PERFECT NUDE LIP- BARDOT STYLE

I know summer is around the corner, and this means that everyone is ready to pull out their brightest lipsticks, and I completely agree with this, however, there is nothing sexier than bed head, big black eyeliner flicks and a plump nude lip any time, any day...right? :) It is a classic look which suits most people and looks great all year round.

So on days you don't feel like wearing bright lips, you can still rock a sexy, sultry nude lip and vamp up the eyes a bit more. Here are my favourite picks for that perfect Bardot lip.

It's difficult to find a nude lip which doesn't wash you out, or look too pink, too brown, too concealery... It took me a long time to find the perfect shade for me. I know not all these products won't work for everyone so do go swatch them in store before buying, I added options for lighter/darker complexions. 

Lets start with liner, if I want my lip to last the longest, I would usually line my lips and colour in with the liner to create a perfect base and then go on with my nude lipstick on top. My favourite lip liner is No 7's Precision Lips Pencil in the colour Nude. If I want a low key nude lip, I sometimes just wear it alone, it makes my look more put together. Do swatch it in a store because it could look a little brown on lighter complexions. No7 also has a darker nude shade for darker complexions called Caramel.

Continuing with the low-maintenance route, Clinique's Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm in Heaping Hazelnut gives a great on-the-go nude lip, enough shine that I won't make your lips look dry or chapped, and perfect colour pay off, not too concealer-like, blends into the lips beautifully. I love to pop this into my bag as it gives me colour, shine and keeps the lips moisturised when i'm out and about. It's sheer enough to be applied without a mirror, but it's pigmented enough for you to feel you only need one coat. I wouldn't say it's the most long-lasting lipstick you can find, but since it's an all-in-one (lip gloss, lipstick and lip balm), I don't mind reapplying it throughout the day.

Onto my heavier, more serious nude territory is Tom Ford's lipstick in Blush Nude. It should get an award for it's packaging alone! It's definitely the right amount of pink/beige, it simply hits the spot for me. It's more long lasting than the Chubby Stick. I love to wear it in the evening, apply one coat, blot, and the apply another coat and it will last a very long time. It's moisturising enough that it doesn't make my lips appear dry (which happens a lot with other nude lipsticks).

Tom Ford's collection also includes a Nude Vanille shade, which is very similar, but lighter and with less pink it in, it personally washed me out, but I think it could be a perfect alternative for lighter completions. Tom Ford also added another, more "browny nude" shade called Sable Smoke which could be perfect for darker complexions.

Tom Ford's Blush Nude lipstick swatched

Finally, if you want to go for an all-out Bardot look, a sexy lipgloss would be in order, my favourite is the Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in the colour Child (exclusive/limited colour). Enriched with Vitamin E to keep your lips hydrated and glossy, it works perfectly with any nude lipstick underneath, or on it's own for a more subtle nude lip to compliment smokey eyes.

What are your favourite nude lip products? Have you tried any of these?

Love, London Girl  xxx

MY FAVOURITE DRUGSTORE BASES

I made a favourite foundation post a couple of weeks back, if you are interested in it you can find it here. So I thought I would continue on the foundation route and share my favourite drugstore bases with you.

I have been a fan of the first one for years, I always think I will find something better, but I never do. It is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation. I have combination skin (with some dry patches sometimes) and it simply gets my skin. Does not cling onto dry patches, does not make it cake-y, illuminates, gives a nice dewey and healthy glow without any shine particles. Completely undetectable in daylight. On top of that, it has beneficial ingredients for your skin like Litchi, Goji Berries and Pomegranates which gives your skin vitamins while you use it! Perfection in a bottle! If I had to pair it with a high end foundation it would be the Vitalumiere foundation by Chanel. Super dewey and super moisturising but still looking modern and fresh and not oily!

I have also tried the Healthy Mix Foundation but I felt it was heavier, and less dewey/glowy. I will keep buying this until they stop selling it, it's that good, it's one of the only foundations I completely finished and ran back to buy on the next day. My shade is 52 Vanilla, as always with drugstore foundations, there are not many shades, but it you are lucky to match up to one, definitely get it! I would recommend this to dry skins but not to oily. It also has not SPF so photographs beautifully!

My second favourite is the newly launched 123 Perfect CC Cream again from Bourjois. This a fairly new addition to my makeup drawer but I keep reaching for it over and over so it had to be included here. For me the BB, CC etc creams are just a marketing trick in my eyes so I usually stay clear of them, but here I decided to try it out and I'm glad I did.  

It claims to have 3 coloured pigments, Orange for Anti-fatigue, Green for Anti-Redness and While against dark spots. I don't have dark spots on my skin so I cannot tell you if this is working, however I can tell you that this is a very light yet pigmented enough base which covers most imperfections on my skin. I only need concealer on big breakouts as this covers everything else. In consistency and finish, it reminds me of my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, which I love too. It definitely brightens up my skin and gives a healthy looking glow which lasts for 6-7 hours for me. I do however like to powder it on my T-zone if I want it to last that long. It is SPF 15 so could be good for the summer. 

I simply love these two bases, I think there could possibly be a link in the fact that Chanel and Bourjois are sister brands owned by the same company, perhaps even their formulations are similar, since they both come into my top foundation brands who knows. What I know for sure is that I can't be without these two tubes in my everyday life! 

You can find the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in Boots here for £10.99.

and the 123 Perfect CC Cream from Bourjois here for £9.99. 

Have you tried any of these bases? 

What are your favourite drugstore foundations?

Love, London Girl  xxx

URBAN DECAY 24/7 GLIDE-ON EYE PENCIL BLACK MARKET SET

I heard a lot about these little wonders, that they don't smudge and have great colour pay off so when I was browsing around last week and found a set on sale, I simply couldn't resist!

I got the Black Market set of 24/7 Glide on eye pencils form Urban Decay. I bought the set from Debenhams it is only available in store so have a look when you are close by. There are 6 beautiful shades  (from left to right) : INK- a deep navy blue, BLACK MARKET a dark kohl-y black, WEST a rich brown shade, APATHY a beautiful khaki green, DESPERATION an elephant grey colour and RIOT, a gorgeous dark purple. (from left to right)

Swatches of the 6 shades from left to right: RIOT, DESPERATION, APATHY, WEST, BLACK MARKET and INK.

Considering the fact that each 'standard size' pencil is sold at £15, this set of 6 different colours was a bargain for £18.20

Yes, the full sized ones are double the length of these travel ones but two travel ones equal one full sized one and overall you still get more shades and more pencils for your money! It is also an amazing starter set if you simply want to try out their formulas and see which colours work for you.

I think they really do a great job in staying in place when you want to have a colour on the waterline or a smudgy smokey eye, normally, I always end up with my smokey eye UNDER my eyes, but I am pleased to say this really does not budge or wear off. My favourite colour for the day is the grey to create a subtle definition by still very natural, and my favourite night would have to be a tie between the classic black BLACK MARKET  and the violet RIOT (perfect colour to enhance brown eyes!).

I think I will get a lot of wear from all 5 colours as they are all very wearable.

Have you tried them out yet? What are your favourite eye-pencils?

Love, London Girl  xxx

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

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