Bourjois Cream Blush in Pink Sunwear - Review

Bonjour!

This is my first little round pot of Bourjois Cream Blush ... I chose Pink Sunwear ... in keeping with the season and all ...!

A golden salmony pink in colour when swatched, with an acceptable level of shimmer (but not in a glitterball way!) - it's like an all-in-one blush/highlighter.  It has a silken texture and glides on easily with fingers or brush over the old apples to give a sun-kissed and healthy glow - exactly what I'm after at this time of year! A little goes a long way - it works over a BB or full foundation and lasts really well throughout the day without going patchy - it even passed the 'sweaty office' test the other week! Definitely one for this year's holiday!

Here it is 'in situ' ... and please try to ignore the shiny conk in the foreground which is threatening to take over the entire universe - black hole style (and that's only half of it...!) ...

I must admit I am a little smitten with my Pink Sunwear!  A super-easy Summertime product that takes seconds to apply and helps me to look more 'human' and less 'zombie' (been having quite a few 'zombie days' - must be my dratted age!). As I said this has been my first delve in the world of Bourjois Cream Blush ... somehow I don't think it will be my last ... mark my words!

Have you had a bash at a Bourjois Cream Blush? What's your favourite Summertime blusher?

Jen x

Laura Geller Baby Cakes Baked Blush Palette - A Firm Favourite!

Bonjour!

I bought my Laura Geller Baby Cakes Baked Blush Palette a couple of years ago  from QVC.  I've mentioned it before with a view to 'Shopping my Stash' but I'm so into it I thought it deserved a little post of it's own!

I've been a fan of Laura Geller baked products (especially her blushers) for a while now. They start off as creamy liquid pigments, are baked (in Italy I believe) for 24 hours and formed into compact domes. These blushers have the most amazing silky texture - soft as a baby's bottom, glide on effortlessly, are extremely blendable and packed with those crazy pigments - so much so that you have to remember to go easy on application! This particular palette comprises one matte blush  - Sugar Free Raspberry and three shimmer blushes, Pink Grapefruit, Golden Apricot and Sunswept - when I say 'shimmer' I'm not going down the big chunks of glitter route, but more of a subtle, gleaming affair, makes you look healthy and glowing (not in a sweaty way!). You can restrain yourself and use just one of the colours at a time or swirl the brush very lightly round a couple or even the whole lot to create a lovely mix!

You know when at first you hold off using a product because it works so well and you don't want to use it all up too quickly? Well, I'm past all that now and have been wearing these blushes for work and nights out (unfortunately the former being the more frequent activity!) - they are so long lasting, applied in the morning they last for much of the day with hardly any need to touch up! I wondered whether this was a bit pricey when I bought it at around £23, but looking back it's been well worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. Sadly I don't think it's available in this combination over in the UK at the moment so will have to bide my time!

Have you tried any Laura Geller Baked Blushes? What's your favourite palette?

Jen x

A Lil' Giveaway ...!

Bonjour!

I told myself that when I got to 450 followers on Bloglovin (which may seem small fry to some but is a huge deal to me!) I would do a little celebratory Giveaway! On Saturday morning I reached 450 - yey!! but then at lunchtime it had gone down to 449 - pants!!  Despite the 'pants' situation I decided to go ahead with the Giveaway because what's one follower, more or less, between us bloggers ... ? And now I'm back at 450 - yey!!  Anyway - I'm giving away three of my favourite products of the moment to one winner  ...

Elf Baked Eyeshadow Palette in California
Elf Baked Blush in Rich Rose
L'Oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara in Black

You can read my reviews on Rich Rose and Miss Manga here and here. Swatches for my California Palette can be found here. Now although I can't vouch for this personally I did read that this is very similar to a certain Sephora palette - and that can only be good yes?!

To enter please complete the Rafflecopter below ...

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*The Giveaway will run until  23.03.14 and is open internationally *All entries will be checked.
*Please obtain permission/consent from an adult if you are under 18 *As with all new products please be aware of possible allergic reaction and remember to test the product suitably first.


Good Luck!

Jen x

ELF Baked Blush in Rich Rose - Review

Bonjour!

The Elf Baked Blush is one of the products from my recent Elf Haul which you can see here.  It comes in four colours, the two which grabbed me the most were Passion Pink and Rich Rose - after some deliberation  (I am a deliberator!) I went for Rich Rose ...

Now, granted, it does look like the surface of a dark planet from the outer regions in the pan but do not be alarmed!  It's a warm burnished rose shade with a golden shimmer to it but not in a 'big chunks of glitter' type of way.  I wouldn't say this is the most pigmented of products I've used but it's a lovely combination of blush and highlighter which lasts surprising well - I've applied first thing before work over foundation (Bare Minerals) and it's lasted pretty much all day. Lasts a little less over a BB but I'm not complaining.  It's really easy to apply - a quick swirl around the pan gives a gleaming (but not sweaty looking!) healthy glow and it can be built up a little if you want a bit more colour. However, the more you apply the more highlighter comes along so unless you want to look like an extra from Goldfinger then maybe don't overdo it!

Swatched above and blended below ...

Spot the gleaming cheek!

Rich Rose is a lovely product which I seem to be grabbing most mornings as it gives the old kite a bit of a lift which is so welcome at this time of year!  At the usual price of £3.75 it would have been a bargain - mine was half price! Going to have to try Passion Pink now! You can check out the Elf  Baked Blushes on their website here.

Have you tried the Elf Baked Blush - which colour is your favourite?

Jen x

Sleek Make-Up Blush in Flushed - Review and Swatches

Bonjour!

This is my first Sleek Make-Up Blush (in fact my first Sleek Make-Up anything!) - bought it back in June ... rather a long time ago I know ... reckoned I'd save it for the Autumn/Winter ...

Comes in a neat black case with a clip fastening complete with a really decent sized mirror inside...

'Flushed' is described as a deep plum, matte finish - although there is a random sprinkling of glitter running through it (but not enough that I've noticed sparkly cheeks!) - so does this mean that technically it's not a true matte? Anyway ... it has the most ridiculous amount of pigment packed into that little black box - you really only have to touch your brush to the blush to pick up the product - this is not one that I can slap on willy-nilly (funny how spell check approved 'willy' but didn't like 'nilly' there - ignore me - I'm going mad!).  It is also long-wearing - I've applied first thing and it's lasted all day into the evening so no need for touch ups.   With this particular shade, obviously, less is more and  maybe just be careful with any dryer areas on cheeks as it could accentuate them if you don't have a proper base on?  The Sleek website states that the colour is ideal for darker skin tones - I'd consider myself a light olive at this time of year and it works fine for me - I reckon a darker skin tone could afford to be heavier handed though!   As you can see from the swatches it is pretty deep but used correctly can give a decent 'I've just been on a walk in winter wonderland' flush - I think it's a really flattering shade for this time of year to pretty up your cheeks!

Swatched heavily above and blended below - in shade on the left and in the super-bright winter sun on the right...

Applied very lightly here - too much more and I'd have looked like I'd just done several hours of step aerobics (I love step aerobics by the way!) ...

I  imagine this would be a good winter blush for teaming with dark berry lips - I'm not that brave yet - are you?

So ... yep ... I am impressed with my first Sleek blush. They are only £4.49 a pop and are available from Superdrug. There are a couple more shades I would like to try and as Superdrug have 3 for 2 across make-up at the moment, I wonder if it will be sooner rather than later?!

What's your favourite Sleek Make-Up Blush?

Jen x

Bourjois Rose The - Little Round Pot Blusher ...

Bonjour...!

After mascara I'd say my next favourite make-up obsession is blusher. A girl can never have too many!  This is my Little Round Pot of Bourjois Rose The ... I think the translation is Tea Rose (can't work out how to get the accent / over the 'e' so if anyone knows please share!). It's not a proper review as everyone I know is familiar with Bourjois blushers - so just a bit of a musing ...!

I've used Bourjois blushes on and off for years and have a sort of love/hate relationship with them 'hate' is too strong a word I guess.  I love the range of colours, the packaging and they're a good price at £7.49 (got mine on 3 for 2 at Boots). They have a 'baked' texture (and I usually love baked products) but for some reason I  find these blushers somewhat difficult to work with at times - is it just me - maybe they're baked a bit too hard? It's not a blusher I can just 'touch' the brush to, I have to really work the brush around rather a lot to pick up the product (my own brush that is - don't tend to use the little one provided!). Once it's actually on the brush it applies ok - as long as I'm having a 'reasonable' skin day - if I'm feeling extra spotty, wrinkly or 'dry patchy'  it's not one I'd choose as it seems to emphasise all of the above (I think this is more so of the matte options).

Having said all that once it's on my kite it gives a good flush of colour, it can be used either on 'apples' or for more of a contour and it lasts well throughout the day. I absolutely love the colour of Rose The as it's a lovely fleshy, dusky pink with a slight hint of shimmer to it and I know from past experience that the pot will literally last for ages!

As I said - bit of a love/hate thing going on - I suppose it's a learning curve and I've come to know when to use this product and when to avoid for something a little more forgiving.  It's not the first time I've encountered these issues with the old Bourjois blush pot but there are so many tempting shades in the range bet it won't be the last!

What are your thoughts on the Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher?

Jen x

MUA Bronze/Blush Palettes!

Morning!

You may be aware of the current Superdrug/MUA offer - 2 for £4.00 on selected MUA Professional - the choice is between 3 different blush/bronze palettes and/or several eyeshadow sets.


After much indecision (my friends will tell you I'm the most indecisive girl on the planet!) I ended up with these two palettes - Mosaic Bronzer/Sunkissed Glow and Mosaic Blush/English Rose. 

As you can see both the blush and bronze are made up of different sectors of colour - light, medium, dark,  and shimmer - which can be swirled together for a really pretty look.  I imagine you could carefully pick out a couple of shades with a smaller brush if you so desired or could avoid certain sectors if you wanted something more matt or shimmery! I just swirled my brush around the entire palette for these swatches.

I ended up photographing my hand inside and outside on this particular day because the sun was going in and out and it was doing my head in!

Inside with sun shining in - bronzer on top/blush below  

Outside with sun out - bronzer on left/blush on right

Back inside in shade - bronzer on left/blush on right 

Obviously I wouldn't wear this much product on my face, but I just wanted to show the difference between the two palettes. I'm an olive skintone, as you may know and both these were suitable on my kite. I only needed a small swirl because they do colour up quite nicely!  I wore the blush to work and avoided the shimmer aspect, as far as possible, for obvious reasons and used the entire bronzer on a night out when I wanted a bit of sparkle! I'm liking both of these and at £2.50 each you can't go wrong, even better with the current offer!

I can see these two coming away on holiday with me this year!

Have you picked up any MUA from Superdrug lately?

Jen x