Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze

Yes, I’m going to talk about a bronzer. You never thought you’d see the day did you? As a rule, I don’t wear bronzer. Literally never. I just don’t think it suits my colouring to look tanned. Having said that, I never used to wear blusher and now I’m addicted, so I think bronzer is something I should keep trying.

This bronzer was part of a deal on in Boots; it was free when you spent a certain amount of money. I chose the shade 022 Sun Bronze because it looked like the only one pale enough to be acceptable for my English Rose complexion. The bronzer is supposedly waterproof and contains SPF 15, both of which are great if you are into bronzer in a big way.

I have now worn this a couple of times and I am surprised to say it actually looks reasonable on me, especially because it’s summer. It’s not too pigmented and it blends well, so it can actually look quite natural. I expected to look like a tangerine. There’s a tiny amount of shimmer in it, but it just gives a slight shimmer when you catch the light, it isn’t too over the top.

If I wore bronzer, this is definitely something I’d consider using regularly. Unfortunately, it hasn’t converted me. I think I just look better with pale skin. Does anyone else feel like that?

 

Lip Product Addict Tag

Okay, I admit it, no one has actually tagged me in this, but I really wanted to do it anyway. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite balm or treatment?

I have quite an assortment of different lip balms knocking about, but at the moment I am loving the Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Lip Balm. This is much more of a Christmas/Winter balm, but I love it anyway. It smells really good, and is nice and hydrating but not too sticky. It gives my lips a nice little tingle too because of the ginger.

2. What is your favorite eye catching red?

Hands down, it has to be YSL Rouge Volupte in No 7 Red Muse. It’s an absolute classic pillar-box red and it looks sensational.

3. The best luxury and drugstore product?

My favourite luxury lipsticks are the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks. They are super creamy and amazing quality, but more to the point, the packaging is to die for.

My favourite drugstore lip products at the moment are the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. The wands make them really easy to apply and the lacquers have great pigmentation. They stay glossy and shiny without being sticky, and the range of shades is lovely.

4. Best MAC lipstick?

I only own one but it’s amazing! It’s from the Retro Matte collection and it’s called All Fired Up. It’s a sensational cherry red colour, which is super flattering and amazing quality.

5. Most disappointing lip product?

This is going to be controversial, but I really wasn’t that impressed by the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick I tried. I found it transferred really easily, smudged, bled and generally went all over everything. Maybe I was unlucky and picked a bad shade, but it definitely put me off.

6. Lip Liner: Yes or No?

I use lip liner with any particularly bright colour, especially red, as I find it stops them from bleeding. I usually use a nude liner or an invisible liner, but I also have a red which is a pretty good match for my YSL lipstick.

7. Favourite gloss?

I only own one, that’s the No 7 High Shine Lipgloss in Whisper. It’s pretty when it’s first applied, but lipgloss just doesn’t do it for me. I really don’t wear gloss much at all because I find it only lasts 5 seconds.

8. ..Something else?!

Got to give a huge shout out to the Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms. I have the shade Elusive which is a really flattering pink. They are incredibly easy to apply; you don’t even need a mirror. They are also really long lasting. I’ve got my fingers crossed for some more wearable shades, as most at the moment are quite shocking, vibrant colours.

I tag anyone who fancies having a go at this themselves!

Mac 217 Blending Brush

Today’s post is just a quick one about another makeup brush I’ve been loving recently. It was quite the luxury purchase for me, because £19 seemed rather excessive for an eyeshadow brush, but I had been on the look out for a good blending brush, so I decided to splurge.

The brush is arranged in an oval shape, with has fine, densely packed fibres. It is specifically designed for shading or blending of colour. I apply my base eyeshadow with one brush, then take a little of a darker colour on the Mac 217 and blend into my crease. It blends really really well to leave a wholly seamless look. It’s perfect for a smokey eye or a natural everyday look.

Is it worth the money? Well, it’s a nice brush to have and, if you can afford it, I’d say yes. If not, I’d strongly advise you check out the Revlon Contour Shadow Brush. That doesn’t pick up colour quite as well, because it’s softer and more flexible, but it blends just as well.

Revlon Highlighting Palette in Rose Glow

I bought this Revlon Highlighting Palette the other day on a bit of a whim. It looked so beautiful that I wanted it in my life, even though I’d never used a highlighter before and didn’t really get the point. It has five different stripes with varying colours and amounts of shimmer. There were two colour variations: Bronze Glow which is primarily golden brown shades, and Rose Glow which is much pinker. I went for Rose Glow because the colour combinations are stunning.

To use the highlighting palette, you sweep a brush across it, gathering a bit of each colour, and then apply it to the areas of the face which catch the light, like the cheekbones and brow.

I was worried that the product looked so beautiful in the case that it would only ever be disappointing when applied to the skin. Luckily, I was wrong. It gives me a really natural shimmer to highlight my cheek bone and an overall bright, healthy glow. There is just the right amount of shimmer to catch the light when you move.

You can, of course, also apply the shades in the highlighting palette as individually. The  pigmented bubblegum pink shade in the palette can double as a blusher to give a lovely rosy glow to the apple of your cheeks. The palette could double as an eyeshadow palette, along the lines of the rose gold shades in Urban Decay Naked 3.

 

FOTD: Natural Rosy Glow

I thought I’d do a quick FOTD post because I was really happy with how my makeup turned out today. I hope you like it!

The products I used were:

• Foundation – No 7 Stay Perfect Liquid Foundation in Calico
• Concealer – Collection Lasting Perfection in Fair and No 7 Match Made in Calico
• Powder – Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
• Blush/highlight – Revlon Highlighting Palette in Rose Glow
• Eyebrows – L’Oreal Super Liner Brow Artist in Brunette
• Eyeshadow – Dust and Buzz from the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
• Eyeliner – Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in Jet Black
• Mascara – Max Factor Clump Defy

And I didn’t have lipstick on in those pictures but I later used Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Elusive.

July 2014 Favourites

I’m a little bit late on favourites this month, so apologies for that, and without further ado, here’s what I have been loving through this lovely warm July we’ve had in England!

Midi rings – I know I’m really late to the party with this one, but I spotted these adorable little midi rings in Dorothy Perkins the other day and I decided to take the plunge. I’m not sure why, but I think they are a super cute edition to a Summer outfit and I love how delicate and feminine they look.

Revlon Highlighting Palette in Rose Gold – I didn’t think anything could drag me away from my beloved L’Oreal True Match blush in True Rose, but I’ve been reaching for this more and more recently. I intend to write a full post on it shortly. It adds a beautiful shimmer to your cheek bones, and it has a little pop of rosy colour which gives a beautiful healthy glow to the cheeks. I find it works perfectly well by itself and I don’t need to use blusher with it.

Clinique Age Defense BB Cream – Since the weather has been warmer, I’ve been using this lots instead of foundation. It gives a really light, healthy, natural look.

Mac All Fired Up lipstick – I’ve pretty much fallen in love with this lipstick. It is one of the best quality lipsticks I’ve ever had; I can eat and drink and still barely need to reapply. It doesn’t smudge or bleed, even though it’s a dark, vibrant colour. It doesn’t need a lipliner and is super easy to apply so its perfect for Summer wear.

Essie Cute as a Button nail polish – I bought my first Essie polishes the other day and I’ve been really enjoying them. Cute as a Button (adorable name) is my favourite so far. It’s the perfect Summer coral colour. It’s really good quality and long lasting.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencils

As my regular readers will have gathered by now, I’m a bit of an eyeliner junkie. I bought two of the Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencils, Jet Black and Sable Brown, on a bit of a whim in Boots the other day, because I’m constantly on the hunt for a pencil liner which is as easy to apply as a liquid pen. These liners promised a very easy to apply formulation so they seemed worth a try.

I was quite impressed by these liners. They glide on really easily with a very soft touch, and it isn’t hard to apply the colour.  The pencils are also nice and blendable for creating a smokey eye look.

I wasn’t hugely impressed by the staying power of these pencils; they seem to smudge a bit so you need to reapply once or twice during the day. They also aren’t really designed for neat clean lines, probably because of how blendable and soft they are.

However, if you are looking for a good alternative to the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On eye pencils, these will do the job nicely, particularly if you don’t have the budget for the Urban Decay pencils.

 

Mac Retro Matte Lipstick – All Fired Up

This is a very exciting blog post for me, because I am writing about my very first Mac lipstick! Yes, I finally lost my Mac lipstick virginity. Here it is:

Isn’t it beautiful! I arrived in town a bit early the other day, so I decided to pop into Mac for a look round. I was looking at the lipsticks and totally fell in love with this colour. All Fired Up is a gorgeous hybrid between red and pink. I’d describe it as a cherry colour. I asked the sales assistant if she thought it would suit my complexion and she said “yes, yes, a million times yes”. After that, I thought I’d better try it, and it was so perfect I decided to splash out and buy it.

The formula of this lipstick really surprised me when I initially put it on. It is really dry, not smooth and creamy at all, so it can be difficult to apply and can look awful on dry or chapped lips. Mac recommend using a lipstick primer underneath it, but does anyone actually own one of those? I just make sure I’ve been using lip balm regularly so my lips aren’t dry.

So if that is the downside, what are the best things about this lipstick? Well the colour is super pigmented and looks totally amazing! It is also really long lasting which is fantastic as it doesn’t need re-applying very often. Also, because of the dry, matte formula, the lipstick doesn’t bleed and there’s hardly any transfer.

So I’m now a Mac lipstick convert. What others should I try?

 

 

Testing Products Part Three

This is the third, and long time coming, instalment of my Testing Products series of posts. You can read Part One and Part Two if you enjoy this or fancy seeing what else I have tried out. Anyone got any ideas for a better title for this series? I have been trying to think of something clever and witty but I can’t.

Lush It’s Raining Men Shower Gel – I got a tiny sample of this when I did a Lush order online, and it smelt so incredible I got a bigger version to take to a hotel with me. It smells so incredible – sweet and creamy like caramel or toffee. Totally delicious.

Lush American Cream Conditioner – I smelt this in a Lush store in London and convinced myself I had to try it because I needed conditioner. It’s a totally gorgeous sweet vanilla smell which reminds me of cupcake frosting – gorgeous. Unfortunately the formula just doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t seem to go very far and it doesn’t feel like it does anything to my (very) thick, long hair. It’s such a shame because it smells delicious.

Melvita Moisture Replenishing Night Nectar – This night time moisturiser was in my You Beauty Discovery box a few months’ ago. It suits my skin nicely because it isn’t too thick, it absorbs quickly, and it doesn’t give me oily skin or make me break out. Unfortunately, it has a really peculiar smell which I don’t like at all, so I won’t be re-purchasing it.

Clinique All About Eyes – I was given a sample of this in my local Boots when I purchased some Clinique products. I don’t use an eye cream yet because I feel a bit young, so I was interested to try this. I was surprised that it didn’t irritate my usually very sensitive eyes at all, and it was quite refreshing if I was tired or had sore or dry skin under my eyes. I’m not really sure I want to start regularly using an eye cream yet, but this is one I would definitely consider when I do.

Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer – This primer is easy to apply and works perfectly well – I think it makes my makeup last longer than it would without it – but I just don’t love it. I can’t really put my finger on why. It just didn’t wow me, so I will stick to Benefit The Porefessional for now.

Inika Mineral Eyeshadow in Gunmetal – This was another You Beauty Discovery box product. It’s a fabulous silvery-grey metallic colour with a lot of shimmery glitter in it. It’s easy to apply with a finger and looks very effective. It would be great for a night out. However, be warned, it’s a loose powder and it goes everywhere, and generally where you don’t want it, like on your clothes!

Caudalie Divine Legs Tinted Lotion – I decided to use this out of curiosity because so many people seem to adore it. I usually stay far far away from tanning products and simply embrace my English rose complexion (i.e. permanently pale). It is scarily dark when you first apply it to your skin, but it buffs down to a nice pale brown (not orange) colour, which looked very natural even on my very pale skin. It also washed off super easily. If I was the kind of person who used tanning products, I’d definitely reach for this.

Just when you thought we were done, I remembered one sample I left out of the original photo: Glam Glow Supermud Clearing Treatment. I was unbelievably excited to try this product because Glam Glow are a really expensive brand and their products are supposed to be amazing. Unfortunately, my experience of it was a complete disaster. The day after I used it, I broke out BIG TIME. I must have got about 12 new spots overnight. I know it was probably because the mask cleared out all the grime in my pores and brought out the spots to purge it, but who wants that? I’ve been way too terrified to use it since, so it’s going in the bin. How disappointing!

L’Oréal Infallible 24H Lip Colour in Timeless Rose

 

When it came to choosing the products for my June You Beauty Discovery box, the L’Oréal Infallible 24H Lip Colour caught my eye straight away. I chose the shade 110 Timeless Rose which is a cute pink colour.

As you can see from the picture below, the gloss has a lot of glitter and shimmer in it which took me by surprise. It’s a bit of a shame really because if it weren’t for that, it would be such a perfect gloss for wearing all day long. As it is, I feel a bit ridiculous wearing it in the day time.

 

The most interesting thing about this product is it’s unusual 2 step approach. First up there’s a laquer to apply to your lips. At first it feels really wet and sticky, then it goes tacky, and eventually dries out completely. Unfortunately, the glitter then feels really rough and fairly unpleasant.

 

The other end of the product is a conditioning balm which is supposed to add moisture back into your lips and condition them. That smells incredible – like strawberries. It makes your lips feel much nicer and also look really glossy.

24 hours might be a bit of an exaggeration, but wow the colour just lasts and lasts. I’ve never experienced anything like it. You can eat and drink and go about your usual business and the colour stays put. It fades slightly in the centre of your lips, but no where near how a normal lip colour fades. The colour also doesn’t transfer at all once it’s dry, which is pretty amazing.

The slight downside to the long lasting formula, is that it’s pretty difficult to remove at the end of the day. You’ll need to use makeup remover on your mouth which is odd.

I was super happy with the long lasting formula, 2 step application, and colour, but overall I was still disappointed. I think that’s because the product doesn’t live up to its full potential. If it wasn’t so incredibly glittery, you could pop this on and wear it all day and just touch it up for the evening. As it is, it’s more of an evening lip product, which isn’t really what I was after 😦