M.A.C Studio Sculpt foundation

I think foundation is the most important part of a make-up look. Although people may argue that the most important piece of makeup is their mascara or eyeliner, for me, foundation is the base which defines the rest of your look and can help other additional pieces of makeup used look their best. A good foundation, for me, is the main piece of makeup you should have in your kit. 

After having a browse online last week, I decided to invest in a higher-end foundation. Although I love my L'oreal true match  (which will probably always remain my most favourite drugstore foundation), Mac foundations have always seemed like a luxurious, but not too expensive option. Saying this, they do cost quite a bit more than my L'oreal foundation, so shop around, but don't be lured in by overly low-priced Mac products on ebay, unless they are sold by a reputable seller. I would recommend checking the sellers customer feedback before investing in any products.

Mac Studio Sculpt is a gel-based formula foundation that I've heard many bloggers and Youtube beauty guru's talk about and highly recommend. It's a medium buildable coverage, and comes in a range of different shades, from light to dark, and warm to cool skin tones. You can go to a Mac shop and one of the sales assistants can shade match you, or you can do what I did and guess your shade- then order it and hope for the best. Probably not the greatest idea for a first time user of a fairly expensive foundation, but I went with it anyway and I was lucky that the shade I picked matched well. I went for shade NC15, a pale ivory colour which I feel suited my pale skin.

The product comes in what I think is a very useful type of packaging. What I mean by this is that you can get every last scrap of the foundation out, as it comes in a soft plastic tube that can be cut in half afterwards to remove the remaining product. Although the packet is not as visually appealing as the glass foundation, it is a lot more portable and can be shoved into a handbag without fear that it might smash. The plastic tube has got a matte plastic black top that screws on tightly and is surprisingly strong, much more so than the lid on my Drugstore foundation. Weirdly, the lid is somewhat rounded at the bottom, so it is difficult to stand the bottle upright. This is only a minor problem, though, and one which I doubt many people will notice.

The formulation of this foundation is very smooth and creamy, I didn't personally notice much of a 'gel' texture, but I did notice that the texture is rich and almost feels like a primer. I definitely noticed that when I applied this, my skin felt smoother than usual. The scent of this foundation is pretty strong though, and almost has a slight 'paint' aroma, so if you are sensitive to smells, you may wish to try out a sample first. I personally didn't find it too bad, and it's something I barely noticed after the second or third use.

Although the colour of this foundation is a pale ivory, it is more yellow-toned than my regular foundation, however, when applied it blended in great just with my fingertips and didn't look orange at all. My complexion was more perfected and it provided a finish that was between dewy and matte. Having being used to a pink-toned almost-white foundation for a long time, it was a little strange to be using something slightly darker- and potentially more suited to my skintone. But I was confident about the colour finish.

Although this foundation blends extremely easily, it is certainly one which needs it's 'setting' time. What I mean by this is that once applied, it takes a while to dry on your skin. The first time I applied it, I made the mistake of not hanging around a couple of minutes for it to dry, and the hair in my fringe ended up sticking to the foundation. Usually now, whilst I am waiting for the foundation to dry, I keep my hair pinned back and concentrate on my eye makeup.

I haven't noticed any particular change to my skin, it's not become particularly oilier or dryer than it currently is, but I am going to keep using it to see if I eventually notice any changes. Although it is perhaps recommended, I personally wouldn't bother using a primer under this unless I had a long day ahead However, I do top it up with a powder, especially during the warm weather, as any type of foundation I use tends to slide off my skin during humid weather.

This foundation comes in at a rather hefty £25 for a 40ml bottle (actually 10ml larger than most regular bottles of foundation). So it is quite an expensive spend, but the quality really does show in this product and it's one of those items that you get what you pay for. Look out on ebay for the foundation being sold by reputable sellers with excellent customer feedback (as there are a lot of fake MAC products for sale around Ebay), and you could grab one for a lower price- I bought mine for around £17.

I would recommend this, I only wish the price was a little lower so I could enjoy it as an everyday staple product!

8.5/10

Aussie No Rush Body Wash

Aussie is a brand in the cosmetic world that is generally associated with hair products such as shampoos, conditioners, serums and sprays. Their mid-priced drugstore hair products, I think, are some of the best available in the price range, and ones which I would recommend to anyone who was seeking a luxurious hair product that wasn't too expensive. Due to what I assume is their high popularity, Aussie have branched out and started selling a range of new body washes, which have been advertised for the past couple of months now. I've just recently had the chance to try one out, after attempting to reduce my shower gel stash.

I had a quick look at the different kinds available, before deciding to pick up the 'No rush' variety, purely because it was described for 'Skin that is meant to be spoilt.' I find with a lot of shower gels that they can leave my skin dry, so I assumed this would be a moisturising product, and one that would suit me. There are three or four other varieties, so if you have a different skin type, you should be able to find something different that you prefer.

This comes in the 'iconic' Aussie bottle, which is very similar in size and look to the shampoo and conditioner bottles. Although I think it's great that the brand have used this style so it is instantly recognisable, I think it's a little too close in similarity, and would be easy to get mixed up with the shampoo bottle, if you had both in the shower. Personally, although there is no fault with the packaging, I would have picked a different style of bottle, maybe one with the cap on the bottom rather than the top.

The scent of this body wash isn't described at all on the bottle, which is a little different, but the description showcases that the 'star' ingredient of this is the Australian jojoba seed oil. Whether this means that the body wash is meant to smell of the North-American flower, I can't be sure about as I don't have any other cosmetics that claim to have this smell. The main scent I pick up is a heady, fresh, floral one, with a sweet background. It smells pretty strong in the bottle but is less overwhelming when you use it. The scent for me wasn't 

The body wash itself  looks quite dark, almost indigo in the bottle, but comes out as a pretty translucent lilac. The consistency is medium thickness when used, and it feels high quality and like something you would pay more for.  I have heard mixed reviews about the lathering for this one, but for me it lathered fine and after it was washed off, made my skin feel clean but not dry like it can do sometimes when I use soap or shower gel. However, although my skin didn't feel dry, it didn't feel particularly moisturised either and the dry skin I have still required a moisturiser. 

Overall, after all the hype that's been online and in magazines about this shower gel, I would say I liked it, but it wasn't a total favourite of mine. The price is also quite high for the amount of product you get, for what is a drugstore brand of  'everyday' body wash. I can see this being a popular choice for families, as it's essentially a run-of-the-mill shower gel with a nicer texture and scent than some of the cheaper brands, but for anyone expecting a particularly moisturising experience, I don't think this would be a number one choice.

I will continue using the one bottle I bought up, then I might try one of the others from the range to see if I can yield better results. Have you tried any of Aussie's body washes? Or maybe you have something else to recommend. Comment below :)

6/10

Library of Fragrance Marshmallow cologne spray

A while ago whilst browsing the perfume/body spray category on Amazon UK, I noticed Demeter scents- a selection of cologne sprays in rather unique and special scents that you wouldn't necessarily expect to work well as colognes. These varieties include chocolate, paperback book(!), and even play-doh scents. Fast forward a year or so, and Demeter have brought some of these scents to the UK, releasing them under a new name, Library of Fragrance.


Library of Fragrance colognes are quite difficult to find here and I have really only spotted them in larger Boots pharmacy stores, so if you don't have one of them near you, then you may want to check them out online. Boots stock around 40 of their scents, and there is a lot of variety, from natural scents such as Snow, to more fruity varieties such as the popular cocktails Sex on the beach and Pina colada , and some of the more unusual foodie scents as well. They are currently on a special offer, £15 each or 2 for £25, (30ml bottles) so are very fairly priced compared to other fragrances.


The packaging of Library of Fragrance scents is fairy basic- a heavyweight cuboid glass bottle with a simple label reading the scent and ingredients on the back, with a silver cap. Nothing fancy here, but for the price it's decent enough and fairly modern and minimalist. It's also the perfect size to pop one (or two) 30ml bottles into your handbag.

Out of the two varieties I picked up, this was one that really appealed to me, as I am a big fan of candied scents. I've also never really noticed a particularly strong scent with marshmallows besides a light, sugary aroma, so I wondered how Library of Fragrance had replicated the scent to a cologne and whether it was any good.

I wasn't disappointed.

On first spray, unfortunately the alcohol in the scent is at the forefront here, and you don't really smell anything else, due to the softness of the fragrance. But this settles down after 30 seconds, and the scent really mellows out to something beautifully light and creamy, and almost slightly coconutty in scent. 

It really does smell like a jar of marshmallow fluff, or a bag of marshmallows opened. A light, barely-there sweetness that also kind of reminds me slightly of pink and white nougat and cupcake frosting. The coconut note comes at the end, and is barely noticeable, but really helps round off this fragrance and make it something special.  It's definitely a candied scent, but not the overbearing sort. I feel this scent would be adored by anyone, old or young. It's a girlie one, but is deliciously indulgent. 

The only issue with this scent, like the other Library of fragrance variety I have tried, is that it doesn't last that long.  I would say the fragrance lasts around an hour before needing to be reapplied. For me, this doesn't matter so much as like I said, the bottle is fairly portable and the price is low, but it may be something to bear in mind if you don't want to carry it around or don't have the time to reapply throughout the day.

Overall, I am pleased with this scent. Out of the two Library of Fragrance colognes I have tried, it isn't my favourite, however it is beautifully pretty, non cloying and girlie, and one which I will enjoy wearing in the warmer months of the year, or layering with other scents.  I may even try buying the Library of Fragrance dark chocolate variety and seeing if layering it with this would create a scent close to s'mores- watch this space!

Recommended

8/10

Library of Fragrance Vanilla Ice Cream cologne spray

A while ago whilst browsing the perfume/body spray category on Amazon UK, I noticed Demeter scents- a selection of cologne sprays in rather unique fragrances that you wouldn't necessarily expect as colognes. These varieties included dark chocolate, cake batter, and even play-doh scents. Fast forward a year or so, and Demeter have brought some of these scents to the UK, releasing them under a new name, Library of Fragrance.

Library of Fragrance colognes are quite difficult to find, and I have really only spotted them in larger Boots pharmacy stores, so if you don't have one of them near you, then you may want to check them out online. Boots stock around 40 of their scents, and there is a lot of variety, from natural scents such as Snow, to more fruity varieties such as the popular cocktail Sex on the beach, and some of the more unusual foodie scents as well. They are currently on a special offer, £15 each or 2 for £25, (30ml bottles) so are very well priced compared to other fragrances.

I picked up two varieties and Vanilla ice cream is the first one. I purely picked this up, as it was the first one on the shelf that caught my eye. I am a fan of gourmand scents, and rarely see them in products like this, so I wanted to try out the tester and see what I thought before investing in a full bottle.  When I used it, I loved it so I came back a few days later and picked up this one and another (which I will be reviewing shortly).

When you first spray this cologne, you get a very rich, almost overwhelming vanilla scent, which can seem a little harsh at first, but settles down to a smooth creaminess. There are no other layers in this scent, which I appreciate. It is vanilla, pure and simple.

The one food item scent I can compare it to is strangely not vanilla ice cream- purely because I find the scent of the popular dessert quite light, soft and milky. I would more likely describe the scent of this cologne as the same scent you get when you open a fresh bottle of a good-quality vanilla extract. It's sweet and quite heavy, but naturally so- and not too cloying.

As I said, the scent does settle down overtime and become more wearable, and smells like freshly baked and iced vanilla cupcakes. It's warm, sweet, sugary and very appealing to the wearer and whoever smells it. I would say it is quite a girly scent, and one which I imagine would be popular for younger women as it's quite 'fun' and not musky. It would also make a great signature scent, and you could even layer it with some of Library of Fragrances' other single-layer varieties to create your own 'customized' scent.

Library of Fragrance also recommend that you can use their colognes as room or pillow sprays, and this works really nicely. I've used it on my pillows and it makes a nice change to my regular lavender pillow spray, as well as being just as soothing.  It's also a great alternative to using a scented candle.

The one fault I have with this scent is it's lasting power, I would say it only lasts an hour or so at the most before needing to be reapplied. But as the price of it is so low, I don't mind using it liberally.


Overall, I would definitely recommend this. Well priced and a really pretty fragrance to wear.

9/10

Technic electric eyeshadow palette

Out of all the pieces of make-up I own, I probably have a bigger selection of eye shadows than of any other product. I love the prettiness of a new eyeshadow palette, so I tend to pick them up regularly when I see them at good prices. The Technic electric eyeshadow palette is one of the cheapest available to buy, but is it any good?

Well, yes actually.

Technic's electric eyeshadow palette, is, as suggested, a set of eye shadows in bright, bold colours. Most of the eye colours I wear are quite muted shades, but during the summer months I thought I would try something a little brighter that wasn't too expensive. This eyeshadow palette may not be as readily available on the high street as some other brands, but it can easily be sought out online if you wish to purchase one for yourself.

The packaging of these eyeshadows is matte, and very sturdy. It even contains a huge built in mirror, which is even more useful- although it is a medium sized palette, this is definitely one you could squeeze into your handbag, as it's relatively slim and comes with that mirror included, diminishing the need for a compact mirror.  Unfortunately, the packaging is topped off with a rather gaudy sticker, but this is thankfully easy to remove and won't leave any residue. Inside, the pan holding the eyeshadows is a little plastic looking which is disappointing, but this makes it very easy to clean.

It also comes with the generic double-ended sponge applicator you often see in these types of eye palettes. Personally, they aren't my favourite way to apply eyeshadow and I generally replace them with my eyeshadow brush. However, they do work and are particularly good for using on the go, as if they are lost they are easily replaceable.

As I have mentioned, the colours in this set of eyeshadow are all very bright. They don't each have specific names to them, but you get;


A bright yellow- This colour looks a bit scary in the pan, but once applied it shows up more as a pale yellow/white with a pretty sparkle. This would be nice as a subtle all over lid colour, or maybe in the inner corners of the eye to help your eyes look more bright and awake.

Peach/Orange- When first applied, this shade shows up more on the 'peach' side of orange, but it can be built up to give an impressive highly-pigmented finish. Although this eyeshadow also has sparkle in it, the lustre isn't too over-the-top, which I like. I am not normally an orange fan, but this was quite nice. Not my first choice in the set, though.

Magenta/Deep pink- Probably my least favourite of the eyeshadows. I've never been a pink eyeshadow fan, for me the only pink I tend to use is for blusher. This is probably the colour I am least likely to use, but it is very highly pigmented and not low quality at all. However, this is just personal preference.

Moss Green- This is almost quite a natural looking eye shade, one I wouldn't be surprised to see in a more neutral-colours palette. Definitely one that can be used right into autumn and I think would particularly make brown eyes stand out. Although I have blue eyes, I liked the look of this on and it wasn't too shimmery either.

Turquoise- Again, like yellow, this looked deep in the pan but applied more as a subtle 'wash' of colour with shimmer. It would make a good all-over eye colour, or just to highlight the inner corner of your eye. It's a nice colour for the summer months, the colour reminds me of the shade of the sea.

Medium Blue- The colour payoff for this shade is amazing and it's one of my favourites. It would work well into the winter months, and I plan to use it as an smudgey eyeliner as I think this would be the best use for it. It is a pretty shade too, not too dark but not so light either. It's also not too glittery.

Copper- This is very similar to the orange shade, just a little darker and less heavy on the shimmer. It is more pigmented than the orange, but again applies as quite a peachy shade which can be built up if you wish. I probably won't use this as much as the others as I said, I am not really a fan of orange, but out of the two orange shades, I would say this was the best one.

Gold- Like the moss green, this is a shade which I would expect to find in a neutrals palette. It is a beautiful rich, brown-gold shade with a lot of glitter. However, I wouldn't hesitate using this as an all-over eye shade, as it isn't too bright at all. I know it would go with lots of outfits too, and is probably the most 'wearable' shade in the set. One of my favourites.

Bronze- This is very similar to the aforementioned gold shade with a red/orange twist to it which makes it seem brighter and more shimmery. I would really like to try blending this shade with the gold, as I think the two would make an interesting combination. I would also consider using this as an eyeliner, it has real depth to it that I think would make it work well as one.

Pale blue- This is in-between the turquoise shade, and the medium blue shade. It has elements of each in, and a little shimmer. It is also very highly pigmented and comes out very bright when swatched. This, for me, would be quite a difficult shade to work with and I might use it more for blending rather than a colour by itself.

Dark Purple- Out of all the colours, this one is my favourite. It's a dark purple almost violet. I am primarily going to use it as an eyeliner, then blend it with a little turquoise as the pale green/blue of the turquoise and the darkness of this is one of my favourite colour combinations that I think would work really nicely. It's not too pigmented but again, is easily buildable if you wish to create a brighter look. This shade comes up quite matte, which is nice and makes a change from the others.

Plum- This is also one of my favourites, a purple with a crimson note in it which makes it the perfect plum shade. Again, this is easily wearable and would work well as an all-over colour or a smudged eyeliner. The shimmer in this is high again but it really suits this colour. I will also be using this shade as an eyeliner but it would blend well with any of the lighter shades, particularly the blues.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The texture of all these eyeshadows is light and buttery, and they apply with ease. If you are afraid of the brightness of the shades in these compact, I would say try them first. As some of my descriptions have explained, although the colours can be well-pigmented, none of them are over-the-top or showy in the slightest. Most of the shades in the compact I liked, and the ones I didn't was just due to personal preference, there are no quality issues.

The price of this set of eyeshadows is very low, and although they aren't readily available on the highstreet, they can be picked up from Amazon UK and other sites for less than £3. I really think more shops should start stocking Technic products, as I would like to try more and I think they would be as popular as brands such as BarryM and MUA.

So overall, I do rate this eyeshadow high and would recommend it not only to people like me who are used to wearing neutral shades and want to try something bright out without splashing the cash, but to proper makeup artists and collectors, as the quality is there for such a low price that it is worth trying out. This would also make a great first eyeshadow kit for someone younger, as the colours are youthful and pretty without being gaudy or over-the-top.

I will definately be checking out some of Technic's other products, it's just a shame they are not more of a well-known brand in the UK as I think they deserve recognition for their low prices, high quality products.


8/10