Beauty Tips: 5 Ways To Keep Your Face Looking Matte & Flawless This Summer

Summer is officially here (hooray!) and the weather is slowly but surely heating up. Keep your makeup looking flawless with one or two of these mattifying heroes, and you'll look picture perfect in all of your holiday snaps.

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High-End Beauty: Claudia Louch High Definition Liquid Foundation & Mineral Loose Powder - Review & Swatches

Claudia Louch's high-end, natural skincare range have been mentioned on here before and as I've had some good results from a couple of her products, I was keen to try out something from her new makeup line which she added late last year.

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What's In My Bag? - The Beauty Stuff

I am one of those women who likes to pack everything but the kitchen sink into their everyday handbag.  A clearout was long overdue so I thought it would be fun to share the beauty bits that I seem to carry around with me on a daily basis.  And yes, there's more than one lip balm.

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Review: Jurlique Rose Silk Finishing Powder

 Jurlique Rose Silk Finishing Powder* (10g, £24.50, link)

Finishing powders tend to divide beauty junkies.  Some absolutely swear by them as the last step in their make-up routine to achieving that coveted flawless look.  Others simply prefer different products like setting sprays for getting the same finish, whilst many don't really see the point in them full stop.  Me?  I've always been on the fence about them, so how do I feel about this one from Jurlique?

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February Favourites

I don't know about anyone else, but I am SO happy that February is over and done with. Despite it being a short month, it always seems to drag for some reason, so I am looking forward to Spring and (hopefully!) some good weather soon. Here are my beauty favourites for February:-

(1) Steam Cream - I've only used this once so far since receiving it in my Carmine box, but I already know I'm going to love it. It soaks into the skin immediately without any residue and moisturises like a dream. (2) Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - I'm always a little wary of super hyped products, but I can't believe just how good this stuff is. Will be posting a special review on this and my new Liz Earle skincare routine soon. (3) Witch Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer (review) - If you ever suffer from breakouts and/or have oily skin, then give this primer a go. It makes my make-up last a lot longer throughout the day and has improved the look of my skin too. (4) Witch Pressed Powder - Again, strongly recommended if you have oily skin, gives fantastic long lasting shine free coverage and is very cheap too. (5) Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 03 (review) - Love this so much, works so well for me and conceals everything. (6) Barry M Nail Polish in Bright Purple (NOTD) - One of my all time favourite shades, not bad for less than £3! (7) BareMinerals Original Foundation SPF 15 in Medium Beige - I was very happy to try this out in a Latest In Beauty Box and think I'll be buying a full size soon. It's coverage is similar to that of a tinted moisturiser, but it feels so good on the skin, like you're not wearing any product. Very pleased with the results that this gives and something I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of in the Spring/Summer months when I naturally wear less make-up.

What have been your beauty favourites?

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Budget Beauty: Witch Anti-Blemish Makeup Haul

I am always keen to try out make-up that claims to do something extra and to see if it works or not. I've seen Witch's Anti-Blemish make-up range numerous times when I've been out and about, but I was always a little sceptical of it, despite loving their Concealer sticks. One of the problems with having oily/combination skin is that a lot of brands tend to have products for oily OR dry skin. Those that promise something for the best of both worlds are either incredible Holy Grail items or just plain awful. I find that there's not much of a middle ground from make-up brands that I've tested in the past within this uncertain skin type area. It's almost like I'm Goldilocks, staring at rows of foundations and primers and saying "Well that one's just a little too drying", and "Well that one's just a little too greasy", desperately trying to find something that's "Just right!". So I picked these three products from Witch's Anti-Blemish make-up range to try out and have been using them for a couple of weeks to get a proper feel for them.



Witch Anti-Blemish Tinted Moisturiser in 01 Light, promises to control shine and targets spots and breakouts with the natural power of Witch Hazel. The oily parts on my skin are always prone to breaking out and I find a lot of tinted moisturisers are a little on the greasy side, so this sounded perfect for me. It does what it says and mattifies the skin beautifully, even if the formula isn't great (see below). I was shine free for around 7/8 hours before I needed to apply a little powder to my nose. But this is the weirdest tinted moisturiser I've ever tried. Here's why:-



This comes in Light, Medium and Dark. I'm usually a typical Medium in most ranges but after swatching a little on my hand, I decided to get Light. I mean it looks pretty Medium for something called Light doesn't it? Plus it doesn't exactly correspond with the 'Light' shade on the tube.



So I'm blending away, blending away, and blending some more because the formula is just not sinking into my skin very well...



...and then it's all gone! The more you blend, the lighter in shade the product becomes until it turns practically white! And if you don't blend it all in properly, you're left with white streaks across your face. In my opinion and for my skintone, this is much more like a primer and works very well as one, but as a tinted moisturiser it's definitely too light for me. I've used this on a much paler friend and thought that the actual colour coverage wasn't exactly great either. Definitely use it as a primer instead.



Thinking that I had purchased a tinted moisturiser, I decided to get the Skin Clearing Primer, which is also oil and fragrance free, and has extracts of Witch Hazel in it.



This is your bog standard white creamy type primer, but boy is it good. I had a few small spots on the side of my forehead which were being incredibly stubborn and refusing to disappear. After using this primer for a week, they were gone and my skin has been looking very clear. It also helped to smooth my face and prolonged the wear of my make-up so that I was shine-free for a whole day. This is an excellent primer for problem skin and would be great for teenagers to use too.






To complete the set, I picked up the Pressed Powder as it was in the 3 for 2 offer so I got this for free. It's finely milled and works exactly the same as translucent powder, in that it disappears when buffed onto the face and sets your make-up, but it also has the extra factor of not clogging up your pores and keeps your face oil-free.

Summary: I'd definitely recommend the primer for anyone who has oily skin or who just wants an oil-free, fragrance-free primer that works. The pressed powder is also great for keeping in your bag for touch ups, but the tinted moisturiser is best used as a primer instead. I do think this is a pretty good affordable range (I don't think anything's over the £6.99 mark and it's often in 3 for 2 offers) for anyone prone to breakouts or for those who perhaps wear a lot of make-up on a regular basis.

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December Favourites

I hope everyone had a great New Years! I'm a bit late doing this post due to the festivities, so here are my beauty favourites from last month:-



Barry M Translucent Powder in Medium - One of the best budget friendly (I think this was under £6) powders I've tried so far. It's finely milled and absorbs excess oil from the face to leave your make-up set and matte. Plus it's packaged in a generous size compact with a huge mirror. Elf Studio Line Cream Eyeliner in Black (swatch) - My new go-to eyeliner! Easy to use, with good pigmentation and staying power. Unbelievable that this is just £3.50! Japonesque Travel Size Smudger Brush - The perfect shape and size for doing a quick smokey eye with soft bristles. Barry M Lipgloss Wand in Toffee (swatch) - My new favourite nude lipgloss, so pretty for wearing everyday and non-sticky. Cargo Cosmetics Classic Lip Gloss in Tokyo - Another non-sticky, everyday colour that I've been wearing a lot since receiving in last month's Glossybox.



Zoya Nail Polish in Zeeka (NOTD) and Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Razzle Dazzle (NOTD) have been my recent favs for my nails. Elf Studio Line Complexion Brush - Another budget favourite, this brush really is perfect for applying any kind of loose powder and has the absolute bargain price tag of £3.50! Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask - I've been raving recently about this face mask and would recommend it to anyone with troublesome oily/combination skin. KMS California Freeshape Quick Blow Dry Spray - I wasn't all that excited to try this when I first saw it in my Carmine box, but I popped it into my travel bag and tested it out over the holidays. WOW! It really does cut your blowdrying time in half and left my hair wonderfully frizz free and soft without any product residue. Amazing stuff!

What were your beauty favs for December?

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Barry M Haul

For little stocking fillers this year, I put in an online order with Barry M. The delivery service was speedy and everything was packaged really well. I couldn't help but add a few things for myself given that they were offering free delivery and 20% off, so here's what I bought. I always pick up a nail paint or two from them and decided to get Bright Purple (303) and Spring Green (290). Can you tell I'm longing for some sunny weather?!




I also got a new Lipgloss Wand in Toffee, after somehow losing/misplacing mine. This is a gorgeous neutral/nude shade on my lips with a hint of shimmery glitter and delivers LOTS of gloss. I love these for being non-sticky and for smelling exactly like their names, delicious!





I've been looking for new concealers to try out and decided to give Barry M's Imperfection Correction concealer pen a go in shade 3/Peach. Designed like every other concealer pen after Touche Eclat, it has a built in brush and twist up application. The formula is a little too thick for my liking and dries to an almost powdery finish which I'm not a fan of. It also feels like there isn't that much product in the pen which is disappointing.




Lastly, I bought their Translucent Powder in Medium which is available in the pressed format above (with rubberised casing like NARS) or as a loose powder in a pot. The powder is finely milled and gives a wonderful matte finish to the face, great for setting foundation with and controlling shine if you have oily skin. Very happy with this compact and the mirror is huge!

What are your favourite Barry M products?

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