coat and topcoat also means you can paint your nails in half the time it would usually take.

I think the only experience I've had of Orly in the past has been their mini bottles, so I was surprised by the size of these ones when I pulled them out of the envelope. The bottles are large and contain 18ml each, which I think is quite a lot when it comes to nail varnish. The nail varnish is a pretty good consistency, not too thick or too thin, and they come with a wide flat brush that can cover some of my nails in one swipe. I would say two coats is enough for the purple shade and three best for the red shimmer as with other shimmer shades this is thinner than just a colour on its own. 

Please excuse that I put my finger in one of my swatches!

One of the things I was most concerned about was staining on the nails because of not using a base coat between the nail and the colour. With other nail varnishes I've suffered from staining despite using a base coat, but I was surprised to find that I didn't suffer with any staining at all, all colour removed easily. The shimmer was a little harder to remove as is standard, but all colour came away from the nail. I also thought the finish wouldn't be particularly glossy, and if I'm not going for a matte nail and I want all the shine, but again I was surprised by how glossy the finish was, better than some top coats. Finally I thought as there was no base coat or top coat involved that this would be chipping off my nails almost instantly, as no nail varnish lasts particularly long on me. However, again I was surprised to find that this actually lasted longer on my nails than most nail varnishes used with a base and top coat. 

Overall I've been really impressed by these nail varnishes. The downside is that they are £12 each, but my favourites do tend to be around £11-£15 and if I found a shade that I liked enough or was unusual enough I would definitely consider purchasing it. You can find the Orly Breathable Treatment + Color range at Graftons Beauty. 

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