What is the one good thing about getting rubbish presents at Christmas? Knowing that other people got rubbish presents too, which means that the Charity Shops are practically bursting, during January, with unwanted Christmas beauty gift sets. For scavengers like myself, who just love a good bargain, well, it’s like Christmas and Birthday all rolled into one…well, minus a feast or a meal at Nandos, but hey, we can’t have everything can we?
So what lovelies did I manage to pick up? Well, this cute little pink package is what I picked up, and inside it was a “Max Factor Summer Beauty Essentials” kit!
Okay, so maybe it isn’t quite summer, but with all the miserable weather we’ve been having, I think I need something summery to cheer me up, even if it is a little too much pink for my liking!
Inside this little bundle was:
- Masterpiece Mascara in Black (5.3ml)
- Nailfinity Nail Varnish in Disco Pink (hmm, lovely….)
- Colour Collections Lipstick (you guess it, in pink!)
- Kohl Pencil in Black
- Earth Spirits Eyeshadow in Ultra Aqua (Not pink! Hurrah!)
- Second Skin tester Sachet
- Second Skin save £3 voucher (out-of-date! Someone seriously got a rubbish Christmas present!!)
- Pink Toe Seperators
Masterpiece Mascara in Black
When it comes to Mascara, I am often quite picky, and tend to find that the only brand I actually like is Rimmel. I’m not really sure why this is, but I just tend to find other Mascaras are clumpier in consistency than Rimmel, which as a rule I don’t like.
But, then I tried this little gym, and I have to say that I could be very tempted to invest in a fall sized version of this Max Factor mascara.
I really liked the tiny bristles, that seem to open apply just as much mascara as I needed, and it just felt light, almost as if I wasn’t wearing any at all.
Disco Pink Nail Varnish
This was never going to be my favourite product, really, was it? Not being an overly big fan of pink, I really would have been happier not using this, but for the sake of my blog, I pushed myself to at least give it a go.
Yes, the pink was too much for me, and no it didn’t matter how long I left it, I was never going to get used to wearing it, but in all honesty, it wasn’t that bad a colour, and I didn’t feel too big of an urge to take it off again. In fact, it lasted several days!!
As nail varnishes go, it was nothing amazing, but nothing less that you’d expect from a polish. It applies nicely, takes a couple of coats to look it’s best and it’s just a bright pink nail polish…..yup! I have now officially worn a pink nail polish *gulp*
English Rose Lipstick
After the bright pink nail varnish, I had little hopes for this lipstick. Nevertheless, I gave it a try, and was amazed to find that this is actually a much more subtle colour than I initially expected.
The actual product is very creamy, and applies very smoothly. I’m assuming that it’s because the lipstick is creamy, but it certainly does dry my lips out at all.
The overall colour is very pretty, and even though it’s still pink, I kinda like it…but shh! No one needs to know that 😉
Black Eye Liner
As my regular readers will already know, I am incredibly fussy when it comes to eye liners. In fact, I have a little test that I always do with my eyeliners.
Initial Smudge Test: It didn’t smudge very well, but instead faded quite a lot, which means that this eye liner is not suitable for smokey looks.
How easily it faded at this point also highlights another key flaw in this liner, it probably doesn’t have very good longevity. I want an eye liner that is actually going to stay on, not fade into nothingness.
Nevertheless, the inital application went quite nicely, mainly because the product is creamy, so it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to rip my eye lids off, like some eye liners do!!
Being a plain and simple black liner, there isn’t really much that I can say about the colour, except it appears to have a little bit of glitter that makes it sparkly.
Ultra Aqua Eye Shadow
I don’t really have that much to say about the eye shadow. It’s a very nice colour, that looks pretty on, but it doesn’t really shout “wow” at me. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just didn’t click with it, I suppose.
It applied as an eye shadow should, but I haven’t yet worn it long enough to test it’s longevity, which like eye liners, is incredibly important to me.
I don’t really have anything else to say about that really….
Foundation and Toe Seperators
I shall confess that I haven’t had chance to test out the foundations sachets, and what exactly can be said about toe seperators? They go between your toes, are pink as they normally are, and just serve their purpose. Nothing more, nothing less! I did have fun experimenting with my camera though. For toe seperators, I think I got a little too fascinated with how slightly more interested I could potentially make them (sad! I know!)
I guess the moral of this blog is again bigging up Charity Shops. And, remember that just because you don’t necessarily find everything in a gift set appealing, it is still worth it, on the whole, sometimes, for a couple of real gems!
Oh, and by the way, this only set me back £3! I wonder how much it really cost? If anyone has this gift set, I’d love to know 🙂
On a lighter note, I’m trying to update this blog more frequently now that things seem to have settled down into a more regular routine. So, I promise to have more reviews, tips and general rambling soon!!
Barefoot Girl 
