Base routine/ favourite base products

Oh hi! Welcome to my morning face, and my amazing mug which I got literally ten years ago. Welcome.

It's been a while, sorry about that, life got in the way.

Anyway, hopefully as  you can see from the title, this post is all about base (buttery biscuit base)..if you don't know what that means I don't think we can be friends. Look it up.

So for this, I used all (very almost) highstreet, or drugstore products to achieve a natural looking base which just needed topping up with whatever eye and lip look I fancied.
I won't say this is an everyday look - I tend not to have time to do a few of these steps- but this probably only took 15-20 minutes tops.

For foundation, my favourite at the moment is Rimmel Match Perfection in a mix of Porcelain and Ivory to get my colour. I love this stuff, even though I have pretty oily skin, and I think it might be better suited to normal to dry skin as it has a really natural/dewy finish. I do get oily on my T Zone during the day, but I prefer that to the foundation breaking down into patches which looks awful with foundations like the L'Oreal True Match. Anyway, I digress.

For concealer, a mix of my Bobbi Brown Corrector, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and the L'Oreal True Match clicky highlight pen thing. Love all these, great cocktail of concealers. Speaking of the Collection concealer, I used a little of Shade 4 to warm up my face just around the edges and on my cheeks. This isn't a cream contour, it's a pretty warm shade, but it works really nicely as a cream bronzer.

For powder (which isn't in the photo, sorry, it was 7am) I use my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Difused Light, as well as my Fit Me Powder to set oilier areas.

I like to cancel out discolouration on my eyelids every day, it just makes your eyes look so much more awake. I was using the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creme de Rose, but I have this sample of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray so I've been using that for a while now - it's lasting forever!

For my brows, I am looving my Anastasia Dip Brow in Soft Brown at the moment, I think it's dried out a little and I'm finding it a lot easier to not over- load. I top this off with the L'Oreal Brow Plumper. 

Somehow, for the rest of my face, I accidentally used three Revolution Products. Firstly, this huge Bronze/Shimmer/Highlight pan and then the blush in Love. Really like both of these, especially the bronzer which I always go back to. For highlight, which I basically put all over my face, I used the Revolution Radiant Lights palette which is amazing if you're looking for a budget highlight, really long lasting, and a great selection of three shades for all skin tones. Ah-maze.

So yeah! Think that's it. As I said, not something I have time for every morning, but definitely nice when I have a little more time in the mornings and I want a little extra bronze 'n' glow.

Thanks for reading!

Side note, I have child hair. Yep. 

2 Budget Liquid Blushes

Oh hi!

Now I know a lot of people aren't very keen on cream blushes but bear (bare?) with me here, these two are worth a couple of minutes of your time.

As you can see from the swatches above, these are two completely different products, both in colour and consistency, and I love them both. 

If you are a cream blush fan- or even if you're not, but you're still a teeny bit curious- these are a couple of really good options at really low prices.

Firstly, we have the Make Up Revolution 'Vivid Blush Lacquer'  in Rush  which is this really really bright barbie pink here in the foreground. This is a very different product, and the blush actually gets squeezed out of the tube via a foundation- like pump. The consistency is fairly thick, quite moussey, but really easy to blend out - and you definitely need to blend this product as the pigment is really strong.

The second product is by Rimmel, it's their Stay Blushed Liquid Cheek Tint in 005 Apricot Glow. Compared to the MUR offering, this is a much thinner, more watery consistancy, much like a cream cleanser or something like that. Again, this is fairly pigmented, but easy to blend into the skin. I would say out of the two, this one may be slightly easier to blend.

Both products come in under £3 (I think I paid £1.50 for the MUR and £2.50 for the Rimmel), and wear-time is good on both.

I hope this was useful to all you cream blush novices out there - I know these are really summer-y colours but I have actually yet to find a winter-y shade of cream blush. Any reco's would be appreciated :)

Thanks for reading, over and out!

Lou xxx

June Faves

My June Favourites are up! Better late than never hey? Check it out on:

https://youtu.be/rAxWwq6nGj4   or search Lou'sBeautySpot on YouT'ube,

Hope you enjoy! :)
Lou x

Budget Lip Combo

I had one of those moments at Superdrug yesterday when my basket collected make- up completely without my knowledge, I swear. I ended up spending almost forty pounds, and I've spent the last 24 hours in a state of excitement and spending- regret.

Anyway- these two products are a couple of the things I bought, and magically I managed to pick a lipliner which really compliments the lipstick.

The lipliner is one of Rimmel's Exaggerate Lip liners which are £3.99 I believe. We all know about how great East End Snob is, but this is the shade Addiction, and its a darker, more browny mauve-y purple. Lovely, there's a lot of the MAC Brave vibe about it.

The lipstick is Collection's Lasting colour in China Rose. By itself, this is more of a dark, rosey pink, but with the lipliner it becomes more dusty and browny - beautiful. I'm pretty sure these lipsticks are £2.99, but I got mine 2 for £5 at Superdrug, so check that out. The formula of this lipstick is unbelievably creamy; it feels high-end despite the packaging, which I have to say is pretty horrible.

But, for two budget lip products, I think the formula and finish of both is really good, and the Rimmel lipliner makes sure the colour stays put for a good few hours.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Match Made in Lip Heaven ~ MAC Brave and Rimmel East End Snob

Being on my second Rimmel East End Snob lipliner already, I can safely say- it's a good one. The perfect colour and the perfect formula for a lipliner- works well on it's own and with a lipstick, gloss or balm on top. 

Having spent my time searching for my perfect MAC pink, I settled on Brave. I wanted something a little darker, than my lip colour but still wearable for every day, and this is a really really nice lipstick which I would definitely recommend. 

And- amazingly- I have found that it is almost exactly the same colour as East End Snob and that they work beautifully together. Fab-u-lous.

Here's a lovely swatch with East end snob on the left and Brave on the right. What a perfect match.

If you can only afford one, I would recommend the lipliner, as it is £4 and really really worth your money. Longlasting and a beautiful, every day colour. It is slightly dry, which is why it works wonders with Brave over the top (Which is a Satin finish), but wack on a gloss or a lipbalm and you'll be good to go!

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

The Weekend Edit ~ Travel Make-up Bag

 I find packing a travel make -up bag so much fun. I think I'm a bit weird, but I love challenging myself to cut it down to a small selection which offers me a wide range of options. So here's my latest edit, I'm at my parents' for Easter and the few days ahead will hold family gatherings, photo opportunities, and some trips out to see friends etc, so my make-up bag has to be quite versatile. I'll talk you through my picks so hopefully you'll get some ideas :)

Face

Three concealers I hear you say, well- let me justify it.

The Rimmel BB cream is a no-brainer, it's my absolute favourite at the moment. Light to medium coverage, brightening and flawless looking. Light enough for a casual day, but with a bit of neatly placed concealer, it can become a bit more flawless.

The Collection concealer is for blemishes which might rear their ugly head. Dotted onto bits-I-want-to-cover, this concealer is perfect for heavy coverage jobs. And everyone is bored to death hearing about this one, so I'll move on.

Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a strange one. It's looks darker than my skin tone but when blended in it's actually fine. I use the shade 15. I use this as an eyeshadow base to even out my pigmentation on my eyelids, as well as under my eyes to cover those dark circles.

The L'Oreal Touche Magique is for those days which I want a little extra summin-summin. Stripped over the top of the Maybelline under my eyes and down my cheeks a little, it can look really brightening, and on a really good under-eye day, I could just wack this on atop my BB cream for a really luminous face. Brill.

 Blush, Bronze and Highlight

Bronzing/ contour goes straight to my Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte- perfect for both a chiselled cheekbone, and a sunkissed glow. 

Blush was a hard one, I wanted to take my MAC blush, but I've not been giving my other blushes much attention, so I've thrown in this Revolution blush in Love which is really really nice and fresh. It is matte but it lasts well and is a perfect Spring-pink.

For highlight, I gave the Mary Luminizer a break, and threw in this Technic Highlighter (available on Amazon) which is basically an amazing dupe for Benefit's High Beam, and a tenth of the price. I've had this for years, and it's perfect dabbed on the cheekbones or under the brows.

I chucked in my Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent for shiny days.

Eyes

I feel like this is such a condensed choice, I am so proud of myself.

For my brows, I went for my Revolution Aqua Tint in Fair which I love, and it lasts really well, as well as my Natural Collection Clear Mascara for combing them through.

I have two cream eyeshadows which are great for bases, and for quick washes of colour. I went for Creamy Beige from Maybelline because it's matte, and everything else I'm bringing is shimmery so I wanted the option. The other is Petale de Glace ( i think) From Borjouis- the name has rubbed off but it's a really beautiiful dusty pink which looks so fresh and pretty. 

I'm loving this Collection Eyes Uncovered palette in Nude Bronze, it's got a really good selection of shades, and the quality is amazing for the price. Also the packaging is so travel-friendly.

Mascara was an easy one- Va Va Voom from 17, my go-to mascara. Same with eyeliner- the liquid pen from Collection is the best. I threw in a pencil black eyeliner just incase, it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes.

Lips

Stuff happening this week will mostly revolve around eating, so no bold lips are welcome. The Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle is a nice balmy dark pink, the Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 103 is a matte mid pink, and the Maybelline Colour sensational in Glorious Grapefruit is an orange-y gloss. All fresh and spring-y but not high maintenance. Oh, and some Lip Balm from the Body shop which is chocolate smelling. Yum.

Other bits

Just a couple of extras. Baby skin primer in case I feel a bit pore-y, my lash curler because its an essential, and Barry M Topcoat, Basecoat and Nail Hardener in case I need to get rid of my current colour and I can't deal with naked nails.

So that's everything! Hope you enjoyed it and found it useful :)

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Drugstore Haul Video

My first video is live on youtube at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVKUbBg8eJ0

Take a watch and please be kind, I'm new at this!

Lou x

The "No- Make- up" Make-up Essentials

There are days when my eyes want a break, but I still want to leave the house and not look like a zombie. Unfortunately I don't have that great skin and strong brows which means i can look flawless at all times. There are three basic steps to follow to perfect your natural face if you're in a rush, or if you just don't fancy blending any eyeshadow today (it happens)

Step 1: Base

Something fresh, light, and radiant makes the best quick base fix. My base of choice is the Rimmel Radiance BB cream in Very Light. This is a fairly new purchase for me but I LOVE it. So light, so fresh, but decent coverage. Pretty radiant but not as glowy as the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. Love it. Check it out. Now. 

Next, wack on some concealer. I pop a bit of the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair on any blemishes, and the L'Oreal Touche Magique under my eyes.

Step 2: Brows

My brow products of choice are the Kiko eyeshadows, just mixed together and swished through my brows to make them a bit fuller and ...just better. Sorting your brows out makes everything look more ready, and your face look more framed and beautiful. I envy people with beautiful dark brows...

Flick some brow gel (I use Natural Collection Clear Mascara) through them brows to keep them in place.

Step 3: Blush
A bit of blusher perks up your face so well. Choose one which is also illuminating so you don't need to bother with highlighter. My go-to brush is MAC's Peachykeen. It's really sheer so I can build it nicely to get a nice flush.


Thanks for reading!
Lou x

The Pale Skin Problem

Hello!

If, like me, you suffer from having  incredibly pale skin, you will know my pain. This is my foundation collection, and not one among them- even the high end 'colour matched' ones are okay on my skin. Until very very recently (details later on), I have not been able to find a foundation on the highstreet which is the right colour for my fair skin. Let's face, when it says 'Ivory' it's nearly always lying. 

So- here is a full review of ALL of my foundations, with swatches, starting from left to right.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, 0.5

I did SO much research on this foundation, which is something like £26, and which I bought with birthday money. To be fair, the lady who served me on the counter clearly did NOT know what she was doing, and I probably should have hesitated before I splurged on this. However, I really wanted a fairly full coverage foundation with good staying power, but nothing as heavy as the original Double Wear. I thought, for my skin, which is combination/ oily, something like this would stick to my skin and work amazingly. Unfortunately, I really don't think it has better staying power than my highstreet foundations, and the colour is slightly too dark for me. So disappointing. However, as it was so expensive, I WILL use it in the Summer when -hopefully- my face will be marginally darker. I am quite dry around my eye area, and this foundation tended to cling to those dry patches. Yum. I found that this did  work wonders when mixed with my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum- it was less cakey and a much more satin finish, but still too dark. This shade, 0.5 is the lightest, and still not light enough

Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions, 01 Alabaster

This is probably the second best match out of any of these foundations for my skin. Slightly lighter than the Estee Lauder, and I can just about get away with it. However, because it was expensive- for me- I only use it when I need the anti- blemish properties, i.e when I have bad skin. It is definitely matte, quite long-wearing, and does seem to be kind to my skin when it's playing up. However- still not pale enough. 

Maybelline Better Skin, Light Beige

When I bought this foundation, I was so excited that it wasn't called Ivory. Finally I had upgraded to beige, it was such an exciting day for me. This actually did work well for me in the Summer when I had been abroad a lot. It is quite pink- toned, but it really does stay very well. Lovely even finish which is between matte and brightening - probably Satin. I love this foundation, and I can't wait until my face is the right colour again. I've had a look at the lighter shades of this, and the lightest- which I think was called Ivory- was still too dark.

Rimmel Match Perfection, 101 Classic Ivory

Classic Ivory, what a joke. This is one of the two darkest of my foundations, and I'm actually not even sure what I think of it. Some days I would put it on and love it, some I would hate it. On me, it applied really dewy, but then throughout the day, I would find that it has faded to a matte- so strange. Really good staying power though, and does not cake at all on me. I'm not sure if I will be loving this in the summer as it feels quite heavy, and looks almost sweaty on my face just after it's gone on, which always puts me off

Rimmel Wake me Up, 100 Ivory

I love this foundation. It is so brightening, so longlasting and so...beautiful. However, when I wear this shade, I look like a sparkly orange. Lovely foundation, horrible colour. 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

I bought this foundation after hearing Fleur de Force (youtube) rave about it on her channel. I really do actually love it. The texture is unlike any other of my foundations, it goes on so smoothly, and really does make your skin look healthy. Unfortunately, 51 is the lightest colour, and this is too dark for me, and I think slightly too yellow- toned. This is the foundation I am most disappointed about, if Bourjois released a lighter shade (PLEASE) I would be on that straight away. 

Miss Sporty So Matte, 001 Ivory

This is actually the best match, and the cheapest, of my foundations. It has amazing staying power, honestly for £3.50 you can't go wrong with this, and it really IS Ivory, would you believe. However, even though the texture is fairly light, and it doesn't cake, I do not want to have matte skin. Even over an illuminating primer, this is too matte for me. Unfortunate, but true. Or maybe I'm just being fussy...

So, after despairing over the number of non- match foundations I own, especially the two expensive ones- cry- I found out that Rimmel have actually released, typically, a lighter shade in their Wake me Up and Match Perfection ranges. BRILLIANT. After spending a couple of weeks sulking, and trying to wear my current foundations, I caved and bought the new Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude in 010 Light Porcelain, which I will be reviewing in a future post.

Thank you for reading!

Lou x 

Face of the Day ~ 15 minute make- up

Everyone has those mornings when you have to get up and out really quickly, but you don't want to scare the world with your naked stressed face (I don't have the best skin, especially at the moment), so you need a make- up routine which is quick and failsafe, and this is mine. Enjoy :)

So that's my face up above- (I'm really not the best at selfies), and here is everything which is AWN MA FACE. It looks complicated, but it's really not. You might wonder why I have three concealers, but all will be explained...

Face

(Top to bottom: Rimmel Foundation, Collection concealer, Maybelline Concealer, Collection cover stick- see below for more details)

So, I think it's really important for bad- skin days or mornings when you don't have much time, to take more time over skin care than make up. I started my morning with an ex-foliating pad from Nip and Fab, then the Effaclar Duo from Roche Posay to try and calm my skin down, and then some moisturiser. I used Olay's Anti Wrinkle 2 in 1 Instant Hydration and Radiant Glow which is lovely and fresh.

Once your skin is looking a bit more perky and nourished, I would normally go ahead and apply primer. I really recommend the Rimmel Lasting Perfection Primer if you need your make up to last the day. I didn't have time this morning (/ I forgot), so I just went right ahead with my foundation, which I applied with my fingers because I didn't have time to buff it in with a brush. I used Rimmel's Lasting Finish Nude in Porcelain, and just applied a thin layer all over. Ma face. This is a really nice foundation in general- very light and fresh looking- and I think it's best to go for a lighter coverage foundation if you don't have much time in the morning. I then went in with my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair over my blemishes and around my nose. I did use a brush for this, and buffed it in to make sure it was nice and even across my skin. I used the Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 15 on my eyelids and under my eyes to prime for eye make up and to conceal my under eye circles. (This is where I needed a third concealer because my under eye circles were serious- I went over with the Collection Cover Stick in 01 and pressed that in).

Boring bit over. 

Now, colour in your cheeks is something you need if you are in a rush, or you need to look more awake. I used my Make Up Revolution Blushing Heart in Peachy Pink Kisses which is so shimmery and illuminating that you don't need to faff around with a highlighter.

Eyes 

I kept the eyes super easy and super neutral.

First, I filled in my eyebrows with my Kiko eyeshadows, in 237 and 239 mixed together to get a good shade. It would definitely be better to use an eyebrow pencil because it is quicker, but I'm currently between eyebrow pencils because I can't find a good blonde one. I then brushed my brows through with the Natural Collection Clear Mascara which is such a cheap version of a brow gel, and it's really good. Brows done and onto eyes.

The star of the show has to be the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creamy Beige.I applied this allover the lid with my finger tip, just smudging it in to make sure it's even. It literally takes 10 seconds to get a layer of colour. This isn't what I would call beige, it's definitely slightly darker, but it's a great base colour. 

At this point, you have two options. Go darker, and find a dark shade to quickly smudge through the crease. OR (as i did), find a lighter shade to press over the centre of the lid to brighten the eye up. I used a Kiko eyeshadow in 236 which is a shimmery peachy/brown/nude. 

Liquid eyeliner is something you shouldn't attempt if you are in a rush, unless you can do it quickly, in which case, I bow down to your superiority. I just smudged a thin line of dark eyeshadow- I used Undone from the Naked 2 Basics palette, but you can use any dark brown or black colour- along the lash line to make the whole look more defined. 

Mascara is also hard to do quickly. I will normally do at least two coats of mascara because my lashes just don't hold up with just one coat, as you can see here. I used the 17 Va Va Voom Mascara in Black, which is the BEST mascara. You need to try it.

Lips

Having lipstick on immediately makes you look more put-together and a little fresher. Wack on some lipbalm if you really have no time, but if you have 5 seconds, go for a sheer wash of colour which is easy to apply and isn't too bold. I went for  a sheer peach lipstick from the Body Shop- Colour Crush in 315. Really easy and fresh looking, perfect for spring.

Powder is optional at  this point. I'm not a huge powder fan, I find it always makes me look cakey - and believe me I've tried applying it in every single way- but i actually did put a little bit of the Rimmel Stay Matte in Transparent on my under-eye concealer to make it stay- put.

So, I hope you enjoyed this fifteen minute make up for a really natural easy look.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hr Nude | Review & Swatch

 I dedicated an earlier post to the lack of pale foundations on the highstreet. I mentioned in the post that Rimmel had added a 'Porcelain' shade to their Lasting Perfection and Wake me Up lines, and I have purchased one recently (mostly because it was on offer and only £4) hoping it was finally the right colour.

Firstly, this is the 25 hr Nude foundation, and I have to say I prefer this formula to the original Lasting Perfection foundation. They are both really dewy and fresh looking, but this Nude version is a lot lighter and... just thinner and more natural looking. Really really nice, but definitely not a full coverage foundation, so if you want something with a bit more coverage, go for the original Lasting Perfection.

The colour is really really good. It's very pale, as you can see here it's a pretty good match to my skin tone, and blends in so easily. 

Compared to my other foundations, I feel like it is very pink toned (weirdly, it looks very yellow toned in this swatch) , and I've been mixing it with a slightly more yellow- toned base, such as the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51 (Light Vanilla) or the Clinique Anti Blemish in 01 on bad skin days. 

This is the Bourjois healthy mix serum on the left and  the Rimmel Nude on the right- you can see here how pink toned it is compared to Bourjous. I definitely think I have more neutral undertones so I need to mix them both to get a better colour. 

It's a really nice foundation in general, and I would recommend it for any skin tones because its so light and blendable, and SO long lasting. I don't know about 25 hour, but definitely all day. Also, it almost looks better the longer you wear it which is weird.

The porcelain shade is really nice, if you're pale I would recommend picking it up, or having a look to see if it matches your skin colour.

Lou x