The wonder that is Maybelline Superstay 24hr!

So, for quite a long time now, my go-to foundation of choice has been L'oreal True Match liquid foundation. Put simply, I love it. I love it so much that I have four different shades, one for each season, depending on the level of tan I'm going with at the time (well, a gal's face gotta match her body right!). As with various other things (mascara, lipstick and the like) I have been somewhat of a bed-hopper when it comes to foundation. Every time a new formula catches my attention, I must try it. Some of these experiences have been good (read: Maybelline Dream Creamy) and others, not so much of a success (read: Revlon Photoready. Lol!) But no matter what, I always come back to True Match. However, I have to say, Maybelline Superstay might have just toppled it.

In the past, Maybelline has failed to inspire me with its foundations, so as a general rule I tend to avoid them. Here's a general breakdown for reference!

Dream Satin Liquid: Not keen. Made my skin very shiny. Needed a lot of powder to set it! On its own, not very good staying power.

Superstay Silky: Hated it. My best friend bought it and loved it! On me, streaky and orange. Not a good look :/

Dream Creamy: The best I have tried, bar this one. My problem with this is it's too heavy. I prefer to use it as a concealer :)

Dream Matte Mousse: This taught me a valuable lesson. Mousse foundations do not agree with me! I find them very drying, and seeing as my skin is kinda dry anyway, not good.

So those are the ones that I've tried, and I've not been thrilled so far. I am happy to report however, that 24/7 raised the bar!

It's like I have found a new, improved version of True Match. On application, it's creamy and smooth without being oily, and you only need a little to provide adequate coverage. When I wear it for work a little goes a long way, and for a night out when I know I'll be in a hot and sticky club, it's easy to build up to full coverage without that 'cakey' look, and what's best, you know it ain't gonna budge!

Now, as much as I love you all, I just can't commit that cardinal sin of going to bed in a full face of foundation for the benefit of my blog! Hence, whether this foundation ACTUALLY lasts 24 hours is debatable. I am of course willing to put this on first thing in the morning and party all night long, so maybe that can be this weekends task eh ;)

All in all, this is an excellent foundation on my dry/combination skin. It's easy to apply, very light, easy to blend and wears brilliantly. Maybelline, you have redeemed yourself. :)

Massive Haul and Reviews :)

Brace yourself dear followers, this one's going to be a biggie!

In the last week or two I have done a whole lotta haulin' and not much blogging, and for that I apologise! Hopefully this will be a nice way of making it up to you :)



For starters, I went to Mac last weekend to check out Liberty of London and showed immense self restraint as I only picked up Shell Pearl beauty powder and Petals and Peacocks lipstick. I guess when I saw the collection 'in person', there was a lot of stuff that looked dupe-able, so I just grabbed the essential things that I wanted. I tried a look the other day using both products, and this is how it turned out:
My skin is terribly dry at the moment - that's why you should always wash your face after a foam party(!) - so the base doesn't look too clever. I used All That Glitters on the lid, then lined my upper lid with Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Corrupt and flicked it out at the edges. I used this in my waterline aswell. I used Shell Pearl beauty powder for cheeks, and for lips Petals and Peacocks lipstick with Barry M Lipgloss Wand in Bubblegum Pink over the top. I adore this lip combo! The gloss smells like bubblegum aswell which is awesome :)

On the same day I did Mac, I went to Nars and got a blush and a gloss in the colour Orgasm, as I heard great things about both and saw gurus on Youtube rave about them. The blush did not disappoint, it is a beautiful deep coral colour with a golden sheen, and I love it. The gloss on the other hand, I will not be repurchasing! To me, it is unnecessarily sticky and gloopy, and I'm not a fan of the colour. It looks pretty in the tube, but that's not enough to impress me unfortunately! I will be passing this on to a friend or my Mum to see of they like it any better.

Nars Orgasm Blush

The third thing on my 'to-review' list is Revlon Photoready foundation. This is another product I have heard good things about, and when I swatched it onto my hand it looked alright, so I bought it. Big mistake. Revlon promise that this foundation gives

"...poreless, airbrushed skin in any light. Photochromatic pigments bend and reflect light to erase every flaw. Complete, yet undetectable coverage. Soft, luminous finish."

When I first applied it, it felt quite oily, which was strange as it claims to be oil free. The 'soft' and 'luminous' finish is actually very shiny, and needed a lot of toning down with powder. Maybe I'm just used to using matte finish foundations, but this seemed to make my face look oily rather than soft and sheeny, and that's a feat seeing as my skin is on the dry side!

I wore this for work when I road-tested it, and I would say around the 5 hour mark was when I noticed how truly crap this foundation is. All down my T-zone it had separated and gone all patchy, even though I had set my foundation with powder like I usually do and moisturised thoroughly before application.

I am not a fan of this foundation and will not be repurchasing!

Today I picked up the new Maybelline 24hour Super Stay foundation, so we shall see how that one fares. I also bought a back-up of my favourite nude lipstick, Rimmel Volume Booster lipstick in Foxy, as I am running a little low. I love the plumping effect of this lipstick and that it's a great muted beige shade that doesn't give the 'concealer lips' effect, as it has a slight sheen. It goes on smooth and makes your lips tingle, and is great paired with a smokey eye. I also picked up Rimmel Vinyl Bronze Mirror Shine lipgloss in Summer Nude. I applied it in the car on the way home and found it has a lovely texture, a sweet orangey smell that is nice but not too overpowering, and looks great on its own though I intend to test it over lipstick too! Colour-wise, it's a lovely pinked up gold with shimmery particles and applies sheer but with a hint of colour.
I also bought a silver liner from Barry M as I needed one, and a Lip Paint in Pink Sparkle, which is a mid-toned cool pink with a hint of golden shimmer. I haven't tried it yet but the swatch looked mesmerising on my hand and I had to have it :)

Barry M Lip Paint in Pink Sparkle. Rimmel Volume Booster Lipstick in Foxy.

Last week, I got a new Bourjois blush in the shade Rose D'or, which I had to show you as it's such a pretty shade. Perfect for summer! It looks fab swirled onto the apples of your cheeks and gives a nice, subtle pink shimmer. Highly recommended.

Mmm...pink loveliness :)

Second to last, I'm a sucker for a new product or formula and I've seen this advertised everywhere, I just had to pick up a Rimmel Colour Show Off lipstick. I chose the shade Pink Gossip, a matte, mid-toned yellow pink. This has fantastic staying power, comparable to Mac Please Me in colour and texture, but ever so slightly darker. For a drugstore lipstick, the quality and staying power of this lipstick is phenomenal, I am really impressed. In fact, looking over this blog, I am impressed with Rimmel in general at the moment! Maybe it's time to wean myself off Mac and onto Rimmel for a while...my purse would definitely thank me!

Last, but by no means least, is something I've been lusting after for a while - Urban Decay 24/7 liner Super Stash. 9 mini versions of some of the most popular shades in their range, all packaged up into what I think is an excellent value for money product. The shades you get are:

Corrupt, Stash, Ransom, Rockstar, Eldorado, Graffiti, Oil Slick, Binge, Zero.

Of the 9, I am enjoying Eldorado the most as I love gold eye products, and Corrupt is a nice alternative to black or plain brown liner as it has a slight shimmer.
I can't wait to have a play with the others in various looks, I think this set is so versatile and has enough shades to keep even the most avid collector entertained for a bit!

I expect those of you who have read all that to be bored to tears by now so I'll end it there :)
Stay tuned for a review of Maybelline Super Stay and possible something else, I haven't thought of yet :)
Also, if there's anything you wish me to test, blog about etc. do leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do :)

Much love!
Lucy x

Hair and stuff :)

I went away to Wales for a few days around Mother's Day to have a family meal and I needed some travel-sized products, so I picked some (oh-so-cute!) baby bottles of Batiste Dry Shampoo (tropical), Tre Semme heat protect spray and Tre Semme Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner. I've not used Tre Semme in a while and I'd forgotten just how wonderful it is, so as soon as I ran out I went out and bought big bottles of both Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner - this stuff makes my hair SO soft, I am loving it. Very highly recommended as it's one of a rare breed of beauty products that actually does what it promises - salon quality haircare at a fraction of the cost.

I also had a little play with the hair dye again the other day. I have been many a colour in my 19 short years, and this one is a lot more subtle and closer to my natural colour than some of my attempts! I had quite a bit of root regrowth that needed covering so half my hair was dark brown, and the other half was a mid-brown colour which had faded and was generally looking a bit boring. I decided on L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in Black Cherry as it's semi permanent and didn't do any obvious damage to my hair. It's a dark purplish red colour and it came out exactly how I wanted :D

I got my hands on a few new bits this week, all of which will be reviewed in due time. These were:

Revlon PhotoReady foundation
Bourjois blush in Rose D'Or
Rimmel Colour Show Off lipstick in Pink Gossip.

I think I'll ponder them along with my Liberty of London haul blog which will probably be Saturday. I'm super duper excited! :D

Have a lovely Easter!

Lucy xx

Beyonce 'Video Phone' inspired look!

So today I was watching the 'Video Phone' music video by Beyonce and Lady Gaga, and I loved Beyonce's make up look at the beginning of the video. It's nothing too fancy, black shadow which is 'winged out' at the corners and lots of black liner, a contoured cheek and a nude lip. It caught my attention nontheless! :)



















As I'm off out tonight, I decided to have a go at
my own interpretation, which turned out like this:






I can't really pull off a totally matte, nude lip so I went for a pale pink lipstick instead. It took a lot of patience and I would definitely recommend doing your eyes before the rest of your face, but I was impressed with the result.

To begin, apply Urban Decay Primer Potion to make sure your shadow doesn't budge, then apply black liner in a thick stripe along the upper lash line. It doesn't have to be too neat at this stage, so you can blend the line upwards with your finger to darken the lid a little. Next, apply a matte black eyeshadow all over your lid and into the crease using an eyeshadow brush with a flat top. Make sure the curve is sharp and defined using the top of the brush to create a line which wings outwards. The shadow should taper to a point and stop just in line with the edge of your eyebrow. Next, bring it downwards towards the lower outer corner of the eye. Apply black liner along the waterline, and use a pointed brush to smudge a line of black shadow along the lower lash line. Make sure your lines join up at the inner corner of the eye, like Beyonce's in the picture :)
Next, apply a coat of your favourite mascara, preferably a thickening mascara rather than a lengthening one, as you want to keep that smooth line and not see lashes poking up! :) I skipped mascara on the lower lashes as they don't need it for this look.

Next, it's time for foundation. A full coverage foundation is the best bet for this look, as skin needs to look flawless so attention is all on the eyes. Use a tapered brush loaded with bronzing powder to contour your temples and upper cheeks, and use a neutral blush or highlighting powder to sculpt and shape the cheeks.

For lips, I applied a touch of concealer to my lips to tone down their pinkness, then applied a coat of Angel lipstick by Mac (my new favourite!) and that's it!

Give Me Liberty of London...give it to me now!

http://www.temptalia.com/mac-give-me-liberty-of-london-overall-round-up

I know they say you shouldn't wish your life away...but right now the 1st of April can't come quick enough! I read in this month's Cosmo that 1st April is the launch date for the Give Me Liberty of London collection by Mac and I'm so excited! :D

The packaging for this one looks divine, and there are so many things I'm lusting after I know this one's gonna break the bank (again. sigh!)

Petals and Peacocks lipstick is the main thing I've been drooling over as it's SUCH a beautiful colour. Honestly, I have never seen a hot pink more gorgeous than this! I really really hope it suits me :D

Also high up on the wish list is Shell Pearl Beauty powder, as it looks so amazing and shimmery in the swatches I've seen and it'd be a fantastic highlight powder. The beautifully patterned compact it comes in is also a bonus!

I've posted a link to the most comprehensive review I've seen on the ever-fabulous Temptalia so you can go and have a nosey at the product photos, swatches and whatnot. Let me know what grabs you in the comments! :)

Lucy xx

The Quest for Soft, Tanned Skin!

This past week I decided it was high time I cracked out the fake tan again as it's coming up for spring (yay!) so out came the Dove Summer Glow body lotion. This is a particular favourite of mine as the smell always reminds me of summer, it's a great smooth consistency and it gives a lovely even tan which you can build up over a couple of days. After many a fake tan disaster in my teenage years, and given that my complexion is quite fair, a gradual tanner was the best way to go.
It still has that unmistakable stale biscuit smell which seems to be unavoidable with tanning products, but it's nothing a shower won't fix!

To prepare my skin for tanning and get it nice and moisturised, there's only one thing I turn to - The Body Shop Body Butter. This product is heavenly! There are a variety of 'flavours' to choose from, my favourites being Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Mango, Grapefruit and Cocoa Butter. This week I have been using a passion fruit exfoliating scrub, also from The Body Shop, so it made sense that I use the passion fruit body butter to match. Just take a scoop of product with your fingers and warm it between your hands, then liberally apply to your dry areas such as knees, elbows etc. I also like to apply it to my wrists and neck in the same way I would a perfume, as the smell really is to die for!


The Body Shop Body Butters retail for £5.00 for a 50ml pot, and £12.50 for a 200ml pot. I'd recommend a small pot to start off with just in case you decide it's not for you, but there are also testers in store so you can try before you buy. Everything there is animal-friendly and fair trade so you can treat yourself in the knowledge that nothing and no one suffered, which is always a bonus in my book! :)

Have a nice weekend everyone :)

Lucy x

Look of the Day

Hello lovely followers :)

I decided to have a little play with my new goodies today and test a few of them out in one simple look. I think the blush and lipstick complement eachother well and would work nicely with something a little more dramatic on the eye for a night out.



Eyes: UDPP to prime the eyes, followed by a sweep of All That Glitters by Mac all over the lid and up into the crease. I then applied Cranberry shadow into the outer crease, followed by Twice Baked by Urban decay in the outer corner and blended inwards. On the lower lashline, I blended a little more All That Glitters along the inner lash line and defined the outer lash line first using Cranberry then layering Twice Baked over the top. I rediscovered Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara this morning - totally forgot how fabulous it is! So I applied a couple of coats to top and bottom lashes to separate and define. In my waterline, I used Prestige Soft Blend Kohl eyeliner in Chamomile.

Cheeks: I used Well Dressed blush on the apples of my cheeks for a subtle hint of colour, then used Avon Arabian Glow pressed powder in Shimmering Bronze to contour. Simply pout your lips to find the hollows of your cheeks, the use an angled brush to dust a little bronzer in a smooth, diagonal line and blend it out.

Lips: I applied a touch of lip balm (The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter...mmm) to soften and protect the lips, followed by a coat of Mac lipstick in Angel. I love this lipstick already! I've been looking for my perfect pink ever since running out of Avon 'Party Pink' and not being able to find a new one! In fact, I think this one tops it :)



Have a nice day!

Lucy x