First Impression: L'Oreal Infallible 24H-Matte Foundation

What's in my makeup bag? (Summer 2015 Edition)

Hello my loves! Today I am doing a 'What's in my makeup bag' post as I have recently have had an enormous clear out of all my old and unused makeup and bought new products to use for my everyday face. With my makeup collection more organised it's easy for me to keep my favourite products in a makeup bag rather than rummaging through all my makeup drawers, it also makes it much more convenient for travel. And as it's summer and I suspect many of you are going on holiday soon (I'm going in September,eeek!)I thought this would be a great way of showing you all my favourite products to travel with and what I believe are my 'essentials' for travel :D

Makeup bag-Ted Baker

I store all my makeup in this Ted Baker makeup bag which I love! The best thing is that because the material on the outside is like a jelly, it's easy to wipe makeup stains off as opposed to a cloth bag :) They do this makeup bag in a larger form as well and I definitely recommend that if you want to store your brushes along with your makeup, because as you'll see later, I use a different bag to store my brushes and skincare in as I don't have room. I personally like them to be separate from each other as it's easier to find things, but it's completely up to your preference. 

FOUNDATION/CONCEALER

I don't use 2 foundations in one day or 2 concealers but I have included more than I need in for a reason. If you have read a post from a while back, you would know I love the MAC STUDIO SCULPT (NC35)foundation. But recently I have purchased the ESTEE LAUDER DOUBLE WEAR FOUNDATION (3N1 IVORY BEIGE) for when I have a slightly darker tan. So having these two foundations means I have 2 colours to choose from with the intensity of my tan. They both offer a medium to full coverage with a natural-matte finish (the MAC one is slightly more dewy) and both are amazing on the skin. I'm also trying to determine which one I like better so by using these together I know which one I can purchase next time :) Still haven't decided as they're both amazing foundations with great coverage and staying power, though the MAC one is slightly too yellow for me.

In regards to the concealers I have been using MAC PRO LONGWEAR CONCEALER (NC25) for over a year and have loved it. But recently I've tried MAC SELECT COVER UP (NC30) to see if it was more hydrating for my under-eyes. It is, though the coverage is far less, meaning I need to use a lot more and it doesn't cover my spots. The PRO LONGWEAR is almost empty, so I have SELECT COVER UP as a backup, though I don't think I would buy it again as it isn't enough coverage.

 POWDER/BLUSH/CONTOUR

For this section I keep it a lot more simple. For nights when I want a strong contour I use the MAX FACTOR PAN STICK (COOL COPPER) to shape my face. I prefer to use this than a contour powder as I feel it lasts a lot longer on the skin and is more natural. For all over bronzer I use the MAC MINERALISE SKINFINISH NATURAL (DARK TAN). I use this as it's extremely pigmented and provides a nice natural bronzed look to the skin with a hint of glow. For blush I use MAC BLUSH (PEACHYKEEN) as it's my staple rose gold blush. I use THE BALM MARY LOU-MANIZER for highlight as it's SOOOOO pigmented you wouldn't believe and it's nice to add a glow to the skin in the summer. And for powder I use the MAC STUDIO FIX POWDER (NW35)as it's incredible for controlling my oily t-zone and adding that little bit of extra coverage onto the face.

 EYES/BROWS

I can't live without my URBAN DECAY PRIMER POTION especially when it's hot and humid out. This makes everything on your eyes stay in place and last all day and night. For eye shadows I like to take a good selection for different looks, so I like to take my URBAN DECAY NAKED PALETTE (obviously it doesn't fit into my makeup bag ;)) as it has such a variety of neutral shade I use all the time. I also like to take my 2 mineral eye shadows (sorry they have no name!), my MAYBELLINE COLOUR TATTOO (ON AND ON BRONZE) and my MAC FROST EYESHADOW (BRONZE). They're all more or less neutral shades but those are my favourites and I can create a huge amount of looks with them. For brows I use the SOAP AND GLORY BROW ARCHERY as it's basically eyebrows made easy and it very convenient for travel. And although I don't wear liquid eyeliner much recently I would take the STILA STAY ALL DAY WATERPROOF LIQUID EYELINER, in case I felt like putting a bit more effort in with my makeup and because it's waterproof it doesn't budge, even in hot sweaty weather. Ew.

MASCARA

Right now I have been looking for a new mascara but I haven't found one I love yet, but  I felt that taking sample and small sizes of mascara on holiday was more convenient than taking a large one as they're a lot easier to pack and you have more variety. I personally wouldn't take all of these but I would choose to take the ESTEE LAUDER SUMPTUOUS EXTREME MASCARA, as it provides a lot of volume and length to your lashes more than the MAC FALSE LASH EXTREME and the CHANEL INMITABLE MASCARA, as they are a lot more clumpy.

LIPS

I'm not someone who is very daring with their lipstick and gloss on holiday. Mainly because I feel that a subtle pop of colour is all that's needed. My BURT'S BEES LIP BALM is essential as I get very dry lips in hot weather conditions. That's the reason why I tend to go for lip products with a slight gloss or sheen to them to keep them moisturising. MAC HUE LIPSTICK is a great subtle nude without the concealer lip look, it also provides a nice slightly peachy tone to it, making it great for everyday in summer. HUE goes great with the MAC STAUNCHLY STYLISH PROLONGWEAR LIPLINER, as it makes it just a little darker but still nude. As you can tell, I use that lip liner quite a lot ;) . For evening I would wear my YSL ROUGE VOLUPTE LIPSTICK (NO. 3), as it's highly moisturising and a very pigmented colour. It provides a deeper nude lip colour without going too deep, so still perfect for those summer evenings. My new favourite is the REVLON COLOLURBURST LIP BALM (TUTTI FRUITY), I loved the look of orange lips but I find it difficult to pull off with an opaque colour. This provides and nice orange coral colour to the lips without it being too intense and adding a pop of colour to your makeup. 

BRUSHES AND SKINCARE

Makeup bag- Estee Lauder

 SKINCARE (NOT INCLUDING SUNCREAM, AFTERSUN ETC.)

I believe the most important element while going away is skincare. Skincare is hugely important when going to another country and temperature rapidly change and your skin needs to adapt, so it's important to include skincare that you know well enough to take on holiday so no rashes and breakouts are caused which can be extra irritated by the sun. I haven't included sun cream or after sun etc as you all know that that is a must when going away somewhere (plus I haven't bought any yet aha ;)) I personally hate the way after sun feels on my skin, particularly my face, so I use the E45 CREAM as a daily face moisturiser. I get very sensitive skin on holiday so this is perfect for that, it's great if you get heat rashes as well or eczema, so it's a good all around moisturiser.  For removing makeup I use to use cleansing makeup wipes, but I have for the past few months been using the LIZ EARLE CLEANSE AND POLISH and it has done my skin wonders! It makes my makeup easier to get off than with wipes and it just makes my skin feel so so so clean! For primers, tbh I'm not the biggest fan of primers as I feel like I don't need them, plus I'm lazy ;) But for my oily t-zone on holiday I would use the BODY SHOP ALL IN ONE INSTABLUR as this mattifies the skin to reduce oiliness throughout the day. I have recently also been trying the RIMMEL LASTING FINISH PRIMER. It's very hydrating but I don't know if it helps or hinders my makeup as it doesn't do much for my oily skin, but I think it would benefit those with dry skin a lot more :D

BRUSHES

I like to keep my brushes simple. I use mainly REAL TECHNIQUES BRUSHES as they're affordable and great quality. I use the EXPERT FACE BRUSH for concealer, the CONTOUR BRUSH for contour (obviously!), the BUFFING BRUSH for foundation, and the BLUSH BRUSH for all over bronzer. I use a BUNDLE MONSTER brush for blush and an ECO TOOLS MATTIFYING BRUSH for powder. For eyes I use the REAL TECHNIQUES STARTER SET brushes as instructed and a couple of random ones such as an eyebrow brush. I always carry a pencil sharpener, eyelash curlers, tweezers, scissors and eyelash glue, just in case I felt brave in wearing false eyelashes :D

Hope you all enjoyed reading about what would be in my makeup bag this summer and apologies for it being so long. I have a habit of babbling about products I love ;)

Hope you're all having a wonderful 2015 Summer!

Lots of love

EM XXX

Hair: Time for a change?

I have never been someone who enjoys doing different things with their hair, curling it, straightening it, putting it up etc. Whenever I get ready I always leave 10 minutes max. to do my hair, it's just never interested me and no matter what I do to it, it always looks bad. I guess I've given up trying.

My hair has never been the longest. When I was younger I always wanted it in a short bob as I went through tomboy stages. The longest it had ever got was just past my shoulders. And I had a full fringe for a majority of my childhood or I let it grow out. I remember when I was about 6 the first time my mum took me to the hairdressers to have a side parting put in. I thought it was the most amazing thing. I had this all the way into secondary school, which is a pretty long time.....and I still have it today. 
I have tried numerous times to alter my hair and move away from my comfort zone which included a full fringe attempt again. But I couldn't cope with the maintenance of it.

So from the age of 6, I have had the same parting, the same fringe, and a very similar hair length. So I think it's appropriate to talk about change. 

Although I have never really change the style of my hair, the colour is another thing. I had my first highlights in year 7 and dyed it brown in year 9. By the time I was in year 10, I was having highlights in my hair every few months to make it lighter. I naturally have fair skin and hair, so whenever I went on holiday, the sun would always make my hair lighter. If I knew what I knew today about maintaining blonde hair, I probably would have kept it today. I knew nothing about purple shampoo or hair masks. And my problem was that my blonde always turned yellow and it looked awful to me. Even still, I was blonde up to year 12, and although I dyed my hair brown for a while I always 'felt' like a blonde.

I came to a moment when I realised how unnatural and unhealthy my hair looked with the blonde. It was dry and greasy (at the same time somehow)and it always looked bright yellow and was never the tone I wanted it to be. This was during the ombre craze where everyone was having lovely two toned hair, no matter what colour. So I decided that I could have the best of both worlds by having brown and blonde in my hair. I did it at home, and I'm proud at saying that it turned out really nice. Not only that but it was different, and I loved it being different to what I normally have. I loved my hair so much that I wanted to keep it like this forever, but I always knew that my ends were extremely damaged and dry. Thats the problem with applying bleach to just your ends if they're already damaged.

I still kept my colour until uni but I decided I wanted to go blonde again (big mistake) as I realised how quickly my roots came through. So now I have been on a mission to get dark brown hair. Gradually I have making it darker and darker (due to the blonde I have)to make it a nice natural dark brown. I'm not there yet as I feel like I need to give my hair a break but hopefully I'll be there soon.

But in regards to my style of my hair, I really do need a change. Simply, I'm bored with the medium-length side fringe style, and dying my hair can only satisfy me for a short period of time. 









I am aware that not all face shapes suit everyone, but I have been really intrigued to try a middle parting as I now have a really long fringe. I still want layers and volume as usual, but I feel a middle parting looks so classy and sleek. I'm planning on having a hair cut when I go home next week and I'm planning on having straight cut ends as opposed to more natural ones as I think it looks so healthy. But while I'm there I might change my hair completely (just not the colour) I've been thinking about this idea for so long, so I might as well do it now, if it looks awful then I know I won't do it again. But I think after 12 years, it's a good time to change your look.

I'll keep you updated.

Best Wishes

Em xxx

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Face of the Day

As I have been so terrible at posting lately. (due to the fact my camera and phone have not been working) I have decided to give you two posts this evening to hopefully makeup for it :D This post is a 'Face of the Day' and it's my basic everyday makeup recently that I have been loving. (Apologies for the pyjamas ahaha) 

Face:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (Dark Beige)

Mac ProLongwear Concealer (NC25)

Benefit 'Hello Flawless' Powder

Max Factor Pan Stick as contour (Cool Copper)

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer

Mac Blush in 'PeachyKeen' mixed with Mary-Lou Mainzer from the Balm

Eyes:

Naked Palette -'Half Baked' on lids

              -'smog' in the crease

                       -'Virgin' in the inner corners

                             -'Creep' lined on upper lashes and outer bottom lash

Maybelline 'Master Precise' Liquid Eyeliner

Maybelline 'The Falsies' Mascara

Eyebrows:

A mix of 'Naked' and 'Buck' from the Naked Palette

Lips:

Benefit 'Hoola' Lipgloss

I hope you enjoyed this FOTD and watch out for some of these products featured in more detail in future favourites posts.

Apologies again for the lack of posts.

Love you all!!!

Em xoxox

My Top 3 Foundations.

Hey everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you're all having a pleasant week. Today I want to review my favourite foundations and hopefully it can give you ideas on what your next foundation purchase would be. If you didn't already know, I am a foundation junkie!! If I had £100 to spend on makeup, a majority of it would go on foundation. I guess I am constantly on a mission to find the most perfect foundation out there, and although I feel as sometimes I have found it- something else comes along. It's a makeup product I will probably always obsess over. 

I looked at my many foundations today and I narrowed it down to my top 3, but it was so hard to choose. When I first got these gems, I fell in love with them, so I felt it was needed that I mention them and tell you why I fell in love with them in the first place :)

Just for reference my skin type is normal/combination, I have an oily T-Zone and some dry areas such as under my eyes. I do prefer a more natural/satin finish foundation as opposed to a matte one as I feel it makes my skin less dull and much more awake. You may also think that the choice in foundation shades I make are very dark/yellowy, that is because I fake tan on a regular basis. I don't hate pale skin at all, I just feel more comfortable in myself with a bit of a tan, therefore my foundation shades will be a lot darker than my natural skin tone :)

Now onto the foundations....

MAC STUDIO SCULPT FOUNDATION SPF 15 (NC35)

The first foundation I am absolutely loving is the MAC Studio Sculpt in NC35. I only bought this foundation a few days ago and I am already loving it to death. I was skeptical about trying another MAC foundation as I have tried previous ones that I believe didn't live up to their hype or their slightly pricier cost. But I did a lot of research into this foundation,(and when I mean a lot, I mean 6 months worth) by watching YouTube reviews online as well as other blogposts, and trying to find out if it would suit my skin type. So the other day I decided to bite the bullet and buy it, and I'm glad I didn't wait any longer as it is amazing. I consider it as one of the best foundations I have ever tried.

It is a "gel-based", "water resistant" foundation that provides a medium/buildable coverage with a natural satin finish and makes the skin look really healthy and glowy, without it being too shiny.

It is a thicker foundation but doesn't feel heavy on the skin, despite the amazing coverage it gives.

What I also love is the amount of product you get. You receive 40ml of product which is 10ml more than the average amount of a foundation. And I can feel this product lasting me for a while as a little goes such a long way, meaning no wasted product. Plus the packaging is convenient too.

The lasting power is great even without a primer so it is reliable for both nights out and during a working day.
I would recommend that if you have oilier skin (like myself) then set your oily parts with powder to avoid your oil showing. This product is mainly aimed at those with dryer skin as it provides that satin effect, but as a person with slightly oily skin, it is still amazing.

I'm so glad a purchased this as I can tell it would be my new 'holy grail' product, and I completely believe it is worth the money!

I give this foundation a 9/10 and its available at MAC or online at Debenhams for £25.

 NO7 STAY PERFECT FOUNDATION SPF 15 (HONEY)

Now I have mentioned this foundation before in a previous blogpost so I wont bore you with the amazing details again all I will just say that it's:

-Natural
-Light/Medium Coverage (can be buildable)
-Great value for money
-Weightless
-Great colour selection
-Can get colour matched at a No7 counter
-Lasts all day
-Overall BRILLIANT!


This foundation and MAC Studio Sculpt are my more or less everyday foundations that I switch between. I can't say anything more other than it is amazing!


This foundation gets a 8/10 and is available to buy at Boots for £14.

BOURJOIS HEALTHY MIX FOUNDATION & SERUM (NO.55 DARK BEIGE)

These foundations have been raved about all online. It seems if you want to achieve a 'healthy-looking glow', these are the foundations to come to.

I have owned the serum foundation (right) for ages and I love it. It provides a light to medium coverage with a nice dewey finish. It lasts on my skin for around 8 hours which is standard, but much less than the '16 hour wear' promise. It glides over my dry patches though it does have a tendency to make me slightly oily in my t-zone, but nothing bit of powder won't fix. Although I love this foundation, I felt like it could be better in some ways, such as the coverage. That's why I recently purchased the original 'Healthy Mix Foundation'.
Once I put this on my face, I could tell that although the colour names were the same, the original Healthy Mix was slightly lighter, but nothing to major. I feel like this foundation was what I was exactly looking for as it has the same qualities of the serum, though with a slightly heavier coverage, which is EXACTLY what I needed. It's a bit less dewey than the serum but still gives a healthy glow, and as it makes me less oily, it lasts on my skin for much longer than the serum does. PLUS, it's £1 cheaper than the serum so bonus. They're both amazing foundations I feel, though if you have much dryer skin that has little imperfections, the serum would be best suited to you. 
I should also warn you that both foundations have a small shade range and colours which are quite yellow-toned, so definately test it out before you buy them in store so it doesnt look too orangey on you :)
After trying many drugstore/highstreet foundations, these I can say are definately my favourite! LOVE LOVE LOVE 

I give the 'Healthy Mix Serum' a 7/10 (£10.99) and the 'Healthy Mix Foundation'(£9.99) 9/10 and they're available at Superdrug and Boots.

I really hope this post was helpful to you lot and gave you some inspiration on what foundations to try out next.

Love you lots

Em

xxxxx