Converting a MAC foundation pump to fit Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation

Just a quick post today to say - I found a solution for the annoying packaging on my newly found Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation. I'd heard on the grapevine (or just through google) that the MAC foundation pump fitted the Estee Lauder bottle perfectly - so when I was doing an order the other day to top up my supply of Pro Longwear concealer, I popped one in the basket to try it out!

When the foundation pump first comes, it's a little long for the container - so I had to cut a small section off the end. If you're doing it, make sure you cut it at an angle, so that the foundation doesn't become stuck at the end of it.

And the pump fits perfectly! It even comes with a little cap so that it's not accidentally spilt, and the cap twists to lock it shut.
I'm so happy I've found something that takes this foundation from being amazing to being my all time holy grail foundation - yay!

A Little Sprinkle of Body Shop

I've never particularly been that into caring for my lips - I'm not a great fan of their shape, so I tend to leave them alone. However this winter they've finally rebelled and started to become dry - which as you can imagine, is not the most attractive look! So I had a little rootle around my drawers to see if I could find anything for a quick fix, just to add a bit of moisture.

My problem is that my lips are very sensitive to a lot of things, so even the slightest product can make them go all red around the edges and then I just look like fish-lips.. even more of an unattractive look! Because of this, I'm a bit nervous about trying out new products, in case I come up in a reaction - but when I found this Body Shop Nutmeg and Vanilla Lip balm and smelt it, I decided it would probably be worth the risk.

 (excuse the dirty container, i cleaned it up as best I could but bear in mind it was a 'bottom of the drawer' find)

Right, let's get onto the whistle-stop tour.. The first thing I have to say about this (and please bear in mind, there's not that much to say), is that is smells AMAZING. It literally is the lip balm embodiment of christmas- the vanilla isn't overpowering but provides a nice pairing with the nutmeg, and I just adore it! There's also a slight shimmer to the balm, which doesn't look shimmery on the lips, but allows it to look like a subtle lip gloss on the lips, without the whole 'i'm five years old and discovering makeup' lipgloss look. The best thing is that it didn't do anything to my overly-sensitive lips either! It's not at all sticky and is no way horrible to wear, like some cheaper lip balms, but it does sit on top of your lips a little, which could annoy some people.
However, in a silly way I really don't actually care that much about the formula - it's just a really lovely little tin to carry around and pop on your lips everytime you want an update of christmas smells.

I've had a quick peek on the body shop website and can't seem to find these tins on there - though it's worth checking in the actual store if you fancy it!

As it's heading into Christmas, I'm trying to get more on top of my blogging so I've actually been organised today and sorted out the photos for my next few posts - so hopefully it'll get a bit more regular as we get into the New Year (c'mon liv, you go gal!)

Enjoy all the festivities!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

Okay so recently, my whole makeup routine has become a little, let's say blasé. (shout out to that little beauty of a word right there!) I feel like every day, I get up, do the whole moisturiser, concealer, foundation, bronzer, blusher yada yada yada.. I just don't look forward to doing it anymore! So I decided I needed to do something to spice it up a little - and what's more spicy than the risk of trying an entirely new foundation?! 

So a few days after my last payday, I took a rather 'YOLO' approach (apologies for offending everyone, yes I did just yolo in my blog post), and decided to purchase this little beauty: the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation for £27.50. Now, I know that everyone from the moon and back has heard of this, and almost definitely read a few reviews on it, but seeing as before I bought it I must have read about 3829275901272 reviews on this before buying it (I feel the need to check reviews by people with the same shade colour, skin type, age, country, everything), I thought why not add another to the blogosphere - and anyway, I need somewhere to spill my excitement out into!

When looking for a foundation, I have to consider three main things: 

1) whether it will irritate my skin and cause more breakouts

2) it has to be able to stay in place all day for school

3) that it has enough coverage to cover all my current acne / acne scars

This foundation is one that I really hoped would fit all these criteria - mainly due to it's claims of lasting for 'up to 15 hours' and it's also being 'non-acnegenic'.

When I was first looking at this online, I was a bit stumped for which colour to choose. There are tens of shades to choose from for this foundation - which yes, is lovely, but also a massive pain if you have no way of getting yourself to a counter to get matched up! 

I found a handy little website called findation which I would totally recommend - you basically input the shades that you know from other brands, and it selects the most suitable shade for the new product you want to purchase. I inputted both my MAC shade (NW20) and my Clinique shade (02, Fresh Ivory) and it came up with 1N2, which is Ecru. I then did a bit of online browsing to try and find other blog posts of Ecru and compare their skin colour to mine, and it all looked pretty much right, so next time I was in Boots, I bought myself a bottle. 

I love the look and feel of the packaging - the outer packaging is a royal blue colour with gold writing, and it all feels like good, expensive quality. I also adore the look of the solid glass bottle it comes in, which is frosted to create a blurry effect. 

However, I have two issues with the overall packaging, which seems to mirror everyone elses frustrations:

The glass bottle, however cute, is a massive pain to carry around - I would not trust myself carrying this in a handbag, and I don't want my £27.50 spilling all over my bag! Secondly, there's no pump on the top of the bottle - simply a large hole. THIS IS SO INCONVENIENT. I'm pretty sure that about 1/4 of this bottle is going to be wasted from pouring out more than i need onto my hand - which is firstly a waste of money, and secondly results in a very makeup plastered hand..

However, onto the main product itself - I absolutely love it, to the point that I'm not sure how I lived without it! It claims to be lightweight, though some reviews place it as a medium to full coverage foundation - I would definitely put it more towards the medium coverage side, as it's less than my previous go-to foundation, Clinique Anti-Blemish.. though because of my recently purchased MAC pro-longwear concealer, I don't mind so much.

The colour is a perfect match for my skin, and doesn't oxidise throughout the morning to turn cakey or orange tinted during the day, which is something I've hated in past foundations.

It also claims to be acne-genic which I was unsure about, because of the lasting qualities, but I actually haven't experienced any breakouts whatsoever since switching - which is a massive breakthough, seeing as every other foundation I've tried switching to has resulted in a massive increase in acne ( :(:( ) It's oil and fragrance-free too, which is always nice! The absence of these things is probably part of the reason my skin hasn't complained at all.

However, though it may be oil-free, I've definitely noticed a difference in how oily my skin is getting - with my previous Clinique foundation I was never shiny, but I notice shinyness about half way through the day, around my nose and cheeks - not something that's too much for a pop of powder to deal with, but something to consider if you have massively oily skin. 

On to what was, for me, the most important thing I wanted this foundation to do - it honestly does last all day.Gone are the days of rushing to the toilets before registration at lunch to redo my face of makeup, only for it to turn orange and cakey because i've piled it on top of the last lot - I can now safely sail through till I get home with only the makeup I've applied at 8, only having to apply a tad of powder once. As well as meaning I don't have to do said running, it's also a good boost for confidence not having to be sitting worrying about whether your foundation's slipped off your face, leaving you with acne galore for everyone to see! 

On top of all that, it's actually been really good for my skin a) because I haven't been applying foundation 2 or 3 times a day and b) because it's a much more lightweight finish, it's not so heavy and sitting on top of my skin.

So, I think I'm about done with the massive rant/rave about how much I adore this foundation.. 

IN SUMMARY (for all you who can't be bothered to read the whole thing, silly people)

Loves:

- stays all day

- doesn't irritate or cause acne

- colour stays the same and there is a good range of colours

- medium coverage

- expensive looking packaging

Cons:

- bottle has no pump/ way to disperse and is too heavy to carry around

- not good for oily skin

It's time to get excited about foundations again, let's bring the thrill back!

(hope everyone's enjoying the winter + cold - just enjoy the hot chocolates and knitwear and summer will be here before you know it!)

Liv xxxx

Topshop Highlighter in Crescent Moon

It's finally time for another post! Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently - partly due to being stuck in a bit of a 'blogging rut' and partly due to the excess amounts of schoolwork being piled on at the moment.

However, the other day I did a little online order and found this gorgeous thing on the Topshop website - i'd always loved their highlighter in Sunbeam but found it a little too golden and sparkly to look normal on my pale skintone - so I was so excited to see they'd brought out a paler shade! This is the Topshop highlighter in Crescent Moon, which is more of a peachy, pale golden shade and it's just gorgeous:

The first thing that surprised me about the quality of this was that the pigmentation is great - you only need the tiniest amount of this to get it to show up. I use my Body Shop blusher brush to apply this and just use one sweep of it across my cheekbones. 

Something a friend pointed out to me when borrowing this was that it's incredibly similar to the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle that she owns. While this isn't quite as good as the MAC, it's a healthy competitor, and for £11.50 less than the MAC, it's a darn sight cheaper as well!

I also love the packaging - instead of the usual spots and stripes that the topshop makeup range has, this one is dotted with tiny little stars.. so cute! Like the rest of the brand, it has the original white (turning to cream after a few months of use) background with charcoal patterns, which personally I love!

As lovely as this highlighter is, I'm not going to claim it lasts all day, because it doesn't - it lasts a couple of hours tops. However, it can easily be reapplied for another gorgeous sheen across the cheekbones whenever you fancy - I find it a great top up to pop on top of any fading makeup halfway through the day to give it a bit of life and depth again!

Basically, if you don't already own this pot of lovelyness, get off your laptop/phone, stop reading blogs and get yourself down to the nearest Topshop to buy it - it applies like an absolute dream and you won't know how you lived without it!

Six Autumn Favourites

Hi! Today I thought I'd just write a quick tag post that I was tagged in by Khadija from ForeverGlamx - it was a while ago but I've finally got round to it! It involves six of my favourite things which have to come under the headings:
Favourite Nail Polish
Favourite Blush
Favourite Skincare Product
Favourite Item of Clothing
Favourite Item of Jewellery
Favourite Perfume

I've slightly changed some of the headings from Khadija's version because I don't wear lipstick or eyeshadow very often, so I hope that's okay!

My favourite nail varnish this Autumn is Big Smoke by Topshop - it's a gorgeous grey/brown colour which has slightly purple tones in some lights - really easy to wear and because it's Topshop, it lasts forever!
My favourite blush is (and always has been) Head over Heels, again by Topshop. It's a corally pink colour - but what I love most is the consistency of this cream blush. I use a stippling brush to blend it in and it just looks gorgeous!
My favourite skincare product has to be the Origins Super Spot Remover that I discovered a month or so ago - you can read a full review of it here

Big Smoke close up

I absolutely love this bracelet from Delilah Dust - read my full post here

My favourite haircare product is definitely the Toni&Guy sea salt texturising spray - it's sprayed onto damp or dry hair to create instant texture and beachy hair - great for giving your hair a bit more pizazz! (I can't believe I've just used that word in a blog post..) Read my post on it here.
I bought the Love gorilla perfume from Lush in summer and loved it, but after a few weeks it got lost somewhere in the chasms of one of my handbags - until I rediscovered it last week! It has a lovely flirty fragrance with a bit of a musky twist - so I actually much prefer it for autumn. This perfumes last ages on your skin too, which is always lovely!

I got this coat from Fatface a month or so ago, and I'm totally in love - I've loved the parka trend ever since I first saw it, but I also wanted something a bit thicker to actually keep me warm. I saw this coat on another blog and adored it - and for £88 (around £98 without an NUS card), I was sold! I love the fur hood, as well as the Barbour jacket style lining. It's unbelievably snug, and looks great!

Thanks Khadija for tagging me!
Liv xxxx

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer Review

Evening everyone! I've decided that this week, I'm going to be a good blogger and post as much as I can (let's just stop and give me a pat on the back)! Today I thought I'd review one of my favourite purchases that I've recently made - the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.

I've wanted to buy something from MAC ever since I saw the beautiful faces of the first bloggers I read and knew that I'd do (and spend) anything to look like them. Though I've since realised that that will never happen, everyone needs a treat every now and again! When I got my first payday from work after a months hard graft, I figured I deserved a MAC present - and this is what I chose.

I use concealer to cover blemishes rather than dark circles, so the lovely lady that served me at the Brent Cross MAC counter recommended this one. It's described as a 'lightweight fluid concealer that provides medium to full coverage' and is supposed to last up to 15 hours - which all sounds perfect to me!

After using it for a couple of weeks, I've totally fallen in love. The first thing to mention is that I have very VERY acne prone skin, and the slightest change in routine can set it off - but since using this, my acne has not changed in the slightest - if anything, it's actually got much better since using this, which is fab!

The coverage is great and covers up any blemish with only the tiniest amount - and I hate to admit it, but it even gives better coverage than my beloved Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer! The lasting power is also great, and I find that I can get to the end of the day and still have reasonable coverage - not perfect, but reasonable enough that people wouldn't really notice the difference. Unfortunately, by this point my foundation has all but disappeared - so maybe next pay day it's time to splash out on a new foundation! (I'm thinking the Estee Lauder Double Wear? oooh getting excited just thinking about it!)

The packaging also works well, though the glass vial can be awkward to carry round - I'm paranoid it'll smash in my bag and I'll lose all my MAC lovelyness, as well as my makeup bag/handbag! The pump delivers around the right amount of product, though I usually use a bit less than how much it gives you, so I have to be extra careful with that. I also like applying it with a concealer brush, which I feel gives a better finish than using fingers - and it also feels a lot more hygienic. Not to go back to the Collection 2000 one, but because of that lipgloss like applicator (I'm not sure of the name!), the Collection 2000 one always felt very unhygienic - and perhaps added to my acne troubles.

So basically, I completely love it! It gives great coverage and lasts all day - giving everything you really want in a concealer!



I've also this afternoon changed my blog layout and design a bit - I think it looks a lot better and more professional, so I hope you all like it!

Liv
xxxxx

Payday Wishlist - Outfit Collage

Payday is only 4 days away.. what does that mean? It means i'm starting to get extremely excited about wednesday, and also starting to waste hours at a time scouring the internet for new things to buy.

Instead of just listing the items today, I thought I'd build a few of the things I loved into an outfit - just because again, I had nothing else to do.

Clockwise: Gold necklace, windsorstore.com, £8
Spiked bracelets, River Island, £15
Burgundy Blouse, Monki, £28
Sophie Shopper, Austique, £298
Jeffery Campbell Boots, £120
Disco Pants, American Apparel, £70-80

This is what I came up with! I've been loving the burgundy/wine trend at the moment, as I love how well it goes with gold accessories. This shirt is from Monki - their autumn clothes are looking lovely this year! Also (drum roll please..) I think I'm finally going to give in and get some disco pants.. or at least go try some on! I've seen them look gorgeous on so many people and I just can't hold it in any more!

The shopper bag is gorgeous, and from Austique - but it's £298, and that really isn't going to happen on my budget.. I'll be looking out for a cheaper version though!

Also, JEFFERY CAMPBELLS PLEASE. I absolutely love these boot style ones - I'll almost certainly end up buying some cheaper versions at some point.

Another thing, HAPPY HALF TERM EVERYONE (finally, a break!) 

Liv xxxx