Beauty Wishlist

Beauty Wishlist // February 2016

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer

I brought a mini of this a while ago to trial out and only used it when I was going out for the evening, or a special occassion and I've just ran out. This is skincare and a primer in one, it's oil free and works really well with my combination skin. It conceals pores, any fine lines, blurs any imperfections and leaves your skin feeling like velvet, leaving a beautiful base for make up to sit on. I also think it helps to prolong the wear of my base, even though I still get a little oily, it's more of a slight dewy sheen on the skin instead of looking greasy.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation

I've heard so many people rave about this product, claiming it's full coverage, leaves a beautiful finish and works well for oily skin. I'm almost out of my Estee Lauder Double Wear and after a new foundation, I like medium - full coverage, matte or semi matte finish and for it to wear well - is that too much to ask for?!

Perricone MD No Bronzer Bronzer

I swatched this recently and loved how easily it blends in to the skin, it's a lovely natural sunkissed shade with a bit of warmth to it and it just melts in, blending so easily.

Too Faced Cocoa Contour Kit

I've been after a contour kit for a while now, I tried the Anastasia Beverley Hills palette but wasn't completely happy with it. I want the two lighter shades to be like Emphasize Pro Highlighting powder from Mac and a pan form of Ben Nye Banana powder, along with a champagne, shimmery - not glittery, highlighter, then a golden bronzer like Tarte's Park Avenue Princess, along with an ashy contour shade and a slightly warmer colour. I should just get a Z palette and depot all these products indivudually, haha.

Tarte Tartlette Palette

 This is full of matte neutral shades that look really intensely pigmented but easy to blend. I love matte shades and I've really missed having a neutral palette that I can create more easy to wear looks with. Have any of you guys used this palette? Or do you have other recommendations? Ideally I'd just repurchase the Lorac Pro eyeshadow palette but it's so hard to get hold of in Australia!

Kate Somerville Exfolikate

I've heard so many things about Kate Somerville products and this has rave reviews on the Sephora website. I can't go without an exfoliater, otherwise I find make up doesn't sit as well on my skin and my Dermologica Daily Microfoliant is just about to run out!

What are you lusting after recently? Do you have any product recommendations for me?

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Budget Beauty // Face of Australia

 I know, you can't get hold of Face of Australia the UK, I promise I'll get back to reviewing products that are available worldwide soon enough but I couldn't bypass shining a little spotlight on the brand Face of Australia. I recently picked up a few of their products from Priceline, some I wasn't a fan of, two that I love and they're so cheap I can't not tell you about them. 

 The first is their powder blush in Nutmeg, this comes in pan form and it's just $9.45 - it's a warm coral shade with shimmer, that looks very similar to Coralista from Benefit. It's a little less pink toned and not quite as overwhelmingly shimmery on the cheeks, which for some people be a plus. It's a finely milled powder, buttery and blends beautifully on the cheeks leaving you with a hint of colour and a healthy glow. It's not intensely pigmented, but I do like that you can build it up to the finish you want.

The Brow Sculpting Gel I picked up in the shade Light/Medium, which is ideal for my newly lightened hair. This is really similar to the Benefit Gimme Brow, it has tiny fibres in it and it's a pigmented gel so as you brush through your brows it adds colour and fullness. This didn't leave the dreaded crispy finish that some brow gels can offer, instead it just makes you look like you've got naturally bomb eyebrows which is all I want and it's only $9.95.

Have you found any budget beauty products recently that you love?

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New In / Buxom, Tarte, BareMinerals.

New In: Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer, Tarte bronzer in Park Avenue Princess, BareMinerals Bareskin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer, Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara, Buxom Full On Lip-Stick in Marrakech. 

I feel like it's been the longest time since I brought myself any high end goodies, so I decided to treat myself, while trying out some new brands that are available to me in Australia. I've always lusted after Tarte and Buxom, but they're not easy to get hold of in the UK. I've been loving brighter skin recently, so I couldn't pass up the Buxom Divine Godess Luminizer, which is literally Victoria Secret babe in a tube. I use this alone as a base, mixed in to foundation, on top, it's so versitile and it never looks overdone. It gives your skin a luminosity that just makes you look dewy - not oily, but healthy. I have oily skin and I don't have an issue with this looking greasy or overdone. Even though it looks golden and warm in the tube, it may add the slightest, almost unnoticeable tint of colour to your face but it's barely noticeable.

To add to the bronze glow, the Tarte bronzer in Park Avenue Princess is a highlighter and bronzer in one. I actually use this on top of my matte bronzer, just to go over my cheekbones and temples to add a golden sheen to the skin. I feel like this just adds the nicest touch of shimmer to the skin, ideal if you're going blush free, just bronzing the skin and want a warm highlighter. It's not super pigmented so I don't feel like you could overdo it even though it looks intense in the pan.

The BareMinerals concealer was a last minute basket add, I swatched it on the back of my hand and the coverage, the smooth finish - I was sold. If you have oily skin, you'll have to set this. It's got a really beautiful coverage, with a very dewy finish which I find works well underneath the eyes, but around the face on my skin type everything just slips around. On dry or normal skin, you would love this, it's super hydrating, it doesn't settle in to lines and it does have a serum finish which is glowy.

The Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara is always mentioned on blogs and YouTube, so I couldn't pass up this mini. The brush is full, so it really grabs every hair and it fully coats each lash. It doesn't do an amazing job at adding length, but volume and thickness it's got covered. I need to invest in a good lengthening mascara, then layer it with this and I'll have lashes for days.

The Buxom Lip-Sticks I'd never heard of before but I loved the simple packaging and I fell in love with the shade Marrakech and so would you if you're a nude lover. It's super creamy, really comfortable to wear, relatively long lasting, pigmented and it gives your lips a bizarre cooling feeling when it's first applied.

I'm digging pretty much everything I brought, successful haul - plus I also went back for a beauty blender and I have to say that they're worth the price and applying foundation or concealer with them is just dreamy. I've tried a few dupes, but after the real thing, they don't really compare.

What're your most recent beauty purchases? 

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Beauty Blog Sale // beauty products, skincare.

UK ONLY unless willing to pay extra shipping fee's.

PAYPAL PAYMENT only, POSTAGE & packaging IS £3.00 - for multiple items, I can combine postage!

COMMENT BELOW / TWEET ME @ GOLDENGLOWW

EMAIL ME - GoldenGlowBlog@hotmail.com

APOLOGIES for the quality of the photos.
ALL PRODUCT USAGE LISTED BELOW - MOST NEW OR NEAR TO.

DIOR Star Foundation, shade 031, used once. £12.50 The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil, 85% left. £4.00 Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation, shade 5, 50% left. no lid - £4.50 Clarins Lipstick, Tropical Pink, used once, £5.00 The Balm, Sexy Mama translucent powder, £7.00 Mac Skin Base Visage Mini, £1.00 Clarins Cream Eyeshadow, Aquatic Grey, never used, £6.00 Mac Studio Sculpt concealer, 90% left, NW25, £4.50 Benefit mini cream shadow, birthday suit, £1.00  Make Up Store eyeshadow, Diva, barely used, £2.00 Soap & Glory CC superfluid, never used, nude peach, £2.50 Clarins Extra Comfort Foundation, '110 Honey', 90% left, £10.50 Benefit Majorette Cream Blush, swatched once, £7.50 Philosophy BB cream, 02 medium, never used. £5.00 Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Base, 02 champagne, £7.50 Benefit Big Easy BB cream, slight marking on packaging, 90% left, 04 medium, £8.50 Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask, 80% left, £4.00 Nuxe 24HR soothing and rehydrating mask, 70% left, £4.00 Clarins Ombre Cream Eyeshadow - 01 Aquatic Rose, 95% left. £5.00 Illamasqua Eyeshadow Quad in 'Neutral Palette' barely used, as shown. £14.50 Clarins Eyeshadow Single in 'Smoky Plum' barely used. £4.00 Nars Cream Eyeshadow in 'El Dorado' usage shown, 90% left. £5.50  Korres Wild Rose Foundation, WRF2, 95% left. £4.00 Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Foundation, 72, used once. £2.00 Benefit Watts Up Cream Highlighter, 90% left, £10.00 Dr. Jart BB Cream, used once, £5 Stila Stay All Day Foundation and Concealer, 5 Hue, 85% left. £8.50 Clarins Face & Blush Powder 'Opalescene' 90% left. £9.00 Cargo blush in Catalina, barely used, £5.00 Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadow, Bone, 90% left, £5.00 Liz Earle bronzing powder, usage shown, £4.50 YSL Liquid Lipstick, 18, barely used. £7 Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, barely used, in box - shade warm beige 3.5 £11.50 Clinique Chubby Stick Eyeshadow in Fudge, barely used, £5.00  Mac eyebrow pencil, lingering, barely used £5.50
Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector '03' used once. £5 Too Faced Lipstick, 'Naked Dolly' caught slightly in the lid, 80% left. £7 Too Faced Plumping Lip Crayon, 90% left. £4 Clarins Lip Balm in 'Sweet Cherry' 85% left. £5 Clarins Lipgloss, Coral Tulip, used twice. £5.50 Nars Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, shade Santa Fe, 80% left. £10 Nars Cream Eyeshadow in 'El Dorado' usage shown, 90% left. £5.50 Clarins Cream Blush in '01 - peach' barely used. £5 Soap & Glory Glow All Out Highlighting Powder, barely used. £4.50  Mac Full Coverage Foundation, NC20, used twice, £10.50  The Body Shop Bronzing Powder, 03, usage shown. £5  Illamsaqua Lipstick in 'Liv' 85% left. £5.50 Too Faced Holiday palette, contains two bronzers, two blush, range of eyeshadows and a booklet with looks, usage shown, mainly just the ivory shade - £11.50 Kiko Universal Fit Foundation, '07' never used. £2.50 Kiko Luscious Lipstick, shade 500, £1.50 Estee Lauder Matte Primer, 60% left, £6.50 Nars Multiple - now discontinued and unavailable, Palm Beach, 90% left. £12 Mac Cream Blush in 'So Sweet So Easy' 75% left. £6.00

Mac Powder Blush, Rosy Outlook, used once. £7.50

Benefit, Boi-ing Concealer, '03' 90% left. £5.00

Bourjois Beige Rose concealer barely used - £1

Bourjois BB Bronzing Balm, used once. £1.50 Mischa Perfect Cover BB Cream, never used. £2.50 Stila Liquid Lipstick in 'aria' - barely used. £5.50

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Sportsgirl Nail It! Plain Jane

As far as I'm aware, Sportsgirl is mainly a fashion focused brand but they've branched out in to beauty. At first glance I wasn't overly impressed by the range, but a browse and a swatch later I'd ended up with six of their Nail It! varnishes in my basket. They were around $9 each and after wearing it the last week I'm so impressed I even debated going in to town to buy back ups. For a start, they apply easily, with an opaque colour in just one coat, they dry pretty quickly and after a week of wear I have 7 nails unchipped or marked which is unheard of for me, especially because I'm doing a lot of physical work recently. In particular I've fallen for the shade ' Plain Jane' which looks almost like a baby blue in the photo, but it's a light grey with a hint of blue. The range of shades isn't huge, I think the store I visited had about 12 colours, but along with nail paints, I also discovered their bronze body shimmer and their jewellery which is all very cool and inexpensive and doesn't leave you with discoloured fingers like some brands.

 

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Loving Tan Ultra Dark Mousse

If you follow my Instagram (lisamichellexx) or my blog reguarly, you'll know that I recently quit my job, applied for a working holiday visa and ended up in Australia. While I'm here, it would be rude not to see what this beautiful place has to offer in the beauty department. If you haven't heard of Loving Tan before, they've an Australian based self tanning company that ship worldwide. I'd had my eye on the brand for a while, so when they offered to send me their Ultra Dark Mousse to trial along with their Deluxe Self Tanning Applicator Mitt and Skin Polishing Glove, I couldn't really say no. Who would know how to recreate a bronzed glow better then bronzed Aussie babes that also want to protect their skin at the same time?

First Impressions:

The packaging is girly and chic, a little easier on the eye then the basic packaging most other brands opt for. I love the branding of Loving Tan, along with the name and the range of products I've browsed on their website. They seem to have all bases covered, whether you're after a light tint, wash off body make up or an ultra deep olive tan. Their tanning products are salon inspired and claim to combine a self tanner with a moisturiser in one, whilst also being fast drying and deep in colour. The Ultra Dark is recommended for experianced tanners and having been 'body bronzing' for 6 years, this is the shade I opted for. The base colour is a deep brown with a red undertone and as I applied it I noticed how easily it blended in, how light the scent was and how deep the colour looked. Not to fear though, once applied the colour seems to settle in slightly and looks like you've had a few days on a beach in the sunshine, it then continues to develop and (if you're a regular self tanner, you'll know what I mean) its completely satisfying to see your skin tone deepen to a deep, olive shade. The test is always the next day though, when you wash off the colour guide, and I was not disappointed when I was still left with a realistic, dark tan. I also had my boyfriends mum and nan comment on how much nicer and natural it looked compared to my previous tanning products, even though it was darker!

I've used it three times now since then and each time I've been so happy with the result I've achieved, it dries quickly, it doesn't leave you feeling tacky and it lasts a full week on my skin which impressed me hugely as I'd never been able to maintain a tan for that long before! Considering I'm hugely lazy with moisturising my skin in the days after, all I can assume this is down to is the Skin Polishing Glove and the product itself. To prep my skin, I simply have a long soak in the bath, then exfoliate my skin, apply an oil free moisturiser on any dry areas then apply the self tanning mousse in circular motions, all over my body. Simple as that.

 At $39.95, it works out at £32.35 with the cost of shipping to get it delivered to the UK, or if you're in Australia shipping will cost you $9.95. If you're interested in seeing more before and after photos, search for 'lovingtanofficial' on Instagram or Loving Tan on Youtube and you'll be blown away by the amount of people that rave about it!

They've also generously offered all my readers a free deluxe tanning mitt ($14.95) with any order of a self tanning mousse, using the code 'GOLDENGLOW' at the checkout stage.

Here's some photos of me wearing the Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse. 

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