Eyebrows update

Well hello there,

It's been about 6 weeks since my last post about my eyebrows (http://kerfuffleclaire.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/lets-talk-about-eyebrows.html). I had just started using RapidBrow in the hopes of boosting some hair growth.

Before RapidBrow - left eyebrow

Before RapidBrow - right eyebrow

6 weeks later...

After using RapidBrow for 6ish weeks - left eyebrow

After using RapidBrow for 6ish weeks - right eyebrow.

As you can see form the pictures there has been some growth (woop!) The growth to my right eyebrow has been quite substantial especially considering I had not plucked either of them since July 2012. The left has also had some growth - mainly towards the end. 

Personally I hadn't realised how much they had actually changed until I saw these before and after photos! I had noticed they were getting a little scruffy looking which in hindsight actually meant there were hairs sprouting up!

I am going to keep using RapidBrow for a few more weeks and then book myself in for an appointment to get them shaped - so looking forward to this, it's been a long time in the waiting!

So - would I recommend RapidBrow?! Yes! It worked for me!

Claire

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned. I bought all products with my own money. 

Nails of the week: Essie Fiji

Well hello there,

The sun has been making a (brief) appearance and so I have been sorting through my summer nail polishes! After a bit of humming and ahhing I settled for Essie's Fiji. I gorgeous pastel pale pink. 

I love love love :)

Claire

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned. I bought all products with my own money

Review: The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer

Well hello there,

Today I am reviewing the Lightening Touch concealer from The Body Shop. It's a product in the same niche as YSL Touché Éclat, Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch and Soap and Glorys Wizard of Flaws. Some of these are more highlighter based some more concealer but I think most people tend to use them as a bit of both. 

The Lightening Touch markets itself as a concealer and comes in three shades depending on your skin tone. I have number 01 the lightest shade and bought is for £14. 

What they say:

A light diffusing liquid concealer, masks under eye circles and fine lines. 

What I think:

As with the other products mentioned above it's pretty bog standard packaging with the integrated brush. The outer cover is nice but I must say it gets dirty very quickly and so the nice shiny packaging doesn't stay that way for very long! You click the bit at the bottom and the product comes out the top (very simple really!). 

I tested this under my eyes and boy is it shiny. The light illuminating particles it says it contains are pretty bright. 

My under eye area looked like I had put tons of shimmer underneath :( and throughout the day I noticed that my mascara smudged quite considerably. Now I wear the same mascara nearly every day and it NEVER smudges so there is something about this product that must cause it. Finally it didn't really work as a concealer - it didn't cover my under eye circles in any shape or form, although you probably did notice them less as you would be too busy wondering what on earth I had under my eyes. 

Pros:

Blended well

Good colour match for me

Cons:

Too much shimmer!

Terrible coverage

The big decision:

Will I buy this again? A big fat no. It's just too much shimmer for my face to handle. I might try and use it up solely as a highlighter but there is no way I'll be putting this anywhere near my eye area again, the coverage is simply terrible and the shimmer too much. The Dream Lumi Touch by Maybelline is a much better product if you are looking for a highlighting concealer. 

Claire

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned and I purchased this product with my own money. Links are for reference only and I am not affiliated with any companies linked. 

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/make-up/face/lightening-touch.aspx

Nails of the week: Essie Angora Cardi

Well hello there,

Since the weather hasn't been that great recently I thought I would dig out one of my autumn colours - a lovey purple to vamp up my nails a little. Typically now the weather is beautiful but I love the colour nonetheless!

Claire

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned. I bought all the products with my own money. 

Sunny day :)

Well hello everyone,

Today is such a lovely day (which is very rare over here) so I'll keep it short and sweet!

Took a trip to Costa to get my favourite hot weather drink a red berry fruit cooler - yummy!

What's your hot weather drink?

Claire

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Costa in any way. 

Review - First Impressions: Michael Todd True Organics Acne Oily Skin Regime

Well hello there,

So last week I told you all about the new skin care regime I have started using and a now a week since I started using it I am here to give you my first impressions!

I purchased the acne/oily skin regime from Michael Todd's True Organics line. It is an American company but they do ship over here to the a UK. I bought the regime when it was discounted at around $70 dollars instead of the usual $131 - though this has been discounted for a while so I suspect you would never actually pay 'full price' for it - plus an additional 20% off - discount code at bottom of page :) so all in all I paid about $60 dollars including shipping. As it is imported import tax is due on it but the company actually pays this for you so you don't have to worry about additional costs!

What I got:

The regime comprises 5 products. 

A charcoal detox deep pore gel cleanser, an organic lemon toner, a kaolin clay facial mask, an antiox serum and a jojoba charcoal scrub. All of which is meant to be a 3-4 months supply.

First impressions:

The first thing I noticed about these products is the smell and colour of everything. The face mask which I used first really does not smell great especially as it's something you are meant to leave on your face for 15 minutes! The other products are no where near as bad but you can definitely smell the Organics coming though!

The toner seems nice, it's a pale liquid in colour with the same consistency as water. You apply it to a cotton pad and wipe over your face. So far this is nice to use but I haven't seen anything that makes it stand out from toners I have used in the past. The one thing I will say about it is that when using it you are meant to use sunscreen of at least factor 15 so maybe this isn't the greatest product to be using during summer or if you have delicate skin. Also since ordering they have switched the toner in the regime from the organic lemon to the blue green algae one - I am pretty disappointed as I had heard good things about the blue green algae toner so pretty gutted I didn't get it. 

The scrub and cleanser seem pretty bog standard to me so for now I am not going to go into too much detail about them. 

Cleanser on the left and scrub on the right. 

The serum is a bit...odd. First it comes in rather large packaging, the instructions state to add two or three drops but it's a large pump so unless you are careful you end up with much much more than that. I find it quite sticky and it doesn't soak in very quickly so it doesn't feel like its's doing much apart from just sitting on the surface of my skin. 

Finally the last product is the mask and I must say I am not a fan. First of all it stinks and is not the sort of thing I really want to put on my face. The second thing is it looks pretty gross. 

Face mask. 

So if you are applying it I would suggest that you make it a time where no one will be swinging by. The last and probably worst issue is that it is a total nightmare to apply. The instructions say apply an even layer over cleansed skin. 

This is my best effort at creating an even layer...

Try as I might it just would not spread evenly - it clumped together so badly that despite a good 10 minutes of trying the above is the best result I could get. There was just no way it was going to happen. Getting it off is also a bit of an ordeal as the product seems to,stick to everything (apart from my face!) Honestly I really dislike this and I am so disappointed in it :(

Others have been raving about this line so much which is what encouraged me to go for it in the first place and I must say that my first impressions are average at best. In terms of the impact it has had on my skin - my skin is a lot oily now than before :(. As I have only been using this for a week I am not yet sure if my skin is just adjusting to the new products, that the products are making my skin worse, or perhaps i just hadn't given enough credit to the products I was using before. Either way I shall continue to use them and find out - check back for future (hopefully more positive) updates. 

Claire

Disclaimer: I bought all these products with my own money and I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned. Links are for reference only and I am not affiliated with any companies linked. The discount code is just one I found on the Internet and I am not in anyway linked to the code. 

Acne oily skin regime: http://www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com/index.php/featured-products/acne-control-skincare-regimen.html

Discount code 20%: noacne

Nails of the week: Essie In Stitches

Well hello there,

I have renamed this as I think doing a nails of the week rather than a review makes a little more sense (especially as I am currently obsessed with my Essie nail varnishes) as I have roughly the same things to say each week!

Anyway - it's been the Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and we have had a little sun - woop! Did a little shopping and a little sunbathing wearing my nails of the week :)

Essie In Stitches. 

I find this a hard colour to describe: it's a dark pink with purple but also brown... Well I really like it!

What have you been wearing?

Claire

Disclaimer: I bought these products with my own money - I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned and all links are for reference only and I am not affiliated with any brands linked. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essie-Stitches-Nail-Polish-15ml/dp/B004ORDF1G