The Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm - a waxy cleanser, fantastic for dry skin but generally suitable for all.

Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel - enzyme exfoliators are far more effective than mechanical exfoliators (with beads) and require to be used less often. They leave the skin feeling soft and supple and looking radiant while getting rid of surface dead skin cells. 

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ELEMISDAY1

Haul product. I bought this shade, an antique gold-brown colour, because I felt it was interesting but safe and when worn lightly, can be very pretty. I think Mum disagrees.

I did a massive Rimmel haul last week (see Instagram for pictures) I have no idea what possessed me at the time. I love my Rimmel lippies so I thought it the perfect opportunity to introduce a new colour to my mum. Mum had said her perfect shade would be a browny-pink, I felt no.19 had that gorgeous earthy-rose look to it which fit that description quite well. However this lipstick was still a tad too pink for Mum to wear comfortable... ah well, guess I'm still on the lookout for that illusive perfect colour.

Skincare:

This primer is unique in that it comes in a wind up stick form. Although it appears to have colour, it actually applies translucent. It comes in the most adorable packaging, a matte black case with a white plastic tube and a clear plastic lid covered in black polka-dots. It is also small and conveniently compact.

You get 15.5g of product for your £24.50. In comparison you get 30ml (which equates to 30g) of MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage for £20.50 and 30ml of Smashbox Photoready Primer for £28. So that means:

Stay Flawless 1g = £1.58

Prep + Prime 1g = £0.68

Photoready 1g = £0.93

In other words, gram for gram, Stay Flawless is almost twice the price of the other two primers. Ouch!

Another point I should mention, before I got all mathematical I thought I would determine the amount of product I had received by winding it all the way up. And what happened? A great chunk of it fell off! Literally, just like that. Considering this was just after I had purchased it, I was pretty ticked off. So if you are going out to buy this, it might be worthwhile that you check it in store that it is not broken in the tube before making your payment. 

The review:

Okay, so I was determined to put this primer through a rigorous test. I wanted to be able to give it a clear cut yay-or-no, all obscurities aside. And along came the perfect opportunity, a nice hot day, the perspiration provoking; foundation melting type of day.

Application:

I applied a good measure of the primer, swiping across my cheeks, nose chin and forehead. It does say that makeup can be applied directly to it as it is but I felt the need to smooth it out with my fingertips. The primer has that thick creamy consistently that is evident on touch; it also leaves a slightly tacky finish, very unlike the smooth finish of common silica based primers. I know this may be a con for many people who do not want to feel as though they have another layer on the face but personally, I was relieved that I can be certain that it is there. 

To really push it, I opted for my BB cream instead of foundation, a creamy light base that would probably slip away in a matter of hours in this kind of heat. As I like to apply my BB cream with my fingers, I noticed immediately that it was much harder to blend out as the product dragged across my skin, quite literally as though the primer was acting like a 'magnet', or so Benefit likes to describe it. In one way this is a pro, it showed me that the primer was really holding onto my BB Cream on the downside, I did feel I needed a little more product to cover the whole surface of my face as I couldn't blend the cream out far enough.

Makeup set and finished, my afternoon was spent at a crowded talk in a classroom insufficient to fit everyone in comfortable and lacking Air Con followed by a stroll in the park. All the while the sun was beating down like it was Africa.

Throughout the day I was hot, flustered, perspiring and exhausted. I had to repeatedly dab away the beads of sweat that crept onto my upper lip (pleasant, I know) and having had no opportunity to check my reflection I was certain I would return home an utter mess.

A tentative peak into my mirror and phew - all was well. On closer inspection I could still make out my BB Cream sitting just as I had left it that morning and there was not a streak of uneven skin to be found. My t zone had not turned into an oil slick either.

My verdict:

What can I stay? I am truly impressed. My make up stayed put and I was neither too dry nor too oily, for once a primer that does as it promises. I have been wearing this primer more often now, especially having switched from foundation to BB Cream and I adore it. It has very deservedly made it to my list of top favourites. For the biggest downside, it would have to be the amount of product we are getting and the amount that we are using. Each application deposits a great deal more product than that in a single pump of gel primer, at this rate it is not going to last very long so it may not be the most economical of choices. The application issue is not a big problem either as the makeup it sits well once applied. As for their claim that it makes your makeup more radiant, or the SA's anyway, I did not really see a difference there, again I didn't mind as I didn't buy it for that purpose.

If anything, I feel that you definitely get quality for your money, I don't feel that it was £24.50 wasted. Rather that money spent on a product your going to use than one that is going to sit in a draw, neglected.

This black pair from Zara's Spring-Summer 13 collection is bang on trend. It is simple and timeless and oh-so-demure. The shoes have a slight point to the toes and are held at the front by a single suede band. I love the sneak-up-behind-you suede back and the thin black ankle straps. The focal point of these shoes is of course their gold metal-plated heels. Just image the way they'd catch the rays on a day like this!

Boho Chic:

These Faith shoes are the most recent addition to my collection. I was drawn to the chunky features of this pair, the thick criss-crossed front straps and the triple layered ankles straps. The chunky platform and heel of this shoe give it a fun, casual, carefree feel. It has cute plaited detailing and tiny matte metal studs along the straps. The leather straps feel super soft and the natural tone that it comes in makes them a perfect accessory to any outfit. It has a back zip so there is no fussing with fiddly buckles and straps that catch your feet; you just slip them on, zip up and go!

Baby doll:

This next pair is a sky-high suede number from Dune. With a chunky platform, and thick crossed-over straps at both the ankles and over the toes, they feel as gorgeous to wear as do to look at. The straps fasten by a square buckle, which I admit is a little fiddly. But once they are on they look every bit fun and flirty. The hot pink hue adds a pop of colour to your summer outfit, whether you are clashing, matching or complimenting. They have also a very special quality about them that make them extra special, but there will be a whole post to focus on that so I shall say no more.

I adore every one of these shoes, they each have an individual feel about them that cannot be replaced by another pair therefore it is simply not possible for me to pick a single favourite out of the three. Perhaps you may prefer one above all others?

My flatmate on the other hand pulled out a No7 eyeliner (I cannot for the life of me remember which one or in what colour) and a No7 lipstick (three guesses as to which one?) both of which were generously of full size. Not at all bad for £2.

So away home, back in our flat, we sat down to inspect the fruit of our day. Now I had never been interested in No7 for cosmetics, they just looked so bland and so boring, and so darn mature! It is the brand my Mum and her generation gush over. I had some idea of their skincare being of good quality but they felt to me as being marketed towards to middle-aged and people interested in reducing their Crow's feet, their fine lines and their wrinkles.

And the colour? 'Classic Rose' is not a bright pink, it is not particularly dark either but it is at the deeper end of pink, it is also cooler toned to what I was used to with a hint of purple, dare I say ever so slightly mauve-y? There is no red it in that is for sure and it is completely matte (as is the whole range) so it sits on the lips quite opaque, letting little of your natural lip colour through. For that reason I would not call it a natural tone and most certainly not my-lips-but-better. It is a colour that can speak for itself. With it on my lips, I am usually compelled to team it will either gentle, warm, well blended gold nudes on the eyes and bronzer to warm up the face or a flick of black liner and mascara with a cool blush for a fresh-faced, I-mean-business, office look.

Would you be surprised if I now told you that I went out soon afterwards, and grabbed No7's Stay Perfect lipstick in the very shade 'Classic Rose' just 15 minutes before closing time, half panting from my power walk there in order to make in time. And I came out feeling victorious, I'd got it, it was mine! And although I did not fish this out of a basket of shredded paper and polystyrene for a pound, a still feel that I'd gotten a great deal (hah! It is one of the most expensive high-street lipsticks you can get).

It has a treasured place among my orderly row of lipsticks, and although sticks out somewhat awkwardly (at 8.5 centimetres, it is a rather gangly canister that is wider at the top than at the base and of an almost metallic-like, glossy, black-brown colour). It have 'No7' engraved onto the lid, and the product itself is not even in the pointed bullet I love so much, but a flat-headed, slim stick of pigment.

And to wear? Well, with it being a matte lipstick it is a little drying which will not appeal to everyone. On my lips it feels as though it has a creamy consistency where it has some movement when you press your lips together but it otherwise stays put. As I mentioned earlier, it is opaque and very long-lasting as promised by the range 'Stay Prefect'.

If you cannot tell already, I absolutely adore this lipstick and this particular colour! I cannot believe that I have looked past these lipsticks for so long, and I am so very grateful to have been introduced to it all thanks to that very lucky lucky-dip! I highly recommend the Stay Perfect lipsticks to you, especially if you are a matte lipstick lover like me and I most certainly will be back to No7 to try out more shades available from this range.

The product does give a decent amount of curl to your lashes which can be achieved by rolling the wand head along the length of you eyelashes as you apply mascara and gently press them backwards towards, but not touching, your eyelids. You can use eyelash curler to make it more dramatic, or if like me, you have one eye with curlier eyelashes than the other, an eyelash curler is the best way to make them even.

I have noticed that after a few hours of application, that the mascara does not dry to become stiff over the eyelashes. While this gives my eyelashes a spread out natural look and retains the eyelashes' movement and flexibility it also mean that they will lose their curl faster than if they were stiffened.

The product also flakes off and I get bits of fall out on the top of my cheeks that I need to keep wiping away. That might explain why there appears to be less product on my eyelashes than what I am sure I applied in the morning.

Those first few shortcomings I mentioned are most certainly not exclusive to the Colossal Volume Express Mascara and can be easily overcome (post on this coming soon) hence I do not feel that they affected my general good opinion of this mascara in any significant way. The last two cannot really be amended other than by reapplying.

Having said that, this mascara does have one humungous, undeniable failing that has left me sorely disappointed with it. It is a matter that I am astonished to have never come upon any of the reviews that I had watched and read.

I know that this mascara is not waterproof. I tend not to go for waterproof mascara because I hate fighting with it in order to get it off. But all previous non-waterproof mascaras that I had owed, including the Maybelline one have been sufficiently resilient to little splashes of water, the little drizzles of rain or dampness from the eyes. This mascara however, appears to lose its integrity entirely and melts away on touching water, which in my opinion is very scary. If I lightly splash my face with water, something I tend to do, I get droplets with mascara dissolved in them staining my face and my sink. And as you very well know, my annual hay-fever started a few weeks ago accompanied by the occasional watery-eye. I made the mistake of wearing this mascara on one of those eye-watering days while out in town and trust me, the sight in the mirror was pitiful; I was just relieved that I had not bumped into anyone I knew on my way home. I cannot even walk in the rain with this mascara on, and the unpredictability of our British weather makes me a little nervous when I do apply it on a reasonably dry day.