MAC Darkside Lipstick Review

My all-time favourite wine-coloured lipstick (Rimmel's Bordeaux) was discontinued a while ago and I have been constantly searching for a similar colour since. Although I found the formula to be lacking in some ways (lasting power! It slides all over the place!) the colour was soo perfect for me and I was absolutely gutted when I couldn't find a similar colour. Cue my wonderful boyfriend arriving at my doorstep after work with this beauty in hand. He told me he had spent ages with the assistant swatching burgundy reds left, right and centre until he found one he thought would be right for me - and he got it spot on. I had never even heard of this colour before he brought it back for me! Isn't it gorgeous!?
Dark Side is an Amplified finish, which means its creamy and soft whilst still having that amazing pigmentation and lasting power that MAC are known for. It's almost exactly the same colour as Rimmel's Bordeaux and I don't want to blow my own horn but it looks sooo amazing against my pale complexion - just like Bordeaux. I will definitely definitely definitely repurchase this shade again as it is my new "Holy Grail" red!

Foundation Comparison

 Hi guys! I thought I'd post a quick comparison post of two foundations I've been loving recently. As we all know, Illamasqua's Skin Base is my absolute holy grail foundation - it's buildable, natural, has decent staying power - and most of all it's light enough for my skin tone! 

I was complaining in the shop, however, that I wished it was easier to build up coverage quickly. I usually apply three or four thin layers of the foundation to get my perfect coverage but it takes me a while to build it up. Anyway - the shop assistant heard me and recommended the "Rich Liquid" foundation to me! Which is extremely thick and insanely heavy coverage. 

I got shade RF115 which was the lightest shade - because I am the palest person on the planet. A thing I love about Illamasqua is that they acknowledge that people have very diverse skin colours - extremely light, extremely dark, different undertones, etc - so it's easy to find a perfect match!

As you can see the two are packaged differently. I hate hate hate the packaging of the Skin Base - it's soooo difficult to squeeze! I reckon they only changed the packaging of the Rich Liquid is because it's so thick it would have literally been impossible to get any out of the tube if they hadn't!
As you can probably see, the Rich Liquid is a little darker in colour than the Skin Base, which I like as it is a sliiightly better match for my skin. There's not much in it, to be honest as the difference is only slight, but I prefer the colour of this.
The consistency of the Rich Liquid is a lot thicker than the Skin Base. It's also a lot creamier and a touch more whipped/mousse-like than the Skin Base which is very liquidy. This is probably what gives it it's high coverage. The Rich Liquid foundation is also very very pigmented. Only one layer needed to cover my whole face and all my imperfections - perfect.
On the skin, the two don't feel too different - they're both quite lightweight, comfortable foundations to wear. The finish is slightly different in the Rich Liquid foundation, as opposed to being a "dewy" finish, it's more of a "satin" finish. Swings and roundabouts, you might say, but to me the difference was very noticeable and I personally prefer a more dewy and natural finish. Lasting power was pretty much the same for both foundations.

The Rich Liquid foundation's only downfall is that is is sooo difficult to apply. I like to apply it straight over moisturizer, with my fingers, and then buff it in afterwards to achieve the right amount of coverage and flawlessness. It can look a bit cakey if not applied correctly but in all honesty I don't find it as difficult to use as a lot of bloggers would have you believe.
I like both of the foundation but I think the Rich Liquid is better value for money as it is £25 for 30ml, and so highly pigmented I find I barely use any at a time, as opposed to the Skin Base which is £27 for 30ml and I find myself using a considerable amount more.

Have you tried either of these foundations? Which was your favourite?

Beauty Tips for Dry Skin!

I haven't blogged in forever! I'm so sorry! It's literally been a month. I've been so busy recently that blogging has been the last thing on my mind. Anyway - now I'm back and I plan to keep this up regularly. I swear!

In this post I thought I'd talk all about my dry skin (and hair) and all the tips and tricks I've learned to keep them as healthy and hydrated as possible! As you all know my skin is super dry - no matter how much I moisturise, my skin aways gets tight and uncomfortable towards the end of the day, and no matter what primer I use or how hydrating a formula my foundation is - my makeup still begins to flake and separate and sit on all my dry patches.
My hair is a complete other story. It's frizzy, coarse and unruly unless I straighten it to death (not forgetting to pour half a bottle of serum into it beforehand) which obviously isn't good for it.

Due to all of this, I've learnt a couple of handy tricks in my life that have helped me handle these problems a little better.

1) Coconut oil. This wonderful stuff will be your best friend. I cannot stress this enough! It's cheap, it's moisturising, it's good for all kinds of purposes. It lasts forever. It's great as an alternative to butter, it's great for skin and hair - need I go on? I like to slather my face in this, and then rub a big chunk of it in the lengths and ends of my hair and sit like that for an hour or so in the bath whilst it all soaks in. I run a tiny amount through dried hair before straightening to make it soft and manageable. I also shave my legs with this as it's cheaper and lasts longer than both shaving cream and conditioner! Basically, it's the absolute tits! You can get it from most health food shops. If you haven't tried it already - I'd 100% recommend!

2) Vaseline. This comes in both big and small pots and is handy for sooo many wonderful purposes! My favourite is the cocoa butter kind as it smells amazing and is really moisturising in it's own right. I use it after I've covered my face in a thick layer of cream at night, as another extra layer to seal the moisture in so I can get the most out of my night cream! Which brings me on to...

3) Night cream! I used to skip this step, thinking it was messy because it gets in my hair, thinking I didn't need it as I already use a heavy moisturiser morning and night anyway - I was wrong! Night-time is the perfect time for hydrating your skin, as your body is resting and of course your skin is squeaky clean after the day! This gives the creams lots of time to sink in and work it's magic. My favourites are The Body Shop's Vitamin E Intense Moisture cream for its extreme moisturising properties (althought it smells bloody awful - very "old lady" and floral) and REN's Frankincense Revitalising Night Cream because it is moisturising and prevents early signs of ageing - also, it smells diviiine and really herbal. 

4) See your doctor. This is going to sound like a really odd one but if you have really sensitive dry skin - speak to your doctor about it. I get rashes and spots all over my legs if I use any kind of shower gel (even the ones especially formulated for skin like mine!) and my doctor has really helped by giving me various steroidal/anti-inflammatory/antihistamine creams to use for flare-ups and giving me really thick emollient creams to combat my dry, flaky skin.

5) Protect yourself from the sun. We all know to use a heat protectant on our hair before using heat products on it - but what about the sun? I like to use SPF spray in my hair when I'm on holiday to give my hair that extra bit of protection! This keeps your hair from getting frazzled by the sun AND your styling products on holiday. I also always make sure to at least use a moisturiser or foundation with SPF on my face - I know in the blogging world the dreaded "ghost face" is a serious issue with SPF products, but I'd rather have a white face in pictures than a flaky face for life, amirite??

There's my top 5 tips for keeping dehydration at bay! Let me know if you'd like to hear more :)

Are you going to be trying any of these tips? Let me know in the comments below!