Spring 'base' makeup

My 'base' makeup of choice at the moment is very different to what I have been reaching for the last few months.  The rich foundations with high coverage have been swapped for something a bit lighter.

One reason I prefer a lighter coverage is because it lets my (pathetic excuse for) freckles show through. I love freckles. Whenever I am on a makeup job I hope for a model with freckles because I just love making them a feature, and while I won't step foot in the tanning booth again (Summer 2010 was my tan bed hay-day) I do wish there was a way to make my own more distinguished. Lancome used to make a freckle crayon but I am not sure I have the guts to paint freckles on my own face just yet. I'll get back to you on that one.


I've been prepping my skin with a pea sized spoonful of Hydra Veil from Illamasqua, I don't buy all of the benefits they claim it to have, but to be fair it is the best primer I have used so far. While it offers a 'wave' of hydration to the skin (and a definite cooling effect), it keeps the appearance of my skin surprisingly matte and I do notice my makeup stays put for a bit longer than normal when I use this. It is a very unique jelly- to- liquid consistency, I don't like the presence of the alcohol content on the ingredients list but at least it is paraben free unlike a lot of their cosmetics, and it does contain hyaluronic acid which is of course a plus (great for glowy skin.)

Next I warm some of Yves Saint Laurent's 'Le Teint Touche Eclat' foundation between my fingers and work it into my skin. I really do think this foundation works best using fingers, and it isn't often you would catch me saying that (please just make sure your hands are clean first!)
I tend to ignore powder these days, but if I do use any I just dust some lightweight translucent powder on my t-zone. I follow by working a cream blusher into the apples of my cheeks, which maintains the radiant finish of the foundation. My current favourites are MAC Cremeblend blush in 'Something Special'- a bright peach pink, and Illamasqua Cream Blusher in 'Dixie' -a deep coral. For the ultimate lazy finish, I dab a bit of whichever cream blusher I have chosen for my cheeks onto my lips.

That's my current base makeup routine- fresh faced, lightweight, quick and very easy. The foundation does contain an SPF of 19 but I would advise adding your own SPF with your morning moisturiser.

Thanks for reading,

E.

So fresh and so clean.

Untouched lipsticks make me happy. These two have been sitting in my drawer since December but have remained untouched until this week. Partly because the packaging fills me with a content, warm feeling every time I open my storage and see it shining back at me, but partly because I felt the shades weren't right for the season until now. 

I picked up Tom Ford 'Wild Ginger' on a staff order last year, back when I was able to receive a rather generous discount on TF products. I had been eyeing up this shade for an awful long time, I am a sucker for an orange red. This is my second TF lipstick and as usual I have been very impressed by the quality- heavy, click shut packaging paired with a smooth formula that is high in pigmentation and comfortable to wear. This colour is most striking worn with fresh, flawless foundation base and barely there eye makeup or a small and tasteful eyeliner flick.

Ben bought YSL Rouge Pur Couture in no.52 as a christmas present for me. He knows how much I love YSL but I would rarely treat myself to a lipstick from there. This is a bright coral pink, a little reminiscent of a couple of limited edition MAC lipsticks I have,  which were favourites of mine last summer. Similarly to my weakness for orange reds, I do love me a coral. And you all know I love me a bright lip, so this was always going to be love.

A little bit of luxury does everybody good, I am not sure I could ever justify a Tom Ford lipstick full price and I am kicking myself for not picking up more when I had the chance. The traceless foundation stick in Alabaster is also calling to me. Are you girls loving these shades as much as I am, or are they a bit daring for you?

Thanks for reading,

E.

How will I be wearing red lips this summer?

Long gone are the days where I would wear Russian Red day and night all year round. As much as I do still love to rock the bold red lip, I've found the perfect way to wear red that isn't so drastic or takes as much work to perfect (great for those on- the- go) or for those of you who don't feel comfortable with such a bold look.

Let me introduce to you MyFace lipstick in '155 Strawberry Fields'

This stunning lipstick was donated to me by Makeda but is available from many Boots stores or on their website and retails for £9.99.

MyFace Cosmetics are great for makeup beginners because product shades are divided into three groups according to your skintone; Fair, Medium and Dark. This lipstick comes under the Fair category so is perfect for me! If you're stuck with what lip colours, or blusher colours to use for example, pop onto the website and it'll tell you which of their products are formulated for you.

The packaging is modern and clean because it is white with transparent elements. The twist mechanism to raise the bullet is very smooth and it's helpful to see through the lid to the colour if you happened to have a selection of their shades.

I'm so impressed by this lipstick and have been reaching for it over all of my others recently. It has a sheen finish which makes it wearable for day or night and is a beautiful cherry red colour that has pink elements to it, which I think contribute to it being more wearable for the red-shy of you out there. It's a colour and a finish that I think would suit all ages, too. It can also be seen here in my Ombre Lips post. 

It's got the soft, moisturising qualities of Revlon Lip Butters but for two pounds more come in better shades that are tailor made to suit your complexion. I will wear this colour and reapply throughout the day and my lips don't feel like they're suffering by the end of the day, it really is a joy to use and I'm pleased I've been properly introduced to the brand because I think I'll buy from them again.

What do you think of this colour? Do you own anything from MyFace Cosmetics?

Midweek Post; The Newest Shoes

I bought these shoes about a week and a half ago when I visited Westfield Stratford for the first time! That place is crazy, I love the food court and the choice of shops, but the crowds were too much (but I suppose it was a Saturday...) and people were actually queuing to get into MAC........Really?!!!

I love loafers, I always have a pair on the go but I've never really 'invested' in such a sturdy pair. Me and my friend spotted them through the window and both of us fell in love, I got the pink and she got the black (which I would also like!)

I've been living in my Converse mainly, and although I love 'um I wanted something a bit smarter too, just so I had options. These ice cream pastel pink loafers are doing the trick, they smarten up any outfit but also add a dash of colour to my otherwise monochrome wardrobe.

What shoes are you loving at the moment?

Two new acquisitions for summer...

I thought I'd just do a post to show you two of my favourite new purchases that I've got for the summer months and know I'll be wearing a lot!

White canvas Converse Allstars; I bought these from Office but they're available in lot's of shoe retailers. I wore Converse when I was a young teenager, back in the day when the more beat up and muddy they were, the better! These ones I want to keep as fresh as possible, for as long as possible! Oh how the tables have turned. They fit my feet so comfortably, Vans rip my feet to shreds with their round toes and I think I'm inbetween sizes in those. I like to wear these with jeans, but they're also going to look cool with dresses when it's summery outside again, especially my grey marl midi dress.

Dior sunglasses; my boyfriend bought me these as a present last week, I love them so much and know that I'll never need to buy another pair while I've got these. I've never owned an expensive pair of sunglasses but I think Ben took pity on me because every year I've dragged him around the shops to buy a pair, only to complain about them a week later that they were either too big for my face (I have a little face)/gave me a headache/etc etc and I tried these on and it was love at first sight. They frame my face well, and fit me perfectly, no more headaches or horrible sunglasses marks for me, hooray! Thankyou Ben!

What items are you looking forward to wearing this season? 

Instagram: emilylaurenbethxo

Bold Spring Time Lips...Using new Bourjois Lipgloss!

Hi there lovelies I hope you've all been enjoying this lush weather we've been having if you're a UK person! Just a quick post to show you a lip combination I am loving at the moment and wore out today, which I think is a great statement lip for this exciting spring time of year.

TopShop Lipstick in 'Coy', £5 for 2.3g

Bourjois Effet 3D Lipgloss in '52 Coral Idyllic' £7.59 for 5.7ml

Due to its light, touch of neon shade and soft matte finish 'Coy' can look almost too much on it's own and of course it clings to the lips even if put on top of a nourished surface. It is very, very bright and although the application is smooth because it is a creamy pencil it didn't feel right on my lips without a gloss, which brings us onto....

This is a brand new lipgloss shade from Bourjois and has recently been released as part of their spring collection which is called 'Sweet Paris'. It's a gorgeous coral gloss that has a sprinkling of gold glitter in it. It is very sweetly scented and it reminds me of those parma violet sweets! I partly chose to wear it because it is a perfect accompanying shade to 'Coy' but also because this gloss claims to have a nourishing ingredient contained within it that is meant to hydrate your lips for up to 8 hours, which would make it the perfect choice to put it on top of a matte lip colour.

I've noticed since wearing 'Coy' that it is a slightly pinker (and I mean very slightly!) version of Illamasqua's 'Brink' lipstick which is a colour I have been absolutely loving since my boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas. Similarly to the TopShop colour, you have to be careful wearing it as it shows all dry parts of the lips and the Illamasqua formula is so matte that it just drags across the lips and dries them out throughout the day. Not a lip colour you can wear everyday but a colour that is really fun when you do, but I would urge you to wear either of these with a gloss or balm on top, overly dry lips just aren't a good look!

Coy on the lips;

'Coy' and 'Coral Idyllic' together;

Left to Right; Bourjois Effet 3D LipGloss '52 Coral Idyllic', TopShop Lipstick in 'Coy', Illamasqua Lipstick in 'Brink'.

So there we are, a neon coral statement spring lip!

I'd like to think that oneday I could enjoy wearing this coral lip in this over- indulgent borderline ridiculous but I love it anyway coral dining room! I could see me sauntering around with a beehive and some palazzo pants with my coral lips in this coral room, absolutely living the dream before I go for a paddle in my swimming pool ;)  (Oneday...)

Image from trendzona.com

 Will you be trying colours like this? Have you tried any of these products, what do you thinkof them? 

Would you pick 'Coy' or 'Brink' and do you feel compelled to add a glossy finish on top of such unforgiveable shades and formulas?

M.A.C. 'Shop' Collection Limited Edition Lipstick Reviews & Swatches

M.A.C. LE Lipsticks in 'Watch Me Simmer' and 'Naughty Saute', £13.50 for 3.5g

I talked a bit about 'Shop' and 'Cook' from this years M.A.C. limited edition collection exclusively for Selfridges (here) and how I wasn't completely sold on the products as a collective. But of course, after seeing swatches on Temptalia I was convinced that I NEEDED a couple of the lipsticks in my life.....

After texting and ringing round (by the time I checked they had sold out on the website), and eventually getting a friend of a friend (thankyou!) who works in Selfridges bagsy me them before they sold out, they've been posted from LDN and are now in my possession for me to wear and review for you lot! #TheThingsIDoForMakeup

Although 'Runaway Red' looked beautiful I was won over by 'Watch Me Simmer'- a neon-esque coral and 'Naughty Saute' - an irresistable bubblgegum pink.

Left- Naughty Saute, Right- Watch Me Simmer.

 'Naughty Saute' is a medium pink that has a luminous sort of finish, it's very bright and striking. The candy pink colour deepens on top of lips which is more flattering to the skin than really light shades. It's a cremesheen so glides onto the lips smoothly yet seems to last a good amount of time, and feels comfortable on.

'Watch Me Simmer' is a stunning, bright pink- coral. Similarly to 'Naughty Saute' it's very striking, not for the faint hearted! This colour seems to remain on the lips after the Amplified shine formula has worn off. It is smooth to apply and is almost milky in consistency. This colour develops over time on the lips to a pinker colour, and boy it don't half stain!! Be prepared for bright lips the day after wearing this!

Both shades can achieve an opaque finish easily yet you can also achieve a more subtle finish from dabbing/one layer.

I'm really happy with both of these shades, and I am looking forward to wearing them more! They also make a nice to change to my usual choice of matte lipsticks!

Dupes

'Naughty Saute' can be replicated, (I couldn't notice the difference) with Estee Lauder's Pure Colour lipstick in 'Electric Pink'.

'Watch Me Simmer' can be duplicated with Estee Lauder's Signature lipstick in no. 59 'Portofino Coral', the colours are pretty much the same. Estee Lauder's Pure Colour lipstick in 'Coral Fantasy' is also very similar.

Did you manage to get your hands on any of the lipsticks, or the rest of the 'Shop Shop Shop' collection?