TAG: My desert island beauty products

I am surrounded by beautiful makeup and beauty products all the time and am constantly updating my collection with the newest releases! But what products could I not "live without"??? In this post I will give you the answers while at the same time give you an insight into why I find these products so fantastic. 

So here we go, I have categorised this to make it an easy read...if I don't have a desert island product I will simply not put one in this post.......honesty is the best policy after all!!

Favourite Face Primer: Has to be hands down Benefits Porefessional. I have bought tubes of this stuff and always go back to it. It really smooths out my complexions and makes my makeup last all day

Favourite Foundation: Do you have to ask?? Of course its Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (review here). I honestly cannot find a foundation as good as this and I have tried really high end products. This is definitely the best beauty find of 2013 for me.

Favourite Face Powder: AHHH Mac's Mineralized Skin finish natural. Leaves your skin flawless and perfected looking.

Favourite Blush: Very easy for me. Mac's Melba Blush. This is just the perfect peachy toned blush that looks amazing on everyone. A staple in anyone's collection I think.

Favourite Bronzer: I like many powder bronzers but one product that stands out to me is a cream based product and it is Boujours Bronzing Primer (Review Here). No matter how much or how little makeup I am wearing I always use this. It just adds a subtle warmt to the face that makes even the palest skin look naturally bronzed. 

Favourite Highlighter: The Balms Mary Lou Manizer. This is by far the nicest highlighter I have used. It gives your skin a glow but without looking overly glittery. A little goes a very long way so be light handed with this one!

Favourite Lipstick: Sarah G Cosmetics in 107 Pink Lady (review here). This to me is the perfect shade of pink and lasts so long on the lips.

Favourite Lipgloss: Mac's Cultured Lipglass. This paired with Pink Lady by Sarah G is my go to lip combo. Amazing pout at your finger tips.

Favourite Fake Tan: Oh this is a tough one. Its either between Karora's express bronzing mousse (Review here) or Cocoa Brown's 1 hour tan. (Review here) Both these tans give you a beautiful glow in a matter of hours and are so easy to use. Sorry but I cannot choose between these.

Favourite Body Scrub: I have never tried a body scrub so effective as Cocoa Brown's Tough Stuff (Review here). This is remarkable and doesn't leave any residue on your skin which to me is essential if you want your tan to be impeccable!

Favourite Perfume: Paco Rabanne Lady Millions. Everyone comments on this scent when I wear it. It's beautiful for every occasion I feel. If you haven't tried this you are definitely missing out.

Favourite Face Palette: Sarah G's "Face Kit" is a definite winner in this category (Review here). The blush and bronzer are some of my favourites and the eye shadows are perfect for creating a soft look or a more dramatic evening look. 

Favourite Eyeshadows: Urban Decay's Vice 2 Palette. This has everything you need for a day time look or a more colourful smoky eye. If all my eye makeup disappeared and I had to repurchase one product it would be this as it has every colour you would need for any occasion.

Favourite Eyeliner: In general the Inglot Gel liners are amazing and in particular no 77 (Black) and 90 (Brown). I wear one of these two almost every day.

Favourite Brow Product: MUA Pro Brow kit. This is so reasonably priced and has everything you need for perfect brows. 

Favourite Tool:  Shu Uemera eyelashes curlers. I never thought curling my eyelashes was so important until I used this. It transforms the look of your eyes and makes you look bright eyed and beautiful.

Well I think that is it for now!! I called this post my desert island products but I would need a suitcase for just these items if I was going to a desert island but you get the idea!? These are the products that are and have been staples in my collection for awhile and that I would repurchase over and over again.

What are your desert island products? What products could you not "live without"??? Leave a comment below.

I TAG ANY beauty blogger out there who is as much of a beautyaholic as I am! Leave a link to your blog down below. I would love to see what you are loving and get some recommendations on new products to try. Also please feel free to add in some products. I just left some out, like concealer and mascara as I haven't yet found my desert island products.

Have a wonderful day everyone. 

Anita xxx

Update Ur makeup wardrobe for A/W '13

Alot of people I talk to get very frustrated trying to decide how they should update their makeup for changes in seasons. Just when you got it right for last season suddenly there is a new trend in fashion!!! Very annoying. We see so many makeup trends gracing the catwalks and the problem is most of the time they are too exaggerated for everyday wear so in this post I will give you some great advice and inspiration on how to change up your makeup look for Autumn/Winter '13 aswell as how to make some of those crazy catwalk looks much easier to pull off.

I would like to firstly say that not all of the looks below will suit everyone, but you sure can have fun experimenting to find the perfect one for you. Also, not all of these looks should be worn together. Just because the nights are getting darker doesn't mean we have to go crazy on the makeup to make us stand out that bit  more!!

Some of you will be happy to know that perfected skin never goes out of fashion. This is as beautiful in the summer as it is in the colder months. I personally love a matte foundation for winter but alot of people opt for a more hydrating glowy skin in the winter. Find what suits you best and work with it. Whatever foundation finish you choose be sure to use a good concealer to hide any imperfections to create that perfected canvas. My product recommendations would be Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse foundation (review here) or Estee Lauder's Double Wear for the perfect matte look, Revlon's Colour stay foundation or Laura Mercier's silk creme foundation for medium to full coverage but with a natural finish and Revlon's nearly naked foundation for a natural light coverage finish. Makeup Forever's full coverage concealer is amazing at hiding facial imperfections and discolouration or for a cheaper alternative I would recommend Revlon's Photo Finish concealer.

On trend this season is to wear no blush. Personally I would not wear this trend as for me blush is the finishing touch to any makeup look, even if it is only a slight wash of colour.

Your perfected skin will look amazing with a just pinched look to the cheeks. Peaches, pinks and plum tones are stunning on the cheeks. Opting for a cream blush is great for this time of the year aswell as summer to ensure makeup last longer while keeping skin hydrated. Absolutely loving Max Factors cream blush in soft pink aswell as boujours cream blushes. Benefits cheek and lip stains are great for adding a wash of colour and their original Benetint cheek stain would be perfect for this time of year. If you love the reddish, plum tones on cheeks but prefer powder blush Mac's Frankly Scarlet is to die for.

Vampy lips are HUGE this season. Hues of wine, pink, purples, plum and beautiful berry's graced the catwalks. But don't be scared if you are not brave enough to wear a full on lip then a nice berry tint on the lips is also spot on trend. A great tip is to buy cheaper lipsticks if you are not sure if a shade will suit you so that you don't waste your money on an expensive lipstick that you will never wear. Great A/W lipsticks are Urban Decay Venom, Mac's just a bite matte lipstick, Mac Rebel, Mac Up the Amp, and a lovely reddish orange is Mac's Ruby Woo Lipstick.

If you are not a fan of deep lips then how about dark eyes??? Deep colours on the lid are a fab way to update your look. I love navy blues, golds, greens and purples in Autumn/Winter time. Smoking this up with a grey, chocolate brown or black is a great way to add definition and drama to the eyes. My favourite smoky shades are :Inglot Shadow Pearl 428 (navy blue) or 426 (cobalt blue), Matte 348 (grey), Pearl 414 (dark green), Pearl 439 (deep purple) and Pearl 404 (Gold). I also love Mac's espresso which is a deep brown matte shade, perfect for smoking the eye.
If you don't want to do a full on smoky eye, dusting a matte grey eye shadow across the eyelid will give a really nice smoked up effect without looking overdone. This is great for wearing during the day or pairing with those deeper lips.

Deep dark eyes are best paired with nude lips. I love Revlon's lip butter in Creme Brulee or Inglot's lipgloss cube in shade 14. These are my go to nude lip products for this season.

Bold brows are never going out of fashion and autumn/winter is a great time to wear them. Deep lips, big brows and minimal eyes are amazing for this season but bold brows are equally as nice with smoky eyes. Just be sure not to bring the eyeshadow too high on the eye as this begins to look messy if you have big thick brows.

Winged cat eyeliner is also another trend that is great this A/W. It looks super sophisticated with any look and adds so much definition to the eyes. Don't be afraid to pair this with a nice set of flirty eyelashes to add some glam. My favorite eyeliners of all time are Catrice's Liquid Liner or Inglot's gel liner in shade 77 Black. Both do amazing jobs and last ALL day.

So that's all I have to say about makeup, just remember not to wear all of these looks together and have fun experimenting.

A small note before I finish up. During the colder months our skin tends to get dehydrated as we are fighting colder weather and central heating alot of the time. To ensure your skin looks its best and stays hydrated its often a good idea to use a richer face cream if your skin needs it. If you don't want to do this during the day then use a richer cream at night and add in a hydrating serum during the day which will not make your skin greasy.
If you are going to attempt the deep bold lip be sure to use a lip scrub and lip balm on regular occasions to keep your lips plump and ready for beautiful lippy.

I hope you found this post helpful. What trends will you be trying for Autumn/Winter 2013? Let me know

Have a great day

Anita xxxx

July 2013 Beauty Favourites

So what have I being loving this month? Well because of my June trip to London I have used alot of new products this month and cannot wait to share them with y'all! Because the weather was so nice this month I tended to opt for a more natural look. Concentrating on flawless skin and leaving my eyes to speak for themselves I was all about the creamy, shimmering and summery products this July. Oh and there seems to be a little trend amongst some of my fav's....Inglot addict maybe?

So let me start with the skin,
I am literally obsessed with Laura Mercier's silk creme foundation since the day I used it. Its oil free so doesn't create a shiny mess on my T zone which is a massive plus. It is so pigmented that a tiny bit goes very far but even though its full coverage it doesn't look cakey, it leaves a fab natural radiance to the skin. If you haven't tried it please pick up a sample when you are next at a Laura Mercier counter....you will fall in love!

To apply this foundation I am loving my beauty blender (which is too full of makeup to photograph today). The girl at the counter where I bought my foundation said its best applied with a sponge and she is right, it glides on effortlessly with the beauty blender and never looks made up. I do have a love hate relationship with the beauty blender though because I feel its a germ fest but yet it applies foundation and concealer effortless and flawlessly.....I will just have to wash it daily to keep germs at bay.....well worth it!

I have pretty dark circles under my eyes and find it difficult to find a decent concealer but I recently rediscovered the Inglot Cream Concealer (shade 67) in my kit and decided to give it a whirl. I use the pointed end of the beauty blender to dab the product under my eyes and I have to say the results are super, good coverage, not cakey and doesn't crease...happy days!! I am also using this concealer to cover some blemishes although I don't need much now that I am using the LM Silk Creme Foundation!!

The non creasing could also be down to my new favourite brush and powder for my under-eyes. After applying the concealer with the beauty blender I then use the Blank Canvas Cosmetics F23  pointed tip face brush to apply my powder. This brush is fab, it really allows you to get the product right in the corners and it just fits so comfortably under the eye...its like it was made for it. I like to pair this brush with the Ben Nye Banana Powder. This is a cult favourite and used by makeup artists worldwide. Its basically a yellow powder than is light enough that it doesn't dry out the under-eye but because of its colour it will help counteract any darkness...the difference is subtle but I love it.

I bought alot of Inglot products in London and my fav blush from the ones I bought is Shade 68. This is a coral colour that is fab for this time of year and looks super with a tan (although mine is fake at the moment). I just feel this blush goes with every makeup look and just adds a beautiful burst of colour to the face. I love the texture of the Inglot blushes. They are not chalky and are really pigmented and very reasonably priced too.

I've been loving two Inglot eye products this month and the first one is AMC Pure Pigment Eyeshadow in shade No 14. This is a light neutral creamy peachy colour. I just love to apply this on my lid with some soft matte browns in the crease and its really simple but adds a little something to the eyes. I also use this as a cheek bown highlighter, it is very finely milled so it is not glittery or heavy on the skin in any way.

To blend out the matte browns in my crease I am loving the Mac 217 brush. It is the best blending brush I have used to date because it just makes blending out your crease colour effortless. Every makeup artist or makeup enthusiast should own one of these. I think I own three at this stage.

I also love Inglot gel liner in 82. This is a bright blue liner. I love to wear blue eyeliner in my waterline to give my eyes a little somethin somethin. It makes my eyes pop and this one in particular is a fab shade and lasts all day long. If you are in the market for a new blue liner you should check this out. In general the Inglot liners in my opinion are the best on the market. They are very reasonably priced at €15 and are definitely waterproof. Love them so much and have alot in my collection.

I opted for a neutral pink shade on the lips for most of the month and the lipstick I have used most often is MACs Creme Cup. Fab colour, fab consistency what more could you want. I top this with Boots No7 BB Lips in Blink Pink to give it that little bit extra and also to protect my lips from the sun as the BB lips has SPF 15....great little product

To take all my makeup off at night and refresh my skin I am obsessed with the Loreal 3 in 1 Micellar Solution. It's basically a cleansing water that removes makeup including mascara. It really is a marvel product. I love double cleansing so I will use this to remove most of my makeup then I will use a face wash and my clarisonic to remove the rest. I don't think this product is enough to remove all traces of makeup, or maybe it is but you would need a hell of alot of product!! I have definitely noticed I am not breaking out as much since using this and so this means that it really is thoroughly cleansing the skin while being uber sensitive and gentle on the skin. Definitely worth a go.

Well thats all my July favourites. I hope you found this interesting and hope you go away with some extra info on some great tried and tested products out there on the market...trip to Inglot anyone???

Be sure to let me know by commenting below what your favourites were for the month of July, I would love to know and maybe try some in August.

Have a great day whatever you do and be safe xxx

All about primers-e.l.f V Inglot

                                                      
I thought I would start with a review of one of the basics and review an under makeup primer. There are tonnes of primers on the market and I do like a lot of them but the reason I chose these two to review is because I have used them on myself and clients for a long time, they are both made from similar ingredients and both have the same textures. When products look the same and claim to do the same things its often hard to distinguish which one you should buy. My aim with this review is to give you my experience on these products and give you the pros and cons so that you can choose which one you would prefer to buy rather than wasting your money on both.

The two products I chose to review are:

1) E.L.F’s Mineral Infused Face Primer

2) Inglot’s Under Makeup Base

e.l.f Mineral Infused Primer

                                                      

Ingot Under Makeup Base

Both products claim to:

-Create a flawless and smooth canvas

-Combat excess oil

-Prep skin for easy application of foundation

-Make foundation last longer

I wouldn’t disagree with any of the above claims. Both products do their job well and I would repurchase both of them.

These products are very similar:

-Both are clear in colour- so no worries with colour matching

-Both have a greasy (not in a bad way) consistency when first applied to your fingers but then once they are applied to the face they give a lovely velvet feel which makes foundation application much easier.

-Both products appear to have silicone in them which is fantastic for smoothing out the skin and filling in any fine lines on the face.

This is the amount of primer you need for your entire face and neck
Before primer is applied-notice the lines on my hand 

Leaves your skin really smooth and matte ready for foundation application.
After primer-notice how much smoother the lines on my hand appear

There are however some differences between the two products:

-The packaging- ELF comes in a pump bottle while Inglot comes in a tube. This to me is the main reason why I like one product over the other. The ELF pump gets clogged and then cannot be used so you then need to open the bottle and scoop out the product with the tube from the pump (which can often break away) so I feel you do loose some product at the end of the bottle.!! Inglot’s packaging on the other hand allows you to get right down to the last drop of product. Its not the most glamorous packaging (especially when compared to ELF) but it is practical and allows you to get the best value for your money by squeezing out every drop.

-You only need a tiny amount of either of these products as they spread fantastically. If using the ELF pump it dispenses too much product which not only wastes the product but also makes you apply too much of the product to your face which can make you oily and make your foundation clumpy. Inglot’s primer would do the same if too much was applied but the tube allows you to dispense only a small amount….problem solved.

-The price is also another difference. ELF primer is around 7.50euro (less p&P) and Inglot is 22euro. For this price you get 14g of ELF and 30ml of Inglot. When you compare the cost per ml/g there isn’t much of a price difference so it really does depend on how much excess cash you have at that particular time.

-I do feel at times that the ELF one can cause a slight breakout on my super sensitive skin but the Inglot one doesn’t seem to do this.

- The Inglot primer seems to controls oil more than the ELF one which is only really important if you have skin prone to oiliness. Neither primers make your skin produce more oil, the Inglot one in my opinion just controls the oil produced naturally by your skin a little more than the E.L.F one.

E.L.F primer pump packaging (14g) 

                                         
 

Inglot primer tube packaging (30ml)

Which one I would buy first would depend really on the following:

YOUR MAKEUP EXPERIENCE: If you are new to primers I would recommend the E.L.F primer simply because you get to experience a really high quality primer that gives high end brands a run for their money for under 8euro. Also some people do not like the texture of this type of primer so instead of splurging your money this product is great way to see If you like it before buying a more expensive product.

YOUR BUDGET: If your budget won’t stretch very far I would recommend E.L.F. If you fancy splashing out a little I would go for the Inglot one (although 22euro isnt alot consondering the amount of product you get and the quality of the product).

YOUR SKIN: If your skin is super sensitive like mine I would recommend Inglot as I do believe E.L.F can cause break outs on some skins.

Overall both products are very good and I would recommend either of them depending on how much money you can and are willing to spend on a primer. If I wasn’t concerned with money though I would tend to choose the Inglot one. It’s a well rounded product with great value for money and I haven’t had any problems with it and as stated before I have used it excessively on both myself and clients. However, thats not to say that if you buy the E.L.F one that you will be wasting your money because this really is NOT the case. The E.L.F primer is a really good quality product. Inglot are a more luxurious brand so they have probably spent more money into the development of this primer hence it has an edge over the E.L.F one.

E.L.F Cosmetics can be bought at www.eyeslipsface.co.uk while Inglot Cosmetics can be bought at Inglot shops nationwide. Visit http://www.inglotireland.com/our-stores for a list of Irish stores.

Thank you for reading my review and please feel free to share this review with your friends. I would love to hear your experience on these primers or any other primers so please feel free to comment below. Also if you have any questions please comment below or contact me via facebook or email. xxx