Top 3 foundations for Summer

Welcome back to the next instalment of my favourites for Summer series!  Today it's all about foundation, and whilst I haven't shown these products in place on my skin, I have done in previous reviews, and besides, this isn't a big review, it's more of a favourites :)

Makeup Forever HD foundation

This I picked up in Sephora when I was in France in Jan.  It hasn't suited my skin that well until now, I can thank pregnancy for that (and Origins skincare!).  My skin the last few months has been rough like sandpaper, dry and covered in spots.  I've been foundation free for most of that time, and actually got myself out of the habit of wearing it every day (which is very empowering!).  This lasts really well, it's medium-buildable coverage but looks really natural on the skin.

What surprises me about this, every time I'm wearing it and I feel like maybe I'm looking oily and patching, when I look in the mirror, it looks pretty much perfect!  It's long wearing and deals with little dry patches really well (better than my Chanel velvet foundation).  If you can get to a Sephora or get your hands on this, I highly recommend it - mine doesn't have a shade on it, but it was the lightest shade they sold :)

Chanel perfection lumiere velvet

I reviewed this recently, it's pretty much my favourite foundation at the moment, despite it not being perfect.

It's not heavy and I'd describe it as light-medium coverage.  It evens out your skin tones great, and sets to a really matte finish (it's basically made for oily skin!).  It lasts a long time on the skin, the only drawback is that if you have any dry patches, it will highlight them and not look great.  So take my advice, exfoliate first to get rid of as much of that dryness as possible, then moisturise and prime. That'll set you in good stead :)  If you're lucky and have oily skin with no dryness (huzzah!), then you needn't worry about that :)

** TIP **

It's not going to be for everyone, so I'd recommend popping to your local Chanel counter if you're thinking about getting it, and ask if you can apply it yourself to try it on.  I always recommend this as often the ladies (or gents) at the counters will apply it too heavily or different from how you would, meaning you might get different results from it.

Rimmel Match Perfection

Last but certainly not least, the wondrous Rimmel match perfection foundation (my shade is 010 Light Porcelain).  I've been recommending this to people for a while, after seeing Tanya Burr rave about it, and on the back of that getting it myself and loving it.  (thanks Tanya!)

This is one of those foundations that sets really well (matte), you'll need to apply a setting powder on top of it, and you won't be shine-free for the day if you have oily skin like me.  However, in spite of that it's a really great foundation.  It gets rid of all the redness on your skin and sets you back to neutral so you can add in the colour and definition where you want it :)  It's a purse-friendly option great for everyday use (review here) :)

So there's my top 3 foundations for the Summer, what 3 would you recommend for being good in the heat?

 

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Chanel perfection lumiere velvet foundation

I'm always on the lookout for a new, fab foundation, one that I'll reach for day in, day out.  Well, after seeing a couple of reviews about this, I was intrigued.  I have the vitalumiere aqua which I really love, however, thanks to my oily skin, it does have a tendency to slide off my face (trust me, not a good look).  I decided to pick this up as a birthday treat to myself the day after my birthday (18th April), so I've had enough time to put it through it's paces and see how it copes on my skin.

As I mentioned, I have really oily skin - what I mean by that, is a very ,very oily t-zone, and dry patches on my cheeks, so that doesn't make me the perfect candidate for this foundation, but does that stop me loving it?  Hell no!

As you can see, I have the lightest shade 10 beige, the woman in the shop really tried to get me to buy a darker one (why, I've no idea).  When I pointed to my neck and chest to show that this was the right colour match for me, she replied with 'Well, yes, it'll be a perfect match, but don't you want to add some colour, you're very pale'.... this is the story of my life when dealing with counter staff.  It's like they hate people who are pale and want to fake darken them all up!  I feel like yelling "Leave me the hell alone!!!!" I did tell her that I like rocking the pale look, and she seemed to shut up then.

As it turns out, this is still ever so slightly too dark for me, I have to blend it down my neck so it doesn't look too obvious.  It is yellow-toned as well, which suits me perfectly, pink-toned foundations do not look good on me.

This lasts really well through out the day, I know I don't need to keep re-checking it and certainly don't need to re-apply.  It has a true velvety finish, and it doesn't make me shiny.  If you have any dry patches on your skin, just make sure you moisturise first otherwise, this might not look amazing on you :)  All in all, I really love this foundation, it's pretty much the only one I've worn in the last few weeks (excluding my eczema-yestocucumbers-enduced skin rage where I couldn't wear any).  

Is it worth the money?  Personally, I think so.  Once Squidge arrives and I'm off my maternity pay and onto statutory I might not be able to afford to replace it, well, I know I won't,  so I just have to hope I find the money from somewhere, as I need this in my life :)

The good

It looks flawless on my skin, has a lovely matte finish and stays put all day without looking cakey.

The bad

You really need to moisturise before you use this if you have any dryness on your skin, otherwise it will emphasise those patches.

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK

 

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April 2014 Favourites

I usually do my monthly favourites on my YouTube channel, but seeing as I haven't uploaded to there for 2 months, I thought I'd do it on here :) 

I haven't been wearing 'that' much makeup this month, mostly just eye makeup.  If you saw my 'Yes to Cucumbers' review, then you'll know why I haven't been able to wear foundation until the last few days.  Thankfully, even though I still have some dry patches on my cheeks, I'm able to get away with wearing it again.

So, here's whats been on my face :)

Chanel perfection lumiere velvet

A full review will be coming of this in the next couple of weeks, so do not fear!  Either way, I love it! Perfect for oily skin, but be careful if you have lots of dryness as it does highlight dry skin.

Giorgio Armani eyes to kill mascara in 01*

This is a pretty mega-awesome mascara, another one where a full review is imminent.  It thickens, lengthens and helps curl, gives great volume and just generally makes your lashes look pretty sweet.

Yves Rocher volume vertige mascara*

Another awesome mascara, I've already done a full review of it here.  One coat is not so impressive, but 2-3 coats and your lashes will look spectacular!  

Smashbox 24 hr photofinish shadow primer*

This little beauty I reviewed on the blog earlier in the week, I really do prefer it to the Urban Decay primer potions I've been using for the past few years and will 100% replace it when it runs out, it's great if you have really oily lids :)  Review here.

GOSH forever eye shadow pencil

This little beauty (combined with the Smashbox primer) is amazing - put this on top of the primer, then your chosen eye shadow on top and you'll have some serious staying-power.  I get about 12+ hours out of it before any creasing starts to appear, which is unheard of for me :)  Review here.

Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner*

I never thought I'd find a liquid eyeliner that I'd prefer to my Chanel one, but here I am and Dolly Wink has stolen me away!  It has a really fine point on it so you can create a beautiful wing, it lasts all day, doesn't transfer onto my lid and is a great black (not a grey-black), here's my review.

Giorgio Armani eyes to kill silk eye shadow

When I went to the Giorio Armani event, I fell in love with this and just couldn't leave without it.  It was the first piece of makeup I'd bought in ages too, so I didn't feel too guilty about the price :)  It's a beautiful combination of purple with flecks of gold - it's very similar to the L'Oreal infallible shadows in that they're pressed, and come presented in a similar way.  It's long wearing and just beautiful :) Review here :)

On writing this up I'm aware lots of these favourites are items that were PR Samples (as noted by the *) but these are products I genuinely love and recommend.  I'd never review a product stating I liked it, if I didn't, and I certainly haven't been asked to include any of these in my favourites, these are just what I've been reaching for above everything else this month :)

What's been your favourites this past month?

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK

 

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Chanel vs Collection - Liquid eyeliners

I'll be honest, I've put off writing this post a bit.  Let me tell you about my love for Chanel.  There's many reasons I love them as a brand, their style is sophisticated and elegant, their beauty products are outstanding in quality, and in my opinion often unparalleled by other brands.  The Chanel Ecriture liquid eyeliner I hailed as my holy grail of liners a few months ago (review here), I've been buying it for about 10 years, each one lasts me about 10 months, so I always felt I had value for money.  I've tried and tried to find other liquid liners which are as good (pigmentation, staying power, and most importantly, don't melt onto my lid during the day) but I've never found anything that can hold a torch to Chanel, until now.  I'll let the photo's do the talking.

I think it's pretty clear which one looks better.  Both were 100% dry when photo's were taken, but yet the Chanel one is glossy and looks almost wet.  I love how the Collection one is so matte and so black, it's exactly what I look for in a liquid eyeliner.  The most important factor for me was whether the Collection fast stroke liner would transfer to to my lid during the day, which is what every other liquid eyeliner I've ever tried (apart from the Illamasqua precision ink) has done.  I tested it on hot sweaty days and cool days where I had to wrap up in a jumper.  No matter what conditions I tried it on, it didn't budge, even after 18 hours of wear, 18 hours!!!!

But lets not get too carried away, the Collection Fast Stroke is flawed, the applicator isn't as easy to use as the Chanel one as it's not as flexible, and you need to keep dipping it back into the well, but is that a big deal? No.  Next up, there's quite a few parabens in it (Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben & Isobutylparaben - Chanel has the same ones other than Isobutylparaben) but you know what, there's a lot in the Chanel one too, the one that's £23 more expensive!

I was really shocked, I'd found a replacement for my holy grail Chanel eyeliner, but there's no denying it, the £2.99 (currently on offer in Superdrug for £2.50) Collection fast stroke eye liner is better than the Chanel one... I'm almost sad about the fact I already have a replacement for my Ecriture de Chanel sitting in my drawer waiting for my current one to run out.  But I think when that replacement has run out, that'll be it for me, I'll be making the switch to Collection.  I think I'll also be trying some of the other colours in the set (blue & brown) to rock some double liner.

Now I'll need to find a whole new excuse to visit the Chanel counter :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Hayley from Water Painted Dreams

 

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Chanel superstition autumn 2013 collection haul

 ** You'll have to excuse my camera, when I use HD mode, it sometimes picks up light strangely, hence the lightest colour in the palette looks a bit odd in this picture **

So yesterday I blogged about my September wishlist, which featured a Chanel creme blush, Bioderma and an Estee Lauder Gelee blusher.  Well, a couple of hours after this went live I'd had a couple of tweets that the Gelee blushers were limited edition and pretty much sold out everywhere.  With that thought I scarpered out at lunchtime to Boots in search of the Gelee blush, and as you might imagine, since it launched in May, they were completely sold out and had been for some time.

With that thought, my mind wandered to the Chanel autumn creme blush that was also on my wishlist and how that was also limited edition.  Not wanting to miss out on both I headed to the Chanel counter to peruse their autumn line up.  Oh, my, god, it's beautiful!  Deep deep greens that are almost black, deep dark greys and sparkling neutrals.  Then there's the creme blushers, the shade I wanted was 'Fantastic', but when I swatched the tiniest amount, I was actually put off it by how crazily pigmented it was, too dark for me.  So I turned my attention to the lighter shades and finally found one I thought would be really wareable and pretty, 'Revelation'.  It actually reminds me of my favourite Chanel powder blush 'Orchid Rose', but in a creme formula, this I'm excited about!  What's more, by the time you're reading this, I'll already be wearing it for the first time, whoop!

After seeing Sophie Meloa's Chanel haul the single eye shadow in Gri Gri also caught my eye.  In her photo I had thought it was similar to Fauve, but when you see it in real life, its not like it at all.  Fauve has, surprise surprise, mauve in it, whereas Gri Gri is more like a soft sparkling neutral that will look so pretty in the autumn, especially when teamed up with the autumn quad I purchased!  Yep, I also picked up the Mystere quad!  To look at in the palette, it doesn't look overly amazing, apart from the top left shade (deepest greeny black with gold glitter), but when you swatch them they transform to the prettiest eye shadows.  I only intended on picking up the creme blush, but when I saw Gri Gri too, I had to have it, then the quad... well, I couldn't decide, so I thought, I'm having it all!  And, even though I was spending £88 there, the cheeky mare on the till tried to sell me a nail polish and eyeliner from the collection, doesn't she think I spent enough!

So there you have it, one little innocent blog post yesterday, turned into me spending £88 at Chanel, and you know what? I don't regret it for one second.  Chanel is by far my favourite makeup brand and has been for the last 10 years, the quality is outstanding of both the product and the packaging, you really do get what you pay for.

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Hayley from Water Painted Dreams

 

Written by Georgina Kent

Holy Grail: Chanel Ecriture liquid eyeliner

Boy oh boy oh boy has this review been a long time coming!  Be warned, this is a massively rave review of a product I've been using for years!  As it's such a 'rave' review, I'd like to make clear that I've not been paid to say these things, and that my opinions and thoughts are my own :)

Chanel Ecriture £25 over the counter and online

They say "Water-based eyeliner with a soft and supple felt-tip point delivers a smooth, precise line every time. Special pigments ensure long wear and keep colour from 'running,' so eyeliner always looks fresh. Slim cartridge allows for maximum control and ease of application, while the cartridge seal protects freshness of colour."

My Thoughts

Where do I begin!  Ok, about 8 years ago I delved into high end makeup.  I'd always loved the Chanel brand and admired it from afar, and I decided to invest in some of their makeup.  I say 'invest', because with Chanel you really do get what you pay for.  Yes they're expensive, but you can really tell the difference, for example, I almost always get compliments on my makeup when I wear Chanel.

The first time I bought Chanel makeup, I bought this liquid eyeliner, some blusher, pressed powder, foundation and an eye shadow quad.  The foundation was amazing, lasted me ages! The pressed powder lasted a crazy amount of time too, and I still have the blusher (yeah I should probably throw what's left of it (not much!) out).  The ecriture eyeliner lasts me about 6 months+ before it needs replacing, so I usually buy1-2 a year.  They're £25 so... personally I think under £50 a year on what is in my opinion, the best liquid eyliner out there, isn't bad :)

Holy Grail Status

I don't know how many other people hold this to holy grail status, but I certainly do.  I've tried so many other liquid liners to try and find a dupe for it, other high end ones too and none come close to being able to compare to this.  Here's why I love it:

• The applicator - the applicator is small fine bristles which are very precise, that allows me to create perfect winged liner looks without dragging the skin
• Doesn't dry out - because it's a proper liquid liner and not a felt pen, it doesn't dry out, you simply twist the bottom once for more product (I use one twist per eye)
• No transfer - one of my biggest issues with other liquid liners is that on my super hooded right eye, they transfer onto my upper lid leaving an unsightly black line, but this doesn't at all.
• It lasts - it stays put on my lid until I decide to remove it, whether that's 6 hours after applying it, or 14 hours, it's so long lasting.  It doesn't crack and crumble either, unlike some others.
• Lots of product - the fact that I only need to buy one about every 6-9 months is testament to the amount of product you get for your money (£25), and something that doesn't put me off repurchasing it at all.

I've come to accept that I'll never find a good dupe for this.  With all the others I've tried, they've either transferred onto my lid, the pen dries out quickly, or they run with the hint of moisture (I'm looking at you Dior liquid liner!) or they don't apply well, but this does none of that.  For those reasons it's my holy grail eyeliner, and I hate that it's starting to run out, and I'm near the beginning of my 100 day spending challenge, if I didn't have other (poor) ones to use, I'd repurchase it in a heartbeat, but I have the others to use first.

So, thank you Chanel for making such an amazing product, I highly recommend that you all treat yourself to it, as I promise you won't regret it :)

Will you be giving this a try?

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3

 

My lip product collection

Hey guys!  Ok a couple of things about this post, it's my lip product collection (excluding lip balms), now, I haven't listed every item because there's too many too list.  Similarly I haven't swatched them all either :p  What I will be doing over the coming weeks is lots of posts on Top 5 (lipsticks, glosses, glitter glosses, reds, pinks etc etc) but I just wanted to start that series off by showing you the collection I'll be making my picks from :)  So without further ado here's the collection :)

There were a few I missed out which I found afterwards, but not many :) So over the coming weeks, be prepared to see lots of posts featuring these items :)  I'm also making a pledge to myself, a pledge to wear a lip product from this collection every day :)  Clearly judging by the size of the collection, I love lip products and need to make better use of them :)

You'll notice I've got quite a mix of products, from MUA to Chanel - when it comes to lip products, I'm not loyal anywhere, if it's good and I like it that's all that matters.  When it comes to skincare it's a little different, things need to be a little better, the ingredients need to be right etc - that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be expensive, just good quality :)

I might do a Project Lip Pan - so using 5 lip products lots and not allowing myself to buy any more until they're gone :)  Food for thought :)

Pixi3 out

xXx

Chanel Rouge Allure Laque

Hey guys :)  Here's a little story for you.  A while ago, I complained to Chanel and as an apology they sent to me a little card with a couple of lip gloss samples.  They were mostly red, which was great because I've never found the right shade of red, so I excitedly ripped off the backing and starting applying the different colours.  There was a clear favourite, in the colour Dragon (75), a Rouge Allure Laque, and oh.. my.. god did I love it!  It was the perfect shade for me, not too bright not too dark, and a hint of glittery sparkle which you can't really see unless you look really closely.  The problem with this was that it was discontinued.  So the silly billies at Chanel, sent me an item as an apology which is discontinued, well that aside and despite Chanel HQ not being able to find one they did have one in my local Chanel counter at boots.  It was a real shot in the dark since they don't even display it any more.  I was so happy to find it :D

My Thoughts

I love it!  There isn't really any bleed which is my usual problem with red.  If you can see any on the pic, that's from the red I was wearing underneath it and not the Chanel one :)  You'll easily get a good 2 hours out of it without needing to top it up, it's a lovely soft gloss that's really rich in colour.  This is now my go-to red, I really love it, I'm just gutted they don't make it anymore, when this one is finished, I won't be able to replace it :(

Pixi3 out

xXx

Complaint Part 2 - My 1 hr Consultation with Chanel

So today was my free 1 hour consultation with the lovely Jess at Chanel here in Cardiff.  Before I go in depth, it was awesome!  Jess was lovely, as were all the staff there, really friendly, not patronising or clicky as you often find at these type of places.  I love, love, love what Jess did with my makeup - I pretty much gave her free reign to do what she wanted - the only stipulation was no extremes (so I didn't want 'the natural look' or like I was about to hit the clubs).  What I really loved, is that she used colours I wouldn't normally use, and she really made them work.

Jess used the new Chanel quad out called Éclosion -

it's a beautiful quad with a sort of berry/red wine/burgundy colour, this is the colour I wouldn't normally wear, but she used it in the crease, and beautifully.  One of the highlights of the makeup she did, for me, was the eye liner.  She winged it differently than I normally would and I loved it - it was very classic and something I'm going to try to master myself :)  As soon as I'm done with Project 10 Pan, I'm going to purchase this straight away - my only hope is that they still sell it when I'm done :S


These are all the products she used
Base - Le blanc de chanel
Concealer - Perfection lumiere 20
Foundation - Vitalumiere Aqua (20)
Powder - Loose clair
(no bronzer)
Eyebrows - Eclosion and Le Sourail de chanel
Eye Liner - Stilo yeux noir and liquid eyeliner
Mascara - Base / Sublime Noir
Lip Colour - Rouge Coco Shine - Boy
Blusher - Rose ecrin

Jess, if you're reading this - thank you.  I love what you did, and as always, love all the products :)  And thanks to Chanel for offering me this opportunity - like I said, sometimes it pays to complain :)

Pixi3 out
xXx

Project 10 Pan (P10P)

Hey everyone!  So I'm finally getting around to doing a project 10 pan! yay!  I'm so excited, I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and today I thought, today's the day.

I selected this post to be featured on my blog’s page at Make Up Blogs.

So, I've picked my 10 items (listed below) and I'll be doing updated either every other week or once a month to see how I'm getting on.  The 2 things which I think are going to be the hardest (as I'm now not allowed to buy anything until all these are used up) is not being able to replace my concealer when its gone (I have no other concealer, yeah, not great planning I know!) and not being able to replace my Primer potion... that rule I may have to be flexible with, we'll have to see what runs out first!  I have no backup for the primer, and that's something I really need.  The concealer I could live without, but not the primer, we'll see how it goes :)

My Picks

Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation

Chanel Face Powder

Chanel Blusher in English Rose

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Single in Mildew

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

Maybelline the Falsies Flared Mascara

Urban Decay Mascara (skyscraper)

Benefit Dandylion blusher

Chanel Liquid Eye Liner

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion

So that's my P10P, I'll keep you updated on how I do, wish me luck!

Pixi3 out
xXx