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.

Make-up for the Summer

It is finally summer time and I cannot wait to to go away and enjoy basking in the sun!

Following this post are going to be detailed individual posts containing make-up products I am loving to use this summer :). I thought it would be useful for anyone interested in trying out products I personally rate highly.

Summer 2012, Kalkan Turkey

On holiday I prefer to wear less make-up as I see the summer as an opportunity to let my skin breathe.  Everyone freaks out about the sun and of course it is important to apply the correct SPF suncream throughout the day but also it is important to realise that your skin does need the sun to produce Vitamin D (you can obtain it from diary products among other things but not in as large amounts as from the sun). I am no expert but I have learnt that Vitamin D is essential for bone health as well as prevention from some major health risks. The darker your skin is, the more sun you require to produce the same amount of vitamin D as fairer skins. Anyways moving away from the science talk and towards the make-up bit…

My first post will entail my make-up summer essentials for my eyes (should be up on my blog tomorrow) and then each other face area shall follow. This just prevents each post from being extremely long. Hope you enjoy :)

Summer 2012, Nice France

Bobbi Brown - Luxe Sparkle Powder in Veil *LIMITED EDITION*

The packaging is not the usual black packaging but instead mirrored. 

I saw this as I was walking past the Bobbi Brown stand and had to swatch it to see what it was like.

It is the most stunning shimmer I have ever seen (extreme I know).

It can be used in a multiple number of ways. Defined as a 'sparkle powder' that can be used as a body glitter on nights out or on holiday. It can also be used as a shimmer highlighter and eyeshadow. Personally I prefer it just as a light body glitter on my décolletage and I cannot wait to properly use it when I go away this summer :)

 These photos do not give this glitter powder justice, so definitely go see it in the store and swatch it :) Also don't forget it is limited edition so shall not be on the shelves long if you want it.

• It is limited edition and costs £36.00
• Where you can buy it from: Selfridges, Harrods, John Lewis
• Bobbi Brown website (USA)