February Favourites

Can't believe it's March already, when you get old it flies by..! Sighhh. Anyway, these are the products I've used consistently throughout February, most are my daily make-up items now. Looking forward to seeing what new stuff March brings!

Face: 

MAC Matchmaster foundation 1.0 - Matches my skin colour perfectly, (FINALLY!) stays matte and lasts all day, my definate favourite foundation at the moment.

Sigma F82 - Perfect with my MSFN, and the F80 with my foundation, finally been converted to using brushes with my foundations.

Clarins Extra-Firming Day Cream - Leaves my skin soft and not oily, which is a problem I have with every single moisturiser. I actually got this in the post from some company, but there no letter or anything in :/ just a random sample! No more will squeeze out, so I've had to cut it and there's still plenty in there!

TheBalm Frat Boy Blush - The perfect combination of peach and pink, leaves a lovely dainty flush! 

Illamasqua Cream Pigment Hollow - The perfect contour colour for me, doesn't look orange, taken me so long to find the right shade! I love it, wouldn't be without it now.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - Couldn't say enough good things about this, covers my bags, redness and any spots. This badboy is forever a keeper!

Eyes:

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - Use this every single day without fail, with or without shadow. Love how creamy it is, just covers any uneven skin tone on my lids and around my eyes.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - Really makes my lashes look black, I wouldn't say they make my lashes look really long or perfect, like falsies, but good enough. I got this for Christmas, and I'm starting to think it's drying out now - keeps making my lashes go clumpy and stick together, not separating them like before!

LOOK Long Last Liner Eye Brightener - Again, I use this every day without fail. Perks my eyes up instantly without them looking over the top like they do when using white eyeliner. My eyes don't look as red or as tired now. So glad I found this!

Lips: 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Addis Ababa - Such a lovely texture on the lips, so soft and creamy. A lovely bright pink, would suit all skin tones. Wear time isn't so great, but I forgive it because I just adore it! Really makes lips look plump and just lovely :)

MAC Pink Nouveau - I've just had a sudden craving for bright pink lips recently, so if I haven't worn the NYX Lip cream, it'll be this or MAC Chatterbox or Speed Dial or something. This lipstick is a satin finish but I think it looks and feels pretty matte. Really creamy, as if I've put loose pigment on my lips! Great statement lips without being too OTT.

Other:

Soap & Glory The Daily Smoother Body Butter - I've got to say from what I've tried recently I haven't been impressed with S&G's venture into cosmetics, but their body & bath products I will forever love! Starting to use up this body butter, as I have tonnes, and it smells lovely and does the job!

Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! Perfume - Such a gorgeous smell, I'm so in love! The perfect mix of floral and fruity. Perfect spring scent, so delicate and feminine. Plus I'm in love with the bottle design, fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and it's just so pretty, I want to carry it everywhere haha. I have to say I'm disappointed that the scent really doesn't last long :( I aways have to spray LOADS of perfume and top up all day long, so people can literally smell me coming! And this just does not last :(

Morrocan Oil - Okay, I officially love it. My hair is shiny all time time, and feels so much softer after I use this. My hair's not in great condition anymore, but this is a great start.

And because I'm so clever, I forgot to photograph my nail choices! 

Nails Inc Porchester Square - Lovely creamy and fast drying, it's a grey that seems to lean different colours in different lights. Looks lovely under Rainbow Connection too.

Nicki Minaj for OPI Fly, Pink Friday, and Metallic 4 Life - Might just have to purchase these as full sizes. Fly is the nicest turquoise, I'm totally smitten with it at the moment. Pink friday is just so girly I love it, and Metallic 4 Life is an easy way to 'toughen' up an outfit ;) Sort of.

So those are my favourites! Looking forward to finding new stuff in March, got my eye on Real Technique brushes, MAC Shop lipsticks (coming soon eek!), Topshops Sister of the Moon collection, and Sleeks Blush by 3 - I tried the 'Lace' Palette out in Superdrug a few weeks ago, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't pick it up! Oh well, more shopping to do :)

What were your favourites this week? Leave your links!

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What's in my make-up bag: Daily make-up

• MAC MSFN in Light: The best powder I have ever tried. Stays put all day long, perfect for my oily t-zone, and leaves my skin feeling smooth.

• Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam: Golden yellow highlighter, really accentuates cheekbones, looks lovely underneath a blusher, plus it's only £9! Really soft and pigmented, wish Topshop would bring out more shades in this!
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• MAC Eyeshadow in Grand Entrance: Lovely neutral light gold shade. Perfect to just quickly put over the lids when I'm in a rush and want some sort of colour. Otherwise I'll turn to my Naked palette.
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• Philosophys The Present primer: Leaves a lovely finish, matte, and my cheeks always feel super soft. The smell isn't very nice, and the price tag is a little much, but it's a nice luxury. I do rotate my primers, other favourites include; The PoreFessional and Smashbox Photo Finish.
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• Illamasqua cream pigment in Hollow: I've finally found the perfect colour for contouring my unbelievably pale skin! 
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• MAC Matchmaster foundation in shade 1.0: Obviously the palest shade they do. It has a lovely matte finish, and matches my skin perfectly, which is a really hard to find! You can also build up the coverage from medium.
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• MAC Paint Point in Painterly: Nude colour paint pot. So unbelievably creamy. Can be used as a base or on it's own, and I usually just use it on it's own to smooth eyes and oily lids. Makes eyeliner pop a bit more.
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• MAC Satin blush in Fleur Power: My favourite MAC blush ever. Gives me the most amazing natural flush, especially with highlighter combined. Recommend it 100%
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• E.L.F Cream eyeliner in Black: Really good eyeliner, lasts all day long, and it's only £3.50! Sometimes smudges a bit underneath my waterline, but it's not that noticeable, and I can put up with that little negative for the price tag! The perfect brush to accompany is MAC 209.
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• Benefit They're Real! Mascara: The price is a bit off-putting, but makes my lashes really thick and black, and is perfect for going out. If I feel like a lighter mascara, I'll use MAC Haute & Naughty, No7 or Chanel Inimitable.
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• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade Fair 01: Hands down - the BEST concealer I have EVER tried! Prefer it to my MAC, Bobbi Brown and Benefit! Brightens my eyes and covers spots perfectly all day long. Can't believe I waited so long to purchase this! And seeing as it's so purse friendly at just over £4 it's a total repurchase. Holy grail - there, I said it!

My make-up bag I got in the sale at ASOS, had a thing for tartan for a while now! As you can see, I do like to incorporate a lot of MAC products into my routine, and I'm not snobby for that, but I love my make-up and I find my skin awful to work with, so I would rather spend the extra money on products that actually work for me. For instance, it's really hard to find a foundation pale enough for me that doesn't have an orange tinge or oxidise. And one that puts up with my oily t-zone, and my nose which seems to HATE foundation! So I like to spend extra money on my primers and foundations to make me feel a bit better and more confident about my face and skin. I do love to find bargains in drugstores, and seeing as I spend most of my money on cosmetics, I do have a good range of make-up from drugstores to high end make-up, and I do like to mix it up, but these are my every day products at the moment which I know I can count on them working for me. 

I haven't put the brushes I use - So I use MAC 209 for eyeliner, Sigma F80 Kabuki for foundation, Sigma F82 for powder, E.L.F Angled blush brush for blusher, MAC 165 for highlighter, MAC 217 for blending, Urban Decay Shadow for eyeshadow/paint pot and I'm using No7 eyelash curlers at the moment. I haven't added any lip products, because I will always use a different colour every day. I always have my carmex and vaseline to hand, or my MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner. Some of my favourite lip products to use during the day are; MAC Lovelorn, Hue, Creme Cup, Please Me, LOOK Double Hit Lip in Rose Riot and Topshop Innocence. I also use MAC Fix+ every day to try and 'secure my face in place' all day! 

What are your daily staples? Do you think there's anything different I would like that you could recommend?

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Benefit Hervana

Purchased the new blush from Benefit from their website last week. They were offering free delivery to celebrate their website makeover. Also, with every purchase you're entitled to two free samples. I chose 'Hello Flawless!' powder in ivory, but it's way too dark for me, and their eyelid primer 'Stay Don't Stray'. 

Firstly, I am in love with the design on the box! I want to carry it around with me purely for that reason alone! It's just as cute inside as well...

The powder is similar to their other blusher - 'Sugarbomb', which is made up of 4 triangles in different shades, making it possible to customise the shade you end up with slightly. 'Hervana' also has 4 different shades ranging from a shimmery cream to a rosy pink. It's in a swirl pattern with two doses of each colour. Looking at the colours myself, when all blended together I thought it would be a bit more of a peachy colour, but it definately ends up being a pink with a natural shimmer that highlights the cheek perfectly.

This is what Benefit's website says:

Seeking a flush of enlightenment? Swirl on hervana... Our goodkarma face powder! Four complementary shades, lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose & berry delight - blend together perfectly for an orchid blossom blush. What goes around...comes around!

Achieve hervana! Swirl these blissful shades together & sweep on your cheekbones for an enlightened flush.

The box is similar to Benefit's last offering 'Bella Bamba' which is one of my favourite ever blushers. It's a sort of love/hate affair with the new packaging they're rolling out with all of their blushes. I know people have had problems with the new attached lid sometimes catching the blusher and breaking it. But I suppose with the old packaging, the lids were more likely to come off in your bag and such. They also house a mirror in the lid, which is always a popular feature on cosmetic products. For me, when I touch up on the go, I use a handheld compact no matter what products I'm touching up, so it doesn't bother me eitherway.

Something that has annoyed me though, is the amount of product Benefit give you in their blushers now. My 'Coralista' and 'Dandelion' are both 12g, and I think that was always the standard weight, but now they have made them all 8g. Meaning we've lost 4gs of product! So combine that with the rise of a £1 we had not long ago, we are all paying the same price that we used to pay for FOUR GRAMS LESS! 

Now, call me crazy, but I personally think that's a total rip-off and I only just realised the other day! Is it because they need to spend extra money on the packaging and mirror? Or just really making a good profit on them? I honestly think they need to drop it back down to £22.50 at least. Because if you think about it, a standard powder blush from MAC weighs 6g, and will set you back £17.50. Obviously, it's 2g less, but there's a £6 difference in price. Is it worth paying almost £24 for a blusher? I'm ashamed to admit I was sucked in to the pretty packaging....

The new brush that comes with it is angled as you can see. But when I tried picking up product and swatching it on my hand, I had to swipe over and over at least 6 times for much to even show up on my hand. So I never bother with the brushes that come with it. Waste of money and space if you ask me! 

Another thing to note about this blush, if you don't like scented face products, you might want to avoid. The blusher has a really strong perfumed smell, quite sweet, I don't know how else to describe it. When you swatch it, the scent is still definately there, but not as strong. I thought it was worth a mention though.

Swatches of all the separate colours and then swirled together.

Sorry for the pictures of swatches, I don't have the right lens for my camera at the moment, so they're not great!

Overall if you love Benefit and their blushers, I think it's worth picking up or at least have a snoop at one of their counters. I still prefer 'Bella Bamba' and 'Coralista', but it's still a pretty shade, and I'll keep trying it out. I think I was a sucker for the packaging and advert! I'll also have a look and see if any of the blushers in my collection are similar. You could always try layering/mixing different colours by using this as inspiration and see what shades you get :)

Are you interested in this blusher? Or do you have it already? What Benefit blush is your favourite?

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