June Make-up Favourites

So normally I do these as a video (or I try to anyway!) but as I only have a handful of new faves this month, of which are mainly beauty-related I figured it could be nice to just do a lil' roundup.

Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner - A lovely toner. I spritz this on after cleansing my face morning and evening and you can really feel it hydrate your skin. I would always look at toner as being a bit of an unnecessary step before I tried this and I'd always thought that the formulas for toner were too astringent for my combination skin. This however,  is lovely and gentle with a calming rose scent (real natural y'all).

W7 Ebony Blush - I've never tried anything by W7 before but I was in the market for a nice understated blush that I could wear with a bold lip - which was actually seriously hard to find - and stumbled across this gem. Excellent colour pay off, not too sparkly and long-lasting (tested in the sweaty summer sun).

Bioderma Sensibio Tolerance - My skin was freakin' out the other day, like properly freakin' so I needed something the perk it back up and gave this a whirl as it was sent into the office. The Sensibio range by Bioderma is formulated specifically for sensitive skin and this product aims to neutralise hypersensitivity. the dry patches on my face where getting rather flaky but my t-zone was even more oilier so I found myself needing to constantly powder - powder over dry patches = scaly mess. However this product has helped relieved the dry tightness and made my skin like new again. Whoop!

bareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm in Plumberry Pop - Right now this is my go-to subtle bright lip. It feels like more of a tinted balm because it's so darn moisturising but the colour payoff is excellent and when it wears away it leaves a gorgeous tint to the lips. Literally can't rave about this formula enough. I may have to purchase the entire range...

NARS Eyeshadow Duo - The shades of these shadows are so not special but that is totally what I love about them, they are understated but add a gorgeous subtle shimmer to the eye - I've loved sweeping the lighter, peachier shade all over the lid and adding the darker shade to the outer corner and finishing the look with a sweep of eyeliner.

Antipodes Joyful Hand & Body Cream - This smells like actual heaven. It's so fragrant but beyond that the formula is so moisturising yet sinks in uber quickly. It's like a little spa for your hands.

beautyblender PRO - Makeup sponges have never been on my agenda - I'm much more of a brush girl, but I've always been intrigued by the beautyblender. The tutorials I've seen with them on YouTube always look super flawless so I thought 'why not give it a go?' And I'm literally so pleased I did - it makes your makeup look actually airbrushed but not in a super weird way like those apps - look at this pic, ok the expression isn't great but my skin looks good and it isn't even a little bit filtered whatsover - thanks beautyblender!

Clinique Superbalanced Makeup - I'd be fibbing if I said I needed more foundation. I have plenty and they all work perfectly, catering to my different needs but this enticed me in with it's frosted glass bottle and promise of balancing my skin and controlling oil. It provides medium coverage and feels light and breathable on the skin. I'm obsessed.

Video - The Spring Beauty Switch-Up

Spring beauty means two things for me, prepping to bare for the summer and integrating lighter, brighter products into my routine. So I made a video talking about all the things I switch up for this season!

The NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

The NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, £33

The claim - The oil-free formula delivers natural looking coverage with a weightless, 16 hour wear. The foundation is ideal for all skin types and tones and is available in 20 global shades. The even tone technology immediately neutralises redness, dullness and discolouration to improve skin's appearance over time. The new packaging features an advanced pump that dispenses the exact amount of product needed for the entire face. 

Reality – Ok so you probably saw me waffle on about this is in my January Favourites video – but I friggin’ love this foundation. When I first tried it I was definitely slightly dubious, when I applied a pump of it with my buffing brush, it took a while to settle on my face and just didn’t sit right. But that’s because I was applying way too much. While a pump is the perfect amount for most foundations, this beauty, which had a pretty runny consistency, needs less than that to create a flawless finish. For me just over half a pump does my whole face; I dot it on in five places (forehead, both cheeks, nose and chin) and then buff it in. When used correctly, you are left with a beautiful glowy complexion that's not too dewy at all, but not matte. I'm so obsessed. 

Love Keeks xo 

The Beauty Trend - Say yes to pink eye(shadow)

Pink eyeshadow was something I’ve never really been interested in trying for two reasons. One, I think the line between gorgeous pink lids and pink eye is hard to toe. Two, light shadows on dark skin… um, difficult in a word. So when the lovely Sarah, the beauty writer at work decided to do an article on the AW14 beauty trends on black skin and asked my editor and I to try them, I was interested to see how this particular one would work. 

Surprisingly this was the look I liked the most and this was the shadow I loved. The new NARS Dual-Intensity eyeshadows can be used wet or dry. Dry delivers a sheer wash of colour while wet gives a more pigmented finish. I used it with my M.A.C fix+ and spritzed it on my Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush. It glides on smoothly when wet; giving a beautiful shimmery base that isn’t too full on. I used the colour Europa this gorgeous iridescent pink that in the pan you would think wouldn’t suit dark skin like mine, but with a bit of brown matte shadow in the crease and a little black liner, I think it’s fast becoming my favourite AW14 catwalk beauty trend!

P.s to see the other trends we trialled grab a copy of Blackhair Oct/Nov out on the 18^th of September!

Love Keeks xo

The One Palette Look - NARS Guy Bourdin Crime of Passion Palette - Reviewed

The compact palette. The ultimate travel buddy – small yet perfectly formed. I recommend a palette whenever someone’s off on holiday even in features for work. But I have a confession. I’ve never taken my own advice. Stupid I know, but I’d never myself found a compact palette that offered what I thought I needed, and came in shades suitable for my skin-tone.

I was looking for a palette for eyes, cheeks and lips where I could use all the products. Sounds simple enough right? But I genuinely couldn’t find one for me. The lipgloss or the blush would seem too light for my dark skin, or the eyeshadows on offer wouldn’t create my preferred look.

So when I took the NARS Guy Bourdin palette home after using it for work, I assumed the same plights would apply, but I thought hey, lets give it a go.

Here’s the results…

I love the eyeshadow trio. The two darker ones create a great neutral smokey eye and the lighter one was perfect as a brow-bone highlight (if you have lighter skin it would work as a base colour). The texture of the shadows are dreamy and blend really well.

The blush and lipgloss (usually my two bugbears) worked pretty well for my skin colour despite looking pretty pale. The only thing that didn’t work as well for me was the bronzer, which was just too light to work as a bronzer for me – but I comprised and used it as a form of highlighter instead.

Overall, I’m impressed with this palette. Although it was limited edition, I know NARS bring out new palettes every few months and from the quality of this one, if you pick up the next L.E palette, I know you won’t be disappointed.

Love Keeks xo 

A Few New Additions.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Deep Peach // Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in Cappuccino 

NARS Bronzing Powder in Casino // MAC Lipstick in Capricious

Hi Guys!

So I've made a few minor additions to my collection and I love them all so I thought I'd let you know about them.

Bobbi Brown Corrector - for the past couple of months I've been getting some real bad boy dark circles under my eyes. They have definitely eased slightly since I handed in my dissertation (phew), but I really wanted something to help cover them up for future times when more sleep is not an option. I was matched on a Bobbi Brown counter and it's a perfect shade for counteracting my dark circles. I use it before my foundation and without the concealer - I'm yet to purchased the creamy concealer, but it's next on my hit-list (ssshhh, don't tell my debit card).

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation - I've had this foundation for around 2 months and I definitely think it's going to be the base I mix with my moisturiser for the summer months. I've heard this be compared to a lighter coverage NARS Sheer Glow which I've always been intrigued about because of all the hype around it. Nearly Naked has a lovely finish, not dewy but not matte, it sits somewhere in the middle, I blend it in with my fingers and then buff it out with a buffing brush. I love the fact that it's a high street make up brand and a good colour match for me, which is something that's quite hard to find.

NARS Bronzing Powder - I featured this in my everyday make up post because as soon as I purchased this beauty I haven't looked back. It's love. Before this I had never used a bronzer, and nowadays, even if its a light sweep of whatever is leftover on my brush from the day before, I don't do my make up without it.

MAC Lipstick in Capricious - My new favourite nude. Don't get me wrong, I love love love my Chanel lipstick, but it's just so precious to me that I don't ever want it to run out. This lipstick is ridiculously wearable and the lustre finish means it's quite moisturising on the lips. 

I'm seriously in love with all of these products, have you got any new additions that you've been loving?

Love Keeks xo 

The Everyday Make Up.

Hello My Lovelies!

So I wrote this post and was about to publish it and everything, with the whole post dedicated to the poignancy of it being my 100th post -  when I realised I had a draft post lurking around and it's actually my 99th. Fail. Oh well, this my almost 100th - 1. 

I was having a look back at my previous blog posts and realised I've never done a post about my everyday make up! Of course this does vary from time to time but this winter I've rarely deviated from these products and brushes for my daytime make up.

Firstly I obviously cleanse and moisture, (I'm thinking about doing a separate skincare routine post?) then I pop on some of the Ginzing eye cream on. Now I know that this is technically an eye cream but I thought for all the shimmer in it, it could be seen as a brightener of some sorts, which is how I see it. I then apply lip balm, otherwise my lips are super dry and lip products won't apply smoothly.

Base - I then go in with my foundation. This winter I've been loving the Le Teint Touche Eclat but as it  moves into spring (hard to believe, I know) and summer I switch to my Bareminerals matte powder. I dot the foundation on my face then buff it into my skin, sometimes I just use my fingers. Next I dot some concealer on my blemishes and down the centre of my nose buffing it out with the Real Techniques deluxe crease brush. I don't use this concealer under my eyes as when I have in the past I've found that it tends to gather in creases - not what you want from a concealer really, so I'm on the hunt for another.

Brows - I brush through them then use my brow kit; the wax sparsely, then the powder, applying with my Real Techniques brow brush. I then brush through them again removing excess.

Eyes - Day to day I normally just do subtle winged eyeliner. I first apply the Rimmel kohl liner in a thin line then to make it really dark then use the Soap & Glory liner to make the line smooth. I just find that using the Rimmel makes the line a lot darker. Followed by lashings of mascara.

Cheeks - I then apply some NARS bronzer with my contour brush, dusting along the top of the hollows of my cheeks, forehead and chin. Bronzer is a new step for me I only got it at the end of December but I love including it now! Next up is blush! I got my Gino McCray blusher in Thailand last time I was there and it's like it's never ending, which is good because it's my favourite. I first use my Mac 168 dabbing it on my cheeks and sweeping it up on my cheekbones, I then use the Mac 187 to blend the colour out a bit more to make it natural.

Lips - I normally keep it simple with a nude lipstick; my current favourite is my Chanel lipstick in Determinee.

Throughout the day if get a bit oily I use the Bobbi Brown pressed powder and my powder brush down the centre of my face. 

And there you have it, a rather long post about my everyday make up! What are some of your everyday products? 

Love Keeks xo