GOSH - a dazzleglass rival?

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been away for so long, I don't have another exam for 2 weeks so can get some blogging done - finally! I have so much to show you guys but I'm going to start with a product I found in superdrug today. This thing got me so exciting (which probably means I need to get out more) because as the title suggests, it could well be a rival to MAC's beautiful dazzleglass collection. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you GOSH 'Light'n Shine' lip glaze...

Top we have #5 and bottom #3 - how beautiful does #5 look! Swatch's are further down in the post

Pretty as this stuff looks, theres another reason why I got so excited about it, as you may have already guessed from the image below....

Yes it's a gimmick, but I love it! The LED lights coupled with a cute mirror on the side provides perfect application when the lights are low. Now some of you may be aware of the MEMEME range who also have a lipgloss with exactly the same feature. I'm not sure if there are any high end brands that have this gimmick - I think there are 1 or 2 in the US but I have not seen any in the UK, if I am wrong could someone please correct me!

Top to bottom: GOSH, MEMEME and finally MAC dazzleglass

The GOSH lipgloss has the same style brush as the dazzleglass, whereas the MEMEME product (in the middle) has a sponge tip applicator, which I find harder to use and also means you have to pump the stuff like mad to get a decent amount of product. Now I'm not going to compare the MEMEME lipgloss to the dazzleglass because the formula is completely different; it's far stickier with a lot less glitter, which of course some of you may prefer. MEMEME is available is most larger superdrugs so do go check them out, they have some great high end dupes!

Anyway, on with the swatches. On the top row we have Rags to richers dazzlelgass (left) and GOSH #5 on the right, and bottom row we have (left to right) MAC Sugarrimmed, GOSH #3 and MAC Baby Sparks

I am totally in love with GOSH #5 (top right), in fact heres a (slightly blurry) picture of it on the lips...

Nice, huh? The purple glitter really stands out.

So being the dedicated beauty addict I am, I did a road test of each product this evening while I was watching the footie at the pub, for the first half of the match I tried the GOSH lipgloss and the second half I tried the MAC (I'm not into football, I went along with my housemates. Luckily testing out lipglosses was far more exciting than the footie :-) )

So back on topic, how did each product compare? Well the MAC is more pigmented, and there is more glitter in the GOSH lipgloss but unless you put both products on the lip at the same time (which I did - all in the name of research) you won't notice any difference in effect. Both make lips look plumper and the glitter reflects beautifully.

However the light and mirror did really come in useful when applying. Yes you do get some odd looks when you are applying a lipgloss with LED's in the lid (especially in a pub full of drunken Mancunians) but it saved me having to root around in my bag for my mirror and a decent lit area.

So check out this GOSH product. I am pretty impressed with a lot of their items; the lip jams and extreme art eye liner are fantastic. Plus it's 3 for 2 in superdrug right now so head a long and grab yourself a bargain. And if anyone else has tried this product then let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Big Love
xx

Foundation: The good, the bad and the ugly.

Ah, foundation. The bugbear of my life. I would love to be a fresh faced glowing 20 year old like so many of my peers here at university, unfortunately the only thing that glows on my face is my rosacea and that ain't a pretty sight. So in order to make me look half normal I have spent a small fortune on that beige fluid we love to call foundation.

Now finding a decent foundation for me skin isn't easy; I am pale. Real pale. I have sensitive skin that will happily break out in a rash if it doesn't like something and of course my rosacea, which basically means I get terrible flushing and uneven skin tone and blemishes. Luckily I have managed to find a few products that can combat even these most awful of skin afflictions, and of course I have come across some that fail at the first hurdle.

So, I bring you an exciting showcase of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to my collection of foundations...





Right, now I figure the best place to start is from the top, so in descending order we have....

1. Revlon stay matte - mattifying foundation

I got this in the lightest shade (001 ivory) and yet, like so many drugstore brands, it is far too dark for me. Now I understand that these brands have to cater for the masses with their products to have any hope of making money, but I'm pretty sure if 1 or 2 companies made a foundation for pale skin they would fly off the shelves. Any other pale skinned beauties know of any brands that cater for our needs?

**/5


2.Benefit you rebel lite - tinted moisturizer.

This is the light colored version of you rebel, although (as you can see from the pic) it's pretty orange. Now this stuff costs around £19 (I was given this by a friend) so it's pretty expensive. However it's also pretty nice on the skin, very soothing and obviously moisturizing; however I found this stuff a little too heavy, plus check out the colour - it's way to orange for me! However if you want a foundation for summer holidays then I'd suggest this stuff as it's a light coverage with SPF 15 protection.

***/5


3. Revlon Colourstay with softflex - combination to oily skin.

I want to love this stuff so much. I have shade 110 ivory and it is such a lovely colour for my skin tone, however for some reason I just can't get it to work on my skin. It doesn't seem to sit well; sinking into every pore not matter what brush or what primer I use or how much I blend. It costs around £10-11 which is reasonable, however it doesn't have a pump so getting the stuff out is a pain. A lot of reviews I see for this product rave about it, and I really wish I could say the same. It is my back-up for my bobbi brown and I hope one day my skin will be kind enough to let me replace it.

***/5

4. Bobbi Brown - skin foundation SPF 15

This is my HG. I have been wearing this stuff for a few weeks and all I can say is wow. Now this stuff isn't cheap, it comes in at a hefty £25 (eeek!) but for me it is worth is. Now if you haven't already noticed I have pretty pale skin and this stuff matches my skin tone perfectly - I think it looks a little pink in the picture but in reality it's a little lighter. It's wonderfully light so doesn't sit in my pores and blends effortlessly. I use the body shop foundation brush with it for flawless results, and teamed with MAC prep+prime SPF 50 it will last me thoughout the day.

*****/5. (yep, 5/5 even with the stupid price tag!!)

5. Maybelline dream satin liquid.

Again I buy the lightest shade and it is very so slightly too dark, but still wearable. This stuff had a massive marketing campaign when it came out and when I saw it on offer for £5 in boots I couldn't resist. This stuff claims to have an 'air brushed finish', pfft yeah right. In all fairness however it sits nicely on the skin and doesn't clog up pores or lines. It's very light and the coverage ain't half bad either. On the downside I found it didn't have great staying power, so touch ups during the day are essential. But all in all, not too shabby for a drugstore brand.

****/5

6. MAC studio sculpt SPF 15 - NW15

My boyfriend brought me this, which I'm glad of because I don't think I would want to splash out on it. This stuff is heavy, it'll last you all day. Unfortunately that means it feels heavy on the skin, and in my case it clearly was far too heavy as it caused breakouts. Not a great start really, add to that NW15 is far too pinky for my skin tone (I have a lot of red in my skin, so need a foundation that that combat that - pinky undertones just make me look like a pale tomato) means this stuff isn't right for me, it's also at the upper end of the budget at around £22.

**/5

So that's that. A tried and tested review of foundations, do you use any of these products and if so what did you think of them?

Big love
xx