NARS blusher in ‘Deep Throat’ – I’ve fallen back in love with this gorgeous blusher. It’s a rosy pink with gold shimmer and is so easy to wear during the day. I’ve been wearing this pretty much everyday and love it. 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush – I’ve been using this everyday to apply my foundation and am so impressed. It makes my makeup routine so quick and easy. I talked more about this brush here. 

MAC Powerpoint eye pencil in ‘Buried Treasure’ – This was one of the first ever eye liners I bought and when recently clearing out my makeup drawer I found it and thought I’d give it a try. First time round I was unsure of how to use it but I’ve been experimenting and have found it so versatile. It’s a gorgeous colour which is hard to describe; it’s sort of a taupe/khaki/gold colour. I use it to line my eye and also sometimes use it all over the lid as a base. 

Topshop nail polish in ‘Pool Party’ –  I wore this polish the other day and I had SO many compliments on it. Even strangers were commenting on how much they loved it. It’s a really lovey aqua blue/green colour and I’ve been wearing it loads. I think I actually prefer it to my all time fave Essie ‘Mint Candy Apple’. 

Neal’s Yard ‘Melissa’ Hand Cream –  This was given to me by the lovely Gemma. I’ve never been a massive fan of Neal’s Yard; I once tried a cleansing lotion and didn’t like it at all, so I kind of just forgot about the brand. The minute Gemma gave this to me, I opened it and smothered it on my hands (I love hand cream!). The first thing I noticed was the incredible smell. It has a really strong citrus scent, which is really nice and fresh. There hasn’t been a day this month that I haven’t used this and I will 100% be buying another one when I run out. 

Gazelli Triple Youth Ultra Nourishing Saviour Mask* –  Gazelli is a new brand I’ve discovered. The Triple Youth range was created by Dr Hamzaveva and her daughter based on Gazelli’s exclusive white healing oil. This is a lovely mask that applies like a thin gel and smells amazing; a bit like sweet figs. It leaves your skin feeling amazing and I’ve been using this once or twice a week. The mask is £25 so it’s more of a luxury product but you do actually get luxury with this, it’s really worth it!

Simple Revitalising Eye Roll-On* –  This is a really random product, but despite my initial reaction to it I’ve actually ended up using it every morning! It has a silver rollerball applicator that instantly cools your eye area and reduces puffiness. I’d say at least 3 times a week I wake up with extremely puffy sore eyes. I have no idea why it sometimes happens and sometimes doesn’t, but this seems to really help. It’s really soothing and refreshing. 

Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre – I was clearly living under a rock because despite raving about the Bioderma Crealine H2O, until Nicola mentioned it to me I was completely unaware of this incredible moisturiser. This product has been around forever and is a pretty standard product in France. When my mum went into the French pharmacy to ask for it, the lady couldn’t understand why she’d gone in specifically to buy it; they kept it locked away behind the counter. It’s a staple product for most makeup artists and I now couldn’t live without it. It’s fragrance free, light, easy to apply and works really well under makeup. It comes in a massive tube so will last for ages and I use it every morning and evening. Love, love, love it! 

Well that’s February done. Bring on March and more sun please! 

Lily xx

I went along to IMATS on Saturday – for those of you who may not know, it’s the International Makeup Artist Trade Show held every year in 6 cities around the world. Luckily for me I got a press pass which means it was free to attend AND it was held at a venue 10 minutes from my house. It was definitely worth going taking these factors into account, but if I lived far and had to pay for the ticket, I’m not sure it would be… 

I spent the day with some lovely friends, which made the day amazing. We shopped till we dropped and then grabbed some lunch up the road. I was really excited to see a few stands there including Real Techniques and Make Up Forever as these aren’t very accessible in the UK. The exhibition room wasn’t as big as I was expecting at all. I was expecting Clothes Show Live size, but it was about a quarter of the size. We looked around the whole place in about an hour. 

I bought quite a bit but didn’t go crazy! 

I am sure this is the millionth review you have read on this product, but as it is something I am really loving at the moment, I thought I would share it with you anyway… 

A while ago, when it first came out, I went to Selfridges and got a sample of the Chanel foundation ‘Vitalumiere Aqua’. When I tried it on at home, I did half my face with Vitalumiere and the other half with Vitalumiere Aqua. At the time I felt that the Aqua foundation was too heavy for me, despite the description of it as a light foundation. 

I few months later, after seeing more and more positive reviews about it, I was tempted to try it again. This time I was given a different colour sample from a smaller boutique chemist. I tried it on my entire face, this time using my hands… and I loved it! 

Chanel describe this foundation as quick and easy to apply. ‘Apply your makeup without thinking about it’. They say although it is delicate and light, a second-skin result is achieved. 

I agree with this. It feels light weight and sheer, but is still very easy to build up and get a more of a full coverage if you need to. 

It is very important to shake the foundation a lot before using it, otherwise it comes out really watery. I usually apply this foundation with my hands because you tend to loose a lot of product on the brush otherwise. If I do use a brush I use Samantha Chapman‘s Real Techniques Stippling Brush.

I absolutely LOVE the packaging. It comes in a perfect little rectangular bottle which is lightweight and small but still holds the usual 30ml.

I would definitely recommend this foundation. If you think it sounds good, go get a sample and test it at home first as it is quite pricey. But I think it’s worth it! 

p.s. Let me know if you like these kind of reviews. I have quite a few new products I could do some on, including the stippling brush.

Also, my sisters wedding this weekend was amazing! Everything went really well and everyone had an amazing time. Can’t believe it’s all over!  

Thanks for reading. Hope you all had a great weekend!