BECCA SIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR

I tired a lot of dupes for this product, but the real thing is the real deal! I have two shades, Moonstone  and Pearl. Pearl is a beautiful, very natural translucent shimmer, it is NOT metallic or too shimmery! It just gives you a well moisturised looking and dewy glow. Strong face shimmer is not acceptable after the age of 10 so please don't wear it on your cheeks ;)

And Moonstone is a much warmer tone, Dior J'adore kind of glow but much more wearable! Not over-the-top, still managing to look very undetectable and natural.

I have to stress that both shades are very daylight friendly! Some highlighters look great in the evening, but too shimmery under the naked sunlight. Edward Cullen in sunlight! but the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors look amazing in daylight, no shimmer particles, nothing heavy or metallic, simply glowing from within skin.

I usually use Pearl all year round and Moonstone in the summer when I want to emphasise tanned skin and get a warmer golden glow. 

They are versatile, on a particularly dull skin day you can wear them all over under your foundation as an illuminating primer, or mix them with your foundation/tinted moisturiser. 

Alternatively, you can simply wear it on top of your foundation, buffed on the high points of your face like top of cheekbones, bridge of nose, upper lip (cupid's bow). 

Also, If you want extra glow on a special occasion I would suggest doing it once, waiting for it to set and then repeating it with a second layer. I did this technique on my wedding day and it looked great and lasted all day/night, I have posted my wedding makeup photos on my favourite foundations blog post, have a look here. 

Here are the swatches, Moostone is on top, Pearl on the bottom, I have not fully blended them in so you can see their consistency and colour better. 

It has an SPF 25, but since you only need to use a thin layer it would not give you adequate protection so if you use it during the day I would strongly suggest to use a good SPF cream before.

The main drawback is the cost but I have used the Pearl for a year and a half and the bottle still looks pretty full! You get a lot of product for the money (50mls) and a little goes a very long way so it will certainly last you a long time. Becca has another two beautiful shades - Opal, a stunning pinkish illuminator and Topaz, a beautiful deeper golden colour. 

Have you tired any of them? What is your favourite illuminator/highlighter?

UK readers can find it here. 

US readers can find it here. 

Love, London Girl  xxx

REVLON'S COLORBURST LIP BUTTERS

Revlon brought out a cute new range of very pigmented yet very wearable lip butters. I spent half an hour deciding which shades I want to get out of a whopping 21! I ended up going for Tutti Frutti, Candy Apple, Berry Smoothie and Raspberry Pie. I thought in the lines of 'one coral, one red, one pink and one deep pink'..

They come in a cute packaging and are very moisturising, something of a hybrid between a lip balm and a lipstick, they have the pigmentation of a lipstick but the moisturising properties of a lip balm. Another great thing about them is that you don't have to wear the shade full on, when they are initially applied, a thin layer gives you a natural hint of colour without the drama, so perfect for a classy day look, but if you realise you have plans in the evening too, you can just add a thicker layer on and you have a good burst of colour. This makes me always carry at least one in my bag so I can quickly go from day to night, perfect!

015 Tutti Frutti: An orangey coral shade, I love to wear this one sheer during the day, it looks fresh and I'm sure I will love it in the summer too! Great all-rounder coral and it is much easier to wear than more opaque orange lipsticks. 

swatched

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035 Candy Apple: A cute tomato red, not orange, very wearable, I love to wear it as a statement lipstick with a simple eye look. 

swatched on the left

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050 Berry Smoothie: very natural 'your lips but better' colour, super wearable pink shade, the one I just can't let go of, wear it everyday. It looks much darker in the photo than it really is, the swatch shows the real colour you get. 

 swatched on the left

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010 Raspberry Pie: Darkest colour of the four, although you can wear it sheer, it is a beautiful statement dark pink, reminds me a little of a beetroot pink, very wearable too and stays on a long time.

All 4 shades from left to right:  Raspberry Pie, Berry Smoothie, Candy Apple and  Tutti Frutti.

Have you tried any other colours? I have my eyes on Juicy Papaya!

UK readers you can get them 3 for 2 here.

Love, London Girl  xxx

FAVOURITE LIGHT BASES FOR SPRING & SUMMER

I know it's not summer yet but I think any girl has days where she needs little coverage (not a full face of foundation) but enough to have a nice glow and even out the skin tone. Here are my most trusted tinted moisturisers that I use on my 'good skin days' or 'too hot to do anything else summer days'.

Laura Mercier's Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser: This is very well known for it's glow-y capabilities, I call it sunshine in a tube. It is the one thing that gives me the most beautiful glow ever! It has tiny microscopic shimmer particles in it BUT you don't look like Edward Cullen in sunlight, these particles are not invisible on the skin once applied.

 It gives you a mega glow, it would brighten up the dullest of complexions on the greyest day of the year! As the name suggests it illuminates your skin, making it look younger and healthier. It has an SPF 20 so it's great for everyday protection, it glides onto the skin very easily, making it a great one-step makeup trick when you have no time but want big illuminating results FAST!

 It's only draw back is that it's not cheap, well none of the Laura Mercier's product are, but I have had mine for over a year and used it a lot (a little goes a long way) and it's still full because you get a lot of product for the money.
My shade is Warm Radiance (for medium skin with pink tones).


Erborian's CC Creme HD: My second favourite is a little less well known, it is a hybrid between skincare and makeup, so it moisturises and has anti-aging properties and evens out your skin tone and gives you a little glow (much less in your face as Laura Mercier's) it is just more subtle.

 This product comes out of the tube as a white cream which you start rubbing onto your face and it changes colour to match your face tone. It is quite entertaining to apply! See photo below where it starts   getting colour.

It has a great SPF of 45 so your daily protection--> check! It it great for covering redness, pigmentation and rosacea since it has enough coverage to mask them but it is virtually undetectable on the skin, it just looks like your skin, but better! It is my go-to skin product in the summer months and on holidays because it checks all the boxes for day and night makeup, your skin looks simply flawless!

Have you tried any of these bases? What are your favourite ones?

Love, London Girl  xxx

BEST EYELINER FOR WINGED-OUT LOOKS!

I gave up on black eyeliners a long time ago, after trying so many of them which looked amazing the first hour but they always end up on my eyelids at the end of the night not matter how carefully I apply them. It's very frustrating after spending half an hour trying to make the wings look symmetrical, all efforts in vain!

I finally stumbled upon my last chance... MAC's Fuildline in black - Blacktrack. It's been out for a long time but I never thought it would be any different from the others so I never bothered with it until I saw it on my friend and it looked really great. I was still so sceptical about it even though the sales assistant was also wearing it and said it never moves around or imprints on your lids. I brought it home and had to test it out straight away. 

It comes in a cute glass pot, it is a very highly pigmented gel consistency, which you can adjust or clean up a little while you apply it cause it gives you around 3 minutes before it fully sets (thank god!).  You would have to apply it with a liner brush, preferably synthetic but I like this since you can use different brushes depending on what look you want to recreate. I find it a bit messy and difficult to use felt liner pens as they are too watery, but this glides on perfectly, not too heavy not too watery consistency. 

And ladies! It does not move at all! Once it sets, it SETS and it will not imprint anywhere, it does not run in the corners of your eyes, it just stays put. I had fun creating new daytime and evening looks with winged out lines, something I never used to be able to do without looking worse for wear after 4-5 hours. 

I saw they have 11 colours in the Fuildline range, I am thinking of getting the brown (Dipdown) and the violet/mauve colour too (Macroviolet).

The brushes I use with it are the MAC 210 and MAC 263 (same as 266 but synthetic). I love both brushes but if I had to pick one, it would be the MAC 210 because I find it fits better into the inner corner of the eye.

I read bad reviews about this liner as people said it's too had to remove... well, I remove it easily with Bioderma's Crealine water, or Clinique's Take the day off Balm, most oily makeup removers should also do a good job but personally I never liked oily makeup removers.

You can find the liner here
What are your favourite holy grail liners?

Love, London Girl  xxx

MY TOP 3 FOUNDATIONS

Here is a round up of my all time favourite foundations:

About my skin type: I have combination skin with some dry patches around my nose. 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua: I waited a long time before I bought it as I was not sure if it was worth the money but once I did the plunge, I fell in love with it straight away!
It is a really flawless light foundation which is undetectable on your skin. It simply looks like your skin is glowing and healthy. The coverage I would say is light-medium, but you could potentially build it up, it does not become heavy of cake-y. Although, I would not recommend building it up a lot since it is specifically made to be a light-medium coverage and look like your own skin. If you want a heavier coverage then don't buy this foundation.

Something to note is that since it is a water-based foundation, you have to shake the bottle for 7-10 seconds before using it. It has an SPF 15, but I used it a lot and never had any flashbacks, some people even wear it on their weddings! The lasting power I would say is around 6 hours for me, maybe a bit more with primer underneath. It is my perfect everyday foundation.
My shade is B20.


Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk: My wedding day foundation. I absolutely love this stuff, I have to admit that when I first bought it, I was not happy about how it sat on top of my skin because I applied it with fingers. No no no, this foundation is meant to be applied with a brush, little by little, really buffing it into your own skin and adding layers when needed but not bulking a large amount straight away thinking it will look great, it won't. So this needs patience to apply, but the result is worth it! You get a very natural finish too, glowing from within, it's medium coverage, and the staying power is at least 10 hours if you properly buff it in.

I applied it at 4pm on my wedding day and did no touch anything up (I thought I would, but simply had not time for it) and removed it at the end of the night at 5am! Here are pictures of the just applied foundation and the 4am disco skin- still looking good!

I love the fact that in the picture on the right, I had just applied the foundation but my skin was not a blank canvas, you could see through the foundation, it just looks like I had very good skin, it doesn't look like I have 2 layers of foundation. 

Another great advantage of this foundation is that it has no SPF, so it always photographs beautifully and it is great on big occasions when you want your photos to look flawless. I heard that a lot of wedding makeup artists use it! Now that the wedding is over I still use the foundation when I want something long lasting with good coverage but still looking natural. I would say this foundation gives a little more coverage than the Vitalumiere Aqua.

My shade is normally : 4 

But I also got a summer shade for when I am more tanned: 5.25

Nars Sheer Glow: Another beautiful foundation! It has a medium coverage but you could build it up to full coverage. It also leaves a healthy glow, but you can't really see your skin though it (not like both of the foundations above), I use it in colder months when I feel I need more coverage. It also photographs very well (no SPF) and the staying power is around 8 hours for me. The only issue I have with it is that I sometimes (once a month) get dry skin patches around my nose and I feel it emphasises them. That said, if you don't suffer from any dry patches, it is a wonderful foundation to have in your collection. Just make sure you buy a pump for it, it is so messy without it and you could end up wasting a lot of product. Nars sells the pumps separately, or you can do as I did and steal a pump from an empty bottle ;). 

My shade is: Ceylan

Love, London Girl  xxx

IS BLACK TEA GIVING YOU BAD SKIN?!

Most people let their health routine go around the Christmas and NYE period, I was no exception, but with a new year, comes new resolutions, and I wanted to try and change something for the better in my life.
Promising yourself that EVERYTHING you do will be super healthy in the new year is setting yourself up for a big disappointment. So I had to think small and realistic. What can I really keep up with even on busy, tired days?

I came up with swapping black tea or coffee for healthier options. I am a big hot beverages drinker, so over the year I calculated I would have at least 1200 hot, and very caffeinated drinks.

But can you really replace the kick you get from a strong black tea or coffee with something else?! Impossible! I was very sceptical about the idea, especially in the morning! I crave my caffeine and without it, could easily crawl back into my bed and sleep until I get my fix. I simply can't function without it.

So I researched what would be the best way to kickstart the day and still get your buzz and discovered that warm water with half a lemon is an amazing way to start your digestive system and it will give you enough *zing* not to collapse on the floor. I had to try it out.

The first week was not easy, I still craved the smell of my strong earl grey tea... but I stuck with it. And funnily enough, I really felt like the lemon gave me a punch to start my day full of energy. Lemons are acidic but once your body processes them, they become alkaline, which is best for your tummy! There are whole alkaline diets (Miranda Kerr, Victoria Beckham).. Well, let's just start with the lemon water, I don't think I will ever be able to pull off an alkaline diet. But lemon water is a small step in the right direction!

So I stuck with the changes, and it's the end of my first month and I truly think I will stick with it in the long run. I will still have and odd coffee or tea when I want it, but that's besides the point. Waking up, and starting your day with something good for you will make you happier and more positive  even if you polished off  three chocolate bars the night before. 

Onto my last point, since I started this, my skin has brightened and cleared up a LOT! I always had really bad under eye purply bags and redness around my chin, and somehow it really helped both these issues. Apparently, strong caffeinated drinks may cause you to become dehydrated and under eye bags will appear as a result. Unfortunately, if your coffee/tea is causing you under eye circles, even the best eye creams don't have a chance. Tweak your habits and you won't need the expensive creams! I am not claiming it is a miracle cure that will work on everyone but try it out for a month and see if you notice anything new in your skin.

I don't have a good explanation as to why the redness on my chin faded away, I had it all my life and always needed to conceal it, it is still there now but much lighter than before, so I will stick with this routine and see if it ever completely fades away *fingers crossed*!

PS: If you never really liked the taste of green tea, I found a great one which is very tasty and completely different from the sometimes more acrid green teas around. Try the Milky Oolong teas (they don't contain milk, it's just a name cause they smell milky-creamy). I am loving their brioche smell and light, smooth taste. 

For UK readers try it out here.

For US/Canada find it here and here.

If life gives you lemons..... clear your skin out with lemon water! 

Love, London Girl  xxx

JANUARY FAVOURITES 2014

January is a hard month, your money has disappeared after the Christmas festivities but since you indulged on everything you could over the past few months, your skin is in severe need of TCL!

Here are my skin heroes that saved my face from total chaos this month. 

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner: this stuff is simply great! I have combination skin with a nose prone to blackheads. So this toner met my needs; gentle enough on my drier areas and strong enough on my nose and blocked pores. I don't always use a toner (because usually I don't notice what it does to my skin) but this was clear from the start. Kept spots at bay and cleared the pores! No brainer!

Liz Earle's Brightening Treatment Mask: I do love my Glamglow mask, but I finished my bottle over Christmas and felt like finding a dupe for it. So I came across this little beauty. It really does what it says on the bottle, brightens and clears my skin. Similarly to the Glamglow, it is also a clay mask and even felt a little tingly whist on, but did not irritate my skin. With ingredients like Aloe Vera and Which Hazel you know you are in good hands. Plus, at £14.75 instead of £34 it is a perfect January treat!

Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre: Winter's wind and cold does not do your skin any good, so I lathered this great moisturiser every day after my Clarins toner and let it sink into my skin while I brushed my teeth, it's moisturising qualities are great, my nose was sore and almost peeling after catching a cold and it really soothed everything gently. It's not the cheapest moisturiser but a little goes a long way and it's worth the money if you suffer from dry skin in the cold months!You can see the love I gave to this tube and I'm still not giving up on it! 

Revlon's Colorburst  Matte Balms : In these dull days there is nothing better than to lighten them up with a bright lip! I have been obsessed loving Revlon's balms, they brought a hint of spring and summer to London's rainy days. My lips are usually very dry around this time of the year, so I would generally completely avoid matte lip products as they will simply highlight the cracks in my lips, however I was pleasantly surprised with these, as they are very smooth and moisturising, in fact, I would never have called them matte. I love the color Unapologetic at the moment, but I have a feeling I will get more colors soon, let me know if you want swatches and full post about them.

Balance me Radiance Oil: If all else fails, and I feel a stubborn pimple still coming though, I would attack it at night with this oil, it's so great that 90 percent of the time my pimple does not even come up to a head, it kills it dead. I only have the small size of this but it has become a must in my beauty SOS routine and I will definitely go out and buy the bigger size of this once I run out. 

Phyto 7 daily hydrating Cream : I cannot live wihtout this in windy, cold months, my hair is quite fine and hence without it, I simply can't brush it out! You need to smallest amount. I does not weigh my hair down, it is not an oil and does not leave it greasy at all. It is simply magic, and it has changed my hair routine because with it, my hair does not get nearly as knotty.

What are your favourites this time of the year?

Love, London Girl  xxx

DREAM NAILS AT HOME: SENSATIONAIL

With Valentine's day around the corner, red nails are all around us, and if you are like me, with brittle and thin nails that never really grow out much, you will understand why the idea of red nails sends me shivers down the spine. Sure, I own the cutest and brightest red polishes, but too often spend one hour perfectly applying it, then another to fully dry them, only for them to start chipping within 24hrs. Waste of my time and patience. 

So  I have been eyeing the Boots counters for better alternative this Valentine's day, because red nails, I will not give up on you! I remembered the times when I had gelish done in salons, and how wonderful the colours stayed put for a long time, but can you really recreate this at home?!

After buying the Sensationail starter kit, and a Royal Ruby colour (would describe it as a Louboutin red), I did not know if I just solved my problem or wasted yet more money in my quest for the perfect candy nails. 

The kit came with a UV Lamp, a gel cleaner, a primer, a base and top coat, some lint free wipes, a small file, a small wooden manicure stick and a colour (I picked the French Manicure Set) so had to buy the Royal Ruby colour separately. 

It comes with instructions but basically, you want to clean you nails with the cleaner (although I have now tried acetone or any other nail polish remover instead and it works perfectly fine too), apply the primer all over the nail and wait 30 seconds for it to dry. Then follow by a base coat that you hold under the light for 30 seconds or until the light beeps at you. 

Then you apply one coat of colour (here is the tricky part... unlike normal nail polishes, you cannot wait until you are done with all your nails to put them under the lamp.. the first coat of colour 'shrinks' a little on your nail if you don't put it under the light straight away. So I did my index finger and middle finger together and quickly put them under the light, two by two and the ring finger and pinky together). That way, you don't let the colour shrink (once under the lamp the colour is sealed and does not move anymore). 

Then you apply the 2nd coat everywhere and the second coat doesn't shrink like the first one so you can take your time and really perfect it before you put it under the lamp. 

And finally, you apply the same base and top coat and wait 30 seconds under the lamp. 

Once your 30 seconds are done, you have to wipe the excess, so take the cleaner on a cotton pad (or any other acetone or nailpolish remover) and wipe your nails one last time to clean the excess. And you are done! No drying time, so smudging, no time needed walking around fingers in the air like a diva. Nada, you are good to go on with your day as planned. 

After about a week, tiny little chips were on my index and thumb (see picture) although I cook everyday and usually manicures don't survive even 2 days in my routine. However overall after a week it was still very clean looking so I kept it until day 12!

A great thing I noticed is that the sensationail manicure protected my nails from breaking and hence at the end of the 12 days when I removed it, my nails were much longer than they have even been. A bit of filing was needed and then I quickly reapplied my protective red layer because without it, I felt naked. I'm very happy I bought the kit and can't wait to get more colours for spring and summer! Let me know if you want reviews and swatches of different colours I get.

You can get your Sensationail Starter Kit for £69.99 here and here and the Royal Ruby colour for 12.50-£15.00 here and here .

For US/Canada readers: you can find Sensational here.

TIP: The UK sensationail website now has a deal of 12 colours for the price of 8! 

or ebay has a lot of deals on colours and UV lamps. 

Love, London Girl  xxx