L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer

I've been on the hunt for a new primer ever since my tiny wee sample of Benefit's Porefessional ran out. I really didn't want to splash out 20-odd quid right now, especially with Christmas coming up, so off I trudged to Boots with high hopes of finding something amazing! Lucky for me, they had buy 1 get 1 free across all cosmetics, etc so I picked up this L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer, along with a nail polish and Real Techniques brushes (finally!).

I actually regretted buying this as soon as I got home. I swatched it on my hand, and nearly dismissed it straight away. I have oily skin, and this leaves quite a dewy, luminous finish - something which I have strayed away from in the past in favour of a matte, oil-absorbing finish. But I tried it, and I've completely changed my mind. The consistency is super light and it feels hydrating on the skin, but not overly so. I use this along my nose, my cheekbones and forehead and it leaves such a gorgeous, luminous glow. Once I apply my foundation, the glow is minimized and it turns into a very subtle, natural sheen. I'm still on the hunt for something oil absorbing to use on my t-zone, but for days when I'm after something to emphasize my highlighter, this is definitely something that I would reach for.

This primer retails at £9.99, and can be found at Boots and Superdrug. There is usually some sort of offer on in both stores, so keep an eye out!

NOTD #1: MUA Nail Constellation

Today's post is a little different for me - a Nails of the Day post! Now, I'm definitely not the best at applying nail polish - as you can see from the photos. I'm a little heavy-handed and messy, especially when it comes to dark colours like today's. I used Nails Inc in shade Motcomb Street (free with December's issue of Glamour - go!) which is a dark navy. This was opaque in one coat which I found amazing, as I usually end up applying 3-4 coats with other polishes. I used two coats here.

I topped it with my favourite top coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri which really does what it says on the tin! The main reason I rarely paint my nails is the hassle of waiting on them to dry, as I always, without fail, manage to smudge them whilst they're drying and ruin them, so then I get frustrated and don't bother painting them again! But this wee thing is an absolute saviour for me.

Finally, the much-raved about MUA Nail Constellations... A much cheaper dupe to Ciaté's Caviar Manicure, these only cost £3 from MUA. They're basically tiny wee coloured beads which you press onto wet nail polish to give a textured effect. This was the first time I used these, and as you can see from the bottle, quite a lot are missing already and that's because they are ALL OVER MY FLOOR. I pulled the lid off and they literally flew everywhere. Even as I was pouring them on my nail through the very small funnel, they were falling all over the place and some have already begun to fall off of my nail. I set them with the Insta-Dri carefully, so I'm hoping they'll stay intact until tomorrow at least. They look super pretty, but I'm not sure I can be bothered bringing out the hoover every time I want to use them.

Have you tried Nail Constellations? Any tips for not covering my entire flat in them?!

MUA Artiste Collection Palette

Nearly everyone and their mums have heard of MUA Cosmetics by now. They're a super affordable high street make-up brand, and you can find their products online or in most Superdrug stores. Their eyeshadow palettes are hugely raved about in the blogging world, and so far they have definitely lived up to the hype for me. Their products are a little hit and miss, as I found with their lipsticks - but with prices starting from £1, you might as well give something a try!

MUA recently hit 35,000 'likes' on Facebook, and they are currently running a 35% off offer AND free delivery! So naturally, I took this as an opportunity to stock up. I bought the Artiste Collection palette which contains 6 marbled eyeshadows, 2 powder blushers, 1 bronzer and 1 highlighter. The eyeshadows look ridiculously pretty, I really didn't want to use them and ruin the marbled pattern! As with other MUA eyeshadows, they are soft, pigmented and easy to blend. The lighter shades like Mocca and Cookie are less pigmented, but they would make good base colours. They are mostly shimmer shades, which I much prefer especially for creating a dramatic smokey eye.

As for the face products, I actually really love the blush colours. I need to build them up quite a bit to get a good wash of colour, but I like that because it gives more versatility to the product, so if you just wanted a light flush of colour, you could easily get that. Pink Sparkle is a shimmery (but not overly so) coral pink colour, whilst Primrose is a slightly darker matte dusky pink. I'm not a huge fan of the bronzer because I tend to sway away from bronzers in the winter, BUT I do think that the colour of it is great because it's matte and not orange! The highlighter is also lovely, just enough shimmer to give a healthy looking glow, but not enough so that your face is a discoball.

The Artiste Collection palette costs just £6, which I think is a great price considering the amount of products in it! It's a great thing to take on-the-go, because it does contain your face essentials in one convenient palette. 

Don't forget to take advantage of the fab 35% off offer on the MUA website using code MUA35 - expires 23rd November!

Monday Wishlist #5

I feel like I've been super reserved with my wishlist this week, just 4 things that have really caught my eye. Since it's coming up for Christmas, I'm trying my best not to lust after much, and concentrate my shopping lust on presents for others - honest!

The first thing on my wishlist this week is this dark red studded shoulder top which I actually saw on my friend Holly's fashion blog. It's from River Island and costs £22. It looks like the perfect top to throw on with a pair of jeans, winter boots and a cosy jacket for some effortless autumn style.

Another thing on my wishlist this week is the Bumble and Bumble Curl Reactivating Mist which retails at £14.25 on LookFantastic. I've heard amazing things about Bumble and Bumble, but I haven't tried any of their products. I recently decided it would be a great idea to cut my own hair, but I ended up hacking away at it with blunt kitchen scissors and funnily enough, it ended disastrously. My friend managed to salvage what was left of it and I'm now left with shoulder length hair so I feel like I need to get some tousled waves in it to give it some volume and life, so I really want to try this mist!

Thirdly, I'm eyeing up these Crest whitening strips like there's no tomorrow! I've never had white teeth and, being a smoker and caffeine lover, my teeth are suffering. I can't find a direct link to these, but they retail on Amazon for around £11-15. I've heard that they can make your teeth sensitive, but I've also heard and seen some great results from them so I'd be willing to put up with a little sensitivity if they work!

Lastly, I'm after yet another Topshop lipstick, this time it's Beguiled. I'm slowly but surely getting more adventurous with my lip colours - I even came home from work with a bright red lip last week! Now that it's cold and icy outside, I'm really not feeling my corals and pinks, and I'm feeling brave enough to try a deep red/wine/berry shade. I love the formula of Topshop's lipsticks, so I think I'll have a wee swatch of this next time I see it. My only worry is that because I'm so pale and my hair is dark now, I'll look like a goth/vampire/dead. Only one way to find out!

As well as lusting after things for myself this week, I've been desperately trying to hunt down some Christmas present ideas. I think I've settled on buying lots of Lush goodies for my family to try and convert them.

What are you eyeing up this week? Do you still treat yourself in the run-up to Christmas?

xx

YonKa Pamplemousse

This is the first post in my evening skincare series of posts. I received this YonKa Pamplemousse moisturiser in a JolieBox and it has slowly become a staple in my evening skincare routine, especially now that cold winter weather is taking its toll on my skin. The moisturiser is available in 2 formulations - one for normal to dry skin, and one for normal to oily skin. I have the normal to oily formulation, as my skin is oily throughout the day, but also dehydrated. I need extra hydration at night, and this is perfect for providing that! It's a really rich cream that smells absolutely gorgeous. It smells like fruity, citrus-y, fresh pure loveliness. That was an awful description, but I'm sure you get the jist!

YonKa claim that this moisturiser will enliven and brighten your skin, protect from environmental aggressions and help to tighten pores by using highly concentrated fruit extracts. It's pumped full of gorgeous essential oils like grapefruit, lemon, orange, pumpskin seed oils and vitamin C. YonKa also market this as a lightweight moisturiser for daytime wear, but I do find this too heavy to wear under make-up, so I do just use it as a night cream and I find it works really well this way. It sinks in fairly quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film, which I find tends to happen with rich, thick formulation moisturisers, so I really love that. It leaves my skin baby soft and every time I use it, I wake up with really nourished feeling skin. It almost feels like I'm feeding my skin when I use this!

This is definitely my go-to evening moisturiser when my skin is needing that extra moisture boost. I can't find a link to buy it online, and I'm not sure how much it costs as I did receive it in a JolieBox. Let me know if you can find a link and I'll pop it in here!

LUSH Colour: Drive lipstick

Hello! It's been quite a while since I posted, and I do apologize but I don't have much of an excuse apart from life being a bit rubbish and taking over completely. I've been busy and stressed, but I feel like things are settling down now and I'm excited to be able to get back into blogging again. I promise I won't slack off this time!

As most of you will know, Lush recently launched their Emotional Brilliance cosmetics range back in July. As part of this, there is a colour range called Word Up which contain eyeliners, lipsticks and eyeshadows. The great thing about these is that they are multi-purpose and super versatile, so you can use the liquid lipsticks as cheek colour, etc. I won't go too much into the rest of the range or I'll be here for days but if you're interested, then take a look here to spin the wheel and discover what your colours mean.

Now, I'm really not one for bright or bold lip colours. I never ever thought that I would wear a purple lipstick, let alone like it! Drive is quite a vivid purple, but on the lips it is much more wearable than I originally thought. The formula is gorgeous! Because these are fresh, handmade colours they do not contain preservatives and the main ingredient is jojoba oil, meaning that the colour is super hydrating. To me, it feels like applying a lip balm because it's so hydrating, but the colour is highly pigmented and once it dries, I forget that it's there which I love. It's also really long-lasting, I find it wears really well even through eating and drinking. The one downside is that it costs £14.50 for 5g of product, which is quite pricey! But I think the fact that it's a multi-purpose product does justify the price, for me at least.These are also 100% vegan, which is great.

I think Drive is the perfect shade for Autumn/Winter nights, and I'll definitely be picking up more of these fresh, handmade colours because I just find the formula to be so lovely!

Have you tried any of the emotional brilliance range? What do you think?