February Favourites

Welcome to a slightly belated February Favourites! Please forgive the lack of photos in this month’s post. If I’m completely honest, I’m typing this at 11:18pm and really don’t want to get up and set up the little corner I use to take the pics. I’ll be more prepared next time. Scouts honour!

Let’s get into the good stuff!

NARS SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION (SIBERIA):

After trying quite a few different foundations over the month I came to truly appreciate Sheer Glow and the way it treats me. This foundation doesn’t ever fail me. I can apply it however I want. Sometimes I’m lazy and just use my fingers, other time I like a dense buffing brush, then there are the times I like a looser brush and of course we can’t forget the almighty blending sponge (both the Beauty Blender and the RT Miracle Complexion Sponge). I just love this stuff. I’m now onto my second bottle and the couple of months I went without it sucked. I’m just glad I finally realised my true feelings for this little bad boy before I wasted more money on others that will never measure up.

TOO FACED NATURAL EYES PALETTE:

This has been my go to palette since I bought it. The colours are so beautiful and pigmented. I love that it has a great balance of finishes so you can create amazing day-night looks. I’ve even been using the darkest matte brown shade to fill in my brows, which says a lot because I usually prefer the gel method of brow filling. This is just an amazing palette!

TOO FACED MILK CHOCOLATE SOLEIL BRONZER:

Yep, another Too Faced product. This stuff is great. I love the finish it leaves and the colour is spot on for my pale complexion. It’s not too orangy, reddish or ashy. It gives my face colour and dimension without looking like my foundation it just too dark for me. Oh and the smell!! It’s everything something made from cocoa powder should smell like!

TOO FACE HANGOVER PRIMER:

Last Too Faced product I swear! I really like this stuff. I was a bit unsure of it at first (as I’ll discuss in the upcoming review), but I’m definitely enjoying it now. It’s nice and hydrating. Plus I love the coconutty scent it has. It makes my skin feel glowy and rejuvenated.

CIRCA HOME PEAR & LIME SCENTED SOY CANDLE:

I had a sample of this a while ago and after Christmas I use some of my present money to pick a full sized one up. I absolutely love the smell of this. I smelled all of the other ones like this that they had in stock and I honestly didn’t really like any of them. There’s just something about the Pear & Lime that is so yummy to smell. I can’t even describe the scent, mainly because I suck at describing scents, but trust me it smell delicious!

VERONICA MARS BOXSET:

I must have been living under a big fat rock, because up until last month I had never seen even one episode of this show. I’d been wanting to watch the movie for ages, but figured I’d need to be familiar with the show first. Once I finally got around to watching it I couldn’t stop. I’m pretty sure I watch all three seasons and the movie in about two weeks. I was obsessed. Who am I kidding, I’m still obsessed. After all, wasn’t it me downstairs tonight watching all the episodes again with my sister, who coincidentally is now addicted too. I feel like the embodiment of that Big Bang Theory Penny meme. You know the one… Oh my God, I need help!

Review: NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

This is only going to be a short one today because my relationship with the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation was just that: short. Sorry about the lack of photo, it wasn’t in my house long enough for a photo-shoot!

I was first given the wrong colour of this foundation, and had to track down the proper shade. It was a rocky beginning. The day after I tracked down the right shade I had the opportunity to try it out.

Guys… I can’t even begin to tell you how awful it was on my skin! It went patchy and flaky. I applied it three different ways. I applied with just moisturiser, with moisturiser and my Too Faced Hangover primer (review coming very soon) and also with my Savvy Smooth Finish primer on top of double the amount of moisturiser and nothing prevented the dry grossness that the foundation created on my face. I wouldn’t even wear it outside. It felt like a mask on my face. Almost like a clay mask. It accentuated my dryness that much. I’ve never had a foundation do this ever. Not even a matte one, let alone one that claims to be luminous like this one.

I read and watched so many raves on this stuff and I was so excited to try it for myself. One of my favourite foundations of all time is the NARS Sheer Glow. It is the liquid foundations that I expect all others to strive towards, so it seemed like a no-brainer that the new NARS one would at least come close. Now here I sit in utter defeat and disappointment.

I can’t attest to whether or not it actually lasts the amount of time it claims to, how it wears throughout the day or anything like that. Like I said, I couldn’t bring myself to go outside looking the way it made me look, so I removed it immediately and went out and bought the foundation I should have got in the first place, a new bottle of the Sheer Glow.

I’m not sure what it was about my skin that cause such a bad finish to the foundation. Honestly I was so surprised and I truly believe that most people will probably love it. I think I just wasn’t meant to have it in my life. I will say this: definitely get a sample of this if you can. It’s one thing to try it on in store with their skincare products, but it’s another to take it home and see how it works with your own skincare and primers, etc. ‘Try before you buy’ is a saying for a reason!

Review: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

I’m not really a huge bronzer girl. I’m far more partial to blushes and highlighters. This is mainly because, with my pale skin, I’ve always been a little afraid of bronzers. Contouring is one thing, but bronzers have a tendency to either run too red or too orange on my basically white skin. I’ve only ever found two bronzers that haven’t given me too much trouble. I have the Bronze Goddess from Estee Lauder. It’s in Medium, so a really careful light hand is needed when I crack it out. The other is the E.L.F. Bronzer in Sun Kissed. Sadly that bronzer met a tragic end at my Grandma’s place over Christmas. It smashed when I dropped my M.A.C. Pro Palette (thankfully is was the only thing). I was going to get another one, but I haven’t been able to find it again. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to try out the Milk Chocolate Soleil from Too Faced.

This is such a nice bronzer for pale skin. I personally have more yellow than pink undertones in my skin colour and sometimes the cooler toned browns look a little ashy on me. On the other hand, being so pale can create some very red or orange tones on me and let’s face it, nobody wants to look like either a tomato or an Oompa Loompa (although that’s just me speculating, if you do enjoy rocking these looks more power to you!). This bronzer, although it looks very warm doesn’t leave any unnatural colours on my skin.

Okay, so the smell. If you haven’t smelled the cocoa powder stuff from Too Faced go to your cupboard right now, find some cooking cocoa and take a big whiff. Don’t worry, I’ll wait…. Okay good, now you know the smell I’m talking about you know how delicious this stuff is. It’s made with cocoa powder and I could sniff it forever. I know everyone says this, but it’s for good reason. The cocoa powder also makes the formula super smooth and gives it a buttery texture. Even though it’s a completely matte bronzer, it in no way looks so matte that it looks unnatural. I’m not one for a harsh contour or anything, especially since I usually just stick to blush, but this stuff has converted me to the side of bronzers. I haven’t done my makeup without it since I bought it.

Overall this is a massive hit for me. I’m so glad that Too Faced expanded they’re Chocolate Soleil bronzer line to include one for pale skin. They’ve earned some serious brownie points from me. It’s why I’m pretty sure they’ve taken out the title of my favourite high-end brand.