First Impressions Review: Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

“Happiest girls are the prettiest” – Audrey Hepburn 

The moment Nars brought out this foundation, I’ve been lusting over it and fantasizing about it. I can’t be the only one that does this surely?! So after purchasing this foundation I decided to write a first impressions blog post, then once I’ve finished the bottle or I feel like I have enough opinions on it after using it for a while, I’ll write a follow-up blog post with my overall thoughts. 

Nars is just one of those makeup brands that I constantly lust over and every girl deserves to own at least one thing from Nars! So naturally the moment I found out about it I knew it would be something for me. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you’ll know that I love the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation, because I love that weightless feeling on your skin. So naturally I knew I’d fall in love with the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless foundation, it’s like it was love at first sight! 

Nars have described this foundation as full coverage, but with a natural look to it that feels completely weightless on the skin. Did I mention that this foundation is also said to last 16 hours?! It’s a very liquidy foundation, so make sure you shake it well before applying! 

The packaging is absolutely stunning and very convenient in comparison to other Nars foundations. It actually comes with a pump! This is an absolute god send to all those Nars lovers out there! With other foundations you’d have to pay for a pump separately, but this foundation is conveniently provided with one. It’s a beautiful bottle with frosted glass and the iconic “Nars” name printed across the bottle. It’s simple but absolutely stunning! 

What I love: 

- What I love about all Nars foundations is the broad choice of shades, and this foundation doesn’t disappoint either! There’s 20 shades to choose from, so there should be the perfect (or close to perfect) shade for most people! I personally have the shade “Siberia” which is the lightest shade available. 

- The coverage is absolutely insane. Trust me; a little goes a long way with this foundation. 

- It’s so easy to blend, definitely a perfect match if you’re a beginner with foundations! 

- The finish for me is a perfect matte look, so for someone who has oily skin this is fabulous! 

- It isn’t sticky at all! Is it just me, or do some foundations just feel really sticky on the skin?   Well this one definitely doesn’t, and it doesn’t seem like it will smudge much throughout the day either! 

What I don’t love: 

- Although the packaging is absolutely stunning, it may be a bit difficult for those girls who travel a lot. It’s quite a hefty bottle and since its glass, you certainly don’t want to drop it! 

- It doesn’t quite cover my blemishes. Other foundations I have tried are much better at covering any spots or blemishes, but since you’ll be using concealer to cover them, this shouldn’t really be an issue. 

- It certainly isn’t going to suit all skin types. I have oily skin so I need something that is going to last all day and won’t look dewy or sweaty. However if you’ve got dry skin or you want a dewy look, I wouldn’t recommend this foundation. 

Overall first impressions: 

Overall this foundation has really impressed me so far. I adore the finish it gives me and how it’s suited to my skin type so well. I haven’t tried to see if it wears for the full 16 hours, but I have to say it definitely will last throughout the day and you shouldn’t need too many touch ups. I will be writing a follow up blog post once I’ve finished the bottle and let you know my thoughts. 

Thanks for reading! 

Alice D x  

   

  

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My July Monthly Makeup Favourites!

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty nosey when it comes to which beauty and makeup products other girls are purchasing and which products are working for them. Just me? 

So with this in mind, I’ve decided that from now on I’ll be writing monthly makeup (or any kind of beauty product) favourites! Although I’m trying to save my money where I can, I’ve still managed to sneak in a few new beauty finds in my ever-growing collection.  

Mac Pro Longwear Concealer: This isn’t the first month I’ve tried this, but here it is in my July favourites! It will forever be a staple for me in the concealer department. It brightens, concealers, covers, and the coverage and pigment is absolutely astounding! Unfortunately this concealer only comes in a 9ml bottle, but it will last for a long time, remember that a little goes a long way with this stuff! 

 Anastasia Beverly Hills Waterproof Crème Color Eyeliner: If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you’ll know just how in love I am with Anastasia Beverly Hills, their products are just really impressing me at the moment. So it’s no surprise that their Waterproof Crème Color Eyeliner has made it into July’s favourites. I’ve never been very skilled with eyeliners, but this is great if you’re a beginner. Just apply it with an angled brush and it’s done! It’s extremely pigmented and creamy. But it does dry pretty quickly and is very difficult to wash off, so be prepared for a long makeup removing routine!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder: Again this isn’t the first time I’ve tried out this powder, but I wanted to talk about this because it is just that amazing! Of course every now and then I do like to deviate from this powder and try out a few news ones, but I always end up coming back to this powder! It’s just amazing! I have very oily skin (especially in the summer) and my biggest problem during the summer is my foundation seeping through my powder. But this powder works wonders for staying matte. What can I say; it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a cheap and cheerful little product and even works better than some of the higher end powders I’ve tried! 

Mac “Nice N’ Spicy” Pro Longwear Lip Pencil: I don’t own many lip liners, so obviously one of my go-to makeup brands for trying out new products is Mac! I wanted a nude lip liner but would stay on throughout the day. What can I say? This stuff is amazing, it doesn’t budge all day and the colour is absolutely beautiful! It's a highly pigmented, universal nude colour that will work on almost any skin tone. If you’re looking for a nude lip liner, give “Nice N’ Spicy” a try! 

Mac “Velvet Teddy” Lipstick: And last but absolutely not least (in fact I may have left my very favourite for the end) the extremely popular and infamous Velvet Teddy lip shade from Mac! I’m sure you’ve all heard of this gorgeous shade, but in case you didn’t know, it’s an iconic 90’s nude shade (almost a Kylie Jenner lip colour) and again, lasts all day! Did I mention Mac lipsticks smell absolutely amazing?! 

So that’s it for my July favourites, there were only five but I didn’t want to ramble on forever a bore you all. If you want to know anymore on any of these little makeup goodies, I’ve written a blog post on every one so you’re welcome to have a little read if any of them have tickled your fancy! 

Thanks for reading! 

Alice D x  

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Waterproof Crème Colour Eyeliner Review!

Hey everyone! So today I wanted to talk about a makeup item that I haven’t yet written about on my blog, and that’s eyeliner. 

Eyeliner is something I’ve found quite difficult to get right, but I adore the look of it. If that’s pencil eyeliner, liquid, cream, bottom waterline or on the eyelids, I adore the look of it. It can frame the eyes, change the shape of them, amp up a smoky eye, make your eyes look bigger, smaller, and complete a makeup look all together. 

But unfortunately it’s been something I’ve struggled to get it right, and I definitely don’t have a knack for it. So for ages (probably years) I’ve been searching high and low for the perfect eyeliner that’s easy to apply for beginners and one that will look effortless on the eyes.

So after a lot of searching, I decided to purchase the Anastasia Beverly Hills Waterproof Crème Colour Eyeliner. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you’ll probably know just how much I love ABH products, it’s rapidly becoming one of my all-time favourite beauty brands.  It’s very quickly become a brand that I trust, it’s not an over-hyped brand at all, any hype around ABH is completely deserving in my opinion because their products are just amazing. 

 I wanted to try out a crème eyeliner, after some horrific experiences with pencil liners I quite liked the idea of a crème liner. Personally I like to keep it simple with the eyeliner; I like to apply a simple line across the lash line on the lid with a small flick. This look is so easy to achieve with this particular liner, even if you’re a beginner!

One thing you will either love or hate about this liner is that it’s completely waterproof! When ABH said its waterproof, they meant it! It dries extremely quickly and I promise you, it will not budge all day! I find that this can be both an advantage and disadvantage depending on your preferences; obviously it’s great that it will stay in place all day even in the heat, but if you’re a beginner like me it might be quick difficult to rub off if you’ve made a mistake applying it. Having said that, it is really easy to apply, I normally like it apply the liner with an angled Mac or Zoeva brush and that seems to be doing the trick nicely. 

 I purchased this liner in the colour “jet black”, but if you’re into experimenting with different colours then this liner is for you as it comes in so many it caters to every taste. I love the formula and consistency, an angled brush easily picks up a lot of product and it’s not messy at all!

Although I haven’t been using this product for long and don’t have a great deal of experience with eyeliners, I think this is a great product and I can already tell it’s going to be a favourite. I do want to try out a few other eyeliners so I may do a comparison blog post soon. If you’re looking for a new crème eyeliner for the summer months, this would definitely be high on my recommendations list. If you want to have a little look then you can find the ABH Crème Colour Waterproof Eyeliner here: http://www.beautybay.com/anastasiabeverlyhills/ 

 Thanks for reading!

Alice D x 

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How to save money on makeup!

Hey everyone! So today I wanted to share some tips with you on how to save money on makeup when shopping beauty products. 

This is something I feel very passionate about and over the years I’ve acquired some little hacks to save a few pennies here and there with budgeting your makeup money. 

The reason I feel so passionate about this is because firstly being a woman is expensive! Secondly I feel like too often some beauty brands and even beauty blogs will try to flog off a no-good product which means you’ve ultimately wasted your hard earned money. 

Of course we all love treating ourselves to makeup and beauty products, I mean that’s why you’re on this blog right? But sometimes your pockets don’t, so spending your money on products that truly work for you will save you so many pennies! 

1. Research, research, research! – This tip is vitally important in knowing that you’re purchasing a product that will work for you. If a product has caught your eye, do as much research as you can on the product before actually purchasing (especially if it’s an expensive product!) Speak to makeup artists that work on beauty counters, read reviews from reputable blogs and websites, watch tutorials and reviews on Youtube. There’s so many resources out there that will help give you the information you’ll need on a particular product. 

     2. Don’t believe the hype! – Just because it’s a high end product doesn’t mean there isn’t a cheaper alternative out there! It’s so easy to look at an expensive, high end beauty product and automatically assume that it will work wonders on you. Fancy ingredients and fancy packaging should not be the defining factor that will persuade you in purchasing a particular product. Some products have an excessive amount of hype around them, but again this comes back to research, do research in whether or not it’s going to work on your skin type or that it will do what you’re looking for out of a makeup item. There are so many dupes and cheaper alternatives for high end products that are maybe worth trying before you commit to buying an expensive product.  

    3. Discipline yourself – When you go shopping, make sure you have a clear idea in mind of what you’re specifically looking for, as well as how much money you’re willing to spend. By all means ask the girls on makeup counters for information and their opinions on a makeup product, but don’t let anyone persuade you to spend more money than you previously planned on. It’s part of the business and selling particular products is something that beauty advisors are trained to do in order to earn commission. This doesn’t mean that the advice they give you is no good, just discipline yourself on how much you’re prepared to spend and try not to deviate from this.  

     4. Try before you buy – This again links in with the research that you should do on a product before committing yourself to spending a considerable chunk of money on it. Going into a makeup store and trying out a sample before buying the full size is a great idea to try out the product and see if it works for you. For example if you’re looking to buy a foundation, try and get a sample of it and test it out for a few hours before making a decision on it. Testing it will help you to work out if it’s the right foundation for your skin type, if it oxidises, if it leaves a matte or dewy finish. Samples will be able to tell you all of these things, and so if the sample doesn’t live up to your expectations, I’m sure your pockets will be very thankful!  

     5. If you don’t NEED it, don’t buy it! – With all the blogs out there, YouTube videos, tutorials and makeup collections, it’s so easy to get carried away and end up buying things you don’t need. What I try to do when I’m saving money is to only buy what I need, for example only buy foundation or mascara when I’ve ran out. I of course still allow myself a little treat every now and then, but this will only be once or twice a month, that way I’m disciplining myself and my spending so I’m only strictly buying what I need. This is one of my favourite methods to help save a few pennies.

So those were just 5 simple tips that definitely help me when I’m trying to save money on makeup. Of course you don’t need to follow these tips to a T, you can pick and choose which tips will be most accommodating to you, but if you want to save money on makeup then hopefully these tips have been helpful! 

Thanks for reading! 

Alice D x 

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The Perfect Nude Lip Combo!

Nude lips are a makeup trend that definitely isn’t going away for a while, and if you’ve tried this trend out for yourself you’ll know why! 

A nude lip was a huge trend circulating the 90s, and its back in a completely new way! Kylie Jenner is known for her unique and hard to re-create nude lip, and now everyone wants to try this look out for themselves! 

I’ve been doing a bit of research into perfect nudes shades that anyone would be able to pull off. After looking at tons of nude colours, I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon and get my hands on Mac’s Velvet Teddy! 

It’s one of Mac’s most popular lip colours, if not THE most popular! I have to say at first I was sceptical to try it out, the main reason being that it’s quite a dark nude colour, and me being so pale I thought I wouldn’t be able to pull this particular colour off. I decided to pair Velvet Teddy with Mac’s “Nice N Spicy” Pro Longwear Lip Liner to create that perfect Kylie Jenner nude lip combo. 

 Everyone knows just how amazing the Mac lipsticks are. But if you’re looking for a new nude colour to your lip collection, I’d definitely recommend Velvet Teddy. It’s a matte, deep-tone beige colour which I think is a perfect universal shade that will work on almost any skin tone. I have extremely pale skin, and at first sight I feared it would look slightly too dark on me, but it really doesn’t! It’s a flawless nude (I now understand why Velvet Teddy is a favourite among beauty lovers!)

Using this lipstick alongside the Pro Longwear Lip Liner, this makes the lip colour last all day and I promise you when I say this, it doesn’t budge! Your lips will look bigger, more defined and completely saturated with a pop of colour. I love this lip combination for any occasion and season; you can’t go wrong with it! 

Thanks for reading! Leave your comments with your favourite lip combo! 

 Alice D x

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