Holy Grail foundation, I'm not switching!!

For years I have been searching for a foundation that I don't want to part with.  The thing that I find most important is the colour match, I don't want to look like an Orange but yet I am pale enough without going for that Casper look.
When I first started to wear make up I had to skip foundation because no company had a shade pale enough for my skin and I wasn't in to the tide mark look. Luckily times and shades have moved on.
I still have to go to the higher end of the market though to find my HG foundation. A few posts ago I wrote about my love for Bare mineral foundation and this still stands but sometimes I want to wear a liquid  for the moisturising and luminescent veil of colour you get.

Well I have found it! Yes it is expensive BUT it's the perfect match, you can create the coverage you need and it's just so luxurious.

£33 at House of Fraser

The shade is Soft Ivory

The foundation is available in 9 shades and I think for the first time I was not the palest shade that they do. The Make up Artist recommended this and she could not of done better.

The foundation has light defusing properties that have been added to almost air brush your skin.

I take this round my eyes as a brightener and base.

It feels light as a feather and lasts all day with out slippage or shine.

This was my first Laura Mercier purchase but it won't be my last. I am building a wedding make up box and this is going in it. I am never going to be without this! 

If you are looking for

Buildable coverage

A light feel on the skin

staying power and a luminous finish

I would recommend this without a second thought. Yes it's at the higher end but you need so little it will last ages. Amazing!!!

Laura Mercier available at

House of Fraser
Space NK

The Laura Mercier.com site is a US site and this is why I have not linked it
Silk Crème foundation was purchased by myself  

Bobbi Brown Friday

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that you have some great plans for the weekend, if you are working and I have just put my foot in it I think you deserve to treat yourself when your shift is over!

Not too long ago I blogged about my new found love for Bobbi Brown and today I am just going to keep heaping it on ya.
After not wearing make up for a bit, this morning I decided to add a bit of colour to my face. Now as I was staying at home I didn't want to go all out but just wanted a nice fresh look that hopefully H2B would notice when he gets home from work.
As I wanted to go understated yet fresh I knew that Bobbi was where to go, and this is what I came up with.

It's so difficult taking photo's of yourself but what can I do? lol

Now I kinda like this look the only thing I think I got wrong was putting a finishing powder over the top because as you can see mega shine on the forehead.

My base was a new Liz Earle product but I am going to post about that at another time.

The rest of the look was made up of 4 Bobbi Brown products.

I love a product that can multi task and I have found it in my most lusted after shimmer brick. I have Pink Quartz. I used a Long wear cream shadow in Sand Dollar as my eye base and then I layered up using the shimmer brick. It is made up of shades of pink and bronze which when swept over the lid gave a lovely yet subtle bronzed sheen, perfect for a natural look.

Then came the blush. Another product that people go crazy for is Pot Rouge and i have the pale pink.

I added this on to the apples of my cheeks for a nice flush and I could not resist doubling up on this too and used this on my lips. You can dab it on to create a almost matte finish or use it over balm for a slightly glossier touch.

Finished of with 1 coat of  Extreme Party mascara in Black and I was done.

I was happy with this for a easy day look and this of course has only deepened my love for
Bobbi Brown.

Products used

The shimmer brick in Pink Quartz  £30.50 purchased myself
The Pot rouge In Pale pink £17  press sample
Long Wear cream shadow in Sand Dollar  £16.50  Press sample
Mascara , part of a set when I bought a metallic shadow and gel liner
full size is available for £18

Bobbi's Uk web site

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Hi everyone, long time no blog. I have been a naughty girl and not kept up with you all ! I consider my self told off!

The good thing is that this post is so very exciting!

Beautiful You Uk and I am sure all Bare Mineral fans want to say a MASSIVE Happy Birthday  to

                                          Bare Escentuals!!

The nations favourite Mineral make up brand have reached the fabulous age of 35 this month.

This is so exciting as Bare Escentuals changed the way we thought about our foundation first of all.

A mineral powder that was not powdery, orange or that caked where our skin was suffering. Wow!

Being a convert myself it was amazing to not worry about that tide mark at the jaw line that seemed the fashion when I was at school but something I never wanted. And to be honest the longer the make up is on the better it looks lol

A innovative company such as BE was not going to stop there of course, we then got Mineral Veil and a whole host of new goodies ranging from blushes to eye shades and of course the legendary Buxom lip glosses!

Recently BE have launched skincare of Which I did a review but the excitement keeps coming so keep your eye's peeled for more posts soon.

Lastly, again BYU wishes BE a very Happy Birthday and many more to come!!

You can shop for yours at http://www.bareescentuals.co.uk/

Sam x

image credited to theforumsite.com

My confession

I have a problem, I thought I had it sorted with a purchase at Christmas but I have been a naughty girl and kept spending.
I am talking about where I put my oodles of make up and brushes etc. I started off with one make up bag and at the age of 27 ended up with 5 and a pot plus a bag for my brushes. I then swapped over to one of those plastic draw stacks but got fed up at my make up rolling about and tbh had a few casualties of smashed powders and they were all my favourites.
At Christmas I was watching QVC and a 'Make up storage system' as it was called came on. Now at over £40 including postage, it was a thinker and I also begrudge paying QVC postage as in my opinion it's always quite hefty at QVC. I procrastinated over spending that kind of money on what essentially  was a box, a pretty box but a box all the same.

Now as you can see it is beautiful and also quite a good size. The front lays flat and then the sides come out leaving plenty of compartments for compacts, bottles and pots. It looks big enough doesn't it? Pretty yep?

This is what has happened lol. Organised to start with and then through shopping trips and not throwing any thing out it is getting to the point where I need to buy another! Or shock horror I could throw some stuff out but I think that won't be what I go for lol I also have a separate roll for brushes!

How do you store your make up? Are you organised or a organised wanna be? Drop me a comment and let me know and I will let you know if I cave and buy another lol

If you want a pretty box for your stuff like mine get it at http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.828971/walk.yah.UKHG~U078

For a total cost of £40.95

Who will walk the line?

Morning Beauty lovers! It's Friday!!! More time to indulge in Make up blogs and researching new wonder products out there.

Yesterday I posted about the Iconic Bobbi Brown Gel liner, Today I turn my attention to a pencil liner and a liquid.

I am going to start with the one that I really did not like...at all.

Now I do not have a photo with me wearing this liner purely because I could not get a straight line to save my life! I was fine at the outer corner then it just went wrong. The tip off this liner is too soft and wiggles like a stubborn child. The actual look of the liner is nice, a greyish black pigment with a bit of sparkle but there is no way on earth ,even if you could get a good line on the upper lid that you could do lash thickening work with this liner. With liquid liner if you mess up you can't smudge it to a sexy smoke you have to take it all off and start again.Although this was not one of my most expensive mistakes @ £6.19 it is still unlikely to see day light again unless one of my friends likes it and I will pass it on.
If you like liquid liner give it a go even if it is just for the added sparkle but I am not a fan....sorry


Second liner to go up against the Gel is

Intense Kajal in dark black by Blink

I love pencils that have a smudger built in. I have never used a pencil that is such a pure black as this one. It went on smooth with no dragging on my lids which always makes them really sore.

It leaves a good line on your lids with little effort and I love smudging it towards the centre and under my bottom lashes. Unlike the Liquid liner it is really easy to get this under and in between the lashes so this is another bonus for me. 

If you do enough smudging with this liner you can create a full smouldering eye which would be perfect for transforming a day look in to a sexy evening eye.

As this is a non retractable pencil you can also get a good sharp point for a fine line look.

Please excuse my head phones lol 

As you can see you can really make a impression on the eye with this.

For those sensitive souls out there this liner contains no mineral oil so won't cause irritation.

This is my number one Black pencil and will sit beside my BB Gel liner

So am I wrong about the liquid liner? Do you have a better pencil?

Let me know!

Sam xx

Get L'oreal at most chemists and

Blink atwww.blinkbrowbar.com @ £13

A Bobbi Brown wedding face

I have wanted to use eye liner for as long as I have been using make up, because I did not know how to use it if I wanted a black eye liner I would buy a cheap one and the result was a disaster so I gave up!
How ever following on from my last post the MUA at the Bobbi Brown counter restored my faith and showed me how to use Gel liner and I finally got that lovely sleek line and flick.
Being the nosey person that I am and the fact that I always want to try other types I thought that I would do a comparison.

First I tried the Bobbi Brown liner

This liner is a true black and it was surprising just how little you need on the brush to get a nice solid line.

The MUA made it look really easy when she just flicked it across my eye lid but I must admit it has taken me about a month to come out looking similar.

You can get a few looks with this, a nude lid with a thickish line and a flick with a few good coats of mascara or the look that I was advised to go for with my wedding.

A light sparkle of grey up to just above the socket line and then a slightly darker colour used to blend

out the black liner. A flick at the end then a few coats of black mascara.

This liner will not budge until you take it off with a good eye make up remover.

A good time I found out for most liners is to make your lashes look thicker lift your lid and line the upper inside of the line and right under/in between lashes.

I am defiantly going to keep using this liner and will insisted on it for my wedding.

Please let me know your thoughts on it guys whether you love it or hate it!

Get yours for £15.50 at any department stores or @ www.bobbibrown.co.uk

Just a little FYI guys, before I bought the true Bobbi brown liner I am guilty to admit that I bought one off Ebay. The seller assured me that they were genuine and as they were close to the price in the shop I sent my payment.

You can clearly see that the one on the left is dry and missing the deep pigment of the true one on the right! It comes out of the pan as a patchy grey.As I had never seen a gel liner I assumed this was what it was meant to be like, I now know better!

Be careful guys a lot of make up on Ebay is fake!! Bobbi Brown, Benefit and Mac are great money makers for these scammers. Best advise is save until you know you are getting the real deal!

xxx

Next post following on from this testing a liquid liner and a pencil

Wedding stress

Morning peeps. I hope that your Monday was not too stressful?
Today's weather is a bit 'blah' in not so sunny Sheffield, although I am not too crazy keen on hot weather a little bit of sun would be great!

Any way h2b and I have decided on a wedding date! Originally I was meant to have three years to get my self slim and serene for the day but now I have a year and a half as we have chosen 28th July 2012!
I need to get my fatty bum bum bride ass in to gear to get this weight loss mission started.

Like most brides to be I am of course excited to find my ideal dress ect but I wouldn't be me if  I wasn't also on the look out for wedding make up and nails! Along with the diet I am going to give my skin a good overhaul. I am not too much of a disaster but I do want glowing skin on the day.
Along with that is of course make up! A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of having a bit of a run through at the Bobbi Brown counter. They were very patient with me wriggling and standing up now and again because of my back but as well as that I have never felt so pampered sitting in the middle of a shop lol.
I was lucky to be in the hands of one of Bobbi's visiting professional make up artists who looked at my face and gave me great tips. It was refreshing for a make up artist not to put make up on inches deep and actually comment on my good features rather than going on about my flaws( yes a MUA has done this!)
I was introduced to gel eyeliner which I of course bought! I will be doing a review on this and putting it up against others in a post this week so keep your eyes open!

My nails are easy because of the nail God Leighton Denny! Thanks to his easy to follow instructions, helping hands products and his ability to put together great kits I am sorted with his French Facination kit. Not only does it have the French manicure down to a T, but it also has a bit of sparkle with a bottle of Cascade and a pot of corrector fluid and brush. With this kit I am having a manicure party the night before the wedding and will be a working bride doing about 10 manicures lol


It would be great to hear your experiences at the hands of a MUA good or bad! Please leave a comment below.

ps only 501 days till I tie the knot...eeek

Sam xx


Leighton Denny polishes can be found at www.leightondenny.com

Picture credited to banburylimohire.co.uk

Accessorize...it's in the bag!

Forgive me blog world for I have sinned, it has been at least 3 weeks since my last post!
A lot has happened in the past three weeks that has taken my attention away from my now neglected blog.
I have gotten engaged! So I have been immersed in excitement and girly planning and of course a new diet...I must not be a fatty bum bum bride lol And I have been to hospital a few times.
Anyway getting back to the point, I was sent some great eye shadow duo's a while ago from Accessorize.
I love their bags but I did not know that they did make up. Well it turns out that I have been missing out... big time!

Please be kind, my first go at my own Photos

On the left is a nice very pale Vanilla shade with hints of gold partnered with a nice Sage green, again shot through with gold.

This is the set that I have found that I have worn the most as it is softer than the set on the right.

I wonder if the guys at Accessorize are Prince fans as they have named this striking duo Purple Reign!

The wear of these shadows are great, there is not fall out and they blend like a dream. I bet that you could get really creative with these. Purple reign would look great used wet as a liner. My hand is not steady enough for this so I will leave it up to you to create looks.

  

Top no flash, bottom with flash

The best thing about these are that they are only £4... bargain!

Grab yours from Accessorize and Superdrug.

Photographs belong to Beautiful you Uk

Are you a Geller Girl?

I have had my eye on Laura Geller make up for a while after watching many QVC shows.
Laura always injects fun into her demonstrations and to be honest it was this zest for life that tipped me over and encouraged me to invest in one of her collections.
In the end I went for the On the bright side collection priced at £37.86 from QVC.

Laura is famous for her baked compacts and the first one that comes to mind is her Balance and brighten.
This is included in the collection. I am always concerned with foundation as the fair shades never seem light enough.This foundation has so many shades mixed in that it blended in to my skin tone perfectly and did brighten areas of darkness such as under eye circles.The powders in this line are the softest I have ever felt so if you don't wear foundation because you hate the feeling of something on your skin this should be on your wish list!
There is also the new Banish and brighten concealer included. It comes in a little tube with a metal tip, this is fab to help take down puffy eyes and because the concealer includes light reflecting particles it also erases dark circles too.

The blusher is amazing!It is split in the pan into two formulas with two complimenting shades.One half of the pan is a multi toned blusher colour and that is teamed with a satin paler shade that adds a healthy, subtle sheen to the skin. For a blusher it is also a really great size so will last for ages.
I found that I only had to swirl my brush in the pan once and that was enough to add colour to both cheeks.

The eye shadow supplied also included her famous Rimz, so a two for one really. The eyeshadow is a lovely pink colour... don't worry you won't look like a 80's throw back. It really makes your eyes pop and it never creases. With that on your lids and a small sweep of the sea blue/green Rimz as eye liner there is no mistaking that your eye area does become brighter, made up but in a subtle way.
Finally a sweep of the eye-liner in Bone on the inner corners and water line, opens your eyes further without reaching for that white liner that always looks just that bit too harsh.

The shades available are
Fair (my shade)
Medium (best for olive, tanned skins)
Tan ( Darker skin tones)

For me my first dip into the Laura Geller make up line has been a good one. I will have no hesitation on buying more from her and the next thing on my list has to be her Spackle make up primer.

Give it a go and you might become a Geller girl yourself!!!

Laura Geller products available exclusively in the Uk on www.qvcuk.com