All posts tagged boots

What do you spend No7 vouchers on?

October 18, 2011

I’m always grateful when the sales assistant hands me a €7.50 off voucher at the till in Boots. However, the voucher is for No.7 products. I’m really not a fan (although their lipstick in Starshell is one of my favourites).

When I was in college I seemed to be in Boots a few times a week (god knows why) and one term I had an endless supply of No7 vouchers. I actually used to struggle to find products to buy. I hated the eyeshadows, eye liners, lipliners and glosses so I often bought skincare items. A few years on and really nothing has changed. The same weak products in the range are still weak.

Anyway, I found myself with three vouchers this week and not a clue what to spend them on. As I mentioned, I’m not a fan of the brand in general. I find it very over-priced and many of the products remind me of their 17 range but with fancier packaging. I find the pigmentation of the eyeshadows and glosses disappointing and the formulations of the eye liners and brow pencils just don’t cut it for me.

That being said, I was determined to find a product to spend the voucher on :)

I swatched and tested a few bits n’ pieces and settled on two items…

No7 Quick Cover Concealer and No7 Nail Polish in Pink Grapefruit. (Reviews and swatches to follow)

I just couldn’t find anything to spend the third voucher on. I was tempted by an oil shower wash but left flustered. I would love to hear what you have picked up with your vouchers in the past or recently. Any recommendations?

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Video Review – DIY Laser Hair Removal, Boots Smooth Skin IPL Hair Reduction System

September 7, 2011

I have finally finished my 12 week course of Boots Smooth Skin IPL Hair Reduction System. I recorded a little video documenting my experience with the product and of course, the results.

httpvh://youtu.be/BOCJkIwQr2Y

Any laser hair removal stories welcome :)

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Testing Time – Boots Smooth Skin Intense Pulsed Light hair reduction system

April 27, 2011

It’s time for some testing…again.

This time it’s the Boots Smooth Skin Intense Pulsed Light hair reduction system. I’m quite excited about this one. The idea of achieving long term hair reduction at home sounds good to me!

I have taken a few photos of the product itself so you can have a closer look at what’s involved.

The system itself is expensive at £331.90 but I have seen the system reduced at times with special offers. If it works I would consider it money well spent. It’s also cheaper than the Philips version by about €100.

I read the information leaflet that accompanied the system this morning over a cup of tea and there are a few things that stood out to me…

Smooth Skin cannot be used on blond, grey or red hair
You have to cover moles with a white pencil to protect them. The system does not include a pencil. They also recommend using a pencil to mark where you have treated. This sounds a bit annoying but we’ll see.
You have to shave your legs before treatment and the pain is minimal if you use the conducting gel
You can’t expose the treated area to the sun for 24 hours

I will give full information on how the product works etc in the video review. In the meantime, click here to read all of the information you need about the product and reviews.

I will start testing on Monday and keep you updated on my progress every few weeks. When I have finished a course of treatment (12 weeks) I plan to record a video review.

Come on smoothness!!

Would you consider laser hair removal?

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Clear Skin Suppplements – Day 1

January 31, 2011

I’m starting a little experiment today and thought I should share. As many of you know I suffer from hormonal acne which started in my mid twenties. It only effects my chin (definitely hormonal). I picked up some Works With Water supplements for clear skin in Boots.

There are 14 sachets in the box I have so my two weeks of testing starts today. I will keep you updated on my progress with some photos – how brave am I!

Here is a little more information on Help:Clear Skin if you are interested:

The product works by inhibiting the development of the bacteria that cause acne and reducing the inflammation associated with existing acne blemishes – acne help that works from the inside.

“The effects of Praventin have been proven in medical trials, showing a median decrease in acne blemishes by 71% within one month and 95% within two months. In the studies, subjects took 200mg of Praventin each day to achieve a noticeable difference in the texture of their skin. In studies with teenage consumers, no adverse side effects were reported. It was also seen to contribute positively to the physical and emotional well-being of young adults” (taken from their website)

It says on the box to take the supplement for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. I’ll start with my box of 14 and see how I get on.

Help Clear Skin is also sold for men. As far as I’m aware Works With Water also sell sachet supplements for cholesterol and blood pressure too. They’re all on sale in Boots.

I’ll be back with an update in a few days!

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Boots Exclusive – Benefit Sha-La-Lovely Christmas Set

November 7, 2010

Finally an exclusive that’s available on this side of the water!

The kit contains

Boi-ing concealer in 02
Creaseless cream shadow
Three powder eye shadows
Badgal Lash Mini Mascara
Eye Bright
Concealer Brush
Double Ended eyeshadow brush
Full lesson.

I like the idea of having so many products in one box. I could pop this in my handbag with a lipgloss and save myself lugging around a half tonne of products.

I bought the Benefit Realness of Concealness kit a few years ago. Although I loved it, I found that I used up the boing concealer within a few weeks. I would love if the concealer pan in Benefit palettes were slightly bigger since most people would use a concealer up much faster than eyebright.

The set costs €36 / £25 – definitely not a drugstore price but if you like Benefit products or wanted a little introduction to the brand then this could be a good option for you. I have to say that I’m not a big fan of Badgal mascara. I’m also not sure I like the idea of eyebright in pan form. The pencil is so easy to use and is one of my favourite products but in a pan? Surely that will be too much work.

It’s also a Boots exclusive. Nothing like the word ‘exclusive’ to start the queues forming although it’s worth thinking about whether you need everything in the box before you commit. I always consider the price against the value of the products and how much use I could get out of them. Then I ask myself if there is any other product(s) I would prefer to spend that money on. If I still want it at this stage then it’s a good buy. For now, I think I will pass on this one. The other Benefit sets I was talking about before appeal to me more.

Have you ever bought a Benefit set?

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No7 Tis the Season to be Twinkly – Christmas Limited Edition 2010

November 5, 2010

No 7 have launched their Christmas Limited Edition collection. I thought you might want a little look since No 7 is so accessible.

MirrorBall Highlighter Compact (limited edition)

MirrorBall Palette

MirrorBall Lipstick

MirrorBall Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencils

Christmas Glitter Mascara

Christmas Collection Eyeshadow Palette in Candycane

Most of the products in the collection come in multiple shades.

What are your thoughts on No7 cosmetics? Does anything in this collection stand out to you?

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Mint Mojo – thumbs up or thumbs down?

June 7, 2010

I have been loving pastel nails, like most of you, over the past few months. However I have just come across a polish that has destroyed my faith in this trend. Enter Collection 2o00 Mint Mojo

It looks like a palm green. It was easy to apply, cheap (€2.49), two coats were enough for perfect coverage and it lasted a few days without chipping. The brush is a little wide for my nail bed which meant the polish kept getting on my fingers but that was easily remedied.

This shade does nothing for my skin tone and looks quite cheap on me.I much prefer Button Moon which is more of a blue pastel, here’s a photo for comparison.

On the up side, my faith in Collection 2000 polishes has been restored.

What are your thoughts on pastel polish?

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Collection 2000 Lilac Ice

May 18, 2010

Collection 2000 Maxiflex large nail polishes are on offer in Boots (buy 2 for €6). So of course whilst picking up a prescription I needed to get some. I have tried some of their smaller nail polishes and although I loved the colour range I wasn’t overly impressed with the consistency. I assumed that the larger and dearer ones would be better quality.

One of the shades I picked up was Lilac Ice. It looks exactly how it sounds, a frosty lilac shade. It’s a very pretty colour and the consistency of mine is a little better than the small bottles. It dries to a smooth finish which is good, I hate the feel of gritty nails.

It says on the bottle that it’s designed to last 5 days, too good to be true? Yes. This polish needs a top coat as it started to chip at the tips after a day or so. I applied two coats in this picture…

They are definitely not amazing quality but they’re cheap and I do love the colour. I would buy another shade just for the colour fun. When I pass the pretty colours I just can’t resist. Must…stay…strong.

Collection 2000 polishes are a little hit and miss for me. The other shade I bought was also Maxiflex but was thicker and harder to apply. A little consistency would go a long way.

Have you tried any Collection 2000 polishes? What is you favourite polish at the moment?

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Visit to Boots: Make-Up Haul

March 19, 2010

I went in to Boots to pick up a prescription and eyelash tint. I’m afraid I didn’t stop there. I picked up some lovely things from Barry M, Rimmel, Collection 2000 and No 7. Here is the video if you’d like to see what I picked up.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6_9XOBQyq4

Thanks for watching!

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My thoughts on Maybelline Liquid Mineral Foundation

February 28, 2010

I have had Maybelline Mineral liquid foundation for a while now. I gave it a try this week. Here are my thoughts (deep as always hee hee):

The good:

SPF 15
Creamy but light texture
Fresh glowy effect on skin after it is applied
Easy to blend and apply; fingers, damp sponge, foundation brush
Pump bottle. No mess what so ever.
Cheap and often on special offer
Very accessible. Stocked in chemists, boots & some supermarkets
Colour looked natural on me
Light to medium coverage. It’s also quite buildable. But at most you’re going to get a lighter side of medium coverage.
Can be easily mixed with your moisturiser for even lighter coverage for Summer
Good for dry skin

The bad:

Still needed a little bit of concealer but then again I do with most ‘drugstore’ foundations
Glass bottle makes it too heavy for my handbag. Not a hope in hell it’s fitting in my clutch
Needed powdering on my skin
Not very long lasting on me. Lasted about 4-5 hours before I needed to touch up. I only reapplied to my chin though. I bet this wouldn’t last an hour on oily skin!
Limited colour range
Not for those who need medium to full coverage
It may photograph a little funny due to the SPF
The marketing spiel: Minerals, sounds healthy right? Wrong. It’s full of all the usual chemicals and preservatives.

I applied this foundation using a foundation brush. Then I blended using a duo-fibre stippling brush.

If you have dry skin and you’re looking for an affordable product it’s worth a try. If you have oily skin you’ll probably want to stay away from this product, it will make you shine…in all the wrong ways.

What do you think of this foundation? Have you tried the Maybelline mineral powder?

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