A main focus of my blog is to create posts that I would enjoy reading, whilst focusing on products that are mostly neglected in the blogging world. Upon searching for a review of a MAC foundation, the results will come piling in, making it particularly easy to guess your shade and order online, due to the many swatches found online. Although I have tried many foundations since my teenage years, I have never found my perfect foundation. Until now.
Being a fairly pale gal, I find it extremely difficult to find a shade pale enough that doesn't have pink undertones. After a surprisingly lovely English summer and a couple of European city breaks, despite my fair skin, I had developed a golden tan. At the time, I was regularly using No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (£14.50 - 30ml) in the shade Calico (the palest shade). For years, it had been a foundation that was the closet match (despite being a little pink) whilst providing full coverage and controlling my pesky oily skin.
Whilst browsing the Feel Unique website, I came across the NYX Matte foundation* (35ml) at a bargain price of £6. Although a little sceptical of the price, I went ahead ordering two shades 01 Ivory and 02 Nude (coming to a total of £10.80, £3.70 cheaper than my No7 foundation!). They worked perfectly together to match the rest of my body. However, as my tan has now faded, 01 has become my everyday foundation.
Whilst I wouldn't say this is a full coverage foundation, it is perfectly buildable and has no trouble covering up spots and acne scars. One of my favourite aspects of the foundation is that it photographs surprisingly well, allowing me to wear it on a night out and not look like a ghost in those dreaded club photos.
For anybody looking for a cheap foundation, I would highly recommend giving it a go, especially due to the slightly larger than normal shade range (18 shades). Whilst not being entirely inclusive and needing a development in darker shades for those with deeper skin tones, it is definitely a step forward as many high street ranges hold a very poor choice of shades.
You can purchase the foundation in select Boots and Superdrug (those in which stock NYX) and online beauty retailers such as Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Amazon.
Being a fairly pale gal, I find it extremely difficult to find a shade pale enough that doesn't have pink undertones. After a surprisingly lovely English summer and a couple of European city breaks, despite my fair skin, I had developed a golden tan. At the time, I was regularly using No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (£14.50 - 30ml) in the shade Calico (the palest shade). For years, it had been a foundation that was the closet match (despite being a little pink) whilst providing full coverage and controlling my pesky oily skin.
Whilst browsing the Feel Unique website, I came across the NYX Matte foundation* (35ml) at a bargain price of £6. Although a little sceptical of the price, I went ahead ordering two shades 01 Ivory and 02 Nude (coming to a total of £10.80, £3.70 cheaper than my No7 foundation!). They worked perfectly together to match the rest of my body. However, as my tan has now faded, 01 has become my everyday foundation.
01 Ivory (left), 02 Nude (right)
Whilst I wouldn't say this is a full coverage foundation, it is perfectly buildable and has no trouble covering up spots and acne scars. One of my favourite aspects of the foundation is that it photographs surprisingly well, allowing me to wear it on a night out and not look like a ghost in those dreaded club photos.
For anybody looking for a cheap foundation, I would highly recommend giving it a go, especially due to the slightly larger than normal shade range (18 shades). Whilst not being entirely inclusive and needing a development in darker shades for those with deeper skin tones, it is definitely a step forward as many high street ranges hold a very poor choice of shades.
You can purchase the foundation in select Boots and Superdrug (those in which stock NYX) and online beauty retailers such as Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Amazon.
Let me know what your favourite foundations are in the comments!
Portsmouth, UK
NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Foundation | Acne Prone Skin Review
Thursday, 15 February 2018
A main focus of my blog is to create posts that I would enjoy reading, whilst focusing on products that are mostly neglected in the blogging world. Upon searching for a review of a MAC foundation, the results will come piling in, making it particularly easy to guess your shade and order online, due to the many swatches found online. Although I have tried many foundations since my teenage years, I have never found my perfect foundation. Until now.
Being a fairly pale gal, I find it extremely difficult to find a shade pale enough that doesn't have pink undertones. After a surprisingly lovely English summer and a couple of European city breaks, despite my fair skin, I had developed a golden tan. At the time, I was regularly using No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (£14.50 - 30ml) in the shade Calico (the palest shade). For years, it had been a foundation that was the closet match (despite being a little pink) whilst providing full coverage and controlling my pesky oily skin.
Whilst browsing the Feel Unique website, I came across the NYX Matte foundation* (35ml) at a bargain price of £6. Although a little sceptical of the price, I went ahead ordering two shades 01 Ivory and 02 Nude (coming to a total of £10.80, £3.70 cheaper than my No7 foundation!). They worked perfectly together to match the rest of my body. However, as my tan has now faded, 01 has become my everyday foundation.
Whilst I wouldn't say this is a full coverage foundation, it is perfectly buildable and has no trouble covering up spots and acne scars. One of my favourite aspects of the foundation is that it photographs surprisingly well, allowing me to wear it on a night out and not look like a ghost in those dreaded club photos.
For anybody looking for a cheap foundation, I would highly recommend giving it a go, especially due to the slightly larger than normal shade range (18 shades). Whilst not being entirely inclusive and needing a development in darker shades for those with deeper skin tones, it is definitely a step forward as many high street ranges hold a very poor choice of shades.
You can purchase the foundation in select Boots and Superdrug (those in which stock NYX) and online beauty retailers such as Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Amazon.
Being a fairly pale gal, I find it extremely difficult to find a shade pale enough that doesn't have pink undertones. After a surprisingly lovely English summer and a couple of European city breaks, despite my fair skin, I had developed a golden tan. At the time, I was regularly using No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation (£14.50 - 30ml) in the shade Calico (the palest shade). For years, it had been a foundation that was the closet match (despite being a little pink) whilst providing full coverage and controlling my pesky oily skin.
Whilst browsing the Feel Unique website, I came across the NYX Matte foundation* (35ml) at a bargain price of £6. Although a little sceptical of the price, I went ahead ordering two shades 01 Ivory and 02 Nude (coming to a total of £10.80, £3.70 cheaper than my No7 foundation!). They worked perfectly together to match the rest of my body. However, as my tan has now faded, 01 has become my everyday foundation.
01 Ivory (left), 02 Nude (right)
Whilst I wouldn't say this is a full coverage foundation, it is perfectly buildable and has no trouble covering up spots and acne scars. One of my favourite aspects of the foundation is that it photographs surprisingly well, allowing me to wear it on a night out and not look like a ghost in those dreaded club photos.
For anybody looking for a cheap foundation, I would highly recommend giving it a go, especially due to the slightly larger than normal shade range (18 shades). Whilst not being entirely inclusive and needing a development in darker shades for those with deeper skin tones, it is definitely a step forward as many high street ranges hold a very poor choice of shades.
You can purchase the foundation in select Boots and Superdrug (those in which stock NYX) and online beauty retailers such as Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and Amazon.
Let me know what your favourite foundations are in the comments!
Only in the past year or so, I have fallen in love with highlighters. For years, I tried to give them a go, but for whatever reason, I had never really liked how they looked on my skin. Nothing pleases me more than a good old bargain (and free shipping of course!) so with 6 shades on offer at just £3 the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighters are a complete steal. On top of this Superdrug also offers 10% discount (with the occasional 15-20%) for all student NUS cardholders making them just £2.70 each!
The highlighters come in a sturdy white case with a clear plastic lid. What I love about this product is that it fits nicely within my acrylic make up draws despite the packaging being quite thick plastic. The highlighter itself is designed with a swirly effect that almost looks too perfect to swirl my Nanshy Fan brush (af - use code HXXOBFC8Y8 for 10% off your order!) around.
Left to right: Pearlescent Sheen, Peach Diamond, Iridescent Gold
A critique I have with this highlighter is it is very difficult to pick up, especially for the first few uses. As you can see from the image above, Iridescent Gold (far right) is a lot stronger in pigmentation as I have used it several times before. The highlighter itself is quite large weighing at 7.5g (again total bargain!) therefore, takes a while to really dig into the product which is where pigmentation is best picked up.
Personally, these highlighters are perfect for a night out/evening look as it something different to my everyday makeup. For a day look I often reach for the NYX highlighter in the shade Ice Queen from the highlight and contour pro palette as it is my personal favourite due to it being a lot more subtle.
Whenever I pop into Superdrug for let's call it a "browse" I often notice that the full range of highlighters are not fully stocked, so after planning my outfits for an upcoming trip to V Festival I decided I would like some new colourful highlighters for the occasion. The Superdrug website provides free shipping for Superdrug members, this saves the trip into town to potentially be disappointed in the poor stock on offer in store, as the website provides all 6 shades within the range. After already owning Iridescent Gold (af), this is a dupe for the Nars Albatross highlighter (af) that retails at £27, for a year or so I decided to try Pearlescent Sheen (af) which I would describe as an ice blue shimmer and Peach Diamond (af) which is more of a pink shimmer rather than the suggested peach shade in the name.
Left to right: Pearlescent Sheen, Peach Diamond, Iridescent Gold
A critique I have with this highlighter is it is very difficult to pick up, especially for the first few uses. As you can see from the image above, Iridescent Gold (far right) is a lot stronger in pigmentation as I have used it several times before. The highlighter itself is quite large weighing at 7.5g (again total bargain!) therefore, takes a while to really dig into the product which is where pigmentation is best picked up.
Personally, these highlighters are perfect for a night out/evening look as it something different to my everyday makeup. For a day look I often reach for the NYX highlighter in the shade Ice Queen from the highlight and contour pro palette as it is my personal favourite due to it being a lot more subtle.
Portsmouth, UK
MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter | Iridescent Gold, Pearlescent Sheen & Peach Diamond
Sunday, 13 August 2017
Only in the past year or so, I have fallen in love with highlighters. For years, I tried to give them a go, but for whatever reason, I had never really liked how they looked on my skin. Nothing pleases me more than a good old bargain (and free shipping of course!) so with 6 shades on offer at just £3 the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighters are a complete steal. On top of this Superdrug also offers 10% discount (with the occasional 15-20%) for all student NUS cardholders making them just £2.70 each!
The highlighters come in a sturdy white case with a clear plastic lid. What I love about this product is that it fits nicely within my acrylic make up draws despite the packaging being quite thick plastic. The highlighter itself is designed with a swirly effect that almost looks too perfect to swirl my Nanshy Fan brush (af - use code HXXOBFC8Y8 for 10% off your order!) around.
Left to right: Pearlescent Sheen, Peach Diamond, Iridescent Gold
A critique I have with this highlighter is it is very difficult to pick up, especially for the first few uses. As you can see from the image above, Iridescent Gold (far right) is a lot stronger in pigmentation as I have used it several times before. The highlighter itself is quite large weighing at 7.5g (again total bargain!) therefore, takes a while to really dig into the product which is where pigmentation is best picked up.
Personally, these highlighters are perfect for a night out/evening look as it something different to my everyday makeup. For a day look I often reach for the NYX highlighter in the shade Ice Queen from the highlight and contour pro palette as it is my personal favourite due to it being a lot more subtle.
Whenever I pop into Superdrug for let's call it a "browse" I often notice that the full range of highlighters are not fully stocked, so after planning my outfits for an upcoming trip to V Festival I decided I would like some new colourful highlighters for the occasion. The Superdrug website provides free shipping for Superdrug members, this saves the trip into town to potentially be disappointed in the poor stock on offer in store, as the website provides all 6 shades within the range. After already owning Iridescent Gold (af), this is a dupe for the Nars Albatross highlighter (af) that retails at £27, for a year or so I decided to try Pearlescent Sheen (af) which I would describe as an ice blue shimmer and Peach Diamond (af) which is more of a pink shimmer rather than the suggested peach shade in the name.
Left to right: Pearlescent Sheen, Peach Diamond, Iridescent Gold
A critique I have with this highlighter is it is very difficult to pick up, especially for the first few uses. As you can see from the image above, Iridescent Gold (far right) is a lot stronger in pigmentation as I have used it several times before. The highlighter itself is quite large weighing at 7.5g (again total bargain!) therefore, takes a while to really dig into the product which is where pigmentation is best picked up.
Personally, these highlighters are perfect for a night out/evening look as it something different to my everyday makeup. For a day look I often reach for the NYX highlighter in the shade Ice Queen from the highlight and contour pro palette as it is my personal favourite due to it being a lot more subtle.
You could tell exam period was vastly approaching due to the excessive breakouts on my skin. I have suffered with troubled skin for 6 years. In the months coming up to exams my skin had surprisingly being on my side with redness to the minimum and the odd spot here and there. I put this down to having a couple of weeks when I didn't have many deadlines hoarding over me. On top of this, I was able to get a good night's rest and could focus on a daily skincare routine. However, once I decided that I should stop procrastinating and start revising my skin took a U-turn and drastically went down hill.
Over the past 6 years I have tried everything for my skin, you name it I've tried it. After having a chat with one of my housemates, she recommended 'The Body Shop® Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask'* after having used it herself for a couple of weeks. As a student money is limited, so I was slightly put off by the £16 price tag just for a face mask and due to being in an exclusive range it wasn't included in the 30-40% off deals The Body Shop® regularly have on (there are lots of other amazing skincare products included in this in which I will touch upon in future posts). I took the plunge and ordered the mask. I was also enticed by good reviews (who am I kidding, I just like shopping) into buying the Tea Tree Toner which was included in the 40% deal (hooray!)
I was presently surprised by how large the pot was once I had received it, making the £16 a little more worthwhile. Of course, I never really pay attention to how many ML it says on the website (75ml). In terms of packaging, I was thrilled to discover it had a small plastic lid in between the screw on top, as this helps with the product not leaking elsewhere. The mask itself is a muddy grey (I must admit it doesn't look very appealing, but with all due respect it is a dream!)
On the label, it is recommended to cleanse your face before use, so I went ahead and used my Neutrogena 2 in 1 wash mask and then finished with a drop (less is certainly more with this one!) of the body shop tea tree toner onto a cotton pad.
I then went onto applying the mask across my face. Almost instantly I could feel a burning sensation (I suspect this was from the tea tree within the mask) despite not applying so generously, as stated on the pot, due to being worried about my sensitive skin reacting badly. This sensation slowly turned into cooling and tightening of the skin. It is recommended to invest in a face mask brush to apply the product, as I can't imagine it would be very pleasant to apply with your fingers. If you're on a budget, then I would suggest using a concealer or foundation brush that you already own. I used a real technique concealer brush to apply the product (I mean why would I go buy a face mask brush when I already have the same thing right!?)
The mask itself dried fairly quickly, with 5 minutes in it being mostly dry. However, since using this product several times, I had opted to apply more generous amounts with it taking a little longer to set. After roughly 10 minutes, the mask had fully set and was ready to wash off. Something I was impressed with was the exfoliation given whilst removing it, as it left my skin feeling soft and refreshed, My pores were noticeably smaller and left my skin glowing. After using the product once or twice a week for over a month, I would definitely recommend this for anybody with blemish prone, oily skin as it truly "draws out impurities and refines the appearance of pores for healthy-looking skin with a glow that shows".
- 100% vegan
- Tingling charcoal clay mask
- Absorbs excess oil
- For skin that needs extra purification to reveal a healthy, youthful glow
- Formulated without parabens, paraffin, silicone or mineral oil
- Ideal to create a facial at home
- Packed with bamboo charcoal from the Himalayan Foothills, green tea leaves from Japan and organic Community Trade tea tree oil from Kenya
Portsmouth, UK
The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask | Acne Prone Skin Review
Friday, 7 July 2017
You could tell exam period was vastly approaching due to the excessive breakouts on my skin. I have suffered with troubled skin for 6 years. In the months coming up to exams my skin had surprisingly being on my side with redness to the minimum and the odd spot here and there. I put this down to having a couple of weeks when I didn't have many deadlines hoarding over me. On top of this, I was able to get a good night's rest and could focus on a daily skincare routine. However, once I decided that I should stop procrastinating and start revising my skin took a U-turn and drastically went down hill.
Over the past 6 years I have tried everything for my skin, you name it I've tried it. After having a chat with one of my housemates, she recommended 'The Body Shop® Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask'* after having used it herself for a couple of weeks. As a student money is limited, so I was slightly put off by the £16 price tag just for a face mask and due to being in an exclusive range it wasn't included in the 30-40% off deals The Body Shop® regularly have on (there are lots of other amazing skincare products included in this in which I will touch upon in future posts). I took the plunge and ordered the mask. I was also enticed by good reviews (who am I kidding, I just like shopping) into buying the Tea Tree Toner which was included in the 40% deal (hooray!)
I was presently surprised by how large the pot was once I had received it, making the £16 a little more worthwhile. Of course, I never really pay attention to how many ML it says on the website (75ml). In terms of packaging, I was thrilled to discover it had a small plastic lid in between the screw on top, as this helps with the product not leaking elsewhere. The mask itself is a muddy grey (I must admit it doesn't look very appealing, but with all due respect it is a dream!)
On the label, it is recommended to cleanse your face before use, so I went ahead and used my Neutrogena 2 in 1 wash mask and then finished with a drop (less is certainly more with this one!) of the body shop tea tree toner onto a cotton pad.
I then went onto applying the mask across my face. Almost instantly I could feel a burning sensation (I suspect this was from the tea tree within the mask) despite not applying so generously, as stated on the pot, due to being worried about my sensitive skin reacting badly. This sensation slowly turned into cooling and tightening of the skin. It is recommended to invest in a face mask brush to apply the product, as I can't imagine it would be very pleasant to apply with your fingers. If you're on a budget, then I would suggest using a concealer or foundation brush that you already own. I used a real technique concealer brush to apply the product (I mean why would I go buy a face mask brush when I already have the same thing right!?)
The mask itself dried fairly quickly, with 5 minutes in it being mostly dry. However, since using this product several times, I had opted to apply more generous amounts with it taking a little longer to set. After roughly 10 minutes, the mask had fully set and was ready to wash off. Something I was impressed with was the exfoliation given whilst removing it, as it left my skin feeling soft and refreshed, My pores were noticeably smaller and left my skin glowing. After using the product once or twice a week for over a month, I would definitely recommend this for anybody with blemish prone, oily skin as it truly "draws out impurities and refines the appearance of pores for healthy-looking skin with a glow that shows".
- 100% vegan
- Tingling charcoal clay mask
- Absorbs excess oil
- For skin that needs extra purification to reveal a healthy, youthful glow
- Formulated without parabens, paraffin, silicone or mineral oil
- Ideal to create a facial at home
- Packed with bamboo charcoal from the Himalayan Foothills, green tea leaves from Japan and organic Community Trade tea tree oil from Kenya
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