Too Faced Born This Way Foundation Review

Looking for a new foundation can be difficult, do you agree?

Finding one that fits my criteria can be a chore. It has the right consistency, the right finish, is buildable, lasts at least 12 hours and has the perfect skin colour in the range. I like buying new foundations when they turn out right, but otherwise it feels like such a waste of money especially when you don't have it to waste.

Spending £20+ on something that turns out to be rubbish is not for me, but I couldn't resist trying Too Faced's Born This Way foundation. It has some great reviews and some friends recommended it too, so I thought it might be a good one to try next.

Lush Ultrabland Facial Cleanser

Hey all!

Happy New Year!

What better way to start the year than with a new cleanser?

I recently picked up Ultrabland on a trip to Lush, and I've not looked back.

It's a well known cleanser and for good reason. It currently has a full 5 stars on the Lush website which just goes to show how many people love it.

It's based on a Greek formula of almond oil, rose water beeswax and honey and feels as gentle on the skin as the ingredients portray. I try and remove my make up with a face wipe first and then slap this on. You can clean it off with warm water and a cloth as soon as you like but I tend to leave it on for a good 20 minutes to allow it to draw out impurities.

It's super smooth and creamy and initially I was worried about using it on my sometimes oily skin. However I've had no issues whatsoever and use this every couple of days to keep my skin under control.

It seems to remove impurities yet doesn't over power my skin with oil, it's fabulous and as soon as I can get back to Lush I will be purchasing more so I don't have to be so stingey with it!
I will also be snapping up Full of Grace serum and Mask of Magnaminty, they are my favourites and I can't live without them. Maybe I'll have to find another item to add to my list too!

The Ultrabland cleanser comes in at £7.50 for 45g, and £11.95 for 100g.

Have you tried Ultrabland? Are you a fan like everyone else?

As someone who isn't a super fan of bath bombs I am certainly finding plenty of products i like from Lush! And now I'm even partial to an indulgent bath too....how things change!

L xxx

FOTD

Good morning loves!

Now i have dark hair again I've been experimenting with my make up. I had no idea it would make such a difference to have my highlights dyed over and my hair is now back to my natural colour but has seemed to have made my 'normal' make up look like I've got nothing on!

I've had to change everything up so I've taken a few photos to show what I've swapped my products for, you can see how dark my hair is in the photo below:

I've always been a fan of Vichy Dermablend but recently it has really been a favourite of mine for its great coverage but natural finish. However in my usual Opal colour it has looked a little pale so I've been mixing in Rimmel's Wake Me Up to give it a bot more colour.

I've stuck with my favourite concealer though, now I've tried Nars I just don't want to use any other concealer as nothing works the same way as that does!

After setting my base with Rimmel's Stay Matte powder I've been using my Bourjois bronzer - never fails to make me look more contoured and also never seems to go down either! For blush I've been trying to finish off my old Coralista - I hit pan and panic bought another but that seems silly now that months later I've still got it!
It's still one of my favourite blushes though so I'll still be using it for years.

For brows I've been using Naked Basics' Faint eyeshadow for a little while now - its the perfect dark brown for my black brows. Doesn't look like I've sharpied them on and also isn't a weird red toned brown that some brands have suggested I use.

As for eyes I've been using some of my eyeliners recently and blending them in together for a different look. I've got a post coming up about it and how using eyeliners is a great easy way to change up looks!
These are a selection from Urban Decay, their 24/7 eye liner pencils are the best I've ever tried and I really recommend them if you're looking for a smooth pencil with great pigmentation.
This look includes Mugshot, Moonspoon and Glitter Rock.

And of course the wonderful Perversion - the ultimate black liner - along the lower waterline.

For mascara I've been using Benefit's They're Real recently, I've been saving it up as it's my last full size mascara but it is one of the best that I've tried for my lashes both length and volume.

This is a look that I wear on weekends, for me applying eye make up is something done in a haphazard way during the weekdays as my time is limited. But on weekends I definitely make more of an effort to wear different products and try different things.

Do you do the same and try to use different products? What do you think of changing your hair colour, has it had an effect on your regular products used?

L xxx

Lush Ocean Salt Scrub

Hey pals!

This is a super quick post from me as were both on our way to....wait for it.....HARRY POTTER STUDIOS TODAY!!!

To say I'm excited is an understatement, we went once over a year ago but this time it coincides with the Dark Arts exhibition so were very excited to see the extra things and go with a group of friends too. Expect a post and lots of tweets, eek!

That aside, I've been loving a bit of Lush lately which for me is out of the norm as I'd never normally travel that end of town. but a few new purchases and a few blogger goody bags and I'm slowly changing my mind. I've got a few reviews coming up but this one is for the Ocean Salt Scrub which I'm sure for many of you is nothing new at all, but for me, it's love!

First off, I picked this one in the Self Preserving formula which is fairly new for this product and it means it will last AGES which is great news for me as I like to swap and change things sometimes or might give my skin a break from certain types of products for a bit as it is weirdly sensitive (currently nursing a reaction from e45 cream from 4 weeks ago, siiiiiiiiiiigh)

The ingredients in this lovely product can be seen in the image below, if somewhat blurry at the end:

I've been using this for face and body and it smells absolutely GORGEOUS. i think what puts me off about Lush is the strong smells, I know everyone loves them but I can't stand them! My nose is very sensitive and I can smell scents quite quickly, there's no need to over power my nose. Things like Snow Fairy look gorgeous but I just can't deal with the smell, sorry superfans!

The citrus smell of this beauty is something that I just can't get enough of, its FABULOUS and my pot is diminishing faster than a plate of food does in my house (trust me, thats lightning speed!)

You only have to look at it to see it's pretty swirl of cream and blue and then get a whiff of fresh citrus scents to want it and it has certainly won me over. I've been using this in the shower on face and body, the usual backs of the arms kind of places and my skin has been super smooth and not irritated in the slightest.

The smell wakes me up in the mornings and the scrubby bits do the perfect job of exfoliation, cannot go wrong with this one!

As if it wasn't perfect enough already, it has also got vodka and coconut oil in, what a winner.

The 250g pot of this costs £13.95 which is a bit steep, but when you know its 100% natural and unlikely to become a product that adds to the millions of microbeads washing into our water systems all the time then you know you're onto a good one!

Have you tried Ocean Salt Scrub? do you prefer the self preserving one? What else would you recommend from lush for me to try that isn't too strong on the nose?

L xxx

Nip and Fab: Clean Fix Oil

Morning lovelies!

A few weeks ago M picked up all of these goodies for us both, everything was massively reduced in Debenhams and some were down to £3 - something that we obviously just could not ignore!

We wrote about the Viper Venom Serum from Nip and Fab and you can find the review here.

The triple pack of Clean Fix oil was irresistible, we've both been looking for a way to get into double cleansing and this was it. Three bottles of this should have cost us £30.75 but the pack was reduced to £10.25, this was then further reduced to something like £3 which was just unbelievable! We couldn't wait to get them home and give them a try.

I have always liked the designs of the products from N+F, they have a simple design where the colours change dependant on the range and everything feels really sturdy.

The clean fix oil claims to not only be a cleanser but also a make up remover which i was keen to test, getting rid of heavy eye make up is always something I need!

After reading the bottle I was disappointed however to find that it contained mineral oil and this is something I really try to avoid putting on my face if i can help it and many other face oils don't contain it so i don't see it as a necessary ingredient.

Having used it for a few weeks I can say that it definitely does remove make up very easily, the oil turns to a white milk when rinsed off and then you can cleanse your skin properly without it being covered in grime.
It was the perfect introduction for me to double cleansing and I'd look into buying another oil to cleanse with, however this one just isn't right for me. I don't want to use mineral oil and also, this is no longer available to purchase anywhere that I've looked! Maybe they're reformulating or repackaging it as oils are big news for cleansing nowadays.

The smell of this was lovely which I feel I should mention but it also just disappeared from the bottle and after just a few weeks of usage I could easily have finished it.

On a side note, I've started using it to clean my make up brushes and it works WONDERS at melting the excess make up off the brush before I can cleanse it properly with baby shampoo and ensure it is bacteria free. There's always a silver lining eh!

Have you tried cleansing oils? Which would you recommend? Do you avoid mineral oil?

L xxx

Hey All

I'm currently heading up to a weekend in the Lake District with the other half and his work colleagues. After a stressful first 5 hours of me trying to navigate a route from maps (sat navs are banned as it's a challenge!) I've got 10 minutes break whilst we are on the M6. 

The Nip and Fab Clean fix Facial oil is another one of the bits I picked up for us when Debenhams had them massively reduced. I used to swear by my No.7 eye make up remover but lately I've let my skincare slip. (Another reason for the big nip and fab haul!) 

As an oily skinned person oil cleansers never appealed to me but as this was so reduced I couldn't not grab it. It's a very thick oil and I find about half a pump does my eyes and face. I love the fact it has a pump as I imagine any other form would be annoying with an oil.

The oil melts into my skin and literally dissolves all of my eye make up including they're real! I then remove it using a hot cloth. My skin feels so soft after! I tend to use a scrub or a second cleanser and use the oil pure for make up remover.

The downside is that it does contain mineral oils so I have been concerned about it clogging pores and breaking me out. But so far so good.

It leaves my skin feeling really make up free but it does seem to be going down in the bottle. For the full price honestly I don't think I'd pay for it. I just can't fully get my head around oil cleansers. 

Are you a fan?

Love M

Beauty Blender

Hi pals!

Just a quick review for you today, you might have heard of it yonks ago but sometimes I fear I live under a rock.

The Original Beauty Blender came onto my radar when M told me about it (many times!) and raved about how good her dupe one was. I just couldn't get over the sponge applicator things and decided my Real Techniques were enough for me.

The BB as it will now be called (I'm lazy at typing right now, 4.30am starts all week have ruined my body clock!) made it's way into my life courtesy of my aunty who gave my her Birchboxes that she had been bought as a gift - what a super hero she is!

I've loved getting them as you can imagine and have had a lot of fun rummaging every time one appears. This one was particularly exciting though when i realised i had a REAL one!

Let's face it, the pink excites me. It's super girly for a gadgety kind of thing and I almost didn't want to get it dirty by adding foundation, but i took a deep breath and got over it.

I have been told that using the blender whilst wet is the best way forward so I run this under the tap quickly and squeeze/shake off the excess so it's damp. I have found from experience that using a thicker foundation such as Vichy Dermablend as opposed to something thinner like UD's Naked Skin works better but that may just be me. I found thicker products easier to blend out and give an even coverage whereas the thinner products tended to move around my face!

Here's a photo of my face where I've applied Dermablend with the BB. It creates a flawless base for other products to be added onto and the pointed end helps to blend around the nose and eyes, and is great for concealer application too.

It also comes with it's own nifty little cleansing block which is very handy and lovely surprise!

I've used this a few times and washing the blender is easy, rinse it under the tap, rub the bar onto the sponge and lather it up before rinsing. There really is no excuse but to wash this one regularly (though I always seem to find one!)

I have totally come round to the idea of a Beauty Blender and have been enjoying using it on my face in the mornings, definitely a girls version of a gadget!

It creates a flawless base quite easily, and although you might think it will take you longer than using a brush it actually doesn't which surprised me. The only drawback i can see is that it costs £16.50, which by all accounts is a little excessive. It's more expensive than a lot of brushes which seem to have a lot more work gone into them, if it was price more at the £10 mark i probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid!

Having said that, if that's all that I can find that's wrong with it....maybe it is worth the price.

Have you tried the Beauty Blender before? Are you a lover or a hater?
Have you found a comparable dupe?

L xxx

FOTD: Workwear

Hi there! 

I've been really enjoying shopping my own stash recently, its great finding products you'd forgotten about and can use again without spending any additional cash.

I had a bit of time before starting work the other day and decided to photograph my face of the day to share with you.

These are the products that I've used for this. Naked Skin is a great foundation for lightly covering blemishes but without masking skin as if it needs to be coated. The Make Believe bronzer is one I use rarely but its such a lovely natural glow.

The Perversion liner is the best I've ever tried and the blush is another that i forgot is quite similar to Coralista. The Naked palette needs no introduction really!

I do like how my skin looks quite natural after using Naked Skin especially on my forehead. The concealer is great for covering dark circles for its price and I've set it all using Stay Matte powder from Rimmel.

Having not used a brow kit for a while it took a few attempts to get them right as Gimme Brow is so easy to use but the Sleek brow kit allows you to have so much more control over the shape and definition.

The blush and bronzer gives a gorgeous colour that also looks really natural:

The Naked palette is a staple most people have in their make up wardrobes; I love how you can apply a wash of a colour or intensify it quite easily as they're so pigmented. As they're nudes the colours are perfect for day time and evening and so are very versatile.

After this I applied UD's 24/7 liquid liner in Perversion to my upper eye lid and 24/7 eye liner pencil on the inside rim of my lower eye lid.

After that it was a slick of the Rimmel Wonderfull mascara to my lashes with argan oil in and I was almost done.

I completely forgot to include the lip products in the first two images so apologies for that, to complete my Face for the day i just applied a quick coat of Naked Lipgloss to finish it off.

It's amazing how many products you can use on a face with a natural ish look.

Do you go product light or product heavy for work? Are you adventurous with colours on your eyes or lips?

I'm never brave enough for work as nobody else seems to wear much!

L xxx

Good Things Manuka Honey Creamy Cleanser

Hello!

I cannot believe it is the end of August already, this year is flying by. and where on earth is all of the summer weather? Is it now autumn already??

Today I have a review on a facial cleanser that I saw one day in Boots and had to snap up. As I'm sure I've mentioned a zillion times already I have recently become unemployed because I hated my job so much and was made to feel so uncomfortable that I left without another job to go to. This is quite scary really and takes some explaining in interviews but basically for blog purposes it means that I am super skint!

No longer can i afford my number one cleanser in the form of Origins Checks and Balances at a cost of £17 so I've been seeking out a cheaper version with all of the same qualities that I look for:

• Removes majority of make up (I have to use eye make up remover/micellar water anyway for my super sensitive eyes so as long as its 90% removed I'm happy)
• Leaves my skin feeling clean without feeling 'squeaky clean' and tight, and ideally with a bit of hydration too
• Smells good
• Lathers well without a load of chemical nasties

Impossible?? I thought it might be. Until this one!

Good Things is a brand I've previously blogged about (link here) and I loved the ethos of the brand and also the product I previously tried, which is sadly no longer available.
All products are free from SLS (foaming agent) parabens and mineral oils which to me is a pretty good start.

I chose the Manuka Honey Creamy Cleanser as firstly I'm obsessed with manuka honey, it smells good, tastes good and has a ridicukous amount of amazing properties. I love Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey mask for this reason and was interested to see how a cleanser works out too.
My skin is also getting older, siiiiiiiigh, and tends to needs more hydration than my younger oil slick face days and so a creamy cleanser sounded like the right option.
Lastly the price of £4.99 (its currently on offer in Boots for £3.33!) was very appealing. 3 for the price of my normal cleanser?? Surely worth a try!

It also contains Royal Jelly and Beeswax which was interesting. Straight from the Boots website you can see the blurb here:

Cleansing is the key to great-looking skin and this creamy cleanser has it all.

Super-hydrating royal jelly, rich in amino acids, helps to condition and replenish skin while the antibacterial properties of manuka honey ensure skin is thoroughly clean and balanced.

Black raspberry extract and vitamin E, both full of antioxidants, helps give skin a radiant, youthful glow.

This sounds like the perfect compromise to me, this cleanser should still remove the grime and oil from the day with the help of the antibacterial properties of manuka honey but also hydrate it with the royal jelly and help it glow with antioxidants. Sounds like a miracle!

Alice Hart Davis certainly seems to know her stuff and I have really enjoyed using this cleanser the last few weeks. I've been using a dollop of it applied to damp skin and removing it with a muslin cloth.
This seems to remove almost all of my make up, though it does have a little trouble with some eye make up but this isn't an issue for me as I have to be careful with my eyes and use a separate remover anyway.

The smell reminds me of warmth, if that makes any sense whatsoever. It reminds me of warm baked goodies coming out of the oven and is quite a comforting smell which I put down to the manuka honey.

I really cannot fault this product for the job nor the price and luckily for us it's often on offer at Boots!

Also in the range is a face mask, face scrub and daily moisturiser; all of which I am sure will find their way into my handbag on my next shopping trip!

Have you tried Good Things before? Do you have a favourite product?

Have you tried any from the Manuka Honey range before?

Let me know!

L xxx

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil

Happy Sunday ladies!

Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend. We've got another double review for you today of a product we picked up a few weeks ago on the Easter weekend.

The Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer pencil is one that we'd never seen before the event that we attended but we both instantly decided, along with Nina from The Little Nomad that we all needed it and we cleared out the counter!

We all got colour matched and were all the same colour 'CIA'. It was super lucky that they had exactly 3 left as it is such a popular shade. There are 10 shades available and the pencils cost £12 for 3.5g of product.





This product is perfect to cover up red area, blotches, blemishes, under eye bags and also to highlight areas such as under the brow. It's creamy, long lasting and completely mess and fuss free. All you need to do is apply the product direct to your skin and then buff in with a brush of your choice.

The pencil dries to a semi matte finish and claims to be smudge free.






I really like pencil products like this, they're so easy to use and are pretty much a one-stop product to cover up so many kinds of flaws and imperfections making it fast and easy to use in the morning.

I've been using this pretty much all over my face. It's great in the mornings to apply on my under eye bags, spots and under my brows to highlight them. I do think that the colours in the range are great as even CIA might be too light for me sometimes. Its perfect to help cover up undereye bags which need that bit of extra lightness and opacity.

Below are two images of the concealer under my eyes, its such a massive difference to my usual black eyed look!

Here it is with a looooooooad of black eye make up on the eye, still doesn't even look like a hint of a shadow underneath. I am so sold!

The only issue I've had with this so far is how fast the product is disappearing and how hard it can be to sharpen. You definitely need a large sharpener with a sharp blade to cut through the plastic. I've been combatting the usage problem by applying my usual Lasting Perfection concealer first which helps to cover most things and then i apply the 24/7 concealer onto my under eye area to help brighten it.

What do you think of the 24/7 Concealer Pencil? Do you rate its coverage and finish?

L xxx

Afternoon all.

As soon as I tested this out on the back of my hand I was totally sold and instantly told myself I had to have it. A girl always needs concealer right?!

As L said I think the past few weeks of sunshine have added a slight bit of colour to my face and I have found the shade a tad light now but I'm sure as soon as Autumn hits and I'm back to my ghostly white shade I'm going to be reaching for this.

The fact it's a pencil intrigued me. I've not had a concealer in pencil form before. I had the lipstick style ones but let's face it they were usually cheap, thick and cakey. I love how this melts onto the skin and when buffed in just cover. I do find for my under eyes I need to layer it a little. It doesn't look cakey though even when layered up.

I find the shade we picked also great to combat the redness I always have around my nose. 

I do like this concealer but I wouldn't say I love it. For me nothing beats my Nars but the Urban Decay one is almost half the price so I think this will be a repurchase for everyday where!

Have you tried it? What's your go to high end concealer?

Love M

xxx