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I have been genuinely surprised by how good the Nude By Nature products I've used have been and this cleanser is no exception. For a brand found in most chemists that is toxin free, made in Australia, and affordable, they certainly know how to make products that work. I actually feel like I've found my new favourite cleanser. It comes in a simple white pump bottle, and I love the fact that it dispenses just the right amount of cleanser. No fussing around with too little, or wondering what to do when too much comes out. The product is a clear gel with a subtle but gorgeous scent. Reminds me of the Australian bush, which of course comes from the main ingredients - kakadu plum, lingonberry and lilly pilly. These days I do wear pretty minimal and natural makeup, which I found that with my usual oil cleanse plus this cleanser (I'd usually use another foaming cleanser) removed all traces in the evening and left my skin feeling fresh, and not at all stripped. I've also used this in the morning as I like to wake my face and myself up with a cleanse and cool massage. My skin is sensitive, oily, blemish prone, and showing signs of ageing and I'm so happy that I had no adverse reactions to this cleaser. No redness, no breakouts. Thank you to BeautyHeaven and Nude By Nature for giving me the chance to trial this cleanser.

Just as I was running out of my last foundation BeautyHeaven offered me the chance to trial the M.A.C Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15. I'd only heard great thing about M.A.C foundations from friends so I was quite excited at the opportunity. Using the virtual tool to find my shade match was fun and interesting, but really left me wondering how accurate the selector could actually be. I tried it in a few times in different lighting and eventually settled on the shade that I was matched with most often, N5. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the result. While I might have chosen a lighter shade if I was in-store, this particular shade gives me a very natural colour that blends perfectly with my skin tone. So if you can't get in-store to colour match your foundation, have faith that the virtual tool is good! The formula of the foundation is lightweight and quite liquid. It spreads easily and has great coverage and builds up easily from light to heavier, without actually feeling heavy. I have a spot on my cheek that disappeared under this foundation and overall I found I needed much less concealer than I would normally go for. For general daywear I prefer light foundation and so this was perfect, but I also perform on stage as a dancer so I tested it out under strong stage lights and it held up beautifully. It also lasts, not only all day but also into the evening. And on stage, when I am moving and sweating a lot, it stayed put. No shine on my naturally oily skin and no touch ups needed. I prefer to apply foundation with my fingertips but this one also works really well with a makeup sponge or foundation brush. I do wish it came with a pump dispenser though, as it's a bit of a hassle to get it out of the bottle and I can see at some point that when I turn it up to get foundation out I'm going to end up with more than I need, which is messy and wasteful. My only other complaint is that I wish it came without SPF as I prefer to wear a sunscreen and foundation, and sometimes I don't want my foundation to have sunscreen, like at night when I'm not in the sun. Overall I really love this foundation, I recommend it and I'll definitely be repurchasing it.

I’ve never used a loose finishing powder, so when Beauty Heaven offered me the chance to trial this one I was keen to see if it would be life changing. Or even just a drastic improvement on foundation on it’s own. I have quite oily skin so the promise from Nude By Nature that it would help control oil and shine was alluring. Unfortunately for me I didn’t notice any difference between using it and not, in terms of shine. To start with I certainly noticed a matte finish, but after a few hours my usual oily shine was back. I am not one to reapply during the day so I have to be content with what it will offer with one application. What I did notice was that my foundation lasted longer. So even though there was still my usual shine, it definitely helps makeup stay put for longer. I also felt like my skin looked smoother and more luminous. I found the packaging to be luxurious, with the clear jar making it easy to see how much powder is in there. The method of getting powder onto the brush by pushing it on the mesh sifter is great, though still a little messy when I end up with too much powder on my brush. I will continue to use this powder as a makeup setter, but long term I think I’ll look for a pressed powder.

From the handle to the tip of the brush bristles, everything about this brush is luxurious in a natural, understated way. From the look of it - brownish grey handle tip with metallic brown as the main part of the handle - it really isn't something I would normally buy. But having been given the chance to trial it, thanks to Beauty Heaven and Nude By Nature, I've fallen in love with it and really like the look of it in my brush collection. It doesn't just look good, it feels great on my skin when applying powder. The bristles are ultra soft and domed shaped. I've found this shape great for picking up powder and evenly applying it to my face, weather I want a barely there look or a heavier finish. I've washed this brush a few times and the condition is still as if it's brand new. I'm thinking it will last quite a long time, making it well worth the cost. I also love the fact that this brush is vegan. I'm definitely recommending this to my friends.

I struggle to find good vegan makeup brushes that are affordable and feel nice and soft on my skin while applying products. This brush ticks all the boxes. It looks luxurious and really does feel and work as good as it looks. I like the short length of whole brush, with the wide matte handle being easy to hold, and the bristles are soft but densely packed. I've been using this brush to apply the Nude By Nature mineral foundation and I feel like they are a match made in heaven. The bristles easily pick up the powder and evenly distribute it over my skin. I’ve tried applying product using small circular motions and a dabbing technique and both methods work great with this brush. I love this brush so much that I’m now looking to purchase a brush set from Nude By Nature so I definitely recommend you try them out!

I am slowly transitioning to more natural skincare and makeup so was quite excited to be given the opportunity to trial this product from Nude By Nature. I’ve heard great things about the brand online, so would it live up to my expectations? Firstly, I’ve never used a loose powder foundation so that took some getting used to. I overloaded my brush on the first application and ended up wearing half of the foundation down my shirt. Less on the brush is definitely the way to go, which in turn makes it much easier to build the coverage up. I really like the dispenser packaging. The mesh layer means that I’m not going to end up with an entire brush covered in foundation, or spill it everywhere from the tub. After playing around with a few different methods I found that I got the perfect amount of product on my brush by tipping the container upside-down (with the lid still on of course!) and then getting the powder on my brush from the lid, rather than the actual container. When I was after more coverage I’d get the powder from the mesh dispenser, and then tap the excess into the lid. The accompanying brush I received is perfect for applying the foundation too. I do like that that this foundation is buildable, but I don’t think it has the greatest coverage, even when built up. For every day I prefer light foundation so it’s perfect for that, but I found it lacking when I was after more coverage for special occasions. It seems better for a natural look. In terms of colour, I received light/medium. This colour is too dark for my preference. It seems to have really peachy undertones too, which is not ideal for me. It doesn’t look bad, it’s just not the shade I’d normally go for. Perhaps in summer the shade would be better, but for winter I prefer a lighter foundation. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be wearing this foundation in summer though. I have really oily skin and this product did nothing to mattify it, even with the translucent powder over the top. Overall I was surprised with how much I like this foundation, despite the fact that I still get a shiny face, and that the colour wasn’t quite right. I’m keen to try another shade and experiment with a different primer to hopefully mattify my skin, or perhaps another foundation from Nude By Nature that is better suited to my skin.

I am always on the hunt for a good moisturiser that contains sunscreen. I really struggle to find one that doesn’t leave me greasy, shiny, irritated, or with break outs. I have sensitive skin with an oily T-zone, with occasional dry patches and a few fine lines. So I was keen to try this offering from Nivea, thanks to BeautyHeaven. The day cream is packaged in a white jar with blue and yellow writing, easily recognisable for the brand. I am not a fan of jar packaging and will rarely buy something if it comes in a jar. I prefer droppers or pumps to dispense my products, not hands in tubs. The cream itself is white and lightly fragranced. I haven’t used Nivea products for a long time so I’m not sure if this is a signature Nivea scent. It smells slightly floral, subtle, not overpowering, but for anyone who is irritated by fragrances this may be one to stay away from. The consistency is quite thick and I found I only need a little amount to cover my face and even then it took more than a few minutes to soak into my skin. The small amount I was using had me wondering if I was even using enough to get the full SPF30, but attempts to use more left me with a greasy face that eventually became quite shiny. As a makeup base I do not recommend it. Even with primer I wasn’t happy with how my foundation was sitting. I persisted with different application techniques and primers for about a week before I gave up. I also found that without a decent amount of finishing powder I would have quite a bit of shine to my T-zone by mid-morning, and even with finishing powder I’d be needing to top up but mid-afternoon. So I relegated this product to use on days when I wasn’t going to be wearing foundation, which are only 2 or 3 days a week. For that reason I don’t feel that I can comment on its skin firming abilities, nor its reduction of fine lines and wrinkles. This is a shame because I would love an anti-aging sunscreen that actually suits my skin. I have found it to provide a good level of moisture to my skin, but I think continual daily use would be too much. RESPONSE FROM NIVEA: Dear Alishes, thank you for your honest feedback! We’re sorry to hear about the experience you have had. It does sound like unfortunately this product wasn’t quite right for your skin type. As an alternative I would recommend trying our NIVEA Q10 Power Anti-Wrinkle + Pore Minimising Pore Refining Day Cream SPF15. This product is great for combination skin while including Creatine to effectively work against wrinkles. We are again sorry this product wasn’t the right one for you. Thanks again for your feedback, we appreciate your comments. The NIVEA Team

Using this product is like conducting my own science experiment, albeit a simple one. This is because before using the product for the first time you have to press down on the yellow button on the top to release the Idebenone, an antioxidant which is the cause of the yellow colour of the serum. The sleek silver packaging contains 4 bottles, as this product ups the level of hydroxy acids each week, for 4 weeks of the treatment. The dropper provided makes application easy to measure out. I applied one drop each evening to my face, and one to my neck and decollatage. During week one I didn’t notice a lot of change to my skin, but at this stage I wasn’t expecting it. Although I did get comments from others towards the end of the week that my skin looked very healthy and glowing. I had to laugh at this because at the time I was sick and sleep deprived, so maybe the serum was working and I didn’t realise. Week 2 was where I noticed the greatest change. I have had clogged pores on my upper chest for years, so the skin feels rough and bumpy. Halfway through week 2 I noticed that the skin there felt smooth and soft and it was such a great feeling. Unfortunately there was still some redness to the area, but I was hopeful that might even disappear. Going into week 3 I had high expectations after the previous week. What would happen next? Well redness and irritation is what happened, especially on my face about halfway through the week. I was applying the product in the evening only, as instructed, but I found that in the morning my skin was redder than normal, and for longer, and when I applied my daytime serum there were parts of my face that stung. The only thing I can attribute this to is the increasing strength of the ingredients in the serum. This continued into week 4 but after about 3 days my skin seemed to settle and the irritation went away and so did the redness. My skin definitely looks brighter and clearer. There are still a few dark spots that haven’t vanished, but they don’t appear as prominent as they did 4 weeks ago. I have fine wrinkles and I haven’t noticed a change to them. One downside that I feel needs to be mentioned to this product is the fact that at the end of each week I still had half a bottle left. Elizabeth Arden recommends repeating this treatment every 3 months, but no mention of if it is safe to use the remaining product in 3 months time. Given the price of this treatment I find it disappointing that there is potentially unusable product left at the end. I’m really hoping to hear from the company that I can use the remainder in a few months. Overall I’m really happy with the results of this product but I’m not sure that I’d repurchase it, simply because of the price. It is definitely a luxury, high end product that delivers results and I think if I could afford it I would continue with it.

This is a handy little package of foundation on the go, because it comes with its own built in sponge applicator. I think this is such as great idea for travelling or throwing in your handbag if you need touch ups during the day. And that’s about the limit of the good things I have to say about this foundation. I love Maybelline – they do amazing mascaras and I regularly purchase their Dream Cushion Foundation. But this product did not do it for me. I received the shades Porcelain and Classic Ivory to trial, thanks to BeautyHeaven. I could immediately tell that Classic Ivory would be too dark and orange for me. The idea of receiving two shades was that I could use the darker one for contouring, or blend the two for my perfect shade match (which is a great idea if you are in between shades!) Being a good match for Porcelain, I only briefly experimented with the darker shade for contouring. I like the idea but even with extra blending I found that it didn’t sit well, like I was wearing too much foundation. Even when I really scaled back the amount I use of both shades. Even just a small amount of the product, lightly dabbed on to my face, and blended, with the provided applicator, my own brush or beauty blender, or my fingers, showed up all the dry flaky skin that I didn’t know I have on my face. I have oily combination skin, so dryness or flaky skin is not something I’m used to dealing with. I found using a combination of argan oil and primer helped, but it didn’t remove the issue completely. I had to forgo my usual moisturiser during this trial as that made things worse for some reason. The coverage is great, I didn't need to use concealer, but the formula just isn't right for m skin type. I also found that if I didn’t blend really, really well, it would become obvious by about mid-morning. Setting the foundation with a powder helped, but again, didn’t fix the problem. Honestly, I’m glad this trial is over so I can go back to my tried and true foundation. I’ve tried stick foundations in the past with similar results so this trial has cemented the fact that for me they do not work. Brand response: We are very sorry to hear about your experience with your L’Oreal Paris product and that it is not suitable for your skin type. We would love the opportunity to talk to you directly about this so we welcome you to contact our product experts for any further information or advice we can offer you including ingredients related queries. You can contact them on 1300 659 359 at your convenience. Thanks

This eyeshadow and highlighter palette is my new favourite thing. All my other shadows have been untouched since receiving this to trial thanks to BeautyHeaven and Maybelline. At first I was a bit underwhelmed. There didn’t look to be a lot of variety in the earthy colours in the range, and I was outright scared of the yellow-gold highlight. But I was given it to trial so trial it I would. And it was love at first swatch. The colours proved to have a lot more depth and versatility than I first thought. At first I followed the suggested colour applications for look one and two. I was impressed with the colour payoff and the longevity. It looked as fresh at the end of the day as it did at the start and there was no creasing of the shadows on my lids, even without primer! I even found myself impressed with the effect of the yellow-gold highlight. I thought it would look like I’d actually used yellow blush but instead I had a soft golden glow. Before long I was mixing it up with the eyeshadow colours to create different looks, from subtle and natural to bold and glamourous. I even used both highlighters together as they blend beautifully. This palette is also great for taking a daytime look into night. This is the first palette I’ve used in a long time where I know that I will be hitting the pan. I actually have no reason to use anything else right now.