You Little Beauty – Makeup Revolution Pro Prime Aqua Priming Base

I was in the middle of ordering a load of make-up brushes from the Makeup Revolution website for my upcoming You Little Beauties Make-Up Class that I’m running in a few weeks when I came across this primer. I was intrigued, as it came in the form of a spray.  I already have their Fixing Spray (which is great) so I thought I would try this too.

I absolutely think this is the bees-knees and I think its great value for money as it comes in a 100ml bottle (airport friendly) and it’s in the form of a spray which means a little goes along way.  This is going to last me ages.

Primers keep your make-up looking perfect and flawless throughout the day and gives staying power.  These little beauties tend to have silicone (or some variation of) which help fill in pores and fine lines therefore creating a fabulous smooth base for make-up and the best bit; your make-up stays on as silicone is super adhesive – make-up will cling to it.  You can get primers for every concern; correcting redness, brightening, smoothing, evening out skin tone, hydrating, sun protecting – you name it.  I tend to go for the pore minimising ones due to my HUGE pores that look like ripples on my cheeks.  The primers that I like and can recommend are Rimmel’s Fix & Perfect Pro Primer (£7) – this does everything - its brilliant.  Maybelline's New York Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Lightweight Primer (£8) - this is as fabulous as Benefit’s Pore Professional Primer (£25) and cheaper.  KIKO’s Mat Base Corrector Primer (£9) and now I have Makeup Revolution’s Aqua Primer to add to this list!
 
I like to give my face moisturiser chance to sink in before I apply primers and foundations so I normally pop my body creams on and deodorant while I’m waiting. Now I noticed on the first couple of uses, that my eyeshadows were quick to smudge when applying them.  As you guys know, I have the oiliest eyelids on the planet and I have to use my Urban Decay Eye Primer whatever I’m doing but everything I put on my eyelids was coming off. So I wondered what I could use in order to protect my eyes and I remembered that I had loads of those 3D cinema glasses in a drawer.  I looked a bit of a berk first thing in the morning with the glasses on but I sprayed my face while protecting my eyes and they were nice and dry for my Urban Decay and eyeshadows.  However, I have since started to spray the primer into my hands and press it onto my face instead of looking like I’m auditioning for Men in Black IV.  Thankfully, it still gives the same finish.

 

Once applied, my HUGE pores are refined and smooth and my skin appears to radiate.  I like using it with Makeup Revolution's Ultra Face Base BB Foundation (£3) which provides a dewy, healthy finish and the effect lasts the day.
This water primer is enhanced with multi-vitamins which hydrates, revitalises and boosts radiance.  My skin feels very comfortable all day and when I come to remove my make-up at the end of the day, my skin is in good nick.
 

Makeup Revolution Pro Prime Aqua Priming Base

100ml for £6.

You Little Beauty – Chanel Le Lift Lèvres et Contours

I’ve cleansed, serumed and moisturised and now its time for my eye cream (I normally pop my eye cream on before moisturiser but I wanted another week trialling this). 

Now I first tried a Chanel eye cream a few years ago.  I was celebrating my birthday and I’d had a Chanel makeover in Brown Thomas, bought a few products and the gal threw a few samples in and I was given Ultra Correction Line Repair Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream.  I have to say that I absolutely loved the effect it gave me.  Whether you believe in eye creams or not, this little beauty provided exactly what I needed – blurred my fine lines around my eyes…well, I’m going to be bold now: what fine lines?

By the time I thought I would treat myself to a full-size pot, I realised (I've had two birthdays since the Brown Thomas makeover) that they don’t sell this product any more (they only do a day and a night cream for the face), so I came away with a lovely black pot of Le Lift at Dublin Airport December 2015.  It took me a while to actually start using it as I wanted to finish off my Shiseido Beneficiance Eye Cream which is a fab product in itself.

At last, I finished Shiseido about a month ago and have been using Le Lift since and I love it.

However, it appears that I came away from Duty Free with the wrong cream - I’ve been given the lip contour cream by mistake!  All is not lost though as basically its plumping fine lines wherever they are so I’m happy enough applying it around my eyes as well as my lips and it seems to deliver on all counts. I pop it on like I'm wearing a super-hero's eye mask - pressing it into the skin towards my hairline to prevent crow's feet and also around my orbital bone (never near my eyes or on my lids).

Chanel have developed an active concentrated ingredient called 3.5-DA which they say helps to regulate cell function at a genetic level and their Le Lift range has the technology to adapt to everyone’s individual needs.  I would love to know more about this and how it works scientifically but I guess I’d have to become a Chanel consultant.

Le Lift is said to restore the density of the lip area, leaving them smoother, fuller and plumper with fine lines gradually getting softer so hopefully its doing the same to the skin around my eyes.  I am happy with the effect anyway but next time, I will buy the correct cream Le Lift Crème Yeux!

Chanel Le Lift Lèvres et Contours

15g for £57

You Little Beauty - Superdrug Optimum Phytodeluxe Day Cream

You’ve read so far that my routine has consisted of cleansing and then popping on a serum.  Next I apply eye cream but I want another week trialling this so thought I would write about my day cream instead.

 

The first point of call when I’m looking for a new skincare product is either Superdrug or M&S as they are both fab for vegans and vegetarians, and they carry the Leaping Bunny logo, advocating the products and its ingredients haven’t been used in animal testing and they have complied with Cruelty-Free International’s criteria.

Last week, I wrote about the Vitamin C Radiance Serum from M&S.  I bought two of them as it was their 3 for 2 promotion and the third product I purchased was a day cream.  When I got home, I realised I’d bought the wrong cream but thought I would use it anyway.  It turned out to be far too rich for my combination skin and I broke out in little itchy, red pin-prick spots so that meant I had to go on the hunt for something else to try.

My shopping habit tends to be me browsing online rather than perusing in a store as when I hit the shops, I want to get in and get out as quickly as possible (unless I have time to kill).

I’m so glad my skin broke out because I ended up purchasing a little beauty from Superdrug.  While I was investigating online, I came across a lotion that contained Black Diamond Truffle.  Oooo, I thought, how decadent BUT how can Superdrug acquire a delicacy and only charge £15 for it?  Actually, on the day I went into the store, it was half price…

Phytodeluxe is part of Superdrug’s Optimum range.  They do skincare for 25+ years which contains super antioxidant grapes and a range for 35+ years which contain Swiss apples.  Both help in the fight against aging; fine lines and wrinkles and loss of firmness. 

Now this new addition to the Optimum range, Phytodeluxe Indulgent Day Cream SPF15 is said to contain platinum particles, an amino peptide (that smooths and regenerates, increasing elasticity, firmness and tone) and a rare Black Diamond Truffle, a fungus found at the roots of oak and hazelnut trees.  This indulges the skin with luminosity.

The day cream comes in a tall tube and is pump-dispensed.  As with all pump-dispensers, my bug-bear is when too much product comes out in one press, however, with this little beauty, one pump is enough so no waste.

The white lotion goes on like satin on the skin (rather than like silk, which has a nice natural drag to it, if you know what I mean).  At first, when massaging it into the skin, it sits there for a few seconds and then whoosh, it’s suddenly absorbed and leaves my skin very soft with a slight sheen.  It has a very subtle fragrance (vanilla?) which I like too.  The texture of my skin looks hydrated, smooth and luminous.  I really do like this product.

One thing I haven’t noticed, sadly, is a firmness to my skin.  Not that I was expecting to look like the Bride of Wildenstein but I was hoping for a bit more of a ‘lift’ around the nose, mouth and cheeks. 

However, I will be buying this product again – the condition of my skin has improved, it’s hydrated and it’s not too heavy for my skin type.  The ingredients are top notch (their Super Antioxidant Grape day cream outsold a similar product sold by Harrods a few years back) and you just can’t fault the price.  Oh, and no bunnies harmed.

Superdrug Optimum Phytodeluxe Day Cream

50ml for £15.

Next week, Chanel’s Le Lift Eye & Lip Cream