Ace of Base: A Skin - Saving Trio

I'm always on the hunt for that perfect makeup base. In the past, a flawless finish was easily achieved, as when you have good skin it doesn't take much - in that situation, the main concern is finding something that will last rather than smoothing or refining the skin. But what about when your skin isn't so good?

 Ever since I began having problems with breakouts and blemishes at the beginning of the year, I've been left feeling dismayed after each attempt at perfecting my complexion. If it wasn't poor coverage from my foundation, or a cakey finish, then it was my makeup sliding off my face by the time I got to work, leaving any little skin sins I'd been wanting to hide in full, unattractive view for all to see.

Fed up with feeling disappointed by all the different foundations I was trying out, I decided to go back to what I knew and visit the Clinique counter. For my first few years of makeup-wearing, I stuck religiously to their Superbalanced and Even Better formulations, both of which I loved and don't really know why I strayed from ( I do - it's one of the perils of being a beauty blogger). Having chatted with a friend who works on the No.7 counter in Boots about how I wanted a good-coverage foundation that wasn't matte (harder to fin than you might imagine), I was pointed in the direction of Clinique Repairwear, but when I visited the lovely lady on the brand's own counter, she suggested I first give their Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup a try. She very kindly popped some on for me, and I was thrilled to see my blemishes all but disappear before my eyes. Not only that, but this foundation actually contains salicylic acid, which will treat those pesky spots while you wear it! I didn't nee much more convincing than that, but having tried various formulations from other brands in-store before and then been disappointed when I got them home, Clinique's money-back guarantee was the final push I needed. Apparently, if you get any of their products home and find that you're not satisfied, you can bring them back and get a full refund, which I think is absolutely fantastic considering I was sent on my way upon trying to exchange an unopened Bourjois foundation in Superdrug last week.

To go with my new foundation, I conceded that it was about time I bite the bullet and get myself a primer. I've always put it off, convinced that they were just an unnecessary gimmick to persuade us to part with yet more pennies, but as it happens, the Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer is the perfect partner in crime. It does as it says on the tin - smooths and perfects the skin, creating a fantastic canvas on which to apply the rest of my makeup.

Last up, I decided to try out another product I've forever shunned: a face powder. Generally, I have to say, I'm not a fan, feeling that they tend to create a cakey, unnatural finish, but the Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder has become my new best friend. Just a light dusting of this leaves my t-zone matte and free of any excess oil, without looking the least bit unnatural or dusty. In fact, having added this little compact to my repertoire, I'm now stunned that I have spent such a long time fearing a matte finish, as when done the right way it works really well and looks incredibly natural. I've always been a fan of a glowy, dewy finish, but I now realise that I can still achieve this with blushes and highlighters without forgoing a stable, long-lasting base.

I am pleased to bits with this trio - they have helped me to get where I have wanted to be for a really long time with my makeup base. Keep an eye out for full reviews, which will be coming up soon.

What are your skin saviours when it comes to a long-lasting makeup base?

xx

July Favourites

, I can´t BELIEVE it is already the  of July! This year is going ridiculously quickly, and I feel like I haven´t done half of the things I wanted to yet!
Anyway, one thing I have, of course, managed to do, is to buy and to use plenty of beauty products, so without further ado, here are my favourites for this month.

Bach´s Rescue Remedy

I haven´t really mentioned this before on my blog, and I´m not going to go on and on about it here, but for the last year or so I have been suffering from anxiety. It´s not the kind of thing where I feel nervous before a stressful event, or when in a difficult situation - of course, I do feel like that, but this is more of a physical thing where I feel permanently on edge and cannot relax, even when I have no reason to be feeling this way. It´s more a case of my body than my mind (although of course it is probably my mind that is causing it, one way or another), and so this Rescue Remedy, sprayed twice on the tongue whenever I am feeling it, really helps me to relax. It´s not a miracle worker, but knowing that I´ve got it to hand is reassuring. It contains Cherry Plum, Clematis, Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem and Impatiens, which all have calming properties.

Do any of you study from stress of anxiety? If so, how do you deal with it? I´d love to know if you have any tips!

Caudalie Eau de Beaute Beauty Elixir

I don´t think this one needs much of an introduction, given it´s popularity within the blogosphere. I am quite sure that you will have read at least one post about this before, if not many more!

Anyway, I got my hands on this a couple of weeks ago and have been using it daily ever since. I generally have very good skin, but recently I seemed to have started getting some unexplained breakouts. I´ve found that this stuff has worked wonders in clearing them up, and my skin feels soft and looks radiant after using it. I usually use it after cleansing, morning and night, and find the menthol scent really soothing and invigorating. However, I haven´t had as much success using it as a ´refresher´on my makeup throughout the day, as many people have raved about in their reviews - for me, it doesn´t seem to make much of a difference!

Revlon Photoready Foundation

This has become my daily go-to foundarion and has been a real ´grower´, considering I was on the fence about it in the beginning. I reviewed this product a couple of weeks ago, so if you are interested in reading that then you can find it here.

Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask

This is a product I´ve had for a while, and which, despite my general love for Liz Earle skincare, I wasn´t too impressed with. It´s a mask which is designed to be applied to the face in a thick layer and left for around fifteen minutes after cleansing, and to be honest, I never really noticed much of a difference in my skin after using it. However, recently, I was in need of a face mask as my skin was asking for some TLC, so I decided to try applying this at night and leaving it on while I slept. Well, I´ve got to say, using it like this has made all the difference. In the morning, there is no residue to rinse off as my skin drinks all the moisture up, and is left feeling lovely and baby soft.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous

I´m going to be reviewing this one later in the week, so I won´t say too much now. But I must say, I absolutely love this shade and have been wearing it almost every day since I got it.

Benefit The Porefessional Primer

I wouldn´t say that I LOVE this or find it amazing, but I have been finding it quite useful when applied to my forehead, which can tend to get a bit oily, as this does a good job of mattifying it and creating a better base for my foundation. I also like to use it on my nose, to hide the obvious pores I have there. But I wouldn´t use this all over my face, as I much prefer a dewy, glowing finish.

Benefit Coralista and Benefit Dallas

I´m going to review both of these soon, so again, I´ll save my chatter for then. But I will say that hey have fast become favourites and go-to products in my daily routine, and when I use Dallas as a contour, together they are the dream combination for me.

So, that´s it for July. I have really been genuinely loving all of these products, and it hasn´t been like some months where it´s hard to choose anything that has really floated my boat. To be fair, it might be because I have ácquired´more products than usual. Not that I´m meant to be on a spending ban or anything. Ahem.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed having a little peek into my makeup bag and the like. Have you tried any of these products? What are your current favourites?

xx

Day to Day Makeup: New Favourites

Makeup:

Benefit Erase Paste Concealer in Shade 02

Revlon Photoready Makeup in Shade 008 Golden Beige

Benefit Dallas (contour)

Benefit Coralista Blush

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara

Random brown eyeliner I picked up in Brazil (sorry, I'm not sure of the brand as the writing has rubbed off!)

Mac Amplified Creme Lipstick in Vegas Volt

Hi lovelies, sorry about the lack of post yesterday. My internet, surprise surprise, has been misbehaving again!

I thought I'd share a little 'Face of the Day' post with you today, as I have got my hands on some new make-up goodies in the past week or so, and am pleased to bits with the results!

Now, let me just say first that for some reason, I am really unphotogenic. I don't know why, but it is just near on impossible to get a good, natural looking shot of me! I always either end up looking drunk or drained, no matter how much make-up I've got on! 

So that brings me onto my first product success, which is Revlon Photoready Liquid Foundation. Now, I know this has been around for a while, but I hadn't tried it before as I usually tend to stick to my higher-end foundations, having had little success with pharmacy/drugstore offerings in the past. But I was running a little bit low on funds, and had heard good things about it, so I decided to give it a whirl. Well, as you can see, it doesn't exactly remedy the drunk-eye effect in the photo, but it DOES make my skin look a zillion times better and much more glowy than if I was wearing something different! I'm actually going to do a full review on this later in the week, so I won't harp on about it too much now, but I thought it deserved a mention as I really am rather pleased with it!

I also got my paws on Benefit face powders Coralista, Dallas and Hoola this week, in sample sizes, which I'm really excited about as I have wanted them for ages. Well, so far, they certainly haven't disappointed, and I've been really enjoying using Dallas and Coralista together. Again, they have given me a really healthy glow, and I think Coralista might turn out to be my new favourite blush!

This is just a simple make-up look, as you can see. No eyeshadow or elaborate eye makeup. I like to wear this look on a day to day basis, and save more dramatic looks for night time.

Excuse my slight frizz-head and disobedient fringe in the pic!

Anyway, hope everyone is really well and having a lovely week!

xx