New Skincare Favourites - Bioderma, MooGoo, Bia Beauty

Aaaah Bioderma why did I not discover you long ago. I thought I was scarred for life of water cleansers after using the Clarins One Step cleanser which literally eroded my face. But I was forking out £20 a go for a 125ml bottle of Clarins eye make up remover (which is amazing even though it's expensive) and I just happened to move to Bioderma, because I thought well I can get a 500ml bottle for £12, I could use this for my eye make up remover instead!

Turns out this stuff is absolutely amazing and I use it to initially remove all my make up now. As you can see I have it in various sizes too…the baby one is 100ml so you can take it in your hand luggage. My fave is the 500ml bottle though because it's the best value and lasts me a good 4 or 5 months!

Now you may have heard me chatting about Bia Beauty in an earlier post. I love this stuff! It's good, it's natural, it's fresh and beautiful and gives my skin life. The exfoliator/cleanser is the only product gentle enough to tackle yet aid my dry skin patches. The moisturiser is just so lightweight and glorious to apply. I am using the eye gel as well though I am not sure how I feel about it yet. It feels very nice and cooling on the eyes (and a little tightening too!). The Feed Your Skin set has all you need for your facial cleansing/moisturising routine. And it costs €45, not bad! 

This is a new addition (using it about 3 weeks) but already I have to include it. After hearing so many bloggers talk about MooGoo I really wanted to give it a go myself. I saw my local chemist had some of their products so out of curiosity I picked these two. Now confession time… I did not read the package properly and thought I was buying a cleanser and a moisturiser. In actual fact, I bought the Blemish Cleansing Moisturiser, which I guess is designed for blemish prone skin (which I do not have), however when I used it, I thought it actually performed like a cleanser, in that I was massaging it into my face like nobody's business but it wasn't absorbing into my skin at all, the product was still on the surface of my skin. So I have been using it in that fashion and then wiping off the excess with a wash cloth. It smells so amazing and almost edible…like lovely vanilla ice cream. I have also used it on any body acne and I have to say it did clear that up.

Now the Full Cream moisturiser….oh my god. It looks and smells like real double cream. Delicious! This is a nice thick but not sticky moisturiser and it is so satisfying putting this on. it has that lovely dairy cream smell and it's just so nice I find it hard not to want to eat it! ha!

Newbridge Silverware Guinness Collection Rose Gold Pendant

Bit of a different post from me today, but I really wanted to show you this lovely necklace which I got for Christmas.

I'm not really a big jewellery wearer. I will put my Fossil watch on when I remember about it! But generally I find wearing jewellery a little uncomfortable. I'm always aware of it being on me. But I really wanted a nice piece to have, a keepsake piece.

I wanted something special and Newbridge have some fantastic jewellery, and while I do think the Grace Kelly collection looks beautiful (as does the Maureen O'Hara collection), I felt that I probably wouldn't wear them all that often and also that perhaps they were a little old fashioned for me?

Anyway, I came across the Guinness collection which is absolutely beautiful in rose gold and black. This chunky pendant was just right up my street. It can be worn everyday with casual wear or dressed up for a night out. It is almost reminiscent of medieval style jewellery I think?

I adore the black presentation box, it just looks very classy altogether! Anyway, my dad did buy this for me for Christmas which makes it all the more special to me. I just love looking at it! (and i really want the matching bracelet…)

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation

Lately I have kind of had an obsession with Too Faced. I never really knew anything about the brand other than I thought their products were way too expensive! That all changed when back last summer I got the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette which for me is the mother of all eyeshadow palettes and the best money I'd ever spent!

Anyway I had watched numerous YouTube reviews on this foundation and was dying to try it for myself. I do love a good full coverage foundation. My lovely friend Danielle (AKA Lilliwhiterose) very kindly sent me her bottle as she felt this shade was too dark on her.

So this is the shade Vanilla, and it's definitely quite deep as vanilla shades go. I have included a comparison photo with MAC Pro Longwear NW15 so you can see the difference. Too Faced's Vanilla is a good couple of shades deeper and rather yellow toned. But I have quite a neutral skin tone and I can make it work. It also matches perfectly when I have a layer of Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan on!

So this is labelled as an "undetectable medium to full coverage foundation". Infused with coconut water, alpine rose and hyaluronic acid. So it's great for us dry skinned gals. It's oil free also so I imagine this would work on pretty much all skin types?

Anyway, one pump of this is enough to cover my entire face and neck. I use the Real Techniques sponge to apply generally. It blends really smoothly and evenly, and although it feels incredibly lightweight the coverage is fantastic. I personally would only wear one light layer of this for fear of it looking caked on if I applied any more.

It wears really well on me and still looks nice and fresh at the end of the day. The finish is more of a Demi matte I would say.

I've really been enjoying this foundation and it has been my base of choice over the Winter. The bottle is very cute as well, it looks very fancy on my dressing table!

Once again I'm really quite impressed with Too Faced though I do think this foundation is rather on the expensive side, £29 on the Debenhams website. If you're willing to splurge on it I say check it out!

Simple Christmas Make Up

Hi! Long time no see, right? I have taken a little blogging hiatus for a while. Life just got a little busy and of course with Christmas coming up and the horrible weather we had been having I just did not have time to blog. But today I wanted to show you quite a simple make up which I intend on wearing on Christmas. Nothing too fancy, I have really come to the realisation that "less is more" when it comes to make up. I really don't suit a whole big plaster of make up on my face and I have been enjoying simpler looks. By that, I mean no highlight, no contour, no bronzer. Anyway… here is what I have on.

Too Faced Born This Way foundation (shade Vanilla)

MAC Pro longwear Concealer (NW15)

Illamasqua Cream Blush (shade Dixie)

Clarins Loose Mineral Powder

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette (shades Salted Caramel, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Semi Sweet)

MAC Blacktrack gel liner

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara

MAC Reflects Pearl

Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick (shade Joli Rouge)

I really like how it all looks together. For my eyes I like to use the matte browns in the Chocolate Bar palette just to give my eyes some definition. But then I remembered I had the Reflects Pearl glitter in my drawer from the MAC Cinderella collection which I have never really used. No better time than Christmas, right? I sprayed a little brush with MAC Fix+ and just dabbed it really in the centre of my eyelid. What I like about the Reflects glitter is that it really is quite subtle (despite being sparkly glitter! It's hard to describe). You don't see any big chunks of glitter, just a nice wee bit of sparkle. 

For my lips I just couldn't wait to use this Clarins lipstick for Christmas. I don't think I suit reds very much as they clash with my hair but for me this is such a classic true red, it makes me feel very old Hollywood movie star! Plus it's very creamy and nice to wear. 

Oh and for my hair I used the Remington Pearl curling wand and did really tight curls, then I just brushed through the curls with a big paddle brush.

Sorry I do not have a better pic of the make up actually on me! The lighting was so bad and it was just taken on my phone as I was heading out the door!

If I don't get speaking to you before then I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and wish you health and happiness for the new year xx

Products you NEED for Winter

1. Hydraluron Serum. 

This was recommended to me by Aisling from totalmakeupaddict during a time when I suffered severe dry skin. I finally got it in August of this year and have been using it every night. At first I couldn't understand the hype or even see any difference, but here we are mid November and my skin is great! Despite being in and out of the cold, central heating etc. my dry skin has not flared up. I have to put it down to Hydraluron because it is the only thing that has changed in my skin care!

2. A rich moisturiser. 

My favourite it La Roche Posay Nutric Intense. I think this is around £15.00, not overly expensive and it is a 50ml jar. This is an extremely thick moisturiser, best used at night.

3. Nuxe Reve de Meil lip balm. 

You need this. You just need it. I use it 2 or 3 times a day. Without it, my lips will literally shrivel up and dry and crack. For me, this is a Winter essential.

4. A cinnamon candle. 

There is nothing that gets me feeling more festive than the smell of cinnamon. I absolutely love Christmas candles and will burn them from Halloween til about March or April! Of course Yankee Candles are my favourite, the one pictured is from Our Own Candle Company which is also a really nice candle and the cinnamon one is just divine. 

5. A Winter perfume. 

It's time to do away with our light florals and reach for something a little deeper. my favourite is Thierry Mugler Angel. It's smokey. It's spicy. It's woody. It's sexy. Admittedly, it's not for everyone, it may be an acquired scent but for me there is no better perfume for Winter.

6. A red lipstick. 

With Christmas party season imminent it's not a bad idea to have a nice red (or whatever colour you fancy) in our make up bags. I for one can't wait to wear this little number, Clarins Joli Rouge (in the shade joli rouge). For me it is the most beautiful, glossy, neutral-red. It's very Hollywood glamour and quite festive looking!

Christmas gift alert! Too Faced Melted French Kisses

I spotted this cute little set on Youtube and was searching online to see where I could order it.  I thought it was probably only available in the US but it is available on the Debenhams website for £22.00. I ordered it as a little treat to myself but it would make a lovely gift for a make up lover for Christmas!

There's a nice selection of colours here, two fairly neutral colours and two bold and bright colours.  Two of them have a metallic finish (almost frosty) and the other two have quite a nice satiny finish.

 They have a really soft velvet sponge applicator

These lipsticks are quite a generous size, they are about half the size of the full sized Melted lipsticks. It's also a good way to try out a few shades for near enough the same price as one full sized Melted lipstick (which is why I ordered it!).

I haven't really put them to the test yet and worn them properly so I can't comment on what my thoughts are on the products themselves. But I did photograph some swatches so you can see what the shades look like:

I think this is a really lovely set and would be a brilliant stocking filler or gift for someone who loves makeup! I think my favourite shade in this set is Melted Berry!

MAC Mehr Lipstick

The latest addition to my MAC lipstick collection. I was on the hunt for a lipstick that would be neutral enough that I could wear every day, yet deep enough that it would give my lips definition. I must admit that I am falling out of love with glossy/balmy lips, and I am head over heels for a more matte finish.

I bought MAC Velvet Teddy some time ago, purely because everyone was raving about it since it is the lipstick Kylie Jenner uses. While I absolutely loved how creamy and how nice Velvet Teddy was, the colour was just not right for me and I don't think it suits me at all. I need something more pink. Cue, Mehr!

Isn't it beautiful? It is exactly the kind of lipstick that I wanted. MAC describe it as a "dirty blue pink" and while I'm not sure if I can see blue here, it definitely is quite a dusky looking pink shade.

For comparison here it is against Velvet Teddy, which looks very brown compared to Mehr! 

Anyway, I am really enjoying Mehr lipstick, it's great for everyday yet it is a rather striking colour. The matte finish is lovely but need to keep a lip balm close to hand!