Review: MAC's 'Something Special' Cremeblend Blush

Being a huge fan of Benefit blush boxes, it's been a while since i've branched out and tried any other brands or any other types of blushes for that matter. I've always used powder, so when I came across cremeblend brushes on various beauty vlogs, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to expand my horizons and explore other brands and other types of blushes.

I've been really into coral lately, as i've been trying to add some warmth to my pale complexion this summer. I chose a light coral shade called 'Something Special', which would actually suit all skin tones, not just porcelain. As you can see, it's a really pretty light colour, and is a sort of mixture between coral and pink. which is perfect for everyday wear.

 

 

Swatch taken from maccosmetics.co.uk

This gorgeous colour can actually be pretty strong, so I thought i'd show you before and after blending. I tried to blend it out gradually to show different degrees of colour strength, and for me personally I prefer a more subtle hint of colour. The creamy texture is quite odd as i'm so used to powders, but I find that creme blush is so much easier and there's no excess powder to tap off. It gives a healthy, dewy finish as oppose to the matte finish a powder blush gives. The top of the swatch i've layered the blush to show how easily the colour can be built, and unlike powder it can be applied with your fingers (However, it is recommended that you use a good blush brush!). The swatch provided by MAC definitely does the shade justice. I also found that because the colour is so strong in the pan that you don't need a lot to add a nice pop of colour to your cheeks, so at £19 it will last you such a long time.

I've been wearing this with: Hoola bronzing powder from Benefit, and paired with Benefits Cha Cha Tint underneath MAC's cremesheen lipstick in 'Shy Girl'.

I'm still in love with my Benefit box blushes, but i'm definitely going to be expanding my cremeblush collection. What i'm really tempted to splurge on is a MAC Pro Blush Palette which can store 6 of your chosen pans of blush (Priced at £14.50 each without the individual casing) in a gorgeous black slimline case for easy storage! For some reason I love the idea of having a palette that you specifically choose what shades go inside, as I always find there's always one or two pans in a palette that remain unused! 

What do you guys think of cremeblend blushes? Do you prefer them to powder? Let me know :) 

**It's not too late to enter my giveaway to win a Tangle Teezer, Models Own nail polishes, a Revlon Lip Butter & more! Just click this link and follow the instructions! (It's easy, promise!)**

Review: MAC's 'Pervette' Glaze Lipstick

With all the exam stress i've been under lately, a trip to my local MAC was long overdue.

 So I thought i'd show you one of the lipsticks I treated myself to while I was there:

This is one of MAC's glaze finish lipsticks, and is the most gorgeous summery colour. It's a pale shimmery pink with violet pigments, with a luxurious creamy texture. It's quite a cool shade in comparison to other MAC lipsticks, which I think is perfect for this coming season.

This is a perfect compromise if you want the lasting effect of a lipstick, but the shimmer of a gloss. I've found that my lipsticks from MAC last for ages, and the delicious vanilla scent is an added bonus! However, the one thing I would say is that because it's more of a sheer colour, in order to get the full effect you have to use a lot of the product. However, if you're looking for a subtle shade to compliment a natural face of makeup, this shade is for you. I've found in most inexpensive lipsticks that regular application can dry your lips out. However, this lipstick adds plenty of moisture, which is essential especially in the summer heat. For £13.50, I think this is such an excellent addition to any makeup collection. MAC lipsticks are obviously a lot more expensive than other brands, but if you want to indulge or just fancy treating yourself, MAC lipsticks are highly recommended.

This shade is currently permanently residing in my bag, where it will stay for a long time! I love it. You can purchase MAC glaze lipstick in 'Pervette' online or are your local MAC counter.


**There's still time to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a Tangle Teezer, 2 Models Own nail polishes in the shades of your choice, a Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in a shade of your choice + a little suprise from me!**

Review: Models Own 'Disco Mix'

I'm always a little hesitant about buying glitter polish, purely because it is such a hassle to remove. Even with the Bourjois Paris Magic Nail Polish Remover to help me along, the polish needs to be extra special for me to decide to go against my initial feelings and try it.

After seeing it on a lot of llymlrs' posts, I decided that Models Own Disco Mix could possibly be the polish that would encourage me to love glitter again. I'm such a huge fan of Models Own polishes, purely because there is such an enormous variety of not just matte colours, they have a wide selection of chrome finish, shimmers, glitters, metals, crackle and of course, all the colours you need for a perfect french manicure.

This colour is just so gorgeous, I had to have it. With flecks of blue, purple and pink, it looks incredible when the light hits your nails and can be worn over the top of so many different colours.

First off, i'm sorry for the bad quality of the picture. I took it with my iPhone a few days after I painted them and then forgot to take another one with my actual camera before taking it off! My nails were in a really bad condition then because i'd just had my acrylics taken off,  but as you can see i've teamed it with a gorgeous dark blue (From the Rimmel I <3 Long Lasting range) and I really like how it turned out.
The polish itself is neither gloppy or messy, and two light coats is certainly enough to coat an already painted nail, but one more coat would have covered it completely (it's not good to go over 3 coats, otherwise your polish is too thick and you'll be able to peel it straight off with your fingers!). It's perfect for adding a touch of sparkle to a plain outfit - I like to wear glitter polish to work as my uniform is all black, boring! It also dries extremely quickly, which is an added bonus for people like me that are too impatient to wait around!

I highly recommend this shade if your into glitter, and don't be as hesitant with the idea of it being tough to remove like I was - I'll be posting a 'how-to remove glitter polish' tutorial very soon! :)

You can purchase Models Own Disco Mix for the bargain price of £5 at your local Boots, Models Own shop or online here.

If you like this shade as much as I do, you could win it along with another shade of your choice, a Tangle Teezer, Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in a shade of your choice, and another little surprise in my first giveaway! 
Simply click this link to find out how to enter. Good luck! 

GIVEAWAY: Tangle teezer, Models Own polish & more!

 Right, i've been saying this for a while now but i've finally got around to posting details for my first giveaway!

The giveaway will include some of my favourite products that i've reviewed lately, and I will give you some choices on some of the prizes so you can personalise your package if you win! It includes:

• An original Tangle Teezer in 'Disco Purple' 
• Two Models Own nail polishes of your choice
• A Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in a shade of your choice
• An extra little surprise! 

 This is just a little thanks for all the support i've been given over the past few months. Just so you know, all of these products will be purchased with my own money.

Right, now for the boring bit. 

• I've opened this up at just over 9,000 page views and will be closing it at 10,000 - so it will essentially be a giveaway not only to say thanks, but to celebrate a milestone! I'm hoping it won't take any longer than 2 weeks (Wishful thinking!) but if it does, i'll update this post with an actual closing date.
• In order to enter you must: Be following Sophie-Says via Blogspot, GFC, Hellocotton, Bloggers or Facebook.
•  To enter you simply need to leave a comment below with your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you prefer not to leave your email you can tweet me at in private on @turnersophie or drop me an email.
• Unfortunately, this will only be open to followers in the UK, this is due to P+P costs.
• Only one entry per person.
• I will be choosing the winner at random using a generator. 
• Giveaway is open to all ages, but if you are under 16 please ask a parent/guardians permission.

Good luck :) 


This giveaway is now closed. I'm happy to announce that the winner is Hayley May from wifelifebeautyxo.com -- congratulations and thanks everyone for helping me reach 10k!

Review: Models Own angled and eyeshadow brushes + eyelash curler!

As a lover of make-up, i've come to realise that a good brush is almost as important as the make-up itself, and have since then been on the hunt for new additions to my brush collection (Which at the moment is extremely small!). After aboout 15 minutes walking up and down the make-up brush section of my local Boots, I decided to take a chance and try out some of Models Own.

Models own are a budget beauty brand that are best known for their vibrant nail colours and nail art kits. However, the brand also stock a wide variety of eye make-up, lipsticks and even cheek & lip tint! To be honest, whenever I see a Models Own stall I am instantly drawn to the nail polishes, and haven't considered trying the other products, so I was interested to see if their make-up brushes were of the same great quality as their nail polishes.

Angled Blush Brush

I've always chosen angled blush brushes, because I like the definition it gives to the product, as I only like a small amount of surface area covered with my blush. I also think that because you're sweeping the blush up across the apples of your cheeks, an angled brush helps you do that which much more ease than a regular blush brush.

First off, I love the use of the flourscent colouring on both the handle and the brisle tips, I think it's excellent as it would stand out amoungst plain black brushes if you had a large collection. I also think that it stays true to Models Own being a brand full of bright, 'out-there' colours. The best thing i've found about this brush is that it is soo soft! The brisles do not shed, and pick up the colour so well that you only need to tap the edge of the brush into the blush to pick up the right amount. Because it's so soft it's quite easy to forget that you must be gentle with the application in order to ensure that you don't get carry away with the amount you're using, so remember that a little goes a long way with this brush. This is currently my go-to brush for blush application, and it's great for blending too. It's such a bargain, priced at just £8.

What's great about this brush is that it is so soft yet well structured. It enables great definition if you're using a gel liner, filling in eyebrows or it could just be used to cover the whole lid. The angle is great if you want to create cat flicks and even using the corners to add some lighter shadow to the inner corners of your eyes to brighten them. This really is an excellent tool to get into the awkward areas of your eye that other brushes just won't reach! I love it, and it can be yours for just £5.

Sorry for the bad lighting on these photos, the sun was so bright and I even with the curtains shut it was still beaming through them!
I was a lot more disappointed with the eyelash curlers, because I found they were far to bulky for me. For someone with quite small eyes I found that the metal edges of the curler would dig into the corners of my eyes, making it almost impossible for me to curl them! In the end I ended up curling them really lightly so it wouldn't hurt, and the end result was satisfactory, but nothing too spectacular. In future i'll probably need to go for a half-lash curler. I found that the padding didn't do much for steadying the hand, but I like the pop of colour anyway. A bulk standard product for £6.

I will definitely be trying more of their brushes (i've got my eye on the lip brush!), which can be found at any Boots store, on their website here or at asos.com.

Review: The Body Shop Earth Lovers 100% Biodegradeable Shower Gel!

The environment has always been a big concern for me, and now that i'm more interested in beauty than I ever was it has become more important than ever that I am still as committed to doing my bit for the planet.

Therefore, when there is an eco-friendly option...for anything really, I definitely take it! Which is exactly why I decided to try The Body Shop's Earth Lovers 100% Biodegradable Shower Gel.
The Body Shop have always prided themselves in being against animal testing, encouraging and supporting fair trade and protecting the planet, but this product is by far their most eco-friendly yet.

The Earth Lovers body cleansing range comes in six different scents:

• Lemon & Thyme
• Pear & Lemongrass
• Apricot & Basil
• Watermelon & Eucalyptus
• Cucumber & Mint
• Unscented (So it's actually 5 scents!)

 As you can see, even the scents are all natural, including herbs which I found quite strange at first. I've smelt each one in the shop, and they smell gorgeous. Not riddled with chemicals or overpowering, just a fresh subtle scent. I decided to try the Lemon & Thyme, only because I was feeling quite citrus-y that day, but I have also tried the watermelon & Eucalyptus and cucumber & mint.

 I love that there is no colour, it only emphasises the fact that the shower gel isn't harmful and you aren't washing your body with chemicals.
The product doesn't contain sulphates, parabens, colourants and is soap free, but it does contain lots of cleansing agents so your skin does have the same outcome. I found that because of this, it doesn't lather up as well as other shower gels, so you have to be a bit more vigorous with the scrubbing in order to create a lather. However, the gorgeous scent is strong enough to linger on your skin way after drying off, but it certainly isn't overpowering.

An added bonus is that because it's quite difficult to lather and 100% biodegradable, the suds disappear quickly from the bottom of the shower, making it easier to clean up at the end - it's also good to know that the suds aren't poisoning the ocean by being riddled with harmful chemicals that cannot be broken down and essentially ruins the sealife.
The lack of chemicals means it doesn't irritate the skin, and can be used on anyone with even the most sensitive skin. I suffer from bad rashes on my legs, and when I used the cooling cucumber & mint, I found that it reduced the redness and soothed my sore skin. You can even use it on babies and small children, because it's so gentle on skin.
After use, you can pop the bottle into the recycling knowing that it will be re-used again and again which is excellent, as many beauty products are simply thrown into a landfill.

It's amazing that you can be contributing so greatly to the protection of the natural environment just by switching to another shower gel, costing just £5 for 250ml.
It is a perfect product for anyone who is concerned for what they use on their skin, and for anyone who simply cares about the future of our environment. Either way, this is a top-quality product without the nasty chemicals.

Review: Lush 'Sweet Lips' Lip Scrub

Lush Cosmetics never fails to both amuse and amaze me.

When I first saw the selection of lip scrubs on the shelf in my local Lush store, I thought to myself: "What a complete waste of money." It seemed essentially like an overpriced pot of sugar. I didn't quite understand what good it would do to my lips. It was only after actually picking up one of the pots and reading further, I finally understood how sugar was a perfect ingredient for intense lip exfoliation.

(I apologise for the blurry picture, I was in a bit of a rush this morning!)

 

I am prone to coughs and colds, and when I do get them I eventually end up with dry and chapped lips to match. I've also found that quite a lot of even the most moisturising lipsticks leave my skin feeling dry and flaky. I've had a constant struggle with lip balms, purely because I tend to misplace them and get quite annoyed with having to reapply them. However, Lush's selection of Lip Scrubs aim to deeply exfoliate the lips, removing the dead flaky skin and leaving the fresh skin moisturised and smooth. The use of the small grains of castor sugar act as a gentle scrub, and has added jojoba oil to eliminate the need to use a lip balm (although it does say to apply one!) to moisturise your flake-free lips.

However, Lush has taken this one step further and added the natural flavourings of vanilla and chocolate, so after you're finished buffing your lips you can simply lick off the excess!

When applying, I found that you had to be quite liberal with the amount of product, but the fact that the key ingredient is sugar, it means that it can get pretty messy! I wouldn't advise this scrub being used after finishing your full face of makeup as I had to brush away quite a few stray sugar grains and it messed with my make-up a little. However, that is my only bad point. The scrub works wonders in ensuring your lips have a flawless finish, and it tastes amazing! They are quite generous with the portion size (25g), and I believe that to be because it tastes so good sometimes I find myself dipping my finger in just to eat it! It really does taste and smell of chocolate! Also, the jojoba oil provides light moisture, making it safe to consume and doesn't leave your lips feeling greasy.

I love the idea that something so natural can work just as effectively as lip balms that use nasty petroleum (which is essentially made from oil and petrol derivatives!) as a key ingredient. The packaging gives a homemade feel to it which is quite typical of Lush products, and it's compact size means you can carry it with you in your bag and can re-buff throughout the day if need be.

Lush's Lip Scrubs also come in two other flavours - 'Bubblegum' and 'Mint Julips' (Mint chocolate), so there really is one for everyone's taste. £4.95 is quite steep for something that is so simple and looks like a small pot of sugar, but I think for the amount, taste and end result it is something that I will continue to use all year round.

You can purchase Sweet Lips Lip Scrub on the Lush website here or in your local Lush shop.

Review: Good Things Five Minute Facial Face Mask

Ever since going on holiday, i've sort of become obsessed with spa treatments (I treated myself to a traditional Turkish bath, full body massage and hot stone massage!) and have since then aimed to find the perfect products to be able to recreate that experience in the comfort of my own home.

Good Things is a skincare brand that aims to provide quality skincare products to young people. Their philosophy is to educate in taking the appropriate steps to ensure that young skin has a great start in life. With a selection of cleansers, moisturisers and masks, it's great for people who are beginners in looking after their skin.
I'd heard great reviews on the 'Five Minute Facial Face Mask', and I have a weakness for the few hours following a face mask where you can't stop feeling how seriously smooth your face is - so I had to get my hands on this Five Minute Facial Face Mask. I was also curious to see how much difference it would make to my skin in just five minutes.

The packaging is absolutely gorgeous, the curls remind me of the doodles I used to do in the corners of the pages in my books at school. It's so simply labelled - no crazy vitamin names (apart from the sodium laureth sulphate listed as a 'free from', which is commonly found in soaps and shampoo's and can cause hair loss, as well as skin and eye damage!), which gives the indication that the product will be simple to apply and would not intimidate first-time users.

The mask contains superfruit extracts; an ingredient found in all Good Things products. In this product the superfruit is goji berry, which is used as an anti-inflammatory and is a natural skin energiser that keeps your skin soothed and energised. Other Good Things products use superfoods such as strawberries (and strawberry seeds!) and wild cherry extract which sound quite exotic, and it makes products much more appealing as they contain ingredients that are safe to eat!
 It also contains avocado oil which is rich in vitamins A, D and E which are great for keeping skin smooth and well moisturised.

The actual mask is really easy to distribute, but once it's on, it's on. It was completely dry within a minute, which is incredible, as most masks take at least twice as long and you have to wait for double the time to be able to feel the full effects of it. I accidentally left a little bit on my nails when I was spreading a thin layer (that's all it takes) across my face, and it was rock solid and was quite hard to budge. In other reviews it has been said that the smell is quite overpowering, but I disagree. When I was walking around my house with the mask on my mum had to back away from me, but I honestly didn't see the problem! It smells of berries and has a scent of the clay you'd find in face masks. I think it smells amazingly fragrant and it didn't bother me at all.

I cannot rate this product enough, my skin felt softer than it ever has done, and it was in just five minutes. Even though I cleanse, tone and moisturise twice a day my skin felt cleaner than it ever had done. The product claims to brighten the skin and it definitely did, but that also brought the redness out in it aswell. It felt quite raw, as I had to almost scrub it off with a flannel. Once it had hardened it was quite difficult due to the thin layer, but once i'd patted my face dry with the softest towel I had, my skin calmed down and I was left with fresh, squeaky clean skin.

It is advised to use weekly, or whenever your skin needs a quick boost. Personally, i'd love to use it every morning as I think it would provide a great base for makeup, and the fact that it takes literally five minutes is almost unbelievable. However, I think this would be a great face mask to use at the end of the week to prep yourself for the week ahead so this will become a regular occurrence every Sunday, and for £5.99 it won't break the bank to work it into your skincare routine.
To apply, spread a thin layer onto your face - avoiding the eye area - after cleansing.Wait for 5 minutes for the mask to dry, then use a hot damp flannel to remove the mask.
You can purchase Good Things Five Minute Facial Face Mask at your local Boots, Superdrug and Sainsburys. You can also click here to visit the Good Things website and read up on other skincare superfoods!




Good Things Five Minute Facial Face Mask, along with other Good Things products are available at your nearest Boots, Superdrug or Sainsburys. Click here to view the entire Good Things range, and read up on superfoods!

Week in Pictures (3)

(L to R) A gorgeous steak at my favourite Greek restaurant, how I spend my Friday night, one of the 5 rings from jwlry by llymlrs, making my revision notes as colourful as possible, Beau, my set-up for the train to Kent, new stripy dress, proving that i'm not the only one who eats out alone, saying goodbye to London, my hotel, hello Kent!, lonely on the train, experimenting with nail tattoos, wizard slippers, vintage Casio.

Review: Barry M in Shade 154 - 'Pale Nude'

Barry M is a brand that we all know and love, particularly for their bright and bold nail paints. However, what people seem to look (me being one of them!) is that Barry M also have quite a wide range of other make-up products. After reading about this product on another beauty blog, I decided i'd put Barry M to the test and see if their lipsticks were half as good as their signature nail polishes. I was going to try out a different shade just to try out the lipstick in general, but when I got there this shade stood out to me the most, so I knew I had to have it:

To be honest, the packaging isn't that appealing in comparison to their other products that come in such fun and imaginative colours, which is probably why I never bothered to try anything else of theirs. However, if the lipsticks were displayed on their own, I would really like the matte black with simple gold writing - but a swatch on the lid wouldn't have hurt! It looks a perfectly natural nude with a hint of peach, which is great if you can't pull off a straight-forward nude shade.

 I can't get enough of this shade! It's so matte and is perfect for a subtle hint of colour. I want to purchase a lip pencil in the same colour as I found that I couldn't get the slight outline of my natural lip colour to budge, however I applied it. It makes your lips appear fuller too! It's almost a rival for my 'Innocence, Beware' lipstick from Mac (review here). However, the only downside i'd say is that it doesn't have the most appealing scent. It's smells waxy, and to be honest, quite cheap. But what can you expect for £4.49. Once applied I found it lasted about three hours before I felt like it needed to be topped up, so it's not too bad considering the price.

I'll definitely be trying out a few more of these shades, as well as other products in the Barry M range (accourding to their website, they've just released new blusher shades). 

Shade 154 is available (along with over 30 other shades) from Boots, Superdrug or online here.

Review: Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter in 'Peach Parfait'

I've already reviewed two different shades from this range (You can read here) but it was originally the 'Peach Parfait' that I wanted to try out. That was because the cover girl for the brand, actress Emma Stone (who is my favourite acress ever) was wearing the gorgeous peachy coral shade and it looked so nice on her.

See for yourself:

Source: trend911.com

Of course I am aware that the image has been digitally enhanced and obviously it wouldn't look exactly like that, but I was curious! However, I think other people had the same idea and I went back on numerous occasions and it had sold out. However, when I was browsing the make-up aisle for Barry M shade 154 (Review will be up in a couple of days!) I managed to grab the last one! 

 So gorgeous on Emma, so gorgeous on the swatch on the bottom of the tube .. but is it just me, or does that look nothing like either? There wasn't a tester of this particular shade available so this could have been prevented, but I wasn't expecting it to be a dark pink with flecks of gold.  Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely shade, but looks completely different?

 It seems more of a peach/pink in this swatch? The tube swatch and the image of Emma shows the shade being much more coral, orangey even. 

 

The shade seems like a darker, more glittery version of the 'Strawberry Shortcake' lip butter. However, comparisons aside it is a lovely colour. The sparkles make it perfect to wear in the evening, but the pretty pink is ideal for spring and summer days. The shea, mango and cocoa butter gives your lips total nourishment, leaving them as soft and supple as if you'd just applied Vaseline or Chapstick.

Overall, a lovely colour but incredibly misleading. Definitely a colour i'll be wearing again, but let that be a lesson to all of you .. if there's no tester, request one! It'll save disappointment and money if you're unsatisfied with the end result.  

You can purchase one of the 20 gorgeous shades of Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter for £7.99 at your local Revlon counter or concession stand.

Review: Topshop Temporary Nail Tattoos!

Better late than never, right?

To be honest, although this product has been out a while, it's still pretty new to me as it's not actually stocked in my local Topshop so i've had to go online and wait for it to be back in stock before I could get my hands on it.

These nail tattoos are part of Topshop's Sisters of the New Moon make-up collection (Read my review on the Magic Eyeliner from the collection here.), which has a mixture of metallic polishes, bright coral and pink lipsticks contrasting with dramatic black liners and bold mascara to create a distinctly unique look that is completely fashion-forward.

 The pack contains two sheets of different tattoos in various sizes so they are perfect for any length of nail. The designs are mostly astrological signs, but there are a few pretty swallows, stars and moons thrown in there. My personal favourites are the swallows :) The pack contains 86 tattoos in 10 different designs, so you can choose whether to stick to a specific pattern or go completely random with them.

Here's how they turned out:

As you can see, my nail painting skills are not at their best, but you get the gist! I'm so happy with the way they turned out. I did my right thumb and index finger first, as you can see there are a few mistakes and the tattoos actually cracked a little, but I still love them! For the base I used 'Matte White' from Barry M, which I thought was ideal to directly contrast the designs. They are a bit fiddly if you don't have a steady hand! You need to cut around the desired design, remove the plastic backing, transfer onto the nail using a wet cloth and then remove the paper backing. However, if you can't remove the backing or your hands shake while pressing down on the transfer it could affect the turnout, as mine did at the beginnning.

However, once you get the hang of it it's great! The tattoos dry in seconds, and the whole process took about 15 minutes, due to my clumsy fingers not being able to cut around the designs properly! These temporary nail tattoos are perfect for people who aren't so good with a nail striper or nail art pen, who want precise and quirky designs that are easy to apply and look great! I will definitely be buying more of these, but for £7 i'll make sure i've used up every last one of the designs before doing so. There are a few tiny designs which are good for little fingers that would be excellent to use on your toes too!

Topshop Temporary Nail Tattoos are only available in selected Topshop stores (Your most likely to find them in London and places like that!), so your best bet is to purchase them online.

What do you think? Will they catch on, or are they too gimmicky for your taste?

Review: Bourjois Paris 'Magic Nail Polish Remover'

I've seen photographs of this product everywhere and have been so anxious to get my hands on it! So here's a little review on Bourjois Paris' Magic Nail Polish Remover.

We all know Bourjois as bright and bubbly make up brand that specialise in creating products that 'simplify beauty', which is why I wasn't surprised when they realised a nail polish remover tub that claimed to deliver instant removal. I'm a massive fan of Bourjois. Their 'little round pots' of blush and eyeshadow come in such gorgeous colours, and are so compact which is great for storage. I wanted to test this product ultimately for when I use glitter nail polish. Although wrapping your nails in foil is effective, it is also extremely fiddly and annoying. So I decided to put it to the test.

First off, do not be fooled by the 'Red fruit & Vanilla Fragrance' at the bottom. Yes, there is a scent left on your fingers after usage, but don't do what I did and inhale straight from the pot. It is not good. It smells disgusting and I went dizzy!

The makeup remover is both paraben and acetone free which is always a bonus, so you're not damaging your hands and nails with nasty chemicals. The hot pink pot instructs that all you need to do to remove your nail polish is a quick dip and twist in the sponge.

I tested the remover using Barry M's 'Matte White' followed by OPI's 'Rainbow Connection:

Before:

After:

 

As you can see the nail polish has been removed but the glitter remains. I did remove my nail after 1 second to see if it did remove it, and to be honest only about half of it had been removed. However, I do blame the tough layer of glitter over the top, and after another quick dip and twist the remainder of the polish had vanished. I left my nail to soak for 30 seconds to see if it loosened up the glitter, but sadly it did not. I still had to use a cotton pad and a ton of nail polish remover, which completely defeats the object of the product.

However, it does not say it is recommended for glitter polish. I do also think it would remove fine flecks of glitter, not the large pieces that you can see on my nail. 

For £4.99 it is perfect for quick removal of plain polish. It's easy to use, nice to look at and leaves a citrus fragrance on your nails after completion. I will definitely be using again, but if you're looking for something to remove tough glitter polish, I suggest you stick with the foil.

Bourjois Paris 'Magic Nail Polish Remover' is available from any Bourjois concession stand.