Each year despite receiving an abundance of toiletries and makeup I get sucked into the Boxing Day sales – but who could really blame me? This year, one of my top sale purchases was from Claudia Winkleman’s new Full Panda range in Boots .
Full disclosure, I’m obsessed with Claudia – that hair! One of my favourite ‘In the Bathroom With’ videos of Sali Hughes’ is with her. She’s witty, hilarious and bloody gorgeous! So I knew I had to try it out.
The first set I picked up - If You Must - was originally £18, but with the launch of the sale I got it for just £9 – a steal!
It contains;
‘This Is Addictive’ body wash mousse
Scrub Stick
Make Up Off Stick
& Kissing Balm
The striking thing for me is how much the whole product feels like Claudia; I’d be unnerved if her range had come packaged in anything but black and I wasn’t disappointed.
Neatly bundled in the beautiful bamboo-print (panda, get it?) wash bag wrapped in black tissue paper, the range immediately gave me serious Nars vibes.
The, matte black packaging actually feels quite sophisticated and isn’t something you’d be hiding at the back of your bathroom cabinet.
Known for her fake tan and iconic eyeliner, this is reflected through the product design, with the mousse bottle looking just like a fake tan bottle.
I’m pretty impressed visually with the range, as I tend to avoid celebrity ranges however I’m glad I seized the chance to give this a whirl.
Having used both facial sticks, the exfoliating one is definitely my favourite. It’s super easy to just run across your cheeks and forehead – or wherever you need it really – and then clean off with a facecloth. Ideal for lazy girls.
This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the Make Up Off stick, but I found the scent to be a little artificial and having worn pretty heavy makeup I had to go over my face a couple of times.
I did love the range at first scent, even just unwrapping the package gave off a lovely watermelon fragrance – so I did have to open everything for a good sniff! Quite a lot of facial products I find have quite a strong chemical smell to them and I worry this falls into the same trap – although this does still have a pleasant element to it!
With both sticks being just 30g, they are ideal for travelling and they make be an option for when I go to Verona next week to give them a proper try!
Overall, the skincare elements are so-so, they just about do the job but not much else.
The next set I tested was The Must Have Kit ;
Life Enhancing Primer
Bronzer
Stick Of Magic Multi-purpose Highlighter
Eyeliner & Blender with Sharpener
Mascara
Firstly I wanted to give the eyeliner a try, Claudia is known for her liner and honestly I envy her ability to pull it off. My previous attempts have left me looking a bit too much like my 15-year-old self during my emo phase.
To say I was disappointed in the eyeliner is an understatement. Given how iconic her style is and the 'panda' references right through the range, I'd hoped they'll pull this one out the bag. The liner is a gel-like pencil and granted it does blend well with the buffer on the other side of the pencil, however it is a glittery grey which I 100% did not expect. This in itself isn't a bad thing, however I was in need of a new black pencil liner for when my usual pen may be a bit OTT, so this wasn't going to be a 10/10 for me anyway. Unfortunately the quality of the liner is so poor it wouldn't have mattered.
I first applied a heavy layer all along my lash line and really went to town with it before gently blending it - only to find that the product disappeared away to almost nothing, leaving me with just a pale shimmer. Not quite panda.
This didn't set me in good stead for the rest of the products.
Fortunately the next product was a bit more successful. The mascara was actually pretty good, and a nice thick consistency.
Clumpy, thick and with a nice full bodied brush - this is more like it!
One of my few redeeming features is my eyelashes, so I like mascaras that make them really stand out, and don't shy away from ones that get a bit chunky and thick looking.
Feeling a bit buoyed, I next moved on to the primer. Again, this was so-so. In total fairness, I have very dry skin so it would need to be specifically for dry skin with something like hyaluronic acid in it for it to work any magic on me, so i'll give this a pass.
The highlighter up next, this may be my favourite of the cosmetics. A twist-up stick, the product itself reminds me of a Smashbox one I used years ago, The stick gliders on smoothly and thick while still being fully blendable and retaining that shine we all love to see in a highlighter.
The shimmery gold looks like quite a flattering tone, sometimes highlighters can be a bit OTT - but as far as I can tell this looks good. Similarly the bronzer looks like a decent offering, When swatching, the shimmery powder transformed into a lovely blendable texture.
Full price this set would have been £20, as due to being in Boots sale I picked it up for £10 and at that price point I can't really complain.
The last of the three sets is 'All In The Base', a lipstick and primer duo.
Known for her ghostly nude lip tones, I knew this was going to be a bit wild and would either look really cool or be a total disaster.
I tried out the primer first. I have very dry lips so I'm pretty used to having to apply a thick balm before any lipsticks or stains. I layered on the primer desperately praying for success.
The primer felt very plastic-y and didn't feel like a high quality product. It wasn't particularly moisturising - although that said, it did provide a barrier to the lipstick, so I guess it was successful in that respect.
The lipstick, as feared, was a total disaster.
Upon applying it and showing it to Simon, he straight up told me 'It's a no from me.'
Of the three sets, this was the most disappointing with neither item really grabbing me. Again, as this one was half price I only spent £4.50.
This isn't much, but it all adds up. All in I spent £23.50 which you could easily drop on one product on a beauty counter, but overall I'm pretty disappointed in the range.
So to conclude, love Claudia, don’t quite love her range as much – but I will use it.
To be fair, Claudia herself claims to never take her makeup off. So, perhaps I’ll stick with the experts, and just take my eye makeup inspo from her…