Pink Haired Princess

Post contains affiliate links (which when clicked, can earn the blog a small commission on purchases made). No PR included in this post, promotional (sample, gift with purchase etc) items are noted. It's been a while since a Beauty Lately... post, though last night I checked back and thought "March 24th? That was just over a week ago, I thought it was longer since I posted". Then I realised, we're in May now! So more like 5 weeks. I've still been photographing bits for these posts, so hopefully I'll get back to regular posting and get caught up.

Remember a couple of years ago, I took part in the blind micellar water trial set by Escentual ? Well they got in touch again and asked 100 beauty experts (moi) if we wanted to blind trial cleansing milk this time. I had loads of fun before, so definitely wanted to do it again. We were sent 7 cleansing milks, dispensed into plain glass jars and labelled "sample A" etc and only knew the brands involved, but nothing more.

You may recall I reviewed the new La Roche-Posay Effaclar Anti-Blemish System * back in September.  I'd been using the set for around 6 weeks at that point.  My results hadn't been overly good by then, but I felt at least 12 weeks were required before making final judgements.  I've now completed my trial and this is a little update as to how I got on.  Just to remind you, I was solely using these products, wearing no makeup and applying nothing else to my face other than lip-balm and eye cream/gel, for the fairest possible test conditions.  The box contains 'up to 6 weeks' supply and I did have to purchase another moisturiser around week 9.  I still have a little toner left and a little bit (less than the toner) of the cleanser, so for value for money I think it's great.    

Reviewing skincare isn't the same as reviewing makeup. You put mascara on and instantly know whether you like it or not, the same with lipstick or eyeshadow. After one day wearing foundation you know how it functions and how long it lasts and can pretty much write a review there and then. Skincare though is a whole other ball game because your skin's reaction rather than your personal opinion usually dictates and shapes the review. So I always like to give myself as long as possible to evaluate my findings. I actually postponed this post the other week and I'm glad I did (thankfully without someone breathing down my neck saying I hadn't completed it in time!), because there's been developments that need to be included here. Ok so I'm not kidding when I say this product couldn't have been released at a better time. I was in the midst of suffering one of the worst (if not the worst) breakout I've ever experienced, when I got an email to say there wa...

How coincidental that I should speak of the blind micellar trial set by Escentual and the results have just come in tonight! You'll perhaps recall I was sent 7 unbranded bottles of micellar water to try in 14 days. I gave myself two days per bottle, using morning (basic cleansing) and at night (usually removing makeup including eye makeup). As someone who hasn't tried any of these micellar water brands, it was a very interesting trial for me. I favour a wash-off cleanser for makeup removal usually, so the process of using cotton pads and the cleansing water was new for me.  I didn't try to guess which was which (although the rose one was a giveaway) and I jotted down notes of how each performed and slight comparisons with each other.   You can see the overall results  here collated from the 100 beauty bloggers who took part, but here are my opinions. Sample A ( Dior Instant Cleansing Water ): If I remember correctly I picked this as my overall favourite. It w...

So I got all excited by the previous haul post and it took me weeks to work through all those photos and swatches. Then at the weekend, I place a sneaky Escentual haul, which turned out to be even more mega than the last one! I started off checking out their great deals on French pharmacy brands and trying to find a worthy replacement for my beloved Lancome Baume Eclat cleanser. Then this happened.... The parcel arrived yesterday where I promptly realised I'd bought an entire French pharmacy, oh yeah!  I started reading customer reviews on the site and it led to me checking out one thing after another.  Hopeful cleansers waiting to audition for the role of 'best makeup remover ever' are Dior Instant Gentle Cleansing Oil, Dior Gentle Cleansing Milk, Vichy One Step Cleanser and Avene Cleanance Gel.    In the 'up to 1/3 off' deal were these water sprays.  Now I want to review all of these products at a later stage, I literally just took these photos when I o...