Le Volume Ultra-Noir de Chanel

Just a quick one for those of you not on Instagram. This mascara from Chanel is BRILLIANT. Properly, utterly brilliant.

Doesn't deposit too much onto the brush, always a pet hate of mine - and doesn't go dry after a week.

LOVE.

£25.00 - available at all Chanel outlets including Boots.com

Lancome Hypnôse 10 year Anniversary and a £10 offer

Hypnôse - still the best mascara that Lancome make and easily one of the best on the market - is 10 years old on 1st May.

To celebrate, for one day only - on 1st May, you can buy any Hypnôse for £10.00 via Debenhams.

Available in all Debenhams stores and online at www.debenhams.com on 1st May only. *website crashes*

The 'I know it's not a Hero Product but it bloody-well-should-be!' Support Club

So following on from the ridiculously popular post on Monday (you Ladies really needed to vent didn't you??!) - it's time for the other side of the coin.

Everyone has something that they LOVE/thinks works brilliantly/obsesses over that doesn't really get seen much in the press - whether it's because it is a small niche brand or belongs to a bigger house that focuses on their (coughs) 'Hero Product' in the press.

We've had words like 'grim, hideous, nasty' etc - let's see what you think is beyond brilliant/amazing etc...

So - in the spirit of fair play, mine are.....

Suti Cleanse Facial Cleanser - just a bloody brilliant balm cleanser from a very small independent British company *waves flag* that needs to be on Beauty pages of the big glossies. Stat. Go see for yourself.

DJV Beautenizer mascara - £18.00 for a mascara that works better than the supposed 'Hero' ones. Brilliant, quick, look like your wearing extensions. Marvellous.

Victoria's Secret Lip Glosses and Body Sprays - While everyone was 'all-hailing' the arrival of VS to the UK later this year and tweeting about underwear, I was punching the sky Rocky-Balboa-style (and no that does not embarrass me - I love me some Balboa) that their beauty department will be coming over with the knickers. Affordable, wearable and better than any 'Hero Product' lip gloss out there - bring it on! And don't take my word for it - just ask @helenjnt 

So Ladies - over to you: SHARE!

DJV Beautenizer Mascara

Just a quick one for the middle of the week! I was recently sent these mascaras - which turn out to be the best selling mascara brand in Japan - and MYGOD are they brilliant.

I've tried them both and each time I wear either of them I am complimented on my lashes. I was asked by people who know me well - including my own mother - if I had extensions in.

They are £18.00 each from Cult Beauty and more than live up to the industry favourites from the bigwigs such as Dior and YSL.

Which the obvious exception of the applicators, I didn't really see a difference in performance between the two. I think I prefer the Volume Lash because the brush is especially short - something which most brands don't realise makes application SO. MUCH. EASIER.

If you can't afford/can't be bothered with extensions - these are the next best thing.

Best of 2011 - Mascara

Although I have not yet been tempted to stray from my usual choice of Chantecaille Faux Cils - frankly one of the best mascaras on the planet, on a permanent basis - I did come across the below this year and not only is it nearly as good as Chantecaille - it's significantly cheaper. Around £28.00 cheaper...

Maybelline 'The Falsies Volume Express' is not only a good, affordable mascara, it's easily better than some of the really well known, really expensive ones.

Sorry about the large picture of the wand but it's so you can see the formula is wet, which sounds really silly, but in the world of mascaras is becoming increasingly rare - in my experience. The brush is curved, but not too curved or too rigid - it lets you build and layer to get the effect you desire.

Love.

Available at the usual stockists - for around £5.00. Bargain.

Soap & Glory Cosmetics Launch

Marcia Kilgore is a genius. I don't throw that word around thoughtlessly - she just IS. The woman behind Bliss and Fit Flops is in a league of her own. I remember being at a talk she gave to industry people a few years ago just before the launch of Soap & Glory. She was presenting the concept of the brand to the bigwigs at Harvey Nichols when they asked her 'Why Harvey Nichols would possibly sell something so cheap and 'mass' market?' to which she went around the table and asked each of them 'How much do YOU spend on a shower gel?'
The answers were resoundly 'not more than a fiver' and she sealed the deal. At the same event she mentioned how the trademark office hung up on her team when they tried to register 'Sexy Mother Pucker' thinking it was a prank call...

And thus Soap & Glory launched in Harvey Nichols Beyond Beauty whilst simultaneously becoming the Number 1 brand in Boots. In the beauty industry - this is unheard of. You're either 'mass' - and sold in chemists/supermarkets etc or 'prestige' and sold in department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. To cross over takes real skill in marketing and good product with no BS. Women are not fools.

So: after the huge success of the bath and body range (of which I have a healthy stalker-like obsession) which included a little dabble in cosmetics - comes the official launch of Soap & Glory Cosmetics.

Affordable, funky in style and staying true to the original S&G ethos of fun 50's packaging and images - it's undoubtedly going to be a sure-fire success.

I personally showed no restraint when invited to their Head Office and spent a good hour ooh-ing and aah-ing at the new products on offer which include Fabulipstick, Show Good Face foundation, Cheekmate cheekstain and various eye products including kohl pencils, eyeshadows and mascara....

Thick & Fast Mascara

In fact my only gripe is with the mascara. A big brush does not necessarily big lashes make. It's too big to actually be able to get it on the lashes successfully. And the formula is a little dry. I have used it over another mascara to give 'oomph' and that works well - but for me, it's not great for normal everyday use. Sadly.

Glow All Out Luminizing Face Powder

Glow All Out however is lovely. I need a bronzer to stop me looking like death and my bronzer of choice this year has been New C-ID's Coral Glow. This is a great cheaper alternative. Lifts off nicely on to the brush and doesn't look orange or dry. I know my bronzers. This is a good one.

Sexy Mother Pucker in Yummy Plum

Predictably, from a Sexy Mother Pucker addict, this is my favourite. There are other colours but this one I think is the most user-friendly. It gives great sheer colour - and you get the notorious SMP 'burn'. LOVE.

Soap & Glory Cosmetics prices start at a bargainous £5.00 and are available from Harvey Nichols and Boots - although surprisingly not from their own website. Sort THAT and it'll be damn near perfect.

P.S. - As I hit 'publish page' S&G is on 3for2 in Boots.

P.P.S. - the above were PR samples - but I'm off to Boots to stock up on all things Righteous Butter....

All eyes on Mister Sandler

Right I know you know I don't 'do' makeup. Well, not much and not really on here.

But I cleared through all my makeup at the weekend to sort some more goods out for Give and Makeup and found this:

You know when you find something and think 'Ooh I forgot I had THIS!'. Yeah. That.

Designed to be used for those hard-to-reach lashes and the lower lashes - this does exactly what it says on the tube. Easy application, doesn't end up all over your cheeks and my bug bear with mascaras - does NOT regurgitate its entire contents on every pull of the wand out of the tube.

All you lovely peeps raving about the influx of lower lash mascaras onto the market need to get your ta-tas in action and buy this. 

That is all.

The quite fabulous BabyJet Mascara is available on beautique for a bargainous £12.80 - might want to hide your credit card before you go on that site though....


The Smaller Print: Its highly likely I didn't pay for this mascara. It's even more likely that I blatantly stole it from a PR cupboard. It is however, extremely likely that I will hand over real money for my next one and stop being a kleptomaniac.