FOTD with Nars Strawberry Fields

Hi everyone! Here is another FOTD that I've done recently, incorporating Nars lipgloss in Strawberry Fields (my HG lipgloss!)

The products I used for this FOTD are shown below:

Face:

Max Factor Second Skin Foundation

Bobbi Brown Extra Soothing Balm

MAC blush in Peaches

Eyes:

Bare Minerals eyeshadow in Cultured Pearl

Chanel Eyeshadow in Taupe Grise 87

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black

YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara

Lips:

Nars Lipstick in Honolulu Honey

Nars Lipgloss in Strawberry Fields

The Max Factor foundation gave a nice sheer coverage. I used the Bobbi Brown balm on my cheeks to add an extremely natural healthy looking glow, with no shimmer.

On my lips, I used Nars Strawberry Fields. To make the colour a little more muted and easy to wear, I teamed it with Nars lipstick in Honolulu Honey - a natural looking beige colour - which I used underneath.

My bird necklace is from Accessorize. I love it so much! It's a really pretty necklace that I can't get enough of wearing.

Tint Release Formulas: Origins VitaZing V. Estee Lauder Daywear Plus Sheer Tint Release Formula

I've noticed tint releasing moisturizers are becoming really popular lately, and have decided to do a post comparing two different formulas. The idea behind these creams is that they contain tiny spheres of pigment, which upon application to the skin, 'magically' tint themselves to match your skintone. What drew me to these products were that they claimed to provide very sheer coverage with a nice healthy radiant glow.

*Before I begin with the comparisons, I would like to add that mangosteen is a tropical fruit. I eat it every time I go back to Malaysia, as it tastes so good. Below is a pic of the fruit with the Origins VitaZing.

Origins VitaZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer with Mangosteen SPF15

What Origins say:
'This energising multi-tasking moisturizer gives skin instant vitality and vibrance with the zing of vitamin-rich Mangosteen energy Complex. Magically transforms to create even, flawless skin.'

-designed to release colour pigments which adapts to your skintone
-paraben, PABA, mineral oil, petroleum, paraffin, synthetic fragrance free
-available in Selfridges from September, nationwide in October (£25/50ml)

Super-long ingredients list:

The tint on my skin:

Pros:

-contains SPF15

-feels light and fresh on the skin

-skin feels softer and well moisturized

-coverage of a tinted moisturizer, evens out skintone

-skin looks slightly more radiant, and looks healthy

-has a fresh, 'pick-me-up' scent

-vitamin enriched

-oil-free

Cons:

-I wouldn't say that the colour adapted to exactly the same colour as my skin. Was a TINY bit on the darker side

-I was looking for something with a little less coverage

Estee Lauder DayWear Plus Multi Protection Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer Sheer Tint Release Formula SPF15

What Estee Lauder Say:
'Our most comprehensive protection ever- in a fun fabulous tint. As you smooth on this light lotion, it transforms into an ultra sheer tint that evens and illuminates every skintone. Helps prevent lines and wrinkles with a powerful new blend of encapsulated anti-oxidants, gentle UVA/UVB protection and intensive hydrators.'

Ingredients list:

The tint on my skin:

Pros:

-contains SPF15

-feels very light on skin

-skin also feels softer and well moisturized

-very sheer coverage, for a very natural look

-gave and amazing radiant finish with a lovely glow

-has a nice cucumber-like scent

-contains anti-oxidants

Cons:

-again, this did not quite match my skintone. In fact it came out even darker than the Origins VitaZing

-coverage may be too sheer for some tastes

-pricey at £30

Overall:
Both formulas gave extremely sheer coverage with a radiant glow, and both tinted slightly too dark for my skin. I preferred the finish of the Estee Lauder sheer tint release. The glow was fantastic, and my skin looked extremely radiant. It has minimum coverage and only helps to just even the skintone. Origins VitaZing provided a bit more coverage, but was still extremely sheer. I must add that I'm not too keen on the long list of ingredients used in both these products. As a sufferer of sensitive skin, I get nervous looking at so many potential allergens. However, neither formulas has broken me out as yet.

Facial Highlighters: Subtle to Bold

I love highlighting my cheeks to give my face a bit more of a radiant glow. Today I'll share with you 3 of my favourite facial highlighters. Each imparts a different degree of highlight and glow.

The first one technically isn't even a highlighter. It's Bobbi Brown's Extra Soothing Balm. A skincare item, I use this on my cheeks if I'm in the mood for a dewy cheeks with very subtle glow. I love the herbal scent this product has, and it feels great and nourishing on my skin.

For a less subtle look, and a more obvious glow, I use RMS Beauty Living Luminizer. I'm a big fan of organic products, and this brand is no exception. The line uses organic, non toxic ingredients that are meant to be good for the skin. The glow from this product is still pretty subtle, and I like the radiant look it provides.

Now for the product that gives the biggest highlighting effect of the three, Nars Multiple in Copacabana. I adore this product as it highlights skin beautifully and gives an amazing pearly sheen. Now that i think about it, I haven't used this product for awhile. I must resurrect it!

I'm already excited: Nars Tinted Moisturizer for 2011

Just a short post today:

Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer was used for the Honor fashion show for Spring/Summer 2011. This product won't be available until Febuary next year, but I'm already really looking forward to it.

I LOVE tinted moisturizers with a passion. A this particular looks like it gives sheer coverage with a nice dewy radiance - everything I love in a tinted moisturizer. Febuary is too far away though.. it's just too cruel to make us wait!

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!

Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant-Glow Review

Hi everyone! Today's post is a review on a new Shu Uemura product, their Stage Performer Instant-Glow Immediate Radiance Skin Perfecting Cream.

It has a rather lengthy name, but in essence it is a make-up base designed to enhance the complexion with a lovely, radiant glow. Currently, it is exclusive to Liberty's in London. It's packaged in a sleek black box. The product itself is housed in an equally sleek, black 50ml tube.

What the product claims:

'Stage-inspired multi-functional beauty cream to enhance makeup finish and deliver a natural glow. Contains gingko leaf to fight oxidation. Instantly, skin appears more luminous, translucent and smooth. Provides 24h long-lasting moisture.'

The ingredients list for those who are interested:

My thoughts on the product:

Below is a pic of the cream on my hand, unblended. The cream is white and contained tiny spheres of dark colour.

Once applied, the spheres of colour blends in with the cream to create a soft focus effect. The texture of the cream is pretty thick, but easy to blend. The cream sinks nicely into the skin, providing a soft, smooth finish. There are very tiny flecks of shimmer in this cream which gives the skin a subtle glow.

Below is a pic of my skin with just the cream applied:

I did not notice a big difference in my skin with the cream on, just a subtle glow which gave a nice rosy complexion. Foundation applies smoothly and easily on top of this cream, and stays on throughout the day.

Pros:

- works well as a makeup base

- imparts a subtle dewy, rosy glow

- stays well on skin throughout the day

Cons:

-Pricey at £35

-If you live in the UK, it is currently only available at Liberty's

-Cream was slightly too thick for my liking

B+

Click here for a video of this cream being used backstage.

Beauty on a Budget: Johnson's Daily Essentials

Hi everyone. Welcome to the second instalment of my Beauty on a Budget series, where I share with you my thoughts on some good budget buys.

The new Johnson's face care daily essentials line includes a complete range of cleansers and moisturizers. Here I'm reviewing their; moisturizer for normal skin, fragrance free cleansing wipes, and eye makeup remover.

Daily Essentials Hydrating 24h Day Cream with SPF15 (for normal skin)

This cream costs a mere £3.99 for a 50ml jar. Boots is doing an amazing offer at the moment, any 2 daily essentials products for £4.

According to Johnson's, this cream is:

'enriched with essential skin loving minerals and vitamins, provides your daily essential moisture whilst caring for normal skin with;

- skin loving minerals known to restore freshness

-Pro-Vitamin B5 known to maintain hydration'

The ingredients are listed above. Quite a long list, which includes potential allergens such as alcohol and perfume.

The texture of the cream is extremely light and fluffy. Though it's so light, I found the cream left my skin well moisturized. My skin felt fresh, comforted, with no greasy feel or oiliness. It has a moderate to strong flowery scent, which I would have preferred to do without.

This is the cream unblended on my hand.


The picture above is of the creme once it's blended into my skin. The cream sinks in nicely, leaving the skin feeling nice and supple. I also found that it gave my skin a slight radiant glow. Although this cream did not irritate my sensitive skin, I did not like the fact that it contained alcohol as well as a strong fragrance in its long list of ingredients.

Pros:

-very affordable

-contains SPF15

-feels light and comforting on my skin, leaving a radiant glow

Cons:

-the flowery scent is too strong for my liking

-contains alcohol

-limited added benefits apart from moisture to the skin

-housed in a glass jar, not great for hygiene

Overall, I found this a good, inexpensive simple moisturizer for young skin, or skin without any concerns (such as premature ageing and sensitive skin). It does not contain any anti-oxidants or have any anti-ageing properties. It doesn't perform any miracles (at this price, I wouldn't expect it to), but instead provides good basic moisture to the skin. I like the slight radiance it gave my skin, and my skin felt healthy after using it.

B+

Daily Essentials Fragrance Free Facial Cleansing Wipes

I chose the 'fragrance free' version of face wipes because I have sensitive skin which is extremely prone irritation from harsh cleansers. This costs £2.99 for 25 wipes. According to Johnson's, this is:

'enriched with essential, skin loving minerals and vitamins, our wipes gently sweep away make-up and impurities whilst caring for all skin types. Skin is cleansed, soft and cared for. Dermatologically tested, suitable for sensitive skin.'

The wipes were fairly gentle on my skin (though I found Simple's facial wipes to be a little more gentle), and it managed to remove all traces of face makeup. It states on the packet that it removes even waterproof mascara. It was quite good at removing eye makeup, but it made my eyes sting so I wouldn't recommend using it on the eyes. I prefer using an eye makeup remover for that.

These wipes are great for after a night out when people may be too tired to use a face wash. I mainly use it on days when I wear foundation or tinted moisturizer, and use it as a makeup remover before cleansing my skin with a face wash.

Pros:

-affordable

-100% perfume free

-made my skin feel well cleansed

-dermatologically tested

Cons:

- not as gentle on the skin as Simple face wipes

Overall, a good face wipe which does is effective in removing makeup and impurities.
A-

Daily Essentials Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

'Our gentle eye make-up remover blends together to remove all make-up, even waterproof mascara with pro-vitamin B5 known to condition lashes.'

This costs £2.99 for 100ml. It is a double formulated eye makeup remover with a purple layer on top and a clear solution below. The product should be well shaken before dousing on cotton pads and applied onto closed eyes.

It was too difficult to take a good picture of the ingredients list, due to small print. So I've typed them out for you: Aqua, cyclopentasiloxane, glycerin, isohexadecane, butylene glycol, pathenol, sodium chloride, disodium EDTA, sodium hydroxide, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, CI 60725

As you can see this eye makeup remover contains the controversial parabens, which have been linked with possible carcinogenicity (a potential cancer causing ingredient, i.e. doesn't sound good!). This is a great shame as I really liked this product. It's extremely gentle on the eyes, and removes ALL traces of makeup.

Pros:

-affordable

-opthamologically tested

-removes even waterproof makeup effectively

-really gentle on the eyes, does not sting

-packaged in a small plastic bottle which is convenient for travel

Cons:

-contains parabens

I was so pleased with this product until I saw that it contained parabens!! I was going to give it an A+ grade, but now the grade has significantly decreased. I use eye makeup remover almost on a daily basis and will not take my chances with parabens.

C :(