My top 5 blogposts of 2013!!!

So 2013 has been a massive year for my blog, I actually posted my first post in October 2012 and then another the following month, but due to postgraduate studies I put blogging on hold. My next post was in March 2013, and I have tried to post consistently since. Being a working mum, my day job has nothing to do with beauty, it's not easy to find the time. Inspired by viviannadoesmakeup, I decided to put together the top 5 blogposts of 2013:

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light; this is unequivocally my most viewed blogpost, I think this was the start of a powder revolution, non cakey powders, that add a glow to the face.

2. Nip+Fab glycolic fix cleanser and exfoliating pads; I think this year glycolic acid was a big hit, people stopped being scared and embraced it, I have since used a few other glycolic products and love it. I am currenlty looking for a new addition (possibly pixibeauty glow tonic or REN's offering).

3. EX1 Cosmetics; This is a cosmetics range specifically designed to cater to asian, yellow/olive, mediterranean skin tones. I have currently hit pan on the powder, and am definately going to purchase another. Love it!!!

4. Maqpro Mandy Gold palette; The main thing I use out of this palette is the orange corrector, it's great under foundation to prevent foundation going grey or ashy where hyper-pigmentation is prominent, or to help make light work of covering blemishes.

5. Chanel Les Beiges; chanels addition to the light as air powders that can be used to set foundation, as a bronzer or to offer light coverage on no make-up days.

Thank you all for your support this year, I'm going to organise a giveaway in the new year, so stayed tuned. I'm looking forward to what 2014 has to offer, I wish you all a Happy New Year and a blessed 2014.

Thanks for visiting the blog today.

Alex

YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation!!!

So by now you have probably already heard of YSL's latest addition to their base family, it's their first serum foundation, it's infused with a unique complex called Glycanactif complex. It's touted to revive skin's youthful brightness and enhance the complexion's natural colour tone, said to work even better in conjunction with the Forever Youth Liberator Serum, to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and leave the skin looking firmer. Now as is the way with these things, I have not used the foundation long enough to comment on these claims and I do not own the serum, but it's a nice thought to think the foundation has extra added benefits during wear, as appears to be the trend recently.

Anyway back to the Foundation, I have shade B70, the darkest I've seen. It's a good match to my skintone, albeit a little beige, it blends out really well. It's contained in the most glorious glass bottle I've seen for a while and comes with a handy pump.

No Flash                                                        Flash


(I'll add a picture of me wearing it once I get a good shot)
It's gives a good medium coverage, with a lovely satin finish, it's on the pricey side of £34, but I bought it with 15% off from Feelunique. I like this foundation, one critic is I would like it to have more yellow in it, but it gives my skin a lovely glow and lasts well with minimal touch up's during the day, I apply it with fingers and/or my real techniques buffing brush.

Have you tried this foundation yet?

Thanks for visiting the blog today.

Alex

Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette on darker skin!!!

By now everyone and their dog has heard about Urban Decay's latest addition to the Naked range, I don't own any of the other products in the naked range, but something about this was calling to me and I answered lol!!! It contains 12 all new rose hued shades, a double ended brush and 7 day samples of 4 eye primers for £37. I ordered mine from Debenhams.com, you have all probably read about this palette, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

No Flash

Top row: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit. Middle row: Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar. Bottom row: Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart.

NO Flash

 

Flash

 

Flash

 

I'm still playing around with this palette, but so far I'm loving it, I've done a natural daytime look so far, which I posted on instagram (aallexxy). I want to do a night time look using blackheart as the main colour, for a really dramatic smokey eye, if I do I'll post the results on instagram.

 

Have you succumbed and bought this palette? What's your thoughts? If you didn't get it why not?

 

 

Thanks for visiting the blog today

 

Alex

 

Sunday Riley's Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer!!!

I was really intrigued by this primer, so decided to take the plunge, it comes in 3 shades Light, medium and deep. It provides very light coverage that can either be worn alone for a no make-up make-up look or underneath foundation, it's silicone based, but less than others and has added ingredients to allow the skin to breath despite this. It also contains peptides and sodium hyaluronate to plump skin and create a great canvas for make-up application.

It's on the pricey side at £38, I bought mine from cult beauty. It can be helpful if you like full coverage as you'll need less foundation and prevent cake face, but also great if you like a very light coverage and/or have great skin, or under powder foundation. It lasts well on the skin and can help reduce the steps to applying make-up in the mornings (base and primer in one).











I have worn this both alone and under foundation, and I love it as an everyday base, a little concealer here and there and I'm out the door (well maybe's there's a few more steps than that lol)!!! Deep is a great match for my skintone, but as the coverage is so light, it will suit a wide range of skintones. The instructions suggest 2-3 pumps, but personally a pump and a half is sufficient, you can apply extra where you need it, but you still won't get more than light coverage, so you're better off saving product and using concealer.







I absolutely love this primer, I use it more like a tinted moisturiser, and it's perfect for an everyday natural make-up look.

Have you tried any Sunday Riley Products? Share your experience.

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex

 

You Beauty Advent Calendar!!!

So this year I decided to treat myself to a beauty advent calendar, I've never had one before, deciding which one to get was my next task. The benefit one was extremely limited, the selfridges one was quite expensive, I didn't want 24 nail polishes, which struck the ciate one off the list. Then I heard about the You Beauty Advent Calendar, £49.95 for items from different brands, check out the youbeautydiscovery.co.uk website to see what's in it and it's still currently available. You will have to pay £4.95 delivery if you are not a member, read about the You Beauty Discovery Beauty Box here.

 

 

When it arrived I had to resist the urge to open every single door immediately, but my birthday is in December and I thought it would actually be nice to open every door day by day, follow on instagram/twitter for pictures of what's in each door (Aallexxy).

 

 

It also contains a booklet explaining each product with discount codes, some valid through to the end of January next year, so still plenty of time to use them.

 

 

Have you treated yourself to any beauty advent calendars this year?

You Beauty Discovery Box!!!

So I stumbled upon this when ordering the Youbeauty advent calendar, I've been subscribed to glossybox for about 18months now, part of the beauty of glossybox is also part of it's downside. You don't know what you're going to get each month!!! You beauty is different in the sense that you pick 2 samples each month out of 6-12 options, if you don't choose by a particular date 2 samples are randomly selected for you, for £6.95 a month and 2 extras that are included in everyone's box. It's on a first come first served basis, so if there's something you want you have to get on the website quick.

It's quite cute and compact in size compared to the glossybox, by the time I signed up some of the samples were out of stock, so I picked the oriflame mascara and Murad osmolyte tonic. I then got a sample of Lizi's granola cereal in Belgian chocolate and a sample of Montagne Jeunesse body smoothies.

Murad osmolyte tonic

This is a spritz facial toner that claims to hydrate, plump and firm the skin, this is a 15ml sample!!! I've used this a couple of times and am loving it, I've used Murad products in the past and they never disappoint.

Oriflame Wonder lash mascara

I had never heard of this Swedish brand, it claims to give lift, length and amazing fullness. I've used this today and love it, it's got a plastic brush, with longer bristles on one side, which the company brand as a 3D brush.

Montagne Jeunesse body smoothies 

Again another brand I had not heard of, this is one of the 2 samples everyone gets, it claims to leave skin soft, hydrated and smelling fabulous. I am yet to use this, but being a small sachet I'll probably jut use it on my hands. I ate the Lizi's granola cereal before taking an individual picture as I wasn't planning on writing this post, it claims to have a low glycemic load so energy is released slowly. It was a very small serving, I felt I needed at least 3 packs to get close to the amount I would normally have for breakfast. However I got the Belgian chocolate flavour and it was very nice.

You beauty discovery leaflet

It also includes this mini leaflet that explains each product, and has lots of discount codes if you choose to buy the full size product.

All in all I'm liking this box and will definitely stay subscribed for a while, I like that you have an element of control, it's very affordable and you can unsubscribe at anytime. They also produce limited edition boxes from time to time, currently they have one for balance me products, and the advent calendar looks amazing for £49.95. Check out the website here youbeautydiscovery.co.uk

Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ Facial Oil

So last month I applied on facebook, (for the upteenth time lol), to be a beauty club VIP and get to receive and review a product. I got the Trilogy Rosehip Antioxidant+ facial oil, to be honest prior to this I had never heard of the brand Trilogy, and had not fallen prey to the trend of facial oils. Trilogy was founded by 2 sisters in New Zealand, they extract the purest most potent oil from rosehip seeds, they pride themselves on producing ethical, high performance natural skincare that works.

This 30ml bottle cost £26.50 on the debenhams website, it contains a carefully selected blend of oils including rosehip seed oil, tomato seed oil, cranberry seed oil, and acai fruit oil. This combines to make the rosapene formula, bringing together these natural restorative and protective properties in one bottle. It claims to brighten and even the skintone, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improve elasticity and firmness when used twice daily for 8 weeks.

It's a gorgeous golden coloured oil, delivered through a pipette dropper attached to the lid, it smells a little of cod liver oil. The oil is absorbed easily into the skin, 2-3 drops is enough, if you apply too much then you will feel a little greasy, but this can be easily resolved by blotting with a tissue (learnt the hard way lol). I love applying this to my face, neck and decolletage area after cleansing in the evening, my face feels soft, smooth and hydrated.

Sans make-up (apologies) right after applying the oil

I've really enjoyed using this oil, and will definitely be investing in other products from the brand. If you're looking for a natural skincare brand that delivers results, then Trilogy is a safe bet.

Have you tried any products from the brand?

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex

Hourglass Liquid Powder Foundation in Sable!!!

In a quest to expand my Hourglass collection (aka obsession), I finally purchased the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation, touted as 'the' foundation for oily skin and with rave reviews I had to see for myself. The closest spacenk store to me closed down recently, (I almost cried...literally), so I had to purchase blind based on swatches and shade descriptions from Beautyprofessor.net, at £50 it was a pricey risk to take. I bought it as part of my purchase with the spacenk beauty event, I figured it was the best time to stock up on my most lusted after items and get a great GWP, also a great way to test new products.

I chose the colour sable, which is the second to darkest shade available, for a mac reference I'm inbetween NC45-50. This foundation is formulated to absorb oil without absorbing moisture, due to an ingredient called cashmere kaolin clay, it's a liquid to powder formulation with a velvet matte finish. It's oil free and water resistant, it's also been reported to have skincare benefits for those with acne and blemish prone skin. It does not require powder to set, in fact it sets quite quickly, so you have to be quick during application and blending.

FlashNo flash

As with most Hourglass products it's oil, paraben, phthalate, fragance, nanoparticle, synthetic dye and gluten free. It's vegan and water resistant, it provide medium to full coverage, although I've never built it up to more than medium coverage.

The shade comes off a tad beige/ashy on initial application (I wish it had more yellow in it), but once it sets, and in a complete make-up look it blends well and is a great match. I was surprised to find that my skin did require a touch up after a few hours, nothing major, but I guess with a hyped up product you can tend to have higher expectations. However it performs best with the Hourglass mineral veil primer, it also comes with a sachet in the box, no touch up's required at all!!!

Have you tried any hourglass products? What's your favourite?

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex

Clinique's Superprimer!!!

So Clinique have released a line of primers, 6 in total, one universal shade and 5 tinted variants to cater to differing needs. I purchased the peach tinted shade aimed at correcting discoloration, it's a 30ml tube, and cost £20.

 

I normally use an orange corrector around my mouth area as this area can go grey and ashy under foundation due to hyperpigmentation, but sometimes in the morning when I'm rushing out the door to work it's just an extra step I don't always have time for, so to find a primer and corrector in one was next on my list of beauty purchases. As you've probably heard, peach tones correct pigmented areas of the face including dark under eye circles, based on the colour wheel theory. The lighter your skintone the more pinky/peach the shade should be, and the darker your skintone the more orange it needs to be.

Ingredients

This primer is obviously more along the peach shade spectrum, rather than the bright orange shade I normally use, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it did make it easier to conceal dark blemish marks and helped brighten the pigmented areas around my mouth, though not as much as my orange corrector. This primer made my skin feel silky smooth and foundation definitely glided on more smoothly, and it increased the longevity of my foundation.

All in all it's a great primer, and a great way for me to cut my morning routine down by a step, while offering extra longevity. Have you tried any of the clinique superprimers? What did you think?

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex

Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo Fibre collection!!!

So Samantha Chapman of the Pixiwoo sisters fame released her brush line, I'm sure you've heard of them by now, they have been gaining ground among beauty lovers alike. I have quite a few of the brushes myself, but not being a massive fan of duo fibre brushes I hesistated a while prior to purchasing the newest limited edtion release. However I'll be the first to confess I can be a bit heavy handed with make-up application, after watching a few videos, I decided to pick this up.

 

The face brush is great to use to set make-up, I have been using it with my EX1 cosmetics invisiwear compact powder and the hourglass ambient lighting powder, as the white fibres of the brush pick a small amount of product and the black fibres help blend it onto the face. 

 

The contour brush is great for contouring during the day, as it will prevent any harsh lines, which are less forgiving in harsh daylight. This can also be used to set foundation, if the face brush is too big for your liking or you like to precision powder in specific areas of your face.

The eye brush is great for applying a wash of colour over the lid or applying colour to the crease.

These are a great addition to my brush collection, for use with my day-to-day make-up application, to ensure everything is beautifully blended and you never end up with cake face!!!