Sunday 26 September 2010

Foundation Swatches

From Left to Right:
Bourjous Healthy Mix Foundation in 'Beige Clair'
Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC30
Dior Forever Foundation in '030 - Medium'
Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation in 'Natural Beige 106'
Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation in 'Deep Beige 111'
Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in '205'
Revlon PhotoReady Foundation in '008 Golden Beige'
Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation in 'Nude'
Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation in 'Sun Beige'
Max Factor Miracle Touch Foundation in 'Almond'
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse 'Sand'
Calvin Klien Infinate Matte Foundation in 'Wheat'
Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid in 'Light Porcelian'
Revlon Beyond Natural Foundation in Medium
Neutrogena Glow Sheers in 'Light'
Revlon Colorstay Foundation in '350 Rich Tan'
Mac Mineralize Spf Foundation in 'NC25'
Loreal Roll On True Match Foundation

I thought this might help anyone trying to find out what shade foundation they should buy :)
If anyone wants a review on the foundations listed above, let me know!
x

Products I Regret Buying


First up we have Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light. £5.99
I brought this after seeing it on youtube and hated it. I purchased it in 'Light' and I find that the bronzer doesn't look right on my skin and the Highlighting powder is too peach toned and too glittery.

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Concealer. £5
It looks fine when you first dot it
on your skin but then when you attempt to blend it in it just cakes up and settles into fine lines. Hate this.

Dior Forever Extreme Wear Foundation Spf 25. £28.00
I had high hopes for this foundations. It claims to be an 'extreme wear' foundation that is long lasting and even has an spf. I remember loving this for the first two weeks and then I completely went off it. The beauty assistant recommended 030 for me at the time which looking back was slightly too dark and I found this oxidised during the day.. which my mum even noticed. I would leave the house looking put together and return home looking like someone had replaced my head with a giant orange. For £28, not im
pressed. I still mix it in with my other foundations though otherwise it's just a waste!
Max Factor FaceFinity Compact Foundation. £10.99
I purchased this after seeing someone rave about it on Youtube and was highly disappointed. It not only looks cakey but you can feel it on your skin.. you know that horrible dry powdery feeling? The colours also run a little dark so prepare to be orange!

Revlon Nude Attitude Lipstick - £7.99
Everyone raved about this for ages so I gave it and purchased it.. And it's horrible. It has an orange/peach undertone which is not flattering in the slightest and it's extremely drying on the lips.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Illamasqua: First Thoughts


I've never tried out Illamasqua products before so I decided to treat myself to some goodies.

Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in RF205

Illamasqua Concealer in CC210


Illamasqua Powder Blusher in 'Katie'

To start off, I don't have a counter near where I live so the only option is to order online. This is where the stressful part comes in...


Illamasqua offer a vast range of colours for their foundations and concealers which sounds g
reat but when ordering online it's a complete nightmare. You will have no idea where to start and the colour swatches aren't incredibly helpful so it's all a bit hit and miss.

I went for 205 which is aimed at 'Light Skin with Neutral Undertones' as I'd seen it swatched on someones blog and it looked quite dark, however it's definately a few shades too light, so be careful if you're thinking of purchasing via the internet.First Impressions...

Rich Liquid Foundation
:
£21.00 for 30ml, the bottle is a bit laughable for the price but then I discovered that you o
nly need a tiny amount to cover all of your face. The bottle has a very minimalist design but a nice twist top lid and squeezy tube which is great to control how much product you want to dispense. I kid you not when I say this foundation has incredible pigmentation easily beating Revlon Colorstay or Mac Studio Fix and is definitely described correctly as full coverage. It dries to a semi matte finish and does need to be blended well but has the ability to cover pretty much anything. However, it is definitely not suited to those with dry skin. This will stick to any dry patches and make you a flakey mess! Oily skinned girls, I found this to stay all day surprisingly without powder so this is one for us!

Concealer:

I haven't had a chance to properly test this out yet but it also seems very high coverage. The packaging is pretty sleek and comes with a little mirror in the lid which is always a plus for me because I constantly lose mine! I have high hopes for it being great for blemishes however maybe not so much for under eye as it seems quick thick and not as creamy as I'd wanted so it has the potential to cake and settle into fine lines. Price is £12.50 for 2g's.

Blush:
The colour is beaaaautiful. A light pretty pink with incredible pigmentation, one swipe of your finger is all that's needed to pick up the colour however when i dabbed my brush it in earlier it seemed slightly powdery so that could potentially be an issue. The price for a powder blush is £16
Overall I think I did expect.. something more when paying the amount Illamasqua charge for their products however I'd not had a chance to properly use the concealer or blush and could end up thoroughly impressed. The colour pay off seems pretty amazing, pigmentation is amazing and I'm liking the foundation. So I'll give it a fair trial and post a proper review in a week or so!

x Have any of you tried Illamasqua Products? x

Monday 20 September 2010

Miss Sporty 'Innocence' Lipstick

Just a quick post on a lipstick I found lurking about in my make-up bag..
Bare Lips
Miss Sporty 'Innocence' Lipstick

I did apply a thin layer of foundation on my lips before applying this lipstick, purely because my lips are so pigmented and I do this with all - even nudes!

If you're looking for the perfect pink on a budget, miss sporty innocence is for you and only costs around £3!

Sunday 19 September 2010

Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation


Maybelline are doing pretty well as a 'low end' brand, they hold their own against quite a few of the high end names and I'm a big fan of a few of their foundations (such as this one, the Pure Liquid Minerals and I've heard good things about their Satin Dream Liquid Foundation also) and their mascaras.

Price: £7.99 for 14 grams.

As you can see I've repurchased quite a few times and have this in (left to right) Nude, F
awn and Sun Beige.

The packagings a bit of a let down, it has a screw top lid that I have several times jammed into the product instead of screwing on, the plastic lid flips open to conceal a miserable looking flimsy sponge but that is the only major downside and what else can you expect for £7.99!

The foundation itself is a solid formula but on contact with skin it turns into a creamy liqu
id consistency. This product is mainly aimed at those with dry skin and is described as a 'ultra smooth and hydrating foundation' which I would definately agree with. It offers up a medium coverage which is buildable or can be sheered out using a light hand and creates the most beautiful dewy finish. No need for highlighters or pearlescent primers, this will leave you glowy and fresh faced.

Even though I have oily skin :( I refuse to give this up, it lasts quite well on my skin and I don't even mind the occassional touching up that might be required with my skin type purely for the dewy finish!

Friday 17 September 2010

Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer


After a horrible little breakout the other week I decided a concealer was urgently needed. A quick visit to Superdrug led me to picking this up not expecting much and thinking I would just bin it at the end of the week.

Price: Around £6 for 5ml

The applicator reminds me of a lipgloss and is handy to swipe onto problem areas or pop on the back of your hand. The product itself has a nice consistency and doesn't dry too quickly making it blend well and melt into the skin. It brightens the eye area nicely and gives a medium coverage which stays put for most the day with my oily skin, however as with all concealers be careful not to apply to much otherwise it might look slightly cakey! If you have a fully stocked Superdrug/Boots then I'm sure the colour selection just about caters for all but I could only get hold of 01 Nude Beige which is slightly too light.

Overall I'm quite impressed.
I'm sure there are better concealers on the market but if you're just looking for something affordable that covers small imperfections this is the one for you!


Tuesday 14 September 2010

Sigma F80 Brush Winner!



My Sigma brush contest ends tonight at 12pm so I thought as it's almost there, I need sleeeep and I'm going to be busy with college the next few days I thought I'd get it up now, so here it is!

I used random.org.

24 Entries.
It generated number 4 and that comment belonged to Sophie.

If you'd like to send me your shipping details to my e-mail address bubblinbudz@hotmail I'll pass it on to Sigma and they'll get your brush shipped off!

x


YAY!!!!!!

So I just got back from the test centre and...



I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST!!!!!


For those of you that commented on my last post about failing, thank you so much! If it hadn't of been for your encouragement I wasn't even going to try again!

xx

Mascara Overview

Elite Mascara
£8?
Available in Superdrug
Odd wand, the bristles spiral round and look like a corkscrew opener instead of a normal brush!
Lengthens Lashes
Seperates Well
Doesn't add alot of volume!
6/10
Benefit Bad Gal Mascara
£15.50
Massive wand that covers every little hair.

Attractive packaging
Lovely formula, seperates, lengthens and add volume.
Can be built up.
9/10
Bourjous Elastic Mascara
£9
Rubber wand with very short bristles.
Very strange handle, bit flimsy!
Formula is very, very wet so lashes clump up very easily unless you are extremely careful with aplication!
Added a little length but didn't give me any thickness or seperate well.
3/10

Max Factor False Lash Effect
£10.99
Big rubber wand with short bristles.
Nice formulation, covers lashes well and seperates.
Adds lengths but not enough volume!
7/10

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Mascara
£7.99
Hideous packaging.
Strange wavey wand that takes a bit of practise!
Seperates well, adds length and volume but dries out quite quickly.
Feels a tiny bit dry.
Applying in stages works well.
7.5/10

Rimmel Maxi Volume Flash Mascara
£6.99
Tacky packaging unless you love pink
Nice chunky wand with lots of bristles.
Formula is very wet so leaving it to dry up slightly for a few weeks helps.
Adds a lot of length, seperates well and adds volume.
Crispy lashes. :(
7.5/10

What's your favourite mascara?

Sunday 12 September 2010

Simple Smokey Eye

I never usually attempt smokey eye looks as I can never get the hang of blending and don't have the patience.
However, if I do happen to have some time to spare I take the simple route and follow these quick easy steps.

1. Liquid liner on the top lid
Starting on the outer 3/4 of the eye and creating a flick at the end.

2. Benefit Bad Gal Liner on the eyelid, smudge with your finger.

3. Benefit Bad Gal on the bottom waterline.

4. Lashings of Rimmel Maxi Volume Flash Mascara

5. Shimmery grey or brown gently smudged on the bottom lashline.
Hello Sleek Palette!

And you're ready to go!

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation Review


It really pains me to write this review as I've been lusting after Chanel Pro Lumiere for ages after watching the PixiWoo videos and buying into the hype. I envisaged a slightly thick formula that would give me medium to full coverage, buildable, with a beautiful dewy sheen and that I would instantly fall in love.

However, that wasn't the case.

Starting with the positivies...
Chanel packaging is simple yet attractive and makes you feel like
you've treated yourself to a luxurious product.
It has a pump so you can control the amount of foundation you us
e.
It smells lovely!

Now on to the bad..
A bottle of Pro Lumiere will set you back £31.00 for 30ml, expensive if it becomes your regular HG foundation hey? That would be if you could even find a colour
that suits your skin type
as is only comes in 6 shades.

Now, I tried this out for two days.
First day I applied this , set with Mineralize SkinFinish, worked for 4 hours, came home and it looked terrible.

I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and today spent a good amount of time pressing it into my skin, stippling and buffing.. I intended not to set it with a powder to let the true properties of the foundation show however I don't see how anyone could leave the house without powder as it leaves a tacky feeling to your skin, transfers easily
and leaves you with a greasy sheen. and that's only ten minutes after applying!

On both days after a 4/5 hour shift I looked in the mirror and completely regretted trying it out. I found it to have a light to medum coverage, alone it's not able to cover freckles or imperfections properly, be slightly difficult to blend properly (which I've never experianced with a foundation before) and even when i had applied powder all over it looked cakey, gathered around the nose and in fine lines I didn't even know I had, and just highlighted any undereye circles! After a few hours of wear it had completely disappeared from my nose, forehead and around my chin.
By the end of the day I looked a mess. A big cakey mess.
I also found it to photograph horribly, you don't appear 'radiant and dewy' but instead a big greasy mess. It's quite possibly the worst and most unflattering foundation I've ever used.
I do have oily skin but even Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation which is targeted at people with dry skin and retails for only £8 gives me a lovely dewy finish that lasts me a good 6 hours.

Disappointed to say the least.

Have any of you girls tried this?
I am going to keep hold of my other sample bottle and pop that in with my giveaway, maybe the winner of the 50 followers contest will have better luck with it!!

Saturday 11 September 2010

Chanel Sublimage Essential Regenerating Eye Cream


I mentioned the Chanel Eye Cream a few days ago when I recieved a sample unexpectedly and decided to try it out.. why not, hey? The packaging, even in the sample testers are gorgeous as you can see!

The cream comes out thick and white and has a lovely refreshing scen
t that I think would appeal to most people! It feels lovely and moisturising round the eyes and applies almost like a gel consistency as you pat it around the eye area. I've only been using it for 2 days generously applying it day and night and this could quite easily be my imagination but I have seen an improvement in the fine lines around my eyes?!

All in all it's a lovely eye cream th
at I believe does work, of course it's no miracle product - if you were to smear it on your nan she wouldn't wake up looking 10 years younger but I think it would make a slight improvement with the wrinkles.

I was completely sold.. until I googled the Chanel Sublimage Essential Regenerating Eye Cream and found out it retails for £220.00 for just 50ml and even if I was rich enough to splash that amount of cash around on products I don't think I could ever justify spending over £200 on an eye cream.

What do you guys think of the price tag? Worth the money? Or a no no?

Friday 10 September 2010

Feline Flicks with Loreal Super Liner

I love liquid liner and wear it on a daily basis, my eyes look quite small without it so a lovely little feline flick elongates them and adds a bit of drama to my make-up.

Anyone new to liquid liner might find drawing a straight line or getting it right next to the lashes a bit of a challenge so for beginners or experianced eyeliner lovers I'd suggest.. Loreal Super Liner.

It retails for around £5 so it's completely affordable and the packaging is nice and sleek.
The tip of the brush is long, fine and flexible so it bends as you run it along your lashline making it pretty difficult to go wrong with.

The wand allows you to draw a nice thin line or if you turn it over then you can easily achieve a thicker line.
It dries to a lovely glossy finish that just generally looks far better than a completely ma
tte black, more forgiving if you do manage to bodge the line!
And if you do make a mistake a cotton bud and warm water will easily correct your mistake!


The only downside I've found is that after a few hours of wear if you do happen to forget your wearing it and rub your eye it smudges slightly and rubs some of it off. Not good. However it's small enough to chuck in your bag and have a quick touch up.

Apart from that it's affordable, has a great applicator tip, glossy finish and can be found at Superdrug and Boots!

Chanel Pro Lumiere


I had a little look around in Debenhams yesterday and got a few samples from the Chanel counter. I've been wanting to try Chanel Pro Lumiere for a while after seeing PixiWoo and Tanya Burrs videos on Youtube but I didn't want to pay out £28.00 on a foundation I might not like.

The lovely lady at Chanel gave me two little sample testers of Pro Lumiere in 20 - Clair and a little tube of the Sublimage Eye Cream aswell which so far I think is lovely!

I've only popped a bit of the foundation on to my hand at the moment so once I've tried and tested it properly and have come to the decision of whether to purchase a full size or not I'll post a proper review...

Have any of you guys tried Chanel Pro Lumiere.. ? Though
ts?


Thursday 9 September 2010

What's in my Mum's Make Up Bag


Bit of a random post but I've never really looked in my mums make-up bag before. I know from previous conversations that she doesn't like to wear a lot of make up and rarely uses foundation or blush as she has 'sensitive skin'. (I think she just says this to escape my makeovers haha)

She has a cute cream clutch bag that's spacious and clips up at the top. I got this for her last Christmas from New Look.

Inside she has..
A Bourjous, Maybelline and MUA shimmery champagne coloured eyeshadow
(The MUA shadow is suprisingly pigmented and good quality for £1!)
A Maybelline Stay Matte Foundation
A Collection 2000 Illuminating Concealor Pen
A Fluffy Eyeshadow Brush from Avon
Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara & Maybelline Colossal Mascara
Maybelline & 2 True Eyeliner
A Johnsons Naturals Moisturiser
Tinted Vaseline
A Red Rimmel Polish
Magnifying Mirror
and Bourjous tweezers.


I love noseying about in other peoples make-up bags and seeing what cosmetics they use!
x

Wednesday 8 September 2010

Benefit Hoola Bronzer: Warm Up Your Face For Winter

Even though I hate to think about winter already, here in England it's gradually getting colder and I'm pretty sure the Summer is done with.
I absolutely hate Winter.

I could rant for ages about the things that drive me crazy about cold English winters and how gritters seem to be non-exsistant where I live.. especially on hills. But, this is a post about bronzer. The closest anyone English will get to 'tan skin' now is with a bronzer unless they're investing in supplies of fake tan or are lucky enough to get away!


I love Benefit packaging, as I think everyone does! The bronzer comes in a cute box with a nice little brush and a pretty design on the outside. I've never had problems with the lid coming off in my bag and find the packaging to be nice and secure. Only downside is if you leave it in your bag and it rains it will end up tattered and peeling like mine!

Hoola is a completely matte bronzer which makes it suitable for contouring, adding a bit of colour all over the face or even using as an eyeshadow.
As you can see from the swatch Hoola comes out as a true brown shade with no noticeable red or orange undertones and would work for a variety of skin tones.

The product itself is very pigmented so a little goes a long way and this will last you aggges!

Benefit's Hoola retails for around £23.50 which I personally think is overpriced for just a bronzer but if you have the cash to spare and have wanted a matte true brown bronzer then I'd definately go pick one up!


Contest Time! [CLOSED]

A few weeks ago I posted a review on the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush.

This can be found following the link below:
http://goldenglowww.blogspot.com/2010/08/sigma-flat-top-kabuki-f80-review.html

I loved the brush and use it to apply my foundation every day now so I wanted to give one of you lovely followers a chance to get one too..
The lovely ladies over at Sigma have offered to provide a brand new F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush worth $16.00 plus free shipping for one of you to win!

All you have to do to enter is:
Be a follower, obviously.
Be 18 or over. Or have parental consent to give out shipping details.


And answer this little question:
What brush did I compare the Sigma F80 to in my review...?

The contest will run for a week and end on the Wednesday 15th September.
I'll be using random.org to find the winner, so only one comment each please

x

Saturday 4 September 2010

Mini Haul!


I've been trying to save my money lately and be sensible.. but every girl deserves a few treats every now and then!
So I picked up..

Calvin Klien Infinate Matte Oil-Free Foundation in '212 Wheat'
Hawaiian Tropic Island Radiance Self Tanning Creme
Trusty St.Moriz Bronzing Mousse

And I finally gave in and got myself a Blackberry Curve!
I'm such a newbie with the keypad and type ridicuously slow at the moment haha

Have any of you girlies picked up anything new lately?

Wednesday 1 September 2010

NYC: Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of

It's been almost a year since I visited New York on a college trip but I didn't have a blog back then and haven't been able to share photos so I thought I may aswell give you all a taste of NYC!

Apart from the 2 hour coach trip, 8 hour flight and waiting around that we went through getting there and back everything was amazing..
Our college was quite lenient and let us go off on our own after little visits as long as we were back at the hotel to sign in at 12pm, considering we were only 16-19 years old letting us loose in New York was a bit of a risk but hey ho we all made it back home safely! Our hotel was a 5 minute walk away from Central Park so it meant we could easily wander down and have a walk through the park, buy a pretzal or you can even get a horse and carriage or be towed along on the back of a pedal bike! Or a few blocks away there was a massive Starbucks, Mc Donalds and loads of food shops and cute little boutiques.

Of course we did all the touristy bits like visiting the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Times Square at night, Ferry around the Island to see the Statue of Liberty and lots of shopping! If anyone ever gets the chance to go then snap the oppertunity up, everything is so big and bright and beautiful I'd love to go again and maybe even stay for a year or two! I love the accents, Sephora, Victoria Secret, the variety of places to visit and seeing how different everything is.. however, the food was a bit strange. When I ordered Nachos they actually squirted bright yellow cheese onto them from a little squirty gun. Very bizzare! Oh and the taxi drivers are mad! They see a raised hand calling out for a taxi and bam! they will cut anyone up to get to you and find your destination as soon as possible, plus they have touch screen t.v's in the back too!


Have any of you guys been to New York or somewhere that left a lasting impression?