Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation Review

Hello lovelies!

So the other day I decided to get a new foundation for winter and went shopping with certain preferences in mind- a light foundation, not too heavy, easy to apply and somewhat moisturising so that my skin didn’t get dried out this season.

I picked up this! Rimmel London’s ‘Match Perfection, Light Perfecting, Radiance Foundation’.

This is probably one of the first foundations where I have been able to pick one up in the shop, go through a few testers and find a colour that suited me perfectly. I picked up 103 ‘True Ivory’ as I am always a lot paler in the winter season. I can see why they named it ‘Match Perfection’!

The packaging is simple but effective and the pump is super useful to gauge how much foundation is right for you and also a lot less messy than foundations with no pump.

First thing is first: application. This foundation is a really light formula, almost runny in consistency. This means that it can be applied and blended in really quickly and easily and sits nicely on my face. I really don’t like how long it takes to work in heavy foundations so this light texture was perfect for me.

It also claims to be enhanced with blue sapphires in order to illuminate your face and create a look of radiance. It certainly does appear to brighten up my skin and give it just enough of a healthy glow. Its also SPF 18 which is always a bonus as it protects my skin. It lasts, for me, up to 8 hours and I’m happy with that.

There is a lot less shimmer to this formula than Rimmel London’s ‘Wake Me Up’ foundation which is a bonus. I feel like the ‘Wake Me Up’ formula only works for me in the summer when I am tanned and the sun works with my foundation. In the winter time, I find that the shimmer in ‘Wake Me Up’ is entirely too much. This is a softer foundation that aims to match your skin tone so it’s perfect for the winter.

It doesn’t try to look like make-up either. It evens out my skin tone but my skin still looks like natural. The Match Perfection foundation gives a very natural finish which I think is important because I never like to look like I’ve overdone my make-up! (And let’s be honest: who can be bothered to try to keep a full face of make-up on in the windy season?)

In terms of coverage, this means, as it’s a light formula and aims to look natural, it doesn’t give as much coverage as other foundations. If you need more coverage then you might seek an alternative foundation but this coverage works for me.

The price is also particularly attractive- at £6.99 I will keep purchasing this until another favourite takes its place!

Top 10 for £10!

Hello everybody!

So recently I’ve been living on a tight budget but it hasn’t stopped me wanting to buy cosmetic products and all things girly!

So I thought to myself: what better time to make a blog post on make-up on a budget?!

I set myself a challenge of finding a product for each make-up category that is under £10! I have scanned the shelves of Boots to propose to you the following make-up essentials!

Let’s start with a base: concealer! We all know what I’m going to say: Collection’s ‘Illuminating Touch’ concealer is fabulous both for its moisturising texture and easy application. It has really good coverage and gives a dewy glow and is a bargain at only £3.99!!

Next! Foundation! Rimmel London has to win this with either the ‘Wake Me Up’ foundation at £8.99 (for those of you who want a dewy look) or Rimmel’s ‘Match Perfect’ for a more matte finish at £6.99.

Face powder: To set your foundation and get rid of any shine I fully recommend Rimmel’s ‘Stay Matte’ pressed powder. It has always worked well for me, is raved about by many and is an absolute steal at just £3.99!

On to eyebrows: I actually use the Miss Sporty eye shadow quad in ‘Brown Eyes’ and use the dark brown shade in the palette and brush it through my brows with a fine Mac angled liner brush. It works perfectly for me at just £2.99!

Eyeshadow: I love the Rimmel ‘Glam Eyes’ Quad eyeshadow in the colour range ‘Smokey purple’. I picked one of these up for just £6.99 and everything about it is good: the application, the colour and how long it stays on for. Can’t fault it!

Now for eyeliner: The cheapest eyeliner I have ever used was from Collection and I think it was the ‘Eye definer, lasting colour’ pen. I actually can’t find a price for it but I think it was around £3. It’s good as a spare eyeliner for in between shops but smudges easily so its better worn smudged and soft. If you want a darker colour I’d look elsewhere. I’d like to try the Bourjois ‘Khol and Contour’ pencil at a friendly price of £4.99.

Mascara: I have heard only good things about Rimmel London’s new ‘Scandaleyes Lycra Flex’ Mascara which is budget friendly at £6.99

Finally, lips: I am a huge fan of Clinique chubby sticks (I don’t even need to clarify this to my regular readers) but they are quite pricey for what they are. I think we could have a winning alternative on our hands with the Bourjois ‘Colour Boost Lip Crayons’ which are just as colourful and just as creamy and moisturising and just as easy to apply but for a lesser price of £7.99! Yes please!

There you have it!
My top ten cosmetic items for under £10! Be kind to your purses ladies,

What’s in my bag? Weekend away!

Hello there lovelies!

I’ve been at uni for a month this weekend and it seemed a good time to pop home for a day or two! I thought I’d do a new ‘What’s in my bag?’ weekend style!

I am using the elephant bag from Evolution which is a really cute shop in Hammersmith although I do think they have shops elsewhere too so keep your eyes peeled for one in your area!

As you can see I am taking: my tickets (obviously), a couple changes of clothes, PJ’s, my purse, my phone charger, my surface (because I’m not taking my laptop), a book I need to read for uni, my phone, my house keys, my oyster card, a bottle of water for the journey and my make up bag.

What’s in my make up bag? My collection concealer, my Rimmel dual action concealer, Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, Real Techniques foundation brush, Urbanista powder brush, 17 Pressed Face Powder, Collection eyeliner, Benefit ‘They’re Real’ mascara, Natural Collection mascara, my eyelash curlers, a Clinique chubbystick, some tissues and some bobby pins!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

NARS Sheer Glow foundation review

Is it worth it you ask?

Let’s face it: The NARS Sheer Glow foundation has been the talk of beauty gurus and cosmetic lovers everywhere this year! It appeared on the ‘high end’ make-up shelf with a price tag of just over £30. With all the talk, I just couldn’t resist trying it for myself…but was it worth it?

I’m going to be totally honest. NARS sheer glow foundation is like Marmite; some people love it, some people hate it. For me, this product was a bit like eating the twiglets that my mum buys at Christmas: I couldn’t decide if I liked it or hated it so I kept using it until I figured it out!

(I should probably point out that I have reasonably fair skin that can be prone to dryness and I don’t tend to have blemishes or spots so I don’t need a great amount of coverage)

The NARS sheer glow foundations are quite thick and gloopy in texture which provides a great coverage for those of you that need it. However, this makes it quite difficult to thoroughly blend across the face and takes A LOT of working your face with a foundation brush so it’s not a great ‘on the go’ foundation if you’re a busy bee!

It also means that the foundation is quite heavy. If you have oily skin then that probably isn’t a problem for you but those of you that have dry skin, it can be quite irritating to your face. I’d also point out that it’s not ideal for spring/summer make up wear as I, personally, prefer a lighter foundation on my face during the warmer months to avoid a hot, bothered and oily face and to allow my skin to breathe.

Despite the name ‘Sheer Glow’, I would like to point out that I didn’t really find that to be the case for me. I was expecting a dewy foundation that brightened my face but instead it just seemed to be quite matte and dry. TIP ALERT! I actually took to mixing a small amount of the foundation with a drop of essential oil before applying it to my face. I found that not only did this make the foundation easier to apply, spread and blend but lighter on my face, moisturising for the skin and produced a healthy radiant glow.

The best thing about the NARS ‘sheer glow’ foundations is the colour range. We all have different skin tones and different needs and NARS really caters to everyone by making two of each tone, one with more pink tones and one with more yellow tones. I found this to be particularly helpful because I can get quite pale looking and lifeless in the winter but also quite pink and blushed so I was able to pick a colour with more yellow shades to liven up my skin tone a little bit. (The actual shade was ‘Light 4: Deauville’)

The worst thing about the NARS ‘sheer glow’ foundation was how drying it was on my skin and how thick the texture was. I’d prefer something a bit lighter and dewier.

A final point I’d like to mention is the packaging of the product. It comes in a simple bottle with no pump so you don’t get a measurement of say one or two pumps; you have to take extra care because it runs out pretty quickly and you certainly can’t waste any of it with that price tag! I’d highly recommend visiting the NARS website for the pump bottle that they offer.

In conclusion, I shall continue to use the NARS ‘Sheer Glow’ foundation in the up and coming autumn season, accompanied with a drop of essential oil for moisturised skin and a dewy glow. However, for spring and summer I switch to a lighter foundation and during winter I shall purchase something a little more moisturising.