On Saturdays I am generally at home on my own as everybody works all day!
My plan was to get started on my book - however, I am a bit scared to do that as I know its going to upset me a lot (Its "My James" by Ralph Bulger....) and I'm thinking it might be best to avoid it until after I've had the baby as I tend to end up having panic attacks when I read anything about these cases!
So, with that idea out of the window, I decided instead to have a little pamper day....
I've got lots of lovely beauty products sitting around waiting to be reviewed so I thought it'd be a great chance to get stuck in to them - I decided I would give myself a much needed eyebrow wax, do a face mask, have a nice bath, and try one of the fake tans I've been sent....
I started with the eyebrow wax.
Eyebrows have always been a pain in the bum for me, and my number one most HATED beauty chore!
I have NEVER been able to get the hang of plucking them myself (for some reason I have a fear of plucking, but not of waxing....plus whenever I pluck I sneeze!! Makes it very difficult!) and so I started going to get them waxed at salons instead - I much prefer doing this, but it can get a bit expensive and can also be difficult to get to the salon when they need doing - so I started doing them myself at home instead!
I've tried lots of at home eyebrow wax kits, and found the best one to be - surprisingly! - from Morrisons own brand Chique - they used to sell specific eyebrow wax strips which were BRILLIANT, but they seem to have been discontinued so instead I started to buy their body wax strips and cut them to shape for my brows instead - they worked just the same, they were just slightly less convenient.
However for some reason, today they would NOT work properly at all! Perhaps its because they've been stored in a cold bedroom, but no matter how much I rubbed them between my hands to warm the wax - the strips would NOT separate properly and kept ripping to pieces!
So what is usually a nice, straightforward 3 minute job became a stressy 15 minute ordeal before I was anywhere close to being satisfied with the result....
Deep breath - took my bath. All good.
Then I put on a face mask.
I used this one....the Peel Off Passion mask by Montagne Jeunesse.
I used to use these masks ALL the time as a teenager, as at 99p they are such a bargain!
The picture on the mask shows a girl with a thick purple almost clay-looking mask on, so I was surprised when what came out of the packet looked like red gel - once it was applied to the skin it was pretty much clear in colour.
I left it to dry for 20 minutes, as directed, I could feel my skin tingling a bit but this happens often with face masks - the smell reminded me of strawberry jelly, not unpleasant.
The mask is supposed to dry quickly and after 20 minutes is supposed to "peel off easily".
HA!
After 20 minutes the mask felt very dry and my skin was feeling very tight - so I went to the mirror and attempted to take it off. Only to find that it had only set in certain places and the rest of it was still wet and gooey!
Great.
I peeled off what I could - it felt very much like peeling PVA glue off your hands as a child - once the dry parts were off, I was left with lots of gooey jelly-like goop on quite a substantial portion of my face!
The mask after peeling off
I had to scrub my face twice with a face wash to finally get it all off, it took at least 8 minutes worth of scrubbing and even SCRATCHING at the skin to remove it completely.
And to add to the experience, my skin was left looking red, irritated and ridiculously shiny - NOT the desired result!!!
It also felt incredibly dry, I had to smother it in a soothing balm and even now it still feels dry!
So - safe to say I will not be using that face mask again!!!!
After all the face mask stress, I couldn't be bothered with the fake tan so ended up abandoning it and grumpily getting myself dressed.
I did, however, manage to muster the energy to try a mascara I was sent to review by the lovely people at www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk
The mascara is by The Balm, and comes in very retro funky packaging which always appeals to me! (Think along the lines of Benefit meets Soap & Glory!)
The mascara is an ideal handbag size, nothing big and bulky like a lot of the other mascaras I use, so this instantly appealed to me as during pregnancy I have really noticed how heavy and inconvenient my make up bag is to carry around all day long!
The Balm "Cheater" Mascara claims to .... "give you flirtatious lashes thanks to the volumizing brush!"
So...what did I think?
As you probably all know by now, I am VERY fussy about my mascaras and it can really difficult for me to ever find one that I'm happy with, but I can say I was pleasantly surprised by this one!
The brush was easy to get to grips with and the mascara applied nicely - no clumps or gloopiness here! - it gave me a nice subtle daytime look, and I found it particularly nice for use on my lower lashes - I usually struggle to find a mascara that doesn't look too OTT on these lashes but this one worked perfectly!
I would recommend The Balm Cheater mascara as a great, elegant daytime mascara and think the packaging is a real plus point which would make it an excellent gift for any fans of kitsch products!
This mascara has an RRP of £14.99 but is currently available for £8.99 from Find Me A Gift.
This mascara has an RRP of £14.99 but is currently available for £8.99 from Find Me A Gift.
See more here: http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/gifts-for-women-the-balm-mascara.html#sthash.5ouQ8Xs3.dpuf
Have you tried any of these products yourself? I'd love to hear what you think!
And please recommend any good at home eyebrow waxing kits to me! :)
