Product Review: La Roche-Posay Effaclar K.

What La Roche-Posay says:

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K is a daily renewal fluid gradually exfoliates the skin texture to reduce pores and regain a smooth and clear complexion.

Who is this for? Combination to oily skin with an irregular skin texture.

What does it do? Both the skin's texture and pores feel smoother and tighter, while imperfections are visibly reduced.

How to use: Apply morning and/or evening to the entire face. Can be used as a make-up base.

Product Review: MAC Oil Control Lotion.

I was itching to try the MAC Oil Control Lotion for a while now, but when I went to MAC they didn't have any travel sized bottles and I didn't want to invest in the full size bottle right away. The lovely lady there gave me a little sample jar, which I was excited to try out, and having used it all up now I'm happy to share my thoughts on this product! 

Brandspotting: Ziaja.

As I tend to spend all my summers in Poland, I became quite familiar with some of the Polish brands. Most of them were alright and just something I would grab because it would be cheaper than foreign brands, but wouldn't be something I'd fuss about keeping in my routine whilst living outside of Poland. A few of them, however, I found to be incredible and in some cases irreplaceable. Ziaja is one of those brands. I decided to look into the brand and see if it's available outside of Poland, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is slowly beginning to expand worldwide. Therefore, I decided to introduce you to this affordable but brilliant brand. In this post, I will talk about some of my favourite Ziaja products. They are available on various on-line stores, such as Malayka, although some of my favourite products don't seem to be available on most websites, therefore I do recommend trying your luck on eBay, or grabbing them if you happen to be visiting Poland.

So let's get into it.

This not That: High Street/Drugstore Cleanser for Oily Skin.

My skin tends to be quite problematic, it's very oily and prone to breakouts. I've been on the hunt for a good but inexpensive cleanser that would make my skin feel cleansed, control my oils and decrease the number of  breakouts I get. In this quick review I will show you the best and the worst of the cleansers that I've tried out recently.

Joined Product Review: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand and Foot Creams.

 A while ago, a friend of mine gave me a sample set of the L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand and Foot creams. They came in little 10 ml tubes, which made them the perfect travel items! However, I couldn't resist and used them at home just to test them out. And here is what I think about them! I decided to make a joined review, as a lot of what I have to say is the same for both products. 

Shea Butter Hand Cream: 

What L'Occitane says: 

Enriched with 20% Shea Butter, this super-creamy hand cream penetrates quickly to protect, nourish and moisturise hands. Honey, almond extracts and coconut oil are blended with shea butter to create this extremely effective care. The rich texture is rapidly absorbed to leave the hands soft and smooth with no oily traces. 

Product: 9.5/10.

This is probably one of the best hand creams I have ever used, if not THE best one. The consistency of the cream is a bit on the thick side, however when rubbed into the skin it is absorbed instantly, leaving the hands soft but with no greasy residue. Perfection. My hands also remained very soft for hours after applying the hand cream, which meant that I did not use it that often, simply because I didn't need to! Also, a small amount of it goes a long way, and so this tiny tube has lasted me for quite a long time now! The scent is very creamy, and reminds me a bit of thick baby cream, which I personally don't mind.

Product Review: Clinique Even Better Lotion SPF 20.

Back in December I purchased a couple of things from Clinique, and got a gift consisting of samples of various products. The Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion was one of them. I was very excited, as I am always on the search for a good SPF, as I have not yet found an SPF that wouldn't make my skin feel shiny and oily, and break me out. 

What Clinique says:

Creates a more even appearing skin tone. Protects skin with a high level UVA/UVB protection, while instantly brightening and clarifying the skins appearance.

Product: 6/10.

I disliked this product. When I first got a bit of it out of the tube, I was pleased that it had a very milky consistency, as that made me think it would be very lightweight and would absorb quickly. However, when I spread it on my skin, I found that it would linger, creating a heavy, shiny film on my face. It was sticky, and any make-up applied over it would refuse to stay in place. I also disliked the strong sunscreen scent, as it was very unpleasant. A product with an SPF of only 20 should not feel this heavy. HOWEVER, this product is predominantly for people with an uneven skin tone, which is not a concern of mine. Therefore, I can't comment on the effectiveness of this product's TRUE purpose. I also have very oily skin, so someone with dry, normal or combination skin might not experience the extreme shininess, stickiness and heaviness of this product. The fact that this product protects against both UVA and UVB rays makes this a good sunscreen, as an SPF 20 is a good enough for everyday sun protection. If you suffer from hyper-pigmentation and don't have oily skin, I would still recommend trying this product. ALSO, I tested the old formulation of this lotion, which had been replaced by a new formula which is more friendly for oilier skin. Therefore, some of the things I disliked about this product may now be irrelevant. 

Product Review: OPI Nail Envy.

 I have always had incredibly brittle nails, they would always bend in ever direction possible, they would peel, they would break before even growing to an acceptable length. I would always hate the fact that I couldn't really wear nice nail polish like all the other girls, cause it would just look awkward on my tiny nails. Now, OPI Nail Envy wasn't the first miracle nail product I came across. It was, in fact, the Rimmel 5 in 1 Nail Care polish. It retails for £4.59 in Boots, and is just a great product for the price. It got my nails to a state where they wouldn't break all the time, where I could grow them to a certain length and keep them that length. So you're probably wondering why I reached for something quadruple the price when I had found such an incredible product. Well, as I said, the Rimmel nail polish did allow me to keep my nails strong(ish) and at a decent length, long enough to finally be able to use all those gorgeous nail colours. However, I wanted something more, cause I wanted beautiful long nails. Not just long enough. So I got searching, and found a lot of positive reviews about OPI Nail Envy, and decided to give it a go. And here is my review.

Product Review: Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm.

What Clinique says:

Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm is a lip treatment with sheer colour that relieves dry, cracked lips and provides immediate moisturisation. The unique pencil-style applicator provides easy to apply sheer soft lip colour and rolls up for ease of use.

Product: 2/10.

Not moisturising at all. In fact, I felt like it dried out my lips. It was alright at first, but it actually made my lips feel horrid in the long run. The colour is extremely sheer and requires a lot of layers to show up at all. I liked the packaging and the ease of use, but expected a quality product inside.

Product Review: Maybelline Super Stay 14hr Lipstick.

What Maybelline says:

Meet the 14 HR lipstick that won't weigh you down. Super rick colour with super staying power. No dragging. No drying. No letdowns at all.

14 HR Lipstick with an ultra-lightweight formula:

• Stays fresh, light and comfortable.
• Super rich colour that lasts 14 hours.
• Pigments are enveloped in a long-wearing system.
• 20 long wearing shades.

For best results apply your lip colour by starting in the centre of your upper lip. Work from the centre to the outer edges of your lip, following the contours of your mouth. Then glide across the entire bottom lip.

Product Review: Clinique High Impact Mascara.

Back in December, I purchased a couple of things from Clinique, and they were having some sort of Christmas promotion where you got a sample box if you purchased a certain amount of things. Most of the samples were alright, nothing too striking, I used them up but don't think I would purchase the full size, however one of them stood out to me. The High Impact Mascara.

What it says it does: 

High Impact Mascara is a multi-benefit mascara that adds maximum volume with definition and length. Specially developed brush and formula work together to dramatically thicken lashes while separating.

Benefit: Thickening.

Product: 9/10.

I love this mascara. I think it's a brilliant everyday mascara that makes your lashes look gorgeous, adds volume and length, without going overboard. For a night out, I'd go for something more dramatic, if not false lashes, whilst keeping this for my daytime make up. The brush and formula are a match made in heaven, it doesn't clump, it doesn't dry out fast (I started using this mascara in December. It is now May, and it's as good as new!), it doesn't smudge during the day, it creates the illusion of perfect lashes. It does what it says it does.