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Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts


Ages back I was requested to do this post by a reader on ask.fm, so whoever that was - thank-you for the great idea! Here I have compiled a list of my 10 favourite cruelty-free (of course) budget beauty products ranging from skincare to make-up bits and pieces. Enjoy!




I've had this blusher for years and somehow still haven't hit pan. Talk about value for money! It's a universally wearable colour as it's such a beautiful, natural shade. It's perfectly pigmented and I'd recommend to all!





This has to be the only face wash that I've used that I can tell has properly cleaned my face. Because the muslin cloth that comes with the cleanser is white, and because the cleanser is white too, you can really see all the crap come off your face. It's disgusting but sooo satisfying at the same time. Not to mention it's super gentle on your skin, which is always a bonus. I've mentioned it previously in my 'How To: Care For Your Skin' post that you can have a little read of here.





This stuff comes in super handy. If I'm feeling lazy (which is very often) I can use this to clean my face, and not feel guilty about it. It gives your face a great deep clean, getting out any traces of dirt from the day. Not to mention, it's a great make-up remover! My only problem is that I have to be careful taking my eye make-up off with it, as it's not quite as sensitive as it should be.





I started using this foundation when I was about 15 and I loved it, but at the time I didn't know how to properly apply foundation and concealer, and therefore the coverage wasn't great. Now that I know how to get the most out of a product, I can use the HMF to it's full potential, And despite it not being full coverage like I would usually opt for, it's great when applied on top of Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.





This is probably my favourite nail polish of all time. And I've literally had hundreds of different polishes, but this one tops them all. It gives you a shiny, pigmented finish that can even trick the professionals themselves into thinking you've had a gel manicure. Forget going to the beauticians - just nip to Boots!





If you have trouble applying eyeliner, you need this. This liner has helped me create the perfect eye look on so many occasions, at one point causing a shop assistant at Miss Selfridge to compliment me and ask where my eyeliner was from. Safe to say she was pretty shocked when I said Collection, I think she was expecting me to say MAC or something! Because it's a felt tip, the nip is fairly stiff (stop it) and therefore makes for easier application. It's now a staple in my make-up bag as it doesn't flake or dry out quickly like many others I've tried.





These lipsticks are amazing. They're pigmented, creamy and long-lasting. What else could you want in a lipstick?! The packaging is sleek and classic too, which is always a huge bonus. The only issue is that once you get one, you're gonna wanna get them all...



excuse the chipped nail polish... *cringe*


Everyone and their dog seems to rave on about this stuff, but it really is fab. There are many people out there that dismiss 'cheap' make-up because they believe it's not going to be good. Yet brands like Collection are there to prove them wrong. If you're looking for a medium-to-full coverage liquid concealer, give this one a try. My only main concern is the small colour range, especially for those like me who have pale yet neutral/warm skin.





I've loved their lip balm since around 2010 when I first purchased their limited edition Christmas Spiced Vanilla. Quickly after, I purchased the Cranberry Joy flavour in the range and then the next year, added Candied Ginger to my collection. Sadly, they no longer do them exact lip balms anymore. Two Christmases ago, I went into the Body Shop to see if they had any, but they were replaced by these domed lip balms that were no where near as good, they weren't even creamy like the old ones! I think TBS must've gotten a few requests to bring the old lip balms back as last Christmas they donned a similar formula, and I obviously had to snag one. This time, in the Glazed Apple flavour. Sadly but obviously, these only come around at Christmastime. Therefore, you can either wait or you can get their good-but-not-as-good Lip Butters. I have a bunch of these and I do love them, but they're just not quite the same.





If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll be sick and tired of me raving on about this powder. For the price, it's bloody fab. Yeah the coverage is non-existent but it sets my makeup perfectly. And for just under £2, it's worth a try. I guess that's why I felt it was worth the coveted No.1 place!



What are your favourite budget beauty buys?
~requested~

"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognise it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." - Albert Schweitzer 
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Okay so if you're one of those kinds of people who will read haul posts and then go out and buy everything, you might wanna look away. It's safe to say that after taking the picture below I came to the realisation that I may have a problem... Mum, if you're reading this, you were right. God I hope she doesn't read this. To make my 'little' haul seem less dramatic, all of the products that I'm about to show you were bought on three separate occasions over a period of around 4 months, one of them I paid entirely with advantage points. So it's not that bad...right? I've been keeping all this stuff in their bags and boxes so I could write about them, but admittedly I have used about half of them... oops! Anyways, if you're easily influenced like I said before, you may wanna look away. But for those with a very strong willpower (screw you), carry on...





Skincare


Boots Botanics Micellar 3 in 1 Cleansing Solution Ultra Calm - £3.29 (currently on sale for £2.19)

I wanted to see if I could find a micellar water that would take my eye makeup off as the Superdrug one I was currently using was quite drying and therefore I didn't want to put it on my eyes. It does the job fairly well, it doesn't sting when I use it although you can feel it on your eyes if you use too much. I paid £3.99 for this bottle, it was reduced from £4.99 at the time...looks like they've lowered the price completely!




Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Cleansing & Toning Wipes - £3.39

I think I had a voucher that if you spent so much on the Tea Tree & Witch Hazel range you would get so many points, so I thought these wipes would be worth a try to remove makeup. Plus, they might help my nasty acne-prone skin out!



Tea Tree & Witch Hazel with Active Charcoal Face Mask - £3.59

Same excuse (haha) as above, except I really wanted to try this. I've used their peel-off face mask before and really liked it, so I thought this was worth a shot. I always used to go for peel-off masks over mud masks but recently I've been preferring the latter. Plus, charcoal is meant to be really good for your skin. I used this on Monday, and on first impressions it's lovely! We'll have to see how it goes...

Make-up


Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Light Vanilla x 3 - £9.99 each

When I was about 16 this was my go-to foundation. I loved it at the time, but as I got better at doing make-up I didn't enjoy it as much as it didn't give the coverage I wanted and needed. After a 3-year hiatus I returned to it in a classic 'I've ran out of foundation and if I don't get any now I will die' panic. And to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. Last time I tried it, I hadn't quite mastered the art of concealer, but now that I have I can see how brilliant this foundation is and why so many people rave about it. I guess that's why I bought three...




Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Foundation in Porcelain - £5.99

Ah, the almost-perfect full coverage foundation. This is my go-to if my skin is acting more annoying than usual as it covers my imperfections (with the aid of the LP concealer) without looking too cakey. Only main problem with this foundation is the lack of shade range, especially for pale-but-warm toned creatures like myself.



Seventeen Stay Time Foundation in Porcelain - £6.49

To be honest I'm not too sure why I got this, I guess I was having a foundation-related identity crisis. The reviews on the boots website were brilliant so I thought I might as well have a try. Plus, it's full coverage!



Seventeen BB Magic Blemish Balm in Light - £6.99

Before this purchase, I only had one BB cream from the Body Shop that turned me electric orange. Not a good look. Therefore, I decided to try and find one that doesn't make me look like I've been tangoed as I was going on holiday and wanted a lighter alternative to my usual full coverage foundations.



Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair x 3 - £4.19 each

The classic Lasting Perfection concealer that everyone and their dog seems to be raving about just had to be included, didn't it? It's fab for the price, and it was on 3 for 2!



Natural Collection Pressed Powder in Neutral x 8 - £1.99 each

I bet you're all getting tired of me banging on about this powder...but it's just so good! You wouldn't think it was good cause it's so cheap, but it seriously is brilliant. If you haven't yet tried it, get one! Or make like me and get 8!


left to right - personne ne rouge & grand cru


I know I'm super-late on the bandwagon for this one, but that's mainly due to the fact that I've been banning myself from buying unnecessary make-up products for what feels like forever. When I went on this Boots binge I decided to treat myself to one, seen as I've been so good for so long. After much deliberation, I decided to go for Personne ne Rouge - a classic red. Very Taylor Swift. As for Grand Cru, that's Jenny's (more of a sister than best friend) fault. I told her about my purchase of PNR and she fell in love and just had to have it. Therefore, when she got Grand Cru, I just had to get one as well. We are non-biological twin sisters, after all.



Collection Supersize Fat Lash Mascara in Ultra Black - £2.99

Because I'd spent so much on Collection products, I got this lil freebie. I never seem to buy mascara as I always get them free like this, or in sets. I honestly can't even remember when I last paid money for one!



Seventeen Backlash Mascara in Brown Black - £6.49

Like with the Collection mascara, this was a freebie. Not bad for a freebie to say it's worth over £6! I'm looking forward to seeing how these two work out though, although that may be in a year or so. I have a LOT of mascara...



Other Stuff That I Can't Categorise Because There Isn't Enough Stuff...Stuff



Batiste Dry Shampoo in Medium & Brunette x 2 - £3.99 each (on sale for £2.66)

I used to wash my hair every day and now that my hair is down past the bottom of my back, I can't really be bothered anymore. Plus, if I'm straigtening it, it's always better on the second day. Although it's always starting to get greasy at this point, and that's where my trusty Batiste comes in! I always stayed away from Batiste as it was never suitable for brown hair, until they bought this beauty out! I swear by this stuff, it's fab.



Boots Baby Shampoo (500ml) - £1.50

Boots often have a 2 for £2.50 deal on the shampoo and the baby bath below amongst other baby products, and although they're a bargain anyway, I always like to take advantage of the offer. Why not! I use this shampoo to clean my makeup brushes with, and it does a great job! It's brilliant that it's so cheap as I go through the stuff super fast. It keeps my brushes and my purse happy!




Boots Baby Moisturising Bath (500ml) - £1.50

I love a good bath, me. The smell of this stuff just reminds me of being a little kid, and the massive bottle means plenty of super bubbly baths for just over a quid. Yes it's meant to be for babies but don't knock it until you've tried it!



Have you bought way too much in Boots recently?
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A couple of weeks ago me and my friend Shannon popped into Leeds for a few hours on a miserable Thursday afternoon. Leeds is the home of the Victoria Quarter and Trinity Centre, making it one of the best shopping destinations in the UK (if you haven't been and you adore shopping, you need to visit!). I feel pretty lucky to be able to have almost every shop you could imagine all situated in one area. My purse, on the other hand, doesn't love it so much.

Surprisingly, I didn't actually go into Leeds with the intention of buying beauty products, I actually went because I really really reaaaally wanted Iggy Azalea's The New Classic album. HMV did have it, but didn't have the Deluxe edition, which is what I wanted. So of course, I had to cheer myself up with make-up...I just had to.


I'd seen this in an e-mail I received a few weeks back and after looking it up on their website I really wanted to try it out. Now although I work in a hairdressers and therefore get my hair done for free, I've never actually had my hair dyed. I'm pretty lucky to have hair that's in good condition and I know what dyeing can do to your hair so I've always been put off. Because of this, I'd been wanting to try hair chalks out for a while so when I found out that Body Shop were selling some in pink and in blue, I knew I'd have to try it out. For £5 why not?!




I like (but not love) their Lasting Perfection Concealer and I've been wanting a cheap (but good quality) foundation for a while so I picked this up. When I got home so many people had said bad things about the foundation and despite the colour (I didn't realise they had a Porcelain shade), I actually like it. I might do a review on it sometime in the near future so keep your eyes peeled!



As I've said many times before, I adore NC's Pressed Powder. I also adore their Loose Powder and decided to pick up two!




Ah, my one true nail-love. Adored by many, raved by me. These were the last two I needed to complete my collection...until I found out that Barry M were releasing MORE shades, this time a Summer 2014 collection (read about the Summer 2013 collection here). I'll obviously be buying the Summer 2014 shades too, and there shall be a post on the Spring Collection up soon. I LOVE THEM.




As I mentioned a few paragraphs above, I don't love the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer as much as everyone else seems to, therefore I am still on the hunt for 'the perfect concealer'. As I love everything I've tried from NC I thought I'd have a try with their CoverUp Cream, and so far, I'm impressed.




Montagne Jeunesse Blemish Mud Face Mask - £0.79
Me and my mum are (secretly) obsessed with Home Bargains. If you haven't already heard of it, it's basically a shop that sells well-known brands (and some unknown ones) at a cheaper price. Sometimes a super cheap price, but not always. I'm a lover of Montagne Jeunesse and their fab face masks and whenever I get them, I get them from Home Bargains. They always have a good selection and they always seem to be on 3 for £2, that's why I bought three!

What have you purchased recently?
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I wasn't sure what to write for today's blog post, I've have loads of suggestions from you guys but none of them were appropriate for this week so I've filed them away for later. Luckily, I haven't left you with nothing because I got a delivery today, a nice black box filled with Illamasqua goodies so I thought I'd share them with you!


Rich Liquid Foundation
in 133 - £7.50 

Light Liquid Foundation
in 133 - £7.50
Concealer
in 105 - £5 


Illamasqua have been having this 'secret sale' where products can cost either £5 (lipstick, concealer) or £7.50 (foundation) and I got informed of this by an old school friend who'd tweeted about it. Obviously with me being a make-up junkie I just had to check it out...and make a few purchases ;). My box of goodies include super white concealer (it was £5, why the hell not) and black lipstick (perfect for Halloween, and with the pigmentation that Illamasqua have to offer I really couldn't say no), not the most obvious of choices but they were cheap and I'm all for a bargain. £30 for 5 full-sized Illamasqua products? I didn't believe it was possible either.



Lipstick
in Sangers - £5 
Lipstick
in Pristine - £5

















Have you purchased any luxury bargains recently?
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I have been through countless numbers of foundations, and none of them have ever been sufficient. I have oily, spot-prone, fair skin and would therefore need a foundation with medium/full coverage with serious staying power. Many foundations that I have tried have either become patchy on my skin within a few hours, or were too watery and not thick enough to cover my acne scars. A few years ago I discovered No7's Beautifully Matte foundation in Boots, picked up the lightest shade and went home. When I got home I applied the foundation and to my horror it was ridiculously dark with a disgusting tinge of orange - it's safe to say I looked like I had been tangoed. Sadly, the foundation's coverage was amazing and lasted all day (I only wore it at home, lucklily no-one had to see me like that, haha!). No7 must've realised that their colour range was awful, and only recently have they decided to give their entire foundation range a re-vamp. I was delighted to find that their Beautifully Matte foundation was included in this re-vamp, which meant that they had a shade for ones with a lighter complexion (Cool Vanilla).





The foundation promises 'up to 14 hours shine free complexion and a soft, even finish' and includes SPF 15 and is also hypo-allergenic. It comes in 14 different shades, and seems suitable for everyone, from light to dark skinned.


You would need to apply powder to 'lighten' the foundation as it can feel heavy on the skin otherwise. Although it promises up to 14 hours shine free complexion, due to my oily skin it doesn't last this long without blotting papers and reapplication of powder a couple of times a day. Despite this, it may work for those without oily skin, as the foundation doesn't seem drying but it is made for those with oily skin which is quite frustrating due to it not being brilliant at keeping me shine-free all day. The only main problem I have with this foundation is that it still doesn't match my skin colour - I have only ever found one brand that does (Illamasqua 133 - perfect match!) but I do still use this on a regular basis. I know, you'll all be disappointed in me but i'm the Queen of blending and I always make sure it graduates down my neck, no-one has noticed yet and I've been wearing it for a year! It's fantastic value for money, just a shame it's not a perfect match. Damn my English skin!


Before (on my wrist)
with No7's Beautifully Matte foundation


No7 Beautifully Matte foundation is available at Boots for £12.95

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