Stunningly Flawless.

Illamasqua –

Powder Foundation in shade 150

As you all know I love my Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. However, I’m not one for taking it around with me, along with all my brushes and everything else. I like having a single, easy to carry around compact, which does everything I need for throughout the day touch-ups. I usually have the Clinique Almost Powder Makeup, which is amazing for touch ups thought the day…nightmare when you start to hit pan. However, I’m really impressed with Illamasqua’s products so far, therefore thought I would give another one of their products a try.

This was the main reason I went to Leeds, they have their own store there, and the staff is always ready to help. I explained that I wanted something to put in my bag throughout the day; just for touch ups. They advised that their powder foundation would be best for me, after trying it on my skin I really liked it. It isn’t too heavy, nor is it cakey, it looks really natural and gives your skin a flawless look. So…lets get on with the review of the foundation itself.

Illamasqua describes this power by saying; "Be the star of your own drama. The mainstay of film and theatre make-up artists, Illamasqua Powder Foundation glides over your skin, covering blemishes, correcting skin tone and leaving a shine-free look that lasts all night. Create a stunningly flawless base that begs to be touched. Comes in a mirror compact for touch-ups on the go.”

First of all I love the packaging, that's one thing Illamasqua do incredibly well. Illamasqua have a dark gothic edge going on with their products. When it comes to powder foundations I like the compact to be housed in a box, simply to protect the compact, collect any loose powder and to place in my bag for on the go, without worry of loose foundation ruining the inside of my bag. The powder foundation comes in beautiful sleek black casing, with the brands logo on the very top of the case and the brands name on the catch to open the case.

When using the included powder puff the foundation sweeps over the skin like a dream. Effortlessly covering blemishes and uneven skin tone leaving a shine free smooth finish. It can also be applied with a brush for a lighter coverage. The coverage is sheer and has an extremely lightweight feel. It feels amazingly soft when applied, and you can never over apply, so this perfect for those who are rather heavy handed. This foundation is also wonderful at mattifying the T-zone and is perfect at providing coverage for redness of the skin. 

I find the coverage to be quite buildable; I can get a natural to medium look. No matter how much I apply the coverage never looks heavy or cakey but this foundation does not offer full coverage. On a day-to-day basis I always go for a natural look so this foundation is perfect for me. If I were aiming for a fuller coverage I would apply liquid foundation instead, and set it with this compact foundation, as its also perfect for setting liquid and cream foundations.

As for lasting power, I can get around 6 hours from it but as it’s a compact foundation I can re-apply any time I need, but I never really need to.

All in all this is a great foundation and it's perfect for those with oily to combination skin, who want a sheer coverage to mattify their T-zone. There are so many different shades available I would find it hard to believe that there wasn’t a shade for everyone. It retails for £23 for 10g, which I personally think is really good, especially for such an amazing powder foundation.

Overall I'm really happy with this purchase; I think its money well spent.

Pure Pigment.

Illamasqua -

Pure Pigment in Beguile

I went into Illamasqua wanting a powder foundation, review coming soon. However, due to just finishing my university essays for the year, I thought I would treat myself...therefore I picked up this little beauty. Everybody meet Illamasqua's Pure Pigment in Beguile. Illamasqua describe this as a 'light shimmer'. Going on to state 'Made to be played with. A metallic, high-shine, pure-colour powder that highlights eyes, cheeks and brows. Mix with eye shadow, blusher or use it on its own to intense effect'.

This a beautiful, bright shimmer, which is silvery white with multi-coloured reflects with a sandy texture. This is just a stunning eye shadow that really sparkles and looks phenomenal in person, mainly because it needs movement to really come alive...but seriously, be ready to fall in love when you see this in person.

Before buying this I had read many reviews on Illamasqua's Pure Pigments, they all concluded that sometimes they can be rather difficult to apply. Leading to rather a lot of fall out, but also dropping down onto the cheek, overall making your face a big glittery mess. HOWEVER, when I began looking at these and swatching them on my hand, the assistant offered to show me how best to apply it to the eyes...god send! Now, brace yourself. She applied this to both eyes, one using a brush, equalling a mass of fall out and glitter going all over the place...total mess. On the other eye she applied it using her finger...you hear me right...her finger *gasps*. Now, I'm the first to say that I never use my fingers to do my make up, but seriously...it worked a miracle. There was no fall out, it didn't drop onto my face, it stuck in place perfectly and the result was just incredibly beautiful!

I did try to take many photos of this, however its not the easiest to photograph. Therefore, I would seriously encourage you all, to run to your closes Illamasqua counter and look at it in person. It retails for £15.50, a splurge I know, but its totally worth it in every way!

Leeds Mini-Haul

I don’t usually do hauls, however I thought it was a good way for you all to see what I’ve bought whilst in Leeds. I didn’t buy much, because my boyfriend wants to buy me things. Therefore, I only buy the things I really need. So here you go:

·      Illamasqua Powder Foundation in shade 150

·     Illamasqua Pure Pigment Eyeshadow in Beguile

·      Illamasqua Freak Eau De Parfum

·      No7 Extreme Length Extend Mascara

·      Simple Kind To Skin Pore Minimising Toning Cleanser

·      Essie Nails Base Coat - Grow Stronger

I will be doing individual reviews on all of these products, once I’ve gave them a thorough trying out…some will take a little longer then others.

High-Street Alternative.

Sometimes I don’t have the money to spend on high-end make up, and when I’m running ridiculously low on something, I sometimes try a highstreet alternative. This either ends with me falling in love (rare) or running for the closest department store (more likely). Never the less, I always like trying high-street products and sometimes you do come across gems that are just incredible. Therefore I thought I would show you a few things I bought in the last couple of months and my thoughts on them.

Garnier Oil-free BB Cream - £9.99

The packaging is quite an elegant slim line squeezy tube with a pointy tip. Scent wise - it is fragrance free so doesn't smell much, which is a massive bonus. The texture of the Garnier Oil-free BB is very runny. Never the less, it is exceptionally easy to spread and doesn't set too quickly so you have time to work it. The finish is surprisingly beautiful. It's a nice soft matte, very skin like. It is light to almost medium coverage and is particularly good at hiding areas of redness. The oil control is good, but not fantastic. I am oily on my nose and I still need to apply a mattifying primer to this area before applying the cream. I love the finish of this. Count me very surprised. It lasts around 8-10 hours and makes my skin feel so silky. I happily wear this when I’m just going to university, work placement or anywhere I don’t think needs me to use my high-end, much more fuller coverage foundation.

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer 002 - £6.99

I bought this because I wanted a cheap matte primer to use under my Garnier BB Cream, instead of using my rather expensive illamasqua primer. It states that the primer will will “smooth, resurface, brighten, mattify and protect” as well as make your foundation last longer (if you choose to wear it under make up). It definitely did the latter – my make up stayed in place and still looked fresh by 8pm – despite putting it on 12 hours earlier! As for the other “5 in 1″ things, I wasn’t too sure. Smooth, yes, brighten, yes, but protect? Protect against what? It has no SPF in it, so I wasn’t too sure what this primer was “protecting” me against. Despite this, the first time I used it I was just amazed. It made my skin so smooth and my BB Cream went on so nicely over the top of it. No patchiness or caking like with other high-street primers I have tried. Overall first impressions…very impressed, never the less I will keep using it and keep you updated if my view of this primer changes in any way.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19

Firstly I apologise about there being no photo, my tube of this gets so much use it looks rather horrific at the minute, it also has no writing on it due to it rubbing off. I'm REALLY impressed with this concealer. For the price it’s an absolute steal for the high quality. It's thick and creamy so provides a good coverage, but isn’t cakey and is easily blended into foundation. It comes in 4 different shades and they are all so very different, currently I have shade 3 which is medium, however next time I might try 2 which is lighter, just to see if it blends that bit better with my false tan wearing off lighter foundation.

I totally recommend this concealer for anyone after a new concealer with staying power and good coverage. Don’t be put off by the cheaper brand (guilty makeup snob right here), it’s most definitely a drugstore product deserving a chance.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation - £7.99

I received a tester of this foundation when it first came out. The best thing about this foundation for me, and the thing that intrigued me the most, is the fact that it contains no oils or waxes…'no nonsense' being the selling point of the Fit Me range. However, this foundation just wasn’t for me. I have rather sensitive skin with an oily t-zone and it definitely didn’t like this foundation at all. Within about an hour of applying this foundation it began to somewhat disappear and slide off my face, and it just wasn’t a pretty sight. I did try to apply another lighter layer on top but the same seemed to happen again and it was just become cakey and felt heavy on my skin. Another down side was that when I took it off at night my face was ridiculously red and not at all happy. Usually I give foundations another try to see if it works better, however with this I don’t think I will risk it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - £3.99

This is something so many bloggers rave about, and therefore I thought I would try it. I have it in shade 5, which is a really good match to my skin/foundation. Rimmel claims it contains natural minerals that help control shine for up to 5 hours and it also helps minimise the appearance of pores. For me this just didn’t live up to my hopes. I don’t usually use powder anyway, my past experiences have been that it makes your face really cakey and doesn’t really do much. This was for me no different. At first it looked nice, and gave me a lovely matte look, however soon it began to cling to any dry areas on my face, and also set into my pores. It just wasn’t good at all. I tried just using it throughout the day when I was becoming a little shiny, but it just looked shocking, I found it easier and better just to blot my skin and maybe add a little extra foundation over the area. Its cheap enough to try, and for some people it might work, for me…I wouldn’t use it again.

Rimmel Apocalips - £5.99

The Apocalips range is a type of lip-gloss/lipstick hybrid aka lip lacquer; they have all the pigmentation of a lipstick and the sheen of a gloss without any stickiness. The consistency of these products is what impressed me the most. They are really creamy and opaque. The applicator has a little well in the center that collects product so you can apply it with only one or two dips. However, sometimes it can be a bit of a nightmare when you want to get it exactly perfect, therefore I prefer to just us a brush to apply it. The product has a satiny finish that actually dries quite matte, so it can get a little dry after a few hours, however I just put a bit of balm or lip-gloss over the top to give my lips a bit of hydration then it’s it looks good as new. The staying power is fantastic. The bright colours especially, stay on my lips for hours and hours, even after eating! The 'scent' of these are slightly off putting, it’s very plastic-y and fake smelling. Overall, I think these products are really good, but not fantastic. Lovely packaging, the colours are ok, and the formula is good for the price

No7 Extreme Length Extend Mascara (fibre enriched formula) - £12.95

This mascara is amazing. Personally, I think it can give any high-end mascara a run for its money. I’ve done a much more in-depth review here. Trust me, it’s definitely worth a read.