This gives my skin a beautiful dewy radiant finish and It wears well on my skin throughout the day. It feels lightweight and is easy to blend, I have the shade N Light which is a perfect match for me. This is quite a thick cream which takes a little buffing to get a nice even coverage but it is worth the effort. It gives a nice natural light to medium coverage and it gives a lovely healthy glow to the skin. It has Broad Spectrum SPF30 in to its ideal for Summer.
I think this will be a really nice brightening cream shadow for the warmer month. Just a simple champagne colour with a gorgeous shimmer finish (not glittery). Its so easy to apply & I like to wear it on its on all over the lid. I am so pleased I have rediscovered it.
Last time I used these I thought they were a little hard to blend but I like the colour selection & really want to give them another go. You get a peachy correcting shade, a concealer shade & a yellow toned powder. This is pretty good for travel & I am going on a road trip at the end May so this will be perfect to take with me. I am hoping now I have discovered my beauty blender that these are easier to blend using that.
This is one of four reds that make up the Max Factor’s Marilyn Monroe Collection & this is my absolute favourite of them all. Its more of a berry red than a true red & I think thats why I like it so much, I love berry shades on me and think they compliment my completion. I am pretty excited that I have rediscovered this as I am heading up to Manchester for a few nights out and this is the perfect lippie for a an evening out.
BarryM Blusher
WOW I’d forgotten just how bright and pink this is. I am trying very hard to fall back in love with blusher and use the few I own. As the weather is getting a little warmer I thought it would be a great time to wear this, if you use a light hand you can get more of a toned done pink and it actually looks pretty. This isn’t the most long wearing blush but to be honest I very rarely have my makeup on for longer than 5 – 6 hours.
I have just returned from visiting family in Scotland & I was there for almost 3 weeks. I thought i’d share with you the makeup I took with me. First off I love this makeup bag, it was a limited edition release from Origins last year & they teamed up with fashion designer Nanette Lepore. It is a beautiful design and it fits quite a good amount of products in. I do have my brushes packed separately so this just had my makeup in.
I took my B. Prepared Illuminating Makeup Primer* this leaves my skin feeling silky smooth and doesn’t add any slip or shine to the skin but instead it adds a beautiful luminous glow to the skin without any shimmer or glitter. It is a really nice smooth base for my foundation to sit on top of & it helps my makeup last all day whilst adding a healthy glow to my skin. It also has Hyaluronic acid and vitamin E which are great at hydrating skin and helping reduce the signs of fatigue.
Talking about foundations I took 4 bases with me, sounds excessive but 2 are sample sizes & the other two are totally different options. The one I used most frequently was the Bourjois CC Cream* it gives my skin a light, natural coverage whilst counteracting redness and evening out your skin tone. I found it so easy to blend and wears really well throughout the day. I love this & I’m so pleased with it. If you’re looking for a Summer base this might be the one.
Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation* – This was bought on a whim a couple of weeks ago & I have been blown away by it. It gives more coverage than the Bourjois CC Cream but it still isn’t heavy in the skin and I would say it gives a medium coverage. Its a very watery formula which I think is very easy to blend and it gives the skin a gorgeous satin finish, it makes my skin look incredible & I don’t need to powder unless I want it to last all day & into the night which isn’t often.
I took the Ginvera Green Tea BB Cream too and I like that its a light coverage and provides a natural touch of colour so my complexion looks bright & even. It has a lovely creamy consistency which I found very easy to blend, I did lightly powder but I don’t think thats 100% necessary. This BB Cream covers all bases it provides a SPF30, protects against free radicals, conceals imperfections & contains hyluronic acid for all day hydration. So you’re getting a lovely BB Cream with the added skincare benefits which Asian brands are renowned for.
I always take my MUA Undress Me Too Palette as its so slim & has 12 eyeshadows in, so lots of neutral options. I like that its affordable so I’m not worried about it getting damaged in transit & I think all the shadows are great quality and are perfect for wearing during the day.You get 2 mattes and a mix of metallic finishes and shimmers, so quite a varied selection for a £4 palette. I also took the Collection Eyes Uncovered Palettein Nude Bronze which is a more recent purchase & the shadows in this palette wear slightly longer & I love how pigmented and pretty they are. If you love gold, bronzy shimmers then this is the one. Again it’s such an affordable palette & I highly recommend checking it out. There are a few in this range & this one has more metallic, shimmery options. So perfect for the evening.
I am so in love with the Soap & Glory Supercat Liner that I had to pack it, its amazing at getting that perfect, precise liner that you can make look more dramatic if you want to. Wonderful deep black pigmentation and no smudging throughout the day. Try it if you like liquid liner, you will not be disappointed.
My Benefit Boiing Concealer is always in my makeup bag, I have repurchased it so many times because it just works. It covers everything and anything & it never looks cakey. Its quite creamy and you can blend so easily but once its on it stays in place for hours. Its heavy duty and a concealer that you can rely on. I also took my Bobbi Brown Corrector because I am trying to shop my stash & I hadn’t used this for a while & I knew that Scotland would be a lot of early mornings & late nights so this was going to be my product to counteract the dark under eyes.
Soap & Glory Solar Powder – This is my favourite bronzing duo, its very handy for travel having 2 shades. I think this bronzer gives me a sun kissed glow & a touch of natural colour. I must have used it everyday since I bought it. I do hate the flimsy cardboard packaging & the lid / mirror is about to rip off any day which is such a shame. Next up is Elf Pinktasticwhich is a baked highlighting blush with pink and beige marbling, it really brightens up your cheeks and leaves them looking flushed and glowing. The shimmer isn’t too OTT but looks fresh and is a beautiful highlight.
I took two blushers with me the first is the Max Factor Creme Puff in Gorgeous Berries* which is just beautiful, and it adds such a pretty warm rosy glow to your cheeks. The last blush I took is the Essence Silky Touch Blush in Babydoll which it is a soft pink and I think quite a natural colour so it gives your cheeks a very subtle fresh healthy look.
Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot is a wonderful setting powder if you have an oily t zone, its keeps my foundation in place and from looking shinny after a couple of hours. I have hit pan on this too. I also took my Mac Select Sheer Pressed Powder NW25this powder gives my skin a little more coverage & sets my makeup. I use it at night because of the extra coverage it gives, it makes my foundation look flawless and stops my skin getting oily. I have had it for ages & I’ve almost used it up. I always forget I have it but love it when I rediscover it, its just a great all round powder.
I only took two lip options and they were both lip crayons. The Origins KissZing Lip Crayon in Rosemance* this has to be my favourite everyday lip colour. Rosemance is a soft nude rose shade, it gives your lips a pinch of colour & looks natural and pretty. The formula is quite creamy and glides on effortlessly, feels hydrating on the lips but not greasy at all. I have it in my handbag ALL the time. I also took the Lord & Berry Twistick in Shut Up* which a deep plum shade & is my go to evening lip colour.
So thats what I took with me for 17 days in Scotland, do you think I packed light?
Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.
Up until a couple of years ago NYX was quite hard to get hold of in the UK & we would all see American bloggers rave about their products, I for one was very jealous so when Boots started to stock a selection of their products in their larger stores and we could also order from NYX online in the UK. I was so excited to get hold of a few bits & bobs. I thought I would share with you 5 of my most used NYX products. Let me know what products you use the most from NYX & if you have any recommendations for me to try.
I have a number of these Jumbo Pencils and absolutely love them. I am obsessed with cream shadows and find them so easy to apply & blend and they last all day on me so they have fast become my favourite product. NYX have a quite a large selection of colours in these Jumbo Pencils but I have been wearing this Sparkle Nude on all over the lid on its own. It is a pretty champagne bronze with a touch of glitter running through, it brightens up my look & lasts all day. The glitter is quite chunky & not for everyone but I do like to wear a little sparkle on my lids & the colour is just so pretty. Oh & NYX do these pencils in 32 colours!
This is a very light champagne highlighter which looks so pretty worn on its own or layered with your blusher to give it a glow. The colour in this highlighter is very subtle and the shimmer is very fine & just catches the light on your cheeks and makes your skin look healthy. The powder is very finely milled and is easy to apply, a little goes a long way so don’t over apply, I like to take this on a duo fibre brush & lightly dust it across my cheekbones. Very pretty for the warmer months.
It’s a peachy pink with a slight golden sheen running though and its one of my favourite blushers. I like that its not too pigmented and you can build it up without looking like Aunt Sally. Its so easy to blend and never looks patchy or cakey. It gives the cheeks a natural flush of colour & when the light hits the pretty gold sheen gives you a glow. Its not a glittery or shimmery finish but a very subtle sheen, I always travel with this & I love it for day or night.
I quite often pair this with my Jumbo Eye Pencils when I’m going out in the evening. The cream pencils act as a really good base / primer for the colour to really pop & it means these stay put all night long. This is the perfect colour for me as I love anything bronzy on my eyelids and it has the perfect amount of colour & shimmer. These Roll On Shimmers can be used wet for a really intense look that will stay in place without any shimmer ending up all over your face.
This isn’t my favourite Mascara but I do like that it gives my lashes length and holds a curl. Its not as black as I’d hoped but it does make my eyelashes look long and very healthy & I really like that you can remove this with hot water & a flannel so that is convenient. I don’t get any flaking or smudging when I wear this either.
Have you tried any of the NYX products I have mentioned?
I read so many blogs & I have purchased quite a few products over the past couple of years based on reviews and recommendations from some of my favourite bloggers. I thought I would share with you some of my favourite products that I discovered due to fellow bloggers.
These are amazing and I discovered them thanks to Describe The Sky – I saw them on Vicki’s blog & rushed out that night to Tesco & bought 2 shades. I have done a full review of them here with swatches. These are better quality than my Bobbi Brown ones & that’s saying something. They are beautiful and wear a really long time, they’re effortless to apply & the packaging looks luxurious & pretty. If you like to wear cream shadows then you need to get your hands on these.
I really like face mists and always have one on my desk. I use them to keep my skin hydrated, to refresh my makeup and I think the scent of this one, in particular, is quite soothing. I saw it on Sandra’s blog – Beauty Balm earlier this month & knew from the packaging alone that I needed it. The packaging is very Pinterest worthy, it’s a glass bottle with a gorgeous font. It looks very pretty on my desk & I highly recommend trying it if you like to use a face mist.
I spied this multicolour blush on Through Chelsea’s Eyes last year and thought it looked like a pretty Spring Blush & it so is. It offers great pigmentation as well as a pretty highlight. I like to swirl my brush and pick up a little of each colour & apply it lightly to my cheeks. They have updated the packaging since Chelsea bought her’s and it now comes in a much more durable plastic compact.
I have quite a collection of chubby crayons for eyes & when A Beauty Junkie in London blogged about these Bourjois ones being released I wanted them all (I still do) I limited myself to one just so I could see if they worked for me & they are really good. No creasing on my lids and the pigmentation is spot on. I will be heading back for more colours.
Lilly Melrose always used to blog about this & I have been through quite a few of these over the past couple of years. IIt’sthe perfect liner for achieving that super precise cat eye flick with no fuss or mess. The nib is long & thin and goes into a really fine tip that is sturdy but still has flexibility. It doesn’t drag on your lid and the liner goes on evenly and very black. I will always repurchase this.
Vivianna Does Makeup sold this to me after I saw it on her video last year. I’m so glad I have this in my collection now because I use it daily, I can’t even remember what bronzer I used to use before this came along. It gives a natural glow & it never looks orange or muddy. I LOVE it, I have hit pan on it & the rubbish (cheap) cardboard packaging is almost ready to give up the ghost so I am in need of a new one. If you’re quite pale then this is the perfect bronzer for you.
Kate from Ghostparties was my influence for purchasing this primer & Katie has the most gorgeous flawless skin so I just had to get it. This primer is great at giving the skin a subtle brightness, not shimmery but a peachy pink glow & I have worn this as a primer under my foundation or if I am going for more of a dewy look I mix a little with my foundation. This bottle is going to last me a long time as you need very little product. It is a great addition to my makeup routine & amazing at keeping my skin looking bright & healthy.
I’d love to know what products bloggers have inspired you to buy. I have quite a few more but I’m saving those for part 2.
