I’ve taken a punt on my fave magazine beauty freebies this month. Glamour and Elle were the only two magazines with December issues on the racks at my local WH Smith on Tues, and it was a similar story at Sainsbury’s - it was the third day of the month too, so I really was expecting a wider selection!
Still, the giveaways on offer with the two aforementioned glossies more than made up for the lack of choice and were the ones that I’d have picked up anyway.
So, Glamour has a Clinique freebie this month. There are four products to choose from – a mascara, a moisturiser and two lipsticks (one cherry and the other nude). Elle, meanwhile, has bundled Benefit’s new They’re Real Eyelash Primer.
And it’s another ‘World Exclusive’ from Elle – here in the UK we’re getting Benefit’s new tinted lash primer ‘a whole nine weeks before the rest of the world’ – woop woop!
Weighing it up, Glamour is the better buy – more choice, lippies to grab (always popular) and the magazine itself is only £2, compared to Elle’s £4.10 cover price (though we don’t buy the magazines just for the freebies now, do we girls?!). Also, if you’re a fan of Tanya Burr, she’s this month’s cover star.
I reckon my top pick is an uncontroversial one - the Clinique lipsticks were all gone in Smith’s and I had the last Nude in Sainsbury’s (heavens, you do have to grab these things quickly!). Do bear in mind also that all these freebies are sample sizes – not full retail versions.
Clinique Pop Lip Colour and Primer in Nude Pop
Go-to-work wearing red lippie was my mantra in my 20s but I’ve toned down my lip colour as I’ve got older - a subconscious move for sure as it only dawned on me a few years back that I didn’t possess a single red lippie in my makeup stash – something I’ve since rectified, thankfully!
Nude Pop is a nude but it’s certainly pinker than the colour-guide on the tube would suggest. I actually prefer it for that as it’s closer to my own natural lip colour. It’s got a gorgeously delicate shimmer to it that gives smackers a subtle glamour. The texture is creamy and the formula hydrating. I’m rather fond!
They’re Real Eyelash Primer – Mink Brown Tinted
They’re Real Mascara remains my ultimate mascara. It thickens my lashes superbly (and then some) and adds length. So, I had high hopes for this primer.
According to Benefit, this primer lengthens, separates and boosts to the point that any mascara worn over the top will look almost fake, ie, uber dramatic. It can also be worn alone on a makeup down day for a more natural yet still defined lash look.
First things first: it's mink colour. I have jet black lashes. I therefore couldn't see this working for me without the addition of black mascara. Wrong! Used alone this truly does lengthen my lashes (they must be lighter in colour at the tips - not that I have ever noticed!). It also does thicken and separate them. Marvellous.
With mascara applied too, lashes do indeed look even more dramatic, as they would if applying two coats of mascara rather than one. I can't say the look rivals falsies or fibre lashes, but it certainly is naturally striking!
What magazine beauty freebies have you picked up this month?
