Hourglass: Veil Mineral Primer SPF15

When people speak of Hourglass, the one product that is consistently mentioned as their "must have" is their mineral primer, which for many seems to be the best primer out there.
I bought this in the travel size version (£15 for 10ml). This has quite a lightweight feel and I didn't notice it sitting on the skin. It applies very smooth but does have that noticeable silicone feel about it. It makes the skin feel smooth and soft and feels reasonably hydrating on my dry skin. It softens the appearance of my pores, though is not as good as covering them as my Rouge Bunny Rouge primer. It definitely makes make-up last and I felt that my foundation looked almost the same at the end of the day as it had at the beginning.
The one thing that makes me somewhat hesitant over this is that every time I wear it my skin is congested the next day, it maybe a coincidence but I don't feel that I can say that this doesn't cause my acne prone skin problems.
Ingredients:
I think for those with dryer skin that don't have a lot of oil breakout, this is easily one of the better primers out there. Personally for me the eye shadows remain the "must have" from the Hourglass range.

I bought this from zuneta.com

Laura Mercier Day To Night Neutrals Colour & Brush Collection

I had to get this post up as this set is still currently on sale on spacenk.co.uk for £37.50 (original price is £75) and I really think its worth snapping up.
It comes with a mini Foundation Primer (30ml), a refillable palette containing two eye shadow duos and a blusher, a Kohl Eye Pencil, Full Blown Volume Lash Building Mascara, Lip Glacé and a mini cheek colour brush and mini double ended ponytail/crease brush. All are full size apart from the brushes and primer.
The palette contains eyeshadows in sparkling dew (cream with a hint of pink) paired with celestial (smoky blue grey)
Sheer topaz (mink brown) paired with primrose (peachy/pink sand)
The cheek colour is petal pink (bright peachy pink)
The shadows feel smooth, blend well, pigmentation is average. Though some of the shades look like they contain micro glitter in the pan, they apply with a flattering gentle shimmer. The cheek colour I find very pigmented so I only apply a whisper, it has a glow rather than a noticeable shimmer finish.
Swatches L-R: petal pink, primrose, sheer topaz, celestial and sparkling dew
You also get the Kohl Eye Pencil in stormy grey (charcoal grey) and Lip Glacé in mystic mauve (mauve rose with subtle golden micro glitter).
I really like LM Kohls, they are creamy, pigmented and long wearing. The Lip glaces, whilst I really like the colour selection, feel a bit too tacky to make them a favourite.
The brushes that come with the collection are really good quality and feel very soft on the skin.
Finally you have the Full Blown Volume Lash Building Mascara in Black and the mini primer

I think the colours and finished look is extremely wearable and pretty. At this bargain price even if you don't feel drawn to all the items (for me the mascara is ok and I'm not a fan of the primer) I still think this is a great buy.

Ingredients:

I bought this from spacenk.co.uk

By Terry Rouge Terrybly Shimmer lipsticks

Part of the shimmer fantasy holiday collection, the Rouge Terrybly Shimmer Age Defense Lipstick (£31) are a shimmery version of the Rouge Terrybly, which I am a fan of due to the rich pigment, smooth coverage and long wear. The shimmer version possess these same attributes.
Out of the 5 shades I got No.802 Love Me Tender (apricot)
and No. 803 Love Affair (very cool toned pink).
The shimmer in both shades has a very pretty luminous quality,the colours are vibrant.
Whilst I do not find these that moisturising; the pigment, colours and wear is exceptional.
Ingredients:

My mother bought me these from spacenk.co.uk

Winter skin comforts from Pai

My skin really does not like the winter. The coldness coupled with the increase of central heating has a very drying effect on my already dry skin, redness that I am prone to goes up a notch and my skin often feels chapped. Unfortunately I cannot lather on rich, heavy products as they result in breakouts.
Two products that I have found really helpful are the Pai Camellia & Rose gentle hydrating cleanser (£25) and Bergamot Orange Organic Lip Balm (£7).
I have mentioned both these before in 2009, so wanted to give them a re-mention as their packaging has since changed and the formulas feel different.
The cleanser sits in-between a cream and lotion consistency, though it does not feel cloying or heavy. It spreads nicely over the skin and leaves skin soft yet without a residue. Its extremely efficient at removing makeup (I get none left on a pad when I do a toner sweep) and I also find its really good at removing mascara (without stinging the eyes). It causes me no irritation/breakouts, this along with my Elemental Herbology are my favourite cleansers for these colder months, really soothing on parched and sore skin.

The lip balm comes in a screw top container and has a very pleasant citrus scent.
Initially hard, yet on application it seems to almost melt into the skin, it does have quite a bit of slip.
It elevates the dryness and makes the lips feel soft and comfortable. It also does not break me out around the lip line (which I am very prone to with lip balms). A handy little item to have in your handbag.


I bought these from paiskincare.com

The Highlighter battle: Becca V Rouge Bunny Rouge

I think out of all the colours for highlighters, white can often be the most problematic. Whites are prone to looking chalky, too stark/harsh and unnatural. This can also be accompanied by an overly shimmery/frosty finish.
I decided to compare the much rated Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl against my favourite liquid highlighter formula, Rouge Bunny Rouge Highlighting Liquid Seas of Illumination in shade Sea of Clouds ( a shade I'd not tried before).
As soon as I swatched these for the photos I thought the Becca would be the one to win out. Hopefully you can see below that the Becca (on the left) looks like it has a sheen, whereas the RBR is noticeably more shimmered.
Blended out a bit
Once on my face and it was a different story. The Becca does indeed give a sheen to the skin, instead of shimmer. However I find it somewhat overpowering and felt it made my skin look too slick/shiny.
The RBR by contrast imparts a slightly shimmered pearly glow and gives a touch of brightness to the skin and is definitely my favourite of the two.
Both products blend in really well and have very good wear, in terms of texture the RBR has a much lighter consistency compared to the Becca. I have not experienced breakouts from either.

The RBR sample I ordered from Zuneta, they have a fantastic sample service on their site (including foundation), this is a great way to see if the product/shade is right for you before committing to a full size . The Becca was a sample from the lovely Jane from modestybrown

Chanel Prelude Quad

I really tried hard not to give in to this, I've had a lot of the Chanel quads before and I think the formula is sub par for the price (we get the baked version here in the UK). The shadows are dry and powdery and pigmentation is often a problem, and yet I caved on Prelude after a few months of resistance....
I love natural shadows and as I find the majority lean warm, this cool toned palette was just too hard to pass up in the end.
Prelude (£37) contains a grey/taupe with micro glitter (it looks grey in the pan but applies with a taupe edge), shimmery ivory/cream highlighter, a deep smoky brown with micro glitter and an embarrassingly un-pigmented putty grey with micro glitter (all the micro glitter in the shades is very subtle on application)
Apart from the left bottom colour the pigmentation is actually good in this quad and on the whole the colours apply as they look in the pan. With a base I do still get a bit of colour fade and they do have that familiar dry/powdery texture. However, I do really like these shades and think they work extremely well together to create a soft, subtle slightly smoky look.
That's not to say that I wish Chanel would just dispense with this baked formula and instead give us the same as the US.

I bought this from John Lewis

INIKA Mineral Foundation

Inika is a line of pure mineral make up. Half of the line is certified organic, all the products are vegan. Mineral ranges as a whole don't tend to appeal to me as they have caused my skin problems in the past. However, the formula's seem better now and some brands are omitting certain ingredients I found irritating such as Bismuth Oxychloride.
I bought the lightest shade Grace (£25.55), it does darken slightly on application but is just light enough for me, though probably best suited to a MAC shade 15. My mother has the next shade up called Strength and this is a good match for her, she would be a MAC shade 20/25. I thought I'd show them both together, you can see that both lean warm in tone.



It causes my skin no breaks outs nor irritation.The coverage is extremely good, you can really go full with this if you choose to.
It doesn't make me look oily/shiny but does impart a bit of radiance to the skin. I find it wears well through the day.
One thing I would say is that I do have to buff it in well over my pores (I do find this a common problem with mineral foundations though) so it is worth getting the right brush for this.
The only real drawback I have found with this is application on skin that is rather dry. I have had this for a while now but have noticed as my skin gets dryer with this colder weather, it has started looking a bit cakey/dry on me. So for the colder winter months I'll switch back to a liquid foundation.
Overall I'm very pleased and I will certainly re-buy this.

Ingredients:


I bought this from beingcontent.com