I am imagining some of my friends snorting with laughter when they see the title of this post. I’m not widely known for being a connoisseur of cosmetics.
But when I had my makeup done by a very lovely lady at the MAD Blog awards I was stunned by what a good job she did. Bad experiences in the past meant that I had envisaged leaving the room looking totally overdone, and having to rush away to scrub it all off with wipes and start again myself. But the results were actually lovely and very natural. Me – but better.
Arbonne Cosmetics – who provided all the products at the MADS – have offered me a few goodies to try at home. So here goes…
I have been feeling a bit grotty this week. All bunged up with the cold, red-nosed, blotchy faced and sneezing. Usually when that’s the case I’ll stick on a beanie hat and my scruffiest pyjamas, and hide under the blankets until it has passed.
This week I’ve not been able to do that. When you have a three year old, life goes on and the nursery run still has to be done, so I’ve decided to try a different tactic. Instead of dressing down to reflect how crap I feel, I’ve been dressing up to see if it helps me feel better. Part of that has been taking the time to do my face every morning.
I’ve had three products to try. Eye stuff, lip stuff and face stuff.
(Don’t worry, lovely Arbonne PR, I will get more technical in a minute!)
So firstly. A confession. Liquid eyeliner genuinely puts the fear of God in me. I worry that I will look like DorkySon has been let loose on me with one of his felt pens. I worry that I will draw on my contact lens. I worry that I will stab myself and have a tiny full-stop tattoo on my eyeball forever.
But it seems that I was worrying about nothing. The liquid eye liner I was sent by Arbonne is LOVELY! And easy to use too! Even without my glasses on or contacts in, I managed to do a lovely swooshy line on my lower lid with no hassle at all. I was chuffed that they had sent me brown instead of black, because it’s a bit more gentle and forgiving in contrast with my pale skin. I know it’s been Halloween this week, but I don’t want to rock the spooky look all year round.
I am pleased (and a bit shocked) to say that the Arbonne liquid eyeliner is a definite WIN. I will definitely be using it again and not regifting it as I had imagined.
Secondly. I don’t use a lot of lip products because I have a skinny wee mouth, and I feel like using colour on them only accentuates that. But when I was at the MADS I was persuaded to try something quite light, and I really liked it. Arbonne sent me their Lip Polish in Pearl, and again it is lovely. You know how most lippy things make that horrible slurpy, sticky noise when you smack your lips together? This doesn’t do that at all. It’s very light, easy to apply, and added a nice subtle splash of colour to my otherwise pale face.
My lippy (or *lustre pour les lèvres* as those sexy French ladies would say, and really that sounds a lot better) is another WIN!
Finally. Arbonne Primer. Don’t laugh, but I had never even heard of this – I thought primer was something you slapped on the walls, not your face – but this is magic stuff. It evens your skin out as a base before you add anything else. This was a freebie in my MADS goodie bag and it is brilliant. It feels even lighter than a lot of moisturisers do, and doesn’t feel like it’s clogging up all your pores. I love how smooth it makes my face feel, and I have used it almost every day since I got it.
A third WIN – hurrah!
So did my experiment work? Did my lush Arbonne goodies help me quit whining about the lady flu? Well yes, actually.
Primed, lined and polished I felt a lot more able to face the world. I held my own in the Waitrose queue with the yummy mummies of Harpenden.
Last night, when he came home from work, DorkyDad eyed me with suspicion.
“How come when I feel ill I look like crap, and when you feel ill you look so good?” he asked.
Ah-ha. That, my friends, is the biggest WIN of all.
***
Disclosure, Arbonne provided me with a lip polish and liquid eyeliner for the purposes of this review. The Arbonne primer was in my goody bag from the MAD Blog awards. I haven’t received any other payment for writing this review, and all opinions are my own.
Dorkymum | Stories from Tasmania 
Great post…I love your comment about the Waitrose queue too. I’m not a mummy though I do live in Harpenden, and always feel decidedly unpolished when I’m in there! I need to get some Arbonne!
Thank you! The Waitrose queue is probably worthy of a post all to itself… Unfortunately when the Arbonne runs out I will revert back to my old slummy mummy ways! xx
I look forward to reading that post…. Meanwhile if you see a disheveled, and normally muddy at this time of year, woman in the queue, say hello!
Oh I will! I’ll be the one getting disapproving looks for stuffing chocolate buttons into the 3 year old to keep him quiet…
Let me know if you fancy a coffee with a fellow normal sometime 😉
well, you’ve sold it to me! I must consult with Ms Marshall, she is the expert on ‘products’! I avoid liquid eye liner like the plague… our current VPSA has a great liner look going though! Hope you are all fine, xx
Hurrah! They have a good reputation for using nice natural ingredients too, so go for it! All well here thanks, hope the same with you! Xx
The primer is a winner for me too! Can’t get enough of the stuff since I discovered it in my goody bag x
Lovely isn’t it?! Xx
I love your positive approach – dress up when you feel rubbish! I am a complete luddite when it comes to make up – all I ever tend to wear is mascara and a bit of lippy!
That’s more than I usually manage! Nice to make a wee bit of effort occasionally though – think I’ll have to watch some YouTube vids about how to do it better!
There’s a primer in the goodie bag?? I need to look!! I did love the make up on the day, it felt really lovely. I’m reviewing similar products and they feel really nice too. My make up knowledge is quite minimal so it “feeling nice” is quite important!
I looked through the goody bag in the hotel room & only brought home a couple of things, so I’m glad I kept that! It’s amazing the difference it makes using nice stuff isn’t it – I remember the cheap gloop I used to use as a teenager. Bleurgh!
I’m absolutely rubbish with make up. Powder, way too much blusher and a lick of mascara is all I can manage. Petrified of make up counter ladies although I am fond of shiny packaging. Really could do with more tips. So will you start posting make up tutorials now? 😉
Hahahahaha! No! No tutorials here!
I’m scared of make up counter ladies too. I think that’s why I was happy to try this – all the makeup artists at the MADS were so friendly and normal, and had lovely looking faces themselves instead of the tangoed look.
I love the primer too it has to be said! Glad that you liked the products and more importantly that dorkydad did too 😉
Yes indeedy! I am all about the happy hubby! Xx
We feel better when we look better – it can be quite cheering to stick on a bit of lippy. Glad you liked the stuff and hubby did too. And I’ve noticed how people treat you differently when you’re a bit better made up – even when you’re looking like you’re not!
Oh they really do, don’t they. We’re all so shallow! But you’re right, just gives you that extra little bit of oomph xx
Isn’t it funny how when we do something to feel better on the outside, it can make us feel better on the inside? Great blog, and I totally agree with you, I liked the Arbonne products so much I started a Arbonne business, and just love it!
Yay! Thanks for stopping by x
I’m a recently “installed” consultant for Arbonne and love your blog..please when you run out of your goodies, let me know! I lived in Harpenden and too relate to the Waitrose queue analogy! I’m still close to Harpenden and have some more lovely samples for you to try and enjoy!
Hello! Thanks for commenting, good to know I’ve got a local supply!