How To: Perfect Foundation Application

When applying makeup, foundation is my favourite part. I absolutely adore seeing the small transformation it gives me; it hides my imperfections and makes me look glowy and polished, whilst still looking natural. Over the years I’ve toyed with lots of different formulas, shades and brands. This resulted in quite a few embarassing moments (orange, not properly blended and cakey face anyone?), but now I have finally found what shades (the lightest), formulations (light to medium coverage) and finish (semi-matte, but still radiant looking) fits me perfectly. I thought I should write a quick blogpost on how I personally like to apply my foundation.

After cleansing, toning and moisturising my face, I start with applying a primer. My favourite primer of choice is the Clarins Instant Smooth one. This mattifies my complexion, smoothes over any pores and makes my makeup last so much longer. I just take a little bit between my fingers, warm it up and apply it evenly on my moisturised skin, using my (warm) hands. You don’t really need to use a primer, but since my skin can get quite oily throughout the day I like using one, especially when I’m having a long day ahead of me. I find that I need to use a smaller amount of foundation afterwards and it helps it go on smoother.

I own quite a few of foundations, so I tend to rotate them. My current favourite one is Revlon Colourstay, which I got quite recently. If you’re just starting out with foundations and are looking for a little bit more coverage, this is the one for you since it’s not really expensive. Other drugstore ones I really like are the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. The Revlon Colourstay one doesn’t have a pump, which isn’t ideal. I take a really small amount, warm it up on the back of my hand, dot in on my face and then use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to carefully buff i tinto my skin. Warming your foundation up makes it really melt into the skin, which can make it look less cakey and more like just skin. I also really like using my hands for my foundation, but if you want a little bit more coverage, this brush is literally perfect. Be careful to blend it down your neck- you don’t want to look like you’ve got a mask on!

Since this foundation has quite great coverage (and still feels and looks really light and natural!), I don’t really find that I need to use concealer. On days that I do want a little bit of extra coverage though, I use my favourite ever Estée Lauder Double Wear concealer on any acne scars, blemishes or other imperfection. This is a really full coverage concealer, which I blend in using the same brush as my foundation or just pat into the skin with my fingers if I want it to look slightly more natural. For under my eyes, I let my trusty old YSL Touche Eclat doing its trick; illuminating, but still lightly concealing. I absolutely adore this. I pat this gently in using my ring finger, which I find gives it the best finish.

So that’s my foundation sorted. I sometimes apply a little bit of powder, most days I just leave my skin like this because I do like a bit of a glow. What’s your foundation routine?

The Body Shop Vitamin E Range

The Body Shop is one of those shops I used to waste all of my money in when I was in my early teens. I used to love their body butters so so much, and I bought my second ever eyeshadow there- it was a black one, because I was an emo like that. In the years that followed, I didn’t really go there anymore- their prices just seemed to go up every time I blinked an eye and I just didn’t really like the products anymore. But last year, when I was visiting Amsterdam, my skin just wasn’t looking that good and I decided to shake up my skincare routine, so I impulsively went in there and bought their tea tree skincare line- face wash, toner and moisturiser. I loved it, but when I finished the products I just didn’t repurchase. I have also tried the Aloë Vera range, which is absolutely briljant for sensitive skins, but I also didn’t repurchase that. So when my mom pointed out that she really liked the Vitamin E moisturiser, I decided I wanted to try it. There was actually an offer; you could get the face wash, the toner and the moisturiser in a nice little set and it would only cost €2 more than the moisturiser on its own. So what do I think of the range?

The Vitamin E Gentle Facial Wash aims to remove makeup and impurities, whilst still protecting the skin and not drying the skin out. It contains wheat germ oil, which is supposed to help condition the skin and protect it against dryness. Together with soya oil, the wheat germ oil aims to provide the skin antioxidant protection. The Body Shop recommends massaging this into your skin, then rinse off and to avoid the eye area, so it’s not supposed to be used for removing your eye makeup.

The facial wash contains SLS, paraben conservatives and perfume, so if you avoid those ingredients, this might not be for you.

The product is a thick liquid which can be massaged into the skin very easily. It doesn’t lather up so much, but I don’t really mind. A thing I don’t really like about this is the smell; it smells really soapy. After rinsing, my skin feels soft and supple. It doesn’t dry my skin out, but sometimes I do feel like it hurts my skin a little and it stings my nose a little, which I think is because of the perfume in it. All in all I really like this product, as it removes makeup perfectly and leaves your skin really clean without getting that squeeky-clean feeling that makes your skin feel so thight.

The Hydrating Toner is the next product in the range, and I really really like this. The substance is thicker than your average toner, almost like an oil really. I put this on a cotton pad and then sweep it gently over my face. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry and thight, as most toners do, although I do find that this has the same soapy smell as the facial wash. This does also contain perfume though, so it might not be suitable for really sensitive skin. This doesn’t sting my skin as much as the facial wash though! It also doesn’t contain alcohol, which is something I really like in toners.

Then on to the star product in the range; the Vitamin E Moisture Cream. This is a moisturiser which can be used both day and night and provides the same antioxidant protection and moisturisation as the other products in the range. Although this is aimed for dry skin, it says that it’s ‘light, easily absorbed and promotes a healthy-looking complexion. This has the same smell as the other products but it’s less noticeable. The smell off these products isn’t bad I should add, it’s just a really soapy smell that makes you kind of expect that the products dry your face out, which really isn’t the case!

The moisture cream is really moisturising but sinks rapidly into my normal to oily skin. After sinking into the skin, my skin doesn’t feel dehydrated at all; it feels soft and supple, and if I apply this in the evenings I wake up with really plump and hydrated skin. I worry for those with dry skin though, because I think that it’s not moisturising enough if you’ve got dry skin. It’s worth getting a sample first if you’re planning on buying this!

After all, I really like these products. Because my skin can get quite oily, I do think that I will get a lot more use out of these in the winter, when my skin is a little bit dryer. I also adore the packaging- light pink! The products look really adorable in your bathroom and are incredibly nice, quick and easy to use. The range also contains an eye cream, a serum, a facial mist and I think a couple more things. I do recommend the Aloë Vera range for those with more sensitive skin though, because these products do contain quite a bit of perfume! Have you tried these products? What are your favourite The Body Shop products?

An Update #3

001. I GOT MY DRIVERS LICENSE TODAY!!!!!! I'm so so so so SOOOO happy, you can't even imagine haha. I was (excuse my French) shitting myself yesterday, convincing myself I was going to fail. I had to get up at 6am this morning because my exam was at 7:30, and I was so nervous I was shaking all over. My instructor calmed me though and assured me that everything was going to be okay. When the lady told me I passed, it felt like such a relief and I'm so proud of myself for doing this! This might not seem like a huge deal to some people, but it means so much to me. I've reached one of the goals I set myself this year and I'm so proud of that, and I feel like if I can do this, I can do anything! So so happy.

002. Thought I would share some photos of this weekend, even though only two photos aren't exactly much, it's something haha. Went to McDonalds on Saturday which was really naughty but I only go there once in a blue moon so it's okay, really. On Sunday, we celebrated Mothersday by going out for lunch with my stepdads parents and we had dinner with my grandma, so it was quite a busy day with a LOT of food. I really liked my outfit that day so I Instagrammed it (naturally). My Instagram is @caleidoscopexo if you're wondering! You can also spot my new hair in this picture!

003. This week I haven't felt that motivated to do anything for my beauty course, but I think that's just because we didn't have classes for over two weeks. I always feel so much more motivated when I actually need to go there! We need to study quite a lot though, so I really need to sort myself out and start revising and practicing. Now that my driving lessons are history, I feel like I can focus so much more on my course. I feel relieved!

004. I don't really have much else to say because I'm boring as that. As you might have noticed, I'm feeling better. I didn't have such good news regarding my mum, but I don't really want to share too much of that on here. It's basically something that has been bringing my whole family down and really, really sucks, but we'll all get over it and I'm convinced something good will happen. Mum, if you read this, now we're all here for you and don't let it bring you down. I'll all be alright in the end and you'll be as healthy as ever.

My Bedroom

I thought I would share some snaps I took of my bedroom yesterday as I'm really happy with how they came out. The lighting in my bedroom can be a bit of a pain, so good sharp snaps like these are rare. I love my room; it's cosy and really 'me'. The wallpaper is something I picked out when I was 14 and I used to love it at the time (emo phase), but now I'm not so sure about it anymore. It just seems to make my room look a little bit crowded and over the years I've started to prefer white rooms more. I'm in love with white furniture, and I think it doesn't look so good with my red walls. Eventually, I want to paint my room a really nice white colour. My closet and desk are built in, which I don't exactly love but I can live with it. I also want another bed and some really nice bedside tables, and then I'm set. I might just leave it like this though, because I'm not going to live with my parents forever and I prefer to save all that money for when I'm going to live on my own. 
As you can see, I've saved a lot of packaging which I've hung up against the walls and or placed on my shelf. The Starbucks cup is from when I went to Paris a couple of years ago- it was the first time I went to Starbucks! I also have a little cupcake and eiffeltower, and a buddha. In the first picture, you can also see a snippet of some pictures I printed out and hung up on my walls when I first discovered Tumblr 4 years ago- as you can imagine I was completely obsessed and used to be on my laptop every free moment reblogging pictures. I also have some prints my mom got for me when she got back from Paris, which I absolutely adore! I've hung up some of my favourite new clothes.
I love bedroom and decor posts, so I would love to see yours! Leave me a link in the comments if you've done a post like this :)

My Bedside Beauty Essentials

Even though I do complete my evening routine an hour or so before bedtime, I like to keep a few things next to my bed. These are my last-minute beauty saviors; the products that aren’t necessary but come in handy nonetheless. My bedside beauty collection tends to grow every couple of nights because I tend to bring stuff into my bedroom ‘just in case’, which is why I need to sort it out every week or so just so I don’t get overwhelmed by all of the products. I like to keep everything in my bedroom as clean and empty as possible, just because I believe it’s way easier to fall asleep if everything is tidy and clean. Not all of these products get used every single night; they are there just in case.

The first prduct is the L’Occitane Rose 4 Reines Velvet Hand Cream. I’ve had this since October last year and I still haven’t finished it, so it’s really good value for money. My obsession with hand creams tends to get out of hand sometimes; my hands can get so so dry so I always need to have something hydrating on hand. I absolutely adore the scent of this- the scent of roses always seems to calm me down. I always seem to fall asleep right after I’ve applied this to my hands, even though this might just be because of conditioning, It’s very nourishing but sinks into my skin so easily, which means that the cream doesn’t transfer on my sheets and I always wake up with soft and supple hands.

The Origins Super Spot Remover is a product that has been a bedtime stash staple of me for over a year now; I absolutely love it. I only apply this in the evening because I find that it can dry the skin around the spot out a little bit much. This just magically makes spots disappear and makes them a lot less red and obvious, which I love. I do also really adore the scent of it!

Another Origins product; the Peace of Mind On The Spot Relief is something I can’t live without. This is a minty ‘stress relief serum’ that you can apply on pressure points to help you calm down. It might just be placebo-effect, but I also find that it really soothes my headaches. I sometimes take this with me on the go, because I get anxious really quickly; I just put a little bit on the inside of my hands, place my hands over my mout hand nose and inhale;. The scent is absolutely lovely and really calming, so this is perfect if you can’t fall asleep. I do also keep a little aromatherapy roller right next to it, which does almost the same as the Origins product but is a little bit less messy.

For eyes, I keep my Clinique All About Eyes Eye Serum. It has a little metal rollerball, which makes it really easy and fuss-free to apply, especially when you’re really tired and just want everything to go quick. The rollerball feels really refreshing and soothing, and I find that it really helps to calm down my sensitive eyes. I also just saw an article on Into the Gloss about this, which has definitely just made me love it even more- you can check it out right here!

The last product is what I like to call the ‘finishing touch’ to my routine; the Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm, which is an absolute holy grail product of me. I’ve had this little pot since December and it still hasn’t run out! The smell is absolutely amazing, the product is really moisturising and I find that it doesn’t have that ‘addicting’ effect that I found other lip balms had (when the product appears tob e moisturising your lips, but only seems to dry out your lips in the long term!). I like to let it sink in overnight and then wake up with lovely soft, plump lips the next morning- so sexy.

So what can we conclude from this blog post? I do love me some moisturising in the evenings, and I can’t live without my soothing stuff. I’m also terribly bad at burning candles, but hey, practice makes perfect, right? I like to look at this as my bedtime ritual; the familiar scents and movements guarantee a good night’s sleep. What are your bedside table essentials?

Beyoncé Blue

Those sausage fingers though...

I have never tried Nails Inc nailpolishes before- there, I said it. When I went to Sephora a few days ago though, I saw that all their ‘exclusive’ brands where 1+1, including Nails Inc, so I immediately went to the nailpolish stand and picked up this lovely cobalt blue colour called Baker Street. I also picked up another one I had been eyeing up for a really long time called Porchester Square.

Baker Street is also known as ‘Beyoncé Blue’, since it’s the exact nailpolish Beyoncé was seen wearing right after the birth of her beautiful daughter Blue Ivy. Being a little bit of a Queen Bee fan, I knew right away I had to have it.

I was kind of shocked by the price of Nails Inc. polishes; they’re €17.90, which is absolutely ridiculous and even more expensive than OPI. The formulation is really worth it though; they apply really easily due to the brush, and with my regular top-and basecoat the polish lasts for about 4 days without chipping but with minimal tipwear. If you know me, you know that 4 days is extremely long for me; my  other nailpolishes tend to chip after only 1 (!) day. I also think Nails Inc’s colour range is really good.

After all, I’m extremely happy I picked up Baker Street since its such a beautiful colour which makes you want to stare at your freshly painted fingertips for hours and it never gets boring. The colour pay off is extremely beautiful and opaque after one coat, even though I always tend to apply two coats for more beautifulness.

Have you tried Nails Inc polishes? Any shade recommendations?