Review: Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

Dearest readers, I'm so sorry that I've been away for so long and neglected my blog. My husband and I are planning to move to Melbourne, Australia and things have been pretty hectic. I must have been away a long time as Blogger now has a completely new look. I'm really not used to it! 

Here is a quick review I made on Liz Earle's Sheer Skin Tint. I am in love with their Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. They have recently come out with an exciting makeup range of which I have only tried the Sheer Skin Tint.

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

Bare 01 Fair Skin Tones

According to Liz Earle:

The perfect way to enhance your skin. Our rich and creamy, yet lightweight formula leaves all skin types looking naturally dewy, even and radiant. With mineral UV SPF15, it’s enriched with our own blend of natural source vitamin E, borage and avocado, specially selected to work in harmony with our skincare range.

My review is based on some samples I received, hence I do not have my own picture of the actual product.

The tint on my hand. ingredients include Avocado Oil, Borage Oil, Vitamin E and Mineral UV SPF 15. It is available in 3 shades; Bare, Beige and Beach. I have the sample in the lightest shade Bare 01. Bare is a light beige which matches my NC15-20 skin.

Tint blended out:

My thoughts:

The texture of the tint is really thick and creamy. It's a very smooth cream which takes a bit longer to sink in due to its thickness. 

Liz Earle suggests you apply the tint onto the forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, then blend with fingertips over your face. Coverage is good, better than most tinted moisturisers - somewhere in between a tinted moisturiser and a foundation. I found it to to be very long lasting, however my skin felt a little oily at the end of the day. 

The finish is superb. It's nice and glowy without feeling too greasy (until the end of the day). It makes the skin look lovely and radiant. 

The tint on my skin:

Pros:

Contains mineral UV SPF 15

Did not irritate my sensitive skin

Good Coverage

Glowy, radiant Finish

Cons:

My Skin started to feel a little greasy by the end of the day

This texture means it can feel a little heavy on the skin

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

Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup Review

Hi everyone, today I'm doing a quick review on Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup. This will be a glowing review as I absolutely love this powder!

This is a loose powder foundation costs £32 and comes with a small flat top brush. The large version of this brush costs over £20, so it's quite a good saving! I think the inclusion of a brush is a pretty new addition, as a few bloggers have notified me that their foundation did not come with a brush. In fact, the make-up assistant was also surprised to find it included a brush.

I bought the shade 020 light beige, which matches me well.

The box includes a picture diagram on how to use the powder.

According to Dior:

The first loose powder foundation with a 'water' sensation. Surprising, moist and refresing as it touches the skin, the powder glides like a caress to even out the complexion with a sheer finish and leave it fresh, matte and luminous.

Exceptionally rich in precious minerals, vitamins and trace elements, Mineralized Water acts like a hydrating and energizing cocktail for the skin. your complexion glows with intensity and dazzles with well-being. Your skin gradually becomes more beautiful.

My Thoughts

I use this powder alone over moisturiser. I love how you don't need to use a setting powder on top. Here are some pics of it on my skin:

Coverage:

I LOVE this powder. Used on it's own, it looks so natural on the skin. It feels weightless, whilst providing sheer but buildable coverage. I was most impressed with the radiant glow it gave my skin, without making it look shiny or oily. The powder feels moist compared to other powder foundations and my skin felt comfortable and hydrated with it on. As it is a powder, it had pretty good oil control and I don't need to use a setting powder on top of it.

* A Tip for achieving this glow is to dab the brush containing powder onto the skin first before swirling the brush in circular movements to blend the powder *

Who would I recommend it to?

It's a great foundation for those with normal-combination skin types, and for those who already have good skin and are looking for sheer to medium natural looking coverage.

Does it irritate my skin?

Most foundations which include minerals irritate my skin, but this one doesn't at all. Nor does it clog my pores. For an extra flawless finish, you can also use this powder on top of foundation as a loose powder.

How is its staying power?

Applied on it's own, on top of moisturiser, I found it to have good staying power. The foundation lasted all day without any touch-ups. I have read that it becomes slightly too oily at the end of the day for those with oilier skin types.

Pros:
- SPF 10

- provides light to medium coverage while looking so natural

- gave the skin an amazing radiant, healthy glow

-does not irritate my skin

-easy to apply and is long lasting

-don't need to apply setting powder on top

-can also be applied as a loose powder on top of liquid foundation for those who like extra coverage

-comes with a flat top brush

Cons:

-brush is not as soft as others I have tried, a bit on the prickly side

-as it has a moist feel to it, it has some oil control, but may not be enough for those with oily skin types

- the loose powder formula means it can be a bit messy to apply

- does not come in a large variety of shades

-expensive at £32

Western BB creams: Lancome UV Expert BB Base SPF50+++ Review

BB creams have been popular in Asia for many years now, and Western brands have recently caught on making their own versions of the cream. Here is a quick review on Lancome's UV Expert BB Base SPF50 PA+++.

The product in packaged in a small 30ml tube. Great for travelling, or carrying around in your bag.

The ingredients list:

Like most BB creams, this only comes in one shade, a pale beige. My guess is that this colour would only suit those with fair skin.

This is the cream partially blended on my skin. You can see there is a slight grey-cast to it:

However, once fully blended the grey cast almost fully disappears:

The BB cream on my face. It give a nice dewy finish:

And an FOTD using the BB cream (my skin looks a different shade in the 2 pics due to different lighting conditions):

According to Lancome:

'This incredibly lightweight texture unifies skin tone to ideally cover imperfections, such as brown spots, blemishes and fine lines.

Upon application, your complexion looks naturally flawless and even with enhanced make-up result. Skin is protected, visibly brightened, moisturised, soft and smooth, glowing with healthy translucency.'

My Thoughts:

Texture, scent and shade

The cream had a medium to thick consistency, which spreads easily over the skin. It's not as thick as most BB creams. The scent is pretty strong and smells of a flowery perfume. As previously mentioned, it only comes in one shade. The colour is a pale beige and will only match those with lighter skin colour.

Coverage

Coverage is not as good as most BB creams, but I found it to give the perfect amount of coverage for those with already good skin and want to even out their skintone. The finish is great! Really nice and glowy, making the skin look more radiant. Because the cream looks so dewy and glowy, it may look a bit on the shiny side on those with oily skin types.

Due to the light coverage, I found this cream to act more of a tinted SPF cream rather than a BB cream.

Staying power and oil control

I found the cream to have decent staying power. I'm not sure how well this cream fares for combination to oily skin types, or those living in tropical climates. It's winter here and my skin is currently normal to dry. As the cream is super dewy and has no mattifying effects, it may be too oily for some.

Would I recommend this BB cream?

I would recommend this cream to those with good skin and are looking for sheer to medium coverage to even out their skintone. I LOVE the fact that it contains SPF50. The bonus of this cream is the nice radiant glow it gives the skin. Having said that, this cream is pretty expensive (~£30) for such a small tube so I think it may not be worth it. There are less expensive creams out there who might do the job just as well.

Pros:

-SPF 50
-sheer to medium coverage, gave a lovely radiant, glowy finish

-compact enough to carry around in handbag

Cons:

-expensive at RM165 (~£30) for a small 30ml bottle

-too much fragrance, irritated my skin slightly

-coverage may be too light for some tastes

- only comes in one shade, too light for those with darker skintones

Cherry Red Lips Haul and FOTD

Hi everyone! As you would have already noticed, red lips are everywhere this season. I've been searching far and wide for a nice red lipstick, and finally found it in the form of YSL's new Rouge Pur Couture in 01. The colour has been described as a lovely cherry red. I also couldn't resist buying a lipgloss to go with it. I chose, YSL Golden Gloss in 17.

I did a FOTD with these bold red colours. I tried to keep the rest of my face in neutral, soft colours.

I used the products below for the FOTD. These include the new Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation which I have recently done a review on.

Face:
Guerlain Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Foundation, 02 Beige Clair
Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush, 10

Eyes:
Dior 5 Couleurs Iridescent Palette, 609 Earth Reflection
Bobbi Brown Gel Liner, Black
Mac Opulash Mascara, Bad Bad Black

Lips:
YSL Rouge Pur Couture, 01
YSL Golden Gloss, 17

I just love the Guerlain foundation! It gave me nice sheer coverage while giving the skin a great glow.

Illuminating Foundations: Guerlain Lingerie de Peau V. Lancome Teint Miracle

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Invisible Skin Fusion Foundation

What Guerlain says:

'Silk and linen weave themselves into a second skin... Weaving an imperceptible veil of perfection on the surface of the skin, the softness of natural silk envelops the skin in a voluptuous sensation of comfort & drapes the complexion in a silky radiance that captures & reflects the light.'

-provides perfect, long-lasting coverage

-natural complexion with no mask effect

-complexion enhanced & dazzlingly natural

-light, fuses perfectly with skin so that you forget about it

Pros:

-good sheer to medium coverage

-contains SPF 20

-gave a gorgeous, smooth, radiant, peachy-skin finish

-quite a few choices of shades

-long-lasting

-did not irritate my skin

-had a really pleasant scent

Cons:

-expensive at £33 (Debenham's is doing a sale for £30)

-does not have great oil control

-coverage may be too sheer for those who prefer full coverage

Lancome Teint Miracle

10 years in the making, this is Lancome's first foundation that helps create the aura of perfect looking skin.

What Lancome says:

'Instantly complexion appears flawless and luminous, as if lit from within. Skin feels smoother and looks unified.'

-hydrated for up to 18 hours

-10x less opaque fillers

-40% less water

-pigments to add luminosity and radiance

Pros:

-gave a natural dewy radiant finish, with healthy glow

-good, medium coverage

-lasts all day

-does not irritate my skin

-reasonably priced at £25

-contains SPF15

-non greasy

Cons:

-can look slightly dry and cakey if too much is applied

Overall:

To be honest, I found both foundations to be really great. They both gave a beautiful luminous long-lasting finish. I would recommend the Guerlain foundation for those who prefer sheer coverage and a more natural look. The Guerlain foundation smells great too. For a bit more coverage, I would recommend the Lancome teint miracle, which still gives a lovely natural look.

Ice Blue FOTD and Tropical Holiday Pics

Eventhough the weather here in the UK is still nice and sunny, I thought I'd try something a bit different for today's FOTD. I decided to do a slightly icy look using shimmering pearl and blue-ish grey eyeshadow.

I used more products for this FOTD than usual. They are pictured below:

Face:
Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation mixed with Lancome Eclat Miracle Serum Radiance Booster
Lancome Multi Lights Touch Corrector in 05, Aura Universelle (to highlight cheeks)

Eyes:
Bare Minerals Eyeshadow in Cultured Pearl (all over lid)
Lilylolo Mineral Eyeshadow in Angelic (to highlight under brows)
Twilight Beauty Luna Palette 'Alice'
Nars Glitter Pencil in 54 (to line under bottom eyelids)
Mac Penultimate Liner in Rapid Black
Mac Opulash MAscara in Bad Bad Black

Lips:
Nars Lipstick in Honolulu Honey
Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips in Katie


Below is a pic of the Luna Twilight 'Alice' palette. A beautiful palette of birght colours in a very slimline case. I used the blue-grey shade (top row) to create an 'icy' look on the eyes.

I did a quick post of Lancome's new Teint Miracle Foundation. I'm in love with the radiant, glowy look if gave my skin. I'll do a more comprehensive review at a later point. To see my original post, click here.

To complete this look, here is a NOTD using OPI nail laquer in Pearl's Night Out, a gorgeous pearly silver shade.

To finish off the post, here are some pics of my recent holiday in Pangkor Laut, Malaysia. It was beautiful there, and I had a great time relaxing and soaking up the sun.

A gorgeous beach called Emerald Bay:

A big fat monitor lizard. The island contained a wealth of wildlife. We saw a whole lot of bats, beautiful hornbills, peacocks, as well as a family of otters.

A couple of sunset pics. Looking at these pics again, I long to be back there!

New Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation and Collection

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally manage to find my HG foundation. Lancome's new Teint Miracle range has everything I'm looking for in a base; light, flawless coverage that gives me a radiant, dewy look.

This foundation has just been introduced to Selfridges 2 weeks ago, and will be made available worldwide around September.

The Teint Miracle collection also includes the Eclat Miracle Serum and Multi-lights Touch Corrector Pens. Below are the foundation and serum in its packaging:

The Foundation is called Teint Miracle Natural Light Creator Bare Skin Perfection SPF15, and I have it in 01 Beige Albatre. This is the first foundation by Lancome which recreates the aura of natural light emanating from beautiful skin to give a brighter complexion, which is flawless and fresher looking day after day.

What I loved about this foundation was its light feel, as I like my foundation to look and feel like real skin- only better! According to Lancome, it contains 10x less powdery fillers, with a high concentration of water. I didn't feel like I was wearing foundation, and it didn't irritate my skin or break me out.

The serum is the Eclat Miracle Serum of Light Universal Radiance Booster and it is my favourite of the collection. Below is the serum on my hand:

The serum is designed to light up the complexion flawlessly with intense hydration and light, non-greasy texture. It can be used on its own, beneath foundation, or as a highlighter. The sales assistant recommended me to mix it with foundation for an extra radiant glow, and this is now my preferred method of use. The only downside of this serum is the small packaging (20ml), and feel that i might run out of this fairly quickly.

Below is the Multi-lights Touch Corrector Bare Skin Perfection. Available in different shades, it acts as both a concealer and radiance booster, much like the famous YSL Touche Eclat.

I bought it in 05 Aura Universelle. This colour was a beautiful pearly pale pink, and works brilliantly as a highlighter on the cheeks. Below is a swatch on my hand, unblended.

Here is a pic of the corrector once it is blended into the skin:

It gives a gorgeous subtle shimmer the skin without glitter. Below is a pic of me using the foundation mixed with the serum as a base, and the corrector pen on top of my cheeks to highlight.

I love the radiant dewy look it gives my skin, and I feel that this foundation really brightens up my skin. The only downpoint is that I would prefer foundation feel a little bit more hydrating on my skin. Overall I am very happy with this foundation and find it gives me the perfect amount of coverage whilst feel super-light and glowy.