I saw a post on By Megan Kelly’s blog about Hits, Misses and Empties for February and I actually really like the idea. It adds an angle of authenticity to beauty review posts and allows everyone to see that not every item sent for review is great.

Authenticity.

Such a very important element of being a blogger. I think what people don’t necessarily always realize is that for every raving review that appears on my blog, there are 10 others that have either been turned down or never seen the front end of this here blog.

So today, I thought I’d share with you some newly discovered and tested products that I have loved and ones that I have not. 

Let’s start with the hits first!

BioNike DEFENCE TWO-PHASE EYE MAKEUP REMOVER 

 This was sent to me in a press drop a couple of weeks ago and I have really enjoyed using it. Because I wear contact lenses, I am prone to sensitive and dry eyes.

The entire BioNike range is a joy to use, all of their products are Nickel tested, which is good because I have a Nickel allergy, fragrance free, preservative free and gluten free so they’re ideal for sensitive and reactive skins.

I’ve found that the two-phase eye make up remover rapidly dissolves eye make up, even stubborn liquid liner and waterproof mascaras, without leaving an oily residue, irritating my eyes or too much rubbing. I simply shake the bottle well, to mix the water and oil based products, soak a cotton pad in the product, hold it gently over my eye for a couple of seconds and then swipe away the eye make up. 

I especially love my liquid liner but it can be a bitch to remove and I often wake up with racoon eyes in the morning, but since using this product, that has become a thing of the past, I no longer frighten my children in the mornings!

 

BioNike DEFENCE COLOR SCULPT MASCARA

This mascara was also sent to me to try. Now I’m very fussy when it comes to mascara. It needs to lengthen and thicken my lashes without clumping or going on like tar and this mascara lived up to it’s promise of both lengthening and curling my lashes.

It’s actually the mascara that I’m wearing in this image I posted to Instagram:


Again, because of BioNike’s unique formulation, this is ideal for people with sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers and I’ve been super impressed with it.

Oh So Heavenly. 

I first discovered the Oh So Heavenly range a few years ago and I’ve been using the body washes and body lotions ever since. I find that their products, while beautifully fragranced are also gentle enough to use even on Ava’s hypertensive and reactive skin.  So I was thrilled to have this little press pack delivered to me:


All of these products came in handy on my recent business trips. My trips tend to be quite frantic, rushing for early morning flights and then back to back meetings with late night flights home so these little products went a long way in keeping me feeling and smelling fresh.

The Lucky In Love Body Spray has a beautiful soft, feminine fragrance thanks to the infusion of white flowers and juicy pear. It’s also not an overwhelming fragrance, light and fresh and without that heavy aerosol scent that so many body sprays have.

The Hula Hands Hygienic Hand Wipes are fabulous to carry around with you. They are lightly scented and moist, without being wet, leaving your hands cleansed and refreshed.

Now for the hard part, the misses.

There is honestly, probably nothing wrong with either of the products I’m about to feature here. Each person is different and our preferences differ too. These two products have not worked well for me and I probably won’t be buying them again.

Bioderma Hydrabio Perfecteur SPF 30

My dermatologist has been telling me for years that this is one of the best product ranges to use for overall skin care. So when I started seeing a number of local beauty bloggers raving about it, I decided to give it a try.

Now, I have a combination skin that is prone to dehydration so this should cream should have been ideal for me. Instead, it made me incredibly oily and it isn’t a cream I can use when I plan to wear foundation because I look like a glazed doughnut by the end of the day. 

I still use it but only over weekends when I don’t plan on wearing any make up. This, sadly, was a miss for me. 

It hurts me to add the next one, because I’ve rather rapidly fallen in love with this range, but…..

LA Girl Shady Slim Brow Pencil

I’m still not certain if it’s just me being an idiot, but I simply can’t seem to get this pencil to do anything on my brows. I can scratch and scrape away with the pencil and it honestly doesn’t look like I’ve filled in any of the gaps or filled out my brows in any way shape or form. I’m not sure if perhaps the shade is too light for me, although, it shouldn’t be because I have fair brows.

So there you have it, my first installment of beauty hits and misses. What did you think? Are their any products out there that you’ve read rave reviews on and they’ve just not lived up to your expectations? I’d love to hear from you.