Sunday, 27 January 2013

10 moments when I like to use a bb cream



I feel so self conscious about the skin on my face (hyperpigmentation, red lumps and bumps, big pores and now visible signs of ageing) that you will probably never see me out and about, in broad daylight without a generous coat of the fullest coverage foundation I own. Asking me to step out of the house without some sort of foundation on my face is the same as asking me to venture out without my teeth brushed and deodorant. I basically could only do it if my house was on fire.


At the same time, I am a massive fan of bb creams and it just doesn't make sense. After all, bb creams are just a tinted moisturiser with a bunch of extra skincare properties. Why would I opt for something with such low coverage when I would usually go for the heaviest foundation I can lay my hands on? Well, you'd be surprised.


I wanted to share with you 10 moments when I want to reach out of my items of my beloved bb cream collection.


bb cream moments


1)
Going to the gym. There are lots of people out there who like to give you grief if they notice you're wearing foundation at the gym. You shouldn't have to care about what people (and mainly strangers) think about you, but if you're already feeling self conscious about your level of extreme unfitness, I find that wearing a bb cream helps with confidence and gives you one less thing people could give you grief about.

2) Strenuous-ish activities outdoor, for example a day to the mountain, walking pretty much all day. If you're anything like me, you won't enjoy outdoor activities much. One it's always cold outside, even in 'summer' and two, everybody is walking faster like you, like they have some sort of train to catch. The last thing you want is to appear like some sort of high maintenance girl, with layers of cakey foundation and who will cry if they break one nail. Just wearing a bit of bb cream on will make people think 'aww, she's clearly useless at walking, but she's not wearing any makeup, how refreshing for a girl who I thought was so obsessed with makeup.’

3) Beach. It is very unlikely I am going to put my head under water at the beach. I can't even swim. As people would laugh at me if I was wearing foundation at the beach, I find that bb creams are just perfect. And if people catch you re-applying bb cream more often than you should, you could always make it pass as a SPF cream ;)

4) Emergency Chocolate Fix. You need to nip out to the corner shop and can't bear showing your bare face to the world? BB cream to the rescue.

5) He stays over. You've started to see this guy more often. You know he's going to stay over and stay for the night. It's very early days and you don't feel comfortable with him seeing you with no ounce of makeup on. You dutifully take your makeup off, pop on bb cream on the sly right after, he's happy because he thinks you let him see the real you and you're happy because he's not seeing you with nothing on. I don’t condone wearing makeup overnight, but if a bb cream is just a tinted moisturiser, this has got to be better than full on primer and foundation, right? Winking smile

6) Hungover Days. You went out the night before, have a massive hungover and someone is visiting you last minute.


7) Hospital stays. Foundation would make you look too done up. BB cream on its own (no blusher, mascara, lipstick, bronzer) will make you decent enough to be seen by visitors, will even some of your imperfections and still earn you sympathy and hopefully some non hospital made food goodies ;)

8) Dirty foundation tools. You can't stand apply foundation with your bare hands and all your foundation tools (brush, sponge, etc) are dirty or wet.


9) Rubbish Foundation. You bought a foundation and disappointed with its coverage. The foundation is not very buildable and would look very cakey and horrible if you attempt to apply too much, so you apply a bb cream as a base, and manage to use up your disappointing foundation overtime.

10) Fake Tan. You have a lovely fake tan on your face and don't want to mask with your heavy duty foundation. You apply a bb cream to cover some of your ‘bad’ bits and still let your lovely tan shine through.

What about you? Did you also catch the bb cream bug? Are you still using your bb creams regularly or are they sitting there gathering dust?


It’s Sunday and that means it’s Blogging Date with Sirvinya. If you have a few minutes to spare, please do check Sirvinya’s beauty blog. Thank you for reading xx


Read more ...

Sunday, 13 January 2013

My moisturising buddy


If there is one thing I keep changing times and times again is my day face moisturiser. For one, I don't think I have found my 'holy grail' one and my priorities change all the time. One minute, I will feel super self conscious about getting old and will want to invest into something pricey-ish hoping it will make me feel better. The next, I am thinking, I am going to get old anyway, no matter how many lotions and potions I slather on my face and will just want a very accessible and plain moisturiser which does its hydrating job well.

 
One of my skincare priorities which is hardly going to change is that I need moisture, loads of it and this what brought me to purchase a tube of Superdrug Vitamin e radiance moisture cream. I was very dubious this moisturiser would impress me. How could a £2.99 moisturiser ticks my boxes when a £14.99 face cream can sometimes leave me indifferent?


01 superdrug vitamin e spf 15 radiance moisture cream


This is what it promises to do:



03 superdrug vitamin e spf 15 radiance moisture cream



12 hour moisturisation, did they say? I don't know about you but when a product promises me to give {insert amount of hours/days/weeks} result, I usually like to half that and consider myself happy if I get that result. Put your hands up if you only get 1.5 weeks of fuzz free legs when you’ve been promised 4! I can't tell you if this moisturiser left me moisturised for a whole 12 hours but my skin always feels adequately moisturised after a whole day of work and until I am ready to take it all off in the evening.


To top the long lasting moisturising experience (and the Superdrug vitamin e hot cleansers fans will vouch for this) the moisturiser smells absolutely divine and reminds me of cocoa butter mixed with sun cream. Texture is lovely too and sinks in my skin very easily, leaves me moisturised, plumped, smelling gorgeous and never too greasy. It feels like my skin needs it and drinks it all as soon as I slather it on my face.
 
Now for the 'radiance' bit. This cream, in my opinion, is strictly reserved for individuals with dry/very dry types of skin. The light reflecting pigments are quite powerful and noticeable almost verging disco ball but I absolutely love it personally. I hope the following picture, taken in bright natural light will be able to give you an idea.


02 superdrug vitamin e spf 15 radiance moisture cream


I admit I will probably feel self conscious if I wear this moisturiser on its own, in bright day light, say at a picnic date (eek, I can't stand picnics) at 2pm on a ridiculously sunny 'summer' day, in case I resemble one of the vampires in twilight but to be honest, I can't imagine myself wearing this moisturiser alone, and with no foundation on top. As soon as you put something on top, primer or foundation, the radiance effect is dramatically reduced. Also having said that, I have found myself reaching for this moisturiser many times, on a dull winter day, even when I am not planning to put makeup on top.

This moisturiser is not perfect though and it tragically clashes with my favourite face primer (no.7 airbrush away primer) and as soon as the two become in contact, they almost curdle together and  I am left with little bits of stuff peeling away on the surface. Is is the fault of the £2.99 moisturiser or the ridiculously expensive no.7 primer? (£19 something?) I don't know. My primer also 'curdles' with another face moisturiser which I own and my vitamin e moisturiser gets on perfectly with my L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer.
 
As for the anti ageing agenda, the Superdrug vitamin doesn't claim to bring me 10 years younger but it does contain 2 universally recognised anti-ageing ingredients (read the beauty mouth anti ageing cheat skin here) : vitamin e and a sun protection factor (SPF 15) and I am very very VERY happy with that.

I am going through my third tube of vitamin e moisturiser and it's definitely going to fall into my Superdrug basket many times again in the future, especially when I get 2 for £3.99 as it is the case at the moment. The tube has a very small handy handbag size, it's not overly girly and embarrassing to carry around and be seen with and finally no big fat fingers dipping in a big fat pot: you squeeze of fresh amount of product every time. It really bugs me I can use my airbrush away primer with it, but it gives me the chance to use up my other primers I never use.


What: Superdrug Vitamin e Skin Care SPF 15 Radiance Moisture Cream. 
How much: £2.99 (watch out for 2 for £3.99 offers during the year)
Where: Superdrug.
Availability: even the small and dingy superdrugs have got it :)


It’s Sunday and that means it’s Blogging Date with Sirvinya. If you have a few minutes to spare, please do check Sirvinya’s beauty blog. Thank you for reading xx
Read more ...

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Lately, I have been loving...

If I had to think about the most repurchased facial cleanser in my entire life, it would probably be Clearasil which I have used religiously  in an bid to combat my spots. My skin has changed, I am not getting younger and whilst I am still suffering from breakouts every now and then,  but it's now moisture that I feel my skin desperately needs.


Because of my acneic past, I've been avoiding oil and cream cleansers like the  plague, anxious it would leave the door right open to spots to make their come back. Lately, I've found myself using baby oil, of all things,  to remove my heavy eye makeup and I am ashamed to say that I've been loving it. The makeup disappears in one swipe and I feel my skin has been  lapping up the oily particles in it. I knew then that I was ready to try a cream/oil cleanser for my entire face


My shy steps led me to Boots, and I came home with Boots Botanics Face Nourishing Cleanser, with water, olive oil and glycerin listed as their  first top 3 ingredients.



01-botanics-olive-oil-cleanser


I can't describe how anxious I was to use this for the first time. No foam, No Sodium Laureth Sulfate to make it  foam? This is like telling me to start drinking tea without sugar. I need SLS, it's all I've ever known in my life. Also how could it possibly  make my skin clean without leaving any oil residues, and risking my pores to clog up?


I took the leap of faith and I am glad I did. The  cleanser feels absolutely lovely on the skin. The whole cleaning ritual feels so lovely and very multi sensory: from the delicate olive oil  scent when you dispense the product, the massaging into the skin and the rinsing it off. I can't my head round how using an oil can leave my  skin feeling so clean, smooth and moisturised but it does.


02-botanics-olive-oil-cleanser


The best of it all? The cleanser only cost me £5.10 and Botanics, being a Boots brand is often part of 3 for 2 offers. This makes me happy. I  have still have my beloved Botanics Rice and Honey Facial Wash in standby but I've never touched it back since. If you suffer from dry skin and  never tried a cream cleanser, you might possibly fall in love with this product. I have.


Read more ...

Saturday, 6 August 2011

My heart is beating for … Cotton Candy Cream Puff

I am deliriously excited to tell you about this product. I am not sure if you know but I am not a lip person at all. I think what I don't like about lipsticks and lipglosses is the sticky feeling. I can cope with it on a special occasion but on a day to day basic, I'd rather avoid it to be honest because I don't find uncomfortable. Since I saw London Beauty Queen's post on the Collection 2000 Cream Puffs, I have been dying to try them.


Cream Puffs by Collection 2000 are designed to give you a moisturised and matte colour on your lip.
Why would you want matte lips? I couldn't explain it better than Jenni from UK Nail Polish.
The one I bought is called  'Cotton Candy' .


Image9


I used the testers from the shop and swatched the 3 other shades available. I am sorry I don’t remember their names. I wish they came out in more colours. Four is not enough!


Image10


Cotton Candy has a luscious smell, moisturising but not greasy or sticky. It delivers the perfect amount of rosy, delicate, hint of colour on my lips, it is ultra wearable and I can't get enough of it.


Image23

Image17


Want to see Cotton Candy as part of a whole look? Click here to see it incorporated in my ‘Wrapped up Gateau’ Look. (link available in a few minutes)


What: Collection 2000
How much: £2.99 (look out for offers)
Where: Boots and Superdrug
Read more ...

Monday, 11 July 2011

Are BB creams for you? My week in BB creams

If you're anything like me you will have just recently heard about BB creams or actually not heard about it all. Well, it's totally normal. The BB creams phenomenon has yet to hit the UK and only the beauty obsessed educated will have had an awareness of their existence. With this is mind, I was extremely excited when little ol' me was offered some mini samples of BB Creams by Cosmetic Candy herself, with a chance to try them out *and* share my honest thoughts about them on her blog.


So, today, I would like to invite you to pop along to Cosmetic Candy Blog to read my review on BB creams. If you have a minute, and enjoy what you read, I would love you for ever if you leave a little comment. Thank you :) xx



001
Read more ...