Penelope Row: 2012

Saturday 13 October 2012

My thoughts: Rimmel Mascaras

I am very picky when it comes to mascaras. I like a brush that will catch each lash and not so big that it will transfer on to your eye lids whilst you are trying to apply it. I don't usually buy in to gimmicky style mascaras and don't need anything fancy to make me buy it. Favourites in the past have included Max Factor's False Lash Effect, Blink & Go's Long Lasting Black Mascara, Bourjois Volume Clubbing Mascara and Clinique High Impact Mascara.

If you would be interested in a post on my favourite mascaras then let me know! :)

So, today I thought I would let you in on my experience with two of Rimmel's mascaras. First up is the Scandal Eyes Show Off mascara, which unfortunately really wasn't for me.

The brush

I think the main problem here is the brush, which is far too big. There is just something I don't like about the bristles, I think they are too spaced apart which meant for me it just didn't feel right when I was applying it. They felt harsh and far too big to be coating my eye lashes properly. As the brush was so big it seemed to coat them all at once and smudge on to my eyelid at the same time. This brush also has a star shaped ending for the purpose of coating lashes individually. I felt that, again, this gave off too much product on my lashes and made them smudge prone, wet and clumped together. I have a feeling the end of the brush was an attempt of a Givenchy Phenonmen'Eyes mascara style, which I don't think was pulled off by Rimmel very well.

The product

I don't know whether this was entirely down to the brush, but the actual product was very wet and took a long time to dry. I much prefer my mascaras to be a bit dryer as I think it gives off the best effect on the lashes. I paid £4.99 for this mascara when it was on offer, which is a very affordable price for a mascara, but I would rather pay a bit extra for one that was better.

Overall 4/10

Ok, so I may be being very critical, but I really did not like this mascara from the moment I used it, and has been sitting in my draw ever since. It's a shame I didn't feel it was a great product, as the next one I have to talk about is the polar opposite in my books.

Next up is the Lash Accelerator mascara, which is way up there on my favourites list.

The brush

For me the brush is just the right size, it's quite thin and small, which means it gets at each individual lash making them fuller and longer. The brush is also great for bottom lashes, the over all effect is great. The product does claim to make your lashes 'grow' which I don't really buy into, but I think the way the brush is shaped does make the product apply brilliantly, which I can totally see why it would make you think that your lashes had grown!

The product

I have no complaints about the mascara solution itself. I bought this product while it was on offer at Boots as I had tried it before when it was first released, and loved it as much then. I think usually this mascara costs around £8, which I don't mind paying as I know it's a good product.

Overall 9/10

Overall the Lash Accelerator mascara is a brilliant product and would highly recommend it!

Have you tried either of these products? What did you think of them?

Monday 1 October 2012

H&M Nail Polish: Deep Deep Water

At first glance this colour looks amazing, and the name 'Deep Deep Water' fits it perfectly, so I am sad to say what a disappointment it was.

I first applied it on top of a base coat, I applied two coats of this and loved the colour. And yet not even 2 hours later and not much done other than apply my make-up, the polish had chipped off on 3 of my nails. Not even just small chips, nearly all the paint off these three nails had come off.

So the next day, I tried again and applied a top coat, and glitter coat to hold it on, and yet it still chipped just as bad. When I took it off with my regular nail polish remover, it left my nails stained blue and they are still stained up until now. Really disappointed and very much regret buying this product.

So there's not much else to discuss, a lovely looking colour but can not with stand much before chipping and staining the nails, even with a base coat.

I am really disappointed, although it was only £1.99, I did expect better and really doubt i would purchase H&M nail polish again, which is a shame.

Instagram picture of my finished nails.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Double Trouble: 'Outfit of the Day'

My best friend Jess (yes, same names) has been roped in to do an outfit of the day with me, which was always inevitable. She was instructed to come round in a nice outfit so I could treat you all with some variety on my blog! :)

Her style is a little different to mine and is probably a bit more daring (she won't mind me saying this) so I thought it would be good to introduce her. If you like this post then I will certainly feature her more on my blog! (She doesn't know this yet)

Necklace: Forever 21

Blouse & Skirt: New Look

Rings: Asos

Bangle: Primark

Boots: New Look

Socks: Topshop

I took advantage while she was there and got her to photograph my outfit, so I thought I'd post a double outfit of the day! I love my new Zara boots, although not so good on wet grass! By the end of the shopping day they really began to hurt, but they are comfy for a short amount of walking time!

Blouse: Primark

Shorts: Forever 21

Boots: Zara

Ring: Vintage Opal and Silver

Sunday 16 September 2012

Hair Oils: Product of the Month

I'm not usually the type of person to spend a lot on hair products. And I sort of wish I was. The truth is, I just don't know which products would benefit my hair and how exactly they would change it for the better?

I am, however, a fan of hair oils. Since last year hair oils seem to have taken off, no longer is it £25 for a small bottle of Moroccan Oil shipped from somewhere half way across the world, as more and more companies jump on the band wagon. You can even now buy Moroccan Oil in Primark!

From some quick googling and wiki-ing the simple back ground of Argan Oil is that it is derived from the Argan trees discovered in North Africa. The oil is now used for both cosmetic and medicinal purposes.

I have used the Vo5 Argan Oil in the past, which is another that is great value for money.

This month I am particularly impressed with the Avon Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Oil. For some reason I don't have the lid, I loose the lids to most of my products, I wonder where they all hide?

The reason I like this product is because in one pump it dispenses just the right amount for my whole hair. It's also a very silky formula without being greasy. I have had some disasters with other hair oils which have resulted in me getting back in the shower and having to wash my hair again as it's left it so greasy. Touch wood- this hasn't happened with this one.

I find hair oil particularly beneficial for me as I have bleach in my hair from having highlights. Which means my hair can get unbelievably knotty after washing, which can be really painful to brush out. This oil seems to restore some moisture and leave my hair really noticeably soft.

I only paid around £3 for this 30ml bottle from the Avon catalogue, which was really reasonable. I would recommend if you receive the catalogue or you visit their website, to give it a go!

Before, I go, I thought I would plug my own Instagram as I am now an Instagram-o-holic! You can find me as 'theduttski'

Sunday 2 September 2012

MUA Heaven and Earth palette

I finally bought the MUA Heaven and Earth palette after it not being in stock at my local Superdrug for ages!

I'm glad MUA broadened it's range after it being such a small selection of products for quite a while. I am a big fan of their single eyeshadows that are only £1 each and they really are great eyeshadows.

I had high hopes for this palette as I had heard such good things about the pigmentation of these shadows, and for only £4 I didn't know whether it was too good to be true.

First impressions for me are that it has exactly the same problems as the NAKED palette from Urban Decay- too much shimmer. In my perfect neutrals palette, there would be more matte shades than shimmer, as I prefer to wear matte's on a daily basis.

When I first used these shadows it turned out I had shimmer on the lid, inner corner and crease- it all looked too much for me, so it isn't a palette I could get away with taking away on holiday with me or relying on it alone.

The pigmentation in the lighter shades is good, but the darker shades have a better colour pay off. The bottom row of shades are definitely my favourite of the two.

This palette is definitely great but it isn't my favourite palette that I own. I think the Beauty UK palettes are also really fab. They have lots of matte shades as well as shimmer and are perfect handbag sized palettes.

There are some brilliant quad palettes I have recently discovered which I look forward to showing you in my next post!

Monday 20 August 2012

Products I'm loving right now!

What post do beauty bloggers love to talk about most?.. Favourites!

This month there are a handful of products I have been using on a daily to weekly basis. As I tend to stick to drug store products unless I am on the splurge, all of these products are available at Boots or in the supermarket (you will be pleased to hear!)

First up are two skincare products, the first being a cleanser from Eau Thermale Avene. It's such a gentle product and is advertised as being kind to very sensitive skin. I like products like this to remove my eye make-up, I can't stand perfumed products near my eyes as it makes them so sore. This has no fragrance and doesn't sting at all if I get any in my eye. If you do have particularly sensitive skin, I would recommend testing it first to check if it's suitable for your skin. It costs around £8, but Boots have offers on fairly regularly that include this brand.

I've also really been enjoying Dove's Firming Nourishing Body Lotion, it has a lovely subtle scent which is very non-offensive. I am a big Soap & Glory fan, particularly of their body scrubs, but I find the smell of their body lotions can become over powering. So I decided to opt for a new lotion and really love this one. It only cost around £2-£3.

Since I have been trying to budget my spending, I have cut out on purchasing my beloved Mac Studio Fix Fluid. I have been trying out more high street brand foundations and have been loving L'oreal's Lumi Magique foundation. I must admit, in the first week of having it I didn't like it as much. My skin was going through an oily stage and this highlighted the oil like you wouldn't believe. Now my skin is back to normal I have been loving this foundation. It's very dewy and illuminating as it says. I love the consistency and it goes on really well using a stippling style brush. As with any foundation, you need a good moisturiser or primer underneath. It costs around £10, they were recently on offer as two for £15 at Boots.

I have also really been loving Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB cream. I hadn't used a BB before but really like this as it wasn't as I had presumed. It has great coverage and it's very build-able. I believe it is around £7 to buy. I have been mixing these two together to produce a more suitable shade and they seem to work well together!

A well known but well loved product. I love Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush. It smells lovely and freshens up your hair for those 'every other days' between washing your hair. It freshens up your hair and I find it also helps build volume slightly too!

My bargain favourite. I have been using these Tesco Everyday Value Facial Wipes for quite a while now and I love them! At 45p for a pack of 25 wipes, they are a bargain. They smell lovely, have plenty of moisture and are great for those lazy days when you want to just fall into bed and take your make-up off as fast as possible (naughty for your skin, but we all do it!) I must admit they aren't perfect for taking eye make-up off, but I never use wipes to fully remove my make-up, I always use a removing solution.

Thursday 16 August 2012

Marble effect bright nails

Hello lovelies :)

So here I am, back in the wonderful blogosphere, and happy to be back.

I am excited to get blogging and share my love for all things fashion and beauty again.

I thought I would start with these fab marble effect nails that I spotted on Makeup Savvy, so full credit to her on this nail tutorial!

This is a really easy way of achieving a marble effect, so read on to find out how I achieved it!

What you will need..

Nail polish remover

I love Cutex Ultra Cleansing as it removes polish in one sweep!

Also have some cotton wool pads and buds to hand.

Nail polishes

An array of around four nail polish colours, I found that adding pastels colours in worked really well for this effect.

The secret ingredient

Cling film, I found it worked well to cut ten small pieces, one for each nail.

Start by blobbing on your colours onto one nail, then take your piece of cling film, press lightly on top and dab around until the colours mix in to each other, then carefully peel off.

You should start to see this effect on your nails, don't worry about it going over the nail onto your skin, you can clean that off after.

Wait until completely dry to add a shiny clear top coat to seal the colour and finish them off. Then clean away around the edges and you're done.

This was my first attempt and I'm really pleased with the results, it was easy and really fun to do.

The trick with this one is patience to let your nails dry!

Hope you enjoyed

xxx

Friday 25 May 2012

Holiday Haul!

A couple of years ago I made a 3 part video showcasing my holiday haul, after being double the weight over at the airport and filling my friends hand luggage with all my clothes (and still having to pay £30 as the weight was still over) I thought I had learnt my lesson. But as usual, like any other girl, I have bought a new wardrobe for this year's holiday in Marbella. I hope you enjoy looking at what I bought! I have put all the shops/prices below each picture. I have also been out and spent another £70 in Primark today but I'll have to save that for another day! Hope everyone is enjoying the weather, it inspired me to take the pictures outdoors today :)