Pop lip Colour and Primer £16.00

I'm always one for a good nude lip, something you can incorporate into any look and apply with ease on the go. Clinique's Nude Pop is the prettiest and easiest to wear nude shade, an almost sheer pink toned nude with a slight pearlescent finish.

As this shade is slightly more sheer than the other two (Beige Pop and Melon Pop) that I own I do find I need to top up a little more often but this isn't a problem as the shade wears well and doesn't leave that obvious line of colour around lips.

Excuse the facial fuzz but how pretty is this colour?! Paired with the Clinique Nude Pop Cheek Pop this shade has been my favourite daytime lip since I picked it up.

Do you own any of Clinique's Lip Pop lipsticks, which are your favourites? 

This Weeks Most Worn

My most worn products over the last week are a collection of both old favourites almost forgotten about and new discoveries which I'm loving, all of which I really couldn't be without in this heat.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural has seriously left me wondering why on earth I hadn't tried it before. For years and years I had avoided finishing powders as they took me back to those awful matte, pasty pale years of my teens. After struggling more than most years with controlling shine I decided to purchase this powder as it not only controls shine with a semi-matte finish but it also provides another light layer of coverage. When wearing you can barely tell you're wearing it, it doesn't cling to imperfections or to those fuzzy little hairs we ladies have, just a smooth natural finish. Love!

Another MAC favourite at the moment is their Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. My usual favourite eyeshadow primers aren't keeping shadows on my oily lids, this stuff not only works great as a matte eyeshadow on it's own but also doubles up as a long wearing natural base that doesn't crease or fade. My Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette has made an appearance in my daily routine again, with the shade Stark being my everyday shade, I'm seriously gutted they don't sell this shade on it's own as I will be lost without it!

My Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer has made it's way back into my makeup bag, I'd almost forgotten how good this stuff is! I do suffer with a little creasing under my eyes so I make sure I tissue off any excess product and set with powder to avoid it settling into the creases, the result is much brighter and more rested looking eyes.

I do currently have a Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara open but when I saw Benefit release new shades of their They're Real Mascara I was instantly drawn to the brown shade, I have to say its pretty good. The mascara itself doesn't give me the most volume and lift I've ever had from a mascara but I am enjoying the more natural look of brown lashes apposed to my normal black. I'll post a more in-depth review of this one soon.

Last but my no means least we have my current favourite blusher from Clinique, Melon Pop Cheek Pop. This stuff looks so nice with my current tan, it gives cheeks the loveliest wash of colour but keeping them looking natural and not powdery. I have the coordinating lipstick, Melon Pop and when worn together it really pulls my whole summery look together.

See any of your favourites or anything you've been dying to try?

Clinique Melon Pop Cheek Pop Blusher

Clinique Cheek Pop £17

I will admit that I overlooked Clinique's Cheek Pop blushers the first time they came around, sure the flower design was beautiful but the shades just didn't appeal to me. Fast forward to the extension to their range with four new shades available in the UK and I am now hooked. When Clinique released their Lip Pop lipsticks I rushed out and bought Melon Pop and Beige Pop, sure I probably have ten blushers which would coordinate with each of those lipsticks but whats more novel than buying the coordinating blusher?

Melon pop is a complexion lifting peachy coral shade which looks absolutely lovely against my current tan. Like the other two Cheek Pop's I own (Nude Pop & Ginger Pop) the formula is silky and natural looking, you can't tell you're wearing a powder blush at all! I'm really hoping they extend the range that's available in the UK to the twelve shades that are available in the U.S (think back to me drooling over Nude Pop for months and someone kindly having to send me one from the U.S before I exploded!). 

Do you own any of Clinique's Cheek Pop blushers? Which are your favourite?

Trial-Sized Tuesday's | Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel from £5

A few weeks ago I did a post on Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion and I loved it, still do, only now the weather is heating up I found that after a couple of hours of applying my face was left considerably more oily than usual so I decided to purchase a 15ml tube of their DDM Gel which is specifically for oily skin and I have to say it's definitely more suited to my skin type.

Compared to Clinique's DDM Lotion the texture and consistency of the DDM Gel is quite a bit lighter and less tacky on the skin. The gel absorbs into skin quite quickly and has left me noticeably less oily even late in to the day. The only gripe I have about this moisturiser is the fact it has no SPF in it, not a major issue as I've been using Clinique's City Block SPF40 (post to follow) underneath but we all love a multi-tasking product don't we?

I can imagine this will be a moisturiser I will continue to use throughout the summer as it leaves my skin comfortable and shine-free.

Current Favourites

I was deliberating on whether to do a 'June Favourites' post but as I have been forcing myself to do a weekly rotation of the products in my makeup bag (with exception to my base products) I don't really have any products I couldn't leave alone but there are a few I'm finding hard to put away.

First up we have the beautiful Stila Field Of Florals Palette £30, I wanted this palette ever since I saw it's release in the US and it was so worth the wait. Even the shades I thought would not work on my fairly pale complexion sheer out to a beautiful wash of colour. Cream blushers are my favourite and with the huge variety of shades in this palette it's a true space saver in your makeup bag.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer has been my favourite primer over the last couple of weeks, I had completely forgotten what a pleasure it is to use. This cooling gel primer doesn't do an amazing job of concealing pores or blurring lines but it does give my base a glowing finish and keeps everything in place all day, perfect for the summer.

Clinique's Nude Pop Cheek Pop blusher unfortunately isn't available in the UK so I won't go on about it too much but I will say now I'm sporting more of a bronzed look it's perfect for that barely there makeup look.

Ok so NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder £26.50 hasn't just recently been a favourite of mine but it is one that I'm really starting to appreciate more now the warm weather is here. This powder keeps everything in place all day without that obvious powder finish to your skin, I adore this stuff!

Another product that has been a favourite for a while and an absolute godsend in this weather is Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade £15, this stuff really doesn't fade or budge. I'd recently discovered the product was starting to dry up and really didn't want to part with it so I placed a drop of baby oil in and voila it's totally revived!

I'd recently ran out of my favourite Lancome Hypnose mascara and rather than rushing out for a new one I though I'd try some of the mascara's in my stash waiting to be used. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara £19 has been a pleasant surprise, I initially thought it wouldn't be all that as the brush on the wand is quite big but it does an amazing job of separating and lengthening lashes.

Clinique SS15 New Releases Cheek Pop | Nude Pop Review

Clinique Cheek Pop £16.50

Ok so this post may come as a bit of a teaser to anyone that reads my posts outside of the U.S as the shade I'm featuring in today's post isn't actually available in the UK, a very kind friend managed to get one sent over to me here, I can't be the only person who finds it mega frustrating that cosmetic companies will only bring extensions to their current lines out in certain parts of the world, almost as if they can determine what one lady from one country will love more than another!

I already have a couple of Clinique's Cheek Pop's in brighter shades but when I saw this one, Nude Pop, I knew I just had to have it as it's the perfect everyday shade. Like the other Cheek Pop's the formula is incredibly smooth and has a very slight amount of shimmer to it leaving cheeks looking dewy and fresh. What I love about these blushers is that despite the formula being light you don't need a lot of product for a good result and it keeps the prettiness of the flower in the pan in tact for longer!

It's such a shame that Clinique only decided to bring out another 4 shades over here in the UK, there are 12 beautiful shades available in the U.S including a gorgeous looking berry shade called Cola Pop that I may need to add to my collection for the autumn. 

Last Week's Most Worn

Hello lovelies, I hope everyone is well and had a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend off work, I was working (boo!) and it was extremely busy so I thought I'd share with you today the products I reached for most last week to mask my fatigue in the office.

When I'm feeling tired the last thing I want to to is spend 30 minutes on my base and strangely enough I find the more foundation I'm wearing the worse my skin looks so I start with Topshop Beauty Airbrush Primer to help shrink the appearance of pores and just smooth everything out and then I apply the seriously impressive Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, this stuff does an amazing job of covering imperfections, evening out skin tone and leaving a healthy dewy glow. For my tired eyes I start with my holy grail eye product Bobbi Brown Corrector to counteract any darkness and then I use a light dabbing of Clarins Instant Concealer I also like to apply a little to my chin, nose and cupids bow as it leaves a gorgeous glow to your skin and brightens my face up. For cheeks I'm loving an old favourite which I dug out from my collection Bourjois Cream Blush 02 Healthy Glow, this colour blends seamlessly and lifts my whole complexion.

When I'm feeling/looking tired I like to keep my eye makeup quite fresh so I start with Lancome Base Paupières Pro to keep my eyeshadow in place and then apply a light sweep of the lightest shade from L'Oreals Color Riche La Palette Nude Beige being sure to apply in the inner corners of my eyes. I then like to apply a thin line of Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner to my lash line and the instantly brightening Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in the shade nude to my waterline, this instantly makes me look more awake. For lashes I am loving Clinique Lash Building Primer to really add body and volume to my lashes and then finish with a sweep of my favourite mascara Lancome Hypnose. For brows I am loving Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade as it has everything I need to quickly fill in sparse brows and stay put all day. To set everything in place I'm absolutely loving NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder as it sets everything in place but doesn't take away the glow of my base and enhances the glow of my skin.

Phew it seems like a lot of products but we're actually talking about 20 minutes in the morning from looking half dead to healthy! Do you see any of your favourites here or anything you'd want to try?

Clinique Lash Building Primer Review

Clinique Lash Building Primer £13

Being a girl who favours a punchy pout over a bold eye I am always on the look out for something that will give my lashes a little more oomph. I've added Clinique's Lash Building Primer to my basket plenty of times when online shopping yet always removing it as I kind of considered it an unnecessary part of my routine, how wrong was I!

When I initially used this primer I was a little concerned as the formula looks quite a stark white on the brush however when you apply it it's noticeable enough to see where it has been applied yet not so bright you'd need 5 coats of mascara to cancel it out. After 2 coats of this primer and then 2 coats of mascara I am left with seriously thickened lashes! Clinique state this primer not only protects lashes but the formula conditions, which I can sort of agree with as my lashes don't feel dry or uncomfortable with it on. 

Have you tried a mascara primer? Which are your recommendations?

Clinique Pop Lip Colour & Primer | Melon Pop & Beige Pop

Clinique Pop Lip Colour & Primer £16.00

You can't have missed the release of Clinique's release of their lip colour plus primer all-in-one lipsticks. The range contains a beautiful spectrum of shades which means there really is something for someone from deep wine to the ever popular nudes. The shades I couldn't wait to get my hands in were Melon Pop a light coral shade and Beige Pop the perfect not-too-pink nude.

The lipsticks have a demi-matte finish to them and I was very pleased to see they don't contain any shimmer (when ever I see a shimmer finish lipstick it just reminds me of my nan). I do find I have to apply a little balm before applying these lipsticks as I noticed when first initially applying them they settled into my lips and made any slightly dryer areas more obvious. The lipsticks last quite well, around 3 to 4 hours, I much prefer something I need to reapply every now and then throughout the day as long wear lipsticks just tend to dry and crumble on my lips. One thing that struck me when they arrived is they are a little smaller than I was expecting. After seeing tens of photos on social media I expected them to be a little bigger than they are, they stand around a cm shorter than my MAC lipsticks. All-in-all not a bad purchase, I'm enjoying the shades but the formula is nothing to scream about.

Have you bought any shades from Clinique's new range? What are your thoughts?

My Clinique Chubby Stick Collection & Swatches

Clinique Chubby Stick £17

I'm not sure why I've not done a post on my Clinique Chubby Stick collection before, they are one of the most used lip products in my collection and were what sparked my chubby stick obsession all those years ago. I've done a swatch of each shade, you can instantly pick out which ones are the original moisturizing formula and which are the intense versions. So lets run through the shades I have in my stash-

From top left - 

08 Grandest Grape (intense)

07 Super Strawberry

06 Roomiest Rose (intense)

17 Plumped Up Pink

06 Woppin' Watermelon

11 Two Ton Tomato

04 Mega Melon

01 Curviest Caramel

Although the intense versions offer more of a punch of colour to your lips they don't skip on the moisture levels delivered by the original moisturizing version. I love everything about these lipbalm come lipsticks, the packing has a real luxe feel, the formula's don't disappoint and I feel you really get your money's worth with the amount of product.

Do you own any of Clinique's Chubby Sticks, what are your thoughts?  

Trial-Sized Tuesday's | Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+ £5 15ml

This sample came in the latest British Beauty Blogger and Latest In Beauty collaboration box and was top of my list to try as I have tried and loved many of Clinique's products but this moisturiser was one that I had always forgotten about when searching for a new moisturiser. Although dubbed as a moisturiser for normal/dry skin I find this light lotion works very well with my oily skin when applied sparingly, it's sets into my skin very well and leaves it with a subtle glow.

So what is Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion + (apart from a bit of a mouthful)? It's a lotion type moisturiser that helps form a barrier on the skin sealing the moisture in leaving it soft and healthy looking. One thing I have noticed is that they weren't lying when they said a little goes a long way, seriously a pea sized amount is more than enough for my face and neck! First thing I noticed when reading some reviews on Clinique's website was a lot of people saying 'bring back the old version', never using this moisturiser I wasn't to know this was a reformulated product and I can't make a comparison to the old one, I can however say that after a few days of use I'm really enjoying it. I have been using Benefit's Triple Performing Moisturising Lotion for the last couple of months and I'd say the texture of Clinique's DDML (lets just shorten the name as it's a little long!) is similar to that only I find Clinique's DDML leaves me looking less oily later in the day.

Have you tried this moisturiser or the old formula, what are your thoughts?

*update - now we have got into the 30's heat wise and my oily skin is working overtime this moisturiser was causing my skin to become more oily than usual so this one has been put away until Autumn/Winter.

Clinique Intense Moisturising Chubby Stick in Grandest Grape

I don't know about everyone else but with the Christmas party season being upon us, the constant changing of lipstick and cold weather is really drying out my lips and Clinique's Intense Moisturising Chubby Sticks rrp £17 are a great solution to my problem.

I own a few of the original moisturising Chubby Sticks but the formula of the Intense ones is really hydrating and leaves lips so soft and nourished. Grandest Grape is a beautiful berry toned lip colour that is just perfect for this time of the year.

£17 may sound a little on the expensive side for a coloured lip balm you might say but the colour pay-off is so rich and the formula really is so moisturising that they are totally worth it!

Autumn Beauty Picks

I love this time of the year, ditching the fake tan and opting for more full coverage make-up is where I'm most at home. Here's a few of my favourite beauty products so far this autumn...

Clinique's Black Honey on lips
Topshop Dream Phone on cheeks

My favourite lip and blusher combo lately has been Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey rrp £17.50 and  Topshop Powder Blush in Dream Phone rrp £7. These two berry shades compliment each other perfectly and really warm up my complexion now I've stepped away from the fake tan. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Grand Cru

Another lip product I've been sporting is from my favourite drugstore brand, Bourjois. I have all but one of their Rouge edition Velvet Lipstick's rrp £8.99 and Grand Cru is one of my favourites. Described as a dark burgundy you can either apply one coat for a dark red (as seen above) or another coat for a deep burgundy red.

Essie Sole Mate

My favourite autumnal nail polish shade is Essie Sole Mate rrp £7.99. This gorgeous deep plum colour has a glossy finish and really gives your nails a polished look. I will be sporting this colour pretty much all autumn/winter!

Topshop Inhibition Lipstick

Last but certainly not least is Topshop's Inhibition lipstick rrp £8. Described as a deep plum colour I would say this leans slightly more on the purple side, but is a gorgeous matte shade none the less. I adore Topshop's make-up range, I'm yet to find a disappointing product.

Benefit Fake Up Concealer Review and Swatches - Light

My latest purchase in the quest of covering and hydrating my tired under-eye's is Benefit's Fake up Concealer in the shade Light. My regular concealer is Clinique's All About Eyes Concealer which has always been fine but just lately I've been finding it leaves my eyes a little dry and more tired looking (this concealer doubles up as a great blemish concealer too!) than before so I decided to jump in and purchase Fake Up for it's moisturizing purposes.

So as you might have guessed the moisturizing part of the concealer stick is on the outer with the concealer itself in the centre. Benefit say to apply to the under eye with light strokes and then blend into the eye area but I found it tugged a little at my under eye skin so I like to run the stick over the back of my hand to warm the product up and then apply with my ring finger.

The colour is perfect for me, so much so I can use it on blemishes on my face, as it's so moisturizing it doesn't highlight those dry blemishes at all. I do find that this concealer is a little too moisturizing to wear alone, you would need a dusting of powder to set however I like to use this as a moisturizing base and my Clinique All About Eye's concealer over the top. If you are looking for a moisturizing concealer then this is great, if you are looking for more coverage then not so great. The formula does live up to the hype of not settling into the creases of your eye or giving a cakey finish. 

I'm enjoying using this as a base for my Clinique concealer however using two concealers because they're ok in their own right is not really cost effective and I probably wouldn't repurchase wither. So the quest for the perfect concealer continues... 

Bad Skin Saviours

Unfortunately the majority of us mere mortals suffer from zit's every once in a while. It doesn't matter how well you cleanse, how well you eat, how much water you drink...you're going to get the occasional (or frequent if you're anything like me!) bad skin day. I thought I'd share with you some of the products I use to help me clear up those yucky little blighters...

Premae's Harmony Serum is one of my favourite spot-fighting weapons in my skincare arsenal. This amazing lightweight shine controlling serum preps skin for moisturiser and is great as either a mattifying primer or mixed with your foundation for a natural BB cream. The grape seed blended formula helps soothe redness and creates a defensive barrier against free-radicals, chemicalised make-up and the environment. If there was one skincare product I couldn't live without it would be this! My skin has cleared up no end since I started using it last year.

To nip spots at the bud I like to apply Clinique's  Anti-Blemish Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel just to the spot itself. This gel is in my opinion incredible, as soon as I feel a spot coming I apply and the majority of the time the spot doesn't actually come to a head, it just dies back down! Although powerful I don't find it drying on my skin, instead it forms a barrier over the spot and the active ingredients fight the swelling.

If I've had a particularly nasty spot or even if I've just had to give a little white-head a squeeze, I like to apply Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream. I've been using this stuff for years for a multitude of purposes. I find it's excellent for quickly healing skin problems like spots or dry patches, there's always at least one tub of this stuff lying around the house!

Jodie

xoxo

April's Beauty Favourites

Wow, where did April go? Yet again it was quite difficult to chose, as I have tried some fabulous products this month, so I thought I would go with the ones that I'm reaching for everyday. Here's a quick run-through of my favorite beauty and skincare products from April...

Astalift Light Analyzing Moisture Foundation  £29 30ml

I absolutely adore this foundation, it's the first medium to full coverage foundation I have found with a dewy, luminous finish. I chose the shade Sunny Beige after much deliberation, there are hardly any reviews on this foundation online...which shocks me as it's amazing! Here's a link if you want to read my full review on this foundation.

MAC Prep+Prime Natural Radiance Primer  £29 50ml

A fabulous illuminating primer which creates a flawless base for foundation and leaves skin looking healthy and renewed. Here's a link to my full review of this primer, trust me it's fabulous...a make-up bag must have for me now!

Molton Brown Rhubarb & Rose Hand Cream £10 40ml

 This hand cream literally smells good enough to eat! I first tried this after receiving a sample of it in my March Birchbox and I'm now hooked! It leaves hands moisturized without feeling greasy and lightly fragranced with the scent of rhubarb and rose...divine! Other than the cream itself I love the packaging Molton Brown products come in, cute enough to brighten up any handbag.

Premae Lab Definitive Eye Creme £17.50 30ml

I received a generous sample of this specialist eye creme in my April Premae Donna Box and I can honestly say I've not even looked at my Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream since! What I love about this eye creme is that it's lightweight, yet very moisturizing and acts as a fabulous primer for my eye concealer.  I've ordered a full size for my May Premae Donna box...post to follow!

Triumph Creme Balm £49 50ml

Another pick from my April Premae Donna Box is this fabulous anti-aging creme. I've been using this for a little over 3 weeks and my skin is already looking and feeling more renewed. This creme is packed full of antioxidants and vitamins, I apply before bed and it makes my skin so soft when I wake. Here's a link to my full review and product description. 

Clinique Chubby Stick in Two Ton Tomato £17

I have a real thing for red lipstick's, they are my go-to lip colour when I can't decide what to wear on my lips. Now we're moving into warmer weather I like to switch up my lipsticks for tinted balms or stains and Clinique's Chubby Stick in Two Ton Tomato is fabulous for this. Its a sheer tinted balm which can be built up to a medium intensity. Not only do they look great on your lips but they look great in your make-up bag!

Jodie

xoxo