July 2016 Beauty Favourites

July 18, 2016October 16, 2016 - Vicki 2 Comments

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

I adore using this toner as part of my morning skincare routine. Its so soothing, calming and refreshing on the skin. It contains so many skin loving ingredients (as you expect from skincare experts Liz Earle), including active ingredients aloe vera to revitalise and soften and calendula, chamomile, cucumber and natural source vitamin E to soothe and refresh the skin.

This feels so gentle and soothing nice on the skin and the formula is alcohol free. It does have quite a strong floral / botanical scent, which I like and find relaxing. I pour a little product on to a cotton pad & sweep all over my face and neck every morning. Its not at all drying and leaves your skin feeling leans and hydrated, ready for the next step in your skincare routine. This paired with the Eye is the complete package! Now that Liz Earle is sold at larger Boots stores it is even easier to get hold of, which is ideal.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Gorgeous Berries

I always come back to this blush more than any other in my collection. Its just beautiful. I love the packaging, the fact that its a baked blush and the colour looks a little different each time I wear it. This blush has a marbling effect and I have heard them described as dupes for the much coveted Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blusher, I haven’t used those so I can’t compare. Although I can say its incredible quality for the price.

The Max Factor ones are buttery soft and extremely pigmented, I have the shade Gorgeous Berries which is a deep mauve berry shade. It is the darkest shade in the range and it gives the cheeks a beautiful flush of colour, if you want to build up the intensity you can go all out. These wear really well and the colour lasts all day. This shade does have a slight sheen to it but I wouldn’t say it was anything on par with a highlighter.

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude

Again this is a foundation I have had in my collection for some time now and its one I love to go back to. The consistency is so fluid that I find it easy to blend and get a good even coverage. This is quite a dark shade compared to what I would usually wear but it works for the warmer months when I have a little more colour, so I am making the most of it. This gives quite a light coverage but it is build-able and it gives the skin a velvety smooth flawless (as the name suggests) finish. I really like the way it makes my skin look and it feels lightweight. Unlike some bases it actually looks better throughout the day, bonus!

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in BackTalk*

I have been wearing this lipstick almost everyday, the colour is so easy to wear. Its is a comfort matte finish but it doesn’t make my lips feel overly dry. Its not a faff to apply and it just makes me look like I have have made more of an effort with my makeup (when I am wearing bare minimal). BackTalk is a gorgeous mauve pink nude shade and I just can’t get enough of it.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink

I know I am not alone in loving cream shadows, they are a lazy girls best friend. You just sweep the product over your eyelid & blend it out using your finger & it always looks amazing. This Golden Pink is not what I would call a pink, it is a lot more a golden and has a pretty metallic finish. These cream shadow sticks are easy to blend but after a couple of minutes they dry done and do not budge. These are very similar to the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks which I have quite a few of and I’d say the quality of them is identical. I always travel with cream shadows, because they take up no space, they don’t break in your makeup bag and you don’t need a brush.

•PR Sample

Current Foundation Line Up

March 18, 2016August 13, 2017 - Vicki 8 Comments

L’Oreal True Match

This has been a favourite foundation of mine for ages now & I always make sure I have a bottle in my stash. I have the shade Vanille & its a really good match for me, I think they have reformulated since I last purchased it & changed the packaging slightly too. This foundation always blends really well and sits lovely on my skin. It gives me a medium coverage and I love the silky finish it gives my skin. Its an affordable foundation and one I reach for when I want a base that I can rely on, it never feels heavy or greasy.

Bioderma Sensibio AR BB Cream

I wear a lot of BB creams, they tend to be quite low coverage but this Bioderma one gives more coverage than the average BB cream. I like to use this when my skin is looking red and a little stressed, this BB Cream is a skincare and make-up hybrid and specifically to combat redness. I love the coverage and the radiant finish, it contains SPF 30 so your skin has a little more protection from the suns harmful UVA & UVB rays. A cocktail active ingredients reduce inflammation, anti-irritant allantoin and canola immediately soothe, and glycerin promotes hydration.

Glo & Ray CC Foundation

This is a lovely CC Cream, its great at evening out skin tone and still letting your freckles show through. This glides on the skin, blends beautifully and adds a much needed luminosity to my complexion. If you want glowing, healthy but still quite a natural base then this Glo & Ray offering is very good value for money. Its a particularly lovely base for the warmer months, as it lets your skin breath and never feels heavy.

Bourjois CC Cream

This is a skin correcting base which contains three colour correcting pigments – Apricot for anti-fatigue, Green for anti-redness, White for anti-dark spots. I do have redness across my cheeks and this does a good job at reducing that and evening out my skintone. It feels nice on the skin & never goes greasy over the course of the day. I reach for this during the day, when I want a lightweight, natural coverage just to perk my skin up.

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude

I love this product but HATE the packaging, this formula is quite watery and if you knock the bottle over you better believe me it will go EVERYWHERE! I wish it had a pump. If you take time to blend this is it will give you the most beautiful flawless finish. The longer I wear this throughout the day the better is seems to look on my skin.

INIKA Mineral Foundation

I use this mineral foundation in two ways, if I want a lovely lightweight quite flawless foundation I will reach for this but I also like to layer this on top of a liquid foundation for more coverage and a smooth soft focus finish. This mineral foundation is very fine and easy to wear, it has SPF15 and is a great base to wear as the weather gets warmer – as it never looks greasy or heavy on the skin. I use this almost daily, as I said either alone or as a finishing powder and I still have so much product left. A pot will last you ages! I have to say I wouldn’t travel with this because its just a powder explosion waiting to happen, but thats the only negative.

BareMinerals Complexion Rescue*

This Complexion Rescue feels like you have nothing on your skin but makes you look like you have healthy, radiant skin. I hear some people say they like to apply this with their fingers but I think I get a better finish when I use my beauty sponge. This has a cocktail of skincare benefits including,

Olive derived squalane – nourishing, hydrating and boosts the skins ability to regenerate
Marine botanicals – help refuel thirsty skin and enhance skins appearance
Water loving humectants,Tehalsose and glycerine- which locks in moisture
Heart leaf globe daisy – an antioxidant, defends skin from from environmental aggressors
Calcium and Magnesium – help replenish the skin and promote the skins moisture balance
SPF30 PA+++ this also contains a broad spectrum SPF to protect the skin against UVA & UVB rays

So it truly is makeup with added skincare, its one of my favourite ever makeup bases and I highly recommend giving it a go if you like a natural, light – medium coverage.

Rimmel Match Perfection

This is quite a hydrating foundation and this is the one I reach for when my skin is dry and I need a good amount of coverage. A little product goes a long way and I like to use a beauty blender to get an even flawless finish. I like the luminous finish this gives, I find that I do have to powder through my t zone otherwise I will look shinny by the end of the day.

As you can see I am very much a drugstore foundation kind of girl. I think you get get incredible quality bases on the high street and they perform as well as more expensive alternatives. What foundations do you have on the go right now & let me know if you have any recomendations.

*PR Sample

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