Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream & Swatch

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 I know BB creams are no longer cool. They’re no CC or EE creams, are they! But I bought this ages ago and I’ve only recently started reusing it. I originally purchased this in the my early acne days, when I was hopeful that a bit of chemicals (in this case, salicylic acid) could cure it. Sadly for me, this was not the case, and when I started using benzoyl peroxide, the combination of both was so drying my skin was a flaky mess. Cue me, popping this in my makeup bag to be rediscovered nearly six months later.

Maybeline Dream Pure BB cream is marketed as an 8 in 1 cream, which I think is pushing it a little bit! These 8 properties are:

Conceals imperfections
Helps protect against the appearance of blemishes
Oil free & non greasy
Minimises the appearance of pores
Clarifies the skin’s look
Conceals redness
Hydrates and smoothes
Compliments skin tone

This could definitely be squished into about three! My main attraction to this BB cream was the 2% salicylic acid and the SPF 15. Salicylic acid is really good for treating small, on the surface blemishes. 2% is no way near prescription strength, so you don’t need to worry about it being too harsh on your skin. The salicylic acid and oil free formula means it is really good for drying out oily areas on your face, without causing dry patches.

I don’t wear suncream under my makeup as it makes my face a greasy, shiny mess and acts as the worst base of makeup, plus I find it gives me spots, so having something that targets spots, acts as suncream and covers blemishes is perfect for me!

The BB cream is a very sheer coverage. It helps smooth your complexion, but doesn’t go so far as to actual cover any deep blemishes, although it is quite good at evening out dull or pink patches of skin. It’s obviously not meant to be as thick as foundation, so I wasn’t expecting thick coverage. It does help minimise pores and conceal small blemishes, but it’s BB cream status is reflected in its coverage.

I actually use this as a base, underneath my foundation, as it means I can treat tiny bumps and blemishes, get a slight coverage, dry out any oil and get a matte complexion and save my skin from damage, and because it is so sheer it is easy to layer it with foundation and not look like I am caked in makeup. If I had perfect skin (ha!) I would happily go out wearing this on its own, and unless I am severely short of time I will continue to use it underneath my foundation

There isn’t a huge selection of shades, but because it is a sheer coverage, it melts into your skin ad matches your skin tone really well. I’ve got medium which I think it would be a really good match for anyone a few shades above or below me.

I love this BB cream. I’m so happy I can use it again! I’ve been using it for a couple of days and I just feel like it helps to undo any bad damage of makeup whilst allowing me to layer up for really good coverage. I’m hoping that the salicylic acid in it will help get rid of my acne scars, and prevent those tiny annoying blemishes that like to trouble me sometimes.

Are you a BB cream fan or have you progressed the alphabet to newer models?

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Sleek Blush in Rose Gold / Swatches

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I’ve never been a massive fan of blusher. They’ve always either made me look like a clown, or had no effect whatsoever. I naturally blush a lot so I think this has something to do with it! I got loads of Sleek products with my Cosmopolitan subscription, and one of the products was a Sleek rose gold blusher. I’ve had it for a few weeks but I’ve only just got round to trying it (I know, terrible of me right?).

GOSH Eyebrow Kit

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I have pretty big eyebrows. Perhaps not Cara Delevingne worthy, but they are probably the most striking feature on my face. It’s been a journey and a half growing them, I’ll be honest. I was part of the generation where being 15 meant having eyebrows thicker than two hairs was completely uncool, and although they are big I do still find they need filling in, especially since I’ve dyed my hair brown (complete mistake, as I knew it would be!).

Up until recently I’ve been using an eyebrow pencil but I find it is way too harsh, and makes my natural eyebrows look completely unnatural. I’ve been reading reviews on eyebrow pallets for a while and the only ones that have got really high praise cost around £30, and my eyebrows do not need that much care I can justify that! Plus they all include stencils which would be wasted on me.

I was in Superdrug and saw this GOSH compact eyebrow pallet and decided to get it. I used to love Gosh when I was younger because they did the brightest eyeliners! It’s a suave, matte circle compact, and has a light, medium and dark brown colour, plus wax and a double ended applicatior, with a brush on one end and sponge on the other.

I normally use an eyebrow pencil a shade lighter than my brows, but follow the instructions say to use the colour closest to your eyebrows, which for me was the darkest (my eyebrows are like a dark grey brown and comparing them in the mirror, they matched perfectly). When I applied it, I could immediately tell it was too dark to completely fill my brows, so used the medium instead, and used the dark to help where the ends of ym eyebrows were bit sparser. I used the sponge to colour the main part of my brows in, and the brush to fill in the ends as it’s more accurate, and the used the brush to lightly wax my eyebrows.

I love that the colour is an exact match for my brows, and I like that the wax isn’t particularly ‘waxy’, it literally just helps fix your brows in place without making them stiff or shiny. My main problem with this pallet is that in the instructions on how to make the ideal eyebrow it says to use a highlighter, but the pallet doesn’t contain a highlighter. This is a bit baffling. Why make an eyebrow pallet and then highlight that it’s missing a component for the perfect brows. That’s like providing a ready-made pasta bake without the pasta!

I like the product itself, and you can tell that it would be suitable for all eyebrow and skin colours, and I think it’s quite good value for £7.99, as it lasted all day and the quality seems good. I just have a slight issue with the instructions saying to use a highlighter for best results, and not providing said highlighter.

What eyebrow kits do you use?

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Michael Todd Skincare Discovery Set

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 So I woke up this morning half drunk, plastered in last nights makeup and the beginning of lots of tiny red alcohol spots that grace my face when I’ve been hitting the bottle. Luckily for me, I won this amazing Michael Todd skincare discovery set for normal and combination skin (my first ever blogger win! From NaturRia whose blog is here.). This set comes with a one step cleanser and toner, a separate toner, a face scrub, a moisturiser and a face mask. My skin seriously needs some TLC after a night out so I decided to give each one a try.

Empties / Clinique 3 Step Anti Blemish Solutions

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I’ve been coming to the end of my 3-step Clinique anti-blemish solutions and I’ve been excited because it means I get to do my first ever empties post! I know, how sad am I right? I got this set when I was in the worst of my acne breakout and no antibiotic or anything I was trying was working. It consists of a foam face wash (step 1), a clarifying lotion (step 2) and an all over clearing treatment (step 3). Technically, the clarifying lotion isn’t finished yet but I’m in love with a new toner and hardly use it at the moment.

Garnier Moisture Match / Shine Be Gone

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I am finally acne free woo! Which means I no longer use Quinoderm (see review here) on  daily basis, which is turn has the knockout effect that my skin isn’t a dry, flaky mess. While I was on Quinoderm, I was using E45 cream as a moisturiser because it was the only thing that remotely helped with my sore, dry skin, but now I’m not using it my skin has returned to its natural combination state, and I was left with a moisturiser that is way too heavy to use on a weekly basis, let alone a daily one!

FOTD / Pink Pout

No shame about it: I love a good selfie. Selfie was the word of 2013 and Instagram is super pops so it’s clearly not just me! I had loads of spare time before work today so I spent a good 20 minutes puckering up taking photos of my primed and prepped face to cheer myself up before a Saturday shift in retail. These are just the pick of the crop, there’s at least 10 more which I will be deleting as I look minging!

The Face Mask Edition

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 It’s no secret in my family that I like face masks. When I lived at home, it was pretty much guaranteed that if I wasn’t out, I would have a face mask. Even in freshers (two years ago, eek!) I did one a couple of times a week. However, since then it’s slowly declined to rarely or never. I think my acne had something to do with it, as it got worse when I used more products. Even spot reducing products, how unfair is that!

NOTD / Pretty Pastels

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When I was little I used to bite my nails until my fingers bled on a daily basis. Gross. Now, my nails are my pride and joy and I keep them well groomed, strong and long (although I did break one on NYE and filed them all down, so they’re a bit shorter than normal). I used to dabble in nail art but only ever mastered it with one hand, meaning I’d have mismatching hands! Now I let the colours do the talking instead.

Forage and Find Vintage Jewellery Wishlist

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I came across Forage And Find through twitter, and fell completely in love with their jewellery. Unique, intricate vintage jewellery with the cutest designs ever! You know they’re one off as well because they use vintage clocks and jewellery and add their own spin on it, so no bumping into a hundred girls with the same necklace as you. There’s something for everyone’s price range, with necklaces from as little as £8! I’m beyond skint at the moment but I’ve made a wish list of all the necklaces I would buy if I could, and I will definitely be treating myself to one when I get paid. The fox and moon necklace is my favourite, it looks like a gorgeous little trinket passed down generations. So adorable!