Review: Essie Summer 2012 Collection

Essie is a brand that’s contantly floating around the blogosphere, and with good reason as the polishes are amazing. Today I’m reviewing the Essie Summer 2012 Collection* from John & Ginger.

I won’t bore you too much with writing, here are the swatches.

Essie Off The Shoulder - £9.95

Essie Mojito Madness - £9.95

Essie Bikini So Teeny - £9.95

Essie Fear or Desire - £9.95

The polishes all apply really well, but I found that three coats were needed for all opacity – although that seems like the norm for Essie.

Off The Shoulder looked very pastel-y in the bottle, but with three coats I found it was more of a bubblegum pink. Fear or Desire is almost like a jelly and I really liked that! Bikini So Teeny is slightly iridescent but you can only tell if you pretty much put your finger in your eye! Mojito madness is probably my least favourite out the set, I just find it too green – I was hoping it’d be lighter and more of a pastel green.

All of the colours were very glossy, which is such a bonus. I’m a shellac kind of girl and part of the shellac appeal is the high shine, but the Essie polishes surprised me and matched the shine – even without a topcoat.

I applied the polish over shellac so that probably warped how long it lasted, but generally speaking Essie polishes last 3-5 days without chips/tip-wear if applied with a base & topcoat.

Bottom line: Very impressed. Even with three coats they all dried really quickly – something I find very important when it comes to nail varnishes, as I’m so impatient!

What are your favourite Essie polishes?

The Essie Summer 2012 Collection is available from the John & Ginger website, priced at £9.95/each.

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Review: Dermalogica Exfoliation Pack - Daily Microfoliant and Gentle Cream Exfoliant

I’ve been using the Dermalogica Exfoliation Pack* for the last week and I’m pleasantly surprised. The pack consists of a Daily Microfoliant and a Gentle Cream Exfoliant.

The Daily Microfoliant comes in powder form, which was a very new concept to me. It smells like tablets and sherbet, almost like something you’d mix with water when you’ve got the flu – not in an unpleasant way though. The directions say to mix the powder with water to make a paste and rub over your face for one minute.

When I first used it was a bit confused, the packet doesn’t recommend how much powder to use so I wasn’t sure if I was using too much or too little. I got to grips with it after a couple of days though.

Whilst I liked how ‘scrubby’ it was, I found that my face was getting really oily just a couple of hours after washing and I was starting to break out. I mixed it with a cleansing lotion though, and the combination was perfect. The scrubbiness was great and really made my face feel clean, and the cleanser was perfect for holding back the grease. 

The Gentle Cream Exfoliant was definitely my favourite out of the duo. It’s recommended to only be used twice a week, but I think I could get away with using it a bit more than that. You apply it to cleansed skin, leave it for 15 minutes to activate and then wash it off. It doesn’t have any scrubby bits in it; instead it uses acid and fruit enzymes to break down dead skin cells, much like the Monu Radiant Skin Peel I reviewed here – but better! I find that it also helps keep my oil at bay as it feels quite clay-y. I actually have it on my face as I write this.

My skin feels smooth when I wash it off, and I find that my spots have dried out a bit too.

What’s especially great is that the exfoliant is non-abrasive, so it suitable to use on the most sensitive skin.

Bottom line. I liked both products, but the Cream Exfoliant is quickly turning into a favourite for me, I’d definitely purchase it. The Daily Microfoliant is a great product too, but I didn’t find it as effective.

You can buy the Daily Microfoliant* and the Gentle Cream Exfoliant* at John and Ginger Beauty along with lots of other Dermalogica products

*These products were sent for review but my views as always, remain 100% honest.