Clinique Fresh Pressed Cleanser

The other week I was invited to the Clinique counter at Boots in Cardiff for a preview of the new Fresh Pressed Cleanser that Clinique have brought out. I was really interested to see what this cleanser would be like. 

Clinique describe this product as a simple, two step system that contains powerful Vitamin C. Before I had the cleanser used on me I was told all about the product, how to use it and what it does. After getting my makeup removed, it was time to put the cleanser on my face.

The cleanser comes in sachets in powder format. It's an ultra fine powder that activates with water. The first step is to mix it with water to create the cleanser. Clinique say that it instantly purifies, brightens and retexturizes. It can be used every morning as it is nice and gentle. You can apply this to your face with hands and cleanse that way, but you can also use the Clinique Cleansing Brush. This is one of those deep clean brushes similar to Clarisonic. I've never used one of these before, but really enjoyed the feel of it on my skin.

After cleansing, the second step is to use the booster. To use you just press the button on the booster to activate the Vitamin C. You mix two drops of this with your moisturizer in the morning and evening. The sachets and booster work together but are separate products.

The woman on counter who showed me the product was really nice and friendly and took me through it all step by step. At first the product did seem a bit complicated to use but after being shown how to use it, it looked fairly simple. This is definitely a different sort of cleanser to what I normally use. The only thing similar to it that I have used is the Lush cleansers where you have to mix with water to create a paste. 

The cleanser can be bought in a few different ways. For people buying it for the first time, Clinique has a 7 day system with Pure Vitamin C for £25.00. You get 7 single use sachets and a 7 day vial of the booster. You can also buy the sachets separately. A month's supply of sachets is £24.00 while a set of four boosters is £58.00.

I didn't really think much of the cleanser. I think it can get expensive having to constantly buy sachets and the booster. I've tried cleansers from other premium brands and found that they work out a lot cheaper as you don't have to keep buying it every month. A cleanser will last me over a month. I just don't like having the fuss of having to keep getting a month's supply and then bother with a booster.

I just didn't like having to mix the powder with water either. I've tried other cleansers where you have to mix them with water, so having to mix it isn't really new. 

I was talking to my friend yesterday who has also tried this product. She wasn't that fussed on it either, even said that the powder looked like cocaine. 

While some people may like this cleanser and find it works for them, I personally didn't like it. I'd like to thank the staff at Clinique for letting my try this product. 

Makeup Revolution Retro Matte Lip Kits

Liquid lipsticks are very popular at the moment, especially the Kylie Jenner lip kits. Many different brands are bringing out liquid lipsticks including Makeup Revolution, which is a budget brand that has been known to try and dupe some high end brands. One product it has brought out lately is the Retro Matte Lip Kits. These basically come in a box with a liquid lipstick and lip liner. At first glance they do look a lot like the Kylie lip kits. I haven't tried the Kylie ones so I can't really compare them. I bought 4 of the Makeup Revolution ones and have decided to review them here.

Glory, Regal, Noble, Grandee

These seem to be quite a popular product from Makeup Revolution right now. They can be bought online or in Superdrug. In store most of the colors do sell out, although I did manage to get 4 of them. There are more colors available online. The colors I got were - Glory, Regal, Grandee and Noble.

The packaging is great and comes with a doe foot applicator for easy application. It's easy to see these are designed to look like the Kylie lip kits and whilst they are obviously not going to be the same, they do look similar. I haven't tried the Kylie ones, although I do like the design on the packaging of hers better as the packaging of these does look a bit plain.

I do have to say the lip liner is fantastic. They feel really nice and creamy and have a good amount of pigment in them. I didn't have to press down at all, which is a great thing. The lipsticks do have an amazing amount of pigment in them and don't need much building up. They also glide on nicely too and give a matte finish. 

As they are matte, it is a good idea to put some lip balm on before applying. They aren't very drying but if you do have dry lips they can feel a bit on the dry side. It isn't really noticeable, although later on in the day they did need a bit of reapplying. Some of the colors can have a bit of a sticky feel to them too. It wasn't much of an issue with me and for some reason only Grandee and Noble felt a bit sticky. Glory and Regal didn't feel sticky at all.

For £6.00 each these are really not that bad. I recommend these and I do want to try the other colors in the range too. Makeup Revolution have also brought out metallic lip kits along with gloss ones too.

Noble

Grandee

Regal

Glory

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

Not so long ago a Kat Von D counter opened in Debenhams in Oxford Street. Until now I had only been able to get Kat Von D via Sephora, so I was really glad to see that there was now a counter open where I could try the colors out. Plus no more expensive shipping fees. I'm a fan of liquid lipsticks and Kat Von D has their own version called Everlasting Liquid Lipstick.

They come in a range of different colors and there is something to suit everyone. From natural to dramatic, you are bound to find a color you like. I love purple shades at the moment so I decided to get one in Susperia, which is a purple toned lipstick.

The packaging feels really nice and comes with a doe foot applicator, allowing the product to be easily applied. The pigment in this one is just fantastic and I didn't need to use a lot to get the color to show up. It glides on nicely too and feels quite lightweight. My lips can get a bit dry and this one didn't dry them out at all. It's called Everlasting Liquid Lipstick and when they say everlasting it really is. Once it was on I didn't have to reapply it at all.

The color looked amazing too. I'm really loving these lipsticks and do recommend them. Purple is such a great color. 

Make Up Forever Artist Rouge Creme Lipstick

One brand I have wanted to try for some time is Make Up Forever, but I just haven't gotten round to getting some of their items. Make Up Forever is a professional brand of makeup and I have seen it in trade shows as well as online. The other week I went to Debenhams in Oxford Street and stopped by at the Make Up Forever counter. I got one of their Artist Rouge Creme lipsticks in the color C502 (Taupe Violet).

The packaging of this lipstick is just fantastic. It feels really well made and not just cheap plastic either. I don't have a color like this in my collection, so it was great to have something different. It's a sort of grey violet and is quite an unusual color. I love these not so ordinary colors as they look great and you can really have some fun with them, especially if like me you love color.

The texture is really creamy and has a fantastic amount of pigment in it. I didn't need to use a lot to get the color looking intense. It's very long lasting too and does stay on most of the day. When I wore this I actually went to the dentist. My teeth had a deep clean which meant keeping my mouth wide open and the dentist messing around in my mouth. Normally I would expect a lipstick to come off or transfer when having your teeth looked at, but this one didn't come off at all. When I left the dentist I was expecting to have to go get my concealer out and clean up any makeup, along with reapplying the lippie. There was actually no need to do anything as the color did stay in place.

I just love this lipstick as the color and quality are superb. I highly recommend this brand.

Primark PS Love Makeup Review

Recently I reviewed Primark's PS Pro range of makeup and didn't think a lot of it. Most of the items are complete rubbish and are not premium quality as Primark like to claim. They are certainly not professional standard either. If you ask me Primark ought to be sued for wrongful advertising. Primark also have another range of makeup called PS Love which has been out for some time. I decided to try some products from that range to see what they were like. I got quite a few items as they were very reasonable price wise.

The PS Love range has a far bigger selection of products compared to the PS Pro range and features nail polishes, eyeshadows, lipsticks and more. So here is what I bought.

PS Love Matte Long Last Lipstick £1.50 and Lipstick £0.80

Both lipsticks were very disappointing. The colors looked great on. That is when they stayed on, which they didn't. They didn't last very long at all and needed constant reapplying. The darker lipstick is supposed to be long lasting. Matte is is, long lasting it isn't. This has to be the worst lipstick I have ever tried, even from a budget brand. The other lipstick was slightly better, not by much though. I also wasn't fussed on the scent they had to them either.

PS Love Insta Girl Intense Liquid Lipstick And Lip Liner

This is basically a liquid lipstick. These lipsticks are very popular at the moment and it seems Primark are trying them too. I love grey lips so I was really excited when I saw this one, plus it has a matching liner which is a bonus. It comes in really nice packaging too with a very good applicator. The pigment builds up nicely but unfortunately it did have this sticky feel to it which I didn't like, plus it did start to come off later too. The liner on the other hand was much better and managed to stay on my lips all day, it had a nice texture to it too which meant no need to push down to get the color to show up.

PS Love Kohl Eyeliner Pencils £1.00 each

These were very hit and miss, depending on the color. Out of the two the brown was definately the best color, the pigment was alright. It wasn't on the same level as Urban Decay but for £1 it really wasn't that bad. I've had worse more expensive drugstore liners. There was no need to press down as the color came out alright, although it did need building up. I did find I had to smudge the color out otherwise it would have started to move later on in the day. The blue eyeliner wasn't that great as the pigment wasn't very good. This one started to fade a lot when I smudged the color. The brown I liked, the blue not so much.

PS Love Eyeshadow Crayon £1.00

This is one of those eyeshadow crayons and actually swatches better than does on the eyes. I thought the pigment wasn't that great when applying it to my eyes and it just ended up looking dull. I also had to press down a bit to get the color to show, which was very uncomfortable. I wore my NARS eyeshadow base underneath this to prevent creasing. It started to crease and faded later on in the day too. If I didn't put the primer on first it definately would have creased more. Not a great product.

PS Precious Metals Collection Complete Face Palette £6.00

For £6.00 this is not a bad palette. It's one of those multi use ones that allows you to create a full look with eye, face and lip colors. The pigments are not high end, but for the price are really not that bad. I would say this palette is more on the lines of MUA and Makeup Revolution. The eyeshadows blend nicely and don't have too dry a texture. The gold did have a bit of fallout and did feel a bit on the powdery side. The highlighter gave a good coverage too, although I didn't bother with the bronzer color as I don't like a shimmery contour. The lip colors look nice in the palette, although they did feel a bit dry when I swatched them so I didn't bother with them.

PS Precious Metals Collection Lip Crayon £2.00

I'm a big fan of lip crayons, especially if the color looks really metallic like this one. The pigment is good, although I wouldn't say it was the best lip crayon I have tried. It didn't feel dry either which was a bonus. It may have looked great on, but unfortunately it wasn't very long lasting. Although it did last a lot longer than the PS Love lipsticks I tried.

PS Love Lip Liner Pencil £1.00

Now these ones I do like. For £1 they are really not that bad and do manage to stay in place for most of the day. I used these with some of the Primark colors and found that the liner managed to stay on whilst the lipstick didn't as the majority of Primark lipsticks aren't that great. I really like how the colors match the lipsticks too. The pigment wasn't too bad and I didn't have to tug or press down either. I did think that these lip liners were far superior to the PS Pro Liquid Lip Liner.

PS Love Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayon £2.00

For the price, these ones weren't too bad. The pigment is alright, it wasn't the best and I did find they did need building up, especially if like me you like strong color on your lips. They can feel a bit on the dry side, so if you have dry lips be sure to put some lip balm on before. I did like the design of them too and they did need reapplying later on in the day. They weren't the best lip crayon I have tried and they weren't the worst either.

PS Love Complete Crayon Lip And Cheek £2.00

This is one of those multi use products that you can put on your cheeks and lips. I didn't really think much of this one as it was very sheer. I needed to build the color up a lot to get a full look on my cheeks. It was very sheer on the lips too, although it didn't feel dry which was a good thing. It didn't stay on my lips for very long at all and came off very easily.

I also bought a blusher stick which was ok and also a nail polish corrector pen. I haven't tried the pen yet, but I am wondering what it will be like. I really don't think the PS Love range is anything to write home about, although I do think some of the products are better than the PS Pro range which is Primark's so called premium beauty range.