Expert trial team: 4 flashy beauty buys

When it comes to choosing beauty products, we’d be lying if we said we didn’t value the prettiness of the packaging almost as much as the product itself. Yes, I know, some of the most brilliant make-up, skin care, hair and body products come in butt-ugly bottles – but at the end of the day, it’s definitely a bonus if it looks great in your beauty cabinet!

If you love luxe-looking packaging as much as us, you’ll adore the products our Expert Trial Team got to play with this week. There’s a healthy hair pack that’ll give you a soft and silky mane, a super luxe serum to help stall the ageing process, an innovative mascara wand and a nutrient-rich nail polish.

Here’s what our triallers had to say about the products…

Carelli Three-step system

bh’s Sam says:

“I’ve gone from having brown hair, to blonde hair, to purple hair and then back to brown within the space of three months, so to say my hair was in need of some love and care is an understatement. I was really excited to try the Carelli hair system, in particular the recovery oil.
“I decided my hair needed the “deluxe treatment” so applied the oil all over my hair and slept in it before washing it out in the morning. It spread really nicely through my hair and felt soothing on my scalp. It wasn’t overly greasy, but I wore a shower cap to bed just in case.
“In the morning I washed out the oil with the Elixir Shampoo. The shampoo foamed easily and removed all the oil, leaving my hair feeling clean and fresh. I didn’t particularly enjoy the smell, but it wasn’t off-putting either. Next I applied the gloss treatment, which is similar to a conditioner but the packaging says you only need to use a little bit as it’s highly concentrated. I usually use A LOT of conditioner so I was sceptical, but pleased to see that a small amount did do a good job of softening my hair and making it silky.
“Once my hair was dry, I could definitely see an improvement in shine. It also felt a lot more hydrated, which I was pleased with, considering how dry it had become from all the dyeing. I was also incredibly happy that the oil and shampoo hadn’t removed any of my colour, considering the effort it took to make it brown again. Overall, I’m happy to keep using the product and hope to see even more results as time goes on.”

Lancôme Visionnaire [LR 2412 4%] Advanced Skin Corrector

bh’s Michelle says:

“When Visionnaire first launched, it took about six seconds for me to become a fan. Great texture and smell and, of course, the result of using this skin-correcting serum was evident in my brighter and smoother complexion. A couple of years later and I’m concerned about the texture of my skin, so I decided to try out Visionnaire’s next generation formula of the facial serum.
“While it contains the same active ingredient as the original – LR2412 – this time round it’s more potent and comparable to other, more aggressive anti-ageing ingredients but is gentler on the skin. After a few weeks of use, Visionnaire has won me over again. My face feels softer and more hydrated and I’m finding that my skin tone is starting to even out.”

Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara

bh’s Beth says:

“With its rose-adorned, ombre-handled packaging, this is by far one of the most glamorous looking mascaras I’ve ever encountered. It’s wand has a unique, swan-neck shape, which makes it a little daunting to use at first (and also a bit tricky to pull out of the bottle), however once I got the hang of it the unusual brush angle really helped to coat those difficult-to-reach lashes in the corners of my eyes.
“The thing I value most in a mascara is that it gives definition and this one certainly delivered, separating every lash. In terms of wear, it stayed put all day, but when I eventually went to remove it, it came off very easily. I’d definitely purchase this mascara.”

L’Oréal La Manicure Diamond Force Nail Polish

bh’s Carli says:

“My nails have been pretty bad lately – just weak and flaky and I can’t grow them very much. I’ve been using the new Diamond Force for a few days now and I can already feel a difference. When I push my thumbnail against the tip of my forefinger, it isn’t bending weakly. Instead it feels pretty strong. Hooray!
“It sounds pretty silly, but I also really like that that the green bottle is a bit more exciting than other simple nail care bottle packaging. What can I say? I like a product that looks pretty and does a good job.”

Which of our flashy beauty buys would you most like to try and why?