Grid of Makeup #2

I did a similar post a few months ago so thought it was about time I did another. After the last post I tried to reach for new products and really get the most out of my collection. Although looking at the photos now they are altogether I seem to have some firm favourites and products I wouldn’t have thought I reached for this often. But the proof is in the photo I guess.

Grid of Makeup

I tend not to wear any kind of vibrant lip during the day, I work from home and I like to do my makeup but I wear a very light coverage and tend to go quite neutral on the eye. Looking at the 12 images above I seem to reach for my Mac MSF in Natural alot, I like the finish this gives to my skin. It makes it look flawless and have nice glow. I’ve had this for about 2 years and it is lasting me well, I don’t apply too much as no one likes to have a powdery face. I do apply a few spritz of my Mac Fix + too and together they make a good combination. Where I can I like to purchase my Mac products at duty-free when I’m at the airport as every saving counts!

My Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit I have a love hate relationship with, I can only wear this when my under eye area is really hydrated as it creases like a bitch on me. I’m not sure if that’s due to my age or if i just have lots of fine lines. When this applies well it looks amazing but on the downside when it creases it looks terrible. I don’t think I will repurchase this when it run’s out. I like my Benefit Boiing a bit more and this also seems to last longer and crease less. The Boiing is also really good at hiding redness around my nose & chin too. I use the shade 02 light/medium.

My Wet N Wild Trio in Knock on Wood I seem to forget about this trio but when I do use it I fall in love with is all over again. The shadows are very pigmented and long wearing. The colours in this trio are s pretty and the brown shade is perfect in the crease or all over the lid on its own. I need to get a few more of these when I am in America as they come in so many different colour options. Do you have any recommendations?

I have been using the Pixi Illuminating Tint and Conceal base quite alot too, it gives a light coverage but it has a real glow it. It is the perfect product for those days where you just want a hint of colour and to even out your skin. I am loving Pixi products at the moment they seem to be right on the money. I have a post about this Tint & Conceal from last year, if you’s like to read it. I use the colour Light Glow which is the lightest shade.

Skincare

This second round of photos are mostly the skincare I have been reaching for – The Gliss Liquid Gloss Hair Repair Conditioner I purchased on a whim from Superdrug. I hadn’t seen any reviews so thought I’d give it a go. It is a spray leave in Conditioner that helps over treated hair. I spray this is my hair each time I wash it and it leaves my hair looking glossy and tames my frizz too. The bonus is that this leaves your hair smelling amazing too. This bottle has lasted me 6 months so far. I would recommend this 100% and will be repurchasing it as soon at it runs out.

No7 Anti Dark Spot Facial Sun Protection SPF50 – This is a repurchase for me & I buy it as we’re getting into summer with those No7 Vouchers (love them). I am heading to San Fransisco on June 3rd so this will be my facial sun screen. I like it and it is also good under my makeup. I get very oily and this doesn’t add to that or cause any extra oil. I like the high SPF as I have lots of freckles and quite fair skin on my face. I need protecting.

Garnier Summer Body is a great gradual tanner, this big bottle is from last year and is still half full. It applies really well & smells lovely, if you have exfoliated then you will get an even colour. You can build the colour up and it looks so natural I am a big fan of this as I hardly tan in the sun, my legs especially can use a bit of colour all year round and this is my go to.

Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Mask is my little slice of luxury. This is a calming mask and I use it when my skin is looking red and a little run down. It is soothing and cooling I just love using it. All Aesop skincare is amazing and if I won the lottery that is where I would spend my winnings. Their packaging is simple and sleek and they use all natural products. They get best skincare award from me. If you want to read my rave review of this you can do so here.

Have you used any of the products I’ve reached for? I think these posts are a nice way of seeing a glimpse of my collection and I get to see what gets love and what I neglect.

Feeling Flushed

I had a look through my makeup collection and picked out some blushes / highlighters that will be perfect for summer. So here are my picks.

Summer Blush

MUA Shimmer Kisses Blush £3.00 for 7.3g – this blush quad is really pretty and can be used as a blush or a highlight. I tend to swirl my brush around and pick up all four colours. It’s a really soft pink and very easy to wear, it isn’t too dusty and I find it wears about 5 / 6 hours on me before the colour starts to fade. It has a slight shimmer to all the colours but nothing too over powering. This is also a great product to travel with as you can get alot of great blush shades from it and the packaging is quite slim and compact.

Me Me Me Shimmer Stack in Bronze £9.99 for 12g – This is very versatile and for £9.99 you get alot of product for your money. It comes with 5 shades from a cream, bronze, gold and a rose gold. They can be used individually and make lovely eyeshadows too. As a blush it gives the same look as Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle. It is very pretty and gives a lovely metallic shimmer, all shades are very pigmented. I’ve loved using this and would highly recommend it.

Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam £10 for 6.5g – Wow this is a big highlighter and the packaging is so cute although it doesn’t have a mirror. It is a little bulky to travel with but I really like using it, mostly as a night-time highlight. On the top of the cheeks it leaves a very pretty sheen. It is gold and very pigmented so a word of warning, use with a light hand otherwise you will end up with far too much shimmer. This will last you forever so is very good value for money. I can’t see me ever finishing it.

Summer blush

e.l.f Baked Blush in Pinktastic £3.75 for 6g – I have some really fantastic e.l.f products in my collection and their baked blush & bronzers are some of my favourite. Amazing value for money and you get 6g of product. They are a little chalky but if you tap off the excess product you will be OK. This Pinktastic blush is a very subtle pink, I’d say it was more of a highlight than a blush but either way it gives your skin a healthy glow. I plan on taking this with me on holiday as its is quite small and compact.

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose $11.95 for 7g – This came in a beauty swap I did last year & I admit I wanted it solely for the packaging and the love heart detail looks so pretty. But all that aside it is the perfect touch of pink, great for summer. It isn’t the most pigmented product but it leaves you looking healthy and fresh-faced & not like you have overdone it. The down side to this is the packaging is a little clumpy and not great for travel but I love the blush.

Cute Blush for Summer

Benefit High Beam £19.50 for 13ml – I have both high beam & moon beam and love them both but if I had to pick just one then high beam would win. It is on the pricey side and I have seen a few people blog about great dupes but this 13ml bottle lasts forever. I have mixed it in to my foundation for a radiant all over glow (Only a drop needed) and it looks great on the cheek bone for a real beach look. I am a huge fan of this and wouldn’t be without it in my collection. It can make quite a subtle highlight if you dab it on lightly and when the light hits you just looks radiant and glowing. Very summery.

Avon 24k Golden Glamour Duo 8g – I can’t find this for sale online, I paid £6. I have spoken about this Avon blush and highlight duo on my blog quite a few times & if you want to see a swatch you can here. I love the blush part of this duo so much it’s quite a frosty pink and looks really pretty for day or night. The highlight shade is a creamy peach shade and just adds the right amount of glow to the tops of your cheeks. I often travel with this as it is two products in one & again you get 8g of product which will last you a long time. Pixiwoo have done a video using this blush here.

Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle £21.50 for 10g – I only bought this in December and so was massively late to the party. How I lived without this I will never know (bit dramatic). Pretty isn’t a good enough word to describe this but it just gives your face a fantastic glow. I need to be careful that I don’t apply too much around my outer eye / top of cheek area as it does gather in my fine lines ( I am 35 this year). I have used this non stop for 5 months and it looks like new, like I haven’t used it. This is one product where a little goes a long way. I love having it in my collection.

So they are my 8 cheek products for the summer. Looking at them now I seem to have an obsession with baked products, I do love them and how they look. Let me know If I have mentioned any of your favourites or if I have mentioned something you have never tried before.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

Vicki x

Treats From & Other Stories

You can’t go to London and not shop! Right? Well I certainly can’t. I knew I wanted to visit the usual places like Liberty, SpaceNK and Selfridges. I also wanted to pop into & Other Stories and Pixi – my lovely mum was with me, the weather was so sunny we had a fab time. She treated me to a few bits as I don’t get to see her often (we live 300 miles apart). So it was nice to catch up with her and do a little retail therapy. Its been a while since I spent so much in one go.

I thought I would break it up and show you in this post what I bought from & Other Stories

& Other Stories

 Body Lotion Fig Fiction / Linen Beige Naquet Eyeshadow / Khaki Naquet Eye Pencil

What a beautiful shop & Other Stories is. I took lots of photos and think I will do a post on it. What do you think? Would you be interested in seeing that. The shop is laid out so well and merchandised so you want everything. The clothes are fashionable but affordable and they look to be well made. So many accessories that are merchandised alongside the clothes and we all know that the beauty section has been getting nothing but rave reviews and I’m here to say nothing other than I loved it! So many great own named branded items as well as The Balm, This Works and Dr Bronners and a few more that I wasn’t familiar with.

& Other Stories

I wanted to buy so many things but had to show a little restraint. The Fig Fiction Body Lotion smells divine. Fig has become my new favourite scent. It is so luxurious and fresh, I am in love with it. They had a really good selection of eyeshadows and being utterly predictable I picked up a neutral colour called Linen Beige – why change the habit of a lifetime?? The packaging for the eyeliners I just loved, its so simplistic and appealed to my packaging addiction / obsession. I bought another neutral colour and went for Khaki. I think this is more of a copper but again I made a perfect choice for me & think I will get alot of wear out of it.

& Other Stories

I’m really happy with the products I bought an already planning a return visit. On my wish list is a blush in Satin Magenta the Fig Fiction Body Mist – I can only imagine how amazing this smells and I need to try their BB Cream.

Have you visit & Other Stories or tried any beauty products from them? I’d love to hear your recommendations.

Three Products I’m Loving #2

I did a similar post a few weeks ago. I always forget to do a monthly favourites so I thought picking three products every so often that I’d been using a lot would be easier. So here are the three products I have been loving and using a fair bit lately.

Sally Hansen Mega ShineTopcoat

Sally Hansen Mega Shine Topcoat – I always buy this from TK Maxx for £3.99 and it is the best topcoat I’ve used. It prolongs the wear of my nail polish and makes my nail polish colour POP. It’s so glossy and as the name suggests gives your nails a Mega Shine. Its 100% fab (technical term). I can’t wear nail polish without a topcoat as it chips too fast and I really like the look of glossy nails.

NARS Foreplay Palette

NARS Foreplay Cheek Palette – This cheek quad is so pretty I could look at it all day long. This has a Peach Matte Blush, Gold Highlighting Blush, Pink Matte Blush, Orgasm Blush I don’t wear the gold too much but the other 3 shades I love.

It’s great for travel and I tend to use it mostly for that, but as a new years resolution I wanted to use my favourite products more. So I leave this out on my dresser and I have been reaching for it so much more and I’ve been getting more wear out of it. Its far too pretty to be in a drawer. The Matt Pink is my all time favourite shade and with a light hand it looks pretty on the cheek. I did a review of this last year if you’d like to read it here. This was a limited edition palette, but as far as I am aware it’s still available at SpaceNK

Avon Golden Glamour Duo

Avon Golden Glamour Blush Duo – this is another really pretty product. I bought it last Spring and have used it at some point every week. It really is one of my top blush / highlighters its stunning. Avon did well with this. I really like duo products this is another product that I take with me when I travel. The blush is a soft dusky pink and the highlighter has a really pretty shimmer without being too discoball its very pretty and applies really nicely to your cheeks / cheekbones and adds a flush of colour and brightness to your face. It sits nicely on the skin and doesn’t look dusty or powdery on top of your foundation. It’s very light and pretty.

So they’re the three products I have been loving – who knew I was in love with two cheek products. What have you been using a lot lately?