The pale girls best friend

If you always go for foundations in the shade "Ivory" and they're still not pale enough for your skin tone, this post is for you. I too am a pasty, pasty white girl and I've got a secret that just might help.

 Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - in White

If you're like me you'll know the struggle of trying to find a foundation. You probably have a stash of 3 or 4 foundations that you tried but were just too dark or orange for you. 

This not only puts those products to good use but it has opened up a whole variety of foundations for me. Foundations that I could never have used before because of their shade range. I just squeeze a small amount to the back of my hand and mix it into the foundation I want to use. I know at £32.50 this is an expensive product for many people, but I feel it is worth the price. Firstly because it now allows me to use many highstreet foundations. And secondly in using it this way it will also last you an incredibly long time. 

It is also really good as a highlight for pale skins. If you like contouring but haven't found a highlight that works for you then definitely give this a try. It's annoying that lots of concealers or brighteners I see people recommend for highlighting are actually 1 shade darker than my skin. Personally, it's rare that I ever fully contour as I like a more natural base. However I have to say I've used this for nights out and it makes my skin look flawless. I apply it before my foundation to the areas I want to bring out/highlight, such as my cheek bones and jawline. Then apply a cream contour to the hollows of my cheeks/my temples/under the jawline, then simply buff my chosen foundation colour over the top of this. Not only does this give a more defined look, I found it also helped even out any discolouration.

One thing this product is not for is to be used as an actual foundation. Although I like to joke I'm as white as a piece of paper, I am not. And neither are you. Slapping white foundation all over your face will not look good. So, if you are after a whole new foundation then Illamasqua are a great brand anyway in providing products that suit every skin tone. The skin base foundation in itself is a beautiful foundation and shade 02 is the best foundation I've come across for pale skin.

Do you have any recommendations for us pale girls? If so, I'd love to hear them!

Chloë
x

H&M Beauty: Facemasks

I went into my local h&M last week to see they had totally re-launched their beauty range. I'd never tried any of their beauty products from their old line as they never appealed but they're now packaged to look high end with a great selection of products.

These face masks in their bright packaging are what first caught my eye however I have since picked up other things from their make-up, haircare and bodycare lines and I'm sure there will be another post on those to follow.
What appealed to me with these was the names of each of them, involving fruits and plants with scents you don't often find. They are each priced at £1.99 and you can purchase them from here.

The 4 I decided on were:

Raspberry Leaf

A peel-off mask with vitamin E for combination skin

Kiwi and Watermelon

A self warming face mask with pear fruit juice for combination skin

Cucumber and Aloe

A cooling peel-off mask with passion flower and lotus blossom, for tired skin

Charcoal and Pumice

A exfoliating face mask with walnut and fig for tired skin

Although they come in individual pods (which are great for travel) there is 10ML of product which is enough for you and a friend or partner. Or you could also save what's leftover in a small travel container and use it up to two times more.

One mask that looked slightly unusual to me was the charcoal and pumice mask. Now charcoal is often used in face masks to help clear skin but I'd not used that paired with an exfoliant before. It's a gritty texture that you apply and leave for 10 or so minutes. It will harden like a typical mask but as you wash it off the pumice takes away any dead skin sells leaving your skin clean and smooth.

 I enjoyed using this however if you have very sensitive skin the exfoliation may irritate your skin as the grains are quite abravive for a scrub. I'm used to using a liquid/chemical exfoliant rather than a scrub however I would still use this and will do when my skin is looking dull. 

Have you tried anything from h&m beauty yet? Comment and let me know you're favourites!

Here's some other products from the range that are on my wishlist.

xox

Summer Make-up Bag

So it's not news I haven't written a post in a while. Okay, I haven't since February.

Since then there's been so many things I've found and have loved that I could write about. Rather than writing lots of reviews I thought I'd give you a peak into my make-up bag from the last couple of months.

Lots of things I've found and loved bundled into one!

The Base

So I've never spoken about the Dr.Jart BB cream before but it's incredible. It feels like it does wonders for your skin, it has a beautiful glow to it with a dewy finish and it's SPF 25. It just makes you look instantly healthy. Annoyingly it only comes in one shade so it's more of a summer product for me as I'm usually super duper pale. But don't get me wrong, it's not dark and will work for most people, I'm just the whitest person ever. It's often on offer so I'd suggest waiting to get the best price.

I've been wearing this just with the Collection concealer and sometimes a dusting of MAC Mineralize SkinFinish (which I couldn't find to photograph).

As for the All Nighter Setting Spray, you need this in summer. My skin used to eat make-up.

Cheeks

Mary-Lou Manizer is a bit of a full on highlighter. You need the smallest amount but it's stunning.

NARS Laguna is just, well, a classic bronzer. Love it.

Eyes

I was looking for a highstreet eye primer and came across the Soap and Glory one which definitely makes a difference. I put my most used MAC shades in quad and recently the look I go for is Naked Lunch all over, Charcoal Brown and Soba in the crease and Mulch for a smokey look in the evenings.

Lips

The YSL in Peach Passion is my go to summer shade. I think it's definitely worth the money. Recently I've found Macaroon by Topshop which is a pink shade with a bit of peach to it which I think is lovely too!

Dr.Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Soap & Glory It's About Prime

NARS Laguna Bronzer

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof

Topshop Macaroon Lipstick

YSL Rouge Volupte Peach Passion

MAC Quad inc. Charcoal Brown, Naked Lunch, Soba & Mulch

Real Techniques Blusher Brush

Real Techniques Contour Brush

Zoeva 104 Buffer

Zoeva 227 Soft Definer (x2)

Zoeva 231 Petit Crease

MAC 266

xox

January Favourites

Why have I always felt the need to write an intro for these?
It's my favourite beauty items from January.. 

MAC Lipstick in Chatterbox (Amplified) - £15

This was in my stocking at Christmas (thanks Santa!) and although I'd seen the colour in pictures and wanted to try it, I had no idea how beautiful it really was. It might even be my favourite lipstick ever, it's definitely up there. It's creamy and a fantastic lipstick, as always from MAC, but oh my the colour! It's a bright colour but I think incredibly wearable even for the day.

I am sorry, but you need this.

Zoeva Brushes Starting at around £5

So these are a German brand and because they were so cheap I didn't mind getting them direct and paying for the shipping. Seriously they're worth it and arrived so quick! They're such good quality for the price and I'm so impressed with them. They don't shed any hairs and withhold their shape (and I'm talking seriously, I clean my brushes in IPA). They've just released new sets so worth checking those out. I personally love 104 Buffer (as you can tell by the colour of it, gross), the 227 Soft Definer and the 102 Silk Finish.

Clinique City Block Sheer SPF 25 - £17

Yes, I moved to London and immediately bought this. And yes, I'm a complete sucker and the beauty industry makes a fortune from me. I'd heard good things and was looking for a daily SPF to put under foundation. I'm a really pale skin and should always wear an SPF despite the weather, which I never used to do. This also comes in SPF 40 and it's beautifully lightweight. It has a sheer tint, but it's honestly sheer that even men could use this. However for very dark skins I'd say to try it first as it may give a grey look. I love it and think it actually works well as a primer or by itself to brighten the face.

Jessica Quick Dry Oil - £9.55 

Bought this on a whim because I hate waiting for my nails to dry and now I can't paint them without it. There's other products out there that claim the same thing but this is the first I've tried. It's revolutionary.  Well, it dries your nails super quick. I don't know how I lived without it.

All new finds this month and I'm pleasantly surprised.

Have you tried any new products that you've loved?

Travel Beauty Bag!

So this is a really random thing to write about, so I'm sorry I'll keep it short, but this was just too cute!

Hanging Wash Bag, Primark £4.

See, cute right?
I saw this and couldn't stop myself from picking it up for my holiday to Greece (that's now only 3 weeks away!!). It's a folding wash bag that hangs on the back of doors, sounds boring but it would seem if you put a cute pattern on the front it turns into the best thing ever.

The hearts are like lattice cut outs with the pink material underneath showing through!

So I'll tell you about how very practical it is and what a sensible buy it was. It's great to keep things organised with four zip pockets including one that's removable. It hangs on the back of doors.. which is handy? Okay! Okay, so I bought it because it was pretty. 

 To make this post vaguely more interesting (for all of you who came to my blog hungry for a make-up post) I thought I'd include some travel size beauty products that I plan to take with me on my holiday.

So from top to bottom:

- MAC lipstick in Girl About Town
- NARS, Laguna Bronzer
- Aveda Botanical Kinetics Purifying Creme Cleanser, 40ml
- Soap & Glory, Flake Away 50ml

- Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant, 50ml

- Piz Buin Transparent Sun Spray SPF 30
- Phil Smith Colour Illuminating Conditioner, 50ml
- TRESemme Heat Defence, 60ml
TRESemme Extra Hold Hairspray 100ml

Let me know if you liked this post and what you take away with you for holidays!

Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle

Chanel Rouge Coco in No5, Mademoiselle. - £24

I've always wanted a Chanel lipstick, especially Chanel Coco. The adverts appealed to me even when I was young, before I probably owned any lipstick,. 

They were beautiful, glamorous, and classic.

I'm now eighteen and I feel a step closer to being a lady. 

 On a day to day basis, I don't wear lipstick. I'll wear a bold red lip on days I really make an effort with my make-up, however this leaves my make-up on other days looking very unfinished. I wanted a shade I'd get a lot of use out of. This never leaves my handbag, I wear it so often and it's beautiful. It's a beautiful colour, a very natural pink-red that is so easily worn.  Looking closely it has a slight shimmer in it too.

 It's a very moisturising which keeps my lips hydrated the whole day and it's lovely and creamy to apply. Because of that I thought the colour wouldn't last long, but it does last for around 6 hours and a tint of it will last all day. Which to me I think is fantastic. 

The lighting in this photograph is more true than the first.

I think what I really love about it though is how it makes me feel. 

Beautiful, glamorous and classic.

Taking a minute out of your everyday life, a day where I'm running around non stop, to apply this lipstick just adds a little luxury. From the classic Chanel packaging, the click as you open it, the feel of the lipstick and maybe even the glamorous price tag that comes with it. It just adds something that you don't get from a normal lipstick. 

The only problem now is that I want to try other colours.

This blog post has been a long time coming, I found it hard to put into words why I love it so much. However, it's done! I'm considering a lipstick post every Monday, what do you guys think?

May Favourites!

June is here and it brought the sunshine!

Which means it's about time I do another post on all the things I've had a little love affair with this month. You'll notice there was no April favourites, and that's because April was the worst.

Dove Summer Glow - £4.99

The packaging claims it's the UK's No.1 gradual self tanner and personally for me it is. The majority of May had awful weather and I was starting to think there would be no summer at all. I love this gradual tan as it's so easy and builds up to such a nice colour. It's also incredibly cheap, yay!

Perfect now the weathers picked up and I can show off my legs.

Use with...

Fake Bake Skin Smoothie, special dry-oil spray - £11.25

If you haven't tried this and always get horrible patches around your knees, elbows and ankles when you tan, go get this now! This isn't really essential for gradual tanning as they're moisturising and tend to avoid this problem, but I still use it every time. Because it's the best. Spritz over dry areas before tanning, then when applying tan just lightly drag it over these areas. 

I love these both just because of how beautiful they smell!

Fudge Urban Iced Raspberry & Vanilla Hair Spray - £4.99

That already sounds delicious right? Very good hairspray in "strong hold" but I feel I love it for the fragrance. I love fragranced hair sprays as that's so much better for you than actually spritzing a perfume through your hair which some people do. 

Just noticed Fudge do a styling mouse with the same scent, uhoh! This will quickly turn into an addiction.

The Body Shop, Vanilla Body Mist - £7.50

Massive "meh" to May Favourites, this would be in my yearly favourites. For the past two years and forever more. I love the smell of Vanilla, I just love it. I spray this all over my body and I smell of Vanilla all day. Even my boyfriends noticed and said he likes it, which in itself is mind blowing.

I also spray it on my clothes and pillow.. but that might just be me.

Boots Sun, Swim & Gym Shampoo and Conditioner for Coloured Hair - £3.05 each.

For over a month now I started swimming again and go twice a week. Since doing this I developed a slightly-irrational (but mostly rational) fear of chlorine. The chemicals in pools can be really bad for your hair but I also find them very drying to my skin. I got to the point where I'd text my friend right before a swim saying "What if it kills my hair!?" or "Will my tan come off!?". So I started the search for hair care products aimed for swimmers. I've started at the cheap end so I could work myself up if needed, but so far I like these. 

Boots Sun, Swim & Gym Protective Masque, £3.55

Another from the range that I like the idea of is a protective masque. I put it through dry hair, which I then tie back, before I swim to protect it from absorbing the chlorine.  It's also good to wet your hair before swimming as it will absorb that water rather than the pool water.

Bioderma, usually £9.99 for 250ml

Currently 1/3 off at escentual.com for the whole of June!

I'm sure you've heard enough about this product and how fantastic micellaire water is, so I won't go on! But this is my first bottle for myself and it truly is worth the hype. I use it just to remove heavy make-up and will continue to cleanse afterwards. I feel it's still important not to rush your skincare and use this as a cleanser, however fantastic it is. I do love it though and will stock up now it's on offer!

And just because I haven't included in any make-up yet, as nothing new has shook up my make-up routine. Here's some products I used this month and feel I'll use more together for a bronzed look!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, £10.99

NARS "Laguna" Bronzer, £26

MAC in "Bronze", £12

Maybelline Color Tattoo in "On and on Bronze", £4.99

What have you loved this month?

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo

Maybelline Eye-Studio 24 Hour Colour Tattoo cream shadows available here for £4.99.

Oh wow, I really like these. I like these a lot.

These have actually been around for a while, and I completely ignored them. And I'll tell you why, dear friends, but not just yet. I picked up two colours in the shades "Pink Gold" and "On and on Bronze".
However I've noticed different stores and countries have different names for the colours which might get confusing. What's the deal there Maybelline? 

The reason I actually wanted to try these was to wear as a base before eye shadow so I picked up the colours I felt went best with my Urban Decay Naked Pallet. They're a match made in heaven for that. Can you see it? Ugh I feel like Cupid for the cosmetic world. "Pink Gold" would go perfectly as a base for the pink shades in the naked pallet such as Sin or Toasted. And "On and on Bronze" will really bring out the browns and golds such as Half Baked or Smog. They'll make any shadow last all day.

The thing is, I wasn't expecting to love these products to wear on their own. As much as I love the dewy look and how perfect they'd be for summer, I don't go for cream shadows.Well, the exception is these. They don't crease, they don't flake and they really do last hours (possibly not 24 hours but I won't be putting that one to the test). When I washed off my swatches they also didn't budge so I feel it's safe to say they're also waterproof to some degree. Like that.

The colours on their own are also beautiful! I literally fell in love when I swatched them in store. Just look at them, that bronze! If you're a fair English rose (like me!) then this pink is perfect for you.

Maybe the best thing is how soft and creamy they are to apply, they're easy to blend and won't drag across your eye lid. Nobody wants that do they? 

So far I love dabbing them with my finger over my eyes when I'm running late and just want a little something. Effortless and so beautiful. A small amount will give a shimmer and a sweep of colour which I like with the pink to brighten the eye, and the bronze I build up the colour intensity and blend out for a natural smokey eye.

I feel I ignored these for so long as the advertising was wrong. I only ever saw the turquoise or the  bright purple used in really bold looks. The reason they're amazing is because of the range of neutral colours and that they can be so wearable. I'm sorry I doubted you Maybelline, these will always be in my make-up bag from now.
Through sickness and through health. Like for ever and ever. 

Breakfast Scrub

Well it's only the best smelling thing on the planet.

Ever.

I couldn't not blog about this. I've probably smelt it 3874 times since buying it at the weekend. I've also held it up to my boyfriends face, my boyfriends brothers face and my boyfriends brothers girlfriends face and said "SMELL THIS, IT SMELLS LIKE PANCAKES".
And if I could unscrew the cap and virtually hold it up to your face, I would.

Yep, it's a body scrub that smells of Maple Syrup. To be precise it smells of Maple Syrup on warm pancakes in Vancouver. To be even more precise it smells of happiness.

This is £8 and personally I wouldn't care if it did nothing for my skin, I'd still slather it all over my body without complaint. Luckily, it's also a really good exfoliant and I would happily repurchase it.

I take a small scoop with my fingers and exfoliate in circles. This is a product that's perfect in a bath because it will fragrance the water too! It's a sugar scrub so will remove any dry skin but it's not overly harsh grains, like in Soap & Glory Flake Away which can sometimes be a bit full on. It's also very moisturising from the Shea Butter and will leave your skin feeling pretty darn soft (and smelling fabulous, have I mentioned that yet?).
Like all Soap and Glory scrubs, they've hit the nail on the head. 

If I could give you only one bit of advice in life, it would be to go into Boots and take a whiff of this.
Thank me later.

Natural Glow Make-Up

So as a part of college last week I did the hair, make-up and photography to produce a photo shoot on the theme of "No make-up, make-up". This is all about creating a natural look with flawless skin but so it appears the model isn't wearing make-up at all. It's commonly used in skincare adverts (sneaky). I thought I'd share with you the look I went for with a glow to the skin.

My beautiful friend Fen Barr was sweet enough to come model for me and how fantastic does she look?

skin 

I started with Benefit High Beam on her cheek bones, brow bone and her cupids bow. I also re-applied this over the foundation too to give a beautiful highlight to her skin. Fen naturally has such clear skin, so I blended two shades of Kryolan Ultra Fluid Foundation to give an even but not heavy coverage. I used Kryolan Derma Colour to cover any dark patches or blemishes and MAC Select MoistureCover concealer around the eyes.

I used the highlight from the Sleek Contour Kit to highlight areas of her face, although this has small glitter specks in so be careful when photographing this. I then used Nars Laguna bronzer to contour and add warmth back to her face.

Eyes

Keeping to the natural look I used natural matte eye shadows to add some colour and shape to her eyes and Urban Decay shadow in Virgin to highlight the inner corner and under the brow bone. I LOVE this shade.

I also took a natural matte shadow through her brows with a small angled brush and brushed a clear mascara through to hold them in place. I put some black eyeliner onto a very thin brush and painted inbetween her lashes to give a light natural defintion. To finish off the eyes I put a small amount of white eye pencil on the water line.

Lips

I used a lipstick in a natural shade that had a slight peach tone to go with her beautifully tanned skin and added a lttle MAC lipglass to the centre of her lips and blended out. This enlarges the look of the lips and a slight shine for a healthy look.

Products Used:

- Benefit High Beam

- Sleek Contour kit

- NARS Laguna bronzer

 - Urban Decay Naked pallet

- MAC Lip glass

- MAC Select MoistureCover Concealer

 - MUA White eyeliner pencil

So there you have it, who else loves this natural make-up look? I can't wait to try it on myself now.

Covering imperfections.

Just a short one today to carry on from my last camouflage make-up post!

So recently I posted about how I was learning camouflage make-up to cover tattoos. But of course it also covers discolouring, hypo-pigmentation, hyper-pigmentation, blemishes and some scarring.

Here's a picture (with no filter or camera tricks) of a covered hypo-pigmentation that I did this week.

Personally I think this came out really effective and I'm pleased with the result.
So of course I had to share it with you!

This was really simple and really quick, it's just done by using camouflage concealers (personally I use Kryolan Derma Colour) and matching the area to the natural skin tone and layering this up!

What do you guys think, would you guys like to see more posts on this?

Maybelline The Falsies

 It's Tanya Burrs favourite mascara...

I don't need to say more.

After reading so many good things, this week I picked up The Falsies mascara by Maybelline and finally gave it a whirl. And what a better time to do it than when it's £2 off at Boots, making it only £5.99.

Ps. does anyone else want to curl up and cry when this happens to their nails?

Mine is in "Black Drama" which is a darker matte black to the original, and it's shown by the lace detail!
I love that aspect of it, it's very black so perfect for definition.

The brush to me looked pretty scary at first. I don't tend to use plastic brushes so I'm used to the classic mascara brush wand. This seems to have spiky brush hairs at all angles - a little crazy. 

The stem of the wand is flexible as you can see by the indent which I do feel helps.

Maybelline call it a "spooned" brush which they've actually patented, to me that just means curved. Nothing new but it does work well with the shape of natural lashes and catches every lash. I feel this also adds curl to the lashes but not lots.
To me that's okay, I look for definition in a mascara but if you're after curl I'd recommend the No7 Exquisite Curl mascara. 

I feel it lengthens lashes pretty well and does add volume.
 It claims no clumps which I'd say is almost true. What is really good about it is that it does layer up very well if you want more from it! However it's important when using any mascara to not let the mascara on the lashes dry in-between doing this.

Creepy and up close before and afters!

As you can see it clearly makes a good difference. 

For £5.99 I definitely think it's worth a buy and I would recommend!

What do you think of The Falsies? 

Tattoo Camouflage

So at college this week we're learning to Camouflage Make-up, starting with tattoos.
I use colour corrective make-up a lot but this was my first time actually covering peoples' ink. Lucky for me my class is FULL of people with tattoos so I had tons of options to choose from.
I thought I'd share with you my first attempt at this and maybe one later when I feel I've improved?

For most camouflage make-up I use Kryolan Derma Color, here I have a 24 Pallet!

I started by colour correcting using a a Kryolan Colour Wheel. For example for the purple flower I started with yellow to cancel out the colour. I tried to correct the colours as much as I could until it looked a sort of grey colour, then went over with a skin colour to conceal. When building up layers I powdered in-between.

As you can see from the picture, I'm still struggling. Hopefully as I keep learning and practising, I can share with you when I completely cover one!

 If anyone has any tips, pretty please leave a comment!

:)

NOTD - Illamasqua Fragile

Nails of the day!

Very late to the party, I recently bought one of the limited edition speckle polishes by Illamasqua.
Mines light blue in the shade Fragile. Designed for spring, inspired my egg speckles, I'm in love.

£14.50 available in four other shades here.

I apply two coats for a full colour and I find it very long wearing. What I really love about the polish is that the speckles are glitter in a mix of sizes, but with the polish the glitter specks are matte. This gives a beautiful egg shell effect and is perfect for spring! 

I only wish I bought it for Easter.
Darn!

Everyday Make-up Bag

Short but sweet.

10 Make-Up products I carry with me everywhere for an everyday look.

Before I start I should explain that I travel a lot. I split my week in 3 by staying at either my Dads, Mums or my boyfriends. I'm never at a house for more than two or 3 days, so I always carry my basic make-up with me everywhere. So this is probably different from other peoples "What's in my Make-Up Bag" posts. 

Cosmetic Bag by Cath Kidston.

This make-up bag, bought for my by my beautiful sister, is perfect as it fits all my essentials and doesn't take up much room!

Base!

I only carry around 1 brush with me and it's the Real Techniques stippling brush. I use it for my concealer, foundation and powder so it's a great multi-tool. 

 I use Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection concealer to cover redness and blemishes and I use my MAC Select MoistureCover Concealer around my eyes and over drier areas.

I chop and change my foundation constantly, this week I've been carrying around Rimmel London's Wake Me Up Foundation. 

Powder is nothing special, It's Rimmel Clear Complexion pressed powder.

Eyes!

In my March Favourites I wrote about how much I love L'oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim eye-liner. Winged liner has currently replaced eye-shadow in my daily make-up, because I'm too lazy for both.

The mascara I'm currently carrying is L'oreal Volume Million Lashes in Extra Black. I tend to change mascara all the time between this and Clinique High Impact.  They're both fantastic.

Now that I have a fringe I spend less time on my eyebrows so I'm currently using Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil in Black/Brown. This saves space too as I don't need a brush anymore.

Despite them being covered, I still check my brows everyday and carry tweezers with me everywhere. 

I don't know why.

My father brought these back from a spa in New Zealand for me. It pains me to say they're the best tweezers I've ever used and I'm sorry I can't lead you to where to find them.

Lips!

I also wrote about this in my March Favourites it's the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in shade Honey. I actually tend to just throw this in my handbag and apply it on the go. I change what lip product I carry around probably weekly because I like a bold lip, but this is great for on the go (which it seems I always am). It also saves me from carrying round a lip balm too. 

Hope this post was helpful, maybe a good idea on packing light for travelling?

I'll be uploading another post this week on my larger Make-Up Bag for different looks.

What do you carry round with you?