Une Radiance Refresh Night & Day 3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Water for Face and Eyes

Firstly, what an extremely long title this product has. I shall just refer to it as Radiance Refresh. I had never heard of the word "Micellar" before and thought perhaps this was a made up thing. It turns out however, it's not, it actually means something. Basically, what I understand from "Micellar" is that it is a solution consisting of a solvent and water, the solvent obviously being the thing that breaks down your make-up. This is a 3 in 1 product so if you are someone who doesn't like shortcuts and will habitually do the 3 part process of Cleansing, toning, moisturising, you may not like this. I cleanse, tone, and I moisturise, but cannot honestly say I do this every day, morning and night without fail. Sometimes I just like to spray a load of my toner (Lush's Tea Tree Water) onto a cotton ball and swipe all over my face, job done. It's not really though, and it doesn't get every trace of my eye make-up off because it is just too gentle.

I was a bit surprised that an organic product could cleanse so well and effectively break down my make-up. For the past couple of years, I've been really against using anything harsh and too chemically to take my make-up off, even if it does the job really well. I had to read through the ingredients because I felt a little like I had been conned by the actual organic content of this product, but sure enough 99.3% are of natural origin. There was a certain sting factor when I accidently got some in my eye which made me question what was in it, and this I think is perhaps the alcohol content even though it's very low down on the list. I suppose also, natural doesn't always mean its going to be very gentle, and since this is "Micellar" it is designed as a solvent to break down your make-up so it needs to be a little rough. I do love that tingly clean feeling it leaves on my face.

I didn't realise it at the time, but this is a product I really needed and had a gap for amongst the rest of my products (we always find a way to justify our purchases don't we?!). This is just the perfect product to pack if you're going away somewhere, no need to bother with decanting all your make-up removers, cleansers and toners into mini bottles, this does the job well enough and comes in a not too bulky 150ml bottle.

There is absolutely no moisturising properties to this product which is hardly a surprise because its purpose is cleansing. The "3 in 1" refers to: 1. Gently cleanses. 2. Purifies. 3. Tones. It also says that "skin is hydrated and instantly rid of impurities". Hydrated or not, I still feel the need to use a moisturiser after this.

At £8.99 for a 150ml bottle, this does seem a little pricey. However, I don't need to drench the cotton wool, a few drops really is all you need, so I see this bottle lasting a while. I think you need to be prepared to pay a little extra for a natural product as well because rarely do they come cheap. As a multi-use product, I think this happens to be good value for money. It is highly effective and I can't think of another single product that has made my face feel this clean without feeling like I have burnt myself a little bit!

Une Skin Matt Foundation Review

Below: both swatches rubbed in a little more to the skin.

Here is one of my reviews I have been meaning to do. I don't know when Une brought out this foundation or why nobody told me about it!...but I was rather delighted all the same.
I have been using Une Skin Glow foundation for a few months, repurchasing it a couple of times as I have been so impressed with it. If you've not read the review I did of that foundation, I said something along the lines of it is similar to a tinted moisturiser but with slightly more coverage. It doesn't break me out, it isn't heavy or cakey on your skin, and it is long lasting. Perhaps my only "issue" was that sometimes, after wearing it a while I can get a little shiny in my T-zone. This would happen if I were to wear no foundation, and is easily solved with a little translucent powder. I would also add that this is only really applicable in the hot summer months and after wearing it for the whole day.
Anyway, this is supposed to be a review about the Skin Matt foundation, so let's have a look at it.
(Scroll to the bottom for pros and cons if you don't want to read my waffling.) Packaging wise it's identical, and there was nothing that drew my eyes to it being any different to the Skin-Glow foundation, in fact, I thought that's what I had picked up until I used my brain and actually read it. I know matte foundations don't float everyone's boats and aren't anything to get excited about, but for me, a self-confessed oily girl, I need matte in my life. Now my skin is not as bad as I think it is, it is only really my t-zone that gets it's shine on, and even then, mostly in summer and it's probably not that noticeable to other people. I've never really looked at anyone myself and thought "you have a shiny face" so it's unlikely people are thinking that about me! But, as a result of my teenage years when it was more of an issue, I have been left thinking of myself as a dewy faced person and don't reach for products that promise me a dewy look. Maybe in 10 years this will be a different story.
Seeing that Une now did a matte foundation, and the previous positive experience I had had with the Skin-Glow made this an instant must-have product for me and am I happy I bought it? Well, yes.
First of all, it was super easy to find my shade as the numbers translate across the brand so I just had to find my number which is currently number 05. The consistency of the foundation comes a little thicker than the Glow foundation, it definitely has a more "foundationness" about it than a tinted moisturiser. This gives the advantage of offering slightly more coverage and consequently controls your shine for hours to come. It also comes with a disadvantage - it is slightly more difficult to work this into your skin. I find I need to work quite quickly or it has a tendency to turn a little cakey. I guess this is because being matte means it is drier and must be less oil based.
Overall, it isn't hugely different to the Skin Glow foundation and I feel like I don't prefer one over the other. I will continue using this one over the summer to keep my shine at bay, but I would consider going back to the Glow as the weather gets cooler, just for ease of use.
Une Skin Matt foundation is available in Superdrug and Boots priced at £11.99.
Skin Glow on the right, Skin Matt on the left.
Pros:

• Colour match is identical, consistency runs across the brand so it's easy to find your shade if you've used it before. Also, in larger Boots stores, there is quite a wide range of shades to choose from.
• Very long lasting, keeps you shine free for hours.
• Price - excellent value for an organic make-up product.

Cons:

• Little more difficult to work with than the Skin-Glow, doesn't glide on as easily. You need to be quick or it will cake.
• Shape of the bottle is not very user-friendly when you are near the bottom it gets quite difficult to squeeze it out, so you may find yourself wasting a lot of product.

MAC and Lush goodies

Here's a few things I treated myself to this weekend. I stopped by MAC and my favourite Lush store on S.Molten Street (less crowded and more friendly).

I traded in five black pots for a face mask and also picked up these toothy tabs which I've been meaning to try for a while. Quite excited about these!
A new found love in MAC was Arena eyeshadow, a gorgeous shade for all you neutral lovers out there.And a total impulse buy, I knew nothing of this lipstick, nor the current collections, I'm completely out of the loop on current MAC collections these days, but this is from the Fashion Flower collection. I will post a full review of these items next week, but for now I can say, Growing Trend, an amazingly gorgeous nude, was love at first swatch.

I hope everyone's had a fabulous weekend!

NOTD Barry M Raspberry

The latest addition to my Barry M nail paint family is the overlooked and undersung hero that is Raspberry. There's so many brighter, more stand out colours in the collection that I never really pick up the "normal" safe shades.
Raspberry is a deep, rich red colour which I have included a couple of pictures in different lighting. It reminds me a lot of Piccadilly Circus by Nails Inc except it is a truer red shade and doesn't look brown in some lights like Piccadilly Circus does. It is almost in that red wine colour family, but again a little more red than wine. It's a classic shade and one that I think everyone needs some equivalent of in their nail polish collection.
I think as this is an older colour, the formulation is not as great as newer shades, this did start to chip on day 2 which is unusual, definitely calls for a topcoat to fix this.

UNE Cosmetics Tote and Makeup Pouch Deal

Une Cosmetics currently have a deal on in Superdrug where you buy any two products and you get a free Une goody bag which consists of a make-up bag and a tote bag. Both the tote and the pouch are made from 100% naural and organic certified cotton, in keeping with their brand ethos. I will store a few make-up items in the pouch and the tote is ideal for shopping or carrying books. I'd be lying if I said I didn't just buy two Une products purely to get hold of these bags. Of course I love Une, but I really didn't go in looking to buy anything from them. You know how easily this is done.
I picked up my two items which once I started pondering over which things to buy became more of a challenge than I thought. Oh I really want to try their creamy blushers...oh but the lipsticks/lipglosses, surely they're the best make-up product to have that is all natural since essentially you end up eating it anyway...ooh but I haven't seen this cleanser before...

In the end I went for the Radiance Refresh Night & Day "Micellar Cleansing Water for Face & Eyes" and a Skin-Matt Foundation in M05. Now I have been using both of these products for a few days now so I shall write separate reviews once I have a full opinion about them. So far I am happy with both products and I am glad to see the Une range branching out. Using organic and natural origin products are increasingly important to people so I was glad to see a make-up remover designed by a brand that specialise in natural make-up. The way I see it, if they know how to put make-up on, they know how to get it off again.

I previously wrote about the Skin glow foundation and how I was wary with my oily skin, I was pleased to see that Une have now released a matt foundation for us oily girls and I feel that I may get along even better with this foundation. It's easy to find your shade if you've used Une before as the number corresponds, so I was a G05 in the Skin-glow which makes me a M05 in the Skin-matt, easy.

Here's a little blob swatch and then rubbed into the skin next to it, left a little thickly applied so you can see what it looks like.

Weekend Overview

This weekend was spent wandering around the Shoreditch area of London. Shoreditch is in east London and is one of my favourite areas although I haven't been that many times. The night life is great, and there is a real mix of people and buzz about the area.

I wanted to go to Flowers gallery on Kingsland Road after Derren Brown posted on Twitter that an artist friend of his had an exhibition there. Patrick Hughed does a lot of optical illusion pictures, a lot of which were unlike anything I'd seen. There were inverted masks, and these scenery paintings that appeared like hollograms, it wasn't until you came up close to them that you could see how it was done. Located on Kingsland Road, the exhibition is definitely worth a look.
Further on up Kingsland Road, there is Geffryes Museum which was a little gem of a find. Both pictures are the exterior of the building, unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures indoors. Note the gloomy lighting, the heavens opened shortly after this picture was taken.

The museum is based in an old Almshome, homes that were paid for by a charity and set up to house the elderly poor. You can still find a lot of these homes dotted around England, but this one has been converted into a museum which shows how English homes have been decorated over the years. It starts with the 1600s and goes right up to a middle class home today. It might not sound like the most thrilling of ways to spend an afternoon, but I happen to really like interior design and that was what this museum is all about. It's like a walk through interior design through time.

OOTD 13.07

Tube top: H&M - £3.99
Harem pants: New Look - £9.99
Flip Flops: Havaianas
Bag: Primark - £6

I found this top in H&M priced at a bargainous £3.99. I don't have too many of this style of top and I quite like a bare shoulder in the summer time, it tends to be the only time of year you get away with it.

Not sure how everyone feels about harem trousers, I wasn't a huge fan admittedly, but I tried on this pair from New Look and they were so comfortable, they are my equivalent of a lounging around trouser. I quite like the colour of these too, it makes them a bit different.

Primark have some amazing bags in store at the moment, very comparable to the uber stylish ones you see in Topshop but for a snippet of the price. This bag I bought for £6, but it has since been reduced to £3. I love that it's a sturdy little wicker basket bag, very unique looking.

OOTD 12.07

Here is another outfit post, (let me know if you would rather me stick to makeup) showing the rather simple, yet ready for whatever this unpredictable British summer should throw at me.
T-shirt: New Look - £8
Jeans: Primark - £6.50
Flip flops: Havaianas (from Office) around £18
Bag - Luca Bocelli - £29

T-shirt is from New Look, priced around £8. New Look are great for basics like vests and t-shirts as they are inexpensive and wash well (it's important ya know, there's nothing worse than washing something once then it drops to pieces!). I particularly like the little knot tie at the bottom.

The jeans are another pair of Primark's finest, the amazingly comfortable and well fitted skinny jean I have ever come across. Even more amazingly, they were in the sale this time around, £6.50 instead of £8. I bought these in a very pale wash the first time and these are just a darker version, I did however find that there's not much uniformity among sizes, and had to size up in this colour.
The bag was a present from my lovely Mum as she said I needed a bag to start my new work with. I really love satchel bags, but she wanted to get me a briefcase type one, we looked around and I think this is a happy medium. I saw a bag by the same brand that was a hot pink brief case which was tempting, but perhaps a little too legally blonde?! This is fantastic quality soft leather, and was priced at a discount of £29 down from £80. Although I haven't heard of the brand, I trust this Nappa leather to be good quality. I think it's all in the feel and the smell!Looking rather foolish in the above photos, I'm not a comfortable poser, I wore over my t-shirt my Kimono style top from Peacocks. It's a bit too warm for a jacket, but you never know if it's going to suddenly rain or turn to winter here.I have practically lived in my Havaianas since I bought them a few months back. I went for the slim fit ones in metallic blue. Quite expensive for a flip flop at £18 but these are a flip flop like no other, they don't drop apart like others or wear down. I might aswell throw in some make-up shots here. I went for a bright red lip (Sleek OMG, I will post a separate review on the Too True lipsticks) and neutral eyes using the Sleek Oh So Special palette. Bronzer is by MAC, Refined Golden which I bought ages ago and still use religiously.
This is probably one of my favourite make-up looks, it's pretty effortless really but without looking like I made no effort. I like that the red lip does the talking for this look.

I think this photo might be a little deceiving because I don't feel that in person my hair is that shiny! It's not in bad condition for blonde hair, I haven't used any heat, or at least minimal, say a blowdry every 3-4 days or so, but it is still due for a cut and colour. I haven't decided where I'm going to go yet so I'm going to have a browse online and see what I find.

OOTD 11.07

I don't do these posts as often as I would like. I enjoy seeing other people's OOTD so I'm going to try and make sure to include more of my own. This is what I wore today, a pretty simple ensemble today.Top: Primark - £8
Jeans: Kristen by Topshop - £40
Shoes: New Look - £24.99
Earrings: Autumn and May - £15
Bangle: Peacocks - £4

I love these blouses from Primark, they have a few different styles and colours in at the moment and I particularly love these brightly coloured ones with gold buttons. It's a viscose mix so the bottom part of it is kind of crinkly. It's very light weight and so perfect for summer time. I am tempted to go back and buy this in the bright blue and purple.

Shoes from New Look, these are very almost a wedge but have a small triangle cut out which makes them a high heel but with still with the support of a wedge. They are available in this taupe colour and black.

Eye makeup using Sleek Oh So Special.

Sleek Oh So Special and Curacao Palettes

I bought these palettes together so I might as well write a joint post about them. Sleek you've done it again. Just when I thought there were no more colour combinations that I needed, you brought these two into my collection. I don't really think I needed these, but I am a make-up addict, I am weak, and I caved.


This is Oh So Special, the palette I have been waiting for. A gorgeous collection of neutrals. There is not a skin tone, eye colour, age range etc etc that could not find a colour combination in this palette. It's suitable for day or night although I have only ventured towards the left hand side of the palette rather than the right as I've only used this for day time. My favourite lid colours are the second from the left, top and bottom colours, they're called Organza and Gateau, both quite similar rose gold shades.

I think out of all the palettes I own, this will become my most used as it is so versatile. I suppose I do still have a criticism of this as a neutrals palette however. For me there's a couple of shades that are just a bit out of place in this palette, Ribbon and Pamper. Ribbon is a gorgeous colour but not entirely in keeping with the rest of the palette, it does work well but I think I would have replaced it with a colour more like MAC's Retrospeck. Pamper is a pretty colour too but it's just neither here nor there as a lid, crease or brow bone colour, and I think I will wear it the least. What would have made this palette perfect is another shade or two for the crease (Boxed is perfect for this) and another lid colour. The four shades on the right side are all suitable as outer corner colours, when a couple would have been enough. This is of course me being fussy and dreaming up my perfect Sleek palette, one day I'm sure they'll nail it and bring out a palette that has it all.

I also happened to find the Curacao palette, which I really hadn't seen anything of beforehand. This is from the Caribbean collection and prior to this I had only seen the blusher and pout polish from this same collection. This reminds me a lot of the Circus palette which was also limited edition, the colours are very bright and because they are so pigmented, are true to the colour you see in the palette.

This is a good palette to buy if you're a green eyeshadow lover, there's 5 shades in there that are in green or aqua family. Apart from those, it might be difficult to pick out a few shades to wear together but it's a nice palette to have to choose one colour and make that your focus, mixing it with more wearable shades from elsewhere.

MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot and meeting an old friend

Last week I headed into town to see a friend I had not seen since our school days. Despite the realisation that it was so many years ago, and coming to terms with the fact that I am now OLD, I had a lovely time catching up with her. If you've been in a similar situation, there is that moment beforehand where you wonder how much they've changed, what if they're no longer a nice person! I can honestly say that besides growing up, my friend hadn't really changed, and I mean that in a good way. Just an older, wiser version! And this, despite being very successful at what she does for a living.
Harry is a makeup artist, and does a lot of fashion and editorial work. This was her dream all those years ago and how good it is to see those dreams become real. For the record, mine was to become a writer, which I suppose you could say I do here, but it's not my job. As I got older my dreams changed, I still maintained wanting to write but alongside this I found a new dream and chased that instead. I'm glad I'm doing the job I love (which I don't mention on here because it's worlds apart from my beauty blog!) but there is something to be said for people who never give up that one thing they want to be. Persistence is the key I think.

I would really love it if you went on over to: http://harrymakesitup.tumblr.com/ and http://harriethadfield.com/ to find out more about her and the work she's done, you can tell her I said "Hi". I think you'll agree it's pretty darn good.

That day we mosied around the make-up shops near Covent Garden and of course, whenever I am there, a MAC visit is a must.
I was after a paint pot to use as an eyeshadow base. I have not been too impressed with my UDPP, it does not live up to Too Faced Shadow Insurance in my opinion, so I decided to give these a go. Originally I thought I would but Painterly, it's the one that always springs to mind. However, looking at them and comparing Painterly to Soft Ochre, the latter was the obvious choice for me. I'm really quite yellow tinged, or golden as I prefer to say and this was a better match for my skin tone, not to mention how much better this shade is for the natural colour of most people's eyelids. The problem I believe a lot of people find with Soft Ochre is the dryness of this particular shade. I can see where there is coming from, Soft Ochre applies smoothly and creamily, but is quick to dry. You could get around this by applying it to one eyelid and then putting on your eyeshadow before moving onto the next. The most important thing is the staying power that this paint pot has. In my experience, it is still not as good or long lasting as TFSI, but perhaps slightly better than UDPP in longevity, not only in making my eyeshadow last a little longer, but the sheer amount of product you get in one of these little pots. If I use this every day, I can see it lasting me at least a year, now that's value for money. For some people I can see a hygiene issue around this as it is not in a contained tube, but a pot that you swipe your finger in. My answer is use a brush, or more simply, just wash your hands before you use! Not too difficult.

Overall, I rate this product quite highly. I would probably not repurchase, purely because I don't think I will ever get through an entire jar of this, but I may try different shades.