Review: New CID I-Flick Double Ended Liner

 New CID I-Flick Double Ended Liner* (£16.64, link)

I'm always interested to try out new eyeliners and perfect that much coveted cat-eyed / winged flick.   Packaged in a slim and compact pen, New CID's I-Flick Double Ended Liner looked like a perfect eyeliner for me to experiment with.   It features a liquid liner on one end and a retractable kohl liner on the other, so I happily gave it a go.

The liquid liner end at first delivers a smooth, fine link of greyish-black, but this can be built up easily so you can choose whether you want just a subtle line or a much more intense, thicker and blacker one.  The formula is wet as expected, but it quickly dries.  The shape of the tip is super easy to use, making it ideal for beginners to play with (or those who struggle with applying liquid liner like I do!).  The only thing I didn't like about the liquid was that it didn't last long (2-3 hours max) so you'd need to re-apply it frequently.  Setting it with a black eyeshadow and layering it over a good primer like UDPP helped to prolong its wear time considerably, but even then, it still had a tendency to start smudging and fading. 

The kohl liner end is smooth, soft and creamy but comes out as more of a very dark brown than a true black, and you really have to layer it for it to show up black.  Sadly, I thought the pigmentation of the kohl was pretty poor and like the liquid end, it just didn't last long on the eyes either before smudging and then disappearing.

For me personally, I like to use eyeliners that are very pigmented and last for more than a few hours, so I wouldn't recommend this, but if you're looking for a liquid eyeliner that you can experiment with and isn't scary to use (i.e doesn't come out in a jet black thick line the first time you use it!), then it might be more suitable for you.

Available from Hairtrade.com

Have you tried anything from New CID?

What liquid eyeliners are your favourite/ would you recommend?

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Joliebox - December

It's finally here, my Joliebox arrived today! As a regular subscriber to Boudoir Prive, I was really excited to hear about their merger with Joliebox, the bestselling beauty box in France and to see what they would come up with for their special launch/Christmas box. Unfortunately my Joliebox seems to have gotten lost by Royal Mail (the post has been particularly dreadful in my area, the same thing happened with my Glossybox, so annoying!), so Joliebox dispatched a replacement box straight away. Although I'd already seen the contents of the box from other blog posts, I was still excited to open it and unwrap the goodies.





As you can see, the box is still wrapped beautifully and has now changed over to a sleek and chic black box with white tissue paper. The contents leaflet has also changed to a luxe feeling menu layout on textured paper. Out of all of the beauty boxes that I sub to, I think the new Joliebox is the most well designed in terms of class and elegance. It just screams luxe and high-end to me.




This launch box is filled to the brim, with an additional two bonus items included. Certainly impressive. Here are the contents:-



(1) OPI Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer, full size - WOW. Being a nail polish junkie, I already have this, but I can certainly appreciate that most people will find this the standout product in the box. When I first heard people squeeing over this on Twitter, I was convinced that it must have been a mini size given that Glossybox had a mini OPI polish a couple of months ago, but no, Joliebox included a FULL size. I think this gold shatter polish looks great over black nails.



(2) Mitchell and Peach Shower wash, 50ml travel size - "an invigorating shower wash containing natural English honey, Vitamin E and wheat proteins." Not a brand I've heard of before, but happy to be introduced to as this features 100% natural fragrance and uses pure essential oils from a family run Kent farm. It smells fresh and the packaging makes it look like its from an expensive hotel.



(3) New CID Cosmetics i-gloss in Coconut Ice, full size - Like the New CID lipstick that I received in a Carmine box, this lipgloss has the same light up gimmick. The gloss is a very pretty and wearable everyday nude with a touch of shimmer which I love.





(4) Jane Iredale 24 Karat Gold Dust Shimmer Powder in Rose Gold, full size - "a multi-use shimmer powder to apply to cheeks, eyes, lips, body and even hair, contains real 24 karat gold flakes." You don't get much more high end than a product which has gold in it do you?! I can't wait to play with this because Jane Iredale are a brand which I've been wanting to try out for like forever (they're cruelty-free, mostly natural, paraben free etc). Swatched above with the New CID lip gloss.



(5) Yon-Ka Vital Defense Anti-Aging Cream, 5ml sample - "anti-aging prevention, antioxidant and anti-pollution cream to help the skin preserve its youthfulness." Although I find anti-aging creams as exciting as watching paint dry, I do like the sound of this being like a 'shield' against pollution, so I'll probably put it to the test next time I'm in London.




(6) Joliebox Concealer Brush, travel size - like everything else in this box, this little brush feels really high-end and hasn't shed at all, impressed! Definitely another addition to my travel bag.



(7) Kusmi Detox Tea, - "a delicious blend of Mate, chinese Green Tea and lemon grass full flavoured with lemon." This smells gorgeous, can't wait to try it. I love, love, love teas like this and the packaging is so beautiful and it's good for you too, what more could you ask for?

Summary: Out of all of the Christmas beauty boxes, Joliebox definitely wins in my opinion. I am so pleased with this box and really hope that it's not a fabulous one-off. Given the fact that I've loved all of the previous Boudoir Prive boxes, I don't think it will be and looking on the French Joliebox website tells me that these boxes really do have the edge, if you're looking for a beauty box which has luxe/high-end products.

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Carmine Box - November 2011

My Carmine box arrived today! This month's box is themed on Fame and Fortune, with each product being linked to a celebrity. I don't personally care that much about celebrities so here's what was inside:-



I still think their product leaflet is the best designed out of all of the beauty boxes.



(1) Lulu's Time Bomb Flashback Night Cream, 15ml sample tube worth £9.50 (full size 45ml - £30.75) - "extremely powerful anti-aging time machine does all the work to prevent aging while you get a good night's rest." Not sure that I need an anti-aging cream in my 20s but I'll give it a go, it smells nice.





(2) New CID Cosmetics i-pout Light Up Lipstick in Belle, full size (£15) - "a revolutionary and incredibly wearable lipstick, equipped with a built-in mirror and light for perfect application in absolutely any circumstance." I burst out laughing when I opened this, a daft gimmick seriously. The lipstick itself is good though, the colour sent, Belle, is a nice everyday pink which has a pretty glossy finish and decent staying power. But yeah, the light up aspect is just silly.




(3) Dainty Doll Eyeliner Pencil in Shake Your Tail Feather, full size (£10.50) - "contains skin-loving vitamins and is just oozing with colour." The colour looked quite promising on the pencil itself, a deep emerald shade is portrayed but on the skin it's looks more blue and doesn't suit me at all (much better for blue/green eyed people instead). It's quite a hard pencil which you really have to press hard with so this was disappointing, certainly not something I would pay full price for.



(4) Neom Organics Real Luxury Body Lotion, 50ml travel size (full size 240ml - £23.50) - "this organic product from an award winning brand is packed with fragrances of lavender, jasmine, basil and more." Now this is really nice, I've been wanting to try something from Neom Organics for ages. The lotion is gorgeous, similar to Cowshed and Bodhi.





(5) Cosmetics A La Carte Brow Ink in Taupe, full size (£22) - "this soft semi-permanent ink will add the perfect definition to your brows by allowing you to draw in individual hairs, also doubles up as an eyeliner." I was worried that this might be the wrong colour for me as my brows are dark brown/black but this worked for me after applying a couple of strokes. It stays put but when I think of semi-permanent make-up I think of treatments which last a couple of weeks, not just hours. Bit strange. I think it's OK, but nothing more than that really. Seems very expensive for what it is.

Summary: My first impressions were that I was disappointed with this box, none of the products really grabbed my attention. The first box was just so fantastic that this felt like a big let down, even if it still is incredibly good value for money and has three full size make-up items in it. I think a lot of people will like the novelty of the light up lipstick and I can appreciate that, it's just not something I go in for myself really, though I do like the lipstick itself. My favourite item overall is the Neom Organic Body Lotion and I'll probably use everything else as well, except the Dainty Doll eyeliner which is frankly rubbish IMO. I'll give Carmine another month's try to see if they do anything special for December but I'm a bit 'meh' about them at the moment.

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