Monday 31 December 2012

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation


As I am a student living in Nottingham and I also live with my boyfriend in Norfolk, I have two sets of make up so that I don’t have to cart it around everywhere. For some reason, some of the items in both collections are different and one thing I have at my boyfriend’s is the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation.
Foundation is one of those staple make up products that I just can’t live without. Although I do have pretty good skin, I don’t like how it looks without having foundation on. I also do really long days at work so I wanted something that would last for my whole shift without coming off half way through. This is mainly the reason why I bought Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation. With the promise of lasting 25 hours, I was sure that it would be a good foundation that would last a good amount of time.
Rimmel is a well-known cosmetics brand now and can be found in shops like Superdrug, Boots and most supermarkets too. This foundation was bought from Superdrug and cost £6.99 although it is sometimes on offer either on its own or when you buy other Rimmel products. £6.99 is an average price for a foundation so I didn’t think it was overpriced at all and I was quite happy to pay this.
The colour of foundation I chose was True Ivory which is colour number 103. The foundation claims to be heat, humidity and transfer proof which I guess is what would make it last so long. The colour inside the glass bottle was much like any other ivory coloured foundation I have bought in the past and once on my face, it suited my skin colour perfectly. The foundation is creamy and thick but didn’t need much working in before my skin looked smooth and more even.
While the foundation colour did suit my skin really well, it unfortunately does not last 25 hours. Our phone at work ended up being covered in a foundation coloured powder after using it quite a few times throughout the day. Luckily, I did not experience the foundation coming off on my clothes or hands though. The foundation did last through an 8 hour shift at work, even with some of it coming off on the phone although it didn’t last too much longer than that. There is no way that this foundation will last the 25 hours it says it will, unless you put it on, sit in the same spot for 25 hours and not move at all.
Although this doesn’t do what it claims to do, this is a good foundation and I would still probably buy it again due to it suiting my skin so well.

Friday 28 December 2012

Treacle Moon Raspberry Kiss Body Scrub


I absolutely love my bath and shower products and cannot get enough of them. One brand which I had never tried before was Treacle Moon, nor had I ever heard of it before. I got a couple of Treacle Moon products as gifts so I have no idea where they can be purchased from nor how much they cost. However, as far as I can see from looking online, this brand is available from Tesco and products cost roughly £2.
One product that I received as a gift was the Treacle Moon Raspberry Kiss Body Scrub. The body scrub comes in a clear plastic tube which has a black flip cap at the bottom. On the tube is black text which gives the name and brand of the product, along with a cute little quote which says; “I think this must be love… She smiled at her secret, put the letter in an envelope and enclosed a daisy chain from the meadow where she sat.” There is a quote like this on each Treacle Moon product and it’s an aspect of the packaging that I love. It’s girly and a bit silly but it gives the tube a little something extra.
Inside the tube is 225ml of bright pink body scrub. The product looks amazing inside the tube and if I had seen this on a shelf, I would have wanted to buy it because it does look extremely tempting. Once in the bath or shower, you can squeeze this out straight onto your skin. I have tried it with a fluff ball although it didn’t work very well. The body scrub strangely doesn’t smell of real raspberries (probably because no real ones are used) but instead smells of a fake raspberry which was still nice enough. The scent is very sweet and quickly fills the bathroom.
The body scrub, along with the bright pink liquid/ cream has tiny black dots in it which are what scrubs your skin. By smoothing the cream onto my skin in circular motions, I could feel it begin to work and slightly scratch at my skin. However, my skin wasn’t left red at all and it did feel much smoother after use. I really like how this body scrub makes my skin feel after use and think it’s one of the best I have used recently.
My only real negative points about this body scrub are the lack of real fruit ingredients and how it leaves the bath after use. The tiny black bits stayed on the bottom of my bath after I had used this product and it took me some wiping and rinsing to get rid of them all. This will be a bit of a pain if I intend to use this every single day.

Thursday 27 December 2012

Amazon Kindle Fire HD Standing Leather Cover


When I bought my Kindle Fire HD from Waterstones, it was kind of a last minute decision so I didn’t have a case waiting to be used with it. As I wanted to use the Kindle pretty much straight away, I didn’t want it getting battered about in my handbag. Without wanting to wait to buy one online, I was stuck with buying one in the shop. The Amazon Kindle Fire HD Standing Leather Cover was bought from Waterstones and it cost £34.99. Now, considering that I paid £200 for the Kindle, it seemed sensible to buy something to protect it.
The case is slightly bigger than the Kindle itself so that it can fit snuggly inside. The case opens up like a book and once open the left side has a soft, felt like material covering it while the right side is where the Kindle goes. The sides are raised which is how the Kindle stays in place. On the bottom of the right side are two small slatted sections which is for the speakers and so you are able to hear the sound. There is also a small hole at the top end so that you can plug in headphones.
This case is made from leather and it has a lovely soft feel to it. The colour I chose was a dark purple although other colours are available. The leather has a cracked kind of finish to it, making it look like animal skin of some form. I really like the feel and finish to the cover as although it isn’t soft and smooth, it does feel robust and hard-wearing. At the edge of the case is the Kindle logo on a smoother piece of leather which hangs slightly over the edge of the case. This is used to make the case easier to flip open.
I think this Kindle case looks really stylish and while I would have preferred to not pay as much for one, it is worth the money. There are cheaper cases out there but having seen them now, I don’t think they look quite as nice as the more expensive choices. I’ll probably not buy any other cases as I am more than happy with this one. It is never really on display so I’m not too bothered about having cases in any other colours of styles.
I know many people won’t want to pay the £34.99 for a case but when the product it is for is so expensive, I think it’s worth splashing out.

Friday 21 December 2012

iZKA® Extra Long UK Micro USB Mains Charger


After being bought my new Kindle Fire HD, I quickly realised that the USB charger provided would not be good enough. I needed a mains charger but I didn’t want to pay Amazon’s £17 for the official charger. After looking at the cheaper options on Amazon, I decided to go with the iZKA® Extra Long UK Micro USB Mains Charger. For £4.95, I thought I was just getting a cheaper equivalent.
The charger comes in a small blue and white box, barely big enough for the charger itself. On the front of the packaging is a picture of the charger along with the name of the product. Inside the box, the charger is wrapped in a small plastic bag which doesn’t really protect it from anything.
Nowhere on the box does it state what products this charger is compatible with unlike on Amazon which says it can be used with:
Kindle
Kindle 2
Kindle DX
Kindle DX international version
Kindle DX Graphite
Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G
Kindle Touch Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G
Kindle Paperwhite
Kindle Fire
Kindle Fire HD
The side of the box, however, states that you should first check that the charger is compatible with your device and also gives basic instructions for use. Really, it says plug it in and watch the little blue light flash so you know your device is charging.
So, my Kindle was actually decently charged for the first few days after I received this so it took me a little while to use it. On first use, everything was completely fine. I plugged in my charger and it did its job well and quickly. My Kindle was fully charged in 3ish hours and I couldn’t have been happier not having to use the USB charger with my laptop. However, on second use, I noticed that the charger did not connect properly. It was plugged in, turned on and the blue light on the plug was also on. I had just plugged it in and left it to charge but when I went back, the battery life had gone down, not up.
I figured it was maybe just a bad connection so I tried again but to no avail. The Kindle Fire HD tells you when a charger is connected but after the first use, it never picked up this charger again. I contacted the seller, explained the problem and they then sent me a new charger as mine was apparently faulty. When the new charger arrived, I immediately tested it out and this time, it didn’t even charge the first time.
As you can see, this product just is not compatible with the Kindle Fire HD. I have no idea about the older versions of the Kindle though. After a couple of weeks of hassle and sending things back etc., I wish I had just splashed out and bought the Amazon version straight away as I am going to have to now anyway.

Thursday 20 December 2012

Welcome!

Hiya everyone!!

Although this is a new blog, I have been a book blogger for the past 3 years on and off (due to uni work) which you can find here!

However, this blog will be all about reviewing everyday products. This could range from make-up, cleaning products, electronics, DVDs etc. You get the point. I have been writing these kinds of reviews for other sites for many years now so I thought it was about time these reviews got a blog of their own. I love writing reviews to help people decide what products are worth buying and what aren't so I hope you find these useful. 

I'm currently living in Nottingham as a student but finish pretty soon. After I finish, I'll be moving to Norfolk with my fiancĂ© so there will be plenty of furniture kinds of reviews to come as we begin to sort out our home together. 

I hope you'll enjoy my reviews and please do let me know if there is something you'd like to see me write about!

Thanks for stopping by!
Lyndsey