Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

My Makeup Bag



Today I'd really like to share with you my every day makeup essentials. These are my basic items which are always in my makeup bag. I love to experiment with different makeup products, but I always have them few items which I always go back to.



Here's whats there:

Primer: Prep + Prime Skin Base
Foundation: Studio Fix Fluid NW20
Powder: Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus
Bronzer: Mineralize Skinfinish in Give me sun!
Blusher:  Warm Soul Mineralize Blush
Eyes: Paint pot in Painterly
Eyeliner: Blacktrack Fluid line & Engraved Powerpoint Eye Pencil. 
Mascara: False Lashes Extreme Black
Eyebrows: Spiked Eyebrow Pencil
Lipgloss: Ample Pink Plushglass.



Skin


I always use a primer underneath my foundation mainly because it keeps my foundation on a lot longer than if I just apply the foundation straight on to bare skin. I have tried a few primers but find the Skin Base by MAC to be the most effective. It calms and smooths the skin and reduces redness (which I find means less foundation is needed) It also blots away excess oil, and gives a smooth base to apply your foundation on top.  

I tend to have a lot of trouble with my skin because it doesn't fit in to one category.  Its sometimes dry, sometimes oily and I get break outs every so often. 
I still haven't found the perfect foundation for me (and believe me, I've tried them all!)
The Studio Fix fluid seems to be the best that I've tried so far. 
It is a matte finish full coverage foundation which exactly what I love about it. 
A little bit goes a long way with this foundation so you don't end up looking 'Caked' in makeup (as long as you use the right amount, if you put a lot on its going to look like a lot, obviously?)
The matte finish is great as it prevents your skin from looking oily or greasy throughout the day. I find this foundation gives me the coverage I want without having to use a concealer. Although if I have a few spots I use a small amount of Studio Finish Concealer to give that extra bit of coverage. 

The powder I use is Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus. I absolutely love this powder. It sets the foundation and gives that extra bit of coverage which helps your skin to look just that extra bit more flawless. It doesn't stick to any dry patches but also eliminates shine which is great for people like me with combination skin. 


Cheeks

The bronzer I normally use is Mineralize Skin Finish in Give Me Sun! As in the winter my skin is very fair I do need to be careful with this one. This powder is very pigmented so a little bit on the brush is all that's needed. I love this bronzer for the summer months as it gives a lovely glow and is the perfect colour to use when you have a tan!

My favorite blusher is also part of the Mineralize range and is called Warm Soul. It is a lovely Brown/Peachy shade with a slight shimmer. I use this just on the apples of the cheeks to add a colour and glow.

I normally use a cream colour base as a highlighter on my cheek bones and my favorite colour to use is hush. It has a slight pinky tone to it and a lovely pearlized finish which reflects the light beautifully.


Eyes


I always use a paint pot on my eyelids even if in not wearing any eyeshadow. The Paint pots are smudge and crease proof and prevent oily eyelids! If you wear an eyeliner like me these help to keep that in place too. I usually use the colour Painterly as it is the closest to my skin colour so looks very natural. These do come in several  different shades to suit everyone. 

The eyeliner I use is Blacktrack Fluidline. Its a gel based liner which means it glides on effortlessly  I use this eyeliner on my top lash line only.  I normally use my 210 precise liner brush to get a really sharp flick! 

I use Engraved Powerpoint eyeliner on my bottom lashline. I normally just draw it as close to my lashes as possible (not actually in the waterline, this can make your eyes look smaller and will also wear off quicker) and then just smudge it in with a brush.

My favorite mascara at the moment is False Lash Extreme black. It is a great lengthening mascara, but what I love about it the most is the brush. The brush is narrow at the tip and gets thicker towards the base, this defines each lash making your lashes look lovely and thick.


Eyebrows


I must admit, I do use several different products on my eyebrows depending on how I'm feeling. I sometimes use Mystery eyeshadow with a small angled brush. Or I use Dipdown fluid line mixed with a tiny bit on concealer to lighten it slightly. But my 'go to' eyebrow product has to be Spiked eyebrow pencil. This is the easiest, quickest and most convenient way to do your eyebrows. It is a twist up pencil so no need for sharpening, it has a really precise point so you can get a really sharp brow which I love, or you can get a softer looking brow by lightly drawing in the missing hairs. The only downside to this product is you can't tell when its about to run out, so I always carry a spare just in case! 


Lips


My all time favorite lipgloss is Ample Pink Plushglass! It is the perfect everyday pink. It doesn't have a sparkle in , just a simple gloss. The thing I love about it the most is its a Plushglass, this has a lip plumping technology in it that gives you fuller looking lips. I have fairly small lips so this is a perfect solution for me! 

Hope you found this post helpful, I would love to see what your everyday makeup essentials are!




Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Battle of the Brushes

Okay, so as a loyal MAC girl, I was a little apprehensive to try the RealTechniques brushes that I have heard so much about. But for such a reasonable price it seemed crazy not to give them a go.
 I firstly bought the core collection set, which I absolutely love! (Amazing value at just £14.66 at the moment on Amazon Get them here!) I will do a review on this set very soon!
But the brush I am going to review today is the Stippling brush
This was the main brush that I was really curious to try, as it was very similar in style to my trusty MAC 130 stipple brush!


I thought I would test it out and let you guys know what I think if it and how it compares to my MAC one.


Price

RealTechniques: £11.99

MAC: £29

Bristles

RealTechniques: Synthetic
MAC: Mixture of natural and synthetic


RealTechniques

Pros
Very reasonable and affordable price.
Available in most boots stores and several online company's such as amazon.
Eye catching pink handle
Has a flat base so can stand up
Good size brush head to apply foundation quickly and easily
Brush head size also makes this brush very easy to blend all areas of face (even under eyes) with ease. 

Cons
I did unfortunately find the bristles on the brush quite coarse.
  When applying foundation I felt the bristles prickling against my skin which wasn't the most comfortable experience.
I also found this brush a bit of a challenge to clean, the white bristles take a couple of goes to get sparkling clean again. Although on the plus side, the synthetic bristles do dry very quickly. 


MAC 130

Pros
Very soft bristles. Comfortable and pleasing to use.
This is a very durable and sturdy brush. It will last you years if looked after!
Applies foundation flawlessly with little effort, the brush does all the blending for you so no need for arm ache when trying to get a streak free flawless skin!
Bristles are dense enough to buff foundation all over the skin but flexible enough for an even application. 
This brush is very easy to wash and dry. A pea size of shampoo gets all product out quickly and the bristles dry within a few minutes. 
Can be used with cream, liquid or powder products, making it an extremely versatile brush. 

Cons
Is quite pricey so may not be affordable for all budgets.

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MAC #130 Stipple Brush
Price 3.5/5
Bristle 5/5
Application 5/5
Versatility 4/5
Overall 4.5/5

RealTechniques Stipple Brush
Price 5/5
Bristles 3/5
Application 3.5/5
Versatility 3.5/5
Overall 3.5/5

Okay, so the realTechniques brush hasn't won me over completely. Although it is a great alternative to the MAC 130 brush, the quality of the brush just isn't the same! 

Hope you found this review helpful, I would love to hear what you thought of these brushes? Or if you have a different favourite?