Review: BareMinerals BARESKIN Pure Brightening Serum Foundation

You know how a new foundation comes into the market  and you just have to have it? Well if I did that for every foundation that was launched I would have to declare myself bankrupt! Haha

I discovered that BareMinerals were launching a liquid foundation a few months ago. I have always liked BareMinerals products, it was when a good friend of mine that works as a consultant for them gave me a few samples of the mineral foundation to try,  that I found myself experimenting with the brand more. Was it enough to completely stop using what I was using and switch over to them, probably not.  I just love my liquid foundations far too much.

QVC began selling the BareMinerals BARESKIN Pure Brightening Serum Foundation prior to its launch earlier on in the year but I wanted to pop into my local Debenhams and get a proper colour match. Well why did this foundation stand out to me? It was Bare Minerals first ever liquid foundation infused with a brightening serum so of course I understood all the hype over it.

After being colour matched to what seemed like the perfect colour, my lovely friend sent me a sample of it to try. I decided to trial it out for about threeish weeks to see how I got on with it . I opted out from buying the buffer brush that’s designed to be used with it and decided to make do with the brushes I already had. I own far too many brushes anyway the little voice in my head said.

So lets move onto the packaging. I actually really like the packaging, it is a sturdy bottle with a nozzle top that gives you good control of just how much product to use. And you only a few small drops on the back of your hands. The colour range available is super impressive too ranging from the cool skin tones to warmer skin tones. It also contains SPF20 which is an added bonus.

As instructions state, it is important that you shake the bottle well before use seeing as it contains an oil based serum. If you do not, well the product will separate and you’ll end with an oily residue.  The serum has a light fragrance of coconut which i generally like. At first, seeing as my skin becomes much drier in the colder months, I was a little sceptical as to whether the product would be uneven and cling onto dry parts of my face? Thankfully it didn’t. I also found that it didn’t require much setting with a powder.


Before

Bottom Blended

 

Fully blended

The coverage is fantastic, a lot better than I thought it would be without feeling too heavy or cakey, I liked how it felt on my skin, very hydrating. Also, despite the serum, it did not feel oily at all on the skin which I really liked. If you have normal to combination skin, this may work well for you too. However, if you are on the oily side of the spectrum with your skin, you may not like the feel of this.

I did however question whether the application would be much more better if I had purchased the brush? Probably yes, there's a possibility that a normal buffing brush would probably eat up too much of the product on it bristles and you may need to play around with it a bit. I guess for ease of application and a more flawless finish the brush may be worth investing in. It retails at £24.

Overall, I quite like this foundation, it feels amazing on and I love how the serum hydrates my skin. In terms of it brightening my dull skin I am not so sure If it had the ability to do that. I definitely recommend this foundation and it will certainly be my go to product for the winter months. it can be purchased here at a cost of £26.

Have you tried the BareMinerals BARESKIN Pure Brightening Serum Foundation?

 

Love and lipstick.

xxx

 

 

 

MesmerEyez Coloured Contact Lens Review.

Give me anything that enhances natural beauty and I will be there in a flash be it lashes, hair extensions and coloured contact lenses to enhance the natural eye colour.

Correcting my sight last year gave me the option to experiment more with coloured contact lenses. I have been very interested in how makeup can look different with different eye colours and let’s admit it, changing your eye colour to suit your mood is kind of fun.

I have since then tried several different brands of coloured contact lenses, some I have quickly become quite fond of, others not so much. Lately, I have seen many beauty bloggers and YouTube Vloggers wearing lenses from a brand called MesmerEyez and I just knew I had to try them!

The lovely Tahiba from Mesmerize_lenses on Instagram (Notice the spelling is different to the original)  sent me a pair of Hazel lenses to try from their Blendz collection. At first, I was a tad bit sceptical as to whether to colours would show up on my dark eyes, or on the contrary, would they look fake?

Once I received the cute little package, and must mention super fast delivery on Tahibas part, the one thing that first caught my eye was the cute little rose lens case to store them in.  I was super impressed as most of the higher end brands of lenses do not include a lens case with their orders which is a little disappointing considering you pay a fair amount.

Seeing as I have worn contact lenses before, I had no trouble inserting them in or removing them for that matter. I loved how to lenses were not of large size to make my already big eyes even bigger, infact they were just the right size. Also, I was absolutely relieved of the fact that these did not dry out and irritate my eyes which at first I was a little worried about. Personally, as with all lenses, I wouldn’t advise wearing them longer than sixish hours.

I was very surprised that these lenses covered my natural eye colour, although not completely, the colour enhancement was still visible, yet natural looking at the same time which is an important factor to me when wearing coloured contact lenses. I have come across a few people who have problems with lenses making no difference to their eye colour so I was extremely impressed.

These lenses can be worn for a total of three months which is amazing as I am sure I will be getting plenty of uses out of them. They are cosmetic therefore non prescripted so will not work well for those with a high myopic prescription.

If you are inexperienced with using contact lenses then I do suggest making a trip to your local opticians for help with hygiene, inserting and removing them, hygiene with all contact lenses is an absolute must in order to avoid eye infections.

Overall, I was very happy with these lenses and will definitely be making a purchase in the future. For comfort and affordability as well as a great colour range, I definitely recommend these, they is something out there for everyone as the colour range and collection is huge.

Thank you to Tahiba for letting me try these, do make sure you follow her on her Instagram account over at Mesmerize_lenses and contact her for prices and enquries.

Have you tried any MesmerEyez coloured lenses?

Love and Lipstick xxx

A Look Inside Septembers Birchbox.

Hello my lovelies,

I just cannot believe we are in October already, I mean the year has just flown by and before we know it, we will be in 2015!

So anyway, I hope this blog post finds you well. I know I am very late in posting this as we are approaching mid October but with Eid preps and celebrations plus I have been feeling a little under the weather with the colder days hence the late post and being MIA.

Today I will be posting my thoughts on Septembers Birchbox. Now, this is my first time sampling the box as after a dreadful three month subscription with Glossybox, I  had since then sworn off beauty subscription boxes for good.  You can read my Glossybox review here.

It wasn’t until a good friend told me about a £5 off code that she used and in actual fact the contents for that month’s box really appealed to me, particularly their advertising on their site. For those of you that do not know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription beauty and lifestyle box that delivers luxe beauty and lifestyle samples each month that is specifically tailored to you. For those in the UK, it costs approximately £10.00 per month plus £2.95 delivery. From time to time, there are special offers such as 'Free Delivery' etc.

Seeing, as I could get £5 off, I decided to give it a go and signed up for a six month subscription.  Three days later my box arrives. I have to say, the service and communication right down to delivery is excellent. They email you right up till your box arrives. The packaging is fabulous it is a sturdy mint green/turquoise  box with a hot pink design inside. There is a drawstring  pouch bag inside containing all the samples, plus a few money off vouchers as well as a card with a brief description and price of all the products included. The theme for this month is 'Happy Days'.

 

 

So, let’s take a quick look at what I got.

 

• 4ml glass vial of Agave Healing Oil Treatment 
• Premae Mild Dermabraison Face & Body Scrub 
• 3ml sample of Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream
• Birchbox Happy Days Photo Clip.
• Packet of Urban Fruit Perfect Pineapple Pieces.
• Modelco lip lacquer in Viva.
• Beauty Blender. RRP £26.00

 

 

 

 

First Impressions? Aside from the Beauty Blender, nothing seemed to wow me sadly. Yes, they were pretty decent samples, two brands which I have never heard of so I was excited to give them a try. As for the Benefit It’s Potent eye cream, well if I had asked the lovely people at the Benefit counter for a sample of it, I am sure I would have gotten it so I was a little disappointed with that. Despite all that, they were products that I could still make use of. I am sure I will be making lots of good use of the beauty blender and I still haven't found the perfect eye cream for my tired eyes and who knows, this may be just the one. What's more, my little munchkins loved the dried pineapple snacks. I will certainly be reusing the drawstring bag to carry my brushes or use it to store my bobby pins seeing as I am always losing them!

 

(I haven’t yet given any of these products a try so I won’t be posting a thorough review just yet mind you. )

Do I think beauty boxes are worth it? Sadly not. At over ten pounds a month, it is not cheap for a few samples. This is just my opinion. For some, it may be ideal particularly those that like to try products before buying it full size or those that simply do not live near stores and have limited access to beauty products will benefit from a monthly subscription service.

Fortunately, departments stores such as Debenhams are usually quite generous in giving samples and I live five minutes away from one so that is how I will be getting my samples in future!

Needless to say I have now cancelled my subscription for Birchbox and will be using my pounds on something else. Sorry Birchbox, it just wasn’t for me.

Are you subscribed to any beauty boxes?

Love and Lipstick

 

xxx

Tamanna Roashan Holiday 2014 Palette: First Impressions.

 

 

 

So you know how a new product comes into the market, there’s such a big hype over it, bloggers go crazy, You tubers have their reviews up in a flash, you see it everywhere  and you fear if you do not place an order soon it could sell out? Sound familiar? Particularly if it is anything to do with Anastasia Beverly then I guess this is to be expected.  Before you know it, the item is sitting in your cart and there’s that tiny voice in your head that asks you for the tenth time if you really need yet more eye shadows...well the fact is you can never have enough so I keep telling myself.

So, as you all may know, Anastasia is the QUEEN of eyebrows. Brow Wiz, Pomades, Tinted brow gels, girls want it all. Not to mention all the other wonderful products such as the extremely popular contour kit and concealers which sadly still remain on my wish list. If you are an avid beauty junkie then you will know that within a few months Anastasia and her daughter Norvina have collaborated with Amrezy, Maya Mia and most recently Tamanna Roashan in creating three different eyeshadow palettes that each represent them.

 Truth be told, I decided to give the Amrezy Palette a miss, as tempting as it was, it didn’t completely blow me away and I felt that I already had the majority of the colours in other brands. What I didn’t realise was just how quickly another collaboration would take place this time with Maya Mia. Again, the colours looked too similar to the Amrezy palette hence I decided to give it another miss.

 

It was when the Tamanna palette released I instantly knew there were no ifs or buts. Of course, as usual that tiny voice was there in my head, but it is clear that something about this palette really stood out. This is in fact her second collaboration with Anastasia Beverley Hills, (The first being the contour kit)

 

To begin, Tamanna Roashan is an International Beauty Educator and a Bridal and Celebrity makeup artist. She is better known as Dress Your Face and is HUGE on Instagram for her stunningly flawless makeup looks, contoured and sculpted faces, cut crease eyes and of course a glimpse into her personal life with her music director husband. Being half Indian half Middle Eastern herself she has launched this stunning Tamanna Roashan Holiday 2014 palette with a mixture of 4 mattes and six shimmers all in ten gorgeous shades. The packaging is so appealing, it has this distinct eastern/Asian influence that includes 5 ‘Get the look cards’ to create five different looks.

 

Blush, Venezia and China Rose swatched.

 

Shades include:(In no particular order) Sangria, Venezia, Custom, China Rose, Fresh, Chocolate, Bengal, Noir, Gilded and Blush.

 

 

 

First Impressions? I haven't had the palette long to give a thorough review but boy this did not disappoint. It is actually quite small and compact so it is perfect to keep in your kit or take when travelling. It comes with a decent double ended brush that is good enough to use, with the standard plastic type mirror. All the colours are extremely pigmented and buttery, are beautiful and blend well together. I just love how you can create such different versatile looks with just these ten colours. I haven’t actually been able to put this down since I got it and it is safe to say I am deeply in love with it. Needless to say, I am very glad I decided to purchase it.

This palette can be purchased from both Cult Beauty and Beauty Bay if you are in the UK; I actually purchased mine from the lovely people at Beauty Bay for a very affordable £23! Including free delivery! A bargain I clearly could not stay away from!

Well done to Tamanna Roashan on yet another great collaboration, something tells me this won’t be the last of it.

 

Love and Lipstick

xxx

REVIEW: Rapid Lash Eyelash and Eyebrow Enhancing Serum

Sell me a product that claims to make lashes grow (Infact make anything grow!)  and I will not think twice about it. I am a sucker for lip plumper’s, eyebrow growth serum, eyelash enhancers and the list goes on. Fortunately, (without bragging) I have always had long lashes, and I am very lucky in the sense that any old mascara will do. I can also get by without wearing falsies.

I remember ever since I was 15 all those long years ago I would repeatedly rub Vaseline on them before bed in a bid to increase  their size overnight.  It is when some people ask whether I have false lashes on that I know the man above has definitely blessed me in the eyelash department.

Now of course, I am an avid YouTube watcher, blog reader and anything beauty related will always appeal to me so I came across the Rapid Lash Eyelash and Eyebrow Enhancing Serum where I stumbled across several  posts and reviews on it. The reviews were nothing but glorious with some claiming ‘they would never be without it’. So I was in instantly drawn in, took the plunge and decided to try it out for myself.

Now this serum, which is readily available across high street stores and several sites online claims to ‘enhance the appearance of brows and lashes, moisturise them, improves the length, thickness and volume .and protects against breakage'. Sounds amazing right?

Directions? Well you simply apply it to a clean eyelid at the base of the upper lashes as if you were applying liquid eyeliner each night before bed for a period of four weeks and so I did just that from the day I received it. it definitely sounded simple enough.  I just love the no mess no hassle application when it comes to beauty and this certainly deserves 10/10 for that.

 

 

The product itself looks exactly like a liquid eyeliner tube which also resembles the brush for easy application. It is a 3ml ( 0.1 fl oz) that doesn’t have a nasty strong smell to it nor did it irritate or tingle fortunately.  It is paraben free and is safe to use on both brows and lashes including lower lashes . What’s more, it is fortified with vitamins and proteins and none of the nasty stuff which I suppose you’ve got to give it some credit for surely.

 Results?

Well, I used it religiously every night that I could remember  after removing my makeup for a period of three ish weeks, whilst it didn’t give me ultra glam super thick long lashes (that I was secretly hoping for) I did notice a big improvement in their overall condition, it was like they had a deep keratin treatment done, they were super soft and shiny and I was delighted to find that they no longer fell out when removing my eye makeup in particular mascara.

I purchased mine off Amazon UK as I found it was a lot cheaper on there compared to some sites and stores like Boots and larger Superdrug. With delivery included, I ended up paying around  £21 which is pretty reasonable I guess considering it is natural in the sense of no nasty ingredients, the quantity of the product and what it claims to achieve.

Would I repurchase? Probably not.  Yes it has made a noticeable difference to the overall condition of my lashes, but in terms of lengthening not so much. Maybe my expectations were not realistic enough, maybe I needed to use a second tube, but at £20 a pop it is a tad bit pricey for me I am afraid and for now, I am happy to just stick to good old Vaseline.

 

Have you tried the Rapid Lash Eyelash and Eyebrow Enhancing Serum?

 Love and Lipstick xxx

 

The Mummy Tag

Hi Lovelies,

 

Hope you are all well.

 

I recently came across the 'Mummy Tag' and thought why not do one myself. Plus it gives you all a chance to be nosey and give you an insight in my life as a mummy to two little toddlers!

.

 

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

 

I am currently a stay at home mum, I left work when my eldest was born three years ago and myself and my husband made the decision that it was best I stayed at home with them until they were full time at school.

 

2. Would you have it any other way?

 

Honestly speaking? no, I love my routine at home with the kids, I am with them all the time and I strongly believe this will have such a positive influence on them when they are older, Id like to think that they can say their mummy looked after them well rather than being in a nursery that cost the earth. That's not to say I do not miss my job, I miss it loads and wish I could work to help my husband out financially however as a parent, I guess there are certain sacrifices you need to make.

 

3. Do you co sleep?

 

When my eldest was teething, he slept best next to me in our bed so to this day, I still put him to bed like this and then move him to his bed. Both the kids still sleep in our rooms, ideally they would have their own rooms each (being a boy and a girl) howvever thanksfully we do not get much disruption at night so it is not an issue for us, plus I hate the idea of them being alone especially in the winter.

 

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?

 

For both my kids it was definitely their baby swing, it was a god damn lifesaver! we used it a lot and replaced many batteries, but it meant I could get some housework done and they would nap well in the afternoon until they grew out of it.

 

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

 

Neither of my kids were planned so in that sense we feel very very blessed. having two 11 months apart is a big challenge yet so fulfilling at the same time. If its meant for me, truthfully speaking I would like just one more in the next year or so, no preference whether its a boy or girl.

 

 Date night? How many nights per month? 

 

Date night? What is that haha! The kids come with us everywhere we go even if it means slamming cutlery and pulling the tablecloth in a restaurant. We sneak in some quality time together when we go to London and see my parents and sisters, perhaps if my parents lived closer, we would love to have a date night once a month.

 

7. Your childs favourite show?

 

The kids love anything on cbeebies! try getting them to sit still and watch an entire episode though!

 

8. Name one thing you bought before you had your baby and never ended up using?

 

The Winnie the pooh cot mobile. I loved the idea of winding it up and the projector lights on the wall yet they both used to sleep as soon as their head hit their pillows so got zero use out of it.

 

 

9. Your child’s favourite food?

 

My kids have quite a few favourite foods but berries, cucumber and tomatoey pasta is definitely high on the list.

 

 

10. How many cars does your family have?

 

One as it is cheaper to run. I do wish we had two though, definitely would make life easier.

 

11. Weight gain before pregnancy, during and after and now?

 

Both time round I put on nearly 2.5/3 stones.!  Still have a stone more to lose to get back to my pre pregnancy weight.

 

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

 

Definitely Disneyland Florida. I went as a kid and loved it so much so I definitely want to take my two there. Id probably wait till they're a lot older though so they can understand it and enjoy it more.

 

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

 

Dream holiday kids free sounds bliss anywhere really.! A week in Maldives or Dubai or an all inclusive week holiday in Sharm, truthfully speaking, when it comes to it, I don't think I could ever leave them fir a whole week.

 

14. How has your life changed since your baby has been born?

 

The minute you becaome a parent, your life changes massively. You cannot be selfish and self centred as you have dependants, plus you learn to juggle, love and make sacrifices in life and naturally, your life changes for the better.

 

15. Finish the sentence: 'It makes my heart melt to see …

 

My two babies turning into loving, wonderful, smart human beings. When they reach out for a kiss and a cuddle too.

 

 

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

 

Many different places. Primark, H&M, Matalan and George.

 

 

17. Favourite makeup and skincare products?

 

Have far too many to list!

 

18. Huggies or Pampers?

 

Huggies all the way.

 

19. Have you always wanted kids?

 

Yes of course, I believe every girl deep down wants to have children some day. Ideally, I would have loved to have owned my own home and perhaps climb the career ladder first but I suppose you cannot get perfect timing in everything in life.

 

20. Best part about being a mum?

 

Seeing your kids mould into how/what you teach them and the unconditional love. Yes there are days where I simply want to rip out my hair, but they both always bring a smile to my face.

 

I now tag all your lovely yummy mummies out there. Be sure to leave your links below so I can check it out.

 

Bye for now, love and lipstick xxx

 

 

 

My Super Quick Guide to Cleaning Makeup Brushes.

It is true what  they say, you really do learn from your mistakes, who knew we could make them from simply cleaning our makeup brushes? I am sure we have all made a few in the past and ended up damaging one or two so I wanted to share my top five tips below on washing and caring for your brushes.







 1) Never soak/submerge a brush in water, it will cause water damage. The wooden handles expand when soaked and causes the plastic coating to peel as I experienced with my chubby shader brush from Crown Brushes.

 

 

 2) Only the brush head and the fibres should be cleaned, no need to soak the entire brush. Simply dip in your chosen cleanser, twirl around on the palm of your hands and wash off with lukewarm water allowing it to air dry naturally.

3) Always use specialist brush cleansers, I use the one from Crown which works wonders, MAC do one too as do some of the alternative higher end brands. Mild baby shampoo and olive oil work just as well.
 
4) It is best to use specialist brush cleaners or shampoos as regular shampoos and soaps often contain oils that can attack/dissolve the glue and cause the head to fall out.
 
5) Lastly, when drying them they should be left to dry on their sides or even better brush head downwards so water cannot track down towards the handle or under the ferrule of the brush handle internally. Also, brushes shouldn't be left to dry upright with the brush head at the top.
 
And there you have it girls, my super quick and easy cleaning and caring guide for your makeup brushes. Are there any tips you have? Be sure to share them in the comment section below!

Love and Lipstick

xxx