My Summer Lip Picks

 'Fable' Illamasqua // 'Morange' MAC // 32 'Jealous Coral' YSL

With the (very) brief encounter with the sun last weekend it got me thinking about Summer time and what trends I will be leaning towards. We all know how I love my lip products and decided to show you all the shades I shall be sporting this summer.

First up comes from Illamasqua and one of my favourite lipsticks ever, not just for the moment! This is 'Fable' and is a matte bubblegum pink shade. This is definitely a gorgeous pastel shade and will make a great transition through Spring to Summer. It is super pigmented and the formula stays on for hours! They are described as 'creamy' but I'll be honest it is quite a dry/chalky texture so a good lip balm is a must! I do love matte lipstick though and I absolutely love this summery shade so that extra step doesn't bother me.

Summer just isn't the same without a bright orange lip and mine is coming in the form of Mac 'Morange'. This little beauty comes with a gorgeous vanilla scent to it, if you don't like scented makeup much you may want to see if you can tolerate this first before you purchase. As for me? Well, I love vanilla scented anything so this was a huge plus! A cream, opaque finish with a slight shine to the lips, this is not one for the faint hearted. It is much more orange on application than it appears in the tube. This was the colour used on many of the catwalks at London Fashion Week so was a sure fire for this Summer!

Last but not least I will be popping on YSL Rouge Volupte in shade 32 'Jealous Coral'. Can we take a moment to appreciated just how gorgeous the packaging of these lipsticks are? The smooth, buttery type formulas just glide onto the lips. Some may find these a little too bold but I think they are fabulous! This is a peachy-pink tone and is perfect for the season ahead. It adds such warmth to your skin and gives your lips a super glossy/ shiny finish! The perfect everyday shade.

What is your summer lip colour of choice?

Lori x

January Hits and Misses

I was sitting a few days ago, being a good little blogger and writing out lists of what posts I want to do, all my ideas and also products which I am interested in using (thanks fellow beauty bloggers and youtubers, you get me every time!). Whilst doing this I had a sudden thought - 'It's February on Saturday....whattt?! How, what, who even?!'. That was my exact thought process! On this realisation I decided that I should probably pop up a post on all of my favourite and not so favourite items throughout the month of January - the worst month of the year, can we get a  hallelujah that it's pretty much over!

So first up, this will be absolutely no surprise to anyone, is the YSL Youth Liberator Foundation. For anyone who hasn't seen my review then have a wee peak here. I have never found a foundation which I have used consistently, everyday for a month. It gives a great amount of coverage yet still keeps a lightweight feel on the skin.

My next favourite of the month is the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm which I have been using on the days when my skin has been looking dull and tired. Unfortunately, in January, this has been quite a regular occurrence for me considering I was ill for almost two weeks of the month. Thank god for Clarins! The balm gets patted (not rubbed) into the skin before foundation application and gives an instant boost to the skin creating an immediate radiance. I also find it holds my makeup on all day, doubling as a primer. Win, win! 

Another winner for Clarins has been the Hydra-Quench Cream Mask  which I got in a set a while back and have never used before as I don't tend to suffer from dry skin. However, because I was ill and choked with the cold/flu I was constantly blowing my nose which led to it eventually being sore and dry with flaking skin - now there's an image! I found this in amongst my skincare and decided that desperate times called for desperate measures and swept this over the dry area. When I woke the next day the pain was almost undetectable and it had cleared up a lot of the dryness. I have used this religiously ever since - great purchase if you are a dry skin sufferer.

This is something that I never thought I would ever say so prepare yourselves! I think I may have found the best concealer - ever! Having read so many reviews on the Nars Creamy Concealer I thought it was high time I went and picked it up. I am so happy that I finally did as it was love at first swipe. One of those products where you curse yourself for not having picked it up sooner. This is now a staple in my everyday make-up routine. The creamy texture means it doesn't dry out the area under the eyes and yet still gives amazing coverage, which is something I have always struggled to find in a concealer. The formula is super long lasting and I never find it creasing into any lines. Definitely worth the hype!

One for the hair now. This month I purchased the Salon at Home Volume and Bounce Texturising Spray after reading Amelia's review and dubbing it the dupe for the Oribe spray. Once I have straightened and styled my hair I spray this to give my hair an instant life and texture which I can't achieve through brushes alone! It gives instant my hair volume and because of it's clear formula there is no need to rub it in. Just spray and go!

Now I know this is super cliche but I don't even care! I have always loved the Naked Palettes and I didn't think I could love anything quite like I loved Naked 2. Then there came Naked 3. The perfect rose gold shades for a pale lady like myself! I have had this since it launched but there were so many reviews kicking around at the time that I didn't feel like urge to write one. I have used this baby pretty much everyday since I got it. The colours can be mixed in so many different ways and I get great day looks as well as night!

A random favourite which has to be thrown in here is Celebrity Big Brother (CBB). I am not even ashamed to say I have been completely addicted this year! Usually I watch the first night when the contestants all enter the house and that's it, whether it was the fact I knew most of the house mates this year or that the drama was wild, no one can deny that CBB was tv gold! With constant drama and arguments I found myself watching this religiously every evening! What will I do without it?!

The biggest and only miss of the month has to go to Birchbox. I didn't post about the mishap that happened with December's box but since it happened again this time around I feel it's only fair to let you all know! Last month my box arrived missing two products, after emailing the company they sent them out straight away and apologised. Fair enough. Then January's box arrived to have three products out of seven inside, no invoice or sheet to say what products should be in the box. You can imagine my anger and disappointment. After a fairly aggressive email they once again apologised and said they would send products. No extras offered for the inconvenience. When my extra items arrived two were smashed and all over the envelope. Fab-bloody-tastic! After yet another, not so polite email in which I told them to cancel my subscription they credited £10 to my Birchbox account and apologised. To me, this was too little too late and will no longer be a customer with Birchbox.

Apart from that I can't actually think of any products I have really hated this month! 

Hope you like this month's favourites and not so favourites, I wonder what next month will bring!

Lori x

YSL Youth Liberator Foundation | Review

Having looked at my most recent posts I decided that it was about time I popped up another product review. This time it comes in the form of foundation, YSL in particular. I think everyone will agree with me when I say it is very difficult to find 'the one' when it comes to foundation. Something that has the right amount of coverage, without looking plastered on. The perfect shade that blends seamlessly with your skin tone and makes you look naturally airbrushed. The kind that feels light as a feather but covers everything that needs to be hidden away! Is that too much to ask?! Well, apparently not - step forward Youth Liberator.

I am an absolute YouTube junkie - seriously, I am hooked! Everyday I am on looking for new videos by my favourites, or just new you-tubers in general. They also cause serious problems to my bank balance. Every product they recommend instantly becomes a 'must-have' in my eyes and the YSL Youth Liberator was no different. After months of everyone slogging on about the Georgio Armani, I took a trip into Fraser's for a swatch, thinking this exciting new love affair was about to begin. Unfortunately that dream was cut short on discovering their lightest shade was most definitely not light enough - pale problems #standard. 

I stumbled upon the YSL counter as I had been hearing loads about the new Youth Liberator foundation being very similar to the GA. It was love at first swatch! The packaging itself is beautiful with the hourglass bottle - it can sit proudly on my desk any day. I love the fact that it has a pump (Estee Lauder Double Wear take note!) makes it so much easier to use and less waste of product. Unfortunately, my pump is a little sticky but I think that was just my luck of the draw - still works, just needs a little encouragement. 

Freshly Applied

The formula is so light when applied on the skin and blends with ease. The sales assistant explained that it is medium coverage when applied with hands but full when used with a brush. I am not a hands type of gal! I hate getting product in my nails and it ends up all over my clothes etc - not a great look! So I always stick to my Real Techniques buffing brush - does the job and this gives the full coverage look I am after. The foundation gives a beautiful, healthy glow to the skin without feeling oily and greasy which, for someone with slight combination skin, is exactly what I am after.

My biggest pet peeve with foundations is usually that I really need to work hard at buffing them into my skin so that it looks like a natural shade and yes, I do still need to buff this in but it doesn't feel like I've done a full body workout afterwards. Smooths over really nicely and the moisture keeps your skin lovely and hydrated.

It gives me enough colour without looking ridiculous! I wear shade B10 which is, of course, the lightest. I find the formula to be very long lasting and my make-up is still in tact at the end of the day - which is, lets be honest, what we all want anyway. I do use primer, always have, I just feel it gives my skin a good base to work with so I'm not entirely sure if it is as long lasting without. 

End of the Day (note the first photos are in pyjamas!)

For £34 it is pretty pricely, but for me personally I think it is completely worth the money. It is a great everyday foundation and my skin has had absolutely no problems with this foundation. It gets the balance of weight and coverage absolutely perfect for me. So if you are looking for a new foundation - get yourself to your nearest YSL counter! You can buy it online here but if you do have problematic skin or not sure about splashing the cash then I would suggest popping along for a sample - you won't regret it!

Lori x