Everyday Makeup

I don't often post FOTDs on here... In fact, I've only ever posted one before this! But I've recently been liking my everyday makeup so I thought I'd share it with you.

Face:

Benefit Porefessional Primer

Natural Collection Green Concealer

Paul & Joe Light Cream Foundation

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

L'Oreal True Match Powder

Cheeks:

Revlon Matte Blush in 'Perfectly Peach'

Benefit Hoola

Eyes:

Estee Lauder Eyeshadow in 'Sun'

Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara

Eyebrows:

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 004 Black-Brown

Lips:

Benefit Her Glossiness in 'Didn't Hear it from Me'

If you would like to see me applying this, then check out my Youtube video here.

What makeup have you been using daily?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

August Favourites 2012

Today's post is for my August Favourites. I don't have many this month as I have been mainly using the same things as last month, but there are a few things that have stood out to me:

Clockwise from left: Elemis Rehydrating Rosepetal Cleanser, Remington 38mm Curling Wand, Urban Decay Naked Palette, Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer, Topshop Coin Necklace

What have you been loving this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

June Favourites 2012

I can't believe it's the end of June already! These are my beauty, skin and hair favourites from the month of June. If you want to see my June Favourites video, where you can hear why I've been loving these products, then click here.

Every month I include a random favourite with my monthly favourites. This month, my random favourite(s) have been buying white items of clothing. I usually stick to dark colours and tend to wear black all year round. However recently every time I am in town, I am always drawn to white items of clothing, especially crochet or broderie anglaise items. The ones below are two of my recent purchases:

Top: New Look £12.99

Dress: Urban Outfitters £30 (Reduced from £65)

What have you been loving this month?

xoxo, Joy

French Manicure with a Minty Twist

I was talking to one of my friends recently about how much we love French manicures. I think they are the perfect nail look if you're stuck for what colour to paint your nails and are really classic.

I really fancied doing a French manicure today, but didn't have any of those little half moon stickers, so I did them free hand. I am usually awful at doing the tips neatly, but this time I don't think it went too bad. I think the key to neat tips is to not have too much polish on the brush, as I usually put far too much on and make a mess.

I fancied something a bit different to the typical white tips and vaguely remembered Zoey Deschanel tweeting a picture of a French manicure with mint tips, so I used 'Office' by American Apparel which is one of my favourite nail polishes of the moment. Then I used 2 coats of 'Rose Lounge' by Bourjois over the top. I really like how it turned out. I think it's a nice summery twist to a classic nail design.

Do you like French manicures?

xoxo, Joy

Project Empties #13

This month I have finished very few products, but I thought I'd quickly share them with you. I have written reviews for most of the products already, so I will link those below.

I have been loving using the view from my window as a background for my photos recently!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Review: Here

Would I repurchase? Yes

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

Review: Here

Would I repurchase? Yes

Neal's Yard Remedies Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture

Review: Here

Would I repurchase? Yes

Clarisonic Refining Skin Polish

Review: This was a nice gritty body exfoliator. It had fairly large exfoliating particles and a pleasant fruity smell. It never left a greasy residue on my skin and left it feeling nice and smooth. It worked well on its own and with the Clarisonic body brush.

Would I repurchase? Yes

As you can see, I have used up some well loved products which I will definitely repurchase. What have you finished this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

April Favourites 2012

Today's post is for my April favourites. I hope you enjoy the video :)

Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

Review: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

What they say: (From Boots.com) 70% more radiance and flawless complexion for up to 16 hours! A flawless, luminous complexion for up to 16hrs. Fruit therapy for radiant boosted skin. Anti-dull complexion range.

Price: £9.99

Swatch:

Bourjois Healthy Mix in 52 (Vanilla)

Slightly blended out

What I think: I absolutely love this foundation! I use the shade 52 (Vanilla) and I find this a great match. I found 51 too light and too pink, while 52 has more of a yellow tone. Sometimes if I feel like I need more coverage, I add a little MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 to it, which gives a lovely amount of extra coverage and longevity to the foundation.

While I normally don't like scented products on my face, this foundation smells amazing and fruity. It isn't overpowering and doesn't linger for long. This is due to the fruit extracts -

• Apricot > radiance
• Melon > hydration
• Apple > antioxidant
• Ginger > energy

Upon application my skin has a dewy but matte finish, as it isn't highly dewy or completely matte. I found that my skin looked fresh and healthy and no dry patches were accentuated. This has a medium coverage, which leaves your skin looking natural. I use either my fingers or my Sigma F80 to apply this and it is easy to blend and looks great, regardless of what I use to apply it. It is nicely buildable and doesn't look cakey, even after powdering. A second layer gives your skin that extra flawlessness without looking like you're wearing too much makeup.

I found that this lasted well throughout the day on my skin. I set my foundation with powder and I blot or powder over my t-zone later in the day, but I do that with every foundation and it's mainly out of habit to be honest.

I love the packaging. The pump is great, since you can easily control how much you pump out. As a rule of thumb, I find one pump is more than enough to cover my face and jaw. I think it's great that the packaging is plastic, so you don't need to worry about it breaking in your make-up bag and it's handy, because you can easily see how much you have left.

I really can't think of anything bad to say about this foundation... I guess, the colour range could be deemed as a little limited. There are 8 shades, ranging from 51 (the lightest) to 58. I assume that there is a shade for everyone, but I find most drugstore/high street foundations are either very pink or very yellow.

I am definitely going to repurchase this when my current bottle runs out. I think it's a great price for a great foundation! There is also a Healthy Mix concealer, which I want to try now!

What do you think of Bourjois Healthy Mix?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

NOTD: Rose Lounge

3 coats of Bourjois So Laque in 'Rose Lounge'

I've recently been wanting a nice nude polish after my old one by Sephora ran out. After hearing that Kate Middleton wore this on her nails on her wedding day, I popped along to Boots and picked up this lovely pink nude polish! Hehe. I found the formula of this was very runny, but it is still easy to work with. The first coat of this was extremely sheer. It took about 2/3 coats for most nails to look opaque. Although there were some areas which looked a little uneven, I didn't think this mattered because the colour is pale and natural, so it wasn't obvious. I was impressed with how quickly each coat dried. After 3 coats, my nails were completely dry and didn't feel tacky, like some nail varnishes are after a few coats. This lasted well on the nails.

Do you like pale, nude colours on your nails?

xoxo, Joy

Recent Purchases

I posted this earlier this week, but with all the problems on Blogger, it seems to have unposted itself... So I am reposting this!

I realised that my first two Youtube videos were collective hauls for February and March, but here's another one for the month of May. I find doing haul videos easier than haul posts with photos and text. Plus I find editing videos quite therapeutic. Haha.

One of the comments I received on Youtube was that I'm not smiling in the video, so I apologize for that now.




Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy

First FOTD, plus a few other things

This is my first FOTD post (Actually it's yesterday's FOTD...), eeek. I was quite hesitant about posting this, because I was feeling self conscious about the picture as my skin hasn't been that great lately and I filled in my eyebrows unevenly! But in the end, I just decided 'What the heck, I'm just going to post it'. This is just a simple, neutral day look which I wore to my lectures yesterday.

Please excuse my washing in the background!

Face
Benefit Dr. Feelgood (As a primer)
Revlon Photoready in Shell
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15
Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder
MAC Virgin Isle CCB
Bourjois Rose de Jaspe

Eyes (I forgot to take close up pictures of my eye, sorry!)
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MUA eyeshadow in Shade 11 all over the lid
MAC Brun eyeshadow in the outer third, crease and eyebrows
No7 Gel Eyeliner
No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara

Lips
Body Shop Sheer Lip Shine in Sheer Pink

Last week, I was lucky enough to win another giveaway. I was so chuffed when I saw an email from the lovely Leah telling me that I'd won. The parcel with the prizes arrived at the weekend, so that was a really nice way to start off a lovely weekend :) Thank you so much, Leah!!! Go take a look at Leah's blog (Look! Flying Monkeys!), it's full of a mix of beauty, fashion, food and all things lovely. :)


I just wanted to share a quick Boots purchase with you all. It never would have occurred to me that you could buy jewellery in Boots, but I was waiting for my friend while she was buying some stuff and was surprised to see a jewellery stand. Not only a jewellery stand, but one with lots of pieces that had 1/2 price stickers on them, score! There were some other pretty pieces, but this ring really caught me eye. It reminds me of a wing ring that I'd seen on ASOS a while back, but smaller and cheaper at only £2! I really like how it has the diameter of the ring on the label, rather than S, M or L. Although when I first tried the ring on, I almost had a panic attack when I thought it was stuck, lol! From now on, everytime I pop into Boots, I'm going to keep an eye out for their jewellery section! :)


Have any of you bought any jewellery in unexpected places before?

Thank you for reading. I hope my FOTD didn't scare you off, lol! xoxo, Joy