First Impressions - Revlon ColorStay foundation

Hey guys! 

So talk about being behind on things, but I have only just got my hands on Revlon ColorStay foundation. I have no excuse really, apart from my other foundation has just ran out so I needed a new one. And when I was stood in Boots trying to not buy EVERYTHING, I saw it stood there in all it's glory and it was then that it hit me and I asked myself 'Why have I never tried this before?' 

I knew how many bloggers/Youtubers have raved about it, so I ran to the checkout and bought it before I changed my mind. I had heard it was a foundation for people who wanted a full coverage (which I did) and as I have dry skin, the normal/dry option seemed perfect, but here's what I thought...

So I went for the shade '180 Sand Beige' which surprised me seeing as though I've always considered myself to be quite pale, and there were 2 shades lighter in the range. However, I tested them all and this seemed to be the best match!

When I was testing them in Boots, the consistency actually seemed to be really good, as it was nice and thick, which I always relate to being a full cover when it's thick. Here's a picture of it, I was trying to capture the shade and to show that it wasn't runny at all really. 

So lets's get started on the actual review!

So here I am, all bare faced and ready to lather on some foundation! I applied it in the morning to get a good day of wearing it, to see how it lasts. 

First I applied my Superdrug SPF 15 hydrating day cream

I'm just using my 'Jorsna' stippling brush to apply it (see other post on the brush itself)

Blending like a boss

I made a mistake of dotting it around my face and then blending, as it was so thick it starts to dry really quickly, so learning from my mistake, I just buffed the area that I was applying. 

So here I have applied it to one side only. And if you hadn't guessed by my awful looking left side, it's the right side. I was very impressed at first, as it applied really well. The colour seemed to be maybe a tad too dark, as if I hadn't of blended it down my neck well I would of looked like I was wearing a mask. But overall it seemed to look good, it didn't feel heavy on the skin and covered up my imperfections really well! 

I was a bit worried as I do have very dry skin at the moment, but although it clung to an imperfection, it didn't accentuate all of my dry skinned face. (Thank god)

Anyway, I applied the rest of my make-up ready for a lazy day haha

As I said, I was just having a lazy day, taking the dog for a walk etc... So I kept the rest of my make-up to a minimum, just some powder, blusher and mascara on top :)

The one thing I don't like about this foundation is that close up it looks quite 'cakey'. I might have applied a little too much, but half way through the day it started to 'bunch up' around the nose area. Also, my sister said my face looked really 'tanned'. As I said, I think the colour was a bit dark for me, and I guess tanned is better than orange! Even if it is just my face oo er. 

However, that was only a small matter, and as I said, I probably applied too much. This was not enough to put me off the foundation all together as overall it was a good foundation. 

Conclusion - (DUN DUN DUHHH). Overall, this foundation is a winner for me. It has a really good coverage for a natural looking foundation. I think next time, I will try putting on only a small amount first, then building it up if needed. You do need to be quick blending it as otherwise it will start to dry. Personally, I wouldn't put it on with my fingers because having foundation on my fingers makes me cringe *cringing at the thought of it*, but that's just me, it may work well for you!

Thank-you so much for reading, and make sure to leave a comment letting me know what you thought, or if you've tried this foundation, how it worked for you! 

See you next time, 

Elzie xo

♥

My 'Night time' Skin Care Routine, (daily skin care routine for NORMAL/DRY skin)

Hello my lovelies! 

Just a couple of my many products!

Today I am going to be sharing with you my Skin Care routine, which I like to think I stick to, but I  will admit, I don't always. Sometimes I will cancel out a few of these steps, it just depends what mood I am in (e.g. if it's late at night, I will probably just whip off my make up with a wipe and go straight to sleep. Naughty, I know). Also, I generally mix and match the steps, it's not vital to do them in a certain order or use them all etc... Note, some of these products are NOT for use everyday, but you will understand more when you read; 

Anyway, So I have normal to dry skin (sometimes very normal and sometimes very dry). But I also do get a lot of spots/zits/pimples, *YAY* I dislike it when brands aim their spot fighting products at people with oily skin. Just because I have dry skin certainly does not mean I don't get spots (I wish.) Which means to say that everything you will see, has been tried and tested by myself, and I know that works.

Let's start at the beginning; 

Firstly, I tie my hair up with a bobble. Nothing fancy, just to make sure I get all (and I mean all) my hair out the way! 

Hair tied up, ready to go!

So the first product I use are my 'Natura Cleansing facial wipes'. I picked these up at my local Savers, they were on 3 packs for the price of 1, so I went crazy! 

THE very best

I've tried a lot of wipes in my life, from 'Simple' to Baby wipes, from Mac to Johnson's, and honestly, these are the very best. They have just the right amount of 'moistness' (oo err) meaning they're not dry as a desert, but don't drench your face. They also don't break me out or worsen my dryness, meaning perfection! I use these pretty much everyday, in the morning if I need a quick refresh, or night when taking make up off.

**

Next, is my Holy Grail face scrub, I use this three - four times a week as it is very abrasive, so not for use every day. This is the only scrub I know that has enough 'rocks' in it. As mad as it sounds, 'St Ives apricot scrub' uses only natural 'rocks and minerals' and they sure use lots of them! I hate it when scrubs have like only ten rocks in the whole bottle, how can that even be classed as a scrub? 

I love the feeling of this scrub

St Ives actually do a range of scrubs, including Blemish fighting, Invigorating, timeless skin Daily Microdermabrasion, gentle, and timeless skin renew and firm. I personally go for the 'blemish fighting' one purely because I want it to fight my blemishes while scrubbing. However, I have tried the Invigorating one as well and that too was pretty awesome. 

**

After giving my face a good old scrub, I then use a face wash. Now I own two which I vary between, this time I used my Garnier one just because I used the Clearasil one this morning. 

AMAZING! But very strong!

This is the 'Clearasil Perfecta Wash'. It comes in a nifty little automatic dispenser meaning you just have to wave your hand under it and the perfect amount of facial wash will drop straight into your hand. I LOVE this product, it has an active ingredient of 'Salicylic Acid' meaning it is actually an acne treatment. Although I wouldn't say I have acne *touch wood*, it does clear up my skin nicely. 

Very nice feeling on the skin

As I said, I vary between the Clearasil wash and this one - 'Garnier Soft essentials comforting cream wash'. Because I have dry skin, I think using the Perfecta wash every day would just be too much for me, especially since I don't really need to use it that much. Anyway, this cream wash is lovely. It is especially for dry skin, and as it says on the label, it is very comforting. 

The beautiful 'washing' face we all pull. 

 

**

Next is an optional product. This is the Soap and Glory 'No clogs allowed!' deep cleansing, heating face mask. (Wow, that was a mouth full).

This product is great, but I wouldn't use it more than once a week. It's quite an interesting product, you put a 'grape sized amount' on your face, wet your hands then start rubbing. You instantly feel it heat up. And I mean heat up. The first time I used this, I panicked as it got so hot I thought it was literally going to burn my face. However, it doesn't, and I do stress that it is completely safe to use. When sponged off with the little pink sponge provided, I can visibly see my pores smaller, so a round of applause to Soap and Glory is in order!

I may look happy, but my face was about 100 degrees right there. 

**

And last but definitely not least, my all time favourite moisturiser that is 'E45 lotion'.

Ta Dah! My life saver!

This has probably been with me since I was about 3 years old. (Not this exact bottle, I'm referring to E45 as a whole). I used to get really bad eczema all over my body, so my childhood consisted of being lathered in white cream every night. I never really thought of using it on my face, it's always just been my eczema reliever, until one night when I ran out of my usual moisturiser and this stood beaming on my bathroom shelf. I gave it a whirl and since that night I use it every morning and night. It is just perfect, it sinks into the skin well, it feels lovely and I know my skin loves it, meaning I buy it in bulk now, and have it stashed away in my wardrobe so I will never run out!

**

So that's it for now! I hope you enjoyed learning about what I shove on my skin every day. (Quite literally.) I hope you're all doing well, and make sure to leave me a comment telling me what you  what you think, or even what you use/recommend. Or just to say hi! See you next time!

Elzie xo

♥

Review - Ebay 'Joursna' stippling Makeup brush

Good afternoon!

 

 Today I am going to be reviewing a recently purchased Makeup brush that I brought off ebay. I brought this from a seller based in Hong Kong for the pretty impressive price of £2.59 with FREE shipping. It was estimated to take a good 3-4 weeks which I guess is reasonable for free shipping, but surprisingly it arrived through my letter box in about 1 week, which as you can imagine made me very excited.

The 'Joursna' stippling brush
 

I have been looking all over the internet for what seems months now for a good stippling brush to apply my foundation as I am getting bored of the bog standard foundation brush. Now, what you may notice is this looks awfully a lot like the real techniques brushes. I'm not sure whether this brand is trying to make cheaper 'dupes' for real techniques, but if so then who really cares. I'm not complaining!

 

 

 

My first thoughts were that it was a very good brush for the price. It seemed very sturdy, and didn't feel like it was going to brake as soon as I held it. Being the impatient and ridiculously excited person I am, I of course had to go try it out as soon as I got my sticky mits on it, which may of meant having to take all my makeup off to then re-apply with this brush.

 

 

 

 As you can see, the bristles are actually really good quality, really dense and really soft. I was really impresses with how this brush applied my foundation. Since I have had it, I have tried it with both liquid and mousse foundation and it applied both really well. Although I have never tried the 'higher end' brushes e.g. real techniques so I can't compare, I am very happy with this brush and have no real complaints. At first, I pulled the bristles gently and worryingly, a few came out. However, since then I have pulled and pulled and apart from a couple no more have fell out, which again, I am very impressed and surprised at because of the price.

 

 

 The only worry I do have is the staining of the brush because of the white tip bristles. I have used this for about a week now, and washed it well with baby shampoo and water before I reviewed it, and if you look closely you can see in the middle a faint orangey stain from the foundation. I'm sure by the time I've used this brush to it's death, you will not be able to see any white tips. However, for the price, this does not bother me as I will simply buy another.

 

 

 

There was a few 'fly-a-ways' at the sides and some extra long bristles coming out the top but nothing a little trimming can't fix.

 

 

 

Overall, I am very happy with my new brush. So bravo Hong Kong for supplying bargain hunters like me amazing quality products at low prices. I hope I have shown you how good this brush is, and if you want to purchase this product then you may find it http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Cosmetic-Stipple-Fiber-Powder-Blush-Brush-Foundation-Makeup-Tool/140932950423?_trksid=p5197.m1992&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D14%26meid%3D8254443160469737416%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D140932950423%26   Here! (Wow, that's a long link.) I understand they also do some other brushes from a blush brush to a powder brush so go check it out, what have you got to lose!

 

I hope you are having a lovely day what ever you are doing, and make sure to leave a comment on what you think, as I love reading your thoughts and I shall see you next time :)

 

Elzie xo

 

♥