Seventeen Blush Powder in Nude

Hey All

I love shopping my stash from time to time, it's so easy to forget long lost products after a favourite comes in and takes over. When I found Seventeen Blush Powder in Nude in my stash I didn't think much of it. It didn't jump out at me and I couldn't even remember buying it, but on the skin this blush won me over. Plus it's a bargain £2.99 (here) and usually on an offer or two. Plus seventeen have just bought out some amazing looking matte lipsticks. I also believe Seventeen is cruelty free (if you know otherwise please let me know as I'm finding brands I'd previously read were now aren't!)

The nude blush is an amazing everyday shade. It's a great neutral that isn't too pink or orange toned. It just gives a natural flush to the skin. It's not a shimmery blush either so very easy to wear.

My camera was having trouble picking up the swatch as on the skin it doesn't show as much but on the face it transfers well. It blends softly to give a natural colour on the apples and isn't overly pigmented that you have to worry about over doing it.

For £2.99 I'd definitely recommend picking this one up. I've had it ages and still love it. I'll be grabbing a new on when I grab some of the new lipsticks! Have you tried any yet? Any shade recommendations?

Love M

xxx

FOTD - Current Favourites

Hey All

It's been a long time since I've shared any favourite make up or done a face of the day so I thought I'd combined the too and show you some of the products I've been reaching for the most lately.

I love the difference make up makes to my features. Being pale and with light hair means my features can get lost without make up so I can't be without brows and mascara!

Products used:

• Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette
• Mac Studio Fix Fludic - NW20
• Body Shop Shade Adjusting Drops - Lightening
• Benefite Brow Zings - Light
• Ebay Brushes
• Real Techniques contour and buffing brush
• Mac 168
• Nars Radiant Creamy Concleaer - Vanilla
• Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil
• Seventeen Blush - Nude
• Stila One Step Correct Primer
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner - SmokeOut
• W7 The Queen of Brows - Light Medium 
• Avon Infintize and Aero Volume Mascaras - Black
• Phees Make up Shadows - Peppered, Sphinx, Deadweight and The Original Highlight.
• Mac Amplified Lipstick - Fast Play 

I'm always one for a flawless base but lately I'm really struggling, I seem to be more pale than normal and no foundations are working properly. The Shade adjusting drops have been an amazing find. I've been able to use my foundations that have been sat to one side more and I'm getting a better colour match. Studio fix fluid isn't my favourite Mac foundation I'm more of a pro longwear fan! Browzings has been a regular use since I discovered it. It just gives perfect definition and will always remain a firm favourite. The same goes for the Nar concealer! I love this stuff, it covers sooo well! I fancied a bit of extra brightening this day so used the urban decay concealer underneath too. For me the eyes are always a touch smokey. I love the shimmer in the Phees Shadows and they are just so pigmented!! I used peppered over the lid, with sphinx on the out part of the lid, shades from Kat Von D palette through my crease and deadweight through the outer v to smoke it out then used the UD liner to line my lashline. I added the original highlight to my inner corner to brighten it up and used it as my highlight. I used the Kat Von D palette to contour. The middle large shade is perfect for this I love the colour it is. My cheeks are an old discovery, a random blush I found in my collection but absolutely love. The lips are a shade I can't stop reaching for. It's perfect for everyday and a great neutral shade!

What are your current make up favourites?

Love M

xxx

No Make Up Make Up FOTD

Hey All

As much as I love a full face of make up some days I prefer to go for a more natural look. I'm not the best at natural as if I'm wearing make up I tend to like to go all out. I've found one thing that helps is going for a brown/black mascara and one that's not what I'd normally like. I'm not one to step away from the mascara wand and think one more coat always helps (until it's one coat to many and you end up with 5 lashses!!)

The products I tend to reach for when wanting a more natural look are

• Urban Decay Naked 3 (review) especially shades strange, limit and nooner
• Bourjois Healthy Mix (review) 
• HD Brows foundation Powder (review)
• Benefit Fake Up (review)
• Benefit Gimme Brow (review)
• Makebelieve Enhance Sunbream Bronzer (review)
• Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush in Blushin'
• George Volume Lash brown/black
• No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Daydream

Here are the swatches without flash above and with flash below. Lipstick, blush, bronzer, naked eyeshadows in strange, limit and nooner.

Annoyingly my phone seems to have a feature I can't figure out how to take off and blurs my selfies. I love a foundation like Bourjois healthy mix for looks like this as it has enough pigment to even out my skintone but is light enough to not leave the skin looking totally flawless. A little bit of Benefit fake up blends away the dark circles. I then lightly set it with the HD brows powder foundation. For brows I love using Gimme Brow. Using a coloured brow gel helps the brows stand out more without looking too defined and still leaves them looking like brows.

I'm someone who has to contour every day, but I do apply it very lightly just to the hollows of my cheek bones for this type of make up. For me I find my skin most compliments a baby pink blush for a softer look. Lately I've been trying to save my beloved Dandelion and the Seventeen Blush is being a good substitute although I found the application a little weird.

For eyes it's probably the hardest for me to keep natural. Where I have naturally fair eyelashes I'm used to applying lots to make my eyes stand out. I'm loving using the George Mascara as it gives my eyelashes a bit of colour and volume. The eye shadows in Naked 3 are great for adding a little bit of colour to the eyes without it looking too much. I strange all over, limit through the crease then a small amount of nooner. For lips a bit of lip balm would work but as I recently borrowed the No7 lip crayon from my mum I've been loving the slight wash of colour!

What products do you use for the more natural make up days?

Love M

xxx

Seventeen Stay Time Long Wear Primer

I always find on the blog I never share products that are bad or just a bit meh! (great describing word there I know but couldn't think of anything better) I always plan to write them but usually get excited by something and share that instead. This year I am going to try and share more products that I personally didn't get on with.

When I was home at Christmas I had forgotten to take a primer home with me so had to go to boots to buy one. As my stash of all make up back here in Cardiff is rather large I decided to pick up a cheap primer to save wasting money. 

I spent a while swatching them on my hands to test them out and in the end settled on Seventeen Stay Time Long Wear Primer. 

You get 20 ml of primer for £5.49 which seemed pretty reasonable to me. On the hand at first it felt sticky but once it had settled felt smooth and not too heavy.

The packaging is pretty simple. Classic white and black. The different fonts I think attract the younger market that it's aimed at and the squeezy tube works well for the product.

The product itself is nude in colour and very thick so only needs a little. It blends out and feels light when blended but it does feel sticky until it has fully sunk in. The first think I don't like. The sticky feeling is annoying but as it felt smooth on my hand I was willing to look past it.

On my face when I first applied it and left it for a few minutes to sink in I was impressed. It had smoothed out and left a nice matte but light feeling finish.

Product blended out

Then the problems started. I'm yet to find a moisturiser this agrees with. It seems to be one of those that when you apply foundation over the top it starts to rub off. But this only happens on my cheeks. So I decided to persevere and try using it just on my T-Zone where I really need the primer.

Immediately after applying it's ok but after an hour or so any dry patches of skin or spots seem to be patchy and look awful. The primer seems to settle in these areas and start to clump together, not a great look!!

So all in all it's just a bit meh! It only works on my T-zone and it only works when I have clear skin. So if you are oily and not spotty this may work for you but for me I just can't get on with it!

Have you tried this primer? Did you find it better than me?

Love M

xxx