January / February Favourites!

Ello Lovelies!

I'm not one for monthly favourites but this year I'm making an effort to make them a bi-monthly occurrence. And the first one would be a tad late... Ooops! I've been changing up my daily stash every week or so to make sure i work through the unloved gems in my collection and these are the things I've been loving the past 2 months!

L'oreal Lumi Magique Foundation - Rose Pearl

This was a new purchase and I reached for it quite a bit over the last month or so. I don't generally have much luck with "drugstore" foundations, but this one is a beauty! Medium coverage with that lit from within glow, really beautiful! I'll be posting a full review soon.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment 

A long time ago, i managed to snag the Sephora birthday gift that included two mini Sugar lip balms and I've been hooked ever since. On my trip to London in January I dragged my boyfriend on a mission to find the Fresh store just so i could pick another one of these up. Priced at £18 they are extremely expensive but are honestly the best lip balms I've ever tried!

Benefit Hello Flawless Powder - Shell

I used up a whole one when they were first released and never got round to repurchasing due to having far, far too many powders in my collection. I was lucky enough to get one for Christmas this year. Its a fuller coverage powder that really does give a flawless finish, its up there with my MAC Studio Fix Powder as an all time favourite.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer - Brightener

Sadly, we can't get this shade in the UK (just like the Radiance shade of Dream Lumi, HMPH!) but i absolutely love it. Perfect for brightening under the eyes and highlighting the face. MAYBELLINE! We need this shade in the UK, K?!

 

Tarte Emphaseyes Brow Pencil - Taupe

This has been so well loved that all the writing has rubbed off. Priced at $19.50 this isn't the cheapest of brow pencils but i absolutely adore it. Its the perfect taupe shade for my blonde hair and has a great little spooley brush on one end for taming them. I'll be interested to see if QVC gets these and their pricing because i fear this is getting near the end.

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara

As you can see, i love me some Tarte. I was lucky enough to be sent over one of the QVC Tarte TSV's at the end of last year by a lovely lady in a makeup group i am in and it included two of these babies. Like all mascaras, i wasn't a fan at first. But after a few days it really grew on me. It can go clumpy if you aren't careful to wipe off the excess on the brush but it gives amazing volume!

Nars Guy Bourdin Blush Palette

Rather than tease you with something that's no longer available, I'm actually loving one of the permanent shades in this palette. Deep Throat (giggles). Childish behaviour aside, it is a beautiful blush that I've been wearing most days for the last month. A subtle peachy pink that just gives a fresh looking wash of colour!

It was hard to narrow down to just these 7 items but i don't think I've featured any of them in previous favourites so a win for me!

What have you been loving this month?

Let me know!

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xox

My Top 5 Foundations

Ello lovelies!
Foundations are probably my most loved item of makeup, so much so that at last count i have over twenty bottles of the stuff. I am forever trying to achieve flawless skin so up until recently I've been on a quest to find my perfect foundation, along the way I've found some that i really love. Although it hasn't stopped me from lusting after a few new ones lately, but no, no new foundation until September, hmph.

Estee Lauder - Double Wear Foundation
If for some reason all of my makeup disappeared, this would be the first thing I'd run in to town to buy. This is my second bottle of Double Wear in the shade Shell, and considering how fickle i am with foundations, that really does say something. Its a medium to full coverage foundation that for me works wonderfully over the top of a silicone primer, or one with a little slip. I have quite dry skin but with gentle exfoliating and a good moisturiser I've had no problems with it clinging to dry areas. I wont go on a night out without it, its long wearing and can survive a hot day, club or even a bit of rain! I just love it!

Skin79 - Hot Pink BB Cream
I'm on my third bottle of this beauty! I actually need to purchase my fourth one of these as a back up. It photographed below weirdly darker than it actually wears, it applies with a slightly grey cast but quickly adapts to your skin tone. It does only come in one shade though so it wouldn't be suitable for medium to darker skin tones. But its perfect for fairer complexion beauties that don't need a lot of coverage! Just be careful where you buy them from as there are sadly a LOT of fakes available online. Waaay back i did a whole review on this, you can check that out here!

Laura Mercier - Tinted Moisturiser
I love everything about this tinted moisturiser, apart from the price. I really am dreading running out of this! Its a smidge darker than I'm used to for foundations, but as it is such a sheer formula it blends into the skin beautifully. Its lightweight, evens out my skin tone and has an spf 20 to fight against sun damage, making it absolutely perfect for summer. I'm trying my hardest to save enough to take on holiday with me. I did a Recent Rediscoveries post on this a little while ago, you can read that here.

Skinfood - Red Bean BB Cream
Now this one was a toss up between this and my Missha Perfect BB Cream. But in the end it came down to what I'd reached for the most! Again, it was another Recent Rediscovery post, as I've been trying to stop spending and use up a lot of my unloved products. I'm so glad i hooked this one out, it has more coverage than the Skin79 and has a lovely dewy finish. This will be the other holiday pick for me as it too has a decent SPF in. Check out the full review here! (Only one more old post plug, i promise!)

Nars - Sheer Glow Foundation
Now my skins soaked up a little sun my sheer glow has been getting a lot more love. Its coverage depends on application and could probably get near to full coverage out of it without being too cakey, although i feel the more you apply the less dewy the appearance. Again, (yawn) I've done a full review on it here, so i won't bang on as you've probably seen hundreds of sheer glow reviews! I just wish it came in a lighter shade, i wear shade Light 2 Mont Blanc as shade 1 was just too yellow for me. High end brands really should make more shades at both ends of the spectrum *shakes fist*.

So thats it! My Top 5 Foundations! And as far as no buys go, i think I've done REALLY well, no new foundation for quite a while now. Although i go to Florida in September, so I'm fully expecting to bring back a couple, or five. Oops!

What are your favourite foundations / bb creams?!

xox

Recent Rediscoveries: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser

 Heya lovelies!
I've got another addition to my "Recent Rediscoveries" series in store for you lot today! As i mentioned before I've been forced to do a lot more "shopping the stash" lately as my mega saving panic has fully kicked in, my holiday is only just under four months away now so need to get those pennies put away asap! But the upside to this is that I've been rediscovering some real gems in my makeup collection and this has got to be my favourite so far!

Weirdly enough this product was my first ever review here on my blog! I cringe a bit when i go back and read it now, but hey, we've all got to start somewhere!

This was my "getting into university" pressie from my Mum during the summer last year. I'd been lusting after the Silk Creme foundation (still am really) but got talked into the tinted moisturiser at the counter. I absolutely loved this for the first few weeks i had it but i then discovered BB Creams and this has been quite unloved ever since. Now i have around 22 foundations, tinted moisturisers and BB creams (apparently that is too much :P ) so Ive been trying to work out which ones are usable and which ones i really can't work with and sadly there are quite a few in this category. But i am pleased to say i fell back in love with this one!

Generally, i love fuller coverage foundations. But i have come to learn that they are not always needed, and i can get a lovely finish with a sheer / low coverage product and a dab of concealer. I first hooked this out my collection around two weeks ago and slapped it on with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and was gobsmacked. Okay, the colour isn't a complete match for me, but the sheerness of the product makes it pretty forgiving. It looks AMAZING on the skin. Its sheer but has enough coverage to really even out the skin tone and cover any minor imperfections, anything else i slap some concealer on. For a tinted moisturiser it is not at all shiny, I'd describe it as more of a satin finish. I've been REALLY enjoying wearing this with just a touch of concealer, bronzer and mascara as my quick every day look.

It sadly has one down side, price. At £33 for a 40ml tube its not at all cheap and i do feel myself using a bit more product than I'd like at that price. I'm seriously not looking forward to running out of this but even with its not so friendly price tag i think I'd have to repurchase it! I can see this being a staple for summer seeing as it has SPF 20 and doesn't feel heavy or greasy on the skin. They also have an "oil free" and "illuminating" version so there is something for everyone.
But I'm still lusting over Silk Creme, hmph!

Have you tried any of Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturisers or Foundations? What did you think?

xox