Another HAUL...

I was mega-hungover yesterday and had a few hours to kill so I wandered over to the MAC store at the Met Quarter.

A hungover Joei + Cashcard + MAC = HAUL!

I went in with a bit of an agenda...namely a bronzer and possibly an eye-shadow, maybe Naked Lunch. Hmmmm...I achieved ONE of my objectives!!!

Changed my mind so many times about the choice between a MSF Soft and Gentle and MSF Natural in Medium Deep. I asked the MA who said that the MSF would just give a gentle shimmer and the colour given by the MSF Natural might be a bit too obvious.

She recommended the Bronzing Powder in Golden which I had never considered before. I thought it looked a bit too dark in the pan but its not too bad so far.

What else did I get? I got the Oil-Control Moisture Lotion and also the Matte gel. Not really tried either yet so I'll do another post soon.

I also popped into Boots to get the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Fawn. I have the Mineral Power Liquid Foundation already in the same shade which matches perfectly. I've got it on today. It's nice but definitely moisturise and stick a little bit of moisturiser on the sponge before applying.

I NEED TO STOP SPENDING although I still have a couple of things on my wishlist ------->

Going to start my revision...February will be a BUSY month!! xx

Swapping...

So you may have heard of MakeUp Alley and swapping. It's really US-orientated and there's now a pilot UK-based version. Have a look at http://swapsiesuk.blogspot.com/

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

I bought this a while back as I'd heard that it was comparable to the Revlon Colorstay Foundation. It's OK....it stays on and has a slightly more runny consistency than the Revlon.

But there's ONE big downside to this foundation. It oxidises like mad...so the colour you put ON is NOT the colour you end up with by lunchtime! Grrr.

I would take some pics of my FOTD...very natural look but lighting + camera atm is a big no-no!!

But here is what I did use.

FACE

• No 7 Shine Free Make Up Bases (as recommended by Lizz1901)
• Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation (in Fawn)
• Concealer Routine (consisting of MAC Select Cover up, Studio Finish and Clinique Airbrush for under the eye)
• Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge (Blushed Rose 04)
• Body Shop Shimmer Waves (02 - the pale pink)
• Lancome Oily T-Zone control

EYES

• MAC Bare Study as a base
• MAC Retro-speck all over the lip
• Revlon Cream Eyeshadow Quad in Not Just Nudes - the darkest shade at the lashline
• Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Brown

LIPS

• Vaseline Rosy Lips

Friends are on their way round for dinner...yumyum!! xxx

New Year Treats...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I love this time of year...it's the time when the festive spirit has truly disappeared and then this little gem pops up! Also a time when funds are sufficiently low and you get a little cash injection via Red Pockets!! Just wish I was round more of my relatives at this time of year!! hehe.

College has been hectic and it probably will be until 20th Feb when my exams all finish. I'm planning lots of visits to friends after this so it's something to look forward to. And me being a hermit for the next few weeks might save me some pennies as well!

Laura blogged a while back about swaps...and I have a few items which is being relegated and would love a new home :D !!

All the products are Clinique - it's not that these products aren't good but I've found better ones suited to my skin! So if you like the look of them, let me know and we'll see if we can arrange a swap of some kind. I'm particularly looking for BB creams, MAC eyeshadows (paintpots, shadesticks, powder...I'm not fussy!) and MAC MSF!! That's my wishlist!!

• Clinique Take the Day Cleansing Milk - it's just too creamy for my oily / combo skin!
  
• Clinique Stay True Make-Up in Stay Nude - medium coverage foundation
• Clinique Superfit Foundation in Honey - this used to be my HG foundation but the tone's a little too pink and dark for me
• Clinique Moisture Sher Tint in Beige - I know I was talking about this a couple of posts ago but I've decided that the coverage just isn't enough for my flawed skin and someone else will probably benefit from this a lot more than me!

There's probably more in my drawer if I look hard enough!! But we'll start with these for now and see if there's any interest! Let me know via the comments!!

xx

Spotted!

Last post tonight I promise...I have college tomorrow!!

I was visiting my friend in Lancaster this weekend and I found a Sally's!! Didn't get to spend much time in there but I spied lots of OPI and China Glaze polishes which I'm desperate to get my hands on but didn't see the Nail Art brush lollipop26 was talking about!! DOH!

Does anybody know of Sally's anywhere other than London and Lancaster (random!)?

Have a Little Patience...

I didn't quite get to go and see Take That but I did stop by Cheshire Oaks on Tuesday night on the way home and had a bit of a surprise.

On the shelves at the Cosmetics Company I saw the MAC 2008 Christmas Collection. After I had just spend near enough £100 of my Xmas money on the full-price collection. BOO!!! They had the brush sets, palettes (minus the smokey eye one), lipglass sets, lipglosses, eyeliners...I could go on but I'd get upset!! The brush sets full price were about £40 - now £29-ish. The palettes were £17!!!!

I can't believe that after only 6 weeks they were discounted already. Serves me right for having no patience at all. NOTE TO SELF - wait for things to get in at Cheshire Oaks before spending £XXX!!

I nearly bought the Beauty Powder from the Ungaro collection but decided against it. I swatched it and saw nearly NO difference. Someone enlighten me as to the difference of the Beauty Powder and the blushes??

I did hop over to the Revlon store and got a couple of eyeshadows and eyeliners though! Made me slightly less irritated!

Do you know of any good hunting grounds for ex-MAC products?? Let me know!

Samples and Bargains

I mentioned in my last post about me using the foundation and concealer in this range. I quite like it actually. I'd spied the liquid foundation for a while now and because of mineral powder's light coverage I was hoping to try it out!!

My lovely friend managed to nab me some Maybelline / Rimmel goodies so I got to try the liquid foundation finally!! YEAY. Plus I'd recently picked up the concealer in a bargain store in town so wanted to try both out!

I LOVE the consistency - it's not overly creamy so doesn't feel thick and cloggy on my skin. Once applied, it gives a really nice glow and not shimmer which I liked. AND I found my perfect shade - in FAWN. In MAC terms - I'm about NC25-30ish during winter and a bit higher in the summer. But right now this shade is PURRFECT for me.

If you have oily skin, make sure you prime and set with powder (mineral or otherwise). It's not a great foundation for oil-control for sure.

Concealer wise...I do use this as an under-eye concealer just because the bargain store only had one shade and it's slightly too light for me! It works well for this purpose if you find the likes of Clinique Airbrush / YSL Touche Eclat a bit too light. But I think it might be a bit too runny for blemish coverage - I'm sticking to MAC Select Cover-up / Studio Finish for this! Well worth investing in!

Overall verdict? It's being phased into my make-up routine. I like the fact that it feels lighter on my skin. That was my one bug-bear about Revlon Colorstay. It felt like it was weighing a ton on my skin! I'll let you know how I get on and when I change my mind again!!

Mineral Foundation

OK so I finally jumped on the bandwagon for mineral foundation. I've always been worried that the coverage would be enough for me and nor would the oil-control.

And I was proved right.

I opted for the Body Shop Natural Mineral Foundation. The coverage isn't great on this and used on its own my face is like an oil-rig by the time I arrive at college - 9.45am!!

But all is NOT lost! I found a different use for it...instead of using my MAC MSF Natural as the setting powder, I've been using this as the finishing touch over the top of my sample of Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation and it works a treat!

[Side note - anybody else tried the Maybelline? The concealer works well for under-eye but not really for blemishes. And I quite like the foundation although coverage isn't as good as I would want. Damn my horrible skin!]

I think the secret is the brush.

I've had the foundation kabuki brush for a while now and I LOVE IT!! It's so soft and perfect for this purpose!! I love Body Shop brushes in general...I pretty much have the whole set before I got into MAC. Special mention should go to the Lip / Concealer brush which I actually favour over the MAC ones! It applies straight onto the blemish and works really well with the Studio Finish concealer!!

What are YOUR views on mineral foundation - yay or nay??

My First Haul

I've finally uploaded photos from my camera (my friend had to lend me her cable because mine's gone walkies!) so I can share with you my haul from last week!


From top left: No 7 Quick Thinking Wipes, H&M Hair Clip, Body Shop Mineral Foundation, H&M Smokey Eyes Palette, Maybelline Mineral Power Concealer, Oil-Blotting Papers.

Couple of plain tops from New Look and a pair of mustard-coloured pumps. They're REALLY comfy and go really well with my black skinny jeans - talking of which I would love to find a replacement for them. They were from Primark and I can't find better ones ANYWHERE!! Have you got any suggestions??
Mmmmm...got a couple of pashminas from the market. They were 2 for £5. Gorgeous colours and pretty much goes with anything! I love the rich patterns on these...like bags, I have too many pashminas and scarves!!

I'll do another blog soon about the make-up stuff plus some of the freebies I got from my friend - yipee!! :D

BB Cream

I know I owe you all an update...and I did go shopping on Monday and today actually so lots of things to share!! But I'm going away this weekend so work needs to be done!! BOO!

But I thought I'd ask you guys - anyone heard of BB Cream. Been reading loads of reviews on the 'net about its benefits (e.g. reducing redness and improving complexion) but mostly from Asia. So wondered whether anybody's heard about it in the UK or US for that matter??

Desperately trying to find a sample from somewhere!!

xx

P.S. Laura - I WILL do the "What's in your bag?" post again soon - I'm just too indecisive and I've lost my camera lead!! lol.

Skincare Routine...

I've promised this post for SOOOO long now and I'm happy to say that the last 6 weeks' endurance and patience have paid off somewhat! :D Me and my skin have never been the best of friends to be honest but I don't think I helped matters but being indecisive about the products I use. For the last 6 weeks I've stuck to 1 / 2 ranges and kept to a routine and it's cleared my blemishes a bit so I'll share what I've learnt with you. This is what's worked for my skin (Combination / Oily)...

Morning Routine
I'm fairly lazy when it comes to anytime before 10am so bare minimum here. Whilst in the shower I'll use Neutrogena Spot Stress Control Daily Scrub every other day, on other days I'll use Clinique Facial Soap for Oily Skin. It's not good to scrub everyday - it'll just spread your spots round around your face!! (Learnt that from a Clinique consultant!!)

I'll follow it up with Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 and a pea-size amount of Clinique Dramatically Different Gel. Skin feels lovely and fresh and ready for make up.

I take out with me Neutrogena Visbly Clear Hydrating Spot Treatment which is a light moisturiser - it's more gel-like in consistency than other light moisturiser. I've found that walking around in the British weather dries out the skin really quicker and I'm re-applying this pretty much as soon as I get to college!! But it's good to have.

Evening Routine
As soon as I get in and am staying in, I'll take off my makeup. A tip I've learnt from my mother dearest, why clogg up your pores unnecessarily!! I'm using Neutrogena Visbly Clear Face and Eye Makeup Remover - it's not like any other Makeup Remover I've used. Very light and no oiliness whatsoever. My parents bought me the Lancome Galetis Douceur from HK by mistake...it's good but I hate the smell. It's just too much...so I'll use this first as it is better at taking off my foundation - especially Revlon Colorstay!! If there's any residue left, I'll use a quick swipe of Lancome Eau Micellaire Douceur (which is what they were MEANT to get!!) which is a water-based cleanser and is safe is use round the eyes. It's so quick and easy to use. I transfer it to a little bottle when I'm away!

To get stubborn eye make up off, I'll use my little bottle of Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Make up Remover or Johnson's Baby Oil which does the job just as well.

[Just a note about TTDO - I have the Cream Cleanser which I don't really like. It's still about 2/3 full so if people want to swap..let me know!]

Before bed, I'll use Clinique Liquid Soap, Clarifying Lotion 3 and DD Gel as in the morning. 2-3 times a week I'll use Clinique Superdefense Triple Action Moisturiser for extra kick of moisture.

For my blemishes I use 2 products...one from the pharmacy and the other from HK.

For red throbbing blemishes, I'll use Benzoyl Peroxide which is available from Chemists in differing concentrations. I used 6.67% because my skin was really bad but I'll be using 2.5% from now on.

Once the blemishes die down and it's left to scarring, I use Sewame Spots-removing and trace-free essence. It has a gel-like consistency and fragrance free. Scars are still around at the moment but my spots only stopped being disguisting a couple of days ago!! I also have Clinique Even Better Tone Skin Corrector which I will try in February and stick with it for 6 weeks!! But wanna get it completely under control first!!

So there you have it..my routine!! It's not as stripped down as I thought actually!! Ah well, it's better than it was before though!! Go figure....

My New Love...

I still love my Revlon Colorstay because of its staying power and everything but have found in the last week that it can feel a bit heavy so as I'm trying to let my skin breathe a little more, I wanted to try something new. I went to Boots on Monday after my exam and had a look round.

I've bought the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation which I haven't tried yet but I like the fact that it's quite compact so it's in my bag most days for touch-ups (which I haven't had to resort to yet!). I also went to the Lancome counter...I always associated Lancome with Mum's makeup etc but I've had a few surprises there recently (see Skincare post - I promise to do that in a minute!!). The lady recommended the Adaptive foundation - the texture feels really nice but I wasn't sure so I've taken away a sample to try out. I tried it earlier this week and the staying power wasn't as good (obviously) but no major complaints. I rooted out my mum's makeup bag and found a slightly bigger sample so I'll finish those before making a decision. Maybe even use up some of my other stuff.

I read on MUA about Revlon Colorstay Light which sounded fantastic but it's not on sale in the UK which absolutely SUCKS as that would have been perfect!! On my scout around another beauty blogger mentioned using a Tinted Moisturiser under a light powder foundation...which is exactly what I tried today!! So here's what I used:

• Clinique Moisture Sheer Tint
• MAC MSF Natural - applied with sponge (Thanks lollipop26!)
  
• Normal Concealer routine!

And the results?? Pretty good...the majority of my makeup stayed in place save for a few powder moments here and there. So I like it...I need to pop out tmrw night for a church thing so may try it again!!

So what about you lot?? Any current routines you're loving and feel like sharing??

A belated Christmas and New Year post...

Sorry I've been MIA over the last couple of weeks...it's been quite hectic at home. A lot of my friends have come home from University so we've been catching up!! Another reason for my absence, I'm in dire straights financially so my makeup habit had to be curbed a little over the festive period!! But luckily, I'm a resourceful girl and I've been playing around with my existing collection and found little gems that had been forgotten!!

I will do my promised Skin Care post soon...I don't know whether I'm kidding myself or not but my skin is getting better and the routine seems to be working. Though I have been a little lazy the last couple of nights.

I will share a lovely present I received from a friend over Christmas...

It's the Body Shop's "Creamy Coconut Bathing Bliss" which has the soap bar, body butter, body scrub, shower gel and a shower thingy-bob. I LOVE the Coconut Milk Body Spray which I have already and the smell is so yummy! I can't wait to use it all! :D Thanks Vicky-babes!!

Once this nightmare week of work is complete I will update...I PROMISE!!

XXX