MAC Morange Swatches And Review

A bit of a late post on one of the latest editions to my MAC lipstick collection but here's a quick post on Morange. I purchased this little beauty from the social shopping site Cohorted for £12, a nice little £3 discount compared to the regular rrp. 

Morange is a vibrant amplified creme finish that's very opaque. This glistening shade of lippy is a medium-dark orange with a subtle sheen, not for the faint hearted with it's vibrant coral and orange hues. 

I am blessed (annoyingly) with naturally dark pink lips so Morange doesn't pop on me as brightly as it seems in the tube, which if I'm honest I'm quite happy with as it may have looked a bit too much on my fair (NC15) skin. Another great lipstick from MAC which will get plenty of use over the summer!

Trial-Sized Tuesday - Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

Ok, so blackhead's are gross, nobody wants them adorning their face and I'm yet to find a miracle product to cure them completely but pore strips really do work! Is it just me or does anyone else find it weirdly satisfying when you pull off that strip and see just how much junk has been pulled out of your pores? Randomly I received a sample of Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing pore strips in my ASOS order over the weekend so I thought I would give it a go last night. I do occasionally use pore strips on my nose, usually just Superdrug's own brand (Tea Tree) ones as I thought they were all pretty much the same...but I must say Biore's managed to clear more out of my pores than my usual brand.Biore have brought out a reinvented pore strip, the Ultra Deep Cleansing strips, designed to remove twice as much dirt and oil from your clogged up pores. Having not tried their predecessor I can't make a comparison between the two but I can say this strip lived up to its description. The strips contain Witch Hazel and Tea tree to help get rid of the build up leading to blackheads and with continual use are reputed to reduce the size of pores...always a bonus!I was so impressed (and kinda grossed out) with the amount that these strips lifted from my pores that I purchased a box from Boots today, along with a combo pack they do of nose and face strips.Jodiexoxo

Bourjois Summer 2014 Cream Blusher Swatches And Review

I've been dying to get my hands on the Summer 2014 cream blusher's ever since I saw the new line of products launch, so last week I hot-footed it down to Boots to pick up the new shades.

I absolutely adore Bourjois cream blushers, I (now) own all of the shades on offer. The new shades (Tropical Coral and Pink Sunwear) are just as much a pleasure to use as the other shades. They are richly pigmented and the creamy formula ensures they blend like a dream.

L Tropical Coral
R Pink Sunwear

Both shades have a bronze cast, perfect for sculpting or just giving that healthy flush of summer tan. Pink Sunwear is a illuminating tan shade with (as the name indicates) a pink undertone and a very fine gold shimmer. Tropical Coral (again as the name indicates) is a lovely coral shade of tan leaning more on the brown side, it gives you sun kissed flush of colour.

Both of the new shades are a dream to use, they blend so well that they are pretty foolproof to use, although a cream formula it applies almost gel like and doesn't tug at skin or move your base around. Both have a hint of shimmer and a semi-matte finish. At only £7.99 these are a must for your summer make-up stash!

Trial-Sized Tuesday - Arbonne Sheer Pressed Powder

A little while ago I was sent some products from a lovely representative of Arbonne. Arbonne is a new company to me, I knew nothing of them until I was sent some samples and discovered more about them through their website. Arbonne was founded in Switzerland in the 1970's by a group of leading bio-chemists, biologists and herbalists, together they have created skincare and beauty products unparalleled in quality and effectiveness by no other.
I have found myself gravitating more towards natural skincare and make-up in the last 12 months and Arbonnes promise of botanically-based products is what drew me to them. One of the samples I was sent was their Sheer Pressed Powder in the shade light. It came on a little film covered card and I have had around 3 all-over uses from the sample.
Description wise there is very little information on their website about the product apart from 'Light coverage pressed powder delivers a soft focus effect for natural looking radiance'. I can't say their description is far wrong. I don't usually use powders as the majority I have tried give that caked-on look and settle into lines and pores but this broke my preconception of powders.
When lightly dusted (with an all-over face brush) over my t-zone it took away the shininess of my oily skin but didn't give a totally matte effect, it let the luminosity of my foundation and skin peep through the powder. I usually only use a little powder in the summer months to help keep my oily t-zone under control so without knowing more about the product and it's contents I can't say I would be prepared to part with £27 for the full-size product. I can say that the few uses I did get from the sample I enjoyed and it delivered wonderful results.

MAC Flamingo Review

A couple of weeks ago, much to my delight, I spotted on MAC's website that they had brought back a few limited edition items that will now be back in stock permanently. I hastily purchased Flamingo, a milky-neon peach/coral shade from the lustre range that I had foolishly not purchased the last time round.

(Unfortunately) I was blessed with naturally dark pink lips so some of the lighter shades of lipsticks don't always 'pop' on me, Flamingo comes out as more of a salmon pink on me which I absolutely love! The Lustre range are my favourites from MAC, they leave lips with a gorgeous sheen and you can either have just a slick for a more toned down look or you can easily build intensity.

As always a great investment from MAC...

Jodie

xoxo

Makeup Revolution Candy Queen Of Hearts Swatches & Review

I purchased this lovely baked blusher from Makeup Revolution a couple of weeks ago...I know my review is really late as there have been swatches and reviews flying all around the blogisphere but here goes...

Candy Queen Of Hearts

This blush is the perfect combination of colours to either wear blended together or alone. You've probably seen the Sweethearts Blusher by Too Faced, well Candy Queen Of Hearts is a complete dupe for Something About Berry by Too Faced. This baked blusher really does give you a sweet flush with just the right amount of shimmer for a younger, healthier looking complexion.

Top - all shades blended
Bottom - individual shades

At the moment I'm loving the middle peach-toned shade swiped over my bronzer for a nice healthy glow. This baked blusher is an absolute bargain (at £4.99) for the quality and size of the product and I'll probably collect the whole collection!

Jodie

xoxo

Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Èclat Foundation Review

I must warn you before you carry on reading that I have included photos of me before applying the foundation and it is not a pretty sight!

After falling in love with the iconic Touche Eclat highlighter from Yves Saint Laurent I have been mulling over purchasing their Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation and last week I coughed up the cash and purchased it. 

Yves Saint Laurent have transposed the magic of their legendary highlighter into this foundation to achieve the same effects of their highlighter only all over your face! The unique formula of this foundation targets shadowy areas and enhances the complexion with light.

Left - bare skin
Right - 1 layer of YSL Foundation

Left - bare skin
Right - 1 layer of YSL Foundation

Without foundation my skin is pretty yucky at the moment, I had a bad breakout a couple of weeks ago which has left me with some acne scarring and as you can see I have some broken capillaries around my nose. I'm naturally quite pale and use fake tan regularly (except for my face when I'm having a bad breakout) and the shade BD20 matched my body perfectly. I was quite concerned when I initially squeezed a pump of the foundation out as is is quite runny, however as you can see one layer covered my face quite well!

This was the finished result, I did go back over my most troublesome areas (my jawline) with a second layer of foundation and then applied some concealer to the most prominent spots and the results are quite flawless! This foundation really does what it says on the tin, it gives a dewy finish without looking sticky or shiny.

After around 6 hours of wear I was getting a bit shiny on my t-zone so next time I use it I'm going to try it with a mattifying primer and maybe a light dusting of powder (I have oily/combination skin so I get oily even with the most matte foundations). For shade reference BD20 is an exact match for the NC15 shade I wear in MAC's Studio Fix Fluid. I tried applying with a flat foundation brush (as most reviews said worked best) and my RT Expert Face brush but I found applying it with my Beauty Blender gave the most airbrushed results.

I would highly recommend this foundation to anyone that is looking for something illuminating to perk up a dull complexion...this really is an all-over highlighter for the face!