Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

I had been looking at this product for about three months before I finally popped it into my metaphorical basket for the final time and actually proceeded with the checkout, and I'll tell you why it took me so long;

i) There is no illamasqua store/concession anywhere near me and I hate trying to chose a foundation shade online.
ii) I'd heard really mixed reviews, some people loved it, some hated it.
iii) It comes in at around the £32.00 mark, which may not sound a lot to some of you, but for me that's preeeetty darn expensive for such a small amount of foundation.

I liked the idea of a second skin feeling foundation, something that hid your imperfections quite well but let your skin breathe and didn't make you feel like you'd applied poly-filler to your face. I used Illamasqua's handy little shade comparison chart and opted for the shade 11 which is a good enough match, although I think its a little on the pink side for me, especially as its comparison was NC35-NC40. 

I first used this foundation whilst getting ready for work, which was my first mistake. I needed plenty of time to get to grips with this one - not a half hour slot for all my makeup, and my second mistake? Using my Nanshy Flat Top brush to try and stipple it into my skin (its my favorite method of application dont'cha know). I hated it. And that is no exaggeration, I actually took it off and opted for a foundation that I get along well with. I threw it into the back of my "don't use" draw and forgot about it for a few weeks. 

However, on Thursday I decided my vanity needed a tidy up, organize and a clear out and I came across this foundation and thought to myself 'what a waste of money' and so I decided I would give it another go. 

I found that using a different primer to the one I had used previously actually helped the application of the Skin Base this time, and made it stick to my face a little better (last time it seemed really patchy) and my complexion looked a lot more even and using my fingers to blend and apply the foundation worked a whole lot better than my trusty Nanshy brush did.

As I mentioned before, the colour match was okay - just a little pink. I evened this out by using a Mac MSF in Medium Dark, which is quite yellow toned to set the foundation and neutralize the pink.

And so, I've been using the Illamasqua Skin Base in this way for the last few days and I'm starting to enjoy using it. My skin hasn't broken out at all (fingers crossed) and my makeup wears pretty well with this as a base. 

The packaging is pretty simple and hasn't really got a wow factor, and with the first few uses you can really struggle to get any of the product out of the squeezy bottle as its so stiff. However, its easy enough to keep clean and dispense the right amount from - I just think it would be jazz-ied up a bit!

Overall I'd say this is an okay foundation, not the worst I've ever used but nothing to write home about either. I probably wont be repurchasing this one when/if it runs out as its in no way my favorite and it has a pretty hefty price tag at £32.00.

I'm sure it would work better for girls who only need a very light base, but I don't tan my face (only my body) and so I like a full coverage foundation that can help me match up with the colour of my body. 

And the lesson I've learnt? Don't buy foundations or pricey products that you're not 100% sure about online without visiting a beauty counter first! Lets see how long I stick to that rule for!

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L'Oreal L'extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick

Despite usually being a bit timid when it comes to lip products, recently it feels as though I've been buying very little else and, here comes the strange bit, actually enjoying playing around with different glosses, lipsticks, crayons etc.

I have been reading about these 'liquid lipsticks' for some time now and I'll be honest, I thought they were another gimmick on the market to help us beauty fanatics to part with our cash. That was until I found myself online shopping a few days ago (no surprise there!), and one suddenly jumped into my cart.

L'oreal L'extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick By Color Riche in Nude Ballet £8.99

When this lipstick/gloss hybrid arrived through my letter box, I was quite excited to finally get my hands on one and see what all the fuss was about. Let me just say this, I don't think I've ever used a product like this before. I was expecting something like the NYX Lip Cream as the name would suggest. However, I found this product to be a very pigmented (lipstick like) gloss, that isn't super glossy and is long wearing. A strange one, but I like it. The colour that I chose is a lovely and very wearable pink nude which is super flattering and doesn't look too pale on the lips.

The packaging is quite luxurious for the reasonable price tag with its gold colored vial with a window so that you can see the shade inside. It has a lid that twists off to reveal a doe foot applicator which is very soft and easy to apply the product with. The product inside smells gorgeous, it smells very sweet without being too sickly and I didn't notice the fragrance at all after ten minutes of wear.

I gave this lip colour a proper trial run yesterday during a ten hour shift hosting a wedding at the country house hotel where I work. I applied it before my shift (2pm) and didn't need to reapply until around 6:30pm. That's a whopping 4 and a half hours of wear, pretty spectacular for a glossy product in my opinion. And I should mention, I was super busy rushing around and had been eating and drinking within those four and a half hours. Super impressive! One thing that I did notice was that even when the 'glossy' side of things had worn off, there was still colour pigmentation left on my lips - they were not completely bare.  

And then there were the compliments, I was complimented on the colour of my lipstick/gloss on four separate occasions throughout the day - more than usual for a nude lip colour and something that I wasn't expecting at all. 

Today (the day after wear) my lips do not feel dried out or in need of some tlc at all which they can sometimes after using a lip product for a lengthy period. I think I'm going to have to invest in some of the bolder shades of this range.

So if you're looking for a reasonably priced lipstick/gloss hybrid with an array of wearable shades, looks no further! Now, where did I put that bank card...?

Have you tried any of the L'Oreal L'extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks? What did you think to them?

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The daily face

Work day makeup

At this moment in time, I'm working two jobs. My day job is receptionist/admin work for a landscaping buisness & I go straight from there to my evening job of barmaid/waitressing. As you can imagine I need to be able to rely on my makeup to stay put and look good all day, so I thought I would share with you the products I use most days to help keep me looking fresh, awake and ready. My daily face! 

Step one: eyecream.

I suffer with really quite severe dark under eye circles & puffiness. I'm on my quest to find an eyecream that works for me. At the moment I'm really enjoying using the emu oil well eye cream, and it seems to be helping me. My eyes aren't as sore, don't leak (a real makeup ruiner) and I can definitely see a difference in the pigmentation in my dark circles.

Step two: primer.

For a work day primer I like to use something that's on the more affordable side that still works - this rimmel stay matte primer helps my makeup to go on really easily and last all day. 

Step three: foundation. 

I tend to save my more expensive foundations for special occasions or days out with my beau. However, this maybelline dream satin liquid although inexpensive, is one of my favourite foundations to use. It's definitely a full coverage foundation but for me that just means that it'll last all day without disappearing from my skin. It covers imperfections really well and doesn't settle into pores or lines.

Step four: bronzing. 

My chanel bronzer is my favourite ever bronzing product. I've gone a little back and forth with this one, I wanted it for so long, when I finally got it I wasn't so sure but now teamed with my nanshy flat top brush, I've fallen back in love! It gives a really natural bronze glow without making you look cakey. I much prefer it to a powder bronzer as it's so easy to blend and looks really natural once applied.

Step five: highlight.

Next I go in with my YSL touché éclat dupe, the loreal Paris lumi magique. I simple draw a triangle of this under each eye, a line down the bridge of my nose, under the brow bones and a little between the brows. This injects just a little highlight that is subtle but effective.

Step six: setting powder. 

Now the summer months are around the corner I have started to set my base with a tinted powder, enter the MAC msf in medium dark. It's the same-ish colour as my chanel bronzer so doesn't add anything or take anything away. It is a must have for setting everything in place, just to ensure nothing's going to slip around halfway through the day! 

Step seven: brows. 

I use my rimmel eyebrow pencil in dark brown. This is just a really quick and simple way to fill in my brows without doing anything too dramatic. It stays all day and leaves my brows looking well groomed. 

Step seven: mascara 

No eyeliner for work! I like to look fresh faced and awake, and I just don't have any time for eyeliner mistakes that take time to clean up and fix. I'm really loving maxfactors eye brightening mascara at the moment. I really feel like the tonal pigments in the mascara make my blue eyes pop! 

Step eight: blusher.

For a little bit of colour I go to MUA's powder blush in cupcake. This is a beautiful shade of peachy pink. I apply this with the real techniques blusher brush and blend in the direction of my temple. 

And voila! A very simple, everyday look that takes around 25 minutes to complete - which means more time hitting that snooze button! 

Do you have a work day makeup routine? Have you used any of these products? 

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