Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation

Show me a woman, that doesn't like pretty make-up packaging, and I'll show you a liar.

Casing point; the brand new 'Magic' foundation, by Charlotte Tilbury.

Swatch - no flash.



Swatch with flash.

I mean, it looks good, but what does it actually look like on your face?

So, I really want to LOVE it, but I don't, I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

Pro's;

• The coverage is pretty good, I'd say a medium, with the potential to build it up to a full-coverage.
• It comes with a pump! (double hand praise emoji)
• I didn't need to use concealer as well to cover any red patches.
• The packaging.
• It's extremely light to wear, it really does feel like a 'second skin'.

Con's

• It is a bit too yellow for my skin.
• The colours are advertised on the Charlotte Tilbury as 'Shade 1, 2, 3' etc. Which isn't very helpful, what colour is a 'Shade '?
• The formula doesn't work well with my skin, it settled into my pores.
• It accentuated some of my dry patches.
• I couldn't get it to blend well and I had to work extra hard with the trust Beauty Blender to avoid streaks.
In conclusion, at £29.50, I wouldn't repurchase.

Have you tried it yet, what do you think?

L x

Where have I been? My confidence in blogging.

So, it's been a hot minute since I've written a blog post, 378,720 hot minutes to be exact.

That's a lot of minutes, where have I been? Well, I guess I've had a long period of self-doubt when it comes to my confidence to blog.

I always liked blogging, and the friendly community that surrounds it, well, most of it anyway. In those long days since the last blog post, I had intended to write again, I just couldn't bring myself to.

I ask myself 'why not?' In fact, there's a lot of reasons why - I found myself always comparing my content to the other 'perfect' blogs I read. I see clean, well-lit pictures, with professional equipment and the ability to make "Instagram worthy" makeup looks.

The truth is, I don't know how to do any of that, I love make-up and have a crap-tonne of it, because packaging. I can't put eye-shadow on without looking like I've got some kind of eye infection, Red lipstick on without looking like Miranda Sings and for the love of god, someone tell me how you achieve a winged eyeliner without looking like the aftermath of a 5 year old getting into her mothers make-up bag.

I actually came across a post by the wonderful Stacey (@ExpatMUAddict) If you don't who she is, I shake my head. Think, 'the Aladdins cave of make up.' Every woman's dream, every bank account's nightmare.

Stacey wrote a post called 'What am I doing? The Blogger identity crisis' and it perfectly summed up, my feelings towards blogging, even though my hiatus was a little longer, everything she said resonated with me.

I read Stacey's blog as one of my "regulars" I love her real and honest reviews, I've often considered buying something, and if she gives it two thumbs up - I know I wont be disappointed.

To think, if even someone that I consider to have one of those 'perfect blogs' then it makes me realise that not everyone is perfect to themselves, as perhaps I see them.

So with that, I will return to blogging, in my 'perfect, non-perfect' way.

L x

Manicure Monday #8

It's officially only 10 days until Christmas! Who's excited!? ME!!! Haha, just kidding. I'm freaking out and haven't started my Christmas shopping yet, so obviously I'm going to procrastinate even further by writing this post.

I do love me some festive nails though which I can do when I'm not doing all that shopping...

Today's nails are Barry M...aren't they pretty? I recently purchased nail dotting tools, so I've gone a little bit mad polka-dotting everything. But I think this colour combo is really wintery, yet chic.

What do you think?

Barry M - Red Black. £2.99
Barry M - Instant Nail Effects Magnetic - Moon Dust. £4.99

 

Happy Monday 

L x

Baker Days + Personalised cake giveaway!

Tis' the season to eat cake! Ok, so that's not the saying but for the purpose of this post let's pretend.

For those of you that have never heard of Baker Days, they create, design and bake beautiful personalised cakes for practically every occasion imaginable: most recently introducing the 'Letterbox Cake'! Now, I imagine this conjures up a few questions...so let me explain.

It's a little occasion cake, in this instance Christmas themed, to be enjoyed by one if two people that actually gets posted to you - no need to wait in for those annoying couriers. To be honest I was slightly skeptical, how would it not break? Would I go to my letter box to be greeted by a pile of mush? Well..no.

Not only do you get an absolutely delicious cake, it's beautifully presented in a gorgeous tin. Not only that but you get a Christmas card and a miniature cracker. It couldn't be a more PERFECT gift!

I must also include that Baker Days are absolutely fantastic if you have any allergies - personally I don't eat dairy. So when Baker Days contacted me asking if I wanted to choose one of their lovely Christmas cakes, I advised them I couldn't eat "dairy" and it wasn't a problem at all.

For those of you that can enjoy dairy, Baker Days actually make their OWN Butter cream so you can be sure there is no hidden nasties in there.

The delightful people at Baker Days have allowed me to give away a Letter Box cake to TWO lucky winners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dream Dots for Spots

It's party season and I don't know about you but I love getting dressed up and feeling glam. But you know what happens, you've planned your outfit, hair and make-up, and a few days before the party you wake up with a MASSIVE spot.

Oh yes, we've all been there. So what do you do; leave it...squeeze it in the hope it goes away? No, there's no time. If only there was a way to speed up the healing process. Well, look no further than Dream Dots - and doesn't the name sound so cute? For those that don't know what they are, think a 'plaster for your spots', although not just any old plaster...here's what Dream Dots say...

"It targets spots and breakouts overnight using no harsh ingredients, yet gives dramatically effective results. With a 100% waterproof, breathable, satin-smooth, wafer-thin surface, it acts seamlessly as a second skin, conforming to any contour of the face. On contact with the spot, the patented core locks in and absorbs the spot exudate. A moist healing environment is formed, maintaining ideal pH balance, temperature and hydration levels while sealing in repair factors, which leads to faster healing. Pain is reduced as nerve endings are cushioned and protected in this moist condition. The patch swells and turns white overnight as it absorbs exudate giving a visible reduction in redness and inflammation when removed in the morning."

For more information, check them out here.

But the question is, do they actually work? In one word...YES, they're amazing.

I'd been having some angry little spots recently, so I decided to bust out the Dream Dots. It couldn't have been any more simple. After cleansing, I simply popped the little circle onto the offending spot, got myself all snuggled up and in the morning I peeled it off to reveal my spot had significantly reduced in size and redness.

But don't just take my word for it, here are some pictures.

 Are you ok? Sorry you had to see pics of my horrible spots. But there's nothing like cold hard proof that these things are the best thing since sliced bread.

What do you think? Will you be trying these for the party season?

L x

 
 

Graze Box review

For those of you that don't know about Graze, they are an online company that are trying to reinvent snacking. How it works is, you go online and look through their endless selection of snacks - which range from sweet treats to olives and dried fruit or super seeds.

I think you'll agree that it's a lot more exciting than a plain ole' bag of crisps. If you're thinking, "YUK, I hate olives," no problem! That's the other really cool thing, you can go online and click on the section 'olives' for example and click 'bin', telling them to never send them to you. Equally, if you're an olive lover and you want them asap, then you can click 'Love' or 'send soon'. Probably the best thing is that you can bin a whole food group, like I, for example got rid of the group 'Contains Dairy.'

Once you've chosen everything, you then choose what day you want it and they post it through the letter box to wherever you want. I think this is pretty perfect for office snacks or even at home if you fancy a healthy snack.

Here's what I got:

 I also have some free codes for a limited number of friends. If you want your first box FREE! DM me on twitter if you want one :-)

L x

5 things I regret buying

There's nothing worse than being disappointed by a product! It's one thing when it simply doesn't 'suit' you, but it's another when the product just doesn't do what it promises! Here are a few things that I regret buying.

1. Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo - £1.50, 65ml
I bought two different types, the first, their "Clearly Naked" and also the "Uplifting Volume." Both boast a lightweight fresh, first day feel but I have to say that these did not work for me at all! They not only made my hair feel awful, it made it look greasy and lank - quite the opposite of what dry shampoo should do. I certainly wouldn't buy again!

2. Bionsen Pump Spray Deodorant - £2.75
I had been struggling to find a good deodorant that would not leave white marks. I've tried them all, traditional spray, roll on, stick...I just wanted one that actually worked. So, I came across this one, a "pump spray", so there was no chance of it leaving white marks (?) something that definitely suited me. Anyway, I found that this packaging leaked constantly and...stung my underarms - which obviously isn't ideal! So annoying because it actually smelt really good.

3. Soap & Glory A Brush with Greatness - £6.50                                                                                    A double-sided facial brush to use with your cleanser. I thought this sounded like a great idea, however the brush side is far too harsh and I can't imagine any face skin would suit it. As for the other silicone side, it just feels as though it does nothing. My skin gained no benefit from using this brush.

4. Soap & Glory Fab Pore 2-in-1 Facial Pore Purifying Mask & Peel - £10.00
I'm sorry to list another one by Soap&Glory. This product actually boasts quite a lot, everything from reducing large pores, unclogging pores, spot prevention, face detoxing and it smoothes, cleanses and purifies!? Quite a lot wouldn't you say? Well, this product did absolutely NOTHING for me other than sting my skin, it even made my eyes water: quite disappointed given the price.

5. Revlon ColorStay ShadowLinks - £2.99 each
I couldn't wait to get my hands on these, the price was very reasonable and they "link together" - genius, simple yet innovative. I bought a couple of base colours and I could not be more disappointed. The shadows feel chalky and have such a light to non existent pigment, it seems pretty pointless if you ask me.

What things have you regret buying recently?

L x

No7 Stay Perfect Shade And Define

Now ladies, you'll all know what I mean when I say 'No7 Voucher'...yup! You've probably got at least two in your purse right now, not to mention the ones that have already expired floating around in the bottom of your bag.

Personally, for a long time I didn't entertain buying No7, I'm not sure why, I guess I saw it as a brand for the more "mature lady." Although in recent times they've really stepped-up their game in terms of variety, colours, products, etc. So, if you hadn't already figured, you can see where I'm going this, I had a voucher and I bought their Shade and Define eyeshadow sticks.

I was actually after a few eyeshadows for either a good base colour, or a very easy, on-the-go colour. I picked up the shades 'Cool Mink' which is a brown,  taupe colour and 'Pink Pearl' which is a shimmery pink.

I was initially a little apprehensive about the cream element, would it smudge, would it last all day? Seriously, once it dries, there is NO smudging these babies, seriously, after swatching them for this post, I washed my hands a few times and they didn't budge, I was so impressed! The stick makes it perfect for quick application and it also comes with a sharpener so you can even use it as an eyeliner.

They are originally £8 each, however with the voucher they are £5, and at the moment it's buy one get one half price, basically you can get two shades for £9, who doesn't love a good bargain!

Have you got any of these shades? What do you buy with your vouchers?

L x

Manicure Monday #7

Mani Monday is back! Now I do love a good manicure, but I was giving my nails some much needed TLC after I got my Acrylics taken off - and we all know how ruined they are after those!

Anyway, it's Autumn and I do not need an excuse to wear dark colours on my nails. I absolutely love the Barry M Gelly range and I was even more excited to learn that they have new colours out now, so naturally I had to try them.

I love this colour, dare I say it's a pretty sophisticated autumn colour that isn't your typical Dark Red or Black (which I still love by the way)

What colours are your loving  for your nails this autumn?

 L x

The perfect Red and Nude Lipstick?

I'm talking about the L'Oreal Color Riche Collection lipsticks in Red and Nude. I've been waiting to get my hands on these beauties for a while now but inevitably, whenever I go into boots, they didn't have the shade I wanted. Personally, I was after the 'Julianne' range as her face was the one I could identify with the most: i.e. pale skin, freckles and Red hair - well in my case brunette with a tint of Auburn.

Anyway, when I finally swatched the Red, it scared me a little bit just because it was so bright, a very vibrant red. I'm not gonna lie, at this point I was in two minds about getting it, but it turns out it suits me pretty well - at least I think so!

The nude however is gorgeous. On the website it's described as 'Barely Peach' I'd have to agree it's  super pretty, it has a slight shimmer quality to it, which I love, perfect for effortless daytime makeup.

Finally, the formula is lovely! I'd say it's pretty standard as far as lipsticks go, not too matte, not too glossy, feels somewhat powdery when it's on the lips, the Red especially, but it's not an unpleasant feeling. What I will say though is that the Red is so pigmented that it has a lot of staying power: it stayed on my hand for a full day before fading.

 

What is your favourite Red/Nude?

L x