Lacura Beauty Concealer Pen 2.8ml

There has been quite a bit of hype for some time now about the Lacura Beauty Concealer Pen (from Aldi believe it or not). Numerous publications have praised it saying it’s on a par with the YSL Touche Éclat and with a price tag a seventh of the price the Lacura version does seem quite appealing.

I bought the Savanna shade, I believe there were two others (I can’t remember the names) but I went for the middle shade. The packaging it came in is pretty average yet the actual product itself looks quite professional. It’s a nice gun mental colour with a push button (exactly the same as the touché éclat) so you apply it in the same way you would any other concealer pen. It says it can be used before make up, after make up or during the day for touch ups so I tried all three. 

I’ve used it for a couple of days now around the eye area before putting on my foundation. It goes on smoothly and blends in really well. The formula itself is quite light and therefore isn’t as thick as the touché éclat meaning that it would probably work better on younger skin as opposed to older skin that needs more coverage in this area. I went to use it a couple of times during the day but didn’t need to as it seemed to stay in place. 

So, does this product work? Yes, it’s a fantastic alternative to the touché éclat for those on a budget. It does its job and to be honest I probably won’t be buying the YSL version until I’m a bit older as this seems to work pretty much the same on my particular skin. I have tried other concealer pens as well as the touché éclat but this one is the best I have found in a while.

If you have tried this product I would love to hear your views!

No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Day Hand Cream SPF15 75ml

I’m not a massive fan of hand creams as they usually leave a tacky feeling behind and I actually feel as if my hands are unclean if that makes sense? The only one I have ever liked is one by Molton Brown so when my Mum was raving about the No7 protect and perfect hand cream I felt like I had to try it. I’m already a fan of the ‘protect and perfect’ range and use have used the intense beauty serum twice a day for a good while now as a precautionary measure.

I’ve been using the hand cream for a couple of weeks now and have noticed that my hands are a lot smoother and the skin looks and feels much more supple. The cream absorbs in to the skin relatively quickly and without the tacky feeling that I find often comes with hand care products. It contains SPF 15 too which is always a positive! The one thing that is a bit weird about this product is the smell, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but there is definitely something in the ingredients (its one long list) that produces a slightly off putting smell.

So does this product work?

Yes. Even after two weeks of use I can see a difference in the smoothness and texture of my skin. It feels almost ‘plumped up’ and full of moisture which I haven’t had before with other hand creams. Usually once I’ve put on hand cream in the morning then washed my hands later in the day the moisture seems to go but with this hand cream the moisture didn’t seem to fade. I would definitely buy this product again even if it’s just to inject a bit of moisture into the area as hands are often one of the first areas to show age! 

If anyone has tried this product I would love to hear your thoughts!

Garnier Body Intensive 7 days Ultra-Softening Lotion (Dry to Extra Dry Skin) 250ml

I have been using Garnier Body Intensive 7 days Ultra-Softening Lotion (Dry to Extra Dry Skin) 250ml for about a month now as it was on offer for about £2 at Superdrug when it first came out. I was intrigued by this products ambitious claim that ‘after only seven days of use, skin’s quality is dramatically improved’ so I decided to put it to the test. 

I was a bit sceptical about using this product at first as it has quite a few nasty ingredients in it that I usually wouldn’t use such as mineral oil (which is actually a by-product crude oil!). It also contains palm oil (which I wasn’t keen on either) but I was happy to see that it contained shea butter. However, after closer inspection, I found it was that far down on the list of ingredients that it was highly unlikely to have any 'nourishing' effect on the skin (which is funny considering this is what Garnier decided to put on the front of the bottle!). It also contained benzyl alcohol which is a horrible drying agent so I was surprised to see that in the product list of a moisturiser!

The smell of the product was really quite nice and wasn’t too overpowering. Additionally, it did adhere to its claim that it was relatively fast absorbing in to the skin. I was able to get dressed after applying it pretty much straight away which is always a plus as I think products not sinking in the skin quick enough is a main reason why many don’t moisturise their body.

So does this product work?

To some extent, yes. It’s a lightweight moisturiser that absorbs quickly into the skin and has a lovely smell. On the negative side, I am still sceptical about the ‘7 days’ claim. I used the product twice a day for about 4 weeks and didn’t feel like I could miss a day. The moisture lasted for about 24 hours. Nevertheless it’s still a decent moisturiser with a nice low price tag that I will probably use again.

If anyone has tried this product I would love to hear your thoughts!   

Beyond Bronze (by Fake Bake) Airbrush Self-Tanner 210ml

As the weather starts to heat up many of you will start to apply fake tan in order to bare all in the warmer summer months. Therefore I decided to test one of the latest self-tanners by Beyond Bronze. I got this product from Boots (it was the last one on the shelf which I took as a good sign) and it was roughly about £13 with the ‘save a third’ offer that was currently on.

Before applying I exfoliated and applied moisturiser to all the usual areas (feet, palms, ankles, elbows and hair line). I held the spray 14inches away and used long smooth motions to achieve even coverage. 

The spray dried relatively quickly, most likely due to the SD Alcohol 40 (a drying agent) being third in the list of ingredients meaning that I didn’t have to hang around long before getting dressed. In fact I was quite impressed at just how quickly it dried and without the sticky feeling that usually accompanies fake tan application. Additionally, it actually smelt quite nice! Nearly all of the fake tans I have used in the past eventually leave you smelling of biscuits so I was pleasantly surprised when it was quite mild with just a hint of lemon (due to the Limonene and Citron ingredients). The spray also showed up immediately so you could see where you had sprayed it. I had a bit of overspray in some areas but this evened out by the time the full 4 hours of developing time had passed.

So does this product work?

Yes. If you want a self tanner that doesn’t smell of biscuits, is fast drying and develops a nice colour then this is the tan for you. I understand why some people would be put off with the price tag, especially considering I managed to get it with a third off (it would usually be around £20) however the spray tans in salons I get usually cost me around that and take ages to dry. Also when you consider you can get 2-3 applications out of this it works out at roughly £7, not bad for a tan you can do yourself at home! 

If anyone else has tried this product I would love to hear your thoughts!

Simple 'Kind To Eyes' Eye Make-Up Corrector Pen

Many of you will have been doing your eye make-up when it has gone wrong and will have ended up using a face wipe to carefully attempt rectify the mistake. Often though, you can’t get the exact precision you want with this method. Therefore when I heard about the Simple 'kind to eye' make-up corrector pen (retailed at £4.99) I wondered why no one had thought of this sooner. It seemed like such a simple idea – ironically, by brand Simple.

I decided to test this product in two different ways. First by seeing if it removed liquid/gel eyeliner flicks that have gone wrong/needed precision and secondly by testing whether it removed eye make-up pigment that often falls down under eye area upon application.

The Simple eye corrector pen passed my eyeliner flick test. It neatly cleaned up the flick that I purposely did wrong. However the same can’t be said for the pigment test. I used my darkest pigment to really test the corrector pen (Barry M Charcoal Dazzle Dust) and sprinkled a light dusting of the pigment on the area just under my eye. Instead of neatly cleaning the product up, like it did with the liquid eyeliner, it smudged the pigment and turned it into a large black patch under my eye.

So does this product work?

In terms of lighter eye shadow colours and liquid eyeliner it does work. The fine nib gives expert precision for cleaning up mistakes. Pigments however are a different story. The liquid in the pen mixed with the pigment and turned into a dark patch so I had to remove it all with a baby wipe anyway. If this happens to you I’d recommend using a baby wipe softly over this area then touching up with concealer/foundation. I’ve heard some people do their eye make-up first then do their face but I’ve never tried this. Would I buy this product again? Probably not, I think using a face wipe lightly is a much cheaper and just as effective alternative.

If anyone has tried this product I would love to hear your thoughts!