My Illamasqua Top 15: Part One

Hi Guys,

If you're a regular reader and/or follow me on Twitter, you will probably know that Im quite the Illamasqua Junkie! So much so that I tried to do a Top 10 post and have found it so difficult that it has now become My Illamasqua Top 15! In two parts as well because I could talk for days about these products! 

Illamasqua are probably by far my favourite brand, I'll even scream it from the rooftops, I just cannot recommend them enough! If I was to tell you all the reason's behind why I love them so much we'd have a very long post! So instead I'm going to share with you my very difficult decision on my Top 15 products they do. 

This first part is all about the face and body, then Part 2 will be focusing more on the fantastic colour aspect of Illamasqua in the form of their Lip and Eye ranges. I must also add that these are in no particular order and theres not one favourite shade, it was hard enough as it was! I feel like this is how it feels if you had to pick a favourite child. 

First up are the three products that make the most amazing base when paired together, even used alone, these are now three necessities I couldn't live without. The Skin Trinity!

I suffer from very dry skin and Im very pale, MAC NW10 pale. Trying to find a foundation that actually matches my skin tone is a nightmare. Until Skin Base came along, Illamasqua's best selling foundation. Its a medium to full coverage, you can also really sheer it out too. I love that its so versatile and comfortable on the skin, the shade range is also amazing! It has 25 shades to choose from in so many different tones, Im SB3.5, but I also love that they do a white. It is fantastic to contour with or like me have in your kit. Its so handy to mix on set and Skin Base is actually the only foundation I carry in my kit!

However pair Skinbase with Hydraveil and its a dream team! I did a bit more of a post explaining the ins and outs of Hydraveil HERE. As my skin is so dry, I find it really difficult to get a foundation to sit properly without catching in any dry areas. Hydraveil gives such an instant boost of Hydration I don't have to worry about that anymore and it leaves you with such a natural glow too.

Due to the success of Skin Base, the Skin Base Lift concealers were launched. I use them in two shades, Light 1 to brighten and Light 2 to cover any darkness Light 1 may of missed. I have very dark under eye circles and I was giving up on finding a product I actually liked to cover them. What I love the most about these is the fact Illamasqua have made them with a mixture of their Cream Pigment in Androgen, a fantastic peach colour which counteracts any purple tones. They're basically a concealer and corrector all in one!

I was never a blush person until I tried the Illamasqua Blusher in Unrequited, which then broke my heart when they discontinued it. As its all down to that Blusher that I actually like to wear it now. They are incredibly pigmented so you only need the teeniest little bit, which means Unrequited is still safe for a little longer! Two shades I have been replacing Unrequited with are Naked Rose and Hussy. They're both pink shades and matte, but there is such a wide range of colours and finishes to the Powder Blushers, you can get purple to shimmers! The shade Intrigue, just a plain matte white, gives the most beautiful highlight and is very natural and blowy, which you just don't expect.

The newest Illamasqua launch has been the Gel Sculpt and Gel Colours, As soon as I saw Gel Sculpt I knew I was going to love it! As I am quite pale, contouring can be that little bit terrifying, but the Gel Sculpt in Silhouette is the most natural contour product I have ever used. Plus it smells fantastic and leaves the skin feeling so refreshed and cooled. Due to its gel texture it goes on so sheer, you'd think whats the point, but it leaves you with the most beautiful natural contour and has fast become one of my favourite products in such a short space of time!

Firstly the Illamasqua Loose Powder smells like sweeties, this just makes it the best powder ever because of that. Though it is also one of my all time favourite powders due to its wear time, if you set your make up with this, especially Skin Base. Its just not going to budge, If you have an oiler skin than mine then you will most likely have to reapply it a couple of times through out the day. But whenever Ive used this I've found my makeup to last all day, without the need to re powder whats so ever. Plus because its translucent it doesn't alter the colour of your make up underneath, its incredibly finely milled, so it doesn't look cakey either, win win!

Lastly for this part, Ive chosen the fragrance in Freak. Im not entirely sure, but sometimes I feel like the fact Illamasqua do fragrances are a little overlooked or forgotten about. They are incredible fragrances though and need their credit! Freak is the one I have and its quite dark, its a heavy scent. Which you might not like, Im usually a fresh scent kind of person, but theres something about it I just love. I think even though its a warm fragrance its still floral, so I would still wear this as a daytime scent. 

(Swatches - Left to Right: Silhouette, Intrigue, Naked Rose, Hussy, SB01, SB3.5, Skin Base Lift Light 1 & Skin Base Lift Light 2)

There is still so many Face and Body products I wish could make it into my Top 15 but it was such a tight squeeze! Don't worry though Sculpting Duo, Gleam and the Nail Polish range, I still love you too!

Eloise x

A Guide To: Eye Primers

Hi Guys,

A couple of weeks ago I started my 'A Guide To...' series to show and explain what products do and are for. There are so many out there and constantly new versions claiming to do it slightly differently from the last it can get so confusing! The first part of the series was A Guide To: Face Primers, so I thought I would carry that on with A Guide To: Eye Primers.

There are many types of Primers as well as things such as Lash Primers too. An Eye Primer is a great thing to own as it not only prolongs the wear of your eye makeup, but helps to boost the pigmentation that you get from your makeup. Which means in the long run you're going to use less eye shadow as you will get a better colour with a primer underneath. 

If you have oily eyelids then an eye primer is great to stop/prolong the wear time of your makeup before it starts to crease. Depending on which type you use you can also even out discolouration around the eye lid. As a lot of people find that their eye area is slightly darker compared to the rest of the face.

PRIMERS
Probably the most well known eye primer in the beauty universe is the Urban Decay Primer Potion. It has quite a creamy texture to it, but once smoothed onto the eyelid it dries to more of a velvet texture. It claims to be 24hr wear, I personally haven't worn my makeup for that amount of time so I cant say it does. The longest I have worn it for is 14 hours and depending on the type of eye shadow I have on, depends on if it creases or not before that 14hr mark, but I do have quite oily eyelids. Another great one like this one is the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, its very similar but the best one Ive found for oilier eyelids.

One I don't see mentioned as much is the Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer, Smashbox of course do their very popular face primers. The shade its self is a lot darker that the Urban Decay one and comes across slightly orange, but this actually counteracts any purple tones on the eyelid. It dries to a matte yet tacky finish, which helps the shadow on top adhere better and boost the colour pay off.

A slightly different one is the Benefit Stay Dont Stray  Primer. Its different as it is marketed as a under eye concealer primer as well as being a eyeshadow primer. Under eye concealer primers are coming more and more popular now, as I think concealer creasing under the eye is becoming such an annoying issue for a lot of people, including me! As an eye primer it does the exact same job as the others, I do love it for under the eye though as it has a slightly orange tint to it again counteracting any darkness. It is very creamy and slightly more liquid in texture compared to the others too. 

CREAM SHADOWS

Cream shadows are another very popular way to boost the colour pay off you get from your eye makeup. I won't go into too much detail with them as Im also going to put some others in my eyeshadow part of the series and Im sure you don't want to hear the same thing twice!

Two of the best cream shadows I have found to have as a long wearing base for your eyeshadow are the MAC Paint Pot's. They're very creamy to apply, but once applied they dry quite quickly to a matte finish if you get a plain shade such as Soft Ochre. MAC do other shades that also have quite a shimmery finish. Two of the best shades available to use as a base are Soft Ochre (yellow toned) or Painterly (pink toned) they're just the most natural shades in the range. Even though they do set quite quickly, you still have a bit of play time when blending them and they do go quite tacky too.

One very similar to the MAC ones are the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's. They are considerably less in price compared to the mac ones. They are a little drier in consistency and don't have the same colour pay off but they do their job. They still boost the colour pay off of the shadows you layer on top. They claim again to be 24hr wear, They do last for a very long time due to the way it sets, however I think 24hrs is a little steep.

OTHERS

Other ways you can prime your eyes are with the NYX Jumbo Pencils. Which I have typically misplaced mine for the photos! Milk is a extremely popular shade to prime with as its a matte white, extremely pigmented and very creamy. As it goes so tacky, any shade you layer over the top will come across extremely vibrantly.

You can also get primers such as the Too Faced Glitter Glue, which is fantastic if you want to have a glittery eye and hate all that fall down you get with it. The glitter just sticks straight to it and I find you get hardly any fall out at all with it, compared to using just a normal eye primer.

Finally Lash Primers are used to coat the lashes underneath the mascara to create thicker and longer lashes. The Clinique Lash Building Primer is a lovely one as it also conditions the lashes too. 

(Swatches: Left to Right - Smashbox, Urban Decay, Benefit, MAC and Maybelline)

Hopefully this has helped decode the vast world that is Eye Primers a little bit, there is just so many I could go on for days! These however are the best ones Ive found so far at doing exactly what they say on the tube! I haven't decided which products to do next, so if you have any you'd like to see then let me know! 

Eloise x

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer

Hi Guys,

Back in January Clinique launched their newest foundation. They came up with a merge between a Foundation and Concealer, so Beyond Perfecting was born! I was desperate to get my mitts on it after seeing some very interesting pictures of the packaging! As well as it being marketed as full coverage for dry skin?

I like a medium to full coverage base, As much as I try out BB Creams and things I always go back to foundations like my beloved Illamasqua Skinbase. So when I heard about Clinique actually offering this kinda coverage for drier skin types, it was music to my ears! Usually because of the high pigmentation levels in full coverage foundations they can be unsuitable for dry skin. 

As I'm used to high courage foundations, I'm used to the feeling of them and don't notice them on my skin. However this is actually really light weight considering the coverage it gives, it doesn't feel caked on to the skin and is comfortable to wear all day. 

This is maybe the most exciting part for me, the packaging! Never have I seen a doe foot applicator this big! It is literally a giant concealer wand in a foundation bottle! You can apply it to the skin using the applicator and then blended into the skin as recommend with your fingers. However I always put it onto the back of my hand and then use my Real Techniques Contour Brush to buff it into the skin.

You can build up the layers to offer more coverage in certain areas, or you can have a really light layer and it will just cover! It's great to use as a concealer too, instead as all over as a foundation. If you used it just as a concealer this bottle may last you forever! 

On my skin is just this foundation, no extra concealer, which I love the fact it actually covers my dark circles! Im also a fan of how natural it looks, it doesn't look like a really heavy layer on the skin but still gives such an amazing coverage. Its a matte finish (my skin is also not powdered) which I don't mind as I don't find it catches in any drier areas. 

Even though it is a great product for drier skin, its also suitable to use on an oiler skin type too. As I haven't tested it on an oiler skin, I cant say how long it lasts. But for me I applied it at 11am and took it off at 10pm, the only wear I really found from it was around my nose. 

(Swatches: Left to Right - 02 Alabaster, Alabaster slightly blended, 3.5 Cream Rose, Cream Rose slightly blended.)

It was going so well till now! I admit these swatches look terrifying! But I think the shade range is the only downfall to this foundation, it may have 21 shades. But there isn't a single one thats pale enough for me! Im a MAC NW10 and Illamasqua 3.5. The lightest shade Clinique do is Alabaster, which if you have warm toned skin is fantastic, on me I looked like an Oompa Loompa! The next shade up, which you would presume is darker, its not, its just pink in tone; Cream Rose! It still may be a little too dark for me, but blending it in and you cant really tell! 

I do love this foundation, it ticks so many boxes when it comes to coverage and skin type suitability for me, but please Clinique bring out a lighter shade! Until then I will be blending away and trying to catch a bit more of a tan!

You can find it HERE at £25 for 30ml.

Eloise x

What's in my Handbag?

Hi Guys,

Seeing as Im absolutely smitten with my new bag from Topshop, that I featured in my Topshop Haul. I thought I may as well do a What's in my Handbag Post, I love reading these and I cant believe its taken me this long to do one since I started blogging! Ive been telling myself I'd do one for who knows how long!

The bag that I have is the Topshop Belt Buckle Bag in Rose Gold, any guesses there why I love it so much... It comes in various different options, mainly in the Black leather with Gold hardware, Sadly I can only find it online in the Silver and Black hardware. I have seen it about in stores though! 

It does also come with a shoulder strap, sadly mine doesn't have one as this was a returned bag and whoever returned it never returned the strap! 

 I literally tipped my bag out onto my bed to see what was inside, to say Ive not been using this bag for very long, I still seem to of accumulated quite a bit of stuff...

I have my Ness Houndstooth Purse, which has seen better days but as its fabric and not leather it does bobble quite a bit. But it keeps my ridiculous amount of store points cards in one place so its still going strong! 

I bought a packet of Extra chewing gum the other day as I couldn't find mine, only to now turn my bag out to find the missing packet! But you can never have too many packets of these anyway! I also have a bottle of Juicy Water which I can safely say Im obsessed with, especially the Lemon and Lime flavour, its just lovely and refreshing to have when its warmer outside!

I also randomly found a 50p coin, some McDonalds Monopoly stickers and a card to review Ed's Diner! 

As well as three memory sticks! Which are a essential handbag find for my days in College as I always end up forgetting one! 

 Of course I also have a ridiculous amount of beauty bits just sat in the bottom of my handbag. Plus of course my iPhone 5, to keep me up to date with Twitter!

I always seem to carry around nail polish remover and a nail polish, in the hopes that I'll fix my nails on the go... Which never ever happens but I'll live in hope that one day I'll get round to painting my nails in Barry M Rose Hip. I get a lot of use out of my little Lush Charity Pot however, its teeny weeny and really moisturising as a hand cream!

Im quite upset Lush decided to discontinue their old packaging and some scents including Tuca Tuca!  Of their solid perfumes, as they're fantastic to just chuck in your bag! Im still loving my Zoella Blissful Mistful though too. 

I think its pretty much routine to have a million hair grips just sat in the bottom of your bag, hoping one day they'll be rediscovered! As well as always carrying a couple of hair bobbles and its now a staple to carry my Tangle Teezer with my at all times because my hair is so long!

Finally I have my trusty MAC Fix+ Powder. I think we all probably have a shameful amount of lipsticks in our bags, when I swapped over from my old bag to this one I had 12!! Now I have downsized and currently only carry my favourite nude lip duo from Illamasqua in Glamore Lipstick in Rosepout with Sheer Lipgloss in Opulent. My bright lip options are from MAC in Chatterbox, Sweet & Sour and Girl About Town!

Just looking at all this makes me realise I probably need to do another downsize on the contents of my bag...

Eloise x