Top 10 Under £10 - Complexion

The final instalment of the top 10 under £10 series here in Skint-tember is going to be focusing on all things complexion. This was a difficult one as even high-street base products often creep up to and beyond that £10 limit and there's a few amazing high-street base products that I love that didn't make it into the list on price, but here's the one's that made the cut:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, L'Oreal generally hit the nail on the head when it comes to base products and this list contains two foundations from them that are great. The True Match Foundation is a lovely light feeling foundation that's got a good build-able coverage and it lasts well on the skin, the shade range is amazing and it comes in just under budget at £9.99, easily comparable to much more affordable formulas and I'm more than happy to say that this is probably the best high-street foundation I've tried.

My second L'Oreal pick is there Infallible Matte Foundation, this is the one in the squeeze-tube packaging, again nice feel on the skin, good coverage, long-lasting. The shade range on this isn't quite as good at the True Match but the packing is very travel friendly. Best of all? This one's slightly more affordable at £7.99.

And finally for foundations, I thought I'd give the Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation, at £7.99 it's another one that's not going to break the bank and it's just a bit different. This foundation feels almost like a moisturiser on the skin and the coverage is build-able but it looks so much like skin. The thing I like most is the way it covers redness well but still lets my freckles peek through and it's a lovely comfortable formula with a decent shade range.

When I heard that New Look had released a make-up range I was all up for trying some bits but the stand was quite overwhelming and I only came out with a couple of bits but their Pure Colour Concealer is amazing. At just £3.99 it goes on like an eye-cream and the coverage is nice as well. The packaging does look a little bit cheap and the product doesn't actually say what it is once you take it out of the box which is a little bit annoying but the click-y pen style applicator is nice and the formula is clearly hat they're put the budget into.

I'd been looking for the perfect pale-skin contour for a while with no luck until I stumbled across the Maybelline Master Sculpt, this highlighting and contouring duo comes in at £6.99 and it's the perfect subtle contour for fair skins, not too grey, not too orange, not too dark. Love.

An oldie but a goodie is the ELF Studio Blush in "gotta glow" which is more of a highlight than a blush. It's great for the new "strobing" trend and it's the perfect way to lift the face if you wake up feeling a bit tired. I dust this under the eyes and on my chin, nose and forehead to bring some dimension to the face and it's lovely. At £4.50 it's not one of ELF's cheapest products but it's a solid pick.

And we'll finish things up with a few blush picks. When it comes to blush, MaxFactor are pretty much the brand to go to. Their Creme Puff Blushes are a lovely powder formula that bring a lot of glow to the cheeks, at £8.99 they're the priciest of my blush picks but the shade range is lovely , I think "Nude Mauve" is a particularly unique shade for the high-street. If you prefer a cream blush then their Miracle Touch Creamy Blushes are also really nice, slightly cheaper at £6.99 a piece, the packaging isn't the nicest but the formula is great and they're great for travel as they're so dinky.

If you want a standard one-shade blush the L'Oreal True Match Blushes are great. Lovely pigmentation and compact packaging all for £7.69. The shade "160 Peach" has been the only blush I've reached for since I picked it up a few weeks ago, it just brings so much life to the face. It also comes with a brush in the bottom of the compact but the brush is quite firm and the formula is quite pigmented so I'd recommend using a soft, fluffy blush brush instead.

The Baby Beauty Blender (and How it Compares to the Original)

A few of you may remember a post I put up a while ago about how I'd finally managed to get myself a Beauty Blender (about time too!). After the success of that particular purchase, and because I just can't help myself (the Beauty Ban is over, yay!) I decided to pick up the mini version to see how that one works, and here's my thoughts.

Okay, so my first though, honestly, was "light green? seriously" because from the very first use, my cute little makeup sponge has looked hideous. While the original Beauty Blender got the colour pretty good with the pink, I think the orange colour that Real Techniques picked for their Miracle Complexion Sponge is the best colour for a makeup sponge I've seen, just because it doesn't make you feel like you're dabbing yesterdays makeup all over your face. Also, the Beauty Blender Micro Mini is about 1/4 the size of the original and is marketed for concealing and highlighting.

So other than the aesthetics, my feelings are pretty mixed, while the small size does make the mini one really nice for concealing under the eyes because the shape fits nicely under the eye, I think for highlighting it's too small as it doesn't diffuse the product the way I'd normally apply my highlight. The small size also doesn't help the ease of application, as the Beauty Blender sponges are very soft, the small size feels a bit flimsy to hold and it makes the application a bit clumsy at times.

So all in all, not my favourite. I will continue to try it out to see if there's a way I really like to use it, but for now, it's just not something that I'm reaching for. If you've found a way that this is amazing for you I'm all ears.

My Manic Monday-Morning Make-up Routine

Being a creature of habit, my weeks follow a very similar structure and Monday has recently become my gym day. Straight from work every Monday I hit the gym, do my 2 classes and get my self home for some well deserved dinner. Working in an office environment means I can't just rock up to work in my sweats with my greasy hair up in a pineapple-like fashion, so I've come up with this routine which means I can get away with long-overdue-a-wash hair and gym-bag combo.

So firstly, that hair needs to go. I slick it up into a high bun, secure with hair pins and load it up with hairspray, and while I hold no loyalty to a particular one I'm currently using the Professional Touch Salon Hairspray High Shine Extra Hold Curl Control (what a mouthful!). It holds buns and curls a like without that crispy feeling and smells pleasant, if a bit strong.

I'll then get to work on make-up, with it being a Monday morning I've more than likely woken up slightly later than planned so a quick work-appropriate look for me consists of this: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in shade "3", it's a nice coverage that blends best with fingers and matches my skin perfectly. I then go in with the Urban Decay Nake Skin Concealer in "Fair Neutral" where I need it. A light dusting of Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot Powder to set my base and a bit of the Benefit Sugar Bomb Box O' Powder on the cheeks for a slightly rosy flush.

With base done I tight-line with Lord & Berry's Polish Eye Pencil in "5071 Mirror Black" and line my lower water line with Rimmel's Skandaleyes Waterproof Khol Kajal in "Nude". I then wiggle some MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Volume and Curl mascara through my lashes and tame unruly brows with Maybelline's Brow Satin in "Medium Brown".

All quite simple, standard stuff, right? Then to top it all off and make it look like I've put some effort in, I've been gravitating to a bold lip. Now I love my reds and I'll always go back to them but lately I've found a bold pink to be my go-to lip colour. It just seems more statement than a red. The one I've been picking up a lot is the Nars Satin Lip Pencil in "Yu" and it is b-e-autiful. I've just been finding that a bold lip is the best way to distract from a bad hair day and livens up an otherwise lack-luster make-up. And the best bit, just remove the bold lip with a make-up wipe and you're ready for the gym. Genius.

My New Favourite Concealer

So my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer was starting to feel a little dried out, and as much as I loved it, I wanted to try something new and I stumbled across this: the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. First of all, can we talk about the packaging? So sleek, so simple and so pretty. It just looks lovely in my make-up drawer. The texture is lovely, even more liquid than the Nars and just as good at covering.

The applicator is a bit strange. It's a doe foot like most liquid concealers but the nib is very bendy when you apply it to the face, this allows you to spread a thin layer over a bigger surface area if you apply a bit of pressure or for pin-point concealing just use a light hand to dot it onto the areas you need it. Its great. I usually apply it under my eyes and around my nose and then use my finger to blend it out (although you could probably use a brush or sponge). If i'm using it on blemishes I put the product onto my finger from the applicator and then dab it onto the spot for hygiene reasons.

The biggest selling point for this product for me is the shade selection. Being Urban Decay their base products go super pale and that was my main problem with the Nars. On a day where I was wearing a foundation that warmed my complexion up, I could just about get away with their lightest shade "Vanilla" but on a no-foundation day it came up so orange on my skin. I use the Urban Decay in the shade "Fair Neutral" and it's a pretty prefect match for my natural skin tone. Also works really well with my Loréal True Match Foundation, which is anothr one of those rare products that matches my skin tone pretty perfectly.