If you've been reading my blog for a while you will know by now how much of a foundation hoarder I am. At the moment I have over twenty different foundations (shocking, I know!), both high end and high street.

There is a few foundations that I love, some that are OK and others that I hate and I never use them. I promise I will get rid of the ones I don't like when I move house and I do a proper de-cluttering session, until then, they'll  just be sitting at the bottom of the drawer I never open.

MAYBELLINE LASH SENSATIONAL MASCARA

I finally did it, I finally got the Maybelline Sensational mascara! After seeing that so many other bloggers love this mascara I decided to purchase it to see if I agree with all the fuss.

DIORSKIN FOREVER FOUNDATION FIRST IMPRESSIONS/REVIEW

Last week I attended another Dior event at my local Debenhams. I absolutely love Dior events, they really do treat bloggers like VIP's with champagne and pretty wristbands! This event was about the new spring collection and the new foundation Diorskin Forever.

STILA ILLUMINATING LIQUID FOUNDATION REVIEW

Here I am with another foundation review. I swear I am trying really hard to stop buying foundations but I just can't help it, I seem to have an obsession with them! So yeh, this time I decided to go for Stila's Illuminating Liquid Foundation. I recently went to a make up outlet and I saw that this foundation, normally £25 was reduced to £5.99 so I had to get it as it was such a good bargain!

'Picture perfect skin is now a reality', ' Sheer to medium coverage that hides flaws and imperfections', 'Luminous and airbrush look' and 'Silky semi-matte finish' is how Stila describes this foundation.

If you know me or have read previous post you might know that I love trying out new foundations but this time I was a little bit disappointed.
With the price tag of £25 I honestly expected a little bit more when it comes to coverage and lasting. I find this foundation a little bit hard to blend and you have to do it really fast as it dries quite quick. I also don't like the smell, you can definitely smell the chemicals in it.
At first it feels very sticky on your skin but after a few minutes it settles and it feels quite light. I would say this is a light to medium coverage as it didn't hide my spots and it doesn't last all day at all. As for the 'illuminating', with that name I thought it would give my skin a healthy glow but it didn't at all, in fact I found it quite dull on my skin.

I guess I could say that this foundation is 'ok' on a good skin day when you have to leave the house for a couple of hours but that's it.

Overall, I am not impressed at all and if I had paid the full amount I would've been very upset. I do not think this foundation is worth that amount of money and if I'm being honest, I don't even think I'd buy again for £5.99 either! The only good thing about this foundation is the packaging, I love the matte glass bottle!

Have you tried this foundation? Did it work for you?
xxx

MY NEW FAVORITE BODY SCRUB

As you may know if you read my blog, a week ago I attended a Miss Patisserie event in Cardiff (you can read about it here). As always, when I go to events I like getting some of the things they offer and test them myself so this time I ended up getting a body scrub, a face oil and a perfume. 

I can't tell you much about the face oil just yet as of course it takes more than a week to see any results. As for the perfume, I went for a raspberry and orange and I love it. It's very fresh and perfect for every day. It also comes in a tiny bottle so it's great to have it in your bag.

Now, the winner is definitely the body scrub. I really cannot rave enough about it. I have been telling every body at work and I keep making them touch my skin and they all love it! There was quite a few different smells and I struggled to decide which one I liked the most if I'm being honest because all of them were so dreamy! In the end I went for the 'Coco' one. Their body scrubs are 100% made from natural ingredients and they're produced and designed here in Cardiff. Coco has a tropical smell to it, like coconut mixed with lime and sweets. It really does make you want to eat it. Miss Patisserie describes this product as nourishing and moisturizing sugar body scrubs, perfect for bright and glowing skin. They are packed with antiflammatory jojoba oil and restoring sweet almond oil as well as renewing Vitamin E.  I could not agree any more!

I have used this product three times now and from the very first day I have felt such a different in my skin, it's hard to believe! In winter I always get very dry skin in my hands, forearms and elbows to the point where if I scratch my arm it turns white of how much dry skin there is, well, that hasn't happened since I've been using this body scrub. It removes all the dead skin and hydrates the skin in a way I can't even describe! My skin feels so smooth and it smells so good for over twenty-four hours and the thing that I love the most about this body scrub is that you don't need to moisturize afterwards! 

I wish I could give you all a tiny bit to try it because you'd fall in love with it as much as I have! I will definitely be purchasing different smells (there was a watermelon one that was to die for!). 

You can visit their website at http://www.miss-patisserie.com/ or if you live in Cardiff check out their store at the High Street Arcade!

What is your favorite scrub? What your new favorite skin care product?

DIORSHOW FUSION MONO LIMITED EDITION

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a Dior event (read all about it here) and after seeing some of the amazing products there I finally found one I couldn't leave the store without. I only allowed myself buying one item so I had a good look at all their products before deciding as I wanted to make sure I got something amazing and OMG I did!

I ended up choosing the DiorShow Fusion Mono in Blazing (£25). They have more Fusion Mono eye shadows but this one is limited edition for this Christmas collection. Blazing is gold shimmery and it will look amazing at the Christmas parties this year!

Now, this eye shadow looks STUNNING on the lids and it last all day. You also don't need to put a huge amount of product so I have a feeling this little pot is going to be my friend for a good couple of years, so totally worth the money!
I've also tried it as a highlighter and it looks amazing too so we could say it's a multi porpoise product too!

After trying this eye shadow I know I will definitely be getting more products from Dior.

Do you have any Dior favorites? Let me know in the comments section below, I love to read your comments!

FOTD - SMOKEY EYE & BROWN LIPS

This is my most favorite look. I wear it very often and I wear it during the day or for a night out, I think it works very well for any occasion. If you'd like to know how to achieve this look keep on reading!

When I do an eye make up like this, I always start with the eyes as it does get a bit messy working with black eye shadow. In this occasion I used a light orange shade from a palette I got from eBay (here) all over my crease and blended it all the way to the brow bone.
Next I mixed the two shades from the middle row second and third from the left from the same palette and properly defined the crease, repeating the process a couple of times. Then with a flat brush I used the black shade all over the lid and blended the crease again with the same colours I used before to avoid any sharp lines between the black and the browns. I then repeated the progress again as I wanted to black to look very dark. After that I used the brown shade on my lower lash for the smokey look.

As for the face, I used my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation for the airbrush finish and the Revlon Colorstay concealer under my eyes and t-zone to brighten up my face.
Instead of contouring, I used Balm Desert by The Balm for my cheeks for a more natural finish.

For the lips, I used MAC Stone which I think it's a great shade for this time of the year.

What do you think of this look?

HOW I CLEAN MY BRUSHES QUICK AND EASY.

First of all, let me apologize for a few things...

• My nails. Yes, they are disgusting. I have been picking them all day but worry no more, I'm getting them done later on today.
• The lighting. The light in my bathroom is rubbish so I had to take photos with flash and they don't look very stylish unfortunately.
• The water I've wasted while taking this pictures. I always turn the tap off when I don't need the water while cleaning my brushes, but it really is difficult to combine cleaning your brushes, the camera and the water all at the same time.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let me tell you a thing or two about cleaning make up brushes. I gotta say, this is something I hate with passion. I am the laziest person when it comes to clean them up, I know I should do it at least once or twice a month but I must admit I should be lucky if I do them once every couple of months! I do 'wash' them with a brush disinfectant every time I use them, but it's a very quick process and to be honest I doubt it cleans them much.

With that been said, when I know it's been way too long and I can't put it off for any longer, here's what I do.

Take any soft shampoo ( I just use baby shampoo from the £ shop ) and put a tiny bit into a bowl or a plate. As you can see, I use the lid of my hair conditioner.

Dab the brush slightly in the shampoo and put your hand under the warm-ish water. Then rub the brush on the palm of your hand. Run it through the fingers as well and repeat the process a couple of times until it turns completely white.

Once it's white it means there isn't any foundation left in the brush so I move onto the BrushEgg. Some people skip the hand process and do it straight onto their make up cleaner glove, I just like to do it that way first as you can feel the hairs of the brush go softer as it gets cleaner and cleaner. Also, if you don't have one of this, you don't have to use it. They get clean enough using only the hand anyway.

Repeat the same process with the BrushEgg.

Remember to always keep your brushes upside down as you don't want the water to go inside and dissolve the glue that is keeping all the hairs together.

Once you think your brush is all clean, squish it with your fingers and you'll see if there's any foundation/colour left. If there's still coming out of the brush it obviously means that it's still not clean 100% and that you need to do it all again! If nothing but water comes out of the brush, you're good to go. 

Leave them dry for a good few hours always making sure they're not completely flat or it can misshape them.

To be honest, it's quite a simple process and I really don't know why I hate it so much. I guess I am just super lazy and I just wish I could have new brushes every time I do my make up.

How do you clean your brushes? Do you have any more tips?

MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER, IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?

It's no lie that Garnier Micellar water has been talked about a lot so it's no surprise I ended up buying to see what the whole hype was about. Literally 99% of the reviews I had read about this product were great so I was super excited and really looking forward to try this super amazing product that everybody raved about.

Well, whilst I agree that it's refreshing and doesn't irritate my eyes, this product was a big fat disappointment for me. I honestly do not get the good reviews this product is receiving!

I used it every day for two weeks and here's my thoughts.

When it comes to taking make up off, I feel like it really didn't do a great job. I use a very thin foundation as well so I can't even imagine what is like if you use a thick foundation like ColorStay every day. I noticed that I had to use a lot of product and it was very hard to control how much came out of the bottle. I had too use at least 5-6 cotton pads and a lot of patience to remove my make up and to be honest, by the time I'm taking my make up off is probably late at night and all I want is go to bed so I found it quite annoying that it took me over five minutes to completely clean my face as I didn't feel like my face was cleared of make up and I had to then go back to my normal routine which obviously added another good few minutes.

This product also didn't work on my waterproof mascara, I honestly looked like a little panda and it was so hard to get rid of the black eyes that I eventually gave up and used my regular cleansing milk (N7 Cleansing Lotion).

Despite being refreshing, I've noticed that in the last two weeks my skin has been feeling a lot dryer as well and I think it could be due to using this cleanser as I've just got back to my normal routine and it already feels slightly better.

So for me this product didn't work at all and I won't be buying it again. Is it really worth the hype? No. Like I said before, I really don't get why people like this product so much, sure it's cheap but it doesn't really do the job. I much prefer spending a little bit more money and get it done in a minute than having to sit there for ages rubbing my make up off.

What do you think? Do you love this cleansing water or do you agree with me that this isn't worth all the hype?

REVLON COLORSTAY 24H REVIEW

Here I am with yet again another foundation review. I know, I know, I have way too many foundations already and I just got another one. I just can't help it, ok?

Anyway, I have been wanting the Revlon Colorstay 24h foundation (£12.99) for ages and for one reason or another I never got around to buying it but last week I decided enough is enough and I just went ahead and bought it. I've been wearing it for a few days now to make sure I test it properly before writing a review. I think I now have a pretty good idea of how it worked on me so let's just get to it!

I'm going to start talking about the packaging as always. I do love that it is in a glass bottle as glass bottles always look more expensive and sexy, however it doesn't come with a pump or a stick which was probably one of the reasons why it took me so long to buy it. But it's ok, I will get over it.
The texture of this foundation is a little bit too thick for my liking so I have to put very little amount and build it up rather than doing it all in one go. I feel that if I don't put any powder on top it feels a little bit sticky and even cakey. But then again, I am used to the YSL Fusion Ink foundation which is super thin and soft so anything slightly thicker I can feel it straight away.
As for the coverage, it does cover pretty much everything on my face and it does evens out all the colours on my face. At first glance I didn't really like how it looked on me as I looked really plain but once the bronze and all the rest is done it looks really good and flawless. Of course I haven't tried it for twenty-four hours straight as I have to sleep or I die, but I have worn it for a whole day from 7am to 9pm or so and it does stay in place so I am quite impress with that.
As for the colour range, there's plenty of shades to chose from so I think there will be a close shade for every skin.

Overall, I do like this foundation and I will be using it often I think. I don't love it for the simple fact that I prefer lighter foundations but it does what it says, it covers any imperfections and it is very long lasting.

Have you ever tried Revlon Colorstay 24h foundation? What do you think of it?

REAL TECHNIQUES DUPES

We all know how amazing and affordable Real Techniques brushes are. However, if you'd like an even cheaper alternative that work just as well just keep reading.

Me being the eBay freak that I am, I discovered these dupes just browsing around and seeing how they looked exactly the same I decided to order one to see if not only they looked the same but worked as well as the real ones. Now I have six. Honestly, they work exactly the same as the real ones and I've had them all for over six months now. I've washed them over and over and I still haven't found any faults.

These brushes are between £1.50 to £3, depending on where you get them from. I get mine from here. They come from China so they do take a while to get to you but it's well worth the wait for the price as you pay no postage and packaging either.

So if like me you're always skint and always trying to find the best bargains, this is definitely one of them!

LIP LINERS I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

I have always loved lip liners a lot more than lipsticks. I think they last way longer, are less messy, more precise and they have a matte finish which I love. I know some people will say that lip liners are to go under your lipstick to make it last longer and all that, but I like to wear the lip liner by itself without lipstick as I just love how it looks!
Today I''ve decided to mention the lip liners that are always in my handbag, no matter what.

Now, as you can see, all of these are high street brands because I think you don't have to spend a lot of crazy money to find a good lip liner. I have a few MAC ones and to be honest, I can't tell much difference between them and Barry M for example! So here's some affordable yet amazing lip liners!

MANE 'N' TAIL SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER REVIEW

Well hello!

If your hair is anything like mine (thin, easily breakable, volume-less and just plain boring) trust me, you want these beauties in your life.
Ok, ok, the packaging isn't very sexy, the name makes you think twice about using it and those two horses...well, they don't help. But hey, who cares? I'm here to tell you how awesome this product is.

YSL FUSION INK REVIEW

Well well well, here I am again with yet another foundation review *#foundationhorder*.  I have been eyeing this beauty for about a year (since I tried the tester which lasted me about two weeks) and as I just started a new job I thought I'd treat myself (any excuse eh).

First of all, this is an expensive foundation (£31.50) and I just noticed when taking this photo that it isn't even 30ml! WHAT! But never mind, I know I would've bought it eventually anyway so why wait.

FEELS LIKE A FEATHER. WEARS LIKE AN INK. NO MORE COMPROMISE. 24 hours of soft-matte perfection and comfort. Our exclusive fine-as-ink formula perfects the skin yet wears weightlessly all day. Never cakey or heavy. Feel the difference of all day perfection and freedom. SPF 18. Available in 21 shades.

Let's start with the packaging, isn't it beautiful? I am a big fan of the whole black and gold theme and this could not fit it any better. The bottle is made of matte glass and it's slightly heavier than others. This foundation doesn't come with a pump but it comes with a applicator wand which I personally prefer as I don't waste any foundation on the back of my hand.

As for the 24h coverage, well, I think it's a bit ambitious, however it does last a good 16 hours but let's be fair, when are you ever going to wear make up for 24 hours straight? So as long as it last all day without having to re-touch it is good enough for me.

I decided to take photos of the before and after so you guys can judge by yourselves.

As you can see I have a little bit of pigmentation and quite a lot of freckles around my nose area and my forehead.

The application of this foundation is hands down the best I've ever tried (even better than the GA). It is mega soft, it blends heavenly and it really does feels like velvet.

I only applied one layer as I wanted to see how the coverage is without building it. As you can see it did cover all my redness but not so much my freckles (but it's ok, I like my freckles).

Overall I really like this foundation. I have quite dry skin and I have read some reviews where it said that this foundation flakes around the dry areas but I must say this hasn't happened to me so I'm guessing that only happens with severe dry skin. I also didn't wear any primer here so maybe a primer would help with that problem too.

Have you tried YSL Fusion Ink? What did you think of it? What do you think of the final result?
Don't forget to comment and follow on Instagram and Twitter :)

xxx

8 AUTUMN LIPSTICKS I LOVE

Autumn is without a doubt my favorite season when it comes to make up. I have always been a big fan of dark, sultry, grunge 90's mysterious make up style. Dark lips look best with a matte foundation and little eye make up but it doesn't necessarily means you're not allowed to wear dark eyes and dark lips at the same time, not at all, I do in fact LOVE the combination but I do think you have to be really careful of how you do it or you might end up looking like a hot mess.

For this post I decided to mention some of my favorite autumn lipsticks.

(From left to right)
1. Rimmel London - 750 Coffee Shimmer
2. Joan Rivers Crimsom Matte
3. Revlon 477 Black Cherry
4. Beauty UK Plumbacious
5. ELF Royal Red
6. Sleek Sheen Cherry
7. Beauty UK Darkness
8. Rimmel London - 128 Starry-Eyed


I'd love if you guys could tell me or show me your favorite lipsticks for this season over Instagram or Twitter!

See you soon!

MY TOP 3 FOUNDATIONS

Hello Beauteurs!

To start off the blog I decided that what a better post than my favorite foundations?! I must admit that I am a foundation junkie. Foundation is probably something I couldn't live without and it's definitely one of my favorite items when it comes to makeup.

On this post I thought I'd write a small review on three different foundations; a high street (Bourjois Healthy Mix), middle range (MAC Studio Fix) and a high end (Giorgio Armani Luminous silk).

I say a foundation works for me when it gives me full coverage, stays on all day, doesn't flake (I have slightly dry skin) and doesn't feel like I have a layer of cake on my face. I can definitely say that these three here do the job perfectly.

Bourjois Healthy Mix (from £9 to £11)

(Not to be confused with Healthy Mix Serum)
I have been using this foundation for over two years now and to be fair I have lost the count of how many bottles I have bought since I first discovered it.
Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation claims to be long lasting (up to 16 hours) and it's enriched with a fruit therapy formula to enhance your complexion.

First of all let me tell you about the smell. Oh, the smell. This foundation smells like you've woken up in a middle of a bowl of fruit somewhere in the Caribbean. I know some people don't like smelly foundations but come on, who doesn't like the smell of fruit?

Is it full coverage? For me, yes. I have some blemishes and some scaring (oh, those teenage years!) and with just one application it covers it all. If you have more delicate skin you might need to build it up but I can assure you that it still won't look cakey. This foundation is very light on the skin and it really doesn't feel like you're wearing any foundation yet still makes your face look flawless.

As for the packaging and the price, you can't really fault them. The bottle is glass and it comes with a pump and the price... well, for a tenner it is really worth it.

It comes in 8 different shades and they blend very well with your skin tone as I've tried three different shades at different times of the year and they've all always matched my skin perfectly.

Overall, I could compare this foundation to Studio Fix (slightly better even because it hydrates my skin rather than dry it) but for half the price. I think Bourjois have done very well with this product and I will continue buying it over any other drugstore foundation.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid (£22)

Now this is a lot of people's favorite foundation and I understand why. It really is full coverage and again, I know some people isn't keen on the smell (my mum for example hates it) but I love it. It smells like MAC (if you're a MAC fan you'll get what I mean).

It claims to be long wearing (up to 8 hours), smoothly application, build-able coverage and contains certain powders and pigments to help minimize the appearance of imperfections.

For me Studio Fix is great. It is long wearing (for me it lasts even more than 8 hours) and if I'm going on a night out where I know I will be dancing, sweating and taking millions of selfies with friends I will definitely be wearing this foundation. It looks great in pictures (specially if you like a matte finish like I do) and it doesn't come off if you're having a dance.

Another good thing about this foundation is the amount of shades available. There's tons! And they have a range for cool tones and another for warm tones which makes it a lot easier to match your own skin tone.

I must admit that even tho I absolutely love this foundation there is one thing that I don't quite like and it's the fact that it does dry my skin if I wear it often. I went through a phase where I wore this foundation every single day and it ended up drying my skin a lot more than usual. So I'd say if you're gonna wear it often make sure you moisturize very well before and after!

Apart from that, MAC Studio Fix is a great foundation and the price, well, it's not cheap but a bottle does last a few months!

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk (£34-£37)

This is definitely not a cheap foundation. It's probably not a foundation you'd pick up 'just to try it' unless you've got plenty of money. How did I try it, why did I buy it? For my birthday last year I got a Debhenams Gift Voucher and because I didn't want to just buy any foundations I went to all different departments and I asked for some samples. After trying a few different ones I noticed this one was my favorite one by miles.

This foundation is probably THE best foundation I have ever tried. It's very light on the skin but full coverage. It doesn't dry my skin, it lasts all day even without primer, it gives it a very natural glow (without being shimmery), hydrates your skin and it just looks flawless to the point where I have had pictures taken and people had thought I'd photo-shopped them when in fact I hadn't even used a filter!

The packaging is so sexy, matte glass bottle is always a win for me. There is also 21 shades to chose from which is a hell of a lot of shades to find your perfect match.

As for the price, yes it is expensive but it's 100% worth it for me, however, if you'd like to try this foundation I do recommend that you try it first with a sample.



So that's it guys, these are my favorite foundations. Like I said I wanted to chose one of each price range but if you guys are interested in my top 3 drugstore and my top 3 high end for separate please let me know so I can go ahead and write my reviews for you!

Have you tried any of these foundations? Please leave your comments and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram! <3

See you soon!