Liz Earle: The Earl of Cleansers

Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Liz Earle Starter Kit

I have been trying out the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Cleanser for the past week and it’s so good that one of my sisters has taken it from my bathroom because she absolutely adores it and my other sister who used it (and tried to take it) ended up buying her own starter kit.

This multi award winning British brand acknowledged the need for simple, fuss-free and natural products back in 1995 (when I was still at school).

Cleanse & Polish is a plant based cleanser, rich in naturally active ingredients with a 2 phase action system.

Phase 1 is the cleansing. Free from mineral oil, it has a rich and creamy texture and swiftly removes all traces of make up, including my Mac liquid last eyeliner (which has amazing staying power).

Phase 2 is the polishing; the muslin cloth polishes skin and gently lifts dead skin cells to reveal radiant skin.

Two pumps of product is all you need

On the first night of using the cleanser, I instantly fell in love with this product. The smell of eucalyptus and hops (if only you could smell it right now) is so fresh and invigorating whilst the cocoa butter melted into my skin, making it feel silky smooth. These luscious natural ingredients make it a joyous experience each time I wash my face. I then removed the cleanser with the pure muslin cloth. The reason I used Eve Lom religiously for 9 years was partially due to the muslin cloth, which stimulates circulation and removes every last trace of make up, ensuring skin is left glowing and feeling squeaky clean.

The cleanser comes with step by step instructions which are great, as per the instructions I pumped the cleanser twice and initially thought that it wasn’t enough product. I was wrong; the foamy looking product was actually intensely creamy, not greasy like Eve Lom. My skin felt and smelled so fresh and clean afterwards.

Step by step instructions on how to use the product

A quote from my sister after using the cleanser for the first time, she said “I feel like I’ve got new skin. It’s incredible.”

I am so disappointed in myself that I didn’t discover this marvellous product sooner, I still can’t get over the amazing quality and the sweet price! It’s a winner all round – a make up it girl star product!

You will only find plant oils in this cleanser, no mineral oils, paraffin wax or petroleum.

Liz Earle does NOT test on animals.

The starter kit I tested out includes; travel carry case, 100ml cleanser and two muslin cloths.

100ml starter kit costs £13.00 and is available from www.lizearle.com or John Lewis stores.

Cleanse & Polish for Hair by Liz Earle

Yesterday I had the ultimate beauty addict fix of actually meeting Liz Earle, co-founder of cult skincare brand 'Liz Earle'.

What a lovely, modest and inspiring woman, it's so rare for someone of such grand success to stay so grounded. Anyway, Liz arrived at the flagship store in Chelsea to visit her team who were presenting the launch of the long awaited shampoo and conditioners.

Liz Earle has kept things simple and non-fussy, which is perfect for someone as impatient as myself. The Botanical Shine Shampoo is basically the 'Cleanse & Polish' for hair, designed for all skin and hair types with nourishing botanical ingredients. The fascinating aspect about this shampoo is that it is SLS and SLES free (surfectants or just the foaming agent to us non-science folk), basically the surfectants are responsible for the foaming effect most shampoos give you. However, Liz's clever team have used a cleansing agent derived from coconut ensuring hair is left squeaky clean but you still get the foamy effect, which most of us are used to. I have tried SLS and SLES shampoos in the past, such as Phyto and I couldn't get used to the lack of foam, even though foam doesn't mean it's cleaning your hair, it's a pyschological thing for me, I like my shampoo to foam. The shampoo smells extremely fresh due to the orange and apple extracts, which are responsible for the shine.

The conditioners intrigued me too, they work in harmony with the shampoo and treat hair according to your specific needs. There are three types of conditioner; for Normal, Dry/Damaged and Oily hair. Each conditioner contains 95% natural ingredients. I was most curious about an ingredient called Yangu,I have never heard of it before, turns out it's from Kenya, it's pressed by hand and is precious for it's moisturising properties. As a result of using Yangu in the conditioner, the forest tribe community collecting Yangu by hand (80% being women), are able to support their families and send their children to school as well as preserve the local flora and fauna associated with them.

Tonight, I will be testing out the Botanical Shine Shampoo and the Botanical Shine Conditioner for Normal Hair. The key moisturising ingredient in the Normal Hair Conditioner is Meadowfoam, which is a seed grown ethically in Oregon. I'll write up my review tomorrow and take some pictures.

(L - R: Shampoo for all hair types and conditioners for normal, dry/damaged and oily hair)

Some of the primary ingredients in the conditioners, such as Meadowfoam, Shea Butter and Yangu

Paul & Joe on Shine Control Patrol

I usually have to fake glowing skin with tinted moisturiser, nuxe dry oil, highlighters, you name it and I've faked my glow with it. However, I'm prone to an oily nose (depending on hormones) and an oily nose is not hot! I desperately needed a solution and I discovered it in the form of Paul & Joe Blotting Paper.

I tend to get a shiny nose throughout the day and the last thing I want to carry around is a pot of loose powder or a compact loose powder where I’m transferring oil from face to brush/sponge and back onto the actual powder.

(Clean sheet)

(used sheet - sorry if it grosses you out, had to show you how amazing these are)

 

The Paul & Joe Blotting Paper is a hygienic way of controlling shine anywhere and wherever you are. It comes in a pretty cute compact with a mirror! It makes me want to pull it out of my bag all the time, even just to top up my lipgloss. I also love how it’s refillable, it’s so adorable.

Every girl needs one of these in their life! A Make Up It Girl Star Product!

Battle of the lashes: Day 4

(Avon Super Full Mascara)

Yesterday I put my final Avon mascara - Super full through the battle of the lashes test. I must admit I wasn't particularly wowed by this one, especially in comparison to how good the other Avon mascaras proved to be. However, I think this mascara is more suitable for longer finer eyelashes rather than mine, which are short, sparse and thin.

With the Super full mascara I used two coats to get the above results, which is a magnificent difference to my bare eyelashes, it dried very quickly too, which wasn't to good when applying my second coat. However, the speedy drying time is perfect for those with limited time to do their make up or if you're on the go (for girls like most of my friends who do their make up in the car).

It didn't flake throughout the day but when rubbing my eyes my eyelashes did slightly bend in different directions because they were so stiff. Again, the stiff nature of this mascara is perfect for those normal people who don't continuously rub their eyes throughout the day (unlike me).

For me, the most appealing aspect of the Super full mascara was how easily it came off when I washed my face, I could roll it off with my fingers rather than having the usual black smudges around my eyes.

My scores for Avon's Super full mascara;

Instant result factor: 5/10

Durability: 6/10

Removal: 8/10

Best for: Long fine eyelashes.

Overall score for Avon's Super full mascara is 6/10.

Battle of the lashes: Day 3

(Avon Super extend mascara)

This week I have been testing out different mascaras that claim different things. So far, they have all been impressive (my favourite being the Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara). However, Avon isn't a brand I would usually go for but after trying out some of their mascaras, I am definitely a convert.

I tried out the Super extend mascara today and like it says, it definitely did extend my poor excuse for lashes.The brush was quite thin, especially in comparison to the Super shock mascara, however, don't let the size of the brush fool you, it did its job very well. Throughout the day, my eyelashes did start to look a bit flakey but the length was still there.

Removing it is the same as every other mascara, bit messy but I guess that's a minor flaw considering the results you get.

My scores for Super extend;

Instant result factor: 7/10

Durability: 6/10

Removal: 5/10

Best for: (short thick) lashes that just need length.

Overall score for Avon's Super extend mascara is 6/10.

Battle of the lashes: Day 2

Today I tried out the Avon Supershock mascara, I must say I am very impressed. I have a few Avon mascaras to go through but I was particularly drawn to the chubby tube of Supershock, I like the huge brush and the actual mascara product, which isn't thick or cloggy.

(Avon Supershock Mascara)

I found that my eyelashes did stay volumised like this all day, they didn't 'drop' like some mascaras. As I've said before, I'm always rubbing my eyes and this mascara did flake onto my face. However, today was a bit of a traumatic day because my dog was stung by an evil wasp, which resulted in me crying and I was so relieved that a. my dog was ok and b. I didn't have mascara running all down my face.

I found that washing it off was a bit of a drama, I recommend an oil based eye make up remover to remove all traces of it, it left a bit of a black mess on my face whilst washing it off, like most mascaras do.

My scores for Avon Supershock;

Instant result factor: 9/10

Durability: 8/10

Removal: 5/10

I will definitely buy, recommend and use this again, especially if I'm on a budget.

Overall score for Avon's Supershock mascara is 7/10.

Battle of the lashes: Day 1

Unlike some of my siblings, I haven't been blessed with super long voluptuous lashes, my lashes are fine and short, which makes me a perfect case study for a lot of mascaras which claim to volumise and lengthen lashes.

I have a few mascaras to try out as well as some false eyelashes (from Ardell). This is day 1 of my mascara testing.

(L: Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara R: Mac Zoomlash Mascara)

I am so impressed with the Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara, you can see the dramatic difference in this picture, this is with just one coat. The best part about this mascara for me is how it didn't budge, I use eye drops throughout the day and rub my eyes, with other mascaras I ended up with flakes under my eyes. Also, considering it didn't move throughout the day, it washes off so easily, it sort of peels off in tiny tubes rather than big black smudges of make up all around your eyes.

My scores for Trish McEvoy;

Instant result factor: 9

Durability: 9

Removal: 9

My scores for Mac Zoomlash;

Instant result factor: 8

Durability: 6

Removal: 5

The Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara wins today's the battle for lashes with an overall score of 9/10, sorry Mac Zoomlash. You're good, but Trish is better.