BATTLE OF THE BB CREAMS

If you're staring at this image and thinking, is that a semi naked man with a hairy bum wearing hosiery, covered in some metallic substance? Then you are completely correct and perhaps familiar with the fashion magazine pigeons and peacocks.

Moving swiftly on from my bizarre choice in backgrounds and reading literature, and onto the topic of today's post; The BB cream. A complete new concept for me.  I have always been a foundation only kind of girl and the thought of having something this 'natural' had always turned my stomach. I was once gifted a BB cream by the brand Shiseido in a twitter giveaway and I remember it distinctively. Mainly because it was in the shade dark fonce, which is hilarious because although I have olive skin I am a fuck load of pale. It was obviously way to dark and I gave it to my mam.

I think the fear of the BB cream started with my sheer scepticism of the concept, because to me a BB cream a is a tinted moisturiser that they have changed the name to suit the younger generation. Mainly because tinted moisturiser makes me think of nans and mams who have legit 2 minuets to get ready in the morning, neither of which conjures up a glamorous image. And in reality I'm right, the definition of a BB cream is a skincare makeup hybrid that provides the hydration of a moisturiser and the coverage of a light foundation. Sound like a tinted moisturiser to you?

I'm trying to approach this review with an open mind, so lets get into what I thought. I have 3 BB creams one from Dr Jart and two from Rimmel both with different finishes. 

I picked up the Dr Jart premium beauty balm in Barcelona because it was hard to come by in the UK but fortunately boots have started stocking the brand now! Dr Jart BB is hailed as Asia's beauty wonder (according to the boots website). This BB cream is supposed to be ideal for more mature skin, which I clearly didn't read when I bought it. However I always take age perimeters with a pinch of salt, better of to just try things and see how it goes. This product contains SPF 45 so high protection from the sun, moisturises and gives luminosity to your skin. You can wear this under foundation or on its own. For me I prefer it on its own, I love the glow it gives to your face. It really just makes you feel like you have lovely natural skin. For us oily girls however probs not the best product, it wasn't a complete greasy mess but as it contains SPF it is going to be on the oilier side. Everywhere apart from my chin looked really lovely and if you only plan a few hours wear out of it you could definitely get away with it. Bare in mind that I have super oily skin. This would definitely work wonders on those with normal to dry skin. Combination oily could get away with it paired with a kick ass primer. All in all love the product, but after a few hours it doesn't really love my skin. I'm going to keep experimenting with different primers and see if I can work with this, because I really enjoy the finish on first application. I have the shade medium to dark which is more warm toned.

The next BB cream I tried was Rimmel's BB cream Radiance. This product boasts an impressive 9 in 1 formula. Said to prime, conceal, smooth, minimise pores, moisturise, provide light coverage, awaken and brighten skin and give a radiant finish. This beauty balm comes in the shade light and very light, which honestly bugs me it not very inclusive. I am not very dark skinned but I benefit from a neutral undertone something rarely found in light shades. So I would appreciate if they would broaden their colour horizons not everyone is pale or paler with a pink undertone. So as you can tell the colour wasn't that great of a match, it was too pink and a bit too light. I would not say that this is ideal for oily girls and probably would be more beneficial to those with very dry skin as it seemed hydrating. Overall not a product for me.

Lastly I tried the Rimmel BB cream beauty balm SPF 25. I really wanted to like one of these cheaper Rimmel options so I decided to give the original a go. This product boasts the same 9 in 1 quality all apart from the finish which is supposed to be Matte and last all day. I put that to the test and wore it too a 8hour shift. It doesn't last all day unless your day is roughly 5 hours long or not very strenuous at all. Even through the product says it primes and reduces pores, I actually feel like it could have done with a primer. This product was no where nearly as bad as the radiance cream and another hats of to it, that it comes in a medium shade which is less pinky than its counter part. Still not an exciting range of colours by any stretch of the imagination. You can make this work if you apply a good base and set it very well, that to me however defeats the object of these quick and easy all in one creams. If you can't just through it on and walk out the door whats the point? I may as well just put on my usual foundation.


I think you can tell that I am not 100% sold on BB creams. My disappointment always lies in the fact that I am waiting for a product for oily skin that isn't f***ing matte. I want a bit of sheen and glow! But I also don't want to have to bolt every ten minuets. These products are workable but I don't see the point in an all in one that requires more effort. As for all the claims they make I am not sure they live up to anything they said. If I had normal skin, Dr Jarts premium BB would be a dream. I will use the Dr Jart product, during periods where my skin is behaving and producing less oil. But my quest for a good BB cream continues... Honestly I should have just bought a bloody tinted moisturiser.

(Since this review I tried Dr Jarts platinum BB cream SPF 30. This is a higher coverage BB cream and more suited to my skin type. I'm going to do a more in depth review once I have tried and tested more thoroughly but so far so good. Just something to keep in mind if you are intrigued but more on the oily side like me!)

AFFORDABLE FACE PRODUCTS HAUL

Recently I've been trying out more drugstore items. I know in the past I have been a bit of a makeup snob and kept it high end, so this is something very different for me. I want my blog to be more inclusive and its also a great way for me to break out of habits and try new things. Not to mention that April has been the most expensive month EVER. Forking out for a new car 'cause mine kicked the bucket, saving for a holiday and some major vet bills has left me a little bit poor.

Right now luxury makeup is just way out of my price range, so what a great excuse to try some new things and really get to grips with more affordable makeup. So recently I have picked up two products from Revlon, one product from Maybelline and one from Rimmel. One of these items is a repurchase and a firm favourite of mine and that is the Maybelline The Eraser Eye Perfect and Cover Concealer. I use the shade light, this is my third or fourth repurchase of this item. It's a really nice yellow toned concealer, I find it blends out very well and has minimal creasing. I also really love the sponge applicator, it disperses the right amount of product, feels very soft on the skin and its so easy to slap on. Plus its only £7.99
http://www.boots.com/beauty/makeup/face/concealer-correctors/maybelline-eraser-eye-concealer

Despite loving the Maybelline concealer, I wanted to try another from a different brand. I chose the Revlon Colorstay concealer based on both the price and shade. I bought the colour 03 light medium. It's a really nice tone not too yellow or pink perfect for neutral/ olive skin like mine. I've tried this as a spot concealer and under eye and as much as I like the product I find it slightly too thick for my under eye. I have still been using it to highlight the under eye region but I don't take it right under the eye as I find it creases too easily. Not a terrible concealer by any stretch, I'll use it all but I think that in the future I'll skip it. £6.99 available here: http://www.boots.com/revlon-colorstay-concealer-10153774

Second Revlon product is the Insta-fix Highlighting stick in the shade 210 Gold Light. I picked this up because the colour of this is stunning. The consistency is almost cream  to powder and it drys down super fast, which can make it difficult to blend out. So you could end up with just lines on your cheekbones if your not careful. I've mainly placed it on my nose, cupids bow and brow bone. I've tried it on the cheekbones and its not really for me, but I have enjoyed dabbing small amounts on to the apples of my cheeks for a little glow. You can get great results with the product its just a case of application, I wouldn't apply it like a stick, but when used with a sponge or brush it applied very nice. I will be keeping and using it however once again not the best highlighter its more a case of formula not colour with this one. £9.99 http://www.boots.com/revlon-photoready-insta-fix-highlighting-stick-10218589

Last but not least is the Good to Glow by Rimmel. This is a liquid highlighter/ illuminator, basically this can be used to highlight the face or you could add drops to your foundation or bb cream to give a more glow finish. I have tried both and had mixed results, I enjoy the finish it gives when mixed with my BB cream but it didn't agree very well with my super oily complexion. I found that on days I mixed with my foundation, were days my makeup faded quicker and I produced more oil. As a highlight it was really nice on my collar bones and shoulders. I would most likely take this away with me when I'm a little more tan and use it as a body shimmer. One thing I love about this product is the smell its got a coconut and vanilla like scent, very holiday appropriate. It is only £4.99 and comes in three shades, I picked up soho glow, the darker of the three. http://www.boots.com/rimmel-london-good-to-glow-highlighter-10193032

I would say it was a semi successful haul, nothing bowled me over but everything I will definitely use up and all worth the price paid! I am still going to continue my search for some mind blowing drug store finds that will worm their way into my daily routine. As of yet the Eye eraser is the only one to knock my socks off, but there are still plenty of products to try out so who knows maybe ill end up with a bag full of drugstore products. Im skeptical but who knows!

SLEEPOVER ESSENTIALS

To be completely honest hosting a sleepover in your twenties isn't really a thing that is done. So we will call it a girls night in.. same thing slightly more grown up name. But besides from the fact that we now legally bought our own alcohol and didn't steal it from our grans wine cabinet or beg someone to 'go to the shop' for us, it consisted of the same sort of thing. Ordering a very big takeaway, getting a bit tipsy and talking until two in the morning.

The purpose of this post is not to bring the sleepover back in fashion (although I totally agree its worth while) it's to talk about the very cute pj's I bought at a very unassuming price. YES I did use the excuse of having a sleepover to treat myself to some new jimjams. My criteria for nightwear is that it has to be light and non restrictive. I am a bit of a weirdo and I get very warm in my sleep so thin pjs are a must have, second criteria is that they have to be cute AF.

Drum roll please, because it's time for the big reveal of place bought and price paid. So these are the best purchase I have ever made in Asda living in my life. Yes, Asda. If that wasn't shocking enough the set was only a tenner. Lets be honest these could have been sitting on a Topshop hanger and you wouldn't even have questioned it. Definitely a supermarket bargain, so just in case you feel inspired to organise a sleepover, put on a few chick flicks and drink some wine in some fancy jarmies, I'll leave the link below.

http://direct.asda.com/george/womens/nightwear-slippers/2-piece-tropical-print-pyjama-set/GEM554507,default,pd.html

DIOR NUDE AIR FOUNDATION FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

I almost had a heart attack, when I woke up at my boyfriends a couple hours before my flight to Barcelona and realised I'd packed an empty bottle of Chanel foundation. So a mad dash around duty free lead me to the purchase of this Dior skin foundation. I have previously had a Dior foundation and I really liked the formulae and finish of the brand, so I decided to take a punt on the same brand but a different line. I picked this mainly because I'd read that it had a very natural finish but still with good coverage for that your skin but better look. Very similar to my beloved Chanel foundation. After using this for just over a week, I can say I'm very impressed, in fact I was impressed from the first application.

At first I was a bit worried, because the formulation felt a little oily. Yet when I worked it in it dried down very nicely but still had a lovely healthy sheen. This foundation seems to smooth over fine lines and pores and really blurs out imperfections. The colour matches lovely and doesn't seem to oxidise at all. I've tried it with my MAC 170  synthetic slant brush and with my MAC 190 paddle brush and it applied lovely with both, although I like it better with the 190 as its just my personal favourite. The foundation is very runny and comes with a dropper to apply, which I am never a fan of when not using a kabuki type brush. But because its such a lovely foundation so I can see past the annoyance of the pipette. The packaging in every other respect is absolutely gorgeous, I love a glass bottle and the silver detail with the engraving on it just sets it off. Dior always knocks it out the park with packaging , it the kind of product that will take great pride on the dresser.  This retails at £33.50 in John Lewis available here: http://www.johnlewis.com/dior-diorskin-nude-air-fluid-foundation/p1809676

I can not rave about this enough but honestly try it for yourself and find out.

GOTTA LOOK CUTE FOR CUPID

I'm sure you are well aware that its valentines day tomorrow and I couldn't resist throwing something together for the occasion. When I imagine valentines, I think of very cutesy pinks and glitters, very girly so I decided to use something thats been sitting in my draw for a while now.  It's called Lets Roll  by MAC and it's from the dazzle shadow collection, which is basically really glittery shadows, pretty much pressed pigments. I bought this because the colour was just beautiful, but I hadn't found a suitable time to try it out. That is until now, I'm becoming a little more daring with my colour range and I'm trying to give the neutrals a little break. I played around with some colours in a similar colour range and this is the look I came up with.

I basically blended a neutral taupe and Cranberry by mac into the crease, with a nice fluffy brush. I then patted Love Letter from the ABH Modern Renaissance palette into the outer corners followed by a small bit of black in the outer crease and corner. I then added the Let's Roll to the lid with a flat shader brush and a bit of fix plus. Winged liner is Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Taboo  , Which I am in love with because its so sharp and easy to use. Finally I highlighted the inner corners with an iridescent shade and added some Red Cherry Lashes.

I hope you enjoyed this look, it was fun to create but I must say I am totally out of the swing of wearing falsies, I legit wanted to pull them off whilst I was out they irritate me that much. Other than that so pleased on how this turned out, I think it's pretty easy to replicate and also very wearable considering the colours. Hope you all have a lovely valentines day, even if its just spent loving yourself!

PS I have hyperlinked some of the items listed straight to the website I purchased from if anyone is interested.

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BARCELONA ON A BUDGET

At the start if 2017 the boyfriend and I vowed that we would be more spontaneous and this resulted in  us booking up a random trip to Barcelona, hopefully to be followed by many other weekends away.  Being the geek that I am, I was incredibly excited to go site seeing whereas Nath was more there for the Tapas and the Beer, either way we had a lovely little weekend away. I'm not a travel writer by any stretch, my funds simply would not allow it, but I thought I would recount some of my tales and also see if I can give small amounts of advice. Mainly though, I just want to share my photos with you.

We flew out on Feb the 6th and came home on the 9th, in total for two adult return flight it cost us £80. Travelling out of season obviously has its financial benefits, you may however not be so lucky with the weather. We just happened to luck out and it was 18 degrees for majority of the time we were there. We were staying about a 15 minuet walk away from las Ramblas in Hotel Grums, it was pretty much a residential area, not touristy at all. There were local shops, restaurants and a Lidl all in walking distance. The best thing about our hotels location was the local park where graffiti artists were working daily. We spent a little time watching them work, which was something out of the ordinary. The hotel was nicely decorated, it had the odd scuff on the wall here and there in the room but the bar was lovely and what I seen of the spa was nice. Plus we paid next to nothing for it, £150 for three nights and 7 euro city tax. So if the wall paper was scuffed I can not complain. Perks of staying just outside the city, is obviously it's cheaper. Yet you will have to walk further or splash the cash on Taxi's but its really up to you to calculate what would be better for you. 

During the day we pretty much walked every where, come the night when certain areas become a little more dicey we grabbed taxis. We used an app called MyTaxi the entire time we were there, it's kinda the equivalent of uber. Not many tourists use it but it really came in handy as it can link with google maps and calculate the fare (near enough) and the distance and time it would take to get to a certain location. The best thing about the app is that you weren't waiting around for a taxi, you'd get one pretty much immediately, picked up from where ever you were standing. I would say on average we paid about €10 to €15 for a 15 minuet taxi ride but never over €20.  Like I said, it isn't really necessary to get a taxi, Barcelona isn't that big and it has great transport links such as buses and metros. There is the tour bus that visits all the local attractions, it is around €60 for a day ticket, you can jump on and off when ever you please and there is generally one every fifteen minuets at the highlighted bus stops. If you are feeling active, you can walk to many of the attractions. With a little assistance from google maps now and then, we navigated our way around fairly easily. A little warning to fellow tourists about the traffic lights and crossings, although it did not personally happened to us, we did see a fair few people almost run over. Zebra crossings are barely honoured don't be very British and just step out on them. In four days I saw someone stop once. Cross the traffic lights quickly don't make a mad dash for the flashing amber, the cars will pull out, pip their horn and nip at your heels. Don't ask me how the lights work, there is no button, they are on timer I do believe so just wait patiently with the hoard of pedestrians and then cross on green man. 

Las Ramblas too me wasn't all it was all cracked up to be, I much more enjoyed Placa de Catalunya. However Las Ramblas does hold the hidden gem that is La Boqueria, which is basically a market. This is a great place for locals and tourists a like, you can get your grocery shopping, stop for a pint and have some snacks all at once. It is filled with little cones of treats, from chocolates and churros, to kebabs and tapas there is something for everyone. Even if you just go in to take some photos and to have a snoop it really is worth while having a look.

I did struggle with food from time to time whilst we were there. There are plenty of tapas bars along Las Ramblas but they are all very 'samesy' and in honesty not that great quality. Walking did get the better of us eventually and we paused to have some tapas and some drinks, I can't say the food was memorable or impressive to be honest, but it was nice to people watch and to sit in a beautiful place and watch the world go by. I did have a pretty good pink Mojito in Tapa Tapa.

We figured out that the best option for us was to grab some kind of takeout food, find a quite spot and just sit a chill. It was much nicer food and the variety of scenery was where ever you wanted your feet to take you. I really became a fan of Thai takeout whilst I was in Barc. There are plenty of little wok style takeouts that make Phad Thai or curries. We got one just next to the market on Las Ramblas and we tried one from Pure Cuisine near the Sephora off the Placa de Catalunya. Each time we brought it back to our favourite spot in the city, the foundations at Placa De Catalunya, it's smack bang in the middle of the city but it has this sort of calm about it. I highly recommend just taking a perch there and wasting a little time relaxing and taking in the surroundings.

Of course we looked at some attractions, The Sagrada Famillia, Casa Batllo and Park Guell to name a few. I'm not going to talk about all of them because this post is already much too long, so I'm singling out my favourite. Park Guell. Even if you don't appreciate architecture, this place is just magical. The buildings are reminiscent of fairy tales, the mosaic circles around the windows of one of the buildings reminded me of gum drops on a ginger bread house.  What I'm trying to say here is that your imagination can take you anywhere when you are here, its just cure creativity. My boyfriend isn't the greatest fan of site seeing, he puts up with it because he knows I like it and he's a good man. Even he liked going here, because its just so different to look at, there's really nothing quite like it. The entry fee for here is €8 each, so not much at all really. I'm not sure if this increases in the summer, and you have to go in a certain slot time, you can stay as long as you please but once you leave you can't get back in. The gardens surrounding the park however are free, and equally as lovely to walk around. Nathan and I gabbed away in the sunshine on a bench in the gardens for about an hour.

Barcelona is pretty much as expensive as you make it, there's lots of sites to see for free and even if you wish to go in I really don't think the prices are that extortionate. Food is the same again, you can go to beautiful restaurants or you can grab something on the go. Don't be put off by the price tag because you really could do this on a shoe string budget or you can splash out, its entirely down to you, what your Barcelona experience is like, whichever you choose make the most of it!

I have so many more photos that I would love to share, but I fear that this is already getting far too long. My main advice is to just go and explore, map out where you want to go or simply just get lost walking around. It's a really unusual city with a nice mix of things to do and most of all I'm very grateful for the alone time with Nathan. So here's to the first adventure and hopefully more to come.

Sephora Shopping Haul

Monday to Thursday of this week, I spent my days exploring the streets and shops of Barcelona. Although I am a little sad to be back, I am also very excited to share with you some of my purchases and maybe some holiday snaps in another post. It would have been a great sin for me to have visited Barcelona and to not pop into Sephora, much to my boyfriends dismay.  Don't expect big bucks splashed as this was a 'budget break', but I picked up a few cute things. I pretty much rushed my way through the store because I was afraid to look too closely, in fear of causing my bank balance irreparable damage. The last time I was in Sephora, I was 8 and in  Italy; I didn't really appreciate makeup too much then but now it has my full attention.

From stepping in the door, I knew I wanted a few of the Sephora face masks, I've heard good things and I find the packaging adorable. I picked up the pearl face mask for perfecting and brightening and the rose face mask for moisturising and brightening. I think these were a few euro each, not much at all. In retrospect I wish I had stocked up. I'm excited to try these out, but also nervous I'll love them and end up paying ridiculous shipping for a bulk buy of face masks...

Sephora carries lots of mini, sort of travel sized items. Which is brilliant for trying out new things, but also a bugger for me because I'm a sucker for this kinda shit and just wanted to buy everything. I gave my self a sharp pep talk and was very strict about what I would allow my self to buy. I have been curious about Dr.Jart+ for a while, whilst available in the UK the product range is limited and not heavily stocked my major retailers. I picked up a little gift set of three things, a hydrating moisturiser, BB cream and a micro water. This came in a nice pastel coloured box but I had to ditch it due to suitcase space issues. This caught my eye as I thought it would be a nice into to the brand and it was only €10. I tried out the BB cream whilst I was over there, and it seems nice a good colour for my skin, light coverage and it has high SPF. I am more likely to use this in the summer when I'm a little more tan and my skins clearer. The moisturiser seemed very hydrating, nice and thick consistency and a little went  a long way. I'm going to continue to use this before I pass judgement, likewise with the micro water. Overall for ten euro I don't think it's a bad little set for travelling. I also picked up a mask from Dr.Jart+, It's a pink clay mask that turns into a foaming cleanser when you wash it off. I love multipurpose products and I am very excited to give this a go and write a full review.

Glamglow is a product that has had my curiosity but never enough to make me fork out that much money for a mask. I am more than willing to pay out for something that really works but now and then taking a punt with fifty quid is too much. So when I saw a mini sample pot for €10 I thought what a great way to try before I buy the full size. This is the youth mud tingle exfoliate treatment. It's a mask that creates a tingling effect when applied and when washed off exfoliates the skin. I am yet to give it ago, mainly because that was tonight's plan but the pipes have decided to freeze and I have no running water... The perils of a country girl.

I told myself to only purchase things I can't get back home but the Kat Von D stand was too tempting. I know you can get Kat Von D in the UK but I haven't seen it on a stand where I could try the products.  So I was happily swatching away and it got the better of me. I ended up purchasing the tattoo liner in Trooper which is the black shade and the liquid lipstick in Bow and Arrow. I have worn these religiously since purchasing these and I will be purchasing much more from her range minus the skin products because her foundation was way too heavy for me. The liner is like a felt tip, its so sharp and precise and very easy to control. The line is also very pigmented, if you are a fan of winged liner (I mean who isn't but) you need this. It has great control, jet black and so sharp. The lip colour is very nice and the formulation isn't too drying but drys down quickly. I wouldn't say its smudge proof, but it deffo has staying power, more so that other liquid lipsticks. I'm really excited to get some more shades and even do some mixing and see what colours I can make. Once again I would recommend this highly, pretty sure they are available on Debenhams website and maybe in some stores but just not Newcastle..

Hope you have enjoyed my little haul, I'm loving everything I have used so far and I can't wait to update you on the other purchases when I have made a solid opinion! Thanks for reading.