cargo

A recent trip to Sainsbury's netted me a Cargo PurseGloss, a little tiny lipgloss which is sized to fit into your purse. I believe that American purses are equal to British handbags, so I'm slightly unsure as to why you'd need a tiny lipgloss to fit in your handbag - even the smallest of clutches can hold a slim tube of gloss.

Anyway, on to the product itself - it's essentially a small squishy bulb of gloss with a built-in brush. You squeeze the bulb, gloss comes out of the brush, you apply, that's that. Nothing hugely exciting or surprising there.

The formula, however, was a bit of a surprise. Smooth and shiny, combined with that lovely cushiony, almost lip-balm-y texture that feels weightless and totally unsticky. With such a light formula, it doesn't last for ages, but I'd rather have something that's short lived and feels good than something that's sticky and long lasting.

Mine was a bit of a bargain at £2.20 at Sainsbury's; if they have any left, this is well worth the price. I would probably even pay full price for something that feels this good on the lips.

I'm not normally a foundation-wearer. I'm so bad at mornings that those who have to face me first thing are lucky if I manage concealer, mascara and brows (my three must-have de-zombification products).

However in addition to chronic AM-o-phobia, I must also admit to being totally succeptible to bargains. So when Gemma tipped me off about Cargo's prices being slashed down to 75% off at Sainsburys, I had to nip down and look for some deals.

Intrigued by the pouch packaging (and also motivated by the fact that pretty much all the eye products and blushes had already been magpied up by other bargain-hunters), I picked up the Oil Free Foundation for just £4.40 (original price £17.60).

Trying it on at home, I'm absolutely delighted. It slips on so smoothly and instantly sinks into the skin - perhaps because there are various silicones in the mix (so if silicone breaks you out, do be wary). It provides a light veil of colour that evens out skintone and still looks completely natural. In fact it's probably the most wearable foundation I and my normal-dry skin own, and despite being oil-free (usually a bad sign for me) it wears so comfortably I'd add an extra 5 minutes to my morning just to have the pleasure of putting it on. If you need heavier coverage you may prefer a thicker formula, but for natural looking day to day wear this is excellent.

Oil Free Foundation comes in ten shades, from pale ivory F 10 (which I bought) to dark chocolate F 100.

Find Cargo at Sainsburys (while you can!) or check out their new stands at Boots.

A quick lunchtime bit of speculation - having just popped out to Sainsbury's for a salad, I noticed that the Cargo display was looking rather sparsely stocked, and that a whopping 75% off was being offered on the remaining products.

I controlled myself and snapped up only one thing; one of their little lipglosses for a very cheap £2.20.

This, combined with the recent increase in Cargo products available in Boots stores and online, makes me wonder whether Cargo are heading out of Sainsburys and into Boots. Checking out the Cargo website seems to support this; their international stockists list shows lots of Boots locations, and no Sainsburys locations at all. Looks like Cargo is about to become much easier to find!

I'd been hoping that Boots' decision to stock Cargo LashActivator mascara would lead to them stocking the whole Cargo range; it's only available at Sainsbury's over here, and a wider distribution could only bring joy to more beauty junkies.

Looks like Boots is starting to slowly expand the range with the introduction of the 7 in 7 gift set which is available as part of the Christmas collection - named thusly because it contains 7 products to allow you to "get gorgeous in just 7 minutes". The set, which includes full size foundation/concealer, eyeshadow, blusher, eye pencil, lipliner, lipgloss, and the LashActivator mascara itself, retails for a comparatively tiny price of £35.

Unfortunately there's only one variation of the set available, so don't expect to get the perfect foundation shade with this one. The blurb says that the foundation is suitable for fair/medium skin; often for me, this means way too dark. But still, even discounting the foundation, that's still a good price - I'd certainly be very pleased to receive this for Christmas.

Cargo 7 in 7 set, £35 at Boots.com.

Alright - Gemma has totally put me to shame with her prodigious posting this week, so here's a review of a recent purchase of mine. The eco-rama right-on feel-good Plant Love Botanical lipstick from Cargo.

Plant Love is a range of products that are organic and made from recycled/natural materials and packaging. You can ogle the full range at Cargo's website, but currently only a small selection of the lipsticks area available at the Cargo counters in selected Sainsbury's across the UK. They are accredited by ECO-CERT, are paraben-free, incorporate a charity donation in the RRP, and generally are totally halo-worthy.

As I'm slowly (and sometimes unwillingly) opening my eyes to health and ethical issues related to my beauty obsession, this range is great news for me, even if it does demand a slight suspension of disbelief to embrace the idea that a high-end lipstick is going to contribute significantly to solving the world's problems. "Be the Change"(TM) says Cargo, in their Plant Love strapline. I could probably be a more effective agent for change by doing voluntary work, giving money to charity, or helping a homeless person in the street by buying them a meal with my £13. But anyway.

The lipstick I'm modelling for you below is "Lola", designed by Denise Richards (and named after her daughter). It comes in a plastic-looking tube that is in fact made from corn - although you wouldn't know it had you not been told. Instead it feels like basic Boots Natural Collection-style white packaging - not luxurious, but not horrible either. The tube is printed with 70s-esque pink floral designs. Meanwhile the outer box is made of recycled paper that has been embedded with wildflower seeds. Apparently if you plant the box, the seeds will grow into a plant. Cute.

The lipstick itself is rather nice to wear. It manages to be non-sticky and also non-slippy at the same time. It almost feels like wearing nothing at all on the lips. The effect would be matte except for the shimmer particles in the formula - the colour is actually dry to the touch once applied. Unlike other matte formulas (and this is a frequent accusation about mattes from MAC, for example) it's not particularly drying either.

As for the shade, I absolutely love it. It's a warm neutral with a bit of a kick to it that really brightens up the whole face without being too attention-grabbing. Well done Denise! Well done Cargo! Pats on the back all round. Plant Love Botanical Lipstick retails at the VAT-weird price of £12.72.