Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Light
2True 3 in 1 Concealer
0This review has been sitting in my drafts for ages now, so I thought it was about time I shared it with you all!
Whenever I’m tired (which is most of the time) I tend to get dark circles under my eyes. Not bags, just circles, and I’ve always had trouble finding an affordable concealer that will cover them. In the past I’ve mainly used concealer sticks, but they’re more suited to covering blemishes and they never do a very good job, so a few months ago I decided to pick up a liquid concealer to try. Whilst browsing Superdrug for the perfect shade I tried many concealers from different brands, most of which were too orange or too dark for my pale skin tone, but whilst checking the cheapest stand in the shop, 2True, I was surprised to find the ideal match – their 3 in 1 Concealer in Shade 1, for just £1.99.
The concealer comes packaged in a very basic looking tube, complete with a soft, angled wand for easy application. The packaging is nothing to shout about, and in all honesty it is fairly impractical as it gets very messy, very quickly (as you can see below), and it’s impossible to get the last dregs of product out of the tube. But for £1.99 I’m not complaining too much!
The concealer has a light, creamy consistency and can be blended easily with a fingertip into all nooks and crannies. It also dries fairly quickly so it’s perfect for the morning rush, and it doesn’t go powdery or tight on the skin. In fact, I actually find it quite moisturising, without being greasy, and it leaves your skin looking smooth with an even tone.
The concealer goes on very pale, but once blended it is a brilliant match for light skin tones, with its lightness giving the skin a little boost of radiance. For a bargain concealer the coverage is actually quite impressive, and it covers up my dark circles well, and stays put for a good while. By the evening the dark circles start to show through again however, so it does need touching up/reapplying if you’re heading out anywhere.
Unblended
Coverage (with foundation)
Other than the impractical packaging, this concealer is a little gem and at £1.99 you really can’t go wrong. I’m already onto my second tube and it makes a nice little addition to my make up bag, and I use it on a daily basis for work to hide the signs of tired eyes. It gets a big thumbs up from me!
Naomi x
Pebble Grey LED Illuminated Cosmetic Mirror
1
7 years
I recently came across a great little interior design company called Pebble Grey, who specialise in contemporary mirrors and modern bathroom accessories, and they kindly sent me one of their newest products to review – an LED Illuminated Cosmetic Mirror.
When I first received the mirror, I was instantly struck by how beautiful its packaging is. The mirror comes presented in a sleek, dark grey presentation box which feels lovely to the touch, and comes with a velvet black pouch to store it in when you’re out and about, to prevent any scratches or scuffs. It’s obvious that a lot of care and thought has been put in to the packaging, and it gives the product a luxury edge that would make it perfect as a gift idea for a loved one, or even as a treat for yourself.
The mirror itself is matte grey in colour, and is adorned with the Pebble Grey logo on the front, and a feminine, swirly pattern on the back. It is elegantly slim, but very well made with a strong hinge, and feels very sturdy, so it won’t break easily like some cheaper pocket mirrors do.
Inside the compact are two mirrors with 2x magnification, one of which is studded with six powerful LED lights. The lights are very useful and make for effortless make up application, as they highlight the areas of your face that are often in shadow, meaning you can blend your make up perfectly with no unevenness. They’re also bright enough so that you can check your face in darker areas with no trouble. My favourite use for the mirror, however, is for plucking my eyebrows, as the magnification and LED lights make it easy to see any small, stray hairs.
Pebble Grey’s Illuminated Cosmetic Mirror comes everywhere with me, and is extremely handy, and several people have asked me where they can get one. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality, versatile mirror. The mirror usually retails for £14.99, but is currently on offer for £9.99 on the Pebble Grey website, so grab yourself a bargain whilst you still can!
Naomi x
*This LED Illuminated Cosmetic Mirror was sent to me be Pebble Grey for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
INIKA Certified Organic Liquid Foundation
4
8 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.*
Firework Nails featuring Technic ‘Carnival’
16Here in the UK we celebrate Bonfire Night on the 5th of November, to remember Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the houses of parliament. Celebrations always involve a lot of beautiful fireworks, and this year I was lucky enough to see not one, but TWO displays! The first was a small one in our back garden last Friday, with some of the extended family. We ate homemade pizzas, jacket potatoes, burgers and hotdogs, as well as some of my extra special homemade chocolate dipped shortbread, whilst we set off a few boxes of rockets and fountains. Then, on Saturday, I went to the big display they hold at a local park, which I’ve been to every year since I was about three years old. They had a huge bonfire with a Guy on top and a 20 minute long display with some of the biggest, loudest fireworks I have ever seen! We had hot, sugary doughnuts too which tasted amazing.
I absolutely love fireworks so this time of year is always a lot of fun for me. My city is also currently celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, so there are twice as many fireworks for me to enjoy. To show my love for the firework season, I decided to give my nails a colourful, sparkly makeover, using No7 Stay Perfect ‘Violetta’ and Technic ‘Carnival’.
To create this look I applied two thin coats of No7 Stay Perfect ‘Violetta’, then layered Technic ‘Carnival’ over the top. I attempted to graduate the glitter by applying more to the tips of my nails, but it didn’t work as well as I wanted it to, probably due to the mixed size of the glitter flakes! I still love how they look though. I chose the dark background to represent the night sky, and the bright glitter gives a firework-like burst of colour over the top.
Technic ‘Carnival’ is an amazing mix of almost every colour glitter you can imagine, including pink, purple, red, blue, green, gold and silver. Isn’t it pretty? I picked this varnish up from Leicester Market last year for just £1, and for the price it is fantastic quality. The glitter is suspended in a clear varnish which isn’t gloopy or runny, but the consistency is thick enough to keep the glitter firmly in place when on the nail, whilst acting as a decent top coat. It dries really quickly too which is always a bonus.
What do you think of this glittery look? I hope you all had a brilliant Bonfire Night!
Naomi x
Sample: Garnier Skin Naturals B.B. Miracle Skin Perfector
4Over the last month or so I have received a LOT of make up and skincare samples in the post, so today I thought I’d review one of the samples that has intrigued me the most – Garnier’s Skin Naturals B.B Miracle Skin Perfector.
Garnier’s new product is described as a ‘Daily All-In-One B.B. Cream’. B.B. Creams have been all over the place lately and I have seen several variations on what the B.B. actually stands for! They’ve been called Beauty Balms, Blemish Balms and Blemish Bases, and Garnier have settled for the Blemish Balm title. I have to say, on first impressions I found this sample quite confusing. Is it a Skin Perfector? Is it a B.B. Cream? Is it a face cream? Or are they all the same thing? I decided to do some research and found that, in short, a B.B. Cream is a hybrid product that merges the light, softening elements of a moisturiser with the pigmentation of foundation, to give brightening, smooth, flawless coverage of the face. It can be used on its own, or as a primer for make up, so basically they are all the same thing! I thought the B.B. Cream sounded quite similar to a tinted moisturiser, which I’ve tried and disliked before so I wasn’t expecting miracles from this sample, but you can’t always judge a book by its cover.
What first hit me about this sample was the smell. It has quite a strong, fresh scent, almost lemony, with a nutty undertone. I didn’t like the smell at first but once it settled down I found it quite pleasant.
I tried the product on my hand to start with and was slightly worried by how orange it looked. I always use the lightest shade in foundation ranges, and though this was ‘Light’, it definitely didn’t look as light as the other products I use. It sat in the creases of my hand too which is never a good thing. However, after remembering that B.B. Creams are somewhat like moisturisers, I decided to rub it in as I would a lotion, and luckily it blended in nicely to more suit my skin tone.
I have slight dark circles under my eyes and a few open pores on my nose, so as Garnier’s Skin Perfector is intended for the face, I then tried it out on my problem areas. As with most people, I have fewer fine creases on face than I do on my hands, so the product obviously gave better coverage on my face. It blended quickly and definitely softened my skin which is a plus. Surprisingly, my dark circles were left lighter and my pores were also noticeably smoother, which is pretty impressive for a cream. It is not as good as a foundation though which is what I was expecting really!
After trying this Garnier sample, I’m not sure I’d use a B.B.Cream on its own, but it was infinitely better than I expected and did what it claimed, which is never a bad thing. I would, however, consider using a B.B. Cream as a primer. The face perfectors I have used in the past have been quite heavy and have irritated my skin, but the light formula of this B.B. Cream seems to agree more with my skin.
Naomi x
