Update and review of Rimmel's 'Match Perfection' foundation.

      Hi Pretty people!



      So initially I wrote this big long post, detailing how my hospital stay is going, and how college is, and how my weight is and the new medication and just this big long rambling piece. But when I sat back and looked at it, it wasn't what I wanted to put out there as my first piece re starting (as I see it) the blog. It just all felt too much, and the time will come when it's right to write about all that, but with my release date pending, which I am delighted about, I just wanted a sense of normality in my life, all aspects of my life, including this blog. I feel with college being in its third week I won't be able to write as often as I would like, but this blog is very important to me and I want to keep it going.

However....

To everyone who sent me words of kindness, to people who got in touch over instagram, to the people in my every day life who supported me, encouraged me, listened to me  and reminded me why I keep fighting, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

    So! How better to get back to normal than with a review! This review is of Rimmel's 'Match Perfection' foundation in the shade 010 Light Porcelain, which is the lightest shade, obviously I am a ghost! I had used this before and it was the first drugstore or chemist brand foundation that the shade was just perfect, but for some reason it went to the back of my drawer, only to be rediscovered when I went a bit paler at the end of summer. It retails at €9.95 for 30mls, comes in a glass bottle with a pump, but you can also unscrew the top which is handy to get the very last of it out, or if you pump out too much. The glass bottle is a bit heavy in my makeup bag, but I think companies do this now so you feel you are buying something substantial. It's along the same lines as getting something in a box; you always feel that it must be good if it's coming in it's own box. Or maybe that's just me. Moving swiftly along now!  


                                           

    There is a slightly pink undertone to the foundation, at least in this shade which I don't find a problem with my slightly pinker-than-I-would-like-them-to-be cheeks and as you can see from the picture below it is very pale. It has light to medium coverage, so would not be the best for covering very uneven pigmentation or acne, but you could try it after using a primer to target these problems. You do get a very flawless finish with the foundation, and it wears extremely well, even when I'm running around college and on public transport for the day! I've never even had to use a primer with this foundation, I always just apply it with my beauty blender after moisturiser.  It has an SPF of 18, which is not very high for us girls with pale skin, but I always feel with SPF some is better than none.
     

                                         

    Over all I would have no hesitation recommending this foundation. Considering the price of this foundation, it gives a wonderful, smooth even finish, has a huge range of shades and lasts all day. It does exactly what it says on the bottle, it matches perfectly! Has anyone tried the illuminating concealer from the same range? Or tried this foundation and not liked it? I'd love to hear people's opinions as always. I hope this review was helpful.

Thanks for reading!

xxx

NYX Cosmetics eye shadow base in 'Skin Tone'

Hi pretty people!


      Today I'm doing a review on NYX's eye shadow base. Sadly, NYX is not readily available in Ireland, so I purchased this from Littlewoods website. They do have a decent selection of NYX on the website, which can be a problem on other websites which stock the brand. However, I noticed that they also stock Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation which retails for €10, but they're charging a whopping €15 for exactly the same foundation!! Keep an eye out for this when purchasing make up from them. Since I purchased the base, I have since found it retails for €6.99. Not impressed -_-


                                                       

   

      I bought the shadow base in 'Skin Tone' at €8 for 6g. It promises to 'Hold, intensify and last longer',  which is not the best English and a strange way to describe a product! First of all, I really like the packaging; its in a heavy plastic, screw top jar which means you really get the last of the product which can be difficult with some forms of packaging. I'm so not a fan of pump bottles you can't open, I mean you can see there's product left but can't get to it!!! Or the bottles you've to take a crash course in physics in to learn how to somehow balance upside down to draaaaaaain the last bit out. Sorry, I digress! However when I looked at the colour my first thought was 'No one has skin that colour!' There is a distinctive orange tone to the product which when blended, does subside slightly, but is still definitely orange! This wasn't a huge concern for me as I use mostly coppery shades on my eyes anyway, but there's no way I'd purchase this colour again, and it is not suitable for pale skin tones.

Colour of the Shadow Base

     The texture of the base is creamy and a bit tacky, and does take a bit of work to spread over the lids so this formula may not be good for people with very sensitive skin or delicate crepe-y eye lids. Yes crepe-y is a word; I hope! You don't need a lot of the product to cover the eyelids which makes it quite good value for money. 

      To be honest I don't think this made a huge difference to my eye shadow, and I'm not sure what else there is to say about this product. I used M.A.Cs woodwinked all over my lids over the base and this picture is taken at the end of the day.

                        

Ignore the wrinkles!

       It's a reasonable product, I like the packaging and the colour of the base suits my every day eyeshadow, but I would definitely recommend choosing one of the other two colours, white or pearl, if you generally wear a lighter colour eye. It is quite cheap at only €8 (its even better at RRP€6.99!) and would be a good starter base for eye shadow. I will continue to use it though until I find the perfect eye shadow base!

     Has anyone else tried this product and had a different experience? Also can anyone please please tell me where I can purchase the full range of NYX cosmetics? I know they can be shipped from their website but I would like to be able to see in Euros what I'm buying, and I think you need a USA street address for this?? 

      I hope you enjoyed this and it was helpful to someone. Thanks so much for taking the time to read it, and please feel free to contact me or follow me on Instagram. Byeeeeeeeee :D xxxxxxx

www.littlewoods.ie

www.nyxcosmetics.com 

   

Vichy Dermablend Foundation Review

                     Let me first say, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Vichy throughout my late teens and early twenties. However, anything I have bought from them recently I have been delighted with, hence why I decided to try this product.



                       


                       As anyone who watches YouTube videos, particularly beauty ones will have noticed the new ads for the relaunch of Vichy's Dermablend range.  The range has five products in total, three of which are new,they are the corrector stick, total body foundation and the corrective compact cream foundation. They also have the best selling corrective foundation and mineral powder and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some samples of the corrective foundation in different colours to test out:) 

                   First of all my mother tested out Sand - 35. My mother is just upwards of fifty but has some deep set lines around her mouth and open pores. (I may have no where to live if she ever sees this!) She applied this with her fingers and felt the makeup was too heavy and actually accentuated  these problems rather than helped with them, and I was inclined to agree. She felt the make up was like a mask on rather than a foundation. Sadly she wouldn't even let me take pictures and went off to wash it off straight away. 

                    

Me with no make-up
Cant believe I'm putting a no make-up selfie out there!

                    So the next day I decided to give it a try on my own cleansed and moisturised skin, but decided against a primer. I was using the lightest shade which is called Opal - 15 with my trusty Real Techniques Beauty Blender; love this sponge! I particularly chose the beauty blender for application as I find it great for sheering out foundation that might be slightly heavy otherwise. I was shocked!! The coverage of this foundation was amazing, and the colour, though looking like it would be too orange, was perfect. You also only need the smallest amount, making it very good value for money, always a requirement in todays economy! You really do need to work to blend this foundation, but the coverage is flawless and it lasts all day. When using the foundation I didn't need any concealer on my dark circles and didn't require any powder to set it. I didn't find that it gave a mask effect at all, or the dreaded 'I'll need a trowel to get this off later' effect, just wonderful even looking skin! I have since used my fingers to apply the foundation, and as long as you don't use a lot of the product, you get exactly the same results.

                                   

After applying Dermablend foundation

             In hindsight I think the are a few reasons it didn't work for my mother. Firstly I don't think this particular version of the foundation is meant for mature skin, we used way too much product and also I think we didn't blend and buff the foundation enough. I think with open pores and fine lines, it is essential to take some time to work the product into the skin. A quick tip for people who have open pores is to use a brush of any kind, and buff in the foundation in circles. This will help to fill in the pores and make them disappear, but don't be too rough as you are effectively exfoliating the skin doing this. 

Before

After

       
                I also tried to cover a few tattoos with this, and again the coverage was very effective, but the foundation was too orangy for my skin tone. I have since seen they have a new body foundation, but whether or not the 'light' shade will be light enough remains to be seen. Has anyone tried the body foundation? Opinions?


                 
                   Despite having quite a few foundations in my collection I had to go out and purchase this. I don't have acne or very problematic skin, but it is great to know you have a foundation there that is a great colour match, and will cover any imperfections or discolouration. The foundation also has an SPF of 35 which is great for us pale ladies! 

                  It retails at €21.50 for 30mls, and is available in most chemists and larger Boots. (Don't forget Irish students, you can use your travel card to get money off in Boots!) For more see www.vichy.ie 


             As always I'd love to hear if other people found the range a success or not for them. Thanks for reading! 


P.S. Apologies about the bad camera I'm working on getting a new one!