It’s in the Bag – Show-stopper Edition

Hannah is a busy lady indeed. She’s used to going from every day wear to show-stooping performances and therefore needs a loyal kit that won’t let her down on the stage.

At first glance Hannah has a plethora of good quality products, from Estee Lauder to MAC and Benefit and I was excited to see how she gets a look that won’t melt under the bright stage lights. Today we showcase the top 3 as selected by Hannah.

Estee Lauder Deluxe All-Over face compact

This product is a total life-saver for Hannah. As she does go from a hectic schedule to a performance in very little time it’s so important that she has a good compact in her life, and this is it.

It is long-lasting and resists the heat of the stage without any problems. I love the shades in this compact, they will give a rosy but bronzed look for a natural healthy glow, perfect for energetic and passionate performances.

It’s a great size to fit into a handbag with a thousand other things Hannah will need throughout the day. These can easily be used as eye shadows as well as the blusher and bronzer’s they are meant for.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation

Hannah gushed about this foundation, she loves it. It’s so light the she doesn’t even feel like she’s wearing foundation, fortunately this doesn’t stop it giving a full coverage. It lasts all day and has saved Hannah during pre-show photo-shoots on a number of occasions. It covers all break-outs and gives a flawless finish.

It comes in an amazing 39 shades so there really is one for every skin tone. I’m personally dying to try this product and have been a while, hearing Hannah’s thoughts has made me even more eager to splash out on it.

The coverage is buildable so you can use as much or as little as required and it provides a matte finish. Perfect for those of us with oily skin.

MAC Studio Fix Boldblack Lash Mascara

This is an everyday go-to item for Hannah. It doesn’t clump and it’s waterproof. Perfect for beautiful natural-looking lashes that will survive when the going gets tough mid performance. Hannah says she can go from subtle natural lashes during rehearsals to bold and striking lashes for a night out in just a few extra coats.

This is always in Hannah’s bag, simply because it takes her look from day to night in seconds. Hooray for our Handbag Hero!

Hannah looks amazing all the time anyway but it’s always fun to see how other people achieve their makeup look and I’m excited to try al of these products at some point. Thank you Hannah for letting us take a peak today!

I do need a volunteer for next weeks edition, if you’d like to volunteer either comment on this post, email me on tams.watt@hotmail.com or contact me on Facebook!

If you’re a blogger or have a website I will link back to that in the post too.

 

L’Oreal Paris True Match – The Powder Review

Reviewed by Tams

I bought this at the same time that I bought the liquid True Match foundation, which seems like an age ago now. You can see my review of that here. It wasn’t the best foundation I’ve ever tried unfortunately.

I don’t often use powders as they can look so caked on. This one can be built up or used as sparingly as you like which is great. But I still don’t really like powders, I only bought it to use to set my makeup but it just makes it more obvious that I’m wearing it! I just don’t think I can pull off powder foundation, my skin does not agree with it.

It’s a real shame as it does seem a really good product, my skin wasn’t shiny at all but it did highlight my dry areas, the curse of combination skin. I’d definitely recommend it if you have oily skin as it would probably be an ideal product.

It also comes in a handy little compact which includes a little application sponge and a mirror. It’s a really useful handbag item and I think I’ll pass it onto someone who will get the use out of it. I’m disappointed it didn’t work out for me but I do maintain that it probably is just my skin causing th problem! Has anyone else tried it? What did you think?

Try it: www.superdrug.com, RRP around £8.00

UPDATE: In last week’s It’s in the Bag Maisie loved the liquid version, I promised to revisit it and I did so last week and I still had the same problems 😦

The Easy Guide to Choosing the Right Foundation

Even with all the hype around BB creams and CC creams I still stand by a good foundation,  it can be hugely daunting choosing one when faced with literally thousands of options. It would be so easy to waste both time and money tirelessly searching for the foundation that is your perfect match so I’ve put together this easy guide to help you along your way.

Budget

Your budget doesn’t need to huge to find a good foundation but it will decide where you are going to hunt for it. If you have under £20 your best bet is going to be a drugstore, I’d avoid supermarkets as they never carry a very large choice. If you have over £20 you’re going to be headed straight for a department store. The department store will most-likely allow you to try the product as you’d use it at home, the assistants will usually do your makeup for you which is an advantage but drugstore’s do have assistants on hand of you need help too. I don’t advise buying online unless you are repurchasing a product you know and love.

Skin type

Foundations each have a different function, some may be good for oily skin and help to maintain a matte finish, others may moisturise as they go.  Try to avoid the ones that do it all and choose one that sorts 1/2 problems. One that claims to knock 20 year of your sin age, stop oilyness, moisturise skin, provide a natural glow and last an entire week may sound like the product you’ve been dreaming of but in reality it problem only does each thing marginally well. If you have oily skin perhaps go for one that last 16hrs (for example) and tackles oily skin. If it’s ageing skin that’s the problem try an anti-aging foundation that provides a healthy glow. Those that only do 1 or 2 things are likely to do them very well indeed.

Coverage

You need to consider the coverage you require. Even those of us who look after our skin like it’s an obsession will have the odd day/week where it doesn’t look it’s best, often due to hormones and stress! I tend to have a couple (Uh hmm 6) foundations in at any one time so that if I am having a good skin day I can use a lesser coverage. If you only need a light coverage a mousse or cream may be a good option. If you’re after a heavier coverage I would always suggest a liquid foundation.

Skin colour

Hole you hand next to your face and look in the mirror.. it’s not the same colour. Avoid using your hand to test out foundations. Take wet wipes with you to the store and try the foundation along the jaw bone instead, it’s more accurate and you’re less likely to come away with a foundation that make you look like a orugantan. When choosing shades first decide whether you are light, medium or dark-skinned and check for the shades in these categories. Also consider the undertones of your skin, are you a yellow or pink base? If you want to maintain the undertones you already have then select a shade with the same undertone if not then go for the opposite. Yellow undertones will neutralise the skin tone of those with pink undertones. Not all brands tell you the colour of the undertones but you can see if it is doing what you want it to when you test it on your jaw bone.

Matte or dewy?

The final thing to consider is whether you want a matte finish or you’re embracing the current dewy-skin trend. If you go for matte choose a foundation that doesn’t have any shimmer in it as this will produce a dewy look.

Optional extras

To get the most out of your new-found foundation you can consider selecting a concealer which is the same colour as your skin (not lighter as many advise), a primer to enhance the performance of your foundation or a powder foundation to set it all in place. I wouldn’t advise all 3, a concealer and a primer OR powder will be sufficient, you don’t want to look like you’ve caked your makeup on!

I hope this has been helpful and if you have any more tips please do let me know!

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Related articles

• The pros and cons of BB Cream, Foundation and Moisturiser (nakedbeautyblog.wordpress.com)
• how to {foundation} (smartysbeautymark.com)
• Top 5 Thursday: Affordable Foundation (nakedbeautyblog.wordpress.com)

Top 5 Thursday: Affordable Foundation

This week I’m showing you my current top 5 affordable foundations, ones that are easily found on the UK high street and are within everyone’s budget. They may be small in price but each of these is big on covering problem skin.

1 B. Is For Beautiful – B.Flawless Liquid Foundation

I reviewed this product earlier in the week, I love everything about this foundation. It covers dry patches as well as blemishes without leaving  shine behind.

2. Maybelline – Dream Satin Liquid Foundation

This is one that I always go back to when I’m not feeling up to risking another foundation that probably won’t do what it says. It isn’t as long lasting as some but it does produce a beautiful air brush finish.

3. Bourjois – Healthy Mix Foundation

This one is great in the sun, it looks like I am not wearing any makeup, it just gives the illusion of happy, healthy skin. It covers up problem areas and lasts all day with a radiant glow.

4. Rimmel – Wake Me Up Foundation

This is my go-to foundation for the morning after. When I’m feeling and looking tired this foundation wakes up my skin and covers dark circles leaving me looking like I wasn’t up until 3am the night before, however rough I feel! As you can see this one is in need of a repurchase at the moment!

5. L’Oreal Paris – True Match Powder

I tend to not use this alone, I use it over a liquid foundation when my skin is a bit on the oily side. It gives a lovely matte finish and helps to set my foundation in place so that it lasts longer.

Find Naked Beauty on Facebook .. There is also a giveaway worth £33.50 over there at the moment!

B.Flawless Foundation Review

Reviewed by Tams

After seeing this foundation had won awards in a couple of magazines I had to try it for myself. I had never heard of B. before so had no idea what to expect.

After trying a few shades I selected Rose Ivory 020 as it seemed to be my best match. I was impressed with the range of shades available and they also had different foundations for every purpose, it was hard to think of a single person who wouldn’t find their perfect match among these lovelies!

It says to apply using fingers on the bottle but I always use a foundation brush so I just continued use as I normally would. It matched my skin perfectly and blended in for a flawless finish. It felt really light on my skin but had amazing coverage. It covered all my blemishes and dry spots without a problem.

This foundation also left me with a healthy glow without being shiny. It claims to last 16hours but I have never actually come across a foundation that lasts that long in this heat on me. It has managed a good 10 hours the last couple of days and on cooler days I’m sure it would reach 16 hours easily.

Even though it has a really good coverage my skin still looks like my skin which I love. This has easily become my new favourite foundation, I don’t even need to use a primer under it. It is also really reasonably priced at £9.99 from Superdrug.

This foundation would suit all skin-types and I highly recommend it. In fact at Naked Beauty we are now giving the Naked Beauty Seal of Approval to outstanding products, there are loads of our favourites that we have already reviewed but this will start from today.

L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation Review

Reviewed by Tams

I was so eager to try this foundation after hearing so many people rave about it. I now also own the powder too but that is another review for later in the week.

First impressions

Everything about this products sounds amazing, it’s going to match my skin colour and texture and it’s going to be awesome, I hoped. It felt really lovely and silky when it came out of the bottle however it is also very runny and I feared it wouldn’t be up to the coverage I was after. My hands are currently way more tanned than my face so ignore the colour match in this photo.

Application

It did blend really well, I got the Golden Ivory (D1 W1) shade and it matches my skin perfectly. It looked really lovely on at first and I just did 2 coats to build it up to my desired level of coverage. I shared this photo on Friday for my eye makeup but I was also using the True Match Foundation in this, it photographed really well and I felt confident going out in it. It has a really lovely healthy glow that rivals Bourjois’s Healthy Mix foundation.

2 hours later

I got a shock when I saw myself in a mirror 2 hours later to see that the foundation had now clung to every dry spot on my face making me look ridiculous, I had a bit of a break out recently and so was left with a few dry spots as always. I’m sure this foundation will be great when my skin is in top condition but those days I don’t really need it anyway. I’ll keep hold of it and try it again when my skin is back to normal but for now it didn’t do as desired, sure it matched my skin colour but it hated my skin texture.

What I loved: The healthy glow it gave my skin.

What I liked least: It accentuated by dry patches.

Try it: £9.99, www.superdrug.com

Pocket full of posies

Reviewed by Tams

Benefit Posie Tint – Poppy Pink Lip and Cheek Stain Review

Until this product I had not used a lip & cheek stain before and I was pleasantly surprised. It was really easy to blend into the cheeks and lips and as lasted a long time.

It is quite a pale colour so really nice if you just want a natural bit of colour and of course it is multi-tasker too. It is really handy to keep in your handbag for lip and cheek emergencies.

It looks a really bright colour in this photo but once blended down it is barely noticable, but it can be built up for a deeper colour. It does dry really quickly so you have to be quick of the mark to get it blended in. It doesn’t transfer easily which is also great.

This is one of my top pics for festival essentials.

Try it: £24.50, www.feelunique.com

Just Keep Scrubbing, Just Keep Scrubbing – Olay Essentials Smoothing Face Scrub Review

Reviewed by Tams

Already on number 2!

As I bought my second tube of Olay Essentials Smoothing Face Scrub I realised I clearly love it.. a lot! I haven’t yet blogged about this one but at the moment it is a clear favourite of mine! It smells refreshingly clean and has lovely large particles.

The formula foams so well and after each use leaves a clear improvement. The large particles leave you with a satisfying scrubbed face and radiant natural glow! It also removes what’s left of my makeup without a problem.

My skin is less dry, less spotty and clearer after using this for a while. I also use other Olay Essentials items in my skin regime and they’ve never let me down. They are always well-priced and quality items. They also last a while as you do not need much each time!

What I love most: It is so effective at doing what it does!

What I like least: Nothing, I wouldn’t have gone back to it again if there was!

Try it: £2.49, www.superdrug.com

Sunshine on a cloudy day

Reviewed by Tams

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion, Sun-kissed look for light skin product review

I know it’s been pretty glorious the last few days but that’s rare in the UK, so I decided to try a build-up tan moisturiser. Tanning lotion always  goes streaky on me and I have pale skin that only burns in the sun so I gathered this may be a way forward!

I loved the smell when I first put it on but a couple of hours later it just smelt like the normal biscuity self-tan smell which was a bit disappointing. However within a couple of days I did start to notice a different in my skin colour which I was very pleased with. My legs took a lot longer to catch up with the rest of me so I started doing those twice a day, they now have some colour but it is a bit patchy despite my best efforts to take care to get it even.

However, my arms and upper body look wonderfully sun-kissed without being tangoed!

 

My skin feels beautifully soft too. I give this a product 3/5, I’m pretty sure there is something better out there so onto the next one!

What I loved most: The colour was natural.

What I liked least: Patchy legs!

Try it: 250ml £5.09, www.superdrug.com

Love at First Sight – Benefit Fine-One-One Product Review

Reviewed by Tams

I fell in love when I saw this product. 

Benefit Fine-One-One has a 3 shades pink champagne, sheer watermelon and soft coral that combined highlight, define and colour your cheeks.  Its a beautiful sheer cream that instantly brightens your skin.  It can be used all together or individually on cheeks and lips and comes with a handy little tip booklet too.

At first sight I absolutely loved the typical gorgeous Benefit packaging however, it is quite a small item for £23.50 which is a little disappointing. I also adore all the colours together, they’re so beautiful!

The way I like to use it is to just sweep from the rose of my cheek up to my temple along the cheek bone. Alone it is not very vibrant, it is quite a sheer blusher cream which is perfect for natural look during the day but for the evening I use either a MAC Blusher or Benefit box of powder over the top as well.

 

 

 

I love that this product is an all in one, it skips 2 steps for me saving me a few minutes each morning. It’s beautiful matte result also lasts really well all day.

You can also glide it over or pick an individual colour to go over over your lips for a qucik burst of brightness. It is definitely a handbag must-have!

 

I recommend this product for anyone who wants to add a bit of a pop to their makeup without going over the top.

What I love most: It’s really easy to use and looks natural.

What I like least: It is quite sheer so needs blusher too for evening makeup.

Try it: £23.50, www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk