White Foundation Mixers - A Review

White foundation mixers are supposed to be the pale person's saviour. Any foundation that is supposed to be a near-white shade of 'porcelain' can too often be several shades darker than a pale person's actual skin tone. Pure white foundation mixers allow us to lighten any foundation shade to our perfect shade.

Or so the theory goes...

As someone with grey/translucent skin, I've always struggled to find a foundation shade that matches my skin tone on the high-street or from high-end brands. Either they're slightly too orange to start with, or they'll swatch on pale and then oxidise to a dry/orange paste. I must have spent hundreds of pounds on these poor foundations and have yet to find a perfect match.

Several years ago, I thought I found a miracle. It was the Barry M Foundation Creme in a pure white shade. I used it to lighten several shades of high-street foundations and it always did so perfectly. Finally, a solution to my problem! Until one day, my tube ran out and after several searches of Barry M makeup sections, I checked online to find that it had been discontinued.

I accepted my fate. I was destined to blend down my neck and hope that my orange face wouldn't be obvious next to my white hands and chest.... But then Body Shop came through with another miracle and my journey with foundation mixers began.

Body Shop - Shade Adjusting Drops - £10.00

When I first got my hands on a bottle of this, I was so excited. It had been years since the high-street had been able to offer me something like this and I was buzzing to try it. I can't remember the first brand of foundation that I mixed it with but I remember that the formula worked well for me. Well enough that I recommended it to all of my friends and left them a glowing review on their website.

It took a few drops to get the desired effect for me which meant the dropper-style bottle design was a bit of a pain - but it blended so well that I put up with it. Since I needed so much of the stuff to actually lighten my foundation to the right shade, I very quickly ran out. I went into the store to find they were out of stock and the same was true online. I signed up for a stock alert and it was WEEKs before they finally had more in which just shows how many of us need to customise our foundations.

When the second bottle arrived, something was different. The formula wasn't blending as well and it left my foundation patchy and oily. I tried a few foundations in case it was the formula in the foundation but it didn't like any of them. I'm not sure if they changed the formula to get the stock out quicker or if my skin just didn't work with it anymore. Either way, I couldn't use it anymore and had to look for alternatives.

5/10 - I was sold a dream and it was taken away.

MAC - Studio Face & Body Foundation in White - £29.50

After the let down of Body Shop, I had to look for an alternative. A friend recommended the MAC Studio Face & Body Foundation in the pure white shade. I was delighted! An actual white foundation from a high-end brand like MAC must be incredible, right? Their reputation is so strong and they're charging almost thirty quid a bottle...

I was so disappointed. Not only was the formula watery even after several good shakes, it also led to the same patchy coverage that I'd seen with the second Body Shop bottle. Again, I tried several foundations in case it was the formula but I couldn't make it work. It didn't even seem to be lightening my foundation at all, even with a huge dollop of the stuff. After a few days of trying it, I stuck the bottle in a drawer and it's been gathering dust there ever since.

1/10 - Daylight robbery.

NYX - Pro Foundation Mixer in White - £8.00

I had all but given up when the new NYX aisles in Boots revealed this beauty. I had been loving the NYX range and thought I'd give this a try.

Sadly, it too left to patchy foundation but with the added bonus of EXTRA oil on my skin. I'm not sure if the formula is just too heavy but I ended up shinier than ever and had to touch-up with powder once an hour. It did lighten my slightly but the coverage was poor for such a heavy feeling formula.

2/10 - Betrayed by NYX

LA Girl - Pro Coverage Foundation in White - £11.33

For a little while, I stopped bothering with foundation mixers. I accepted that my face and body would never match and started cracking jokes about it to people around me just so they would know that I was well aware of it. I tried searching for products here and there but nothing ever came of it.

I had all but given up until my brutally honest sister finally told me that my orange-face-white-neck combination had gone past the point of acceptable.

After going on Amazon to buy Airspun setting powder (review to follow), I noticed this foundation in my recommendations list. It only has a few reviews but they're really strong so I thought I'd give it a try, and I'm SO GLAD that I did.

This stuff is incredible! It blends well, it has excellent coverage and it has a matte finish so I have zero oil slick by the end of the day. I only need one pump to match up my foundation so the bottle has lasted a good few months already.

10/10 - Miracles do happen


I hope that you find this useful! I wish I had more positive reviews but hopefully this can help you learn from my mistakes. Ultimately, you have to find the right formula for you so there's an element of trial and error. Just don't get sucked in to the 'reputation' (read: branding) of some of the high-end names - expensive doesn't always mean 'good'.

Lean in 15 - A Month Of Eating The Body Coach's Recipes

Buying this book was yet another helpful recommendation from the same colleague who suggested the 5K (holla, Andrea - thanks for keeping me motivated). I got it for £7.99 on Amazon at the end of January with the intention of eating as many of his recipes that I fancied - at least across the whole of February. I was keen to shake things up too - I'd been living off salads and chicken which was delicious but bordering on bland.

It arrived really quickly so I was able to get started straight away. I loved the book, flipping through every page the moment I opened it. The pictures and layout are colourful as well as glossy. He's also sectioned all the recipes according to when they should be eaten - low carb for everyday and carb-based for post workout meals to refuel. On top of that, there's some snacks and a section for his at-home HIIT workout (no equipment, no excuses).

It's a fantastic book for basic food education and re-working your relationship with food as well. His main focus is eating food that nourishes the body and staying away from the scale (or 'sad step' as he calls it). I didn't mind staying away from the scale so much with all that Christmas weight sat on my hips. I did struggle not to count calories though - I just couldn't avoid entering the recipes into MyFitnessPal to make sure I wasn't going over my daily calorie allowance. Most of the recipes were heavily vegetable based which was calorie-friendly, but I did have to halve quite a lot of the meat quantities to keep to my daily goals.

Another thing that a lot of people comment on is the cost. It does cost money to eat fresh, particularly as a lot of the recipes call for added ingredients to flavour the dish (ginger, lime, spring onion, chilli) which can stack up pretty quick. My first weekly shop was £67 where I usually spend £40 - but a lot of that basket were things like coconut oil (which is still going strong) and spices that I didn't have in my cupboard already. Subsequent baskets were around £50-£55 so still expensive but the portions are huge even with my meat quantities halved so the cost was well worth it to me.

I definitely had my favourite recipes - usually anything that involved cheese (come at me cheesy chorizo). The thing I liked most about the book was how easy to make the recipes are. None of this 'broil this', 'ferment that' or 'grow your own asparagus' bullshit that you get in a lot of other cookbooks. Just straightforward recipes that can usually be chucked in one pan and completed in 15-20 minutes.

At the end of the 5 weeks of Lean in 15 recipes, I ended up losing 9lbs. However, I should point out that I think this more to do with a calorie deficit than the recipes themselves. I didn't buy this book for weight loss - I bought it for fresh and tasty recipes. The weight loss that came with it was reassuring though. Especially since you see so many amazing transformations through his 90 Day SSS Plans on his social media.

All in all, I really enjoyed all of the recipes that I tried in the Lean in 15 book and it's got a firm place on my cookbook shelf. I'm moving on to the BBC Good Food Low Calorie cookbook next and will let you know how I get on with that. In the meantime, here's some pictures of some of my Lean in 15 dinners from Instagram because YES - I'm the type of instagrammer that takes picture of food #judgeme

2015 Book Reviews

As part of my 2015 New Years Resolutions, I set myself the goal of reading 10 books this year. It's not too ambitious a goal given the average reading speed. It was more about making time for it and trying to make it a priority in my life. I've read some fantastic books this year as a result of this goal and I thought it might be worth sharing a summary of these books in case you're looking for any reading inspiration.

'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett
This is one of my all-time favourite films so I thought it was about time I read the book that inspired it. I'm glad that I did since, like most books, it was far better than the film. I loved that the different sections were written like the characters would talk with Aibileen's sayings and Minny's blunt attitudes. It's a truly beautiful story and I can't think of a single flaw in the writing or the story.
10/10

'Shanghai Girls' by Lisa See
I'm not sure what attracted me to this book in the first place. I hadn't had it recommended to me in any way. I just saw the cover and read the blurb then decided it would be the perfect book to transport me to another time/part of the world. I wasn't wrong. This is the story of two sisters in Shanghai during the war who go from being wealthy model girls to poverty stricken runaways from the Japanese bombings at the time. It is a tremendous story which I would recommend to anyone looking for something different that is set in history without too much of the history coming into it.
10/10

'A Year of Losing the Dating Game' by Samantha Bye
I read this on recommendation of a colleague as it was actually written by someone we work with. It's a short book but I can honestly say that I couldn't put it down. It's the tale of a single women in the modern dating world with references to Tinder and one night stands. It's a very honest and true representation of what it's like to meet people in this day and age so it turned out to be quite a refreshing read. Moreover, it made me more grateful than ever that I've found someone as wonderful as Fraser and that it was before the invention of Tinder too.
10/10

'The Almost Moon' by Alice Sebold
This was a random download onto my Kindle years ago on the basis that I'd enjoyed The Lovely Bones a few years back. I decided to read this without looking at the blurb so dived straight into a story without knowing a thing about it. I won't lie to you, it's not a lighthearted story. In fact, it's about a woman murdering her agoraphobic and dementia-stricken mother by suffocating her with a towel and follows the 24 hours after this happens. There are lots of flashbacks to her childhood which help to shape the background of what led her to take such an action. Ultimately, you end up questioning whether or not her actions were justified. I like any book that inspires you to question your own moral compass so would thoroughly recommend as a result.
10/10

'When You Are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris
After the heavy read above, I decided that something light would be good across the summer and picked up this book. It's a collection of short stories or 'essays' by David Sedaris capturing various anecdotes from his own life. I don't think I've ever laughed out loud because of a book as hard as I did while reading this. It is so well written with such perfect comedic timing that I ended up looking for interviews with David Sedaris on YouTube once I'd finished it just to see if he was as witty in person (I was not disappointed).
10/10

'Lucky' by Alice Sebold
I then decided that I could manage another heavy read and went for this auto-biographical memoir from Alice herself where she describes her experience of being raped. The story starts with the event itself and then follows her recovery afterwards and the years following as she works with the police to capture and convict her rapist. It explores the experiences of a raped girl in the justice system of the time and how (shockingly) the attitudes towards rape victims haven't seemed to change in the 20 years since the book was published and the 40-odd years since the attack happened. I think that this is a very important read for anyone. Alice Sebold strikes the perfect balance between humour (as a coping mechanism afterwards) and the grave seriousness of the event itself.
10/10

'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel
I can appreciate that I am years behind the curve on this one, but again it was a case of seeing the film first (thanks, Channel 4) before deciding that I had to see the film. The book was more incredible than the film and was another one that I was hooked by almost instantly. My only complaint was that I hated the Canadian author character. I think this was a leftover from the film where the very English Rafe Spall tried to do a Canadian accent which felt like nails on a chalkboard to me. I couldn't shake this image even when reading the book. However, those parts are minimal and (again) it was a book that led me to question myself and my own beliefs which I loved.
10/10

'Before I Go To Sleep' by SJ Watson
This was another random Kindle download which I really enjoyed reading. It's about a woman who loses her memory each night when she goes to sleep (self-explanatory from the title) but there's a thriller element in that she slowly starts to discover (by keeping a journal) that she's being lied to each day. The story is about her discovery of what is truth and I really enjoyed the character's journey through the book. I was delighted to see that they'd made this into a film but the key element - the journal - had been turned into a video diary which I thought was a bit shit. I've yet to see the film and may decide not to given how much I enjoyed the book.
10/10

'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert
Again, I'm late to the curve with this one and it was another book read as a result of my enjoyment of the film (Julia Roberts can sell me anything). I loved this book, I really did. I wasn't expecting much from it but actually it contains a lot of wisdom without being overly preachy. Some of the jokes were a bit flat in places but overall there were some very good lessons to be learned from her experiences and I found these very useful when trying to overcome some stress at work towards the end of the year so would definitely recommend this.
10/10

'The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake' by Aimee Bender
This is the story of a young girl who can taste the emotions of the people making the food she eats. It sounds like a load of bollocks but actually the story is quite enjoyable as it follows the dysfunction in her family as well as a young girl trying to find her place in the world. However, I can't fully enjoy this book because the author has decided to remove the inverted commas from the writing so that there's no indication when someone is speaking. She said that this was an 'aesthetic' choice but I really don't like it. It makes it really difficult to read for me because you'll be halfway through a paragraph before realising that the character is actually speaking the lines rather than it being her internal monologue. Apparently blurring the inner and outer monologues is the point of doing this but I really didn't like it and it made the book difficult to read for me. For that reason, it will be the only book that I mark at less than 10/10 this year.
6/10

I hope that this has been useful to some of you when looking for a new book to read. I can't wait to get my teeth into some new novels next year and see where these take me. I don't think I'll be able to get through quite as many but I'll certainly try. Please leave any book recommendations in the comments below for me to take a look through as well :-)

Tabitha
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Beauty Discovery | Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter

I mean, just look at it. It's stunning.

I was in Superdrug checking out the Revolution stand after an old friend (holla, Charlotte!) SnapChat me asking if their brand was any good. I spotted this little beauty and after a quick swatch I fell in love.

This is the Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights and it is £3 from Superdrug or the Revolution website itself. The shimmer on this is actually stunning and I would pay a lot more than £3 for it. It is just gorgeous so I had to write a post to shout about it.

I haven't stopped wearing it since I bought it and even looking at it on my shelf makes me happy. I thought their Iconic Pro palettes were impressive enough so seeing this be such a winner too makes me want to go out and buy their whole range. Especially given it's so cheap as well.

10/10 forever - highly recommend!

Review | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

When I first saw the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet on the shelves a good few months ago, I thought it was a gloss type formula rather than a liquid lipstick. It wasn't until I saw a few reviews on this that I really knew what it was.

I was in Boots the other day (again, shocker) and I saw that there were testers out for the product. I swatched a couple of them and fell in love with the Peach Club shade. From the swatch alone, the formula was smooth and highly pigmented so I bought it.

I've now tried it out a few times and can firmly say that I love it! The colour is absolutely gorgeous. I've never really owned a peachy/coral shade like this before and was pleasantly surprised at well it goes with my pale af complexion.

The formula goes on really smooth and velvety as the name would suggest. Unlike other matte lipsticks, it doesn't dry to a chalky texture. Instead, it feels more like a balm. It's not entirely transfer-proof but it does stay in place all day without need for further applications despite eating/drinking.

The only negative is that when you first apply the product, it does not smell good. It smells distinctly of acrylic paint or some kind of burnt polystyrene. Not pleasant but the smell soon dissipates as you apply the colour and it certainly doesn't taste anything like that scent.

All in all, a solid 9/10 for this product and I can't wait to swatch a few more shades and pick up some more colours! They're £8.99 each at Boots right now and there's a 3 for 2 offer on all Bourjois cosmetics at the moment so its the perfect time to give them a try if you haven't already :-)

Tabitha
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Review | Graze Box

There's a little group of people where I work that get Graze boxes sent each week and I've been eyeing them enviously for a little while. One morning, I saw one of their competitor's adverts claiming they were more exciting to receive.

I checked them out but sadly it only ended up driving me to the Graze website where I was successfully converted into their latest customer. Very bad marketing on the part of the competitor company of course, but I was excited to get started with Graze.

For those that might not know, Graze is a snack delivery company. You subscribe to them, chose your delivery frequency and they start delivering you snacks from their 100+ range. Each box contains four snacks and is delivered on a Monday. The snacks are designed to be as healthy by packing in fibre, protein and nutrients into as few calories as possible. There's a huge range available to be sent, from soup to jerky.

The first thing I did was go through their snack list and tell them which ones I want sent soon (basically all of them in the end) and if there were any that I wanted to 'Bin'. Once the snacks arrive and you've tried them, you can tell them if you loved it, liked it, or never want it to be sent again (the Bin option).

Last Monday, my first box arrived and I fought the urge to try all of the snacks in one sitting. I managed to make them last the week and have to say, I'm already in love with this subscription!

 My first box arrived with the Sour Cream & Garlic Crostini, Honeycomb Crunch, Louisiana Wild Rice & Beans and Wholegrain Banoffee Dippers. I think the dippers are always going to be my favourite thing to receive since the entire range looks delicious.

The portion sizes are perfect and if you're counting calories you can opt for their "Light Box" to be sent which contains snacks with less than 150 calories. I tried each of these snacks across the week and have rated them all as "Love" on the website. In fact, I've been raving about Graze so much that I even convinced my boyfriend to sign up too :)

My next box arrives today and I can't wait to see what's inside ;-) If you're interested in Graze at all, check out the Graze Website for more information on the snacks they have.

Tabitha
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Review | Makeup Revolution Iconic Palettes

In another recent wander round Superdrug, I spotted a stand for a brand that I'd never heard of before called Makeup Revolution. It turns out, they've only been around since March 2014 otherwise I'm sure I'd have heard of them before. They had an impressive range in gorgeous packaging and incredibly low prices. Their range starts at £1 so perfect for me on my budget.

I spotted their Iconic Palettes and I couldn't resist buying them once I'd swatched from the tester tray. These are AMAZING and out of stock on their online shop so definitely popular. I picked up Iconic 1 and Iconic 2. Both were £6.99 each at Superdrug and can be found at the same price on the Makeup Revolution website when they're back in stock.

 They come in black matte palettes which are thick and sturdy. Each one of these includes a double ended eyeshadow brush too. Yes, an eyeshadow brush instead of those useless sponge applicators you get with other brands. The brush included is actually really decent so this was an added bonus.

The first thing that lured me in with these was the colours. Both palettes contain some truly gorgeous shades with both matte and shimmer options. The pigment is beyond amazing too. The rich darker shades have so much depth to them and blend so easily. There are a tonne of other palette options available besides these so I can't wait to explore the rest of the range.

After application, the staying power of the shadow is impressive too. There was no fade, smudging or sitting in the crease. I love these shadows and have really enjoyed playing around with them. Definitely a perfect bargain find!

I'd recommend a look at their website. There's over 300 products on there and all of them are cheap as chips but excellent quality. I know I'll be heading into Superdrug again soon to swatch some more of their range :-)

Tabitha
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Budget Beauty | Makeup Brushes

It's not always possible to splurge massive amounts of money on beauty products when you're on a budget like me. That said, I do come across some good finds from time to time and I thought I'd share some with you.

I would love an entire set of Real Techniques brushes on my beauty shelves but I don't always have the cash to splash on brand names. Instead, I've built up an arsenal of loyal, sturdy brushes from all over the place. They all work well and have lasted brilliantly, but when I saw this set on eBay I couldn't help but purchase it.

This entire set cost me less than £7 with free postage from eBay. The one I've purchased has gone now but a new 32pc set for £6.89 is live on eBay now - link here.

It comes in a purpose built case that folds neatly away so perfect for travelling. It's got every brush you could possible ever need and the quality of these is decent too. Soft but strudy bristles and a solid wooden handle

I'll admit that the big fan applicator brush did come loose from it's wooden handle after I dropped it but it's nothing a bit of glue can't fix.

I've been recommending this set to a lot of people. I'd recommend eBay in general for some budget beauty finds. There's a huge range of makeup and makeup tools on there for decent quality and low prices. I even picked up some clear storage drawers for makeup from there and got them within two days.

I love these brushes and can't wait to finish trying them all out!

Let me know where you find your favourite beauty items on a budget in the comments below :-)

Tabitha
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Review | Max Factor Colour Corrector Sticks

I spotted these whilst I was in Boots. There was an offer on the Max Factor line and I thought I would give these a go. My biggest issue with my face is my red skin and dark eye circles. There was a huge range of colour correcting solutions so I picked up these two.

I do try not to expect miracles, but I can get a bit hopeful when it comes to products that promise to correct redness. 

The green stick is supposed to neuteralise the red tones from blemishes, blotchiness or veins near the surface of the skin. The yellow stick is supposed to neuteralise the purple tones of under eye circles or veins.

I was excited to try these out and used them a few times before writing this. As much as they definitely did their job from a colour point of view, I don't think they liked my primer very much. I tried them with a couple of different primers and bases because the colour really did work, but sadly it just didn't work out.

Unfortunately, the texture of these didn't work with my skin. They're a creamy/balm like texture that applies and blends really well. But after a few hours, the product dries out and turns really flakey. It sucked in my foundation and concealer too and made me look really patchy. 

I am gutted that these didn't work for me but I'd definitely recommend swatching them in store in case they work for you since the colour correcting side did what it said on the package. As much as they applied green and yellow, they blend with foundation colours to even out and become unnoticeable.

They're available at Boots for £8.99 each and there's a whole range of colour correcting solutions.

 I hope that they work for some of you!

Tabitha

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My Makeup Setting Champions

There is nothing worse than spending time creating the perfect face of makeup only to find that within an hour or less, it has started to clump/cake/run/melt/smudge or otherwise. If you're anything like me, you want to do your makeup in the morning and have the confidence that it's going to last at least until you get home again.

There are a few products that I use every time (yes, every time) I do a full face of makeup that I want to last the day. These are products that I've recommended to friends or family time and time again so I thought I'd share them here. 

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer | £29 from John Lewis

If you follow a lot of beauty blogs, you've probably already heard about this one. I know, the price makes me cringe too. I received this as a sample from Birchbox months and months ago, and the same bottle is still going so it definitely goes far. It's worth the price tag for this incredible product. No other primer has been able to hold my foundation in place as well as this. It doesn't work as well for every skin type, but if you have oily skin like me then this might be the miracle you've been waiting for. See if you can get your hands on a sample to try first, but you'll know after one application whether this will work for you.

Dr Jart V7 Turnover Booster | £28.75 from Beauty Bay

Before any product is applied to your skin, you need a good skincare routine. You've heard it many times before but it's the truth. I play around with the moisturiser I use but this is the serum I use day and night. My skin has never looked better and primers/foundations sit on this like an absolute dream. Again, it's expensive - sorry! However, it's another case of a little going a long way with this. I received it as a sample from Birchbox a long, long time ago and have been using it twice a day for the past 3 months yet still have over half a bottle left. Invest in a good skincare routine and you will find your makeup applying so much better and lasting just that little bit longer too.

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray | £21 from Debenhams

Once I have finished applying a flawless face of makeup, I give this bottle a shake and spritz it all over my face. It is light and dries quickly, but somehow miraculously manages to stick the makeup in place. It's like a glue or protective film on your face. It's weightless and isn't sticky so you do forget it's there until the end of the day when you check your makeup and see it is still perfectly in place. I've recommended this to most of the people I know. Pricey, I know - but so worth it!

Lipcote Lipstick Sealer | £3.69 from Boots

I have been using this for years and raving about it to anyone who will listen. I used to see it advertising in the back of magazines and never really took notice until I spotted it in Boots one day and thought I'd give it a go. You just apply this over your lipstick, let it dry and then you're set for the rest of the night. Eating, drinking, talking or kissing won't ruin your lipstick with Lipcote on it. 

I've been using this since my uni days and honestly, I'd wake up in the morning with mascara and eyeshadow down my face, hair a mess and foundation long gone - but perfectly formed red lips. No fade, no transfer and no smudging. It really, really works. For £3.69, give it a try and watch yourself rave about it too. 

The picture above is one I've been using for about a year now so it is a little grubby, sorry! 

I hope this was helpful to some of you. Definitely leave your suggestions for make-up setting products in the comments section below!

Tabitha 

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Review | Sleek's Matte Me

You guys know how much I love Sleek products from my previous posts. I was in Superdrug the other day which is unusual for me since the local Superdrug is quite small compared to the giant Boots we have. I am so glad I went though because their makeup collection is just next level. I spotted that they had a Sleek stand and it had an entire range of products that Boots didn't. So of course I went to town on the entire section.

I'm still trying out some of the products that I got but my stand out favourite so far is the Matte Me lip colour that I picked up. There was a range of shades but as a fan of a bright red, I had to try out the Rioja Red first.

It is gorgeous! I've not really ventured into the world of liquid lipsticks before now, preferring my traditional creamy/balmy lip colours that I can then set with Lipcote. I might just be converted now though. The colour of this is just beautiful.

The consistency is thick and creamy. It applies smoothly with the thin applicator which helps keep things precise. I put this on bare lips so I can't say how it performs with a lip liner, though I'm not sure you'd need one with this product.

It dries almost instantly to a matte finish that won't budge. Long lasting lip colour is always important but particularly so with bright red shades.

It does dry completely, though. The texture becomes like paper which can be a bit uncomfortable. However, you can remedy that by whacking on some of the Max Factor Lipfinity balm which puts some moisture back and helps your lips feel smooth without smudging the colour.

There's a whole range of shades but I'm guessing it's quite popular since the Sleek Website is sold out of this and other colours. Definitely pop into your local Superdrug and see if they have some in stock to test out yourself. For £4.99 a tube, you can't go wrong.

I picked up one of their True Colour lipsticks in a deep burgundy colour that I'm trying out now. I'll post a review of that shortly so definitely check back here :-)

Tabitha

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Review | Max Factor Lipfinity

I've been looking for a long lasting lip colour that actually works for a long time and I thought I'd give Max Factor's Lipfinity a try. 

I'm going to a wedding in a few days and have been searching for the perfect light pink shade that will compliment my skin tone as well as stay in place throughout the day. I was in Boots and spotted a 3 for 2 on Max Factor products plus a whole podium dedicated to their lip colour range. I swatched this product on the back of my hand and continued to browse the section.

After no more than 60 seconds, I gave it a quick rub to check the staying power and - no word of a lie - it wouldn't budge. Not at all. I bought it then and there, only to discover when I got home that its also 100% waterproof. No amount of soap, water or makeup remover would actually shift it.

The packet recommends oil-based makeup remover but as an oily skinned person, I own none of that. I ended up having to get out the roughest loofah I have to scrub it off my skin.

In short: it definitely lasts!

I've since worn the product on my lips and can confirm that it definitely lasted 12+ hours for me. The colour goes on like a thick lip gloss but dries after a minute or so. It feels uncomfortably dry at that stage but that's why the product comes with a balm. Once the colour is set, you can whack on the balm and take the balm part with you to add a sheen throughout the day as required.

Personally, after the initial application I topped my lips with chapstick which worked just as well. 

All in all, I would recommend this product. At £10.99, it is quite pricey for a lip product but I'm hoping it will last quite a while given you only need the one application per day.

I got mine on a Max Factor 3 for 2 at Boots though I'm not sure whether that's still on. Having checked the Boots website it looks like they've currently got a 3 for 2 on all makeup products at the moment so it's definitely worth taking a look and trying something new.

Are there any other long lasting lip colours that I should check out? Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations :-)

Tabitha

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Review | Soap & Glory's Trick and Treatment

I am plagued with dark circles under my eyes and always have been. Whether I get four hours sleep or the 12 I used to get at university (those were the days!), I still end up with dark grey/purple shadows under my eyes. I'm not even kidding about always having them - this is me at around 5 or 6 years old:

Like I've been up all night...sigh.

I used to have this amazing colour correcting concealer palette from E.L.F but that dried up before I finished using it and I started just making do with Collection's Lasting Perfection concealer as an all-rounder.

Nothing at all against that concealer, since it is my favourite, but it cannot be expected to cover grey as well as it can cover my redness. As a result, I started looking for an under-eye concealer on the high street again and I found this absolute gem at Soap & Glory. 

I have already recommended this to all of my make-up minded friends and a couple of them have bought it themselves as a result. I haven't been able to stop raving about this product and I'm so glad I found it! It's the Soap & Glory Trick and Treatment Under Eye Dark Circle Concealer currently £9 at Boots

It's slightly yellow coloured which covers purple/grey shades to blend with your natural skintone. As a very pale person, I was worried that this would be a little too dark for me - especially since they don't seem to have any other shades. However, I find a thin layer of Collection's Lasting Perfection in Fair across the top allows it to blend seamlessly with my skintone. 

It has a thick consistency that offers a medium-heavy coverage without becoming cakey in any way. It also has a very light shimmer to it which helps to reflect light away from the dark circles and really brighten up the under-eye area. I tested it out in as natural a light as I can achieve in my little basement flat as I was putting on my makeup the other day. Here's my dark circles before:

And here's what they look like after using Soap & Glory's Trick and Treatment:

There's not a lot that I can do about the physical puffiness of my eyes, but you can see that the whole area has been brightened up and I'm near enough shadow-less! When I finished my whole makeup look, I felt like I looked 10x more awake than if I had just put my normal concealer on them so I'm definitely happy with this product.

This was actually the first Soap & Glory product that I've ever tried and I have to say I'm very impressed. Are there any Soap & Glory products that you've used that you'd recommend I try?

Tabitha 

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Haul | Sleek Palettes

I've been the proud owner of a Sleek Contour & Highlight for going on 3 years now. I've long since hit-pan but it just seems to last and last despite me using it every single time I contour (which is every time I wear a full face of makeup). I got it as a birthday present from a friend that's very in-the-know when it comes to makeup and was instantly converted.

While browsing my local Boots last week, I saw that they now have a whole section for Sleek now! I got to see a few of the tester products in action against my skintone and I ended up simply having to buy them.

Just look at the packaging!! Urgh! I bought:

Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Au Naturel | £7.99
Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Vintage Romance | £7.99
Sleek MakeUp Face Form in Fair | £9.99
Sleek Highlighting Palette in Precious Metals | £9.99

They are all absolutely stunning and I've had a chance to test them all out over the course of this last week too. Firstly, the packaging on all of them is (for want of a better word) so sleek.

I don't know what it is about black packaging, but it just screams professional to me. Even if my foundation-fingers are going to dirty these up in no time at all, I just feel so fancy using them.

The eyeshadows are perfection. Highly pigmented and soft so you can pick them up with your eyeshadow brush easily. Minimal fall-out too which is always a bonus for me.

I fell in instant love with the plum/purple shades in the Vintage Romance palette. They look so gorgeous next to the gold shimmery shades in the same palette and compliment my blue eyes perfectly.

The Au Naturel pallete is a dream too. It's got all the soft matte brown shades I would use on a daily basis plus a couple of shimmery shades that look amazing on my brow bone. At £7.99 each, I think these palettes are a bloody bargain and will definitely be expanding my collection!

Having owned a Sleek contour palette before, I was pretty confident that this contour/highlight/blush palette would be excellent too. I wasn't wrong. Just look at the perfect golden shimmer on the highlighter which is matched by the slight gold shimmer in the blush too.

It's a gorgeous palette and I've no doubt at all that I'll be hitting pan on this one in months to come too. I love highlighters but do tend to stick to powder ones as I find these blend better with the setting powder I used. That said, I couldn't resist the Highlighter Palette:

It comes with a brush even though the only powder one is the bottom right. The other three are cream highlighter and are like little swipes of finely milled glitter. All three of the cream colours are perfect and compliment my skintone beautifully. The powder may just be a bit too dark for me but I can definitely use it as a shimmery eyeshadow!

Despite the cream formation, they blended well with my foundation/powder routine so I can definitely see me using these a lot going forward!

I used these in my Valentines look that I posted last week  and love the subtle glow they gave my powder-heavy face. I will definitely be recommending these!

Are there any other Sleek products that I should check out? Let me know in the comment section below if you've got any recommendations for me.

Tabitha

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