Makeup to wear to bed...

I was getting ready for bed and decided I just had to do a little post on a product I've been really enjoying recently; Pure Transformation Night Treatment from Bare Minerals.

This is essentially makeup you wear to bed that promises to improve your skin (I know, right?!) I'd heard about it on QVC when it was first launched and couldn't help thinking it was kinda ridiculous, I mean who can't go 8 hours without makeup... when they're sleeping!?!?! But as someone who has suffered from pretty unpleasant looking acne I could see why it might be appealing

I'm not particularly vain or anything but answering the door to the postman or the Dominos delivery guy with a makeup free face is never the highlight of my day. They might not care that I have some impressively volcano like spots and pores the size of the Grand Canyon but I do and I'd much rather keep it between me, my dogs and my Rapid Action Clearasil Gel. So a skin perfecting powder that is designed to be worn over my other skincare products suddenly seems like a relatively sensible idea

Anywho, I got a little 2g sample size in a Bare Minerals collection from QVC and I figured it was worth trying. The pot comes with one of the typical sifter style dispensers and has a brush in the lid, which could  be handy but it takes up tonnes of space making the packaging super bulky and is awkward to clean. I use a normal Bare Minerals foundation brush so it really is just like applying a regular Bare Minerals foundation before sleepy time. Which feels super strange. Even after using it for almost a month I haven't got used to putting makeup on twice a day, though I could definitely get used to waking up looking fresh faced a blemish free (almost)

I know this might be hard to believe because this is a skin treatment but it actually gives better coverage than a lot of powder foundations I've tried - it feels smooth and light on the skin and gives a nice matte finish. On days where I'm not planning to apply any makeup I've found myself adding a light dusting of this over my daytime face products because it evens out my skin tone and adds a little brightness to my face without looking heavy or cakey

I can't say I've noticed a complete transformation but my skin has definitely improved; the texture is more even, my pores are less noticeable and I haven't had as many of those little skin coloured bumps that congregate around my cheeks and forehead (I'm sure they have a proper sciencey name but I haven't a clue what it is)

According to the Bare Minerals website the benefits come from the ActiveSoil Complex which seems to be the basis for most of their skincare. This isn't the most amazing product I've ever used but it's good enough to have convinced me to order a full size pot

Other stuff -

Shades available - Clear, Light, Medium and Tan
Price - £45 for 4.2g Yep, the price shocked me too, especially when I checked the price of the regular Bare Minerals foundation which is only £25 for 8g!

Bargain Beauty Christmas Present

Good afternoon all you lovely people, hope you're keeping well and enjoying the run up to Christmas! I've spent a ridiculous amount of time shopping for gifts online and as much as I love the convenience - none of that getting caught in the rain, standing in mile long queues or trying to juggle 20 shopping bags while digging out bus fare - I do kinda miss the Christmassy feeling I get wandering around the shops choosing pressies. So in an effort to obtain a little of that fab festive feeling I think I'll do a spot of actual Christmas shopping over the weekend. Still counts if I'm buying gifts for me right? :)

Talking of gifts I had to do a post on this Stila All Is Bright lip glaze set. It comes with 8 gorgeous colours for the bargain price of £18.50, which is pretty amazing when you consider that a single Stila lip glaze will set you back 15 quid

6 of the 8 colours are limited edition and the other 2 are best sellers so this is definitely gonna be a great gift for any Stila fans. And a pretty good introduction for anyone who hasn't tried the brand yet

They come with a brush applicator and give a nice touch of colour, not too sheer and not too full on. The texture is on the tacky side which I prefer cos it means the product actually lasts once it's been applied and doesn't feel greasy

Other stuff :

Colours - jack frost / jingle / holly / jolly / joy (obviously my favourite!) splendor / black cherry and sugar plum

Size - 1.5ml each 

Beautiful Barbie Blush

Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Flushed

Good evening all! Hope you're having a fantastic weekend and have the bank holiday off work. I'm gonna spend mine doing some decorating and shopping which is always good :)

I seem to be a bit barbie-ish in my choice of makeup shades and am almost always drawn to the most ridiculously bright pretty pinks so when I spied this Revlon Photoready blush on a recent shopping trip I couldn't pass it by. I was worried it would be a bit clown-like but after a little swatcheroo I decided it was worth buying and trying properly

The colour looks more than a tad scary in the pot but it's very natural and subtle once it's been applied. It's easily blended to give a simple sheer wash of pretty, glowy pinkness as opposed to a yucky dark stripe of obvious makeup

Because the colour is so concentrated you only need the smallest dab of product for each cheek so I have no doubt that this will still be knocking around my makeup bag a year from now with barely a dent in it. The massive amount of product and the £7.99 price tag make this fantastic value... Though it's worth checking a few different stores cos it's available from Boots and Superdrug for £5.99 at the min

Of course being a cream product this doesn’t work well with powder. For my shiny skin a little setting powder is a must so I use the blush over a cream or liquid foundation and then set the whole look with some powder, which means that I really cant top up the blush throughout the day. The blush lasts well so this generally isn't a problem unless I'm out running marathons or going deep sea diving, which I do very rarely. And by rarely I mean never

Top 10 foundations under a tenner

Good evening all. Long time, no blog :)

I've been kinda busy recently but I'm sure you dont wanna hear me ramble on about my tediously dull life so lets just get right to the point; cheap foundations! These are my top 10 that can be purchased for less than a tenner

I'm ignoring sale prices so although there are plenty of foundations with a few quid off that could technically make the list at the min - such as good old Revlon Colorstay, which is currently £9.99 in a few high street stores as opposed to the usual £12.99 - in the case of this blog post they just don't cut the mustard

Oh and on a bit of a side note have you noticed just how expensive "cheap drugstore foundations" have become recently? I can't help but scoff when I see some of them being sold at £14.29 a pop (yeah, you better hang your head in shame L'Oreal!) At that price I want someone with troweled-on makeup testing out the shades on me and giving me the hard sell. If it's good enough for the Clinique counter...

So my top 10 in no particular order are:
Collection 2000 Naturall Radiant £3.99
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr £6.99
Maybelline Superstay 24hr £9.19
Max Factor Xperience £9.99
Maybelline dream Satin Liquid £7.99
Rimmel Match Perfection £8.99
Barry M Foundation Creme £6.19
Max Factor Panstik £6.99
Bourjois Healthy Skin £9.99
Maybelline Wonder Finish £6.19

Top 10 makeup mistakes

I couldn't sleep last night and figured I'd do a little post on my top 10 makeup mistakes. Though calling it a top 10 seems kinda weird but you know what I mean!

I'd like to mention that I think makeup should be fun and give you the chance to be creative so there are no hard and fast rules - the following are just things I personally don't like! I'm prone to making the odd blunder myself and this post isn't meant to offend anyone so even if you do one or all of the following please don't take this post personally :)

1. Wrong foundation colour - I think this may actually be the worst offence when it comes to crimes against makeup because it's just so noticeable! When I was a teenager I completely avoided foundation because I knew so many girls who looked like they had literally dipped their entire face into a basin of orange liquid and then decided against blending it around the jaw/hair line

2. Badly drawn brows - As someone with ridiculously sparse, pale brows I can see why it's easy to get a little carried away with brow pencils n powders but in this case less is definitely more. I know a girl (who shall remain nameless) who's eye brows resemble little black tadpoles floating on her forehead giving her a permanent "OMG! I can't believe it!!" look. She's gorgeous but would be even more so without the scary brows

3. Clown blush - Undoubtedly one of my most common mistakes over the years! It's taken me a loong time to learn that it's much easier to add a little extra blush than it is to take some away. I always find it really distracting when it looks like someone has simply pressed a little pot of cream blush against their cheek and left it in a perfect circle shape. Though I think carrying around little blending sponges to hand out to offenders might seem a tad rude

4. Concealer that's too light - The reverse raccoon eyes look seems to have gained a lot of fans over the last few years. It's a shame really cos using a concealer that's too light does the exact opposite of what's intended and actually just draws attention to an area that is supposed to be, well, concealed :/

5. Dark lip liner and light lips - This might be the only mistake I haven't made (yet) and I sometimes wonder if people have mistaken their brown eye liners for lip liners. Surely that's the only explanation for such crazily dark lines around the lips?!

6. Spider leg mascara - Clumpy lashes totally gross me out and are the main reason I've gone back to the same Max Factor mascara over and over again for years now. There are so many things that can go wrong with mascara (clumps, smudging, flaking etc) and I can't think of anything more distracting that talking to someone who's lashes have clumped together so it looks like they only have 5 or 6 thick, dark, crispy hairs growing from their lids. Bleugh!!

7. Powder overload - As someone who suffers from pretty severe acne I used to be guilty of just piling more and more powder on my face throughout the day for fear that my spots would start to show through my makeup. Of course by 6pm and my 100th dusting of powder I looked like I'd opted for talc instead of actual makeup and it had all gathered in every single crevice and pore on my face

8. Too much lip gloss - I adore lip gloss as much as the next girl but I can't stand really thick, glittery wet-look ones because they're just sooo trashy looking. When it comes to gloss I think a nice slick of pretty colour is much better than a big slimy looking layer of bright sparkly colour that looks like it's about to drip off the lips. Yuck!

9. Lots of shimmer - Shimmer is scary. I think it deceives us by being all "hey, girl check me out! Don't you just love my awesome glittery prettiness that's totally guaranteed to leave you looking polished and glowy?" So we end up going to town with a gorgeous shimmery highlight and end up looking like a shiny sweaty mess. Highlighter is definitely the perfect name for these kinda products because although they can look absolutely gorgeous they also do a brilliant job of highlighting bumps, lines and pores on those of us with less than perfect skin!

10. 80s eye shadow - As someone who is shockingly lazy I'm all for applying as few eye shadow colours as possible but I don't think there are many occasions when you can apply one block colour from the lash line right up to the brow. Halloween and fancy dress parties are the exceptions :)

So, that's my list... Feel free to include any makeup mishaps that you've experienced or witnessed below! ♥

Baked blush bargain

Accessorize Baked blushes in Sensation, Scandal and Diva

I reckon Accessorize has to be one of the most underrated makeup brands available. I'd never come across a single review when I first spotted the range in Superdrug but the bright shades and gorgeous packaging was reason enough for me to buy a few bits n pieces; I now own dozens of items and they are as good as (and in some cases waaay better) than lots of my high end products that cost 3 or 4 times as much

The baked blushes are a great example! They're very similar to the Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten products, which I can only get from QVC here in the UK. Each Of the Laura Geller blushes comes with a brush but at a cost of £28 each I'd rather pay a fiver for my awesome Accessorize ones cos I think a brand new brush with every blush is a tad excessive. Hmmm, I seem to have typed blush and brush about 300 times in the last 2 minutes :/ Where was I? Oh yes!...

...One of the best things about these is the marbled, slightly shimmery finish; it works like a blush, contour and highlight all in one so if you happen to prefer quick and easy makeup (and who doesn't?!?) then this works a treat. The shades range from pale pinks to rich berries and they're totally blendable so you never end up looking like you've let your 7 year old niece do your makeup
Swatches from top : Diva, Sensation and Scandal

Thanks to the baked texture these are extremely fine, densely packed powders so there's very little fall-out. And I can't believe how long they last! I've used Sensation loads of times yet I've hardly even made a dent in it

So if you're after a pretty bargaintastic blush then these might be worth a look. You can find them here on the official Accessorize website and they're also sold in Superdrug ♥

Just one of my awesome dogs :)

I walked into my bedroom today to find Zoe "looking after" some makeup. For such a tiny pooch she can take up a lot of space!
She's eye-balling me cos it was raining out and she knew it was time for walkies :)