Make Up| Clarins Eclat Minute Instant Light Complexion Perfector

Hi everyone!

Today I thought I would do a review on a newer product that I've been using this past month or so and it's the Clarins Eclat Minute Instant Light Complexion Perfector. This is basically a primer which also doubles up to be a highlighter as the cream has a slight shimmer that gives a radiant look once on the face. I have mine in the colour Rose Shimmer 00 and I find it gives me a healthy, glowing look and a perfect finish, especially in photos! (I'm wearing it in my FOTD blog post which you can see here) It makes my skin tone appear smooth and even as well as illuminated. What more could you want? 

It definitely helps my make up stay on for longer and because of the silky consistency of the product, it glides onto your skin easily and helps foundation do the same! This can be used alone, just to give your skin a boost on a dull day, underneath foundation (which I usually do) or mixed in with your foundation to make the overall finish appear more dewey. 

I absolutely love the packaging! I don't know why but I got really excited over the fact that it was both a tube AND a pump! I don't think I've had/seen anything like it before. 

This is definitely one of those products were a little bit goes a long way. I've put a couple of pumps on my hand so you could get an idea of the colour and you can even see here how nicely it begins to dissolve into the skin. Priced at £26, it is definitely a high end primer but it's not too dissimilar in price to Benefit's Porefessional (review here)

Perfect for people with aged skin who would like to achieve the fresh, younger look.

It's a miracle in a tube! 

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Comment below what your miracle product is! 

Make Up| MAC Lipstick Dark Side

Hi everyone!

Today I'm reviewing one of my all time favourite lipsticks which I have been reaching for a lot over the Autumn/Winter months. This is one of Mac's Lipsticks in the colour Dark Side (£15) which is a very deep and dark plum- red. This colour is perfect to vamp up any look wether it be daytime or evening. The colour is very build-able so you can either dab it on and wear it as a stain or layer it up to make it amplified and exceptional. I am very faired skin and usually I find red lipsticks don't suit me as much but I think it's something about the dark tones of this lipstick which make it work for me. I also love the name 'Dark Side' it creates connotations, to me, of fairy tales which is understandable because I can definitely see the Queen of Hearts rocking this, don't you think? 

                                                         

As you can see when swatching this, the colour is VERY pigmented. This is only one or two layers of the lipstick and already it shows as a deep blood red. I don't find the formula particularly moisturising in fact even though it lasts a long time it does feel like it slightly dries out my lips through out the day but nevertheless I love it and it doesn't put me off wearing it. 

Whats your favourite Mac Lipstick? Let me know in the comments!

Make Up| Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation

Hello!

Today I am reviewing my all time favourite foundation the Estée Lauder Double Wear. I, like I suspect most of you, have tried many different foundations from drugstore to high end and have tested powders, gel-based, liquid, mousse the list goes on! I'm not saying that I have never liked another foundation but it always seems no matter how long I have ventured away I always end up coming back to this one because it is just perfect for me! 

                                                   

Mine is in the colour 1C0 shell which I find to be a perfect match. They have a large range of colours that are broken down into three groups: cool, neutral and warm and which offer different undertones for each and every person and all contain SPF 10. It is definitely a medium to high coverage so for those of you who prefer something a bit natural, this might not be for you. It's said to have 15 hour lasting power and to be honest I don't disagree, I would be able to put this on in the morning before a long shift at work or a day at uni and not have to really touch it again at all. I feel it gives a flawless finish and despite it being a heavier coverage it does look natural on the skin. It also doesn't feel to heavy once applied and considering it's both heat-proof and water-resistant it's still suitable in the hot conditions as it doesn't just feel like it's melting of your face like some foundations I have tried! 

The packaging is glass and looks as well as feels expensive. The only problem I really find with it is that it has no pump as such so the liquid is there to pour out freely meaning there's a threat of wasting some of the product and priced at £28.50 this is really not ideal!

All in all it is a great product and I could not recommend it highly enough!

                                                 Have you tried it? What do you think?

                               

                                                                            xx

Make Up| Mini Cosmetics Haul

Hello again!

I accidentally did a bit of shopping today (which of course was necessary) and I thought I would do a quick post on what I bought. Obviously I won't be reviewing the products as such because I haven't properly tried them yet but watch this space as there probably will be comments on all of them in the near future!!

My first and favourite product from today is the Clinique 'take the day off' Cleansing Balm. I've seen loads of reviews for this and I was stuck between this or the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm but I felt for almost £8 cheaper and it being my first time even using one, I thought this would be a good place to start. I love the packaging, it feels luxurious and expensive and I'm a sucker for the colour purple. I can only describe the consistency of the product as 'magical', is that sad? It's a solid balm that dissolves quickly into a silky, oil thats perfect for taking off foundation and hard-to-budge eye makeup. I can't wait to try it! 

I also picked up 3 face mask from Superdrug's own brand. There's no particular reason why I chose these specific ones but I felt they looked interesting and priced at only 99p I felt it would be silly not too try! Each mask does a different job as one purifies, another's cooling and the other is a heating one - my favourite! I really want to incorporate face masks into my skin care routine as I feel they're an affordable way to make you feel pampered and give you that post-facial feeling.  

The last 2 items I picked up were one of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's in the colour Pink Gold and a Max Factor Miracle Touch Cream Blush in 03 Soft Copper. I already own 3 other colours in the Maybelline Colour Tattoo range and I absolutely love them for a quick and easy yet effective eye make up look. I haven't had a cream blush in my makeup collection for years and I liked the look of the Max Factor ones and priced at only £6.99 I was easily convinced. I chose this colour as I feel like it's more of a bronzed blush meaning when I'm feeling lazy I can just apply this without having to worrying about my usual contouring along with blusher. 

Have you tried this products? How did you find them?

Comment below!

xx

Fragrance| Marc Jacobs Daisy

Hello!

As one of my first fragrance related posts I thought I would do a quick rave and review about one of my favourite fragrances which is Daisy Eau So Fresh by Marc Jacobs. Now, I don't know about you guys but for starters I find all of the bottle designs beautiful and definitely eye catching . The particular one I have is in this pretty and attractive flower shape as its only a squidly 20ml where as the 75ml bottle (which I went out and bought not long after this one had ran out) is a much more of a generous sized bottle with the usual abundance of flowers on the lid.

Now the fragrance scent can only be described as floral with a hint of fruit thrown in there. It's definitely a light fragrance and is perfect for the summer but I've still found pleasure in wearing it through out these wintery days. This is definitely one of those fragrances which smells different on every person. I often find myself saying to a friend 'mmm I love your perfume what is that?!' And it in actual fact being the same one as I'm wearing. But I find this as more of a bonus as it means it's more personal. The main ingredients in the fragrance are grapefruit, pear and raspberry with a hint of jasmine and apple blossom in there too making it an abundance of fruity and floral favours which make it a nice fresh girly scent. AND the bottle pictured above only cost me £25(!) which I feel is quite a generous amount considering. 

Let me know some of your favourite fragrances in the comment section as I'm always on the hunt for something new :)

Make Up| Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder for Face and Body

Hello!

Today I'm going to be reviewing a new addition to my make up bag which is the Naked illuminator by Urban Decay. I've tried many variations of illuminating/highlighting products before ranging from creams to powders and this is definitely one of my favourites. 

First of all, I think the packaging is gorgeous and the shimmer on the box really foreshadows what the product will be like inside. I can appreciate its quite a chunky box and it is a pain to fit into a Make Up bag so it may not necessarily be perfect for travel. 

I don't think it's any surprise that I was drawn to this product as soon as I saw it. I have magpie like tendencies when it comes to shiny, glittery things and this just suited me right done to the ground. It's a powdered highlighter that has microfine shimmery particles to allow the light to reflect upon it to create a healthy and dewey finish.  Even though it is beautiful, I can understand that the glitter may be too much for people and some may prefer to use it just for evenings as opposed to the daytime. It's also great for your body too, allowing you to add an extra bit of shimmer before a night out. 

As you can see it's quite pigmented but applying this with a Kabuki brush or a large powder brush allows the product to apply sparingly as so not to overdo it. It's light and beautiful and along with the pretty packaging, I feel this product is definitely something I'll be reaching for all year round.

It even has a hidden compartment underneath the powder that has a mini applicator. I personally never find much use for these but if you do it's definitely and added bonus!

Priced at £20, it definitely fits in to the high end market but what can we expect from Urban Decay? I like to think we are paying more for quality, don't you think?

What's your favourite highlighter? 

Skincare| Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

Hello again!

Today I will be reviewing the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser which is definitely a revolutionary product, I would say, in the skincare world. Perfect for all ages and skin types, it's the perfect cleanser that actually seems to make a visible difference.

It's a plant-based creamy cleanser that is perfect for taking off all types of make up including waterproof mascara (yay!). It works in two phases: cleansing and polishing. The polishing is done with a muslin cloth that actually comes with the cleanser (bigger ones can be bought from the baby section in Boots!) this, in effect, exfoliates your skin and removes all the dead skin cells that may have been lodging there.

What I like most about this product is that you're always guaranteed to be left with smooth and clean-looking skin. I owe the disappearance of many spots to this bottle. There's also the added bonus that it smells great too!

Have you tried it? What cleansers do you like it?

Make Up| Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Hello again! 

Today I'm reviewing a makeup product that has taken the beauty world by storm... the Clinique bottom lash mascara. This Clinique mascara is here too.. well it's in the name really. The idea of this cosmetic product is to eliminate clumps and smudges that would usually be the case when using a full size mascara wand. Gone are the days of lashes like spiders legs. 

Armed with a tiny wand, this mascara is perfect for getting in all the hard to get to places including the tiniest little lashes in the corners of your eyes! The packaging is super pretty with the silver detailed floral pattern and the size is perfect for travel! But with all the positives with a good product there is usually one or two negatives. The formula of the mascara seemed to dry out quickly for me meaning if you were to be a lover of this bottom lash mascara you may find yourself buying it sooner then you hoped.

Priced at £12 for a 2ml bottle, it does fit it in to the high end side of the spectrum as products go. But I think the price tag is only a minor problem for such a unique product. All in all it's definitely one to try. 

Have you tried it? If so what did you think? 

Lifestyle| New Years Resolutions

Hello!

It's that time of year again where we all promise to be healthier, happier version of ourselves. I'm aware this post may be somewhat delayed but I thought I may still get away with telling you all my New Years resolution for 2014. 

I, like I suspect most of you, always set myself goals which I never ever fulfill. I tell myself each year 'this will be the year I will get physically fitter' yet, again maybe like you, this is never the case. This is why this year I decided to try something completely different. Introducing... 

One Line A Day: A Five Year Memory Book! This unique and stupidly cute book was introduced to me thanks to Instagram and as soon as I saw it I knew it was something I had to have. This book is basically a diary but instead of writing page long ramblings of your day to day life you keep it to just a few sentences. This enables you to keep track of what you were doing or how you were feeling every day, all year long, for five years. 

The layout inside is set out in such away that allows you to compare each passage to the one before or the one after in a five year gap. Perfect for people who love anything nostalgic or sentimental. 

I thought this would be an obtainable goal to complete by the end of 2014 and hopefully the years following from that. I feel it would be interesting to see how I evolve as a person as time goes on. 

Is this your kind of thing? What's your New Years Resolution?