More Becca goodies...

I couldn't resist when Becca had another discount offer a few weeks ago - it is probably up there in my top three make up brands (along with Nars and one other that is more interchangeable!), so I took the opportunity to add a few more products to my collection. Here's what I bought... I hope to add some more detailed reviews of the individual products soon.

Luminous Skin Colour - Nude
I had wanted to try this legendary tinted moisturiser for a while. Having no idea what colour to go for I plumped for Nude which seemed like the safest option. It's... interesting. I'll review it in detail when I've used it a few more times - still getting to grips with it at the moment. What I would say is that it is incredibly sheer so not great coverage but it does give good glow. I'm just not sure yet whether it's too glowy for my combination (read 'shiny'!) skin and also whether this shade is quite right for me.

Eye Tint - Pewter
I read a few good reviews of this online and having two other Eye Tints (Vicuna and Baroque) which I love, I thought I'd give this darker, more dramatic looking shade a go. I have to admit that the first time I applied it I made a complete hash of it - it definitely requires a more careful application than the lighter shades. So I need to practice with this a bit more before I make up my mind on it.It is lovely swatched though.

Sheer Tint Lip Colour - Leticia
I am an absolute sucker for corals and peach so this 2010 addition to Becca's (fairly limited) lipstick range was a no brainer. I have to say it does not disappoint - I am in love with this lipstick. More pics soon!

Beach Tint - Guava
Another coral colour calling my name. At first swatch this seems slightly more liquidy than the other Beach Tints I own (Grapefruit and Fig) but the colour is everything I hoped it would be. It's a very soft shade and I think it could work well on fairer skins. It's the perfect compliment to Leticia lipstick.

Nail Colour - Pasa Doble
This blackish-plum polish was a bit of an impulse buy - I'd never tried a Becca nail colour before and I like the idea of darker shades in summer - plus I love anything Spanish. A quick swatch with two coats is below. Very dramatic!

Butter Lip Balm Spf 25
Another impulse buy - I was intrigued to see what a lip balm with a high spf would be like as usually when I go on holiday I buy one of the specialist lip products that protect your lips by leaving a thick white coat on them! This is lovely - it makes the lips look soft and plumped and somehow manages to have the spf without being white and opaque. A couple of reservations; I like vanilla but I find the vanilla scent of this a bit strong. And the consistency is such (it is indeed quite buttery) that I can image it melting quite easily in warmer weather... time will tell.

And lastly, a couple of brushes.

Small Polishing Make up Brush #56

I saw this being used on one of the Zuneta videos to buff cream blusher under the cheekbones, and was interested to try this method of application, as normally I apply cream blusher on the apples or on the cheekbones and (lightly) around the temples. I was surprised that the bristles were a lot less stiff than I thought they'd be so actually I found application of cream blush with this quite difficult. Again, I just need to practice a bit with this and would be interested to hear from anyone else who has this and how they use it. Although its recommended for buffing cream blush to the apples of the cheeks, at the minute I am preferring to pat on my cream blush with the Becca Cream Blush / Bronzer Brush (truly a great brush!).

Eye Colour Blender Brush #35
This was a gift with purchase. I haven't tried it yet and will be interested to see how it compares with my only other eyeshadow blending brush the MAC 217.

So there we have it. Some lovely products to try out over the next few weeks and having done a quick face of the day with the Guava Beach Tint and Leticia Sheer Tint Lip Colour this morning I am loving them already. Will report on my other purchases in due course! Next on my Becca hit list is the Opal Shimmering Skin Perfector - I have and love the Pearl shade but think I need something warmer for the summer months.

Nivea Soothe and Protect - winter lip salvation!

After waxing lyrical in an earlier blog post about how I *never* have dry lips thanks to my ever faithful Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream (asking for trouble really), wouldn't you know it, my lips were hit with the most hideous blight of dry, cracked skin I've ever experienced. (This has been a particularly skin-unfriendly British winter hasn't it?). I had a particularly horrible dry patch on the bottom of my lower lip which just would not go away despite me positively submerging it in EHC at regular intervals and which prevented me from wearing any sort of lipstick or gloss.

I was in Oxford Street on a very cold Saturday afternoon and the dry lips were becoming a distraction, so I dove into Boots and emerged with the first thing I could lay my hands on - Nivea Sooth and Protect. I was not expecting miracles, but this cheap as chips stick sorted out my chapping within a couple of days, and relieved my lips straight away.

This comes with me everywhere now. And as it has an SPF 12 will surely be a great companion come summertime too.

And less than £2!!

Elizabeth who???

Essential measures #1 Elizabeth Arden - Eight Hour Cream

I'm starting a new series of essential beauty items.

These are for products that I have to have in my beauty collection at all times, and which I have awarded gold star status for their effectiveness.

I'm going to start with an absolute classic, but one which actually seems to divide opinion:

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Not highly original perhaps, but I've been using Eight Hour Cream for years and I absolutely must have some with me at all times, otherwise I tend to get a bit sweaty palmed and panic stricken. Unlike some who advocate its use on skin, hands, eyebrows etc, I find it a bit heavy and gloopy for that (I sometimes use it on heels though), so I mainly use it on my lips. I never have chapped lips and I attribute it entirely to this product. If ever I feel my lips getting slightly uncomfortable, dry or tight in the corners, I just smother them in this and they are instantly relieved. I use it every night before going to bed, in the morning after brushing teeth and reapply it once or twice during the day. Its also wonderful for warding off skin dehydration on flights.

Some people complain about Eight Hour Cream having a medicinal smell - it is quite strong but personally I don't mind it at all - indeed I find something quite reassuring about it.

A tube at full price costs about £18 but you can often find it on offer at Superdrug here in the UK for about £12 (they also do cute limited edition smaller tubes), on eBay and sometimes in TK Maxx in box sets with a handcream. Pricy, but it does last for ages.

So that's the first in my series of essential beauty items - more to follow soon.