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

Review: NARS Sheer glow foundation revisited

To be honest it's rare that any beauty product comes along that I can hand on heart say, for want of a better saying "rocks my socks." With every new cosmetic product release, while deep down I'm still always full of hope I have found myself becoming increasingly cynical due entirely to many past experiences of product let downs and in my 28 years (most of which being beauty obsessed) I have little more than a handful of products that make the holy grail list, this little bottle of magic (dramatic moi?) being at the very top!! 

NARS Sheer glow foundation

I did a post on this after first purchasing it a couple of years ago and if I remember rightly I declared it holy grail upon first use. I don't want to waffle on all essay style on yo asses, so I thought it best to break down the reasons why sheer glow has remained top of my cosmetic dream team...

Coverage/application

A perfect medium coverage which can be built up to achieve a medium/full coverage. Application wise this works into skin best using fingertips or a damp beauty blender sponge which will give you the sheerest result.Another thing to point out is that if you have slightly dry skin then this works best applied straight after moisturiser for extra "Give" to blend into skin perfectly.

Finish

In a word...flawless! Although the name sheer glow still baffles me a little bit as it is hardly sheer nor does it give the dewy finish you might expect it is much more of a satin finish, however if you are after immaculate doll like skin from your foundation this is the one for you

Suitable for

I would recommend this for most skin types however those with very dry skin and mature skin should definitely steer clear as this will cling on, cake on any dry areas and look very heavy and unnatural on a mature skin, I will avoid using it if I am having a dry skin week.

Staying power

Sheer glow is in it for the long haul, even though as I have a normal/dry skin type I don't tend to use a primer or powder this gives me a full 8 hours of wear before any touching up is needed.

Shade range

20 shades from pale to dark skin and varying undertones. I originally purchased Deauville which is light with a neautral balance of Pink and Yellow undertones which towards the end of the bottle I found too pale for me and have purchased Fiji which is a light shade with a yellow undertone and perfect for my (NC25) skintone. 

Price

A bit of a "type your pin number in whilst looking away" £30.50 for 30ml, however a little goes a long way, I wear this most days, always for a night out (as it photographs well) and a bottle of this lasts me around 4 months. 

Availability

Available at NARS counters and various on line stores (ASOS, John Lewis, Selfridges etc.)

And that's it, no bad news here folks I could be picky and point out that Mr. Nars could have chucked in a plastic pump to make up for the price tag but I won't instead I must bow down and kiss his feet for creating this foundation! 

    Go and buy it and then come back and thank me in the comments when you do hehe ;) 

xxx

Cant live without:Foundation

If I had to pick just one item of make-up that I absolutely couldn't survive without (dramatic? Moi??) I would choose my foundation without question, Ok maybe I would look rather strange without the rest of my make-up there doing its thang for my eyes, lips, and cheeks, but foundation is the item that I would miss if I was forced into a cosmetic ultimatum! It's the item I get the most pleasure from,it's like a security blanket I suppose.

My l'il collection!

I am,  like alot of girls on a constant quest for the perfect skin, so when a new foundation pops onto the scene gaining rave reviews, Im there at that counter as soon as funds will allow, hoping that this will be the one to do it all, even skin tone, lift, illuminate,turn me into Kim Kardashian, bring about world peace (you never know!!)

My top 3 foundations

I cant really put these in order as being the fickle madam that I am I find myself using them on a rotational basis depending on my mood,time allowance and all that shiz!


1. MAC-Face and body.

Out of the 3 this is the one that I have used the longest. I love its light formulation that allows your natural skin to breathe, alongside the way it can be built to attain a good medium coverage if desired.And the huge 120ml bottle lasts for an age!! 


2. NARS-Sheer glow

A HG for many for good reason,sheer glow gives fantastic buildable coverage which is long lasting, and a flawless finish to boot. My Other thoughts on sheer glow here.


3. Chanel-Teint innocence compact foundation

I love this for when im in a rush, it applies beautifully with the supplied sponge to a light medium coverage, and is easy to carry around for touch ups throughout the day.It also feels really moisturising for a cream to powder formula and doesn't cake. I think I might have relied on this too much for touch ups though as I actually hit pan in about 3 weeks!!! My Review here.


Of course I have had some disasters in the past...

My least favourite foundation.

Estee Lauder Double wear

This is a HG foundation for alot of girls, and for good reason, It gives an incredible flawless long lasting finish.
But I wasn't so lucky, for me I found it way to heavy (I like a medium-full coverage) It felt like I was wearing a concrete mask when I wore it. The worst part of this foundation was that wherever I applied concealer, and blusher it created patches on my face as if these products had pulled the foundation off, I ended up walking around town once  looking in all seriousness like I had a skin disorder, I had to hot foot it to the Chanel counter to have a fresh base applied ha! I would however love to try out Double wear light as like I said the double wear finish is beautiful on the girls who get on with it.

Anyway I could ramble about foundation all day long, so ill leave it at that for now,however I have a few other's on my wish list that I will be picking up in the not too distant future, so I will be sure to let you lovelies know my thoughts. 

Which make-up item couldn't you live without?

NARS Sheer glow-Natural FOTD

Hey Girls,

Dare I say it? I think I found my HG Foundation yesterday when my good old postman delivered NARS Sheer Glow foundation to my door.

I was going to wait to review this foundation but I have already had so many compliments with it that I just cant keep it to myself! My Best friend came round for her shoe (that's a long drunken story!!) and the first thing she said was 'oh my god your face looks amazing!' Then a woman at school told me I looked like a Doll, I'm assuming this was a compliment and she didn't mean 'Chucky' or something!?!

Anyway, I have been  ooking for a medium coverage foundation that would give me a luminous finish without being shiny or attaching to any dry patches I might have, and had heard so many good things about this foundation. So the other night did a pretty stupid thing by ordering online without colour matching the foundation to my skin, and just guessing by looking at ASOS' swatch chart, but luckily got it spot on phew!!!! I ordered 'Deauville' which is an almost exact colour match to MAC Studio fix NC20(winter months) my old HG foundation.

  'Sheer glow' is a bit of a misleading name for it as it isn't too sheer,although it is buildable and it doesn't give a luminous finish,in fact it's a semi matte finish but a Matte that gives radiance and doesn't accentuate pores.It also lasts all day, I applied it at 10am and at 7pm it was as perfect as when first applied.

So far as you can probably tell, I love this foundation and cannot find fault with the formulation or finish,it applies and blends into skin beautifully using fingertips,and unless you are using this on a client then there is really no need for a brush/or sponge.As I have only been using it for 2 days I will definitely keep you updated if anything changes,and I find that I don't get along with it (oh my god I hope not!!)

I would say that Sheer glow would be perfect for Oily or Normal/dry skins although it is marketed towards people with Normal/dry skin. 

NARS 'Sheer glow' is available in various department stores throughout the UK 

and online at:

 ASOS 

SPACE.NK 

Selfridges 

Price £29.50 for 30ml.

I'd love to know what your HG foundations are, and also if anyone uses Sheer Glow your thoughts on it?