MUA Undress Your Skin illuminating Foundation

I'm a huge fan of MUA I love a lot of their products! But I had never tried any of their foundations due to a limited colour range. Many high street ranges never seem to go down light enough. So seeing the new Illuminating foundation I discovered they do a nice light on that is perfect for my skin tone! At £5 it was a steal!

MUA claim this foundation will cover imperfections and blemishes whilst maintaining your skins natural glow with light diffusing particles of shimmer that create instant radiance. So I was a little worried that it would be full of tiny glitter particles and I'd end up looking very young. I was also a little worried about how sheer it would be.

I didn't really need to worry as the shimmer is minimal if you even notice it and the coverage is light to medium but definitely buildable. I have porcelain which is the lightest of three shades.  It is perfect for my skin (I'm an NC 15 in MAC for some comparison)

It's not cakey or heavy on your skin. The lasting power is great. It lasts all day without melting off.  I do like the coverage. Imperfections are hidden but your skin still shines through. With a little concealer and translucent powder you get that no make up look.

The best bit of this foundation is a little goes a long way. It has a fairly thick consistency but with a brush a small amount will over your whole face. I use a foundation brush then buff it in with the real techniques expert face brush.

In all I love this and for £5 it's a no brainer!

You can pick on up from selected Superdrug stores and online Here!

Have you used this foundation before? What do you think? Let me know!

xoxo - lizzy

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L'Oreal CC Cream Anti - Dullness

I never really jumped onto the BB cream wagon, none of them really stood out to me or worked as well as I wanted them to. So when I saw L'Oreal had released a line of CC Creams I was a little intrigued and thought these would be more up my street.

I picked up the mauve anti - dullness CC Cream as my skin is quite dull in places and has areas that need to be evened out. The product comes out the tube a mauve colour and once it has been blended with fingers it turns in to a foundation.

L'oreal claim that this CC cream can is a 5 in 1 perfecting cream for:

• Flawless Coverage
• perfectly even skin texture
• fresh dewy glow
• 24 hour hydration
• SPF 12

For me the SPF is a redundant feature I use a high SPF separately on my face.  Same with Hydration. 

I did feel with the product it is a little dark for my skin so I do need to use it sparingly and really blend it in well.  With the summer months creeping in and Britain seeing a nice amount of sunshine lately this will match my tanned skin! 

Other than the problem with the colour I do like it. It does make my skin less dull and gives it a vibrancy. It does leave a nice dewy glow.  I get good coverage from it and it lasts all day. I do use a little bit of concealer just to give trouble areas some extra coverage. 

The CC Cream gives a light coverage but it is buildable to about a medium. I do prefer a full coverage but there are days when a light one is nice! 

In all its a great product and does work shame it only comes in one colour though a lighter one would be amazing and would most defiantly would get a lot of use.

You can get this from Boots or Superdrug  or online Here! They are £9.99

Have you used a L'Oreal CC cream? USed another one? Let me know! 

xoxo - Lizzy 

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Collection Cover and Go

I recently popped into my local Superdrug for a few essential purchases with the intentions of staying away from make up. Did I stay away? Did I hell!!

A new product from Collection caught my eyes. Cover and Go is Collections new foundation. With an added twist. When you pop open the cap your greeted with a concealer and a mirror. So 3 products in one bit of a bonus!

Okay the foundation first. I have light 2 which is the second lightest in the collection. They do have an ivory which for once was actually too light for skin, the light blended seamlessly into my skin. The foundation is a liquid foundation with medium buildable coverage. To me its fairly matte. It blends into the skin beautifully without looking too done or cakey.  It is a fairly thick foundation and a similar formula to a cream to powder but Collection have labeled it as a liquid. It is wearable and does last a whole days wear. I normally have my make up on for around 8 hours and its still there.

The concealer is a cream concealer with a full coverage. To me its similar to my Mac studio fix concealer. Its great at under eye dark circles and blemishes. The best part is both colours are complimentary so you don't get any tell tell concealer marks on your skin. The concealer is easy to blend and you don't need to spend too much time warming it up with your fingers before applying. It also apply's well with a brush.

Left to right foundation and concealer swatched.

This is a great product for nights away or for festival weekends when you want to wear make up but not have to carry too much around with you. Plus at £5.99 for 2 products not too damaging to you bank balance!

You can pick one of these up at your local Superdrug or Boots as well as plenty of local drugstores or you get one online here

Have you tried this? Whats your favorite multi purpose product? Let me know!

xoxo - Lizzy

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Rimmel Match Perfection foundation

Foundation the starting point of all make up looks. I, myself love a choice each morning. I'm also loving how foundations are now getting better shade ranges and you can find a much closer match to your skin tone. So when I saw the advert for Rimmels new Match Perfection foundation I was a little skeptical I'm not the biggest fan of Rimmel foundations. My sister has the wake me up foundation and it just didn't do anything for me. So when I saw a sample sheet with a few shades in I thought I'd have a look see what I think after all the shades were free and gave me a chance to see the formula. I found a perfect match and decided to grab the full size.

I have the very lightest which is shade 010 Light porcelain. The range has 11 shades so you should find one perfect for you. This foundation blends beautifully into the skin.

I've been wearing this a fair amount over the last few weeks. It's not normally what I go for. Its a liquid foundation and I prefer thicker more creamy bases. As long as I use a matte primer on my trouble areas this doesn't cause me and problems.

I love that there's no tell tell lines the foundations blends seamlessly into the skin. I buff it in with a brush and really work it in.  

Its a pump actioned bottle so you get a measured dose when dispensing it. I find 2 pumps is enough to get a medium coverage across my face and neck. This also lasts all day and doesn't move. It leaves a nice glow to the skin I always feel as though I look more fresh and radiant wearing this. 

Its a really nice light formula, doesn't feel to heavy or clogging on your skin. Over the course of the day this doesn't dry my skin out or end up with annoying patches (Unless my puppy licks my cheeks, shes a bit partial to the taste of make up!) The only thing I dislike is the smell. I'm not keen on the smell of any Rimmel foundation but I overlook this as the actual product is good. 

You can purchase Rimmel at most drug stores or online here for £6.99

Have you used this foundation? What did you think? Let me know!

xoxo - Lizzy

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17 Miracle Matte Foundation.

I'm always on the lookout for matte foundations, I'm a huge Dream Matte Mousse fan but I've been trying to find a great liquid foundation. I've tried just about every matte foundation and for whatever reason I've disliked it. I noticed Boots 17 range had Miracle matte foundation so I decided to give it a try. 17 used to have a great mousse foundation which I loved so I did have high hopes for this one.

Miracle Matte foundation £5.99 

I chose porcelain which is one of the lightest colours. The bottle is pump actioned and gives a measured dose. I find 2 pumps is enough to get a good even coverage on my whole face and neck with a little left over for places I want more coverage. To apply this I use my real techniques stippling brush and buff it right into the skin. The formula does blend really well and the shade I picked was perfect for my skin.

The coverage is great not too full but more a natural look.It lasts all day without going  patchy or sinking into the pores. I've also found it doesn't slide off and does stay put. So it does live up to its claim of lasting 16 hours. I haven't found it to be cakey and I don't look as if I'm wearing alot of make up with this.

This foundation is also reasonably priced at £5.99. You can purchase one Here

I think I'll be picking up the miracle matte primer and see how that works.

Are you a fan of 17? Any of their products I should try? Let me know

xoxo - Lizzy

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Maxfactor Face Finity

I received a cute little sample of Maxfactors new face finity foundation in the post the other day. I hate splurging out on foundations only to find I really dislike them, so I try to find a sample sachet to try out first. Then I can gather if it's worth me spending my money on.

The sample came with a card info sheet and a one use sachet. The colour I received was Natural 50, which is the second lightest shade. I was lucky and found this was my perfect shade.

 Maxfactors claim is this will be flawless all day and that it combines your primer, concealer and your foundation in one easy step. I was a bit skeptical in trying this and didn't think it would give me that much coverage. I have naturally flush cheeks so a full coverage foundation is preferred.

I applied this with my real techniques stippling brush so I could really buff it into my skin  and try to achieve an even finish. I was genuinely surprised by this product.  It did have a very full coverage and I had no need for a concealer. It was thick and had a great smell to it.

Im not sure on the 16 hours but it did last all day until I washed it off.  I had none of the awful patchyness you sometimes get. I did find I had a small amount of patchyness but I did put this down to being caught in a downpour.

I have already purchased a full size one of these from Boots and I still love it! (full sized price is £11.99)

Have you tried this? Let me know!

xoxo - Lizzy

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My must have mattes!

As I've said before I have oily skin and am prone to oil slicks on my face! To combat this I use a whole host of matte finishing products. My favourites are:

1. MAC Studio fix concealer. I love this concealer. It is thick and gives a flawless finish to the skin. It is also a full coverage concealer which covers anything I may have on my face. Having oily skin I am prone to breakouts to a good concealer is a must. With this one I find it doesn't slide around my face and it stays on beautifully through out the day. It does crease a small amount but I so far haven't found a great full coverage concealer that doesn't to some extent. It doesn't dry shiney or gooey. A small amount really covers an awful lot. A small swipe can completely do under my eyes and round my nose. (£14.50 at MAC counters or online. Find them in House of Fraser and selected Debanhams.)
2. Rimmel stay Matte pressed powder. I love this powder, it isn't chalky or cakey on my skin and I only need to load my brush two to three times to do my whole face and neck area. This powder keeps my foundation set all day and soaks up any unwanted oil. It keeps my skin so soft as well. (£3.99 most chemists, drug stores and super markets)
3. Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse, This is a holy grail product for me. I could not live my life without it. For me it keeps my skin looking flawless while keeping me shine free. I know alot of other bloggers hate this foundation but I simply Love it. The colour is a perfect match for my skin tone and one jar lasts me around a month. I blend it in with my real techniques expert face brush. It doesn't sit in my pores or dry my skin out. I can put this on early morning and it still looks matte and perfect when I arrive home some hours later. Even on a night out it stays put. (£7:69 Superdrug, Boots and selected independent chemists)

A few other products to keep my skin matte

Urban Decays De Slick: This sets my skin perfectly and keeps the shine at bay. You can also use this to prime the skin by spraying onto your skin before starting your make up routine. 

Urban Decays Eden primer potion: This keeps my eye lids oil free. Occasionally I find that my eye lids can become rather oily and my eye make up separates leaving greasy lines. Using Eden which is a mattifying primer potion this doesnt happen. It keeps my shadow looking exactly how I applied it that morning. With no creasing or with it sliding off. 

Using all these products together I find I can achieve a better standard of make up. My make up looks better and stays on my skin much better and for much longer. It also helps keep breakouts to a minimum as I rarely swap my basic make up products. 

Do you have oily skin? What products do you swear by? Which would you recommend to me? Let me know -[ 

xoxo - Lizzy

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Real Techniques blush and expert face brushes

Real Techniques Blush brush and Expert face brush.

I finally purchased myself some Real Techniques brushes. After seeing alot of hype about these brushes on other beauty blogs and needed to purchase a new foundation brush (My Gosh one was 4 years old and should have been binned a few years ago!) I decided to treat myself to the Expert face brush (£8.99) and the Blush brush(£9.99).

Real Techniques brushes have been created by Pixiwoos Samantha Chapman. Sam's a make up artist and also a beauty blogger.

The blush brush has the most beautiful soft bristles I've ever used. There made entirely of taklon and are synthetic. They aren't scratchy on the skin they glide along perfectly. The brush itself deposits colour evenly onto the cheeks and picks up the perfect amount of product. I've used it with a variety of different blushes in different pigmentation's. Even with the highly pigmented colours this brush picks up a perfect amount to allow you to build up the colour needed on your cheeks. It also blends the colour perfectly out so your not left with any harsh lines. 

The expert face brush has become a holy grail item for me. I am in love with this brush. As with the Blush brush it has taklon bristles and they are the softest of the soft. Its a firm bristled brush which blends foundation effortlessly on to the skin. I've tried all my liquid foundations with it and have found that I use less product due to how well the brush deposits foundation. I also found that this brush blends my dream matte mousse perfectly, normally to blend that in without it being cakey or patchy I have to use my fingers. This brush also blends without leaving those annoying tell-tell  brush lines, it gets into every part of the face perfectly. I use this for everything but powder it blends my Mac studio finish concealer like a dream without taking too much product of my skin like some other brushes can do it keeps the extra coverage I want. I also use it to blend my Urban Decay Afterglow cheek tint, normally I use my fingers but I always find I go a little overboard. Using this gives I need less product and get a better over all finish. 

The brushes are free standing which makes for easy storage. They have perfect sized handles which help with control. They're so easy to grip and are perfectly weighted. 

Overall the Real Techniques brushes are great, I'm hooked and will for sure be putting them on my wish lists!

You can purchase them at your local boots or here!

xoxo - Lizzy 

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