A first look at BM beauty

BM Beauty is a range of mineral makeup and synthetic brushes. They are BUAV approved and the make up is free from bismuth oxychloride, parabens, nano particles, synthetic dyes and fragrances. I'd seen the brand mentioned on a Pixiwoo tutorial and it pique my interest.

I have been mostly wearing the Inika mineral foundation, though mineral powders are not the best for my dry skin, my skin sensitivities and acne flare ups are such that this formulation seems to cause me the least problems.
The BM beauty foundation (£14) immediately caught my eye as its a cheaper price and also appeared to come in a lighter shade (my Inika is a touch too dark). I am highly impressed with the BM and I find the performance easily comparable to the Inika. It feels lightweight, coverage is buildable, it lasts quite well and causes me no irritation/acne. The shade Stripped is a much better match, its lighter and has a slight pink tone which matches my cool toned skin.
Concealer & foundation pictured below:

Ingredients:

• Mica
• iron oxide
• zinc oxide
• titanium dioxide

• Use the mineral foundation brush 121 to buff your mineral foundation to a perfect, flawless finish.
• Apply using firm, circular movements.
• For more camouflage, simply build up the layers till blemishes disappear.
• Keep the tip regarding adding foundation to moisturiser.
• Mix mineral eyeshadow with a little water and apply as an eyeliner using eyeliner brush 119.
• Apply Marble Sparkle eyeshadow to the inner corner of the eye, where you naturally have a dark shadow for a youthful, wide eyed look.

The concealer (£8) comes in two shades, I went for the lighter one called Vanish. Its a bit darker than the foundation and has more of a peachy tone. Under the eyes this doesn't provide enough coverage for my bad circles and layering can make the area look a bit dry, however it works well when used lightly to set my under eye concealer. I use this primarily for spot/scar concealment, where I find it works very well as it gives high coverage,stays put and doesn't aggravate the condition.

Ingredients:

• Mica
• iron oxide
• zinc oxide
• ultramarine

Swatched below: Concealer, Foundation and Inika Foundation

The foundation brush (£14) is extremely soft and fluffy. The head is full and rounded. This works very well to apply the mineral foundation which surprised me as I have been using much denser packed brushes previously, I also really like this for blush application.
Pictured below against a MAC 116 for size compare

I'm very pleased with all the products and it will be a brand I repeat buy from, its nice to find an affordable range that still delivers great results.

I bought these from bmbeauty.com

Suqqu Blend Colour Eyeshadow #10 Kozuecha

I picked up the most neutral looking quint out of the three released for the Spring collection, Kozuecha #10 (£45). The palettes will be part of the permanent line.
It features a sheer peach iridescence, a light shimmery taupe, a matte ivory base shade and then the split pan which consists of a medium brown with satin finish and a darker brown which though matte in base does contain micro glitter.

Using a DSLR instead of my normal point and click, you can see the multi shimmer embedded in the shadows in the picture below, I think this is what gives the colours more complexity.
Though the darker shades are not quite as buttery soft as the others in the palette, this applies really well and the shadows retain the lightweight feel that I expect from Suqqu. Though I've only had a few Suqqu eyeshadow palettes in the past, the pigmentation seems higher than normal.

The colours work harmoniously with one another and I can see myself reaching for this often.

Ingredients:

I bought this from selfridges.com

Suqqu Creamy Glow Lipstick Moist: EX-04 Tousakura & 01 Haruoto

The spring collection features three lipsticks (£27 each), of which only EX-04 is limited edition.
Both of the colours I bought are variants of peach/beige nudes. EX-04 Tousakura is sheerer and lighter in tone with a tad more peach, whereas 01 Haruoto is a deeper version.
They have a very glossy finish. The pigment is more on the sheer side compared to the normal Creamy Glow Lipstick formula.
Swatched below L-R: 01 Haruoto, EX-04 Tousakura
I thought these might be similar to two of my other Suqqu lipsticks, but in actuality whilst the colours are in the same colour family, none are dupes.
Swatched L-R: 06 Umegasumi (normal Creamy Glow formula), EX-04 Tousakura, 01 Haruoto, EX-01 Sangoiro.
I really like the formula as they feel creamy/moisturising with the slightly heavy feel of a balm. They are very soft though and I have squished a few edges here and there so probably not one to leave out in hot weather.

Ingredients:

I bought these from selfridges.com

Suqqu Spring: Nuancing Cheeks Ex-01 Botaniro

The three blush compacts launched with the Spring collection are all limited edition. I bought the lightest, coolest looking shade, EX-01 Botaniro (£38).
Though the colour initially looks rather similar to all the other cool toned pinks on the market, as someone who has a difficult time wearing pinks due to them turning too warm, making me look ruddy or looking too bright/harsh, this has been a great find.
It does not turn colour on me and melds in with the skin giving a cool, natural pink flush.
The colour are both cool, candy floss pinks of differing degrees. The left side of the palette has an almost textured look to it and is more pigmented with a satin finish, the right has a smooth look, pigment is more subtle and the finish is slightly shimmery with a few touches of silver sparkle (I don't find this sparkle imparts on the skin and I can only see a glow).
Swatches below L-R: Left shade, right shade, shades mixed
I have mostly been using this both shades layered, though the colours work well used alone.
Swatched below for colour comparison L-R:By Terry Cheek to Cheek Rose, Suqqu Botaniro shades mixed, Rouge Bunny Rouge Gracilis.
Suqqu blushes have a smooth texture, they blend beautifully and there is never ever any effort required with application.

Ingredients:


I bought this from selfridges.com

Chanel April Le Vernis Nail Colour & Suqqu Spring Sneak Peek

I view Chanel nail polishes with trepidation, though the colours are often stunning they don't wear well on me as I am unable to go a day without chips (unless I wear a good top coat in which case I can stretch to about 2 days).
Though I wanted two of the nail polishes from the spring collection I managed to rein my urge in, my mother however did not and she bought the shade in April (£17.50).
If there was a colour that depicted grown up elegance this is it, it has a very glossy finish, the colour is a darkened cranberry. The coverage is very good, though I prefer to wear two coats.
Of course this did chip on me, but it was worth it as the colour is really beautiful and I'll be borrowing this from my mother often I'm sure.
Ingredients:

I couldn't resist giving you a sneak peek at what I bought from the Suqqu spring collection.
Quite a few items from the collection are limited edition (the blushers, face powder and Ex04 lipstick to my knowledge) and as the brand are notorious for having very quick sell outs I'd grab it quick if you are interested. I'll get my reviews up as soon as possible but just to say that I am exceptionally pleased with all the items.

My mother bought the Chanel from John Lewis, I bought the Suqqu from Selfridges.com

Sue Devitt Day and Night Neutrals Eye, Lip and Cheek Palette

The limited edition Day and Night palette (£38.50) is an easy to wear palette of fresh, pretty shades that are coordinated extremely well.
The sleek silver palette consists of two blushes, three shadows and three lip glosses. It also contains two small brushes (one is double sided).

The blushes are very pigmented and I have to be very careful with application on my pale skin. They feel quite smooth, perhaps a tad dry and have a satin finish.
Pale Peach is a brightening peach and Evening Rose is a dusky rose.

The shadows have good pigment, feel really smooth and blend very well. All the shadows are shimmery.
It contains a delicate seashell pink, golden chocolate brown and a golden champagne.
Blush and shadows swatched below:
The glosses have a slightly tacky feel to them and are not long wearing. The colours are extremely pretty, though subtle.
The shades are nude pink, brown rose and a warm rose.
I think this is an extremely well thought out palette which will appeal to many. The quality is very good and it requires no thought to be able to get a pretty everyday look.

Ingredients:

My husband bought me this from lookfantastic.com

Rahua Voluminous shampoo & Conditioner

Rahua is a range of haircare products based around the restorative properties of Rahua Nut Oil (found in the Amazon rainforest), the oil is meant to be able to deeply penetrate the hair's cortex to restore and repair. The range is free of synthetics, parabens and sulphates and is 100% vegan and the brand denote the products as organic.
I'd had good results from the original shampoo and conditioner, so was interested when they expanded the collection to include a Voluminous Shampoo and conditioner.
The shampoo (£26) has a light feel and leaves the hair feeling very clean and does create some body/volume. Unfortunately I have very sensitive skin and I found this too drying for my scalp and it made my head feel itchy. It might well be things like the citric juice or eucalyptus that I reacted to, but given my high sensitivities I'm not particularly surprised as I don't have a good success rate with shampoos.
Ingredients:
The conditioner (£27.50) has a light weight texture (much lighter than the original) it de-tangles the hair and leaves it soft. Such is the lightness it can also be used as a styling add, using a bit on dry hair to give a nice shine and cut down on the frizz.
Ingredients:

For damaged hair such as mine these do not provide enough nourishment nor did I feel like they strengthened the hair. However, though these are not really suitable for me I do think both products deliver on creating volume and bounce to the hair and I also found they made my natural hair colour look a lot brighter.

I bought these from zuneta.com

Too Faced Natural Face Natural Radiance Face Palette

Though I seldom buy from Too Faced, as soon as I saw how pretty this was on Charlie from ladyofthelane, I had to pick it up. Its a face palette that is meant to create a warm, sun-kissed glow.
It comes in a magnetised cardboard compact with mirror and contains three cards which demonstrate different application techniques/product placement.
The palette (£31) contains the following:
Bronze Veil-warm golden bronze with very slight shimmer, I'd say the pigment is more buildable, which I think preferable as it means it will work for a variety of skin tones
Crème Blush-warm rose
Powder Blush-highly pigmented shimmery coral pink
Concealer-The colour is a medium beige, its probably best suited to those around a MAC 20-30. This gives very sheer coverage and does not provide enough cover for my dark circles.
Luminizer-a sheer champagne base with peachy pink shimmer.
Brightener-Yellow toned and I think this would work for a wider range of skin tones than the concealer, from a shade lighter than a MAC15 right up to a shade 30.
The powder products have a nice smooth texture and the creme blush does not have a tacky finish and applies really smooth with no patchiness.The Concealer, Luminzer and Brightener have a high level of slip to them, whilst I think this works for the brightener/Luminizer, the concealer could have done with having a more creamy texture as I find it can disappear from the skin if you try and blend it in too much.

Swatches L-R:Bronze Veil,Crème Blush, Powder Blush,Concealer, Luminizer,Brightener.
I think this is a great palette and something I can see myself using up. Though the concealer is not right for me, I just mix it with the brightener.
The colours of the palette work so well together and it really does deliver on giving a healthy, fresh faced radiance to the skin, my complexion just looks better when I use this.

I'll most definitely pay more attention to Too Faced releases from now on.

I only have half the ingredients as there was a sticker over the others, but the Too Faced website does list them all.

I bought this from Boots