Dark or Fair. You Decide?

I did ask on Twitter but only got two replies so I'll try here. What do you think. Should I keep my hair light or have it dark again?

Or

What say you? I need to know.

Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions Liquid Make Up Review

I expect that by now most of you have heard of this stuff. When I first heard about it my ears instantly pricked up. As a 35 year old it's always been upsetting to me that I suffer with hormonal spots every month and a few others thrown in for luck. I've tried so many different types of skincare over the years and had a variety of prescriptions all to no avail so for me the main thing has been learning to cover them and create as flawless a canvas as possible.
 
Clinique Anti Blemish foundation makes lots of claims.
"NEW Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup is a powerful, yet gentle foundation formula designed to keep blemish-prone skin feeling comfortable thanks to a blend of balancing ingredients that help to minimise sebum without depleting the skin’s moisture balance.  The moderate coverage formula camouflages blemishes, neutralises visible skin redness and helps to conceal the appearance of pores.  This lightweight, long-wearing foundation provides a refreshing cooling sensation upon application that blends easily and gently to not irritate already sensitive skin, while also working to actively treat blemishes.  And, even when blemish-prone skin is at its best, continued use of NEW Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup maintains moisture balance and controls oil to safeguard skin against future breakouts.  The result is up to eight hours of a skin perfecting, beautiful natural finish that doesn't sacrifice on comfort.

NEW Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup is available in eight shades ranging from very fair to deep.

It is packaged in an Ophthalmic tipped bottle and is designed to partner with the Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clear Skin System to help treat and prevent breakouts.

RRP £20"

So how is it? Well it's flawless is what it is. I don't have any blemishes at the moment but I do have the remains of several on my chin, red, dry flaky skin. There's no caking in the dry bits and most amazingly no redness shows through at all. In the following pics I used no concealer. Didn't need to.

Clinique claim it will stay put for up to 8 hours. It pretty much does too. It wasn't as flawless after about 5 hours but I should think a dusting of powder would fix that.

Very impressed at the coverage and the application, plus it does feel light on my skin. The only downside I can really see is the colour range. I have the palest and it's only just right, if you're very fair indeed this won't be pale enough for you. It'll be interesting to see how it copes when I have more spots or if indeed it helps keep them to a minimum. Largely though, for me, fantastic at covering blemishes, good wear, pores are minimised and a flawless finish. Would definitely repurchase!

PS: I was sent this product to review.

Jumping On The Bandwagon

It's a great bandwagon to be on. I just bought me the Melissa flip flops. Black. Too cute! So comfy and they smell of bubblegum as all Melissa shoes do. I bought them when it was hot, the day they arrive it's pouring down. Typical.

Scuse the state of my not-ready-for-summer-yet feet. How cute are they?

ASOS £25, I now have my eyes on more Meliissa Plastic Dreams Shoes.

Revlon Spring/Summer 2010 Lilac Pastelle Nail Varnish Review

This is the second review of these Ltd Edition nail varnishes from Revlon. You can see Minted here so go and have a look if you haven't already. I must say before I show you Lilac Pastelle, that the wear on these is extremely good. I removed Minted last night  and there wasn't a chip on it, nor any tip wear. I removed it anyway so I could get on and try Lilac Pastelle! And very lovely it is too.

A pretty spring colour I think. I don't love it as much as I ended up loving Minted and for some unknown reason I had a terrible time applying this, but I was using a new base coat which I sometimes think affects the application. Still, I think the end result makes the effort worth while. At £6.29 it's a worthy polish and one I'm pleased to have in my ever expanding collection.

PS: This product was sent to me for review purposes by Revlon.

Have You Heard About All For Eve Yet?

Regardless of whether you have or not I'm going to tell you about it! Firstly have a look!

Look at that lovely minimalistic packaging, it's very satisfying. Anyway, more about the products later!

All For Eve is a different and very special brand. Developed and launched by George Hammer, Chairman of The Urban Retreat Group, with the sole purpose of raising funds and awareness for gynaecological cancer research by donating all net profits to The Eve Appeal. George developed the concept following the untimely death of his sister-in-law Nadia to Ovarian Cancer in December 2008. The products were designed to be refreshing and uplifting, whilst creating a feeling of courage and poise and so celebrating women’s strength. All profits are being donated to The Eve Appeal 

The Eve Appeal was set up to save the lives of women by funding groundbreaking research into gynaecological cancers. Every year, a million women worldwide are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer, compared to 1.2 million women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. Yet fundraising and awareness of gynaecological cancers remains low. The Eve Appeal is determined to change this. A worthy cause I'm sure you'll all agree and having had a scare and treatment after a smear test myself, one that's close to my heart.

So serious stuff over, what are the products, where can you get them and what do they cost?

Bright & Bubbly Shower Gel. SLES & Paraben free £4.95
Buffed & Beautiful Scrub. Paraben Free £6.95
Soft & Shielded Body Butter £9.95
Luxurious & Light Body Lotion £7.95
Smooth & Nourished Hand Cream £6.95
All of the above products are created by Urban Retreat

Straight & Strong Crystal Nail File £12.50.
Created by All for Eve

Eve Red Lipstick £10
Created by Daniel Sandler

Eve Red Nail Polish £10
Created by Sophy Robson

I think you'll agree the prices are pretty great and as soon as I actually have any money (woe is me) I'll be snapping up all the bath & body products for sure!

If it doesn't all sound great enough already then consider this: All For Eve just won four awards, Best New Brand, Best New Make Up, Best New Hand & Nail Care Product and Best New Bath and Body Product at the CEW Beauty Awards 2010.

All products can be bought at http://www.allforeve.co.uk/ - so please do. Buy yourself some treats and help a very worthy cause too :)

A Review of Cellnique Products

This is a post I've been putting off writing because I'm simply not sure what to write. Cellnique are a Malaysian company who contacted me asking if I would like to try any of their products. The products sent were the Amino Collagen C Intense Set and the Ceutox Biological Serum.

The packaging doesn't feel great, it feels a bit cheap but it's okay. It's not cheap stuff (I'll go into the details below) and I suppose I expected glossy boxes or something.

Anyway lets have a look at the products.

Amino Collagen C Intense Set

This product consists of two 10ml bottles with pipettes of Serum labelled Intense I and Intense II. Intense I is to be used day and night after toning and is to help with skin's resilience and to refine open pores. This stuff tingles when you apply it and feels warm, it's a strange feeling, not altogether pleasant, but not awful either, but that will be very much up to individual preference. The second Intense Serum aims to help repair damaged cells and holds moisture in your skin.

Ceutox Biological Serum

This gel type serum should be used every morning and night and is supposed to prevent signs of aging and reduce wrinkles.

I've been using these products together, twice a day now for approximately three weeks. Generally speaking my skin feels beautiful. In fact after applying the serums my skin actually feels like velvet. It's a marvel it really is. The other thing I've found is they make a wonderful base for make up, minimising the look of pores and just helping to create a beautiful base.

I do not know if the products will reduce fine lines as I've had to stop using the products and I don't think 3 weeks is long enough to trial these kinds of products.  Sadly, since using the serums I have had a never ending stream of spots. I don't believe, although I can't be sure, that the products are causing the spots (try hormones and lack of sleep combined with poor diet) but I do know that these products aren't helping either and I need to use basic products to give my skin a fighting chance of survival.

So I'm not sure what to say really! I like the products, the actual serums feel expensive to use and with the tingling, they feel like they work, they also, generally speaking, make my skin feel utterly gorgeous. But then there's the spots, not caused by the products I don't think... but could be and I obviously can't say after such a short trial whether lines are reduced.  My pores haven't been minimized however under make up the pores are far less obvious.

The products are not cheap, Amino Collagen C Intense Serums are $96 and the Ceutox Biologial Serum is $128. The only place you can purchase is the official website http://www.cellnique.com/index.php/ but parcels arrive quickly and in good condition. Shipping is free if you spend over $60 or $20 otherwise.

If you fancied giving Cellnique a try then they are offering free samples of Skin Action Sebum Gel, 3ml to the first 20 readers to contact them. Email your full name and address to fbfreesample@cellnique.com with the subject www.ladyofthelane.com. The offer is open for one week from today and samples may take up to 6 weeks to reach you.

Mac Greengrease Greasepaint Stick Review

I recently bought two of the Greasepaint Sticks from the Mac Art Supplies collection. Unfortunately Zinc Zone turned up damaged but Greengrease is fine and so today it was time to give it a go and you know what I love it! The green is a dark green. The greasepaint sticks go on easily and are easy to blend...provided you work fast. Fantastic for creating a smoky eye and easily buildable. I tried it on my hand (Forgot to take pics, sorry), and it works well as a base for shadows, I tried with a green pigment and it was fab. The following pics show the Greengrease on it's own, with Benefit High Brow and Mascara only. I could have kept adding and blending for a much bolder look, but as it is, I kept it sheer.

 Love this product, very versatile, but remember you need to blend fast!

Lush Discon Heads Up

There's another round of Lush discons coming up to make way for the new products I posted about HERE
If you love any of these you'd better stock up. The timings are the approximate length of time that the factory will have stock that the shops can order. Rumours are that some of these will be going onto the Retro section of the website but I'm not sure which and when.

To Be Discontinued :

Happy Pill - approx 3 weeks
Supernova - approx 6 weeks
Q10 Toner Tab - approx 2 months

Mirror Mirror - approx 3 weeks
Razorantium - approx 4 weeks
Shave the Planet - approx 2 weeks
Tramp - approx 2 weeks
Yummy Yummy - approx 2 weeks

Crash Course In Skincare - approx 3 weeks
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder - approx 6 weeks
Karma Dusting Powder - approx 8 weeks

I Should Coco soap - approx 4 weeks

Hard Shampoo Bar - approx 4 weeks
Soft Shampoo Bar - approx 4 weeks

It's A Wrap - to be confirmed

I'm not bothered about any of them except maybe A Crashcourse in Skincare & Happy Pill. I'll be glad to see the back of some of them, yes you Yucky Yucky Yucky.

Jo Hansford Anti Frizz Shampoo & Conditioner Review

Jo Hansford is something of an icon when it comes to hair colouring, described by Marie Claire as "the First Lady of Colour",  her clients include Nigella Lawson and Elizabeth Hurley. It comes as no surprise that she has launched her own range of hair care products especially for coloured hair. At £14.50 for 250ml of the Anti Frizz Shampoo and £16.50 for 250ml of the Anti Frizz Conditioner it doesn't come cheap, so what we all want to know is, does it work?

The products are made with sustainable ingredients, are paraben free and contain UV filters. The Anti Frizz products contain Castanha do Brasil and sunflower extract and claim to protect dry frizzy hair, enhance shine and put back nutrients. Keratin, Amino Acids and vitamins A&E are also added.

Firstly, I love the simple packaging, it looks and feels expensive. Secondly, it smells beautiful.

Now I need to tell you a little bit about my hair. It's very very fine but there's a lot of it. It's thick wavy and dry. I straighten it every single day (you'll see why when you see the pics coming). When I wash my hair it turns into a huge dreadlock once wet, I struggle with  shampoos that don't contain heaps of silicones as they make the dreadlock even worse and its a struggle to work product through my hair. I always let my hair dry naturally as I think it suffers enough heat damage, then when it's dry it's a frizzy, but soft, mess.

So when I started using this I knew it was going to be hard to work through my hair because I just knew it didn't have all the crap in it that Pantene (for example) does. And sure enough it was a bit of a job, but I persevered. I don't know if there are silicones in these products or not but it's a million miles from most supermarket brands.

After using I let my hair dry naturally and I think you'll be able to see for yourself if there was an improvement. I now give you a series of pictures, before and afters, naturally dried with my old shampoo and then naturally dried after the Jo Hansford. Befores are above with an after below each.. And I urge you to view full size to see the extent of the frizz in the before pics!

Look at that! Virtually no frizz at all in the after shots.Very very impressed indeed. Not only is it frizz free despite no styling but it's soft and shiny too. Do I reccommend? You bet I do! You can buy in Harvey Nichols, John Lewis, Bentalls and the Jo Hansford site. What are you waiting for? Go!

PS: I'll never use that "before" shampoo again, I knew it was rubbish, I had no idea how rubbish though!
PPS: I was sent these products for review purposes.

Revlon Spring/Summer 2010 Minted Nail Varnish Review

Revlon have released two polishes for Spring/Summer 2010. Minted and Lilac Pastelle. (Lilac Pastelle review to follow). All the polishes retail for £6.29. Please note I was sent this product to review.

It'd be impossible to write this post without making comparisons to Essie's Mint Candy Apple so I guess I'll start there! You can find my review at the bottom of THIS POST. The colours are very close indeed. But I didn't like the Essie. I found it hard to work with and unforgiving in its application and I wasn't sold on the whole mint green thing, in fact I sold it after only wearing it once! So, I didn't expect to like Revlon Minted but  I do! The application is a dream, two coats. It just seems slightly more forgiving, slightly softer and less tippex-y. I'm not 100% sold on mint green on me, but I think I will wear this again, I think I kind of love it! So for your viewing pleasure I give you Revlon Minted Nail Varnish.

 And just for fun here's Essie Mint Candy Apple for comparison because I couldn't find one anywhere. Minted is definitely softer, greener and in my opinion, nicer.

Revlon Double Twist Mascara Review

Revlon very kindly sent me this mascara to review for you all.
What sets this product apart from other mascara's apparently is the 2 in 1 brush which is supposed to build volume whilst seperating and defining your lashes. This retails at £8.99.

The vey first thing I noticed was how much product came out on the wand. It looked a little...gloopy...(click the picture to see close up).

 The next thing I noticed as I started to apply it, was that I found the brush rather unweildly and big to use. I can't really explain why, it just feels clumsy, but perhaps that's me.

So how did it look? Here's a before and two afters (one of which is lovely and cross eyed).

 What do you think? Well I'll tell you what I think. I think it adds volume,  but perhaps a bit too much, due to the amount of product on the brush, lashes were a bit thicker than I'd like, but yes they were clearly defined and seperated. It's not the perfect mascara for me, I suspect because I have a lot of thick lashes already but I can really see this working well for someone who has less lashes, or thinner lashes. It's not that it doesn't work for me, I will definitely keep using it, it's just that I tend to not need volume, I tend to go for lengthening formulas. The other thing is the brush. I will practice some more and see if it gets any easier to use, but it just makes me feel clumsy and I'd like a little less product on the wand.

Oh! Another good thing about it is that it's super pigmented, I have some mascara's here that don't pack the punch this does colour wise, so I do like that.

Generally speaking I would recommend this but perhaps not to anyone who already has thick, full lashes, but anyone looking for volume and definition? This could really work for you!

PS: Last night when Graham came in from work he thought I was wearing false lashes! It's really a dramatic look.

Lush Ocean Salt Review

Lush Ocean Salt. So bloody good I just used it twice in a row in the bath. Honestly, I love this stuff.  I just washed my face with it in the bath, and did it again immediately after, just for fun! I know, I'm just crazy! ;)

What is it? Well it's a cleanser and it's an exfoliator. It's totally margarita flavoured Salt and Citrus, my all time favourite combination. It's scrubby goodness in a black pot. Thats what it is.

It's harsh, sometimes you have to pick out little fingernail hunks of salt before you can rub it in your face, and for some people, even without the over sized bits it'll be too harsh for them, but not for me. I think if I were to use it every day it'd dry me out eventually, but I find 3 or four times a week works a treat for me. The smell is heavenly and I have something of a scrub "thing", I love the feeling of a good scrub. My skin is left bright, soft and glowing and it just feels clean. It's not great at removing eye make up so make sure you remove that with something else, but otherwise, fantastic. Best bit for me is licking your lips after. :) There's a reason Lush have been stocking it for years. Buy buy buy!

120g £6.10 and £250 £11.20.

Sheer Cover Cosmetics Review & Guest Review

Please excuse the formatting of this post, I have NO clue what happened!

Not so long ago I was asked to try Sheer Cover Cosmetics and I readily agreed.

Sheer Cover make mineral cosmetics developed from Green Rooibos Tea and the range contains no oils, perfumes, dyes or talc and has an SPF of 15.  

According to the information I received Sheer Cover is a 4- step system which allows your skin to radiate and gives you a natural luminosity, while providing excellent coverage.  Sheer Cover® goes beyond just covering up flaws, it’s designed to deflect light away from imperfections allowing you to  camouflage the look of dark circles, scars, sun damage, birthmarks, pores and fine lines. Sounds great!


I received the Introductory Kit containing lots of goodies which I will go through and review individually.The Kit retails at £29.99.

Firstly lets have a look at the Sheer Colour Compact.

This retails on it's own for £7.95, two lipglosses, one lip colour, three highlighters and a cream eyeliner. The glosses are ok, nothing special but a pretty hint of colour, the lip colour isn't for me at all, just the wrong shade. However, I do really like the highlighters, especially French Vanilla, very pretty on the brow bone. I also really like the liner. No transfer to my lids and great pigmentation. I don't think they are worth buying the whole palette for though. the liner can be bought individually, full size for £14.95. A bit pricey, but still a nice product. Ignore the applicator included!


Next, the brushes! Highlighter brush, concealer brush and foundation brush. They look lovely, I love the clear plastic handles, very satisfying! The highlighter brush, is ok, I've been using it for precise highlighting and it's ok. The concealer brush is pretty good, I use it every day, I have a different brush I use for under eye shadows but I use this one for covering blemishes and its more than adequate. The foundation brush is terrible though. It doesn't do a good job of applying the foundation and it feels a bit horrible. I was staggered to learn it sells for £16.95. I use my kabuki to much better effect!


Next up the Extra Length Mascara. It's not very good sadly, definitelyone to avoid. It adds colour but no length or volume.

Next - the concealer! Excuse the big ding in it, I caught it with my finger nail :(

Love this, it's a great colour match for me, covers blemishes with ease, blends well, works with the mineral foundation and I've used it every day since I got it, regardless of which foundation I'm wearing! In no way is it woth the £19.95 it costs though. Yes, you did read that right. It's good but for that I expect diamond particles or something.


The cleanser and the moisturiser are ok but not great enough to draw me from my usual brands. I understand there is a primer too, I'd have been better off with that I think.

So lastly, the main draw, the foundation. You get two shades, in my case Bisque and Nude with the idea being you mix to get your perfect shade, If you choose to buy the products individually, you just get one shade and it costs £24.95 for 4g.

I found (once I switched to my own kabuki brush) that it applied easily. Coverage was excellent and it gives me a lovely glow.

(face also features Sheer Cover lipgloss and mascara). I really truly like this stuff, in particular, I love the glowy effect, or perhaps dewy is more correct.


Ok so to summarise, I think it's all, bar the mascara and foundation brush, very nice. I really like the foundation and the concealer BUT it's incredibly over priced if you buy the products individually, I wouldn't recommend to anyone at those prices. Sorry Sheer Cover. I want to love it and recommend it but I simply can't, it's extortionate, even if the products are nice. Now at this point I will remind you that the introductory kit is £29.95 which I do think is bargainous but there's a catch, in buying the kit, you are tied into a payment plan I don't really understand so I can't recommend that either. Shame.


Nice products, wrong prices.


When I was first contacted about Sheer Cover I was sent two kits with the wrong colour foundations for me which I farmed out for guest reviews. I'm still waiting for one but I'm delighted to share with you a review from Paula at Sweet Cheeks Beauty Blog

A few weeks ago i offered to review some Sheer Cover mineral foundation as i have wanted to try this for ages now so when i saw it on this lovely blog i jumped at the chance.

Sooo i got sent the foundation samples and the brush applicator which you use to mix the powders to your correct colour match and then you pour it into the bottom of the brush and pop it in your bag to take with you (Very Handy).

The colours i got where Buff and Latte, when i mixed these together they where the perfect match for when im not tanned im a MAC NC35!

So anyway this week i have been using the foundation and heres what i think: 

Now first off i like to have a medium coverage and am always wearing liquid foundation which sometimes i feel too covered, so was super eager to try something that was going to be good for my skin for a change BUT Hmmmm i could not seem to get on with this foundation at all for an everyday usage :/ i felt like i had no coverage at all and that by the end of the day i looked in a way Rough lol 

Dont get me wrong it felt super nice and soft on my skin and felt like my skin could breath which was a nice change, but for my job where im running up and down the stairs in the hotel it didn't hold up at all :(

I was super gutted as i wanted this to be soooo good for me and for me to have found a new healthy foundation but there is just no way i could wear this everyday! :( i just didn't look right.

However........ i did find that it was excellent for keeping in my bag and using it as a midday touch up for when i got the usual shiny patches when i used my usual liquid foundation and also to lightly set my foundation after applying.

It is a lovely finely milled powder which when applied is lovely and soft and would be perfect for those who are blessed enough to not need make up and can pull off that natural look, but for somebody who likes to feel covered - its just not for you :) 

on the picture of the swatch on my hand you can see that the foundation does give a lovely luminous finish to it and does cover quite nicely just not enough for me.

I really feel bad for giving a not so good review of this product but i cant do a false review on something im not 100% liking or loving and feel that you lovelies who read this and are thinking of trying it out but like a decent coverage deserve to know before you buy it will not give you the coverage your after.

And like i mentioned this isn't a totally dissing review i do LOVE it for a touch up midday as it just lifts my face and freshes my make up.

I kept it in my bag all week and have used it none stop when im at work, i have had no breakouts from it and will continue to use it until its all gone.

I would lastly like to say that this is just my opininon and you never know you may actually like it :) xx