The Review // Urban Decay Naked Skin Bronzing Beauty Balm

I love the summer and I love the sun, but when it comes to my foundation routine, this can get a bit tricky and often expensive when your constantly changing shades. How to eliminate these constant Space NK and Boots orders? The Urban Decay Naked Skin Bronzing Beauty Balm has got you covered (pardon the pun). 

I add this to any foundation, BB cream and concealer too light to add a bit of colour and a lovely glow to your base. This can also be used on its own for a natural, darker glow or even apply before your base but I do prefer to mix it in for a smoother and even finish. 

£23.50 Urban Decay

What's your favourite product to add a bit of colour to your base?

xoxo

The Review // Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation // £34

I thought I would jump on the Laura Mercier bandwagon and try out the Silk Creme Foundation. Kate from ghostparties also had a lot to do with this purchase when she raved about this foundation in her review. She was right, this foundation is amazing. It's long wearing, dewy but not too dewy and great coverage while looking natural and never cakey. In my opinion, this could work with any skin type. I have an oily t-zone and occasionally dry areas around my chin and this works wonders.

Coverage wise this covers any redness on my face so on a good skin day I can wear this by itself. When I'm sporting a few more blemishes, I add a bit of concealer and I'm good to go. I apply this with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush and I found that this is the way to get the best coverage and finish. 

I have worn this all day and with most foundations by the end of the day it tends to look a bit worn and the foundation isn't really at it's prime. With the Silk Creme Foundation the finish looks the same at the end of the day from when I applied it. 

Massive recommendation from me and wish I found this foundation sooner.    

xoxo

The NARS Base

The hype around the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and Creamy Concealer, plus a trip to Space NK equalled a couple of well loved purchases and a hefty dent in the bank. Also resulting in a new favourite base.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Medium coverage, dewy finish and natural looking on the skin. Probably one of my favourite foundations I have used in a long time. Having said that, if you have dry skin you will need a very heavy moisturiser before applying this because it tends to cling to dry patches on your face, but if you have normal or oily skin I would recommend this 100%.

NARS Creamy Concealer 

The concealer covers everything from dark under eye circles to blemishes. The best part is the formula, it is by far the creamiest concealer I have ever tried and as long as you set it with some powder it won't crease under the eyes. The thing I dislike most about concealers is when they are too drying and look flaky or cakey on the skin, but this NARS concealer will never disappoint.

This is the perfect pair for a base and leaves your skin looking dewy and natural, for me this definitely lives up to the hype.

 xoxo

Natural and Awake Makeup Look

For those tired and dull skin days (having had lot's of those since being at uni). My face is always in need of a bit of a pick-me-up. These are some of my beauty picks for an awake and fresh faced look after pulling those pesky all nighters. 

First, I like to prime my face with the Benefit "that gal" Brightening Face Primer which instantly corrects dull skin and gives a natural glow to the skin. Then I use the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation which is becoming to be my new favourite foundation. It has a light to medium coverage that is buildable and gives a lovely natural, dewy and glowing finish. Under the eyes and any blemishes I have I use the Benefit Erase Paste. This also does a brilliant job of brightening under the eyes to hide those dark circles and makes you look more awake (even if you are a walking zombie).
I like to have a subtle pink glow on the cheeks and for this I use the Topshop Head Over Heels Cream Blush which is a lovely coral pink colour and complements any skin tone. If I wanna go that extra mile and look even more awake I will go in with a highlighter and for this I use just a bit of Mac Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle, this gives a bronze, rose gold colour to the tops on the cheek bones. 
For eyes I keep it really simple, to be honest I would rather have that extra few minutes in bed then faff around with eye shadow when I haven't had much sleep. So I just pop a bit of BareMinerals Eyecolor in Soul on the tear duct area to brighten up the eyes then use a few coats of Maybelline The Rocket Mascara. Then to finish off the look I use Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss.

xoxo