Starting Off: Blusher

Well hello there lovelies! Week 5 of #theSOproject is upon us! Taking the spotlight this week is Blusher!
Such a lovely part of your everyday routine to make you look and feel more healthy.  As usual, I will explain the basics of what blusher is, the different types, how it is used and of course my current favourites!

What is Blusher?
Blusher aims to do what it says in the name.. blush.  The key to a healthy looking face is glowing cheeks - which is why we use blusher!  The application of blusher is fairly straight forward, however it can be easily overdone which we really don't want (unless you want to look like a clown, lol).  There are lots of different types and shades of blusher, which you want to choose according to your skintone.

Different types of Blusher

Powder Blushers - Powder blush is probably the oldest and most common form of blusher.  It is best for oily skin but can be used for every skin type.  It is easy to apply using a blusher brush and can usually be built up to your desired shade.

Cream Blushers - These are becoming more and more popular lately, with most high street brands bringing out their own versions and I am absolutely loving it.  A lot of them are cream to powder blushes, which makes them so easy to apply.  They offer more intense shade than a powder blush, and can be easily blended in using your fingers.  They work on all skin types, but work particularly well on dry skin, due to the fact they are creamy and a little moisturising.

Gel Blushers - I've never actually tried a gel blusher myself, although I have got my eye on a couple.  They are said to be best for oily skin, as they tend to have longer lasting power and are oil-free.  I've heard that once you apply, you have to work fast before it settles.

Cheek Tint / Stains - Another form of blush I haven't used (think I'm a bit scared) as I've always thought that they were for the really advanced make up users haha.  They are the fastest drying of all of the above blush types, and will not budge until you wash your face on the evening.  Great for weddings or nights out.  I will try one, one day!

How to apply
First of all, you want to choose your blush type and shade. You want to choose a shade that will enhance your features and add a nice healthy, but subtle glow. If you have really pale skin, it is probably best to opt for pinky/peachy shades as opposed to the brighter reds.

Depending on the type of blush you choose, you will either want to use a brush (for powder blushers) or simply your fingertips.  If you choose to use a brush, the brushes/powder balls you sometimes get with blushers are usually a bit crappy.  I recommend buying the Real Techniques Blush Brush (review here).  You want to start on the apples of your cheeks and blend upwards towards your temples.

My Current Favourites
My favourite blushers at the moment are highly thought of in the blogging world for good reason;

• Sleek Shimmer Blush in Rose Gold (held as a dupe for Nars Orgasm at a fraction of the price) £4.49 only in Superdrug
• Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in 04 Sweet Cherry £7.99 in Boots
• Topshop Blush Stick in Sneakpeak (bought in sale from £10 to £5. Not sure if they still sell these)

I honestly love these 3 blushers. I keep the Topshop one in my handbag at all times as it's just so easy to apply. It looks shocking pink and I was honestly a bit scared of using it but it can be applied ever to slightly with your fingers for a lovely pinky glow.  My favourite has the be the Bourjois though, the colour is just amazing and they are a dream to blend - you've probably read about them already - BEST ever!!! x

And that's it.  Hope this post helped, even if just a little.  I look forward to reading and hopefully picking up some more tips on everyone elses posts.

Byee for now!

The Body Cream Backlog!

Hey lovelies!  Well this post is inspired by the wonderful world of body moisturisers! Acquired over Christmas and Birthday, I now have a canny collection! Will I ever get through them? I'm thinking not, especially as Christmas is coming up and I will no doubt get a few more! Just thought I'd share with you my current backlog of the beauties...

1. Soap&Glory The Righteous Butter. (what I'm currently using, have had a couple of these big tubs before and LOVE it)
2. Dove Visible Effects Nourishing Body Lotion
3. Soap&Glory Smoothie Star Body Lotion
4. Nspa Bathing Rituals Body Polish Jojoba & Rosehip Oil (Came together with Shower Wash)
5. Champneys Oriental Opulence Body Glow
6. Champneys Oriental Opulence Body Cream (Got them both in a set last Christmas)
7. The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Butter
8. Boots Extracts Cranberry Body Butter (Came together with the Body Wash and Body Scrub - which I will HAVE to use together, I'm like that)

So there you go! No doubt there will be another post after Christmas with more of these bad boys on!  

Do you have a body cream backlog? How about a backlog of other beauty products?

I have a canny few body scrubs too but not enough for a post! lol 

Starting Off: Bronzer

Hellooo lovelies.  Can't believe we are already at week number 4 of #theSOproject.  This week concerns Bronzer.  This is something I have used for a long time, but only started to use it in a different way and now I love it even more!  This post will explain the basics of bronzer and how it can be used, as well as my current favourites.

What is Bronzer?

Bronzer can come in powder, cream or liquid form (with powder being the most commonly used), which aims to add warmer glow to your face.  It can sometimes be off putting to people, especially those with paler skintones, but fear not - if used in the correct way and with the correct shade, bronzer can do wonders on any skintone.

How is it used?

Firstly, choosing the right shade is absolutely CRUCIAL.  If it is too dark, it will simply make your face look dirty (NOT a good look), or if completely the wrong shade you will turn into some kind of Oompa Loompa.  I don't mean to scare when I say that though, as its pretty easy to find a good bronzer, it just needs to be a few shades darker than your natural skintone.  Bronzers can come in either matte or shimmer finishes.  Matte is perfect for sculpting and contouring, while shimmer is great for adding a subtle glow.  Don't go too overboard on the shimmer though - a little shimmer is good, but some bronzers out there (usually the cheaper kiddy ones) are complete shimmer glitter mashups, which is also not a good look.

There are a few ways to use bronzer;

• A light covering all over the face just to add a little warmth to your complexion.
• For contouring the nose, cheekbones and temples, to sculpt the face and make it appear thinner.
• In a backwards '3' shape at each side of the face to add a summer glow to the areas the sun would naturally hit.

The Gorgeous Kim Kardashian when she took to Instagram to show how she contours her face using Bronzer & Highlighter

My Current Favourites

I've been using bronzer since I first started using makeup, but used to simply brush loads of shimmer all over my face (I dread to think what I looked like, ha).  But since learning a little bit more about makeup, I have learnt the better and more subtle ways of adding a summer glow.  I am getting into contouring lately and really loving it the more I practise.  Contouring is the way I choose to use bronzer most these days, by adding a little under my cheekbones using either my MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush, or my Real Techniques Contour Brush.  However, I do sometimes use my real Techniques Blush Brush to add a glow to my cheeks, forehead and chin if I'm a little stuck for time.

My favourite bronzers of the moment are;

• Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder (aka Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer)
• W7 Honolulu Bronzing Face Powder (a dupe for Benefit Hoola, although I haven't used Hoola so can't comment. Love this for contouring)
• Soap&Glory Solar Powder Bronzing Powder
• I have also been loving Bourjois Bronzing Primer, but I use this UNDER my foundation or sometimes on it's own for a lighter coverage.

Bronzers and Tools.  I forgot to add my MAC 168 Brush to the pic, wooopsie!

So there you go.  That's bronzer.   Hope this post helps but if you need more help there are thousands of images and videos on google for how to apply bronzer in the correct ways.

What's your favourite bronzer and technique?

Review || Bourjois Java Rice Powder

Holaaa beauties!  I wanted to do a quick review on possibly the most beautifully packaged product I've ever seen!  No doubt you have already read about it somewhere but I needed to share it incase you aren't aware of it yet. Bourjois have recently re-released one of their original cult classics to celebrate their year-long 150th anniversary.  To celebrate, this heritage classic is being brought back with a modern twist as a collector's item.  Meet Bourjois Poudre de riz de Java or Java Rice Powder as it's known to us....

How beautiful!???  The Java Rice Powder, which was launched in 1879, quickly became a best seller and by 1914 was selling 2.5 million a year.  When first released, the powder was available in 4 unique shades, corresponding to the styles at the time - White, Pink, Natural and Rachel.

The collector's edition powder comes in one transparent shade and is housed in a beautiful mint green pot with a vintage design, inspired by the original packaging.  I honestly fell in love with it as soon as I set eyes on it!  It also has a handy sifter so that you don't waste any product, simply tip the amount you need into the lid.  The 'radiance boosting' illuminating powder can be used alone or to set your makeup.  I'll be honest, I was a little scared when I first opened it up and seen how shimmery it was, but once on the skin it gives the most beautiful hint of radiance.  I personally use it over my foundation as a setting powder, and I've even used it as a subtle highlighter and it's really lovely.

As you can see, it's not glittery or shimmery at all, but just leaves the skin with an illuminating glow (not a white cast that you would expect).

All in all, I'm chuffed to bits that they have released this beauty and hope it becomes a regular.  If not, I'll be stocking up for sure!

Have you tried this powder yet?

Starting Off: Foundation

Helllooooo my fellow beauty fanatics! Week number 3's #theSOproject post is all about foundation!!  A HUGE and possibly biggest part of makeup!  In this post I'll explain the basics of foundation, including what it does, the different types and my favourite types/brands!  I will also go into the ever so confusing world of tinted moisturisers and BB creams, which I think probably come under the same category!

What is foundation?

Foundation is skin coloured makeup that is applied to the face to create more even skintone.  These days, there are so many different types of foundation - which can get so confusing when trying to find a new one!  They can range from thick liquids in the form of concealer, to light tinted moisturisers that just simply provide a hint of colour to a washed out face. There are also the newest products on the scene - BB creams (blemish balms) which are similar to tinted moisturisers in terms of coverage, but claim to provide extra skin benefits. Some foundations can even cover up discolouration, pigmentation, blemishes etc.  The thickest foundations are similar to concealer in the sense that they aim to "cover up", however they are not as thick/pigmented as it is meant for the whole face and not just certain problem areas.  Some foundations aim to provide more coverage (opacity) than others. For example, the different levels of coverage are shown below and are very important when choosing your foundation;

Sheer - This is the lightest coverage of all foundations.  Usually this coverage is found more in tinted moisturisers/BB creams than actual 'foundations', as it doesn't aim to COVER discolouration, but more minimise the obvious contrast between redness and normal skin tone.
Light - This is the next stage up and is perfect if you don't want anything too thick, as it won't aim to cover freckles, but will cover any redness/blotchiness and still give you a healthy glow.
Medium - Getting heavier, this will cover freckles, redness and blemishes, but gets a little harder to blend if in liquid form.
Full - This is the most opaque form of foundation and completely covers the skin creating a brand new base.  It can cover birthmarks and scars, however beware, it can be very heavy and can go very wrong if using the wrong tools or shade.

Different types of foundation

Tinted Moisturisers - This is the probably the lightest form, as it doesn't tend to cover blemishes etc as it is more of a moisturiser.  It is best used for adding a little glow and evening out skin tone.  Great if you want the no makeup look.
Popular examples: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, No7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturiser.

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BB creams - The newest kid on the block, thanks to their popularity in Asia. Stands for Blemish Balm (however some are actually beauty balms, which aren't the same). Blemish Balms are promoted as magic creams, which claim to do absolutely everything - prime for makeup, moisturise, conceal blemishes and also brighten up dull skin.  Literally all singing all dancing!
Popular examples: Garnier BB Miracle Cream, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, Dr Jart+ Regenerating Beauty Balm.

Liquid - This is my all time favourite, and probably the most popular of all foundation types.  It can range from sheer to full coverage, with a range a shades across the spectrum and can be matched to any skin type.
Popular examples: Bourjois Healthy Mix, Rimmel Match Perfection, MAC Face + Body Foundation.

Cream - Can come in stick or compact form, and can sometimes dry to a powder finish (cream to powder foundation).   As it is thicker in consistency, it would probably suit the dryer skin types which maybe want a little extra coverage.
Popular examples: Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Compact Foundation, Clinique Even Better Compact Foundation.

Powder -  Powder foundations come in loose or pressed form and can either be applied alone for builable coverage, or to set liquid foundation.  If using powder foundation on it's own, it would be best for the oilier skin types as it aims to mattify the skin and can turn cakey if you go overboard.
Popular examples: Revlon Colourstay Pressed Powder, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder.

Mineral -  Another new form of foundation, and one that I have been newly introduced to!  Can come in pressed or loose powder form, this aims to provide all over flawless coverage, while still being good for your skin as it contains less ingredients than normal foundation.  Mineral makeup is becoming more and more popular of late.
Popular examples: bareMinerals foundation, L'Oreal True Match Minerals.

My Favourite Foundations

My skin type is quite hard to pinpoint! I'd probably say it is normal to combination/sensitive (slightly oily t-zone by the end of the day), with my nose being extremely pesky.  Whenever I get blemishes, they ALWAYS occur on or around my nose, and my nose is constantly red! #rudolph - grrr. I have always found that powder just doesn't sit right on my nose if applied on it's own.  Given this, I have always opted for a concealer, then just a light coverage of liquid foundation, adding a little pressed powder to reduce the shiny forehead.  However, I have recently tried mineral powder and it has really opened my eyes and changed my opinion on powder. Loved it!

My favourite foundations of the moment are:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush or Expert Face Brush.
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - just a little to set my liquid foundation using my Real Techniques Powder Brush.
bareMinerals foundation from the Get Started Kit.  I usually use the brushes that came in the kit. See my full review on the kit here.

I'm in the market for a good BB cream to try, so send your recommendations my way please!

So here endeth the absolutely MAHOOSIVE post on foundation! I hope it all makes sense, (and really hope I haven't missed anything/got anything wrong).  Looking forward to reading all of your posts and learning from you all :)

Thanks for reading (if you managed to get to the end without falling asleep, ha)

Review || bareMinerals 9 Piece Get Started Kit in Medium

Heyy all!  Well I promised I would do a review on this when I received it as a present for my Birthday in August once I'd given it a try! bareMinerals is a brand I had never tried, due to the fact that I always chose liquid foundation and had only ever tried one mineral foundation which I wasn't blown away by, as I found it pretty drying and cakey. (It turns out I was using the wrong brush and once I got the Real Techniques Powder Brush it was a total different story and I loved it).   So once I had got the hang of mineral makeup, I then thought it was time to try bareMinerals and see what all the fuss was about!  What better way to get started than to get the Get Started Kit? (especially as it only cost £49 and is worth a whopping £108) ha!  So here we are! I'll show you everything I got in the box, and then explain how I got along with them as a whole!

Whats in the box? (description taken from beautybay.com)

• bareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation in Medium 2g – A creamy, Pure Mineral loose foundation for a flawless, naturally beautiful complexion.

• bareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation in Medium Beige 2g - A creamy, Pure Mineral loose foundation for a flawless, naturally beautiful complexion.

• All Over Face Colour in Warmth 1.5g - A natural mineral complexion booster that infuses radiant light into your skin that looks as if it is coming from within.

• Mineral Veil 2g - A translucent finishing powder which perfects skin, infusing it with softness and light, giving the beautiful illusion you achieve with a soft-focus camera lens. This is your final step to achieving bare skin beauty.

• Full Flawless Face Brush - The soft, semi-round, medium brush head delivers medium-to-full coverage for all over the face when used with bareMinerals SPF15 Foundation, Mineral Veil, or bareMinerals All Over Face Colours.

• Flawless Application Face Brush - Perfectly suited to a broad range of easy applications with bareMinerals SPF15 Foundation, Mineral Veil and All Over Face Colour.

• Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush - Provides full, concentrated coverage and holds more concealing bareMinerals for quick cover-ups.

• Prime Time Foundation Primer 15ml - A preservative-free foundation primer designed to combat flaky dryness, fine lines, excess oil, and enlarged pores.

• Get Started DVD - A step by step guide to achieving the ultimate in Bare Beauty.

How did I get along with it I hear you ask?  I LOVED it!  If like me, you have sensitive skin with redness then this definitely is the one for you!  As it's so light and honestly feels like I'm not wearing any makeup!  Great to know that I'm not clogging up my pores and making my skin angry! I'll tell you exactly what I did.  I firstly did my morning skincare routine as usual (which I will do a post on soon) and then I...

1. Applied Prime time Foundation Primer and allowed it to sink in for a couple of minutes
2. Applied my normal concealer (Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in 01 Ivory) under my eyes
3. Took the Full Original Foundation in Medium and tapped a tiny bit into the lid
4. Took the Full Flawless Face Brush and swirled it all around the lid until all of the product was submerged into the bristles.
5. Tapped off any excess and buffed it into my face.
6. Took the Max Coverage Concealer Brush and touched up any areas using a tiny bit of the foundation
7. Took the All Over Face Colour in Warmth and tapped a tiny bit into the lid
8. Same as number 4. 
9. Took the Mineral Veil Finishing Powder and tapped a tiny bit into the lid.
10. Took the Flawless Face Brush and swirled it as I did with the others.
11. Added a light dusting over my face and then applied extra to any areas I wanted to highlight - Cheek Bones, Brow Bone, Nose.  Not sure if thats how you're supposed to use it but it worked for me!
12. I then added my own blusher just to the apple of my cheeks. I chose Bourjois Cream Blush in 04 Sweet Cherry using my fingertips - my absolute FAVOURITE at the minute!

Excuse my hair on the pics below, I was having a night of letting it dry on it's own last night as I wanna give it a rest from heat!

Sorry about the daft pouty face.  Dunno how to pose, haha! 

In a different light!

Another dafty thrown in for good measure!  I really need to learn to take proper pics of myself!

Ohhh I'm now a fully fledged mineral makeup convert!  That's not to say that I'm never going to use my other foundations again because I AM (I love liquid foundation too much), but for days when I want something lighter or just a little bit of blemish control this is what I'll turn to - which is most days to be honest lol.  I'm all about the natural "no makeup makeup" look when it comes to foundation and it felt as though I put next to nothing on my face yet the coverage is so flawless.  I am chuffed to bits with this and can't wait to get practising a bit more with it! 

Have you tried bareMinerals?  What did you think?

The Body Shop New Colour Crush Lipstick Collection with swatches!

Hey hey heyyy!  Welllll this is a very exciting post for me as I was lucky enough to win @TheBodyShopUk's #firstcrush competition on twitter... on my BIRTHDAY of all days! Wooop! The competition was massive and I won all 24 of their brand new Colour Crush Lipsticks.  At £10 a pop, that's some win!  They came in wonderful packaging with a lovely postcard from one of the media team congratulating me on winning and also wishing me a Happy Birthday - how sweet!
So anyway, I just wanted to show you all every single lipstick from their collection, in the hope that you will go out and grab one or two and join me in the rave over these brand new lippys! 

These brand spanking new lipsticks are described on the website;

This luscious lipstick gives a stunning pop of colour and rich moisture, infused with a subtle rose scent.

• High-impact colour
• Rich moisture
• Infused with a subtle rose scent

The one annoying thing about these lipsticks is (call me weird) that they don't show the name of the lipstick on the bottom, just the number!  I like my lipsticks to have a name and number.  These only show the number, even though they do all have names as they were on the outer wrapping of each lipstick!  Strange. So I wrote them all down before I binned the wrappers so that I could put all of the names on here! haha!

NB: Just wanted to add that a lot of them arrived squashed inside the packaging! They're not ruined or anything but just the tips of some of them are a little squished as they were kept upside down in the packaging they arrived in and were probably bashed around a bit during transit.  Think I'll take them out of there.  (Just didn't want you all thinking I'd been handling them roughly haha)

They come in 3 different sections; Reds, Pinks and Nudes/Browns (100's, 200's and 300's)  The lids are coloured by section as opposed to the actual shade.  So the reds have a red lid, pinks have pink, browns have brown. Ha. (I probably didn't need to fully explain that but hey!) I'll start with the Reds!

Reds
101 - Red Siren
105 - Coral Cutie
110 - Coral Blush
115 - Enraptured Red
120 - Raspberry in Love
125 - Crazy Sexy Crimson

___________________________________________________

Pinks
201 - Redhot Raspberry
205 - Passionate Pink
210 - Sweetheart Pink
215 - Innocent Pink
220 - Dare to Bare
225 - Blushing Pink
230 - Rush of Pink
235 - The Right Mauves
240 - Damson in Distress

As you can see, the pinks took a lot of damage on route! :( 

___________________________________________________

Nudes/Browns
301 - Drive Me Nuts
305 - Golden Flirt
310 - Crush on Caramel
315 - Coral Kiss
320 - Berry in Love
325 - Darling Blush
330 - Spice Things Up
335 - Hot Date
340 - Berry Me

___________________________________________________

Soo thats the lot!!  What do you all think of this fab new collection?  Do any colours jump out at you?
I have to say, obviously I haven't tried them all yet, but at the moment my personal favourites have got to be..  115, 205, 315 & 320.  I know I'm not going to like all of them, I'm not lucky enough to suit EVERY single shade.. but who is? Overall I'm chuffed to bits with these lipsticks.  The formula is so creamy and moisturising which is something I NEED with a lipstick as my lips get very dry.  A massive thumbs up from me and a HUGE thankyou to The Body Shop for my win!  As you can see, there's a shade to suit almost everyone so I'm confident in saying you won't be disappointed!  Hope this post helps! xx

My perfect Autumn/Winter nail polishes!

Hiii all!  So today I've been stuck in the house all day with a bored 11month old due to the ridiculously dull weather - boooooo.  It's actually been pretty cold in the house for the first time in months so I got all snuggled up and it got me thinking about Autumn/Winter.  As much as I am all for Summer and DREAD this time of year approaching, I also enjoy the fact that it's soon time to dig out the wintery lippys and nail polishes!

I thought I'd share with you a beautiful mini nail polish set I received last Christmas from my Auntie.  It's a set of 5 mini 5ml nail polishes by Mavala.  I'm not sure of the actual name of the set as I binned the original box and can't seem to find it online, however they are all sold individually so it shouldn't be easy to find one if you like any of the shades I'm about to show.

L to R - London, Bordeaux, Candy Pink, Sparkling Red, St-Germain

Don't they just scream WINTER?  I absolute adore every one of these nail polishes.  Obviously Sparkling Red is meant to go over another colour to create the sparkly effect but I just wanted to show you it on it's own.  My favourites have got to be Bordeaux and St-Germain as I love deep colours on the nail and they look absolutely gorgeous on!

The formula is really nice and they are super easy to apply. The drying time is really quick aswell which is an absolute Brucey Bonus for me as I'm the most impatient person in the world when it comes to waiting for my nails to dry! Even when I usually do them on an evening and all I'm doing is watching the TV I'm still like"HURRY UP AND DRYYY". So these little monkeys surprised me!  The lasting time isn't quite so good though. I'd say 2 days max before they start to chip so a top coat is essential here if you want them to last at least 2 days.

Have you got any favourite A/W nail polishes?
Do you think it's time to start applying or have we got a couple more weeks of summery colours left?

Wishlist September 2013

Another month, another wishlist.  After the success of receiving quite a few items as gifts (or cheeky purchases) from August's wishlist.. I just HAD to do another.  Nothing wrong with keeping an eye on nice products (in other words dreaming, ha!).  Here's what's on the list this month! 

Topshop Hooded Parka - £60
Muji Acrylic Curved Drawer Dividers - £3.50 each
Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder - £11
Bourjois Java Rice Powder - £9.99
Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer - £10
New Look Grey and White Stripe Open Front Jersey Blazer - £22.99
Pandora Birthstone Peridot Ring - £40
Michael Kors Bracelet Watch - £209

Whats on your wishlist this month?

Starting Off: Concealer

Heyyy fellow beauty lovers!  After the success of last week's #theSOproject posts on skincare, which went crazy on twitter, I'm excited to write the follow up post for week number 2.  Up this week: CONCEALER!  For this post I'm going to explain a little about what concealer does, how it is used, my current favourite concealers and how and why I use them.

What is concealer?

Concealers, or colour correctors, are generally used to cover up blemishes, dark circles, age spots, large pores and any other pesky skin marks or pigmentation you want to 'conceal'.  Concealer is quite similar to foundation but generally thicker and more heavily pigmented - as you usually only use a small amount on certain small patches and blend it out.  Concealers can come in different forms, from liquid to solid, although the liquid form is most commonly used (I think).  

How to use

When choosing a concealer, it is probably best to go one or 2 shades lighter than your own skin tone - well, I do anyway and it works for me.  If you're going to use a concealer to cover up dark circles, ages spots, blemishes etc, it's best to use after your moisturiser/primer but before you apply your foundation.  Depending on the type of concealer you choose, you may want to use your fingers (very lightly with your ring finger if under the eyes - as the skin under your eyes is very sensitive) or a concealer/detailing brush to blend it in.  Some concealers come with a little brush attached which is quite handy.

Problems

I have always struggled with finding a good concealer to be honest.  When I first started wearing makeup I didn't understand that it's best to get a shade a bit lighter, and in turn had some horrific concealer incidents.  I remember the first one I ever bought was in the form of a lipstick, but was just the total WRONG shade for my skintone.  It ended up turning my blemishes orange and looked worse than the actual blemish - LOL.  I soon got rid of that and over the years have tried lots of others until I have finally found 2 that fit me perfectly.  

My Favourite Concealers

The two concealer's I am currently using are Collection (formerly known as Collection 2000) Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shade 3 Medium, and Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in 01 Ivory.  The reason I use 2 is because they are different formula's and applicators - so I use them both on different parts of the face.  Love a good mixup!

Left: Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
Right: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer
(Sorry for the crappy packaging, they're coming to the end of their time, ha!)

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19

Believe it or not, I haven't had this concealer very long and it's the first time I've owned it - but as you can see by the battered packaging it has already become a firm favourite.  It seems like everyone who is anyone in the beauty blogging world owns this concealer.  The formula is really thick and creamy - ideal for covering up large blemishes.  The doe foot applicator makes this one ideal for doing just that.

I use this one around my nose and on any pesky blemishes I want to cover.  I dab it on and then depending on how rushed I am I will use my fingers or a detailer brush.  If I have a bit more time, I will carefully blend it in with a my Real Techniques Detailer Brush from the Core Collection.  If I am a bit more rushed I will dab to blend with my ring finger. My nose is so naughty and just behaves differently to the rest of my face.  It always seems to attract blemishes/redness like they're going out of fashion!  Very strange.  This concealer has become my best friend in the fight against my nose.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer - £6.99

I loveee this concealer!!  It has been described as a dupe for YSL's Touché Eclat, which is a best seller.  It's a lot lighter in consistency than the Lasting Perfection, and it houses a twist/brush applicator.  This concealer aims to add a luminating highlight, which is a bonus in my eyes.  Anything to make me look brighter and more awake is a bonus (especially with a 1 year old running me ragged at home, haha).

I use this under my eyes, on my chin and on any marks on my forehead.  It's so easy to apply because it is a really light formula which blends like a dream.  I usually brush it on the problem areas I want to conceal and add a little highlight, and then blend it in with a dabbing motion with my ring finger.  Works a treat.

So there you have it.  Concealers are a vital part of my everyday makeup routine as they really do make such a difference. 

P.S.  I also have my eye on the Soap&Glory Kick Ass Concealer, but haven't had chance to pick one up yet.  Review will be up as soon as I get my hands on one.  Lets see if it makes it into my everyday routine.

Do you use any of these concealers?

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