FOTD

Ok so this actually my first FOTD!

I just wanted to show a quick natural daytime look I go for. Oh and I have very blonde eyelashes so don't always wear mascara and when I do I just use a brown on my top lashes. Today I didn't bother......







I've used:-

Base -
• Prime Time Primer

Concealers -
• Laura Mercier concealer in SC-1
• Benefit It Stick
• Garnier Anti-Dark circles roll on

Face -
• Bare Mineral foundation in fairly light
• Bare Mineral - mineral veil
• Lily Lolo blush in Oh la la
• Bare Mineral warmth

Eyes -
• UDPP
• MUA eyeshadow pearl in shade 2
• The Body Shop eyeshadow in 1 pistachio

Lips -
• MAC cremesheen in Creme Cup
• Dior lip maximizer over the top

L x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Concealer - 1, 2, 3 or 4?????

I used to just use one concealer for everything - under eyes, redness, blemishes and any other little marks. But I never found that this worked for me. I'm quite pale and my dark circles are just awful!! God, some days I swear I look as though I've got two black eyes, and if I'm lucky they just look extremely purple. Well anyway, using the same concealer for everything just wasn't working. I used to have to pile loads on under my eyes, and I'd just end up looking cakey. So not a good look.

Anyway, to that end I thought I'd do a round up of the current concealers I use. I have 4 on the go at the moment - although realistically I only use 3 on a day to day basis and I've started to question whether this is a bit excessive.

Below are the ones I'm using at the moment..............................

Firstly, the It Stick,

I actually got this when it was free with Glamour mag - I loved it straight away and stocked up on another 3 of them as they were only £2. They usually cost around £17.00 from the likes of Boots and Debenhams, however you can purchase them online at Cheap smells for £6.95. I find that its a really good all round concealer and the colour blends in perfectly. I use this daily under my foundation to cover the redness around my nose and any blemishes I have. I also apply this as the first base to concealing my eyes.

You would think that as its in a pencil form that it would be quite hard, but is so isn't. Its very soft and it has quite a creamy texture and blends in really well. It also looks quite light in the picture, but its one colour for all skin tones and really does work on most people.

Overall I love this! and will definitely be re-purchasing when my backups run out (I only have 2 and a bit left at the moment).

Next up is Barbara Daly's concealer,

This is around £3.60 (can't remember if that's exactly right) and you can find it at Tesco's. I found this after a recommendation from Glamour mag, in an issue that had the Beauty Editors giving their tips for the best products and since then its been one of my most re-purchased products. It has a creamy texture which does blend well but can be quite thick. I usually use it under my eyes more but that's mainly due to the colour. But its slightly dark to use on my face and can look a bit orangey.

I do love this, however since discovering the It Stick I've not really used it as much. But it's such good value for money and I would highly recommend it, especially if you're after a budget concealer.

Next is my most recent purchase, Laura Mercier secret camouflage concealer,

This is the most expensive of the lot - I think I paid £25.00 for this from Selfridges. Although it may have been slightly less.

This can be used all overall, but I definitely prefer it just under my eyes. You can blend the two shades together to a colour that suits you with a concealer brush, however I like to firstly pat the light shade around my eyes and then pat the dark one all over. Even though it looks quite dark it blends in really well and really helps with my dark circles. Its weird, as I wouldn't usually use something with such an orangey tone to it but it works perfectly under my eyes. I would go as far as to say its my HG concealer. I just don't know how I survived before this ha ha!

Overall, its my most loved concealer!

Finally we have Garnier's Caffeine Anti-dark circles 2 in 1 roll on,

This costs around £9.99 and I wouldn't say its amazing, but I enjoy using it.

This once again is quite orangey and it has a very thin consistency to it. I wouldn't use this on its own under my eyes as I just don't feel that it covers much up. However this is great to apply as my last step to my under eye concealing process, it helps to stop my eye area from looking cakey. I got this ages and ages ago and its still going, so I probably will re-purchase but solely on the basis that it helps with a more natural makeup look.

So my question is, does anyone else use more than one concealer or am I just being a bit excessive?

Lx

Frontcover Mermaid Dreams

I brought this a couple of months ago but never got around to swatching it and doing a review. I'm assuming most people are familiar with Frontcover products and if your not they can be picked in most Boots stores or purchased directly from Frontcover's website (although note that you are then sent through to bodycare2000.com). They're not the cheapest palettes out there - roughly around £25.00 to £30.00 for the large palettes and around £8.00 for the smaller ones, but they are definitely worth a look. I picked mine up from Boots when it was on half-price for £12.50.

I think if you are familiar with Frontcover, most people have seen the Rainbow eyes - which is a fantastic mix of colours and types of eyeshadows - from iridescent to velvety pressed. Even though its is gorgeous, its just not for me. There are far too many colours that I just wouldn't wear, so for £30.00 it would be a complete waste of money. So anyway whilst having a look at what else Frontcover had, I stumbled upon Mermaid Dream - a gorgeous palettes of varying greens and blues, and mixes of gold and silver. Just absolutely perfect for me!

In total there is 20 eyeshadows - which are all iridescent, a brush and blender applicator and Frontcover's Shadowline included in the set.

Top two lines

Bottom two lines



The top lines were a bit harder to swatch, but I wanted to show you just how pigmented the colours were without primer. However I do use them with a primer.

Overall I love all the shades - however I have to admit that the Baked bronze will probably be the least used, as I don't tend to wear many bronze shades as eyeshadows. I never like the end result with my freckles, red hair and pale skin tone. The most used so far have been the plunge pool, glaze, sparkle, fern and comino - I find that they really compliment my skin tone perfectly.


Have to admit however that I've not really used the applicator, but that's mainly due to using my own brushes that I've had a while and like. Its not bad but I just prefer the end product with my own brushes.

Finally the set also has the Frontcover Shadowline included. This is gel type product that turns any eyeshadows into a eyeliner.

I've shown below the effect on one of the darker and lighter shades in the set.



I actually think this is a great idea. All you need to do is swirl the end in the shadow and off you go. Whats also great is after you've done you can stick it straight back into the tub and its ready to use next time with a different colour - no need to clean! When I'm applying I tend to give it a bit of a swirl on my hand, just to remove the excessive and then another swirl before I put it back - just once again to get rid of any excessive.


This can also be used to intensive any of the colours by making a paste with any of the eyeshadows on the back of your hand and then apply (you can see in the pictures above that its really does intensive the colours). I haven't tried it this way as I haven't really felt the need, as I feel that the colours are strong enough already but its an option.

J'adore Dior's Lip Polish Smoothering Lacquer

So this is my first Dior purchase and that's mainly down to price. I do love the high end products but my head usually wins the day and I stick with the reasonably priced high street brands. However even then you can end up spending around the £12.00 mark on a lip gloss from some brands anyway.

Okay so all of that was mainly to make me feel a bit better about spending £20.50 on a lip gloss. which is a bit steep! But I fell in love :)

This is so pretty - its called 002 Fresh Expert and goes on really smoother and glossy. It really lives up to its description as lacquer as that's really whats its like when its on. It differently falls into my category of gloss - not really into shimmery glosses. Its become my most used lip gloss - which is quite and achievement as I regularly carry about 5 different ones around with me at any time (never quite sure what I fancy, so its better just to have a few options)

Like I've already said before, I don't really like spending a fortune on makeup but this is so pretty I just couldn't help it and will definitely be stocking up when this runs out.

Has anyone else tried the Dior glosses range? Do you have the same issue with spending so much on a glosses

Soap & Glory - Make Yourself Youthful Super Rejuvenating Face Serum

I've had a bit of a thing lately for serums, currently trying out a couple at the moment, however I've had this one for a few months now and its been my most used serum.

Firstly it costs £13.00 from Boots which is about normal for the drug store serums and secondly its promises to make your skin smoother, healthier, firmer and younger! Basically its meant to make your skin glow.

I've done a few quick pictures below to show it straight out of the tub and blended in

I put it on just before my moisturiser (although on the warmer days I've just been using this on its own). It blends in well, but I would recommend waiting a few minutes before you apply anything on top as it can take a while to sink in. It also has a slight sweetly orange smell about it - I don't mind it but I think some people could be put off.

Verdict - Now I don't have massive issues with wrinkles or aging skin, so its not like I've seen a huge improvement in the quality of my skin, however it has become smoother (but not necessarily tighter) and its mainly for this reason that I've kept using it. Also I'm working with the somewhat nutty hope that if I start now I may not develop as many wrinkles!

Lx

August Favourites

Okay so this isn't an in depth review of each of the products but more a round up of my most used products this month:


17 Lipstick in Cashmere Blush
A gorgeous pinkie/coral that's perfect for everyday

MUA Shade 4
A recent find and only a pound. You can see a review here

Lush - Breath of Fresh Air
Just love this so much and you can see the review here

Dior Lip Polish in Fresh Expert
Weird name but such a pretty pink gloss

Jemma Kidd Lip gloss in Candy
This was a freebie (I think with Red magazine but not completely sure) and I've used it so much.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
Picked this up after reading so many reviews. It smells gorgeous and really does make your skin glow. I'll do a review shortly.

Body Shop Tea Tree Night Fade Blemish Lotion
Having a nightmare wit blemishes at the moment and this is really helping to reduce the redness and scarring.

Sudocrem in a squeezy tub.
Love it anyway and now so easy to use.

Barry M Nail Varnish in Grey and Berry Ice Cream
Both just gorgeous.

Johnson Eye Makeup Remover
Just so good.

Lx

Elite - VIP Colors Eyeshadow Quartet

I've not tried anything from Elite before, but I fell in love with this quartet. I don't usual manage to find an eyeshadow set where I actually like all the colours, but I love every one in this!

Okay so first things first, its a shimmer set (as you can see in the picture below) and its just states on the back, that its the VIP Colours 002.

(with flash)

(without flash)

I would describe the colours as mink, pinky/purple, moss green and an off white - as you can see I'm not great with colour descriptions, but I think that describes them the best!

As you can see from the pictures, the colours have all come out really well, in particular the mossy green which only needed one swipe for the swatch. However the purple needed about 3 or 4 swipes before you could really notice it. I swatched without primer and when I use it normally and do use UDPP which does help to pick up the colour.

The mink and white are obviously great everyday colours and are both really me. For my everyday work eye, I don't really like it too bold, just nice simple and bright (helps me to look more awake!). The other two shades are both great for a night time look. I'm actually going to use the whole quad for my eye makeup for my sisters wedding on Saturday, so I'll post a pick up next week.

Paul & Joe

Quick lipstick post!

I recently ordered two Paul & Joe lipsticks from Asos - not tried anything the range before.

The one on the right is from the Paul & Joe Limited Edition Sahara Collection in 002 Sahara - its a deep pink shade and the one on the left is Mademoiselle from the normal range - its more of a coral pink with a slight shimmer.

I love the the Sahara, however I think its more of a winter shade for me (a bit weird given its from the spring/summer range but it just looks slightly dark for summer
than what I would usually got for). Although it looks quite light in the the picture above.

Now I'm not really sure about the Mademoiselle - it looks okay in the picture but its a bit too peachy on for my liking. Just really not convinced and I'm probably not going to use it much if at all. I think that's the problem with ordering on line - if I'd had seen it in a shop I would have instantly realised it wasn't for me.

Anybody else ever ordered something online, only to realise its so not right?