Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation review

About a month ago I was on the hunt for a new foundation. At the time I was using the Christian Dior Forever foundation which I have repurchased many times before and definitely would say it is one of my top 10. Although, the last time I bought the Dior foundation I was matched slightly wrong. The foundation was far too yellow toned for my skin and as my post-holiday glow was quickly fading it was becoming more noticeable.

So that brings me to this beauty here. Illamasqua is a brand I had never fully explored before and had never tried any of their foundations. After being recommended the Skin Base foundation and hearing many good reviews about it I decided to purchase it. 

The lady who served me was so helpful and couldn't have matched me better, which was then I discovered that I had a mixture of yellow and pink toned skin which is why I struggle with matching my foundations. I have never had a foundation suit my colouring as well as this one. It is definitely as winner for pale skin.

What I would say is that it isn't too kind on dry patches. I do find I have to moisturise very well and exfoliate the night before for it to not be as noticeable. Although, I am willing to let this slide as it is such a fantastic product.

Face of the day...

Today I decided to go for a bit of a change with my make-up. I like to keep the base pretty much the same as my everyday make-up but like to change up the eyes and lips once in a while.

I chose warm orangey tones today for the lips and eyes with a subtle feline flick of liquid liner.

Everything I have used for my base make-up you'll find in my everyday make-up post.

For the eyes I used an MUA palette which I recently purchases. The palette has a variety of warm, golden, brown shimmery tones which have always been my favourite colours for eyes. I used the most orangey tone out of the whole palette to warm up my skin. I didn't use any other colours with the orange as I would be using liquid liner I felt I didn't need to create a smokey look. 

The liquid liner I used is from Collection which I have always used because it's very black and doesn't budge all day even when I have rubbed my eyes. I create a small flick on my outer corner of my eyes and stop the line well before my tear duct area as I feel this flatters my eye shape better. 

To match the eyes I used Rimmels Apocolips lip lacquers in the shade Luna. I think peachy tones always brighten up a look especially in winter when it is natural to go for darks, it's always nice to have a pop of colour without being too bright.

This look would be great in the summer too with really bronzed skin. 

Hope you liked this little post. 

Peace out :) 

What I got for Christmas

I am probably late to the party on this one but I normally am with everything anyway! I thought I'd share just a few things I got for Christmas. I love knowing what other people have had for Christmas, not just because I am incredibly nosey but I feel it gives inspiration for gift giving and for buying myself. 

It's not quite Christmas without getting some smellies. By that I mean lotions and potions, creams etc. I'm pretty sure that is just an English saying. I was pretty pleased with this set of three Soap & Glory body butters. I have only tried one of the body butters before so thought this was a brilliant idea to get to try all three. I particularly like the Sugar Crush one as it has such a fresh scent with hints of shea, cocoa nut, lime and almond oils. Soap & Glory never fail to be super moisturizing too.

Next up is the perfume Alien by Thierry Mugler. I have loved this scent ever since my Mum first had this bought for her. I remember thinking it smelt so grown up and sultry, so since then I have always asked for it for Christmas and birthdays. 

O.P.I nail polishes have always been one of my top brands for quality and colour. These two polishes came as a set together which at first I thought was such a strange combo as the colours are complete opposites. But now trying them both they look great on their own or layer together. 

For the grande finale, my beautiful Vivienne Westwood earrings. I have owned a pair of the studs before and absolutely love them as Westwood has always been my favourite designer. The drop version of the orb earrings suits a slightly dressier outfit, especially with an up-do. 

Other things I got for Christmas were clothing, socks, bits of jewellery and Drake concert tickets which I am so excited to be going!

I hope you all got everything you wanted for Christmas and happy new year! 

x

Merry Christmas to me...

So lets just a take a minute to here to admire the beauty.

Say hello to my newest purchase and recent love of my life. I wasn't particularly in the market for new shoes, it was definitely more of a want than a need. But, as you know, the Christmas sales were on so I thought there wouldn't be any harm in looking. 

Kurt Geiger in Selfridges was where we first met, any I couldn't possibly leave without them. 

I had seen this style of shoe in Jimmy Choo and fell in love with the studs and the shape of  the shoe but failed to find a (less expensive) alternative. 

The shoes would have been £120 originally but I managed to pick them up for a crazy £31! Now tell me I should have left them and I didn't need them! 

They are incredibly wearable. Being black means they go with pretty much everything while the point of the shoe gives them a slight dressed up feel. The studs of course give them an edge which I have always loved. They are the perfect alternative to wearing a heel.

Pamper Sunday

So, I think it's safe to say I fell off the blogging wagon. Somewhere in between now and my last post I completely fell behind from the stresses of general life and mainly university. Oh poor me! Terrible excuse I know! But this year, a resolution of mine is to get back into the swing of things and really commit to blogging again. 

When I originally decided to start blogging it was for the benefit of myself and to document my life as something to look back on in years to come, to see what I was up to then and where I have got to. 

So, pretty mundane, I know. But, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a lazy Sunday pamper routine. There is nothing I crave more at the end of the week than a make-up free, lazy day ending with a calming pamper sesh!

First things first: Lighting candles. I'm pretty sure I am not alone here, but candles = ultimate relaxation. I don't know what it is but dimming the lights and having candles burning whilst filling the room with their scent is just heaven to me. (I just adore these tiny heart candles that came in a little wooden boat like holder).

Next up is face mask time. After I've cleansed with the Ren Evercalm cleansing milk I follow up with this Dead Sea delicate boosting mask. As the weather has took a turn for the worst my skin has also. Unfortunately, my skin gets particularly dry in the winter so having a mask that isn't drying too really helps. This mask has a clay like texture which is my favourite and a very clean scent. I then take off with a flannel and rinse the excess off with water.

Then comes the holy grail skincare product. Recommended by so many bloggers and youtuber's, the one and only La Roche - Posay Effaclar Duo. Ever since I discovered this spot treatment my skin has improved tenfold. When I am having a particularly bad break out I pop this on the main areas morning and night until it clears up. I have also found it acts well as a primer under foundation and doesn't dry out the skin too much. I suffer with mild acne and have found this product really helps keep everything under control.

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After the pamper session I love nothing more than to climb into bed with a cup of tea, my kindle or a good film. 

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Night, Guys.

x

Fitness Challenges & Workout Videos

So, over the last two years I would say I have been in and out of the whole 'get fit' thing. With the best intentions, I have such an idea of what getting fit and healthy is all about and even like the way it sounds. But, truth be told, I am incredibly lazy. For years I have wanted to be one of those fitness junkies who can eat healthy without even trying and can finish a five mile job without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, I happen to be nothing like this. I enjoy my food to an unhealthy level and would much rather sit firmly on my backside watching one of the Twilight movies with Ben & Jerry's in hand.

I am extremely pleased that I can introduce the world of YouTube fitness videos. Nothing pleases me as much as this. The ability to exercise in the privacy of your own home so you can be free to fling the flab and swing the limbs without fear of injuring anyone else or embarrassing yourself.

As I am already an avid YouTube fan and currently watch a mixture of beauty/fashion/fitness videos, I have my favourites. 

A youtuber I have been watching is Carly Rowena. Her channel mainly focuses on fitness but also has hints of fashion, beauty and lifestyle. What I have found particularly motivating is her 30 day challenges, which include abs, legs, bums and arms. Not only is her positive, friendly and relaxed attitude make for easy watching but the challenges are simple and effective. 

Where most challenges or fitness videos claim to be fast and effective, they rarely point out that  combining a health diet with these exercises are going to show results far quicker. This is something Carly definitely highlights.

I am officially starting the ab challenge as of today so I really look forward to seeing the results, I have taken a before picture which I am not quite ready to show yet until I have an accompanying after picture to make myself feel better!

Below I have inserted the link to Carly's most recent 30 day challenge to rid you of the dreaded muffin top! Check her out! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE8vQDl0MWY

Peace out! 

What is your WantWorthy list?

Recently I have been introduced to 'list' websites. Yes, websites where you can create lists. As much as this already excites me (as I am a crazed list maker), these are lists specifically catered to shopping! 

I do think I was rather late on the bandwagon but I have finally got there and am thoroughly enjoying it. 

So, basically, the idea behind such a website is to have everything you have ever stumbled across when internet shopping or just browsing in one place. This is a brilliant idea but people like myself who never seems to have any money when there are one million things that I like and would like to buy. 

The website I am currently using for my wish lists is WantWorthy.com as this is incredibly simple to use and displays all of your products well and clear to see.

So, how it works is: All you pretty much have to do is sign up to get an account, which is pretty standard, in order to store all of your 'wants'. Once you have your account you simple click an + button to add your first item which will take you to a page to drag the 'want' button to your bookmarks bar. So, once you have your wee button in your bookmarks bar, the world is pretty much your oyster. By this I mean, find your desired product on any website. For example; I would like to save a dress I have found on Asos, so, all you simply do is click the WantWorthy button in the bookmarks bar and a box will appear with all of the items information like the price and it will store it in your list!

This might not be too good for the bank balance but it is definitely a great idea for someone like myself who has a number of things to buy when pay day comes around, but never remembers what those things are by the time it is here!

If you'd like to check out what is on my list at the moment then the link is below! 

https://www.wantworthy.com/rebeccabradley