What's On My Face #2

For the most part, I either work one or three ways with my make up for during the day - barely anything, a subtle smokey eye or barely anything with a bold lip. Pretty much. This post is the subtle smokey eye which I wear more often than not...

Beauty Bag | August

Another first of the month, another beauty switch up...

What's On My Face...

More of a currently loving/look I'm loving right now - but sure, what's on my face, we'll go with that...

July Favourites

Another month, another lot of products I simply couldn't keep my hands off of...

Beauty Bag | June

Another month, another shift around in the beauty bag department. I'll be keeping it relatively similar to last months beauty rotations, albeit swapping a few products here and there when it calls for it...

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream

I'd been meaning to pick up the recent-ish new base offering from Bourjois for a while now - typically my small town Boots/Superdrug were always sold out and I don't like buying bases online, so I opted to wait until I was in the city to get my paws on it.

The Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream aims to correct your skin  with three (obviously,) colour pigments; apricot for anti-fatigue, green for anti-redness and white for anti-dark spots whilst providing a luminous complexion, twenty four hour hydration and SPF 15.

Beauty Bag | December

Can I just be the first to say errmahgahd, it's December?! Already? In any case December is my month. I'm one of those annoying folk with their birthday in December and then of course it's Christmas, with parties and Boxing Day sales... Needless to say this months beauty bag reflects the festive time of the year...

Beauty Bag | November

It's that time of the month again, a new month and so a new rotation of beauty bumf to switch it up and this month there's a hint of sparkles and shimmer in the bag...

October Favourites

'Tis that time of the month again; a little round up of the products that have really been rocking my boat so to speak. Without further ado and grumbling how time is flying by, four little gems that have made my life a little more beautiful in October...

Happy Light

Lots of bloggers have said it already but Bourjois have really been outstanding with their products lately, haven't they? It all started for me with their Healthy Mix foundation(s) and concealer, swiftly onto cream blushes, not to mention I have a soft spot for their nail polish. I've been playing around with the Bourjois Happy Light foundation and the Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer for a week now and thought I'd add some thoughts on this range...

Quick Fix | Bronze Highlight

I tried something a little bit different for an evening out a while ago - I wanted a wash of bronze on my cheekbones for a subtle yet pretty glamorous and summery highlight. 

Grabbing my expert face brush (although fingers work just as well,) I got to blending. 

All is needed is one dot of bronzer (you can even use powder if you want, High Beam blends pretty well with both,) and one dot of highlighter - and blend away on the highest points of your cheekbones. I found it best to do it this way, and then add more layers as you need it. I add one final dot of highlighter on top of the layers and it's done.

What you're left with is a bronze highlight that is pretty perfect for this time of year. I know loads of companies do bronze highlighters now - but if you don't happen to have one to hand - this is just an example of what you can do to remedy that. :)

If you want to see what it looks like on the face (stupidly didn't take a picture before I went out,) or even a video of the bronzed/smokey look then let me know!

Peace!

June Favourites

I haven't done one of these monthly favourites for a long while. Mostly because I was sticking to the usual skincare and make-up products but I've decided to make more of an effort - these are probably my favourite posts to read (or watch on youtube,) so less yabbering, lets get on with dem beauty bits! ;)

Dr Jart Waterfuse BB Cream is a new product for me, scary once you squeeze it out of the tube (one shade fits all, apparently!) it looks like a grey/tan shade that's hideously ominous. I went for it regardless and oh damn. I am in love ladies and gentlemen! Easy to apply with a brush, sponge or using (clean) hands it provides the right amount of light coverage to conceal redness and give a nice glow, obviously it won't cover all manner of blemishes - concealer will be needed but for a pretty light base - this has been my preference this month. It's half price at Boots at the moment, so go get it!

I've spoken about the Barbara Daly Cream Blusher in Peaches and Cream before (post here,) so I won't go on too much about it. It's just the perfect blusher for that hint of coral/peach to perk up your complexion. Love it. I don't think you can buy it online but should be able to pick it up at Tesco stores that stock the Barbara Daly make up range.

Similar to the scare with the Dr Jart BB cream, the Bourjois Bronzing Primer looks so scary in pan, especially for someone as fair as myself. I didn't have to worry though because once blended this is perfect, I don't like bronzers with shimmer and this one doesn't have it. I find it best to build this one up lightly as you could probably end up super orange.

Another product spoken of recently is the Essie Summer 2013 mini Collection - I adore all of these shades and have been getting on surprisingly well with the 'old' brush. I'm currently rocking The More The Merrier (bright green) on my toes and fingers right now.

I received the Melvita Rose Floral Water in my Latest in Beauty box - and even though rose smells can be either love hate with me, I don't even care about the smell - it's just perfect for after my toner. I'm using this little beaut as a treatment for some ghastly under skin red spots and this bad boy has help cleared them up! 

Also having regular rotation is the Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliner in Bronze - this is perfect for either definition or used as an eye shadow (just apply over the lid lightly and blend,) and just really perks up my eyes.

Last but not least is a bit of an odd one. Cult Beauty stock these Jade Facial Rollers that are meant for expelling toxins and making you look younger and a bunch of other stuff, I'll leave them describe it so you can check it out here. I picked mine on ebay to 'try before I buy the more expensive one' and I just picked up a mini version. 

Obviously it was pretty cheap and therefore cheaply made but it is so so good. It's so cooling post-cleansing and toning and I generally do this before I add any serum or moisturiser. A little gem! I will be picking up the better quality one from Cult Beauty though, now that I know I adore it!

So, what are your June favourites?

Peace!

Haulin' | Boots

Heh. 

What can I say? One minute you're casually browsing the internet and then this happens. There is only one saving grace to this haul and that is; these were all on offer. Whew.

For my face I picked up two products that I have high hopes for - one has been blogged about by everyone and their cat/dog. The Dr Jart Waterfuse BB Cream was half price when I bought this - so only £9 - need I say anymore? The coverage is light to cover blemishes but to still let your skin through - aka, no mask like tendencies with this bad boy and I cannot wait to try it out on warmer days (that are hopefully coming...) 

I also wanted to try the No7 Essentially Natural foundation that boasts a light/medium coverage for all skin types with an 25 SPF, so no night time wear if you're taking photos but it looks to be promising and a similar consistency to that of the Dr Jart. This was part of the buy one get one half price offer across a selected line so to go with this I picked up the Revlon Colour Stay Ultimate Suede lipstick in Finale. First thoughts - creamy, long lasting and a beautiful shade of hot pink/red that looks a dream on - winner, I say!

A bit boring but I also picked up a tanning mitt - an essential for this time of year but this St Tropez one had £1.50 off. I haven't tested it out yet but I'm hoping it can save me from dreaded orange fingers. 

Lastly the other two combinations I bought were the Bourjois Bronzing Primer - apparently it's useless as a primer but is a pretty good dupe to the Chanel Soleil Tan Bronzer - both of these products look hellish scary in their respective pans but I am intrigued to see how this one works out. With this I also picked up the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight - again, this looks like it wasn't going to be a good match for me but once applied it definitely has more pink/peach in it - and doesn't look that brown once swatched + applied...

Overall? I'm going to hide by card now and hibernate for a few weeks I think but I am pretty pleased with the offers/deals I got!

Had an good deals recently?

Peace!

Base | Foundations

Bourjois Health Mix in shade 51, Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect, in shade 71.

Now that I've covered my preferred concealers, lets hit up the foundations. I don't like high coverage foundations at all. It feels too claustrophobic to my skin and just has me generally itching for a cleanser. For that reason, my two choices are that of light and medium...

My preferred medium coverage is that of Bourjois Healthy Mix - it covers all hideous scarring from spots or chicken pox (they are taking ages to fade and it is highly probable that I'll always have some...) whilst looking natural and giving a dare I say it... healthy glow? My shade is 51, the palest of the lot - and the yellow undertones in this foundation reduces my ever red cheeks...

For a light, dewy coverage I choose Bourjois (again) 10 hour sleep effect. The scent is overpowering which is my only gripe with it, because the shade 71 (abricote) is so perfect for when the weather is slightly warmer, in spring say and during the grips of winter when I don't want to put too much product on my face, that I can put up with the scent. 

The only downer on Bourjois foundations is that of the shade range. It's perfect for fair (like myself,) to mediums, but after that, not much else. 

For the price however, the longevity of the products, the fact they are perfect for reducing my redness  due to the yellow pigments (probably my only issue with my skin and that isn't a bad thing... I don't suffer from breakouts...) means that these two foundations are my most treasured - from the high street/drugstores. 

What's your favourite foundation?

Peace! 

Base | Concealers

Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer// No7 Stay Perfect Concealer// Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer// Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer.

Let's cut to the chase - I wasn't a concealer gal. When I was younger and overdid my make up (another story altogether, and maybe I will tell you one day...) I used a scanty amount of concealer and relied predominantly upon foundation to cover any blemishes (mostly redness, I don't break out,) - and then I would just move onto my eyes. No I wasn't an orange. If you're wondering.

Eventually though, I found my way back to concealers, and here is a quick round up of four drug store concealers that I've tried recently...

I first used the Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer - one of my first tests back into concealers (after having gone so long without,) and for a while it was perfect. But the same can be said with No7 Stay Perfect Concealer (new formula,) - it seemed to work for the first initial uses and then come up short, for whatever reason. I found when I used these in the summer they were fine - but when it got to winter they felt drying and clogging. 

I still don't know whether it was me, or the formula of these two products - but they just ain't cutting it for the concealing of my ever purple under eyes (lovely,) or slight redness around my nose. Sorry, Rimmel and No7. 

Moving onto the Collection 2000, I absolutely adored the Illuminating Touch Concealer - a similar product to the YSL Touche Eclat, and for the price range it was a solid contender. I will be buying it again, but I wanted to test the Lasting perfection concealer, from the same brand. The latter is a heavier formulation, and I tend to use this on larger blemishes rather than my under eyes. It covers, blends well and keeps the redness at bay for a solid eight hours. 

My favourite though and I kind of hate that it is because it's one of those hyped products - but it is completely worth it... Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer! I adore the foundation, and so tried the concealer too... what a surprise (sarcasm,) of course it worked and still works under my eyes, blemishes around my nose, spots. It doesn't dry or cake (I have sensitive/dry skin,) and rarely causes any problems (except when I am having a really bad skin day, which for me is dryness in epic proportions, but then I just use a tinted moisturiser if I absolutely have to use anything at all,) and for under £10 - comes into my budget and I don't have to feel too guilty. 

So while I haven't had much luck with the first two concealers, the last two mentioned have done a pretty good job at keeping my skins general redness at bay and under control.

What's your favourite concealer? Any gems you've found?

Peace!

Shopping the Stash #1

 The Mr gives the thumbs up!

I thought I would have a go at a Shopping the Stash kinda series, as seen on The Sunday Girl and Lips So Facto... Any objections, please let me know... :)

So the aim of this little series is to 'shop' what you already have and use your chosen products during the week and show them some love!

My chosen poor ignored products are...

Bourjois Ten Hour Sleep Effect - Shade 71 'Abricote Clair' - The main reason I tend to ignore this great light coverage foundation is purely down to the scent. I'm not used to a scent with any of my facial make up, so it has taken a while to get used to. That being said I'll be showing this some love whilst holding my nose...

Barry M Liquid Eye liner - No 1 'Jet Black' - I love this liner, adore the applicator but have been forgoing eye liner due to work issues... those being over now, I can define my eyes to hell and back this week!

No7 Exquisite Curl Mascara - Brown/Black - This is a really nice mascara (especially as it was a freebie,) leaves no lumps or clumps and really does curl and define the lashes. The only reason I haven't used it recently is due to having some fun with a new avon mascara as of late...

Barbara Daly Eyeshadow in 'Taupe' & Velvet Blush in 'Peaches and Cream' - No real reason for not using these pretty products, just a habit of reaching for the standard duo natural collection eyeshadow + a rimmel blusher I am experimenting with at the moment. This week, these two will be assisting me in a worthy cause where I must look my best... 

Are you going to be shopping your own stash this week? What products have you been neglecting?

Peace!

Bourjois So Laque! Ultra Shine Nail Varnish - Review

 Shade 46 - abricot 

Bourjois So Laque! Ultra Shine Nail Varnish - 10ml - £5.99 (boots.com)

I bought this polish a while back, specifically for my particular work environment. I needed a pastel/subtle (turns out it wasn't subtle enough!) shade that was pretty robust, considering the work I was doing was heavy on my hands and nails and usually left my hands dry, nails chipped and considerably ugly.

The brush is good, I can't stand tiny nail varnish brushes that require multitudes of strokes and relish in a thicker one. This is a nice brush to work with, as it stands. 

It takes roughly two coats to make it opaque, but can sometimes require a touch up due to patchy drying.

What I do find however is the drying time takes an age, it can be patchy and can sometimes 'shrink' like rubber almost. That being said, I truly adore the gorgeous peach colour and am a stickler when it comes to seeing a polish through to the end - so although maybe I won't buy this particular polish in the future - it certainly won't put me off the Bourjois brand. 

Have you tried this polish? What's your view?

Peace!