Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Gel
Alison Claire Remarkable Shower Gel and Body Lotion
5I recently received not one but two generously sized samples from Alison Claire‘s Remarkable range of bio-natural beauty products. Alison Claire’s company was created in order to combat the use of artificial chemicals in beauty products which can damage and irritate the skin. As such, all of Alison Claire’s products are free of all four ‘big nasties’ – sulphates, parabens, phenoxyethanol and PEGs. Instead, everything contains only raw, naturally sourced ingredients, meaning they are suitable for sensitive skin, and are prepared and blended by hand to ensure that all of their products meet their high standards.
The two samples I will be reviewing are Alison Claire’s Lemongrass Shower Gel and Rose Geranium Body Lotion. On first glance the packaging may look basic, but the brand’s clean and simple image really reflects the products inside. I mean, what matters more? Frills and bows or, as Alison Claire boasts, ‘pure unadulterated quality’?
Lemongrass Shower Gel
When I first opened the bottle of shower gel I was immediately met with the delicate aroma of refreshing lemon, from the lemongrass and lemon balm that the product contains. The shower gel doesn’t lather up as much as I’m used to, but it still massages in well so it is worth the sacrifice if it means using less synthetic ingredients. This is perfect for use in the morning to wake you up as it has witch hazel and white willow bark in it, which makes it nicely invigorating. I mostly use shower creams through choice as I find gels can be quite drying, but because this is all natural it doesn’t dry your skin out at all. Rather, it leaves your skin feeling wonderfully clean and refreshed, but also conditioned and soft.
Rose Geranium Body Lotion
Alison Claire describes the Rose Geranium scent of this body lotion as ‘charmingly fragrant’, and it is exactly that. It smells earthy, but also subtly sweet and floral and is beautifully relaxing. The scent lingers on your skin for a good few hours too, and it’s always pleasant when you catch a whiff of it. I find that it takes a while for the lotion to be completely worked into your skin, but once it’s absorbed it feels intensely moisturising, but not at all greasy. At first, again because of the white willow, the lotion feels cooling and invigorating, but it soon calms to give long-lasting softness. It is also enriched with vitamins such as vitamin E and B12, which help to repair damaged or irritated skin. I have always loved natural moisturisers and this one really is gorgeous!
The two products I received cost £12 each for 200ml full-sized bottles. This may seem pricey, but if you want high-quality products which are made with care and are gentle on the skin then it is well worth it. Alison Claire’s range of bio-natural products is quite extensive, too. As well as shower gels and body lotions you can also buy all-natural hand washes, hand creams, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners, body butters, foot creams and even anti-aging face creams! There are many different scents available, from vanilla and coconut to apricot or lime, and many more. If you want to see the range for yourself then visit the Alison Claire website. I really want to try the Orange and Patchouli Hand Cream – patchouli is one of my favourite scents but it’s so hard to find.
Naomi x
NEW MUA Gel Eyeliner in ‘Tribe’
22
9 years
by Naomi in Eyes
Last week, my favourite budget beauty brand – MUA – added various new items of bargain make up to their already impressive range, including Every Lash mascara, the Going For Gold palette and four gel eyeliners. I am a fan of MUA on Facebook and they’re very good at updating their fans about offers and new releases, so I always know in advance when something exciting is going to happen. So, on launch day, I rushed off to Superdrug to pick up this new Gel Eyeliner in the very vibrant shade of ‘Tribe’. I had been after a bluey gel eyeliner for a while so I was extremely pleased when MUA revealed this shade!
The eyeliner comes in a little pot with a brush which clicks into the lid. When I first opened the product I was wowed by how stunning the colour is. The top image of the gel doesn’t really show the true shade, but the bottom one does… It’s a gorgeous turquoise colour with a slight shimmer to it – just what I was after 
I’ll admit, I didn’t have very high expectations of the brush as every other free brush I’ve had with gel liners have been, quite frankly, rubbish. However, I should know by now not to judge MUA by the standards of other budget companies as they really are a cut above the rest, and I will go as far to say that their gel eyeliner brush is the best that I own. The bristles are very soft but they keep their shape, and since this product is so creamy, it glides on like a dream!
The creaminess of the gel and the shape of the brush make it very easy to create a smooth, neat line above the top lashline. The brush is narrow as well so you can easily draw delicate flicks on the outer corners without any mess. The product dries quickly too, so you can build up layers of colour in no time for a bolder, brighter look. Here is how I wore ‘Tribe’ yesterday. I usually try to steer clear of blue eye make up as my eyes are blue and colour matching can make them look grey, but I don’t think this looks too bad.
I can safely say that MUA’s Gel Eyeliner is also extremely long lasting. e.l.f.’s gel liner often needs reapplying after a few hours to keep it looking solid, as does Avon’s, but this one lasted a good 14 hours without smudging or losing its boldness. I didn’t reapply it once throughout the whole day, and it looked exactly the same when I took it off as it did when I put it on – AMAZING. You’d expect it to be difficult to remove after lasting so long without budging, but it really isn’t – it comes off as easy as anything with a bit of eye make up remover.
All in all, I am SO impressed with this product and I want to collect the whole range eventually. I use black gel eyeliner more often than any other colour so I think that will be next on my list, and it will most likely replace the black gel liner that I already use! Each gel eyeliner in this range costs just £3 from Superdrug, which is an absolute bargain. I hardly made a dent in the product after swatching and applying this and I can tell it will last for ages. I really can’t recommend this highly enough! I can’t wait to combine it with other colours to create exciting new looks.
Naomi x
*This product was purchased with my own money and this is an honest review. I am in no way affiliated with MUA or Superdrug*
Avon Nail Experts Vitamin C Cuticle Gel
3I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I’ve never really paid any attention to my cuticles. They don’t grow much at all so I don’t have to push them back or remove them, which is a good thing really as just watching people do that makes me feel funny. The thing is, with barely any cuticle there at all, the edges of my nails sometimes get quite sore and dry, especially after working with my hands or using nail varnish remover. So, when I saw this cuticle gel on offer in the Avon brochure a while ago, I thought I might as well give it a go to see if it would help at all.
The gel claims to instantly revive, sooth and smooth dry cuticles, and repair them in the long run. After several weeks of use I can confirm that this is exactly what the gel does – hooray!
The gel has a slight citrus scent and contains tiny orange moisturising beads which burst when you rub them. I’ve been applying a small amount of gel to every nail almost every day for about three weeks and the difference it has made is amazing. My cuticles have grown in a bit more so the skin no longer peels back. They’re sooo much softer as well because of the beads, and don’t get sore at all.
The first picture above shows my cuticle before I started using the gel, and the bottom picture shows how my cuticle looked yesterday. You can clearly see that the bottom corners are no longer dry and peeling and the red soreness has now gone.
I can’t recommend this gel highly enough… It has worked absolute wonders!
Naomi x
Avon Shine Attract Lipstick in ‘Orchid’
0
9 years
This morning I excitedly received my Avon delivery, and in amongst the brochures and items for my customers was the thing I had been waiting for… my new Shine Attract Lipstick in ‘Orchid’! Most Avon lipsticks come in simple black packaging, but the Shine Attract Lipsticks have appealing silver casing, and are slightly less bulky.
What’s special about the Shine Attract Lipstick range is that they consist of a column of ‘lustrous colour’ which is surrounded by a clear ‘hydrating gel’. The lipstick applies fantastically smoothly because of the gel, and the gel and the colour blend well to create, as Avon puts it, bold ‘colour that lets you shine’.
I was initially really impressed by the moisturisation that Shine Attract provides, but I found that after eating my lunch the gel had completely worn off, leaving somewhat dry, slightly faded colour. I reapplied the lipstick, and it lasted for a couple of hours before I had to use lip balm over the top of it to reintroduce some ‘shine’ and moisture, but the colour still remained fairly strong.
On a better note, I absolutely adore the colour of this ‘Orchid’ Shine Attract Lipstick. As you can see in my swatches, it looked slightly darker on my skin than it did on my lips, where it looked a slightly pinker shade of purple, but it really is stunning. It has a similar hue to Avon’s Ultra Colour Rich Moisture Seduction Lipstick in ‘Plum Gorgeous’, which is my usual go to lipstick, but after trying this shade it might now have some competition!
Overall, I am quite pleased with this lipstick as it feels lovely on the lips (until the gel rubs off), blends nicely and has a vibrant colour to it. There are ten shades in the range in total, including pinks, reds, bronzes and purples, and they cost £8.50 each at full brochure price. I definitely want to try ‘Passionate Red’, ‘Happy Pink’ and ‘Cherry Pie’ in the future!
If you would like to order a Shine Attract Lipstick, click on the ‘Order Avon From Me’ page to find out how.
Which Shine Attract Shades have you tried?
Naomi x
