EOS Limited Edition Spring Duo

EOS Limited Edition Spring Duo - £10.50

Now that it's March, I consider Spring to have sprung, making pastels in- finally! The thing that sets EOS lip balms above the rest is a) the cute, round and colourful packaging and b) the fun flavours. In this EOS Limited Edition Spring duo there are the flavours Strawberry Sorbet and Passionfruit (which is exclusive only to this set). 

MyBeautyCompare- a new way to discover products!

Listen up, girls, I have an exciting new website for you to try out! It's the first personalised online shopping website- great for the companies, not so great for my wallet... 

It's called MyBeautyCompare and is a really useful and fun website to use. You can browse products, see other people's reviews and even join in on the forums, helping other people with their questions or even asking your own. 

If you sign up for an account, you can be sent personalised product recommendations, not just for makeup, but for skincare and haircare, too. When you look up a product, you can see other people's reviews, complementary products and then, to make it even easier, you can see comparisons of prices from different stores- including postage. That way, you can look up a product, read a review and press 'Buy now', and before you know it, it's on its way to you!

Their blog is one of my favourite parts of the website, and my personal favourite post is 'How To Look Good Without Makeup'. They have a selection of beauty experts contributing to the posts, so you know that what you're reading is the real deal.

With a page for video tutorials, you can learn to master even the trickiest of beauty skills- cat-eye flicks and ombre nails included! I love how all of the videos are on one page, making it easily accessible for people like me who just can't seem to do anything right.

It's still a new website, but I can see it going very far in the future, as more and more people use it. It's already bookmarked on my laptop, becoming a place I visit every day!

Finally I got the chance to interview the (very lovely) CEO and founder of MyBeautyCompare, Nidhima Kohli!

1) Where did your passion for beauty originally stem?

I have always been a very girly girl and was always very much into beauty and fashion. However when I trained as an international makeup artist and skincare expert I discovered how each woman has different attributes and your beauty routine needs to be personalised.

2) Do you remember what the first beauty product you ever bought was?

The first product I even bought would have to be mascara - who doesn't love to have sparkly eyes, right?

3) Where did the idea for MyBeautyCompare come from?

The idea of MyBeautyCompare came to me because I needed it for myself and I noticed around me so did 1000s of other women. Women nowadays are savvy, busy and have higher demands in terms of personalisation and we are all way too busy to search the Internet for hours to find the right products for us. Also, aren't we aways confused and overwhelmed with too many options when we enter a shop even just to buy a face cream? I wanter to create a one stop shop for all women where they could find the right products for them at the right prices. A bit like match.com meets Tripadvisor but for beauty! Now throughout MyBeautyCompare I can enter my lifestyle habits and characteristics such as age, skin type, diet and more to find the right products for me from unbiased social recommendations from 1000s of other women.

4) Before MyBeautyCompare, where did you go to read reviews before you bought them?

Before MyBeautyCompare I would read reviews in magazines, online and ask sales assistants for advice, however it confused me even more because they were probably mostly all biased and I just wanted to find a Tripadvisor for beauty.

5) How do you hope to see MyBeautyCompare expand in the future?

MyBeautyCompare will be every woman's best friend for beauty. Just a few clicks and discover instantly your beauty product matches for free.

6) What are your top 3 high end products?

Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturiser, Mac Naughty Girl mascara and La Prairie Cellular eye cream.

7) What are your top 3 budget products?

Vaseline lip balm, Cutex acetone-free nail varnish remover and Superdrug cotton discs.

8) Where is your favourite place to shop?

MyBeautyCompare, of course!

9) What was the last beauty product you bought?

The last product I bought was an Eve Lom face mask.

10) If you had to pack for a holiday on last minute's notice, which 5 items (of any nature, but not including clothes) would you bring with you?

Face cream, makeup remover, iPhone, lip balm and mascara.

The post was written in collaboration with MyBeautyCompare, but I was not paid to write this post, and my opinions were not swayed in any way- 100% honesty, as usual.

The Joy of Minis

If you've been reading my blog for long enough, there's probably two things you can now infer: 1) I own too many Benefit products and 2) I'm a sucker for all things miniature size - sometimes the two overlap!

Looking through my makeup collection you will more likely come across a mini sized product rather than a full size of it. I just find it a lot more cost/space effective to buy sets that have minis of products so I can try something before making an investment and buying the full size. How many people finish a full sized highlighter or foundation? Well, I for sure have never even come close, which I why I much prefer minis.

I have minis of countless items: foundations, mascaras, lipsticks, blushers, primers, spot treatments, nail polishes and even facial oils! Sephora do great offers for Beauty Insiders whereby you can redeem voucher codes and get a deluxe sample, as well as UK companies often doing gift with purchase offers.

It's a really great way to dip your toes into a brand before making the plunge and spending a lot on something that you're not sure you would ever like. I got a sample size of the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation in one of their beauty kits last year and that way I got to try it out properly before buying the full sized bottle. Similarly, I got to try out their That Gal highlighter and came to the conclusion that while I don't hate it, it's not something I would spend over £20 on!

I got my sample of the LRP Effaclar Duo from a lovely lady at The Garden pharmacy in Covent Garden which goes to show that you can't lose anything by asking, you can only gain (Or not get anything. But let's forget that fact) So, the next time you go shopping, don't be afraid to ask for some samples!