Use this Amazon promotional code to get an additional 20% off items in the Make Up section.  It doesn't apply to items sold through third party sellers.

Click here to use your Amazon promotional code*

• Discount: 20%
• Applies to: make up
• Promotional code: JXZMNUPD
• Expires: unknown

To use this code, you'll need to go through the checkout. If you're not already registered with the site, do so, or log in. When you get to the final screen in the process - the Confirm page - enter the code in the Gift Cards & Promotional Codes box.

It is possible you will need to join Amazon Family to make use of this code. However, there are reports of people who have been able to use it just fine without having joined Amazon Family. I wouldn't discount the possibility that they've joined at some time in the past, perhaps for a special offer, and totally forgotten.

The sign up page for Amazon Family is here.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD!

If you're a Boots No7 make up and skincare fan then you need to get yourself to Boots, either online or in person and snaffle up your favourite No7 things and take advantage of their current 3 for 2 pricing.

• Click HERE to see everything No7 included in the 3 for 2 offer

I went to Boots yesterday and had my skin tone measured and my foundation colour matched by the lady on the No7 counter - I'll tell you all about in a review shortly, but just now know that if you wear foundation you HAVE to go and have this done.

I've been a fan of No7 for years (I can't remember how many) and in particular their Protect and Perfect range, along with various make up bits and pieces and brushes - although brushes aren't included in the 3 for 2 offer, which is a shame because I've rather fallen in love with their foundation and concealer brushes which average out at about £10 each.

There are some No7 Lift and Luminate and Beatiful Skin products included too, if Protect and Perfect isn't your No7 poison.  I'll be heading back to my local Boots tomorrow now that I've assessed what I have, what I need, what I want and what is running out!  If I couldn't get into town then home delivery would be free if I spent over £40, which would be dead easy peasy!

Happy stocking up on No7

I like to try new, and different, things but when I fall in love with something I'm very loyal; DuWop Lip Venom is one of those 'fallen in love with' things and I haven't been without it for at least the last 10 years!

I discovered it around the same time as I found, and fell in love with, Blinc Mascara; it's a spicy lip gloss that contains various ingredients that react with your lips to plump them up a little bit and makes them look AMAZING.

If you want your lips to look fuller without resorting to having things injected into them then you really need to try Lip Venom.

The key ingredients are Cinnamon, Wintergreen and Ginger which work together to make your blood rush to the surface of your lips - this is what brings out their natural colour and makes them swell a little bit.  And it is a little bit, enough to transform your lips into a beautiful feature, not enough to make you look ridiculous.

Lip Venom also contain Jojoba and Avocado to keep your lips soft and supple and kissable.

It might take you a little while to get used to the warm, tingling sensation in your lips after you apply Lip Venom, but it's not unpleasant - I actually think it's rather nice.

There are various different Lip Venoms and none of them are  - DuWop Lip Venom costs £15 for 3.5ml, so not cheap even if you compare it to the high end lip glosses on the market, BUT it lasts for AGES, even when you use it a LOT like I do!

There are various Lip Venoms available now - my favourite has always been the original (it's clear), but I'm VERY tempted to try the new Blue Venom which is said to make your teeth look whiter because of its blue tint.

There are also tinted Venoms and all of them come in little glass vials, with a brush fixed into the lid, that come packaged in  reinforced cardboard cases.

The cheapest and most reliable supplier of DuWop Lip Venom I've found is www.beautybay.com - the only thing you need to do now is choose which venom is going to be your poison.

If asked to score DuWop Lip Venom out of 10, I'd give it a 9 out of 10 with that one mark being lost due to the price - it might be just a little too expensive for some.

If I had to choose a desert island make-up product then mascara would be it, as long as my eyelash curlers could come too - mascara and eyelash curlers go hand-in-hand so, really, they count as one thing...right?

Curled fans of long lashes, highlighted with mascara, really opens up the eyes and just makes you feel and look GLAM' (well that's how it makes me feel, at least) BUT mascara on a desert island?!

The practically minded of you will already be thinking,

"But if you're only allowed one make-up product then that means you wont' have any cotton wool and eye make-up remover (or make-up remover wipes, if you prefer)!   

You're going to be swimming in the sea; you're going to be hot and sweaty - it's going to smudge, it's going to get all clumpy eventually; DISASTER!"

Well I laugh in the face of all those mascara nightmares because over 10 years ago I discovered Blinc mascara and it is, to this day, the best mascara I've ever used.

It doesn't smudge, it doesn't clump, it doesn't flake - no, seriously, it doesn't.

It doesn't matter if you get hot and sweaty (some people like to maintain their glam' look at the gym you know!), it doesn't matter if you sob at the movies or at a friend's wedding and if you get itchy eyes, just RUB them.

You see, the difference between Blinc mascara and every other mascara on the market is this:

Blinc mascara forms waterproof tubes around your lashes rather than coating them with oil-based 'paint', and because it's not oil based it lasts up to two or three times longer than normal mascaras.

It's lighter than usual mascara too, because it's made up of fewer ingredients and is ideal for people with sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.

To take it off, all you need is some warm water and gentle pressure from your fingertips - these two things combined release the tubes around your lashes and they just slide off; don't panic when it looks as though you've pulled all your lashes out!

It's more expensive than usual mascaras, but worth every single penny.  I've never seen it on sale in shops and prices can vary online ; the cheapest I've found it (and where I get mine from) is at beautybay.com for £15.50.

Delivery within seven working days is free, but you can have your Blinc mascara delivered quicker for £2.50.

www.blincuk.co.uk

Is it just me looking back through the mists of time, with rose-tinted glasses, to a bygone age where make up didn't cost the earth and seemed to last a lot longer than it does now, or has make up always been as expensive as it is now?

Well whatever the answer is, it always pays to keep an eye out for offers like this 3 for 2 on selected Maybelline products currently running over at Superdrug.

• Click HERE to bag some Maybelline bargains

I'm a real butterfly when it comes to make up; I'm easily seduced by the next shiny make up revolution that promises me the earth, even though I know they're not likely to live up to TV advert expectations *sigh*

I loathe spending lots of cash on make up too and will always take advantage of promotions that allow my money to go just a little further than normal, so whether you're a Maybelline fan or a make up butterfly like me, you'll definitely want to take a nosey through the 91 selected products that are included in the 3 for 2 Maybelline deal.

If you're looking for a new mascara, I can recommend the Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Cat Eyes - now whilst it doesn't, in my opinion, live up to all its official blurb hype, it doesn't clump at all - not even when it's right near the end of it's life - it doesn't smudge or dry out on your lashes dropping mascara 'ash' under your eyes (you know what I mean by that, right?) but wild cats' eyes lashes...?  Nah, not even anything close.

There aren't any codes to remember, just add three Maybelline products to your basket and Superdrug will deduct the cost of the cheapest for you.

Happy Maybelline 3 for 2; hurrah!

FrontCover is a pretty awesome range of make-up and hair and nail accessories made specifically to complement the colours and fashions of the Autumn/Winter 2011 catwalks.

There are gorgeous items available in this range and we were sent two sets to PlayPennies HQ – the FrontCover Finger Print set and the Blue Eyed Girl set.

Firstly, I can tell you I simply love the presentation of these. My daughter calls them books, because they look like hard cover books, or good old-fashioned video covers. They are sturdy boxes, and really look like a quality product.

The Finger Print set is a box consisting of seven nail polishes and two nail files.

'Tis the season alright – and party invites are flying all over the place. With that, gorgeous outfits and party heels are filling shop windows, so it's only fitting that we've had the colours of the catwalks crossing our desks in make-up form here at PlayPennies HQ.

We received a whole set of make-up from Tesco's Barbara Daly range and handed them over to mum and daughter Susan and Elaine to get their take on it from two different target audiences.

They tested a few different eye shadows (£6.75 each), the first of which was the Long Wear Eyeshadow, which came in Black Marble, Shimmer Sand, Shell, and Bronze Gold.

The Long Wear Eyeshadows are cream eyeshadows in pen form – no brushes required, which is ideal if you're only taking a little clutch bag with you.

“They are slightly shimmery and very creamy, but not 'slimy'. It's easy to apply, doesn't crease and doesn't end up slipping as the hours tick by.

When I say it doesn't slip, I mean it. I put each colour on the back of my hand and after a minute or so went to rub them off - they didn't budge, smudge or leave anything on the finger I was rubbing with.”

Susan eventually got it off with make-up remover, and despite the limited colour range, and that mistakes aren't going to be easily rectified, both her and Elaine gave these a 9 out of 10 and would definitely buy them again.

The sugar coated and party delight Eyeshadow Bon Bons are quite cute. You'll receive four little half spheres of powder eyeshadow in a compact, complete with a double-ended, double-sided foam applicator that fits inside.

I'm one of those women. I used to wear make-up and do my nails all the time. I had functions, meetings, and customers in my day. Then I became a mum and “doing my face” became a long-stay lippie before tumbling out the car in the morning. On a good day, I might even throw in some mascara. But it's two years on, and I'm slowly finding my balance again, and that includes gearing up for the festivities of the coming months – and a bit more than lippie and mascara for a night out.

I thought I'd reach back into the recesses of my memories and try the Rocker Eye set from Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Tutorials.

This set is made for that smoky look the models sport in magazines. You'll get two eye colours – 1980s is a metallic grey and Rock Star is a sparkling dark smoke, or black, in non-make-up terminology.

There's also a liner shadow, called Black Leather, which is pretty much soot black, and a double-ended applicator brush.

So, the pros of the Rocker Eye set, first?

We got lots of lovely beauty products this week, thanks to a new range from Barbara Daly. Fact is, one thing that quickly goes out the window when you're a mum is skin care and make up. But those five minutes you might get to spend on yourself are precious, and can make a big difference to your day.

However, I only got to look longingly at them. The privilege of testing them out to see if they're really good value, or not, went to PlayPennies mum Helen.

The Daily Mail are offering readers (and anyone else, it seems) £63 worth of make-up from Helen-E with a voucher code.

Order from Helen-E for your summer essential make-up

• Voucher value: £48 Off
• Voucher code: MWED3
• Validity: Unknown

When I was pregnant I spent the first five months very ill and lost a lot of weight. I looked gaunt and drained and eventually was hospitalised. My sister bought me some Helen-E foundation as I had a function to go to and was dreading it. That particular product  was quite thick and it made a monumental difference to my appearance. I actually looked healthy. It was too thick for me for every day use, but for that movie-perfect skin, it worked really well.

This kit includes:

• a handbag sized skin smoother – a foundation for white and olive skin tones that adapts to your skin colour
• a handbag sized yellow concealer – for brightening the eyes and toning down redness
• a powder blusher – for use on your face, cheeks and eyes
• colour gloss – for long lasting lip colour and gloss in one
• a 2-in-1 Colour Magnification Mascara – with brown and black for day and night
• eye pencil with a smudger for that smokey night time effect
• Nail Power  – a quick drying nail colour

All you have to do is choose whether you want Pink Passion or Peach Shimmer, enter the code, and sit back and wait for summer.

Thanks to Becky2010 at HUKD

I'd never heard of e.l.f cosmetics before so here's a little bit about e.l.f's ethos and what they're aiming for with their brand.

We at e.l.f. believe that innovative technology, quality ingredients and superb delivery systems should not be limited to prestige retailers.

Every woman should have the opportunity to participate in innovation, without sacrificing her budget. Our cosmetics are designed to improve and accentuate the individual, not hide her away.

They also say that they manage to keep the costs down by using the power of the internet, rather than the more traditional, and incredibly expensive, forms of advertising.

Their products have some impressive endorsements from beauty editors at GMTV, This Morning, Hello!, Marie Claire, Glamour, Grazia and The Times.

When we were sent a selection of e.l.f goodies to review we handed them over to a mother and teenage daughter duo to try out and put to the test.

"We were very excited at the prospect of new make up to play with," said Sadie, the mother of our pair, "I tend to be fairly brand loyal - No7, Nivea and L'Oreal - but I'm always willing to try something new."

"I don't mind what I use," Ella told us, "as long as it 'works' properly and doesn't make my skin break out in spots!" The most important of all teenage priorities surely!

They were sent - an Earth and Water mascara duo, brightening eye liner, an all over colour stick, an all over cover stick, tinted moisturiser with an SPF 15 and claifying pressed powder.

"I was most interested in trying the mascara duo," Sadie told us, "because that's the one item I am most fussy about. I can't bear it when it's clumpy or makes my lashes stick together so it looks like I have about 4 fat ones."

"I was looking forward to the tinted moisturiser and pressed powder," commented Ella, "although I was intrigued by the all over colour stick too."

Sadie found that the mascara was ok but said she wouldn't be swapping it for her usual No7.  Ella on the other hand thought it was great!

She said that it was very clever to have normal AND waterproof mascara at either end of one item, she felt it went on well and didn't smudge when she deliberately chopped onions and inhaled deeply.

Now that's the sort of dedication to consumer testing we like here at PlayPennies!

"The All Over colour stick had us bemused," Sadie confessed, "so much so that we paid a quick visit to the e.l.f website to see what we were supposed to do with it!"

They found out that it is a multi-purpose product that can be used as an eye, cheek or lip colour!

Neither Sadie or Ella were very impressed with this, "I felt it could have been softer to make it easier to glide over your skin, and I'm not really sure I want my eyes, lips and cheeks to all be the same colour," were Ella's thoughts.

"The brightening eye liner was nice to use, although I'm not sure how brightening it is compared to my normal liner. I even tried them together - e.l.f on one eye and my usual on the other...I couldn't see that one was any brighter than the other." Sadie went on to tell us.

The tinted moisturiser and clarifying powder didn't fare too well either.

Ella didn't like the smell, in fact she felt most of the products had a strange smell to them, not horrible...but just 'something', and Sadie felt that the powder was too 'heavy' which made them look very unnatural.

And Finally...

"We were due to go out after trying on the e.l.f products but I quickly took it all off and put my own make up back on before we went," Sadie revealed apologetically, "I'm clearly set in my make up ways now."

Whilst it seems on the surface that Sadie and Ella were not overly impressed with the e.l.f products they received, Ella did say that using them hadn't made her skin break out in spots and if the smell was better then she would have been happier.

She also said that for younger girls (ie, not her mum) who didn't have money to spend on the more expensive brands then e.l.f cosmetics would definitely be worth looking at.

"All of the items we were sent sell for £1.50 - which is an absolute bargain if you're trying to work out what products suit you best," said Ella, "making expensive make up mistakes is not fun, that certainly won't happen with e.l.f cosmetics even if you stumble across a couple of things you're not keen on."

Indeed most of the range is priced at £1.50, with the more expensive 'Minerals' range coming in at £3.50. Everything is available on their website and shipping is free if you spend over £30 - you'll get a lot of make up for your £30 that's for sure!

Sometimes you just need to treat yourself. If I've been changing dirty nappies all morning, sometime I just sit down in front of the PC and whip out my Mastercard for a bit of retail therapy! This is the kind of promo code I like to see - free postage from Beautyexpert.co.uk.

Click here to use the Beautyexpert promo code now

• Promo Code: FREEPOST0810
• Discount: Free postage
• Expires: 31st August 2010

Normally you have to spend £80 to get free postage, so the promo code helps in that there is no minimum spend on your order.

I had a browse of their make-up collection and there are some nice bits and pieces in there. First thing that caught my eye were the false eyelashes. Believe it or not, I've never worn these in my life! They look kind of annoying, and I am not really that bothered about the length of my lashies. I am a big fan of eyeshadows though, in every shade and hue! This Shu Uemura green one looks lucious!

If you're not that bothered about free postage and if you are spending more than £65, you get a free weekend away collection worth over £60. Might be nice if you want to spend a bit extra. It comes with lots of little pampering lotions.

I've never actually ordered from these guys before, have you? I might be tempted to now that they have this free postage promo code.

Maybelline are giving away 8000 free samples of their new Superstay Foundation when you go here:

• Click here for your free Maybelline foundation

You have to fill in the form with your details, but I recommend making sure you opt out of the junk mail, using the checkboxes at the bottom of their page.

I like trying foundation samples like this. I find it very hard to get good foundation, and always end up using the same one forever and ever. With these little samples, you can try it out for free and see if you like it or not - nice!

I'm a big fan of Maybelline. I absolutely love their mascara and wouldn't use anything else!

(Ends 29th April 2010)

Thanks to holly100 on HUKD!

Let me say at the outset that I don't have daughters so I've no idea what it's like to raise girls but I suspect that they're not that different to boys. And the thing about boys is that they have this seemingly innate love of all things vehicular. If it's got wheels, they will notice it, and all the better if it also has flashing lights and makes a loud noise. I remember my eldest screeching wildly at the sight of a digger when he was too young to know what one was, while a friend's little girl of the same age barely seemed to notice it. Boys love diggers and rescue missions and helicopters and emergency vehicles. Meanwhile girls, it seems, love dresses and princesses and... well... make up.

It's a contentious issue but several little ladies in the public eye have been snapped recently looking like they've just raided Mummy's make-up collection. Now I admit it's not a look I'm a fan of. But what irks me is when people act as though letting your little girl be papped wearing make-up is akin to child abuse. I'd wager that most mums of girls have popped to the shops with their little lady in tow with at least her finger nails painted in some glittery shade, or with a smidgen of lipstick on. It's what little girls like to do and no-one seems to bat an eyelid when my lads go out dressed as Spiderman or with their faces painted as pirates so really, what's the difference?

Granted, I probably wouldn't go so far as to crack open the stash of false eyelashes if I had a daughter but then I'm not Katie Price and our lives couldn't be more different. I reckon if long lens cameras were thrust in the faces of my kids and I every time we left the house, I'd sometimes look like a less-than-perfect parent too. But I reckon it's time to give celeb mums a break. Parenting isn't easy, especially under the glare of constant media attention and in the intrusive gaze of the public eye, so if a little lip gloss helps keep everyone happy, where's the harm?