On trial: La Roche-Posay Eye Make-up Remover

Recently I've been using and loving Vichy's Pureté Thermale Make-up Remover and astonishingly I used up every single drop. For me that's quite unusual as I tend to flit between products but as the Vichy make-up remover was now sitting empty, it was time to find a new one. Vichy's make-up remover retails at around £11 in Boots, but with it being the tail end of the month my purse was groaning slightly so instead of splashing out £11 I instead splashed out £9.50 on La Roche-Posay's alternative option.

Surprisingly I've never tried La Roche-Posay but I've always heard good things about it and the clinical looking blue colour of some of the products always stands out to me on the shelves in Boots so I thought it was about time I went for it.

On a daily basis I only ever really use eyeshadow and mascara (adventurous, I know!) so because of this I was only really looking for a make-up remover that was dedicated to this area in particular. A lot of eye make-up removers can sting or irritate the eyes but the La Roche-Posay was like a dream. I put only a few small drops onto a cotton wool pad and brushed it quite firmly over my eyes, it took the make-up off in a couple of swoops and it didn't sting my eyes at all. There was the odd occasion I may have used too much of the product and thought 'uh oh' it would sting as it got into my eye but nothing. I'm super impressed!

£9.50 for 125ml isn't too bad, especially as you only really need a small amount of product for each eye. It's worth splashing out on if you want to stay kind to your eyes and have your make-up thoroughly removed each time without any harsh rubbing. I'd definitely recommend giving this a whirl if you're in the market for trying a new eye make-up remover.

Have you tried the La Roche-Posay Eye Make-up Remover? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Zoeva En Taupe Palette

If there's one brand that I'm so happy to have discovered in 2015, it's Zoeva. I can't believe I didn't try it out earlier. I'd always seen the brushes and palettes on various blogs and I always thought it was super expensive, but when I saw the Cocoa Blend palette I thought, what the heck, and paid the website a visit only to find that the palettes are actually really reasonable. You can check out my thoughts on the Cocoa Blend palette here - it was perfect for creating a rose gold eye look.

Recently the brand released its En Taupe palette and it went straight on my Christmas list. Thankfully Santa was very kind and bought it for me and I'm already absolutely loving it. The palette contains a mix of warm and cool nudes and neutrals so there is really something to suit everyone and all skin tones. The darker taupe/brown shades are definitely very me - 'Outline' and 'Wrapped In Silk' are definitely my go to shades at the moment for greating a lovely shimmery brown look with a grey hue to highlight. I also like to pop on a bit of the 'Old Master' shade, which has a lovely golden shimmer to it with a slight purple undertone. On its own 'Old Master' is the perfect shade for wearing on a night out or special occasion if you fancy lots of sparkle.

En Taupe has a more futuristic feel to it, which may be down to the packaging, but I think the combination of shades is signifying a change in the way we do a smoky eye look. Traditionally we would go for blacks and greys but you can create something so much more everyday and subtle with browns/taupe shades, it looks fab!

Every shade is super pigmented, beautifully blendable and lasts all day long. I don't think it's going to be long before I have every single Zoeva palette as part of my collection. I also can't wait to see what the brand releases in 2016!

Have you tried the new Zoeva En Taupe palette? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Makeup Revolution I Heart Chocolate Pink Fizz Eyeshadow Palette

Back at the beginning of the year I was absolutely raving about Makeup Revolution's Naked Chocolate palette. It was full of gorgeous shades and it had a slight chocolatey whiff about it as well. I was devastated when I accidently broke the hinge but carried on using it until I think I left it in a hotel room, argh! I did order another one to replace it and love it just as much! When the brand released a couple of new palettes recently, including the Pink Fizz palette, I knew it would be pretty fab!

I was very kindly sent the Pink Fizz palette and on first impressions it's not a palette I would usually go for shade wise. I usually go for neutrals/browns/nudes etc but Pink Fizz is full of super shimmering and matte pinks/golds as well as a couple of browns. I was immediately drawn to the brown shades of course but to change things up a bit I have been experimenting with the prosecco pink fizzy sort of shades and actually really like them.

They're super pigmented and blendable and perfect for the upcoming party season. I would have liked it to come with a better brush as I don't think anyone is keen on those horrible eyeshadow sponges but other than that I'm super impressed with this palette. The shades stay put all day and I think they'll suit anyone! You probably won't find any pink eyeshadows in my collection so this palette is staying firmly part of it now and I'll be whipping it out this New Year.

Have you tried the new Pink Fizz palette? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

*This post contains a PR sample.

Faking a good night's sleep

Super Facialist by Una Brennan Neroli Firming Illuminate Eye Cream - £7.99*
Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel - £14*



Recently I haven't been sleeping very well. I don't know what it is but the other week I was awake until 4am and then the following week up until 1.30am. I'm not sure what's going on but lack of sleep equals bags under the eyes and that means I'm on a bit of a mission to at least fake a good night's sleep.

Thankfully no one has said anything about me looking tired at all and I'm putting that down to these two eye products, which I've been testing out recently. It could be that people are just too polite but I'd like to think it's down to the products. I was sent them both at the same time so I thought I'd try one on each eye and see how I got on.

The Neroli Firming Illuminate Eye Cream is the more budget friendly of the two creams. It's quite a thin cream, almost serum like, but it sinks in within seconds and leaves the skin round the eye area feeling really freshed and brightened. It also includes Hyaluronic Acid and Shea Butter, making it intensely moisturising.

The Bioderma Sensibio Eye Contour Gel is the more expensive of the two creams. It seems a lot thicker but still applies beautifully and sinks in like a dream. It's also great for sensitive skin like mine and aims to reduce puffiness and decongest the delicate eye area.

If I'm really honest these eye creams are just as good as one another. They have definitely helped in the quest to faking a good night's sleep. The Bioderma eye cream might be more suited to those working in the busy city thanks to its decongesting skills and the Una Brennan one might be better for anyone that's seeing a few fine lines appear, but overally they both do a brilliant job of making me look awake and half human so for that alone I'd definitely recommend giving one, or both, a try.

Have you tried either of these eye creams? Which eye cream are you loving at the moment?


*These products were sent to be for review purposes and I have given my honest opinion on them.

Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares Palette

So here we are, the palette I have been waiting absolutely ages to feature! I wanted to dedicate an entire week to Halloween-themed posts so when this dropped through my door I thought it was absolutely perfect.

The Give Them Nightmares palette is just amazing and absolutely brilliant for creating Halloween looks on the spookiest day of the year. I was planning all sorts of out there looks but unfortunately I'm not the best at actually executing them so I've gone for a pretty simple look, which would be great if you are heading to a party and don't want to go full on fake blood and witches nose.

I like the fact that the palette rotates around four main colours, green, blue, purple and black and then provides different shades of these so you can really build up colour and do some serious blending. For my look above I've gone for the green shades, all of which are super pigmented and apply like a dream. There is a bit of fall out on application, which is a bit annoying, but nothing a quick swipe of a cotton pad won't fix.

The shades are all extremely soft and blendable and some of them contain glitter so you can add a bit of sparkle to your look. The shadows last ages as well so they're really ticking all the right boxes.

While the palette is perfect for this time of year you could definitely use it all year round - maybe stick to the plain colours and use them subtley to create an every day look.

I am really loving this palette as you can tell and I had great fun creating this look. I've teamed it with one of the brand's new lipsticks, which I featured here.

Have you tried the Give Them Nightmares palette? Tweet me the different looks you've created @cherryp13.


*This palette was gifted to me by the brand and I have given an honest review.

Barry M Starry Eyed Shadow & Blush Palette

Barry M Limited Edition Starry Eyed Shadow & Blush Palette - £6.49





I recently bought the three new Barry M palettes and this is the first of three posts about them. I absolutely adored the original Natural Glow & Blush Palette and the more recent Summer Love Palette so I was really excited when I heard there were some new launches.

I recently gave the Limited Edition Starry Eyed Shadow & Blush Palette a try, which is full of gorgeous autumnal colours in mattes and shimmers.

While the shadows are gorgeous to look at, especially the shimmering ones, I found them a tad disappointing to apply. The first look above is made up of the rich red/gold and brown but I found they didn't blend together very well. You can't really see the gold shimmer in this look. I even added the shimmering red/brown shade at the end of the palette and I don't think this really worked either, which is a shame. The brown has really dominated the look, which isn't a problem if, like me, this is your usual go-to colour but it would be nice to see that spakle coming through. I think the shimmers work much better on their own or you could try adding a drop of water to create a more vibrant colour. I've actually seen them swatched on people's arms on other blogs and they look great individually.

I used the shimmering blue colour on its own in the second look above and this looks really great and vibrant, however this wouldn't really be a colour I'd wear on a regular basis. There was quite a bit of fall out on application with these shadows as well, which is a tad annoying.

Overall I think the palette is really pretty, with some great shades and a fab blusher to boot but it didn't really give the results I was looking for. It's fine if I want a brown/autumnal look but the blendability of the shadows left me feeling disappointed. There's no doubt I'll use it every now and then though.

Have you tried the Limited Edition Starry Eyed Shadow & Blush Palette yet? What did you think?

Essence All About Nude Eyeshadow

Essence All About Nude Eyeshadow Palette - £3.50




Another day, another nude palette! I told you I had a real love for them. I picked this baby up in Wilkinsons of all places. I had been on the hunt for Essence products for ages and on a whim I popped into Wilkos to have a look at its beauty offering and voila, there was a stand full of Essence goodies.

You may remember I recently reviewed the brand's Colour & Go Miss Universe nail polish and I was really impressed with the product I got for my money. The same goes for this palette. For £3.50 you get six fab, well pigmented shades that last all day long. They're lovely to apply and there's very little fall out. I created the above look with brown and plum shade and it's a combination I really love.

Like the palette I featured earlier in the week, you can create a variety of different looks. You could go completely plum all over for a really dramatic look or keep it rather nude and create an almost not there make-up look with the lighter shades. For £3.50 you can't go wrong. The palette is cheap and cheerful and one I'd certainly recommend.

Kiko Cosmetics: The Daring Game

Don't you just love a collection that has a great theme behind it? The new Daring Game range from Kiko Milano is inspired by Bond girls and casinos and all the products and packaging reflect card decks, the roulette table and dice while remaining elegant yet andogynous. Perfect.

I'm so lucky to have received a couple of products from the new range as it is limited edition! My favourites are probably the eye products, the chunky, almost marker pen like double ended eyeliner and the shimmering green Smoky eye pencil and Longlasting eyeshadow pencil, both of which are as soft as velvet to apply and stay put for hours.

My next faves in the collection are the gel effect nail polishes in Orchid (pink) and Bluenoir black). These polishes are just wonderful to apply and as they're gel effect, they're ridiculously shiny and are free from Toluene, Camphor, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin and Formaldehyde.

I may not be a lip product fan but I can certainly appreciate the gorgeous shades of the Ace of Diamond lip pencil and Ace of Diamond Lipstick. As I don't use lip products very regularly I thought I'd give one lucky reader the opportunity to win them! Just follow the rules in the giveaway box below - UK only!

Overall I really love this range and love the innovative idea behind it. It's refreshing to see a collection with some ideas and not the same old shades you get every season. The Daring Game range is fun, colourful and makes me want to take a trip to Vegas right away!

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HealGel Eye

HealGel Eye - £32*
Eye gels can be very hit and miss. In the past I've tried my fair share and to be honest I've not really seen much of a difference after using them. I've been going through a very long phrase of not wearing any eye gel at all but when I was contacted and asked if I'd like to try the HealGel Eye I thought why not?!

At £32 this is pretty expensive for an eye gel in my opinion. However, having looked further into the product itself and having seen results I think it might just be worth investing in. I know it's important for someone my age to take care of their skin and the introduction of this eye gel has opened my eyes (excuse the pun!) to what a real difference it makes.

I did notice quite large dark circles forming under my eyes about a month or so ago and I was constantly looking tired out, but having used the HealGel Eye I've really, honestly noticed a difference. The skin under my eyes looks much more youthful and I definitely don't look as tired as I feel.

The gel is really lightweight and sinks into the skin almost instantly, leaving me feeling a bit more revived in the mornings. The gel itself contains Arnica and Madecassoside, which help give the skin a bit of a boost. It also contains Hydraluronic Acid, which locks moisture in and firms the contours.

To put it bluntly, this is a perfect morning pick me up. At 25 I feel like I have the under eyes of a 15-year-old! In all seriousness though, this is well worth your hard-earned money, especially if you're slightly older and need something that's really going to do a good job of your under eye skin.

This post contains PR samples