Weekly Roundup feat. Neutrogena, Maybelline and MUA

Wowzers, hasn't this week flown by? I found it quite tricky picking my top 3 products this week as I've been using and loving so many different beauty bits and pieces. I settled on the following as I've been reaching for them every day and I haven't got at all bored of them, which is always a good sign! 

First up is Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Blackhead Eliminating Triple Action Cleanser 7 Day Rescue (what is it with long titles recently?!) It can be used in three ways: as a wash, scrub and mask. 

£4.49 at Superdrug

From what I can tell, this is a more concentrated version of their regular Blackhead Eliminating scrub and it's designed to provide intense, targeted action against blackheads with visible results apparent after only 7 days. On the back of the tube is the very impressive claim that '100% of users showed visible results after 7 days'. 100%?!! Well with a statistic like that I had to try it out! The percentage is based on 30 people using the wash twice a day for 7 days straight, which to be honest I'm not really sure my sensitive face can handle. I'm using it once a day on my t-zone (my chin in particular) and I will be reporting back in a future blog post to let you know if it really does have an impressive effect. 

What I can say so far is that, like all Neutrogena products I've used in the past, the quality of the  wash/scrub/mask is fantastic, from the fresh subtle fragrance to the way it makes your skin feel unbelievably silky soft after rinsing. The wash itself has a sort of very finely ground paste texture; it sort of reminds me of Arm & Hammer's baking soda toothpaste in that the scrub particles are very small and not at all rough. I'd forgotten how much my skin likes Neutrogena, and I've found this gives a lovely deep clean without drying my skin out at all. It's a wonderfully prep for make-up application and it has really been a joy to use so far. As for whether or not it actually eliminates blackheads? I'll let you know! 

My second pick this week is my current favourite lipstick, Maybelline's Colorsensational in '910 Shocking Coral' from the Vivids collection. Until discovering this and its sister colour 'Fuchsia Flash' which I reviewed here, I'd disregarded Maybelline lipsticks as 'not my thing'. This was based on never being able to find a colour to suit me, although in hindsight I think I was just looking at the wrong colour palette. Anyhoo, I picked up this bad boy of a lippie and I'm now a total fan of what Maybelline has to offer pout-wise. 

£7.19 at Boots

'Shocking Coral's is a very pink neon coral, which I really like as it's unusual compared to the more popular orange coral colours around at the moment. Super pigmented, super creamy, super comfortable, super easy to apply and super long-lasting, I haven't a bad word to say about it. Along with Soap & Glory's lipsticks, Maybelline's are now my faves. 

Two coats of Maybelline Colorsensational '910 Shocking Coral'

I had a bit of difficulty trying to get a good shot of me wearing 'Shocking Coral'... Sorry for the slightly bizarre beams of sunshine flooding the photo! It was the end of a loooong day and I didn't want to keep attempting to capture the colour in different locations around my house! I'd say it looks a little brighter in person but it does settle to a pinky coral as shown and I LOVE it. 

My final pick this week is MUA's Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter. I've had this for months and months, and went through a period of using it every day without fail before abandoning it to test out other highlighters. But, as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it; I've rediscovered it and I'm loving it even more than before. 

£3 Makeup Academy online store

The beautiful pearlescent silvery pink colour shows up really well on my pale skin and highlights  my cheekbones, temples, nose and browbones perfectly. It's subtle but can be built up in layers for extra impact, and I also use it as a brightening eye shadow. It's easy to blend and gives a lovely glow. Plus I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and the powder looks lovely in the pan.  

Quite an intense swatch, applied with fingers to show colour clearly

I apply it on top of blusher and it makes for a lovely finishing touch. I also use the matching under eye concealer which I've reviewed here, which is also great quality. I'm a big fan of MUA's Undress Your Skin range and am looking forward to trying the matching foundation at some stage in the future. 

What have been your favourite products this week? Share your Weekly Roundup in the comments below! 

A surprisingly awesome eyeshadow

I say 'surprisingly' as I'm not usually a huge fan of Seventeen's eye shadow shades and I've never purchased one of their solo shadows before. Something about this little beauty caught my eye when I was browsing Seventeen's mascara selection and after a quick swatch of the tester I was hooked. 

Seventeen at Boots Solo Eye Shadow 'Statuesque'

I love 'Statuesque' because it's a little more unusual than the other browns and neutrals in my collection. It has hints of rose gold and bronze, rust, aubergine, plum and brown. Plus it gives a super metallic finish yet can also be quite subtle if you want it to be. It's easy to blend and build up slowly with an eye shadow brush, or for a more intense effect I swipe it straight on to the eyelid with a clean finger. 

'Statuesque' swatch

Close-up swatch of 'Statuesque'

It's got great pigmentation and once on it lasts pretty much all day without fading. I think it's a great rich neutral and for only £3.89 you can't really go wrong. 

Have you used Seventeen's range of eye shadows before? I'd love to hear what you think!

Browse Seventeen here. 

Hair mask heaven: Hask Macadamia Oil Hair Treatment

I haven't had my hair cut or coloured in what feels like forever *sad face* so I'm always on the lookout for a good, nourishing mask to tend to my stressed out tresses. Yes, I know, I know, nothing gets rid of dry, split ends like having a little trim but I can't even afford that at the moment and I'm not very good with scissors... So a mask it must be. 

Hask is an American hair care brand sold in drugstores such as Walmart, Walgreens and Duane Reade, and they currently sell a selection of their products in the UK through Primark. I first came across Hask after hearing a bit about them in the beauty blogging world, and as they're such bargain products I thought I'd give them a go. I was able to find two mask varieties: the Macadamia Oil Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment and the Argan Oil Intense Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment. They retail at £2 each and come in handy, generously filled sachets, with enough in each to last three or four applications on my long hair.  

I decided to try the Macadamia Oil mask first because I haven't used any Macadamia products before. I've had a few Argan oil serums and oils so figured it might be nice to try something new. The product aims to 'rejuvenate dry, damaged, chemically treated or over processed hair' which sounds perfect for my frazzled strands. It contains Keratin to restore strength and Macadamia oil which apparently seals cuticles while making hair super soft and shiny. 

The full list of ingredients is as follows:

To be honest I don't really know what everything actually is, but I can spot Macadamia Nut and Keratin Protein! I really should learn more about the science behind beauty products.. But anyhoo, let's get on with the review. 

I cannot emphasise the following point enough: this mask smells AMAZING. It smells INCREDIBLE. It smells very strongly of nuts, sort of a nutty, sweet, creamy, nourishing smell. If that makes sense?! I pretty much wanted to scoop it out and eat it as soon as I opened the sachet, but obviously that's not advised. I settled for smoothing a large dollop onto my wet hair, concentrating on the tips and working my way up. I didn't put too much near my roots as my hair has been known to do the dreaded oily roots/dry ends combo at times, so I focused mainly on the ends to mid-lengths. The mask has a lovely thick consistency which I tried to capture in the following photo:

I appreciate that the photo may not do the product justice! But I'm hoping it gives a good impression of how thick and creamy it is. It smooths on really easily and the smell is just divine. I was reluctant to rinse it off after the required ten minutes but there's no need to worry as the smell lingers long after rinsing and drying. Phew! 

My first impressions when combing through my damp, towel dried hair with my beloved Tangle Teaser was that my hair felt incredibly soft and easy to comb. Usually I have one or two knots that need a bit of work but my hair was knot free. I let my hair air dry as I'm trying to avoid using heated appliances too often, and once dry my strands felt softer and smoother than before and looked very shiny. They also felt stronger and looked less frizzy. While it isn't a miracle worker in that the ends of my hair are still quite dry and tired looking, it does give a good boost and works as a quick fix if you're in need of a short term glossing effect. In this respect, it certainly fulfills its promises as stated on the packaging. My hair felt in much better condition than it did beforehand, and seeing as each mask only costs £2 I'd say it's definitely worth the money. 

I'll be trying the Argan Oil mask next week and will report back with how it compares. If it smells half as good as this then it's already a guaranteed winner! 

Find out more about Hask here.