MaxFactor Colour Corrector Stick Primark Dupe!

I am a huge fan of Colour Correcting products and adore the Makeup Revolution palette, upon which ive just hit pan on green *cries*. I find they work well with my skin to correct and conceal, more so with the redness I have on my cheeks, for which I do need the green. It took me a long time to accept that putting something green on my face would not leave me looking like Grotbags (remember her) and infact it would work.

The idea of using green to correct redness is a blessing as it neutralises redness whether that is blemishes, blochiness and in some cases a broken vein. You simply apply it to the area you want to correct, gently blend, add more if required and then finish off your make-up. 

Primark often has some hidden little gems and I was surprised to find they did colour correcting sticks, even better they had been massively reduced, so I bought one of each and this is what they look like - notice the similarity?

Yes, to me, they are the exact same colour corrector stick that is sold by MaxFactor, only the Primark versions are a whole £8.50 cheaper, should they work!  The swatches show the Primark crayon at the top and MaxFactor at the bottom, even colour wise they are similar, the only real difference is the formula and for me, the Primark crayon is much softer, though both blend like an absolute dream.

Do they work? Yes, I find it hard to choose who wins between them, both do an amazing job at concealing the redness but given the difference in price, then I would opt for Primark every time, purely to save £8.50.

My Skin and Me

For as long as I can remember I have had red blemishes on my cheeks, some refer to it as Roseacea and others mild flushing, whatever it is, it sometimes really annoys me and I do as much as I can to cover it up with make-up.

As you can see from the two photos below, taken inside and outside, the redness is clearly visible for all to see.

So I was asked if I would like to try some products that might help combat the blemishes by Salcura Antiac Skincare line** which I have seen on Channel 4's embarrassing bodies.   Naturally I agreed to try some to see if there was anything, other than lots of BB cream and foundation that could hide, cover and get rid of the redness.

So I was sent these lovely products to try.  All Salcura products contain an ingredient called Sea Buckthorn oil which is referred to as a 'Super Ingredient' and it helps to reduce inflammation, it calms and soothes the skin and helps to nourish and cleanse the skin.

Derma Spray -  This product is said to have a proven track record and is our most effective and practical solution for eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, rosacea and other related skin conditions.  You can and it is suggested that you spray this onto your face 3-4 times a day, so I tend to use this only at weekends and when it is on the skin, it instantly absorbs itself and leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturised.  Designed for people with dry skin, another condition I tend to suffer from on my cheeks more than anywhere and since using this, I have noticed a big difference.  It does contain Tea Tree Oil and Eucalyptus Oil which give it a definite scent. It retails for £14.99 for 100ml but there are other sizes available.

Face Hydrator - This product contains Omega 3,6,7 and ( and is designed to give your skin maximum deep hydration and it is designed for itchy, dry and sensitive facial skin.  I do have a slight itchyness on my cheeks where my redness is this gives an almost instant end to that itchy feeling, I was actually really surprised the first time I used it that I didn't want to scratch my face as much.  It retails for £11.99

Daily Face Wash - It is pH neutral and again contains no nasties and it doesn't leave your skin feeling dry after using.  You are told to use it morning and evening which I have been doing and as a wash it is light, unscented and lathers up really well once it has come into contact with water.  This face wash retails for £8.49

Daily Face Wipes - Yes, before some of you start typing in capital letters in the comment box below about the evils of face wipes, these ones contain no nasties and nor will they leave your skiin feeling really dry after using.  They are really moisturising and offer effective deep cleansing, ideal for on the go and they help remove hardened sebum (yuck) as well as excess oils, dirt and grime.  They retail for £6.99 and you get around 25 wipes.

Activ Liquid Spray - Designed to be used after cleansing the skin, you apply the spray onto your hands or a clean cotton wool pad and massage into the areas which are most affected.  As soon as it touches the skin it instantly absorbs itself. I found this spray to be quite cooling and refreshing when applied to the skin and from all of the products within this range, so far this has been my favourite.  It retails for £9.99

So having used them for the last month I am sure you want to know whether or not there is any difference, so here are my after photos and I would love to know what you think:

So what do you think?

All Salcura products are free from chemicals that are known to cause additional sensitisation of the skin.  Totally free from parabens, SLS, perfumes, steroids, antibiotics, hormones, lanolin, cortisones, soaps, phthalates and peroxides.

Unclog and invigorate with Bioré Nose Strips

It has been a long long time since I have used Bioré^® Deep Cleansing Pore nose strips and it happened that I came across them on offer in Superdrug whilst distracted by the Essie stand that I decided to buy them.

I have oily-combination skin, though thankfully I am not prone to enlarged pores, flare ups of spots or blemishes.  Also, despite living in London where no doubt we have a lot of pollution, I don't have too much of a problem with blackheads and try as best I can to keep them away using scrubs and masks.  However, as it has been a while and these Bioré^® strips were on offer, I decided to spend £5.32 instead of the usual £7.99 and see how effective they are and as I type this review, I have one on my nose and you can find them HERE

Inside the box, as you can see, there are 6 individually wrapped nose-strips (I am sure you used to get 12) and the foil packaging itself contains all the information on it you need to know about using them and it has a handy arrow pointing to a top section where you can open the packet.  Once out of the packet, the nose strip is neatly stuck to a piece of plastic and as you can see it is designed to fit over the bridge of your nose and to the sides of your nostrils, the places where perhaps you have the most problem.

How to Use

I used this strip exactly as I was instructed to do. I cleansed and cleaned my face to remove my day’s make-up along with other dirt and grime which might have been clinging to my face, patted my skin dry and then wet my nose to apply the strip.  One thing to make note is that please do ensure that the strip is completely in contact with skin and not hanging off anywhere or is loose, as you apply the strip, I found it clung to my skin with minimal effort.  Once on the skin you can tell there is tea tree and witch hazel used as ingredients because you can smell them, thankfully they are no too over-powering as you have to sit and wait for about 10-15 minutes for the strip to dry, I myself am not the biggest fan of either fragrance, but it was bearable.  

After your allotted time, when it comes to peeling off the strip, it is pretty straightforward though it does feel a little odd because you can feel it pulling off your skin, I assume it is pulling out blackheads and other bits of gunk as you rip.  Once off the nose, as you can see there is the evidence for all to see, little pockets of blackheads and other bits of dirt, quite gross really!  I have to admit, there is also something satisfying about ripping these off your face (yes I am a ghoul).

Once I have removed the strip and binned it, I always wash my face again and then ensure that my face is properly moisturised because in the past I have found similar strips to be quite drying on the skin.  Overall though, these strips clearly do work and they do leave my skin looking much clearer.

For more information on Bioré^® Nose Strips, you can find it HERE along with further information on other products from the Bioré^® range. 

**Did you know...

• Over 28.8 billion pores have been unclogged by pore strips sold to-date!
• The average pore is about as large as the point of a ballpoint pen. (With Bioré^® Pore Strips you can make yours appear even smaller!)
• Pores are about as deep as the ridges on our fingerprints — about a hundredth of an inch.
• Blackheads are full of bacteria. So fingernails and squeezing can actually tear your skin and spread bacteria, but using Bioré^® Pore Strips helps get rid of dirt and oil that can cause blackheads without tearing your skin OR spreading bacteria.

**Info taken from Bioré^®