Boots offer free store collection for online orders

EDIT - it seems that Boots have seen the error of their ways and are now offering collect in store free whatever size your order! Go to the Boots main page to see the new details.

Here's a thing - spend £25 on Boots.com and you can have your bits and bobs delivered to your local store. Free of charge.

This is a definite improvement on their old system, where you had to pay the regular delivery charge for this service, however much you spent.

This is a good way of getting your Urban Decay, Clarins, Clinique, Too Faced etc. delivered to you locally for free if you don't have a counter nearby.

They could have lowered the minimum charge, but let's be honest, it's not difficult to think up ways to spend £25 in Boots now, is it?

Review - Barry M Nail paint in Mint Green 304

Barry M's cool, kitsch mint green nail polish was a love at first sight thing for me. The colour brings to mind summer sundaes and sugary treats, but with a novel twist on the pinky-purply pastel norm. It set my sights on it when it was released a couple of months back. My covetousness was helped by the fact that it costs a mere £2.95, and that I got it as part of a 2 for £5 deal.

Application is a pretty average experience. The consistency is a little watery, although for this price, I'm not going to complain. With three coats, the colour achieves a satisfactorily opaque finish.

This is a shade that definitely needs a base coat - otherwise you risk a post-removal yellowy tint from the green dyes, and which looks anything but lovely. My solution is to put a coat of a pure white polish underneath. This protects your fingertips from staining and also adds a more opaque dimension, cutting down on the number of coats you need.

The end result is bright, but not garish, and pretty true to the shade you see in the bottle. Drying time is a bit of a drag - best to add a couple of coats of quick drying solution such as Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri topcoat over the finished nails.

Wear is good - I clocked up five days before I started seeing chips. Maybe due to the number of coats?

All in all, it's a great shade at a great price, with watery consistency being the only let-down. I'm happy with it for now, but if a more expensive brand released this shade in a more creamy, opaque consistency, I'd definitely trade up.

My latest adventures in Superdrug - and this time, Boots too

Darting between raindrops, I found myself in the shelter of Superdrug the other day. It serves well as a haven from weather, but of course I quickly forgot about my reason for entering and started prowling the shelves. When I was done, I went next door and scoured Boots too. Here are my top finds from the highstreet's Big Two:

Sleek cosmetics have released another of their Divine eye palettes. My first experience with these was mixed, when the first one was released last year. Their shades are intense and vibrant, but also very prone to staining and smudging. I suspect the creaminess of the formulation has something to do with a heavy hand with the mineral oil or petrolatum at some stage of the production. Anyway, this new palette is called Acid, and it packs an unbelievable neon punch - the four colours in the centre are the real stars - yellow, green, orange and pink with a vibrancy to match any highlighter in your stationery cabinet. At £4.88, this has to be worth a look!

Another gratifying Superdrug 3 for £9.99 deal from Barry M is made all the sweeter by a selection of new Dazzle Dusts to choose from. Teal, Parrot Green, Gold, Dark Chocolate are just a few of the new intense, deep shades on offer. The star of the show for me has to be Petrol Black. A black base with a blue/green/violet iridescent top note. It's like the old version of Urban Decay's Oil Slick has come back from the grave but with even better payoff. I'd love to wear this one packed on over primer for a recklessly OTT going-out look.

Meanwhile over in Boots, the 17 revamp continues apace with some eye-catching new false lashes. Pictured is "Punk" - a black/purple combo that I can imagine looking fantastic paired with the Petrol Black eye look I just described. I don't know how these wear or what the build quality is like, but again they cost less than £5, so I wouldn't begrudge them if they lasted just one evening.