Five products I will forever repurchase

I believe that I have written about/reviewed each of these products individually in the past, in fact I know that Nars Sheer Glow and 'Alien' have been mentioned approx 657 times each! But as I was sorting through my Make-up drawers fishing out the empties (All of the above have bitten the dust fyi) I decided that I would pop up a very quick post on these in particular and let you know why I will definitely be replacing them! 

*Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua 

Can you see the scuff on the left of the bottle? Yeah, that was where I attacked it with scissors to try and get the very last bit out, didn't work out too well as Chanel evidently do some tough ass packaging but it proves how much I really love it! (or how desperate I was not to have to fork out over thirty quid for a new bottle!)

I love it because it's light but not overly dewy, can be built to a good medium coverage and leaves a velvet finish. I do tend to favour the lightweight formula foundations in Summer and because this has good staying power (even without powder) while still being natural looking it remains a firm favourite.

*Benefit Hello Flawless oxygen WOW

A few years back I had a minor obsession with a foundation called 'light as air' by Jemma Kidd, unfortunately the range was discontinued and this is the closest that I've come to a dupe for it! 

I love this for the reasons that I love the Vitalumiere aqua, it gives the same amount of coverage but it is slightly lighter in consistency (it sits in the middle of mac face and body and VA), and it leaves a more dewy finish on the skin, so although they are similar I do need both!

*NARS Sheer Glow

It needs no introduction really, this has cult status for a reason...I've written, reviewed, and raved about it sooo many times so I'll leave links to those posts below. In a nutshell it is a medium coverage foundation with a satin finish that leaves skin looking flawless! For me it was where the search for the foundation holy grail ended.

read a full review here and some very old posts here and here

*Bourjois Bronzing primer

Supposedly a dupe for the famous Soleil tan de Chanel which I've never tried so can't give an opinion  on that but it's definitely believable what with Bourjois owning Chanel. A whipped mousse style formula that although at first glance looks pretty scary in colour it blends like a dream leaving you with subtly noticeable bronzed skin and a great base for foundation! Another thing to mention is the scent of this is sooo delicious it just smells like a holiday in a pot!!

*Thierry Mugler Alien EDP

It was just in my last post that I mentioned how I wear this perfume 90 percent of the time day and night, it's been out for ages now so I'm sure most of you know what it smells like. It is slightly heavy and more night time appropriate but not so much that it is overbearing to wear during the day although it might be for some. As with the NARS foundation this has been one of my favourites for many years now and I have mentioned it numerous times so I'll link those posts up in case you would like to know more read here and here.

Which products do you always repurchase?
xxx

Friday Favourite- YSL Black Opium

I rarely buy perfume for myself, mainly because I wear the same one (Thierry Mugler 'Alien') 90 percent of the time but a couple of months ago while browsing in Boots my Mum led me over to smell this assuring me it was the most amazing scent ever. 

There is a saying 'Mum knows best'.....

This had to go 'straight in my basket' ;) 

Seriously it is stunning, the base notes are vanilla, the top notes black coffee and the heart notes white florals which combined make it so unusual and so beautiful! A sweet yet sexy feminine scent that in my opinion is suited to both day and night time wear, if i had to pick I'd say that as there is a slight heaviness to it (though not overpowering a la the original opium) it is probably a more night time appropriate scent.

I can't finish without giving a tip of my hat to the bottle, .... Black sparkles and Rose Gold, thank you YSL my dressing table totally appreciates the packaging porn!!! 

xxx

Introducing Baby Finn....

Born at 9:22am 24.06.15 weighing 8lb 5oz <3 

Finn Louie Robinson.

First little outing to see the midwife at 2 days old :) 

Hello world! 

4 months since my last post, lets just say the final months of pregnancy did nothing for my mood, only now 6 days postpartum have I realised what an utter nightmare I must have been for my friends, family, work colleagues etc...oops! 

Anyway since this little man made his very quick entrance into the world (4 hour labour, no pain relief, I'm not bragging there was just no time to drug me up so I made it through by sucking my fist, sounds ridiculous I know but it really helped!) I have noticed my moodiness vanish and I actually like people and things again, phew, I thought I was a lost cause and I'd lost the plot at the grand old age of 30 although I did find myself looking at a snail in the garden the other day and thinking "I love snails" not sure I've ever had much affection for snails before so maybe I'm just on a baby high!

As I said we have been home for 6 days now and it has been the best week of my life, tough at times, but more than worth every single second and touch wood we have a very content little man on our hands and he is very pleased to meet you all! 

<3 

xxx

Proud Daddy! Just born, they will soon learn to get that stupid swaddle off me!

First big brother cuddles with Ben! <3

Bump to birth...left 16 weeks- right 40 weeks.

So in love! Need sleep!

xxx

A Friday Favourite~ Max Factor Masterpiece Transform Mascara

I never buy high end mascara because there are always such amazing drugstore alternatives that makes splashing the cash on something that lasts only a few weeks before it dries out seem so unnecessary to me. 

I have my favourites from L'oreal (telescopic) and Bourjois (volume one second) but if I'm ever stuck at a mascara loose end I know I can rely on Max Factor to offer up a winner.

Although I have a slight issue with this one, which I'll get onto in a minute, the MTM has been my go to mascara for the past few weeks because I'm obsessed with how well it volumises, separates and lengthens but doesn't leave a clumpy mess behind even after 2-3 coats the finish is so natural and pretty. It gives the impression that you have been blessed with really long gorgeous lashes and maybe you have applied a quick effortless stroke of mascara before heading out.

OK so as I said it's not totally perfect, the issue I've have with this is how it can get slightly messy when I'm trying to do a 5 minute make-up application at 6:30 am and I end up with more on my lids than my lashes due to the formula being very liquidy and the brush picking up too much product, not so much of a problem really but just a heads up you may want to have a tissue handy for excess product control. (I never have tissues handy hence the need to vent!) ;)

The positives far outweigh that little problem though and I will definitely be repurchasing this, it's a beaut!

xxx

Bourjois Nude Sensation Blur Effect Foundation!

It's no secret around these parts that I love Bourjois, for me they are definitely the King of the drugstore when it comes to base products. So while browsing feel unique for a new cleanser imagine my delightedness (wasn't expecting that to pass spellcheck?!?!) when I stumble across this new foundation offering (OK I didn't exactly stumble, I had drifted into the Make-up section, I'm bad!) I thought for a minute that I had missed a trick somewhere as I haven't heard any mention of this, turns out it was released exclusively to feel unique last week.

"Bourjois Nude Sensation Blur Effect Foundation is an incredibly light mousse foundation with a silky texture that melts instantly into the skin leaving the complexion evened out and smooth. The foundation offers the feel of a feather-light texture, the comfort of bare skin and the incredible results of a smooth-effect foundation."

 I had to do a shade match guess out of the 4 shades there are on offer which are different to the usual Bourjois shades where I either go for 52 or 53 depending on my level of fake tanned-ness I went for T43 Nude Dore as the 2 lighter shades looked too pink toned for my skin and the darkest I'm imagining is too dark. 

Anyway it's on it's way now (woohoo!) so I'll let you know how I get on with it (high hopes!) :D 

Bourjois Nude sensation Blur effect foundation £9.99- link

xxx

5 Reds I Dare To Wear!

Happy valentines day! I hope you have all been suitably spoiled today and if not never mind its all a load of bollocks anyway ;) I've never been much of a lover of Valentines day but I am a lover of matching make-up to occassions and we all know that Valentines = Red lips!

So even though I'm not the bravest when it comes to leaving the house in any kind of super bold red lip I am still a big fan especially when it comes to a red lip with a neutral eye/black liquid liner combo I just tend to go for a more toned down version, I know I'm not alone with this  so I thought I'd gather up my top 5 'comfort zone reds' and share the ones I dare to wear! 

MAC 'Ruby Woo'

Starting with the most daring of the bunch, Ruby Woo is such a beautiful classic red I just love it! I tend to apply this by dabbing the colour onto my lips and blending with my finger to get more of a stained look but applied full on from the bullet it delivers a seriously stunning matte red pout that suits pretty much everyone.

NARS Lipgloss 'Scandal'

A gorgeous semi-sheer warm toned gloss, this is an easy one to swipe on over lipstick/tint or to wear alone for a pretty but not in your face pop of cherry red.

Revlon Lip butter 'Wild Watermelon' 

A really coral/pink toned red, this is so easy to apply and comfortable to wear the colour can be swiped on from the bullet for a semi sheer tint or built up so you can have an almost opaque glossy lip. It's a pretty V.day red but I'm also thinking this will be amazing in Summer with a tan!

ELF luscious liquid lipstick 'strawberry'

This one is quite similar to the NARS lipgloss although being from ELF it's around a fifteenth of the price, colour wise it's pretty much a dupe it's just a teeny bit more pink and the ELF is a little more sheer and less sticky formula wise, I'd recommend picking this up though if you were thinking of splashing the cash on the NARS.

benefit 'benetint'

I feel that this was a product bought out with valentines day in mind although as I typed that I remembered it was actually originally released as a nipple tint haha oh well whatever floats your boat! This is a classic for red lip wusses, a rosy red liquid tint that can be built up and dries leaving a gorgeous 'just bitten' stain and can also be worn as a cheek tint for uniformed rosiness!

I hope you find this helpful if you are looking for some subtle red lip shades, Let me know your recommendations for easy to wear red lips and if any of these are already a favourite of yours.

xxx

HAUL- H&M Jewellery

I'm really loving H&M right now, being almost 22 weeks pregnant I have found that their basics range is a godsend and have for the past couple of months been living in their £3.99 long line vests (which never ride up) and my black Topshop Leigh maternity jeans anyway I headed there yesterday to find me some more basic pieces for my 'preggo uniform' and decided as I'm basically top of the worlds most boringly dressed people right now It'd be a good idea to jazz things up with a few pretty pieces that caught my eye in the jewellery section...

Firstly this gorgeous statement necklace, stone-wise this came in quite a few colours there was also a pale pink, blue, cream and Khaki, all came on a gold chain which isn't usually my thing but somehow I love it when it comes too statement necklaces, all really pretty but I'll definitely get more wear out of the Black.

A teeeeeny tiny bunch of keys on a silver chain, what's not too love? The cute factor got to me when it came to popping this dinky necklace in my basket plus it was only £2.99 so definitely not a bank breaker.

I'm not really much of a bracelet wearer but this stack of 4 Rose Gold bracelets caught my eye there's something about the chain mail/Rose Gold combo that I love and with them being elasticated they can either be worn stacked up or twisted over each other to add in a bit of interest (really living on the edge right now!!)

I fell in love as soon as I saw these pale pink stud earrings I think Fleur de force was wearing something similar in a recent video and I loved hers! They were a total bargain at £1.99 and I thought they would be really pretty to wear on Valentines day, not that I'm planning to go anywhere but ya know they'll be pretty around the house, Ikea, wherever the romance of day takes us ;)

So with these little beauties, my handy basics and a bunch of the most adorable newborn baby clothes bagged up H&M made me a really happy hormonal lady yesterday! I definitely recommend popping in for a nosey if you are shopping this weekend. 

<3

New Drugstore Make-up And First Impressions.

I had a serious case of the Monday blues this week so by lunch time I decided to do the one thing that is guaranteed to pick my lip up off the floor and headed off towards Boots and Superdrug for a much needed (but totally not needed!) beauty hit.

The only thing I was really in need of was a new eyebrow pencil so I picked up the Maybelline brow satin in Medium Brown which is an ash toned brown, thumbs up! It's double ended with one side being a retractable gel pencil (love these as I'm a lazy sharpener) and the other side a sponge tip applicator that contains a powder meant for filling in any gaps and perfecting the whole appearance of ones brows! 

After 3 consecutive mornings of using the brow satin I'm sold on the gel pencil end, the fine tip and well pigmented but natural colour tone make for foolproof, faff-free brow fills which I'm definitely all about at 6:30 am! It reminds me of a favourite from back in the day the MAC brow pencil in 'fling'  but at half the price. I'm yet to venture to the powder end of this product because it's an unfamiliar concept and I want to have a bit more time for a play with it but I'll post my thoughts when I've given it a whirl
( I have heard good things though).

As Maybelline is currently on buy one get one half price I thought I'd give their new 'Lash sensational' mascara a go, not sure why because I've never found a Maybelline mascara that I've loved. I definitely prefer Max factor, L'oreal and Bourjois when it comes to drugstore mascara but because of the offer and how there's a bit of a hype around this one I found myself popping it into my basket.

Annnd this is sooo not the one to convert me to a Maybelline mascara lover, I like the idea of the tapered, curved rubber wand but that's about all because even after a 'Shu uemura squeeze' as always with Maybelline mascara this does nothing for my lashes, I don't hate it, it's just 'meh' it's a 'meh-scara' ;)

Rimmel 25 hour nude is the medium coverage version of the much loved full coverage Rimmel lasting finish 25 hour, a recent release and one that I was keen to try out. Aside from what I think we all agree is an ever so silly 25 hour claim (more like 6), it does what it says on the tin, it's reasonably lightweight formula means a little goes a long way and it blends effortlessly into skin, it does have a semi-matte finish which picks up on the annoying areas of dryness I have at the moment, but that aside it's not exactly hydrating but it is comfortable to wear. So a no-go for very dry skin days but on the whole I'm really liking this I can see myself using it as an everyday and evening foundation as it's the perfect middle ground, flawless finish without being full on.

Rimmel also has an offer on in Superdrug, currently it's any two products for £10 I knew that I wanted to get the soft khol kajal eyeliner in 'sable brown' after seeing Tanya Burr use it in a Selena Gomez tutorial last week, she raved about this pencil and it looked stunning on her so it instantly went on my drugstore to get list. I've only had chance to use this once so far but I loved it, it's so pigmented and creamy it glides on like a dream, and the colour is perfect for achieving depth and definition without being harsh for daytime wear also I'm really looking forward to using this for my favourite kind of evening bronze/brown smoky eye.

I'm going to carry on trying these products out and if there are any that you would like a full review on let me know, although the 'meh-scara'  mayyy already be in my unloved make-up drawer ...

What drugstore Make-up are you loving lately?

xxx

Still loving... the 90's nude....

AKA the lip colour that drove me crazy as a teenager, why? because back in the 90's it was impossible to get your hands on an actual nude colour lipstick that wasn't some shade of Brown in the drugstore and as I was a tween from the countryside and had yet to discover the delights of the MAC lipstick stand (you should have seen how fast the shade 'Blankety' was in my kung fu grip when I did!) it felt like I was forever on the hunt for my perfect creamy pale nude.

Nowadays we are lucky enough to have an abundance of nude shades available from Tesco's to Tom Ford they are everywhere so finally I can make my peace with the 90's nude lip and admit that it actually is a look that I am loving at the moment! 

In particular this combination, essence lip liner- 'in the nude' (top swatch) for the price (less than £3)  I'm really impressed with the creamy formula and longevity of this lip liner, that aside and back to the 90's this is the perfect tawny brown liner for a 90's nude either worn all over the lips or paired up with my recent love (bottom swatch) Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 'Nude-ist' ahhhh if ever there was a time I was happy to be a bandwagon hopper then its every time I see my reflection and this perfect pinky toned brown nude beauty is on my lips! A quick hats off to the formula a liquid lipstick with a matte finish that packs some serious pigment and sticks around for hours, I wont go too much more into detail but if you haven't tried one of these then let me give you a gentle metaphorical nudge towards your local Boots ;) 

This is definitely my most worn lip combination of late and can see it continuing to be a favourite for the remaining winter months!

Are you loving 90's nudes? 

Topshop Glow 'polished' review

Firstly a quick nod to Topshop's simple packaging, glass pot, white lid, cute font, I love all of it.

 The formula is gorgeously creamy and blends with minimal effort, also bear in mind that a little goes a looong way so the 4g pot should last ages. I've been applying this in the usual places cheekbones, nose bridge, cupids bow, I've even thrown in a cheeky dab on my forehead and chin on a couple of occasions just for the heck of it, #wild times. 

When it comes to application an index finger works perfectly to blend it into the skin, I've also found a MAC 224 brush handy for extra control when blending on my non existent cheekbones.

Colour wise polished is a pale champagne with a pink irridesence, there's ultra fine multicoloured glitter running through it (I mean ultrafine don't be put off by it) This combination results in pure magic when the light hits! 

So to sum up, If I was to text you about this it would get an emoji thumbs up (high praise indeed)

Have you tried any of the Topshop highlighters?

Topshop glow £9 link.

My top 3 Bourjois products

 

When it comes to drugstore Make-up I love me some Bourjois, I find as a general rule when drugstore cosmetic shopping , if in doubt go the Bourjois route (if you're American you will get alot more out of that sentence than the Brits, or not ahem!) because they rarely put out a disappointing product, I actually can't think of one off the top of my head although if my arm was twisted I'd have to say I'm not a huge fan of the classic 'chocolate bronzer.'

Above are my all time favourites, the one's that shall be forever repurchased.

1.Healthy mix radiance reveal foundation 

I actually love this foundation so much that I often pick it over my higher end ones. For me this is a perfect all seasons base, it blends so easily (I like to apply this with my fingers), gives light/medium coverage which can be built into a decent medium with a satin finish, the bottle claims it lasts up to16hrs which is just silly but it does stick around well I get around 5-6 hours without powder before my beautiful nose redness starts peeking through.

2.Volume one second mascara

A mascara with balls! :o Seriously though I had high hopes when I picked this up and I wasn't disappointed.The rubber brush/tiny ball combo works wonders on the awkwardness that are my mid length crossed over lashes, it gives separation, length and volume that lasts the day without smudging/flaking (I have the non waterproof version)  and although it goes without saying that the 1 second claim is just daft it does the job quickly with minimal wand wiggle-age needed.

3.Bronzing primer

I honestly thought this had a better name until just now so I shall use the French...The Bourjois base lissante soleil (better) is currently my obsession, supposedly a dupe for the much hyped Soleil tan de Chanel or whatever it's called nowadays, I never gave into that hype because I didn't think I was missing out on a mousse formula bronzing primer, how wrong was I? Although the colour and consistency are quite scary at first glance, the BLS ;) blends into the skin like a dream leaving a smooth matte base for foundation which it then lends a hand to giving a suprisingly subtle bronzed healthy finish.So far I have only used this as a primer but apparently it works well as a contour so I'm going to have to give that a go!

NB: I'll be damned if there is a base product on this planet that smells this delicious!!

NB2: I over scooped in the above swatch picture...a little goes a long way with this.

What are your favourite's from Bourjois?