Spring/Summer Daily Makeup Routine

Hey lovelies,

I thought I'd do a quick post on my makeup routine at the minute. This is what at the moment I've been swaying towards during the day, I obviously wear different makeup when I'm going out somewhere special or something longer wearing for work but this look is just so quick and easy that I'm sticking to it! I've listed what I use with the brushes I use them with and a link to buy each thing. Most of my brushes are from the brand Sigma, and as you can't buy the brand officially in the UK, I bought the beginners/essential kit here.

Here's a photo of the makeup look:

1) Firstly for my base I applied using my fingers my Seventeen Flawless Poreless Primer, I like this that it's skin coloured and I'd say it's similar to the Benefit one but for me doesn't quite come to par with my Smashbox primer.

2) Next, I applied my Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream in the shade 'Ivory' with my Cosmopolitan Beauty Blender. Now I find this is sadly still a tad bit too dark but I can get away with it. I adore how light this feels on the skin but I wish it would be a bit longer lasting but it does have SPF 15 which is a major bonus! Then to cover up any remaining spots using my fingers I applied my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shade 'Fair'. I just apply this under the eyes and on any spots, this doesn't need any comment as it is truly raved about in the beauty world and I can fully see why being on my 3rd tube.

3) Thirdly, I lightly dusted my face with ELF's Tone Correcting Powder in the shade 'Cool', using the Sigma Powder Brush/F20. I wouldn't say this is anything special but I like that it doesn't leave my makeup looking cakey.

4) Then I filled in my brows with Maybelline's Brow Drama in the shade 'Medium Brown'. I love how easy this is to use, and highly recommend anyone to try this who either is considering adding a brow product into their makeup routine or are thinking of purchasing Benefit's gimmie brow.

5) Moreover, I then filled in my crease with the bronzer from ELF's Contouring Blush and Bronzer Powder Duo in the shade 'St Lucia' using my Sigma Tapered Blending Brush/E40. Ultimately, leading me to curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura Lash Curler and then flick on some Maybelline Great Lash mascara.

6) Finally I applied some bronzer from the ELF duo to my cheek bones using Space NK's Cheek Contour Brush and lightly dusted on ELF's Blush in the shade 'Pink Passion' with my Real Techniques Blush Brush.

Thank you for reading lovelies!

Please don't hesitate to comment or follow me on BlogLovin!

Victoria Louise x

My Wish List

Hey lovelies,
I thought I'd jusy upload a wish list of the things I've been dying to get my hands on recently.

My Wish List by victorialouise-x featuring Maybelline

1. Origins Ginzing Eye Refreshing Cream, £23. Now I do realise this is majorly pricey but the previous eye cream I've been using has literally been doing nothing for me so I thought I'd finally venture out into the higher priced world and give those a whirl. Especially as this is extremely well known for being good - so fingers crossed!
2. Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner, £25. Ever since Tanya Burr mentioned this I've been dying to get my hands on it, especially as I have the same skin type as her and find that my toners either do nothing or are really strong and end up stinging my skin. Yet another high priced product and the first ever expensive toner for me.
3. Maybelline New York Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner in Black, £5.99. This will be a repurchase for me as I love this eyeliner as it's a strong black and the nib is so fine and easy to use - a strong recommendation for eyeliner beginners.
4. Urban Decay Naked 24/7 Glide On Double Ended Eye Pencil in Zero and Whiskey, £12. I really need a new black eyeliner pencil and these are notoriously known for being one of the best, even more so, how could I turn down a double ended one?!
5. St Ives Gentle Apricot Scrub (for sensitive skin), £2.14. I've nearly ran out of my exfoliator and have been really desperate to try this due to it being made for sensitive skin which is perfect for me as nearly every exfoliator I use upsets my skin.
6. Benefit High Brow, £15. Ever since I've started to pay more attention to my brows the more I've become obsessed with the products you can buy for them and this is the next on my hit list.
7. Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub, £8. I fell in love with this smell after using the sugar crush shower gel and now I must get my hands on the body scrub as I can't get enough of this gorgeous, sweet smell!

Thank you for reading!

Please don't hesitate to comment with anything you're hoping to buy in these upcoming months or maybe you've bought one of the products I've mentioned and have something to say. Also please don't forget to subscribe and/or follow me on BlogLovin!

Victoria Louise x

October Skincare, Haircare and Make-Up Favourites

Hey lovelies,
I thought I'd do a monthly favourites as there's been a few products that I seem to have become extremely obsessed with. I'd just also like to apologise for the awful photo but my camera has broke and the weather has been awful this week so the lighting hasn't been great!

Haircare/Body Care

For body care I've been in love with 'Sugar Crush' by Soap and Glory. This is just a simple shower gel, but it smells amazing! It's got quite a sweet smell and reminds me of fizzy cola bottles. I find it's perfect for when you wake up in the morning or the weather is looking a bit grim, the contained lime really wakes me up and results in me feeling revitalised and happy! It's only £6.50 and has left me wishing the smell would last forever on my skin and has also led to me investing in the body scrub. 

For haircare I've been using 'Heat Protectant' by VO5. I bought this a while back when my all time favourite, you can check out here, ran out. It protects your hair up to 230°C heat which is brilliant for straightening! I use this any time I use heat, that being drying my hair to straightening and it has kept my hair in wonderful condition. I do feel that it smells a bit "manly" but I actually really like it. Also, it's only £3.36 which I feel is a complete steal.

Skincare

Skincare wise, I've been obsessing over 'Hydrating Light Moisturiser' by Simple, for £3.79. As winter is fast approaching with the more harsher weather conditions I've been trying to keep my skin healthy and fully moisturised. Even though, I may have combination/oily skin contrary to what most may think a hydrating moisturiser is extremely important especially in the colder temeperatures. I find this is very lightweight and sinks into the skin immediately, which is really helpful as I don't have to fan my face waiting to apply my foundation in the morning. 

Also I've been loving 'Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss' by Nivea, for £2.50. I love this lip butter as it's creamy, smells like cake and is clear so I can apply it over a lipstick or apply it during the day and don't have to worry about it not going all over my lips. 

Make-Up

Finally for make-up for my face I've been loving Max-Factor's 'Miracle Touch Liquid Foundation' in shade Warm Almond, for £12.99. This shade is fairly dark for my pale skin but is perfect when I have a tan! This is a cream to powder foundation, which means it's super easy to apply as it doesn't cake but be weary you do not need a lot or it does look too heavy when it dries! It also has amazing coverage which I love as my skin seems to always break out during winter. I've also been repeatedly using Maybelline's 'Fit Me Powder' in Shade Natural Beige 220, for £5.99. This is a brilliant powder for setting my make-up and keeping my shininess at bay! I also feel it isn't heavy nor does it upset my super sensitive skin.
Eyes wise I thought I should finally give a mention to my dark circle banisher, Clinique's 'Caffeine Anti-Dark Circle's Roll-On' in shade Light. This is an amazing highlighter and I feel can be used not just under the eyes, I do also use a concealer under my eyes as I have awful dark circles but none-the-less this is a wondrous product, especially for only £5.08. I've been using Xplode's 'White Eyeliner/Shade 5' and I love this as it's not a major pigmented white so when I use it in my inner rim, it still makes my eyes look awake but not to the extent it doesn't look natural. I found this for only a £1 on eBay.
Last but not least, is cheeks and I've been overly using ELF's 'Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder' in shade St Lucia. The bronzer is really nice but my main love is the blush! The blush is beautiful and really warms up my face! I'm so glad Tanya Burr recommended this as I can't think about not having this in my make-up bag, especially as it's only £3.75!

Thank you for reading, please don't hesitate to comment and please subscribe/follow me on BlogLovin!
Victoria Louise

March Favourites 2013

Hey! 

Well I thought I'd get in my March favourites, I've tried to cover a wide amount and not chose anything too pricey!

Body:

1. My first area for my March favourites is body, and my chosen product is a Soap and Co body scrub. Now I understand this is a bit higher on the price range for body scrubs, but it is so wonderful! It smells absolutely delicious and the scrub is packed full of minerals and natural moisturising oils. The main reason I've been using this is to rid of some extremely annoying soap spots that have collected on my upper arms - and this product definitely bites back! I normally scoop out a small handful, exfoliate it in circles on my arms and leave it for at least 5 minutes. Afterwards I wash it off and immediately my arms are silky smooth. My soap spots have reduced so much, I actually can't explain how pleased I am, the redness on my arms has near-enough vanished and my arms have cleared up really well. I believe I have the one called 'Ocean' but I can't be exact as I've used it so much all the labels have peeled off, but you can buy all their products here, but there are mini stands dotted around the UK in shopping centres. I bought mine at Westfield for about £35.

Face:

2. Next chosen area is face and more specifically, skincare. At the minute my skin is all over the place and my skin type is pretty much combination at the moment, so I find it really difficult to combat both the oily and dry issues that come with the combination skin type equally without making one of them worse when improving the other. I mainly have an oily t-zone and  dryness everywhere else, so a decent exfoliator is really vital to my skincare to combat the dead skin cells and to combat my oil. So, my favourite is Clearasil's 'Ultra Rapid Action Face Scrub', I use it normally twice a week unless I get a really bad breakout then I will use it once in the morning and once at night until it starts to fade. The scrub states that it will 'fight breakouts' and give 'visibly clearer skin in 12 hours'. I don't personally believe it makes a dramatic difference in 12 hours but it does clear up my skin and make it appear brighter and fresher looking. My face doesn't feel tight after using it either, though I must stress the importance of using a moisturiser afterwards, as the beads in the scrub can be quite rough if you're quite heavy handed when applying. You can get it for just £5.35 and pretty much any drugstore, at the minute Superdrug has an offer on where it's half price.

Make-up:

Next is make-up and my favourites at the minute are the (3) Avon '8-in-1 Eyeshadow Palette'. The colours are absolutely gorgeous and can be worn for every and any occasion. They are easy to blend and pigmented to perfection. Sadly you can't buy this anymore but if you have a snoop around I bet eBay will have it. I recall paying about £5.50 for it.

Now, my favourite for my lips at the minute is (4) Too Faced 'Mood Lips' in 'Pink Shimmer'. As you can see from the swatch it starts off a lovely lilac colour and then after application to the lips it shifts with your mood to a gorgeous pink. I think this is an amazing lip gloss and besides the fact it changes colour, the actual colour is wonderful and the gloss is perfect. It isn't too sticky and actually feels like it nourishes my lips after applying. Even more so, the colour and gloss last for absolutely ages! The gloss obviously does fade first, but the colour stays for so long that you could easily just top up your lips with a cheap, clear gloss and it would look just as brilliant. They are £14.50 and you can buy at places like, Boots.

Finally, my final make-up favourite is my (5) Maybelline Colossal Mascara, now I won't go into too much detail as you can just look at my previous post for a more detailed review on the product but seriously this is amazing - so go out and buy it! You can also buy this from any drugstore shop, i.e. Boots for £7.19.

Nails:

Lastly, my favourite nail polish at the minute is (6) No7's 'Salsa'. The colour is so bright and gorgeous and I believe can be worn all around the year. It looks brill on your fingernails and your toe nails (I find sometimes some colours look odd on your feet!). The effect it leaves is a wonderfully glossy, shiny effect and with two coats can look so proffesional and expensive. I'm not too sure if this is still officialy for sale, but you can buy it here off Amazon for £3.30.

Thank you guys for reading, please comment and share!

Next week I will be posting my none beauty favourites and another new post!

Love, 

Victoria Louise x

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream Review

Hey,

Well sorry I've disappeared this past week I was skiing in Bormio! It was a wonderful trip and I took quite a few products to try out and test. I will be uploading a few posts in the upcoming weeks; one will be the Emma Hardie Amazing Face skincare review, my recent Avon purchases, April wish list and another make-up review!

Review:

So, let's get down to the review of the Maybelline BB Cream. Personally, I am a major fan of BB creams as I love the idea around them and the fact they are supposed to make you look glowy and natural, with a slight sun-kissed look - one of my all time favourite looks as you can gather from my previous post.

Price - £7.99 from Boots, click here to purchase.

I took this as my coverage for my face during my holiday and wore it on the 27 hour coach drive to
Italy, yes you heard that right 27 hours! This gave me a perfect chance to see how well the BB cream lasts and what sort of coverage it gives in different weather conditions.

Overall, I wasn't that pleased - the product claims to: 

1.Create a natural glow.

2.Compliment skin-tone.

3.SPF30 UV protection.

4.Hydrate all day.

5.Blurs imperfections.

6.Oil free - non greasy.

7.Looks visibly fresh.

8.Feels fresh.

I feel that when applied it does feel fresh and I can't really comment much on the SPF side of things but it does feel so light on application and literally feels like you aren't wearing anything. Sadly, though it doesn't look like you are either. I feel that the shade I got which was 'Light' was slightly orange as you can tell, so for people with lighter skin tones than me be wary. Even more so, it's extremely watery to the extent it seeps out the bottle, so even though the packaging is wonderful and 'fresh' looking it does become dirty quite easily (as you can tell from mine!) Even more so, the coverage is rather poor and wearing it for at least 12 hours till I washed my face to try and sleep on the coach, it started to turn quite crumbly and appear dry on my forehead and nose - not pleasant. The only real bonus of this BB cream is the fact it's so liquidy and light you can easily apply it with your fingers, and isn't too difficult to blend into the skin - it's just extremely poor at coverage.

Swatch of shade 'Light'

Thank you guys for reading, please comment and share!

Victoria Louise x