My perfect base

I thought I'd show you the concoction of foundations I'm using at the moment to get my current perfect base. Mixing it up is working really well for me right now, even if it is a little bit of a palaver and a little painful for the purse!

I firstly apply MAC face and body really lightly all over my face. This is quite a sheer, low coverage foundation, almost like a tinted moisturiser (in fact, I've used some tinted moisturisers that have more coverage than this). I don't want to end up looking like I actually have face full of foundation  (even though I do), so this is a really good start just to even out my skin tone. 

Next I take the Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick and with my fingertips, dab a little over the centre of my face, and on any blemishes. Essentially I suppose I'm using this as a concealer, and for a little more coverage, in a discreet way! (I've reviewed the foundtion sticks here incase you're interested!)

Next I take the tiniest amount of Chanel Vitalumiere in a slightly darker shade than the others (like the shade I'd wear if I'd had a hot summery holiday), and apply this with a small foundation brush just around the edges of my face, my jaw-line and my forehead. This gives my foundation a little more depth to it. 

Finally, the famous YSL Touche Eclat. This I just pop underneath my eyes and across my cheekbones, for an illuminated  awake effect.I blogged about it in more depth over on a guest post on Kayleighs blog here, and also on my own blog  yesterday here just incase you missed it.

Have you ever used any of these foundations? 

Which foundations do you like to use to create your perfect base? 

I'm having a lazy blogging day today :) Some of you might be interested to know that my husband very kindly bought me a new camera (spoilt little lady, thank you!) So I'll be back on my Youtube channel very shortly, just have to get over my camera phobia all over again :s 

Shimmerbrick

A couple of weekends ago, my friend Amy and I, were chatting about make-up (as you do) over a glass of wine in a cute little pub in Chelsea. She whipped the Bobbi Brown Shimmerbrick out of her handbag and I instantly fell in love. 
As soon as I swatched it, I just knew I had to have it. Luckily, I had a shoot coming up the next week (more on that later), so I could completely justify it. I don't actually really love any of the bronzers in my make-up artist kit, so, the following day, off I popped to Selfridges.

The Shimmerbrick has such great pigmentation; you hardly need to load up your brush at all, a couple of sweeps across the palette will do. I'm not sure my blurry Iphone photos really do it justice at all!
Anyway, I love the subtle shimmer and the lovely pearly effect of this, the 5 different shades combined add a gorgeous textured tone to the cheeks.
It also doubles up as a highlight too, you can actually use the lightest shade to highlight your brow-bone and tops of your cheekbones.

I've used this on a few different people now, and it seems to be very complimentary on most skin tones (I opted for the original bronze palette, but they do about 4 other varieties too). It's a lovely natural ‘sun-kissed’ bronze colour and not orange at all like some bronzers tend to be.

As you probably all know by now, I am a sucker for packaging, and the Shimmerbrick is really no exception. I just love the black, shiny classic box it comes in, and that satisfying compact 'click'. It's sturdy enough to chuck in your handbag with no worries of smashing too. So. although it will set you back £32, in my opinion, totally worth it.

 
Have you tried the Shimmerbrick before? What did you think of it?

Oh, and before I forget to tell you, Selfridges are offering a complimentary make over to celebrate the launch of the new Bobbi Brown collaboration with Katie Holmes, you just have to ring them to book in :)

P.s Go and have a little nosey at Amys sewing Blog, The Little Tailoress, she's one talented lady :)

Youtube#10 Natural foundation tutorial

Hey there guys, hope you've all had great weekends? 
I can eat properly again now, so I'm very happy about that, I actually have a couple of restaurant reviews prepared for this week, so look out for those :)
I just thought I'd post up my latest video in case you miss it over on my Youtube channel, I hope you like it. I must admit, I did feel like a bit of an idiot filming myself in the mirror! Let me know if it helps any of you.

Bobbi Brown foundation sticks

I've been meaning to review this product for a little while now, I never thought I'd stray from my beloved Chanel foundation, but Bobbi Brown is the brand that have done it for me this time.

Being a huge fan of liquid foundation, I didn't think I would like using a stick based foundation at all, I guess I just thought it would look thick and cakey. Well, I was totally 100% wrong on that one! Meet my new favourite go-to.

It's the kind of foundation that makes your skin look flawless without actually looking like you're wearing it, that's what we're all searching for right? I apply mine with a nice big foundation brush, you hardly need any product to get a good coverage, they are easy to blend and  extremely buildable too. 

Oh, I've also been tripling them up as concealers too (which they are totally amazing for), and mixing them in with a moisturiser to make tinted moisturiser when I'm having a rare good skin day.

Yes, they are rather pricey at £28 each, but these are total gems. I can't recommend them enough!

Have you tried Bobbi Brown foundation sticks? What's your current 'go-to' foundation? 

p.s sorry for the lack of photo of the product on my face, i know it's annoying, but I'm still looking kinda mangey from being ill for so long!

Youtube#8 What's in my make-up artist kit so far?

Hey guys, 
after a few of you have asked if I'd film a video showing you what's in my make-up artist kit so far. So here we are! I hope you enjoy it :) I'm off to a cartoon museum now, what are you all up to today?