Showing posts with label benefit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label benefit. Show all posts

Saturday, 17 July 2010

My Holiday Essentials :)

Hi Ladies!

I'm back! I had a super lovely holiday, the hotel we stayed in was amazing - It was right on the seafront with its own stretch of beach, and a lovely pool and gardens. I feel completely chilled out and relaxed now, I didn't want to come home!

So I thought I'd show you the products/makeup which I used the most on holiday, as I thought it might be helpful for anyone who is about to go on their holidays (lucky you!). I tried to take literally the essentials (to keep the luggage weight down and to stop my boyfriend from freaking out - he wasn't pleased when he saw the 8 different nail polishes I decided to take with me after nearly forgetting all of my holiday money - whoops!).

My hair care routine is normally pretty extensive and although I did take a couple more products on holiday the two I was really pleased to have packed in my suitcase were Mark Hill's heat protection spray and Chi's Silk Infusion. I bought the mini chi silk infusion from ebay after hearing so many good things about it. I didn't want to splash out and buy the full size as it is a little pricy and I am pretty picky when it comes to haircare. I used this a few times before I went on holiday and wasn't overly impressed, but decided to take it on holiday and give it a proper try seen as it was perfect travel size and now I love it! It really made a difference to the texture of my hair which was pretty dry from the sun, sea and sand and daily washing! I applied a tiny bit to the ends of my hair before blow drying for super silky locks :) The Mark hill heat protection does exactly what it says on the tin - its not overly scented like some heat protectants I have previously used, and it works well on dry and wet hair :)

I used Blistex Intense Moisturiser morning and night, as my lips get really dry on holiday. This works perfectly I can still feel it on my lips in the morning and it has an added spf which is always a plus - Although I did use a sunblock for my lips during the day too :)

I didn't want to take a full bottle of eye makeup remover so I took these tesco sensitive skin eye makeup remover wipes and they worked a treat! gentle and effective - even on waterproof mascara!

During the day I was completely makeup free, and tried to keep it pretty simple on an evening too. I picked up MAC's Stereo Rose MSF the day before I went on holiday and I'm so glad I did, it looked perfect with a little bit of a tan, and gave me lovely glowing pinky coral cheeks. I also took a MSF natural + shimmer which I picked up at a CCO instead of my usual MSF natural, so that I could use the shimmer as a highlighter and avoid taking unnecessary extra makeup! As it happens the lovely glow from my shiney new stereo rose meant a highlight wasn't really necessary but I did use the MSF natural on my T zone to get rid of any shininess and to help keep my makeup in place :) Benefit Hoola is my holy grail bronzer, which got just as much use on holiday as it does at home! and my mascara of choice was Rimmels Lash Max in brown which my sister picked me up for my birthday (thanks Liv!). This is a comb mascara which I'm not usually too keen on, but its not clumpy at all and applies perfectly. Also as its a brown mascara, it helped keep my makeup a little more subtle and natural. I'm not usually a fan of number 7 products but their eye base is fantastic and kept my eyeshadow in place perfectly.

For eyeshadow, I mainly used my Stila Marrakesh palette. This is a great size for travelling and has for lovely warm colours in it. I particularly like the dusty pink in the top left corner, I don't normally wear pink eyeshadow but this one looks really natural and pretty as an all over lid colour. MAC's Corduroy and Naked Lunch are two of my all time favourites, Corduroy is the perfect matt brown and looks great in the outer corner blended with pretty much any eyeshadow! Smashboxes champagne is a new favourite, the perfect light gold - lovely as an all over lid colour, I also used it blended with Corduroy in the outer corner for a little extra definition.
and finally, a couple of hair accessories! I am obsessed with hair bows, and these black satin ones from H&M were perfect for clipping back my fringe in the heat. I picked up the plaited floral headband in primark for £1.00 and wore it most days to keep my hair off my face whilst swimming and lounging around on the beach :)

and thats everything! I hope this was helpful, I have quite a few OOTD's from my holidays coming up, I think I might pop them all together in one post so watch out for that coming soon. Let me know what your holiday essentials are and have a lovely holiday if you're going soon :)

Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Current Favourites :)

Hi Ladies! :)

I thought I would update you on some of my current favourites, I was going to call this my June favourites (I've never done monthly favourites before - How late am I on that bandwagon!) but realistically my favourite products don't change that dramatically from month to month (I'm a creature of habit) so current favourites it is! Right enough of me waffling - lets get started!

First up - Smashbox single eyeshadow in champagne


I adore this eyeshadow, and have been wearing it non stop for the past couple of months. It is a lovely light soft gold perfect for day and night. I've been wearing it all over the lid with a little eyeliner during the day (when I've woken up late!) and on a couple of night out blended with MAC's Knight divine and carbon for the perfect black and gold smokey eye - I love it! Smashbox eyeshadows are pretty pricey at £14.00 for a single eyeshadow - ouch! but I have been so impressed with this one that I am definitely going to try a couple more once I have some more pennies :)

Benefit Eye Bright

Yes, yes this was a glamour magazine freebie but this is actually my 3rd eye bright, one of few benefit products which I use on a regular basis. I use this on my inner corner, and it is an absolute life saver on bleary eyed mornings! The formulation of this is lovely and creamy but be careful if you take it on holiday or out on a sunny day it melts like crazy! I tend to pop mine in the fridge every now and again, which makes it even more lovely and cooling on my eyes in a morning! :)
Mac Hue Lipstick

Hue is such a lovely, easy to wear lipstick. I can highly recommend it to anyone who has never tried lipstick before (for many years I was strictly a gloss only girl!) its definitely a my lips but better colour - Really pretty and glossy and perfect for summer, this lives in my handbag at the moment!

and thats all for now! I am jetting off into the sunshine on holiday today for a week (eeek need to pack - why am I so last minute?!) so I apologise in advance for my upcoming lack of blogging, I will back next week with lots of lovely holiday related posts :)

(photo from www.weheartit.com)

See you in a week!

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

My Favourite Series Part 3.......Bronzer

Hi Ladies!

So today its time for part three of my favourite series - Bronzer. The bronzer which claims my number 1 spot, has been my favourite bronzer for as long as I can remember...I absolutely love it! and it is Benefit Hoola :-)

This gives me a natural sunkissed glow - like I have just come back from a holiday on the beach! I have really pale skin, and find a lot of bronzers can look quite severe on me (and often pretty orange too!) but this one is absolutely perfect. It is completely matt with no shimmer which means you don't have to worry about a sheen overload if you are wearing a shimmery blush or highlight. It is really well pigmented, so does need to be used with a light hand, and I find it applys best with a really big dense brush. The colour can be built upon easily, and it blends really well too :-)

There are a couple of teenie weenie downsides to this product, firstly althought the packaging is super cute it is not practical at all and you can see from this pic how tatty mine has become (this hoola is only about 4 months old!). It looks pretty on your dressing table but isn't really a bronzer you can just bung in your handbag! The other thing is the price, it costs £23.50 which is definately on the pricey side. I umm-ed and ahh-ed over this for ages before I decided to purchase it the first time, but for me it is worth the pennies :-)

and now the runners up!

  • Elf warm bronzer (really pretty and such a bargain!)
  • Loreal Glam bronze (I use blonde -a great compact with mirror for the handbag!)

  • Benefit Dallas (a lovely blush/bronze mix)

What is your favourite bronzer?

Speak soon!