August Favourites

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's nearly the end of August and I'm doing my August favourites already! Time is going too fast it's so scary. Anyway there are a few products I've been loving this month and I thought I'd share them with you.

From left to right:

- Stila One Step Correct Primer. I stopped using this a few months back and only just recently got into it again after I got a new foundation and it worked well with it. I've got a bit of red pigmentation on my cheeks and I find this works well to dull it down a bit and help foundation cover it better. It is also nice and hydrating for dry skin.

- Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water. I'll be honest I've had this a few months now and when I first bought it I wasn't overwhelmed by it, I thought it was just a fancy water and was a bit disappointed. However I think this was because I need a heavier more hydrating primer, so recently when I've been finishing work and heading out somewhere quickly with not much time to reapply makeup I spray this on and it completely refreshes my makeup and makes it look almost new again. Really good for solving cake face after a long day at work!

- Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadow in r.s.v.p. I've been loving this this month for when I'm going out but nowhere exciting and I can't be bothered to do a full eyeshadow look. This is perfect to just put on your lid and blend out to give your face a bit more something but a nice lazy alternative to anything too full on! Also love this colour, it's such a pretty neutral that would look great on lots of skin tones.

- MAC Amplified Creme lipstick in Blankety. Absolutely love this and I've been reaching for it a lot more recently! Definitely my favourite nude I own, when I came back from holiday and was a bit more tanned my other nudes were a bit too pink for me but this has been amazing when I'm tanned and pale! Probably my favourite MAC lipstick I own and the creamy formula is so nice.

- Mary Lou Manizer by theBalm. I recently blogged about this and if you read that then you will know that I am obsessed with this. My new holy grail highlighter and I can't imagine this changing unless I find something really amazing. 

- St Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. This is a must for anyone who is looking for an exfoliator, the dry skin around and on my nose has been so bad this month for some reason and after using this it clears it up so well. I don't find it harsh on my skin either, I have this in the travel size as I bought it for holiday but it's lasting absolutely ages so I would definitely recommend!

- Make Up Forever HD Foundation in soft sand n120. Again I posted on this recently, I haven't had it very long but I've been reaching for it everyday. I won't say too much about this as I've gone into detail on my previous post but it really is worth the hype that it gets!

Let me know in the comments what you've been loving this month!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge First Impression Review

Hi everyone! I made a post a couple of days on a Make Up For Ever foundation I bought as Debenhams now stock it in the UK and when I bought it I saw this MUFE lip product that I thought looked really interesting and it is called the Aqua Rouge waterproof liquid lip colour. I'm really into liquid lipsticks right now, but I'm yet to find a brand that makes one that I really love (still forever waiting to be able to buy Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipsticks in the UK). Aqua Rouge is said to be 'long lasting, doesn't bleed and leaves no trace'. I thought they looked cool because it comes with the lip colour on one side of the product and on the other side there is a gloss which provides a lacquer finish. I was so stuck on colours to choose as none jumped out at me so I got the shade 18 coral as coral is usually one of my go to colours.

You get 5ml of the liquid lip colour which I think will last a while as a little goes a long way with this product, you really don't need to put a lot on at all.

I swatched the gloss on the left of the liquid lip colour, you can see how transparent it is. To be honest I had really high hopes for this product however when I tried it the colour wasn't for me at all. I liked the feel of it and how pigmented it was but it was far too bright, basically neon. Not saying it isn't a nice colour but I prefer a less bright lip so it would be great for anyone who loves bold lips. I can definitely vouch for it being long wearing though because I took it off after I tried it on my lips and literally couldn't get it off I had to scrub and even once I managed to remove it my lips were tinted pink so if you want a long wearing lip product this is definitely for you! I was a bit disappointed because at £19 it is pricey so when you get something and don't really like it when it was expensive it definitely sucks! The struggles of buying online though! I actually looked at loads of swatches of this and it looked no where near as bright so I don't know if it just shows up neon on my skin tone but never mind! I can definitely say I would try this product again as I liked the formula, this particular colour just wasn't for me, anyone who likes a bold lip though it would be great for. Let me know in the comments if you've tried this product and also any shade recommendations if you have!

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation Review

Hi everyone! I'm actually so excited I can finally write a post on this product as I have finally been able to get easy access to this brand in the UK! Basically nowhere in the UK stocked MUFE which meant having to ship it over from other countries which was just a massive chew but Debenhams have stocked it in some stores and online finally! I'd been wanting to try a new foundation for a while and I always thought this one sounded good and people were always raving about it saying it was their 'holy grail foundation'.

It claims to be an invisible cover foundation that 'combines flawless coverage and an extremely natural finish'. It is well known for being good for photography as well because it doesn't contain any SPF so you don't get a white face in pictures when flash is on.

Great news is you get a pump as well! I love the packaging, only thing is that it is a bit bulky, the bottle is quite tall so it takes up a little more room but it's not massive, you get the standard 30ml of product. When it came to picking my shade I was stuck as I absolutely hate ordering a foundation you've never tried before online so you are taking a stab in the dark at choosing your shade. Thankfully I put in two of my shades in two foundations onto Findation and it matched me up to N120 which is also called soft sand, this is described as a shade for medium-light skin with a yellow undertone and it matched, so I can breathe a sigh of relief. It's described as medium to full coverage however I would definitely say when first applied it is medium coverage but it is also buildable, I had to add some more product to areas that needed more coverage and it covered these areas great after. 

The thing I love about it is that despite being medium coverage it doesn't feel like you are wearing make up, definitely agree with it being an 'invisible cover' foundation. My main concern was that typically fuller coverage foundations tend to be more matte and dry my skin out more, however it didn't dry me out at all, I would say it is semi-matte, not totally matte but not dewy either, just a nice middle ground. It isn't the most moisturising foundation I've ever used but it definitely isn't drying. 

The consistency is definitely liquid but it isn't very runny, I found that it is a much thicker consistency than some of my other foundations however it is so blendable and I found it so easy to apply. As I am writing this I have been wearing this foundation for over 6 hours and it still looks good, not as good as when first applied but it barely needs touching up, just a little around my mouth where my laughter lines are so it definitely has good staying power. 

I took a picture of me wearing it this morning to test how it looks in photos and whether it lived up to it's invisible cover reputation.

I do think it is invisible cover foundation as I feel like it doesn't look like I am wearing a lot of make up in that photo but I'll let you be the judge!

I definitely would recommend this foundation especially since it is so much easier to get hold of in the UK now that Debenhams stocks it, at £29 it is pricey however it is such good quality and great if you want a higher coverage foundation that still looks natural. On the Debenhams website there is 23 shades to choose from which is great for people who have a harder time finding a shade that matches them like me. Let me know in the comments if you have this foundation and what you think of it!