Gem's November Favourites!

Cannot believe it is the start of December, mine and probably most people's favourite time of year!


However, I am here to talk about last months beauty offerings that I could not keep out of my make-up bag, shower, hand-bag... you get the idea :)

First off is a bit of a splurge item

It is the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint. I purchased this off www.cultbeauty.co.uk. It was 30 pound which is equal to about 36 euro, you do get 50 ml of product though which is a pretty decent size. This product is oil free which is perfect for my oily skin and also has an SPF of 15. It has nearly a gel like consistency. It has a decent amount of coverage for a tinted moisturiser and goes on smoothly with hands or a brush, depending on how much time you have. I find it stays on my skin well (with powder) throughout the day. I purchased the shade linen. My shade in MAC would be NC20.

My next fave is the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer.
                                                 
I feel I am late to the party on this one, as I know many people have tried and loved this product. I bought it on a whim on my lunch break in the local chemist (6.99 euro) and it can be found in most chemists and Boots. It has a doe foot applicator, which isn't my favourite way to use it from a cleanliness point of view, I usually decant onto the back of my hand and use a brush to apply it. I love using this under my eyes. I find it creamy and very easy to blend and does a good job of covering my lovely bags of a morning. I use the shade 010 Ivory.
   
The Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is another one of my favourites this month.

 This brush is great when you are in a rush (which I always am). I use it for primer, base and concealer. It's big enough to get your base done quickly but small enough to blend concealer under your eyes and anywhere else you might need it. It is a dense brush too so it doesn't swallow up all the product. I think I might have to buy a back up. It retails in Boots for approx 13 Euro.


As the festive season is fast approaching I had to add in my favourite red lipstick of the moment, however it doesn't have to be Christmas to rock a red lip :)

I was a complete sucker and bought RiRi Woo in the rose gold packaging (22 Euro) from www.brownthomas.com It is a a beautiful matt red that's not too drying on the lips if you give them a good scrub and a good coat of lip balm before hand. It makes your teeth looks whiter which is an added bonus! It can be used straight from the bullet for a full on red lip or if you want a toned down effect apply a small amount to your lips and rub in with your finger for a more diffused but still beautiful look.

Something that I cannot keep out of my shower at the minute:

 The Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser.
Here is a full review of this product if you want to check it out on our blog.
You can get this in most chemists and supermarkets and if you're lucky Boots  have it on special alot, for about 4 Euro It usually retails for about 6 Euro for the large size!
I have oily skin. I am in my late 20's and still get zits on my face, like a 16 year old. My body however gives me mixed messages, some of it wants to be oily, some of it likes to be dry. The Nivea In Shower Moisturiser helps my bipolar skin. You use on wet skin in the shower after washing and all that good stuff. You lather it on,wash it off and then dry as normal. I then use normal moisturiser on the parts of my body that need it more!

Finally, these have been a fave of mine this month (since I only bought them this month :) )

                                                                             
They are House of Harlow Sunburst Button Earrings. I bought mine from www.shopbop.com. They cost me around 25 Euro with tax and shipping which I thought was pretty reasonable.They are a medium disc earrings designed by Nicole Richie (daughter of Lionel), with faux leather inside the sunburst. I've had my eye on them ever since I saw Heart from http://www.youtube.com/user/ThatsHeart on Youtube rocking them.They are really good quality, can be worn casually but for me I think they will be kept for special occasions.

So these are some of my loves from the month gone by. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Thanks and enjoy all of the Christmas build up :)

Gemma
 xxx                                                                                                                                                                           

Rimmel's NEW Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation REVIEW!!!

One of my all time favourite powders is Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I did try the original Stay Matte foundation (which is still available in shops so don't get confused) and wasn't too gone on it but when I seen that they had launched a new addition to the Stay Matte collection but this time in a Liquid Mousse formulation I was eager to try. 

Rimmel claims that the new Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation "leaves skin shineless yet feels weightless & cakeless" Sounds like the perfect Matte foundation right??

So does it stand up to it's claims??



-Well, it doesn't keep my skin 100% shine free on it's own but to help it stay matte for longer I do powder over it because I noticed that when I didn't I seen some shine creeping through around 11am (applied it at 8am). 

      NO MAKEUP                             WITH FOUNDATION        

-It definitely feels weightless on my skin. I was actually really surprised at how light it feels as the coverage can be built up to be medium/heavy coverage(but not full coverage). You need a really tiny amount to cover the entire face. I needed very little concealer to hide my pigmentation and blemishes after using this. The after picture above is me with just this foundation on and nothing else!!!

-As for the cakeless this is true for the most part although I did notice that it does cling to my drier areas like the area around my nose. However, I must add that it doesn't cake half as much as some other, more expensive matte foundations!!

-It blends really well onto the skin with no effort at all. The texture is kind of mousse like and feels soft and almost fluffy once you work the product into the skin. It also contains gel emulsifiers so this adds extra blend-ability!!!

Quiet a thick consistency to begin with

Dab it with your brush to soften the product before applying to the face

To apply this foundation I used Sigma's F80 flat top Kabuki Brush or Real Techniques Buffing brush from the Core Collection and both worked well. I do feel that this foundation would work just as well with your clean fingers. I don't like to use it with a normal foundation brush though. The main reason for this is when you squirt some product out it is quiet thick and needs to be worked well into the skin. I don't feel the regular foundation brushes do this well so if you have a kabuki/buffing brush use this or alternatively use your clean fingers. Also, because the foundation is thick if you use a regular foundation brush it will leave brush marks on your face....not a good look. For best results you should apply a small amount to the back of your hand, dab it with your brush like I did in the above picture to soften the product and then work it well into the skin. 

Use this ...............or this.................but not this

I have combination skin so my face isn't ultra oily but I would definitely see shine creeping through around my T-zone with other foundations. I am not sure that this would control shine for really oily skin though, it would help mattify it for a certain amount of time but as far as shine free skin all day long....I am not so sure. If you used a mattifying primer underneath and topped it with powder it would work well but that may be matte overload for some people. 

When I applied this foundation and set with powder I felt like it washed my skin out completely because it was so matte but once I added blush, bronzer and some highlight I really did like the look of my skin and it stayed in place with absolutely no touch ups for at least 6-8 hours which is pretty cool for such an inexpensive product. I don't use a matifying powder over the top of this. I used Mac's Mineralized Skin Finish Natural which is a very light powder which, if worn with another non matte foundation I would be an oily mess in a few minutes so it's not that the powder is doing the work but I just think that the foundation needs a little bit of help for it do it's job best. 

Neat and user friendly packaging

I also have to give some props to the packaging. Not the most exciting I have ever seen but none the less I love that it is a very compact little tube that won't take up too much room in your makeup bag. The packaging feels almost matte which I thought was a really cool little touch seems as this is a matte foundation. Usually I hate matte packaging because the product from your hands usually clings to it but this one can be easily wiped down and it doesn't stain the tube. The fact that it is a tube aswell is a big plus for me because it's easy to use and I feel I get to use all the product up as I can give it a good squeeze when it gets to the end. 

Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation is available in 6 shades. Just a little note that the shades start at 010 Light Porcelain as opposed to some of the Rimmel foundations which start at 100 Ivory. It costs €7.95 for a 30ml tube. I got mine at Boots and at the time of purchase it was Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price on all makeup so I got this for less than €4. At the time of posting this the offer is still available. 

I will definitely continue to use this product and would definitely recommend this to people who have combination bordering on slightly oily skin but not for those of you who suffer from dryness. I think this foundation would be fantastic for teenagers who suffer from acne because it gives a lovely finish to the skin that looks matte but natural and gives great coverage plus for the price its great for a teenagers pocket. I know if this product was around when I was a teen I would have been very happy to buy it. 

Have you tried this foundation and if so what did you think of it? Would love to hear what you oily skinned gals thought of it.

Have a wonderful day, Much love. 

Anita xxxxx

June 2013 Favourites

I bought ALOT of new products in June because I was lucky enough to go to London for IMATS. However,as that was towards the end of June I didn't have time to test alot of the products yet so I cannot give my honest opinion on them yet. However, I did fall in love with one or two of them instantly so I think I will have to give them a mention below.

So lets get going.

My skin is misbehaving alot lately. One minute its dry and next I am full of zits, YUK!! The two masks I have  reached for time and time again in June (and in every other month since I purchased them a while back) is the Una Brennan's Superfacialist Rose Hydrate and Tea Flower Deep Clean Masks. Read my full review on these here. These really are amazing masks and are very reasonably priced. When I use these I feel I am using professional quality products but without the steep price tag.

Picture from www.michaeltoddtrueorganics.com

Keeping with skincare again. I am nothing less than obsessed with the Michael Todd Intense Organic Eyecream. I have searched long and hard for a great eyecream that I can wear both night and day and that actually makes a difference to my dehydrated eyes. Oh boy have I found it!!!! This eyecream has a very light texture so it can be worn during the day and doesn't cake your under-eye concealers but at the same time it is so hydrating and the minute I put this on I can see the fine lines (yes I have some) reduce significantly. I will definitely be sticking with this for the foreseeable future. Michael Todd is an american brand I discovered in the last few months and I cannot get over the quality of the skincare for the price they charge. You should take a look if you are in the market for a new skincare regime. I will do a blogpost in the future about this brand and my favs from the range.

Pic from www.stila.co.uk

Moving on to makeup....... I only bought this palette in London but I am seriously in love. I dare to say it but for me its the nicest neutral palette I have ever owned, and boy do I own a few! The Stila in the lights palette consists of (for me) the perfect mix of shimmery and matte shades that allow you to create endless eye looks.  Need I say more.....maybe I will in an upcoming blog post.

Another favourite of mine this month is the eyeliner that comes with the Stila in the lights palette. Its called Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in the shade Damsel and it is the perfect deep brown colour that really compliments the palette well but the most important thing is it stays put for a long time, even on the waterline. Two favourites in one....loving this palette.

I wrote about the Boujour Bronzing Primer in my Summer Lovin' blogpost in mid June. I am crazy about this product. I use it over my foundation as a cream bronzer. It in no way makes my skin look orange or cakey but instead really just makes my skin look radiant and healthy. I will use this even in the winter!!! I am sure of it. Because my skin is breaking out a good bit I am avoiding using fake tan on my face at the moment just incase it irritates it and so I find this is great to help even out the colour of my face to my body.

Pic from www.feelunique.com 

Some days I get oily skin (even though I wouldn't have oily skin...I know skin drama). Soooo to keep this at bay I am loving the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Shade 001 Translucent. This seriously is one of the best oil control powders on the market and it costs like €5.99 (I actually found this here for €4.99, BARGAIN). I would say Rimmel powders in general are a definite must have for every makeup bag. They are great quality for a teeny tiny price.

Pic from www.maccosmetics.com

Mac's Cultured Lipglass has been a fav of mine for a while now but I seem to have become obsessed with it in June. Its the "perfect" pink shade of gloss that just adds sex appeal to your pout without being OTT and dramatic looking.

Pic from www.cocoabrown.ie

I am not into the overly bronzed look lately. I really love having a tan but I hate the "you've been tangoed" look that some girls adore. Instead I love to look naturally golden. I think it suits me (and most people) better and the fake tan seems to wear off better if its not layered too much. To achieve this look I am using the Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan which I reviewed here. This is such an easy tan to use but gives a lovely tan without looking overly fake and unnatural.

Pic from www.theperfumeshop.com

My favourite scent of the month is Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum. What can I say??? You need to smell this to experience it's beauty. The only way I can describe this scent is that it's an oriental floral type scent that to me screams strong sexy woman. And the packaging keeps with the strong sexy team, I just adore the lid, it reminds me of a crown.....

Ok so that's it for my monthly favourites. I just want to mention quickly that I am still loving and using the below products which I have mentioned in previous monthly favourites. This is a true testament to these products because I try ALOT of new products so to continue using something is a big deal and really means that it really works well for me.
I still love all the products mentioned in my April Favourites aswell as the MUA pro brow kit, the Sigma Mrs Bunny Collection (full review here) and Avon's supershock gel liner pencil from my February Favourites. I do still like the other products mentioned in my favourites but I have either found a better alternative or am currently testing another product of this type...stay tuned for updates in the future!

Well I think I have done enough rambling for one day. I hope you all enjoyed the post and be sure to let me know your favourites for this month. Have a beautiful day no matter what you get up to xxxx