EMPTIES #1 || alexander gang

After years of deliberating whether or not we should start a blog we finally brought 'alexander gang' into existence. A blog run by two sisters from central Britain, Jessica and Emily (yes, our parents were lazy and chose the two most common names at the time!)- expect to see posts on fashion, beauty and lifestyle. We have almost opposite styles and hope we can reach a wide audience. As not to bore you with a back story, here's our first post EMPTIES #1:

Lush 'Grease Lightning' Spot Treatment £6.25

This product, we found, does exactly as it suggests. It feels invigorating on the skin, however, being 'freshly-made' the product worked at first but after a while seemed to loose its effectiveness to a degree. We found that within the month after purchase it worked for both of us really well- blemishes were visibly smaller and less red when using the product over night. At £6.25 the product is of high quality for minimal expense.

Jess: Considering I have fairly sensitive skin it has never caused any irritation and I have been able to use it on all areas of my face (dry skin and oily patches).

Benefit They're Real! Mascara £19.50

This is definitely a favourite of both of ours! Each of us have repurchased the product recently. It adds considerable length to the lashes and makes them look much fuller. The product appears to give a false lash effect from our experience.

Emily: Though this is the best mascara I have used it does have some cons. I have noticed the formula dries up quite quickly (though this may partly be due to my lack of strength meaning the lid is not always tightly sealed!) Also after a month or so of using the mascara there was a small amount of fall out from the lashes during the day. 

OGX Renewing Argan Oil Of Morocco Penetrating Oil £6.99

To date this has probably been for both of us the best product we have found for our hair. We both have our fair share of hair troubles and this serves to aid each of us differently! 

Jess: My hair is quite fine and I have found this product has helped to make it appear and feel a lot thicker as well as making it feel softer and shinier, but without it being too 'slippy' to style.

Emily: Over recent years I have dyed and highlighted my hair too many times to count which, as you would expect, has caused my hair to be extremely dry. But not anymore! This oil has miraculously revived my hair and although admittedly it may not be perfectly soft and shiny, it is in a much better condition than it was just a couple of months ago before I purchased the product. I would 100% recommend this oil for anyone who has experienced similar hair problems to me! Also for each use you only need a small amount of the oil to cover the mid-lengths and tips of the hair so this has lasted us a long time.

The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask £12

Emily: This mask suited my combination/oily skin and I would recommend it for people with this skin type. After using the mask I noticed my skin was a lot less oily in my t-zone throughout the course of the day. It left my skin feeling soft and supple. It draws out impurities fast (even after one use) and I generally had much clearer skin over the period of time I used this product. I wouldn't recommend you use this mask every day, once or twice a week would be sufficient. 

Jess: For me this product was a no go! On first application my skin immediately started to sting and when I removed the mask my face was left feeling taut and looking blotchy. As I have sensitive and dry/combination skin I would urge people with a similar skin type to avoid it.

'Womanity' by Thierry Mugler- Eau De Parfum 50ml £49.50

Jess: This is what I would describe as the perfect, unique, evening scent. It's sweet without being girly making it very seductive. The woody undertones give it a sense of sophistication and depth. It has a strong smell and lasts on the body all day. By far my favourite perfume. 

Nars Laguna Bronzer £26

Emily: This bronzer is highly pigmented, which can be seen as both a pro and a con of the product. It means a little goes a long way, but too much can make the product look quite strong on the face and slightly cakey. This is a bronzer I have continually repurchased as I am yet to find a product better mainly because of the colour as there is no orange pigment or any 'muddy brown' tones. The formula is quite matte meaning it is great for contouring and adding dimension back into the face. It is fairly expensive but I have found it lasts a long time. My only other issue with this bronzer is that nearing the end of the day the product can appear slightly patchy, although not to an extent that would put me off! 

Rimmel London 'Wake Me Up' Foundation (True Ivory) £8.99

Both of us have purchased and loved this foundation! It is a great drugstore buy and of high quality for its low price. It gives the skin a visible boost and is a perfect, light base for young women (with young skin) such as ourselves. It adds radiance and gives an anti-fatigue effect as it suggests on the packaging. It lasts throughout the entire day with little powdering and suits both of our skin types. It also has SPF 15. The only issues with this product would be the slightly orange pigmentation and the lack of shade choices, meaning we think it may be difficult for people with very pale or dark skin to find a suitable colour match. Overall though there is little that we can fault with this product and both of us will be repurchasing!

Maybelline Instant Anti-age 'The Eraser Eye' Perfect & Cover Concealer (Light) £7.99

Emily: Again this is a lovely (and cheap) drugstore product. The yellow pigment means that any signs of dark under eye circles are instantly hidden and 'erased'. Only a small amount of product is needed as this is a very high coverage concealer, though still manages not to be heavy on the delicate under eye area. I swear by this product, my only concerns being that after a few hours the concealer does tend to crease slightly but generally last the majority of the day. I also think this is good for covering blemishes making it a great all-rounder!

Bare Minerals 'Buxom Lips' Lipgloss £18

Jess: This was a product gifted to me by Bare Minerals after doing some work for them. I have found this lip gloss to be fairly average. It did plump my lips a fair amount (though my family do have rather full lips anyway!) and it smells lovely. There are issues with this lip gloss that I feel outweigh the positives as I have found the formula to be extremely sticky and not at all long-lasting. The applicator is also quite poor and the product itself is quite 'sparkly' which is not something I personally liked. Though I am a huge fan of other Bare Minerals products, this is not a lip gloss I would consider purchasing for myself. 

Diorskin Nude Skin-glowing Foundation £32

Emily: I love this foundation! Though I generally like testing out a variety of bases meaning I have no permanent favourite, I would consider this to be one of my 'holy grail' products. If my current foundation doesn't seem to be working for my skin I always find myself purchasing this again. The foundation comes in a great range of colours and I have found that this shade works very well for my fairly pale skin tone. The coverage is medium and buildable and feels quite light on the skin. I would say the product gives a satin finish and evens out the skin very well and covers all redness. It also has SPF 15. The only negative for this product in my opinion would be that I have to use quite a lot to cover my whole face and because this foundation is quite expensive this may become an issue. 

That's it for our first blog post, we hope to come back with more soon! Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback below. 

Jess and Em || alexander gang 

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