Clairol Nice'n Easy

 This is a product which is readily available and very often reduced in price. I'll confess that I was seduced by not only the mark down but also a pretty comprehensive range of colours.
 
For the record, I chose 114C (Light Chestnut Brown) which doesn't appear on the Clairol website so maybe it's been discontinued.

As with all hair dyes, you need to do an allergy test 48 hours in advance. And here is the first con: you need to mix the colour and developer and use this for your patch test. I find this a massive pain as I can't just do the patch test on the spur of the moment. I have to be organised enough to find something to mix them together in and by that stage I have found something else to do.

You apply the dye to dry hair (a definite plus) and ideally you will have done a strand test to work out the perfect development time ... or you leave for 20-25 minutes.

As with all permanent colours, Nice'n Easy promises 100% grey coverage but I was a little disappointed.  Despite the much vaunted (by the ads) multi-tonal colouring, the greys turned out (as they so often do) a deepish pink which faded very quickly.

I liked that the conditioner treatment was resealable but, as far as I'm concerned, the faff with the allergy test and the less than awesome grey coverage far outweigh that.  In a hair colour, I think the most important thing is even, persistent coverage and on this count, Nice'n Easy did not deliver.

Widely available.  RRP about $12.99 though often on special

Clairol.

Source: purchase.

Sanctum Moisure Concentrate

A while back I read a piece in the Guardian about how, when buying moisturisers (or skin care in general) it's a good idea to have a quick read of the ingredients list.  If it's dominated by water (sorry, aqua) and mineral oil then you're really paying for glorified baby oil.  If it's dominated by the so called 'active' ingredients, then you're getting a bit more bang for your buck.

This Sanctum Moisture Concentrate (which I received as part of a prize) ticks the second box with the plenty of things like aloe, vitamin A, cocoa seed butter and jojoba oil.  It's also Australian made and owned, not tested on animals, vegan friendly and 87% organic.

So before you even use this, you feel good.

How does it stack up as product?  I really liked it.  It has a very herbal, savoury smell that is dominated by rosemary.  I liked this as it reminded me of expensive facials where they use very concentrated products!

I used the product morning and night (always a plus, in my mind) and found it a good base for foundation.  It did a good job of hydrating my skin although it wasn't always quite up to the winter weather.  At the same time, it didn't cause any breakouts but it is quite emollient so if you have oily skin (rather than combination) or you're prone to breakouts you might want to try one of Sanctum's other moisturisers.

This is another product I would definitely buy.  It's only $20 for a 75g tube and it lasted me for quite a while.  It seems like it might be a bit tricky to get hold of.  Here is South Australia it is supposedly available at Foods for Life in Gawler Place but the FfL website doesn't list it.  You can, however, buy it through the Sanctum website.  Sanctum offers loads of different products, including ones for men and babies, so if you are interested in organic and sustainable skin care you should have a look.

Available:  check the store locator on the Sanctum website or buy online. $19.95

Sanctum Australia.

Source:  prize.

Clinique Even Better Foundation

So, my tiny make up bag, complete with my foundation, has been stuck at work for a week and a half.  Long story.  And while I can (mostly) live without things like mascara and make up brushes (and it's been raining so much even going out make up is pared right down!), a lack of foundation causes problems.  Especially as I am increasingly falling out of love with my BB cream.

As I did actually have to go out somewhere other than the shops I had a ferret through my bags of samples and pulled out one for Clinique's Even Better foundation.  The sample was in shade Neutral (05) which was an OK but not great match for my skin.

However, I really liked this foundation and I'd definitely consider buying it.  Coverage is a bit more than I'm used to (Clinique describes it as 'moderate to full' and that's spot on) but it wasn't cakey at all and I found that it lasted quite well and faded gracefully (it didn't settle into wrinkles and creases).

Being me, I also love the fact that it has a proper SPF.

At $50 from a Clinique counter it is ~ $20 more expensive than the foundation I'm currently using (which I also like, but less coverage) but when I'm next in the market for a foundation I hope Clinique has a gift with purchase on as I'll be heading along to get a good colour match.

Available at a Clinique counter. $50.

Clinique.

Source: sample.

Olay Regenerist

I've got plenty of moisturiser samples hanging around at the moment which is lovely fun.  Many of them are small sachets with just one or two uses in them and, particularly with a moisturiser, I don't think that that's enough to write a fair review.

However, a small pot of Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Cream found its way onto the bathroom bench.

In short, I really liked this product.  Pleasant, but not over powering scent, and I am sure that over the period I used it my skin felt smoother and plumper, with fine lines smoothed out too.

I don't actually have anything negative to say about it:  I would definitely buy this product in future.

Widely available for ~ $40.

Olay.

Source:  sample.

Nivea Young Be Beautiful Tinted Moisturiser

Hot on the heels of the Garnier BB Cream, that I wasn't such a fan of, comes this:  a tinted moisturiser.  I've typically steered away from tinted moisturisers - I think I went through a phase of using nothing but when I was MUCH younger and have never really got back into it.

The Nivea Young Be Beautiful! Tinted Moisturiser is, as the name suggests, designed for young skin.  It should, in theory, moisturise, protect (it has a UVA/UVB filter, but no SPF rating) and even out your skin tone.

As with the BB cream, I didn't find this product nearly emollient enough but I also think I'm not the target market.  But when I used a moisturiser underneath, I found that this gave much better coverage than the BB cream.  Although I had the 'natural' colour, it came out of the tube a really scary dark brown but I found it blended in with my skin tone well.  It had a nice matt finish and I certainly didn't appear to be caked in makeup (or hhttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7093719917028615861#editor/target=post;postID=4605148760414607691ave a tide line!).

I'm struggling to find a retail price for this product, but I doubt it's exorbitant. 

If you're skin's not dry or dehydrated and you're after a foundation like product to have on standby, I would recommend giving this a go.  Given the lack of SPF I would make sure to use a sunblock too, particularly if you're going to be outside.

Not sure about availability.  The ever reliable Priceline doesn't appear to stock it.

Nivea.

Source:  sample.

Garnier BB Cream

Garnier BB Cream

 I know I'm the last person on the planet to review this stuff!  As soon as it came on the market, I was keen to get my hands on it, but even then it took me ages.  Which is ridiculous because it is so cheap (RRP is about $14 and it is very often on sale so you shouldn't have to pay more than $10).

The idea behind a BB cream is that it does everything:  moisturiser, foundation, sunblock, etc etc all in one magical tube.  As I have a toddler, something like this is very appealing because while I can always find the time for either sunblock or moisturiser a lot of the rest of the routine falls away, particularly if it's early in the morning and we're off to Kindergym.

The first thing I noticed on the box was that Garnier does specify an appropriate age range for the product (up to about 40-45) which I thought was very useful so no one has inappropriate expectations.

The product feels quite thick as you squeeze it out of the tube but it actually is very fine and light on the skin.  Coverage is extremely light but the first few times I used it I absolutely loved it. My skin felt and looked smooth and it did a great job of evening out skin tone without being obvious.  It had the right balance of matt and shine to it to look really natural too.

However, it clearly wasn't providing enough moisturiser power for my skin because after probably a week or so I found that my skin was really dry and little rough patches were appearing.  The BB cream was catching in the rough patches and looking ... less than good.

So of course then I had to go back to using a moisturiser underneath the BB cream and that kind of spoils the point.

If you have skin that has no tendency to dryness then this might well work for you.  However, while it does contain sunblock it is only SPF 15 so if you're spending time outside (or it's the middle of summer) you'd be wise to go an additional layer of sunblock.

And coverage is really light.  I know lots of people for whom it just wouldn't be enough and even I don't consider the coverage good enough for a night out.

It also only comes in two shades (I bought 'light' and found it blended to my skin tone absolutely fine) which I suspect might be a problem for some people with tricky to match complexions.  It also comes in sensitive and oil free formulas.

Overall, I liked this well enough and have continued to use it (although sporadically), but it's not made me fall in love with it.

Widely available.  RRP ~ $14

Garnier.

Source: purchased.

Biore Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser

I'd run out of cleanser so I decided to investigate what was in my large pile of sample sachets.  The first thing I came across was this Bioré Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser.

Normally I steer well clear of cheaper cleansers:  my experience has been that they are far too drying, even on my combination skin.  I remember once going for a weekend away and using my partner's cleanser (he's a proper man's man, so the fact he even uses something you could call a cleanser is a miracle).  In the space of just two or three days my skin was tight, dry and flaky.  Bleah.

So I was prepared to use this a couple of times and then discard the sachet.

But I've been really pleasantly surprised.  No dry skin and I actually really like this cleanser.  It's a gel which foams up, it's lightly scented (the scent is quite feminine though - think watermelon with floral notes ... might not really work for manly men!), and it washes off easily.

My skin has been left feeling clean, no squeakiness, and after about a week of using it - no dryness.  I'm seriously tempted to buy this when I'm next in the market for a cleanser (I have a LOT of samples hanging around!).

Widely available.  RRP ~ $11.

Bioré

Sample from magazine.