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InstaNatural Youth Express Eye Serum

| blueskygirlie

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to be sent InstaNatural’s new eye serum to try.  As a 42 year old mum with all the stresses and strains of normal life, anything that can help me look younger or slow down the aging process is of interest to me! Youth Express Eye Serum c/o InstaNatural*

So what does InstaNatural say about its product?

Wake Up Those Tired, Saggy, Puffy Eyes and Diminish Those Dark Circles with a Daily Dose of our Youth Express Eye Serum. Our Eye Serum contains a supercharged blend of antioxidants and other nourishing ingredients that help restore health & youth to the eye area.

So far so good… They say it reduces appearance of dark circles, puffiness & saggy eyes, diminishes the appearance of wrinkles & fine lines, hydrates the eye area to prevent premature aging and helps you achieve a more radiant, brighter complexion.  

The serum contains a blend of antioxidants and other ingredients including Vitamin C, Plant Stem Cells, Caffeine, Niacinamide (which inhibits hyperpigmentation) and Hyaluronic Acid (which moisturizes the skin to reduce skin problems that occur due to age).   It is also organic and cruelty-free.

My first impressions were that it smells lovely – very fresh and grapefruity, feels invigorating to put on and a little goes a very long way. At around £20.00 for a 30ml bottle, you use very small amounts at a time dispensed via a nifty glass pipette. 

The next thing I noticed was it was orange, very orange!  I neednt of worried though, as the colour disappears fast as you pat it on.  The instructions say you can use it morning and night and add make-up over it if required.  I found if I added concealer etc., it left a slight residue so I focused on using it nightly as I would any other serum. 

So, here are my eyes before – make-up free and in stark light (urrrghhh!!!).  I am smiling in the lower picture to show the lines under my eyes –  
 

And after – 

 

There is definitely a difference in the puffiness under my eyes and particularly when I smile. The lower picture looks pretty much the same as the one above it but I was definitely grinning! I don’t have a lot of lines as yet (thank you good genes!) but I think the fine ones I do have, have lessened too.  It is important to remember this is only with two or so weeks of use and I will definitely continue to use it and hopefully see even more improvement. 

So, would I recommend it?  Well on the results I’ve seen so far I would – its definitely making a difference to the look of my undereyes.  It feels nice to use and will last ages too so thats another plus.  I dont think I’d use it in the mornings myself but as part of my nightime skincare regime InstaNaturals has my vote! 

You can buy the serum (plus other products from the Instanaturals range) via Amazon here.  Are you a InstaNaturals fan?  What products from the range would you recommend? 

Poundland Make-Up Gallery

| blueskygirlie

Its been in the press recently that discount giant Poundland has introduced its own make-up range the ‘Make-up Gallery’.  Vogue magazine gave some of the products good reviews and a few newspapers have too. I decided to pop to my local store and try and couple of bits out.  I love a bargain and I’m not particularly brand loyal so I’m ready to embrace a new discount beauty range. 

First of all there is A LOT to choose from.  Pretty much everything that you could want cosmetics wise is there…but for £1! Lipsticks, glosses, lip liners, nail varnishes, eye shadows, liquid liners, foundations and powders…there wasn’t anything that they’d missed.

I have to admit I was pretty impressed.  I decided to get a couple of nail varnishes and a couple of lipsticks for my first ‘go’ at the brand.  Being 40+ the foundation, cover-up and powders I didnt try…I’ll leave that to younger bloggers with younger skin!  I’ve seen mixed reviews on them and would be interested to learn any personal experiences with them – let me know.

So what does a fiver buy you?  Well in Poundland 5 items 😄!!!  I picked 2 lipsticks and 3 nail varnishes for my first £1 beauty experience.  You wouldnt even get a Rimmel lipstick for £5, let alone, say, a MAC one!

The packaging is nicely done – black, white and simple and there’s no way anyone would think they cost a pound each.  However, ultimately the proof of the pudding is in the eating, or in this case, wearing.

I picked a mid purple (10 – Purple Pop) and pinky coral (13 – Pink Pop) coloured lipstick. Both went on nicely and felt quite moisturising.  For a stronger outline, I think investing in a matching lip liner might be a good idea…something for next time.  The colours were strong but not too bright.  Staying power was OK – on first application I applied it twice, the second after blotting and it stayed put until I ate or drank later.  To be fair this product is not selling itself as ‘long lasting’ and for me it was on par with most other lipsticks I wear.

Heres the purple on –

And the coral –

The nail varnishes were available in so many various colours plus oils, fillers and top coats.  I picked a flat pale pink, a glitter filled red and an iridescent blue – three different finishes.  My nails are short and I’m rubbish at keeping nail varnish unchipped so these products had a big job ahead of them!

The nail varnish went on well and took two coats to get the desired level of colour.  The brush covered each nail very well.  Described as quick drying I’d say thats accurate.  Excusing my always short nails, the blue (31 Sapphire Blue) looked like this –

Staying power wise it took a while to totally harden up but them did quite well lasting a few days before needing a touch up on the nail tips.  As I said I am not good with nails – life just gets in the way.  But all in all quite impressive…and very impressive when you consider the price.

Here’s the pink (8 Pink Soda) on my toes – not bad eh?  Although its hard  to see in a photo, it looks very pretty in real life.  

And here is the dark pink glitter (36 Pink Diamond). This felt quite rough after two coats so I added a third coat of clear varnish.



Would I buy more from the range?  That would definitely be a yes – next on my shopping list is some lip liners, more nail varnish and one of the liquid eye liner. Go try it – I bet you’ll be very pleasantly surprised!