Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator

RRP: £12 for 70ml; £4.50 for 15ml

--What does the promo say?--
"This kind, yet effective facial polisher is ideal for gently buffing away dead skin cells and impurities to leave all skin types (except sensitive) brighter, smoother and fresher."

--Packaging--
Can only speak for the full-size package, which comes in a pale yellow pump-mechanism tube made from hard plastic. The lid is translucent with a silver band around the bottom and the Liz Earle logo is also silver, with the brand name in a darker yellow. All other product information is in a tiny black font. All very sophisticated and calm.

--Application--
From the website: "Apply 2 pumps to clean skin after using Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. Gently massage in with your fingertips using light, circular movements. Concentrate on the most commonly congested areas of skin such as the forehead, nose, chin and jawline but avoid your eye area. Fingertip pressure and the gentle friction of the beads will stimulate blood flow and slough away dead skin cells helping to unblock pores. Rinse off with warm water and pat your face dry with a towel." If you have normal skin exfoliating once every 1-2 weeks is fine, but you may want to exfoliate more often if you have problematic skin.

--Appearance--
A white, stiff creamy substance. The jojoba beads aren't really visible and the consistency is just perfect. No residue is left on the face after use.

--Scent--
Pretty neutral and barely-there, though you can pick up the eucalyptus scent slightly.

--Consistency/texture--
The exfoliator itself is creamy and light and lathers up a little as well. On the face you can definitely feel the jojoba beads - they're very tiny and fine though.

--Longevity--
The effects of this aren't any more long-lasting than any other exfoliators I've used, unfortunately (although the face still feels smooth after use). Pretty average.

--Value for money--
I think this is nice to use, but expensive for what it is. It may be better value if you buy it as part of a set, as I did, but I wouldn't pay £12 for it. I also thought it was best suited to normal skin (rather than, as claimed on the tube, 'every skin type except sensitive') - I have quite oily skin and while this product wasn't damaging to my skin, it didn't really improve my skin either and I can only conclude from this that the product isn't specialist enough for my skin type (which I guess I already knew). It also didn't smoothen my skin any more than any other exfoliator I've used. I'd therefore recommend making sure you've got an exfoliator that's definitely suited to your skin type, and if you want uber-smoothness from the Liz Earle range, try their intensive moisturiser instead.

perfect partners
Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, £10.75
Instant Boost Skin Tonic, £10.50
Skin Repair Moisturiser, £15.50

Avon Footworks Moisturising Socks

RRP: £4 (one size fits all)

--What does the promo say?--
"Team up these lavish treats for twice the delight - massage on the luxurious cream then wear the moisturising socks to intensify the treatment! (Socks 92% cotton, 8% elastane)"

--Packaging--
These socks come in their own delightful little stripy plastic travel pouch, which is a really nice touch. Think they probably come wrapped in cellophane or something when new as well (it's been a while since I bought mine so memory is slightly hazy...).

--Usage--
Pretty simple really - massage into your feet whatever cream you want or need, whether medicinal or luxury, pop on the socks and let them work their magic while you walk around the house or while you sleep.

--Appearance--
I apologise for the picture I've had to use for this entry, it really is awful and cheesy. The picture in the catalogue is much better - the socks are white, and it appears that the pink design on the bottom is a recent addition. They've also apparently made another inferior change - the 'old style' socks, the ones I bought just a few months ago, have a sort of v-shape on the top of the foot, kind of like pop socks/trainer socks, which just looks a bit cooler than the ankle sock style in the picture. The socks also get dirty quite quickly. Shame.

--Texture--
The socks themselves are very soft and because of the high levels of cotton, they won't irritate your feet at all. Hoorah.

--Fabric quality--
First of all, I don't believe the one-size-fits-all claim. While I think the elastane would stretch nicely for the larger foot (up to a women's size 8 I'm guessing), these socks would probably be seriously baggy on a smaller foot. I'm a UK size 6 and these socks really sag on my heels (meaning they come off really easily during the night as well, even though they don't fall off if I'm walking around them during the day). They would probably, then, best suit women of a UK size 5-8 foot. Any smaller and they'll probably fall off, any bigger and they probably won't fit. Beyond that, their shape and size doesn't change during washing (good thing), and as already mentioned, they're kind to your feet too.

--Efficacy--
These socks really do their stuff, both medicinally and in terms of luxury. Recently I had a bit of a case of athlete's foot on one foot, while my other foot was fine. I slathered the normal foot in Body Shop Body Butter and popped on the sock, while on the other foot I did the same but with athlete's foot cream. A few hours of walking around the house later and BOTH feet were perfectly soft and smooth. I kid you not. Athlete's foot = gone. Definitely much more effective than the usual rubbing into the skin and hoping for the best.

--Value for money--
These socks are of course reusable, and despite the slight sagginess and general non-fulfilment of the one size fits all claim, they really do their stuff and restore your feet to soft tootsie heaven. Brill.

perfect partner
Foot and Elbow Cream with AHA, £4 (75ml)

Lush Ocean Salt

RRP: £5.82 (120g)/£10.72 (250g)

--What does the promo say?--
"Cleansing lime, coconut & sea salt scrub. Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside. We also love putting sea salt and seaweed in our products because of all the lovely minerals in them. Ocean Salt is like taking your face on a trip to the seaside for an invigorating splash in the water, then cleansing and refreshing it with lemon, grapefruit and lime juices, moisturising and softening it with fresh avocado and calming it with violet leaf absolute. Use it on oily skin every day and use it to refresh and remineralise dry skin once a week. (Also, it tastes pretty good if you accidentally get it on your lips.)"

--Packaging--
In typical Lush style, the pot is black, sturdy and fully recyclable. I have the small pot, and it's pretty portable, both in size and in terms of the lid being a screw-top rather than the pully-offy kind. The packaging is pretty simple and not too crowded, facilitated by the ingredients being on a small sticker on the lid rather than being on the main pot itself. The Lush logo graces the pot in white, and as usual shows off the brand in its fun, distinctive glory.

--Application--
They say to apply this just once a week, but if like me your skin is slightly on the ailing side then you might want to do it more often. Easiest way is in the shower - get your face nice and wet, scoop out a fingerful of the scrub, and rub it all over your face (of course avoiding the eye area). I personally like to leave it on my face while I cleanse as well, just to give the ingredients time to do their stuff and allow me to exfoliate even more before washing off. I would advise just applying this a little at a time - you can always add more but overdoing this would probably be abrasive, and of course leads to product wastage.

--Appearance--
The salt crystals are quite big and chunky - but surprisingly enough, they stay on the face well during exfoliation and there isn't much wastage. When you first buy the product it's quite thick and creamy-looking (well, if cream has big gritty salt crystals in it) and bright blue (presumably from the violet leaf absolute, lime, and seaweed), which is quite quirky and fun really. There is no blue residue left on the face from it, and no irritation - just the normal healthy pink glow that you would expect after using any exfoliator. After you've had the exfoliator for a while, however, the blue colour fades and gives way to a sort of dull yellow colour, and the creamy consistency sort of collapses, becoming more liquidy. Sadly, while Lush's face masks can be easily resuscitated once they're a bit old using a drop of water, there's nothing you can do to perk up the appearance of this. It still works fine, just don't expect it to look pretty.

--Scent--
Definitely the lime and the grapefruit, but you can easily catch the smell of vodka in there - it's there just enough for you to be able to smell it while using it, but not enough to make you smell like an alcoholic. Bootiful.

--Texture/how does your skin feel afterwards?--
Because the salt crystals are quite big, it might feel scrubbier/harsher than your average exfoliator. However, your skin feels wonderfully smooth afterwards, and it's worth the huge salt crystals for baby-soft smoothness, no?

--Does it do what it says it will?--
It claims to cleanse and moisturise in one, and to be honest I've never thought of it in those terms. However, thinking of it now, I suppose it does - it gets rid of excess oil, balances the skin, and as already mentioned, it really smoothens things out. My skin has improved so much when exfoliating every day with this.

--Longevity-
I rarely if ever suffer dry skin patches while using this, so the effects are definitely long-lasting and ongoing.

--Value for money--
Amazing. One pot lasts ages and it does wonders for your skin. While it goes a bit runny and becomes more tricky to use towards the end of its life, this stage only occurs MONTHS after purchase, so I'd say this product is worth the investment on every level.

perfect partners
Sweet Japanese Girl cleanser, £4.75
Ultrabland moisturiser, £8.95
Mask of Magnaminty, £6.50

Nails Inc nail varnish

RRP: £9.50 per polish; 3 polishes for £20 (save £8.50); 4 polishes for £25 (save £13); 5 polishes for £30 (save £17.50)
no. of shades available: 38

--What does the promo say?--
"Choose any of our irresistible nails inc. polishes to create our own unique colour collection that is as individual as you are! Long lasting chip resist and hard wearing polish for fashionable hands and feet who desire a high shine salon looking finish."

--Packaging--
The Nails Inc bottles are very distinctive in their design - clear, chunky bottles, shiny silver lids, cute design of cartoon hands running round the top of the bottle, and the Nails Inc logo. All of the shades are named after street names (usually in London), which is a really nice individual touch. The lids are easy to open and close, with little/no possibility of leakage, and the brushes seem to fan out easily during application.

--Application--
Prep your nails first by filing them, buffing them, soaking your hands and removing the cuticles gently using a dissolver, a scraper and a cuticle cream. Having applied and let dry a base coat, unscrew the lid of the varnish, wipe off any excess on the inside of the bottle neck, and carefully apply a coat of varnish to the nails. Add a further coat after the first coat has dried for maximum effect, before finishing with a decent top coat. Nothing unusual there.

--Texture/consistency--
Perfect - not gloopy, sticky or watery. Just went on really smoothly without running or bleeding.

--Appearance--
In the bottles and on the nails alike, the colour of the varnish is strong, deep and vibrant. It's also got a really impressive shine to it, even without a top coat, that makes it seem incredibly professional even when you're just doing your own nails at home.

--Does it do what it promises?--
Absolutely. There's definitely a high shine there and even 9 days after having my nails done, I'm only just starting to think that I should redo them. This polish easily lasts the distance, even when factoring in normal daily activities such as washing up.

--Value for money--
Excellent, particularly when you buy 3 polishes or more. You get an absolutely perfectly polish for the money and it is more than worth every penny paid. The range of shades is also fantastic and there's almost certainly one to suit everybody. It's the best nail varnish I've ever used and it's the only one to give a salon-professional finish. Nails Inc also has its own range of base and top coats, exfoliators, nail buffers and so on, so if you wanted to kit out your entire nail bar in Nails Inc stuff, I'm sure you wouldn't go far wrong.

perfect partners
Kensington Caviar 45 second Top Coat, £10
A&E Treatment Base Coat, £10
Cuticle Striptease, £8

No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes

RRP: £6.50

--What does the promo say?--
"Speedy Skincare with No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes. Be good to your skin, even when you're short of time with these gentle, fragrance-free wipes. Specially created for your busiest days, they sweep away impurities, tone your skin, remove waterproof eye make-up and moisturise, quick as a flash. With pro vitamin B5 to moisturise and soften, plus natural extracts of witch hazel and fennel to clear pores and leave your skin feeling smooth and fresh. Fragrance free and hypo-allergenic. This product is best used in conjunction with any No7 Moisturiser."

--Packaging--
A cool blue, nicely sized rectangular plastic package with a white lid made from hard plastic. The white lid bears the No7 logo and product information in black and gold, so all very simplistic and in keeping with the No7 brand. You then lift the lid and peel back the protective film to reach the face wipes. The lid seems unnecessary: I didn't find it kept the wipes any more moist than usual and I'm sure that given the extra materials used it must drive the price up, so I'm not really too impressed with that.

--Usage--
Take out one wipe from the packet, close the lid, and sweep over your face, neck and eyelids to wipe away impurities and remove makeup. This product claims to cleanse, tone, moisturise and remove makeup simultaneously, so you shouldn't need to do anything else before or after. I'd only recommend moisturising afterwards as the Boots website tells you to if you have really dry skin.

--Scent--
The scent was just really clean and clear. Reminded me of freshly laundered towels.

--How does it feel on the skin?--
The wipes are cool and refreshing and the stuff they're soaked in isn't at all harsh or abrasive.

--Does it do what it says it will?/How does your skin feel afterwards?--
It removes makeup perfectly and you really feel like your face has been cleansed, toned and moisturised. Your face feels clean and smooth and it really gets rid of excess sweat after a workout too. The only thing I didn't notice was any improvement in my skin, which was slightly surprising given the presence of witch hazel in the product.

--Value for money--
While this product was pleasant to use, it's a LOT more than I would normally spend on face wipes. You only get 25 wipes or so in the pack and that's not really very much for the money paid. One good thing this product did was introduce me to the concept of 4-in-1 wipes, and I will definitely be on the lookout for other 4-in-1 wipes that do the same thing just as well for a nicer price.

perfect partners
No7 Smooth and Soothed Gentle Cleanser, £7
No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner, £7
No7 Intelligent Balance Day Fluid, £9.25
No7 Intelligent Balance Night Fluid, £9.25

No7 Calm and Conceal Dual Ended Blemish Stick

RRP: £8.25
no. of shades available: 1

--What does the promo say?--
"No7 Calm & Conceal Dual Ended Blemish Stick soothes troubled skin with its dual-action blemish treatment. One end helps stop blemishes in their tracks, the other hides them away. As soon as you feel a blemish, roll on the clear solution. Let it dry, then add a little concealer. Hypo-allergenic and fragrance free. Best used in conjunction with any No7 foundation."

--Packaging--
I was attracted to this because it's like no other concealer I've seen before, even though I expect other brands will soon follow suit if it's successful. With concealer at one end and a clear blemish treatment at the other, it's perfect for when you're on the go. Both canisters are transparent so that you can see how much is left, and the middle part is gold, with the No7 logo and product information written on it in black. The blemish treatment end is a rollerball while the concealer comes with its own sponge applicator stick attached to the middle part of the outfit that holds the whole business together. All very nice to look at, and as I said, very different and perfect for travelling.

--Application--
Unscrew the blemish treatment side and roll the solution onto any blemishes that are troubling you. The solution is quite quick to dry (I'd say less than 2 minutes) and you can then apply the concealer on top before blending in.

--Appearance--
The blemish solution is clear and leaves no visible residue on the face. In the tube the concealer actually looks quite pale, so I thought it would be fine. So far, so fabulous. And when you've applied foundation and things on top of it, it looks fine. However, when you've just applied the concealer it all goes a bit wrong. I always think that a good concealer is one you can wear on its own as well as when part of a full face of makeup. I should have known that going for a product that's only available in one shade would be a bad idea, but in the tube it honestly looks pale enough for me. On my skin, though, it's a bit of a disaster. It looks patchy and orange and there's no way I'd consider going out wearing the concealer by itself like I would with my Clinique, L'Oreal or even my Collection 2000 concealer. As I said, once you've applied other makeup it looks fine, but you may be disappointed if you've bought this to wear on its own. Saying that, though, my skin is ridiculously pale. If you've got slightly darker skin you will possibly be fine. Perhaps wheedle a demonstration out of the Boots staff first before buying.

--Coverage--
It would be OK if the colour wasn't so wrong for me. With other makeup, as I said, it's fine.

--Longevity--
Again, fine. It holds well with other makeup and you don't find yourself reapplying it during the day.

--Effectiveness--
This one's tricky as I tend to use an anti-blemish gel anyway, so I've not noticed any difference in my skin. However, if you don't already use one I expect you'll see a difference in your blemishes.

--Value for money--
I wouldn't recommend this product, which is a shame as I normally worship No7 (this is only the second product of theirs I've been disappointed in and I'd say I've tried 10+ products from the brand). It's expensive for what it is and to only have one shade available is really poor. My advice? Buy a decent blemish gel (Clinique's is good), and a decent concealer (and there really are many out there no matter how much or little you want to spend), and use them instead.

Collection 2000 Cover Up Stick

RRP: £1.50
no. of shades available: 5

--What does the promo say?--
"A creamy formula for concealing skin blemishes and spots. Looks like a lipstick and handy for keeping in your bag. Improved skin adherence for long-lasting wear."

--Packaging--
As promised, this packaging is pretty lipstick-like. I personally would call it an 'old-style' concealer - it was certainly the first type of concealer I used (a stick) and the fashion now seems to be leaning towards these twisty pen type things. However, this style is still a popular choice for young girls, and understandably so - it's discreet, affordable, easy to use and virtually every brand will have a concealer of this type, so the choice on the market is huge. This one's pretty standard and the colour scheme means that nobody should be ashamed to have it in their skincare repertoire, whether you're 14 or 24, boy or girl. The lid is white, with the blue logo matching the base of the stick. The lid is very minimal with little information - the name of the product, what it does ("covers skin blemishes), the company logo, and the usual product life sign (12 months in this case). Simple, well-presented and put together, and no risk of mess or damage (it closes securely).

--Application--
The simplicity of this kind of concealer is intrinsic to its appeal. Pull off the lid, and apply to blemishes - either directly from the stick, by using your fingers, or by using a brush. Then blend.

--Appearance--
The colour seems accurate even on the stick itself - sometimes colours can appear darker or lighter on the stick than on the face - and when applied there's no disappointment. The colour matches the skin tone well and blends in perfectly, even if you're not wearing other Collection 2000 makeup. It also wears very well on its own - always a mark of a good concealer.

--Texture/consistency--
Creamy and really feels nice to apply. And because it's a stick, it's not runny with it either as some concealers can be. Bonus.

--Coverage--
Excellent. I have no faults to pick here.

--Longevity--
Also excellent - their claim of 'increased skin adherence' doesn't lie. And because it's a stick, the composition of the stuff is thicker than a liquid concealer, so it's already more heavy-duty to begin with.

--Value for money--
Let's face it, I've yet to see anyone argue with a price of £1.50. This is probably *the* best cheap concealer on the market. It has no adverse effects on the skin and really delivers what it promises. My only misgiving would be the lack of shades available overall, even though mine suits me well, but this is common among cheaper brands and is the only reason you might need to upgrade from this thoroughly excellent product.

perfect partners
Collection 2000 Sheer Makeup Foundation, £1.99
Collection 2000 Gloss Pot, £1.25
Collection 2000 Black Waterproof Mascara, £1.99