MUA

Currently With Me

- Vicki 10 Comments

Always with me

Makeup

I try to change up makeup that I use, if I didn’t I’d wear the same products all the time. So here are a few products I have been using these past couple of weeks & what I have had with me in my handbag.

Mac Select Sheer Pressed Powder NW25 12g for £20 – This powder is great on top of my foundation. It gives me a very flawless finish without looking too heavy or overdone. It gives me a little added coverage and it is keeps me shine free. The compact has a mirror and is sleek and durable. So great to throw into your handbag.

Me Me Me Sweep Precision Eyeliner £6.50 – I’m trying to use this up as I’ve had it on the go for a while. I like it for quite a dramatic eye look. Its nib is easy to use and as the name suggests, good for a precise line. I use this for getting a cat flick look. I have it in black and its very deep black, but not waterproof. I would recommend it if you like using liquid liner.

Bath & Body Works Pocket Bac in Sweet Pea – I love these. This one smells so good and they’re very handy to have with you.

Lipstick

Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy CC Lipstick* 510 Dolci £25 – This is the creamiest most hydrating lipstick I have ever used. This colour is perfect for the Autumn and I feel so swish using it. The product is lovely & the so too is the packaging with its magnetic lid, Armani Logo and bright glossy red bullet. These are luxurious but if you are a lipstick lover then you will enjoy wearing these.

Cat Mirror – Just too cute to leave behind!

Valentina by Valentino – This is quite a sweet perfume. More of a summer fragrance, not one I would purchase in full size. My mum likes it though.

MUA Blush Shade 4 – I have a few of these and for £1 they are great. I don’t like carrying my more expensive blushes with me as I’m so clumsy and tend to break them, so these MUA ones are great for that & they’re pretty. This one is such a wearable peach colour and I rediscovered it this month. What MUA blushes would you recommend?

inmybag11

e.l.f Kabuki Face Brush £6 – I always carry this with me as it is such a multi purpose brush. Great for blush and powder, it’s also small and fits well in my makeup bag. I need to buy  a backup of this.

Nivea Lip balm – Good for this time of year as I get such dry lips.

Benefit Badgal Mascara £17.50 – Not a fan of this, I feel like it doesn’t grab my lashes & hardly any product goes on them. It takes ages to build up any volume. Wouldn’t buy the full size of this.

So thats what I have been using this past week. Some products I love & others I am trying to use up so I can open something new.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

Coverup All My Sins

- Vicki 13 Comments

Concealer Stash

Me Me Me Correct & Perfect

This comes in a pot with a concealer and in the bottom it has a setting powder. I wear the shade buff. It is my perfect winter shade as it is quite light. The concealer takes a little warming up so it is easier to blend. I tend not to wear this under my eyes as it is a little drying. It works better as a blemish concealer & its good at covering up redness at the side of my nose

MUA Pro Base Conceal & Brighten Kit in Porcelain Beige

Not the greatest concealers I have tried. They aren’t a great match for my skin tone. I like the middle lighter shade best. But I don’t reach for this often as the product doesn’t last very long, it seems to slide right off me. Might be because I have really oily skin.

Benefit Boi-ing industrial Strength Concealer

Love this, it is heavy duty, again I use it to cover up blemishes and a little scaring I have. I find it a little too heavy for my under eye area. It does work if I warm it up and blend it in, but It does tend to crease on me. It works really well to cover up redness and stays put all day long.

YSL Touche Eclat

Not a concealer but I do sometimes mix it in with a darker concealer to add a little luminosity and that gives my under eye area more of a radiant look. I have dark under eyes and sometimes I need a product that gives me a little glow.

Stash

Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Brightening Illuminating Concealer 

Love this – it is that perfect combination of concealer and highlighter. I bought it whilst in America This is really hydrating, which I need and that means it doesn’t crease. It’s quite lightweight but still offers good coverage. It isn’t heavy duty coverage but if you’re looking for a light to medium coverage I recommend trying this.

Bobbi Brown Corrector 

A must on those days you need to counter the darkness. Its peachy tone is great for that. I need to blend it so well as it creases on me too. You only need to use a little of this and as it warms up its lovely to blend. I have the shade light to medium beige.

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit

I wouldn’t purchase this again. It has a concealer and a pressed powder, it doesn’t work well for me. I find it too creamy and can’t seem to use it without it ceasing and I find it quite greasy too. For the price it doesn’t work well for me. I have the shade warm beige.

Stash

Rimmel Wake Me up Concealer

Now this is my new concealer obsession. I use this under my eyes and it gives me really good coverage. It is just creamy enough to blend and it never looks cakey or heavy. It is a bargain. If you haven’t tired this you need to buy it.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

This isn’t for me. I find it drying and it never looks natural on me. I know it is loved and that many people like it, but I prefer the Rimmel one.

Do you use any of these concealers? Or do you have a favourite that you would recommend to me.

Feeling Flushed

- Vicki 3 Comments

I had a look through my makeup collection and picked out some blushes / highlighters that will be perfect for summer. So here are my picks.

Summer Blush

MUA Shimmer Kisses Blush £3.00 for 7.3g – this blush quad is really pretty and can be used as a blush or a highlight. I tend to swirl my brush around and pick up all four colours. It’s a really soft pink and very easy to wear, it isn’t too dusty and I find it wears about 5 / 6 hours on me before the colour starts to fade. It has a slight shimmer to all the colours but nothing too over powering. This is also a great product to travel with as you can get alot of great blush shades from it and the packaging is quite slim and compact.

Me Me Me Shimmer Stack in Bronze £9.99 for 12g – This is very versatile and for £9.99 you get alot of product for your money. It comes with 5 shades from a cream, bronze, gold and a rose gold. They can be used individually and make lovely eyeshadows too. As a blush it gives the same look as Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle. It is very pretty and gives a lovely metallic shimmer, all shades are very pigmented. I’ve loved using this and would highly recommend it.

Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam £10 for 6.5g – Wow this is a big highlighter and the packaging is so cute although it doesn’t have a mirror. It is a little bulky to travel with but I really like using it, mostly as a night-time highlight. On the top of the cheeks it leaves a very pretty sheen. It is gold and very pigmented so a word of warning, use with a light hand otherwise you will end up with far too much shimmer. This will last you forever so is very good value for money. I can’t see me ever finishing it.

Summer blush

e.l.f Baked Blush in Pinktastic £3.75 for 6g – I have some really fantastic e.l.f products in my collection and their baked blush & bronzers are some of my favourite. Amazing value for money and you get 6g of product. They are a little chalky but if you tap off the excess product you will be OK. This Pinktastic blush is a very subtle pink, I’d say it was more of a highlight than a blush but either way it gives your skin a healthy glow. I plan on taking this with me on holiday as its is quite small and compact.

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose $11.95 for 7g – This came in a beauty swap I did last year & I admit I wanted it solely for the packaging and the love heart detail looks so pretty. But all that aside it is the perfect touch of pink, great for summer. It isn’t the most pigmented product but it leaves you looking healthy and fresh-faced & not like you have overdone it. The down side to this is the packaging is a little clumpy and not great for travel but I love the blush.

Cute Blush for Summer

Benefit High Beam £19.50 for 13ml – I have both high beam & moon beam and love them both but if I had to pick just one then high beam would win. It is on the pricey side and I have seen a few people blog about great dupes but this 13ml bottle lasts forever. I have mixed it in to my foundation for a radiant all over glow (Only a drop needed) and it looks great on the cheek bone for a real beach look. I am a huge fan of this and wouldn’t be without it in my collection. It can make quite a subtle highlight if you dab it on lightly and when the light hits you just looks radiant and glowing. Very summery.

Avon 24k Golden Glamour Duo 8g – I can’t find this for sale online, I paid £6. I have spoken about this Avon blush and highlight duo on my blog quite a few times & if you want to see a swatch you can here. I love the blush part of this duo so much it’s quite a frosty pink and looks really pretty for day or night. The highlight shade is a creamy peach shade and just adds the right amount of glow to the tops of your cheeks. I often travel with this as it is two products in one & again you get 8g of product which will last you a long time. Pixiwoo have done a video using this blush here.

Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle £21.50 for 10g – I only bought this in December and so was massively late to the party. How I lived without this I will never know (bit dramatic). Pretty isn’t a good enough word to describe this but it just gives your face a fantastic glow. I need to be careful that I don’t apply too much around my outer eye / top of cheek area as it does gather in my fine lines ( I am 35 this year). I have used this non stop for 5 months and it looks like new, like I haven’t used it. This is one product where a little goes a long way. I love having it in my collection.

So they are my 8 cheek products for the summer. Looking at them now I seem to have an obsession with baked products, I do love them and how they look. Let me know If I have mentioned any of your favourites or if I have mentioned something you have never tried before.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

Vicki x

Favourite Products of December 2012

- Vicki 6 Comments

We’re already a week into January 2013 but I still wanted to let you know what I had been loving in December 2012. I had a low-key December and I think my products reflect that. So before I start rambling I will get right into it.

December 2012 Favourites

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer – I use this to cover really unsightly blemishes and ones that are super red. I find this quite heavy and so only use it when nothing else will work and this stuff doesn’t budge. Covergirl lashblast 24hr Waterproof Mascara – this is a great mascara for giving quite dramatic lashes especially if you’ve really curled your eyelashes. It’s so black i love my mascara to be uber black and again it doesn’t budge.

Vivo Colour Block Palette in Unprotected. This is a palette I reach for over and over again. The colours are all lovely and I am a neutral eyeshadow girl so this has  everything I need. It’s also the palette I take away on holiday without fail. I’ve done a more in depth post on this palette with swatches – here if you want to have a read. Chanel Eyeshadow in Safari 45 – this is the prettiest taupe with a hint of shimmer. It’s so soft and blends like a dream.

MUA Pink Shimmer Kisses Blusher – This has been in my makeup bag since I bought it a couple of months ago. I have worn it so much. You can make it a light wash of colour or go for a more intense colour. It’s so versatile. MUA have done it again. Top marks for this. I’ve done a blog post about this here. YSL Perfect Touch Radiance Foundation – I have used this foundation for about 3 years now and it is my old faithful. It give a really beautiful coverage which I would say was medium and it gets better throughout the day. It settles down to look flawless and gives your skin a really healthy glow. I will always have a tube of this. It makes my skin look younger and so healthy.

December Favourites 2012

Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser –  spf 20 in the shade nude. This is a really lovely lightweight tinted moisturiser. It feels so nice on the skin, it’s quite a sheer coverage but that’s perfect for days when you’re not wanting to apply a full face of makeup. It really has some staying power too. It applies smoothly on the face and gives you such a fresh-faced look and I love it. Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark Circles 2-in-1 Roll-on Medium – This is great to add a little flash of colour under the eye and look more awake. It’s not the best coverage and it’s a little watery but I tap it in and it gives you a more awake look. I’ve blogged about this here with swatches.

No7 Lash and Brow Perfector – This just works. It tames my unruly brows. What more could I want? The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Lip Balm – This smells so festive and has a shimmer to it. So it was perfect for December. It’s not very moisturising but it does give your lips a hint of colour and also shimmer. So very festive.

Murad Exfoliating blemish Treatment Gel – this has really calmed my breakouts and it helps reduce the redness and size of blemishes. I use it morning and night when I have a breakout. Mac Sheer Pressed Powder – I’ve been using this to set my foundation. I have been a little more greasy than normal and I have found a light dusting of this across my forehead and chin makes my foundation stay put.

So they were my December favourites. If you’ve blogged about your December favourites leave me a link in the comments.