Laura Mercier Basic Beauty Bits

A few Laura Mercier pieces that have formed part of my daily routine for about a month.
These were my birthday treat to myself:)


Now usually I'm drawn to chocolate browns and sparkley golds but on this particular day it was all about the wearable basics.

Here we have Sesame on the left and Gilt on the right. While this shades may look a bit boring and blah the fact that they are just so damn wearable makes up for it.

I use Sesame daily as a all over wash cover since my usual Bobbi Brown shadow in Banana was discontinued *sniff sniff.

And Gilt on the lids. It's just a very subtle gold with shimmer running through it of different colours. This doesn't show through on photographs.


Swatched.
Left to Right:- Sesame, Gilt and the lipstick is Antique Pink. It's a beautiful colour for winter. Lovely formula too...thick, creamy and lasts a long time.


Anyone else bought anything great from Laura Mercier?x

Mini Haul - Chanel Illuminating Powder Spring 2013

This weekend was a quick run around the shops as I had a million other jobs to do rather than make up shopping. However...I can't walk into John Lewis without sneaking a look at the beauty counters.
I saw the advert for Chanels Spring 2013 products and literally fell in love with the illuminating powder. I read a few reviews, watched YouTube reviews and that was it!
Drum roll for the beauty...




A close up!




It's so pretty it's painful to use.
Swatched - a pretty gold with a hint of pink.




Another quick stop in Boots. Just to spend some No7 vouchers. To be honest nothing really caught my eye as much as this beautiful lipstick. It's a pretty plummy pink with a beautiful gloss finish.




Swatched.

Must try Monday!

Steam Cream! Beautifully packaged with a lovely herbal smell...lets see if this product lives up to the hype.

My birthday post....

Picture heavy post...it was my birthday earlier this month so here's a few photos to share with you.

Vintage tea with my sister at The White Rabbit Tearoom in Nottingham - Houndsgate.




Yummy sandwiches. Scones and cupcakes.



A little treat for later.



My cake.



Presents...










I'm a lucky girl and grateful for my amazing birthday and presents. Thankyou x

Contouring

So another contouring post...
I'm absolutely new to contouring so I'm certainly not going to sit and tell you how to do it as I'm still finding my own perfect technique. What I will do however is share with you the products I use.
First things first...contouring your face is designed to give you a more defined look a la Kim Kardashian.
Getting there can be tricky without looking strange in the daylight so my only piece of advice is...lightly does it.




I use Hoola by Benefit for my everyday contouring with a Real Techniques contour brush. I bought the core collection recently and it is one of the best purchases I've made. So much so that they will get an individual post.




Now as you can see hoola is a slightly muddy brown (no shimmer).
The No7 is a darker brown slightly red with a highlighter too. I'd use this for a more night time look.

Swatches




Top - No7 highlighter
Middle - No7 bronzer (looks better in real life)
Bottom - Benefit Hoola.
Now once I master the art of contouring ill be back with photos and techniques but for now just my little starter kit.
Also a thankyou to Kaushal from Beauty Fulfilled who helped me find Hoola! Check out her blog for sure:) xxx

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream Review

This will be a short review...I have used this cream all week and considering the £25 price tag the full sized product comes with I don't recommend it.
My skin didnt feel any softer than it does with my usual Nivea Q10 cream and took me forever to rub in as its quite thick. This in my opinion is super annoying. I certainly won't be purchasing this product.

Must try Monday

This post is back! I have a ridiculous number of samples building up in my collection so I figure use one a week and report back. This weeks is Clarins Extra-Firming Body Cream.

Babyliss Boutique Hair Dryer Review

First things first £75....definitely pricey for a hairdryer! In fact the man serving me at Argos actually said "Really...£75?". So there I was a little hesitant about my purchase thinking have I just made a huge mistake. Ill be honest a hair dryer is something I've never given much thought to and I've been using a little Remington travel dryer for years. It was quick, easy and light.
So I jump out of the shower...load my hair with products and get blow drying. Firstly the power of this dryer is incredible, surprising in fact. I have long hair, pretty much half way down my back and it was bone dry in around 5 minutes. It also has a true cool setting which is amazing to use and brush your hair through at the same time. So once dry the things I immediately noticed..
1. Smoother
2. Shinier
3. Softer
4. Volumised
5. Knot free
I absolutely love this dryer. I had no reason to worry at all, it truly felt as though I had had a salon blow dry. I honestly can't rave about this product enough. I know £75 isn't cheap but if you have a birthday coming up then I would definitely ask for this. I will not be looking for another dryer in the future...it's me and the boutique dryer for life :)