Max Factor - Seamless foundation 01 Porcelain

Please note - I last saw this product in the bargain bin in Tesco before Christmas and i can no longer find it in store or online anywhere so can only assume it's be discontinued.

I decided to review it because i have a tube left and use it for most of my make up blog photo's so i'll have something to refer people back to if they ask about my foundation.

For the foundation photo i used a Along came Betty primer which is reviewed on another page of the blog.

The foundation it'self is a runny kind of liquid, not the thick squeezy type, this actually drips out if you remove the lid. I found it blended in easily, covered without making things more pronounced and left my skin soft afterward.

I did find that is was a little tacky for the first few minutes and would suggest waiting until it's touch dry before adding a powder or blush, it also acts as a great base for lips and eye make up.

If this is no longer for sale i'm really hoping they have made something just as good or better as i loved this so much i bought it in bulk when i first found it. It's a great all over , every day foundation and if you have good skin i wouldn't even bother with a primer during the day.

Excuse everything about this picture, my 5 year old had just had me playing hairdressers and i was due an eyebrow wax the following day :/ It does show even with my uneven skin

Pros:

It's not thick and heavy

It's long lasting

It covers evenly 

Con's:

It's super runny

It's a little tacky for a while

8/10

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Along came Betty - Prime of your Life

Apologies for the standard of photo, when i took these my SLR was being fixed.

I came across this recently in my local Tesco and as a MAC primer user thought i'd have a lesser expensive model a go for everyday wear and i wasn't disappointed.

With a primer you hope for an even all over layer that fills in the little indents in your skin to help give you foundation/tinted moisturizer a better work surface, you want a matt finish to stop too much shine coming through and you want a lasting barrier for your foundation to stick to, without it your foundation can often show up large pores and indentations which is worse than no make up.

I used a small amount of this on my face, less than a daily moisturizer but more than an eye concealer which means the tube will last quite a while, it covered my face evenly and wasn't thick or heavy on my skin, I wouldn't use this as a face cream or like a tinted moisturizer simply because like a day cream, this is quite thin and light and leaves a flushed look on your skin until you apply foundation like a cool day cream would so unless your looking for the windswept highland look it's best as a base.

It comes out a pale cream colour but goes on clear, this amount did my whole face and neck. 

The picture isn't great but you can see the fresh red glow over my cheeks from the primer, it left my skin super soft and great to work with.

Pros:

Skin was soft

It covers with a small amount

Inexpensive

smoothed all indents out

Cons:

Leaves skin a little fresh looking

9/10

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Vosene Kids 3 in 1 Conditioning Shampoo Head Lice Repellent

I recently entered a giveaway for a bottle of head lice repellent shampoo which came at a time when our 5 year olds school was over run with them, strange since they've only just gone back but when i got this in the post with a little congratulations letter i was supper chuffed, £15 a pop for headrin was killing the bank.
I expected the usual too much tea tree scent, burning the eyes suds and a pain to get the grease out residue, how wrong was i!

This is classed as a repellent not a cure if you already have them so we treated every other day for a week with the expensive stuff then once we were happy that there were no head lice we began treating with this, we are currently using it twice a week and this is our third week and so far we've had little to no itching, there's no long lasting, strong smell or mild scalp burning and it doesn't leave the greasy feeling we've had with other head lice products.

Pros: 

No strong smell

No greasy residue

No sign of Head lice

Cons:

It's a little pricey for a child's every day shampoo

it's not available in all major super markets

8/10

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They're Real - Benefit mascara

After hearing nothing but raving reviews about this mascara i decided i needed to give it a go, i placed an make up order and amazingly they had a free gift with every order that happened to be this mascara, i nabbed it before the offer ended and looked forward to trying it, eventually it arrived, i expected the brush to be rather fancy and to be honest it looks like it got left behind with design, i'm so use to trying fancy mascaras with curves, combs and balls that this through me but i had high hopes.

The good point, this mascara did what i wanted it to do, it was amazing in the sense that it made my already long lashes extra long which gave them a fake lash look that i wanted.

But...and it's a big one (or lots of little ones) It didn't add any curve to my lashes, as they are already quite long they are very heavy and that makes then pretty straight, i tried curling them before hand and the weight of the mascara made them straight again, i tried curling them once i'd applied the mascara and i found due to the sticky, tacky feel that lasts around an hour before it's actually dry the lashes just stuck to the curler and then it pulled a few out, it also collected every tiny piece of dust that i came across and dried so hard by the end of the night i counted 6 lashes removed during my night time cleaning routine (gentle eye wash and wipes)

Was it the best mascara i've ever used....No, i've used better and cheaper but it was good for a night out if i wanted extra length or a thicker lash, personally i'd recommend a lashes undercoat and a heated lash curler for the same results without the problems.

Pros:

It added length

It added Volume

It was free (with an order)

Cons: 

It acted like glue to dust

It became hard and heavy

It's expensive when not free

5/10

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Besame c213 Red Hot lipstick

I won a tube of Besame C213 from another blogger over Christmas, i'm always looking for fab red lipsticks and i hadn't tried Besame yet, i'm so glad i found it, I've tried so many big named lipsticks and they all bleed, those that dry onto the lips to make them longer lasting become 'bitty' after a while and the cheaper ones always leave a lip line of lipstick and nothing more after an hour or so.

Besame was none of the above, it's a class of it's own, i went for 3 hours without touching it up and even after that time it had just begun to fade a little in the center from my constant chewing and drinking tea.

It was smooth, the end points made it easy to follow my lip line with and great for reaching the corners.

I didn't find it getting bitty at any point and it didn't stain my lips, it was vibrant and smelt nice. It did give minor bleeding towards the end of 3 hours but nothing a quick finger wipe couldn't fix and it didn't put me off looking at other lipsticks by this company to add to my collection. 

Pro's:

Vibrant colour

Long lasting

beautiful packaging

Cons:

Minor bleeding

9/10

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Barbera Daly Lip Glaze

Barbera Daly lip glaze

I picked this up from Tesco a few days ago as i've been after a gloss that doesn't add too much colour to my lips but does offer shine, this was perfect, it has a brush top rather than a plastic one so you can brush it into the corners of your mouth rather than spread it which is nice, the down side is after a week i'd lost one or two bristles on my lip and as a glaze this is the kind of sticky, get your hair stuck in it when the wind blows kind however, it didn't dilute any lipstick colour i used it over, it smells delicious and unlike some didn't taste vile when i accidentally licked it, it lasted a good 2 hours before i felt the need to top up which is pretty long lasting for a glaze and for how much i talk, drink, chew ect, i would definitely buy it again! BD make up is pretty inexpensive so it's also ideal as stocking fillers (i know it's super early for most but i think about Christmas all year round)

Excuse the photo, i'm using an old Iphone this month whilst i sort my SLR out but it shows how glossy the finish is on normal lips :)

Pros: 

it smells great

It's long lasting

it doesn't dilute colours

it has a brush applicator 

Cons:

It's sticky all the time

the bristles aren't hard wearing

8/10 

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P.S this is my first blog post, if you feel i'm missing something please tell me x

The reason behind my blog

Hi - I'm TJ, I enter a lot of competitions to win things, i usually wrap them up for birthdays/Xmas but i also use some for myself, especially if they are edible :)

So i figured if a company has been good enough to throw a competition then i'd better to good enough to leave them some feedback, at the same time i can add it here along with all the toys, clothes, make up and other bits we buy through the year.

We aren't rich and i have no plans to contact companies for freebies so you'll see alot of home made, home grown and cheaply bought items instead of the latest and most expensive things out there.

What makes my blog different to every other? I'll share my secrets with you :) If i make something i'll share my shopping list, if i enter something i'll share info on where you can enter too and if i buy something at an amazing price i'll tell you where i got it :)

Have a great day! x

(I Blog about items i've won/bought/been given and share tips on where to look for offers, the items are everything from notepads and pens to hampers and socks but when i don't have things to blog about i review beauty items i've used)

TJ x