current loves #2 \\ the beauty edition

This post is basically what I have been wearing on my face lately but it's also things that I have been loving using so we're hitting two birds with one stone here!

I have fallen back in love with my Skin 79 BB Cream again and after getting past the watery stage of it, it's gone back to its usual consistency. I love wearing it on the days where I don't want to wear foundation but still want a little bit of coverage on my ghoulish face. 

I'm sure I've mentioned the Benefit Dallas Blush in my last post too but I think it warrants another mention. This is the only boxed powder I own from Benefit and it is still my favourite. I feel like a country girl when I'm wearing this because it gives such a lovely glow and flush of colour.

This will most likely be the third time I've mentioned the Rimmel London Eyeliner, I can't help it. I think it's great. I've been doing the simple eyeliner (with no flick) and mascara look lately and I'm loving it. Looks like I've made an effort but not really. If you get what I'm saying. 

I may have mentioned this product in passing but not featured it too greatly here on Parisian Orchid and it's the Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer. I wasn't much of a concealer fan before but this has literally changed my life. It's such a light highlighting concealer akin to the YSL Touche Eclat but waaaaay cheaper. It's not quite heavy coverage so if you like a heavy coverage concealer then stay clear of this. It gives me just enough to conceal and highlight at the same time. Definitely a re-purchase on the cards with this one.

Can you believe I'm still on the hunt for the perfect mascara? I've been using the Maybelline Rocket Volume Express mascara lately and although I like it enough to keep using it, it's not quite high up in the list as an absolute favourite yet. 

What are your current beauty loves?

Vanessa

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review \\ rimmel london scandaleyes precision micro eyeliner

Whilst perusing the beauty aisle in Boots and being a sucker for their buy one get one half price deal, I stumbled across this eyeliner from Rimmel. As I have been wearing a lot more liquid eyeliner lately, I thought I'd try this out as an alternative to the regular nib eyeliners I have.

The premise of this eyeliner is that the nib is small and can create smaller lines or flicks. When I first saw this, it reminded me of the Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner (which ended up dying on me after about 5 uses!). Application-wise, it is very good. Great for beginners of eyeliner and the professional amongst us. The colour is a true black and it doesn't drag. As with all liquid eyeliners, it takes a while to get used to but once you've mastered it, you can create some great looks with it. 

I've worn this eyeliner for around 10 hours and the staying power is quite impressive. There was a little smudging but not much to dismiss the entire product itself. At a purse friendly £5.49, it's a great little product to have and try out if you're experimenting with eyeliner. 

Vanessa

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beauty \\ beauty purchases

It had been a while since I bought any cosmetics despite new releases and a wishlist as long as my arm! A few days after payday, I decided to have a little wander around the beauty aisle and I may have come away with a few things...

Rimmel London Nail Polish - Mind The Gap, Victoria - I don't have anything like this colour in my collection and although I really should be moving onto more dark toned nail polish for the Autumn, I couldn't resist the powder blue colour! Just look. So pretty. 

Rimmel London Micro Eyeliner - See Boots and their 'buy one get one half price' deals, it never fails to draw me in! I've been wearing liquid eyeliner a lot more lately and I believe this may be a new product as I hadn't seen it before. The tip is really tiny and brilliant for drawing a simple minuscule line. I won't go into it too much because I will do a separate review on it. 

Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme - Oh cripes. This was kind of an impulse purchase. I had a Debenhams gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I thought I would put it to good use and treat myself to a little something something. My supervisor at work uses this and I've read so many great reviews on it so I parted with my cash for my first Dior purchase. I was colour matched to shade 2 and the counter lady said it was a pretty perfect match. Kind of excited to try this out!

Have you been purchasing any beauty cosmetics lately?

Vanessa

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current loves #1 | the beauty edition

It occurred to me that I don't buy enough products each month to justify doing a monthly favourite but I do love sharing what I have been enjoying using lately. This is the beauty edition and I will be soon sharing my non-beauty favourites which is always an exciting time. 

I have been trying to grow my hair out lately and I suddenly decided that I don't like to straighten my hair anymore so I bought this Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray to give my hair some movement. I didn't get on too well with the Bumble and Bumble sea salt spray but I have been loving using this Toni & Guy one and it smells pretty good too! I won't talk about it too much as I will have a review post dedicated to this soon.

Digging through my blush collection, I re-discovered the Benefit Dallas Boxed Powder which was one of the first makeup products I had ever bought. This is the perfect glowy, radiant and the 'I have just been out in the fields picking daisies' look. I'm slowly moving back into powder blushes after my very long stint with cream blushes and this is just perfect for that.

I used to use the MAC Lustre Drops all the time last year then for some reason I stopped. But lately I've been picking it up and dotting it along the top of my cheekbones before blending to give me a beautiful glow. The shade I have is Pink Rebel and is perfect for an effortless radiant look.

If you told me a month ago that I'd start wearing nude eyeliner, I would probably laugh in your face. It was a pretty foreign concept to me and something I didn't understand. I impulsively bought the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in nude as they had a buy one get one half price offer and I have really loved using it on my lower waterline. Having Asian eyes is a bit of nuisance but the nude eyeliner really opens up my eyes and makes them bigger *thumbs up*. 

What have you been loving lately?

Vanessa

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review: rimmel match perfection foundation

I've been trying my hand at different liquid foundations and one day whilst innocently perusing the makeup stands at Boots, I saw that Rimmel had £2.00 off their foundations. I spent about 20 minutes swatching and colour matching foundation and I finally settled on this one. I picked the shade, 201 Classic Beige and I must say, it's pretty much a perfect match.

The foundation itself isn't too liquidy at all and usually one pump of this will be enough to cover my face. I do like the pump design as it helps me judge how much foundation I need and there's very little room for any wastage.

It applies like a dream with my Real Techniques stippling brush and has a slight floral scent to it which I found pleasant and not over powering. It has medium coverage and leaves a nice dewy, natural finish. For me, it's the perfect daytime foundation. 

Staying power wise, it's pretty good. For your standard 6 hour day, you'll find you won't have to touch up during the day but I've worn this for a 10 hour shift at work and it's almost all but gone by the time I come home.

This foundation retails for £6.99 which I think is a great price for a drugstore foundation but I like waiting for some great offers that Boots and Superdrug do. 

Vanessa

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fotd: shine bright like a diamond

Awkward smile o_O

Ahhh, don't you just love annual leave days? Being cooped up in one room and stuck to one chair for 10 hours at a time really makes your appreciate days off more. Today, I went off to the cinema! I'm enjoying this Cineworld Unlimited card malarky already!

I made a bit more effort with my makeup today and broke out my UD Naked palette. I'm working on a little photography project with my brother later tonight so I wanted to look slightly more human than usual.

Surprisingly, I've really loved using Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation. I'm absolutely terrible at colour matching my skin to drugstore foundation but I've finally made the right choice! Success! (Review on this will be on soon!)

Do you like to jam pack your days off or do you prefer to chill out at home?

Vanessa

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boots haulin'

We all love a good bargain don't we? I decided to take up some of the offers that Boots had and stocked up on a few little bitties that I had my eye on.

• Real Techniques Stippling Brush: when Boots had their 3 for 2 offer on, I knew that a Real Techniques brush would be making its way into my basket. I decided to go for the stippling brush as I felt I would get the most use out of this one. My gosh, it is amazing! I use it for blending in my foundation and it just creates a lovely flawless finish. Get it. Get it now.
• Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation: I only own 1 other foundation so i thought it would be a good idea to branch out and try another. I went for the Match Perfection one and I await tentatively until I can use it as I'm always so rubbish at colour matching foundation. Holding my breath!
• Barry M Red Glitter Nail Polish: I need Christmas in my life now. And you can never get bored of glittery nail polish. Especially of the red kind.
• Nivea Lip Butter (Caramel Cream): I really don't need another lip butter or lip balm but my curiosity got the better of me. This smells so good! Better than the Creme Brulee Vaseline as this has a more rich smell. Mmmmm.

I justified all this by saying that I needed it all so I can blog about it. Yes. It works.

What have you been loving/buying recently?

Vanessa

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What's in my make-up bag?: Travel Edition

This week, I will be leaving the land of Scots and travelling down to London for the weekend to visit my friend. I thought it would be a good idea to show you the contents of my make-up bag that I'm taking with me!

The make-up bag is from John Lewis that I got ages ago. I think this was my first ever make-up bag and every single piece of make-up actually fit in here! How things change...! Grab a hot beverage of your choice, relax and let's get going!

Super + BB Cream

So I don't have to take a foundation brush with me, I'm sticking with BB Cream that can be applied with my fingers.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

Powder. Standard.

MAC Eyeshadow Quad

Contents include: Nylon, Satin Taupe, Naked Lunch and Quarry.

Vivo Baked Blush in 'Peaches & Cream'

Was debating between two but I think this one will come with me!

HD Brows Kit

For lovely eyebrow goodness.

Revlon Lip Butter in 'Sweet Tart'

I really like this shade and great for day and night!

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Eye base/primer

Benefit Porefessional

I've tried this and I'm not a big fan. Makes my face feel slick *shudders*. I'm willing to give this another try before disposing of it!

MAC Lustre Drops in 'Pink Rebel'

Favourite liquid highlighter! Love mixing a little of this in with my BB Cream.

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil 

Seems pointless to bring this as well as the HD Brows Kit but this actually matches my eyebrow colour better.

17 Peep Show Mascara

Love this mascara! So inexpensive as well!

Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain in 'Honey'

I have been loving the balm stains! So wearable and easy to apply as well, no need for a mirror really!

Majolica Majorca Cream Eye Pencil

It's so mini you can barely see it in the photo! MummyOrchid is going to HK in November so she's going to pick me up a full sized one!

Garnier Tinted Eye Roll On

For the mornings after the night before where I might have consumed a bit too much wine!

That's it! A bit excessive? I think so but I'm trying to use up as much make-up as I can before buying any more so it's well justified! 

What are your key essential make-up items when you go travelling?

Vanessa

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