Beauty: Base Layer Favourites

When people see photos of my big ol' mug, they will comment on how good my skin is and go on to enquire as to what i use. But here's the thing.. I don't have good skin, at all.

Its very oily with lots of exposed pores and with a large amount of red undertone and general mottled texture. Its not great.

But over the years I've come to live with it with the help of finding and using great products.

I thought now would be a great time to share the products I use to create flawless(ish) looking skin, : 

The Base Layer

This is the most important when wearing makeup, as if i get the foundation right, the rest of my makeup will sit well making me a very happy gal.

 First up Moisture & Pore control

Ok so I've cleansed and toned and I'm ready to start with the first layer. 

I like a mat finish(because as an oily girl i create enough of my own shiny glow, thank you very much ;). I don't like a heavy moisturiser in the morning as i find it makes my foundation go on claggy (technical term) and appears cakey. So a light mat moisturisers is imperative.

I've been using the Embryolisse Hydra-Mat and it is a delight. It's matt yet feels nourishing and is the perfect first step. My foundation sits perfectly on top of it too.

Secondly, to rid those exposed pores i use the W7 Porefection. It does exactly what it says on the tube and is well worth its tiny price tag (Just under £7.00!).

It gives a blur effect to pores just enough to make them look less pronounced.

I use a pea sized amount and use just across my nose and cheeks where it is needed. I don't spread this across my face, I just use it in the aforementioned targeted areas. 

When using both of these products at the very start of my routine, my makeup lasts a damn site longer.

Next Up Coverage

I have my 3 favourite products here ( which are all Cruelty Free) and they range in coverage. These are tried and tested and absolutely loved. I think I've mentioned before but i have tried a lot of foundations and these have made it in to the high accolade of my Foundation Hall of Fame.

First up 

Green People Tinted Moisturiser(Far Left) 

Spf 15 this is a very very light coverage moisturiser (as the name suggests). This is perfect for those days at home, when you want to just wear a little something to even out skin tone and with a light SPF. I apply this with my finger tips as it is just like a moisturiser and adapts to the colour of your skin tone.

Second

Embryolisse CC Cream (Middle)

My current favourite and what I will wear all spring summer. Come the warmer months I always opt for a lighter coverage and this is the perfect amount of coverage without feeling cakey or full foundation. I apply this with the below light stippling blush, but can easily be applied with fingers and/or a beauty blender sponge. The application is creamy and easy and the coverage, for a CC cream, is shockingly amazing. I have been wearing this everyday of late and i am in love with it once again (i wore it all last Spring too and am still surprised how much i love this product).

This product isn't necessarily cheap BUT it's so worth it. I can't imagine not having it to use daily now.

Third

ELF Flawless Finish Foundation (right)

When I'm in need of some Full coverage it has to be my ELF Flawless Finish Foundation, I've waxed lyrical about this enough times for you to know i love it, and actually prefer it to the Chanel foundations too. Its build-able coverage, great colour tone and longevity gives this foundation its place in my makeup bag. Through summer I opt to go without it as I love to leave my skin through summer, but if i have a wedding or event, then this will be my go to foundation. I'm on my second bottle and will be repurchasing again when needed.

And finally a couple of additional finishing products

Two lightening products and a bit of extra coverage.
I use the ELF under eye lightener as just that, to disguise the grey bags under these poor sleep deprived peepers. Its not a heavy coverage, which is great as i can find heavier options can settle in my ever increasing wrinkles, but it works as more of a light reflecting lightener.
I also use the Collection Illuminating Touch as concealer. To be honest, I don't find it that illuminating, but it does work as an excellent cover for any problem areas.
And the brush is by Eco Tools and is a stippling brush, i picked up a couple of months ago and love how it lightly applies the base layer.


So there we have it friends, the all important base layer. Get this right and you're on to a winning face.
I know i feel so much better when my skin looks good and these products definitely help me with that.

What base layers are you favouring lately?

March Beauty Favourites

Ooo it's been a fun month on the beauty front. As much as i'm very settled in my day to day makeup and beauty regime, I'm always open to new products that are going to make this mug look better. For me when my makeup is good i feel like i can take on anything, and that my friends is a good feeling. Are you ready for this? There's quite a lot and i can talk the ears off a donkey when it comes to beauty products;)

So here are the products that are helping to make me feel fabulous lately*

 Ok first up are some amazing makeup pieces from a favourite brand of mine (and my step daughters too) W7 Makeup. You guys if you haven't tried anything from W7 you have to, in-fact go right now and try something. If you like products that are on trend, a bit funky that last well, have great colour pay off and carry a smaller price tag then a bunch of flowers then W7 is what you need.

The majority of my makeup bag is now infact W7. 

W7 are a fab British company that are Cruelty free and have many Vegan products in their ranges.

This month i have been besotted with the Strobe Time palette . This quad palette is a mere £7.99 and really brings a beautiful, subtle shimmer to the face. I've been using this constantly. I love to use it on my cheekbones above my blusher (more on blush in a moment) on my eyebrow arch and a touch on my cupids bow. Its a super pretty way to bring light to the face.

My next favourite product from them this month is the Matte Me Blush, i have the shades 'On The Edge' and 'Going Out' and they are both perfect. I don't like any shimmer in my blush(if i want shimmer i like to add it myself), so as soon as i saw that these were Matt i knew i'd love them.. And of course i do. The colour pay off is great, they are build-able, so subtle or as strong as you require.

Other worthy mentions are the Metal Pout metallic lips , my step daughter is OBSESSED with these, me i love the Tinted Kiss Lip Oils, which smell and taste sublime. The Absolute Lashes  is a lovely day wear mascara and finally the bronzer .. oh the bronzer. 

At £5.99 the Honolulu Bronzer is amazing, Matt (just how i like my everything it would seem), it is super similar to a very very famous, but far more expensive brand (ahem Hoola cough cough) and bronzes as well (if not better!) I'm so pleased to have this for Spring, it warms the complexion up perfectly without making me look like an oompa loompa. A little goes a long way, so use on a loose large brush and tap off the excess. This little box will last a long time i reckon.

Face of The Day

Elf foundation in Natural ( wrote about that here)

Bardot eyebrows

W7 Eyeliner, Mascara, blusher and Highlighter, finished with their Lip Oil

 Next up, after many many recommendations I've picked up the Pixi Glow Tonic. I have no glow, like literally the dullest skin ever. My pores are enlarged of late(ick..sorry, tmi?) too and i just hate that i don't have an even skin tone.
The reviews are amazing for this product, I've only just started using it, but i love the fresh taught feeling it gives to my skin. Shall keep you posted on long term skin results next month!
Have you ever used it? Would love to know your thoughts?

Another miracle product for me here. Bardou Booster Brow is INSANE. So we all know by now that i'm severely eyebrow challenged yes? Yes. So a product that stays on all day and in to the night is always what i'm after (If i could afford microblading i would, but y'know those damn kids need feeding constantly 😁). Bardo Booster brow is like a brow paint. You literally paint it on, i use a small detailing brush instead of the applicator wand as i feel i get a little more control, and then i paint it on and create the shape i want. I love the fullness it brings, the colour it is and the longevity. Highly recommend if you too like full brows but aren't blessed in the brow department. Well worth the money as a little goes a long way and i reckon it will last a while as the amount is generous in the bottle.

Lastly some final favourites Organic Shop Shampoo and deep conditioner. I've noticed my local Tesco is stocking 3 new organic Vegan and cruelty free shampoo ranges. This is the first one i've tried as its really purse friendly (£2.50each). Great to see new cruelty free and vegan brands coming in to the mainstream, making it much easy to shop.

Trusty old Batiste, but new with conditioner added, I'm all up for added condition as my hairs a little dry right now from all the dying, which is why I've also been using Lee Stafford Argan Oil , which i also found out is Vegan and Cruelty free, which makes me super happy.

And lastly Forever Living Aloe eye cream. Super soothing as i've had really sore eyes lately. I put this on a couple of times a day as its cooling and feels beautiful on  my bags ;)

What beauty products have you been loving this past month? 
Any great recommendations to share?

* Its good to note that feeling fabulous without products is also highly recommended.

W7 Makeup Review (Cruelty Free & Vegan Beauty!)

 I love to play around with make-up, I'd actually go as far as to say putting on makeup, for me, is one of life's little pleasure. I just thoroughly enjoy the process. And even though I'm not overly adventurous with my daily face, I love to find great products that work well, sit well and feel good.
Since turning Vegan, my choices are more limiting as I've previously mentioned. But when you find cruelty free, Vegan products then it makes me love the company all the more.

W7 Cosmetics are a fully Cruelty Free company which also have many Vegan products.

I recently got to test run a whole load of their products, and man oh man are they good!

W7 may not be a brand you're familiar with. Funnily enough, the week that i received the products my step daughter also came home from a shopping trip with a few of their items. Possibly aimed at the younger market (ahem.. oldie alert here), but don't let the branding put you off as the products really are very good, plus those youngsters know a good product when they buy one!
Again the price point is also very low and extremely reasonable for the amount of product you get and also the quality.
The palette below is priced around £9.95, when you consider other palettes are triple that, it really does seem good value for money.

I thought i'd share a couple of my favourites today and I have to say their 'Prep Work Products' are some of the best I've used.
Below we have
The Cover It for dull eyes and Colour corrector anti redness
Lemon meringue Eye primer
The Porefection primer pore minimiser.

The fist product I used was the pink coloured stick which is the Cover It for dull eyes, I was so shocked at how good it was I ran and shoved it in my Step Daughters face and told her to tryitasitssoflippin'good. Of which she then agreed.
It brings the undereye colour back from a dull grey to a normal face colour and hides the tiredness of too many late nights. Its not a reflecting lightener, its not meant to be. Its a perfect base though and really works well with foundation to give you an even complexion-even under the eyes.

My other two favourites are the Eye Primer which I've been wearing non stop, even on its own as it gives the eye lids such a lovely natural colour, but also helps maintain eyeshadow through the day. I still had a bit of creasing later on in the day, but I have some oily eye lids so i've come to expect that anyway and am yet to find any product, regardless of cost, that counters this.
And also the Porefection primer, which works just as well for me as the Benefit Porefessional, but at a fraction of the price. I have quite obvious pores unfortunately and the cream silky substance adds a slight blur to them, making them less pronounced. I also find that when using this, my foundation lasts the majority of the day.

Next up I have a couple of face product favourites
The Candy Blush
 The Contour stick

 The pigment in the Candy Blush is incredible, a little really does go a long way and can be blended beautifully in to the cheeks. They are really true to form colours, in that they come out exactly like they look in the sweet and cute packaging.
Now the contour stick was something I was hesitant to try. Call me crazy but drawing lines on to my face with a giant crayon is really not my style.
BUT, I'll totally admit I was wrong. The crayon like format makes it extremely easy to use and apply. The butter like consistency makes it easy to blend and it dries quickly without feeling tacky or pulling on your foundation. I found it blended in a lot and I actually went in and applied a little more, which i was happy to do as I'd prefer to air on the side of caution with dark brown crayons😂
I loved that it warmed my face up a little also, so when I have my foundation in place this is perfect for adding some dimension.

And finally a few lip products to give a try

Full Time Lip Colour
 Magic Matt Lipstick
Nude Kiss Lipsticks

I tried the Full Time Lipstick first which is in a beautiul natural, but better lip colour, which is really flattering. The idea is you apply the colour, leave to dry, then apply the top coat gloss and it will alst all day. I've worn it a few times and it really does stick like nothing else. I once had a balm on as well and it ended up a tad crumbly, but other times I've worn it and it was great and when it did fade, ti faded naturally and gradually over a long period of time.

The Matt lips are my absolute Favorite. The pigmentation is phenomenal, giving a gorgeous red lip, that isn't drying or crumbly. It stays for hours too and feels great on the lip

I have to say I am SO impressed with the W7 cosmetics I've tried and will definitely look to purchase more from the brand when i'm in the market for new makeup.

Have you tried anything from W7?
(I think they would also make the perfect stocking fillers!)