Autumn Wish List. - B

So this post is a little bit different to the ones I’ve written before, as I’m sure you can tell from the title. As opposed to reviewing new things that I’ve got, I thought I’d share with you guys the things that I would like in the future. Eg “wish list”. What used to frustrate me most about reading certain blogs, was that they only ever used to post about the lovely things that they had, and how amazing they are. It’s important to me (and Sam) that you guys know at the end of the day, we’re hardly made of money and for whatever reason we can’t just always go out and buy all of the things that we want. So I’m going to write about the things that I would like, and then if I’m lucky enough to get them, I’ll update you on it!

The first thing I would really like is touche éclat foundation. Especially since being bought the highlighter for my birthday and absolutely loving it. I have a few concerns about this foundation. Being a high end foundation, it  comes with a high end price tag. I also know that it can slide off oily skin. Although I’m not majorly oily, I’m unsure how this kind of foundation would sit on my skin. However, the finish looks so gorgeous. I’m going to look into getting a sample of this so I can try before I buy. NOTE. Eleanor Calder is known for using this foundation and her skin always looks beautiful.

Mac lipglass: I can’t really explain this one. I’m a big fan of the mac eye products, but as a brand I’m never sure about it. It’s quite a lot more expensive than high street brands, but it doesn’t quite make the high end bracket. I know some people that absolute love mac, and I will admit that some of their stuff is brilliant. But some of it, I personally think, is decidedly average considering the price tag. I always think that their lipsticks aren’t great, and the packaging just doesn’t do it for me. Buuuut, I would love a mac lipglass. I just think it looks lovely and I’ve heard such good things.

The third thing on my wish list is non beauty related, but still something I’ve been lusting after for a long time. I would really like, a parka. If you don’t know what this is, it’s basically a winter coat. Think Liam Gallagher in the music video for Little by Little. Again, this is another one of those real love hate things. Some of you will be reading this and going oh my god what the hell is she thinking! And some of you will know exactly what I mean. I have wanted one of these for as long as I can remember. Maybe when the weather is a bit more wintery I’ll be able to justify it!

Another thing on my wish list is something I’m sure Sam would be interested in as well. It is…. HD Brows! This is a craze that’s really taken off in the last year or so, helped along by looooads of celeb endorsement. Eyebrows are very in at the moment. Chunky fringes are gone and striking brows are back (Thank you, Cara Delevingne). HD brows come from a seven step procedure, involving a shape consultation followed by a mixture of threading, tweezing, plucking and tinting to leave you with perfect brows. This results really are amazing. Having well groomed brows can change the look of your whole face; and this is something that really can’t be achieved at home with a pair of tweezers. HD brows cost around £40, which seems pretty steep when you can get them waxed at your local salon for under £10, but there really is such a difference in the end result. As of yet I have not succumbed to this trend but the more people I’m seeing with HD brows, the more I want to.  

B xxo

Sammy's Monthly Favourites (August/September)

This month I've done things a little differently and done my monthly favourites as a video!

You can find it here; 

Sammy's Monthly Favourites (August/September)

We'll definitely try to update the youtube channel as much as we can (and hopefully I'll get better at it as we go along!) So please like and subscribe, all items talked about are written in the description and feel free to comment with what you think of the products because I always like to hear what others have to say. 

Thanks!

Sammy xo

Nars Sheer Glow

Hi guys! Let me please start of by saying I’m really sorry for the lack of blogging on my part lately…It’s been a crazy few weeks! What with starting a new job and some other things going on I’ve barely had time to blink. But I’m back on this now, I promise. If I slip up again, no doubt Sam will let me know about it!

Right, now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s kick off with what we’re here for. Nars Sheer Glow. I had heard an awful lot about this product lately. As a big fan of youtubers Tanya Burr and Zoella, along with many more, there really has been no escape from people raving about how good Sheer Glow is. I, of course, made a mental note to look into this more. And the more I heard about it, the more I wanted to try it out. I’ve never had a nars product before. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve only recently got back into high end makeup, so the whole Nars craze is new to me. I did a bit of research online, and found out that contrary to what I thought, there actually is a Nars counter not far from me. This, of course, is extremely dangerous (sorry, bank balance!). So when I went into the Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar, I made a beeline straight for Nars. My intention was to just have a little look around, get a feel for it all, and enquire about samples. This didn’t exactly pan out.

Everything on their counter looked sooo beautiful, and the sales assistant was super lovely. She told me that the only way they could give me a little sample would be if I took my only little bottle in for them to give me some. Not knowing this, I obviously didn’t have a sample bottle with me. I asked the lovely sales assistant about colour matching, and she told me that she could match me then, and try it out on me if I wanted. This was when the real trouble started. The lady told me that at Nars, they don’t tell you what shade to wear, it’s all about what you actually want to wear. If you don’t know anything about Nars: they split their foundation shades into 4 catagories. So the lady sat me down and showed me a card with the 4 colour categories on it, and asked me which one I thought would best suite me. I originally said number 2, so she showed me all of the colours in that group. I looked at the lightest shade, but when the sales assistant put it on my skin, we both agreed this was too dark, and ended up in the lightest category. I asked to look at mont blanc (I believe this is the shade that Zoella uses).

The lady tried it on my forehead – and I can honestly say that I have never had such a good colour match, in any make of foundation. She applied it to a large area of my forehead, and powdered it for me. Of course, I fell in love with it straight away. Yes, I did end up buying it there and then, oops! It must be said, I didn’t take much persuading. My experience at the nars counter was really lovely. The sales assistant was so helpful and I came out of there feeling like I’d bought the perfect product. Since then, I have used the foundation, a lot. It is amazing. Definitely the best foundation I have ever had. It is so so nice to finally have a foundation that is the right colour for my skin. As someone with combination skin, I admit that I was worried about how the “glow” element would sit with my skin. I had no need to be. The lady at Nars said they recommend the foundation be applied with fingers. This, of course, depends on what kind of finish you would like. I tend to put it on  my skin with my fingers, and then use a real techniques expert face brush to blend it in. Using small, circular motions with this brush gives an absolutely flawless finish.

This foundation really does apply so nicely. You don’t need a lot of product (always good when something is £30.50!) The finish is really beautiful. It really does make your skin look as though it is glowly. However, magically, it doesn’t make you look oily, and it sits really well on patches of your face that get oily anyway. I also have some dry areas and it glides over them really well. The staying power is also good. If you prime and powder it lasts all day with no need for top up. If you don’t prime and powder, it will still stay, but by 5pm the finish won’t be as gorgeous as when you left the house. I really cannot recommend this product enough. I absolutely love it, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is worth the high end price tag. Will definitely be repurchasing when I run out. Happy girl!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

So, in my constantly ongoing battle to find the perfect foundation, I recently purchased the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation. After reading and watching lots of people give it excellent reviews I thought it was worth trying it out myself. I have normal/combination skin with some dryness on my forehead and am very conscious of colour patches, meaning a good foundation is paramount to how I feel about myself. So I went out and bought the wake me up foundation from boots, for £8.99, in the lightest shade.
The packaging of this product is really nice. It comes in a glass bottle, making it feel much more expensive than it actually is. The bright orange lid is particularly eye catching, which I am also a fan of. However, the glass bottle does make it difficult to tell how much of the foundation you have left. Most days I don't use a lot of foundation, and this one hasn't lasted me as long as other high street brands. It has medium coverage but is definitely buildable. I often use a small amount on problem areas just to even out my skin tone, almost like a tinted moisturiser, and this works nicely. Alternatively when applying all over the face, I find that the foundation covers blemishes really well, and stays put all day. It has a natural looking, dewey finish and the tiny flecks of shimmer do give you a glowing look. I also really like that it has an SPF of 15, as we are going into the summer months this is important to me (look after your skin in the sun guys!)

The main problem I have with this foundation, is that the lightest shade is too orange toned for my skin, which is a real shame because I like everything else about. Yes, I am pale, but not really any more than the average non fake tanning English teenager. Therefore I think it's a bit rubbish that Rimmel don't cater for my skin tone. The range of colours to choose from was very limited. The pump allows you to dispense just the right amount out of the bottle, and it has a really lovely, fresh cucumber smell.
To sum up, I liked this foundation. The coverage is good, and can be build up depending on personal preference. It can be applied with fingers or a brush and is really easy to blend. The finish does have that "wake me up" effect that it claims, but I wouldn't recommend it for oily skin. Yes, it is suitable for sensitive skin, and it does smell lovely. For the price, I think it was a good buy. But due to the mismatch of colours I will not be repurchasing.
If you're reading this, thanks! And I hope it helps if you're thinking of buying this foundation.
B xxo

Barbara Daly Soufflé Foundation

I’ll be the first to admit, me and foundation have a long running love/hate relationship. As a girl very rarely seen in public without foundation, I consider it a necessity and yet I’m still struggling to find a foundation I’m willing to have a long term relationship with. Having said that, I’m currently using Barbara Daly Souffle Foundation in “Soft Linen” (£7.25 for 20ml) and I’m fairly pleased with the results.

The packaging is fairly basic, a clear plastic pot allowing you to see the colour and a black lid bearing the product name and the Barbara Daly symbol, but makes it look slightly more upmarket than other products of a similar price. For the amount you get, the foundation is pretty fairly priced, around the same price as similar soufflé foundations that I’ve tried (and abandoned) in the past. A 20ml pot can last me around 6 weeks, and given that I often get more than one pot in one go thanks to tempting Tesco 3-for-2 offers, for under £15 I can usually get around 4 months worth of foundation.

The coverage of the foundation is good, though can quickly look thick if I'm slightly too heavy handed . However, it looks soft and natural for the most part , with a light matte finish with the slightest of coverings, even for someone with oily skin like me, however, the make up does catch awkwardly on dry patches of skin . The make-up has a soft feel to it and has a flawless look without the need of concealer if applied with the fingers (in my experience, application with a brush leaves unsightly lines throughout) but as waitress , running up and down the stairs and… ahem… perspiration is part of my everyday job so one important factor for me is how well the make-up lasts. I know, I know, I could just use primer but, I’ll be honest, I always forget to buy it when I’m searching for make-up essentials, and so I like a foundation that lasts well without the need for it. This does, for the most part, although often even if I haven’t been in work I find it’s rubbed off my forehead and my nose by the end of the day if I don’t find the time to top it up. It’s not the end of the world, but it is a niggly problem I find I have with this foundation that I haven’t encountered with others.

One of my biggest issues with this foundation (and most other foundations) is skin match. As a girl who is horrendously pale but with pinkish undertones, I find it really difficult to find matches with my skin, which I still think is weird given that I assume it's fairly common. However, I do find that soft linen isn’t too bad, but is perhaps slightly more orangey than I might like, and I have to admit I find this with a fair few other Barbara Daly products.

Overall, I feel like I’m not appalled by this foundation, but it’s not a love affair of any kind. It’s a foundation of fair quality that lasts fairly well,  but no doubt it will be forgotten by the end of the year and replaced by something new (although admittedly that might just be down to a personality trait!)

Sammy xo