Slattery's Communications Blogger event

This evening I popped along to an event being held in Slattery's Communications to mingle with some fellow Bloggers and learn a bit about blogging from those in the know, and to learn more about the brands Slattery's represent.

They put on a fabulous spread when we arrived, with plenty of snacks and drinks to fill our tummies. There was a very informative and entertaining talk about how to make the most of your blog.

There was a fantastic array of goodies from He-shi, John Frieda and Sudocrem given to everyone to try and review. I got the He-Shi gradual tan and mitt, which I can't wait to try, as well as a Skinician restoring night cream.

My John Frieda goodie bag may be the saviour of my poor ravaged hair. In my extremely generous bag I got full size bottles of Frizz Ease 3 day straight, hair serum, smooth start conditioner, full repair conditioner and full repair deep conditioning mask, all of which will be very gratefully used!

I'll do my best to get a full review of as many of the products as I can as I use them!

Garnier Perfect Blur Primer

I was quite excited about this primer because generally Garnier's skin care products are spot on for me. I got it on special for €8.52 in Macabes pharmacy and I'm very glad I didn't pay full whack for it.

The only good thing I have to say about it is that the outer packaging is quite pretty.

Now on to the bad stuff....

It comes in a tube that is made of quite a tough plastic. The tube fills with air and you have to squeeze it really hard to get the product out. It'd be very inconvenient for anyone with any issues with their hands.

It doesn't really do what it claims to do.  It does eliminate shine a bit, but does next to nothing for open pores or imperfections.

It leaves your skin unbelievably greasy. My make up just wouldn't stay put. If I even touched my face my make up would come off because the primer left such a greasy, slidey base. In the end I just had to take it all off and start again.

If you're thinking of buying this, don't. There are plenty of cheaper primers that do a much better job!

Max Factor CC Cream

Max Factor CC Cream €15.25

I've been threatening to buy this since I first discovered it in Boots, and my holiday gave me the perfect opportunity to try a new, lighter foundation because you know..... I need it! This CC cream promised a fuller coverage to BB creams, and that was the main draw for me. I need a full coverage, so BB creams never appealed to me, and I could never find one pale enough for me anyway. I picked up the fair shade yesterday (there are 3 shades to choose from- Fair, Natural and Tanned) and tried it for the first time today.

Before powder

Overall, I'm really impressed with this foundation. The coverage isn't sensational, but it's very buildable, so you can pretty much custom match it to your needs. I applied it with a foundation brush and the liquid formula blends very smooth and evenly. I've had it on all day and it still looks freshly applied. It dries with a slight sheen so if you like a matt finish, like I do, then a finishing powder is a must. As for it's colour correcting abilities, as you can see from pictures my cheeks are still slightly flushed, but it hid the redness of blemishes very well and freshened up the circles under my eyes.

After powder (Natural Collection Pressed Powder)

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic

Since dying my hair pink, I've been craving a really bright, vibrant pink lipstick to wear on a night out. I wanted something that I could put on once, and only have to top it up once or twice throughout the night. I plumped for Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic as it was by far the most concentrated shade in the range (there are 8 shades to choose from) and I have to say I am so, so pleased with it.

Apcalyptic

The colour is EXTREMELY pigmented so a little goes a very long way. The formula is smooth and quite thick so you get a very clean, even spread of colour without the lacquer ever going sticky! It's extremely easy to wear! There's a lovely gloss to the lacquer initially, which lasts quite a while, but even when the gloss fades you're still left with a vivid pop of colour for hours! There is nothing discreet about the colour, it's bold, bright and in your face so is best worn with quite neutral eye make up.

I'll most definitely be treating myself to one or two more of these, at 7.95 they are worth every penny!

Wow Brown Ready To Glow Tanning liquid

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I couldn't keep up with the JuneBBC challenge, there was a lot of personal stuff going on over the last few weeks, and I just didn't have the time to devote to it. Rather than bombard you with half assed posts, I thought it would be better to just bow out. I still read what I could, and you guys did an amazing job!

I've been meaning  to do a review on Ready to glo for quite a while, since I first tried it about a month ago. Honestly, I had heard very little about it before winning a bottle in a Facebook competition. I had been religiously using Cocoa Brown, and you can read what I thought of it here but who doesn't like a change from time to time. I won't lie, the bottle did sit on a shelf untouched for a few weeks while I plucked up the courage to look past the fact that it said DARK tanning liquid on the bottle, but don't let that put you off!

So I applied it as per my usual tanning routine and I was so, so impressed. The colour was beautiful. I was genuinely afraid that it would be far too dark for me, but even as it was developing it never made me look like I was wearing tan. I just had a very healthy glow. You're supposed to leave it on for 5 hours (or longer for a deeper colour) then shower, but on multiple occasions I've completely forgotten to wash it off because there's just no smell off it at all! It doesn't have the pretty floral scent that Cocoa Brown has, but we can make up for tat with a quick spritz of perfume.

My favourite things about Ready To Glo are

1. It's very difficult to mess up. It's a paraben free liquid formula that dries very quickly, but is still extremely blendable. It goes on with a lovely golden colour straight away, so you can be sure that you got absolutely everywhere.
2. There's no smell of it at all!
3. The bottle is small enough to carry around with you should you need to, and the packaging is simple but very pretty
4. It's very long lasting! I'm on my 4th full body application and I'd say my bottle is still just under 3/4's full.
5. I have found, and this almost beggars belief, that even in areas with dry skin the tan doesn't cake nearly as bad as a lot of other tans. I have often ended up with filthy looking elbows, even after moisturoising regularly, but Ready To Glo really minimizes that!
6. There's a little logo on the bottle letting you know that it's plane friendly, and I just think that's the cutest thing ever!
7. Fran and Don are very interactive on Twitter. Any time I've mentioned Wow Brown I've gotten feedback from them. For me, good customer service like that really endears me to a brand or product.

While I didn't pay for my first bottle of Ready To Glo, more came across it by accident, I'll definitely be a repeat customer. My current bottle is getting packed away to jet off to Tenerife in 2 weeks and I'll be depending on it heavily so my pasty white skin doesn't stick out too much. I'll certainly be raising a cocktail to Fran, Don and Ready To Glow on my holidays :)