Recent buys!

So I’ve been wanting to try a few more M.A.C products, after trying a few eyeshadows, blushers and lipglosses & liking them (in particular ‘conjour up’ mineralize blush!). I was in the market for a new concealer so I went for Studio Finish Concealer in nc15. I was matched for MAC foundations as an nc20/25 so decided to go for a lighter concealer, as I tend to use them under the eyes as well as on blemishes to brighten the eye area up! This concealer is SPF35 which is great for protecting the delicate eye area, and also blemishes which can be irritated by sun exposure. This concealer feels heavy enough to cover imperfections, but not too heavy as I’m worried about clogging pores and leading to more acne etc…. but we’ll see how this goes and I’ll post an update :)

Also on my little haul, I got my hands on a Clinique Moisture Surge 3 Piece set which is a travel exclusive and I bought it from an airport. You can get this for around £30 at an airport (usually tax free) and it’s such a bargain! I’ve been looking online, and unless you can find a really good deal on eBay or something similar, then you’re going to be paying over £30 for this set. I think this is a really good deal seeing as the Moisture Surge extended thirst relief cream 50ml is usually around £25-£30 alone. In the set you get the cream, which is a 75ml tub (bigger than the one I’ve already got) a refreshing eye gel (not tried this yet) and a hydrating face spray! I LOVEEEEE Moisture Surge and really recommend it as a primer for the skin before make up. Creates a sort of layer on the skin which allows make up to go on like a dream! :) I’ll be trying the face spray and eye gel in the next few days and I’ll make sure to update on my verdict!

That’s all from my little skincare spree, please feel free to ask me anything about these products, and if you’ve used any of these before (especially the concealer) then please let me know what you think! :D

Lucyyy xx

Avon Refreshing spray - great for summer!

Accidentally found this 'hair' refresher to be a great body spritz at the same time :)

There are sprays out there that claim to cool you down, and to be honest, I've not tried any. They seem over priced an unnecessary! I have quite by accident found a really good spray to help cool you down, and make you feel fresh!

Avon Cherry Blossom daily hair refresher 150ml

This stuff is great! It's marketed as a hair refresher, and I didn't buy it thinking it would be all that great on my hair, as I have fine hair which gets greasy after one day. I bought it more for the smell, and just to try it out. I think it was about £1 from the Avon catalogue. I bought it along with the cherry blossom shampoo (which I haven't actually tried yet as I have loads of shampoo on the go at once and need to finish them up.) and it's really refreshing! I know that Avon do an actual body spray of this scent, but this combines the two, so why pay for two seperate products? ;)

As a hair refresher, I would say that it refreshes in the sense of how your hair smells. After a night (perhaps a hot night) and you wake up and your hair doesn't smell 'just washed' it's good to add a little fragrance, and it's also a light mist which makes it feel refreshing. Although this product doesn't seem to make the appearance of the hair change, the refreshing part really makes you feel...well...fresh! haha :)

When I use this product, I generally just spritz it all around my upper body & hair, as it has a cooling refreshing quality, so can really make you feel fresh in the warmer days. I'm currently sat here now, feeling the humidity (as it's been all day here in the UK) and a little spritz of this and I'm feeling fresher and more awake. I really like it, and for such a cheap price, it wouldn't really matter how much you used, as you could always stock up! Really like this, I recommend trying it, especially as it gets warmer :)

Foundation Review

I judge foundations by a couple of things.....

- staying power
- coverage
-hydration
-colour match

These are the main things I go for in a foundation as I am combination skin, prone to acne. I need the full coverage for this, but also have to be careful about clogging pores. I did a review a while back on Rimmel 25 hour foundation. I loved this foundation at the time, but now it's getting warmer, I'm finding that it gets far too greasy throughout the day. 


Products I've been using recently:

                                                  Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in CAMEO.


As long as I prep my skin the night and morning before using this foundation, then it is a great one for acne/oily skin which I've been experiencing recently. By prepping I mean exfoliate, use a night moisturiser and another good moisturiser before applying in the morning. You can definitely build this foundation up for a full coverage, just make sure that you blend it in to the skin well otherwise it can appear flaky and patchy. This is another reason why a good moisturiser (or primer) before application is a good idea, so that you can blend easily! You can set this foundation with any powder, but I have been using the Dream Matte Powder from Maybelline and it's really good at setting the foundation, and you can stay shine free for hours! I just take the Dream Matte Powder with me during the day to touch up on any oily parts (such as the T-zone). I'm really loving this at the moment as I said, I've been experiencing oily skin (I think it's due to working in an air conditioned environment with no natural air). 

Maybelline Superstay 24H Foundation in 021 NUDE


I have used this foundation before, liked it, but I think I had the wrong shade, as I found it too pale for my skin (even though I am fair!) I like to have a warming colour, not orangey or obvious, just not porcelain white! I've gone back to this foundation as I remembered how it stayed put even through a day of work (approx 8 hours). The texture is quite thick, very creamy, and it blends well. I find that if I don't use very much though, it is hard to blend, so I make sure I have enough on the skin to blend out evenly (one to one and a half pumps should do the whole face). I really love this foundation, it's super thick, so it covers most of my bumps, blemishes and scars, but it's not at all oily so it doesn't clog my pores and make things worse! I find that if I use it with the dream matte powder and Collection 2000 concealer, this can give a really airbrushed look!


I've found this really helpful swatch of the 24h foundation on Google. It's from sasquatchswatch.blogspot.com and could really help you decide which colour you should go for! 

Max Factor Second Skin Foundation in 070 Natural


I've been looking for something similar to the Clinique Moisture Surge tinted moisturiser as it's getting hotter. A heavy foundation can clog the skin during the summer for me so I wanted something lighter. If you read my review of the Clinique Tinted Moisturiser then you will know that I found it to be okay, but as you might think from a tinted moisturiser, it didn't give me the coverage that I need. It's great if you use a really good concealer and lots of powder, but it's still on the sheer side for me.


I decided to try this Max Factor foundation as it looked promising in giving me the light foundation, with a good coverage. I've used it today 1/8/2011 and it stood my test of work. Surprisingly it didn't make my skin as oily as it has been recently, which was what I expected. The coverage is good, I put one layer on, and then applied some more to my problem areas. It gave quite a dewy finish, which is nice but I prefer a matte look for work (to stop the oil really...) but perhaps this dewy finish would be good for a summers day away from work! :) I used Rimmel Stay Matte concealer in 040 Soft beige, and this concealer is great after this foundation, as it's mattifying, and as the max factor foundation isn't too heavy, it's needed to cover those blemishes. I will keep trying this foundation for a week or two more, and let you know how I'm getting on :)


If there are any foundations you think I should try, for combination dry/oily skin, then please feel free to let me know by commenting below or tweeting me @xbeautybee 


Thanks! Lucy 

Heavy duty concealers

Conceal it!

It's important if you have blemish prone skin, to get the balance between a good concealer that will hide your blemishes and other problem areas, and one that is going to dry out your skin and accentuate the problem.

As I've said before, I have dry combination skin prone to acne. I usually wear quite a heavy duty foundation such as Rimmel 25 hr, or Maybelline 24 hr. These are great, but I do need to have a concealer for those especially tricky areas. Best heavy duty concealer from a high street brand in my opinion:

Collection 2000 - Lasting Perfection 16 hr concealer (light)


This concealer is GREAT! It's really long lasting, and really cheap. Nothing about this though suggests that it's a cheap brand. I really can say that this is the best and cheapest concealer you can buy from the highstreet!

This cocealer is thick enough to hide imperfections, but silky and smooth enough to blend easily! I made a mistake the second time I went to buy it, they didn't have my shade, so I bought the shade darker :/ you really need to make sure it's the right shade for you, this way, if it's light enough you can use it under the eyes too :)



Would I recommend this product? Yes!


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