ESthetics: Summer Faves 2015

Hello beautiful earthlings!
This is a first "fave" post I have and I decided to post my beauty related summer favourites on the first day of September! By the way, hello September and hello Autumn! Also, hello to my fellow Autumn babies!
The products I would be mentioning in this post are the products that I continually used during the summer months that I have tried, tested and loved. So shall we start?

So let's start talking about SKINCARE! Skincare excites me as much as make-up or probably even more.
Bioré Ice Cleanser is one of the face cleansers I swear by.  I particularly love using this cleanser during the hot summer months as it leaves a very cooling sensation on the skin after rinsing.  I used this cleanser when I was on my vacation in Asia. This product helps me skin fight the blemishes and it leaves my skin soft and smooth!  It does have a scent when applied on the skin.  I am not bothered by it but others may.  The scent does not linger on the skin that long though.
Etude House's Wonder Pore toner was one of the products that I regret buying late in the summer months.  I did not get to use this until I got back in Ireland.  But I have been using it non-stop ever since.  It claims that it has 10 benefits which includes minimising pores. I honestly see a little difference in my pores but the reason why it is in my summer faves is that it leaves a cooling and fresh sensation on your skin when used.

The next product I regret buying late in the summer months is the Body Shop's Seaweed Mattifying day cream.  I already purchased this when I was already back in Ireland.  I heard good things about this from beauty Youtuber Saaammage couple years ago.
I have been religiously using the Body Shop's Aloe Vera moisturizers for years (almost 10 years!) and it is my HG moisturizer since it works well with my sensitive skin.  I have noticed for the past 2 years, my skin has gotten oilier around the T-Zone area during the summer months and it bothered me a lot.  I decided to get the Seaweed moisturizer and I love it.

The Seaweed moisturizer is not a cream based.  It is more like a gel type moisturizer that turns clear when applied on the face.  The first time I used it, I felt a tingly sensation on my face which scared me because I thought my skin would react badly to it.
Fortunately, my skin did not react badly.  I guess it was just not used to the moisturizer.  I like how it helps my skin's sebum in control and I don't get that much shiny as I used to.  I'd say that this keeps my face matte for about 6 hours.  Others claim that it keeps them matte the entire day but my sunscreen is on the oilier side of things that promotes sebum build up.  The only downside is that this is quite expensive almost €18 for a tub of 50 ml. 

The photo above includes the face make-up that I have loved during the summer months.  I brought these products with me during my vacation and worked really well.
I really enjoyed using Benefit's Porefessional primer as it kept my base make-up last longer and reduced the appearance of my pores around my nose and cheek area.
I love Benefit's Hoola bronzer for a little contouring of my face.  I love how the undertone is brown and not orange since I am not a fan of orange-y bronzers.
I was going to buy Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind before I left for my vacation since I heard from my sister Nikki that it works really well. I was on the hunt for it and it was sold out everywhere in the city. So I decided to just get the Fit Me Concealer.  I love it!  The coverage is really good and covers my dark circles really well.  The shade also suited my skin tone.
The powder I used to set my make-up with was ELF's HD powder.  I noticed that it does not really help with oil control so I got Rimmel's Stay Matte powder.  It claims to mattify the skin for about 5 hours.  I honestly think that it helps my skin matte for about 4 hours.  The downside with this powder was that it did not come with a puff.  I bought a separate powder puff and just keep it in the packaging to keep things easy.
Sleek's blush in Rose Gold is a good dupe for Nars's Orgasm blush.  I love how it is so flattering on my skin and I always use it even if summer has just gone by.  The blush is coral in colour with gold flexes.  The flexes does not accentuate my pores whatsoever that's why I love it!

Here are the swatches of the products mentioned above.  Rimmel's Stay Matte pressed powder did not show up that much on my skin since it does not really have that much colour to it.

I forgot to include Etude House's Proof 10 primer in this photo.  It is my HG eye primer.  It keeps my eye make-up last all day long even if I would shed a few tears here and there.  I used the primer for my cousin's wedding and I definitely teared up a bit when I saw her walking down the aisle.  And my makeup did not budge at all!

I got the K-Palette 1 Day Lash Perm Volume Curl mascara as part of a set that includes the liquid liner.  The mascara claims to be volumizing and curling as well.  To be honest, I have tried better mascara in terms of volumizing but I love how this mascara does not smudge in my eyes even without the use of eyelid primer.  Despite that, I love how this mascara keeps my lash curled and does not leave a very spidery/clumpy lash effect.

I have a love-hate relationship with Benefit's They're Real mascara.  There would be those days that I love how it looks on my lashes but there would also be those days that I dislike it due to the clumpiness it leaves my sparse lashes that it looked very unflattering.
You're probably wondering how did this get in my favourites? Well, I like how this does not smudge like the mascara I have mentioned before this.  I still yet have to master how to use this properly so I'd get that consistent lash look that I like.  I don't really think that this helps much with volume but I think it lengthens the lashes well and holds curls.

K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner has recently become one of my HG liquid liners.  This does not need the help of a primer. It stays put where it should be for a minimum of 8 hours. I have worn this to work and I did not have to worry about smudging and budging.

I love how thin the brush is that can help create thin lines that is close to the lashes.  It is also easy to use for thicker lines with no problems whatsoever.

Clio's Pen Liner in Kill Black is the other HG liquid liner I was talking about.  I love the formula of this liner.  The pigmentation is amazing!

This eyeliner does not also smudge! I wore this to work without primer and lasted me the entire day without transfer or smudging.  It claims to be waterproof but there was a time that I walked in the rain with this eyeliner, and I got transfer from my upper lids. (I have one extremely hooded eyelids that makes eyeliner-ing quite difficult). I don't know why that happened so I will be testing this liquid liner further and I will have a full review on this eyeliner soon so look out for that!
Since this is a pen liquid liner, I found that application could be a little difficult especially if I wanted a sharp winged liner. I should try the brush version and maybe I'd like it even more than this.

Here are the swatches of the liquid eyeliners mentioned.   Clio's pigmentation is better than K-Palette's but K-Palette's application is easier than Clio's.  If they had a baby, it would have the perfect combination ever!

This Wet N Wild lipstick in Coral-ine is my favourite coral/orange lipstick! I used it all the time during the summer months.

It can be used as a statement colour but I mostly used it as a stain. I'd dab it in the inner part of my lips for that gradient effect that is a popular Korean make-up trend.  This lipstick is highly pigmented and does not leave the lips dry. I highly recommend it plus it is really affordable!

I also forgot to include Clean & Clear's Oil Control Film in my cover photo but this was my summer saviour!  It still is whenever my T-zone would get extremely oily.

The oil control film I got was in Pink Grapefruit and the film has a grapefruit scent to it.  I actually like the scent and I am not bothered by it.  I love how it absorbs the excess sebum on my skin and leaves it a little fresher than it was.
I bought this when I was in Singapore for SGD 5 for a twin pack.  I cannot seem to find this in Ireland but if you know any place that sells this, let me know in the comments below!

So that's it for my Summer Faves of 2015! I hope you enjoyed reading this post.  If you have any questions with the products I have mentioned, don't hesitate to ask!
I am now working on day 3 of our stay in Singapore which is basically staying in Universal Studios the entire day! I'll see you there!
Peace & Love!

Haul: Boots (Sleek, L'Oreal, Maybelline)

Hello beautiful earthlings!  It has been a while since I last posted anything (no surprise there)!

Boots was (or maybe still is) having a 3 for 2 event on their makeup products and I just had to make the most of the opportunity since you get the cheapest product for free! I always get last product with the same price range as the two products to make the most of the value of my money.

I have run out of foundation to use for months and the only face base makeup I use is my Etude House BB cream.  I used to use Shu Uemura's foundation but it was already 2/3 year old foundation that it broke me out. I have read and watched reviews of the True Match foundation by L'Oreal saying it really is a good drugstore foundation.  

I was kinda hesitant buying any drugstore foundation as it was so difficult to find the shade the matches my skin. But then again, even if I buy a high end foundation, the sales lady would always use a shade that is two shades darker than my actual skin tone and is more orange based. I guess it is because being tan is such a trend here in Ireland.  I used L'Oreal's quiz to find my shade.

Unfortunately, when I got to Boots, they did not have N3 Creamy Beige so I just bought the shade lighter which is N2 Vanilla. I tested it when I got home and it matched my skin perfectly.

I tried the foundation during the weekend and I was so impressed!

I have been fond of using brown eyeliner on days when I just want to go for that natural/no makeup makeup look. Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner was the only brown gel liner I have found in store since everything was almost out of stock.

The colour is quite pigmented and softer than black.

My camera could not pick up the tiny flexes in the gel liner so I took a photo with the flash on.  I was quite disappointed to see sparkles in the pot since the packaging did not say that it would have them.

I have tried Sleek's blush called Rose Gold and loved it. Since I did enjoy using that blush, I told myself to get a new one.  This blush is in the shade Flushed.  It is a deep rose to almost a burgundy colour and it is matte.

A girl can never own too many lipsticks to be honest! I have seen Bubzbeauty rock a purple-pink lip colour months ago and fell in love with the colour.  She was using a lipstick from Mac and I can never afford that. When I saw Sleek does the similar colour, I grabbed it!

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Mystic matte formula.  I have not tried this one yet but my workmate said that it is really good.

I also grabbed Sleek's Eau La La lip liner in Raisin since I own a couple of purple lippies and I want them to last longer.

My camera is not picking up the lip liner's colour due to bad lighting so I took a photo with the flash on.  Am I the only one who still sports purple lips when it's already Spring?

I have been eyeing this Vintage Romance palette way before Boots had Sleek in stores.

The names of the eyeshadows in this palette is just adorable! It does have that romantic vibe to it!

The colours of the eyeshadows in this palette just grabbed my attention when I first saw it in the Sleek website.  Aren't they gorgeous? I would not really wear these colours on a dailty basis but I can't wait to try them soon!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Peace & Love!

Boots Makeup Haul: Sleek Makeup, Collection, Rimmel and No7

Makeup goodies I got from Boots

Here's my first every haul post! So I ordered a couple of makeup items from Boots and I got it delivered at my chosen Boots store. My experience with their online shopping and store delivery was GREAT! I ordered three Sleek Makeup palettes and a blush on Monday and I got an confirmation e-mail that I would be receiving my order on Thursday (which is today) if things would go well. I'm glad that I got it today and it was so hassle free! 

Here are some photos of the parcel and the inside of it:

This is the parcel I got from the store. It has my name on it and I had to cover it for privacy reasons

This what it looked like when I opened it.

Inside the parcel, there was the items that I ordered and a sheet with my order details and also instructions on how you can return the products if you want. The only thing that kinda disappointed me was that only two palettes were in bubble wrap and the other palette and the blush were just at the side without any bubble wrap. My OCD kicked in and I was scared that if I'd open them that they'd have cracked but fortunately they were all in tack. So I guess it wasn't a big deal.

So here are the products that I ordered:
Sleek Original palette, Sleek Au Naturel palette, Sleek Oh So Special and Sleek blush in Rose Gold

I also did some makeup shopping with my sister in the store since I had a 100 points coupon.

(L-R) No7's eye contour brush, Collection's Work the Colour in Purple Eye Palette
and Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

I have own a couple of No7's eye contour brush and I love it but I gave one to my sister and I happened to lost mine. The Collection eyeshadow palette is a gift to my sister. Hopefully she'll allow me to swatch them.

I'll be reviewing/swatching these products hopefully soon!

Have a good day! <3