Current Favourites & My Everyday Face

 Heya lovelies! My favourites posts are few and far between, but as I've been loving a whole load of new and rediscovered products i thought I'd share the best of the bunch with you lot! I'm never going to be a monthly favourites kinda gal, i just don't change up my routine enough so those posts would be pretty samey, but from time to time i love to show off the bits and bobs in my collection that have been getting a lot of love recently...

Royal and Langnickel - Flat Top Kabuki Brush
I picked this little beauty up at IMATS. Now if you've watched a lot of IMATS videos you'll have seen these pop up quite a lot over the years, normally to be never seen in a video or post again but lately i have been LOVING it. This had been sat on my shelf for a good few months without use, so after cleaning all my brushes i hooked it out and was determined to give it a fair ol' use. I've been using it to apply my Dream Matte powder, its perfect for setting foundation by just pushing the powder in to the skin. Its ridiculously soft and only cost me around £6 with the IMATS discount, but can be found on the Royal and Langnickel website for about £12.

Natural Collection - Apple and Lime Body Spray

I was introduced to this one a month or so ago by the bestie and I've got to say other than being a teenager and drowning myself in the vanilla version I'd been a bit of a snob about these. After a girly night i could smell DKNY Green Apple, so being nearly out of mine (and about four other favourite perfumes, sob) i asked her if i could have a squirt of hers, turns out it wasn't DKNY at all, but this little beauty. Now on further inspection it isn't an exact dupe as it has a lime element to it that the DKNY doesn't have and it isn't quite a sharp, but its pretty damn close. At £2, its a real bargain if you're not in the position to splash out on the real deal, and if you have an unsophisticated nose like me, you may not even be able to tell the difference! It obviously doesn't last as long on the skin, but for the price difference, who cares?!

Revlon - Kissable Balm Stains

I want more of these and i want them now! Near enough the only thing on my lips for the past month, i just wish they had more shades! For someone who isn't a fan of creamy lipsticks, this is perfect for me. It adds gorgeous colour without me feeling conscious of smearing it across my face, win! The stain lasts a good few hours for me and the chubby stick like packaging makes it ridiculously easy to apply. I'm planning to get my paws on a whole bunch of these while I'm in the USA next month.

Origins - Drink Up Overnight Mask
I'll keep this short and sweet. Gorgeous mask, leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturised without feeling greasy. 100ml for £20, so not bad at all price wise! I've recently reviewed this beauty here.

 China Glaze - I'm Not Lion

I'm Not Lion is an absolutely STUNNING shade. Its a beige, champagney glitter that would work beautifully for both warm and cool toned skin. I've been wearing it for every night out over the last few weeks! Its opaque in two coats and in any form of light sparkles like an absolute dream. Me and my amateur camera skills haven't been able to capture its full beauty yet... But google swatches... Do it NOW! If you don't have this, you need it!

Maybelline - Dream Matte Powder

 Another product that had been sat in my drawer for quite some time, i think i have faaar too many of those! Up until recently I'd preferred quite heavy coverage and had been loyal to setting my foundation with either Elfs HD Powder or Mac Studio Fix, but as HD isn't really travel friendly and Studio Fix is on the heavy side i hooked this out of my collection. Its matte without looking heavy and powdery, its not the longest lasting powder but its easy enough to shove in your handbag and reapply on the go.

Milani - Corallina Baked Blush

 My only coral blush, although I'm still eyeing a few! After seeing these all over American blogs and Youtube channels i caved and eBayed one of the Milani Baked blushes. Its a gorgeous orange coral with quite large silver shimmer. Now at first the silver shimmer REALLY put me off, but it buffs away to be mostly unnoticeable, so i can live with it. I think these cost around $6 but i payed a little over £8 with delivery which isn't too bad. The only downside is that my Mother has taken a shine to this blush, so i am constantly having to steal it back from her!

Mac - Cream Colour Base Pearl

Possibly my favourite highlighter ever! Stunning goldy, pearl, cream highlighter. Gives the face a real radiant glow! I absolutely love it! And taking into account how little product you need to use, I've actually hit pan on this which says it all really!

Wow this post is getting lengthy! I've worn this look for about 75% of the last 4 - 5 weeks, i should really change it up soon but I'm really loving to easy it is to apply in the morning. And as it involves quite a few of my current favourites i thought I'd share it with you!

Eyes:
Makeup Forever - Smoky Lash Mascara
Mac - Omega Eyeshadow (brows)

Lips:
Revlon - Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous

Face:
Missha M - Perfect Cover BB Cream
Maybelline - Dream Matte Powder
Mac - Cream Colour Base in Pearl
Milani - Baked Blush in Corallina
Nars - Laguna Bronzer

What are you're current favourites?

xox

Nars Sheer Glow Review & FOTD

Ello lovelies!

Its taken me a LONG time to do, but finally i've gotten round to doing this review. The main reason being my love / hate relationship with this product, which I'll get into later!

I picked this up maybe two months ago at a Space NK, i was REALLY looking forward to being able to see this in person as we don't have one locally. The assistant was nice enough to try it on for me, after battling to get my doublewear off and her applying a smidge too much bronzer i decided i LOVED the finish. So off i skipped with my pretty (expensive) new foundation. We were having a heatwave at the time so we waddled down to the beach for an hour which was lovely! I did have an allmighty shock when i got home and discovered that it really wasn't just a smidge too much bronzer, but i looked pretty tangoed, cringe!

Here's what Nars have to say about it...

"A glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, skin is hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves skin brightness, radiance and texture. For normal to dry skin types."

So i've been using this on and off since i purchased it and yes, it is ever so slightly too dark for my skin tone, but blended out its really not that noticeable. The first shade was SO yellow on me it was unbelievable. So this is where my love / hate relationship started... Some days i absolutely LOVED the finish... some days, well not so much. Applied with a damp sponge it gives what the name would suggest, a sheer, glowy finish which i really love.

I had a few fails when trying to apply it in other ways, using a buffing brush it just looked too obvious and even slightly cakey on my skin. Using fingers it applies with much more coverage, not sheer or glowy at all and can be built up to more of a medium coverage without going cakey and more is a bit hit or miss on me. Using fingers is definitely the option of choice if you want / need more coverage. Until the past few weeks i'd be using different primers and i've found that Benefits Porefessional works best for my skin, it makes it SO much easier to apply and actually makes the foundation last quite a lot longer throughout the day.

So that really explains my slightly undecided view on this product. If I'm looking for something quick and easy to slap on, this isn't it for fear of cocking it up. But if i've got a little more time to work with this has been my foundation of choice, using my fingers to work it into the skin. With that method I'd agree with Nars on that it's satin finish, not completely matte, but certainly not sheer or glowy in the slightest as the name suggests. But with its downsides i am enjoying using it and managed to get a few snaps of me wearing it shopping the other day below!

Face:
Nars - Sheer Glow - Monte Blanc
Nars - Laguna Bronzing Powder
Benefit - Erase Paste
Milani - Coralina BlushElf - HD Powder

It’s such a hyped foundation and an expensive one at that, would i buy it again? Erm.... probably not? I say probably because if i manage to have a eureka moment and learn how to apply it properly every time i probably would, although i really dislike spending £30 on a foundation. But if not, it’s a bit too much hassle for me, I'd much rather repurchase my Double Wear or get a new sneaky BB cream, or two.

Have you tried it?
Did you love / hate it or are you still undecided like me?

Nars Sheer Glow is available online at the Nars UK and online and in Space NK stores across the country.

xox