First Foray into Soap&Glory Skin Care

 I'm always a little bit entranced by the packaging of Soap&Glory, it's fun, it's girly and their sales patter is second to none but for some reason I got it into my head that they were a sort of poor man's Benefit for skin.  I love their shower gels, body butters and exfoliators but wasn't sure if I was ready to trust them with the moneymaker. (You don't have to tell me why I should feel bad, I already do)

  The other day I found myself stranded with unreasonably dull, lifeless looking skin and a sweet little buy one get 2nd half price deal in Boots. I gave in to intrigue.

   I limited myself to the Face Soap and Clarity 3-in-1 Daily Detox Vitamin C Facial Wash (serious mouthful) and the Peaches and Clean 4-in-1 Wash Off Deep Cleansing Milk for all skin types. They were €8 each but I got 'em for €10 with  a deal/student card combo! (woo!) My reasoning is that I didn't want to break the bank on stuff I might not like, so depending on how it works out I may have to go back for more of the adorable, shiny, mysterious things Soap & Glory are offering.

   Face Soap has a lovely clean, herbal smell that reminds me a lot of an old shower gel called Badedas whereas Peaches and Clean smells exactly as fruity as the blurb promises with a fresh peach scent that doesn't assault the nostrils.

  I've only done a little testing so far but the results look promising. Peaches and Clean is a product you can really feel working and though my skin was very distressed the day I used it, it managed to calm the whole thing down and evened out my complexion. I would say though that the resulting tingly feeling might indicate that it's not for the most sensitive skinned and I'd even be reluctant to use it as a regular make up remover, so exercise a little caution before buying!

   Soap and Clarity by contrast is very very gentle but leaves your skin looking glowy and healthy with a really unexpected but very pleasant, almost minty cooling sensation. This one I wouldn't be nearly as careful about, it does the job but feels gently enough to use daily.

   I've only used each of these products once but I'm feeling pretty good about them so far, I'd love to hear anyone else's stories of victory or woe at the hands of Soap and Glory!

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Model Advice Young Blood UK Competition

   A few days ago I entered a competition run by the lovely, knowledgeable people at Model Advice, a London based company focused on helping new models find their feet in the industry. They provide a weekly  clinic for all your modelling queries as well as casting opportunities and photo shoot services, definitely worth a look if you're hunting for that industry edge!

  The brief was simple, send in a comment, photo or video with your best make up tip to be in the chance to win a delicious goodie bag from the new UK branch of Young Blood Mineral Cosmetics. I flustered round the issue for a few days before deciding to man up and go for it! I sent in this tip:

Now I'm very excited to say that as it happens I won the competition! I'm dying to get my hands on Young Blood's products and with luck a review should follow in the next little while. In the mean time I suggest you get yourself over to Model Advice for some interesting and inspiring industry tips and tricks to see you through spring and into summer!

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MeMeMe Cosmetics Haul and Review

    So, my make up stash has reached critical mass. It's at the point where I pretty much have to blog about it if I'm going to justify even one more gorgeous, creamy lipstick or carbon black liner. A few weeks ago the lovely people at Glossybox were responsible for my downfall. The February box had a bottle of MeMeMe Cosmetics Beat The Blues highlighter nestled in its tissue paper wrapped, neatly beribboned depths and despite initially thinking it was nail polish (oops) I was totally roped in by the cuteness of the packaging!

    Now I'm all for letting a product speak for itself and generally I'm not toooo bad for giving into the need to HAVE SHINY THING NOW! But Glossybox had an ace up their sleeve... a 20% discount... I was helpless to resist. By the time I realised they don't deliver to these distant shores (*ahem* Ireland...) it was too late and my heart was set on their beautiful eye kits, luscious lip creams and an enchanting thing known only as a 'Goddess Rock' (bronzer apparently).

    I was just hooked enough to drag myself over to amazon where I found everything I wanted, though alas that lovely discount was wasted! I limited myself to one of their Long Wear Satin Lip Creams in Morello Silk   (a wonderful dusky aubergine, £5.49 if you're lucky enough to live in the U.K), a set of Goddess Rocks (£12.50), the Ocean Eyes -Get The Look Pack (£12.99) and their Arch Angel brow gel and illuminator(£7). Well I say limited...

 Here are a few snaps of the packaging and initial swatches.

 
   The Ocean Eyes kit is a bit of a joy all things considered. The eye shadows are soft and easy to work with despite being baked, the mascara is quite a dry formula giving lovely, full but natural looking lashes and the felt tip liner is dark, long lasting and incredibly handy for last minute make up on an early morning bus journey!

   The lipsticks are creamy, smooth and highly pigmented with nothing of the thick, tacky texture that some drug store lipsticks present. They are very soft however, so I'd recommend using a lip brush rather than applying from the bullet! The Morello Silk colour doesn't apply nearly as dark as it appears in the bullet but with a little time and effort a lovely rich purple can still be achieved, while Ruby Rich goes on perfectly however you apply it, a wonderful blue-ish red that should be flattering on most skin tones.

   I haven't yet made up my mind as regards Arch Angel or the Goddess Rocks. Both have their good points but overall are quite shimmery for daytime with the highlight end of Arch Angel in particular proving difficult to work with and unfortunately light even against my own pretty ghostly complexion. I'm not really one for bronzer but I've found the Goddess Rocks a pretty gentle entry to the fold, the shimmer can be intense but a nice healthy glow can be achieved with a decent brush and a light hand, with the more pink toned golds in the mix preventing any unfortunate orange streaking!

   The packaging is hopelessly alluring and overall the quality of these products far exceeds the price point. Even a couple of weeks after the initial glow has worn off I find myself turning to their Fat Cat mascara, felt tip liner and Morello Silk lip cream regularly. Should you find yourself with a little (but not a lot of) spare change a little treat from MeMeMe could prove just the thing to put a little spring in your step!

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