My 4 favourite liquid foundations

I have gone through many foundations, and I've always had trouble finding the right shade foundation, with the right consistency and coverage, but at the moment I have 4 favourites.

 

Yet recently I found my holy grail foundation... for £2.50! You can imagine how happy I was.

I now use W7 Hi Definition Camera Ready Foundation in Buff. This foundation is my go-to foundation, it's got a fantastic coverage, it sets really well and it doesn't slip. It's also light enough to wear in the summer, however this foundation does have problems there, as the shade matches my un-tanned skin to a tee when I get a slight tan I really have to darken my face with bronzer to match it to the rest of my body.

Seeing as how I started with my favourite, I'll go down my list.

My next personal favourite is L'Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation in Rose Porcelain. This foundation is lovely to wear, it's perfect for when I have a tan, and matches the slight pink undertones I have, without overwhelming the natural tone of my skin. The coverage is brilliant, and can be built up easily. This foundation cost me 9 euros in Munich, I'm not sure what that is in pounds sterling, but it was still affordable. I personally love this foundation, again, it's light enough to wear during summer, and sets lovely.

The first foundation that I ever wore was Natural Collection Colour Foundation in Porcelain, and I recently started using it again. As it is a mineral foundation, it is super light, buff-able and lovely to wear. However the coverage isn't the best, and it's very easy to get tide marks with this foundation. Before I wear it I have to make sure that I've moisturised well and put a decent primer on otherwise I look very oily, very quickly. It has quite a matte finish, and so it doesn't really need setting, but I make sure I powder the areas that have a potential to get oily - just in case.

My last but not least is my Collection 2000 colour Match Foundation in Natural 4. This is my 'fake tanned' foundation, so naturally it's darker. This foundation is great to wear, and gives a really good, natural finish with fairly good coverage that is buildable if necessary. Unfortunately I don't fake tan much anymore, so I don't have as many opportunities to wear it, but if I could, I would. I'm very tempted to go and buy some in a lighter shade to wear everyday.

Gym training and Protein shakes

So I recently started weight training with a bodybuilder in hopes of becoming stronger and more confident in myself. Over all, I’m really enjoying it. I’ve fallen in love with working hard, feeling strong and being supported by somebody that knows what they are doing. They gym has actually become my second home, now, I never thought I’d hear myself saying THAT!

What I’m not enjoying so much are protein shakes… man are they gross. I’ve never tasted anything so sickly in all my life. When you’re supposed to have 3 a day, but are actually having a big fat ZERO, you feel it the next day, and your muscles tire quicker making everything feel heavier and harder.

Personally I’ve learnt a lot from regularly exercising for the first time in my life, for example, did you know that salt prevents muscle growth? All you hear in the news about salt is its effects on the heart and blood, I’ve never heard of its effects on muscles. Fairly soon I’m going to be issued an all-protein and carb diet by my Personal Trainer, which is going to be hell for me, because although I love meat and pasta; I like deep fried meat and white pasta, not grilled meat with whole wheat pasta with no sauce etc. 

But I’m going to take it all in my stride, and I’m more determined than ever to get fit.

L'Oreal Paris Glamorous Palette from the Travel Collection - first impressions and review.

So, my mother has just got back from her honeymoon and she brought me back the L’Oreal Paris glamorous palette from the travel collection. This contains two blushers, five eye shadows and four lipsticks. Seeing as how traveling is something I like to do, and makeup is a passion of mine, I just had to do a first impressions blog.

My first impressions are that the packaging is very sleek and sophisticated and it would fit very nicely into a hand luggage bag. The packaging is simple and clean – what more could we want?

When I opened the packaging for the first time, I noticed the large mirror that takes up all of the space on the top side of the compact, yet there is no space wastage in the palette, which is fantastic, after all, the bigger the mirror, the better your makeup. Also included are a duo sponge applicator for the eye shadows, a small brush for the blusher and a mini lip brush. Personally I don’t like using these types of brushes, as I feel that I can’t get a lot of precision with them.

Realistically if I’m traveling I don’t wear makeup, so if I were going to, I’d keep it light. 

What I've done is create three different looks with this palette: Day, Evening, and Night.

 For the Day look I kept it light, and simple. Using the light pink, yellow and bronze eye shadow shades I managed to create a look suitable for traveling whether by bus, train or plane. 
I used the shimmery pink blusher to bring some colour back to my face.
I used the nude lipstick from the palette to keep the look natural and easy maintenance whilst on the move.

 For the Evening look, I darkened the eyes up using the dark olive shade to create more of an intense look, and I changed the lipstick for a darker one, and added contours (using bronzer that isn't in the palette) I found that the  small brush designed for the blusher was handy for the contours but not for the blusher. I stuck with the pink blusher because it is fairly close to the natural flush of my cheeks.

For the Night look I added eyeliner and false eyelashes, to create a bold, in your face look - after all it is the glamorous palette :)

So what did I like? 

The packaging. It's simple, clean and small enough to carry on you all the time, without being so small that the mirror is useless. The large mirror is a god send for making sure that your eyes are even.

The shades you get are ideal for several different looks, and the lipsticks are really versatile, which is brilliant when you're on the move. The color pay off from the eye shadows is brilliant and there is minimal fallout, they aren't chalky or overly powdery, and they blend easily.

The blushers offer two different types - noticeable and shimmery (pink) or matte and nude (the nude shade) which, again, offers versatility with this product.

What didn't I like? 

Although I can see why they're included, I'm not a fan of included brushes/applicators. Often I find that they don't do their intended job properly. 

To be fair, I'm not too keen on all of the shades, but as this was a gift I didn't get to pick the shades I'd wear most often. This doesn't detract from the quality of the product though.