Stole this from Nat's blog and as X Factor is boring me I decided I may as well do this instead...

Eyeliner:
Love it: Collection 2000 Extreme 24/7 liner, cheap as chips but loving it so far! I have a post planned for liquid eyeliner so I shall leave it at that!
Leave it: Sleek Ink Pot Gel liner, but this is mainly due to my inability to apply it properly...everytime I've used it, it's failed massively.

Mascara:
Love it: Chanel Inimitable Intense or L'Oreal Volume Millions, both have a similar effect!
Leave it: L'Oreal Voluminous. There, I said it.

Eyeshadow:
Love it: Urban Decay "Half Baked" because it is beautiful and I still love it! Also, anything by Barry M
Leave it: Manhattan eyeshadows, just a bit....bleh.

Brow Pencil:
Love it: I don't use eyebrow products, so nada.
Leave it: See above!

Foundation:
Love it: Using No7 Intelligent Balance Mousse at the moment and I am liking it muchly!
Leave it:  Maybelline Dream Mousse/ L'Oreal Mineral powder foundation, just, why did I buy these?

Powder:
Love it: NYC Smooth Skin loose powder, does the job perfectly and is CHEAP, LIKE TOTALLY CHEAP.
Leave it: A cheapy one I got in Luxembourg, it's very orange and basically rubbish.

Concealer:
Love it: For under-eyes Touche Eclat is unbeatable, but for blemishes I find Boots Natural Collection works just as well as any other, and it's under £2! Stephie recommends No7 illuminating concealer, which I have yet to use, but am thinking of buying it with one of my Boots vouchers.
Leave it: Anything trying to be Touche Eclat really, although I'm now trialling one by MeMeMe...

Blush:
Love it: MeMeMe Pussycat Tint/ Models Own Lip&Cheek Tint, they're both amazing, I'm absolutely addicted to tints at the moment!
Leave it: Maybelline Dream Mousse blusher, just did not work for me, ever.
 

Lipstick:
Love it: Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle, it's not bright but very creamy and soft.
Leave it: I only own a few other lippies and I quite like them all, but I'm not a fan of pale or nude lipsticks so I'll leave them.

Lipbalm:
Love it: Any by Vaseline, or Labello as they all actually work, unlike...
Leave it: Benefit Benetint lipbalm, it's just sticky and not pigmented at all, I just keep using it so I can justify spending £13 on it really...

Like Nat I've left out bronzers because I don't like them, and lipglosses because, um, I hate lipgloss. Sorry!

I tag everyone who has a few minutes to spare, as I love reading posts like this!

xoxo

I haven't done a recommendation post in ages, not because I don't have anyone to recommend (I have LOADS of blogs I adore, I'll be recommending them for years to come) but because I am so rubbish at sticking to regular things...boo! Anyway, the amazing gemfatale alerted me on Twitter to a giveaway on a blog I hadn't heard of before, so I clicked on the link...and a few hours later am still reading through her posts! The blog in question is

I'm really enjoying going through her archives, she talks about clothes (LOVE), make-up (ALSO LOVE) and food (TRIPLE LOVE) so I'm more than happy! If any of the above interest you, I suggest clicking the link so you too can discover this lovely blog :) She's running a giveaway at the moment as well, if you fancy joining :)

xoxo

Last week I purchased the new foundation by Bourjois as part of my ongoing quest for the perfect foundation. I've been using it religiously since and I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it!

The bottle says it will give you a "fresh and even complexion; detoxified skin; brings oxygen and filters pollution". It also says (in tiny print, on the side) that 98% of the ingredients are of natural origin and 21.9% are from organic farming. Sounds all good and healthy right? After having a nosy at the ingredient list it does have some things in there that sound good, all seed oils and soybeans (soybeans??) and the second most important ingredient is "camellia sinensis leaf water" which is basically tea. Yes, tea. 

Swatch:

What I like about this foundation:

* The coverage is EXCELLENT. I will enclose a (rather horrific) picture of me with my face only half made-up so you can appreciate how good this coverage is. For those of you wondering why my face is bright pink on one side, I had applied a good deal of cheek stain underneath the foundation (for reasons why keep reading). I am also quite spotty at the moment (as you can see), yet on my right cheek the blemishes are completely covered up and my under-eye-bag looks much better, no? You can layer this as well, although I'd advise against caking it on.

* The colour, like Healthy Mix, is spot on. I bought this in the same shade as my Healthy Mix one, in shade 53 (Light Beige) and it really blends in with my skin tone.

* The consistency is good, and it dries to a matte finish, which for shiny people like me, is a good thing!

* I also really like the smell; again, like Healthy Mix, it smells...well, healthy. Fruity. But it doesn't linger, which is good!

* I really loved this upon first application. Honestly, I told my sister it was my HG foundation. But over the last five days of using it, I have encountered problems of the blending variety. Do NOT put this on with a brush. It dries super quickly and leaves nice little tidemarks. I've found the best way to use it is to put some on my hand then rub it into my skin. Also, because it is matte, it can make your skin look TOO matte and thus even my oily skin looks really dry (as evidenced in this also rather horrific photo)

* It does need a powder over the top as it is very easily transferable. It also tends to settle into fine lines around the eyes, into fine hairs, and in the corners of the mouth, so requires constant attention so as to not look weird.

* For some reason it just will not take to my cheek stain! The only way I can apply my cheek stain is by loading a massive amount onto my cheeks before putting this foundation on, because putting it on over the top just makes a mess, the foundation becomes liquid again and moves all round my face, so I end up having to put more on... I imagine it would be fine with powder blushes though.

To conclude, I have on and off days with this product. Sometimes I'm ecstatic with the way it looks on my skin, others, not so much. I find it needs constant attention and when I'm out and about I just cannot be bothered to keep checking my reflection. However, when it's good, it's very very good, and it does even out my skintone nicely. I haven't yet had a reaction to it (despite all the spots, they're from another product, grrr) so it's a good product for sensitive, easily irritated skin. I really wanted to love this, though, and it's not quite done enough to make it my HG foundation.

8/10 (How I would have loved to have given it a 10)

Just a teeny tiny post to say how THRILLED I am to have thirteen followers! When I started the blog I thought I would count myself happy if I reached 5 followers :) So I want to say a big thank you to the 13 of you who read my blog (and to Martha too, of course!) and here are some (virtual) cupcakes!