Holy Grail High Street/Drugstore Foundation

It's taken me a while to find a high street foundation that I actually love and would repurchase again and again. I've tried quite a few cheaper foundations over the years, and none have impressed me that much, until I tried the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation.

With no makeup (I have redness and spot scarring)

Wearing only Bourjois Healthy Mix

There's quite a lot of hype around this product, but I put off buying it for a while as it is on the pricer side of high street foundations….it's £9.99, which isn't expensive but considering I'd been using the Rimmel foundations which are £4 cheaper it did seem like a leap.
But I took the plunge and bought it back in the Spring, and I'm so glad I did!

I purchased the Healthy Mix foundation in the lightest shade of Light Vanilla, which actually isn't that pale….that's the only complaint I have about this line, the shade range isn't brilliant.
Light Vanilla is slightly yellow toned, which suits my skin as I have olive undertones, and it's light but not so light that it would work on a very pale skinned girl.
The packaging is great. Pump - check, proper lid - check, non-cheap feeling bottle - check. Winner.
The scent is fruity, but not artificial. Healthy Mix is enriched with fruit therapy formulas; apricot for radiance, melon for hydration and apple to 'protect your youth'.
The coverage is medium, in my opinion. I've seen that most people say it's a light coverage, which it can be if it's sheered down, but on me and the way I apply it (with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush) definitely gives me enough coverage for everyday wear. The finish it gives is natural, but glowing; not matte but not so dewy that you look sweaty either. I find it particularly great at minimising the appearance of pores and boosting complexion. It doesn't feel at all heavy or sticky on the skin either.
The consistency isn't runny like a quite a few lighter foundations, but it's not thick either. It's very easy to work into the skin, and blends seamlessly.
The wear Bourjois claim is up to 16 hours….who even wears their foundation for that long anyway?! 16 hours wear definitely is not the case on my skin - there's sure signs of fading away during the day, but not enough that it bothers me. By the end of the day (without any touch ups) the foundation is still there, it's just not as strong a coverage. Powdering obviously helps with the longevity.
The skin type Healthy Mix foundation would suit is probably anyone! A friend of mine with oily skin uses this and adores it, I have dry, sensitive skin and I adore it also.

I can't really fault it, and I can't see myself straying from it any time soon. It's a must-have for me!  

Well done, Bourjois. 

Bourjois Colour Edition Eye Shadow in Petale de Glace - REVIEW

Bourjois have brought out their own range of cream to powder eyeshadows in their AW13 colour edition collection! I don't actually see many of these on the highstreet, apart from the Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 hour ones, which I absolutely love, and when I received the Bourjois product I thought how similar it looks! Both state they last 24 hours, which seems to be an obsession in the makeup world currently, but really who wears makeup for that long? The packaging is similar, although Maybelline's is a glass pot and feels more expensive compared to the plastic Bourjois pot and they're both a similar concept.

As the concept and packaging is very similar to the Maybelline colour tattoos I expected the product to be similar too, but it's really not.
These bourjois shadows are much less cream, more powder. They are quite dry and also fairly firm when you try to get some on your finger (I found my fingers was the best way to apply them), however I found them very easy to work with once on the eyelid and blend beautifully.
The shade I got was Petale de Glace, nowhere on the pot itself does it say a name so I had to go from other blogs, it's a gorgeous shade but quite difficult to describe, it'd say it's a browny champagney colour with a hint of purple and lovely and shimmery.
The colour payoff of this shadow is good, not amazing but good and can definitely be built up.

Bourjois claim these last 24 hours but I highly doubt it, after about 8 hours it started to fade but didn't crease (hurrah!).

I do love this product and it's a welcome addition to my makeup stash and the colour is right up my street and really looks lovely, but I still prefer the Maybelline colour tattoos and as the Bourjois ones are £2 more (retail for £6.99 as apposed to Maybelline's £4.99) I would recommend Maybelline more.

Buy them HERE!


(Bourjois very kindly sent me this product, thank you Bourjois!)

My Beauty Wishlist #1

I always have an endless wish list of beauty items that I'd like, today I thought I'd share some of those things with you (I had to miss out about 73974 things because it was so long).

1. Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick from Soap & Glory in Nudist (swatch in picture too). I have heard Fleur rave about this so much and it's made me want to try it. I love lip products that are in that sort of packaging (like the Revlon lip stains), but these gloss sticks are supposed to look more shiny and are a lot more moisturising.

2. Bourjois Healthy Mix serum foundation. So many people seem to love this, and people with all skin types too. It's supposed to be a very light foundation, something which I really need to invest in as my lightest coverage foundation is Wake Me Up by Rimmel and that's still medium coverage.

3. Mac 217 blending brush.  Every brush I own is by Real Techniques, I love them a lot, but I feel I should venture into Mac makeup brushes as everyone seems to love them, despite the hefty price tag. The 217 is perfect for blending eyeshadow out, something which I feel I need.

4. Alpha H Liquid Gold. This stuff is supposed to be a miracle worker, you put it on at night and in the morning your skin apparently looks SO much healthier, brighter, clearer and just nicer. It contains high levels of acid so it helps cellar renewable and it diminishes the appearance of pores. The only thing that puts me off is it's £31 for 100ml…not cheap.

5. MAC powder blush in Melba. This blush is described as a 'soft coral peach' BAM, I instantly want it. Coral and peach are my favourite blush colours. This is supposed to suit paler skin as well. WIN.

6. Nars Duo Eyeshadow in Kalahari.  Neutral eyeshadows are my favourite, so this duo of 'gold confection and sugared cocoa', which are a light brown and a darker more earthy and slightly purple brown, are right up my street.

7. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I don't own either of the Naked palettes, I know I know, I am deprived. I prefer the look of the Naked 2 as the colours aren't so dark or out there, a lot more my type of thing…I want.

8.Michael Todd Honey and Oat Deep Pore Cleanser. I have just run out of my second bottle of Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, which I do love but I really want to give something new a try. I ADORE the Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Toner (review here), so it only seems logical that I would try their cleansers next. It says this cleanser is very moisturising, removes makeup, and cleans deep into the pores. Only thing is this says it's 'lightly foaming', as we all know (I hope) foaming cleansers or face washes are bad…so hmm.

9. MAC lipstick in Crosswires. As I am a major lipstick lover it seems mad to me that I am yet to try a MAC lipstick. Crosswires is first on my list! It is a cremesheen so will be nice and creamy and moisturising and the colour is beautiful, a gorgeous pinky orange.

That's it for my beauty wishlist.

What's top of your wishlist?

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