Beauty Smackdown #11: Clinique Almost Lipstick Vs Dior Addict Lip Glow

I feel totally scatterbrained so I apologise if this post is all over the shop.

I'll be upfront about this post, this is only basing around one aspect of each of these products - the fact they are lip balms but almost lipsticks. 

 (top Dior Addict Lip Glow, bottom Clinique Almost Lipstick)

First up is packaging. Hands down Dior has the nicer packaging, it's fancy, looks expensive and feels expensive. This is a sample of Clinique's Almost Lipstick but even the proper packaging isn't a cute as Dior's, they are a bit straight to the point with theirs, which isn't a bad thing because it focuses on the product itself. 

So as I say, I am focusing on their lip balm properties more than anything else. This is the only colour that Dior offers in this formula as far as I'm aware where as I believe that Clinique has more shades - this is the shade Flirty Honey. 

(left Clinique Almost Lipstick, right Dior Addict Lip Glow)

So when it comes to the formula Clinique has a creamier and definitely more moisturising product and more pigment for me at least. Dior's formula is a little less hydrating but depending on your skin pH will depend on how pigmented is. Also Diors product is also a stain which I think is what dries it out the most. 

So as a lip balm the Clinique is definitely my winner but if you want something with a bit of a fragrance and want the colour to stick around then Dior is where it's at. 

Clinique Almost Lipstick retails for £17.00 for 1.9g of product and Dior Addict Lip Glow costs around £23.50 for 3.5g of product. Pound for pound you get more for your money from Dior. 

Have you tried either of these? What do you think?

Speak soon 

Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #10: Benefit Gimme Brow Vs Maybelline Brow Drama

If you have read my blog in the past then you may know my thoughts on these two products but I always think it's helpful to see exactly the comparisons between two products in order to make a good purchase.

Firstly, you can clearly see that Maybelline offers a larger product but remember quantity does not mean quality and I think in this case it is totally evident.

 (Benefit Gimme Brow Above, Maybelline Brow Drama Below)

Right, what the hell were Maybelline thinking when they concocted this mess of a wand?! This is the most pointless non-functioning brush I have ever seen. The ball on the end offers no actual results but to actually glob the colour onto your brows without being able to comb it in and the only part I can see that would give some decent usage is the skinny bit at the end which you can't reach for the big useless ball of bristles! 

They should take a lesson from Benefit who actually offer a practical solution to applying product. They have a slightly tapered wand that helps with precision and even application. 

(Benefit Above, Maybelline Below) 

As you can see, benefit offers a better even colour as opposed to Maybelline. Though their formula is actually better so that helps. The colour is more grey based than Maybelline even though they are both supposed to be the lightest shade. Maybelline just looks so patchy and really doesn't do anything for my brows. 

When it comes to price Benefit are a little on the pricey side and this gem costs £17.50, whereas the Maybelline offering is a mere £4.99 in comparison. Though there is a big difference I would feel robbed paying £4.99 for Brow Drama but I don't feel so bad spending £17.50 on a product that I really like. This is a shame because Maybelline have some of my favourite products so I was a little let down by this.

By all means give it a go.
Have you tried either of these? What do you think?

Speak soon
Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #9: Clinique All About Eyes VS Benefit It's Potent

A nice skincare post because as the weather is looking quite crap I think a good bit of skin tlc is in order. Today the weather has been miserable going from cloudy and dark, to tipping it down, to thunder and lightening and finally literally pea sized heavy hail. I had to go out as well :( But it's harsh on the skin and one area that really needs taking care of is the eyes. A lot of people neglect this are and think that using just a single moisturiser will cut it (sorry, it won't!). The skin around your eyes is so different to the rest of your face, it is more delicate and shows up a lot more wear - Ever have a heavy night and wake up thinking you look awful? It's your eyes that are telling you that, they're puffy and purple and it's not a good look. Eye creams are super vital to taking good care of your skin and avoiding the dreaded crows feet and under-eye bag combo. So here's a smackdown that's going to tell you what's what!

*Also, I never really look back to see how I wrote my last BS (hehe BS!) so if it all seems a little skittish then that's why. I'm just keeping you on your toes :P

 Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream
As it suggests, this stuff is potent! Don't be expecting miracles to happen over night though. It's said to be a brightening formula so that it reduces the appearance of dark circles and helps to keep the eye are hydrated.

Price?
£24.50 for 14.2g or 0.5oz

I only have the sample size but the price definitely is up there. I love this stuff and use it as a day time eye cream before applying any make up. It's very lightweight and is absorbed fairly quickly. I am going to be devastated when I run out and realise that I can't afford a new full size :(

Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream
Again, supposed to reduce redness, puffiness, dark circles whilst being hydrating.

Price?
£25.00 for 15ml (which I'm not sure what on earth that equates to but I think they're about the same)

I also like to use this in the day time before makeup and have found that it is very hydrating but I don't really know about brightening. Can feel a little greasy






I'll level with you all. I love both of these products - they are both similar in price so forget comparing that. As far as skincare goes I would almost certainly recommend Clinique to anyone and everyone but for what I will call a day time eye cream I'm going to have to make Benefit my winner this week but it is a personal opinion based decision. To be fair, the Clinique one is brilliant and if you feel more comfortable with tat brand then by all means go for it because it's great. However, when it comes to texture I really do prefer Benefit - It's slightly thicker and has no greasy-ness feeling at all, plus (I know I said I wasn't comparing but..) 50p of is better than a poke in the eye.

Let me know if you agree with my decision, what are your favourite eye creams?

Also, don't forget to check out my previous post - I want to know your thoughts on a blog sale :)

Speak soon
Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #8: Elf St Lucia Blush Vs NARS Deep Throat Blush

This post is going up a little late, I've had stuff to do today but this is very much a high end against drugstore edition of Beauty Smackdown.

I'm comparing Elf St Lucia blush and NARS Deep Throat blush. I'm mainly comparing the formulas but I do think the colours are quite similar.

Deep Throat is a rosy pink blush with fine subtle gold shimmers throughout. I really love this blush because I don't feel that it's ever over kill, it's super buildable and just gives that beautiful winter morning flush of colour.

This is from the Elf St Lucia Bronze and Blush Duo. Honestly, I love this as well, it is similar in colour but leans slightly to the more coraly side but still with that gold shimmer.

Side by side (NARS left, Elf right) I don't think there is much difference in terms of pigmentation. They are both nice and buildable and quite similar in colour. There re a few things that set them apart from each other - NARS has a much larger colour selection, the feel of the blush is a lot more luxurious and the staying power is much higher.

All in all I definitely prefer my NARS blush but if you aren't sure about spending a lot of money on a blush then I would recommend the Elf blush because it is very comparable to NARS and it is definitely a nice place to start :)

Which do you prefer, what blushes are your favourite. 

Let me know what you would like to see in upcoming posts.

Speak soon 

Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #7: Revlon Photoready Primer Vs Becca Resurfacing Primer

I'm starting to think I have a problem, I appear to be obsessed with and hoarding primers, does anyone else do this? Anyway, with the one I have I have tried my best to pair up the most similar formulas.

So the packaging is completely different, Becca being a tube and Revlon having a pump. Personally I prefer a tube because the I feel like I can get everything out of it and that my money isn't being wasted. Sorry the Revlon one looks gross - I've had it a while and it gets thrown about.

On the left in the Revlon primer and on the right is the Becca primer. First off they are both super pale but Revlon looks a little pink and Becca looks a little yellow - not sure about the effects of this. 

The Becca formula is a lot thicker but they both have a resurfacing feel about them, I love this because I like feeling that I am starting on even canvas. 

As for lasting power I feel that the Becca has better staying power and certainly helps the longevity of your foundation. That being said, I do feel that Revlon has a good formula but you pay for what you get. 

You get 40ml/1.35 fl.oz of product in the Becca primer and 27ml/0.91 fl.oz in the Revlon primer. Again, you pay for what you get. 

As many of you know I got the Becca primer for an absolute steal at £9.99 but the usual retail price (which I would focus on because you're more likely to find it for the higher price) is £32.00. This is a bit expensive but if you're after a bargain then I would try the Revlon Photoready primer for £11.99.

My overall winner this week is the Becca Resurfacing Primer. I love the formula and the packaging is an absolute win. The only thing that lets me down is the price, I'm not sure I would buy it again knowing I would have to pay over triple the price. 

Let me know what your favourite primers are :)

Speak soon 

Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #6: Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss Vs Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer

Over the course of 2013 I really got into lipgloss, before that I wasn't fussed by the stuff. I love lipgloss, I think it's an important part of everyone makeup bag :)

This week I'm a putting Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss up against Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer. I like both of these glosses but I know that they wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. I would probably say that if you don't like gloss with glitter or cannot abide even the slightest amount of stickiness then these both won't be for you.

So the colours I have aren't exactly the same but I think the formulas are comparable. The top one is Chanel which is full size and the bottom one is Smash box which is a sample size I got from a set of all Smashbox's best sellers.

They both have similar applicators, they aren't anything special but they get the job done. I think this is actually a good thing sometimes because occasionally having a fancy applicator can distract from an awful product and just going simple shows the product for what it is. Though this isn't the case all the time.

The Smashbox gloss is 'Illume' which is more of a champagne colour and the Chanel gloss is 'Seashell' which is much pinker. I think the glitter in the Smashbox gloss is a bit chunkier which can be annoying, especially as the gloss dries out, so in that respect the Chanel gloss is superior.

When it comes to fragrance and I know that this can be both a bad thing or a good thing depending on how you feel about it. The Chanel gloss has virtually no smell which doesn't bother me because I like fragrance but if it's not there then I really don't mind. The Smashbox gloss has quite a lot of scent, it's is very vanilla so if this isn't your thing then I would steer clear.

Price point are quite different, Smashbox being the budget luxe of the two.
Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss  - £15.00
Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer - £21.00

I know that both of these can be very pricey for a lipgloss depending on your budget. My personal preference of the two is the Chanel Gloss, that just does it for me. It's smooth and not chunky, it glides on better and there is a much bigger colour selection. I think you totally pay for the quality. I love the Smashbox one because the scent is amazing and the colour is great, the formula could be really make or break for some people. So my winner for this week is Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer.

I always encourage readers to get out there and try things for themselves. My reviews are my opinions and you might totally disagree with me. The only way to know is to trial and error. If you are interested in trying both of these products then you can find them on www.boots.com or in most larger Boots stores (UK) I assume that any stockist should carry both of these products.

Speak soon,

Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #5: Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara Vs Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara

 Come on now, if you are familiar with me, my blog or my YouTube channel then you will know that I hold both of these mascaras dear to my heart. But we all know that the purpose of these posts are to take two products which aim to do similar effects and find out which one is better value for money.

First of all, I first tried the Lancome mascaras after much thought about it because I knew that they are famed for the quality of their mascaras and I was nothing but impressed.

Smashbox, however was a whim to try. I had never tried any of their products so bought a sampler set and in the process they had a lucky dip and I managed to get my hands on the Full Exposure mascara.

 Both of these mascaras have pretty good packaging but the Lancome mascara is just sooo beautiful with all it's glitter and sparkles!

Hypnose Star contains 6ml of product and costs £22.50

 Smashbox Full Exposure has 11g of product (I think that's just under 11ml) and costs £18


So pound for pound the Smash box mascara is better value.

 The brushes are sooo different from one another.

Lancome's is very strange, one side is tapered (shown) and the other side is completely flat. This allows you to both lengthen and volumise.




Smashbox's is a little more of a traditional brush but it is huge!! You can really grip the lashes with this and get a lovely even coating.

The formulas in my opinion are very similar. They both hold a curl very well, they lengthen and volumise and they are very easy to reapply (as in they don't make your lashes crispy and stiff and practically rip out when you try to put more on). The last is very important to me because I feel that a lot of the time my lashes can get a little lack-lustre after a while and a fresh coat on top always helps.

In my opinion, you can't go wrong buying either of these but if you are in a pinch but want to treat yourself then I would totally recommend the Smashbox Full Exposure mascara (My winner :))

Let me know what you think of these products :)

Speak soon
Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #4: Smashbox Photo Finish VS Maybelline Baby Skin

Ahhh, another Thursday, another edition of Beauty Smackdown. I have wanted to do this one for a while because I know both products are quite hyped up. I know some people have said that Baby Skin is a dupe for Benefit's Porefessional. However, though I have not yet tried Porefessional, Baby Skin looks like it could be more of a dupe of Smashbox's Photo Finish. I have tried Photo Finish and I feel it matches Baby Skin identically. But lets get on with it.

So I have the full size of Baby Skin and only a (very empty) sample size of Photo Finish.

I really like the general packaging because I don't feel like I'm being cheated when I get a squeeze tube because I know I can get all the product out.

 Smashbox is on the left and Maybelline in on the right. They look exactly the same, they feel exactly the same, smell exactly the same and do exactly the same.

They have a silicone feeling and both have mattefying finishes.

So in actuality I think these are pretty much the same product but with a massive price difference with Maybelline Baby Skin at £7.99 and Smashbox Photo Finish at £25.

Although I would totally recommend the Smashbox primer I think you are better off saving your pennies as my winner this week is Maybelline Baby Skin!

Let me know if you have tried either of these products and if you agree with my choice or not :)

Speak soon
Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #3: MAC Penultimate Eye Liner VS Collection Extreme 24 Hr Felt Tip Liner

MAC Penultimate Eye Liner 

VS

Collection Extreme 24 Hr Felt Tip Liner

I am really enjoying doing these posts and I hope you all enjoy them too! I really feel like I get to give you a great insight to how products compare to one another and help you all make good makeup decisions!

 Collection Extreme 24Hr Felt Tip Liner

Pros:
- Comfortable shape
- Really pigmented
- Good control (nib isn't too soft and isn't too hard)
- Super affordable
- Lasts a long time (this might be different on oily skin)

Cons:
- Not Waterproof

Yeahh So basically I love this product, I got it on a whim though because I wanted to try a drugstore liner, well just because and it ended up being a product that I really love!


MAC Penultimate Eye Liner

Pros:
-Comfortable shape

Cons:
- Nib is far too soft
- Pigment isn't amazing
- It's difficult to get the colour out
- Smudges



I don't know if I just got a faulty one of these because I would have had high hopes that MAC would have a super high quality liquid liner but it is really awkward to use because the nib is too soft and you have to press quite hard just to get a decent black out of it.

The Collection has a longer nib and is a lot stiffer than the MAC one.

The Collection liner also manages to get a finer controlled line and well a chunky lines.

The 2 left lines are MAC and I have tried to show a fine line and a thick line and I managed to get the colour out on the thick one but the line was messed up from pressing s hard and the fine line was a really rubbish pigment.

The 2 right lines are Collection and you get the same pigment in thick and fine. It glides on so smoothly and just looks flawless.




It won't come a surprise then if I say that the Collection 24Hr Extreme Liner is miles above in quality than the MAC liner. Especially considering the price differences as MAC is £17.00 and Collection is £2.99 it is a serious bargain! Try the MAC one if you are dead set on it but read the reviews on their website, suffice to say I cannot recommend the Collection liner more!


Let me know what eyeliners you are loving and what are your opinions on these liners if you have tried them.
- Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #2: Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Eye Roll On VS Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Apologies for the long title but it wouldn't be helped!

If you read The Drugstore Edit post I did yesterday then you would know that I featured Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Eye Roll On and I thought it would be good to compare it to another product. 

I'm not too sure if I mentioned this when I did my first Beauty Smackdown but the products I feature aren't high end against drugstore. In this instance I'm showing you 2 drugstore products so just an FYI :)


Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Eye Roll On

Vs

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

So lets crack on with this.

First up, Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Eye Roll On. If you read my post yesterday then you will know my feelings on this product but I'm just going to sum it up for you.

Pros:
- Nice consistency 
- Great packaging 
- Has a great care element

Cons:
- Limited colour selection
- Not a lot of coverage

So really I don't think I have a lot of bad things to say and to be honest I think this product could be amazing if you fit into the right colour and don't need an awful lot of coverage. 


Next, the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Now if you have read previous posts in my blog/ watched my videos then you will know that I use this an awful lot!

Pros:
- High coverage
- Easily blendable
- Not prone to creasing (not for me at least)
- Super affordable

Cons:
- Not a great colour selection
- I feel like I get a lot of product wastage because of packaging



I truly love this product because it is so inexpensive yet it is a massively amazing product. 
I find it hard to fork out on any high end products because I'm skeptical that they could do a better job.  

In my opinion the Collection concealer definitely wins but I do urge people to try both because they are so amazing and if you are interested in getting these products then they are available from most Boots stores and the Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Eye Roll On is priced at £9.99 and the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer at about £2.99/£3.99 I can't quite remember!

I really hope you enjoyed this post and keep an eye out for others :)
- Roo xx 

Beauty Smackdown! - Elf Lip Exfolitor Vs Lush Lip Scrub

I had another idea! I want to do a 'Beauty Smackdown' where I take two products and share my thoughts and opinions and tell you which one I think is the better product. I thought of this because I know there have been times where I can't decided between 2 different products and I just end up making a totally uninformed decision an potentially make a rubbish choice! So I hope this helps you all :)

Elf Lip Exfoliator Vs Lush Lip Scrub

So what I will do is just run though the pros and cons of both product and give you my overall verdict.

Elf Lip Exfoliator

 Pros:

- It's in a lipstick shape
- It's highly moisturising
- It's an intense scrub
- It's inexpensive
- It's smells like vanilla (could be a con if you don't like vanilla, but I do)
- It's made with sugar and tastes pretty good.
- It's compact

 Cons:

To be honest I literally can't think of any cons other than I with that you get more product because it's that good!









Lush Lip Scrub

Pros:

- The Scrub is quite intense
- It smells pretty good
- It's compact
- It's inxpensive 

Cons:

- It has salt in it too so I don't think it tastes that good (If you like salt/sugar popcorn then you will love it)

- The application can be awkward and not very precise.

- Very messy

I am a little sad to say that I'm not a massive fan of the Lush Lip Scrub after I had heard so many good things about it. I think that if there is one made with one sugar and not salt then I might be able to use it but that fact that it is also quite messy is a bit too much to deal with.

If you are interested in trying either of these products then here are the details of where to get them and also the price. UK readers will be pleased to hear that you can get Elf products but you have to buy them online from their website (Linked below):

Elf Lip Exfoliator:

Price: £3.75

From: www.eyeslipsface.co.uk

Lush Lip Scrub

Price: £5.25

From: Nearest outlet or if you can't get to one the you can buy from www.lush.co.uk

I hope you have enjoyed this post and let me know what products you would like to see go head to head!

- Roo xx