Battle of the BB's | 17 Blemish Balm vs. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB

With the warmer weather we've been having recently here in the UK, I've been reaching for BB creams over foundation for a lighter, barely-there coverage. The two I have been trialling are 17's BB Blemish Balm and Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB; cue the battle of the BB's!

17 BB Blemish Balm in Medium

The 17 packaging is really nice and simple (I know it has been altered more recently, but the difference is minimal), and the product dispenses nicely, without spontaneously leaking out of the nozzle; always a plus for obvious reasons. 

On application it felt lovely, fresh and light on my face. Literally just what you need in the hot weather and in my opinion, perfect if you're jetting off on holiday and don't want to feel caked in makeup.

It blends in really easily to provide an even coverage over blotchy skin, but definitely needs a little help from concealer for covering up those pesky spots.

Overall though, a really pleasant, easy and light product to wear. Definitely gets the thumbs up from me!

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB in Universal Glow

Although this Maybelline packaging is easy on the eye, unfortunately the product is so thin and watery that it just seems to leak out into the lid, which is near impossible to avoid and also means that you always dispense way more of the product than you actually need.

Please take that as a word of warning, I can imagine there have been many mishaps involving this BB!

As this shade is called 'Universal Glow', I expected a nice muted, natural colour.

Boy was I wrong.

It's an extremely frightening looking shade of orange (which I've added a picture of below for reference; g'ah!). Because of this, I found it difficult to blend evenly, and it took more effort than I would have liked to get my face to a normal colour. However, when I did finally get to that stage, my skin did actually look quite naturally tanned.

Although it feels quite light once blended, like the 17 BB it isn't great at covering blemishes and needs a little help from a spot or two of concealer.

Overall I haven't really got on with this product too well. Although it does eventually blend in, I don't feel all that comfortable applying such a pigmented and awkward product. It also has a really unusual, strong smell that I can't put my finger on exactly, but slightly resembles gone off fake tan.

Sorry Maybelline, but this really isn't one of my favourites from you guys!

I think it's obvious who wins this battle.

 17 Blemish Balm BB Cream can be purchased here from Boots for £6.99

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB can also be found in Boots for £7.99 here

What's your favourite BB cream?

Love,

Jo xx

Makeup Haul

So the other day we had a visit from my auntie. After a bit of a chinwag and a cup of tea, she made her excuses and off she popped, leaving behind a bag of makeup goodies...

...my auntie is always buying makeup (not that I'm complaining, obviously) but due to her very sensitive skin she has to be careful as to what she uses. Which kind of works in my favour. Okay, it really works in my favour.

Here are the fabulous goodies she left me with!

Avon true colour 6 in 1 eye pallette in Glamour Eyes

Bourjois Delice de Soleil bronzing powder in 12 fair/medium

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream

17 BB Blemish Balm

Bourjois blush in 92 Santal

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Smoother primer

Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow in Moonstone/Blue Heaven

Laura Geller Blush 'n' Brighten in Berry

I know, I have the best auntie ever, right?!

I am still a BB cream virgin so I am partiularly looking forward to testing these out!

I will be reviewing all of these products but due to the fact that I have a never-ending list of things to review, if you're interested in seeing a review of anything in particular sooner rather than later, please let me know in the comments and I'll put it to the top of my list!

What do you think of the selection?
Have you tried any of these out before?

Thanks for reading,

Jo xx

Collective Haul | Boots, Superdrug and Bodycare

So I planned on going into Boots just to stock up on the essentials.

Did I stick to my plan? Did I heck.

I then continued on into Bodycare and Superdrug to buy a couple more not-so-essentials.

As is life, eh?

Not the most exciting of hauls, but I'm a student, what can I say.

First up, the goodies from Boots and Superdrug:

Good Things Face the Day moisturiser, £7.99, and Fresh Start creamy cleanser, £4.99

I'm a bit confused seeing as when I bought these they were both discounted (can't remember how much I paid exactly) rather than on 3 for 2 offer as listed on the website?

Anyway, these have worked absolute wonders on my skin since I started using them so these are my back ups - I don't want another mascara incident!

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in Nude, £7.99, Dream Smooth primer, £8.99 and Dream Touch Lumi concealer, £6.99 free!

I actually only needed the foundation, but seeing as they were on 3 for 2 I thought I'd also give the primer and concealer a go. I must say, so far I'm impressed!

MUA lipstick in shade 8, £1, and Undressed pallette, £3

Neither of these were necessary. But I am a bit of a lipstick phobic and can never figure out which colours and shades would suit my skin tone, and which would look ridiculous. The price tag of these lippys means I can have a play around with different colours for next to nothing!

And with not being able to justify the price tag of the beautiful Urban Decay Naked pallette, it is kind of necessary that I own MUA undressed instead.

My teeny tiny Bodycare haul:

Facial wipes, £1 per packet, Osiris exfoliating facial scrub, £1, and Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in soft beige, £5.99

Pretty boring stuff, but I have been after adding a facial scrub to my weekly routine to see if it makes much difference to my skin, so I thought I'd try this one out for starters and see how it goes.

After seeing the Wake Me Up hype sweep across the blogosphere, I literally could not resist picking it up at such a bargain price.

Am I converted?

I have used it twice and I can already safely say that my brand spanking new bottle of Dream Satin Liquid is going straight down the drain. Well, straight on eBay.

I love this stuff!

So there we have it. I've got to say, writing this post up has made me feel a lot less guilty about my unnecessary little haul. It doesn't look as much on paper. Phew!

Thanks for reading,

Jo xo