April Catchup

Hello everyone, it’s time for my monthly update post. April has been a pretty good. I mean if I had to rate it I’d say 8/10, which is not bad! Of course it went by faster than the last but who isn’t used to that by now? I know I have! The weather in April went from very windy to pretty sunny and that was both great (for family walks around the lake) and frustrating when I was stuck indoors behind my laptop working towards my final deadlines of the year. This lake in particular is hugely popular around where I live and the peddle swan boats are just so much fun on a warm day! We totally forgot to bring left over bread for the ducks and swans which was kinda sad  because these two beauties swam up to up the moment we sat down quite clearly expecting some food.

A lovely trip to Ikea, always great for interior inspiration and for pretending you’re a different type of family in every show room you sit in hehe.

Two types of beautiful this month - the first being Primark’s new range of Moroccan inspired lights. Yes you read that correctly, PRIMARK. For only £6 and although I was unsure if battery operated lights would be economical, I realised rechargeable ones work very well (oops). I love the patterns reflected on the wall as well as the copper colour. When I started decorating my bedroom I really wanted it to be covered in the Moroccan/Turkish vibe, but now it has bits and pieces and I love this one! The second is this pink blossom tree, so so beautiful! When I see these in bloom I know it’s officially spring time.

 

Finally, April seems to be the month of beautiful sunsets! I am loving the longer days we are having and 8pm has become one of my favourite times of the day to admire the beauty outside my window!

I’ve sort of started a new workout programme/routine but then I realised I don’t have time to commit to it right now so that will commence at the end of May, oh yes and I have 4 lovely exams coming up too! So I have queued a couple of posts and please know that I appreciate all comments and read them too but I’ll be a bit slow at replying. I promise to get back to them asap and I’m already looking forwards to having a big blog reading catch-up too. I hope you’re all getting on alright with revision if you have exams coming up too - remember summer is around the corner, we can do this!

I’ve been quite a shopaholic this month so expect a bunch of reviews after exams, plus it’s my birthday next month and quite a significant one, - the big 20! I kinda feel like I’m coming to the end of an era, I’ll no longer be a ‘teen’ even though I’ve considered myself a semi-adult for the past three year haha. To be honest with you all I got a teeeensy bit emotional thinking about it which is so silly because it is a huge blessing to be able to reach this age. When I think about all the people around the world who didn’t get to live past 18 even, it just puts things into perspective again and you can expect a couple of posts related to moving on into my twenties amongst the usual reviews and faves.

Oh and finally how on earth could I forget?! I decided to switch up my layout a little bit and I bought a theme from this etsy store, very reasonably priced and EXCELLENT customer service. Seriously you guys I was blown away by the speed of their response when I needed help adjusting bits and bobs, I’d highly recommend! Also I have hired an illustrator to redraw the giraffe you have all seen, because it’s almost been two years since I started this blog and I wanted a bit of a change. I will dedicate a whole post to that when it is complete because this illustrator is amazing and from what I have seen so far, I am really impressed!

How has your April been?

 

Thank-you for reading ♥

 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

April Catchup

Review | Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer 030 in Warm Beige

Hey guys, today I am going to be reviewing the Rimmel Lasting Finish concealer which blew me away and I am seriously impressed by how well they have done with this one. If you’re a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have pretty dark circles and they’re my main ‘problem area’. I learnt about a year ago that you just cannot find concealers that work alone from the highstreet when you have such dark circles. Then I discovered the art of correcting and it has changed everything about my under-eye makeup. I wrote a detailed post on how to properly conceal dark circles which you can read here.



To conceal dark circles which are not blue in tone, you need a peachy coloured corrector and this lasting finish concealer is the best one for under a tenner that I have come across. To be more specific it costs £5.50 and you get 6g of product which is great value for money. The packaging isn’t anything to get excited over but it does the job as the formula of this concealer is thick and slightly creamy. I should point out here that it's quite challenging to work with at first because it does feel hard, so be sure to warm it up in the pan which will really make it easier to apply. Despite it’s thickness in pan, when patted onto the under the eye it feels light-weight and it doesn’t crease or settle into fine lines. Oh and it really doesn’t compromise on coverage! In fact this concealer has some of the best coverage out there without feeling heavy (though it’s a good idea to prep the under eyes first).


The shade 030 is a light peachy colour which is just peach enough to correct and brighten the dark pigmentation under the eyes. It’s not as peachy as Benefit’s erase paste, but honestly it works just as well, on the basis that I can't use erase paste alone as its a bit too dark to correct AND brighten.  Whereas I mentioned in my ‘new in’ post that for an everyday makeup look I’d happily wear the Rimmel Lasting Finish concealer alone, something I really thought was unattainable from the highstreet. For £5.50 to tackle the horrendous dark circles without another concealer on top I could not be happier ^_^ I do like to put some more concealer over the top because I love trying to get the most flawless under-eye look that I can, but as I said it can be worn alone.

It comes in three shades, 10 is a yellow type of shade which I’d like to swatch to see if it’s workable too (Anna from VDM applied it in one of her recent videos) and I believe 20 is a pink/salmonish kinda shade.

It lasts well throughout the day and doesn’t cake up when I apply another brighter concealer over the top and set it. Overall I’m very impressed if you couldn’t already tell - and I don’t think I’ll be buying erase paste again because this really is wonderful. For once a product has lived up to all it’s claims!

Have you tried anything from the Rimmel Lasting Finish line? ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Review | Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer 030 in Warm Beige

Hey guys, today I am going to be reviewing the Rimmel Lasting Finish concealer which blew me away and I am seriously impressed by how well they have done with this one. If you’re a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have pretty dark circles and they’re my main ‘problem area’. I learnt about a year ago that you just cannot find concealers that work alone from the highstreet when you have such dark circles. Then I discovered the art of correcting and it has changed everything about my under-eye makeup. I wrote a detailed post on how to properly conceal dark circles which you can read here.

Why Mascara Is Not My Friend

I seldom speak of mascara on here. It’s been mentioned in a favourites once and I didn’t include them in my starting over tag or my yearly favourites either. Mascara and I just are not friends and here is why...



1. Smudging
I have dark circles, so when mascara smudges, even when I’ve concealed my undereyes it makes the area look dark and just gives me a tired appearance.

2. Removal
One of the main reasons why mascara and me don’t get on is that the removal process is an absolute pain! My favourite happens to be Benefit’s They’re Real which works well on my lashes but boy oh boy do I pay when it comes to tryna get the stuff off. I ALWAYS have two panda eye days after I’ve worn mascara because that stuff is stubborn and I’ve almost given up fighting with it. Too much hassle!

3. Praying/Wudu
As a Muslim I try to pray 5 times a day and before we pray we do wudu which is basically washing of the hands, face, feet, arms etc. With the rest of my makeup it doesn’t matter if I get water on it, but MASCARA? NO NO NO. I leave the bathroom eyes streaming with black tracks running down my face. Uh. The drama and the nuisance.

4. Lack of lashes
This is a bit of a throwback story but when I was in secondary school I used to wear mascara and eyeliner quite a bit. However I had no idea how to properly remove the stuff (I guess I still haven’t figured that out 4 years later..) and on multiple occasions my makeup removing wipe would have lashes on it *winces*. At the time I thought nothing of it, surely having a couple of lashes come off is normal right???? No young Iqra, it is not. Although my sister insists I still have long lashes I feel like I damaged them a fair bit so now I reserve mascara for special occasions and try to preserve my lashes as much as I can!

5. Spider Lashes
I always see youtubers add layers and layers, but when I do they just look worse than before??

6. Mascara splodges on perfect eyeshadow
There are few things out there that can anger me and make me want to cry more than spending a good 10-15 minutes or so on following a YT video and working so hard to get it done right, for it to just be spoilt by a splodge of mascara, and when you go to remove it, all your hard work is smudged and URGH....no thankyou.

They’re the main reasons why I normally skip on mascara, but after reading some outstanding reviews on the Clarins eye makeup remover, this could possibly be a think of the past! Or at least a reason why my mascaras will be used more than once in a blue moon.

Thank-you for reading ♥

Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Why Mascara Is Not My Friend

I seldom speak of mascara on here. It’s been mentioned in a favourites once and I didn’t include them in my starting over tag or my yearly favourites either. Mascara and I just are not friends and here is why...

Requested | Rimmel Favourites

Hello everyone, today I’m going to share my favourite Rimmel London products, which was requested a while back. To be honest I was hoping that the Rimmel tag wouldn’t be getting bigger any time soon, if you scroll down a little you’ll see its the largest brand on this blog! I do seem to mention them a lot and evidently it is one of my favourites from the drugstore, although I’ve not used their foundations in years I love quite a few bits from the line. To me Rimmel is perfection for those new to makeup and for those in a rush when applying makeup, they have so many products that are just fail-proof and the price point is excellent too!



From the whole drugstore, Rimmel are the absolute masters of lip products. Anything you want, they have and they deliver well for a great price too. Starting from left to right, we have the Rimmel Colour Rush Balm (£5.99) in the shade ‘Not an Illusion’ which lives in my handbag. These balms are wonderful, so quick and easy to use and this shade in particular is perfect for work. It adds a little bit of colour and shine and looks effortless (as well as taking 5 seconds to apply thanks to the handy crayon shape). The Rimmel Lip Liners both the exaggerate line and the 1000 kisses (£3.99) are my absolute favourite that I have ever tried. Everyone should own a couple of these, from nudes to reds they have almost all the shades you could ask for. My favourite’s are Spice reviewed here, Tiramisu and Addiction. Highly pigmented, creamy to apply and not too drying. The Rimmel Provoalips (£6.99) are the latest line of products to come from this brand and I fell head over heels for the shade ‘make your move’ which I reviewed here. These are wonderfully long lasting, but the clear balm makes them non-drying for the most part. A truly awesome lasting lip product which is a HG!

Finally you’ll find it hard to beat a good Rimmel lippie. Their old moisture renew line (£5.49) is better than the new one in my opinion, especially Notting Hill Nude and Nude Delight. That line is harder and harder to find, but I also love their Kate lasting finish line (£5.49), in particular shade 08 reviewed here and shade 3 for everyday. These lipsticks are all creamy, decently pigmented and comfortable to wear. Those two shades I will probably always repurchase ^_^


Moving onto my favourite eye products from Rimmel, I will start with the one I forgot to photography (silly) but it’s the Rimmel Scandaleyes Nude liner (£3.99). I’m on my third pencil now which shows how much I love the stuff, brightens and reduces the appearances of red eyes and tiredness. Students and mums, thanks me later! Next is the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paint (£1) in particular the shade Rich Russet reviewed here. Highly pigmented and they do all the work for you, just swipe on the lid, pat with your finger and voila you have your shadow done. These appear to be discontinued from the line too (boo) so be sure to pick them up from Fragrance Direct for a quid while you still can!

A THIRD product from the Scandaleyes range (they did good with this!) is the eyeshadow stick in Bulletproof Beige (£4.49) has become a firm favourite of mine. To be honest the reason for that is probably because I’m lazy and cannot be bothered to find a little pencil brush, dip it in a lighter shadow and get me that inner-corner highlight. Nope, I’d rather stick with a chunky, creamy pencil  which takes two seconds to swipe in the inner-corner and a shade which doesn’t look too stark, nor too golden. It doesn’t last perfectly the whole day, but long enough for me to love it!

My last eye favourite is the Rimmel Glam'Eyes HD 5 Colour Eye Shadow in Brixton Brown (£6.99) a mini palette which was the talk of the town across the blogosphere. I’ll start by saying this isn’t the BEST e/s palette for the price, however the combination of colours is beautiful. I can do an eyeshadow look for everyday, despite the lack of matte shadows but combining the shades on the left all over the lid - and the middle shade is amazing as a crease colour! I love this for travelling and with a base the colours do pack a punch. Named as the Dolce Vita of the drugstore world by Lily Pebbles, I think it’s done a pretty good job for the budget price.


Rimmel blushes have been in my stash since I first started spending birthday money on makeup many moons ago. Especially the Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Blush £3.99  in Pink Rose, which I cannot express to you all how much I LOVE. Sometimes when you’re a blush-a-holic and own every trio from Sleek, a handful from Illamasqua and NARS you’re pretty spoilt for choice and you just want a shade that will add a healthy amount of pink without any effort. With this blush you don’t have to be too careful about adding too much, this has a lovely amount of sheen and adds a beautiful healthy glow. It’s perfect for everyday and one that I have repurchased again and again! You can also purchase some of the Rimmel blushes on Fragrance Direct, I picked up the one with the brush for only £2.25! Finally their bronzers are great for those of you with a light skintone and want to add warmth that looks natural and healthy. They’re aptly names ‘natural bronzers’ £5.99 and I’ve reviewed this one here. Again as I mentioned earlier one of the reasons why I love Rimmel makeup so much is because you can get beautiful soft makeup application easily, it’s hard to over-do this and you also get a good amount for your money (14g).


My final Rimmel favourite is a brand new product which will 100% make it into my favourites of the month. The Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer - shade 3 (£5.49) is a great corrector shade for those of you with dark circles as it leans more on the peach side. (However if you have blue toned dark circles you need a pink toned corrector shade!) It is light weight so you can layer a brightening concealer over the top and highly pigmented. Top tip with this is to warm it up with your finger to make it easier to apply.

A lot of favourites, but what can I say? Rimmel London have some real winners in their line and with so many offers, they’re very bargain friendly - what is not to love?

P.S If you’re from the UK, boots have a 3for2 offer on selected Rimmel products right now! Go treat yourself ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥
Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Requested | Rimmel Favourites

Hello everyone, today I’m going to share my favourite Rimmel London products, which was requested a while back. To be honest I was hoping that the Rimmel tag wouldn’t be getting bigger any time soon, if you scroll down a little you’ll see its the largest brand on this blog! I do seem to mention them a lot and evidently it is one of my favourites from the drugstore, although I’ve not used their foundations in years I love quite a few bits from the line. To me Rimmel is perfection for those new to makeup and for those in a rush when applying makeup, they have so many products that are just fail-proof and the price point is excellent too!

Haul | Brushes From iherb + mini giveaway

Hello lovely people! I often used to speak about how I bought my first ever set of Real Technique brushes from iherb, which is an American  site selling all organic, natural and cruelty free products. And as you may be able to tell from the title recently I placed another order ^_^ Mum wanted some sweet almond oil after my continuous raving about the stuff and I also bought some rosehip oil and tea tree oil too. I couldn’t help but pick up some new (and pretty exciting) brushes whilst I was adding to the cart...



Whilst browsing the brushes I saw a NEW RT one, the Sculpting Brush which is pink meaning it’s a finishing/perfecting brush. The others from this line are the setting brush which I LOVE and use everyday, the multi-task brush which is very versatile (obvs), the blush brush which is great for bronzing the face up and finally the stippling brush, the only one which I had a bad experience with, it shedded like no tomorrow ._.

 Anyways the sculpting brush cannot be bought alone in the UK as far as I can tell, Superdrug currently have a set where you can purchase the sculpting, setting and a fan brush for £20 . I didn’t want to spend that much money on those three so it made more sense to pick it up separately for $9.99 which equates to £6.68 - b a r g a i n!

When RT came out with their bold metals line, I wanted to wait a couple of months to hear the consensus before splurging over £20 on ONE brush, c’mon I’m just not about that extravagant life ha. This brush is super soft like the rest of their line and is kinda squashed to create the oblong shape. It fits perfectly under the cheekbones, around the nose and pretty much everywhere else you want to contour. Success so far ^_^



I also had my eye on the Ecotools range, most specifically the Deluxe Fan brush which you can buy in the UK for £12.99 on Amazon. On iherb its only $6.99 - £4.67 WOOOO! I had heard a Youtuber rave about this and it looks dreamy for getting that perfect highlight. It is INCREDIBLY soft, one of those brushes you can't stop stroking on your face. The brush is pretty thick and very well made. I'm super happy to have this in my brush collection.

Finally a duo caught my eye, the eye enhancing duo which is technically four brushes, one brow, two blending and a flat brush for packing on shadow. I've previously purchased a 5 piece eco-tools set (and forgot to blog about it, boo) and I was very pleased with them. This set looks even better as the brush head sizes aren’t too big nor small and it’s perfect for travelling too! Also for $5.99 - £4 how could I say no?! 

If you’re never bought from iherb before heres a discount code - LCD104 to get at least $5 off.

I was feeling kind so I bought two fan brushes, one for me and one for a lovely reader ^_^ To be honest I don’t really have time to be monitoring this giveaway and if I could I would have set it for only two weeks, but as my exams are over on the 22nd of May, this will end on that date too. Basic rules are UK only, you must be following on bloglovin here, the more options you fill the greater your chance, fill it in below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---

Have you bought any contouring brushes? Would you recommend them?

Thank-you for reading ♥
 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Haul | Brushes From iherb + mini giveaway

Hello lovely people! I often used to speak about how I bought my first ever set of Real Technique brushes from iherb, which is an American  site selling all organic, natural and cruelty free products. And as you may be able to tell from the title recently I placed another order ^_^ Mum wanted some sweet almond oil after my continuous raving about the stuff and I also bought some rosehip oil and tea tree oil too. I couldn’t help but pick up some new (and pretty exciting) brushes whilst I was adding to the cart...

New In | Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer 030, Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer & Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all well, today I’m going to be doing a kind of first impression/ initial thoughts of three products which I bought mid-March so I’ve had a good few weeks to have a play with them.  All of them were very exciting for me, I love it when the drugstore brings out new and potentially awesome products so I had my hopes high!
Starting off with the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Primer (£6.99) I was very unsure about what to expect for this. I only own two other primers and usually I see it as a bit of an unnecessary extra step, unless you have oily skin or large pores. Of course I’ve always wanted to find something that could really make my base last longer, but it just seemed a faff. However the price and name of this one intrigued me to pick it up. I have to admit I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the addition of this guy to my makeup routine, after toning and moisturising I apply a little bit all over the face and it does a great job in creating a smooth canvas. I noticed my makeup went on smoother and actually looked better which I didn’t expect, but probably should have as it’s labelled ‘skin perfecting’! It claims it extends the wear of foundation for up to eight hours and I have had no melting face when wearing this - but I will do a full review of it in a few weeks to confirm whether that’s true or not. It certainly does help makeup application that is for sure!
First impressions: 7.5/10

Next is the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Concealer - 030 (£5.50) and when I first saw this on ASOS I instantly thought of Benefit’s boi-ing concealer, it has the same style of packaging and for that price and the promise of high coverage I had to give it a go! This colour is a light peachy shade, quite a bit lighter than my favourite (Benefit’s erase paste 3) and it has a slightly creamy consistency. Prepping the under-eyes before applying this is a MUST and so is warming it up gently in the pan. As the shade is quite light I really didn’t have high expectations, however much to my surprise it did a great job at correcting the darkness with one layer! I bought this as a corrector type of product, with the intention of using a creamy, brightening concealer on top however for an everyday, Uni face of makeup I would happily just wear this. Some darkness still shows (about 80% is corrected) but that is still wonderful for daily basis.  As far as adding another concealer over the top - no caking or creasing because this is such a lightweight product. Is it a better corrector than erase paste? No because it’s not as peach in tone, is it an affordable alternative? yes!
First impressions: 8.5/10


Finally we have the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit (£6.50 ). I first saw this on The Sunday Girl and read that it was a cheaper alternative for the ABH contour kits which are pretty pricy. Initially I didn’t think I would pick it up any time soon as I’m very very happy with my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer (review) as well as The Balm Bahama Mama (review) for contouring, but I did end up buying it as part of a boots event and I have to say, again for the price, I’m pretty impressed! The powders are decently pigmented and the dark brown one is a great choice for contouring. It would work well for skintones deeper than olive, which is great to see for a drugstore product! The yellow/brightening one is okay, I thought it would be a good setting powder for concealer, like ABH’s banana but within a couple of hours my concealer had creased, so probably won’t be using it to set again! It does work as a great natural highlight for warm skintones though, so not totally redundant! The middle shade is quite a bit warmer, its meant to be a bronzer to add warmth but I have to have a very light hand because it can show up a little intense. Overall its a bargain and well worth picking up if you’re looking for an affordable contour kit! Kinda wish it had a mirror but for the price I can hardly complain ^_^
First impressions: 8.5/10

All in all I am pretty chuffed with everything above! Have you discovered any drugstore gems worth buying recently?

Thank-you for reading ♥
 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

New In | Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer 030, Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer & Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all well, today I’m going to be doing a kind of first impression/ initial thoughts of three products which I bought mid-March so I’ve had a good few weeks to have a play with them.  All of them were very exciting for me, I love it when the drugstore brings out new and potentially awesome products so I had my hopes high!

Freshening Up Makeup After a Long Day

I spent Tuesday at uni from 10-6 and then planned to meet one of my good friends for dinner.However much to my frustration the unexpected British heat, combined with the lack of AC had melted off pretty much all my base makeup D: To be honest with you  I rarely touch up my makeup, if anything its a quick swipe of the lippie, so I sorta panicked!


Luckily my makeup bag was bursting that day, I think I had planned to take some blog photos but didn’t have time so I shoved a bunch of products all in the cute little black bag and picked it up as usual the following morning, which explains why my bag was extra heavy that day (oops). Anyway after 5 minutes of blending and buffing whilst peering into my car mirror I was mighty impressed with how my decent my makeup looked despite not having a foundation to hand! I’m going to quickly run through the products I used:

Starting off with the LA Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in Creamy Beige which is more of a brightening shade for me, I applied a little over all areas of redness (mainly around my nose) and discolouration around my mouth. I was worried it would look ashy but luckily it didn’t appear too light. The medium coverage and creaminess of this made blending with fingers a dream! Then using the very handy mini Dior Kabuki brush which came with the gorgeous transat highlighter (thankyou Onika for the great idea to carry this around!!),  I started buffing a little of the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in 53.  I made sure I didn’t overload my brush, but I really did buff the powder in the same way that GossMakeup taught his subscribers (video here) and it worked beautifully! The light coverage meshed in well with the concealer and gave that slight ‘filtered’ effect. Feeling very chuffed with my base I was missing ONE thing, some colour on the cheeks. Luckily I had the Topshop Blush in ‘Do It Again’ which I applied with the same kabuki, it is a lovely pink shade with a beautiful soft golden sheen to it which means no highlighter was necessary and it added a lovely pink glow to the cheeks.

Et Voila, in around 5 minutes I face looked well put together using only three products and needless to say they will be living in my makeup bag throughout the rest of the warmer weeks!

Do you have any fail proof touch-up products you carry in your makeup bag?

Thank-you for reading ♥
Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Freshening Up Makeup After a Long Day

I spent Tuesday at uni from 10-6 and then planned to meet one of my good friends for dinner.However much to my frustration the unexpected British heat, combined with the lack of AC had melted off pretty much all my base makeup D: To be honest with you  I rarely touch up my makeup, if anything its a quick swipe of the lippie, so I sorta panicked!

Review | Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in 53 Golden Beige

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the spring weather. Today I am going to be reviewing the Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in the shade 53. I have been using this for a good couple of months now and I feel like I’m ready to review ^_^ The ‘happy light’ foundation is designed to do exactly what the name states: make your skin look look happy and glowing without the need for shimmer and glitter. Bourjois state it ‘corrects imperfections without masking’. Now I have to warn you that this is a very long and rambly review, I’m sort of in two minds about it...

Price, Packaging and Shade Range
This foundation is housed in a glass bottle which feels pretty luxe however it’s probably not the most travel friendly. I do like that the pump is a pretty coral colour, it reminds me of summer - oh  and there’s a cute little smiley smile under the words ‘Happy Light’! The pump distributes the perfect amount, I find one pump is enough for my whole face. Price wise it is £11.99 and it’s available in 5 shades which is again, is my biggest issue with Bourjois as 5 shades will not cater for everyone! The happy light range is actually darker than their previous foundations, by at least one shades so it’s worth checking out swatches in store rather than purchasing online first.



Application, finish and longevity
My favourite way to apply this is using a buffing brush. It’s too thick for the fingers yet looks far too sheer with a sponge. It offers a light/medium coverage and has a luminous finish. Although this shade is a little darker than I’m used to it blends into the skin nicely and give the appearance of tanned, healthy skin which is lovely!  The foundation doesn’t sit on the skin, it really does blend in beautifully which helps to give that naturally glowing look. In terms of colour correcting I would say that is does an OKAY job, sometimes I can still see redness through the foundation which is annoying because I feel like a foundation should at the very least even out the skintone and cover light redness. So needless to say a concealer is essential if you have spots or darkness. It certainly doesn’t mask the skin (as it states) but I wouldn’t recommend it to those of you who have a lot of blemishes and don’t want to take the extra step of concealer.

Without powder this lasts perfectly on my skin for about 6 hours before it starts smudging a tiny bit in some places like around my nose. If I am wearing it for a long day (which I generally tend not to do) I will powder but I actually don’t own a powder shade to match this which is a shame because I feel like unless I VERY lightly dust some on my face it can look kinda obvious and ashy ._.  Anyways point is, there are longer lasting formulas out there, but for the luminosity it gives I can deal with it!


This photo is a little bit crazy, just to show you the exact colour of the shade 53. I think this is probably best suited for NC30-35 and Barcelona in NARS. Although it looks daunting on my hand, it does blend in much nicer on the face and as mentioned earlier, I like to wear it when my skin is looking a bit dull, I’m pale and in the spring time when I want my face to have a bit more colour and warmth. In the winter this looked a bit too dark for me so I’m going to be getting the most out of this bottle in the next few months! Sometimes 8 hours later I’ll see my face in the mirror and be surprised with how nicely the foundation is generally looking and other times, usually on a more hot day I’ll notice it’s melted off a pretty large amount of my face... although that is always after at least 6-8 hours of wear.

I’ve already stated that the Bourjois CC cream reviewed here is my favourite drugstore base and that still stands. I find when I try to layer this up over any areas I need more coverage it looks too dark and noticeable. So for me this base is great for a shift at work or a lunch out with the girls because it can look lovely and really gives your face a healthy glow, however it isn’t perfecting, you do need a concealer and a powder would certainly help (although I don’t own one that matches this shade, boo!)

Overall Rating
Rating: 7.5
Pros: It gives beautiful dewy looking skin, it actually does look natural and not cakey in the slightest. Makes me look more tanned and it does work very well with normal/dry skin types as it is very hydrating. It blends easily and you can still see the skin under the foundation. When you powder the face after it gets a little shiny it still doesn’t look cakey which is awesome. The packaging is sturdy and made of glass. It photographs very nicely and it feels comfortable to wear on the skin.
Cons: The formula is so moisturising that it got shiny on my face which never normally happens. A touchup powder is probably essential for all skintypes who use this, I don’t think it would get it well with Oily skintypes because you will probably be shiny in a few hours. The shade selection excludes those with very fair skin and deep skin. However if you normally can’t get your shade in other bourjois bases, try this because it does run darker.

Repurchase? I really am in two minds here. On the one hand I love how healthy and tanned I look when I’m wearing this and also how it almost looks like I’m not wearing any foundation at all! On the other hand I get more coverage from the CC cream and I do expect my skin to be totally evened out when I’m using a foundation, otherwise I’d turn to a BB cream ._. so it really depends on if I find something with all these pros but better! Actually I just realised it may be a brilliant idea to mix the CC cream into this...I shall report back if that is successful!

I apologise for how rambly this has been, I feel like I haven’t said everything I need to say but at the same time I can’t think of anything else worthwhile to add...this always happens when I’m on the fence about things, especially when it comes to base products because some days they can look outstanding and other days they just disappoint me y’know?

Have you tried the happy light foundation? What is your favourite Bourjois base?

Thank-you for reading ♥
 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Review | Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in 53 Golden Beige

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the spring weather. Today I am going to be reviewing the Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in the shade 53. I have been using this for a good couple of months now and I feel like I’m ready to review ^_^ The ‘happy light’ foundation is designed to do exactly what the name states: make your skin look look happy and glowing without the need for shimmer and glitter. Bourjois state it ‘corrects imperfections without masking’. Now I have to warn you that this is a very long and rambly review, I’m sort of in two minds about it...

Requested | Spring Makeup Essentials

A lovely reader on IG asked if I could do a post on my current makeup bag essentials and I’m a little embarrassed  to say I have QUITE A LOT to run through. As I went through muji drawers and my heart shaped dishes which house my most used makeup items, I couldn’t help but notice the amount building up, but I couldn’t put them down either! I guess these all have their place in my personal Spring makeup faves as well as my current ‘essentials’ and hopefully it can give you some inspiration on how to switch up your routine now the weather is a little warmer and the days are longer!



Oddly my current faves are all from the drugstore, and I’ll start with my concealer (not pictured) but mentioned in my recent favourites which you can read here. I am still in absolute love with the Bourjois CC Cream (33), medium coverage but looks and feels like skin. I actually misplaced this for a few months and really missed it - honestly the BEST drugstore base I have ever used. Reviewed in full here. For spring time when there is heat, there is need for base to be set in place, which is where the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder (53) comes in with a light coverage and no cake. I have also been LOVING using this for the technique described by Wayne Goss Makeup artist (video here) which he got from a beauty workshop run by Fyza. It merges everything together on the face and looks marvellous, I don’t do this every single day but this powder works very well when doing so! I have also been loving cream highlighters over liquid and powders, they merge into the skin effortlessly and look soft yet stunning when they catch the light. I have reviewed Topshop’s Glow in gleam here and another which has a slightly silver sheen is the Kroylan for Glossybox highlighter in Cashmere. I really recommend picking a cream highlighter up, it makes such a difference over powder and in the springtime I like the almost no-makeup makeup look and for everything to be subtle and look effortless - that is exactly what I can achieve with these core base products!


Now don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of cheek products on here, I promise I don’t wear them all at once! Starting off with the PERFECT spring blusher palette, again the all cream one by Sleek - Californ.i.a which has a range of shades and can be applied with the fingers very easily, built up or sheered out and even mixed together! Reviewed HERE.

Another essential for me are the Essence silky touch blusher in 50 sweetheart which is more of a pinky peach and looks ever so subtle but still adds just the right amount of colour to the cheeks. I’ve been ditching the contour (aside from trying out a few new bits from Barry M and Seventeen)  and focusing on warming up my face in a three motion. The Bourjois bronzing primer which is pretty similar to Chanel tan de soleil works beautifully and again as it’s a cream product it looks much more natural and doesn’t leave any streaks. If you find it too orange toned, pop it on under your base and watch the warmth show through. A slightly more glowy alternative is the E.L.F Warm Bronzer which is just wonderful, I’m so sad that the UK E.L.F are closing down because now I’m gonna have to order it again through a US site.

My current eyeshadow palette favourite is the Stila In The Light which has gorgeous natural shades and a great matte brown which can be used as a liner or just to add some definition with a pencil brush. I’ve spoken about this numerous times and whilst I know better quality shadows are available, this palette just ticks a lot of boxes for me. Another recent mention is the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick in Bulletproof Beige - a must have for light, bright spring makeup as it instantly refreshes the whole makeup look and glides on beautifully not tugging at the eyes at all.

I also switch black liners for brown, a few of my favourites are the Collection fast stroke, Rimmel Scandaleyes Khol liner in brown (and nude) and Stila smudge stick which came with the palette. Brown liners add definition without looking too harsh and I think at least one brown liner should be in everyone’s makeup collection! Finally for the brows, I love using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in brunette to achieve quite shape and definition without it looking bold and, again like I’ve put a lot of effort in!

Those are my current and spring makeup essentials, a lot I know but I love them all and really couldn’t narrow it down D:

P.S It’s worth mentioning Boots, Feel Unique and Look Fantastic have all got some great makeup offers on right now!

What are your spring makeup essentials??

Thank-you for reading ♥
 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Requested | Spring Makeup Essentials

A lovely reader on IG asked if I could do a post on my current makeup bag essentials and I’m a little embarrassed  to say I have QUITE A LOT to run through. As I went through muji drawers and my heart shaped dishes which house my most used makeup items, I couldn’t help but notice the amount building up, but I couldn’t put them down either! I guess these all have their place in my personal Spring makeup faves as well as my current ‘essentials’ and hopefully it can give you some inspiration on how to switch up your routine now the weather is a little warmer and the days are longer!

Review | Lush Golden Egg Bath Bomb/Melt

Hello everyone, today I have a quick review of the bath bomb that I fell in love with as soon as I set eyes upon it  - the golden egg*! Available for a limited time over the Easter period -  Ok *sad pause* I just realised that I am actually too late with this review, it no longer seems to be online which is most upsetting. Do make sure you check in store though because you could be one of the lucky ones who picks up the remaining few.. also this came back from 2014, so here’s hoping 2016 is just as sparkly!

Covered in soft golden glitter this egg literally feels like a real treat to own and I was incredibly excited to receive it in my Lush goodybag as from the whole easter line up that was the one I was most intrigued by. I know many people were put off by the glitter, but once it’s popped into the baths only a tiny bit transfers onto the skin when you leave the tub and it is VERY easy to rinse away afterwards. The bath bomb (and melt)  whirls round and round and begins to melt, with white froth and golden glitter, looking pretty darn magical. As it is a bomb and melt combined it takes a lot longer than your standard bath bomb to fizzle out.

The main thought I had as I watched it fizzle away, which satisfyingly took longer than I expected, was of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. True Potter fans will know exactly what I mean, those beautiful golden eggs given to them as a clue for a task! The glitter doesn’t stick around for the whole baths, it sinks to the bottom and the water turns a true yellow colour which is a bit of a shame, especially as when you touch the bath bomb your fingers get covered in soft glitter, it would have been nice for it to have floated around the tub.

The eggs itself smells sweet, sort of like toffee and honey with a hint of vanilla Nothing over-powering but enough of a scent that my weak nostrils were able to pick it up and I love it. Coated in cocoa butter and containing olive oil its certainly one of the more moisturising bath treats and I certainly would purchase this again and again and again!

Did you try any of the Easter Lush range? Which is your favourite bath bomb from them?

Thank-you for reading ♥
 Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

Review | Lush Golden Egg Bath Bomb/Melt

Hello everyone, today I have a quick review of the bath bomb that I fell in love with as soon as I set eyes upon it  - the golden egg*! Available for a limited time over the Easter period -  Ok *sad pause* I just realised that I am actually too late with this review, it no longer seems to be online which is most upsetting. Do make sure you check in store though because you could be one of the lucky ones who picks up the remaining few.. also this came back from 2014, so here’s hoping 2016 is just as sparkly!

A Spring Nail Wardrobe Update

Hello all! I think its fair to say my little ‘appreciating what I have’ period is over. I’m pretty impressed, I lasted from Dec-March which is not bad for someone who spends a lot of money on makeup and hardly any on clothes y’know! (Oh and food, lets not forget the food which is causing a double chin to appear, slowly but surely ._.). Thats not to say I DON’T appreciate what I have and honestly it was refreshing not having parcels coming in for a few months and just getting good use out of what I own... of course I will continue to do just that but I’m not going to be so strict on purchasing makeup either (if I can find some sort of way to justify it...I usually manage just fine ha).



Recently boots had a triple points event AND 3for2 across all makeup so how could I refuse to make a order? One of my best friends turned 20 so half the stuff was for her (see I told you I could justify it tehe) and as I have well and truly shopped my stash I’ve identified what I could do more of. One of those things? Spring nail polish shades! Now I wrote a post last year on my spring nail picks, which you can read here but truth be told I wanted some more of the Gelly shades from the Barry M range because the quality is much better than Ciate minis. I’ve learnt that the hard way after having to layer 3X with several of the polishes - not the quality I would expect at all. Anyways enough nattering on - here are the shades I picked:

Quick Dry: Pit Stop from their new range, a light grey colour
Gelly Polish: Almond a deeper grey/mauve shade which has a beautiful gloss to it as do all the the ‘gelly’ range
Gelly Polish: Lychee THE PERFECT NUDE POLISH FOR WARM SKINTONES I've seriously been looking for this shade for years, I need to buy back-ups, it’s gorgeous!
Gelly Polish: Rose hip an off-white pink shade, so pretty for the summer time especially ^_^

Although this is a spring nail polish haul, these shades are all neutral enough for use all year around and also very classy! In case you couldn't already tell, I am obsessed with Lychee, I have such issues with finding the perfect nude shade for my brown fingers and this is just wonderful, I was in awe of how lovely it looked!

Which is your favourite shade from the HUGE Barry M range?

Thank-you for reading ♥
Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook

A Spring Nail Wardrobe Update

Hello all! I think its fair to say my little ‘appreciating what I have’ period is over. I’m pretty impressed, I lasted from Dec-March which is not bad for someone who spends a lot of money on makeup and hardly any on clothes y’know! (Oh and food, lets not forget the food which is causing a double chin to appear, slowly but surely ._.). Thats not to say I DON’T appreciate what I have and honestly it was refreshing not having parcels coming in for a few months and just getting good use out of what I own... of course I will continue to do just that but I’m not going to be so strict on purchasing makeup either (if I can find some sort of way to justify it...I usually manage just fine ha).

March Favourites 2015

March has been a stressful month uni wise and I found myself questioning ‘why are we paying 9k a year to have pretty much 5 months of the year off???’ BUT it has been a good one in terms of discovering new skincare and beauty from my stash ^_^

Starting with my absolute favourites of the month, its all about the ‘Good Things’ skincare range here on The Blushing Giraffe! The best thing about the brand in my opinion is that they’re free from parabens and mineral oil - but I’ve not had any negative or ‘ehhh’ experiences with anything I’ve tried so far, not only is it good for your skin but it really does work.



The Good Things Argan Oil Moisture Boost Facial Serum (£7.99 £5.33)  has been a welcome addition to my skincare routine. I had previously been using the hydraluron serum which didn’t work very well for me so I didn’t bother picking up any others because I thought it was a pretty useless step. However using this one after toning really does help whatever moisturiser I am using to sink into the skin a lot better and my skin feels plumper too. Another benefit of using this serum is I need to use less moisturiser and for everyone with dry/dehydrated skin I highly recommend it!

The second and final skincare product I’ve been really enjoying this month is the Good Things Manuka Honey Creamy Cleanser (£4.99 £3.33) which is the most hydrating cleanser I have ever used! I use a micellar water to remove my makeup and then use a dollop of cleanser, give my face a lovely massage and then soak a flannel and wipe it off my face. The only downside for me is that essentially it becomes a hot cloth cleanser and is not easy to properly remove with just water - however I don’t mind doing this in the evening times as it’s a mini pamper for myself and my skin afterwards looks much cleaner, brighter and feels super soft. I wish there was a facial wash version of this for the morning too when you don’t want to be faffing about with flannels!



My favourite eyeliner of the month has been a rediscovery - the Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof khol liner in 012 bronze (£3.99) which I’ve been using on both the upper lashline for subtle definition and on the lower lashline to add a little smokey without going all out with pencil brushes and eyeshadows and fall out! Such a beautiful brown with an undertone of bronze/copper glimmering through, a must try for anyone as I think it’s universally flattering!

The Rimmel Scandaleyes shadow stick in bullet-proof beige (£4.49) has also been used time and time again throughout march, mainly because it is so perfect for quickly adding an inner-corner highlight! It literally takes 2 seconds to swipe this jumbo creamy pencil into the inner corner and extend it slightly and voila, my eyes look brighter and any darkness is almost disguised because it brightens up the eyes so much! This shade is gorgeous for springtime especially as it really is quite nude so it doesn’t look quite as intense as a gold or silver would.



Another eyes item this month! I’ve really been enjoying my Inglot freedom eyeshadow palette which I am planning to do a post on at some point this month. Anyways the neutral shades are all beautifully pigmented and blend like a dream. I love this palette, the magnetic packaging and how quick and easy it is to do a base and definition in the crease - well worth the monies for the quality!
My final favourite of March is the L.A Girl Pro Conceal in Creamy Beige ($2.99) I did a LITTLE order from beautyjoint to pick up some new Wet’n’Wild lipsticks and I also bought this shade of the concealer...let me tell you, I’m gonna place another order and pick up at least 5 more because it is such a perfect highlighting shade for my skintone as well as an all round brilliant concealer. (oh and the price is unbelievable!)  I’ve been looking for something not pink toned, with a high enough coverage to hide pigmentation but also so it’s not like a thick foundation y’know? This is IT! When swatched on my hand it weirdly looked a little orange ._. which left me feeling very disheartened, but under my eyes it blends beautifully and doesn’t come off as orange at all! Seriously need to stock up on this good stuff! ^_^

What have you been loving throughout March?

Thank-you for reading ♥
Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Instagram | Facebook