Disappointing Products #1

Hi guys! Many of us beauty bloggers, myself included, tend to write about products that we love as opposed to products that we loathe because let's face it, they are more fun to talk about! However, today I thought that I would share with you five products that have left me a little disappointed over the recent months. Of course, products work differently on each of us as we are all very unique but I am simply sharing with you my experiences with using these products. So, let's get started!

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray (50ml) - £7.50
It seems that many of us beauty bloggers received a free sample of this hairspray when we bought the September issue of Elle Magazine. I was really excited to try out this product for multiple reasons. Firstly, I have heard good things about the entire Bumble & Bumble range and secondly, anything that promises to thicken my hair grabs my attention as I have extremely fine hair that could always use a little boost. However, after following the instructions on the side of the bottle that told me to apply this onto my wet hair, I was thoroughly disappointed with the result after I dried it. My hair had no noticeable volume and was simply left with a horrible, sticky residue at my roots which is definitely not what you want!

Maybelline Super Stay 10 Hour Tint Gloss in Endless Ruby - £6.99
When I initially swatched this tinted gloss in Superdug, I knew I had to have it! The highly pigmented deep red colour and smooth liquid formula drew me in and I could not wait to try it out. At first, the gloss was everything I expected and more but as the day went on, I incurred a few problems that really put me off this product. Throughout the day, the colour of the gloss darkened to a really strange black colour around my lip line. Secondly, when I went to take off the product that night (even with five minutes of laborious scrubbing,) it just wouldn't budge! Sure, staying power is typically what we want from a stain but not so much when it seeps into the cracks of your lips and doesn't come off fully for two days!

Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make-Up Remover Pen - £4.99
I bought this product on a bit of a whim whilst in Boots because I thought it would be handy to use to remove any eyeliner or mascara mistakes (I get through a lot of cotton buds doing this!) The first two times I used this pen the results were great; the tip of the pen was small and precise, which in turn got rid of smudges and mistakes perfectly. After each use, I cleaned the nib of the pen and put the lid back on firmly as instructed. However, when I went back to use this product for the third time, the pen had completely dried out! I was really disappointed with the longevity of this product and I will be sticking to my usual method of cotton buds to remove any make-up mishaps!

Bourjois Paris Little Round Pot Blush in Love-struck Rose - £7.99
When my much-loved Rimmel blusher hit the pan a while back, I decided to browse my local Boots for a different blusher to try. As these Bourjois blushers have been around for many years and I had always heard great things about them, I decided to give one a whirl. Love-struck Rose is a beautiful coral coloured blush with hints of gold shimmer running through it. However, begrudgingly, when I went to apply this product to my cheeks - the pigmentation was awful! Although I had plenty of the product on my brush, it was just not coming out on my face. I was really disappointed with this product and have not used it since!

Barry M Eyeshadow Pencil in Gold Cream - £4.59

Recently, I have been really getting into experimenting with eyeshadow, which is a rarity for me seeing as I am a classic eyeliner flick kind of girl! I bought this eyeshadow pencil to highlight my inner corner with as I find that a classic powder shadow rubs off rather quickly in this area. When first applied, I loved this product because it was so creamy and just simply glided on. However, after a mere two hours, the product had just settled in the creases of my eye and it began to flake a lot which made the whole look appear messy and unflattering.

I hope that this post has been helpful to those of you who are maybe considering trying out some of the products mentioned above. Also, if any of you have had positive experiences with any of the items above or even if you share the same views as me, I would love to hear about them - so please leave a comment below. Thank you!

An Assortment Of High Street Skincare

Hi guys. Over the years I have tried a a wide variety of skincare products, some of which I have loved and some that haven't been so great. It is often the case that I read a few positive reviews about a product and I buy it hoping that it will do wonders for my skin and sometimes it does, but I am often left disappointed and then I end up having a hoard of products in my toiletries cupboard in the bathroom that I never touch again. On the other hand, I have also found quite a few skincare products that I really enjoy using and make such a difference to my skin. Today I have decided to pick five products to review and give my honest opinion about. So, lets get started!

1. Boots Botanics Ultra Calm Gentle Cleansing Cream - £4.49
I absolutely love this cleansing cream! Despite being low in price and Boots own brand, the product feels so luxurious on my skin. I use this product by applying it directly on to a cotton pad and swiping it across my face to remove any make-up and impurities that I have left on my skin. The products is very gentle which great for those with sensitive skin. In addition, I really like the scent of this cleanser as it contains marshmallow. I also find that my skin is super soft after using this cream, which is great if you want to then apply make-up instantly after using the product as your foundation will glide on really easily.

2. Simple Spotless Skin Triple Action Face Wash - £3.99
I only ever use this face wash if I have had a serious spot or blemish breakout. This is because I find the product rather drying on my skin, which is never a good look! The face wash is a gel consistency with a few little beads in it that can help gently exfoliate your skin. The wash claims to 'deeply cleanse, purify and tone' the skin as well as removing hidden dirt and unclogging pores. I would like to say that I enjoy using this product and it works effectively but I have never seen a real improvement in my skin from using it and so, I would say that this face wash is mediocre at best.

3. Clearasil Ultra Blemish + Marks Treatment Cream - £6.79
I bought this product a few months ago because whenever I get blemishes, my skin is always left with dark marks where the blemish once was. I have been using this cream of a night time before I go to sleep, however when I wake up in the mornings, my skin is left with a strange flaky residue on my face which is really drying. I tried to look past this but after a week of using the product and not seeing any noticeable difference in the condition of my skin, I unfortunately gave up on this products as it just had too many cons as opposed to pros. The only positive thing I have to say about this product is that the smell of the cream is really quite lovely! Instead of using this product to eliminate blemish marks, I have now started using Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil (as I recently reviewed here) and so far it is proving much more effective! 

4. Garnier Pure Active Intensive Charcoal Scrub - £4.99
I have already mentioned this product in a previous post, My Recent Beauty Buys, back in May but I had only started to use the product and so I could not give a full and accurate review. Since using the product several times, I have actually been a little disappointed with the results. The scrub claims to help fight spots and fade marks, yet I feel that the product does neither of these things. In addition, the little charcoal beads are very abrasive and rough on my skin and can cause my face to feel very tights and dry afterwards. The only plus side to this product is that when I use it before I go to bed, my skin is noticeably less oily in the mornings - which is great for my annoying, combination skin.

5. Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips - £7.99
Last but not least are the infamous nose strips from Bioré. After hearing great things about these strips from a friend, I decided to give them a go because I am rather prone to blackheads around my nose due to the fact that I have oily, combination skin. The first time I used these strips, I followed the instructions carefully and left the product on for roughly 10-15 minutes. I found removing the strip quite painful as it felt like I was ripping my skin off (ouch!) and much to my dismay, when I looked at the strip after its removal, none of my blackheads had been removed at all. Furthermore, I gave the product one last try a few weeks later to have the same thing happen again. Considering the price of this product is quite steep in my opinion for a mere six strips, I am thoroughly disappointed with this product and I am definitely going to be trying other more effective ways to remove my blackheads from now on.

I hope that these five mini and rather mixed reviews have given all of you an insight into which high street skincare products really work and which ones are a little disappointing. If any of you have tried any of the products that I have mentioned in this post, I would love to know how you go on with them so please do not hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you :)