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Remember this one?

SO yes, originally I was quite doubtful about it, it's a gel eye liner and I don't DO gel eye liner... I tried an Inglot one once before and the results were so 'concrete' like and generally horrific I didn't use it again. The Inglot one I tried dried very quickly- too damn quickly if you ask me, you couldn't work with it, blend it or take it off... at all. No exaggeration. My first on location shoot a few years ago and I couldn't get it off the damn model. EMBARRASSED does not cover it.

Anyway: MAC. I generally don't do MAC either. I used to love their eye shadows until I found the eyeshadows started being less saturated with pigment and the foundations for me just aren't what I like to use. HOWEVER, after using this I have found it's pretty legendary. It's fab for any kind of style of eye, you just have to figure out what brushes you wish to use with it, a short rounded and small eye shadow blending brush is fabulous for under eye smokiness, layer as you wish to make the look darker/ heavier. If you wish to go for something more dramatic then I suggest teaming this with a fine angle tipped brush, you can really experiment with shape and technique with these.

Application and De Application? VERY very easy, and I like easy. It smoothes on beautifully, whether your first smooth on is a little or a lot, layering is easy and can leave you COMPLETELY saturated in darkness, fabilicious you do however have to wait a tiny while for it to dry properly- this is not necessarily a bad thing. Blending it isn't hard work either. Whilst it is largely waterproof and stays put after a good 12 hours at work, taking it off to be honest is just as easy as putting it on. I did my usual cleansing routine, damp cotton wool and putting a marrowfat pea sized portion of Simple Kind to Eyes Nourishing Eye Make Up Remover Cream and massaging gently over my whole eye area. I then proceeded to take it off by gliding my damp cotton wool pads over my eye. It literally slid of. YAY!!! No red puffy eye in SIGHT! MAC for ONCE I salute you!


BUY HERE

...SIMPLES

I am prepared to admit that until very recently I was blooming useless at skin care, always using soap and water to wash my face even though I knew I shouldn't. It was a cardinal sin for the Beauty Artist in me. The genius of what I would call High Street skincare and the gumption to ask for samples from your local Selfridges/ Boots or House of Fraser has taught me that it doesn't have to be a mission OR ridiculously expensive.

So a trip has led me to Simple. Simple is really quite an amazing brand. It contains a comparatively small amount of parabens and general bad stuff that can make your skin feel questionable. It's fragrance free, colour free and contains Pro- Vitamin B5 among other lovely things. It is also used in every type of kit and beauty regime from Lisa Eldridge to your Grandma.

I tested:

Simple Kind to Eyes Nourishing Eye Make Up Remover Cream 100ml £3.99: I started by wetting my face with warm/hot water. Placing a thumb sized blob on my fingers and massaging it over my eye area was easy and painless enough to do :) all good so far. I then wiped it off with gentle sweeping motions with dampened cotton wool pads. One of the first things I noticed was how moisturising it was and then secondly how much dirt it actually removed from my skin at the same. Fabulous! I then proceeded to Cleanse Tone Moisturise as normal.

Verdict: Lovely. Completely cleansed my eye area with zero irritation - I have very sensitive skin, no bubble bath or heavily scented moisturisers for me :( - and I haven't even needed an eye cream so far ( I tested that bit too just incase). Buy at: Boots