Review:- Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder in No. 7

I don’t think there is anything more difficult in the whole, wide, beauty world than finding a bronzer for dark skin that doesn’t make the wearer look ashy or plain ol’ patchy. Now I’m not talking about finding a contour shade (because Sleek’s Contour Kit in Dark dominates) but a matte, warm bronzer that is just warm and light enough to give a natural definition than a contour shade is too dark to give. I could have gone for a lighter shade in Sleek’s Contour Kit (which I did but it really just wasn’t what I was looking for) but I decided to pull on my blogger thinking hat and do a bit of research, experimenting and swatching, and landed on Guerlain’s Terracotta Moisturising BronzingPowder in No. 7.

Created in 1984, Gurleian's Bronzing powders can safetly be called a "cult" item. It's a light and streak free textures has a moisturiser-encriched formula doesn't dry out or weigh down skin. With a RRP of £36.50, Guerlain Bronzing Powder is not the cheapest option I could have gone for but I fell in love with it after reading all the reviews on it and decided I might as well treat myself when I passed through Heathrow’s duty free on the way to New York.

Now obviously I could have gone a shade darker with Guerlain’s Terracotta Bronzing Powder in No. 8 but I didn’t like the red tones in that bronzer. I would have looked a tad bit sunburnt instead of bronzed, which can never be a good thing. Guerlain have launched an "Ebony" bronzer shade in their Summer 2013 Collection and I already know that I am going to be one of the first people to own the minute that my paycheck hits my bank account

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How To: Correct & Conceal Dark Skin

As someone who has a permanent discolouration on their side of their nose from wearing glasses from a young age, I have found that the oddly shaped purple mark on the side of my nose always peeks through my favourite foundations which can be very irritating. A recent trick I have learnt (and use when I'm not in a rush) is how to conceal this mark and prevent it from showing up through the day.

I'm going to be showing you how I colour correct and conceal dark spots and burns on my skin; which is a MAC foundation shade of NW45 (for reference), and also my mum's skin; which is an Illamasqua Skin Base Shade of No.17, as she is about one/two shades darker and has a lot more colour pigmentation; freckles, burns etc, going on than I do.

To colour correct dark skin, I find that an orange concealer works best. Pigmented orange correctors can correct, conceal and brighten dark discolourations on darker skin, so it's perfect if you happen to have a few straighten burns on your forehead (like I do), scars or dark under-eye circles.  To do this tutorial I have used Black Up Concealer Palette in 03 which costs £23, and is actually quite good for it's price. The only other conceal/correct palette I know about is MAC Pro Conceal & Correct Palette in Dark which is £35 but comes with 2 extra concealer shades.

If you want to skip the palettes and opt for something smaller, then I recommend using Illamasqua's lipstick in Flare . It's a bright Orange lipstick that is pigmented enough to do the job and is pocket sized for on-the-go touch ups

I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If there is anything you would love me to do a tutorial on, please leave a comment and let me know.

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Find Your Perfect Foundation Shade

Black Up Cosmetics recently sent me some samples of their Full Coverage Cream Foundation, and I wanted to sit down in front of a camera and show you how I would would go about finding my perfect foundation shade in a sea of foundation samples.

It is debatable how you find your colour shade. Some people swatch the cheek while other swatch the neck, neither way is wrong and is completely dependent on the makeup user, the only thing that matters is that your neck and face has to blend seamlessly. Personally I prefer to swatch on my cheek because that is what I am more comfortable doing (and I find the notion of swatching my neck at a makeup counter a bit odd)

Choosing 3 shades that I think have the highest possibility of matching my skintone, I try to find natural light; as dark lighting or coloured lighting might alter the true colour of the foundation, and if that involves me cracking open a window or walking out of Selfridges with a mirror in tow I WILL DO IT!!!! When I think I've found my perfect shade, I then apply it all over my neck and chest to see if it blends in seamlessly or if it looks a bit too pale or copper toned.

In this case, out of the 3 shades, Black Up's Full Coverage Foundation in No.11 (aka the middle swatch) is the best match for me and I think I'm going to go pick this up on my next stop to Oxford Circus. If you want to have a go at finding your perfect foundation shade without leaving the comfort of your chair, Black Up Cosmetics actually offer a foundation samples package which includes a sample of every foundation colour in their range. 

How do you go about find your best foundation shade? 

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Review: Stargazer Ribbon Paper Lashes

I think playing around with paper lashes will soon become my next dramatic obsession and these amazing corner lashes from Stargazer are certainly accelerating this obsession. Hearing that I recently tried out the Paperself Bird Paper Lashes, Stargazers got in contact with me to ask if I wanted to try out their newly launched paper lashes.

Honestly though just how cute are these Stargazer's Ribbon Lashes. At £6 a pop, these lashes are half the price of the Paperself lashes(which makes sense as they are about half the size) and come complete with it's own lash glue.

When I posted these on instagram (and had a very insightful tip for Safiyah on where I should place them), everyone loved the way they looked but couldn't figure out how I was supposed to wear them . .  . and in all fairness neither could I, I found these lashes a bit awkward to use but that is entirely doing to my own clumsiness and the fact that I've only ever used half lashes once before but never on my bottom lashes.

I love how they make my big ol' doe eyes look very doll like, but I would REALLY love to try on the stars version of these lashes. Those look AMAZEBALLS!!!

The only criticism I have with these lashes, is that they show up a dark grey rather than a true black on my skin. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not but I didn't think it blended in very well with my eyeliner and mascara, hence the reason I am wearing a green eyeliner on my bottom lid. It's not a huge problem for me (obviously) but it is one I felt should be pointed out to you, if you wanted to do a dark smokey eye or doll-inspired look with these lashes.

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Brushes For Foundation

Now these are MY favourite brushes to use to apply my foundations.  I’m not telling you to go out and buy every single one of these brushes as I doubt you will ever need them all. I’m just a hoarder and like to be prepared for anything and everything (at least that’s what I tell myself). This post is just carrying on from this week's focus on makeup products for the face and it is really just meant to act as a guideline on what certain brushes are for and the brands I buy them from.

These 6 brushes are my favourites to use on my face. I have put a bit of a variety here so we have brushes that can be used with on cream, powder and liquid foundations. Some of these brushes are multi-purpose so can be used for different types of foundations but I’ve grouped these brushes by what I use them for.

Liquid Foundation - Layering

I love Japonesque Slanted Foundation Brush which is an angled, flat brush because it minimizes my pores and skin imperfection. I normally use this brush when I am suffering for a slight skin reaction from a product I am testing (which nowadays tends to be every other week or so).or when I have chosen to conceal/correct an imperfection on my face and I want to layer on my foundation rather than buff it out. I personally believe that flat foundation brushes are the best brushes for covering the skin's imperfections and working with heavy coverage foundations.

Liquid Foundation  - Buffing

MAC Cosmetics 187 Duo-Fibre Stippling Brush is the perfect brush for a dewy finish and is probably the most used brush. I use it predominately for liquid but will use it to buff on a thin layer of powder. I actually own two of these brushes in the off chance I lose one. I do find that the MAc 187 brush is very foundation dependent. It works amazingly well with some foundations but can leave annoying streaks with another.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is actually my newest brush discovery and I really wonder what has taken me so long to get this. The broad head of this brush is amazing for both liquid and cream application. At only £9.99 I can't believe how amazing this brush is for it's price bracket.


Powder Foundation

I normally use powders to set my foundation and a light sweep over my foundation with Japonesque Powder Brush is often enough to keep everything from slipping during the course of the day. Japonesque but I have also used Real Techniques Buffing Brush from their Core Collection if I want more control over where I place my powder.

Cream Foundation - Layering

If you use a cream foundation, you have the option of using a flat-ended brush to blend in your foundation with but I find that these brushes can be a bit bulky and don’t quite get into corners like the sides of your nose. I use Becca Cosmetics 58 Foundation/Concealer Brush which is has a pointed tip with tapered 3-tone synthetic Taklon fibres. While it does take a bit longer to use compared to a flat-ended brush, I love the smooth, sheer application this gives me.

How I ended up using 6 brushes on my face; in rotation, I will never know but these are my favourite brushes to use and if you ever wanted to know what brushes I am using in my past or future tutorials or FOTDs then consider yourself informed.

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Luxury vs Highstreet:- War of the Dewy Foundations

With a renewed vigour for blogging, I thought I should donate a bit of blog time on the different techniques and products I use on my face (mostly for my base) and why I use them. Yes, I am trying to throw a bit of direction into my blog posts but hopefully you are able to pick something up from this.

Although I'm probably one of the worst people to come to when it comes to reviewing foundations as I don't really care about how much the foundation covers or what type of coverage it has. As long as it's a good colour match to my skin and doesn't feel like I've buffed a layer of Play-doh on my face, I'm a happy chap.

Over my little blog break, I ran out of my foundations and decided to pick up a luxury foundation and a highstreet foundation, just because I wanted to know how they compare. I haven't used highstreet foundation for almost 5 years so I was interested to know if it's improved or if I should turn my back on any kind of highstreet base and be content.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Benares

I always forget that you can buy cosmetics from ASOS. Maybe I've been subconsciously programmed to only buy cosmetics over the counter and not online but buying cosmetics online is never a 1st option for me, it's more like the 4th option after I've visited all the counters in a 2 mile radius.

I normally get Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Trinidad but I wanted to take a bit of a gamble and see if the same foundation but in a shade up would work for me. Luckily it did because I didn't want to waste £30.50.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (RRP £30.50) are one of the best foundations to go after if you are looking for a low maintenance dewy finish. It's my foundation of choice as it doesn't have any spf in it so I never get that weird-ghost like finish every time a camera flash goes of and it works well with my studio lighting. The Benares Foundation has a brightening, non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores) and hydrating formula with a light to medium coverage which can be built to minimise skin discolouration.

This foundation doesn't come with a pump but you can purchase one from your nearest NARS counter . . .if they have it in stock (which they almost never have)

Maybelline's Fit Me Foundation in 355

With a SPF factor of 18, the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 355 (RRP £7.99) has a light, gel-based formula that glides seamlessly over the skin, covering minor imperfections. Packaging wise, it is quite clear that this is the cheaper of the two foundation. The stickers that have been plastered on the Fit Me bottle actually cheapens the sleek, tall bottle. The fact that this comes with a steady. black pump shows that Maybelline are on the ball, and I was very pleased to see that when I popped the bottle open.

Originally I thought that this foundation was going to be too thick and orange but it seems highstreet foundations for dark skin has come a long way since the last time I decided tried them out. It matched my complexion almost perfectly.

My only criticism on the Fit Me Foundation's formula (which is not evident in this picture), is that it leans a bit too closely to shiny rather than dewy. A sweep of translucent powder would definitely sort the shine but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with oily skin.

Overall I do prefer the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation but I can see myself using the Fit Me Foundation when my SPF moisture runs out or as a work day substitute. I do think (although I might just be reaching) that the NARS Sheer Glow has a better brightening effect than the Fit Me foundation as the skin shade on my jaw looks dark in the picture above compared with the Nars Sheer Glow picture.

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I Need A Blog Break

Over the last few weeks you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t really updated my blog much and to be perfectly honest with you, it has been a real struggle putting pen to paper . . . or blog post template creator thingy. The truth is at the moment, I am not 100% happy with the way my blog is.

As much I try to inject my personality into my posts, my blog doesn’t really showcase who I am as a person. I don’t know when my blog moved away from being funny and silly to rammed full to the peak of reviews . . . and that’s not the vision I had for my blog.

I want my blog to revert back to how it was when I first started my blog.

I want to give makeup advice

I want to play around with my makeup, not just receive them and use them for one post.

I want to post pictures just focused on my day with only 100 words describing the whole thing

I want to post about the random person at the Waterloo train station who started a highly amusing jig on the train platform to get my attention

I need everyone to know about my skittles and tea obsession and at the moment I don’t feel you are getting a true interpretation of me.

I think it’s time for me to take a well meaning blog hiatus to find out where I want to go from here. I know that when I come back that some people might not like the changes I am making but as much as I want to cater to what you want from a blog . . . I have a limited amount of sanity left and I am not wasting what little I have pushing out something I’m not proud of.

I might post here and there (as blogging has been a part of my like for almost 2 years and I’m not sure how to get out of my blogger mentality) but blog service will be back in about 2 weeks so don’t worry I’m not gone forever.

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Mummy Epiphannie Makes A Blog Appearance

Over the weekend, my mum finally managed to capture me and force me to do her makeup for a party she was going to . . . ok that's a bit dramatic but puppy dog eyes and emotional blackmail was involved.

 I loved doing this look mostly because I got to practice my conceal and correct techniques on someone other than myself and also ways to work with mature skin . . . well  . . . I'm going to stop at that mature skin comment before my mum flicks through my blog and see that comment.

I've used Illamasqua's Skin Base in No.17 as her foundation with a mixture of MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC50 and NC40 as her brow highlight and concealer. To cover any skin pigmentation, the orange corrector in Black Up Concealer Palette in Dark 3 was dotted where need.

On her lips, I've used Viva Glam VI Lipstick , Pink Lemonade Lipglass and Cork Lip pencil which are all from MAC.

Hopefully this won't be ther last time Mummy Epiphannie makes her appearance but let me know what you think . . . I might add a before image if I can pin her down long enough.

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@TheSundayGirlUK Blog Sale at 7pm TODAY!!!!

This is going to be one of the quickest posts I've ever written and I don't know if I should be telling you this as it ruins my chance of picking up some great days later today but Adrienne of The Sunday Girl is having a BLOG SALE!!!!!

If you are unfamiliar with The Sunday Girl, then the best way to describe her blog would be as the UK's Tempatalia. She is a blogging machine! I actually don't know how she manages to do 6 blogposts a day (like I said she's a machine) but I just love the fact that she's absolutely sweet, amazing and cheers my MAC obsession.

Anyway check out her blogsale at 7pm today

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Review: Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara

Too many seasons of ANTM has ingrained the Cover Girl slogan in my brain so when I hit NYC one of my first stops (after Macy's of course) was Duane Reade; a drugstore conveniently located opposite Macy's, to gaze at what the Cover Girl range had to offer  . . . and in all fairness I was overwhelmed.

They offer way too much!

I don't know if it is a New York drugstore thing or what but I noticed that none of the drugstores I visited stocked testers so it was very different from stepping into somewhere like Boots or Superdrug because you aren't offered a chance to play around with the products and check if you like what you are buying. It is literally a case of "Buy and Pray". Not wanting to sped too much on a brand I had never tried before, I decided to pick up the Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara . . . just because I like the wand shape.

Well it is an impressive wand and I think the fact that it came with a little cap that you take out to dip the wand into is just the cutest.

Cover Girl's Lash Blast Fusion is meant to be a super volumising and build-able lengthening mascara to thicken and extend the look of your natural lashes . . . sounds great right?? What they don't tell you is that this mascara is not waterproof and looks more grey that black.

I'm not sure how much use I am going to get out of this as I don't feel it added any length or volume to my eyes. In fact, I don't think I have been this disappointed in a mascara since I tried out the Benefit They're Real Mascara . . . and I actually think that the Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara is a dupe for the Benefit They're Real Mascara as they bought have the similar wands but I think the Cover Girl formula is a lot lighter so is a bit easier to remove.

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