Review: Mac Pink Clash

For such a lip product junkie, it may come as a bit of a surprise to you to hear that this is my first lipglass! I have always been more of a lipstick girl which perhaps explains why there has been this lipglass-shaped hole in my life, but as they are so popular and widespread, I really have no idea why they have eluded me.

Mac Pink Clash was an impulse purchase through BuyaPowa over Christmas and I was instantly attached by the promise of sparkly, shimmery, glittery lips over the festive period! I believe this is a limited edition product but it is still available at some stores online and it has popped up on BuyaPowa again since.

The first thing that struck me was that the lipglass seems to be tiny! I really don’t think the tube will last long at all, as you only get 4.8g of product and to apply, I found myself having to dip the applicator into the tube several times in order to cover the lips fully.

In the tube, the colour appears to be a rose-tinged gold and this translates fairly well to the lips, producing an almost bronzed / rose look. The gloss is on the fairly sticky side, as I believe is common with all other lipglasses, and the shimmer is certainly fairly noticeable, making this more of a night time gloss, although I have been wearing this to work a little to inject a little sparkle into January!

The colour is very warm and would suit those of a warmer or more bronzed complexion better than those with cooler tones. I also think this would perhaps be more wearable during the summer months as I can see it looking fab with some bronzer and a peach blush. I have quite pigmented lips and the colour was certainly noticeable, although as you would expect, it is not opaque.

I find it lasts around 2 hours on me and unfortunately it does leave quite a lot of glitter on my lips once the colour begins to fade. The glitter is not gritty though and despite the stickiness, I did find the gloss fairly comfortable to wear. As I don’t really own many glitter lip glosses, Pink Clash is unique to my collection, although I suspect there are similar bronzey lipglosses available from other brands.

Verdict

This is an interesting colour which fills a gap in my collection, however the fundamental issue I have with it is that you do not get much product for your pennies! I would also argue that it is more peach or bronze than pink. In short, if you like glitter and you have warmer toned skin, you will probably like this lipgloss, however it is not a must-buy and you may already have similar products in your stash.

3/5

Price – £9.75

Where to Buy – Cheap Smells

Website of the Month: BuyaPowa

Over the last couple of months, there has been one website that I have purchased from more regularly than any others - Buyapowa. Before I start, I just want to make it clear that I have not been asked to write this post by BuyaPowa, I am just really pleased with the service I have received from them!

You will be familiar with Groupon, itison and all of the other hundreds of group buying sites available out there, and BuyaPowa is just the next incarnation of this. The main premise is that products are available in limited quantities for a short period of time at a greatly reduced price.

Products can be requested by users and it is predominantly beauty products, mostly from mid – high end brands such as Mac, Bobbi Brown, Benefit and Chanel! The way it works is that you register your interest on the forthcoming co-buys area which lists the products coming up for the next week or so and when the buy goes live, BuyaPowa email you to let you know the product is available for purchase. Initially there will only be a couple of pounds discount but the more people that purchase, the bigger the discount, and it is usually £7-10 off, even when you include the postage which is a very reasonable £1-1.50 depending on the size of the product.

You enter your payment details when you commit to purchasing, and BuyaPowa email you at every step of the co-buy with alerts as the price is driven down. So far, I have never bought anything which didn’t sell out or go for the lowest possible price, however as there are fairly limited stocks of the products, they are snapped up very quickly so you need to be on the ball if you want to snaffle one of the most wanted items such as the Urban Decay Naked Palette, which sold out in just over an hour last time, although if an item sells well, it will usually come up in another co-buy a few weeks later.

Postage and packaging is, as I mentioned earlier, very reasonable and in general is fairly quick. When I have had to change my postage address at the last minute, I sent them an email and received a prompt reply advising me that it had been changed and indeed it was. Another thing I like is that when I have purchased Chanel items they also always come wrapped up in gorgeous Chanel gift wrap,  and in a cute Chanel bag which you would get if purchasing direct from a counter, so it is perfect for a gift either for others or yourself, and you still feel like you are having a luxury shopping experience!

Verdict

I cannot praise BuyaPowa enough and I have been really pleased with their customer service. My only slight grumbles are that I wish there was a facility to log in using something other than Facebook so I didn’t have to type in my address details every time. I also can’t login to websites using Facebook at my work when doing some lunchtime online shopping, so this isn’t an option for me. The other factor that bothers me ever so slightly is the name, but that is just because I am a stickler for correct spelling!! Still, I would urge those of you who haven’t had a look at the website to investigate as there are more products made available daily, so there is bound to be something you are interested in. If there isn’t you can always request a co-buy and if enough people request it, it will become reality!

Review: Benefit, They’re Real Mascara

When Benefit launched their new Mascara, They’re Real, there was a lot of publicity surrounding it.  Now I don’t mind Benefit and have a few of their products but its not one of my favourite brands, and to be honest, the packaging is just not my style.  I tend to prefer, clean, minimalist or luxury packaging, and cardboard containers, such as those used for the blushers, are not the easiest thing to transport.  However BuyaPowa was having a Benefit week, and I couldn’t resist when They’re Real was available for £11, a remarkable £7.50 off the usual retail price of £18.50.

As with my previous experience with BuyaPowa, delivery was fast and the item was well packaged.  The mascara comes encased in cardboard packaging, and when opened, is revealed to be a sleek, silver tube, very different from Benefits normal kitsch, pink branding.  I much preferred this and felt it looked more expensive and much more like a luxury product. 

Benefit claims this mascara will  ‘lengthen, curl, volumise, lift and separate lashes, giving a false lash effect that won’t smudge or dry out’.  That is a bold claim for a brand to be able to essentially do everything and I’m not sure how realistic this claim is.  The wand looks similar to the usual wand you would expect from a mascara, however it also has bristles on the tip which are very useful for grabbing the small lashes on the inner corner of your eye and mean that you are less likely to poke yourself in the eye with the wand!

When I initially applied this I was very impressed.  It did indeed lengthen my lashes and also seemed to curl them as I have very straight eyelashes that require manual curling.  I encountered no clumping, although I only use 1-2 coats of mascara.  

I did find a couple of drawbacks with this product though in that there was quite excessive smudging underneath my eyes and I am not a habitual eye rubber!  This occurred sometimes after about 6-7 hours and was even worse if I actually did need to itch or rub my eyes.  It seems to smudge VERY easily, as though it is constantly wet.  It was also a nightmare to remove in the evening before bed!  I underwent my usual routine of removing my eye makeup with Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and followed up with Garnier’s Fresh Essentials Gentle Eye Make up Remover.  However, the following morning, after my shower, I still had panda eyes!  I have no idea how it manages to stick around so long and this difficulty in removal is one of my main issues with it.

Verdict 
Having never tried Benefit’s Mascara before, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this.  I enjoy the effects it gives me and although I wouldn’t say my eyelashes look like I am wearing false lashes, they do look nicely separated, longer and with a defined curl.  The downfall for me is the smudging and difficulty in removal, and therefore I will be saving this product for occasional night time events rather than all day wear.  It is worth a go though and if you are prepared to deal with these issues, you may find it is the mascara for you.

4/5    

Price –  £18.50 

Where to Buy – Benefit, Boots, House of Fraser, Debenhams

Chanel Coco Rouge Mademoiselle and BuyaPowa

I recently bought the Chanel Coco Rouge Mademoiselle lipstick after Charlotte Lipglossiping, alerted me to a  bargain on BuyaPowa (as an aside, I strongly recommend you keep an eye on this site as it has had some great deals lately on Nails Inc, Decleor and L’Occitaine, I think it will be seeing quite a bit of my visa card over the next wee while).

I managed a hasty purchase during my lunch break – isn’t that what a lunch break is for, shopping? – and waited for it to arrive, slightly sceptical as Chanel is not usually discounted.

 

The package arrived at my work a few days later, in a lovely little Chanel bag, with the lippy wrapped up in paper and tied with a cute Chanel bow.  The packaging is all part of the experience with Chanel I always think and I was glad that even discounted Chanel was presented so lovingly, as sometimes when you buy things that have been discounted, the packaging 

experience never feels quite the same…

This is my first Coco Rouge, and only my second Chanel lipstick, having owned and then promptly lost Coco Shine Boy :-( .

 

Mademoiselle is a lovely pinky brown shade.  It is pretty opaque on my fairly pigmented lips and gives a lovely neutral polished look which I think would suit most skintones.  It lasts about 3 hours on me, depending how much tea I drink during the working day.  One negative point however is that I do find this lipstick fairly drying on me, although whether that is because we are now in the middle of Autumn and my lips are craving moisture more I am not sure.  It is certainly not as moisturising as some YSL and Bobbi Brown lipsticks I own and I do find myself slathering on 

the balm after wearing it.

I am pleased I bought it and for  £16.99 plus £2 shipping, it was a good deal.It will also make me consider trying more of the Coco Rouges due to their excellent wear, plus I am a sucker for the Chanel packaging and the satisfying click you get when putting the lid back on after applying!