Review of a Great Makeup Mirror: Tweezerman, 10x magnifying mirror

One of my lasting memories of childhood is seeing my Mother use a little handheld magnifying makeup mirror, which belonged to her Mother, to apply her makeup.  As a teenager I used to borrow this mirror to examine my face for all kinds of imperfections, that in all honesty didn’t really exist.  I can single handily blame this mirror for at least several eyebrow plucking disasters and obsessive tendencies at curing open pores on my face.  This mirror is so overly used and battered the glass has developed a marking resembling a smiley face, with a massive crack right down the center.  It now looks like a once precious relic that should belong in a museum.

The Old Relic, 3 Generations of vanity

 For a long time I was not put off one single bit and continued using the relic.  That was until I came across the Tweezermate, 10x magnifying mirror.  I still remember my initial thoughts were something along the lines of my eyebrows are messy and that blemish needs some attention.  I then proceeded to visit the mirror a few times, every time not quite believing how horrendous my eyebrows were.  I bought this during a shopping trip with a couple of friends, each of us purchasing our own and as soon as I got this home knew this would be my updated version of the relic, but only to assist, not takeover!

I have used the Tweezerman, Tweezermate, 10x magnifying mirror for about 3 years.  I use this for eyebrow plucking, applying eye makeup and the treatment of skin conditions.  I do believe this mirror makes shaping eyebrows far easier and aids plucking so ridiculously well it gives the impression of waxed brows. 

Modern Day Relic, Tweezerman 10x magnified Mirror, £14.99, Boots

 The back of the mirror contains suction cups to allow it to be attached to other surfaces.  However, I use this as a handheld mirror and using the still attached original packaging as a handle.  Keeping on the packaging also makes it easy to prop against surfaces, like windows and illuminated backgrounds.

I really like this mirror and struggled greatly the one time I forgot to take this on holiday with me.  A sure sign of inherited vanity is when I look forward to being reunited with the Tweezermate as much as my own real mates, who I do really like a lot!

Fancy Nail Polish on a Budget: Deborah Lipmann, Happy Birthday vs Model’s Own Ibiza Mix

Model's Own, Ibiza Mix

This post is a wish list.  In House of Fraser last weekend I went a little crazy with the Deborah Lipmann testers, literally a different colour on every finger.  This is a brand that I’m not too familiar with, I’ve heard some chat and spied on one quiet afternoon a demonstration on QVC of Lipmann, but that's it!  I've never met the range in person.  I know the demonstrators job is to entice and say whatever it takes to reel in buyers, but this polish looked nothing short of amazing, so glossy and perfect on the TV.  Something I didn’t quite catch, or chose to ignore was the high price tag of between £14.00 - £16.00 per bottle.

One thing I really like about Deborah Lippman's polishes are their fun names, such as; Waking up in Vegas, Good Girl Gone Bad and I Know What Boys Like.

Deborah Lipmann, Candy Shop £16.00

My favourite is the one called Candy Shop.  It contains a pale pink base with multicoloured glitter strands, in the shapes of hexagons and dots of various sizes.  This is basically Happy Birthday, with a pink base.  I like this as it reminds me of the Model’s Own polish called Ibiza Mix, without a base colour.  I just can’t seem to buy Ibiza Mix, as it’s sold out every time I try to buy it.

It’s ironic to want an expensive polish, as it reminds me of a cheaper polish.  

Deborah Lipmann, Happy Birthday £16.00

 However, Lipmann has now given me inspiration for when I finally track down Ibiza Mix.

Morning Saviour: A review of Lee Stafford, Poker Straight, Night Patrol

This product has helped me realise a major down fall in my hair routine.  I have long hair and not enough time to follow much of a hair care routine on a morning; therefore, I have to sort my hair out each night before sleeping.  Something I hadn’t noticed until recently, although it sounds pretty obvious, is how much better my hair looks straight after blow drying and how rubbish and lifeless my hair feels/looks on a morning.  So, in effect I make my hair look nice every night, go to sleep and the hair demons appear each night to mess up all of my hard work.

Night Patrol, £2.00 (200ml), Boots.

In light of my dilemma, I have happened to come across from Lee Stafford’s Poker Straight range, Night Patrol.  I need to admit the only reason I bought this product was due to an offer in Boots, it was a totally impulsive buy and I’m ashamed to say I only bought this product due to having liked other products within this range.  So, when I did read the bottle, initially I put this somewhere out of sight and thought what a pointless product with a mental note to stop buying pointless rubbish.

One evening I decided to give this spray a whirl, or a spritz, and believe my initial thoughts were a little on the harsh side.  The front of the bottle states:
‘Helps keep your hair straight as you sleep.  So you’re up up and away swifter than a super hero’.

The crunch of this spray is that it contains style memory, a long-lasting control polymer that smooths the hair and helps it stay in place overnight and directions are literally to spray onto dry hair, as you would a perfume.
The smell of this product is nice and like a mild perfume, it smells like a product I want to use on my hair.  I spray this on my hair and leave to settle before going to bed.  I belive my hair feels softer, ends look and feel less dry, after using this spray.  It isn’t something I use every night, but do find myself wishing I had done.  I feel like this is a very unique product and I don’t have any similar products to compare with Night Patrol.  For me this does go some way to offering a solution to the lack of time on a morning and stopping my very naturally straight hair changing its mind and turning into a curly mane.

This works for me personally, but I do already have very straight hair naturally.  Boots are selling this in miniature, take-away, bottles at the moment for the summer, suggesting there is a market of loyal users needing to take this on holiday in a convenient size.  So, the moral I have learnt from buying pointless ‘rubbish’ is …  why-the hair demons- not?