Current Favourites #1

Let's just put it this way, I am greedy when it comes to choosing my favourite makeup products.  I have so many that I cannot simply put my hands down on one single product.  Hence this Current Favourites' post - so, Welcome!

I found myself going back to these products almost everyday in the past few weeks and have always felt blown away by the quality of the product and how they excited me with a 'near perfect' finish look.

Meet my new favourite foundation, Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup.  There isn't a day I don't wear this foundation since I bought it.  There's something about this base which better the complexion of my skin like no other!

It provides a light coverage to the finish look, you can build it up to medium if you like a bit more coverage.  The amazing thing about this foundation is that it gives a 'transparent' finish, it really does.  I use the shade #0 Porcelain and suits my skin tone perfectly.  The price is steep, and will set you back for £50.  However, it really is every penny worths.  I can't stop using it everyday since I bought it.  I have heard mixed review about this, people either love it and blown away by it like me or don't find it any special.  If you are in doubt, I suggest you ask for a sample to try before you buy.  I got mine at Space NK and they are very helpful in talking you through the products (all the amazing skincare benefits) and I felt reassured to spend that much money.

Sleek's cheeks products are always my firm favorites in the blushers' world.  This latest Sleek Sweet Cheeks Blush (Candy Collection, Limited Edition) is no exception.  I already have written a post about it, you can click here to learn the details.  The special thing about this palette is that it contains one cream blush and two powder blush which is an unique combo.  I love the middle one - Dolly Mix which is a rosy pink colour.  It is very pretty and it allows me to pretend to be an 'English Rose' for the day!

On the day when I want a bit more warmth to my face, instead of reaching to a bronzer (it often ends up looking orange on my face, sadly); I fell in love with the Soap and Glory Love at First Blush Multi-shade Blushing powder.  Sometimes I wear it on its own, sometimes I wear it on top of whatever blusher I would wear.  It gives a very subtle shimmery glow and warmth to the skin - to me it works much better than a bronzer.  I basically just swirl my Real Techniques Blush Brush on the palette (touching all colours) and brush it on both the apple of my cheeks!  They are the best combo!

If I was to live on just one mascara for the rest of this year, I will choose Max Factor's Clump Defy Mascara (Waterproof).  You will know by now how many times I have complained about my painfully short eyelashes.  Even after I curl them using an eyelash curler, it doesn't make that much of a difference.  I look for dramatic and apparent results in a mascara that gives me length as well as the volume that my lashes need.  This mascara can do both.  It is a 'dryish' type of mascara which I prefer over a 'wet' mascara.  Not only does it give volume, it lengthens my lashes, too.  That saves me time from applying a lengthening mascara first then reach out for a volumising mascara.

When it comes to apply foundation, most of the times I use my fingers.  I think I still haven't quite mastered the technique of using a foundation/ buffing brush to apply my foundation.  However, since I started using a Beauty Blender, which you can view here for a more detailed review on it; this pink egg-shaped sponge has become my best pal when applying foundation on.  It makes the finishing look seamless and blends in with my skin naturally.  I love using it also because you have to soak the beauty blender up before pressing on your skin, the moisture on the blender helps to hydrate my skin further whilst applying foundation on.

Finally, the Balmi Cube Lip Balm (Raspberry) has become a no brainer lip balm for me in the past few weeks.  Dare I say, its creamy and highly moisturising formula is comparable to the Caudalie Lip Conditioner.  I would say the Balmi Lip Balm doesn't only moisture the lips on its surface but it conditions it and it's very long-lasting.  I highly recommend it.

What is your current favourites?  Are you as greedy as me when it comes to makeup?

Back to basics #1: The natural makeup look

Imagine..........

• You only have 5 mins to do your make up, or
• It's a saturday/ sunday afternoon you just want to pop out for a walk or go to the shop, or
• You simply feel lazy but still want to look 'awake'......

The bottom line is, you still want to look good but you don't want to spend a ton of times to get ready, here's an idea on how to create this natural make up look.  (I tried and I think it worked fairly well on me, but feel free to disagree!)

Here's what you need (not everything as I'm showing a few alternative products).  It is only a suggestion of the minimal makeup essentials:

I found, if I am only allowed to have less than 10 makeup products to create the most basic look, these are what I will need to make my features stand out 

• a good base
• a bright looking pair of eyes
• some colours on the cheeks and lips

*products used to create this look

A good base

• *Kiko Instant Perfection Smoothening & Destressing Fluid
• A primer to prepare your skin
• To even out skin tone
• To brighten up perhaps a dull looking complexion
• This one is economical enough to use daily or as a SOS product
• *Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation
• A light foundation which provides SPF is essential for a natural look
• You only need a tiniest amount, remember, a little goes a long long way; less is more
• *Bourjois Healthy Mix Touche Brush Concealer
• To cover up any imperfection - under eye areas or blemishes.
• You don't need a huge amount, just stab on a little bit is cool

Add some warmth to you cheeks

You don't need to apply both blushes but choose a blusher which gives a warm and subtle finish is more than enough to create a natural healthy look. 

• *Bourjois Cream Blush #2 Healthy Glow
• A coral shade is bang on trend
• This cream blush is so subtle and creamy in texture.  You can lightly dab it on the apple of your cheeks or build it up to intensify the colour
• It gives a dewy, glowing finish
• Bourjois Je T'Aime #34 Golden Rose
• A powder blush that is so light 
• It's got a subtle hint of golden shimmer which gives a satin finish

The Awakening Eyes step 1

• Eyelash curler - Shu Uemura x Karl Lagerfield Eyelash Curler/ *Random Japanese brand eyelash curler
• A little clip and a gentle squeeze of your lashes instantly opens up those tired eyes
• A trick especially useful for girls with short eyelashes (like me!)

The Awakening Eyes Step 2

• Rimmel Accelerator Endless Lash Mascara
• A lengthening mascara for those who needs a bit of length to their lashes
• This is a great one by Rimmel
• Physicians' Formula Organic Wear Mascara
• A great brand from USA
• It volumises your lashes without adding harmful ingredients to your lashes
• *Max Factor Clump Defy Water Resistant Mascara 
• My first time using this
• A real effective mascara to add volume
• It's the equivalent of the brand Cover Girl

The Lips

Possible the most sought-after makeup product in any women's makeup/ hand-bag.  A moisturising and natural colour lipstick can brighten your whole face up so effectively.  I chose this Chanel Rouge Coco Shine number in #46 Liberte, a coral shade which matches with my cream blusher to harmonise the total look.

I do love this look - it's natural but at the same time it gives me the glow that I need.  What I also realise is that my skin condition has to be better than average in order to rock this look.  Makeup is only a helping tool, a good skincare routine is far more important.  

Remember, sometimes Less is More, little definitely goes a long long way.

Hope you've enjoyed this!

Exciting new bits - market and makeup

If you are already thinking about what to do on this Saturday but not quite settled for what and where, perhaps this post will give you some ideas?

There were two exciting discoveries last month - Guerlain makeup and the Cabbages and Frocks Market in Marylebone.

Let's talk about the Cabbages and Frocks Market in Marylebone first, which specialises in food and garments. I have always known about this market and have walked pass and visited many a times in the past 10 years.  It is a small but 'you can find loads' type of market, and you can often find gems in here. It is situated at the top end of Marylebone High Street which is my favourite high street in the whole of London, full of expensive shops and famous cafes - if you haven't been I would strongly recommend you to take a visit there.

Photo source: http://www.mynorthwestlondon.co.uk

Photo source: www.best-london-attractions.co.uk

On one random Saturday, my sister and I walked into the market on the way home, and happened to stop by at a stall (I must find out the name but it is at the end of a circular arrangement of all stalls inside the market) which sells all the designer brands' handbags, accessories and shoes.  We thought, let's just have a look round and we discovered at the back of this small stall, there lies quite a lot of high end make up stuff. The stall owner told us these products have just been used once in photo shoots.  When we went through the collection, every single product looks 'brand new', no sign of finger prints or have been used.  There also lies some 'unreleased' makeup collections!  All these makeup cost at least 50% off the original price - my sister and I were there for nearly an hour, going through every single item and discussing which one to get.

Then I stumbled across Guerlain's make up, I've never taken real notice to this brand because I think it is targeted at more mature women (sorry no offence to anyone).  However I was all of a sudden really attracted to and interested in giving this brand a go.  As a result, I picked up three items.....

There is no doubt about the packaging of all these three products - simple but elegant.  What's more exciting is the 50% off price tag and these products are new in the market, too!  Bargain alert, bargain alert!

This lovely La Base Protective base coat will cost you £18 in Guerlain's counter but I paid £10 (if I remember correctly).  I have been using this for over 3 weeks and it is working really well as a basecoat, as in I think it has improved the condition of my nails and provides a good grip for nail paint to stay put.  Love it!

As if I don't have enough lip products already, I am adding another one to my collection!  This Maxi Shine Lip Gloss will set you back at £22 in major department stores but I paid £10 (thanks for the stall lady for giving me a further discount!).  The colour is #463 La Petite Robe Noire.

It is an extremely easy-to-wear colour.  It is very glossy and moisturising.  The colour comes out as a pale pink.  When light hits on the lips, the colour reflected back provides a dimensional gloss which made the lips look really plumped up.  The colour doesn't stay long though but for me it isn't so much as a problem as I don't mind having to reapply my lip gloss, and it is super pretty to take this elegant looking lip gloss out from my handbag as I do touch up on my lips!

I'm never a big fan of eye shadow palette or makeup palette as I think they take up a lot of space so I don't own that many.  However when I saw this Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Ecrin 4 Couleurs (in #13 Capri), my heart stopped and couldn't let it go.  The packaging is a dark copper case that comes with a black velvet pocket - extreme elegancy.  I did struggle thinking about if I would be able to use all four colours.  I have had no problems using the white as a highlighter on the eyes or brow bones, and the black/ darkest greyish brown for a more dramatic smokey eyes.  I don't wear warm colours such as this coral and pink on my eyes but I have been using these as a blush and have worked really well on the cheeks.  This will no doubt become one of my travel makeup set (for eyes and cheeks then you are good to go!)

You can see that the colours are highly pigmented but the only downside is that it is leaning towards the 'powdery' and 'chalky' side, especially for the pink and coral shades.  The white and the black seem to be less powdery.  The relatively large mirror inside this palette is also a big plus!  This palette will set you back for £41.38 at normal price but I paid £20, yes you read it right!  I'm so pleased I own this now !  Does anyone know much about this eye palette?  I couldn't find this anywhere in stores or online but only found this available on either amazon or on the Saks Fifth Avenue website.  It shouts 'limited edition' to me though so I might have dug gold?

How about visiting the Cabbages and Frocks Marylebone market this Saturday to see what's out there?
Visit http://www.cabbagesandfrocks.co.uk/ for further information.
It opens every Saturday from 11am to 5pm at St Marylebone Parish Church Grounds, Marylebone High Street, W1.

New Makeup Additions: Dior

I have my husband to thank for these new additions to my makeup collection.  On his recent return from a business trip, a usual drill from me to him, 'Please get me a few bits from Duty Free Shopping in the airport.' Husband, 'Sure, make me a list, with pictures and I'll see what is available in the airport.'

There it was, he hunted down two items back - I, with excitement when opening the duty free plastic bag and found these two bits!

I must admit, as much as I do love my makeup from the drugstores; I do like a bit of the luxurious makeup brands.  I have come off from my addiction to Dior's for quite a few years as I was disappointed by their lipgloss (first Dior product used), it was too sticky.  Until recently, I'm drawn back to it and every time when I walk pass Dior's counter, I couldn't help but kept staring at the beautiful makeup that they do.  These two items are not their newest bits but they are certainly my 'most wanted' items.

Dior Addict Lip Glow and Diorskin Rosy Glow are products which react to the moisture level in the skin to give its specific intensity of colours to the lips and cheeks.  I am fascinated by the ideas albeit it is no longer a new technology.

I like the fact that on days when I cannot decide which cheek colours to wear, I can just brush this on my cheeks and let my own skin to decide what colour it will become.  How convenience and extraordinary the idea is!   I love high end makeup products not just because of its luxurious feeling that it gives when I use them but also the packaging.  This Diorskin Rosy Glow comes with a velvet pocket, it also comes with a mini blusher brush. The 'Dior' logo is also imprinted on the cheek palette - it has got Dior written all over it.  I love it.  I'm looking forward to using it!

The Addict Lip Glow gloss also reacts to the lips moisture level and it also contains SPF 10; fantastic for a summer must-have!  I tried it on once and it is very moisturising and stay put for a rather long time.  On that time I wore it, it turned into a pale pink colour (very close to my lip colours) which gives a very natural finish and can go with any makeup look that you wear.

What about you?  What Dior makeup products have you tried?  Are you a fan of Dior's makeup?

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector

I only  have one pair of lips, technically I only really need 1, 2 or perhaps a maximum of 3 lipsticks?  Something must have got into me, I'm buying more and more lipsticks.  This Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector has managed to sneak into my lipsticks collection.

If you are looking for bright and statement lips, this lip perfector isn't probably for you.  There are days when I just want to slap on some natural and easy colours on the lips, I reach for this one.

It has 3 shades and I've chosen #05 Candy Shimmer, it is a natural pink colour; perfect for the summer weather.  The other two shades are #04 Petal Shimmer which is a much paler pink and #06 Rosewood Shimmer which is more of a nude colour.

It gives a glossy finish and it is very moisturising.  I use this on its own and can get away without having to wear a lip balm as a base.  It also has a rather sweet flavour to it which makes this tube of lip perfector even more girly!

The squeezy tube also makes getting the product inside extremely easy.  The slanted sponge applicator is also great for applying the products directly onto the lips.

All in all, I love this lip perfector!  Anyone who wants a moisturising and natural coloured lip product - I would totally recommend this to you.

Space NK Haul

Oooops..... I didn't mean to do it but I did it again.  I hauled at Space NK.

I am slowly working my way through my 'Space NK Wish List', this time I took the plunge and bought a few things by Hourglass.

First up is this Hourglass Holiday Conffret set (£59).  I was instantly attracted to it when I saw it despite the price tag. This is such great value though and for someone like me who is new to the world of Hourglass - I will get to try 4 of its products before committing myself wholeheartedly to any or all 4 of them!

In this Holiday Coffret set you can find:

• Veil mineral primer SPF15 (10ml)
• Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara (10g)
• Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Glass (7g)
• No. 28 High Primer Serum (5ml)

I will definitely report on these products once I have had a good try of them.

Then, out of nowhere I decided to invest in a high-end foundation and I had my eyes set on the Veil Fluid Makeup.  Let's just put in straight there, this foundation didn't come cheap, it cost me a very steep £50.

I tried it in the shop and wore it for a good few hours and have loved it.  Then popped into another Space NK and chatted to a really nice Assistant Manager, Leslie or Lesley to find out more about the foundation as I am being extra careful with products causing breakout to my skin.

Leslie kindly gave me some sample to take away with me, I use shade #0 Porcelain.  She also talked me through in details about the ingredients contained in this foundation - basically it doesn't only provide a light to medium coverage to the skin but at the same time it has lots of skincare benefits such as reducing the appearance of wrinkles, helps to unclog pores and improve skin's texture, etc.  Sounds amazing.  I don't know about these benefits yet but what I am sure of is that after wearing the sample I was given for 3 days, I noticed how much brighter my complexion looks wearing this foundation.  This foundation is ever so light that it sets transparent on my skin, giving my skin a natural glow.  I also noticed that after I removed my makeup, my skin doesn't look dull but remain looking healthy.  I'm not quite sure whether it is down to this foundation but having worn this for an extremely short period of time - I can definitely say this is the best foundation I have ever tried.

 Just also to comment on the pump design of this bottle - easy and handy to get the product out.  One deep pump or two light pumps is all you need for your whole face.  It blends extremely well and light.  I have tried using both a buffing brush and a beauty blender to apply this and found that it works well using a beauty blender.

Have you tried any products by Hourglass before?  What are your thoughts on them?

New In: Sleek blush by 3 Candy Collection Limited Edition

I absolutely adore Sleek's blushers, they are super pigmented, easy to blend and come in the widest range of the prettiest colour ever. It is also highly affordable and of great quality at the same time.

When I found out about they have recently launched a limited edition of the blush by 3 Candy Collection (#872 Sweet Cheeks), I had to hunt them down ASAP

Without much difficulties this time, I found them in the Superdrug at Marble Arch for £9.99 each.

In this cheek palette, it contains one cream blush (Cupcake) and two powder blush colours (Dolly Mix and Candy Floss). The names are so girly and adorable!

Cupcake is a bright pink colour which a light hand is definitely required to apply but they are so easy to blend even with fingers.

I adore Dolly Mix, it is a matte rosy pale pink which is great for a day make up look in the summer. 

Finally Candy Floss is happy and cheerful combo of coral with a pink undertone, there's also these very fine pink glitter in it which adds glamour to your total evening look.

I cannot wait to be using this all the time and can foresee them becoming my staple cheek colours!

You can pick these up at Superdrug! You'd better be quick though as I'm sure it's very popular!