March Favourites

Before my last favourites post in January (HERE), it'd been months since I'd done a favourites post before. I didn't do one last month due to the fact that I hadn't really gained anymore new favourites, however this month I have and there's rather a lot of them if i'm honest.

Givenchy Le Rouge Lipsticks (Debenhams, £25 each) - My dad recently went on holiday and brought me back these lipsticks from duty free. Oh my gosh. They're just gorgeous. I've got the shades Rose Boudoir, Beige Plume and Rose Taffetas. I've not really worn Rose Boudoir much, i've actually probably worn Beige Plume the most because it goes literally with anything! All three colours are colours that I probably wouldn't usually go for but I love them anyway.


Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (Boots, £5.99) - If I was paid for the amount of times I've mentioned this brand on this blog, i would be ever so rich. Since buying the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, I've not touched a sponge for foundation application once. I really like this. It works best with my Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, and I love it for concealer because I can really push it into the skin, making every use of the coverage of the concealer, plus no brush marks!


Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (Boots £9.99) - Before buying this I'd heard so much about this foundation; it's apparently a dupe of Chanel Vitalumiere, or Pro Lumiere? Which are typically quite sheer foundations, so I wasn't really too sure what I'd think of it. Well, honestly, I didn't think I'd like it at all. I'm more a fan of a fuller coverage rather than a 'barely there' sheer kind of coverage. But this is the exception. Don't get me wrong, it's not a full coverage by any means, but it covers what it needs to cover but still looks, and feels, so light on the skin. You know, I think this may even have overtaken my Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in terms of my favourite foundation.


Clinique SuperPrimer (Boots, £20) - Clinique is a brand that I'm definitely coming to love. The first thing I tried was their cleansing balm, and since then I've tried quite a few things and I've loved everything. This range of primers have been out for a while now and I've been meaning to buy one and I'm so glad I did. Some primers, I've found, can sit too much on your skin and then after you've applied your foundation and powder you feel like your makeup is about three inches thick on your face because your primer is so heavy (and yes, this has happened with me!), but this just feels like a moisturiser, yet creates a great canvas for my makeup to grip on to, plus keeps it there all day long.

Garnier Micellar Water (Boots, £4.99) - I wrote about how I loved the L'Oreal Micellar Water for makeup removal in THIS post, but since running out of that (and trust me, it runs out fast) I picked up this Garnier equivalent. Firstly, for the Garnier one you're getting twice as much as the L'Oreal for the same price. It's no better or anything, but this lasts way longer because the dispenser is a lot smaller so you loose less. I'm a massive fan of these quick-fix makeup removers. Sometimes cleanser and water is too much.


Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (Boots £4.19) - Okay, this is generally a favourite every month, I know, but I've loved this more than normal this month. I've been using the shade 02 on blemishes, around my nose and under my eyes, and then the shade 01 in the inner corners of my eyes and under my brow to really sharpen it  for when my brow powder is applied. This literally is the best concealer ever and it's so great because of how cheap it is!



Rimmel ScandalEyes Rockin' Curves Mascara (Boots, £6.99) - As you well may know I'm a big fan of the Maybelline Volume Express Mascaras (The Rocket especially!) but I decided to branch out and try Rimmel's new mascara. I really really like it and it may in fact have taken over The Rocket as my new mascara. We shall see.


MAC Painterly Paint Pot (Maccosmetics.co.uk, £15) -  As a lover of both cream eyeshadows and MAC, it was inevitable that I would love this. I've literally been using this non-stop as a primer for my eyeshadow since i've had it. This keeps your eyeshadow on all day long (I swear it does not budge!). It's actually also really great to wear alone with just some winged liner and mascara. I'll definitely be buying more of these soon!

 L'Oreal Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo and Conditioner (Boots, £3.99 each for 400ml) - A HAIR CARE PRODUCT - what a rarity. This shampoo and conditioner, despite how cheap it is, it literally has been a miracle worker for my hair! Plus it smells divine.


The Body Shop Indian Night Jasmine Perfume (The Body Shop, £15 for 50ml) - My friend Alice wears this perfume and the first day I saw that it was this that she was using, I needed to buy it too! I'm not even going to attempt to describe its scent because I just cannot describe fragrances to save my life, but I absolutely love this and I think it's the perfect daytime fragrance.


Alrightyyyyy. There's rather a lot there I know, but I've loved a lot this month and I just wanted to share it all with you!

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TOP 5 OF 2013

Can you believe that 2013 is over in less than 24 hours?! Crazy isn't it!

It's fair to say that this year I've trialled and tested A LOT of beauty products this year, but I've managed to cut it down to the top 5 that have stood out from the rest. So in no particular order...

CLINIQUE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT MOISTURISING LOTION +
Clinique.com | £17-£28.50
Firstly starting off with a skincare love. I hardly mention skincare on my blog, mainly because I'm so lazy with skincare, and I'm only just getting into a proper regime. My skin gets quite dehydrated and this is a perfect pick-me-up.
First mentioned here

RIMMEL MATCH PERFECTION FOUNDATION
Boots.com | £6.99
Being one of my most recent purchases, this is by far one of my favourite products; it's such a lovely foundation and leaves my skin looking so luminescent. You can read more about it in THIS post.
First mentioned here

MAC LIPSTICK IN LADY DANGER
Maccosmetics.com | £15
I bought this lipstick at the beginning of April shortly after my operation (needed a bit of cheering up), and its perfect for daytime, nighttime, summer, winter. It's basically just the perfect lipstick!! The bright orange-red shade is definitely not one for the faint hearted as it is super super bright, which I love. Because of it's matte finish, it stays put all day.
First mentioned here (this is from the time where I was obsessed with over using snapsneed on EVERY picture... apologies)

LADY GAGA FAME EAU DE PARFUM
Boots.com | £31 (for 50ml)
I originally got this fragrance in about March or April and I instantly loved it (that much that I'm on my second bottle). It's the perfect scent for both daytime and evening.
First mentioned here 

MAYBELLINE THE ROCKET VOLUME EXPRESS MASCARA
Boots.com | £7.99
My trusty mascara of the year. I've mentioned this countless times, as you'll know, for reasons that you'll probably know too. It's by far the best mascara I've ever used.
First mentioned here

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Illamasqua Skin Trio + Topshop Wicked | FOTN

I went to the theatre last night to see ‘Wicked’ in Manchester, and I thought that I would just do a little “face of the night” post telling you what I wore on my face and so letting you know some of my favourite products at the moment, as so to speak.

I started off by applying the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion + all over my face (I mentioned it in THIS haul post). I've been using this mainly as a nighttime moisturiser, however I've used it when my skin feels like it needs a little bit more moisture!

I then used my favourite skin trio of the moment, starting with the Illamasqua Hydra Veil primer - I am absolutely loving this as I have very  dehydrated skin, and this gives my skin a real boost whilst providing a great base for my makeup. Sticking with Illamasqua, I used their Skin Base Foundation in the shade 4. This applies perfectly over the Hydra Veil, using a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. To get rid of my terrible dark circles, I used my Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer and applied this under my eyes and across my eyelids, and also on the redness around my nose and any little blemishes.

MAC Eyeshadows; Clockwise - Omega, Brule, Handwritten, Era

At this point I then move onto my eyes, and I started off with doing my eyebrows, using Omega eyeshadow (top left) from MAC on a small angled brush.  

Using a MAC 217, I applied the shade Brule (top right), a matte skin colour shade also by MAC, all over the lid, just to set the foundation and concealer across my lids. 

I then applied MAC eyeshadow in Era (bottom left) all across the lid, again with my 217, and then I used my Real Techniques Duo Fibre Eye Brush to apply MAC Handwritten (bottom right), a gorgeous matte chocolate brown, through the crease. I also took this on a small angled brush on the lower lash line. 

I lined my top lashline with the Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner and my top waterline with the Bourjois Queen Attitude Khol Kajal Liner, finishing off the eyes with a few coats of my favourite mascara ever, the Maybelline The Rocket Mascara.

Moving back to the skin, I powdered through the centre of the face with the last of the Illamasqua face trio, the Illamasqua Powder Foundation (I think I’m using shade 135? - it’s a tad too light for me though). 

I am a huge huge fan of contouring, and recently I have been loving using my Benefit Hoola bronzer and the Real Techniques Contour Brush. 

The final touch for the face was using the gorgeous MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft And Gentle on the tops of my cheekbones.

Bringing the whole look together, I finished it off by using Topshop’s Lipstick in Wicked, a lovely burgundy shade.

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Recently Purchased #3: Illamasqua, Clinique and L’Oreal

I have bought rather a lot these past couple of months, despite me saying that on each purchase post or what not, but anyway, I thought I’d show you some of my beauty purchases from September and October!

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, £27

WHAT THEY SAY: “Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage. The Ultimate ‘Skin Realism’ Foundation.”

I FINALLY bought Skin Base! I’ve heard so much about this foundation and I absolutely love it!! At first I wasn’t too in love with it, because it is a little bit tough, but when using a denser brush it blends in a lot easier. It has such a gorgeous finish, plus it smells absolutely gorgeous!

Illamasqua Precision Gel Eye Liner, £18

WHAT THEY SAY: “Soon to be the mainstay in the make-up bags of every beauty enthusiast, Precision Gel Liner recreates the fluidity of a liquid liner in the ease of a gel. Creating a smooth, rich black line from the first application, the long-lasting and water-resistant formula is guaranteed to stay in place all day.” 

Again from Illamasqua I got their Precision Gel Liner. Now I’ve been using the Maybelline Studio Gel Liner for about two years or so now, and I absolutely love it, but I ran out about a month back and instead of repurchasing that I thought I would branch out and try something different! 

After reading the reviews online on Illamasqua’s website it seemed very good and so far I’m really loving it! It’s super smooth to apply, even more so than Maybelline’s and, yeah, I’m loving it!

Illamasqua Hydra Veil, £27

WHAT THEY SAY: “Create a radiant finish with Hydra Veil's instantly rehydrating, gel formula, providing the optimal base for your make-up.” 

Another product that I’ve been wanting for so long too is the Hydra Veil primer. Though I have slightly oily skin, I am generally quite combination and have very dehydrated skin, so I thought that this would help with that. I’ve only use it a couple of times so far but I really like it!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion +, £17

WHAT THEY SAY: “The big plus: Our new formula now helps strengthen skin's own moisture barrier. More moisture stays in. Skin feels soft, springy. Has a healthy-looking glow.” 

I tried this in Boots about two months ago and it left my hand feeling so so soft but I didn’t end up buying it then. I then did the Clinique skin consultation online and found that this is the moisturiser for my skin type, dry combination which is skin type 2 (it also works for very dry to dry, skin type 1). I’ve been using this the past couple of days as a nighttime moisturiser and I like it!

Clinique Brush On Cream Liner in Smoke Grey, £16

WHAT THEY SAY: “Creamy liner brushes on deep, smoky, eye-defining colour. Long-wearing, waterproof formula, comes complete with a mini Eye Liner Brush. Ophthalmologist tested.”

So I bought this after seeing it on one of Pixiwoo’s tutorials (THIS) and it is so smooth and easy to apply! Perfect for a smokey eye like in Sam’s tutorial!

I’ve bought rather a lot from Superdrug this month, but rather than showing you everything, I thought I would just show you the L’Oreal items I bought.

L’Oreal GlamShine Stain Splash, £7.99

WHAT THEY SAY: “New Glam Shine Stain Splash: it's a gloss that acts like a stain. Our first of its kind 30% water-based formula to finally quench your thirst for shine AND lasting colour! Application is easy with its unique feather soft wand that matches perfectly the contour of your lips.Shine feels fresh, barely there.Colour is easy with a stain finish that lasts up to 6 hours without drying out.”


I bought one of these a few months back and I love how soft they feel! This time I got the shades 102 Romy (light pink) and 200 Princess (reddish-coral).

Top - 102 Romy, Bottom - 200 Princess

L’Oreal Lumi Magique Pearl Powder, £8.99

 WHAT THEY SAY: “Capturing the natural radiance of pearls, this new powder defines and illuminates the face. Designed in the form of a ring of pearls. Available in 2 different shades for natural, glowing looking skin. Light-infused pearl powder technology.”

I haven’t yet tried this but it is super pearlescent and glowy-looking and looks lovely!

L’Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint Foundation, £6.99

WHAT THEY SAY: “Unveiling new Nude Magique Eau De Teint Foundation. Perfectly invisible, invisibly perfect. A new sensation with a lighter than water formula for non greasy zero make up feel. A new application with perfume-like bottle: shake, pour a drop on finger tip and apply. A new finish: perfect looking nude finish for even, smoother, healthier looking complexion and enhanced skin texture. Revolutionary formula: Evanescent texture thanks to volatile oils gradually evaporating as the formula is applied to the skin. Lighter than water. Ultra-light micro pigments. Non greasy feel. Just a few drops needed. Zero make-up feel.”

I’m not sure at the moment what I think about this foundation - I’m going to try it a few more times and then I’m going to write a review on it for you, hopefully uploading next week or the end of this week. 

So that is all! You can read my last ‘recently purchased’ post here.

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Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

I’d never actually heard of a cleansing balm before THIS video with Caroline Hirons & Pixiwoo, where Caroline (a skincare specialist blogger) spoke about how bad makeup wipes are for your face, and that a cleansing balm is actually the best thing to use instead. 

She spoke about the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, which I wanted to try, however it seems that it is not a brand that is easily available in the UK (I may just not have searched hard enough, honestly). 

Then whilst browsing I saw that Clinique had a cleansing balm, and I then came across a review on this product that Caroline Hirons wrote on her blog, and she said she really liked it. 

                                       

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, £21

But anyway, to cut a long story short I decided to buy it. I really wasn’t sure at all what I was going to think of it as I’d never used a cleansing balm before. 

WHAT THEY SAY: "Lightweight cleansing balm quickly dissolves stubborn eye and face makeups, including those with sunscreen. Transforms from a solid balm to a silky, fluid oil upon application. Cleans thoroughly, rinses off completely. Non-greasy. Non-drying. For all skin types."  

                                         

Honestly, my first experience with it was a very weird one. Not that anything out the ordinary happened but the formulation change of the product, as described in Clinique’s description above. I love how easily and quickly it just takes everything off without being harsh on the skin.

Though this is a little bit of a splurge (for me it was anyway), I do definitely recommend this product, whatever skin type you are.

It retails for £21 and is available from larger Boots stores and online, Selfridges and Clinique's direct website.

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Recent Purchases #2

Following last months very many purchases (oops...), I accidentally followed suit this month and did the same. However I've ended up buying even more. My bad. 

Here are a few of MANY of my July/August purchases - ENJOY! 

So from good old trusty MAC I purchased the ever-loved Face and Body Foundation (50ml version) in the shade C3. 

MAC Face and Body Foundation 50ml, £21.50

This shade is a tad too dark for me, however you can really get away with this with face and body because it is so light. I quite like this foundation - it's great for days when my skin is feeling quite good and I have one or no blemishes. 

Moving on, I went to Boots and bought two of the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers as there was a 2-for-£10 offer on Rimmel, and I got the shades 'Apocaliptic' (bright fuchsia pink) and 'Luna' (soft peach-pink).

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers in Apocaliptic (top) and Luna (bottom), £5.99 each

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Apocaliptic, £5.99

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Luna, £5.99

 

I love how pigmented and long-lasting these are for the price - they retail for usually £5.99, but there's nearly always some sort of offer on at Boots or Superdrug where you can get them from. 

Ordering online from Boots next I got quite a lot, but to stop this post taking you hours to read, I'm just going to mention a couple of the things I got. 

Firstly is the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm... 

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm, £21

Now I don't want to give too much away about this product as I do have a review of it coming up for you in the next two weeks, but it is used to take your makeup off and I really love it - that's all I'm saying! 

I then purchased a 'cult' product that has only just come over here to the UK from the States, and is the Maybelline Baby Lips. 

Maybelline Baby Lips: 'Hydrate', 'Pink Punch' and 'Cherry Me'; £2.99 each

These are lip balms which does baffle me why everyone gets so excited about them, but I do have to admit they are VERY good. I'm not much of a lip balm person, but I definitely am for these! I got three in 'Hydrate', 'Cherry Me' and 'Pink Punch'. 

A couple of items I then ordered from Superdrug were two Real Techniques brushes, which were the blush brush and the stippling brush. 

Real Techniques Blush Brush and Stippling Brush

Real Techniques Blush Brush, £9.99

Real Techniques Stippling Brush, £10.99

I LOVE the Real Techniques brush line because they are super affordable but AMAZING quality. There was an offer online too a Superdrug which was buy one get one half price, which gave me that extra push to buy both! 

My last two products are from the Topshop makeup range. 

These are my first two products from the line - I don't know why I've never tried anything from there before as I love Topshop in terms of clothes and jewellery and things, but anyway... I bought a lipstick and a blusher. 

The lipstick, firstly, is in the shade "Innocent". 

Topshop Lipstick in "Innocent", £8

I find it to be quite similar to MAC Creme Cup (which I nearly bought one the same say!), but I honestly think this feels a lot nicer than the MAC lipsticks! They describe it as a 'velvet finish' which feels so soft and nourishing and nice. I REALLY love his and will definitely be purchasing more Topshop lipsticks in the future! 

The blusher I also got from Topshop is in the shade 'Head Over Heels', a soft pink-peachy-coral. 

Topshop Blush in "Head Over Heels", £6

This is a cream blush, however when blended into the skin it sets to a powder but still looks glowy and healthy-looking. This is so nice, I really like it! I love their packaging too, it's very simple but looks great. 

That is all I have for you today! I did buy a lot more but I have review and things coming up, and honestly there is just too much to squeeze into one post! If you want to see what I bought last month, you can do so by clicking HERE  

Toodlepip! xxx 

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