My Top 10 Make-up Products

I was tagged by the very lovely Lil Lady's Life to do my top 10 beauty products so here they are! I'm obviously always trying out new products and finding new things that I love but these are all products which I can always rely on and which I will probably keep coming back to.

1. Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation - A gorgeous foundation which gives medium coverage and has a lovely healthy, slightly dewy finish. It photographs beautifully too despite it containing SPF. This is probably best suited to normal-dry skin types. It's apparently being discontinued at the end of the year though so stock up before then if you like this one!

2. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - A fantastic concealer for under eyes or to cover minor redness (not ideal for blemishes). It's got great coverage but never looks cakey or dry around the eye area. 

3. Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder - This is definitely the best loose powder I've tried. It's finely milled so it doesn't look overly powdery and it does a fantastic job of setting foundation and concealer. Shade #12 is translucent and suits fair-medium skins but this comes in a range of other shades too.

4. Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond - A beautiful powder highlighter. It's got a very fine shimmer so it gives the skin a really gorgeous, sophisticated glow and doesn't look over the top.

5. Shu Uemura Glow On Blush - I can't say enough good things about Shu Uemura's blushers! Both the matte and shimmer ones are absolutely gorgeous - super soft and they apply seemlessly. My favourite shade is P Pink 30 but they have a huge range of really amazing colours. Love these!

6. Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold - A cream highlighter which I think will always have a place among my top beauty products. You can take a look at my review of it here.

7. NARS Alhambra Eyeshadow Duo - These are two great staple lid colours. I love the quality and texture of these as well - they're buttery soft and lovely to apply.

8. Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black - I favour this over any other gel or cream liner because it stays really creamy and doesn't dry out like ones from other brands do. It's very easy to apply and can be used on the waterline too.

9. MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - Painterly is a great eyeshadow base. It acts like a concealer, covering up any redness or veins on the eyelids and leaves you with the perfect blank canvas! Eyeshadow clings really well to this too which means you get a stronger colour pay-off.

10. Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara -This has been my favourite mascara since it came out. It gives great length and separation and never looks clumpy. The one in the photo is the 'Fusion' version. I'm not quite sure what the difference is between this and the original - they seem like practically the same product to me!

Hope you like my favourites. Feel free to do your top 10 too!

Simple FOTD With Chanel Rouge Coco Shine

This is just a really quick and simple everyday look using my new Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Monte Carlo. This lippie definitely gets a lot of love from me and I've been wearing it loads since i bought it. It's one of those face brightening lipsticks and I think it's a great red for everyday wear as it's not too bold or overdone. This would also be a great option for those who may be a bit wary of wearing a really full-on red lip. I also have the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow Iced Gold on my cheekbones here which I reviewed in my last post so you can see how it looks on the skin.

 Face:

Diorskin Forever 010 mixed with Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet 15

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20 & NW15 mixed

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow Radiance Creme in Iced Gold

Dior Bronze Matte 002

Graftobian HD Creme Blush in Raspberry Wine

Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

Eyes:

Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Platinum as a base

MAC Naked Lunch on the lid

MAC Wedge in crease

Face2 Cake Eyeliner on upper lash line

Clinique Cream Eyeliner on waterline

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde

Lips:

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Monte Carlo

Hope everyone's having a good day! (:

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme Review

When it comes to highlighters I definitely favour either cream or liquid versions over powders. I think they look a lot more natural as they really blend into your skin as opposed to just sitting on top of it like a powder does. I bought the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold a few months ago and it has very much become one of my top favourite highlighters. 

It's described by Jemma Kidd as being a 'light-diffusing creme' which can be used 'under or over foundation or on bare skin.' I wear this over my foundation just on the tops of my cheekbones, down the centre of my nose and maybe a tiny bit on my forehead since my skin is on the slightly drier side. A tiny bit goes a very very long way - I've been using this constantly for the last few months and as you can see from the picture it still looks like I've barely used any! 

The texture of this is really beautiful. It's extremely lightweight and very smooth and easy to blend. It's definitely not thick or sticky in any way. It contains no detectable shimmer particles at all so it really does just give the skin a very healthy dewy finish. I think this is a great one for daytime especially if you're outside as your face won't look shimmery or glittery or very unnatural in daylight.

I would describe the colour of this as being a light champagne as you can see from the swatch. I think this colour would look great on both fair and darker skin tones. They also do a Rose Gold shade which is obviously more pink than this one.

The other cream highlighter which I own and also really like is the MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl so I thought I would do a really quick comparison of the two. Pearl is swatched below on the left and the Dewy Glow Iced Gold is on the right. As you can see Pearl is more of a yellow gold colour. The texture of the MAC Cream Colour Base is also heavier and thicker than the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow so, while it's still easy to apply, it doesn't go on quite as effortless as the Jemma Kidd one. I tend to prefer the MAC Pearl for nighttime as it's that bit more intense. MAC Cream Colour Bases contain 3.2g and cost €18.50 (if I remember correctly). The Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow contains a huge 10g and cost me €21.25 including shipping from www.feelunique.com. So you get a lot more for your money with the Jemma Kidd! Overall I do prefer the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow.

Mac Pearl on left, Jemma Kidd Iced Gold on right

The only thing I don't like about this product is that the outside of the compact is made from a similar material to that of the NARS packaging. It's that velvety texture so it attracts dirt and gets very grubby looking and even when you wipe it down it doesn't come off. Other than that though I can't fault it. I think it's a really fantastic product!

Pros: easy to apply, lightweight, no detectable shimmer, gives natural dewy finish

Cons: outside of the compact gets dirty easily

Mark out of 10: 9.5

Would I buy again: Yes

Jemma Kidd Strike a Pose Swivel Palette Haul Photos

Look what followed me home the other day! Well I mean, strictly speaking it didn't quite follow me home, because I ordered it by mail, but I couldn't help it! It was on clearance at ASOS (and you know how I love ASOS when their beauty products go on sale), and it was just 6quid, making it even cheaper than in it's native USA, where it's sold for $32. When you live in London (the place my professor not-so-fondly calls "the ripoff capital of the world"), and you can buy something from the US for cheaper than it is sold there, you know you have a deal! (I'm talking about makeup, not agricultural products...dumping of agricultural produce is a whole different matter...)

So home it came. These are just phoos of the product. I haven't used it yet, because...there's just something about palettes that makes me not want to ruin and maim them. I just kind of like them to look at them. I know, I'm weird. And knowing me I'll probably not bear to use it, and end up giving it away in some form or another. (Like a giveaway, maybe? :P) I have no idea, we'll see.

Anyway, here are the photos of the palette. Although I might end up giving it away, I figure I could just post photos anyway, since all I saw in a cursory Google search were manufacturer's product photos, which we all know are about as accurate as online dating ads...

Anyway. The palette is pretty nifty. And it's cute too. And it's got pretty nice colours! Cute pop-art inspired exterior, check. The entire thing is actually about the size of my palm. It doesn't exactly fit into my palm - it's a little bigger than that - but it's definitely a nice size for a palette, not too big and not too small.



Cute flip mirror that swivels around like the promotional photos for the product show, check. I actually like this one very much because of the mirror. It's not a wimpy sized mirror in which you can only see your nostril. You can see a good bit of your face with this one, so it's actually a good sized mirror for travelling with. However, I'm not sure if I want to actually carry this around in my purse. The closure of this palette is quite non-existent. The only thing that holds the lid and the palette together is just a magnet, and since its a swivel palette the lid swivels off the palette quite easily. I imagine if I did put it in my bag the lid would just swivel off and everything would become a mess.



And lastly, pictures of the product in the palette. These were as colour accurate as I could make them. As you can see, these are all very lovely, neutral colours, I'm especially loving the eyeshadow colours. They're all pretty work-friendly too. The palette comes with 4 eyeshadows, 1 cream highlighter and 1 cream blusher, both of which are shimmery, and 1 lipgloss. The lipgloss is a tad glittery, but it's not OTT by any means.



I kind of wish the cream products were powder instead, because cream and powder together in a palette usually just equals a huge mess, because the powders will get into the creams and mess them up. I guess it can't be helped for lipgloss (which is why I dislike lipglosses in palettes), but what about a powder blush and a powder highlighter?

Anyway, sorry for the lack of swatches and for the lack of a full review on the colours themselves and their wear and pigmentation - I did say I have a thing about not wanting to touch my palettes. It's just so pretty to look at, I can't bear to ruin it by touching it...