NARS And God Created The Woman

Although named slightly strangely this is a great little set perfect for anyone starting out their high end makeup collection. It retails at £35 for the 6x Eyeshadow palette, mini lid primer and surprisingly good blending brush, which I know to a drugstore lover does not sound cheap but in comparison to £18 for one of their single shadows or £25 for their duo eyeshadows I think this is a really good price.

First of all the colour pay of all of the shades is amazing, it is exactly true to colour as it appears in the palette. The texture is nice and buttery and there is very little fall down on application. The shimmers are so intense you can create some really dramatic evening looks, but because all six shades are neutral you can equally create some lovely day looks; making it the perfect travel palette.

The Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base costs £19.50 for the full size product and works really well. Personally I prefer a more tinted lid primer (Estee Lauder Shadow Base) to cover my lids pigmentation but if that is not a problem for you then this is really good at keeping your shadow put and crease free.

Is anyone else with me, when you saw the shape of this brush did you think it would be awful? It isn't shaped like any other blending brush I have seen and the hairs are really dense, but it is really soft and it has some serious blending skills. The regular size Wide Contour Eyeshadow brush costs £26 which you can buy here; but you have to be crazy not to spend another £9 and get a little primer and palette with it just for the length of the handle.  

Basically, if you like to wear browns and golds you need this palette in your life; buy here.

Caio

  xxx

C'est la vie #1

You know I like to keep my blog predominantly reviews, just on the basis I don't think I am a particularly interesting person; I like neutral make up, I usually wear 50 shades of black, and although I would love to have this glam student life the older generation talk about, I spend all my time at university or work or travelling to them. 

That being said, you probably can see I love a good ramble, and although I spend a good amount of time in the library, 30% of that is probably spent daydreaming. So here is a little insight into my recent ponders...

Maxfactor Excess Shimmer Eyeshadow

Are you sitting comfortably? News of the season; I have finally put away my Naked palette! I know, I never thought that would happen either but after finally catching on to the whole cream eye shadow thing I just haven't had the time for all the blending powder shadows require.

I am sure you have all read about them before if not tried them yourselves so I will not ramble on, but these are such a lovely, light weight, easy to apply product I just had to give it a mention. 

I apply this on top of the Estee Lauder Stay-In-Place Shadow Base as that helps to cover the pigmentation on my lids, but you don't actually need a primer at all. Whether you apply with your fingertips or with a blending brush, if you aim to use a couple of layers of this, letting each set before applying more, it keeps crease free all day. 

Admittedly this is still a neutral shadow, but the shimmer that the creams provide is lovely and dewy looking which you just can't get from a powder shadow. These are perfect for creating effortless but beautiful eyes for spring and summer, and they retail at just £7.99 a pot which you can buy here. 

Ciao
  xxx

Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Foam Cleanser

I received this free as part of a promotion early this year and while I would never claim to be a skincare expert, I know what I like and as I have been enjoying this recently I thought I would share it with you.

I still like using the Lancome cleanser which I mentioned in My Evening Skincare Routine post, but I have now taken up to using this as part of my morning routine. 

The reason I choose this in the mornings is because it is really good at getting rid of that film like oily layer that makes my face shine every morning. No one is a fan of dehydrated looking skin but I do like to keep things nice and matte, and this just does the trick.

As you can see this lathers really well, it is very gentle on the skin and leaves it feeling lovely and soft. It also has a nice fresh scent, as with most Estée Lauder skincare products I have used.

This retails at £22 for 150ml of product which you can purchase here. Let me know what cleansers you are enjoying at the moment, I am still trying to love skincare more but I think I will forever magpie make up.

Ciao

  xxx

Bioderma Solution Micellaire

We all know this is no replacement for your cleanser, but if it's a quick refresher you're after micellair waters are great, and although there are cheaper alternatives I still love Bioderma. I use this on a cotton bud to remove foundation from my brows, lips and any eye liner mistakes I (always) make, but I also think they are really good at prepping your skin.

Our skin produces natural oils all the time but if you have oily or combination skin removing the excess prior to foundation application allows it to cling onto your skin, giving it more longevity and a nicer looking finish.

The (pink) Sensibio I have found to be a little drying on my skin so I tend to use this to make my skin appear more matte. I use it before my foundation, concentrated more on my Tzone where my skin is a little more oily. I find my make up sits better when I have used this, and more slippy foundations stay put that bit longer.

YSL Fusion Foundation normally needs retouching by lunch time but when applied after using Sensibio it seams the last all day even without applying a powder.

The (blue) Hydrabio is for dry skin types so I just use this all over my face before applying my foundation. I use this in place of a toner as I just rather use something that cleanses the skin than a toner that often has perfumes in that can cause irritation. I'm not a scientist or a skincare expert but toner has always been a product that does nothing for my skin where as these seam to work really well.

You can purchase Bioderma products at Lloyds Pharmacy online, the 100ml bottles are £4.50 and the 250ml bottles are £10. Let me know your thoughts, particularly if you have used the green Sebium one for combination skin, I am yet to try it so if you think it is better than these for any reason I would love your opinion. 

Ciao
  xxx

e.l.f Mineral Foundation

If you have been round these parts before you will probably know by now I am a firm lover of full coverage foundations; namely Estée Lauder's Double Wear Stay-In-Place foundation (review). Having said that, my love for all things matte and my combination skin sometimes begs for a less heavy foundation and more heavy duty powder. 

I'm going to be honest, the main reason I turned to e.l.f for a mineral foundation is because it costs just £5.95 and I wasn't sure I was going to like how it sat over liquid foundation. Turns out I love the finish and coverage this provides.

I use this over MAC Face and Body (review) granted this has a decent light coverage, but if your skin is remotely oily this does not wear amazingly well throughout the day. To be honest I only use this as a body foundation normally, but with a small layer of this powder it becomes the perfect base with medium coverage and great staying power. 

The finish looks better when the product is shaken and excess is removed from your brush before application. It can look blotchy and cakey if too much is applied on top of the liquid foundation. I use the Real Techniques buffing brush to create a nicely blended, even finish. 

Like I said, I only tend to use this duo when my combination skin is more on the oily side, I just think the finish and coverage are perfect and it looks just as good in the evening as when applied.

If you would like to try this mineral foundation you can purchase it here, and I would love to know your thoughts if you try these two products together.

Ciao

  xxx