Hmmm serum.........interesting

Maxfactor - Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 Foundation and Serum

So after reading in a magazine about new foundations that are incorporating serum to make the ultimate combined skincare and foundation product I rushed out to find one of these beauties...............one trip to Boots later...................

I chose the light ivory shade which was ok for my skintone (although could have been better), and it smooths really well onto the skin which was a plus as some foundations can be too thick when applying. I have used this foundation twice and unfortunately I have a small list of negatives about this product:

1) It is too shiny/oily on the skin (even after applying powder on top)
2) The oil/shine/grease seemed to get worse as the day progressed
3) It made my pores feel dirty.

I don't think I would use this again because of the shine/grease factor which is such a shame and I have to say with this particuar foundation for me personally it was a lot of hype but with a lack of delivery.

It's all about sheer gloss.................

Maxfactor - Xperience Sheer Gloss Balm in No2

I tend not to wear lipstick, or lipgloss that much, this used to be because I didn't want to draw too much attention to my already big lips but now it's more I forget to use them, even though I carry them around with me in my bag!!!! I am getting a lot better and I am a big fan of any kind of balm especially in winter as I get major chapped lips, so this product is perfect!

As can be seen in the swatch above it's a pretty pink colour and basically does what it says on the tin which is that it's a sheer gloss balm. Because it's sheer you won't get an intense colour with this one which is No.2, what you do get is a lovely moisturising balm which gives a subtle natutal look to your lips.

I have used this product a lot and would definitely recommend it, I am also going to look to try a different colour in this range, possibly sliding to more of a red for a change!

x

Have you ever blown a dandelion clock?

Benefit - Pink Perk-Me-up Face Powder

Benefit do some fantastic blushers that come in these lovely square boxes, and each has it's own brush as well which is good if you are popping it into your make-up bag for work.

I have been using Dandelion which is a brightening face finishing powder for youthful radiance. This primarily is to dust all over the face for a brightening appearance, however I have been using it as a blusher and have loved the results. As you can see from the picture above it's a lovely pink colour in the box and when used as a blusher gives a lovely subtle rosey look to the cheeks which is perfect for a natural day look as shown below.

The finish is good as well as it's not chalky and feels light on your face so you don't feel like you have trowled your make-up on. I would say that this a must purchase for anyone, and I may look to try some of Benefit's other blushers.

x

Are you blushing.................

Nars - Super Orgasm Blusher

I was never a blusher user (I know the shock horror of it!!!!!) until a couple of years ago, I think because I have red cheeks anyway I shied away from it, but alas I have been mistaken and now am a blusher convert.

A lot of people rave about Nars blusher and I can back them up on this, and the one that is mentioned mostly tends to be the Orgasm one. I had never tried anything from Nars but a trip into Space NK soon changed that as I walked away with this lovely blusher, which wasn't the Orgasm one but it's big sister named Super Orgasm.

As you can see it's a coral/pink colour but has a fantastic sparkle to it. The sparkle isn't a oh my god I have glitter all over my face sparkle but a nice soft sparkle which adds a bit of light to the cheeks which is great. The colour is fantastic on and blends well if you go a bit OTT and need to knock it back with some face powder (which I have done before!!!) and it's great for giving a lovely flushed feel to your cheeks so I would definitely recommend it!

Slightly flushed in the cheek but more natural looking in the picture above.

I would say that Nars is a must for any make-up/beauty lover to try and this blusher in Super Orgasm is one of my Holy Grail products!

x

Do you have cool hands???

L'OCCITANE - Cooling Hand Cream Gel

I was introduced to L'OCCITANE a couple of years ago when a friend got me a gift bag as a present. Since then I have invested in their different hand creams to give as little extra mini presents for all the women in my life, and have also sampled a couple of these myself. I as with mascara love handcream and can't get enough of it (as I have dry skin issues on my hands), which often means I have a few on the go at once!

With that I decided to give their cooling hand cream gel a try and have to say a bit disappointed with this and not one of the better hand cream products I have tried (one of which is one of their products as well and a review will follow on this).

This gel looks like a handcream when you squeeze it out of the tube, and has a nice fresh almost lemony smell, but the consistency you can tell is on the gel side rather than cream side. It also cools straight away when you rub it in, however this doesn't last long and I was left with an almost chalky feel to my skin which I wasn't keen on.

If you are after a nice cooling feel to your skin then this is ok for that, however if you are wanting it to feel soft and moisturised as well by just using this I'd say it doesn't work well on it's own and a hand cream would be best to apply afterwards!

It's a crime to pout................

Lipstick Queen - Glossy pencil in Crime

I bought this Lipstick Queen Glossy Pencil on a trip into Space NK, it actually wasn't the colour I had asked for as the sales assistant had picked up the wrong one which I only discovered when I got home! However I love this one and the colour is fantastic!!

The colour is called Crime............this photo doesn't do it jsutice but as can be seen it is bright pink, but because it's glossy it is sheer enough not to be a too in your face pink like a lipstick would be.

This glides on really well, and feels like a balm rather than a lipgloss but has a lipgloss finish so you have the best of both worlds. The colour is a lovely pop against my skin and is perfect for a night out for an edgy fashion look. You can also build the colour up so it is more intense than in the photo above, so it's a little versitie which is good. The only problem is that it does bleed a little off the lips so I may need to invest in a lip pencil to line them first.

Let me know what you think....................

Shiny happy legs...................

NATIO wellness - Body gloss

This NATIO range is an Australian skincare and beauty range that had caught my eye in Fenwick's however I didn't purchase anything at the time. When I was in Debenhams a couple of months after I saw it again and had a much better look at the products and decided to get this gorgeous body gloss.

It contains Cocoa butter, Vitamin E and antioxidant rich pomegranate and has a gorgeous fresh fruity smell. It is quite thick to apply but does sink in well, it doesn't give a high gloss finish like an oil would but does give a nice sheen to the skin. The the sheen does disappear a bit once it's sunk in but leaves your skin (in my case legs in this instance) feeling very smooth and silky.

It's a good product to use say if you are going on a night out and want to add a bit of shine to the skin without looking greasy or too oily!

x

When Bad Gal met Big Daddy

Benefit Bad Gal Lash - Black Mascara

I love love love mascara, and especially black mascara the blacker the better for me. When looking for a mascara it's all about the brush, I personally am not keen on comb brushes (although they claim great things), and prefer a thicker brush.

Bring forth Benefit Bad Gal Lash which is one of the best mascara's I have tried................and I have tried a lot!!

This mascara has a nice thick brush and is the blackest of black, that combined with the brush creates lovely thick and long looking lashes. Most importantly as well it also stays all day and also takes a good go to remove it so you know it's not just going to dab off.

One of my Holy Grail products!!!!

To BB or not to BB.....................

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector - Daily all in one BB cream

I had seen in a couple of magazines interesting articles about a fantastic thing called BB cream and the wonders it can do. Bring forth Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector and my Sunday morning dash to Boots to look for it! I picked the lightest shade they do for my pale skin, as can be seen from the picture below.

However I have found it to be slightly too dark for my skin tone, so the finish is not as good as I had hoped it would be. It does blend nicely onto the skin and has a nice smell but does not even out my skin tone at all which is what I had hoped for! The finish (on me) seems rather shiny and oily looking which I wasn't keen on either.

I wouldn't use this product on it's own instead of foundation as I don't think it's a good replacement, however I did experiment with it as a primer before applying foundation and it seemed to be a good base for this.

On the whole I wasn't impressed with this product but I am still very much open to trying out further BB products to coompare!

All that glitters.................

Nails Inc Special Effects - Bloomsbury Square

As a lover of Nails Inc normal nail polishes, I was very excited to try one of their special effects. Hence when there was a 3 for 2 offer on make-up in Boots I snapped this one up. I also love the names that Nails Inc give their polishes, this one is Bloomsbury Square.

This polish can either be used on top of another nail polish, or by itself. I tried it by itself, and to get the effect that I wanted it took about 4 coats.

It did apply really well like any Nails Inc polish, although when getting to the 4th coat it did feel gloopy on the nail. The first coat showed the color to be very transparent with just a slight covering of glitter, therefore if using it on it's own layering it up with multiple coats is the best option. However this effect could be achieved with a dark or even light colour underneath and then this as a top coat for added sparkle.

As with any glitter nail polish it will be interesting when trying to remove it as this can sometimes take multiple cotton pads soaked in nail polish remover!

I am impressed with this but for 4 coats is not as simple to put on as a normal Nails Inc polish which can only take one coat and look fantastic. I will be purchasing in the future the crackle effect to compare and to experiment further.

x

Hi beauty lovers...........

As a self confessed beauty junkie I always get excited about beauty products and trying something new, even better if it comes in quirky packaging!

This has led to a small fortune being spent as well as my endless search for the perfect foundation (isn't every woman looking for that!!!!!) for my very fair skin!!

So on my search for paler than pale foundation and anything sparkly in quirky packaging I thought I'd share my findings along this long path laden with beauty products!

x