TALKING POINT: Liz Earle’s reformulation of Sheer Skin Tints

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^^Reformulated product packaging

We need to talk about Liz Earle and their new tinted moisturiser. We received a PR sample of their Sheer Skin Tints a few years back and we were astonished at just how good it was. A highly pigmented tinted moisturiser with a natural finish and great coverage. It was easy to apply and easy to wear. It was lightweight and your skin felt totally natural wearing it. It was in a class of its own, somewhere between foundation and tinted moisturiser. The real miracle was for combination skin types…it continued to give good coverage throughout the day without provoking more oil production or settling into pores, which frankly is a miracle.

It immediately became our Holy Grail base product and we used it every day, extolling its virtues to everyone who would listen. Then the worst happened…we began to hear news of a reformulation. And the feedback wasn’t good. No, surely this couldn’t be! We went straight to Liz Earle to ask them about it and they confirmed this.

This is what Liz Earle had to say “The new formula visibly smooths, brightens and hydrates. It is lightweight and silicone-free,helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and imperfections, which also visibly evens skin tone.”

We went straight to our local Liz Earle counter to try it for ourselves. And we will say this. It is a totally different product, even the shades are different (even though they have the same name). It is now a very dewy finish and light coverage. Some people may like it better, but it didn’t work at all for us. It didn’t even our skin tone and separated and collected in our pores super fast. We’ll post some photos of this soon.

We’re so disappointed by this. It definitely shouldn’t be sold under the same name as it’s nothing like the original sheer skin tints. If you’re in any doubt, don’t make a £24.50 mistake and go try it out first. If you have purchased it, Liz Earle have advised that you can return it for a refund at one of their counters.

And us? We’ve tracked down all the old product we can find and bought it all. Sniff.

REVIEW: The Body Shop – Drops of Light Eye Cream 15ml, £20

THE CLAIMS: “This quick fix brightening essential will visibly brighten appearance after first use. With daily use, it helps visibly brighten the appearance of the eye contour. Massage with the cooling applicator to help stimulate blood circulation around eyes and reduce puffiness for a refreshed appearance.”

THE TRUTH: We tend to find creams too rich for the eye area when it comes to combination complexions, gels usually work much better. However, we went ahead and gave this product a go especially as our skin is a little dryer than usual at the moment.

We’re glad we gave this a go as the formulation was lightweight enough not to clog up our skin, leaving it soft and moisturised. We don’t suffer with dark circles but definitely plenty of puffiness in the mornings. The cold metal tip to the applicator helped with this and felt a little tightened, almost as much as using an eye gel.

We didn’t notice much in the way of brightening benefits – the blurb went on about red algae extract harvested from the North Atlantic but this product didn’t seem particularly natural.

We would recommend this for anyone looking for a good quality, medium weight eye cream with a refreshing application method. The price is on the steep side, but that’s the Body Shop for you.

Pros: Lightweight cream, moisturises well, refreshing applicator tip

Cons: Price

Score: 4 out of 5

Full disclosure: We received this as a PR sample

REVIEW: Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Pixi Pink, £8

THE TRUTH: Smells of your childhood, more specifically Swizzels Lip Sticks (now sold as Loveheart Lipsticks) and candy necklaces. The bright bubblegum pink colour comes from a similar childhood past.

The balm is fairly pigmented and the colour isn’t natural, so you can only really put a light sweep on unless you want bright pink lips. The colour is also a bit light for Oriental skintones, but if you do apply the lightest sweep, it gives a pleasant matte pastel flush when combined with the right makeup can make for a pleasingly fresh look. It’s just about passably moisturisingly but we’d expect more from £8 especially Pixi.

Pros: Overall usable
Cons: Not conditioning, price

SCORE: 2.5 out of 5

This came in February 2018 Birchbox.

REVIEW: Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eyeliner Black, £4

Picked this up last minute in an airport. What a great find. The highly pigmented formula applied really easily and smudged well and stayed put relatively well. For oriental eyes, this is no mean feat where there pigment often creases up and collects in the corner. The waterproof formula makes it perfect for humid climates and beach-based holidays. The automatic pencil comes with a little smudger on the end although we didn’t use this.

Due to the easy application and soft ‘lead’, the eyeliner won’t last that long. But the pricepoint is fair. You also can’t get as fine a line as with a hard formula pencil or ink. Perfect for smokey eyes.

We now use this daily. An excellent waterproof eyeliner that works hard for its money.

Pros: High performance eyeliner, smudgeable, waterproof, true black, good price
Cons: Wasteful due to soft formula (have to throw plastic barrels away)

SCORE: 4.5 out of 5

We bought this without our hard-earnt pennies

SAMPLE: Olay Total Effects Day, 50ml £14.99

My mum has only ever worn makeup on her wedding day. But what she did do was apply Oil of Olay (then Oil of Ulay) morning and night. She is in her 70s now and still doesn’t have any wrinkles! (she should actually be an advert for Olay!

I remembered her smoothing it on her skin, the iconic pink lotion (vs the heavier creams that were common back then) that worked well for Oriental skin. I remember it absorbed so well without residue or stickiness. It’s been interesting to see how Olay have developed their brand over the decades since then – building upon their classic reputation, even into cosmetics, without being banished to the more ‘fuddy duddy’ realms of their contemporaries such as Astral and Ponds.

Unsurprisingly, some nostalgic charm presented itself when we had the opportunity to test Oil of Olay’s modern day counterpart – Olay Total Effects Day. We had the opportunity to test this ourselves as well as pass samples to friends and family.

What does it suceed at? True to its origins, it is a univerally effective product that can be a great addition to your skincare routine whatever your age or skin type. It is on the richer side than the old product, so normal to dry skin types would probably benefit most. It didn’t aggravate oil production in our combination skin type though. It absorbed well – we think it would be great layered with a moisturising lotion/toner…K-beauty style or with a moisturising spray for a refresh during the day.

Overall, we actually preferred the feel of the old product for combination skin, but Olay Total Effects works so much harder for you – brightening, refining pores, evening skin tone with built in SPF, as well as the usual moisturising properties. It’s a hard working product for modern, busy lifestyles.

Verdict:
A great allrounder. The pump is easy to use, but leaves some product wasted at the end. We would love to try to the full skincare range to see how it works as a regime.

RRP £14.99 for 50ml

REVIEW: Herbal Essences bio:renew Shampoo & Conditioner 400ml, £4.50 each

“Letting life in – combining the beauty of nature with the power of science, for hair that smells incredible and feels full of life”

Thanks to SuperSavvyMe’s Savvy Circle, we were sent a whole parcel of their new Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Shampoo and Conditioners to test and share. They sent through a pack which had loads of info and 3 sets of shampoos and conditioners:

White Grapefruit & Mosa Mint (for volume)
Rosemary & Herbs (for moisture)
Coconut Milk (for hydration)

We tested these with the help of some of our friends. We were sad to miss out on the other 4 variants (for repair, cleansing, smoothing and shine) as these would probably have suited us more, but we were still eager to see what the new Herbal Essences bio:renew range was all about.

Why were we so excited?
We already highly rated the Nourish Me Butter shampoo and conditioner (followed by the Bee Good line) from the existing Herbal Essences range. It excels for a drugstore product available at a more than reasonable price, especially with frequent promotions.

How is bio:renew different?
The range is silicone, colourant, parabens and gluten free. We were surprised they were not SLS (sodium laurel sulphate) free but welcomed the progressive attitude that the new range embraces. It is pH balances and safe for colour treated hair.

Herbal Essences sent us info on how bio:renews brings us closer to nature. The only way it did that was when we took some of our samples to the US and into the North Carolina woods…at the end of the day, shampoo and conditioner is not a natural thing.

What did we think of it?
Overall – we felt that the new scents were pleasant, the product was pleasant to use but did need to dispense a little more than usual to achieve the same results. With the slightly higher price and increased amount required – this brings it in at a higher price point than the existing range. The results are good, but not any better than the original range. So unless you are looking for a shampoo/conditioner duo that is silicone, colourant or gluten free then we would suggest sticking with the original range purely from a price/performance perspective.

However, this product is better for the environment – so with that in mind or if you suffer with buildup or have coloured hair then it’s worth giving this range a whirl.

Our favourite so far? The rosemary and herb <3
Our least favourite? The white grapefruit and mosa mint smelt somewhat artificial.

REVIEW: NARS Kalahari Duo Eyeshadow 4g, £25

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This is just one of those products that we didn’t realise we needed until we tried it!

The shades are hard working, flattering and versatile – a pearly mid heather and a buttery, metallic mauve. The shades work really well on oriental skin for a made-up but natural appearance, that also works up really well with a black or grey for a super stylish smokey-eye

Highly-pigmented, these wear well especially when applied wet and basically do everthing you would want an eyeshadow to do. This has become our go-to eyeshadow in combination with a matte black.

It has gone straight into our hall of fame.

PROS: Looks super stylish, wears well

CONS: A little pricey, packaging picks up finger prints and marks really easily.

4.5 out of 5