Days 5-11 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

Part 2 of the Marks and Sparks Beauty Advent Calendar begins! (please forgive the probable spelling mistakes, this post was brought to you by post-works-Christmas-do Jodie and I'm feeling pretty fragile right now, but less of that). We've got days 5-11 today so lets get started.

On Day 5 M&S gifted me a Leighton Denny Renovate Nail Repair Cream, now while I've mentioned on here before that I'm just not that into nails - I can get behind this. I don't like painting my finger nails as I work on computers and chipping is a big issue for me so this is great. You file the ridges out, apply the cream and then buff your nails to shiny perfection. The result? Nice, neat nails that are super low maintenance.

Day 6 brought me the Rosie For Autograph Nuit Parfum, now if we're being real, this would normally be a bit heavy for me. I like my light, sweet, fruity type scents. This is a little more sophisticated than that. It's still pretty sweet but the base is quite musk-y and it's like the light-floral lovers more evening appropriate scent. I do like it and I will wear it, it's just not the light spritz on all day type scent I'd normally go for.

Now Day 7 is probably my favourite so far: the Rituals Zensation Foaming Shower Gel Sensation. This stuff smells ah-may-zing. It's a light floral and it's lovely and calming and refreshing. The texture is lovely too, lots of lather and not too drying on the skin. Will definitely repurchase once the trial size is up.

On Day 8 I opened up a Pure Super Grape Day Cream. Now unfortunately, I've been having a major skin woe this week, and my advent calendar had 3 face creams in a row so I've not been able to give any of them a fair test, but this one smells lovely (not that you'd buy a face cream for the smell) and the texture feels nice and light from a back-of-the-hand test. Will have to report back when I've had more time to play with this one.

Day 9 housed a Filorga Time-Filler Absolute Wrinkles Correction Cream, which isn't something I really need yet at 23. Again, I've tested on my hand and it's quite silicone-y in texture, like a thin gel that sinks into the skin. I'll be passing this to the mother to test (not that she needs it either of course).

And our 3rd day cream of week 2 came on Day 10 with the Neals Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream. Another one that I'll have to check back with. On first impressions the smell is very herbal and exactly what you'd expect if you've tried anything from Neal's Yard before. This seems a little heavier than the Pure offering so possibly a good one for those with a drier skin - I'll get back to you on this though.

So I hate to end a post on a downer, but Day 11 brought a Josh Wood Full Bodied Shampoo, which smells and looks lovely, but unfortunately contains Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS). SLS is an ingredient I stay away from as my skin doesn't get on with it at all, but I'm sure my sister will love this so I'm donating it to her beauty stash, 'tis the season and all.

A Thing For Eyeshadow Sticks

I've loved eyeshadow sticks since the days of MAC Shade Sticks and while my original cream shadow stick is long gone it's nice to see that the format is coming back and other brands are releasing their own take on this convenient, multi-purpose product. In this post I'm going to have a look at some of the highs and lows of what's on the market at the moment.

So lets just get the most disappointing pick out of the way shall we? I'd heard lots of great things about New Look's recent beauty launch and some of the face products I've tried have been lovely, but their Pure Colour Eyeshadow Sticks didn't hit the mark for me. The colour is so sheer that I can't imagine anyone would be satisfied with the colour pay-off enough to leave it as it is and i just needs to be topped with a powder shadow. With that in mind it's been really ard to test the actual lasting power of the product, because really it doesn't manage to last through the blending process, never mind the day.

I had a very similar issue with the NYC City Proof 24hr Waterproof Eyeshadow. I couldn't really test the lasting power or the waterproof claims of this products because it's so sheer that for me it's an eyeshadow base rather than an actual eyeshadow. This product also has the disadvantage of having the worst packaging for an eyeshadow stick, the lid isn't secure at all and will 100% fall off if you tried to travel with it.

The No7 Stay Perfect Shade And Define eyeshadow sticks are a little better. A decent colour selection and the colours show up nicely on the eye but these one's struggle with wear time. If you're out for a couple of hours this might be an option for you but it does crease even when set with a powder shadow after a relatively short amount of time.

Things are starting to look up with the Bourjois ColourBand Eyeshadow & Liner. These are actualy really nice, creamy to apply, nice pigmentation and wears well on the lids. The only problem I have with these is the shade selection is quite small. They do have classic black, brown and champagne colours as well as a few wearable brights but the colours are generally a bit shimmery and they could do with expanding the range a bit more to include some more unique colours.

A comparable product to the Bourjois is the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleons. These are great eyeshadow sticks that are pigmented, easy to apply and last well on the eyes. The thing that sets the Colour Chameleons apart for me is the shades, I have the shade "Golden Quarts for Hazel Eyes Day" and it's so unusual. I'd pitch the shade as a rusty gold with green-ish undertones and it has flecks of golden glitter and it was just love at first swatch. They also have an amazing green and a gorgeous smokey purple that I may have to pick up in the future. At £19 each they're a treat but hey aren't too crazy for what they are.

If you're looking to really treat yourself and are looking for an eyeshadow stick, you don't have to look any further than the By Terry Ombre Blackstars. They've been mentioned on the blog before and whilst they are unbelievably pricey for an eyeshadow pencil, they are also really nice. The shade selection for these is so on point, there doesn't seem to be a single colour that doesn't look pretty and they're so unique that I can just about justify spending the money on them.

However my top eyeshadow pencil pick is the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows. They're pigmented, long-lasting, easy to apply AND they're £6.90 a piece. So you can pick up 4 of these for the same price as just one of the By Terry and they're so comparable. Last month in my "Highstreet VS Highend" post (clicky link here) I mentioned KIKO's "05" being a pretty perfect dupe for By Terry's "Misty Rock" and with 31 shades in the collection, I can imagine they'll be something for everyone.