Sunday 19 April 2015

Face of the Day with MAC Lustering Lipstick


My Face of the Day posts have been a bit sparse lately, because I keep wearing the same makeup looks! 

That's the problem when you are trying to use up makeup, you have to use the same products regularly. I have had a rotation from my last FOTD post though, so thought I would pop an updated one up here.

Base
Dior Nude Glow Natural Glow Complexion Enhancer
This is something that I've had in my collection for ages and I'm pretty sure its now been discontinued by Dior. I apply this before my foundation and it just gives my skin a healthy glow. Its a strange one, as there is no shimmer in it, but the bright peachy colour just gives your skin that healthy look. 
I do enjoy this but its definitely not a must have. 

Foundation
Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme
I am still loving this BB Cream. It provides enough coverage for me, lasts all day, doesn't feel like you are wearing makeup and the finish isn't too 'wet' unlike some other BB creams. Love this stuff.

Corrector
Giorgio Armani Skin Master Corrector (Shade 1)
Personally I find the Bobbi Brown Corrector does a much better job of neutralising dark circles under the eyes and would repurchase that over this Armani one in the future. But if you do find the Bobbi Brown Corrector's too heavy, you might like this, as the consistency is much lighter and doesn't crease.

Concealer
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
Although I like the lighter coverage the BB cream gives, I do find there are a few areas I want a bit of extra coverage. This concealer is great as the coverage is high but its still really easy to blend. I just hate the pump packaging, as it always pumps out too much product!

Powder
Too Faced Primed & Poreless Pressed Powder
Not my favourite powder and one I will be glad to get finished up. It provides good oil control but I just find it makes my skin look ashy. 

Bronzer
MAC Extra Dimension Bronzer in Alluring Aquatic
I have finally finished this bronzer, hallelujah! It was actually a really lovely bronzer but after using it for almost a year I'm craving a change.

Blush
Delilah Colour Blush in 'Lullaby'
Delilah is a new makeup brand that I have been eager to try for a while. This blush is such a beautiful spring pink and the texture is lovely. I can't wait to try more from Delilah now.

Highlight
Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight
I go through stages with highlighter and right now I'm a bit obsessed. I have to actually stop myself dusting this over my entire face!

Eyes

Eyebrows
Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Long-Wear Brow Pencil in 'Grey' with L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper in 'Dark Brunette'
I know, where is my Hourglass pencil?! Well I've actually just used it up and I recently went to a Bobbi Brown event, where I got a sample of these new brow pencils. 
I was really excited about these, as they are basically the same design as my beloved Hourglass (angled pencil, brush on the other end). I have the colour 'Grey' which obviously isn't the best match for me but paired with the L'oreal Brow Plumper, works fine. 
As a pencil I can't fault these and they are great for giving you that full but soft looking brown, also the colour range is vast, which is amazing for eyebrow products. But I will be going back to my Hourglass, purely because I have been using this for less than a month and have almost used it up already. 

Eyeshadow
Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Champagne Diamonds
Cream shadow sticks are a staple for me. I have to get ready quickly and these are the quickest things to use, just colour in your whole eyelid and blend out. 
This cream shadow stick is super, super glittery and looks so pretty on the eyes. This colour is specifically designed for blue eyes and the gold tones are super flattering. My one complaint with this though, is that the pencil doesn't self sharpen, but for such a pretty eyeshadow I'll get over it!

Eyeliner
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in 'Grenat'
I believe this was a limited edition colour by Chanel from one of their holiday collections. I find that if you have lighter eyes, black eyeliner is just too harsh. This russet red shade actually enhances my blue eyes whilst giving some depth to my lash line. I'm sure you can find a cheaper alternative though!

Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara
So, I've been using the Better Than Sex mascara for about two weeks now and I will say that it has grown on me but the jury is still out. 
Yes this does give super volume and length, but its such a bitch to  apply. I have to really take my time to avoid getting mascara all over my eyelids because the brush is so big and you have to build up layers slowly to avoid a big clumpy mess. It still flakes on me by the end of the day as well.
 I am warming up to it, but lets just say, its no Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes! 


Left to right: Charlotte Tilbury Champagne Diamonds, Chanel Grenat, MAC Lustering

Lips

Lipstick
MAC Lustering
I know Spring is here when I start reaching for the pinky lip colours. 
This is a pretty colour by MAC, but its a lustre finish……Lustre's have a high shine but that means they don't last very long on the lips at all, after a couple of hours I find this has disappeared completely. It doesn't leave behind any colour at all, literally just slips right off and I find my lips feel quite dry afterwards. As much as I like the colour, its one I will be glad to finish. 

Sunday 12 April 2015

New Makeup - Urban Decay, Dior, Stila and Too Faced

I have been sticking to my makeup low buy and avoiding the dreaded beauty halls on my lunch breaks, so imagine my delight when I got a Debenhams voucher, keeeeeerching! 

I didn't have anything particular in mind that I wanted, but I was really excited to see that the Debenhams in Bromley has an Urban Decay counter. I love Urban Decay but there aren't any counters near me, so it did kind of end up being an Urban Decay 'haul' (I hate that word!)

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer

I'm still finishing up my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer but after hearing some rave reviews I am really excited to try this. I was disappointed by the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, so I hope this Urban Decay one will live up to the hype.


Dior Addict Lip Maximiser 

I love, love, love the Dior Addict Lip Glow and had always wanted to try this lip gloss. I'm not usually a lip gloss girl, long hair and lip gloss are not a good match, but I'm intrigued to see if this really does plump my lips.


Urban Decay Eyeshadows in 'Scratch' and 'Bordello'

I was immediately drawn to the eyeshadows at the Urban Decay counter, as I hadn't actually seen them in person since Urban Decay reformulated and relaunched them. 
These two shades really stood out to me, mainly because they are in the same shade range as the colours in my beloved Naked 3 palette. I will do a Face of the Day post with these, as soon as I've tried them.


As well as my cheeky Debenhams voucher, my sister also happened to me in America and of course she asked me if I wanted anything from the mothership, Sephora.

I decided not to give her the gigantic Sephora list that I keep on my phone and instead restrained myself and requested two things.

Stila Eyes are the Window Shadow Palette in 'Soul'

So I need another neutral eyeshadow palette like I need a hole in the head, but its so pretty! I do love the rose gold case, although photographing mirrored packaging is a bloody nightmare.


Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Out of everything, this is the one thing I have tried and I'm afraid I can't give it the glowing review I wanted. 
Everyone at team Cosmo loves this mascara, they go crazy for it, so I knew I had to try it for myself. My Sister also bought herself a tube and a few days before I used mine, she sent me a text saying she was not impressed because it flaked off her lashes. 
I have been using it for about a week now and have experienced exactly the same problem.  After about 5/6 hours this starts flaking on me and by about 7pm my eyes are looking pretty horrific. I also find applying this mascara a bit of a faff, as it has a tendency to clump my lashes up, so overall not great! I'm going to try and persevere and see it it improves after its dried up a little but I'm not holding my breath :( 

That will teach me to cheat on my beloved Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes!


Monday 6 April 2015

Project Pan Update 3

I managed to get through quite a few products this month. Some, I feel like I have been using forever, others I really am quite sad to see go. 

MAC Studio Fix Fluid £21.50
I can see why this foundation is so popular as it gives you flawless coverage, but for me its just too heavy. It smells of paint and makes it very obvious that you are wearing makeup. 
If you like your foundation long lasting and heavy duty you will love this, but if you prefer lighter, more natural coverage like me, I would avoid. 

NARS Illuminator in Copacabana £23.00
I love this illuminator, its super, super shimmery and mixed with your foundation just gives the most beautiful glow. Definitely something I would repurchase in the future.

Bobbi Brown Corrector £19.00
This stuff is amazing for dark under eye circles. You can really see a visible difference after applying this, a difference that concealer alone couldn't make. I have a couple of other correctors that I need to use up first, but I will definitely be going back to this in the future. Oh, and if you are wondering about shade selection, I use light bisque. 

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink £20.00
I do love a good cream shadow and shadow sticks are my favourite, because they are so quick and easy. This was a beautiful golden pink shade (funnily enough) and was a great everyday colour. I prefer the finish of the By Terry sticks, but Bobbi Brown has a bigger colour range. 

Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Soft Brunette £26.00
This is one of my all time favourite make up discoveries and I have lost count of how many I've used up. I like my eyebrows to look natural but full. This does just that and the wide angled tip allows me to fill them in, in seconds. By far the best brow product I have ever tried.

Rachel K Original CC Cream £26.00
This is unlike any western BB or CC cream I have tried. Rachel K is a Korean brand and this CC cream isn't just a fancy tinted moisturiser. I liked to use this as a primer before my makeup. Its very light and did a great job of cancelling out redness before you even apply foundation and concealer. It also smoothed out the texture of my skin without that horrible silicone feeling. 
This is hard to come across, I think I purchased my tube on eBay, but if I happened to stumble across this again in the future I would definitely repurchase it. 

MAC Technakohl Liner in Brownborder £14.00
This eye liner was really creamy but unless I smudged it out, I found that it would smudge on my eyes quite easily. I much prefer MAC's eye kohl in Teddy to this. 

Total used up makeup = £149.50

As you can see my bag of makeup empties is really starting to grow! I'm excited to see just how much makeup I will have managed to finish by the end of the year. 


Sunday 5 April 2015

March Favourites

There is a bit of everything in my favourites this month, makeup, hair, perfume and body care. When picking out my favourites, I'm pretty strict. There are a lot of things I have been consistently using throughout the month, but I have to really love them to include them here.

Diorskin Nude BB Creme

My favourite of all my favourites, I LOVE this BB cream. 
I finally finished my MAC Studio Fix foundation and I can't tell you how nice it has been to switch to this. This actually gives pretty decent coverage, but doesn't feel like you are wearing anything. The finish is very natural and although it provides coverage, your skin still shows through. The other reason I love this BB Cream, is because I can apply it with my fingers. 


MooGoo Fresh Cream Deodorant 

When my Mum was going through chemotherapy last year, MooGoo was a natural skincare brand that was recommended to her. She swears by the brand and I also love their moisturiser for blemish prone skin. I have wanted to switch to natural deodorants for a while, my Mum has made the change and she recommended this one to me. 
I was worried a natural deodorant wouldn't be enough and lets be honest, no one wants to smell at their desk! I started using this on weekends first to test it, before using it in the week. I would say this performs well, maybe not something I would want to be wearing on the tube in the Summer months but we will see!


Living Proof Satin Hair Serum 

Since having some highlights put in my hair, I noticed the ends were slightly dryer. I don't like to put a lot of product in my hair, but my Moroccanoil on its own, just wasn't cutting it. I love Living Proof products in general, so was intrigued to try their Satin hair Serum and as expected, I love it. 
I just put 1 to 2 pumps of this through the ends of my hair when its wet, and it leaves my ends looking and feeling more sleek. 


Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink

I've actually just finished this eyeshadow after wearing it for the whole month of March. This is so easy to apply, literally takes seconds and the colour is super flattering. Think MAC All That Glitters but in cream form.


Elie Saab Resort Collection Eau de Toilette

I pretty much religiously stick to one perfume which is Bobbi Brown's Almost Bare, but I am prepared to make an exception for this. I am a sucker for fresh, summer scents and this perfume from Elie Saab smells like a holiday in a bottle. With sweet fig, mandarin, cedar and amber, I can already tell this will be my scent of choice for the summer. Plus the bottle is beautiful!