Does Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover Really Work?

I'm very late to the party with this one, I've been meaning to buy it for long enough but always forgotten when I've been shopping. The idea of this '1 Second' nail polish remover sounds way too good to be true, but what can I say, I'm a beauty blogger and I'm a sucker for a hyped up product and as many of you know, this really is one of the most well known nail polish removers in the blogging industry. 

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover - £4.99 Superdrug

The packaging is quite good looking I think, I'm all for things looking nice on your dressing table top and this is also really handy for popping in your overnight bag if you're the kind of person who likes to change their nail polish quite a lot. It is really easy and convenient to use, I find normal nail polish remover a real pain at times; having to get numerous cotton pads out and soak them, then you're rubbing your nail to get it all off... and probably worst of all, normal nail polish remover stinks! 

The instructions say that with the Magic Nail Polish Remover you dip your finger into the little hole, twist and pull it out and the scent is supposedly 'berry and vanilla' which has got to be better than the alcohol overload of regular remover?!

Is it Worth the Hype?

In a word, yes but don't expect things to happen in 1 second.

Personally, I never expected this to remove a full nail of polish in 1 second because unless you only applied one coat and it was really thin nail polish I highly doubt that this is even possible. I had some GOSH nail polish on my nails and it had been on for a few days so it was quite chipped already, but I used that and a finger with some Revlon Galaxy glitter polish as my basis for testing this product.

I followed the instructions exactly, I just dipped my index finger in, twisted and pulled it out. The nail polish was still there. So I dipped it back in and twisted a little more, turning my finger while it was in the sponge.. pulled my finger out and it was clean! Not 1 second, but I was still impressed. It does take a bit more time and twisting than the packaging would suggest but definitely quicker than using cotton wool. It took me under 2 minutes to do a 5 nails. But as for the nail with the glitter polish on, that obviously took a bit longer, I don't think this is suitable for taking off 2 full hands of glitter polish but it would be ok if you only had some on your accent nail or maybe even just a thin layer on each nail. 

Another good thing about this is how your nails feel when you've used it, normally when I use remover my nails feel really dry and dehydrated due to the alcohol but this seems to hydrate your nails and they feel oily more than anything else. The oily feeling soon dries but my nails were left feeling really silky and smooth which I loved.

As for the scent, when I first opened the pot I got a bit of a whiff of the usual smell of nail polish remover and thought urgh this is going to make my whole finger smell gross but to my surprise on my fingers it actually smelt ok, quite fruity actually and if you were really in a rush, you could probably get a away with not washing your hands after using this. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that especially if you're going to eat something but for example you could use it on the go without worrying about the smell.

Overall if you are on the go a lot, for example travelling on trains, this would be ideal for you if you like to have a bit of a train down time pamper or if you're like me and you just don't like spending ages removing polish then this is definitely £5 well worth spending because it just takes the hassle out of removing nail polish. It's handy to carry around and it smells nice. The only thing I'm left wondering is how long it's going to last? Where does all the nail polish go? And will the sponge dry up quickly? 

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm Review

Updated review of Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm 

I think this is one of those products that is on the verge of taking the beauty blogging world by storm. When I first heard of Emma Hardie, her products were on QVC and to be honest I didn't take a lot of notice because it didn't seem like a brand aimed at my age group or skin type. It was only when I was scouring Caroline Hirons' blog for new Skincare regime ideas that I realised that actually what I think my skin needs probably isn't what it needs at all.

Caroline has taught me so much through her blog; including recommending the best products for combination skin. I never realised that if you have oily skin you shouldn't use a foaming cleanser, nor did I realise that you shouldn't use really strong alcohol based products. Because of this, I have introduced Emma Hardie into my regime hoping it signals new beginnings for my neglected skin. 

Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm - £23.80 (Feel Unique Sale Price)

How I've been Using Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm

I don't use Emma Hardie morning and night because I feel that it's a little too heavy for a morning cleanse, instead I've been using Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean to freshen up my face which isn't anywhere near as luxurious but at the moment it's working!

When I do use EH I make sure that I make time to do it properly, I'll either sit in the bath and use it or sit on my bed and use it. Either way I double cleanse on a night to make sure I've got every little scrap of makeup off especially round my t-zone and chin which is where I'm more prone to spots. I always make sure I use a clean flannel and only use warm running water from the tap (dipping your flannel back into dirty bath/sink water kind of defeats the whole object of cleansing!)

Stating the Obvious

• Emma Hardie is a balm cleanser which is like nothing I've ever used before, I've always used milk or the dreaded foaming cleansers. Basically you scoop a little out, warm between your finger tips and then massage into your face (there's a handy leaflet in the box which shows you how to do this).
• The product itself seems very oily to me, something which would normally deter me totally from putting it on my skin but when you have added a little water it does go into more of a milky consistency.
• It feels absolutely beautiful when massaging it in, I think you can literally feel it melting the makeup, dirt and grime that's been sat on your face all day.
• I think it smells absolutely beautiful; I can really smell the Neroli in it over all the other ingredients
• After the first use my face felt so clean, honestly cleaner than it's felt for a long time. Admittedly I have been neglecting my skin and using wipes for the past few months so it was so nice to do a proper cleanse with this. 
• I have a real issue with raised blackheads on my nose and open pores around my nose; where foundation and powder tend to sit in and look absolutely disgusting but from the first cleanse these have reduced gradually; they're still there but just not as noticeable so when I feel my nose it doesn't feel as bumpy as it did.
• The only negative I have to say about this so far is that it's not as good at removing eye makeup as I'd hoped it would be, I always seem to have some left even though I double cleanse. However I shall persevere because there could be a strong possibility that I'm just not using it properly!

Overall First Impressions

Very good. I have been using it for a week now and so far there has been no negative reaction from my skin although I'm a big believer in that it takes around a month to make an accurate, well informed judgement on whether a skincare product is working for me so I'll do another post about it in January when I'm around half way down the pot. 

Please bear in mind that I have combination/oily skin. The reason why I choose to start using EH is because this winter I have found that my skin has become dry and flakey around my chin and at the sides of my face so I figured I needed to get myself a proper skincare routine, and with the help of Caroline Hirons' blog I found this :)

Diesel Loverdose Eau De Toilette Review

Said Luvverdose not L-overdose

Today I'm showing you my latest perfume purchase. Since trying this out in store at Christmas, I've wanted to get a bottle of Diesel Loverdose but just never had the spare cash to do so. The eau de parfum retails at roughly around £36 for 30ml so when I saw the new eau de toilette in Debenhams I decided to see if there was much of a difference because the eau de toilette is only £29.50.

For those of you who don't know the main difference between toilette and parfum is the strength and intensity of the fragrance; generally you don't need to spray so much of parfum to get an intense scent purely due to the level of perfume concentration... basically toilette is a lighter scent and doesn't linger as long.

I'm the kind of person who likes to spray LOADS, when I spray Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb I usually end up making myself choke/sneeze because it's so strong (being eau de parfum) so it's nice to go for eau de toilette because I can happily spray away and feel fine.

Loverdose is a really difficult fragrance to describe, and I think you'll either love it or hate it but for me it's a perfume that makes me want to keep sniffing my wrist. For me its in between being musky and sweet,  I'm not too keen on sweet smelling perfumes (I used to love Amor Amor, but now not so much) but this one sits really well with me. The perfume shop describe it with notes of vanilla, liquorice and mandarin.... unless you're a perfume buff that description would probably mean nothing to you but I'd say that if you like scents like Calvin Klein Euphoria, Chloe, D&G The One and Ghost Deep Night then you might like this too... but saying that, regardless of what you normally go for I would definitely recommend trying this at your nearest perfume counter.

I used my Debenhams Beauty Card to get some discount off this, I had £10 on it (to be honest I wouldn't have splashed out had it not been for the discount!) and I also got a free bottle of body lotion! I can't find the eau de toilette version on the Debenhams website at the moment but you can get it from Escentual for roughly £30.

NARS Angelika Blush

NARS are known for their cult 'Deep Throat' and 'Orgasm' blush so I wanted to try one of their lesser known blush shades so here's a review and swatches of NARS Angelika Blush.

I sort of knew what to expect quality wise as I already have Deep Throat and I absolutely love that one but obviously Angelika is very very different in terms of shade and wearability. For me, Angelika isn't a shade I would wear daily purely because it's just too sparkly, had it been a more matte shade it would probably be easier to wear but as it is I will look great for special occasions or nights out when I wear a little bit more makeup and I don't mind a bit of sparkle. I think its also nice that this is a more 'traditional' blush colour (like the sort you expect blusher to be when you're little) rather than a peachy shade which I often use to help contour as well as blush.

I think it does suit my pale skin tone but as I say it's just not my normal kind of shade, however I am really pleased that I chose this as I think we all get a bit wrapped up in what's popular and forget about the less popular shades offered by brands like NARS so it's nice to discover something I enjoy without being told 'you'll love this'... if that makes any sense at all?

You can buy NARS Angelika and other shades from NARS Online for £21.00. After trying this shade I now have my eye firmly on Gaiety which I think is a matte pink (judging by website swatches).