Big Boots and Superdrug haul

As you can see, I had a little bit of shopping this week. I don't really have any way of justifying it, except for saying that I had needed some of it?! I went in with a small shopping list, which consisted of Contact lens solution, a new primer, a foundation, and a face wash... But I ended up coming out with a few bits more!

From Superdrug, I purchased the Loreal Infallible foundation in the shade Porcelain - I actually purchased it earlier this week, though I bought everything else today. I'm in love with this foundation - it's such a light shade which is perfect for my pale skin but equally has really amazing coverage.

Since trying the amazing Infallible foundation, I then decided I wanted to try other products from Loreal's range. I'd looked online earlier this week to find a new primer, and I initially wasn't sure between this one, the Lumi Magique pure light primer, or the resurfacing primer. I ended up choosing this one - as my skin is so pale, it sometimes could do with a bit of a highlight, and this claims to be light reflecting so hopefully it will make my skin look really fresh and pretty! I'm so excited to try it!

I had seen these 2true eyeshadows earlier this week, but resisted buying one until today. I've swatched it roughly on my hand for you just to show the colours. I was a bit lazy and didn't really blend it terribly well, sorry! But they are really nice colours, and only £1.99 per duo!

I've had my eye on the Barry M eyebrow pen for a while. This was £5.99, and although I only ever use a natural light brown eyebrow pencil, I've been wanting to branch out with other eyebrow products to see what works best for me. I imagine this would create a really defined eyebrow shape, which will be interesting to try!

Bit of a boring one - I'd ran out of face wash and needed another! I've been using Freederm spot treatment gel lately and it does seem to work - I had wanted to buy a moisturiser from the set too but there was no stock left in store!

I also picked up a Dove Summer Glow tanning lotion - it was on offer for little over £2, but I thought this would be nice to use over the Summer months!

From Boots, I picked up a Real Techniques makeup sponge. I've never used a makeup sponge before so I really wanted to try this - I've got other brushes from the Real Techniques range which I love so I really want to like this makeup sponge too!

I've been dipping into this book a lot of late - 'The 21st Century Beauty Bible' - because I've been reading up a lot on skincare, as mine is so problematic. In the book, it reads "Our mothers had it so easy. A tad of Pond's Cold Cream, a dab of Vaseline." It also says further along in the book that Rosewater and Glycerine are really good for your skin. So I decided on a whim that I would try the more traditional skincare method of Cold Cream, and Rosewater - if it worked for our grandmothers (who have fabulous skin!), hopefully it will work for me too!

I also decided to buy a couple of clothing items from Tesco, for myself, and my son Rhys. I got a pretty spring green jumper for myself which will be lovely for the Spring/Summer seasons, and a little shirt for Rhys - I really can't wait to team his shirt with some baby skinny jeans, Converse, and a beanie hat!

So, these are the recent items from my haul - hope you've enjoyed reading, and seeing what I picked up! Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Sammii-Jane x

NOTD

I never do nail related posts. Like,  never. I honestly think I'm just too lazy, as I always leave mine to grow and forget about them! I've been really wanting to try a pale minty green colour though for Spring - I know it's possibly a little late in the year for this but it's still May! 

I ended up using a light spearmint blue colour, which I think is just such a gorgeous shade. It was from a pack of four polishes for £2 from Primark. When I first applied it, it was scented - you know those scented gel pens you used to have in school? Remember the grape one? It smelled like that - sweet, artificial grapes. I actually really liked this about these nail varnishes as I wasn't expecting it, so it was an added bonus - until I washed my hands and the scent disappeared! In all honesty I can't recommend the nail polish, as I didn't find it to be particularly good quality. But if you don't mind applying three coats of it for such a lovely shade, it would be fine! However I would probably recommend instead one of Topshop's own polishes, as they have such a vast range and I know they have a shade similar to this, but of much better quality!

So, I hope you liked my nails of the day! I'd be interested to see yours! Hope you're having a lovely day!

Sammii-Jane x

Review: Loreal's 24H Infallible Foundation

Yesterday, I was out looking for a new foundation. I'd been using Rimmel's Wake me Up foundation (£8.99), but it had run out, so I was hoping to find something cheaper, but also a better colour match, as I am super pale and find most foundations have a quite an orange tone.

Do you see the foundation I swatched here? No? Exactly! There is a blob of foundation over the veins of my wrist that looks more like a bruise (it was very orangey toned, I think it was a Miss Sporty foundation, at £3.49), but I've also got another foundation that I swatched just underneath. It was the Loreal Infallible foundation, in the shade Porcelain - and is honestly the palest foundation I've ever used, and is an amazing colour match for me, and equally has really great coverage. It's more than what I wanted to spend, but I was so impressed with the colour match I had to have it! This is what the bottle of foundation looks like...

And this is what it looks like on - no concealer, no BB cream, just a translucent primer (Maybelline's Baby Skin) as a base underneath. I have applied Bourjios Delice de Soleil bronzer on to my cheeks, but skin-wise, that's the only other makeup I've used. Look at the coverage! 

It's covered up pretty much all of my blemishes, and I do have problem skin. I found it to be such a natural looking shade and I really love the texture - for me, this beats any other foundation now. This is my go-to foundation, I just love it so, so much. I've never found a better colour match. This is the perfect foundation! I no longer have to look for products that are either pale, or has great coverage - the Loreal Infallible has both! 

Sammii-Jane x

My Kristen Stewart makeup look

I have never really considered myself to be much of a fan of Kristen Stewart. However, of late, I have been totally girl-crushing on her - I love her style, I love her makeup looks, I love that she's not afraid to be herself, and it love that she isn't scared of wearing Converse on the red carpet! I just adore how unique bad quirky she is, which is why I decided to recreate her makeup style. This isn't really a tutorial, it's more just a guide on how I created my look.

So, with Kristen, she always has a flawless, pale complexion, generally with lightly bronzed cheeks. For me, this is perfect - it's how I start off my makeup too. There are millions of pictures of Kristen all over the internet, many from award ceremonies, and for big events like this, she always has trademark red lips, and a kind of dark brown smokey eye, and lashes. For her hair, it is 90% of the time long, brunette, shiny and immaculately blow-dried. 

I, however, didn't quite have the time for an immaculate blow dry, so instead, I scrunched my naturally wavy hair with Aussie hair mousse while it was still wet, and then rough-dried it last night. 

For my makeup, I primed with Maybelline's Baby Skin pore eraser, and applied a base of Benefit's Hello Flawless foundation in the shade Ivory - this is one of the palest foundations I've found, but at £22, is a little pricey. Luckily, if you would like something cheaper, I've recently come across Loreal's Infallible foundation, and the shade Porcelain is even more pale - and a perfect colour match for my skin tone. The Loreal Infallible foundations are retailed at £9.99 from Superdrug. I then lightly dusted my cheeks with Bourjois Delice de Soleil bronzer. Kristen doesn't wear a heavy amount of bronzer, so neither did I for this look. I actually found it to be much more natural looking, I think I might have to keep that tip! I then penciled lightly into my eyebrows with the Rimmel eyebrow pencil in the shade light brown.

For her eyes, Kristen wears a light-to-dark brown smokey eye, so I applied Collection's Work The Colour eyeshadow trio in Choc Chip. I then applied a pair of false eyelashes (I just used Primark's Very Fluttering eyelashes), and applied Maybelline's the Falsies over the top, on to my own natural lashes. Once the adhesive had dried, I then applied Collection's Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner over the top of the lashes - it's such an easy, flawless way of getting the perfect eyeliner. 

For the trademark strong red lips, I prepped using my Burt's Bees lip wax, and then finished with Rimmel's Apocalips in the shade Across The Universe - it's a really strong dark red shade, and I really love it! It looks darker in real life than it does in the picture though! I can't find mine though so instead here is the lip lacquer and the shade that I found on Rimmel's website! 

I then decided to wear Ray-Bans in the second picture, because Kristen wears those sometimes, during the day. As I was going out I thought I'd wear mine too! 

So, this was my attempt at Kristen Stewart's makeup. I hope you liked it! 

Sammii-Jane x

Review: Benefit's Hello Flawless foundation

Ok. I'll admit. This is by no means a recent product, and it's actually one I pulled out of the draw because I've used up all my most recent foundation (Rimmel's Wake me Up), and can't afford to buy a new one until Friday. I bought this ages ago on a whim, after chatting to one of the makeup artists on the counter. I asked if she had any really pale foundations to suit my skin tone, but would also not drain my skin, as most pale colours do, but also had really good coverage. I knew I was asking for a lot, but she then decided to test this on my face.

I don't really remember what I thought of it at first, but I must have liked it enough to buy it! But I do remember that I stopped using it because I felt like it made me look washed out, leaving me with this - a half empty bottle of slightly pricey foundation (£26.50 for 30ml).

I've just used it now today, and I honestly don't know why I stopped using it. This is what it looks like on my skin.

I haven't applied concealer, and I've got no other face product on. I only applied Maybelline's Baby Skin pore eraser primer (which is invisible anyway), but then I did dust Bourjois Delice de Soleil bronzer on to my cheeks. But I haven't needed any other product to cover up the flaws of my skin, neither have I had to edit this picture. I do have problem skin as well so I am so, so impressed that this does cover up all my spots. My forehead and chin are very spotty at the moment but this completely covers it, and actually makes it look quite smooth - even though it really isn't! 

This literally feels like the perfect foundation for pale skin with flawless coverage, and really does brighten your skin, too. I do really love it, and if I had the money to repurchase it, I would - I would definitely consider it an investment! When you only need the one product, instead of assorted tubes of concealer, bb cream, foundations, it is just so much quicker and easier and just seems like a godsend! 

Have you tried Benefit's Hello Flawless? What did you think of it?

Sammii-Jane x

Beauty wish list - May 2014/ Favourite products of the month

Hey guys! So, I have my eye on a few gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous products at the moment, and, as I haven't written a blog in a little while, I thought I would share them with you! As you know, I have a slight obsession with Clinique - I know I bang on about it a lot but the products are just so lovely, they just feel so fresh on your skin and I love how clinically clean it is - the products will never clog up your skin. 

I'm just going to do all the Clinique products in one go as there's so many of them! I really want a nice bronzer and neutral eyeshadow duo for Summer. I'd love to have a bronzed, healthy glow, and I do a neutral smokey eye on a pretty much daily basis, so I cannot wait to get these products. They will look so nice and natural on clear, healthy skin (which I'm really hoping for!). I'm also really interested in the Lash building primer, it has really good reviews (I think 4.5 stars on the website?), and for £12, it's much cheaper than any of the other high end brands (which range at around £25) - so really, it's practically a steal! The nail enamel in Birthday Suit is just such a classy, neutral colour, it's just a shade that would match the kind of makeup I would typically wear. 

The next thing I would really love to have, is the bareMinerals Complexion Perfection Palette. I always take out my bareMinerals Ready Foundation, and, as handy as it is for topping up your foundation, this palette would be so much better, as it has concealer, foundation, a highlighter, the warmth bronzer, a blush, a brush, and a mirror, all in a handy little compact. The only thing that would make it better for me, is if it had a little mascara and lipgloss in the compact as well - then it could be a complete kit for daywear, which for me, would be perfect. 

Equally, what's looking super interesting, is the bareMinerals new primer, which is a BB cream and primer all in one, so you could literally just put this on top of your moisturiser, and be ready to go. Or, just chuck on a few other makeup products, bronzer, mascara, lip gloss, for a really nice, pretty, natural fresh-faced look. I'd love for my skin to let me do that!

While we've mentioned a bronzed, healthy glow, it's important to not forget your body. I love the smell of the Palmers range, and I'm really looking forward to using the natural bronzer from the brand. This is the first summer I will ever have planned to have a tan (I've always been fairly happy with being pale, but I really feel the need for change). I'm so desperate to look pretty and polished, as at the moment with being a new mum my skin is so tired, sallow and dull, and being pale is doing absolutely nothing for me.

So... Yeah, I have a bit of saving to do! As for new products that I'm trying, I have a little list here too. The reason that no skin care was mentioned in the above Clinique wish list, is because I've tried the Anti-blemish set, and am currently trying the rinse off foaming face wash, and dramatically different moisturiser. 

I got these free with a Clinique purchase last time I went to the counter, and they've been sitting in a box for the past month completely forgotten about! But I ran out of the Anti-blemish set, and then found these two little beauties! So far, I'm really loving the foaming face wash, it feels so fresh on your skin, and it can also see that the dramatically different moisturiser is also making a visible difference to my skin. I do have sallow, dull skin, and this is really freshening it up and keeping it soft. I really wanted to try this as my skin has also gotten a bit dry of late, and it's honestly working wonders - I'm in love! 

This is a bit of a boring one, but I'm also currently trying Freederm as a spot treatment. It claims to be a cooling topical different spot treatment gel to other formulas, as it contains nicotinamide, which is a proven anti-inflammatory for inflamed acne, pimples, and spots. Let's see if it works for me!

What I've also been loving, and probably wearing far too much, are false lashes. I just get the cheap ones, there are a lot of types of false lashes from China you can buy from eBay, and you usually get about ten pairs. Speaking of which, I'm just going to buy another box quickly! The lash glue is the important part, and I just use Eyelure lash glue for that which has never let me down! 

So, these are all my products I've been loving! I really hope you guys are looking forward to a fantastic weekend! 

Sammii-Jane x

DIY: How to correctly style your eyebrows - Tutorial

Hey guys! So, as you might know, my eyebrows are the bane of my life. When I was younger I had an accident with glass and managed to cut my eyebrow open, and although they are fully healed up, they never match, and irritate me to the point of no return. This is a huge deal to me as I feel like my face never looks even, and as someone who wants to work with makeup, I feel like it's such a rookie error, and makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing. 

I've tried many things, I've had them professionally threaded, waxed, I've plucked them so that they're really thin, I've let them grow thick and natural, I've dyed them, and I've left them alone and only plucked stray hairs. Without having a hair transplant (expensive, and just, in my opinion, kinda gross), what is your next, and less drastic, option? Eyebrow stencils. I bought these from Amazon for 77p (with free P&P). You get a set of four different stencils sent to you, and you can then flip it over and use it on the other. As it's the same shape, you will never have the problem of them not matching, and as you just hold the stencil in place and colour over it, it's virtually foolproof. You can also colour over them using a strong shade, and then pluck all the uncoloured hairs to shape them correctly. I'm going to show you guys how they've turned out, using only eyebrow pencil.

My face isn't quite straight on, so it doesn't look as even as it actually is. But, that aside, I think my eyebrows turned out really well! All I did was use the stencils to pencil in the shape, and then plucked away the stray hairs. Equally, I'm really sorry my hair is a mess, my newborn was starting to wake up so I had to finish up quickly! 

So, if you have unruly brows, as I did, I would definitely recommend getting these! These eyebrow stencils are now probably my favourite way of shaping my brows. It's such a good idea, and so cheap, and with four stencils you can't really go wrong! I hope you have had a great weekend! 

Sammii-Jane x