Recent Favourites

Bonjour!

Been very quiet again - sorry about that! But no worries - I have a shiny new blog post for you of all my recent favourite products…just in time for payday!


1) Revlon Nail Enamel in Scandalous (761)
This is a really pretty and dramatic shade I bought in October, having had the purple glitter catch my magpie eye! It goes on beautifully evenly and dries super fast, and the glitter goes on with every stroke. A lovely nail polish!

2) Benefit Porefessional Agent Zero Shine

This was a shaky start, but I have grown to love it. I know it's a recent release from my favourite cosmetic brand of all time but I do really love it. Having waited eons for Benefit to release something that is specifically anti-shine (See my last post on matte skin!) I snapped this up straight away. Putting it over make up a few hours after you've applied it is not a good idea - it highlighted where my foundation had settled on dry patches and rubbed away slightly - but having applied it as my normal face powder over fresh foundation, it gave my skin a flawlessly matte and soft finish. Yet ANOTHER must-have from Benefit…THEY CAN DO NO WRONG!

3) Seventeen Backlash Mascara

I have raved about this mascara to anyone who would listen. This builds up to an amazing volumised, lengthening and blackest black lash look, making your lashes look so fanned out and big, it leaves people wondering whether they're real (People ask me on average 3 times a day.). It's a brilliant mascara…go and buy it now! And check out the rest of Seventeen's range, I use so many products of theirs now and they're all pretty damn good.

4) Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in Shade 107 

Burgundy. Burgundy everything. I must have it. I bought this lipstick a while back and it's fabulous. The colour, the matte finish, the sleek red and black packaging, all of it is perfect. I use this both everyday and in the evening, and always feel confident wearing it. A great choice if you want to embrace the new burgundy/berry dark lip trends.

5) Valentina Acqua Floreale EDT by Valentino

I love my classic, feminine scents, and on a recent trip to Dublin I made this purchase rather hastily in Manchester Airport's duty free. I was searching for something new and different from my usual Dior and Chanel purchases, and this smells gorgeous. Subtle enough for day but luxe enough for night, it literally smells like the beauty floor in every department store you've ever been in, except nicer. The bottle is also beautiful and it lasts all day. A new firm favourite - worth a try if you like feminine classic fragrance.

6) Groovy Kind-A Love Make Up Kit - Benefit
I received this (extraordinarily gratefully) as a Christmas gift, as luckily my family know of and embrace my clinical obsession with Benefit. The kit is fabulous, containing miniatures of my favourite everyday products (POREfessional Primer, Benetint, Dandelion Box-O-Powder and They're Real Mascara) and also gave me an opportunity to try new ones like the eyeshadows, which are highly pigmented and infinitely blend-able, and the sparkly highlighter 'Gimme Fever', which is long-lasting and flattering. I think this is only available at Christmas time, but all the kits are worth the investment with benefit as it gives you chance to try lots of different things at one price before splashing out on the full sized versions. SO worth it though.

7) Dove Hair Therapy Leave In Conditioning Spray 

A while back I had hideously frizzy dry hair, and after a small personal epiphany that hair oils do not make thin hair greasy (Thank my hairdresser and her liberal use of Moroccan Oil), I purchased this as part of a 3 For 2 deal with some deep conditioning Shampoo and Conditioner (What I actually went in for). I am now on my third bottle of this stuff. I spray it in towel dried hair and I'm left with smooth and manageable locks which smell like HEAVEN. Mmmmm. I have a feeling this will work wonders on every hair type, hair oils are really really worth a go. 

Well done for making it to the end if you did!! On tuesday I am off shopping with Abbie from kittensintophats.blogspot.com so no doubt I'll have purchased more - I could do a blog haul for you!

What products are you loving at the moment? What left you disappointed? Have you used anything in my lovely little list?

Have a good week!
GG xx

How To Get A Perfect Matte Make Up Look

Bonjour again! This is going to be a long post but it will be worth it!

One of my pet hates (apart from these ones I talked about in my 11 questions for the Liebster Award) is having a really shiny face day to day. Don't get me wrong, I love the illuminated slightly shimmery finish everybody else seems to be able to achieve, but no matter how much Benefit High Beam I use, or how much illuminating primer I buy, I still look like I have run 800m and not bothered to fix my face afterwards.

So, now I love having a matte base whenever I do my make up, whether I'm going out or day-to-day. I have spent ages perfecting this and trying a thousand and one products to achieve a lasting matte finish, and I think I have just about got it. This process works for me, but don't take it as gospel! Just thought I'd share my ideas!

My first tip that I must stress is a matte finish does not begin and end with foundation and powder. No way. Clay face masks are your saviour when it comes to matte skin, as are squeaky clean faces! So use a decent facial cleanser and follow with a clay based face mask a couple of times a week to clear impurities, excess oil and prevent future blemishes.

On to make up!

Always use a primer. It helps your make up to stay on longer and by buying the right one it can help prevent shine and even out your skin tone. I love 17 Stay Time Primer or POREfessional and Stay Flawless Primers, both by Benefit.

Now I have spent most of my days trying to find a foundation that lasts and gives a lovely even finish that covers everything I need to cover and stays matte.

There are three matte finish foundations I have tried and LOVED recently.
The first is 17's Stay Matte foundation, the cheapest of the three but by no means any worse. I have recommended this and recommended it again to everyone I know. Their make-up in the past year or so has got so much better, and I have noticed them trying to match new products of premium brands which is a really clever idea as the brand is really good for those on a budget. The foundation does exactly what it says and is just all round brilliant. I am on my third bottle I think, and for someone who switches foundations with every outfit, that's a winner in my book.

The second is Rimmel's newest foundation, Stay Matte Liquid Mousse. 'Mousse foundations dry my face out.' WELL THIS FOUNDATION DOESN'T. Because it's a *Liquid* mousse this seems to make all the difference. Who knew? Stays matte all day and goes with my desert island product: Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. Fab-las.

The third and final foundation, also my most recent purchase is No7's Stay Matte foundation. I bought this because as we were going into winter I noticed all of my already ivory and porcelain shades of foundation were getting too orange and pink for my ever pale skin tone (Curses of a strawberry blonde welsh woman) and I knew that No7 did a shade that, let's not beat around the bush here, was practically paper white. It is called Calico and it is the closest shade I have ever bought to my natural skin tone. The foundation itself is great. Stays in place all day and provides a natural looking matte finish. It's a really good foundation.

Applying foundation with a brush or sponge always helps to stop shine as applying with your fingers means you're transferring oil onto your face from your hands. I love Real Techniques stippling foundation brush and the Model's Own foundation egg sponge. These help to create a flawless airbrush finish.

So once you've applied your primer and matte foundation, it's time to add concealer.

Instead of Matte concealer I like to use quite heavy coverage ones to cover spots, scars and under eye circles. My top three are:
- Boing! Industrial Strength Concealer by Benefit
- Touche Magique Concealer by L'Oreal
- 17 Stay Time Liquid Concealer by 17

Then go crazy with your finishing powder with a big brush. Or don't. You don't want to look like, in the words of my cousin recently in Dublin airport, 'like you've dipped your face in baby powder'.

My one product I will NEVER stop using is Rimmel's Stay Matte powder in Translucent, but I also like No7's Translucent Loose Powder and Maybelliene's new 24hr SuperStay Powder. You really need to use it to set your make up and absorb oil to really achieve a matte look.

Well done for making it all the way to the end! I hope I have given some useful tips, and I'd love to hear what products you use to achieve a matte look which stays put all day.

GG xx