Acne

My New Holy Grail?!

13:13

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 I finally did it, i finally brought the famous NARS Sheer Glow Foundation!











































After having been on holiday for just under a week my Bobbi Brown foundation had become way too light for me, so i decided i would take the opportunity and buy The NARS Sheer Glow foundation. Now unless you've been living under a rock you will know that this has been one of the most talked about products in the beauty world; because i had watched countless videos and read numerous blogs on it, i felt pretty confident in my purchase. 

The words 'sheer' and 'glow' are not words you want to be associated with a product your about to buy if you have acne/combination skin, however i was pleasantly surprised! I got matched to the colour 'Syracuse' and its perfect, it neutralises my overall skin tone and takes away any redness in my skin without making it look cakey. I would say it is a medium coverage and could very easily be built up to a fuller coverage for a night out etc. 

So far i have been using this product nearly every day and have pretty much fallen in love, and i now completely understand why it gets so much love and is considered by many to be a holy grail. 

















Me before (Top) and After (Below) applying the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Lara x

Beauty

Mini Haul: Madrid Style

14:46

First off i feel like i should apologise for being a bit MIA recently, its been a crazy few months and blogging kind of slipped my mind; but fear not, i'm back, and i've come back with a haul for you guys. Now i don't know about you, but im a big fan of hauls, maybe its because im incredibly nosey like that; this is only a small one, but hey, any new makeup is good right?



So being the smart shopper that i am, i brought all the products at El Corte Ingles here in Madrid (i think the english equivalent would probably be John Lewis) and because i have a foreign passport i got a 10% discount (nice bit of helpful information for anyone traveling to Spain). 




 Nars Blush in Gilda






 Nars Long Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte


The first two products, as you can see from the photos above are from NARS. Now these two products made this a pretty exciting purchase as they are the first things i have ever brought from the brand, it may surprise you that i didn't go for the cult favorites such as 'Laguna' bronzer and 'Orgasm' blush, but they weren't really what i was looking for. I was in desperate need of a new blusher, but didn't want to go down the pink sparkly route that i normally do when buying blusher and Gilda was the perfect product. As you can see from the picture it is a pretty vibrant salmon/ coral colour and i will admit that the thought of using it kind of scared me, but if i use a little and blend it well it looks really lovely and natural and looks even better now that i have a slight tan. The whole non-glittery blush thing means that you would probably have to use a highlighter with it, especially in the evening time. 
The second item i brought was a flesh/light coloured eyeliner to put in my waterline as part of my everyday look to brighten up my eyes. Having used this product for a while now, i can happily sit here and tell you that it does the job, im not going to give it holy grail status just yet, as i feel that i could find something better. In terms of it being called a 'Longer Than Life' eyeliner, i'd have to disagree a bit, it doesn't last all day on me and it does need touching, but thats the only down side i can think of. 



Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara + La Roche-Posay Cleansing Gel

Now im not a fan of wearing/ applying false eyelashes, therefore i always buy mascaras that can give me the same amount of intensity minus all the fussing about. For this reason i have always been a huge fan of the Maybelline 'The Falsies' but this Rimmel mascara was on a 2 for 1 offer so i thought id give it a go, and i can't quite believe that im typing these words, but this may replace my beloved Maybelline mascara!! One coat of this, and i have my perfect day time look- defined but not crazy in your face lashes, and on a night out 3-4 coats of this and i may as well be wearing false lashes, and at times have even been asked if i am... i highly highly recommend that you go buy this and give it a try.
Last but certainly not least, i brought myself a face wash. If you have read some of my last posts you will know that i have/ some times still do suffer from acne breakouts. I would normally buy a product that was geard towards acne prone skin, but i decided to give my skin a break from all the harsh stuff, and get the most gentle thing i could find, and that is why i brought the La Roche-Posay Cleansing Gel, and my skin has really thanked me for it. It gets every little bit of my makeup off and doesn't sting or irritate my eyes. I've had very few breakouts since using this product and my skin feels a lot more hydrated then it did before. If you are looking for a bog standard face wash then this is without a doubt my highest recommendation. 

Lara x 





Blog

Essie. Essie.Essie

11:00

Todays post is about my Essie nail polish collection; the colours i own, how long they last, colour pay off etc. Now considering i don't have the longest nails seen as i have the extremely nasty habit of biting them (however i am slowly stopping) i own quite a few Essie nail polishes, and my love affair with the brand still continues.

      From Left: Over the Edge, Sorry the name rubbed off the bottle and i wasn't able to find the colour on the site, Pillow Talk, Aruba Blue and Lilacism.  

From Left: Smoking Hot, Not Just a Pretty Face and again i couldn't find the name for the last colour.


Above are pictures of swatches of all the colours i own, excuse my stubby finger. Now i won't be doing a review on every one of them otherwise we'd both be here forever.
As i previously said, im slightly in love with Essie, the colour range is incredible and the limited addition colours are always gorgeous and they are super affordable unlike similar brand O.P.I. Therefore its a great brand for someone like me who has only just got into painting my nails regularly. In terms of colour pay off, what you see is what you get, the colour that goes on the nails is exactly what you see in the bottle; however the orange one in the last picture, tends to come off slightly more brown once its on the nails. The best thing in my opinion about the Essie nail polishes is that you can get away with one coat, i've tried Topshop, Barry M and No7 nail polishes and i always feel that to get the real colour you need two coats to get the full effect, but if your in a rush one swash of any Essie polish and you are good to go. 
In terms of chipping, if you don't apply a top coat they will chip within a few days, however with a top coat i've managed to keep the colour on for over a week and they still looked good (the top coat i use is the Sally Hansen Insta-Dry)

Essie is available in most boots stores across the UK. 

Lara x