PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA'S CHOICE

The brand Paula’s Choice has been around for quite some time, but only just recently launched in Australia. Here are my thoughts on the All Bases Covered Foundation, Brow-Defining Cream Duo, Maximum Impact Mascara and the Gentle Touch Makeup Remover;

 

 

What They Say:

All Bases Covered Foundation: This lightweight, creamy foundation offers light to medium coverage, evens out skin tone and protects.

RRP: $30 (30ml) – Available from Paula’s Choice 

Brow-Defining Cream Duo: Show off those brows like never before. With two mixable shades, you can create your perfect eyebrow colour for fuller, thicker-looking, smudge-proof brows.

RRP: $31 – Available from Paula’s Choice 

Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara: I’m shutting my eyes on clumpy lashes. Sweep this smudge proof mascara on with the specially designed rubber brush for long, beautifully separated lashes.

RRP: $21 – Available from Paula’s Choice 

Gentle Touch Makeup Remover: Give old makeup the rub, without the scrub. This dual-phase solution takes off even waterproof mascara quickly and gently. Reduces puffiness too.

RRP: $20 (127ml) – Available from Paula’s Choice

 

What I Say:

I’ve heard a lot about Paula’s Choice products from overseas bloggers, but never had a chance to try any of the products myself. So when the products launched in Australia and I was offered to trial a selection of their products, I happily accepted.

The All Bases Covered Foundation is a foundation that is designed for dry to very dry skin, and I have to say here that technically it is not the right fit for my combination skin. However, I still like this lightweight foundation that absorbs quickly into my skin and gives it a nice dewy finish and a natural look. It is easy to apply and blend with your fingers, and it has a good coverage, covering minor pigmentation and redness, leaving my skin looking more even. The coverage can easily be built up to medium with an extra layer on the required areas. However, with increasing pigmentation (not helped by being pregnant) and some old acne scars, I do feel I still need to use a concealer to cover these areas, as well as darker circles under my eyes.

The foundation can supposedly be used on its own, without using a serum and moisturiser prior, but I have to say that even with my combination skin, I wouldn’t skip my daily moisturiser. The foundation also has a mineral based UVA/UVB SPF 25 to protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays.

The All Bases Covered Foundation doesn’t seem to make my skin break out, and lasts fairly well on my skin without settling into fine lines, although I do need to ‘powder’ my nose and t-zone area by the afternoon – but again, I think that is mainly due to my combination skin, so I am sure it would stay put better on the normal to dry skin types as it is intended.

The Brow-Defining Duo is a cream duo intended to be used to fill in sparse brows and make them look fuller and more defined. To be honest, I haven’t always used brow products, but years of over-plucking means that my brows now are thinner than I like them to be, so brow products are not a part of my daily routine too. The Brow-Defining Duo comes with two shades, a lighter and a darker shade as well as a double-ended brush with an angled brush in one end and a small spoolie in the other. The angled brush is perfect to use to apply the cream definer, and you can either use the shades individually or combined for the perfect colour match. Here after you use the spoolie to help shape and brush the brows into place.

 

The Brow-Defining Duo is easy to use – although I do admit to using a ‘mascara-style’ brow product on the days where I’m in a hurry – but in saying that I do like the more refined results that this duo gives my brows. The cream seems to have a bit of wax included too, so your brows stay in place all day, as well as the colour of course stays put too, without running or smearing.

The cute little compact also comes with a small mirror so you can apply, or touch up on the go if you like. The only other thing I could have wished was included would be a small brow stencil, which would have been very handy for a brow novice like me!

 

Next is the Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara. I have very sensitive eyes that easily gets irritated and water, so in general I tend to wear waterproof mascaras to avoid the panda look occurring during the day. The Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara isn’t waterproof, but claims to be smudge proof, which I can vouch for as it did stay put even after my eyes had been watering. It has a large flexible rubber brush that makes it easy to reach and coat every single lash, even the smallest of lashes in the corners of your eyes, and it nicely separates and defines the lashes without any clumps. I also like that it keeps the lashes feeling soft, unlike many other mascaras. 2-3 coats of this mascara gives your lashes a nice look, with both volume and length and a touch of curl, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call it Maximum Impact as the name of the mascara suggest – however, still, it is a great mascara for every day wear, and it doesn’t irritate my eyes and stays put all day with is a great bonus.

Finally, the Gentle Touch Makeup Remover is a dual-phase makeup remover that you shake before use, and then apply to a cotton ball before removing your makeup. It claims to easily remove even waterproof mascara quickly and gently, as well as reduce puffiness! I did find that it was struggling a little removing a waterproof mascara, and that I had to go over it a few times for my lashes to be completely clean, but in saying that, it easily and in just one swipe removed the Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara and the Brow-Defining Duo. I am also not really sure about it reducing puffiness around the eyes, but I also don’t really expect a makeup remover to be able to do so, rather something I’d expect from an eye cream! However all in all, I do like this makeup remover. It is quite gentle, and doesn’t irritate or sting in my eyes, and doesn’t leave my eye area feeling greasy or sticky.

All in all I am enjoying these products from Paula’s Choice. They are all of a high quality and at the same time very reasonably priced. The standout product for me is definitely the Brow-Defining Duo, which I am really enjoying, although in saying that, I do enjoy the other products as well. So I certainly wouldn’t mind adding a few more makeup products to my collection, and particularly love the look of the Blush Palette and the Nude Eyeshadow Palette…

Have you ever tried any of the products from Paula’s Choice? Any recommendations?

* Some products may have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.

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Product Review: Violet Box February 2014

Another month has gone by, and yesterday, the 25^th February, the February Violet Box arrived at my door step – so a little while ago, but as we are still waiting to get internet connected in our new house and only have extremely limited internet access, So I struggle both writing and posting new posts on my blog, so I have been relying on posts I had made in advance and scheduled to go live in this period. So when you see this, it has actually been a little while since I received the box, but anyway, here are my thoughts on the *February edition of the Violet Box;

What They Say:

Violet Box brands promises to every month include 4-6 premium beauty and lifestyle samples from well-known and trusted Australian beauty brands as well as exciting new International brands, one in particular is a revolutionary product currently trending in New York and has been featured in Vogue and on the Today Show!

RRP: You can subscribe to Violet Box for:

1 month – $22.95
3 months - $66.00
6 months - $130
12 months - $250

Available from Violet Box 

What I Say:

Violet Box yet again arrived in a narrower sized black matte box, with the magnetic closure and a purple ribbon, and this is what was in the February Violet Box…

Red Carpet Kolour – Sample Sachets x 2 (RRP: $ 49.95/150ml)

At first glance I thought this was a self-tanner, but it is not. It is a body lotion that gives your skin coverage for imperfections, such as pigmentation, veins, age spots and wrinkles, without transferring onto your clothes. Available in light, medium and tan, this is basically a foundation for the body. With a baby, I hardly have time enough to do the makeup on my face, so honestly I doubt that this is something I’d make use of on a daily basis. But in saying that, I do have some pretty ugly veins on my legs, which were made worse during my pregnancy, so for special occasions this would be the perfect solution.

Nuxe Crème Nirvanesque – Sample 15ml (RRP: $49.95/50ml)

I only recently tried some products from Nuxe (you can see me review here), and so loved them, so I was happy to see the inclusion of this cream. It promises to smooth, de-stress and relax first expression lines and is made from 80% natural ingredients. I do have an expression line between my brows that I am not too fond of, so I look forward to testing this one out, and I love seeing that it is suitable for all skin types, so it shouldn’t cause any issues for my combination skin.

Be a Bombshell The One Stick – Full Size (RRP: $21/7.3g) 

I love the sound of this all-in-one stick which can be used on the eyes, cheeks and lips. A true multi-tasking product. I got the colour Girl Crush, which is a lovely pale pink shade with just a touch of simmer. I love the fact that this is a full sized product and I can’t wait to test it out.

WotNot Facial Wipes – Sample pack/5 wipes (RRP: $7.95/25 wipes)

I have mentioned this several times, but unless I fly overseas on long-haul flights, I am not a regular user of facial wipes. To remove my makeup I simply prefer to use foaming face washes so I can splash my face with water. And these wipes have been included in, I believe, several beauty subscription boxes previously, so the novelty factor has now worn off, and really doesn’t excite me that much. Having said that, I do like the WotNot wipes, especially the baby wipes that I often use on my little boy, as I like that they are natural and organic.

The box also included a card with details of how to get pack of the newly launched facial wipes for oily/sensitive skin for free, which is a great bonus.

Aphelia Oasis Acne Solution – Sample Size 2ml (RRP: $49/50ml)

I have previously tried some products, and they are amazing. If you’ve missed them, check out my reviews for the amazing hand cream and fantastic Peony eye cream). I have always suffered with breakouts, and always trying to find products that actually will work when I get that nasty pimple, so I love the inclusion of this acne cream, as it is made from herbs, and is gentle, yet promises to be fast acting – so sounds pretty promising. In saying that, the inclusion of an acne product may not be suitable for all subscribers, but personally I am very happy about it.

Be A Bombshell Lip Crayon – Full Size (RRP: $19/2.5g)

Another full sized product, how great is that. This lip crayon is said to be able to go on from sheer to full coverage. There were two options, Trophy White and Some Beach, and I got the Some Beach, which is a coral colour with a touch of shimmer. I haven’t got a lot of coral lip products, so I love the inclusion of this, and can’t wait to try it out.

Finally, the box also included a cute heart shaped lolly, won’t stay untouched for long. Such a sweet inclusion, literally!!

So there you have it, the contents of the February Violet Box. And yet again, Violet Box has impressed me with two full sized products and four samples. The inclusion of the two full sized Be A Bombshell products makes the box well worth its cost, and add to that the generous size of the Nuxe cream, and also the Acne cream from Aphelia, all of which I will look forward to testing out.

And as per previous months, if I have to be negative, it would be that there are two products included from the Be A Bombshell brand, and while I love both of these full sized products, I would personally have preferred just one of these products and have the second product replaced with another full sized product from another brand that is new to me. But again, that is just me being fussy, as what really matters is the value of the box both in terms of money, but also if you are actually going to use the products, and on both levels, this month’s Violet Box is  extremely good value.

So all in all, I am very impressed with this month’s box – yet again, well done Violet Box, keep up the good work!!

*Product was kindly provided for consideration, and has reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.

What do you think of the products of this month’s Violet Box? Did you get this months’ box too? What did you think? And if not, would you consider subscribing?

And of course, as always, if you’d like to see an in-depth review of any of products in the box, leave me a comment below..