Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Foundation
Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look: English Rose
8
3 years
The lovely folks at Fragrance Direct recently set me a fun challenge – to create a look for Valentine’s Day using make up from their site. I was given a budget of £20.00, and could choose five items in total. I initially planned to go for smokey eyes and vampy red lips, but as that’s quite a clichéd Valentine’s look, I went for something a bit different in the end. I wanted to keep it simple, so I settled for a fresh-faced ‘English Rose’ look that makes the most of my pale skin, with pretty pink cheeks, lips and nails. After all, roses are what Valentine’s is all about, right? These are the five items that I chose…
Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in ‘Light Porcelain’ £5.50 / Rimmel ScandalEyes Thick Eyeliner in ‘Black’ £5.00 / Bourjois 10 Day Anti Choc No Chips Nail Polish in ‘Shade 26′ £1.99 / Maybelline Clear Smooth Blush in ‘Fresh Rose’ £2.50 / Calvin Klein Delicious Luxury Creme Lipstick in ‘Mesmerize’ £1.99
Total: £16.98
On the high street, these products would have cost over £35.00 in total, so to get everything for under £20.00 is a massive bargain!
As was allowed, I used a few bits and pieces from my make up bag to complete the look (namely concealer, face powder, a bit of kohl eyeliner and mascara), and here is my finished look…
I must say, I am really impressed with the staying power of all of these products. The lipstick stayed put through a meal and several drinks, the eyeliner didn’t budge at all until I removed it, the foundation gives amazing coverage which lasts all day, as does the blusher, and the nail polish is supposed to stay chip-free for 10 days!
I’m happy with my Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look – it’s subtle, but still pretty, and I think it’d be perfect for a relaxed Valentine’s Day lunch. You can check out Fragrance Direct’s full range of cosmetics here.
Naomi x
*These make up items were sent to me by Fragrance Direct. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
INIKA Certified Organic Liquid Foundation
4
4 years
by Naomi in Face
Trying to find a suitable foundation for your skin can be difficult at the best of times, but when you’re looking for a natural, vegan, cruelty free foundation like I was earlier this year, your options suddenly become very slim. So, when INIKA agreed to send me a product to review I naturally chose their Certified Organic Liquid Foundation, which fits all of the above mentioned criteria.
INIKA is a certified organic brand with a focus on producing natural make up, all of which is Vegan, Halal and isn’t tested on animals. All of their products are free from synthetic substances and nasty chemicals, and to go along with their ethical image, INIKA’s tubes, pots and brushes are made of recycled materials, and are also recyclable.
The bottle of foundation I received looked different to the one pictured on the INIKA website, but what struck me about the packaging is how classy and high-end it looks. In my experience some ethical brands, particularly those with recycled packaging, tend to be lacking in the image department, but INIKA’s black, sleek packaging with its gold font looks (and feels) wonderful, and would give any luxe brand a run for its money. Also, the bottle has a pump press top, which I prefer to a squeezy tube or pour bottle as it means you can easily control the amount of foundation you want from bottle (either with a half pump or full pump), and because the hole is small there is minimal mess.
Quite usefully, the INIKA website recommends different shades to suit specific skin tones, so I was able to choose the best one for me, which happens to be Cream. According to INIKA, their Cream shade is for ‘light to medium skin tones and perfect for those with an ‘English Rose’ complexion’ – a description which suits my skin down the ground, and the foundation is indeed ‘perfect’ for me!
The foundation itself is very light in texture, almost like a moisturiser, meaning it allows the skin to breathe and doesn’t clog the pores, and it also has a slight cooling effect when it touches the skin. I always apply this foundation with a brush, starting at the eyes and nose, working down to the chin, across the cheeks and finally across the forehead and neck. In the past I have always struggled to apply foundation with a brush, but because this one isn’t too thick it blends extremely easily.
Before Blending
After Blending
Despite its light texture, INIKA’s liquid foundation has incredible pigmentation which makes for beautiful, flawless coverage which still looks natural. As you can see, it evens out any redness or blotchiness on the skin, and due to the lack of harsh ingredients it covers breakouts without aggravating them. The foundation balances the skin quite nicely too, adding moisture to avoid drying, but also without causing any unwanted oiliness.
The above image shows the coverage that INIKA’s liquid foundation gives (with a little bit of translucent powder applied over the top). The only thing it doesn’t cover fully is the dark circles under my eyes, but that’s nothing a small amount of under eye concealer can’t fix. To top it all off, this foundation lasts a very long time. Whenever I wear it, my face looks as smooth and flawless after a day at work as it does in the morning. It even looks great after a night at a bar or a gig, which is very impressive!
INIKA’s Certified Organic Liquid Foundation is available online in four shades, and costs £29.50 for 30g. It may be a bit on the pricey side, but its top quality reflects the price and it is honestly one of the best foundations I have ever used. I think I’d struggle to find another foundation to match it, let alone an organic, vegan, cruelty free one, and I will definitely be purchasing another bottle when I run out.
Naomi x
*This INIKA Certified Organic Liquid Foundation was sent to me by INIKA for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2012
6In February 2012, when Bewitchery was born, I decided to broaden my beauty horizons and try as many new products as possible throughout the year, without breaking the bank. In my mission to discover new favourites I came across many products which were less than impressive, but luckily I also found a great deal of fantastic ones, a fair few of which I have used time and time again, and will continue to do so. In this post I will give you a round-up of just a few of the best products I tried for the first time in 2012, linking to my review of each with a little extract of my post, just to give you an idea of why I love it!
1. e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner
“In terms of lasting power, this liner definitely has it. I have been wearing it now since this morning and it still looks as bright as it did when it first went on, and the line is just as clean. I’ve been rubbing my eyes a bit today too and it hasn’t smudged a bit – amazing!”
2. Models Own ‘Disco Mix’
“The absolute best thing about this nail polish is the colour. My favourite colours are purple, turquoise and pink, and ‘Disco Mix’ combines turquoise and pink glitter to create a polish which looks purple at a distance. The glitter colours are SO bright and bold.”
3. MUA Professional Matte Foundation
“One of the things that drew me to this foundation was the fact that it is matte and claims to offer a long-lasting velvet finish. I suffer from an oily T-zone (especially during the summer months) and I don’t like the shine that the oil creates, so I am always looking for ways to minimise the shine. MUA’s Matte Foundation, as you would hope, does give a matte complexion, and it keeps most of the shine at bay.”
4. Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Body Butter
“The body butter itself is fantastically light and creamy and feels so luxurious on the skin. It is absorbed very quickly too, leaving no messy residue. The product contains coconut oil, shea butter and avocado oil to aid with moisturisation, but despite the oil content it isn’t at all greasy. The oils make the butter ‘Intensively hydrating’, and combine to give ’12 hour moisturisation’, and believe me, the softness really does last that long.”
5. TanOrganic Sunless Tan
“Though the tan didn’t give my legs an intense colour, it did make them look nicely, naturally tanned and lightly brown, and I am very pleased with the results. There are no orange blotches or dirty looking streaks in sight, and my skin tone looks very even and smooth. The difference is only minor, but it is noticeable, and that is what I wanted so it has done its job well in my opinion.”
6. Montagne Jeunesse Moisturising Lip Balm
“Not one of Montagne Jeunesse’s lip balms contain petroleum jelly, so they aren’t greasy at all. Rather, they are made from 100% natural beeswax and olive oil and are lightly creamy but intensely moisturising. The beeswax forms a protective layer on the lips making them long-lasting, and the olive oil gives them a subtle shine.”
7. Models Own ‘Northern Lights’
“Northern Lights consists of a very fine dusky pink glitter, and is studded with delicate flakes of holographic glitter which shine purple, blue, orange, yellow and green in most lights. Even in the bottle, the varnish is breathtaking, and I have never seen anything quite like it before.”
8. Nivea Express Hydration Primer
“The primer leaves a smooth, non-greasy base on the skin, and since I’ve been using this I have found that my foundation smooths onto my skin far more easily and evenly than usual, without going patchy on any dry bits. The primer keeps my powder and blusher in place too, so on the whole my make up lasts a lot longer, which I think is down to the lack of greasiness.”
9. Bubbles & Butters Crazy for Chocolate Shower Bubbles
“The gel is very creamy and lathers into masses of moisturising bubbles quicker than any other shower gel I have ever used! Because of its impressive lathering abilities, a little goes a long way with these bubbles, so a £2 coin size is enough for your whole body.”
10. Omni Massage Roller & Sports Oil
“The first time I used the roller I asked my mum to help me reach the tense areas on my back, and even though she used it over my clothing I was amazed that the roller was sensitive enough to pick out all the knots in my muscles. We could both feel them ‘crunching’, which sounds horrible but it meant she knew which areas to focus on. The shape and movement of the ball means that any focused pressure is distributed outwards slightly, so the knots can be worked out without any pain or discomfort.”
…and one that I LOVE and am going to review again because I didn’t write much last time…
Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover
“Unlike most nail varnish removers, this Sally Hansen offering smells lovely, almost like a body lotion, and doesn’t sting your eyes or nose with harsh vapours. It removes nail varnish quickly, with minimum effort, so you don’t need to sit for ages rubbing away to no avail!”
What were your favourite products of 2012?
Naomi x
MUA Professional Matte Foundation in ‘Soft Sand’
11
5 years
by Naomi in Face
A couple of weeks ago I ran out of my usual Avon foundation and I realised that I didn’t have any spare in my make up drawer. Since my Avon delivery was a little way off, I nipped in to town to pick up a cheap foundation to use in the mean time. I headed straight for the MUA stand in Superdrug as I’d been wanting to try their Professional Matte Foundation for a while, and I picked it up in Shade 1, ‘Soft Sand’, for £2.
‘Soft Sand’ is a light, natural shade which would suit most fair skin tones, but there are three other shades in the range for medium and dark skin tones.
The tube states that the foundation has ‘A creamy texture that blends beautifully for that perfect velvet finish and long-lasting matte complexion’. Though the foundation is creamy, it is also a lot thicker than I’m used to. At first I was worried that it would look caked on because of its consistency, but it does in fact blend beautifully to give amazing coverage. I took some photos to demonstrate how well it covers…
The top photo shows a small burn scar on my left wrist which has left a pinky-brown area of discolouration on my skin. The bottom photo shows the same area after being covered with a small amount of MUA’s Matte Foundation. As you can see, the foundation is a very good colour match to my skin tone, and the scar is hardly visible at all. If you ask me, that’s impressive for a £2 product! The foundation gives the same coverage on any blemishes on the face, and it even covered my sunburnt nose this morning. The coverage lasts a while too, a good 5 hours or so before any touch-ups are needed, which is fair for a budget foundation but in an ideal world I’d like it to last a little longer.
One of the things that drew me to this foundation was the fact that it is matte and claims to offer a long-lasting velvet finish. I suffer from an oily T-zone (especially during the summer months) and I don’t like the shine that the oil creates, so I am always looking for ways to minimise the shine. MUA’s Matte Foundation, as you would hope, does give a matte complexion, and it keeps most of the shine at bay. I wear powder on top of my foundation which often needs reapplying throughout the day over the oily areas, but I only need to reapply it once whilst wearing MUA’s Matte which is a definite improvement.
Overall, I think this is a great product. For £2, the quality is fantastic and it does what it says on the bottle. I will definitely be repurchasing this – once again MUA save the day!
Naomi x
MUA Pressed Powder – Shade 1
2
5 years
by Naomi in Face
I recently decided to add to my ever expanding MUA collection and buy MUA’s Pressed Powder instead of the one I usually use, just to give it a try, as I was fed up of overly orange powders. At just £1 for a good sized product you can’t really go wrong! When trying out new foundations and powders I always feel a little bit nervous at first about getting the colour right, but this actually turned out to be the perfect shade for me.
I apply pressed powder over liquid foundation and concealer, as I have dry areas on my face so powder doesn’t sit smoothly on my skin if I don’t. So, this morning, once I’d moisturised and put on my base make up, I applied MUA’s Pressed Powder using a large clean brush. I found that the brush picked up quite a lot of product in just one or two dabs, so there was no need to load up the brush too heavily or too often (I’m REALLY not one for the orange look)!
This powder is very light and has a fine consistency so you can hardly tell that you’re wearing it, which leaves you feeling wonderfully comfortable! I was slightly dubious at first as I thought this meant it wouldn’t give me very good coverage, but it was actually spot on. As I said before, Shade 1 is perfect for my light skin tone and merged with my foundation to create an even, extremely natural looking finish.
In terms of lasting power, this is definitely better than the one I was using previously. The old one would rub off at the slightest sign of sweat or oil, but this one stays put, and since it suits my skin colour, any slight rubs don’t show much at all.
Overall, I am more than happy with this product. MUA continue to amaze me with their products as you don’t expect cheap products to be very good quality, but MUA really are top notch. So much so that the items in my make up bag are gradually being replaced with MUA make up!
Would you try MUA’s Pressed Powder?
Naomi x
