Yesterday's Face Of The Day (FOTD)

Last night, I went to a gig at SCALA in Kings Cross. I decided to go for something quite neutral and healthy looking. 

I don't know why, but all my pictures turn out duller once I upload them onto Blogger... I swear I don't look this dead! So much for looking healthy :(

Face: Diorskin Nude foundation, Benefit Erase Paste (for under-eye shadows), MAC Studio Sculpt concealer (for acne scars)

Cheeks: Benefit Coralista blush, MAC Rhapsody in Two highlight

Eyes: MAC Woodwinked eyeshadow, Rimmel soft kohl kajal eyeliner in black, MAC Carbon eyeshadow to set and to line lower lash line, Benefit Eye Bright as eyebrow highlight, Diorshow Iconic mascara in black

My eyelashes look insanely spidery! :S

Cheese!

Lips: GOSH Darling, YSL Golden Gloss #13

The Bare Minimum

I'm one of those silly girls who can't leave the house without make-up on... even if it's just to pop to the corner shop for some snacks! Today I didn't want to spend too much time on my make-up... 10 minutes max, so I did the bare minimum.

Face: Diorskin Nude foundation, Benefit Erase Paste in 02, MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NC20, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in medium

Eyebrows: Rimmel professional eyebrow pencil in dark brown

Eyes: Rimmel soft kohl kajal eyeliner pencil in black, MAC carbon eyeshadow to set upper eyeliner and as a soft lower lashline liner

Cheeks: Benefit Coralista blush

Lips: nothing!

Happy Tuesday! :)

YSL Golden Gloss #13

I've been really into my beige lip glosses recently. I've wanted to pick up the YSL Golden Gloss in number 13 for a while now, but it was sold out everywhere! I finally found one today at John Lewis... they only had two left!

Number 13 is 'Golden Nude'. It's a sandy brown-taupe colour with mainly gold shimmer (but also some other coloured shimmer in there). Apparently the gold is real gold! Now that's luxurious. 

Swatched on my hand alongside Maybelline's watershine lipglosses in Crystal Dune and Cafe Latte, which I realised were both very similar to the YSL!

Top: YSL Golden Gloss #13

Middle: Maybelline Watershine lipgloss in Crystal Dune

Bottom: Maybelline Watershine lipgloss in Cafe Latte

Left: YSL Golden Gloss #13

Middle: Maybelline Watershine lipgloss in Crystal Dune

Right: Maybelline Watershine lipgloss in Cafe Latte

As you can see, the YSL is VERY similar to the Maybelline lip glosses. It's basically the in between shade of the two Maybelline lip glosses.. darker than Crystal Dune and lighter than Cafe Latte. The shimmer in all these lip glosses is also very similar. So I would say that the Maybelline ones are very good dupes for the YSL if you don't want to part with £20 for a lip gloss! I think the Maybelline ones only cost around £6 each. Bargainous! 

Here are some pictures of the YSL on my lips. Please excuse the upper lip hairs (cringe!) and two beautiful pimples on my chin!! Also, the pictures don't reflect the true colour very well, cuz of shitty lighting and too much flash :( I haven't tried it on top of a nude lipstick yet, but I will post pictures of that once I do!

Have a relaxing Sunday night! xoxo

My Skincare Regimen

This is a post on my skincare regimen. I use products from Philosophy, Superdrug's own brand, Simple and Neal's Yard.

Cleanser

Superdrug's tea tree cleansing wipes for sensitive skin

When I've had my makeup on for a full day, I like to thoroughly cleanse my skin at night. I've been using these tea tree cleansing wipes, which contain natural tea tree oil and camomile. The packet says that these wipes contain a milder extract of tea tree oil and soothing camomile extract to gently cleanse and refresh skin by removing dirt, excess oil, make-up and other skin impurities, helping to promote a clearer, spot free complexion. It also says that tea tree is a natural antibacterial agent known for its antiseptic healing properties.

These wipes remove my make-up very well, and yes, they do leave my skin feeling refreshed and clean! I'm not sure if they've made my complexion any clearer or any more spot-free though. I still get a few little spots every once in a while. But they do their job!

Philosophy Purity Made Simple one-step facial cleanser

I have been using this cleanser for around a month now, and I really love it! It's a one-step cleanser, meaning it's supposed to replace your eye make-up remover, make-up remover, cleanser and toner. It contains very natural ingredients, as all of Philosophy's products do, including many different types of plant and fruit oils. It says that it 'hydrates as it melts away make-up', which is entirely true! This is probably due to the nourishing natural oils and glycerin. it's quite thick in consistency, and very smooth. If I haven't removed my make-up with a cleansing wipe, I apply a quite generous amount onto my dry face and massage it all over, and then wet my hands a little and continue massaging. Once rinsed off, my face is completely make-up free, soft, smooth and doesn't feel tight at all. If my make-up has already been removed, I use a pound-sized amount of this and apply it onto my wet face. 

Although this cleanser is supposed to replace toner as well, sometimes I like to use a toner afterwards anyway, just to make sure that every trace of make-up is removed.

Toner

Simple Kind to Skin soothing facial toner

This is my third or fourth bottle of this toner. It's really great! It contains 3 skin-loving ingredients: Chamomile, witch hazel and allantoin. Chamomile is supposed to gently soften and soothe, witch hazel helps tone and tighten pores, and allantoin softens and protects. Like all of Simple's products, this contains no perfume, no colour, and no unnecessary or harsh chemicals, so it's perfect for sensitive skin! I apply a generous amount of this onto a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face in upwards and outward motions (as Simple advises). 

Exfoliator

Neal's Yard rehydrating rose facial polish

Around once or twice a week, I use this exfoliator to exfoliate my face. It's supposed to exfoliate and enrich normal to dehydrated skin. I got this in the winter when my skin was drier, but now that it's a little oilier, I still use this and it has been working fine! This contains anti-oxidant rich milk thistle and aloe vera combined with gently exfoliating wild rose seed powder, and claims to leave skin smooth, enriched and revitalised. I have to say that it does just that! My skin is left really soft, smooth and very supple. It's not really necessary to moisturise after this, because it's that moisturising, but I like to anyway :)

Moisturiser

Neal's Yard Power Berry Daily Moisture

I use this moisturiser in the mornings. It claims to boost radiance and protect youthful skin - which I assume means that it's not as suitable for more mature skin. It contains antioxidant-rich acai, bilberry and goji berry, and helps to fight the effects of free radicals for brighter, dewy-looking skin. 

Now I'm not sure if it makes my skin look any brighter or more dewy-looking, but I like the fact that it contains many antioxidants, which are very important in a city like London, where pollution is all around us! The scent of this is quite funny... to me it smells like Baileys liqueur! I didn't like this much at first because of the scent, but I've grown used to it. This gets absorbed by my skin very quickly. It's very light and runny, and makes a great base for make-up.

Simple Kind to Skin hydrating light moisturiser

I use this light moisturising at night, because it's slightly richer than the Neal's Yard one. It contains 2 vital vitamins and 2 skin-loving nutrients. The vital vitamins are pro-vitamin B5, which actively restores, softens and smoothes, and vitamin E, which moisturises to improve skin condition. The 2 skin-loving nutrients are glycerin, which hydrates and nourishes, and borage seed oil, which renews and regenerates. 

This is a great basic daily moisturiser. It is absorbed quickly and is also a great base for make-up (because I sometimes use this in the mornings in place of the Neal's Yard one - depending on my mood!). Again, this Simple product contains no perfumes, colours or unnecessary or harsh chemicals. 

I have been following this skincare regime for quite a while now, and my skin is doing great! It never feels dry or tight, it looks pretty dewy and healthy, and is becoming more even day-by-day (when my acne went away I was left with a considerable amount of hyperpigmentation on my face). 

So that's it for today! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend :)

Rituals blush brush

When I was at Westfields, I also picked up this blush brush from Rituals.

It came in this brush guard, which I thought was great, and will be especially convenient for traveling, since the bristles will be well protected.

The bristles are synthetic, but just as soft as animal fur brushes. It's flexible yet sturdy, which is perfect.
The weight of the handle is also perfect - not too light, making application very comfortable and it feels balanced in my hand. 

It's a bit dirty right now because I used it to apply my bronzer and highlighter and haven't washed it since. When I first washed it, the water was clear, meaning that none of the black dye washed out of the bristles, which is great. I hate it when I have to wash a new brush several times before the water runs clear. 

I got this brush mainly because it reminded me of the Illamasqua blush brush that I wanted to get a while ago. 

At £11.90, the Rituals blush brush is much more affordable than the Illamasqua blush brush, which costs £25. From what I can tell from the time I felt the Illamasqua brush at the Selfridges counter, they're very similar in softness and flexibility. I'm very happy with the Rituals blush brush. It's of very high quality! What's more, Rituals doesn't test on animals :)


I have been using this brush to apply my bronzer (the Prestige one I blogged about in the previous post) and highlighter (MAC's Rhapsody In Two) since I got it, and it does its job well. 
Here are some pictures of me with my face on ;) The lighting isn't great, so you can't really see my bronzer or highlighter...

Watch out for my next post, where I'll be talking about my daily skin care routine!

Westfields Haul

1. Microshadows by The Make Up Store


The Make Up Store is a store I have never visited before. I believe the only one in the UK is at Westfields, Shepherds Bush. The sales lady told me that they'll be opening another store on Carnaby Street soon, which I think is a brilliant idea, since the atmosphere and vibe of the store will fit in perfectly with the boutique-y vibe at Carnaby Street.

There were so many products to choose from, but what really caught my eye were their eyeshadows. There were so many colours to pick from... literally 100 or so! I naturally went swatch-crazy, until the back of my hands could no longer fit any more swatches on them hehe. All of the eyeshadows were so buttery and smooth in texture, and the pigmentation was amazing! I have no idea why there aren't more stores around London.

The packaging looks very sleek and unique to me, with the see-through 'M's, through which you can see your eyeshadow shades. 

The size of the microshadows is also very impressive, at 3.5g each! They cost around £11.

Micro Shadow, the colour you see in the palette, is the shade you get when you apply it. The eye shadows are highly pigmented, gives rich colour and a long lasting result.

Blend it with Mixing Liquid for a waterproof make up or to use your favourite colour as an eyeliner. Micro Shadow is perfect to use as blush as well.

(Description taken directly from The Make Up Store's website: www.makeupstore.se)

Monty

Monty is a mid-toned pewter grey, with very finely milled micro-shimmer. I suppose that's why they're called microshadows. This colour is comparable to MAC's smoke and diamonds (limited edition shade), except this one is shimmery rather than glittery.

Xocoatl

I have no idea how to pronounce this, or what it is for that matter, but the colour is beautiful! It's a warm brown shot through with very finely milled gold shimmer. Xocoatl is the more complex of the two shades, as it contains two colours blended into one, as opposed one.

I must say I am very impressed with these eyeshadows from The Make Up Store! I can't wait until they open on Carnaby Street. I can tell already that I'm going to be a regular customer :P

Rituals Lip Glosses

I then popped into Rituals, which I'd also never seen anywhere else, and picked up two lip glosses, in Satin Rose and Gold Flower. The swatch on the left is Satin Rose, and the one of the right is Gold Flower.

In the tube, Satin Rose looks much more pigmented than when swatched on my hand. In the tube, it's a light pink with pink and gold shimmer. Swatched on my hand it's more of a clear colour with very subtle pink and gold shimmer.

Gold Flower comes out much more true to colour, as a coppery bronzey warm pink. It's a truly beautiful colour.

The consistency of the Rituals lip glosses is very thick and smooth. Apparently they have bits of Ruby in them, which, according to Chinese tradition, helps to boost energy and passion (go figure). The lip glosses cost around £11 each. And at 6ml, the price isn't too bad!

17 Lipstick in 'New Black'

Normally, I would never go for such an in-your-face colour like this. The only reason I bought this lipstick is because I'm going to a friend's birthday party next weekend, and the theme is Tim Burton so I'm going to go as the white queen! 

The consistency of this 17 lipstick is very smooth, and the pigmentation is surprisingly impressive! It came out exactly as I had hoped - a deep plum colour with a slight sheen. Worn on the lips it is very comfortable and not drying at all. 17 calls this a 'lasting fix' lipstick, so it should be relatively long-lasting too!

Prestigue Skinloving Minerals Sunbaked Mineral Bronzing Powder in 'Rich Bronze'

(whew that's a mouthful!) 

I picked this up because I'd heard lots of good things about it on the Blogosphere. The shade I got is 'Rich Bronze', a taupey light brown with veins of shimmery bronze. When swatched, it's a very metallic, shimmery (not glittery!) gold-bronze, very nice. I haven't tried this on my face yet, but I have high expectations for this.

And that's my haul for today! I also got a blush brush from Rituals, which I will blog about tomorrow, hopefully :)