Wednesday 22 February 2012

Ciate Cookies and Cream Paint Pot

If you love having your nails painted in nude or neutral colours then look no further. Ciate's Cookies and Cream nail polish represents effortless chic.
It's a light taupe/grey shade that will go with anything and everything. Perfect for daytime, nighttime, work or going out...it's one of those safe and fuss free shades that you can't go wrong with.

My nails aren't exactly in the best shape to be modelling a polish colour but here it goes anyway:
Have you tried it yet?


Tuesday 21 February 2012

MAC Mineralise and Face & Body Foundation

MAC Mineralise SPF 15 Foundation
I purchased this foundation on a whim, having read absolutely no reviews on it beforehand. I guess that what drew me to it was the fact that it is a cream based product, hence my favourite texture for a foundation.

The texture is indeed one to die for - smooth, creamy and incredibly buttery - thus resulting in effortless blending. It gives medium to buildable coverage, offering a natural looking finish similar to what you'd be able to achieve if using a tinted moisturiser.
It feels moisturising on the skin so it would be ideal for drier skin types.

Although I can't really fault it in terms of it's compatibility with my normal (and at times dehydrated) skin type, I probably wouldn't repurchase this one in the future. It's one of those products that I've been happy to try, do not regret buying but it also hasn't managed to wow me in any way or form. I think that it's purely down to the fact that I have tried other cream based foundations at a fraction of the cost and they have worked just as well if not better.

MAC Face and Body Foundation
MAC's Face and Body Foundation on the other hand was a well researched purchase...and a very overdue one at that. Lured in by promises of a foundation that provides a dewy, moist finish, I knew that it had to be mine. Yes this was indeed an overdue purchase...however I shall from now on ensure that this foundation  always remains within my reach.

Face and Body foundation has, as you can tell, made quite an impression on me. I purchased it online and thus hadn't a clue as to what shade to go for. I'm an NC30 and when I e-mailed an artist to help me out with the shade, she had suggested C4. I guess that it wouldn't really matter if you had gone for a shade lighter or darker due to the consistency of this product being so thin, but nonetheless my instinct seemed to be telling me to opt for shade C3 and so I did. C3 seems to be an ideal match and I'll probably opt for C4 in the summer time once I start intensifying my fake tan.
The coverage is sheer but buildable without becoming cakey. Application feels a little weird at first as the product seems to slide around a lot but once it sets it stays put.

This foundation is now officially a staple for me. Perfect for everyday wear due to it's sheer coverage, leaving the skin looking like skin, only better. Being a fan of creamy textures it seems rather weird that a foundation of such a runny consistency could impress me so very much.
However it's all about the finish for me  - natural and moist.
So if you're a fan of heavier coverage and a matte finish, I'd suggest you give this one a miss.

Have you tried any of these? Thoughts...






Wednesday 15 February 2012

Handy Palettes for your kit!

If you're a make-up artist then these very sleek, lightweight and versatile palettes from Maq Pro are sure to come in handy.

Foundation Palette


The palette is flat packed and features six wax based colours that provide a very natural make-up finish which doesn't sit on the surface of the skin. The formula has light-reflecting qualities and leaves a nice glowy sheen to the skin.
Four of the shades work well as all over foundation bases, with the darkest colour coming in handy for the purpose of shading. The lightest shade is great for highlighting or mixing into the darker colours for a lighter effect.
There is also a green corrector colour which is absolutely brilliant at neutralising any red tones in the skin as well as blemishes.

Swatches: 

Concealer/Lip/Cheek Petite Multi-Use Palette:

Starting from the top we have a dark neutral brown shade that is great for contouring.
Next is a very pale pink/apricot tone that is used under the eyes to correct dark circles.
In the middle we have the same green corrector (red tone neutraliser) that features in the larger foundation palette.
This is followed by a lilac shade that can be used to counteract a sallow looking complexion.
The last colour is a shimmery golden tone.

The bottom row features tones that make for great lip and cheek colours.

I'm really excited about having come across these handy palettes as there really is so much that you can use them for and they always come in handy at every job. An additional bonus is that they take up so little space!

I believe that these Maq Pro palettes are exclusively available from PAM LONDON and they happen to stock many more varieties...happy days!

buy from AMAZON

P.S. Hope you're all well and it's good to be back blogging!