Base of the Day!

Hey beaut's!

I thought I'd do something a bit different on the blog today and share my base makeup products of the day, so instead of a face of the day post sharing me entire makeup routine this post is just going to focus on my base makeup items. Oddly I've never done anything like this on my blog before so please do tell me if you'd like to see more of these style of posts in the future!

The first thing I pop onto my skin is my Makeup Revolution Ultra Strobe Cream (review HERE), I very rarely wear a primer unless its something very dewy like L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Primer because I don't really suffer with oily skin or have problems with my makeup not lasting, however this strobe cream just creates a nice base to work on top of and creates that glow from within look which I love. For foundation I've been reaching for the Revlon Colourstay Foundation for normal/dry skin, it just has such an amazing medium to full coverage formula that's easy to blend, long lasting and super lightweight on my skin, I'd highly recommend giving this beauty a go if you haven't already! 

To conceal my dreadful under eye area I've been using the Miss Sporty Perfect Stay 10 Hour Concealer in Light, I've actually been testing this out recently and really enjoy using it, the coverage isn't as high as my holy grail Collection Lasting Perfection but this does still do a good job of covering what I need for a good period of time. To set my concealer into place I've been using my Maybelline Fit Me! Pressed Powder in Classic Ivory, theres not too much to say about this as it does the same job as most pressed powders but it sets my concealer into place all day without looking powdery or cakey, I'd actually really recommend the Fit Me! range by Maybelline as everything I've tried from it has been really good!

To add some shape into my face I have been addicted to my Collection #BlushAndGlow Palette, which if you haven't tried you certainly need too. I use the matte bronzer shade to bronze up my skin and also to contour, it blends out beautifully without looking muddy or patchy and I also use the shimmering pink blusher to add a slight dewy flush to the cheeks which again blends out a dream. Lastly for my base I like to go to town with highlighting and theBalm's Mary Lou Manizer is now a must in my routine for this, it's just absolutely stunning and packs an all mighty highlighted punch he he!

What are your base makeup heroes at the moment beaut's? I'd love to know!

Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Powder | Review

Hey beaut's!!!

Today I'm back with a review of Collection's Ultimate Wear Powder from their famous Lasting Perfection range, which is why I was drawn towards the powder so much as I LOVE the Lasting Perfection Concealer and have repurchased that over and over, so I kind of put two and two together and thought if I loved the Concealer silly amounts then the powder must be good. I was right, I love it!!!

Collection's Ultimate Wear Powder comes in 3 shades Fair, Medium and Dark. I opted for the Medium shade this time around due to the warmer weather coming up ( I hope he he) and just like the others shades it claims to give you full, flawless coverage for up 16 hours, which I think for an affordable powder is a pretty bold claim.

The Ultimate Wear Powder comes inside a nice sturdy acrylic compact, with split levels, which is something I've never had before when Ive purchased a pressed powder from the high street. The top level holds the 9g's of powder to which you can flip up to reveal a decent sized mirror and the bottom level holds a makeup sponge for application. I think it's fair to say this is very much 'on the go' packaging, which I love.

The powder itself is extremely soft and creamy to swatch and doesn't feel overly dry, hard or chalky in the pan like most pressed powders do, it's pigmentation is also very impressive and does add some coverage when used alone or on top of my chosen foundation, I wouldn't go as far as saying its completely full coverage though. One of the things I love about this powder is how it sits on my skin, my face doesn't look/feel powdery or cakey at all and it certainly sets my makeup into place for a good 8 hours. I must add that I do only use mattifying powders sparingly as I do get the odd dry patch, I'm always weary as some powders can expose my dryness more by clinging to those particular patches but Collections offering didn't cling to my dry patches at all which is a major plus for me. The way I've been applying the powder is buy swirling my large Real Techniques Duo-Fibre Face Brush all around the compact, I find that brush works best for me as it applies a nice light dusting. I have tried using a flat top brush to push the powder into my skin but I didn't like using it that way and found it became slight heavy, I don't ever push powders into my skin usually because I always find they wear to heavy for me that way but I'd say that's more down to my personal preference than a negative.

Overall I do really like this powder however I would say its 'full, flawless coverage' + '16 hour wear' claims are slightly false, don't get me wrong the lasting power is great and their definitely is some added coverage but not as much as the claim would suggest. The way the powder feels on my face after I've applied a light dusting really does feel lovely and I love the packaging's concept too.

The powder itself will set you back £4.19 from Superdrug & Boots, personally I think that's a great price when you take into consideration that your getting a pressed powder, a sponge and a mirror all within the packaging. 

Have you tried Collection's Ultimate Wear Powder before?? What did you think?? I'd love to know. 

MUA Pressed Powder | Review

Hey girlie's!!!

I'm sure you all know I'm a huge MUA fan, their amazing quality makeup for small affordable prices always lures me in and whilst I was out shopping in Norwich a short while ago I spotted their £1.00 pressed powders and of course I had to pick one up to try, I mean why wouldn't I for a single little pound he he.  

MUA's Pressed Powder comes in four shades from light to dark, they don't have shade names, they have shade numbers instead that go from 1-4, the shade I opted for was shade 3 as the first 2 shades where out of stock and the last shade was slightly too dark for me.

MUA claim their pressed powder creates a matte, perfect finish, and helps smooth skin and set foundation into place all day long, which for a £1.00 pressed powder is a pretty bold claim. I have to admit I didn't expect much to come from this product as it was such a bargain but to my surprise this really is a fantastic compact powder for everyday use!

The pressed powder comes in transparent, square packaging which is rather robust, I've actually dropped mine twice already and everything has stayed intact, the packaging didn't even open which I thought was brilliant. It's also a great size to throw in your handbag for any on the go touch ups.

The powder itself is extremely finely milled making it so silky smooth to touch, it picks up on the brush well, I use my Real Techniques Blush Brush to do so as I find it gives me a nice light dusting as personally I don't get too oily but I'd suggest a flat top brush if you do have oily skin so you can push the powder into your skin as appose to dusting it over.  I found the powder blended out beautifully giving most natural finish, it completely matted out my skin without looking cakey, controlled shine and any oil for around 5 hours which I think is great for such an inexpensive product. I've been using the pressed powder everyday since I bought it and it hasn't broke me out at all or clogged my pores, nore does it cling to any dry patches that I'm prone to getting from time to time.

Overall I really do like this pressed powder, its so simple and easy to use, great for on the go and you really cant argue the price of just £1.00! The only thing I would like to see is a translucent version of the powder as sometimes pressed powder shades can be abit iffy but apart from that it's great! 

Have you tried any of the pressed powders by MUA? What did you think? I'd love to know.