Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Summer Products Refresh! ft. NARS Laguna, Barry M Gelly Nails & Maybelline Cream Shadows

 

The sunshine seems to finally be peeking out from behind the winter blanket it has been hiding behind and I'm taking the opportunity to shake up my make up bag! I'll do another post on my favourite makeup bases & foundations (they need a whole post to themselves!) so for the moment its other miscellaneous summer themed goodies.

Nars Luster Blush
I ordered this from ASOS and cannot wait for it to arrive! The Nars website describes it as a "Juicy Apricot" and I think it'll be the perfect upgrade to the berry flushes and pinks that I've been sporting through the cold months.

NARS Laguna Bronzer
Took advantage of the ASOS discount to order this cult favourite which I've never tried! I love a bit of bronzer for warming up the face and adding a bit of shape. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint!

Maybelline Color Show Nails in Urban Turquoise
A gorgeous turquoise shade that is bound to get you in the weekend mood. Lasts well on the nails too.

Maybeline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze
An easy cream eyeshadow seems appropriate for the summer months and this Bronze shade is so easy, either by itself as a lid colour or as a base to build up a gorgeous shimmery smokey eye.

Maybeline Color Tattoo in Eternal Gold
Another cream shadow that's great as a lid colour for everyday use.

Barry M Gelly Nails in Blueberry
These polishes have been all over the blogosphere and I love this pastel blue colour. Use the Maybelline Urban Turquoise on your toes and this colour on your hands?

MUA Kiss Proof Stain in Fabulicious
Super easy, fuss-free and long lasting, adding a pop of colour to the face. What more do you want?

Anatomicals Eye Cream You Scream
Not strictly a make up item but this light gel cream is so soothing for tired peepers both morning and evening. It blends easily with facial moisturiser to ensure that under-eye concealer goes on smoothly.

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What products have been refreshing your make up bag recently?

Love,
Geisha
xoxo

Monday, 11 February 2013

REVIEW: B. Makeup & Skincare (Exclusively at Superdrug) ft. Micellar Water

B. is for Beautiful

B. (B. is for Beautiful) is the newest Make-up and Skincare launch to hit the market and I was super excited to see a whole new range of goodies available for perusal by beauty addicts like myself! There's nothing like the feeling of swatching away happily in store and coming home with a bunch of new goodies to try out :) Wouldn't you agree?

The range is exclusively stocked by Superdrug and features everything from eyeshadow to foundation to gel eyeliner to serums to wrinkle fillers! It seems to be the Superdrug answer to Boots No.7 range but I personally like it even better. The colours seem more wearable, the foundations and formulas are carefully thought out and the packaging is slimline, subtlely branded and neutral.

As much as I would have liked to buy the entire range, just to try it out, I had to limit myself to match my budget! I decided to buy a range of products that came together as a whole "look" and I went for the naked, glowing skin, bronzy eyes, a peachy highlight and a wintry flush to the cheeks.

Scroll down for detailed reviews and images - I chose all the products carefully in store by swatching and testing for textures and payoff and I was really impressed by them all, especially at such an affordable price point - Yay!

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Here's what I decided on:

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REVIEWS
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Gentle and quick on the toughest of makeup - I'm so glad to have found an affordable British version of Bioderma! 





MAKE-UP




B. Set Sheer Finish Pressed Powder in Light 019

Light, not too powdery (don't you hate it when you touch powders with your brush and dust flies everywhere!) and leaves a natural finish to the skin. Not much more to say but it's a really decent powder. I'm also finding that the MASSIVE mirror,which fills the whole lid, is perfect for on-the-go touch ups!








B. Glowing Shimmer Block in Just Peachy 161

Quite shimmery and frosty, definitely one to use with a light hand! I can see these shimmer bricks being perfect for both cheekbones or as eyeshadows. They definitely remind me of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks and I'm loving this one for a winter glow on the cheeks at the moment. Shimmer isn't just for summer! In fact, I prefer it in Winter when you can keep the rest of your makeup matte.








B. Cheeky Blusher in Rosy Brown 096

Love this little pot of joy!!! I chose the darkest colour available out of the collection but it's still super wearable. Unlike the sheer pressed powder (above), this is a smooth, almost creamy, easy to pick up on the brush kinda powder. Fortunately, it's also quite sheerly pigmented (no nasty surprises with stripes of blusher on the cheek) and imparts the skin with the most perfect of winter flushes. The pot is a bit small (I want more!) but I absolutely love this blusher!






B. Complete Eyeshadow Palette in Glisten 132

Smooth and buttery in texture, these shadows are super easy to use - no chalky hard textures here! The pale matte is great for an all-over lid colour and the three shimmery bronze shades are individually gorgeous and great together too.

The bright copper looks almost orange on me and makes a great statement eye with the dark brown smudged along the lashline and finished off with lashings of mascara. The lighter, more neutral brown shade is one of the prettiest shades I've seen in a while and I can't wait to use it for an everyday eye with a slick of liner.






B. Naked Light Hydrating Foundation in Beige 030

The Pièce de résistance - I always judge a cosmetics line by it's foundation. None of this "Don't judge a book by it's cover" rubbish - I reckon that the way to tell the real quality of a cosmetics line is to see how much they've invested into their most basic products - the bases.

Did the B. Naked Light Hydrating Foundation pass my stringent foundation tests? I'm glad to say that it did!

It's a lovely light sheer foundation which applies great over moisturised skin. It has a light-medium coverage and a weird hybrid matte-sheer-natural finish. It's definitely not dewy but the skin still looks plump and fresh after application.

The colour Beige 030 is the 3rd darkest out of the line up and suits my fairly light complexion (somewhere around a MAC NW25/NC25). I'd say that the colours span quite a wide colour range but there aren't that many colours! Does that make sense? In other words, the darkest colour is quite dark (around NC/W40-50) and the lightest is very light (around NC/W5-10) but you don't have a myriad of shades in between - only 5 shades in total.

I'll be using this as my weekend foundation when I don't want the more dewy finish of my MAC Face & Body (still a great sheer foundation, especially for winter).





B. Smokey Soft Blendable Kohl Eyeliners in Emerald 103, Grey 141 and Plum 009

I have a TON of eyeliners so I wasn't expecting to be blown away by B.'s offering, I mean how groundbreaking can eyeliners be? However, I was pleasantly surprised by these B. Smokey liners.

They have lovely, workable soft textures that smudge easily with the built-in smudger (I do love a good built-in smudger) and the most subtley beautiful colours.

The emerald green is a glimmering peacocky showstopper, the plum is a beautiful and interesting accent as a liner and the grey is the most beautiful grey liner I have ever used! 

I know that "beautiful grey" bit sounds ridiculous but there is such a big difference between a BLAH grey eyeliner and a OOOH one (which is this one). It's a really flattering and perfect grey, not too black, not too charcoal, no brown or dirty undertones and just great for a smokey eye look. All you need is one eyeliner! Or add a bit of eyeshadow in for interest - e.g. I've used this with Fig. 1 from MAC, a matte purple and the effect was smokey gorgeousness.

(pictured from top to bottom: Emerald, Grey, Plum)






Last but not least... Animal friendly

A little known fact about all Superdrug own brand products (or at least I didn't know about this!) is that they are 100% BUAV approved. In other words, they are approved by Cruelty Free International as being completely animal friendly. No animal testing for these guys - just look for the bunny symbol on their products for reassurance. This means they are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

The only other brand who can claim that they are this animal friendly are The Body Shop! Personally, I think it is a lovely little extra bonus that I can buy these products knowing that they are made cruelty free.

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Will you be trying out any B. products? Have you done so already? I've been so impressed by Superdrug's overhaul of their Beauty sections in loads of shops - I could browse in there for hours!


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Love,

Geisha
xoxo

Sunday, 4 December 2011

REVIEW: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge (Cabo Coral)

I couldn't resist picking this up as I walked past the Bobbi Brown counter in Harvey Nichols in the Landmark mall, which now has a twinkling Christmas tree in the lobby.



I know that it's winter and TECHNICALLY I should be wearing a rosy mulled wine stain on my cheeks but I was getting bored of my sensible "winter" powder blushes and decided to embrace the warm weather in Hong Kong (it was 25 celsius when I arrived) with a new coral cream blush.

Also, I love coral blushes :) MAC Peaches is my current favourite powder blush.

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Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks in Cabo Coral

PRODUCT

This is a hardened cream product that softens up with a quick swirl of a fingertip. In terms of texture, it is less sticky and gooey than the Stila Convertible Colors (love these though), more creamy than the Topshop Cream Blushes and gives a more dewy finish than the MAC Cremeblend Blushes.

Cabo Coral is a very peachy coral with much less pink in it than its sister Pot Rouge, Calypso Coral. I would go as far to say that this looks and applies like a sheer pastel orange, whereas Calypso Coral is a peachy pink which leans towards the pink spectrum.

As the name suggests, it is designed for use on both cheeks and lips for anything from subtle stain to a full-on flush. You get 11ml of product which I think is fairly generous as you need the smallest amount for great colour payoff - I don't think I'll be needing to repurchase this for years!

I paid HK$210 for this product.





APPLICATION

(a) CHEEKS

The lip balm style pot begs for a fingertip application but I have found that this applies best on CHEEKS with a regular foundation brush (i.e. the MAC 190 shape). I gently stroke the product with the brush and apply it to the whole cheek for a brightening kiss of coral on my cheeks. It is comparable to NARS Turks & Caicos Multiple Tint, but is less of a orange jelly tint and more of a sheer peach yoghurt flush.

Mmm peach yoghurt.

(b) LIPS

Contrary to my cheek method, I use my fingertips to apply this to the lips. Instead of swiping it on, I find that applying a bit of lip balm before pressing the colour onto my lips with the pad of my finger works best, otherwise it can be quite drying.

The colour on my lips is similar to MAC's Ravishing lipstick but is more of a pastel peachy orange. It is also similar to MAC's Freckletone lipstick but again is a bit more pastel and peachy.



Worn on both cheeks and lips:


VERDICT

This is a lovely cream blush in a sleek container that contains a generous amount of product. It definitely satisfied my craving for a true peachy-orange blush as there are hardly any pink, brown or rose tones in this!

Although this could be built up into a truly tropical colour, I enjoy wearing it as a sheer flush of product across my whole cheek. It is a bit drying on the lips but is a cheerful pastel peach colour which works great with a bit of lipbalm.

Staying power on my cheeks is excellent - I had class from 9am-5pm today and the colour was still there when I got home and I still looked healthy and glowing. I think this would look GORGEOUS on tanned skin but I like how it looks on my NC20-25 skin too.

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If you have any questions then please feel free to leave me a message in the comments :)

Do you have a favourite cream blush?

Thursday, 20 October 2011

ORGANIC MAKEUP - Lavera, Weleda & Desert Essence


COMPOSED, PHOTOGRAPHED & POSTED WITH MY SAMSUNG GALAXY S2



First things first: Hello lovely readers and welcome back to Geisharock! It's been a while, non?


I'm excited because I'm in a new phase of my life, post-university & job hunting and am determined to blog much more... This will be made easier by my new iPad 2 (love) and Samsung Galaxy s2. Reviews on those will pop up soon, albeit very non-techie reviews!


I'm itching to post this as it is my first try using my SG s2 to create a whole post, from taking the photos, uploading and typing it all up.


I'm kicking off with an Organic Makeup post, inspired by the lovely Lisa Eldridge.


I was strolling through Whole Foods and one of her videos popped into my head where she used Lavera foundation so I decided to pick that up, along with 2 moisturisers.


I'll leave you with the photos and product names and will update after I have tried them out.


1. Lavera Natural foundation in Porcelain 1


2. Desert Essence Daily Essential moisturiser


3. Weleda Skin Food
















LOVE GEISHA XOXO

Thursday, 10 February 2011

HAUL: MORE BB CREAMS (SKIN79), CLINIQUE & THE BALM


How I wish I was attending the upcoming London Fashion Week - I had such a great time in September and I wish I could enjoy it every season, every year for the rest of my life!

Apart from a flying visit to London (which is happening soon), I will be in Asia until at least the summer and I miss the UK awfully already! I will be spending much of the coming month in Beijing, China which may mean that I can't spend much time online. However, if I do manage to get connected then I may have more time to blog again.

I don't mean to be dreary at all, just feeling a bit nervous about everything. I'll be staying on campus at a local university doing a course and I'll be excited to be in Beijing again and to be blogging from there!

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Back to beauty...

You didn't think that I'd be content with trying just ONE BB cream, did you?!


Scroll down to a few posts below to find my review of my first BB cream purchase (the Sasatinnie Sakura BB Cream) as well as a general overview of what BB creams are.

Hong Kong is a cosmetics wonderland and when I saw these two shiny cylinders of Skin79 BB creams I HAD to pick them up. My decision was also made much easier by the fact that the gorgeous Ingrid of missglamorazzi uses the pink version on a daily basis! The two TheBalm items were impulse purchases (sucked in by that packaging again) and the Clinique sunscreen is nothing too exciting but I was on the lookout for something I could wear on my off-days that would give me some UV protection.

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SWATCHES
(L-R)

Skin79 VIP Gold collection BB cream (Pewter packaging)
Skin79 Triple function Hot Pink BB cream (Pink packaging)
TheBalm Bahama Mama bronzing powder
TheBalm Time Balm concealer in Light/Clair

I didn't swatch the Clinique sunblock as it does not really give any coverage at all - it is just a slightly yellow/beige tinted lotion that spreads out to give the TINIEST HINT of colour and a subtle glow to the face. I have been using as a base for foundations that have no/insufficient SPF as well as just an SPF in general!


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REVIEWS


Skin79 VIP Gold collection BB cream (Pewter packaging)
& Skin79 Triple function Hot Pink BB cream (Pink packaging)

If you google these BB creams, you will undoubtedly find a plethora of information regarding all the bells and whistles that come with them including whitening and moisturising effects, sun protection, foundation-like coverage, gold and caviar extracts (VIP Gold), sunflower, rice bran and ivy extracts (Hot Pink), etc etc. In my opinion this is mainly marketing puff and I'm going to focus on my experience of using the creams themselves rather than whether they live up to all these hyped up expectations!

Skin79 is a famous brand of BB cream originating from Korea and is known as the Queen of BB Creams because of its extensive range of products and its celebrity endorsements. Not to mention an endorsement from Ingrid of MissGlamorazzi herself :)

Skin79 suggests the VIP Gold BB cream for people with dryer skins and the Hot Pink one for people with an oilier skin. Personally I find this to be correct as the Gold feels more moisturising and looks dewy whilst the Hot Pink one dries to more of a matte finish (as long as you use a non-greasy oil controlling moisturiser!).

I have included a chart issued by Skin79 to help you figure out where these two BB creams sit amongst their wide range of similar products. They both come in a cylindrical packaging and the product is dispensed by pressing the top down and pumping it out.


- Texture -

The texture of these BB creams is fairly thick, similar to the MAC Studio Tint tinted moisturiser or (more crudely) toothpaste. The cream is thick enough to hold its shape when you pump it onto your finger (i.e. doesn't slide around or plop off).

- Colour -

The 2 BB creams are actually very similar in colour but this VIP Gold one is ever-so-slightly darker. As you can see from the picture above, both of them pull VERY BEIGE, which did alarm me when I first pumped the product out! BB creams generally only come in 1 universal shade (sometimes they range to 3 shades) which is definitely something the market could improve on in general if they wanted to truly compete with the foundation market. At the moment these are equivalent to tinted moisturisers that only come in 1 tint!

- Application -

Upon application to the skin, both of the creams spread out easily and help to even out my skintone. They do not cover up all my blemishes and I need to conceal a bit further - however, you only need a small amount to give a good amount of coverage. I have a yellow-toned skin and upon initial blending, these look VERY VERY PINK on my skin, but they adapt to my skin within 30 minutes or so and are virtually undetectable - no cakeyness here!

EXTRA: I picked up a cute technique for application from a Skin79 video on youtube that would work great for combination skins - apply the more moisturising VIP Gold BB cream all over the face then use the Hot Pink BB Cream on the T-zone to mattify slightly. I have been using this technique and it works great!

- Repurchase? -

I will definitely be repurchasing these, particularly the Hot Pink one but preferably both of them as I think they work well together. I am also intruiged by the rest of the Skin79 range.

Normally, I WOULD say that I would not recommend these 2 particular creams to anyone above NC40 as it may be difficult to blend the light beige cream in successfully. HOWEVER!!! I have used both of these creams on my mum (who is around an NC37) and they blend to an imperceptible and perfect finish on her face, despite looking MUCH lighter than her skin when I first applied it. Very impressed so far!

TheBalm Bahama Mama bronzing powder

Despite how dark this looks in the pan and in the swatch, it is actually a really natural bronzer and applies smoothly to give a warmth to the face. I actually prefer light brown and slightly sparkly bronzers but I am using this to contour lightly and it works well!

TheBalm Time Balm concealer in Light/Clair

Another deceiving swatch - this looks almost salmon pink (much more pink than in my photo) on my hand when I swatch it! However, it blends in GORGEOUSLY with my skin and is creamy and moisturising but surprisingly long-lasting despite its emoillient texture. I use it both for undereye circles and blemishes and it works brilliantly on both! This won't last for hours and hours like some truly long-lasting concealers will but it will never cause flaky patches or sink into the lines under your eyes and I would personally rather top my concealer up once during the day than look flaky and crusty right from the start!

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Phew!!! I hope that was helpful :) If you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask them! I'd love to hear from you guys.

You can also email me or tweet me at http://www.twitter.com/geisharocks.

Love,
Geisha
xoxo

Wednesday, 29 December 2010

the Balm Cosmetics (& CHRISTMAS IN HONG KONG)


Darlings, I'm baaack - it's been far too long since my last post and I've really missed blogging! I've been reading all of your blogs but haven't had the time to blog myself or comment regularly.

I hope that you all had the merriest of Christmases filled with mince pies, port, carolling, brandy butter and all the other lovely things that come with the festive season. I arrived on Christmas eve and therefore spent most of it in a jet-lagged stupour, waking at midnight to eat a huge Christmas dinner... midnight munchies! I also had a truly good nosh fest at a Christmas day buffet hosted by the Marina club in Hong Kong. What does everyone have planned for new years eve? I will be at a cabaret themed club night, daintily slurping and guzzling my way through the open bar & unlimited canapes that will be on offer.

Diet, me?

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EUROTRIP



My previous post gives away the main event of the last few months - my trip to Luxembourg! It was absolutely wonderful and I say this as a complete bright-lights-big-city sort of gal. Despite it being a tiny, land-locked Grand Duchy, I found that it surprised me with its quaint beauty and strong international vibe, mainly due to the mix of people who work in Luxembourg City, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (which was where I was based). It is common for people to commute in from neighbouring countries (Germany, Belgium) and it is only a short train ride away from a huge range of exciting places that are perfect for a weekend trip (Paris, anyone?).


It's the building buried in the valley greenery on the bottom right corner of the photo!

I ended up staying at the Luxembourg City Youth Hostel for most of the time due to the short nature of my stay. I haven't stayed in many youth hostels, but this far exceeded my expectations (contrary to the horror stories told by friends and family) as it was almost like a hotel with dorm rooms! I ate delicious and reasonably priced meals in the hotel restaurant EVERY DAY and was never disappointed, which is more than you could say even for most hotel food (almost always mediocre and overpriced).



The nightlife was limited in choice but always buzzing at the weekends, despite the size of the city and the nature of its residents - I have fond memories of Scott's Pub (an British themed bar with a difference... everyone working there was actually British! Including the resident jazz guitarist) and The Tube (pictured! This was loosely themed on the London Underground but the theme wasn't explored much further than a faded wall mural of the tube map)



If you happen to be road-tripping around that area of Europe or are planning a Eurotrip, I recommend that you take out a day or two (for that is all Luxembourg City really needs for a full tour) to explore this glorious little city. I haven't mentioned the great transport system, the charming eateries in the town centre, the breathtaking valleys on which the city is built on and the fascinating insight you can get of Luxembourg's fascinating history whilst admiring the beautiful stone structures dotted throughout the old town and exploring its mysterious underground cave system.

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BLOGGING FROM ABROAD

I am currently in Hong Kong for the next few months and am excited to be blogging from here. I am by no means a tourist as I am originally from HK and lived and went to school here for many years but I've been away for so long that everything has changed (shops seem to change every few months!) and I will enjoy sharing my opinions on everything from food to fashion as I re-discover Hong Kong for myself.

GLOW

I decided to have some fun with my make up today and use a few new products from theBalm Cosmetics that I recently bought from SaSa (our drugstore equivalent here in asia) to create a bronzy, shimmery look.

MAKE UP USED:

BASE:
- Maybelline Dream Satin foundation in Nude -

CHEEKS:
- Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Rose and Pale Pink (swirled together with a stippling brush) -
- theBalm cosmetics Mary-Lou Manizer AKA "the Luminizer" along cheekbones -

EYES:
- theBalm cosmetics Mary-Lou Manizer all over the lid up to the brow -
- theBalm cosmetics Shady Lady eyeshadow in All About Alex (swatch below) blended along the lashline and smudged upwards -
- L'oreal Contour Khol in Dark Chocolate to tightline -
- 17 Eyebrow Shaper in Natural Brown on the brows -
- Clinique High Impact Mascara in 01 Black -

LIPS:
- Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in 301 Crystal Baby -

Mugshot for detail

i.D. magazine inspired



* NEW STUFF FROM THEBALM COSMETICS*

I was really excited to find this brand in Hong Kong as its not readily available in the UK and even in London I think it is exclusively stocked at Harvey Nichols. My attention was first brought to this brand by the lovely Ruth from A Model Recommends who reviewed the Luminizer in one of her videos.

Mary-Lou Manizer AKA the Luminizer

A gorgeous shimmery champagne gold highlight and eyeshadow with buttery textured powder. This is really easy to work with and may look scary when you swipe it but blends out nicely. It is a bit glittery so not the most subtle of highlighters but a tiny bit goes a long way and the sheen it imparts is really pretty.


Shady Lady eyeshadow in All About Alex

A gilded khaki with a pewter undertone. Glimmering goodness. The texture of all the eyeshadows are similar to the Luminizer and the pay-off and buildability are fairly good too, probably even better with UDPP or TFSI as a base (I don't have either - shame on me. I'm holding out for the UDPP in its new squeeze tube packaging!)



The other two Shady Lady shadows in:

Curvy Cami

A glittery mid-toned purple that leans slightly towards cranberry when swatched. Similar to Trax from MAC but I prefer this as the texture is much easier to work with - MAC shadows can sometimes be dry and hard to get good colour pay-off from.


Luscious Lani

A light glimmery pale pink, slightly frosty - the camera has picked up champagne for some reason but its definitely pink, almost how Benefit's High Beam looks in the bottle. Looks great with Curvy Cami :)

* Other close ups *

Estee Lauder Crystal Baby

You've probably heard of this from the Pixiwoo sisters and Tanya Burr of Pixi2woo who love using this for a natural full pink lip. Smells scrummy too.

Clinique High Impact Mascara

My current favourite. The story behind this purchase was that I recently discovered my ANCIENT old tube, which was only a tester but had not dried out at all after years and years! I was so impressed considering that I have owned mascaras that dry out after a month or two or, worse still, are dry and flaky to begin with! Obviously I wasn't about to use a mascara that was about 5 years old so I popped out and bought another sample for myself.

HK sells samples of everything - perfume (cute little 5ml bottles), skincare, make up. A bit of a rip-off considering they are samples which should be provided for free BUT:

a) I'd rather pay £2 for a generous 4g sample-size tube of mascara (which is what I did) rather than have to wheedle and beg a snobby sales assistant to hand one over.

b) I doubt that, even if I did beg and plead, I would be able to get a mascara sample unless it was posted to my doorstep by PR for review as make up counter SA's make it seem like sample pots of foundation are a hugest deal already.


Hope that was useful :)

I'm planning to delve into the world of BB (Blemish Balm) creams which seem to be the new hot thing in Asia. Have you heard anything about them or used them yourself? I must admit that I first heard about them in Ingrid's youtube videos!

Love,
Geisha
xoxo