My Top 5 Favourite Foundations

This has been a really hard post for me to narrow down just five of my favourite foundations as I find myself wearing a different one every day and constantly mixing them together to create different combinations. However, if I actually sat here writing about all my favourite foundations I fear I would be writing up until my graduation...

I first bought Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Foundation on a spontaneous trip to Selfridges after Uni with Lydia. All I had heard were good things and so I was eager to get colour matched and try it for myself. As a full coverage foundation with concentrated mushroom extract that moisturises and tightens your pores, I can honestly say I love it and it is worth every penny. Being a full-time student and relying heavily on my mega staff discount to keep me dosed up on beauty products, it is rare that I venture outside of the Estee Lauder Companies to buy makeup these days. Priced at £30, for this foundation I made an exception. The Magic foundation covers everything and is very buildable for days when I only want a lighter coverage. If you want smoothed out pores and a flawless finish then you need to try this!

La Mer's Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation is to this day the best buy I've ever had. On a day out over Christmas with my Sister and my gorgeous Nephew I encountered my first Estee Lauder Companies discount store at York Designer Outlet. I had always wanted to try this foundation, priced at £90 I could near enough get facial reconstruction for the same price. However, I managed to bag this winner for around.. wait for it.. £17! With a medium to full coverage for all skin types, my pores look refined and my imperfections disappear. The new colour capsule technology helps the colour stay true – even in humidity! The texture is silky smooth, leaving you with natural glowing skin.

There wouldn't be a top five foundation list without Estee Lauder's Original Double Wear. I recently tried their Double Wear Nude Water Fresh foundation but it doesn't compare to the Original. If you do find the Original Double Wear too much of a full coverage then the new Water Fresh formula maybe the one for you. Providing a medium-to-full coverage and a natural semi-matte finish, Double Wear 24 hour wear is super lightweight and comfortable on the skin. I have a few different shades in this foundation ranging from lighter shades for day to day life and warmer shades to wear when I have a tan.

As soon as Clinique announced in our strategy seminar that they would be bringing out Even Better Glow I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. As the new Light Reflecting version of the original Even Better Foundation, Even Better Glow is a moisturizing, luminizing sheer-to-moderate coverage foundation that creates a natural radiance with subtle aluminising pigments. This is now my new favourite foundation from Clinique I always wear it to work. The formula works as a treatment as well as a foundation to brighten your skin so even when wearing no makeup, your skin is visibly brighter! This foundation really gives you that true "no makeup" makeup look with its super lightweight feel and luminous finish. 

Cover FX's Total Cover Cream Foundation was another impulse purchase for me. I swear someone could say something was average and I would be like yep okay I'm sold I'll take it. The artist in Harvey Nichols actually applied some over her tattoo and it fully covered it so I was amazed. This foundation is definitely better than average! I was slightly hesitant to switch from my beloved liquid foundations to a creamy formula but this long wearing ultra-blendable full coverage foundation gives me the flawless finish I desire. I got my Total Cover in a warmer shade to wear when I have a tan, it is perfect for evenings out. 

So lastly I had to include some other honourable mentions that I absolutely adore - Kat Von D's Lock-It Foundation, Dior's Skin Star Foundation and Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation.

The Beauty Factory

After weeks and weeks of planning and preperation, the day finally arrived that I would put on my first live event. As part of my university degree for my Events Management module, I was given a brief in which we had to get into groups of eight to plan and execute a live event in order to raise money for a local Birmingham Charity, St Basils. We wanted to create a fun and sophisticated day out for all beauty enthusiasts and so me and the lovely ladies I had the pleasure of working with created our "Beauty Factory". As a BeautyCon style day out, "The Beauty Factory" is the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon for all beauty lovers, featuring masterclasses from industry professionals, blogger meetups, and pop-up stands by beloved brands.

On the morning of event day I had to wake up at 6:30am and somehow put my hair into rollers and attempt a full face of makeup whilst still half asleep as I knew this would be the only free time I would have all day to make myself look alive. We arrived at the venue at 9am to set up for the fun day ahead. Decorating the venue, we started to see everything we had been imagining for weeks start to come together and it was the best feeling. As the Brands and Makeup Artists started to arrive to set up their stands, it was so exciting to finally meet all the people I had been emailing with for the past few months leading up to the event. Looking around the space and seeing every little detail we had planned coming to life was very (as cringey as it is to say) heartwarming. 

Upon arrival, our guests were greeted with Prosecco and Fresh Orange Juice and given a gift bag along with an itinerary for the day. We had Canapés and sweet treats going round for our guests while they browsed the space. Upstairs we had a variety of beauty stands from nail and brow bars to skincare stands to a Bobbi Brown stand, there was lots for people to get involved with. Downstairs we had our masterclass studio featuring some very talented Makeup Artists sharing their expertise. On a whole, the event was a huge success. It has been a working process full of tears, stress, and sleepless nights, but the end result was so worth it to see everyone having such a good time (myself included)! 

Brands who worked the event said they would love to take part in another event as they saw potential for it to grow bigger and better with time so I definitely don't think this will be the last you hear from Cosmetize Events...

Below are the links to some lovely brands and artists that deserve a special thanks for their donations and contributions to making the day so special!
@pollylanecupcakes
@winniebeaulondon
@myglamsquaduk
@hissyfitclothing
@loveyourbrows
@placenail
@jvckriddle
@umanails_
@sef_lvllashes
@elisehegney
@picmeupuk
@tropiclaurapursehouse
@anastaciabeauty
@hennabeautee
@jemma_bowers
@wishuponasparkle
@hairandmakeup_danihaines
@hbmakeupartist
@hollybakermakeup

NUDES - Show me yours and I'll show you mine.

Yes it is exactly what you think...

No I'm totally kidding. The nudes I desire are those of lipsticks. Nude lipsticks have become part of the furniture in my life. From daytime to nightime - you can always rely on a good nude to keep you looking bangin'. I thought it would only be fitting to dedicate my first post back to the true loves of my life, so here are my favourite nude lipsticks of the moment.

Nude is for sure my favourite colour (if that even counts as a colour as there are so many different variations of it), I have nude nails, nude heels, nude outfits, nude bags and accessories, and of course nude lippies. I found it quite difficult to pick my favourites as most if not all of the lipsticks I own are some form of nude.

I'll start off with my NYX Cosmetics soft matte lip cream in the shade 'London'. I know this isn't your traditional lipstick formula but it gives your lips such a gorgeous matte finish without being too drying. I picked this up in my local Boots for such a good price at just £6! This shade is more of a beige nude which do tend to be my go to's as opposed to a more pinky nude. The creamy formula is a must for my everyday essentials.

Next is my Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in the shade 'Stripped'. I got this beauty during my first ever trip to Sephora on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. I absolutely love it, it's so long-lasting and pigmented. Similarly to the NYX lip cream in 'London', the Anastasia liquid lipstick is a beige nude (in love) but at a higher price point. 

Now this one probably has to be my favourite out of the bunch due to my low-key (or not so) obsession with Estee Lauder. Their sculpting lipstick in the shade 'Bare Instinct' gives such a high-intensity colour and full coverage, while also being super hydrating! And don't even get me started on the magnetic packaging (heart eyes). Paired with my fav lip liner, it gives my lips the perfect look and finish I desire.

This post wouldn't be this post without this bad boy. I once compared MAC's 'Velvet Teddy' to a pair of black skinny jeans, an essential you need to own. I won't go into too much detail on this one because I think most people that are reading this already love it. This deep-toned beige nude has a lush non-drying creamy texture and leaves you with a beaut matte finish.

I am slightly biased with this next one being a consultant for the brand, but Clinique's 'Blushing Pop' does things for me. Blushing Pop is part of the Pop Matte Lip Colour and Primer range which ensures up to eight hours of creamy matte comfort. This shade is definitely more of a pinky nude, not one I would usually reach for but the colour is just perfect for everyday wear. I put this lipstick and its built in primer to the test most days at work, having applied it early in the morning, it will still be mostly intact at the end of the day having survived me talking a lot during various consultations and makeup appointments. It is definitely a keeper.

Last but certainly not least is Tom Ford's 'Sable Smoke'. This super creamy and pigmented lipstick is so moisturising which is something I see as a must in a lippy. The shade itself is again a beige nude (wow shocker) but the formula of it is so luminous and smoothly applied, it is well worth the extra pennies it costs.

So that is it for my favourite nudes, if you made it this far then thank you for reading and I hope I may have helped persuade you to try one of this babies. My posts will mainly be fashion and beauty related with the occasional lifestyle so keep posted if you want to see more.

Zero Waste Beauty: Fad or Future?

In 2017, we have already seen the rise and fall of various beauty trends, from squiggle brows to bouncy blow dries, could zero waste beauty be the next one?

In the age in which consumers want more from their products we now see the era of the sustainable shopper, the shopper who values social awareness and responsibility over cost and convenience. The green beauty sector is thriving, with Grand View Research announcing that “the global organic beauty market was likely to reach $15.98bn by 2020, as demand for organic skincare, haircare and colour cosmetics drives consumers to look for natural and organic labels.”

Zero waste beauty aims to reduce the amount of products we use, and for us to reuse as much as we can, with the end goal being less waste needing to be recycled and blocking landfills. In order to achieve this, a brand should know how their ingredients for their formulas are farmed and produced, take a less is more formulation approach in products to avoid consumer waste, and think responsibly about their packaging.

Packaging is part of a consumers buying experience. We all love that moment when we get home from a shopping trip, pull a beautifully packaged product from its bag and unwrap the little box to find a luxuriously shaped bottle. But, could we really do without all of this?

The glass vs plastic beauty packaging debate is one that is ongoing. Sure, glass packaging connotes high quality and doesn’t compromise a formula’s integrity but it also has a higher shipping cost and let’s face it, we have all smashed our glass foundation bottles at least once and cried a little. But then you have plastic, more convenient, lower shipping costs, but is adding to the two-thirds of plastic packaging that is sent to landfill each year.

In my opinion, it is up to us as consumers as well as brands to think about what we can do to do our part in helping the environment. This could be a brand thinking about whether their packaging can be recycled or us actively taking a stand by purchasing products which need little to no packaging such as solid soap bars, as opposed to liquid facial soaps that come in a bottle.

So what do you think, is this a fad? Or could this be the future of beauty?