The Perfect Foundation

I find that foundation is a very hit or miss product for me and it's quite difficult to find the perfect shade, coverage and consistency.

I have a slight olive tint to my skin, so a lot of foundations make me look an orangey colour, which I really can't stand. Although I do like looking tanned, there is nothing worse than when your face looks a completely different colour to the rest of your body.

For many years I struggled to find the right shade, settling for the lightest shade of tinted moisturiser, (which wasn't even sold in the UK, only the US), as all the foundations I tried were just too dark/orange. I was happy with this for a while and still use it in the summer when my face is tanned or I want stronger SPF in my make-up; but I felt that it was too dark for my skin all year round.

I then went on to use a powder foundation which seemed to suit me very well for a long time. This was until I bought a new one (in exactly the same colour) and found that it was patchy, two-toned (not in a good way) and coming out darker than usual. I'm not sure if it was just a faulty compact, but it really put me off using the foundation again.

On the other hand, when I'm in a rush to get ready, I don't even bother wearing foundation, I just wear concealer in the places that need covering up. I have found the perfect shade of concealer, (No7 Quick Cover Stick in Medium), which gives great coverage but makes my skin look natural, the barely there look. Therefore, I wanted to find a foundation that made me feel the same way.

After years of trial and error and frustration, I have finally found the perfect foundation: MAC Studio Fix, Powder Plus Foundation in NC20.

The thing that I love the most about this particular foundation is that you can't tell the difference between the colour on my face and the rest of my body. Unlike other products, I don't have to extravagantly blend the lines between my face and neck, there are no lines to blend! It's easy to apply, gives great coverage, last for hours and doesn't dry out my skin.

Don't settle for a foundation just because you've worn it for years or you can't be bothered to shop around; keep searching, once you find the perfect shade, you'll feel more confident because of it!

Get A Gorgeous Glow For Summer

I have never been one for using fake tan, I never really have time to wait for it to dry and I dislike the orange colour that some leave you with.

This was until I tried ModelCo - One Night Tan...

As a tanning beginner, I was really surprised about how easy this product is to use! Once you try it, you'll never look back.

In the summer months, my legs usually stay a boring shade of white, so I desperately wanted to be able to give them a lovely glow, as and when the sun comes out, (rare in England I know!) and this product did exactly that.

One Night Tan is a wonderful, light tanning mousse, rather than a cream, which makes application so much easier. It has a silky, smooth texture and literally takes seconds to get an all over, glowing colour.

Also, what's great about this tanning product is that it gives you such an amazing natural colour; it enhances your skin tone and leaves you looking sunkissed. You can also build up colour by applying a further layer once it has dried.

Furthermore, the best part of using this tan is that it's so easy to wash off! All you need is some soap and water and voilà it's gone.

Not only this, it dries very quickly, leaves no streaks or patches and won't transfer onto your clothes or other fabrics. This gorgeous product contains a blend of Aloe Vera, Shea Butter and Vitamin E, which keeps your skin hydrated, soft and smooth.

One Night Tan is reasonably priced at £24.00 per bottle and is sold at Boots. Click here

Overall, I'd recommend this product to anyone; it couldn't be easier to get a beautiful, bronzed, sunkissed glow, just in time for summer!

Get Gorgeous Skin With Cover FX

During my recent Beauty adventure, I discovered an amazing makeup range called Cover FX, which I just had to share with you all.

Launched in the UK in 2010, by Lee Graff, a corrective makeup specialist and Jenny Frankel, a chemical engineer; this makeup range has a vast selection of foundations, in a whole array of shades, as well as concealers, primers, bronzers and many other products.

I found that four of their products stood out to me the most; these were Skin Tint (tinted moisturiser), Powder FX (mineral powder foundation), Eye Prep (primer) and Mint Glaze (lip treatment and primer).

After trying them out for myself, I can truly say that they're all must haves for your makeup bag!

The first of the fabulous four that I tried was Skin Tint - £36.00. This tinted moisturiser is a brilliant product to have, especially now that summer is just around the corner, as it contains SPF 30. Not only will this moisturiser protect your delicate skin from the sun's rays, it will also give it a gorgeous, healthy glow. It comes in 6 different shades and is so light that it glides onto your skin. You barely even feel like you're wearing any makeup!

The second amazing product I used was Eye Prep - £42.00. Having always been a fan of eye makeup, finding this product was a godsend! This primer not only helps smooth out lines and wrinkles, it helps reduce puffiness and dark circles under the eye, whilst ensuring your shadow, cream or liner stays put for hours. All I'd say about this product is that you should make sure it dries before you apply your eye makeup, in order to get smooth, even coverage.

Next to be tried was the Powder FX mineral foundation - £31.00. When it comes to foundation, I much prefer using powder, as it gives my skin an amazing matte effect, which liquid foundation rarely does. I find that it gives much better, more even coverage and this particular foundation did all that and more! It’s made from pure minerals and helps reduce the appearance of imperfections. Not only does it give great coverage, it also contains SPF 10 and is suitable for sensitive, oily and acne prone skin, as it's free from parabens, oils, fragrances and waxes. Quick tip when buying this product, be careful about which shade you pick, as there are a huge variety of colours and it's very easy to select a shade too light or dark.

The final must have product I used was Mint Glaze - £22.00, their lip treatment and primer. When it comes to lips, there is nothing worse than a dry, chapped mouth! This wonderful product helps improve, treat and smooth lip lines, whilst preparing them for products. What's great about this glaze is that it's not sticky, it gently sweeps across your lips, leaving them feeling refreshed, hydrated and tingly!

Cover FX is huge in America, but is just starting out in the UK. You will find it on the House of Fraser website - click here and the Harvey Nichols website - click here

I'm sure that this brand will be just as huge here as it is in the States, so try it for yourself before it becomes the next biggest thing!

To Tint Or Not To Tint?

I know that Benefit Benetint is a favourite product for many out there, but I haven’t really felt it’s lived up to expectations...

Personally, I think that there are lots of other products on the market that do a better job than Benetint; but then again that’s just me.

As a lip and cheek stain, it’s designed to give your cheeks a gorgeous glow and a your lips a warm tinge. I must admit, it worked far better on my lips than it did on my cheeks.

In order to use this product on your cheeks, you are told to draw three small stripes onto the apples of your cheeks and blend in circular motions with your fingertips.

After trying this for myself, I found that it made my skin look blotchy and uneven; far from the effect that I was going for. In my opinion, powder or pressed blush are much better products to use in order to get rosy, glowing cheeks.

For lips, the effect is slightly different. I have tried using Benetint in two different ways and one certainly worked better than the other.

Firstly I tried using Benetint on its own. I found that initially it gave me a nice, warm, even colour; however, it wore off extremely quickly, quicker than any lipstick or lip stain I’ve ever used.

Secondly I tried it under lip gloss. This worked extremely well and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to try Benetint for themselves.

Unfortunately, as you may have read in one of my previous blogs, I don’t really like wearing lip gloss. So while it’s fine round the house, I wouldn't want to use this method when venturing outside (especially in windy weather!).

There is a third way to use Benetint on your lips, (which I haven’t tried yet) and that is to use it underneath lipstick. Therefore, when your lipstick wears off, you’ll still have a lovely, warm colour left on your lips.

I think that the third way is probably the best idea, and would be a great way to always have beautifully coloured lips.

However, I have come to the conclusion that Benetint is not an ideal product for me and I very doubt that it will ever feature on my must have list!

If you have a different opinion on Benefit Benetint, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your views!

Define Your Eyes

I have wanted to try Gel Eyeliner for so long and had been saving up to buy Bobbi Brown’s award winning Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner; until I saw that Maybelline had also created their own version of this renowned product.

At first, I was extremely sceptical about the Maybelline eyeliner, thinking that it could not possibly live up to the more expensive, legendary Bobbi Brown product. This was until I tried it for myself...

The first thing that attracted me to Maybelline’s Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24h was the fact that it came with its own brush; whereas you have to buy the Bobbi Brown brush separately.

The second reason that made me want to buy this product was the price. This Eyeliner and Brush combo costs a minuscule £7.99, compared to a hefty £16.50 for the Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner and £21.00 for the brush.

These were the fundamental reasons for my decision, so when I tried the product at home, I was even more delighted with the decision I had made.

Having never used Gel Eyeliner before, I was a little bit unsure about how the product was going to work. I was comfortable using kohl, liquid or powdered eyeliner to create definition, so really had no idea how a gel would differ.

After trying it out for myself, I can hand on heart say; it’s the easiest product I have ever come across. It simply glides along your eyelid, creating a wonderful, precise, defining black line.

This amazing eyeliner is also smudge and crease free, can be used on sensitive eyes (including contact lens wearers) and will last up to 24 hours.

You only need to use a very little amount at a time, so this product is fantastic value for money and bound to last you for ages!

The brush is also very easy to clean, as all you need to do is use a dry tissue to wipe off any remaining traces.

I truly recommend this product for an easy, cheap and fuss free way to get stunning, striking eyes.

Does Perfume Go Off?

Perfume is one of my favourite beauty products and I love to have a selection of different scents to wear at any given time.

At the moment, I have around 5 different bottles of perfume open, which always causes me to worry that they will go off if I don’t use them up quickly.

Of course I have my favourites, which I use more often than others, but as my collection broadens, it seems as though I’m using hardly any of some.

I know that the perfume I have now will physically last me for years, but my concern is that they will become unusable, before I have the chance to finish them.

After doing research, I found out that perfume CAN go off after a period of time, HOWEVER, there are certain variables which increase and decrease the lifetime of your scents.

In general, perfume is supposed to last around 3-5 years, but it’s thought that if you store and look after them correctly, they are more likely to last longer.

It is best to keep your perfume in its original box, in a cool, dark place, with a consistent temperature. A place where they aren’t exposed to significant amounts of humidity, oxygen, heat or sunlight (bathrooms are a definite no no!); as these are known factors to cause perfume to go bad.

There are certain signs which enable you to tell whether your perfume has gone off or not. Firstly the smell; if there is an acidic, vinegary smell to it and its original, gorgeous scent has diminished somewhat, it has more than likely gone off. Secondly, if the perfume has become darker, with a thicker consistency, again, chances are it has gone off.

On the other hand, in my opinion, it's best to use your own judgement. If after a number of years your perfume still smells and looks great, don’t throw it away just because you think it might have gone bad!

Also, it's worth keeping in mind, that if you look after your perfume in the right manner and under the correct conditions, they can last up to thirty years! That really is amazing value for money!

Massaging Mitt

A couple of months ago, I was traipsing round Boots, trying to find a new, easy, non-invasive way to cleanse my face, when I spotted the Soap and Glory Face Massage Mini Mitt.

I had seen a similar sort of concept which came with other exfoliators and cleansers, and had wanted to try it out for ages, so I just had to buy it.

This mitt is designed to improve circulation, whilst removing any dirt or toxins. When used with a cleanser or exfoliator, it also hydrates skin and gets rid of any remaining traces of make-up.

I was very excited to try my new purchase, so as soon as it got to bedtime I was ready and raring to use it!

The first time I tried it I added a little bit of exfoliating scrub to the top of the mitt, however this did not quite go to plan…

Most of the exfoliator got stuck in between the little spikes and hardly any of it actually made it onto my skin, making it very hard to evenly exfoliate the whole of my face.

Also, it was extremely difficult to get the scrub off the mitt, as it was trapped in all the creases and crevices.

The next time I went to use the Soap and Glory Face Massage Mini Mitt, I decided to use a cleanser. This time it worked perfectly!

The cleanser seemed to glide over my skin, cleaning and smoothing, whilst the spikes and dots on the mitt gently massaged.

It is an extremely easy product to use, as it comes with a small handle on the back of the mitt which can be held between your thumb and finger or two fingers. 

All you need to do is add a dollop of cleanser onto the mitt and away you go!

The Soap and Glory Mitt can also be used by itself, for a stimulating, invigorating facial.