One thing that I can always count on to be (semi) affordable is the make up counter. Bread machines I may not know much about but make up I know. I bounced up the escalator and over to the 'Laura Mercier' counter. I've heard lots of good things about 'Laura Mercier' in the beauty blogging world and know full well that tinted moisturiser is a thing she does well. However, because my skin is being so odd at the minute and refusing to be all one colour I've been using about two layers of foundation just to keep it on and cover any blemishes until the end of the day.
Primers have been around for a while but only on my periphery for the last year or so and that's down to 'Urban Decay's Primer Potion' which is very hard to find! Then I tried 'Porefessional' by 'Benefit' after it got so much positive feedback yet I found it drying and didn't really improve my skin. So, this is my first real go with a primer in the hope that my combination skin will be left lightly moisturised without being oily and keep my foundation on my face. I went for the smaller version at £18, the bigger version is £28. It comes out white but turns to a light skin colour when rubbed in like a BB cream. I have yet to try it but will update at a later stage after a full evaluation has been carried out.
Stepping away from 'John Lewis' for the day I went off to my second favourite place 'Boots' who I'm sure could survive alone on the amount of money I drop off there each month. I'm a lover of 'Jergens' moisturiser due to its healing properties and the fact it lasts me a while but lately I've been looking for something more as the Winter weather has stripped my body of moisture.
'Aveeno' is made mostly of oats and can be found for £5 in the area next to the 'E45' for extra dry skin. It really does do what it says on the tin (tube?). At first it's slightly sticky but if you go to bed with it on you have silky soft, super super moisturised skin which looks visibly softer and will stay that way until your next shower. 7.5/10
I've been trying to switch from my usual bronzers to more pinky blushers and to be honest, I'm struggling. I don't think my skin is particularly red toned but blushers just seem to make it look that way. I thought I'd have struck lucky with 'Orgasm' by 'Nars' but even that failed to dazzle me. The only blusher I ever found that suited me was a mini cream blusher by 'Bourjois' and has since been discontinued so I was pretty pleased when I found this mini cream blusher by 'Max Factor' in a lovely corally pink for about £5. Some cream blushers can be too sheer but this one was very pigmented and stayed on for a good few hours although the colour can look a little red in some lights. 6/10
As previously stated my skin has gone nuts! Old blemishes have left minor scars which they never used to do and my skin tone has gone pretty uneven due to a lack of sunlight during Winter season. Therefore my usual tinted moisturisers and light weight foundations have had to move over for this long lasting foundation by 'Max Factor' which was about £10. I mix a little with my illuminating 'Clarins' foundation and apply two layers (I feel ashamed even typing that!) and a light dusting of powder to the T-zone to make sure it stays put. So far this has been working okay for me but I imagine more high end products might give that illusive glow as well as being full cover. 7/10
I have gone lipstick mad lately and as the person responsible for the make up and beauty department at work it's my job to test out all the lipsticks. My two favourites so far have been 'Whimsical', a light matte pink and the above ^ 'Macaroon' which is a brighter matte pink and looks amazing with a tan, both priced at £8 from 'Topshop'. The only downside to their lipstick range is that because they're matte your lips can get really dry but the upside is that these last for hours and the colour range has something for everyone. 9/10
Also from 'Topshop' is this dark pink polish that goes under the name 'One Hot Minute'. I find all the 'Topshop' nail polishes to be fast drying and long lasting and the above picture ^ was taken after three days of wear (one of which was taken after four hours of painting the store!) still very few chips. The colour range is absolutely huge with at least ten shades to every base colour i.e. green= mint, sea green, moss green, lime etc, and all for £5. The glitter and metallic shades are also strong rivals to 'Models Own' and 'Barry M' who up until now have been the main contenders for the more alternative nail designs.
So with all these hundreds of products I've got in various boxes, tubs and drawers where do I put my winners? In my new basket from 'TKMaxx' is where. I have two local branches which are both huge and have homeware sections that are out of this world. I skip straight past the clothes, shoes and bags and check the homeware out first because I know ultimately that's what's going to get my heart leaping. They have hundreds of different sized boxes decorated in various vintage designs but I went for this medium sized one for £5.
I would also like to point out that whilst driving back from a friends house this lunchtime I spotted what I think may well have been sunshine!
Bella
x
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