January Favourites

First month of 2016 is over and I've never been so glad to see the back of a month in my life. January this year brought me some big challenges but there's been some great product discoveries this month that have helped me along the way. We've also got one rediscovery in here too that I'm equally excited about. So let get into it.

My rediscovery this month was the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. I absolutely love this. The shade match it great, the formula is comfortable and it lasts well on the skin and the packaging is practical for travel. For a high-end foundation it's not too up there in price £32.50 for 30ml (although it was definitely more around the £26 mark when I first started wearing it so the price has crept up over the years). I use shade "03" and the shade range is really impressive. The lightest shade is white and the darkest is very dark, and the shade selection caters to everyone from the fairest of the fair to those with the absolute deepest of skin tones which is great.

I finally picked up one of the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, these have to be one of the most hyped lip product ever and for good reason. I have shade "02" which is a natural pink and theres a really nice amount of shine to these. They're a relatively sheer lipgloss/balm hybrid product that are super comfortable on the lips without being sticky at all. Also - the scent/taste on these, they're lovely and sweet without being overpowering at all. Best of all? They've just introduced a berry shade into the line and I will definitely picking it up shortly.

This one won't come as a surprise to those who read my review/rave on the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (here - spoiler, it's a positive one). The packaging is amazing, the selection of shades is the perfect balance between wearable and fun colours and it really caters to my "fairest of them all" skin tone. My favourite shades have been "Punk", "Zone", "Steady" and "Danger". The formulas are amazing and most of these are shades I can see myself reaching for a lot. I've picked up a few more bits from the collection so check back on Friday this week to hear more about that.

So the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel has finally been knocked off the top spot. I have a review on the whole set coming up soon but the Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser has just jumped to the top spot in my skincare stash this month. The citrus-y scent is nice and refreshing for an AM cleanse and the formula is creamy and cooling on the skin. I saw a noticeable difference in my skin after using this cleanser which always puts a product on my radar. Obviously I take pretty good care of my skin so when something makes a really visible difference for me it's always impressive.

My last pick is also a skincare product and again it's one that been featured in a post recently: the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I only have the travel size for now and I'm rationing it until payday when I can go and treat myself to a full size. This is just such a lovely day cream, super moisturising, makes a nice base for makeup, smells amazing. What's not to love?

Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Serum

I've been holding onto this product for a while before I did a review - if for nothing else just for the price. This serum is £66 and while I've been dipping my toes into more expensive serums there are some great serums you can pick up on more of a budget. I picked this up after Caroline Hirons mentioned it being worth picking up (surprise, surprise) but I actually picked it up in Duty Free on my trip to Amsterdam to save myself some money. So lets have a look.

The texture on this is interesting, it holds together like a gel when you pump it out onto the back of your hand but when you try to spread it across your face it feels very liquid and has almost a watery silicone type slip to it. It does attract and lock in moisture on the skin and feels great. The little bubbles in the bottle burst as you pump the product out so it's completely smooth on the skin - I was a little surprised that it wasn't at all lumpy or bumpy as your spread it across your skin.

The Hydra Beauty Micro Serum has the same scent as a lot of the other products in Chanel's skincare range. If you're really sensitive to fragrance you might want to keep it in mind that it is present in this product. It has a slightly perfume-y sweet scent that is pleasant and not what I would call over-powering.

The packaging isn't my favourite. The pump is nice and sturdy and the lid is reasonably secure. The bottle is plastic so with all of that in mind, I can see it being good for travel. However for the price of the product, it doesn't feel overly luxurious and I feel like the packaging it designed to trick the eye into thinking you get more product than you do. The bottle is rectangular but the product is actually contained in a cylinder inside of the bottle so there's excess packaging. Aesthetically it's nice but it does beg the question are Chanel trying to make it look like a better deal?

All-in-all, I wanted this review to end in a "is it worth your money?" and if I'm honest, I'm not sure it is. Don't get me wrong I do really like it and I've enjoyed using it and it makes my skin feel great. However with the cheap feeling packaging and the lack of any seemingly expensive ingredients, I do think the price is steep.

The “I’ve Been Crying” Eye Fixer

I've been meaning to get some more review posts up on here for a long time. While I'm enjoying the post ideas I've been coming up with, I've been thinking about how I use the blogs that I read and generally, I find review posts really helpful so I've been wanting to give you guys some more reviews. So today we have my tear-y time skincare saviour: the Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels.

Skyn Iceland as a brand seem to market themselves for "stressed skin" and as I've mentioned, I've had a rough time this January. Trying to get used to being back at work after a bit of time off over Christmas coupled with some personal-life issues has had my stress levels a little higher than usual and that sent my skin into temporary panic but it's all good now and trust me. After all of that, I can say I've put these to the test.

I apply these to a freshly cleansed face before any kind of toners or spritz or anything and can leave them on for way over the recommended 10 minutes. The gel pads are very flexible and adhere to the skin well. They're so cooling under the eyes and if you have any issues with puffiness these will help reduce that a lot. Also the change in temperature under the eyes is supposed to help with drainage which is understandable, I do think my under eye area looks refreshed after using these.

As much as the gel pads are cooling under the eyes, there doesn't seem to be any liquid residue on them so while they do adhere to the skin I can't detect any additional benefits other than the cooling effect. They will bring down puffiness but don't seem to do anything for redness, nor do they seem to have any moisturising quality to them.

All in all, they seem to work very similarly to other products aimed solely to cool the under eye area. Jade Rollers specifically come to mind but the gels seem to be the lazy-day mask version. However for value for money, the gels come in a pack of 8 gels for £25 and a small Jade Roller is £20 and that can be used over and over. I really do like these and if you've got some serious puffiness going on these might be great for you but for me they don't seem to do enough for me to justify a repurchase. Will be saving the ones I have left for special occasions.

I'd be really interest to try the Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Detox Depuffing Eye Cubes. At £34 for 6 sets, the price-per-use seems to be a bit pricier than the Skyn Iceland gels, but as far as I can see these are something that will melt and leave something behind for the skin to absorb so watch this space for a review on those in the future.

Then and Now - L’Oreal True Match

I've been using the L'Oreal True Match Foundation on and off for a few years and it's been in and out of my favourites list ever since the first time I tried it. After having forgotten about it for a while I rediscovered it around a year back and fell back in love so I was a bit nervous when they announced that they were reformulating. (I though it was going to be the Revlon Colourstay all over again). Long story short, I picked up a bottle of the new formula and I've been trialling it against the old one to see how it compares.

In terms of the packaging, quite a lot of people have been commenting that the new packaging is "more sleek" and seem to really like it. I think it's just really basic and I prefer the shape of the old bottle. The old one has some nice curves to it and it just looks a little more unique and a little more interesting. Both the old and new bottles are made of glass, both have sturdy silver pumps and both have clear plastic lids so they've not changed up the layout, it's just the shape.

I use shade "N1 Ivory" in both the old and new formulas and there doesn't seem to be any difference in the shades available. None seem to have been renamed and none seem to have been removed so if you had a skin tone match in the old formula the shade you used previously should still match you in the new one. The blendability is equally nice on both formulas, I personally like to apply most foundations with a damp sponge and that's what I do with both of these.

In terms of the actual formula, it does seem to have changed. The new formula has a slightly higher coverage and is a bit more moisturising on the skin. Interestingly, despite there seemingly being a higher moisture content in the new formula, it also seems to last a little better on my skin. The original formula seems to start breaking down after about 6-8 hours where the new one I probably get 7-9 hours out of the new formula before any shine starts breaking through. Not much of a difference there but still worth mentioning for those who struggle with staying power.

One thing I didn't like so much about the new formula is that it's not as matte in finish. This is obviously going to be one of those things where your own personal preferences will come into play but if you do prefer the matte look, you can take away some of the shine with a mattifying finishing powder. It's possible that L'Oreal have made the True Match less matte as their Infallible Matte Foundation is now catering to that audience for them and they wanted to make this a bit more of a middle ground option.

Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Collection

In my "What I Got For Christmas" post, I mentioned the Charlotte Tilbury Gift Of Goddess Skin Travel Set. While I'm not the this is a permanent product in the CT range, I did notice that there's a full sized version of the set available on her website and all of the products are available to purchase individually so I figured I might as well let you know my thoughts on the products.

So for pricing, the travel set that I have is still showing as available for £39 on CharlotteTilbury.com and the full sized set is £150. Both sets include the Goddess Skin Clay Mask (£45), the Wonderglow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash Primer (£38.50) and the Charlotte's Magic Cream (£70). The products in the travel set are all 15ml each. All three of the products have the classic sweet-rose-esque Charlotte Tilbury Skincare scent, although to varying degrees. The scent is most obvious in the Magic Cream and least obvious in the Goddess Clay Mask.

The Wonderglow is an interesting product, while I can see the appeal I'm not sure it's something I'm going to use a lot myself. It's supposed to give luminosity to the skin but I can see obvious fine glitter in the product. While it does seem to offer a perfected look to the skin without giving much in the way of coverage, it's not completely natural looking. It's not at all heavy on the skin and I think the formula would work on most skin types if this is the look your going for. This strikes me as the sort of base product you might reach for if you're wanting a minimal but perfected look for a beach-y holiday.

The Goddess Skin Clay Mask is nothing special. It's a very creamy texture for a clay mask and the scent is pleasant but it's not standing out for me against some other clay masks I've tried. Bearing in mind that the full size is £45 for 75ml. I love the Aroma Actives Deep Cleansing and Purifying Clay Mask and I've found that for as little as £9 for 100ml, similarly to the Charlotte Tilbury one it's a creamy clay mask and it has a little more moisture than most and while this is a little more difficult to find (I get it from Sainsbury's), it's significantly cheaper.

So this review isn't looking too positive so far, but the Charlotte's Magic Cream is the game changer. For me this is the pick of the set and it's something I really like and will repurchase once I use up the small size. For a face cream, while £70 is up there, it's not outrageous. It has SPF 15 so it's a day cream rather than an all purpose moisturiser but Charlotte Tilbury has recently released the Magic Night Cream which I'd be interest to try. It makes a great base for makeup whilst still having a really nice moisture content. Just a really great day cream.

A Re-Introduction: Happy Birthday Blog!

I'm pretty big on reflection and I think celebrating milestones and achievements is really important when it comes to self improvement. With that in mind I'm dedicating this post to my blogs first birthday.

My first ever post was "A Short Introduction". I wasn't really sure how to kick off this whole beauty blogging thing and I figured an introduction to who I am and why I'm doing this was probably a good place to start. My first full week of blog posts was dedicated to my top favourites - but after a year, which makeup products are still on my must have list?

Both the foundation and concealer I included in my original line up have been switched out. My go-to foundations at the moment are the L'Oreal True Match and the L'Oreal Infallible, I've been finding the colourstay a little heavy lately and I've hear that it's been reformulated so I've been trying out other things. I've been using a combination of the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer and the Clarins Instant Light Brush on Perfector for concealer. I still really like the Nars but the shade range doesn't go quite as light as the other too.

I think we all know that I'm still using and loving the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder and the Soap & Glory Solar Powder is still in my regular line up as well. I'm using it more as a contouring shade lately but I still like to take a big fluffy brush and bronze up my hairline with this too.

While I still like Urban Decay Primer Potion, it's not something I run out and repurchase straight away anymore. I've tried the Too Faced Shadow Insurance and that's equally nice, and Rimmel also do a decent one if you're not needing super long staying power. The Urban Decay Naked Palette is still something I use but I've been mixing it up a lot more with my eyeshadow palettes. Maybelline's The Nudes Palette is a great neutral pick and I've been getting a lot of use out of the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette since I picked that up too.

I've had great luck with brows this year, from the Maybelline Brow Satin to the Soap & Glory Archery Pencil. I've given up on filling in with eyeshadow as it gives a less defined finish. For eyeliners I generally reach for either the Rimmel Scandaleyes ones or the Maybelline Master Drama. For mascara I've been using the MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara, it's not quite as voluminous as the Urban Decay combination but it's quicker and guaranteed to get a super black lash every time.

For lips, my collection has been growing and growing this year and it's something I'm always changing up. Interestingly, the lip products I've picked out my most used over the year follow the same kind of colour/texture combination as last years (I'm clearly a creature of habit) but not one of these is a repeat.

The Nars Soft Matte Lip Pencil in shade "Iberico" was a bright, matte orange-y red but in the last year I decided that it was maybe a little too orange for an everyday wearable pick and I've been reaching for the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the shade "Hot Pepper" a lot more. Still a matte orangey red and still a bright shade but this is more red than orange.

I have a new glossy, medium pink pick this year: the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in "404 - Cherries in the Snow". This is one of those iconic shades in the Revlon line and swatched next to last years pick the Estée Lauder Colour Envy Lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink" the Revlon pick is just a tiny bit deeper in tone.

My absolute favourite nude shade has been the Rimmel The One Lipstick in "700 Naughty Nude". Admittedly, this was something I picked up a little later in the last year but I've worn it at least once a week since I bought it and despite easy having a 50+ strong collection of lip products, this is one that I would instantly repurchase if I lost/finished it.

The January Blues

I'm not normally one to feel the January Blues but I have to hold my hands up this year: it's hit me pretty hard this January. So to make light of what is possibly a pretty grim time for at least some of us, I thought I'd run through my top 5 blues from a cosmetics side of things.

So something I've loved and used consistently for year is the Inglot Nail Enamel in "942". While Inglot are near impossible to source here in Manchester I picked this up on a trip to Belfast years ago and it's what's on my toes 9 times out of 10. The formula is lovely and it's a great, slightly deeper, electric blue with a metallic finish.

I've got 2 blue eye-liners. Firstly the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in "Gonzo". This is a great lighter blue option, it's slightly metallic in finish and has a bit of shimmer. It's a slightly warmer blue that I love to wear on the lower lash line and we all know I love the Urban Decay formula.

For a slightly more budget blue I love the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Kajal in "014 Bright Blue". This is a matte finish electric blue and I like this either smudged under the lower lash line, as a cat eye flick layered with a black liner to give a peek of colour, or as an eyeshadow base.

For blue eyeshadow, it's all about Urban Decay, I have a lighter option and a darker option. For those of you who like the lighter blues "Peace" from the Urban Decay Deluxe Palette is a great blue. I'm not sure if they still make this palette but the shade is still available as a single and very much like the "Gonzo" eyeliner, it's a light, slightly warm blue, metallic in finish.

My darker blue pick is from the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette (which I do have a full review on) and it's the shade "Danger". This is a great dark blue, a lot of people are calling this a navy but I think it's a bit brighter than a navy. There's a duo chrome finish that gives it a bit more vibrancy and it's such a versatile smokey shade.