What's new from SEVENTEEN: Gel Nails, Instant Glow Cream Bronzer, Long Lash Mascara & a 3 Way Highlighter You'll Want to Use All Summer

Boots SEVENTEEN collection  is where you'll find budget priced, ahead of the trend makeup. They sent me some products to try out, so let's have a look at them. If you like what you see, then you're in luck as the SEVENTEEN range is on offer with 3 for 2 on the Boots website right now.

Firstly, there is the Skin Wow! Primer at £5.99. It's a three in one product with versatile usage you'll love. You can use it as a primer, mix it with your foundation, or apply over your makeup on your cheek bones to give yourself a luminous glow.

I tried it over my makeup that had been on half the day, and it really perked up my skin. It would be great to add variation to a matte foundation finish, or to keep in your handbag to use midway through the day to refresh your face. 

Before

After using Skin Wow Primer  

Next is the Instant Glow Cream Bronzer at £4.99. I haven't actually used a cream bronzer before, only powder, so I was curious to how this would be to apply.

So smoooooth

I was a little dubious as it looked quite orange when I swatched it on my hand. When I tried it on my cheek as a contour, it looked more natural. The great thing about it being a cream is that it's easier to build colour slowly to achieve the effect you desire. It's also very easy to blend. 

Using Instant Glow as a light contour on cheeks

The third product SEVENTEEN kindly sent me is the Long Lash mascara which costs £6.99 and as with all the SEVENTEEN range, it's 3 for 2 right now.

It's the type of wand I prefer, with small, short bristles. It allows you to coat even the shortest lashes without making a hash of it. 

I already had Boots No7 mascara on, but you can still see the difference Long Lash makes. I applied it to the eye on the left (my right). 

With Long Lash       :    Without

Finally, the £3.99  Gel Colour nail polish with 30 colours to choose from, I was sent this pretty candy pink.

It's applies well for a light colour. I've a similar light pink from Barry M & it takes about four coats, whereas this only took the recommended two. 

I'm not the best at painting my nails as you can see- but they do match my gaudy phone case! Bonus! 

Celebrating 50 Years of Boots in Northern Ireland, in the Europa Penthouse Suite

Boots the Chemist are celebrating 50 years of trading in Northern Ireland this year. To celebrate, during an intimate event at the Europa Hotel, the No7 teamof makeup artists recreated key looks from the past five decades, documenting the swinging 60s styles, the electro 80s, right through to today’s current trends – from contouring to creating the perfect brow.

1960s' hair & makeup using Boots products

I went along to the Europa penthouse suite, where a dozen of makeup & beauty concessions had sent their dream teams to pamper & paint our lucky faces.

Anne Higgins, Head of Customer Experience from Boots in Northern Ireland commented; “When the first Boots store opened in Northern Ireland in Belfast’s Corn Market in 1966 it brought with it a wealth of beauty and wellbeing essentials helping customers feel good right across the province."

"Boots also brought to Northern Ireland its No7 brand, which was originally introduced in the 1930s. The now iconic brand has brought a huge range of innovative products to the market through its beauty and skincare collections, from its ground breaking Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum, the UK’s first serum clinically proven to deliver anti-wrinkle results that get even better over time, to its No7 Match Made service which helps you discover the colours shades and finished perfectly suited to you."

The event was a beauty blogger's dream, and as a woman who is now hooked on makeup, I had a whale of a time. There were many international beauty houses available at Boots including Smashbox, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Lancôme and Bare Minerals, who showcased their latest products and trends.

FaeriBex tries some Lancôme lippie

I was also treated to skincare from Liz Earle, No7, Clarins and Clinique with summer hair trends demonstrated by Bumble & Bumble.

Liz Earle

The No7 brand has developed throughout the years, working with top skin scientists and specialists, to meet the demands of today’s savvy shoppers, professional makeup artists and beauty fanatics. Today, its latest new products include the new Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum, Bronze Shimmer Palette and the Special Edition Gold Lash Impact Mascara.

We also came away with lots of samples, so what did I love, what secret products are in the pipeline, and which items will I be buying full size thanks to the samples or demonstrations? 

The first stop on my tour of the room were the ladies at Estée Lauder.  I had always heard great things about their Double Wear foundation, and Julie from their main Boots store offered to apply it for me so I could compare it to my usual medium coverage Rimmel foundation.

See the result of how the new foundation looked, later on in this post. 

That's me in the background! 

Julie used the Double Wear To Go £33.00 compact in the lightest shade. The clever compact dispenses a pump of foundation, one for light coverage & two for a more heavier look. This Double Wear incarnation has a slight glow to it, it's not matte but it's not too shiny either. In the words of Goldilocks, it was just right. So I've my eyes set on buying the compact myself once my ten day trial has run out. 

Each Estée Lauder concession currently has a ten day sample available for customers to try Double Wear at home. Just come along to your local store & they will use their little machine to match your skin tone & send you off with your ten day trial.

The next sample I'm loving is the No7 Lash Impact in limited edition gold glitter packaging.

I'm really very fussy about mascara. I only use Estée Lauder, Benefit Bad Gal or RollerLash, but not They're Real, or No7 mascaras. 

I dislike mascara that clumps, or makes my lashes look spidery, but No7 wands don't let me down, so if I have to recommend a mascara I would say this was top three. 

Next is one of the products we were teased with, but that isn't available to buy yet. Here is a snap of the adjustable head eyeliner Lancôme are launching very soon. I didn't get a photo myself, so this is from Alison, PassionsandPreening's snapchat.

I struggle with my eyeliner so I'm dying to get my hands on one of these flexible head types. 

Moving on to something I did get a sample of, the Smash Box Primer £25.50 

I've tried a couple of brands of primer but never fully added it into my makeup routine. This product might just change that. It's hard to describe how it makes your skin feel, but it's so soft, you'll just want to keep touching it. 

Bumble & Bumble Thickening Hairspray £22.00 next. They gave us a couple of samples and they all smell so good. This hairspray isn't an aerosol, which is great because cans of hairspray bring me out in a rash. This is more liquid, but has a tonne of hold. My hair felt very natural and not full of product, despite the curl I had put in holding so well.

Another full size sample the Boots Coconut Oil 100ml at £2.54 is a versatile product you can use for your hair, skin and nails. I used it as a body moisturiser & of course the scent is delicious.

Lastly, if you are into beauty you'll surely have heard about the new Benefit Brow Collection coming soon. I've my eyes set on Gimme Brow in shade 4, £18.50 after the girls colour matched my brows and applied the gel for me. 

So my makeup below is Estée Lauder Double Wear To Go foundation & blush, Clinique mascara, Benefit Gimme Brow, Lancôme Juicy Shaker lips. Thanks for a wonderful day, Boots!

My Night Routine. Potions & Lotions & Oils Galore.

Every year on my birthday in August I swear to myself that this year I'm definitely going to stop going to bed with makeup on, and I will endeavour to moisturise too. 

Every year I still ended up going to bed in mascara and tinted moisturiser, which used to be all I wore. This summer when I turned 35, I     had already started my journey towards being a makeup addict, so I've a little routine at last!

Every proper beauty blogger in the land will be screaming, 'noooooooo!' at the photo below. Apparently using any sort of baby wipe type product on your face is a bad idea. I'm a sucker for how easy they are though.

Sera from The Style Guide Blog suggested the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I use it on a wipe to take off everything except my eye makeup. I can't help but think 'is this just tap water though?' as the Micellar water has no fragrance either. 

Then I use another wipe loaded with Simple Kind to Eyes, Eye Makeup Remover. It does the job and doesn't irritate the skin or my eyes in any way. 

At the weekend of late, my son and I like to have a silly pamper night. We do face masks, soothing eye pads, I even let him put my makeup on me for fun sometimes. Poor child is feeling my lack of daughter to do these things with! 

Tonight I used a peel off mask for once, 'cause they have always been fun in a satisfying peel-y way. The brand is Petal Fresh Botanicals, and this is their Invigorating Aloe & Cucumber mask. The full size product with enough for many, many masks, was only £1.29. 

It dries easily, but follow the instructions about not putting it near your eyes. I had it stuck on the area under my eyes where your bags are, and it hurt like hell trying to peel that section off! 

Also my skin felt strangely dry afterward. You would want to moisturise after peeling it all off.

My regular  night products are No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum. A small amount of that, which absorbs easily, then a 'top coat' of the matching line's Intense Night Cream.

I've a couple of samples I'm sometimes using instead at the moment. Puff Off! from Benefit for eye bags, and their Instant Comeback Facial Serum. Those products are okay, but I don't think they'll tear me away from my No7 products I use long term. 

The other little bottle on the right there I HAVE been very impressed by, and I'll be buying the full size product when the sample runs out.

Its the Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil. The thought of using a straight oil on your face may seem daunting if you're prone to shine, but somehow it doesn't effect my skin in that way. Yes I've a big shiny face when I apply it, but I haven't found the days after I've slept in it have been any extra shiny or greasy when I've my daily makeup on. 

It comes with a tiny dropper and I use three lots all over my face. It doesn't feel greasy, it definitely feels intense. It will be a great product to use now Autumn is drawing in and the heating plus cold outside plays havoc with your skin. 

So that's my night time routine. I've the intensive oil on in this photo and you can see my skin isn't oily looking at all. I've a feeling a little gold bottle of pure oil from The Body Shop is going to be fairly expensive.... maybe I'll keep it for my Christmas list.