Benefit The POREfessional Primer

The POREfessional primer is fantastic to use as a base, minimises pores and generally keeps your make-up on for longer. I do not reach for it every day, but apply it for nights out or when my pores are freakishly big.

It has an odd texture, feeling oily and slippery. I apply a pea size amount onto my t-zone just before I apply my foundation. I wouldn't say there is a huge transformation but it does keep my makeup on and provides a nice base for my foundation and blusher.

Would I buy it again? Only as a treat, or as a present because I do not feel as though its a necessity. 

rubs into the skin to create a matte appearance.

• Costs £24.50 - 22ml
• Benefit website

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Ok so I have already done a review on Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (which was my first ever review) and said how much I love it, see the post here. Now I am going to review the serum version. I feel there are many more review out there for this serum as opposed to the actual foundation version. This may be due to the the fact that when they were launched, lighter foundations, BB creams and tinted moisturises were all the craze, therefore the Healthy Mix Serum got more attention than the foundation. I really do not see the difference between this serum and the foundation. They seem to have the same consistency as well as pay off on the skin. Are they meant to be so similar? The smell is the same. The texture on the skin is the same. The only difference I can see is the bottle.

But onto the actual review of the serum.

For a serum which is meant to be a slightly lighter consistency, this one is quite thick, and a light to medium coverage with a dewy finish. It claims to last up to 16 hours and I can definitely say that it does not, although different skin types will have different longevity. It is available in 6 shades (Healthy Mix foundation has a larger variety) made with litchi, goji berries and pomegranates (Healthy Mix foundation is made with apricot, melon, apple and ginger). It is meant to create a non fatigue appearance which I do agree with and it also brightens up my face. It is also a good base for my blushers which I do find that some foundations cling to the blushers and creates a blotchy texture (which this one does not).
If my skin is on the extra dry side, this foundation smooths over the dry areas and doesn't create areas of intensely pigmented coverage (if you know what I mean). I love to use this serum with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush or the Buffing brush (see links below for their reviews).
For the cheap price of £10.99 this serum is totally worth it.

This serum is in a pumped bottle, dispensing the perfect amount onto my brush.

• £10.99
• My rating = 7/10
• Available at Super Drug, Asos.
• Reviews on Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and Buffing Brush.
• See my Youtube Haul Video which features this product.

L'Oreal Paris - Super Liner Ultra Precision (black)

I am really disappointed with this liquid eyeliner. I normally use one from Rimmel London which I have been using for years and love but I thought I would try and experiment other brands and see if they are at all better.
This eyeliner needs two layers to be completely black and only lasts about 3 hours on the eyes before it starts to fade away. The brush is too flexible and really difficult to control. If you are just starting to use liquid eyeliner, I would definitely not recumbent this one. I also find that it runs out really quickly, either that or it dries out.
I do however like the packaging and I think the handle is a nice easy shape to hold.

• £6.49
• L'Oreal website

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

I have quite thick brows already, but need to fill in a few gaps  and I prefer a stronger brow during the evenings. I have heard SO much about this product and decided to go for it and buy it off Cult Beauty (I do not think you are able to buy it anywhere else in the UK).

It is an extremely thin long tube with one end being the pencil and the other side a spooly. I love the packaging and although it is long, it doesn't take up too much room in my makeup bag.

The actual product twists up and down which means theres no need for a sharpener. I bought the shade Brunette and they do 3 other shades (Ash Blonde,  Medium Ash and Caramel). The skinny-ness of the pencil means you can softly build the appearance of a thicker brow as well as creating a texture with fine strokes. The pencil is very waxy which means the product lasts a long time and doesn't smudge (if you wanted it to last extra long, a powder eyeshadow in a similar shade to set it would do). It is also very hard to apply loads of product which if like me you're a little heavy handed.

The spooly is perfect to slightly spread and smudge the product through your brows for a more natural look before the product sets. It also tames the brows if you want to set them with a gel and handy to have throughout the day to brush through them.

Swatch

This eyebrow pencil has completely changed my life (dramatic I know). There are no faults and like no other brow pencil I have tested before.

• £15.50
• Cult Beauty

Nars - Laguna Bronzer

I have been thinking of buying this bronzer for a while, and have just been waiting for the perfect moment to splurge. There are already some great bronzer in my opinion that are much cheaper in price (Sleeks Contour Kit), so I never felt a need to buy it. Luckily my mind was made up for me as I received it as a present :)

The bronzer itself is almost completely matte, perfect for contouring and generously sized. For reference it is double the size of Nars blushes. It is the perfect bronzer for fair to medium skin because it does not have orange undertones unlike a lot bronzers which do not work if you do have fair skin. For someone with dry skin like me, it does not stick to dry areas, which is a plus and I always love applying it each day. Although I have not been using mine for that long, I know from other blogs and Youtube that it lasts for a really long time, even if you use it every day. I prefer to use this bronzer as either a contouring device (using my Real Techniques Contour Brush) or as a standard bronzer (using my Real Techniques powder brush) - see links below for both brushes reviews.

Nars packaging as always looks sleek when you buy it, but after a while when it gets put with other products gets covered in make up which is annoying!

• £26.00 for 8g
• http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk
• Nars Powder Bronzers
• My reviews on Real Techniques Contouring Brush and Powder Brush

Birchbox (June)

The theme of this box is festivals as well as items for the summer. This is the first time I am reviewing a Birchbox. I used to be subscribed to both Glossybox as well as the Jolie box. I then decided to terminate my Glossybox subscription because I found each box I got had always a product I was disappointed in. I was always pleased with my Jolie box, which has now paired up with Birchbox.

Items in the box;

1) Beauty Protecter leave in conditioner

2) Color Club nail varnish

3) Coola sun cream

4) ModelCo eyeliner pencil

5) Noble Isle Shower gel

1) BEAUTY PROTECTOR - PROTECT & DETANGLE £15.00
   - 'Multi-purpose products are festival friendly and this sweet-smelling spray detangles, adds shine and protects from UVA rays and heat.'
   - I do not normally buy new hair products that often so its always nice to receive on in a box. This leave in conditioner also provides as a thermal and UV protector. Its a good tester size and perfect for light travelling on holiday.

2) COLOR CLUB + BIRCHBOX - WANDERLUST COLLECTION NAIL POLISH £10.00
   - 'Brighten up your festival style with these exclusive-to-Birchbox neon and pastel shades.'
   - I received two nail varnishes, a neon (but pastel) mint green called London Calling and a off white called Mod In Manhattan. I have tested these out and they require a good few coats. I would have rather had two different products that two of the same and the white shade is going to be hard to wear.

3) COOLA - CLASSIC FACE SPF 30 CUCUMBER £26.00
   - 'Wave goodbye to sun protection's typical white residue and help prevent premature ageing with this clear cucumber-scented SPF for face'.
   - The sample will only last about two attempts and is a light based suncream. It does have a cucumber smell, however I am not sure if I would want that smell to linger for the whole day.
4) MODELCO - EYE DEFINE EYE PENCIL £14.00
   - 'Highly pigmented and long-lasting, this fab pencil liner comes with an in-built sharpener - perfect for festivel rock chick style'.
   - I love that this eyeliner comes with a sharpener. It's meant to be blendable and then set to not budge throughout the day. Testing it out on the back of my hand, its really soft and pigmented.
5) NOBLE ISLE - BATH & SHOWER GEL £20.00
   - 'Pack a little luxury for the festival season with this bath and shower gel inspired by the countryside'.
   - Smells AMAZING!!!! It has a sweet perfume scent and is called Willow Son Lavenham Walk. I can see myself being tempted to buy the full version of this one!

• You can subscribe to Birchbox at http://birchbox.co.uk (£10.00 + p&p)

Make-up for the Summer (part 3)

As I said in my introduction to these posts, I prefer to let my skin breathe during the day. In London I do wear a tinted moisturiser/BB cream. But while away in hotter climates I try not to put any on and just try to use concealer. During evening in summer I like to wear foundation and go for a glowing complexion. I only in wear blush during the evening, as during the day I'm naturally slightly pinky so would be pointless.

• The BB/Tinted Moisturiser I am using is from KORRES. Although after I have a tan this shade will be too light for me, I'm loving it for now. It is gives a light coverage and comes in a tube. (review on this product shall follow shortly).

• The foundation I love to use in the summer are either my JEMMA KIDD Light As Air Foundation in 04 Medium. If you do not know, Jemma Kidd has gone into administration so the products are no longer available :(. It gives a perfect amount of coverage and lasts long.

• Another foundation I love is CHANEL Vitalumière in 40 Beige. It is a glowing foundation with a medium to heavy coverage. Smells lovely and is moisturising (good for people with dry dry skin).

• I always get compliments on this Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nectar. The colours can be used separately as eyeshadows or individual blushes or swirled together to produce a beautiful shimmery orange-pink (similar to Nars Orgasm blush). It doesn't require a highlighter and reflects the light really well.

• MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Dollymix.  Not that shimmery but a lovely (extremely pigmented) blush. The name says it all and perfectly describers the shade - a bright pink. I love to use this blush when I dont want a lot of blush on and want the attention on my eyes instead.

• MAYBELLINE Dream Touch Blush in 06 Berry. Although it doesn't last as long as I would want, It is a lovely bright pink (almost identical to MAC's Dollymix above). It has a light shimmer that blends really well with the above foundations I mentioned.

• BOBBI BROWN Shimmer Powder in Veil.

•  NARS Bronzer in Laguna. I have written a review about this product and absolutely love to use it as a contour. I know on holiday your tanned and may not want to look even darker with a bronzer, but if you don't tan, or haven't gone on holiday, its perfect to give the illusion of a tan.

•  BM BEAUTY Mineral  Bronzer in Summer Warmth. I only have a tester sample size which is 1g and the actual size is 4g. Such a beautiful bronzer, which can also be used on the body as well as the face. A little goes a long way and requires a light hand.

• BENEFIT High Beam is a gorgeous pink toned highlighter. Perfect to blend into the cheek bones and brow. It is a weird sensation to rub a liquid in on your cheek bones but is such a stunning almost milky shimmer.

• Make-up for the Summer Part 1
• Make-up for the Summer Part 2
• Reviews on products mentioned Bobbi Brown Shimmer Powder

Make-up for the Summer (part 2)

Personally my lips get just as dry in the summer as they do in the winter. People almost always remember to apply suncream and face cream with an SPF but forget that their lips also need to be protected from the sun. So when sunbathing I always apply a lip balm with an SPF.

When in London (with temperatures rarely reaching 25 ˚C in the summer) I normally don't necessarily purposely reach for a lip product with an SPF. But love wearing coral shades and normally I wear more lip glosses.

• REVLON Colorburst in 046 Sizzle Canicule. A bright coral lipgloss that can be applied quite sheer, but can also be built up to a bright thick coral lip. I also love the doe foot applicator.

• N ̊7 High Shine in Whisper, terrible applicater, but a beautiful shimmery gold shade. It also has an SPF of 15.

• REVLON Colourburst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart which is a bright pink balm, perfect with a tan and really moisturising.

• RIMMEL LONDON Moisture Renew Lipstick in 600 Soft Coral. Such a summer orange-coral shade. I love this collection of lipsticks, they are all moisturising and last long on the lips.

• MAC Viva Glam Gaga is a lovely baby pink shade with a lustre finish. It is similar to Angel also from MAC.

• Link to my previous (Part 1) post on eyes 

Make-up for the Summer (part 1)

Eyes

Mascara A waterproof mascara is essential for the summer months as I am sure you'll all agree. Not only for swimming, but also for being in the heat where your likely to sweat (gross I know) and the mascara will run. Finding a good waterproof mascara I think is difficult because you of course want your usual thick volumised lashes but want the mascara to not run and be as easy as possible to remove at the end of the day.

To be completely honest, I have not yet found an amazing waterproof mascara and I am still searching for it (if you have a good one let me know in the comments).

• For the moment I have been using MAYBELLINE Volum' Express One-by-One Waterproof Mascara which does do the job but occasionally mascara breaks off onto my face (if you understand what I mean).

The label has rubbed off

Eyeliner I do not normally wear my usual liquid eyeliner because although you can buy waterproof ones, I have not found a good one. Instead I opt for regular kohl eyeliner pencils, but under no circumstances do I apply them above my top lashes, avoiding some major transfer onto my brow bone. But instead I like to use bright colours under my bottom lashes, as well as a black eye pencil on my top and bottom waterline.

Colours in order as mentioned below.

• My favourite is MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Out To Sea. It is a gorgeous true turquoise and unfortunately it has been discontinued *sob* NOOOOO!!!!!!! (Something similar is Macs Pro Longwear Eye Liner in Mountain Air) both lines from MAC that I have mentioned are waterproof, smudge free and long lasting.

• RIMMEL LONDON Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 014 Bright Blue. A cobalt blue that doesn't smudge and is a new purchase of mine.

• For my waterline I like to use either RIMMEL LONDON Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 061 Jet Black, a soft long lasting standard black liner that I use all year round, OR if I want a softer look I use MAC Eye Pencil in Coffee, which also lasts long in the waterline.

• Even though above I said I don't use liquid liner in the summer, during the evenings I love to use YSL Eyeliner Moiré in the Blue one (there is not a name).

Eyeshadow During the day, wearing eyeshadow is not necessary for me. But during the evenings I see myself reaching for golds and bronzy shades. I have to put on Urban Decay Primer Potion to avoid my eyeshadow moving.

• MAYBELLINE Color Tattoo 24 HR in 05 Eternal Gold and 35 On and on Bronze. These are gorgeous shades of gold and bronze (as said in their names). They stay on for a long time and have excellent pay off.

• BENEFIT Velvet Eyeshadow in Rich Beach is a beautiful deep gold. It is shimmery but not that bold. 

• MAC Eye Shadow in Gorgeous Gold, A yellowy gold with a deluxe pearl finish. Its perfect to use to brighten up the inner eye, or lightly dusted over the lid.

• BOBBI BROWN Metallic Eye Shadow in After Hours. An extremely dark browny raisin shade. I love to use this for a smokey eye along with the Benefit eyeshadow mentioned above. It really compliments brown eyes in my opinion.