My Current Favourite Blush Products

I never used to wear blusher often at all, it was definitely not something I grabbed for when applying my make up on a daily basis, but this year, and this summer in particular I have been loving wearing blusher to add some natural colour to my face. I now own a number of blush products but these five are my top favourites at the moment. 

Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Candy Glow | Too Faced - I best like to use this product by swirling a brush in all three colours for a really pretty, girly pink shade. 
Ultra Blush Palette in Golden Sugar | Make Up Revolution - The blushers in this palette are such pretty, light colours and so they are perfect for summer. 
Baked Blush in Luminoso | Milani - A lovely peachy shade which looks nice with a bronzer and highlighter. 
Blush in Pomegranate 923 | Sleek - A darker colour, maybe not one you would initially reach for in the summer, but I like to wear it with a minimal eye look, or in the evening. 
Blush in Rose Gold 926 | Sleek - A dupe for the Nars blush in Orgasm, this is my favourite of them all, it gives a peachy pink colour to the cheeks that looks really natural. 

My April Favourites

The Body Shop Instablur £14.00 - This is by far my favourite primer out of everyone I have ever used. I was just slightly disappointed at the size of it for the price I paid, but despite that, I have no other complaints about it. I noticed very early on that it minimised the appearance of my pores and once my foundation is  applied it definitely keeps the shine at bay as I find myself having to re-powder a lot less often. I've also noticed that this product has a hint of a smell to it and I am obsessed with it! It makes me look forward to using the product everytime I apply make up. 

Make Up Revolution Ultra Blush Palette in Golden Sugar £6.00 - This palette comes with eight gorgeous shades, one matte and a long mirror (always a bonus). I find two shades to be the perfect highlighter, three to be lovely pinky blush shades, two a shimmery bronze and one to be a perfect shade for contour as it is matte. All shades are pigmented and differ even though some appear to be similar shades. I have used this everyday that I have worn make up in April and I am sure that it will continue be a part of my daily routine for a long while yet. 

Original Source Vanilla and Raspberry Shower Gel £1 at Superdrug - I love these shower gels, they come in a range of scents but this one is my favourite. It's super sweet and smells good enough to eat! You can create quite a lather with it and it leaves your skin smelling lovely for hours afterwards! 

Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser £1.98 Superdrug - I could not believe the quality of this product for how inexpensive it is. The first time I used it I woke up in the morning and could already notice a huge difference in my skin. It leaves it feeling really soft, the cream soaks in well and it doesn't leave a sticky residue behind. 

Glitter Liquid Phone Case £3.95 - These are so pretty! There are lots of different colours on eBay and its perfect for when you are bored as you can sit and watch the glitter move for ages!

Lime Crime Velvetine Cashmere $20 - I bought this on Dollskill.com due to the whole Lime Crime incident, and it arrived within a few days. I've wanted to try this shade for ages and I was so super pleased with it when it arrived that I've been wearing at every opportunity I can. It's a lovely purple/grey shade but it is still a lovely nude and really transforms a make up look. It easy to apply, creamy in the tube and dries matte but it is not drying on the lips. 

Comment your opinions on these products or link me to your April favourites post - I love reading them! 

-Laura Elizabeth xo

My March Favourites

Jimmy Choo - Eau De Parfum 

I loveeeeee this perfume. The first thing I noticed about this perfume was that it smelt like no other perfume I currently, or had previously owned and that it really didn't remind me of any other perfume I have smelt or sampled before on a shopping trip; it's distinctive. It is by no means a new perfume, but it is already one that I know I would re-purchase in the future and it has definitely earned its place in my favourite perfumes after only owning it for a little over a month. The one thing that baffled me however was that a number of reviews I had read about this product criticised the staying power of it - stating that the original 'strong smell fades after an hour.' In my own experience I can definitely say that I strongly disagree with these reviews, and I can certainly vouch for this product as it is one of only five perfumes in my collection that lasts all day! After wearing it for many hours the smell is still strong on my skin at the end of the day, and sometimes if I don't put my shirt immediately in the wash I can still smell it the next day! Now you might say, 'well that's all good and well, but how much of the product do you actually spray?' and my reply would be very little -  a little does go a long way with this product! It's a sweet perfume, with fruity, musky, warm spice scents.The bottle and packaging is cute and it really looks beautiful on my vanity table. 

L'Oreal Paris - Skin Perfecting Advanced Correcting Serum

I bought this product at the beginning of March and I can already see a clear difference in my skin. It claims to hep correct and improve the appearance of skin quality and although my skin could still use some help, this product has definitely made a difference. It is aimed at people in their 20's and 30's and really does give my skin the boost it needs. It makes my skin feel satiny and smooth and you only need to use a few drops morning and evening either alone or before your moisturiser. It has a nice smell to it, the cream isn't too oily and the bottle is cute. 

                                                          

Sleek Blush - Rose Gold

Blusher never used to be a part of my daily make-up routine, I would usually opt for a contour and highlight or a good bronzer and rarely bother with blusher at all. However the past few months I have been really enjoying using a blusher to dust some light colour on my cheeks to give a healthy look to my skin. This product I have owned for a while now after reading many reviews that said it was a great dupe for the Nars 'Orgasm' blush but I just rediscovered it and have been using it nearly everyday during March. The gold pigments in this blush are very pigmented but overly glittery, and the colour transfers onto the skin nicely. It is considerably cheaper than the Nars blush so if you want a cheaper alternative I definitely recommend this. 

MUA - Power Brow Shape and Highlight

I have recently written a review of this product on my blog a few posts ago, so I won't go into too much detail - link: MUA Power Brow Review This product has a small nib for the brown colour and the end is a shimmery highlight - both are highly pigmented for such a cheap product and make it easy to define my eyebrows. 

Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil - Nude Perfection

This is the first of four lip products in my favourites this month. The product is pretty much a dupe for Mac's 'Velvet Teddy' which is also in my March favourites however I find it has a different texture and finish on my lips than the Mac lipstick has. It dries my lips out slightly and doesn't give as nice a finish or smoothness to my lips, despite this the colour is lovely as well as the pigment lasting around two hours before it even slightly disappeared. There are nine colours in the range and for £4.99 they are good buy. 

Mac Matt Lipstick - Velvet Teddy 

Even though this is a matte finish lipstick in comparison to the Maybelline Lip Pencil this product does not leave my lips dry at all. I didn't really own a perfect nude colour until I bought this, and have found that this product looks different on different skin tones. It is a brown nude colour but not at all orangey and has great staying power.

MUA Velvet Lip Lacquers

I love the packaging of these, I think they look really high end despite them only being £3. I was slightly disappointed as they didn't completely transfer onto my lips  the same colour as they looked in the packaging or when swatched on my hand. However the colour's I picked out were still nice - 'Halycon' and 'Tranquility' and are highly pigmented. I have fairly thin lips and so applying these are quite difficult, but once they dry they sit nicely and have good staying power for the price of the product. 

Top - 'Halycon'

Bottom - 'Tranquility'

So these are the products I have been loving this month and will probably continue loving throughout April! What products have you been enjoying this month? Have you tried any of the products I have mentioned?

-Laura Elizabeth xo

The products I use on my skin

Nivea Lip Butter in Blueberry Blush

Boots Essentials Moisturising Cream

Simple Kind To Eye Balm

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Advanced Correcting Serum

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +

La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel

All of these products I incorporate into my skin care routine, they remove make-up, cleanse and soothe my skin. I'm always looking to change up my skin care products and see if any can match or top the products I use daily, however these are the products I am currently obsessed with!

Comment your with your favourite skin care products!

-Laura Elizabeth xo 

My Current Favourite Highlighters

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder - Pink Shimmer

Seventeen Skin Wow 3 Way Highlighter 

the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Luminizer 

MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder - Pink Buttercream

These are just a few of the highlighters in my collection and it's fair to say that a good highlighter product is my favourite step in my make-up routine. These four are my current favourites and I have an internal battle every morning on which one to use! 

In my opinion all four give a totally different effect on my skin but similarly give a spectacular finish, providing my skin with a lovely glow. They range in prices, but I have to say I am so impressed with Make Up Academy's highlighter product, at just £3 you can't go wrong! It gives a radiant glow to my skin and works just as well the more expensive products from the Balm and Mac. 

The Seventeen highlighter has three amazing uses to it, to prime, to add to your foundation (giving an effect similar to Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation) and to add to the tops of your cheekbones for that perfect highlight. After using the product in all three ways, I have found that it gives a lovely luminous glow however you choose to use it. 

Mac's Pink Buttercream unfortunately was a limited edition product, and can also be used as a subtle pink blush or a glowing highlight. I find it gives the best results when I swirl all colours of the product together on one brush. 

The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer is probably my top top favourite highlighter product. I find that this gives so much colour to the face and it is super pigmented so a little goes a long way! I'd class this as a champagne shade however I think it would look lovely on any skin tone. 

What are your thoughts on these products? What are your favourite highlighter products? I'd love to know!

-Laura Elizabeth xo