October Favourites 2011

I don’t have many favourites this month, as I have been trying to speed up my morning routine and have been using the same few products all month. I also haven’t bought any new make-up for a few months now and I am actively trying to minimise my collection.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid – I bought my first bottle of this almost 5 years ago and used it every day. During the past few years, I’ve opted for lighter coverage foundations and reserved this for nights out and days where I needed my make-up to last. Over the past month or so, I have been choosing this as my go-to foundation and I have rediscovered the love I had for it back when I first bought it. It leaves a lovely matte finish, which I am aware that a lot of people dislike. I find it can look natural if you only use a pea sized amount of foundation. It lasts all day on my skin and doesn't leave me a oily mess by lunchtime. I have the shade NC15 and it is a perfect colour match. This is love.

Layering Different Mascaras –Recently I’ve been forgoing eyeliner in a bid to speed my up make-up routine and instead I have been applying lashings (excuse the pun) of mascara. The two mascaras I've been reaching for the most recently are Max Factor False Lash Effect (the waterproof version) and Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara. By mixing a volumising mascara and a lengthening one, they have made my lashes look super long and voluminous. I love that they’re both waterproof/long lasting formulas, which means that I don't get an unsightly raccoon look and they hold curl wonderfully. The combination of these two products, along with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, have rapidly become holy grail status.

Topshop Neon Rose – I have been using this cream blush so much over the past month. I love that I can just use my fingers to apply it and I love the matte, powdery finish. It’s a gorgeous colour, which leaves you with a pretty flush to the cheeks. Although, be aware that it’s very easy to go overboard with this blush and you could end up looking rather clown like! (See here for swatches and to find out what it is a potential dupe for).

What were your favourite products this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Dupe: MAC Virgin Isle

Normally I ramble on and give you the whole back story in each post, but today I thought I'd get stuck straight in... I think I may have found a potential dupe for MAC's Virgin Isle Cream Colour Base, which I wrote about here.

Topshop Cream Blush in Neon Rose vs. MAC Virgin Isle CCB

Neon Rose is part of Topshop's permanent make-up range, priced at £6 for 4g, while Virgin Isle was limited edition from the MAC Stylishly Yours collection, priced at £13.50 for 3.2g. Although correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it is a MAC pro product, so it would still be available after this collection has gone.

All photos were taken in natural daylight with no flash.

Left: Neon Rose, Right: Virgin Isle
(I probably should have given the products a clean before I took photos, lol!)

As you can see, the two products don't look particularly similar in the pan. Virgin Isle is a lot brighter than Neon Rose. Neon Rose looks pinkier, while Virgin Isle has a more orangey-red tone.

Swatch - Left: Neon Rose, Right: Virgin Isle

Swatch blended out - Left: Neon Rose, Right: Virgin Isle

Personally, I think the two products look very similar in these pictures. You can see that Virgin Isle is more pigmented than Neon Rose and you can see the different finishes of the two products - Neon Rose has a cream to powder formula, while Virgin Isle does not. But apart from that, I would say that they are dupes of each other.

What do you think? Are Neon Rose and Virgin Isle dupes or not?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: Topshop Cream Blush

I've been wanting to try a cream blush and since I've never used one before (I've always stuck with my powder blushers), so I was a little stuck about where to buy one.

Oops, I didn't realise I could be seen in the mirror!

What they say: (From Topshop.com) Lightweight cream to powder blush that melts into the skin giving a natural luminous, radiant finish.

Price: £6

Swatches:

With flash - Left: Blended, Right: Unblended

In daylight - Left: Blended, Right: Unblended

What I think: After seeing a tonne of people raving about the Topshop blush back when the Topshop makeup range was first released, I decided to give Topshop makeup a go. I got this cream blush for £5.40, since I was able to get 10% student discount, which I thought was an extremely reasonable price.

The blush gives the cheeks a really pretty colour, which is easily buidable. The pigmentation is really good, so very little product is needed. The blush is cream to powder, so it feels light on the skin once applied, and it blends really easily. I've found it really easy to work with, especially since I've never used a cream blush before.

I'm about 80% sure I would repurchase this. The 20% of doubt isn't a specific gripe with the Topshop cream blush, it's just that I want to try cream blushes from other brands and I'm still a loyal powder blush fan.

Have any of you tried anything from the Topshop make-up range? Is there anything that you would recommend?

Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy