Taking off the eyes

One of the great chores of wearing mascara is getting it off at the end of the day. I have tried expensive eye make up removers and am convinced they are no better than the cheaper versions. For quite some time I used Olay's Daily eye make up remover and it was pretty good. A bit gloppy as it is a cream. But it did a relatively good job. But I still sometimes had the panda eye look.

Now, you know the lazy cleansing wipes that every beauty house does a version of? I don't like them very much for my whole face but they are good at removing eye make up. And for a while, I've been thinking why don't they do eye make up versions. Because it felt a bit extravagant to use a whole big wipe for eyes. (I have no idea why I am getting thrifty about this when I think what I spend money on but hey.) And lo, I was in Boots a month or so ago and saw Simple had been reading my mind. So I bought them. What a disappointment. They are teeny. No way one wipe can do both eyes. And using two wipes? I may as well just use one larger wipe.

I also decided when I was in Boots to try a different liquid remover and bought Botanicals. You have to shake the bottle first but it's good - dare I say better than the Olay one? But still none of these remove it in a flash which is what I am after. There is still an element of rubbing going on. Anyone have any recommendations?

Current loves and wants

Cover Mother introduced me to Prada Iris perfume today. Yummy, yum, yum. It smells lovely - quite old fashioned and soft and not heavy at all. Obviously I have enough perfume to last me a lifetime so I resisted the temptation to buy it.

In perfume news, I am loving my Jo Malone Grapefruit at the moment. It's very zingy and is great for getting you going in the morning.

Revlon Flex update

I just had a shower and washed my hair with the Flex stuff. Oh my, the scent transported me back and suddenly it was 1987 again and I was singing Kylie. Amazing how scent can do that. The other shampoo scent that I loved was Vidal Sassoon original almond shampoo scent - that was heavenly.

My hair is still wet but I think you can tell the success of a product from its rinseability and general foaming in the shower. I would say this was quite good. Maybe a 7/10. Not the 9/10 I would give Elvive but not bad. And, I did it a disservice yesterday - it was £1.09! How cheap is that?

Will report back further when it is dry. It promised to condition my hair yet make it shiny and bouncy. Yeah, right, that's what they all say.

A blast from the past

Today I was in Barnes and went to a pharmacy there. For those of you who don't know, Barnes is proper posh and this pharmacy is like a European pharmacy with deluxe make up and polished wooden floors. It's a joy to browse.

So I was happily browsing, having picked up the dental tape I went in for (look after your gums people!) and came across Revlon Flex shampoo. Now I used to LOVE this back in the day and haven't seen it for ages. In fact, I didn't realise they still made it. It was also 33% extra free and only £1.19! How could I leave it behind? Especially when I saw there was one for coloured hair. So I got the shampoo and conditioner. I hope it lives up to its memories. Also, what is balsam? Anyone know?

I managed to be strong enough to resist a gorgeous Lancome eye shadow in the most divine silvery green. Of course, I am already regretting that decision.

Smooth and soft all over

Body lotions. Some people swear they make no difference, some people swear by them. I am in the swear by them camp. If I don't use body lotion, my skin becomes flaky and itchy. However, I can't stand the ones that make you feel damp for about 10 mins after applying.

I am currently using a Palmers Olive one (green bottle, can't find pic on the net) which I like quite alot. I do believe the Daddy of all body lotions is Lush Dream Cream however. It smells like absolute heaven, it is light yet very moisturising and it's simply yum. BUT, as always with Lush, the packaging lets it down. It comes in a big pot which means taking the lid off everytime you want to use. Call me lazy (and you wouldn't be wrong) but I just cannot be bothered with that. And then you have to dip your fingers in and it all gets under your nails. No, I like a pump dispenser. If Lush made it in a pump dispenser, I would be very happy. As it is, I rarely buy it.

Another good lotion is Korres. I have used the Lemon one (kinda odd scent but nice for summer), Lemon basil one (YUM!) and Fig (nice for winter, too much for summer).

Roses - an obsession

It's interesting, I don't particularly love roses as a flower (although I am a fan of yellow ones - red is so obvious) but I am rather obsessive about rose scent. It's my desert island scent. I've already talked briefly about Jo Malone Red Roses.

Now I would like to wax lyrical about Ren please. Specifically their Rose shower gel and bath oil. Man alive, nothing smells better. It's a superior rose scent - deep and gorgeous but not sickly. The bath oil is the stuff of dreams. Had a bad day? Feeling a bit sick? Fed up and tired? Stick this in your bath and be transported to a world of opulence and gorgeousness. Don't even think about putting any perfume or lotion on afterwards. You can smell it on your skin for hours afterwards.

The gel is also divine. Perfect for a grey and cheerless morning. Honestly, this stuff should be available on the NHS, could save us millions.

The make up of make up artists

As I mentioned earlier, I am currently using Great Lash. But I was using this little baby - Max Factor Masterpiece and then I graduated to Masterpiece Max. When I first started using them, I raved about them and I used the Max for well over a year. What a commitment!

But the one thing that began to annoy me is that it flakes. Flaking is very different to smudging. I believe smudging can be avoided by careful application but I've yet to work out how to avoid flaking. It would happen towards the end of the day and I think it's because the product is quite full on.

I would say this is a mascara for evening wear as it does give you great long lashes but it can't stand the whole day. A sprinter rather than a marathon runner if you will.

Eight hour cream

Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream is always mentioned in Beauty Editors top products. I used to read about it when I was a teenager and think it was the cure for all ills. That's how they talk about it. I was horrified when I realised it was more like vaseline than a cream. Never has a product been so badly named. I mean, seriously can you imagine putting it on your face like you would a cream? Maybe some women do that but it's gloopy.

Anyway, never one to be defeated by a cult product, I kept looking at it. I even bought the tinted lip balm (which broke) a few years ago - very average. This year I actually decided to buy the cream as there was a special offer on at the airport and I was about to get on a 12 hour flight (and beauty editors said it was good for flights!) It was an offer of 2 smaller tubes - cute handbag size. So, what to make of it?

It's the perfect lip balm. Makes your lips soft and shiny and keeps the chappiness (is that a word?) at bay. It's also a pretty good cuticle moisturiser. But I still can't imagine using it on my face. Maybe when I am 85.

Because we're worth it

Over the years I have spent £££ on shampoos and conditioners. And I have come to the conclusion that it is literally money down the drain. I now always end up with either Elvive colour care or Herbal Essences. Yes, I go for the ones with the worst adverts.

I have learnt that with coloured hair, you really do need to use shampoo and conditoner formulated for coloured hair. I know it's tedious but it does make a difference. And the Elvive one really does make my hair soft and shiny. It smells nice too - sort of expensive. I also have the intense mask but I can't ever really be arsed to use it.

Herbal Essences makes a few shampoos for coloured hair. I can't go near the fruit fusions - they smell foul. The floral ones and very heavily scented but again, they do work. They don't work quite as well as Elvive but I still like them. They are great for holidays as they are so cheap, you can just leave the bottles in the hotel on your last night (all the more room and weight for your holiday shopping).

A little bit about facial washes

I've never got on with cream cleansers. I like to feel I am washing my face. I know, French women would shrink in horror at me. Oh well.

So for a while now I've been using Origins Checks and Balances and I like it. You hardly need any for foam aplenty and it does a good job. But you know, one cannot rest and relax. One must test others to see if there is something better out there. I got the Dr Brandt Poreless cleanser in the SpaceNK sale for half price a few months ago. Mind you, having read an interview with him today in the Observer Women magazine, I am beginning to regret lining his pockets. What a freak. It's very good though - damm that man. First Pore No More and now this. I don't want to like his stuff but I do.

And then last weekend I decided to pay lip service to the credit crunch and got a Garnier cleanser - clean detox. No idea why I got it really as I don't have spotty skin. But I liked the packaging and it was cheap enough to take a gamble on. It is a bit drying for my skin but I put more moisturiser on afterwards. Which means it probably saves me no money at all as the moisturiser is an Origins one! Oh well. It also claims to brighten your skin. Not sure I can see any evidence of this. But if you are looking for a cheap cleanser, you could do worse than this. It's good for getting make up off.

Primping and priming

As we all know, good make up starts with good skin. Boring but true. I remember reading that in Just Seventeen years ago. So we'll talk about skin care another time, for the time being I am going to assume we are all doing that bit. In recent years, the beauty industry has been finding yet more ways to get us to part with our cash by introducing primers. Primers prepare your skin before you put make up on. No, they are not instead of moisturisers, they are an extra layer and a few more minutes in the morning.
Are they worth it? I say yes and no. I have two primers in my life. One is the Laura Mercier eye primer. You put this on your eyelids and then apply your eye make-up. I do recommend it. I find in the summer, my eye make up can slide off by about midday. This really helps prevent that. It gives the eye shadow/eye liner something to adhere to.

The other primer is the Nars primer for your face. You put it on after moisturising and it mattifies your skin. It is good and I do see a difference. Blusher especially seems to glide on a bit more easily. My reservation with both of these products is who really has time for this in the morning? I can get ready very quickly but this is just a few extra seconds of primping that I can't be bothered with most days. However, for special occasions where you are going to want look good all day (weddings) or dancing the evening away, then I think they are worth it and yes, they do work. Maybe you are not as lazy as me and can be bothered to use them everyday.

If you want your eye make up to stay on a bit longer and can't be bothered to prime, then a light dusting of loose powder works pretty well. And that hint comes straight to you from my mother. Sometimes mother really does know best.