This is probably a review you have read to death, but if you aren't bored then please do read on!

Benefit's latest blush/highlighter launch is a pretty four shade highlight/glow giving powder. Like all Benefit product this has adorable packaging, Cased in the typical (for Benefit) cardboard square (which is fairly sturdy - but if you cart it around daily with you, the cardboard will suffer from wear and tear) Sugarbomb contains a lilac, pink, coral-ish and peach shades of powder. All with a shimmer (very fine, not glittery) that blended together create a subtle but flattering highlight with the uber-fine shimmer making you look all glowy.

The powder is finely milled, soft and easily blendable.

I really like this highlight but wouldn't call it a must have. I have read on other blogs that this doesn't really work for darker/tanned skin - but on fair skin it is really subtle and pretty. When I use this I pair it with a blusher, as on my skin it highlights rather than adds much colour.

I would consider using each of the individual colours as eye shadows - especially the lilac - although I haven't tried it yet, I will report back how I get on with this.

So, Sugarbomb is nice - but it won't be knocking my other Benefit powders off of the favorites shelf (I love Coralista, Dallas and Dandelion....) I did try to get a picture of the powder swatched on skin, but my rubbish camera wouldn't cooperate - but take my word for it, it's pretty and subtle and not glittery at all.

I was told that this is an exclusive to ASOS product, but not sure that's the case as just a quick google search shows it on sale at a few other online retailers plus I have seen it at every Benefit counter... But ASOS still has 20% off (till the end of feb I think) so make the most of it and enter ASOSINSTYLE at the checkout!



**The Small Print**

This product was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews are honest and impartial regardless of source.

Discovering wonderful products is basically the sole motivation of any beauty junkie or beauty blogger. But it comes with the territory, that along with the good you also find some that are a bit 'meh'. Sometimes you even find that these are products that you buy after reading a lot of hype and then when you finally get to testing them out, you are left wondering what all the fuss was about - and if you are perhaps missing some sort of trick, using them wrong or perhaps just ended up with a dud batch??

Before I elaborate, I should note that these aren't products that I hate - I just wonder if I am missing something as they don't really warrant a rave from me. The purpose of writing this post is to see if anyone else has the same experience, or if anyone else has any tips on how to get the best out of these products?? Please help if you can! It's also a good reminder that, like many things in life - what works for one person, is a big fail for someone else.

So onto the products...

Amie Bright Eyes Eye Make Up Remover (left of picture)

This is a product I am on the fence about. On one hand, I think it does a great job at removing make-up and leaving my eyes generally feeling refreshed (i.e. it's not oil based). But on the other hand, I find that it does sometimes sting my eyes - strangely, it doesn't sting every time, so I wonder if it just depends on how generously I am applying it or just how close to my eyes it gets?

This was a product sent to me by the PR agency for the brand, so when I found that it was stinging I did ask if they had any other feedback saying that it stung and I was told that there has been some mixed feedback (some very positive, and some finding the same thing as me) and that since then Amie had re-formulated the product to address the stinging. So my experience may be totally redundant now, but I wanted to put it out there. If they have managed to solve the stinging issue then I think this is a great product - as I said - it does a good job of removing make-up, but I was concerned by the claim of it being a 'gentle' eye make-up remover and then discovering that it stung.


MAC Fix+ (centre of picture)

I bought this product after hearing on loads of other blogs that it was great at fixing make-up and removing that 'powdery' look - leaving you all fresh faced and glowing. Basically if a product claims to make me glow, then I will want to buy whatever you are selling - so based on the reviews I had read, this had me sold. I like/need to use powder to fix my foundation, but hate the cakey, dry look that it can leave behind - so the idea of a simple product that stopped this but also kept make-up in place sounded genius. But now, having used this a few times, I found that it doesn't really do anything for me - I don't find that it particularly fixes my make-up or that it leaves me looking as glowy as others have found. I just feel like I'm spritzing my face with water.

So please tell me - am I missing a trick? I use it as according to the instructions (spray onto face from about 12cm away...) what am I doing wrong? Or is this just another product that is hyped up beyond it's true performance?

ELF High Definition Powder (right of picture)

This is another one that I decided to buy after hearing loads of positive reviews across the blogosphere. Priced at a whopping (yes, sarcasm) £6 - this is the most expensive item from the ELF range, but according to fellow bloggers it was well worth the extra pennies, being compared to similar products from Make Up Forever (which is far more expensive).

So, when ELF had another free delivery code doing the rounds I made my order (with a couple of others bits of course, but won't go into that now). I was very excited when it arrived and got set trying to achieve the gorgeous, matte, glowy, soft focus, fine-lines-erased effect that the product was promising. But was left feeling let down.

Again, I don't hate it - it does an OK job of leaving skin matte but not flat. But I really don't think I found any sort of soft-focus or HD-ready type of result. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I wasn't impressed and this has pretty much just sat on the shelf.

So, if this is a wonder product for you then please do tell me what I am missing! Is there a special trick to applying it and getting the best result?! Where am I going wrong?!

So there we go, a few examples of products I have tried that have left me feeling a bit 'meh'. Feel free to comment below if you have tried any of these and found something different or if you have your own examples of products you have been left feeling disappointed with.



**The Small Print**

All products in this review have been bought my me, with the exception of the Amie Eye Make-Up Remover which was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews or comments are honest and impartial regardless of source.

I was recently sent a couple of bits from Neutrogena- including these wipes and the oil free deep cleanser. It was a tad random as they weren't something I was expecting, but the Neutrogena PR people must have gotten my address from somewhere! Anyway, not complaining - a lovely surprise.

So what do the wipes promise...

So what do I think?


I have a mixed opinion of these wipes. I really love how refreshing they are and have taken to using them on a daily basis when I get home from work to refresh my face and remove about 80% of my make-up.

Now, that to me is the problem - the wipes only ever seem to manage to remove around 80% of the make-up. I wouldn't personally say that these leave my skin feeling deeply clean, but then I have never found a face wipe that truly cleanses the skin enough to feel clean.

I would also have to disagree with the claim that the wipes don't leave a greasy residue or after-feel. In my opinion it does, my skin does tend to feel like it has a 'film' left over it after using these - but this isn't necessarily all negative. I actually like how skin feels moisturised and really 'quenched' after using them - for me this isn't a complaint at all, in fact I actually really like how it feels after using them.

One of the major plus points for these wipes is that they don't sting the eyes at all when used to remove make-up in the eye area, although they don't manage to get it all off - what they do remove they do in a gentle manner.

SO, overall - my view is about 80% positive for these wipes. I like how they feel and that they do leave skin feeling clean and refreshed, but I wouldn't use these alone to remove make-up as I just don't think they do a decent enough job.

These are definitely up there with my favorite face wipes though and would happily buy these again. I've not been able to find confirmation for how much these cost in the UK, but I would guess under £5.

Whilst I'm on the subject of wipes - which would you recommend? If anyone can suggest some that truly remove make-up then I would love to hear about them - please leave a comment below!


**The Small Print**

The product mentioned in this review was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews are honest and impartial regardless of source.

For me, this really worked. It's a simple, thick and creamy moisturiser that can be used on the face, body, hands, lips - anywhere and for my dry skin I went to pretty extreme lengths and used it as a moisturising mask when having a bath (basically coating a really thick layer on my face before getting in the tub and leaving it to soak in) I have also been using this at night and a small amount in the day on my nose - where the dry patches seem to be the worst.

Rae from theNotice shares her skincare secret to flawless, pore-free skin.


Phyrra gives you an exclusive interview with Fyrinnae Cosmetics in February's Indie Spotlight.

Betty's Dragon Fruit Eye Look is now up at Betty Girl Makeup. It's her first tutorial and she's wicked excited!

Arianne at Glitter Geek is absolutely smitten over her new drugstore superhero -- Aveeno Hand Cream.

Krasey Beauty takes New York Fashion Week by storm, and goes backstage with L.A.M.B, MAC, CND, and MoroccanOil.

Lisa Kate attempts her first Konadicure...please help her!

Jellyminx goes shopping again and again and again and again!!

Sarah at I Heart Cosmetics hunted high and low, and finally managed to purchase the Estee Lauder and Michael Kors Very Hollywood Collection.

Thought you found your HG red lipstick? So did Hell Candy Make Up until she discovered this oh so glamorous lippie!


There be lemmings-a-plenty when Lipglossiping shows off NARS Purple Rain this week!


Tarte ReCreate Anti-Aging Foundation just so happens to be the answer to Prime Beauty's prayers.


Melovemakeup shows how gorgeous the eyeshadow in the Trucco Angelface Palette is - duochrome heaven!


Say bye bye to dark circles and hello to bright eyes with Liparazzi!

Maggie gets electrified by L'Oreal HiP's Black Shock.


This week on Get Lippie, Louise goes a little bananas at the makers of "Chemical Free" products and hopes she'll be forgiven.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets super excited by Chanel's new Fast Track Orient Extreme mini collection!

OK, lovely readers - thank you for putting up with the whim that was nail week - today is the final day (yep, I meant working week rather than full seven days).

Day four of nail week and I bring you the wonder of OPI Tickle My France-y. I'm going to go out on a limb and be a bad beauty blogger by stating that this is my personal favorite of the week. I love the pale lilac shade that manages to be a bit creamy and a bit sheer at the same time - you can get the finish that suits you by layering more or less coats. Personally, I like it quite sheer and two coats is the most I would ever use with this. The picture above is two coats, over a base.

Day three of nail week brings you Nubar Gold Feather, this is one of the lovely bits that I won through the reader give-away on Get Lippie - one of my favorite blogs - go check her out, especially for her infamous Organic Wednesdays!



Anyway, back to the nail colours. Nubar is another fab nail varnish brand and this colour is no exception - a very pretty and unusual colour. A peachy-tan base with a greenish tinged shimmer in the bottle - on the nail the tan/peach base turns slightly more towards the bronze side of things, but the pretty shimmer shows through. It looks pretty much orange in the picture and was definitely not an easy one to photograph but it isn't orange, at very most it is burnt orange/pale bronze/rose gold. There are many many names for it, what it boils down to is that it is another lovely colour.

My only slight negative for this is that I think it will look better on tanned skin (which despite my recent tanning escapades, I am not) so will be a colour I save for Summer use.

The picture above is the standard, two coats above a base coat. I found this one lasted OK, I wore it for over 24 hours (before changing colour for the sake of nail week) and no chips or wearing at all.

So, what do you think of Nubar polishes? Do you own any - what colours??

This is polish number two of nail week - another one from the Zoya Spring collection (I reviewed Adina last week) and it's another stunner. Have to say that yet again I am impressed by Zoya nail colours - they are amazingly pigmented - the picture above is just one coat (over base coat, before top coat).

This polish is another one with a hint of duo-chrominess, but only a tiny amount - when on the nail it is pretty much just a pure chrome silver. Either way, it is amazingly pretty and I think it looks amazing on pale/cool skin tones (paired with silver jewelry).

This applied really easily, in a couple of smooth, quick drying coats and seemed to last well - but since this is nail week, I'm probably not testing them for long enough to comment on longevity (this is hard to comment on anyway as different people do different things on a day to day basis, so nail colours last a varying amount of time).

So, Zoya Laney is a gorgeous silver - I think this would make an unusual alternative to white for an updated french manicure? What do you think - like the look of it??


**The Small Print**

This product was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews are honest and impartial regardless of source.

I have a stack of new nail polishes that I have acquired over the past couple of weeks, so I decided to turn this week into 'nail week' on Beautyjunkielondon. Apologies to anyone who isn't a huge fan of nail colours, normal random service will be resumed next week.

So, colour number one is Stargazer colour number 242 (glamorous name). In the bottle this polish is a pretty salmon pink with a shimmer on the nails it is still pretty, but very very sheer. The colour in the picture is after three coats (with base but no top coat) and could probably do with a fourth to get the best colour.

On the plus side this dries really quickly but on the downside this is a cheap polish so it smells extremely strong and the colour pigmentation is poor. But for a cheap fix of colour then this is worth checking out. It is a pretty colour when applied - as long as you have the patience for multiple coats.

What do you think of Stargazer nail varnish? Have you tried anything else from the brand?


**The Small Print**

This product was sent free of charge for review. All reviews are honest and impartial regardless of source.

Trying to capture how truly gorgeous Zoya's new 'Adina' colour is sadly falls beyond my very limited photography skills. But let me assure you, it is stunning. A pretty shimmering lilac duo chrome which flashes from a rosy lilac to emerald green in different lights. It reminds me of a mixture of a mermaid's tail (or how I imagine a mermaid's tail to be like, since they aren't real) and a sunset.

So, as some of you may no I tweeted and blogged about the fact I was considering signing up to either Weight Watchers, or Slimming World. In the end I made the choice to go with Weight Watchers as I think it suits my needs far more - I'm not looking to lose tons of weight (a little might be nice) I just want to start being a bit healthier and conscious of what I'm eating.

So, I thought in the spirit of openness and over sharing I have decided I will do a regular blog about how it's all going. I have signed up for a three month course with WW, and may or may not stick with it that long - depending how it goes, either way - I will report back.

So first off, some may think this isn't totally beauty related - but it's my blog so I can write what I want to, so there. Half joking, but seriously - this blog is about beauty and in my opinion, eating well and feeling good about yourself if all part of the package so I think it definitely falls into the beauty category.

I may or may not share my weigh in details each week, it depends how that all goes. The choice to possibly not share the weight details is because this is more about how difficult/easy/impossible/emotional or whatever I am finding WW to stick to - rather than a report of how much I weigh. As I said, losing weight isn't my first priority.

Without further ado, how has the first week gone? Well, it's been a week and a half technically and I actually made the choice not to bother weighing myself this week - whilst I get used to the points malarkey. Plus I did chose the worst possible week to start a healthy eating kick, as it was the boyfriend's birthday last week and birthday's to him = lots of food. So I tried to make the healthiest choices I could, but when he decided he wanted to go to an American themed crab shack where there is no such thing as a small portion, I knew WW was doomed.

So, birthday eating aside - the first week has gone well. I am definitely more conscious of what I am eating and haven't had a packet of crisps since I started. Snacking at work was a bit of an issue for me, but I have changed this by only snacking on Ryvita or fruit. I have switched full-fat coke (mmm...) to diet (not so mmm...) which isn't so great but I'll survive. I'm generally trying to cut sugar out - so have snacked on sugar-free mints (not too many, side effects aren't good).

Main meal wise, I'm feeling more motivated to cook - which is a good thing. Even when I was hope alone I made myself some vegi-pasta, no mean feat for the laziest cook in the world.

Do I feel better for it? Yep, I think so. It's early days so not easy to tell. I find logging the food fairly easy - but some things (canape type things I ate at an event last night) are hard to record as I don't know what they compare to, so it ends up being a bit of guess work.

It's not hard to stick to, I just need to stay a bit disciplined and know that I can eat what I want - just maybe not as much. I'd like to say I'm not tempted by cake anymore but that would be a lie.

In other news - I'm going to be starting a fat-burning-challenge on the power plate in a week or so. Very excited to try it as I have heard exciting things and I will of course report back on this too. With any luck, I'll have the body of a Victoria's Secret Angel by May. Until then, I'll just have unrealistic expectations instead.

So, over all impression of this - a gorgeous colour, but not one to blow your mind. Would I have bought it for myself? Priced at around £12, I don't think I would - but it is very pretty.

**The Small Print**

This product was bought by my lovely mum! All reviews are honest and impartial, regardless of source.

This Saturday I was one of a lucky group of bloggers to be invited to go along to Bourjois HQ for a preview of some of the bits coming this Spring, and to generally peruse the selection of products the brand offers.

Bourjois make-up artist, Cassie Lomas, demonstrated the new Spring make-up colours - which include pretty corals and a gorgeous lime/gold eyeliner on the inner 1/3 of the lower lash line. It looked beautiful and I'm definitely going to try it, although I think it may look better on brown eyes than blue, but no harm in giving it a go.
I do have to say, that since I started blogging I have been fortunate enough to be invited to a few events. Every one is a bit different, but this is the first one where the organisers gave us the freedom to look at the products and choose the ones we want to test. Personally I really appreciated this - it meant that I could pick out the colours/textures/general products that appealed to me.

Last Saturday I was invited to go along to the Soho Hotel for afternoon tea with some other lovely bloggers and have a nosey at the newest mascara launch from Max Factor.


Before I launch into this post, I should mention that I am a HUGE fan of the Max Factor False Lash Effect (FLE) Mascara. When I first tried this a few months ago, it really was love at first sweep. I like it so much that I recommended it to my mum and anyone who asks will probably get the same answer. Just so you know - before trying this mascara I already had a bit of a bias towards Max Factor mascara.


In fact, I don't think I have tried anything from Max Factor that I haven't really enjoyed. I'd love to hear what everyone else things of the brand - good or bad?


Anyway, the newest mascara is called Lash Extension Effect (LEE) - and offers a different result to FLE. LEE delivers extra length, but keeps lashes clump free and natural looking. It contains lash extending fibres apparently (afraid that's as far as my knowledge goes) so it does help add length.


This is another one that probably is best demonstrated with pictures, so below are the before and afters.

My first impressions of this mascara were that it looked good on people at the lash lounge, but when I first tried it on myself I thought it was a bit too on the natural side. But as usual, I gave it a second try and this time round I actually quite like it. But there is a condition to this - I only like it after a significant amount of coats (as in 3-5).


It does take a few coats to get a noticeable effect, but if you like a natural look then this is perfect for you. Long fluttery but natural lashes in the sweep of a wand. The wand, by the way, is really long and fine with slim bristles - so fine that it makes it really easy to get into the corners of the eye and coating the bottom lashes is easy.


At the Lash Lounge the mascara was demonstrated by celebrity make-up artist Caroline Barnes (MUA for Kylie and Cheryl Cole). Caroline shared a few tips with us on the day that I thought I would pass on...


- When applying mascara do the lower lashes first, less chance of smudging mascara onto the lid this way round.


- When shaping your eyebrows - avoid downward angles in the middle bits, this has a 'drooping' type of effect on features, when you want to 'lift'.


- With mascara, make sure that the lashes sweep outwards at the side and upwards across the lid to make the most eye-opening effect.


Below is a picture of Caroline working her magic on the day on the model, who had the most amazingly long lashes naturally (not that I was jealous at all).

Sadly I didn't manage to persuade her to turn me into the blonde Cheryl....



**The Small Print**

The product in this post was provided free of charge for consideration for review. All reviews are honest and impartial regardless of source.

Sorry to anyone who finds close up pictures of lips a bit freaky, this post has them - so look away now if that's not something you want to see.




But, in the interest of doing a thorough review I thought that this is a product that really needs pictures to see if it does as it says. I was sent a sample of the Sexy Mother Pucker XL -Extreme Plump lip gloss from Soap and Glory, the gloss promises:


"To immediately plump, buzz, tingle and zing." Plus contains a (tongue in cheek) warning that users should try the normal strength Sexy Mother Pucker before moving on the 'extreme' XL version. I haven't tried these... but felt daring so went straight to the extreme version (what can I say, I'm a rebel)...



So, without further ado, lets move onto the pictures. Below are my normal lips with no make-up on whatsoever.




The next picture below was taken immediately after application - the lips look glossy, but probably no more plump than before?





The next picture was taken about 10 minutes after application - the tingle sensation feels like it gets more intense for about 15 minutes after applying. I would say that my lips do look plumper now.



So what was my overall view?


This is a fun product, starting just with the packaging - it's fun and stylish and I would be more than happy to pull this out in public. The tube means application is a breeze - with a simple plastic angled applicator, where the gloss is dispensed in the middle.


I don't love the smell of the product, but I don't hate it so much that it would stop me using it - the smell is a bit cinnamon and a bit plastic. But as I said, not so bad I wouldn't use it (which has happened with some products before).



Whilst this doesn't leave me with trout-pout lips, but does give them a bit of a boost - and I would look stupid with giant fish lips anyway. I will use this again, but over a lipstick as think the clear gloss is a bit plain on it's own.



The other thing that is worth a mention is that I find the gloss lasts a long time and lips feel nicely soft for ages after use.


The gloss is available from Boots and the soap and glory website for £10.






** The Small Print **

This product was sent free of charge for review purposes. All reviews are honest and impartial, regardless of the source of the product.

I want to know what your favorite foundation is, and why!

The reason for this is that I am on the hunt for a new foundation to test out, and I'm not sure which to go for. I'm currently using the Revlon Colourstay, which I do like a lot, but I guess I'm just not satisfied with it so want to try something new.

I'm looking for something that makes my skin look flawless, but doesn't feel cakey/heavy - ideally it will make my skin look healthy, but not shiny. I prefer liquid foundations to powder- and my skin type is combination (dry cheeks and normal/oily T-Zone).

Current contenders are:

• Illamasqua Rich Liquid
• MAC Face and Body?
• Chanel Mat Lumiere
• Armani Luminous

So, please leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite foundation to make your skin flawless - and ideally why you love it. If you have any strong opinions on ones I should avoid too, that would be great! If you have any airbrush-perfect tips for ow to best apply foundation too, then that would be fab.

(p.s. please feel free to suggest anything from drugstore to obscure brands!)

Thank you xx