New: Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator & Cooling Eye Illuminator

Estee Lauder has recently launced a new campaign called 'Every Woman Can be Beautiful', which features 3 new faces to their brand including China's own Liu Wen.

Two new products have been released: Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator and Cooling Eye Illuminator. These products caught my eye (mainly because of how beautiful Liu wen looks in the campaign shots), because I love skincare items which have make-up properties.

Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator

This product comes in 2 sizes 30ml (£46) and 50ml (£62). As they are very expensive, I bought the smaller 30ml bottle.

According to Estee Lauder:

"The first fast-acting Serum from Estée Lauder Research proven to significantly reduce the look of uneven skintone: blotchiness, blemish marks, dark spots, discolourations. Instantly skin looks fresh and radiant. 79% of women saw an immediate improvement in the look of uneven skintone. Skin looks noticeably clearer, brighter and more even-toned. Dark spots appear reduced."

I love the pretty pearly blue packaging. The product is easily dispensed via a pump. Only a small amount is necessary per use. I would recommend using about half the amount shown in the picture below.

The serum is a lightweight pearly lotion.

The serum has a touch of gold pearl which, once blended, creates a gorgeous illuminating effect. Initially I was worried about glittery/shimmery particles on my skin, but all that was noticeable was a beautiful glow.

The illuminating effect is more obvious on my face. Here is a pic of me in a recent FOTD using the illuminator (I have added a touch of BB cream to nose and chin areas).

The serum makes an immediate difference to my skin. I feel radiant and confident with it on, and do not feel the need to cover up my skin. It brightens up my skintone and gives the skin a great glow. In addition, it does not irritate my skin in the slightest, and it feels lightweight and non-greasy.

As for non-immediate effects, I've been using this serum for over 2 weeks now and have noticed an overall brightening in my complexion which has nothing to do with the pearlescent illuminating qualities of the serum. I had uneven skintone from sun damage on my recent trip to Peru. After using the serum for 2 weeks, the slight discolouration on my skin has disappeared.

* I have to note that the discolouration on my skin was modest to begin with, so I don't know how this serum will fare with dark spots. *

I feel that this serum has evened out my skintone nicely, whilst brightening my complexion.

Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator ~ £40

I was very lucky to receive this Eye Illuminator as a gift. At £40, it's a very expensive product.

Here are pics of the long list of ingredients:

According to Estee Lauder:

"This highly concentrated complex targets the underlying causes of darkness and puffiness for dramatic brightening and de-puffing, instantly and over time.... Every stroke of the innovative ceremic tip cools, massages, helps de-puff and re-energize eyes."

The cooling ceremic tip. I can vouch that this tip does indeed feel cooling on the eye area.

It comes in 2 shades, and I bought the lighter shade of 'Light-Medium'.

The tint is a supremely sheer pale creamy-beige with a hint of pearlised gold. The texture is very creamy, but light and not thick enough to cover dark circles (though it does minimise their appearance). Once spread, the cream gives a brightening, illuminating effect.

I use this illuminator sparingly in the mornings and it instantly brightens up my eyes. I love the refreshing, cooling sensation the applicator gives, and my eyes instantly becomes less puffy. My eyes look refreshed, and I feel more wide awake. I haven't used this cream long enough to notice any long term lightening of my dark circles.

Reminiscing 10 years ago - Products I loved in High School

Hi everyone! This post will give everyone a sense of how old I am. It was just less than 10 years ago that I was in high school, learning about makeup and proper skincare. I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane and share with you the products I used when I was in high school.

I went to an English boarding school (a cute little pic of it below), and sharing a boarding house with girls was great for sharing beautyand makeup tips!

Though my makeup collection now is pretty large, in school I could count the amount of makeup items I owned on one hand. Gone are the days when I didn't ever feel the need to wear makeup. I used to go on dates without any makeup on. The girls in the boarding house used to drag me back and put some clear lip gloss on my lips, and curled my lashes to make me more presentable for my date. I did own some makeup though, I just don't know what I was saving the use of them for!

Here is a pic of my and my best friend 10 years ago (I am the one on the left). It was a school ball followed by a disco and I can't believe that we didn't bother with putting on any makeup. Oh how times have changed! The pic must have been taken after the ball as the boys in the background look a bit drunk. The girl in the picture is still my best friend to this day and was my maid of honour at my wedding 2 years ago.

My husband just saw the picture, paused and said 'you both look better now', then walked off before he could have a good laugh the pic. I feel like I better show a current photo of my best friend as that old pic really doesn't do her justice.

Now onto the products I used as a teen:

1. Benefit Benetint

Benefit products are pretty expensive especially for a high school student, so I saved up to purchase this. It was definitely worth the money as it gave a natural flush to my cheeks and lips. Almost a decade later, I still use this product (not the very same bottle though!!).

2. Body Shop Brow and Lash Gel

I can't quite see the point in using a clear gel as mascara, but nevertheless that's what I did back in the day. It gave such a natural look that I might as well have not bothered!

3. Labello Velvet Rose Lipbalm

The balm is a nice baby pink, though it goes on almost colourless on the lips. I remembered it being creamy textured and really moisturising.

4. Shiseido Pureness

This was my skincare routine for most of my highschool and university days. I found these products to be effective and fuss-free. The moisturising lotion was extremely lightweight and perfect for oily or teenage skin!

Which products did you use / are you using in your teens?

Weekend Haul: Chanel Rouge Coco, Models Own, Maybelline Dream touch Blush

Hi everyone. Hope you are all having a wonderful week! Here's a quick post on a recent weekend haul.

(L-R) Revlon ColorBurst in Blush, Chanel Rouge Coco in Organdi Rose, Models Own polish in Utopia, Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 01 and 02.

I've been admiring Chanel's Rouge Coco Organdi Rose for some time. I'm really glad I finally bought it as it's such a perfect everyday mauve-rose shade.

Here is a swatch of the lipstick on my lips. I love the texture of Rouge Coco. I like demi-matte formulas with a creamy finish.

Though I really love rosy pink and cheeks, lately I'm leaning towards more natural shades. These Maybelline Cream Touch Blushes are really popular. They're selling really well and everywhere I look, they are almost sold out. I bought shades 01 Apricot, 02 Peach

(L-R) Apricot, Peach

The blushes blended out:

I'm really pleased with these blushes. They're really easy to apply - you almost don't need a mirror! I love the shimmer quality they posses. They give my skin a really healthy glowy sheen.

I normally favour nude nail polishes, but couldn't resist Models Own Utopia. The shade is a light lilac and a great shade for when I want a fun, summery look.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Blush is a great natural, my lips but better shade. I like to use it on days where I want more natural looking makeup. The pic below is a bit dark, and in real like the shade is slightly more peach coloured.

FOTD Using Smashbox In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette

This FOTD was created using my current favourite eyeshadow palette - Smashbox In Bloom. This palette has a range of pretty, easy to use shades that I find will be perfect for Summer/ Autumn.

Please ignore my hair. It's at that really awkward stage of growing the fringe out. This is probably the first post in a long while that anyone's seen my eyebrows!

Sorry for the extremely blurry shot of my products used!

Products Used:

Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator

Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB cream

By Terry Hyaluronic Eye Primer

Smashbox In Bloom Eye Shadow Palette

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner, Black

Estee Lauder Double Wear Mascara

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge, Pale Pink

Bobbi brown Lip Colour Pink

To prep my skin, I used Estee Lauder's New Idealist Skintone Illuminator. It's a skincare product that is designed to perfect skintone whilst providing a subtle illuminating effect.

I've had this product for two weeks and really love it. I normally use it in the morning under my daily moisturiser and it really brightens up my skin.

I've taken a couple of holidays in the last month and though I religiously apply sunscreen, I've noticed uneven pigmentation especially around the nose area. So for this FOTD, I applied Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream on the notice to even out my skintone.

From the Smashbox Palette, I selected a pale rose gold shade and a moss green (top left, bottom right).

Here are swatches of the two shades:

I used the rose gold shade all over the upper lip, from the lash line to the crease. I then applied black eyeliner, and brushed the moss green shadow on top of the lash line to soften the eyeliner.

I then applied a coat of mascara to the lashes to finish of my eye-makeup.

For my lips and cheeks, I chose to go bright and pink.

I used Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pale Pink on my cheeks, and love the subtle glow cream blushes give to the cheeks. It's a Bobbi Brown filled FOTD today as I'm using Bobbi Brown Lipstick in Pink on my lips.

Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream Review

Today I'm reviewing a great BB cream that I bought from Sasa.com awhile ago.

I like to keep my makeup light, especially in Summer when the weather is warm and too much product makes my face feel/look greasy. I decided to try this BB cream out for special occasions where I want a little coverage on my skin, but still want natural looking skin. The Mentholatum Sunplay Skin Aqua Moisture BB Cream SPF27PA++ sells for ~US$ 17, and is one of my favourite BB creams so far.

Front View:

Back:

This BB cream claims the following properties:

sun protection

whitening

moisturising

anti-ageing

oil control

concealer

foundation

The BB cream has a thick, creamy consistency, and a nice smooth texture. Like most BB creams, it only comes in one shade. Unlike other BB creams, this one doesn't have a greyish tinge to it. Instead, the colour is a warm beige when squeezed out of the tube.

When spread out, the colour turns slightly lighter.

I find that the resulting colour matched my skintone exactly.

Here's a picture of my skin with the BB cream.

Texture, coverage, and scent:

The BB cream is pretty thick, which makes application a little hard. Once spread evenly, it provides good medium coverage. Less is more with this cream, applying too much would give a slight cakey effect and would also be difficult to apply. It has a light scent which is hard to describe (but not unpleasant). I found that the BB cream does have a moisturising effect on the skin, but would still use if over my daily moisturiser.

Finish:

I love the finish of this BB cream. Eventhough it's a moisturising BB cream it does not leave an oily looking finish. Instead, the effect is more demi-matte. A plus point is the radiant glow it gives my skin despite being slightly matte.

Pros:

-contains SPF

-gives a dewy finish yet does not look oily

-good coverage

-did not irritate my skin

Cons:

-not available in the UK

Amazing Parcel from Riya

Hi everyone. Recently, I did my very first blog swap with the gorgeous blogger Riya from pinkstrawberrielove. We sent each other items that we thought the other would like. The parcel from Riya was massive, about 7x the size of the parcel I sent her. She was much too generous and I feel unbelievably spoiled.

The gifts were beautifully padded with pastel coloured tulle.

Love her stationary!

I must apologise for the slightly blurry pics. The weather's been really dull lately and I'm not getting enough light for sharp pictures. She got me quite a few eyeliners!

L-R: Anastasia Matte Highlighter, Ultra Glitter Pencil, Loreal HIP Eyeliner in Blue Spark, Palty eyeliner in a gold shade (the shade was written in Japanese).

Here are swatches of the eyeliners. They are all so pretty. The highlighter is great for opening up the eyes for a bright-eyed look. The blue and gold shades are unlike anything I've owned before and can't wait to use them in a future FOTD.

I also received a couple of really great Stila items. Stila One Step in Capri Coral which can be used on the eyes, cheeks and lips! The Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold gives a beautiful wash of subtle shimmer to the skin. It's such a pretty warm shade too, perfect for Summer!

Here's a swatch of the Stila One Step. Another great warm Summer shade.

Riya also gave me Missha Shimmering Ball Blusher in Pastel Glow. Asian products are so hard to come buy here, so was extremely excited to receive this. It gives a light dusting of radiance to the skin. Really pretty.

I also received this lash booster from Sephora which I'm excited to try.

This Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer is really good. Makes eyeshadow glide easily on.

Speaking of eyeshadows, these natural and super gorgeous shades are some of my favourites in the parcel. Smashbox Eyeshadows in ASAP (left) and Pronto. I especially love ASAP. It's a really beautiful shade of brown with a hint of rose gold. I especially love how well it suits my skintone. Amazing choice Riya!

She was also generous in giving me a Smashbox eyeshadow brush.

Swatches of ASAP (left) and Pronto

My first ever cream shadow paint. Loreal HIP Cream Shadow Paint in Lofty. A beautiful radiant blushed beige. Sorry for the lack of swatch, it was too difficult to capture the true shade on camera.

I also received several beautiful lip colours.

L-R: Benefit Friends in Paradise, Majolica Majorca Honey Plump Gloss and Lavanila The Healthy Lip Shine in Vanilla Blossom.

The Lavanila Lip Shine is amazing! I absolutely love this product. It makes my lips look shiny and super healthy. Have been using this everyday!

Here is a lip swatch of the Benefit lip gloss (the darker shade). I love the little gold sparkles in the gloss.

These two cuties are from a brand called Beauty Credit. Riya sent me their Lovely Eye Color in YL26 and Lovely Lip Balm in Strawberry.

I haven't had a chance to use the eyeshadow yet, but it's a lovely 'wide awake' shade of pale yellow cream. The strawberry balm gives a pretty red flush to my lips.

The list of products seem endless and Riya was more generous than I could have possibly imagined. The Nail polish from Cosline in 209 is a beautiful peach. The Nivea lip blam gives a really pretty strawberry tint to the lips. Natural looking 'my lips but better' colour while moisturising my lips. A really great product!

Swatch of the Nivea lip balm.

Riya also sent me Bare Minerals Face Color in Clear Radiance which gives a beautiful dewy look to my skin. The Hello Kitty Eyeliner in Grape Soda is so adorable!

Swatch of the Hello Kitty Eyeliner - a vibrant purple with glitter.

I also got a whole bunch of Laniege products and samples. Laniege is a popular Korean brand and i'm looking forward to trying the samples. Items included:

- P Makeup Set of Shimmering Multi Cream, Curling Mascara, UV Total Base and Snow Crystal Shimmer Lipgloss

- Perfect Renew Dual Touch Eyes Cream

-Strawberry Yoghurt Pack Mask

-Basic 4 Step Skincare

- Makeup Remover Multi Cleanser

The nail colours are gorgeous!! Really love both shades. L-R: OR201, BR 802. From The Face Shop.

This luscious zesty scented hand cream is from .. oh no, actually I don't know where it's from as I've peeled off the label. So sorry.

As If i'm not spoiled enough, Riya has also sent me some sponges for the face and body. Love how cute the middle sponge looks! My husband saw it in the shower and asked 'what is this?'

I was also sent a couple of skincare items from the brand IOPE. I've not heard of this brand before, but it looks really intriguing. The Aquain Complete Sample Kit and Plant Stem Cell Skin Renewel Sample Kit sounds and looks good!

Last but not least, a pair of adorable flower earrings from Forever21.

Thanks so much Riya for these amazing gifts. You've really made my day/ month! I love all the products you sent me and it's been so much fun going through them all.

For those of you interested in what I sent Riya, you can find them here.

*Warning, the stuff I gave her is going to look SO pitiful and small compared to what she sent me. And her picture quality is far superior than mine, so embarrassing *