Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation Review

I’ve been using Bourjois Healthy Mix for around two months now and I’ve got to say, for a drug store foundation this one is fairly commendable. I’ve got this in the shade 53 and to say I tried and tested it on my skin without any help (because they don’t offer it) I think I got a  fairly decent match. The two things I like most about this foundation is that one, it isn’t heavy. You can apply and achieve a light coverage if you wish, apt for these humid summer days but you can easily layer it up for more of a medium coverage.  I also love how it smells! The fruity added ‘therapy’ really adds to it and it is SO much nicer than the chemically offending whiff you get from some foundations! It also makes my brushes smell pretty good too.

It doesn’t combat shine very well, which I suppose is because it’s meant to give off that healthy, dewy look, but because my skin is oily I definitely can’t achieve that without looking like I’m having a hot sweat. I do powder with this one, but for many this is part of routine anyway. The best thing however is that it doesn’t break me out. My skin doesn’t agree with anything, from moisturisers to blushers, I really do struggle to find products that I can wear day to day without unearthing the beasts, so this for me is a breakthrough!

I would say the lasting power is fairly average; I can get through an 8 hour shift but I do need the odd touch up as it eventually disappears from places like my temples and chin? Overall I like it and would recommend it but I would be cautious if you have oily skin like me and aren’t willing to deal with shine!

What are your thoughts on this foundation? Have you tried it?

Essie On The Eye

 

 

I’m not the world’s biggest fan when it comes to nail polishes and painting my nails. Simply because I am very impatient and get very agitated when waiting for them to dry – especially when 9 out of 10 times I try, I  smudge most of my fingers and I ultimately end up back where I started, without nail polish on and considerably grumpier. 

BUT Essie’s little home in the corner of Boot’s has recently been catching my eye, especially the summer 13 colours.  So I thought I would forget my hatred for all things lacquer loving and delve in. Boot’s also have a buy one get one half price offer on Essie products at the minute, not bad! However I thought TWO polishes in one day was pushing it so I came home with the one I loved most, Naughty Nautical.

The colour is super pretty and like with most Essie polishes, the name is so cute. The shade is what I would expect to come from a lime green and minty blue mix, super appropriate for summer. It also has a very subtle glitter pigment within it, it is infact barely noticeable but it definitely adds to that shimmery, watery effect I expect the colour is trying to achieve. 

These colours from Essie have really got me, I even went back like I said I would and purchased Sunday Funday and The More The Merrier. They too are bold bright shades…if it weren’t for these amazing colours I definitely wouldn’t be giving the time of day to painted nails, so Essie must have done something right to get even me to spend over £7 on a varnish!

 

 

The More The Merrier – An electric lime green shade, looks better in the bottle in all honesty but customers at work have described it as ‘interesting’, so that’s something I guess…

Sunday Funday  - Comes second to Naughty Nautical this one! Such a cute girly shade with its coral tones and shimmer.

Two coats of this varnish is required to achieve the full, block colour shown to us from within the bottle. I would say this varnish lasts roughly a week but because my job requires quite a bit of manual work chipping is inevitable with me so I can't share what it's true lasting power may be. The Essie brushes are quite good too, they are thick and spread the paint evenly and more importantly - quickly! I've not had these shades off yet, and neither have my mother and sister!

My Favourite Body Butters

This post is to discuss my all time favourite, alongside my current body butters and moisturisers. It is a fairly modest collection to say the least, no high end brands in this stash! I lather on any one of these depending on my mood, my skin, the weather, or sometimes it’s down to simply being within reaching distance! I love them all equally and yet all for different reasons.

1.      Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula – Now everyone loves a bit of Palmer’s, it’s one that many of us will always go back to as it’s just so darn reliable. There is nothing fancy or luxurious about this moisturiser, it’s simply made to straight up soften, smooth and relieve and it does just that. This is a butter that I tend to use mainly in the summer when my skin is more exposed to the sun and whilst I’m building up a tan. It also gets it’s fair usage when I’ve come back off a holiday and I’m trying my best to maintain my glow! Palmer’s does help to do this, it keeps your skin hydrated and moisturised which is what my skin cries out for after a mere week in the sun! I apply this both morning and night as with a tan my skin becomes very dry and uncomfortable and I often start to peel if I miss moisturising even once! So in these times it’s a saviour! It is in fact recommended as an after tanning butter which is the initial reason for me buying this all those moons ago, but what is also a big plus is that it works to even out skin tones and smooth out marks and scars. The only thing I’m not too keen on with this product is the cocoa butter scent but I think that’s because I’ve used it soo much and so often that I’ve just gone off it (this tends to happen with most things such as perfume annoyingly enough).

2.     Garnier Summer Body Mosturising Lotion – I’ve been using this for sooo long, that I actually think it’s time for a change! This product isn’t your ‘slap on after a shower body crème’, but a moisturiser that works to gradually build a subtle sun-kissed glow. In the past I’ve used it all over the shop, legs, arms, face, you name it but these days I tend to just stick to the pins. It’s great because it doesn’t create the mess and require the preparation that true false tanning does and what’s even better is that it lasts for ages! I’ll usually apply this once each morning for two/three days (bearing in mind that you should let it dry into the skin for a while before putting your skinnys on!) and then for the next week those unsightly milk bottles are no more! What I find however is that the product never truly or fully sinks into the skin and it can leave your skin feeling slightly sticky so showering before your next application is usually best! It’s not great for solely moisturising but for a hint of colour I can’t fault it.

3.     The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter/The Body Shop Mango Body Butter – Hail the budget beauty body butters of all time (although I think Soap & Glory could now be a close second!). The Body Shop are well known for their tubs of ‘smells so good you could eat it’ goodness, and I think it would be hard to find a household in Britain that doesn’t have one of these, big or small, rolling around in the back  of a drawer somewhere or pride of place on the dressing table. They do exactly what they’re made for – buttering up that body. I’ve not stopped using these two of late and I sometimes have to ‘ip, dip, dop, do’ over which one to use as they both smell SO good. The consistency is really light and creamy and dries into the skin wonderfully. The scent on them lasts pretty much all day too so you don’t need to worry about smelling questionable by the end of your graveyard shift!

4.     PINK Warm & Cosy Supersoft Bodylotion -  Last but not least is a Victoria’s Secret favourite of mine, simply because it smells so good. This was bought at roughly Christmas time, hence the name, so I’m not sure whether they still sell this anymore. I used it a lot over the winter period and unfortunately it’s been cast aside while the more summer fruity fragranced lotions take over! The scent isn’t what I would call a staple winter scent as it is quite a sweet vanilla fragrance but it is quite heavy and it doesn’t scream summer but for those miserable wet British days it could well make another appearance!  Plus I love the cute pump packaging it comes in!

Do you have a favourite body butter? Could you recommend a  moisturiser you’ve recently tried out?

Parklife '13 Baby!

Not a beauty inspired post this time round but I have good reason! This weekend saw over 150,000 music lover’s flock to Manchester to see Bon Jovi at the Etihad, Rod Stewart at the Arena and of course to enjoy the much anticipated PARKLIFE at Heaton Park. This is literally on my doorstep being only a twenty minute drive from my house so I grabbed a ticket alongside one of my Uni friends and pals and embraced an epic weekend! The weather couldn’t have been any finer, it was the best weather we’ve seen in a while and the sun didn’t stop shining for the whole two days. Everyone was in high, happy spirits and just generally having a belting time! In all honesty I didn’t know many of those featured on the line-up as it was mainly house Dj’s ect but from those that I did know, being Disclosure, Rudimental, Jessie Ware, Rita Ora, Delphic, Plan B and Example, they all put on a cracking show. Example held the best set of the weekend for me, he kept up the tempo and even though I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of his he really did send everyone off on a high on the Sunday night! I’m pretty gutted it’s over to be honest, had such a good crack with the people I know and with the people I met! And my fuzzy head, aching bones and 8 hour shift come Monday morning were definitely worth it despite my desperate pleas for mercy!  

 

 

Parklife isn’t a camping festival, which didn’t bother me too much as I’ve done all that before and to be honest going home to a shower and a fresh bed is SO what you need after a pissed up day in the sun. Plus it gives you time to prepare for doing it all again the following day! I would recommend Parklife to anyone who loves a beer, a dance, being with their mates, music and the sun…not guaranteed of course, but even in the rain (I’ve been to Leeds Fest in the past wading through inches of mud in a downpour) you can still have an awesome time!

 

 

 

 

Did you go to Parklife this year? Do you have any different festivals lined up?

Bikini Buys

 

 

I’m hoping to get a summer holiday booked in the next few weeks so of course I’ve been looking at overpriced bits of material to cover up my funny bits! In other words, bikinis. I do love a good bikini, the pricetag’s however, not so much but I usually buy two to three new ones each year to satisfy my money wasting compulsion. I know that the standard bra and brief combo is kinda going out the window now and it’s all about the high waist, bandeau and all in one but as much as I like them I want as much flesh exposed as possible! I ain’t susceptible to hiding from the sun, so these are some picks I’ve come across that I like the look of and might possibly purchase!

1.       I bought this bikini from Dorothy Perkins about a month ago and I really love it! The pattern is totally me, I love floral designs. I got it for a bargain too as there was 15% student discount at the time so I got the whole set for under twenty quid!
Dorothy Perkins – Top: £14 Bottom: £9

2.       This is another one from Dorothy Perkins; I’m loving polka dot at the minute so this really caught my eye. I think DP offers reasonable prices too, especially when you can get your student discount whacked on top!
Dorothy Perkins – Top: £14 Bottom: £9

3.       I’m not the biggest Jack Wills fan but this combo is too cute to miss. It’s so summery and girly, what isn’t there to like! That might be the price actually…£29.50 for the top and £19.50 for the bottoms is STEEP and not really justifiable, on to the next one…
Jack Wills – Top: £29.50 Bottom: £19.50

4.       I really like the fringe detail on this bikini; it’d look fab with a few necklaces and bracelets on the beach!
Miss Selfridge - £26 set

5.       Now this is high waisted but I LOVE it. Lemons might not be for everyone but I think it’d look really good once your tan has developed, maybe not one for the first day…
Topshop - £34 set

6.       This is my other favourite, it’s simple but I love the pastel colours used and I think I’ll definitely be going trying this one on!
River Island – Top: £16 Bottom: £12


What’s your favourite place to shop swimwear? Had a bikini bargain this month? Please share!

Mentally Spending...

 

So these products are what I’ll be itching to spend my June paycheck on! They are pretty much all high end, pricey products so I will probably only purchase two or three realistically, a girl can dream though ey!

 

Nars Laguna Bronzer - £26: I’ve heard everyone rave about this from Tanya Burr to my best friends so I really want to try it out for myself, apparently this makes for the perfect contouring product!

Chanel Chance - £74: This is a such an expensive fragrance and I’m not sure when or if I’ll end up getting it but it’s definitely on my wishlist. A friend at work wears it all the time and I love it on her, it’s a really fresh scent and different to what I normally go for in a perfume.

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser - £14.75: I’m always on the lookout for new ways to treat my skin and to remove makeup. This has had really positive reviews so I’m excited to try it out. No7 at Boots do a great dupe apparently so I might try that one out too!

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray - £20.50: I’m not sure if my hair actually needs this as my hair is naturally curly but hopefully it will tame it into soft beach waves!          

Mac Vegas Volt - £14: I saw this lippy used by Alix at icovetthee.com and it looked amazing on her so I’ve pined for it ever since!

Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation - £34: Chanel is one of the best brands on the market and the same goes for their foundations, I’ve been dying to get my hands on one for a while to see if they really are worth the hype and money!

Mac 168 Contour Brush - £26: I’ve been after this brush for a while, but the price keeps putting me off, I am a student afterall!

Nars Tropic Eyeshadow - £18: I saw this whilst online browsing a few weeks ago and just fell in love with the colour, it’s gorgeous, a bit daring for me though I must say!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - £36: My sister has this palette already so typically I’ve been getting my fair usage out of hers, but I think it’s time I got my own!

What products are you after this month?

Bourjois Cream Blush Review!

 

These new cream blushes from Bourjois have been on the shelves for roughly a month or so now and after a few weeks of usage, I’ve concluded that they are indeed an asset to this humble brand.  They are dinky little tubs of creamy cheek goodness, cute and compact, just how we like it. There have only been four colours released so far and I ended up choosing shades 04 – Sweet Cherry and 02 – Healthy Glow.

 

Basically these are super creamy blushes that go on with ease and are fairly pigmented meaning that you only need to apply the slightest amount. They are blendable and once you have the product built up to your needs, they really do give that noticeable touch to the whole face. My favourite from the two has to be the shade 02 in Healthy Glow. I genuinely thought this one would be chucked to the bottom of my stash after a couple of uses but I’ve had it on near enough every day! It is a gorgeous peachy coral that includes a very slight shimmer and it just screams summer. I love it! I bought shade 04 in Sweet Cherry because it’s a deepened pink shade and I love these sorts of shades, however it has kind of been cast aside due to the coral number stepping on its toes! The 04 holds much more of a matte finish, which suits the pink/brown hues in my opinion. These deep tones are my favourite shades of blush but I think Sweet Cherry will be more suited to when I’m on a night out in comparison to the day where the 02 comes in handy, enabling me to look a little more vibrant and a little less walking corpse. I apply these with my fingers, I have yet to even try a brush yet as they work so well and so quickly with my mere fingertips! They have a great airy and light consistency to them and feature that distinct Bourjois scent that I love on their products.  Overall they make for a great spring/summer budget buy.