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

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? 

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?

Bourjois "Iconic Glam" kit...

...Free when you spend £15 or more on Bourjois cosmetics at Boots.
4 full sized products worth £29
-Volume glamour max holidays mascara
-So laque ultra shine nail polish in 'Rouge escarpin'
-Effet 3D lip gloss in'Rouge democratic'
-Smoky eyes eye shadow trio in 01 'Gris dandy'

 So Boots happened to get in my way on what should have been a quick dash for milk this morning, as usual I didn't really need anything, I was only 'having a nosey' but the free gift with purchase offers are rife at the moment and this one from Bourjois was way too good a deal to miss out on! It's such a fitting box of treats for the festive season with everything you would need to create a Christmas party Make-up look, and the products are full sized! I picked up a new bottle of healthy mix foundation, a cream blush in 'sweet cherry' and then quickly swiped the last of these off the shelf before somebody else beat me to it. 

I thought I would get this post up pretty quickly to give you a heads up, so I haven't had a proper chance to test out the products yet, apart from the effet 3D lip gloss (in a different colour) I haven't tried any of these products from Bourjois before so I am looking forward to giving them a whirl! I will keep you posted!

xxx

Drugstore basics- How do I choose the right foundation?

I'm presuming that if you have landed on this post then you are among the many women that walk into drug stores across the land and feel overwhelmed by the vast selection of cosmetics on offer, it is overwhelming, the cosmetics industry is super massive and growing all the time sometimes it would be nice, like most things in this day and age (ooooooh how old does that make me sound?? eek!) if things would pause, let us take a breather and catch up with it all. That's not going to happen though so I'll talk more generally about foundation, a tricky one to get right at the best of times, but throw in different finishes, formula's and a bunch of letters and numbers, it can be enough to make your head explode.Too dramatic??

Things to bear in mind when shopping for foundation.

These 4 things will work as your basic guide to picking an everyday foundation.

If you wanted a foundation for a specific occasion or one that will give you a specific quality to your skin then you would look at different factors, this is just the basic knowledge you need to be equipt with to begin.

1.Your skin tone- fair, medium,dark.

So that you know which section of the colour spectrum you should be looking at to begin with.Of course there are many variations within each tone...

2.Your undertone- cool, warm or neutral

  So that you pick a foundation with the correct base colour for your undertone

(The quickest way to check this is to look at the veins on your wrist if they are blue then you have a cool undertone, you have a warm undertone if they are more green, and if there is neither more green or blue then you have a neutral undertone.)

For example you could have fair skin but a warm undertone so you would want a pale colour foundation that is yellow based rather than pink.Those of us with neutral undertones should pick colours that have a balance of the two.

Just as a side note even if you have a cool undertone do steer clear of foundations that are overly pink based (fortunatley there aren't too many now a days!) as they never blend into the skin enough to leave a natural finish.

Test shades on your jawline in as natural a light as you can you will want to pick out the shade that best blends with your chest/shoulder colour.If you are stuck deciding between 2 shades pick out the lighter shade as you can always darken it with bronzer.

3.Your skin type normal, dry, oily or combination.

So that you pick a foundation with the formula and finish that is most beneficial to you regarding the application, longevity and overall look of the foundation you choose.

Generally, foundations aren't labelled up to specify which skin types they are most suitable for. Revlon colour stay shades do come in normal/dry and combination/oily however I can't think of another drugstore brand that specifically state skin type suitability on their foundation bottles.

4.Coverage 

This is personal preference all the way!

Ones to check out!

Normal-dry skin types

 Bourjois Healthy mix serum £10.99

Bourjois Healthy mix £9.99

Rimmel wake me up £8.99

Maybelline fit me! £7.99

Oily/combination 

Loreal True match (great shade range) £9.99

Revlon colourstay £12.49

Rimmel match perfection £6.99

Garnier nutritionist BB oil free miracle skin perfector £6.66

Bourjois 1,2,3 perfect £10.99

I really hope I explained this clearly and this was helpful to some of you!

Do tell me your drug store faves!!

xxx

Superdrug 3 for 2...

A few weeks ago as I was driving to my parents house minding my own business I noticed that the elusive One parking space outside my local Superdrug was empty....this never happens...I took it as a sign and pulled over without pausing to think A.do I have any money? and B.do I need anything?

The answer to both questions was yes which in the case of A was fortunate!

Realising it was 3 for 2 across all cosmetics and Clearly feeling the need to bring Summer back into my life that day I purchased the Bourjois colour boost lip crayon in "Peach on the beach" Barry M hi shine Gelly nail paint in "Blueberry" and Collection cream puff in "Fairy cake."

As you can probably tell my lips have started to get dry now that the cold weather has hit and the macro setting on a camera doesn't help matters so I am preferring the balmy texture and glossy finish of the Bourjois pencil over the matte finish of the Collection lip cream right now, although the cream puff's are always a big love of mine especially for the bargain £2.99 price. Both however feel moisturising when applied, the cream puff "sets" and emphasises dryness throughout the day whereas the Bourjois lip crayon continues to feel comfortable and moisturising.

Nail wise, I love how there has been so much more choice on the high street in the past couple of years and have been guilty of taking good old faithful Barry M for granted, bypassing it to coo over Essie and Models own, but I had to come crawling back tail between legs when I was in my tiny town's teeny Superdrug as they have not quite made the leap into bringing in the big guns! Very happy I am with my polish of choice though...Blueberry has been on my nails for the past 2 weeks...I always get bored of my nail polish colour after about 5 days but I have actually taken this off and reapplied a fresh coat that's kind of a big deal, you go Barry!

Have you taken advantage of 3 for 2?

xxx

That's what make's you beautiful...

...Well not quite, but some of you may know that I have developed a gargantuan minor obsession with uber cuties One direction of late, cute post title, Cute boys mmm...oh right Im blogging here!

Shall we move on? Yes! OK then...

This post is dedicated to three products that have been making my face presentable on those rushed mornings when there just isn't the time to apply a full face of Make-up (because I snoozed my alarm 4 times) but the thought of going out into the world with bare naked skin sends shudders down my spine, you know the days?

The little treasures of which I speak are, In order of  dozy morning application, Bourjois Delice de Soleil, Origins VitaZing energy boosting moisturiser, and MAC mineralize skin finish in medium plus.

Bourjois delice de soleil
 This is basically a spray tan, it can be used on the face and body for instant colour that last's all day and washes off. I usually apply this on my face in the morning after cleansing and rub over it with a self tanning mitt, the bottle states that there is no need to rub this in but I feel it best to make sure its evenly blended all over and down onto my neck and chest. I love this for evening out my skin on the days when my actual self tanner has worn off my face but not my body, I can see myself repurchasing this forever.

Origins VitaZing energy boosting moisturiser
It's not too often that I fall for a product upon first use and I never thought a tinted moisturiser could ever have this effect on me, but there is something about this that blows all others that I have tried out of the water! I think what is so special about the VitaZing is that it is one of the few products on the cosmetics market that actually does what it says on the tin. I have generally being applying this over the bourjois spray on said lazy mornings (it works just as well without though) it completely evens out my skin tone and leaves it looking much more alive and fresh. If I am in a huge rush this is the product out of the three mentioned that I will reach for.


MAC Mineralise skin finish natural (medium plus)
I think this is the perfect powder for setting tinted moisturiser. I apply it over the Origins Vitazing using a MAC 150 large powder brush. I love it because it doesn't take away from the fresh look that the vitaZing adds to the skin, it gives colour to the face and manages to keep skin looking natural and not too 'done'

Lipstick optional and usually applied whilst cramming a slice of toast in on the way out of the door. 


Do you use any of these products? 
And who's gonna fess up to a One Direction crush!?


XXX

Review: Bourjois Volumizer mascara

It has taken me a while to jump on the 2in1 mascara bandwagon but when my Loreal Telescopic lost it's battle against dryness the other week, I took the opportunity to see what the fuss was about and popped the Volumizer into my Tesco basket.

Basically there are two parts to the wand, step one which has minimal product to create clump free length, and step two which is loaded with product 'to create spectacular 3D volume.'

Step1 (length)

Step 2 (volume)

Before

After step 1

After step 2

For length and volume I really cant fault it, my Mum even asked me if I was wearing false lashes :) It also doesn't flake or smudge under the lower lashes and even though it isn't waterproof it managed to stay put when I washed my hair over the bath (don't ask!)
However the whole wet messiness of step 2 is a clump fest/black eyelid disaster waiting to happen and something that I don't generally have time for on a day to day basis. Step one is nice enough to use on it's own but I will be going back to my Loreal Telescopic which I find gives my lashes a much better/long lasting curl.

Overall I think that if you are looking for a long wearing dramatic lash effect then you will love this mascara.

Personally step 2 is something that I can live without !

What's the value of your Make-up bag?...

Source

According to research carried out by Debenhams the average British woman carries a whopping £265 worth of make-up in her handbag!Their research was based on women carrying 13 items averaging £20 each.

Well no offence intended here but if the average british woman shopped at debenhams for all of her make-up then yeah i can totally see this being true,but im not convinced the 'average' british woman does and why would she when its always more convienent to pop into superdrug and get a trolley (ok, I know they don't do trolleys....they should though!) full of amazing brands such as Barry M,MEMEME,and GOSH !

This did get me wondering what's the content value of my make-up bag...

(This post was planned pre pro lumire so i wont include it.)

Bourjois Healthy mix foundation £9.99

MAC face and body foundation (for a mixer) £23.50

  (Paid £15.25 because of MAC pro discount)

VIE glowing beauty highlighter pen £12.75


MeMeMe blush me! £8.50

MeMeMe Correct and perfect concealer kit £6.99

Rimmel lash accelerator mascara £8.99

Barry M Supersoft eye crayon £4.59

YSL Touche eclat £25.00

Bobbi Brown lipgloss £14.50

TOTAL WORTH... £114.21 

TOTAL ITEMS... 9

so my everyday make-up bag worth and item count ranks alot lower than the average woman according to the research from Debenhams, even if i had the average 13 items and *each additional item cost me £20 I would still be £70 lower than average!!,although it is still a pretty pricey bit of kit to be carrying around with everyday especially when you think that my camera cost nearly £30 less than that,maybe its worth looking into some insurance....

* You could get two Ombres perlees de Chanel with that! Maybe I should consider joining the ranks of the average woman!!!!!

Source

What's your make-up bag worth?