e.l.f Makeup Mist & Set

Price - £5 (Superdrug)

Pros

• Works
• Cheap
• Oil free
• Contains nourishing ingredients

Cons

• Small bottle
• Availability

Sweat Resistance Rating: 4/5

Due to my active lifestyle and job as a sports coach, naturally I work up a sweat on a regular basis, and because I work with children, I prefer to wear make up to appear more awake. So then the questions and statements on my tiredness and complexion from filterless children are kept at bay. As many of you will know, make up and sweat don’t tend to mix brilliantly, resulting in a half bare faced, half melted off make up look by the end of the day, which isn’t the most professional look. Having tried the NYX Professional Make Up Setting Spray (Matte Finish) and still ending the day with half my make up gone, I did a little research and found raving reviews on the Elf Make Up Mist & Set spray and since Elf is now sold in Superdrug, I figured I’d give it a go.

One of the main things that drew me to this product, aside from the raving reviews, is the fact it’s oil free and contains nourishing Aloe, Green tea, Cucumber and Vitamins A, C & E. Having makeup products enriched with vitamins and other healthy ingredients can be no bad thing and your skin will thank you for cutting down on pore clogging oil. As someone with very indecisive skin, that can be dry one day and oily the next, having kind-to-skin ingredients in my beauty products always makes me feel slightly better about using them on a day-to-day basis. Since I’ve been using this product my make up not only survives 3-4 hours of coaching sport, but it’s also mostly intact after my post-work gym sessions. I’ve not given it full marks on the sweat resistant rating scale as I’m certain the longevity of my makeup is down to the combination of the spray with my other make up products, rather than the spray alone, plus there is still a clear loss of product throughout the day.

One negative to this product is it’s only 60ml which may not last as long as other setting spray products, however for £5 it’s great value for money so totally worth purchasing and re-purchasing. I’ve been using this product pretty much every day for around three months and I’ve just started my second bottle. On the flip side, the small size of the bottle makes it the perfect size to carry around in your bag for a midday refresh.

Test Day:

9am - Fresh faced and ready for the day
- NYX Soft Focus Tinted Primer
- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

3:30pm - 5 hours of Athletics coaching finished
- Tinter Primer coverage slightly reduced
- Concealer, Brows and Lashes all in tac

5:30pm - 1 hour Personal Training session finished
- Forehead coverage mostly gone
- Concealer, brows and mascara in tact

Closer look - Slight movement under eyes
and in the creases of my nose

During my test day I did not touch up my makeup or setting spray all day despite getting my sweat on for the majority of the day. Baring this in mind, as well as how much I drip when I sweat, this product has managed to keep my makeup reasonably presentable throughout 5-6 hours of sweat-producing activity.

As Elf is still new to Superdrug, it is not sold in every store, therefore it’s not as readily available as other cruelty free makeup brands like Collection. However, if your nearest Superdrug doesn’t stock this product or Elf at all, it’s available to order online from both Elf and Superdrug. So, whether you’re active and regularly working up a sweat or just want your make up to last from the office to cocktails, this product is perfect for anyone with any lifestyle, especially if you’re on a budget.

Bastiste Shield My Locks, Heat & Shine Spray

Price - £4.45 (Boots)

Pros

• Easy even application
• Cruelty free
• Keratin & Inca Inchi Oil
• 230°C Heat Protection
• Adds volume

Cons

• Not travel-sized
• Slightly drying

Cruelty free, affordable hair products are one of the hardest things to find on the high street, so when I received my June 2017 Glossybox, containing Batiste’s Heat & Shine Spray, I was over the moon to discover this well known cruelty free brand made a heat protection product. Luckily I’m blessed with naturally wavy hair which occasionally forms it’s own ringlets, so I rarely need to style my hair, I’m also incredibly lazy with my locks. However, on the odd occasion I do straighten my hair, whether it’s for a night out or to simply get another day out of it, I am insistent on the use of heat protection.

First of all, I was incredibly impressed with receiving the full sized version of this product in my June Glossybox, so a big thank you to them. However, the downside to the size of this product is it’s not the easiest to transport around and it doesn’t currently have a travel-sized option. As a 22 year old who loves a good boogie but lives in the countryside, I often get ready for a night out in the bedrooms of friends who live in the city. So naturally any products, that I don’t use daily, with a travel sized option would be perfect for those of us who are always the guests at pre-drinks. However, if you’re often the host or style your hair daily, then the size of this product is ideal as it will last you well.

What sets this product apart from other heat protection products I have used in the past, is that it’s an aerosol rather than a spritz. Personally, I find this far easier to apply and achieve total coverage before styling, it also seems to soak into the hair quicker than a spritz, so you can get to styling a lot quicker without frazzling your locks. As the name suggests, not only does it protect your hair against the damage heat styling causes, but with the help of Keratine and Inca Inchi Oil, this spray gives your hair that added shine. An added bonus to this product is the volume it gives to your hair, much like Batiste’s offering of dry shampoos. The only draw back in terms of how this product works is I felt it left my hair feeling kind of dry, I’m not sure whether this is because it’s an aerosol, it’s not fully protecting my hair or another reason. However, it doesn’t dry up my hair enough to put me off using this product.

So far, I am a fan of this product, however I am open to trying out other products that are more hydrating than this one, but as I mentioned, affordable cruelty free hair products can be a challenging feat. For now, Batiste is a reliable cruelty free brand and £4.45 is definitely a reasonable price to pay.

Sleepy by Lush

If you struggle to get off to sleep at night for whatever reasons, this product is sure to help fix that. For several years, I’ve dealt with anxiety, some situations making it worse than others. During the worst of it a few years back before learning how to cope with it better, I relied solely on lavender oil drops on a tissue to help with my mind settling and being able to sleep. Recently, due to some rather tough situations the sleepless nights began again and coincidentally it was at the time that Sleepy became popular across the internet.

Having already used lavender in the past I was keen to try it in another form, with this standing out to me. With the way that I sleep, I chose to apply it to my forearms where I would be able to smell it as I breathed. Although this isn’t a cure-all, it goes up in my books to be a worthwhile investment. I’ve found that lavender oil on its own can be a little too pungent, however as this is a lotion, the other ingredients help to tone down the lavender and make it a subtler smell. You only need a small amount, which given the price of this makes it worth every penny. I got the 95g tub, which is plenty for I would say at least three months with daily use. As with many Lush products it is self-preserving, although it has a guideline use-by date. Again, with the price of £7.95 for the 95g tub, this is another positive. What is also appealing is that it’s good for the skin too, despite this not being the main selling point. Lavender will always be a favourite scent of mine and although it is of course personal taste whether you enjoy the smell of lavender or not, pop into Lush and see what you think. The lavender combined with the other ingredients including tonka absolute, and more lovely ingredients, makes a lotion that has proved popular with many people struggling with sleep problems. I also found that on the nights that I used this I slept right through, instead of waking up the middle of the night, which happened on the one occasion since having this where I forgot to apply it.

If the idea of using lavender in another form appeals to you, this is something worth considering. The store assistant also showed me a lavender spray Lush stock which people spray on their bed sheets, or themselves. I’ve always been advised not to put pure lavender oil onto the skin directly, hence my previous use of putting on a tissue. Due to this I would not recommend putting lavender oil on pillows or bedding in case of any skin reactions you may have to the high concentration of the oil.

Derma v10 Pastels Hair Colour (Paradise Pink)

Price — £1.99 (Home Bargains)

What’s in the box?

• Colour Cream tube
• 2x Conditioner sachets
• Application Brush
• Instruction Leaflet
• Pair of Gloves

Pros

• Cruelty free
• Vegan
• Cheap
• Easy to apply
• Accurate colour indication
• Recyclable packing
• Ammonia free

Cons

• Not much product in the tube
• Strong smell

As an avid self hair colourist with a soft spot for pastels, Derma V10’s semi-permanent Pastels range naturally jumped right off the shelf at me, with the bright, graphic packaging and generous price, it would have been rude not to investigate further. Upon picking up the box, I immediately searched the information for their philosophy, which, to my delight is vegan and cruelty free. Another nice touch to add to their planet friendly philosophy is that they have made their packaging recyclable where possible. On top of all this, it works!

Instantly sold on this product, in the cosmetics aisle of Home Bargains, I opted for the shade Paradise Pink. This was partly a safety choice as I know pink is a good colour for me and if it turned out horrendous, I knew it would fade easily. A couple days before using this product, I touched up my roots using Jerome Russel’s Bblonde Maximum Blonding Kit No.1, my favourite bleaching product. This prepared my hair for optimum pastel pink results.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the colour cream tube is not particularly sizeable, and this became even more apparent throughout the application process. I’m not one for thoroughly following the instructions all the time, instead of the suggested method of application using the brush provided, I went for a more free-handed scrunch and hope for the best option. Although this may not be the ‘correct’ way, it definitely utilised the product more effectively as the cream would not have gone as far using the brush method. This said, I still needed to call upon the rest of my go-to pink Jerome Russel bBlonde Maximum Colour Toner to get close-to full coverage. Although I have quite a lot of hair, it is still short enough to only require one box of dye.

Once the 30 minute development time was up, I hopped in the shower to wash the dye out and followed up with a 3-minute conditioning hair mask (White Hot Intense Lustre Mask) to refresh and nourish my locks after subjecting them to bleach and dye within a matter of days. After drying, I am incredibly happy with the result, due to the pastel nature of the product, any areas I missed during application blend in and add slight dimension, rather than it being a block colour.

Overall I loved this product, one box would be the perfect amount for most dip dye styles, however if you’re looking to colour your full length (mid-length to long), you will almost certainly need at least 2 boxes, but hey, at £1.99 a box, you’re still saving!

Before

After

Hello and Welcome

Welcome everyone to our very own little duo-hobby blog! It’s an idea that the pair of us have been thinking about for a while, as one thing we are always doing is recommending cruelty free products to each other, particularly products within the beauty and cosmetics industry. This initial post is to really give you a brief idea of who we are, a little bit about ourselves and why we’ve started writing this blog. 

We met whilst studying at university, both of us on the Editorial and Advertising Photography course at the University of Gloucestershire, where our course trip to Vancouver saw our friendship begin. As both of us are vegetarians, and we both love food, naturally we sought out good veggie food together whilst we were out there. Which is there in abundance! Along with this mutual interest and our feelings towards animals, came the interest in cruelty free products. This blog is not about starting debate or discussion. We, by no means think that anyone shouldn’t do, buy or eat what they want. This is merely a blog that we are writing for our own sake as we have found it interesting how many affordable, and good quality cruelty free products there are available in the UK. If anyone takes anything from it, then hey, we achieved something! Our reviews and opinions are unbiased, and we give each product a good few weeks, depending on the product and desired results, before we decide on how we found said product. This way we feel we have given it a fair chance, with some products such as skin care, taking slightly longer sometimes to prove themselves. 

Now, you might be wondering about the name we have come up with. Well, there's not a lot to it, other than a mutual love of a good highlighter. We both feel they add that lovely sparkly touch to our make-up routines, both celebrating when we find a new gorgeous shade! We're forever on the search for a good highlighter, always adding more highlighters to our collections. Check out our Who are Sparkle Sisters? page to find out a bit about each of us! Why not follow us both on our personal social media accounts too and keep up to date with our personal lives as well as our product reviews! We look forward to having you here for the ride, and feel free to get in contact should you have any questions or would like any more information about specific products.

@Clarkychar

@becca.horton