Inside My Travel Makeup Bag

Hey everyone! I was hoping to have this post up before my short trip away to the Lake District, however I just didn’t have the time, so here’s a look inside my makeup bag with a little feedback of how I got on with the stuff I took. Such great English I speak!! Anyways isn’t the bag itself gorgeous? Such a bargain of a find from Primark for only £3! The moment I saw it I thought of the popular Urban Outfitters version and it was a great buy because I easily carried my makeup, skincare and body-washes inside.

The Base
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in St. Moritz (£29) I went for this because it’s the most travel friendly of all bases, the packaging can’t smash nor is it heavy and it also contains SPF 30. This shade looks a little too dark at first but as it is a TM it blends just fine and leaves a healthy light/medium coverage. It’s also easy to apply with the fingers so no brush necessary. I really enjoyed using this overall, but I’m not sure that it’s better than the MUFE Face & Body (reviewed) because even with powder it did fade after 7ish hours. I was however always using a light layer and I didn’t use a primer so perhaps that’s why, but I’ll report back when I’ve used it long enough.
Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX06 (£36.50) You all know that I love concealers, it’s the one step that I won’t skip out due to my relentless dark circles! So when I had to pick just one, this was at the top of my list, full coverage, water-proof, long-lasting, creamy, brightening...and the list goes on. The only issue I have is that it can crease but with the right techniques it can work a treat.
Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in 53 (£9.00) This has been my favourite face powder for a while, it provides light coverage, keeps any base in place for longer and matches my skintone pretty well! The mirror inside is also really handy for travelling and I always use this with a kabuki brush I got from a Dior highlighter. It worked well at setting the SSE, I don’t normally use this under my eyes because I prefer a yellow toned one, however it did the job decently well!

The Cheeks
NARS Blush Duo - Laguna and Orgasm (£30) This was actually limited edition and I’m so glad I picked it up because it was my first encounter with the wonderful Laguna bronzer. I haven’t been giving this enough love so I decided to take it along with me and I loved using it! Orgasm has a lot of gold to it, without over powering the mix of red/pink and it looks super  flattering against olive skin. Unfortunately this duo is actually limited edition, I have found a link which I included above but I’m not sure if they’ll be restocking it. However I think these blush duos are great value for money as you get around 5g of each shade which is very generous for the price.

Sleek Blush in Flamingo (£4.49) reviewed I have had this for ages! Around the two and a half year at least and again I don’t use it enough. It’s a gorgeous slightly blue toned pink shade which is a great change from my typical peach tones that I favour. Especially for the summer time, this shade of pink is perfect and although it involved a fair bit more blending out I really enjoyed popping this onto my cheeks - a true gem from Sleek!

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Highlighter in Gilded Honey (£21) I’ve mentioned this in a couple of posts now but my love for this shows no signs of dying anytime soon! This is the most perfect gold highlighter EVER, beautifully pigmented and small enough to slot neatly in my bag. I also find that baked products are a lot more sturdy to travel with, than powders such as the Mary-Lou Manizer which crumble easily so this is good all round.

The Lips
Makeup Forever Aqua Lip Liner in 2C (£13) I don’t think I’ve had the chance to rave about these on my blog yet, but ladies, these lip liners are IN-CRED-IBLE! They’re my favourite formula of lip liner ever and worth every single penny. 2C is a very natural shade, perhaps a little deeper than my own lips meaning it makes a great base for any lipsticks. I feel like when I slightly over line with this lip-liner it  looks believable and it lasts for a long time too - most of it was still on after a shower!
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk (£16) Another newbie to my collection, I decided to take this along with me as a slightly mauve option however I didn’t end up using it! It’s a beautiful lip pencil but I still need to test it out a little before I can decide if it’s worth the pretty hefty price-tag.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Liner in Tiramisu (£2.99) This range is amazing, Rimmel’s lip liners rival high-end brands effortlessly and Tiramisu is a beautiful shade. It’s a deeper version of MUFE 2C and it’s one that matches a lot of my favourite lipsticks. Again it’s a shade I can always turn to, a quick swipe and I look more pulled together in an instant.
Rimmel London Moisture Renew in Nottinghill Nude (£6.49) has been a long time lipstick favourite, it’s one of the best nudes for my Stromboli skintone and its also really comfortable to wear on the lips. It also works well with any of the lip-liners mentioned above - a great lippie for everyday.
Colourpop Lippie Stix in Brink ($5.00) has been my favourite from the three that I picked up, a dusty taupe with a matte finish - its not really a summer time shade but I’m still obsessed with it. I wore it to Alton Towers where it lasted pretty well! If you guys want a review on the three lippie stix shades I own do let me know ^_^

 The Eyes
Colourpop Super Shock in Get Lucky ($5.00) This has been my go to eye product since I bought it so it was a no brainer for me to include this cute little pot in my makeup bag and I used it every single day. A little over the top to rock golden eyelids on the daily? Not at all ;D Sometimes I used it alone and other times I added some extra shadow. Either way this is the best $5 I’ve spent on eye makeup ever!
Rimmel Eyeshadow Palette in Brixton Brown (currently £5.24) The ideal travel palette, it has a highlight shade a lovely crease shade and a colour for deepening things up. Oh and lets not forget that red shade in the middle, a real pop of colour which I love to mix in with whatever shade I have popped into the crease. The quality of these shadows aren’t the most wonderful on the market, however it works well for such a small and portable palette.
Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in 001 (currently £3.97) this really is a blast from the past - the first eyeliner I ever bought and the one I stuck with throughout year 10. Eyeliner was my jam and this particular one is super black and decently long lasting. In fact it comes pretty high in my list of drugstore lines (coming soon!). The only issue is that the nib isn’t the finest, so it can be easy to overdo it.
Benefit Roller Lash Travel Size this is the only mini Mascara I have open so I took it along but didn’t end up using it. In general though it’s a decent one, it lengthens really well and doesn’t clump however it doesn’t add enough volume. So when I DO use it, a second mascara is essential.

Other

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Chocolate (£15) reviewed the most long lasting brow product I own, a holiday essential. I’ve spoken about this so much on my blog I feel like I don’t need to go on and on - just have a search through!
Anastasia Beverly Hills Large Synthetic Brow Duo 12 (£15) A newbie but seriously a total game changer. I always debated if it was worth paying extra for a proper brush designed by the Queen of brows - now I only wish I had gone for it earlier. Seriously no other brush can compare, it is amazing. Small enough to add shape without going overboard, slanted enough to create real hair like strokes and that spoolie? Yaaaas - one of my best purchases of 2015 without a doubt!
Makeup Forever Mist and Fix 30ml (£8.00) I’m still testing this out so I thought I would take it along and see if it made a huge difference - but so far not really. I usually test this by spraying half my face and then checking in later on, which showed me that it extends makeup wear marginally. But we shall see!
Topshop Lip Perfector in Ambition (£6.00) I picked this up with the hopes that it would be a lovely nude shade lip balm, however it just doesn’t really show up on my lips! It’s pretty similar to my natural lip colour and although I love the packaging and the whole applicator I wouldn’t repurchase this. It’s a nice little tube to carry around though and it does add a shine whilst doing an alrightish job of moisturising the lips.

The Body Stuff
Sainsburys Travel Set of 3 plastic bottles 50ml (£2.00) Such a bargain! These little sets are essential for anyone travelling away for a week or so, it minimises packaging, weight and they’re recyclable so yay for cute lil bottles. Also this set comes with a mini funnel which helped with the oil a lot.
Inside the bottles I put in the Una Brennan Superfacialist Cleansing Oil, Dove Damage Solutions Intensive Repair Shampoo and the Soap and Glory Clean On Me Body Wash.
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré (£20) This rather pricey moisturiser has been floating my boat recently, I picked it up on sale and I’m so glad I did because it really is brilliant. They describe it to be a moisturiser, primer and even a makeup remover (not sure about the last one). It nourishes the skin so well and preps it well for makeup too.

Nivea Daily Essentials Sensitive Night Cream (£5) is awesome. I stopped using any night-cream for a while and just stuck with oils, but since introducing this into my skincare routine I really have felt the benefits. They have done such a good job with this, it manages to take away any tightness without being too heavy and my skin feels so plump once applied.

I also picked up the Nivea Daily Essentials Cleansing Wipes the travel pack which were on special offer at Sainsburys. I got these for removing eye makeup as I normally use an oil based cleanser, however I have to say I don’t recommend these at all. They weren’t kind to that delicate under-eye area and a couple of lashes fell out too which wasn’t pleasant! The other set of wipes I bought were the Sani Hands Anti-Bacterial Hand Wipes which are a travelling essential when you’re eating out in my opinion. These came in super handy and I would definitely buy them again, they have a cool textured surface which helped to clean the hands.

And finally the brushes - but I'm not gonna list them out individually sorry ladies! Let me know if you need any details here, my wrists are aching from all this typing. In short Real Techniques and that fabulous Eco-tools duo (reviewed here) along with the most perfect blending tool ever - the beauty blender which I have a post about coming up soon ^_^

Anyways this post went on for far too long and took me ages to complete D: Serves me right for packaging so much right!

 

What are some of your favourites in your travel makeup bag?

 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Inside My Travel Makeup Bag

Hey everyone! I was hoping to have this post up before my short trip away to the Lake District, however I just didn’t have the time, so here’s a look inside my makeup bag with a little feedback of how I got on with the stuff I took. Such great English I speak!! Anyways isn’t the bag itself gorgeous? Such a bargain of a find from Primark for only £3! The moment I saw it I thought of the popular Urban Outfitters version and it was a great buy because I easily carried my makeup, skincare and body-washes inside.

Charlotte Tilbury Harrods Makeup Experience + Haul

Last Thursday my family and I made a trip to central London - something we seldom do! The first stop we made was to the V&A museum which completely surpassed my expectations - they have so many wonderful things and if you’ve ever overlooked it, do pop in next time because I guarantee you’ll learn a couple of new things. Next stop was Harrods, a place I had never actually been to (I know, shock horror! D: )


Whilst Harrods is filled with a tonne of exciting and interesting things to look at, of course my main point of interest was the beauty hall! However I did not expect to see a Charlotte Tilbury section, I thought it was a Selfridges exclusive so I was literally like a sugar deprived child in a huge sweet shop and my eyes turned into red heart emojis, seriously excited was not a strong enough word! The counter is as beautiful as the luxurious packaging we have seen all over blogs and YouTube, it had such a glamorous vibe and glowing makeup artists to match. The first thing I went about doing was swatching the light wonder foundation so I could make a mental note of which shade to order at some point in the future. Currently I have enough light and dewy/natural bases in my collection but I will be picking that up one day! I also swathed the beautiful wonder glow, which looks like it is right up my street, a golden illuminator perfect for my skintone and with maultipl uses (mix it in your foundation, wear it as highlighter, put it on under your base or simply wear it as a base).

My auntie suggested I get my makeup done and although at first I was a little apprehensive, once I had decided I wanted to try a couple of things (in particular the flawless powder and Dolce Vita eyeshadow palette) I thought it was now or never. I mean I hardly visit central London on a regular basis and when the head makeup artist Nadia asked if she could help me, I happily said yes. Nadia decided to do a smoky eye on me, using a purple colour chameleon as the base and it turned out beautifully! It was such a fun experience getting my eye makeup done and chatting to Nadia felt totally natural - I’ve always been a bit nervous about how close you are to an MUA and the potential awkwardness which sounds silly, but it was totally fine. She also removed some of my under eye concealer and put some of the retoucher concealer (2) on, which I hadn’t really thought about much because I knew it didn’t provide full coverage and that’s what I typically look for. However once set with some of the flawless finish powder I was amazed at how beautifully bright and non-cakey my under-eyes looked!


It was a great experience and so much fun to get my eye makeup done, the finished look was spectacular and I couldn’t believe how much the mixture of purple, browns and golds made my eyes pop. Nadia was so lovely too! She’s the head MUA and gave me her number if I ever needed a makeup artist in London. One of the main reasons why I avoid going to counters is the ‘hard sale’ and I was a little nervous that this would be the case, but aside from asking if I wanted to buy the Harrods exclusive £260 box (great value but waaay out of my student budget to spend so much in one go!) it was totally fine!

Charlotte Tilbury opened one month ago at Harrods and if you happen to be passing the beauty hall, I highly recommend checking the counter out. I decided to pick up the flawless airbrushed powder because firstly Kathleen Lights had recently included it in her favourites and said it was the BEST powder she had ever tried for her dry skin. Secondly I was so impressed with how fresh and flawless it made my makeup appear, which was already looking pretty worn after sweating away on the Tube! I went ahead and purchased the retoucher concealer too, which is packaged in an equally luxe looking tube. Also I thought I would add my first ever lip cheat liner from C.T in this mini haul too - Pillow Talk. I actually picked up the lipliner when I bought the NARS BLAME IT ON NARS Cheek Palette (reviewed) but I haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet on the blog and to be honest I’m undecided on it too! Anyways this post has become much longer than I anticipated so lemme stop here.

Have you been to a Charlotte Tilbury Counter? What’s your favourite product from the gorgeous line?

P.S I’m currently on holiday! Thankyou so much for the lovely comments on my previous post, I’ll reply as soon as I’m back! 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Charlotte Tilbury Harrods Makeup Experience + Haul

Last Thursday my family and I made a trip to central London - something we seldom do! The first stop we made was to the V&A museum which completely surpassed my expectations - they have so many wonderful things and if you’ve ever overlooked it, do pop in next time because I guarantee you’ll learn a couple of new things. Next stop was Harrods, a place I had never actually been to (I know, shock horror! D: )

Requested | My Take On Strobing (AKA Intense Highlighting)

I was so excited when a lovely reader asked me to do a post on strobing because it’s a makeup ‘trend’ which I LOVE and one of those reasons is because I know that anyone can try it without difficulty. Or any harsh streaks or muddy cheeks (i’m looking at you contouring!). As always when I do these kind of posts I have to say, I’m not an MUA nor have I had any master classes in strobing, this is just how I personally like to achieve the look. Strobing is basically intense highlighting, which means bringing features that we want to stand out forwards in a slightly over the top manner. As I do have medium/olive skin these products will work best with those of you who have the same, but I will try my best to recommend alternatives where I can and the whole technique can be replicated by everyone of course!


Base
Personally when going for the stobing look I like to have a natural looking base so of course I opt for the Make Up For Ever Face & Body Foundation (reviewed). I like this because it’s not matte by any means, so all the extra highlight doesn’t look super harsh against my skin but at the same time it’s not so dewy that my whole face ends up looking sweaty. A drugstore alternative that I enjoy using is the Bourjois Happy Light (reviewed) again it has a nice amount of dewy whilst still looking rather natural and looks lovely on the skin!

Step 1: Cream/Liquid
It’s important to start with a liquid or cream base as this will be the primer for your highlight. It’ll ensure longevity and more importantly it will help to make your highlight really stand out. Start off with applying this to your cheekbones as you normally would, but extend the cream highlight a little lower down the cheek and a little higher up the cheekbone. Basically: highlight hardcore. Extend your highlight over the usual blush area to really emphasise the cheekbones. Also put some on the brow bone, bridge of the nose (tip of the nose if you want to make your nose appear shorter), cupids bow and anywhere else you want the light to shine on you. The beauty of cream products is that they’re very easy to blend so if you DO over apply it doesn’t matter too much as the warmth of your fingers can blend it all out again! I also pop some cream highlight just over the arch of my brow which I wouldn’t normally do with a powder, however the cream/liquid texture means it’ll look flattering.

I recommend:
1. Kiko Radiant Touch Creamy Stick Highlighter 100 Gold (£8.50 £4.20) Similar to the NARS multiples, this is the easiest of cream highlighters to use and one of my favourites because it is so subtle too! It is buildable and not too golden despite the name, meaning it’ll work for cool and warm skintones too.
2. Topshop Glow in ‘Gleam’ (reviewed) or ‘Polished’ (£9.00) both of these shades are beautiful but if you’re a WOC especially you need gleam in your life, it is gorgeous! ‘Polished’ works well on light and medium skintones, it’s a pearly silver highlight with subtle pink undertones and it blends easily. This is more pigmented that the Kiko stick highligher and I opt for Polished most out of all of these when going for that intense highlight.
3. Mememe Beat The Blues - Oyster Gold (reviewed) (£5.95) There are two versions of this, but the gold shade is my absolute favourite and I love it. It looks super intense when straight out of the bottle but when blended out it becomes much more sheer and subtle. This isn’t the best of bases as cream products tend to work better, but it does the job with bringing light to the face.
4. Kroylan for Glossybox in Cashmere (£12.95) Although this looks more pink in the tub, when applied it translates as a pigmented silver/pearl shade which I would really recommend for those of you with lighter skintones. It has a gorgeous slightly gloss like finish which catches the light beautifully and it’s a more subtle version of the limited edition topshop polished, if you can’t get your hands on that.

Step 2: Basic Highlight
This is the step most of you probably do on a regular basis, taking a subtle highlight shade of your choice, grab a thicker fan brush - my favourite is the Ecotools Deluxe Fan Brush (£4.48) and apply a decent amount to the cheekbones first. Then taking a smaller fluffy brush, apply the same highlighter to the nose, under the brow bone and cupids bow. As this will be on top of the cream base, your highlight will already look more intense! I especially love how this looks on the nose, when done precisely it gives the appearance of a much slimmer and short one, which once in a while is nice heh. Under the brow bone is also essential as it’ll brighten up your whole eye area and give the illusion of more space between the eyelid and brows - I’m not too sure why this looks so good but trust me it does.

I recommend:
1. The Balm’s Mary-Lou Manizer (£17.50  £14) which has been a LONG time favourite of mine (I wrote a review of the stuff two years ago!) and for many people this wouldn’t be used on a daily basis due to how intensely pigmented it is. However with a lighter hand you can totally use this for day-to-day, especially if you have a warmer skintone as it just merges with the skin so beautifully and catches the light like no other. As it is a champagne shade it is loved by fair skinned ladies and medium skinned ladies, warm and cool toed it just seems to work well on most people! I am yet to find a better version of this champagne/white/light golden tone so I will repurchase when I’ve used it up.
BUT side note I’ve dropped this twice now and fixed it using good old ‘surgical spirit’ an alternative to rubbing alcohol!

2. Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo - Bondi shade 4 (reviewed)  This one is vastly different to Mary-lou, it is a LOT more low key and more of a neutral shade rather than golden/white, however I wanted to add this in here because I think its a great highlight for those of you who shy away from the stuff. Okay Iqra, why would anyone who shys away from highlight be reading your post on strobing?? Well I think there are people who don’t know how to highlight or what magical effect it can have on your makeup and they don’t want a pricy intense highlight so here is an option for them ^_^ Also I quite like using this on work days, it’s not in your face but it does the job - it adds some highlight in a more understated way and even when you’re strobing, for step two this still works! I can’t find a link for this online but I bought it from my local accessorize store - however I would recommend baked highlighters in general.

Okay ladies stay with me here, just one more step left to go (kind of!)
Step 3: the INTENSE stuff
Okay so now you’ve got your (slightly extra) highlight on, you gotta step it up a couple of notches and putting the STROBE into the process! This bit involves taking a smaller brush (I have this thin fan brush from a set I got from ebay) loading it up with gold/intense highlight of choice and then spritzing it with a facial spray such as the Mario Badascu facial spray. A golden highlighter WET will instantly enhance the pigment and really make your features stand out. Taking the thin fan brush, apply it on the high points of the cheekbones, gently down the bridge of the nose and the end of it, under the brow bone and if you want to go all out brush some of the cupids bow too. With the cheekbones and the brow bone, imagine them connecting in a sort of C shape and the make sure you intensely apply it to that C in particular. The reason I like to have a bit more precision on this step is because I love how the light first hits the golden intense highlight and then continues to the base we created in step one and two - this is what makes your features looks sharper, longer, wider, whatever you’re trying to achieve with the highlight, step three is like the icing on the glowy cake!

I recommend:
1. Kiko wet and dry eyeshadow 208 (£8.90 £6.20) this is one of the biggest bargains EVER, it’s a total dupe for a l/e MAC highlighter and so much cheaper AND ETHICAL so if you can get your hands on this make sure you do! A stunning light yellow/gold shade which looks nice dry but incredible when used wet! I have a backup and one for an upcoming giveaway too ;D
2. Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Highlighter (£21) this is the most yummy looking highlighter in my stash and also a perfect match for warm/olive skintones. It’s a more orange based gold shade than the other two and for this one I actually prefer using it dry on a more dense brush which picks up more product.
3. NARS Dual Intensity Blush in Jubilation (£30) the gold shade in this is EVERYTHING for strobing for you medium skin toned ladies out there!! A true gold which looks gorgeous when applied wet, it catches the light beautifully truly defining the features you’re highlighting. The peach shade is beautiful but much better for an everyday type of highlight as it’s quite similar to my skintone making it very subtle.

The final step is to firstly spritzing the Mario Badescu Facial Spray on the strobed areas directly. This takes away any sort of powdery appearance and also intensifies the highlight of course! Secondly I have been loving the Kiko Long Lasting Stick in 28 which is a nude/brightening shade for the inner-corner as a base and also along the first half of the lower lashline. I’ll add whichever highlighter I’m using in step 3 on top of this on the inner-corner, making my eyes look brighter and bigger!

To Contour?
A lot of people say you shouldn’t contour when strobing because the whole point is that your highlight should be so intense you have no need for that definition from a shadow tone - but we make our own ‘rules’ in the makeup world! Personally I skip the full face contour but I do add a little bit to the cheekbones and to the sides of the nose - purely because when you add so much highlight to the nose it’ll inevitably look wider so its necessary to add bit more dimension. However I skip adding any contour to the temples or the chin area, which allows the focus of the makeup to be on the gorgeous glowing cheeks and brow bone area. I also apply less blush, but I can’t just skip it altogether because that feels unnatural to me! Just a small amount, right above the contour line so it doesn’t interfere with za highlight.

Now that was a very long blog post so a big well done you if you got to this part!! I know it sounds complicated but I promise it’s not at all, this is pretty simple and only takes a couple of steps to achieve - unlike a full on contour! As you can tell I am loving the whole idea of going crazy with highlight, it makes such a huge difference to the face try it, I’m sure you’ll agree ^_^

Have you tried this strobing trend? Do you like it?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Requested | My Take On Strobing (AKA Intense Highlighting)

I was so excited when a lovely reader asked me to do a post on strobing because it’s a makeup ‘trend’ which I LOVE and one of those reasons is because I know that anyone can try it without difficulty. Or any harsh streaks or muddy cheeks (i’m looking at you contouring!). As always when I do these kind of posts I have to say, I’m not an MUA nor have I had any master classes in strobing, this is just how I personally like to achieve the look. Strobing is basically intense highlighting, which means bringing features that we want to stand out forwards in a slightly over the top manner. As I do have medium/olive skin these products will work best with those of you who have the same, but I will try my best to recommend alternatives where I can and the whole technique can be replicated by everyone of course!

Lush Event August 2015!

I am very lucky that my local Lush store is kind enough to put on blogger events, which are always fun and informative to go along too ^_^ When I was invited to one last week, the words ‘Oxford Street exclusives’ immediately caught my eye...for those of you who don’t know, the Oxford St. Lush store is FOUR floors high, so you can imagine that it’s packed full of exclusives that you can’t find elsewhere! My local Lush was adding some permanent goodies from that store and of course I was delighted to attend. Please excuse my photography though, it was right after work and I didn’t have time to get my camera, so my iPhone will have to do for this post.

The last event at Easter time only had 10 of us bloggers, so it was a huge surprise to see around 30 people waiting outside! We started with a little ice-breaker by throwing around one of the shower jellies and telling the others our name, blog/YouTube and what we blog about. Then we were split into three groups and shown around three sections ‘scrubs, shower and bath’ I think. It was a relief to see a familiar face from the last event - Tasha (who blogs over on:http://www.tashameline.com/ check it out!) and we loved the demos and trying out all the products. My sense of smell has half returned thankfully, so I actually found it productive having a whiff of everything but by the end I left smelling like I had rolled in half the store haha.

In the first mini tour the thing that stood out to me the most was the Cup of Coffee Scrub which instantly reminded me of the Frankbody scrub (reviewed here). It smelt good and felt better, with a heck of a lot less mess because the scrub is already mixed rather than a dry scrub. One of the lovely Lush assistants put the scrub on my hand and when she washed it off I love how it gently exfoliated my skin and left it feeling super soft! I’ll be continuing to try my sample out for that as it’s on my potential purchases list for sure. Another product which really impressed me was a new moisturiser/primer for oily skinned people called Magical Moringa. Packed with rose hip oil, argan oil and moringa all mixed together into a balm type of moisturiser, it felt sooo lovely on my hand, yet sure enough it dried to a matte finish without any dryness as all. That area on my hand was literally matte but moisturised and if they sold it in smaller tubs I would definitely pick one up - as my skin isn’t really oily, it’s more normal I couldn’t really justify it but I would highly recommend you ladies with oily skin to check it out next time you’re there.

 The Golden handshake caught my eye straight away - look how adorable it is! It’s such a unique concept too, a ‘hot hand mask’ it is made of argan and avocado oil which really nourishes the hands and makes them feel super soft. It was one of my favourites and I had to pick one up, I’ll probably whip it out when my dad gets home from his trip and give my family a mini pamper ^_^. The salted coconut had scrub is another great product which smelt divine! If you like the smell of coconuts, you’ll love this, especially when you’re scrubbing it onto the skin - we couldn’t stop smelling the air! Lush also have a range of new feet loving scrubs, soaks and moisturisers. One of the bloggers volunteered to have a foot bath and I’m sure her foot was super soft - the range is really impressive and one I’ll be checking out after our trip to the Lake district where there is a LOT of walking planned!

 The lush shower section is always fun, seeing the different scents they’ve bottled and combined with nourishing oils and butters to soften and pamper the skin. I couldn’t wait to demo their shower jellies because I was always curious if they would feel slimy y’know?! It was pretty slippy but once she started rubbing it onto my skin, it felt so soft and creamy! The one I tried the whoosh one which is ‘named after the sound of deadlines whizzing by harharhar. It comes from seaweed meaning its gelatine free ad vegetarian friendly! It left my skin feeling soft and silky which I really did not expect at all. Lush always come out with the coolest looking soaps, they showed us the layer cake the apandapand and the outback mate which has to be one of the most beautiful things in store! We all agreed that it would make a gorgeous decoration piece as well as a soap for any bathroom - just look at those shades of blue! Mine and Tasha’s favourite soap of the bunch was the lavender one (Serendipity). It smelt so soothing and is basically perfection to use before bed, plus the bits of lavender inside looked so pretty too.      

 Fnally we moved onto the most fun and indulgent section of the store - the bath bombs! There were quite a few new additions since I had last been instore and the demo of ‘Intergalactic’ (pictured above!) was probably the highlight of the evening for me. Just look at that beauty!! It was honestly like watching a live art demonstration, I was in awe, the colours swirling together with the gold laced through it - they really out did themselves with this! I also loved the Milky Baths which are the most adorable little bubble bar shaped like milk bottles with silver glitter at the top. The inspiration behind these was the well known Cleopatra tale, of how she used to bathe in milk! These aren’t made of milk of course, rather packed with fair trade cocoa butter and the demo of this felt sooo heavenly! The water was incredible soft and my hand reluctantly left it feeling rather pampered, so of course I had to buy one myself too haha.

 the demo of the milky bath

 Lush are always kind enough to give us a goody bag, this time I was sure they wouldn’t have one because of the sheer amount of people who turned up! But we still got a bag which was so kind of them! In mine was the Experimenter bath bomb* a very colourful, funky looking shape as well as three samples. The ‘wash that man right out of my hair shower gel’ sample which has the strangest name I’ve ever heard! The ‘Cup of coffee face mask’ which I talked about earlier was also included and finally the ‘Go faster feet’ foot lotion which I’m really excited to try. The two items I bought were the Golden Handshake and the Milky Bath bubble bar. A big thankyou again to Lush - I really appreciated being invited to come along, the staff are just as lovely as everything inside!

Have you visited the Lush store on Oxford St?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Lush Event August 2015!

I am very lucky that my local Lush store is kind enough to put on blogger events, which are always fun and informative to go along too ^_^ When I was invited to one last week, the words ‘Oxford Street exclusives’ immediately caught my eye...for those of you who don’t know, the Oxford St. Lush store is FOUR floors high, so you can imagine that it’s packed full of exclusives that you can’t find elsewhere! My local Lush was adding some permanent goodies from that store and of course I was delighted to attend. Please excuse my photography though, it was right after work and I didn’t have time to get my camera, so my iPhone will have to do for this post.

Cult Beauty Haul + 15% off discount code

This is the fastest I’ve ever received an online order and written the haul post up for you, but because I don’t know how long they'll have this discount I wanted to be speedy! Last week I was browsing on one of my favourite sites - Cult Beauty and I noticed they had the gorgeous Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminators, just not the one that I had my heart set on ‘Gilded Honey’. I love online stores which email you when stuff is back in stock and turns out I didn’t have long to sit and be disappointed because Monday morning I got the email I was waiting for - it was back in stock! You guys know me, firstly I do my best to find some sort of a deal whenever ordering online and secondly I refuse to pay over £3 for postage and packaging. I added the discount code to the basket and the amount I saved was basically the cost of postage?? ._. Nope couldn’t have that, I’d much rather *ahem* fill up the basket till I get free postage even if it was over the budget I had originally planned - I know I’m not the only one who does this so stap judging me haha!




Anyways on to the actual, rather spontaneous haul which isn’t all makeup for once. I read a review of the Pixi Makeup Fixing Mist (£16.00) and instantly added it on my to buy one day list because it sounded really impressive with claims to hydrate, tighten pores and keep makeup in place. It also includes green-tea and rose water, two ingredients which sound lovely for the skin. I was also tempted to pick up the famous glow tonic...but that’s gonna have to wait till another day! The Anastasia Beverly Hills Large Synthetic Duo Brow Brush #12 (£15.00) has been on my ‘maybe’ list for the longest time. I didn’t have a decent brow brush but I did okay with the Real Techniques chunky one and a mascara spoolie from E.LF. so this wasn’t a total essential. It’s smaller than the ‘large’ bit of the name would lead you to believe but really its love at first sight - this works incredibly well with the brow pomade and I reckon it’s an investment I won’t regret! The Mizon Special Therapy Good Night White Sleeping Mask (£10.00) was by far the most random purchase of the bunch - my first ever Korean skincare product. I went for this primarily because it was the cheapest product I actually would use, it’s an overnight mask which claims to improve the skintone and not lose moisture and really who doesn’t want that?

 Of course the star of the haul is the beautiful Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in Gilded Honey (£21) JUST LOOK AT IT!! I didn’t jump on the Becca Champagne Pop bandwagon because I was in no position to be making another Sephora order again - but to this beauty??? It had to be mine, honestly one of the most perfect golden highlight everrr. Especially when used on a wet brush, it makes features pop and on medium/olive/golden skintones in particular it is like a match made in heaven.

When you spend over a certain amount you’re entitled to two free samples, I went for the Good Genes, Serum & Mask and the Emma Hardie Protect & Prime 30SPF. Oh on to the discount code - don’t think I’ve forgotten about you guys ^_^ basically you need to make an account and fill in your beauty preference section which takes about two minutes, you get the code automatically! The code is ‘YOU15’ but it won’t work till you’ve done the beauty preferences and it saved me almost a tenner - yay bargain (kinda). Also I'm very impressed with the speed of delivery - I ordered it Monday early afternoon and it arrived Tuesday morning, what more could I ask for?!

What is your favourite highlighter of the moment?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Cult Beauty Haul + 15% off discount code

This is the fastest I’ve ever received an online order and written the haul post up for you, but because I don’t know how long they'll have this discount I wanted to be speedy! Last week I was browsing on one of my favourite sites - Cult Beauty and I noticed they had the gorgeous Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminators, just not the one that I had my heart set on ‘Gilded Honey’. I love online stores which email you when stuff is back in stock and turns out I didn’t have long to sit and be disappointed because Monday morning I got the email I was waiting for - it was back in stock! You guys know me, firstly I do my best to find some sort of a deal whenever ordering online and secondly I refuse to pay over £3 for postage and packaging. I added the discount code to the basket and the amount I saved was basically the cost of postage?? ._. Nope couldn’t have that, I’d much rather *ahem* fill up the basket till I get free postage even if it was over the budget I had originally planned - I know I’m not the only one who does this so stap judging me haha!

Review + HG | MAKE UP FOR EVER Face & Body Foundation in 32

Ladies..I have some pretty big news...I have finally found a new favourite base and it only took a couple of weeks of this being in my possession for it to land that title. When MUFE launched in Debenhams I was incredibly excited, because I had only heard good things about the professional brand. My previous favourite base, the MAC F&B was no longer an option to purchase, since boycotting Estee Lauder more about that here if you’re interested. I had heard about the MUFE version of course but it was so difficult to find I just decided to look elsewhere for an alternative. I came close with the Bareminerals Bare Skin Foundation (review) but it just wasn’t THE ONE and of course the search continued. Recently one of my favourite YouTubers Kathleen Lights did a foundations video and I’m sure this is the one that came out top of her list so I leaped at my chance to purchase this as soon as I could and I’m now ready to give you the detailed review!

Packaging

The foundation is packaged in a cute little glass bottle, which isn’t ideal for travelling but it is sturdy and suits the formula of the base well, as it needs to be shaken up before use. The pump is really useful, with one distributing enough to provide a light coverage all over the face. I normally use a pump and a half, the extra adding more coverage to areas with with greater discolouration. I much prefer this packaging to MAC’s version - the pump makes it easy to distribute enough without wasting any and it looks much sleeker too. The simple font is clear to read, with instructions on the back, the amount of foundation in the bottle and the shelf-life too. The only slight complaint I have with this is that the shade number which is written at the bottom has already scratched off, not a biggie but still.

Price

It costs £27 for 50ml which is more generous than your standard foundation. At first I thought you would have to use a good deal more due to the gel-texture but nope, the standard pump and a half - two pumps. Also I managed to get mine for 10% off so overall the £24.30 price tag is fantastic ^_^

Formula

The face and body foundation has a gel-like formula which requires a lot of shaking up to use to it’s full ability. I would describe the formula as a cross between a gel and a liquid and it is water-proof which makes it fantastic longevity wise because my skin is still glowing in the evening the same way it was in the morning! The problem I find with a lot of dewy bases are that they just don’t stay put, which makes this base really stand out to me because it’s one I can count on for long days, hot days, beach days, pretty much whatever-ya-name-it-days. Water-proof yes but it can transfer a little towards the end of the day, especially around the mouth (eating/drinking) if not set at all. Bottom line though is that the MUFE face and body is very reliable and stays on better than any other base with a similar finish. The other day I was already wearing this from 9am till 6pm and I then had a Lush event to go to straight after work. Now 9 hours laters I expected to look in the mirror and find most of my base faded, but much to my surprise at least 85% was still in place - YAAAS. All I did was apply a little bit of the Bourjois healthy balance powder and it honestly made my face look fresh and complete all over again, so if you do need to top up, it allows you to do so with ease (and without caking!).

Finish

The finish is described on their site as satin, but to me its a mixture of satin and dewy which I LOVE. It makes the skin look so radiant and non-foundationish whilst still evening out the skintone, covering over redness and adding a beautiful golden glow. This is the ultimate ‘no-makeup makeup’ kinda base which still gives you beautiful looking skin. Will this cover scars and blemishes perfectly? No it won’t, but personally when I do have blemishes I hate wearing a heavy foundation over them, I want my skin to be able to breathe and heal as much as possible, so I always opt for a base which gives a good medium coverage and then conceal over the ‘problem areas’. The MAC F&B leaves a tacky finish to the skin which was kinda irritating and you had to set it in place. The MUFE F&B doesn’t as long as you let your moisturiser and whatnot sink in properly first, there’s a glow but nothing sticky or irritating - so if you want a full on glowy look you can skip powder. I tend to set around my nose (after concealer) and around my mouth, rather than all over because I love the finish!

Application

After giving it a good shake, I pump 1 and a half on the back of my hand and my favourite way to apply this is using my fingers! I love sponges and brushes but for the consistency of this kinda base, I find the warmth of my fingers work really well to get optimum coverage and it doesn’t take too long either. On days when I’m in a massive rush though, I’ll use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush which works very well and of course is quicker than using the fingers. I did try this with the beautyblender for the purpose of this review and it was kinda meh, it gave me a very light coverage so I wouldn’t use it again to blend this foundation out.

Shade 32

When I took the bottle out of the packaging my face was literally ‘D:’ because it looked a LOT darker than I had imagined and quite orange/beige. However when this is blended into the skin, some bizarre magical thing happens and it actually adapts really really well to your skintone! I would say this is a good match for NC30 and it’s one of the closest matches to my own skintone, despite the fact that it looks really orange when you first start blending (as you can see above!). When blended in it does look lighter and that pretty scary orange blob up there is no longer the case. I don't know how they did it but I'm not complaining! The shade range of the MUFE line is really confusing to work out, but the formula of the face and body means everyone will probably be able to find one which will work well for them - as it does adapt beautifully. Just don't be put off by how it looks above or in the bottle, that's not an accurate representation of the colour.

All blended out - overall finish 

Top tips for using this foundation
As it is quite different to your normal foundation, I thought I’d add a little bit of advise if you do end up purchasing this.

• As the formula is 80% water you need to make sure your moisturiser underneath is also water based - if you opt for an oil based one the foundation won’t sit well. 
• Also whatever you’re wearing underneath (moisturiser, primer, SPF etc) try to make sure it has really sunken into the skin, so the texture of the face and body isn’t changed.
• It doesn't contain SPF so it looks good in flash photography, however when wearing it to a event I do like to add powder to tone it down a little as it can make your face appear sort of shiny with a strong flash.

I think you’ll love this too if you’re a fan of natural/glowy looking skin which lasts really well without the need for powder or retouching. With one layer it honestly can look like you’re not wearing a base at all, however it’s still buildable to a medium coverage. It looks almost invisible on the skin, blending in like a dream and it feels lightweight too. There are some bases in my collection that I’m on the fence about repurchasing, however this is one I will always have in my collection - it’s incredible and I cannot sing its praises enough!! I love that I can use this base with ease all year round - in the summer it stays put and in the winter it'll work just as well with my more dry skin during that season ^_^ I was a little even nervous to write a review in case I didn’t do it justice - yes I love it that much!

Overall Rating

Rating: 9.5

Pros: Sleek packaging with a useful pump, light-medium coverage, satin-dewy finish, basically the ultimate glowy base without looking sweaty lol. Perfect no-makeup-makeup base, can also be built up to a medium coverage and then if you add concealer - bam you have the perfect base! So yeah very very versatile, long lasting, blends in beautifully, applies best with fingers so you don’t need to have a clean brush or sponge available, as the formula is so adaptable there is probably a shade for everyone - just don’t judge it by the colour of the bottle! Seems to work well on oily skin, dry skin and of course normal skin. Just makes my skin look incredible, not cakey, not powdery, not too dewy/shimmery - just youthful and like its glowing from within!

Cons: Bottle means it’s not the best for travelling with like all other high end bases, theres a slight fragrance to it when first applied, must be shaken up.

Repurchase? Yes, yes, yes, YESSSSS. I am honestly so over the moon to have this and I’m not ever letting it go now :’)

Have you tried this base? What is your HG foundation? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Review + HG | MAKE UP FOR EVER Face & Body Foundation in 32

Ladies..I have some pretty big news...I have finally found a new favourite base and it only took a couple of weeks of this being in my possession for it to land that title. When MUFE launched in Debenhams I was incredibly excited, because I had only heard good things about the professional brand. My previous favourite base, the MAC F&B was no longer an option to purchase, since boycotting Estee Lauder more about that here if you’re interested. I had heard about the MUFE version of course but it was so difficult to find I just decided to look elsewhere for an alternative. I came close with the Bareminerals Bare Skin Foundation (review) but it just wasn’t THE ONE and of course the search continued. Recently one of my favourite YouTubers Kathleen Lights did a foundations video and I’m sure this is the one that came out top of her list so I leaped at my chance to purchase this as soon as I could and I’m now ready to give you the detailed review!