Review: Nars - Velvet Matte Skin Tint

The Nars Sheer Glow foundation is my all-time favourite base product so when I heard of this foundation its safe to say I had pretty high expectations. The product itself sounds ideal for me because my skin is oily at the moment and this foundation is designed to have a matte finish. If you would like to know how I feel about it then please keep reading.

I like to apply my foundation with a beauty blender instead of a brush because I find it gives a more flawless finish. However, even when I used my sponge to apply this product I could not make it have a flawless or natural look to the skin. I found it quite hard to build up on areas of my face where I wanted more coverage. Whenever I applied more product it just gave a more cakey appearance and looked far too heavy on the skin. I also found that the more product you apply the more it separates and just looks a mess.

Another problem I found with this foundation is that it really doesn't last long on my skin at all. It's marketed as a pretty long wearing foundation but personally it doesn't last long on my skin at all. Around the edges of my nose it started to crack and made my skin look really dry and gross. Even when using both a primer and setting spray this foundation still ends up breaking up and separating on my skin by the end of the day and I hate the way it looks.

I also found this foundation to be really hard to blend. I tried it out with both a buffing brush and beauty blender and I preferred the finish with the beauty blender. Although it was easier to blend out with a brush, it didn't give a very full coverage this way. However, with the beauty blender it had a much nicer finish but it took much longer to blend out.

Unfortunately, this foundation didn't lead up to my expectations and I will not be repurchasing it in the future. So, overall I would not encourage you to go out and try this foundation. For the price you pay I do not think the product is worth the money at all. I would reccommend you try out the Nars Sheer Glow, that foundation is just so gorgeous and a much better alternative in my opinion!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

My Top 5 Benefit Beauty Products

Benefit is one of my all time favourite makeup brands and since I love it so much I have managed to collect a fair few of their products. However, when I was deciding on what products to choose for this I found it soooo hard to narrow it down to just 5 makeup items - I'm pretty much obsessed with all of them. But somehow I have managed to narrow it down to just 5 products that I would whole heartedly recommend to all of you.

The POREfessional: Matte Rescue Gel

When this was first launched I wasn't too interested because it sounded like  a bit of a gimmicky product and I couldn't imagine it doing much to help my skin. However, I then saw a few girls on youtube using this primer and they said that it worked wonders for controlling oil so at this point my interest was bubbling and I was pretty much desperate to try it out. I am so pleased that I picked one up because honestly it is amaaaazing!! It comes out a slightly light blue colour at first but it is totally not noticeable when you rub it into your skin so don't worry about that! It makes my skin feel really moisturised and refreshed but at the same time it absorbs any excess oil on my skin and leaves a perfectly matte base for me to apply my foundation onto. It's become part of my everyday makeup routine and I can't go a day without it, i'm obsessed!

The POREfessional Face Primer

I'm sure you will have heard plenty of hype around this product before (and rightly so I might add) so sorry if I seem to be another person to rave about this product; but it seriously deserves it's praise. I have quite large pores and I have really struggled in the past to find a primer that actually helps to minimise the appearance of pores on my skin. However, since trying out this primer I have fallen in love with it! I'm currently on my 5th tube because it has become my everyday primer (in conjunction with the POREfessional matte rescue gel) as they both just prep my skin and leave it with a perfectly smooth base to work with.

Hoola - Bronzing Powder

I don't know about you but it seems like everyone and their mum loves this bronzer. I can only speak for people with a fair toned complexion as myself but for me it is the perfect shade. Not only is the actual bronzer itself amazing, but it also comes with a cute little brush which is so ideal if you don't want to spend any extra money on a fancy brush to go with it. I like to use this bronzer to slightly contour my cheeks but also warm up my face a little bit. Its the perfect shade for me because it's not too grey toned to make me you look washed out but it's not too warm toned and bronzy either. I also love that it is matte because it means you can use it to contour or bronze! It's pretty obvious to me that I love this because I have hit pan now and have had to repurchase a back up, so that tells me a lot about how much I love a product!

Rockateur - Rose Gold Blush

Benefit's box o' powders are some of my favourite blushes and bronzers ever! I've just mentioned how much I love Hoola but I couldn't not mention my favourite blush too! I love all of the box o' powders that I have but my favourite has to be 'Rockateur'. I tend to wear it more in the Autumn and Winter months because it is more of a darker blush shade but its so beautiful. In the Spring and Summer months I tend to gravitate towards the 'Dandelion' blush but unfortunately there wasn't enough space to include that in my top 5. Click here if you want to see what Benefit products I was loving throughout April!

Roller Lash - Curling Mascara

This mascara is without a doubt my favourite high end mascara that I have ever tried. I love it even more than my Too Faced 'Better than Sex' mascara (and I really love that!) The wand of this mascara is slightly unusual in that it is curved. It's designed to be able to hug your lashes more easily and it does a great job of doing so. Its so easy to apply and it really gives my lashes lots of length. I also love the fact that it holds a curl really well. I have really straight natural eyelashes and I normally have to use eyelash curlers to help my lashes keep a curl; but I don't even need them with this mascara, its so good!

Let me know what your favourite products from Benefit are and I can see if you guys have any suggestions as to what I should try from them next! Hope you enjoyed :)

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

My Top 5 Revision Tips

Hello lovelies, today I have a slightly different post for you which isn't beauty related at all. This time of year a lot of people will be sitting exams and it can be a very stressful time. So, here are a few tips that I have heard about that I find really helpful when it comes to revision. Hope this helps!

Be Realistic

When it comes to deciding what you want to revise in a day it is important that you set yourself reasonable and achievable targets. There is no point in telling yourself you are going to cover an entire topic in just a few hours because the chances are you won't be able to do so. This will only lead to you feeling disheartened and will not encourage you to continue. Instead, you would be better to set yourself smaller achievable targets which will give you a sense of satisfaction when you complete them.

Prioritise

It can be hard to know where to start with revision when it fees like you have a huge amount of exams approaching, so it is important to prioritise what you need to focus on most. If there is a subject that is especially important to your future career you may wish to prioritise revising for this. It may be that you have your first exam in just a few weeks and that is what you need to prioritise revising for. Whatever the reason, it is important that you establish what is the most important exam so that you can decide where you want to focus most of your attention.

Do Past Papers

I can't quite emphasise just how important this actually is. You can do loads of revision for a subject but if you don't practise answering questions you may not be writing information that will get you any marks. Some exam boards can be really specific and look out for key phrases in order to give you the marks, so you will really benefit from looking at mark schemes to see what key phrases you can throw in to get yourselves some extra marks. Answering past paper questions can also be really useful if your subjects are essay based because they can help to to practise structuring your writing. You may need to be a able to do an introduction, several paragraphs and then a conclusion in a short space of time; so practising this under time conditions will really help you to improve your ability to write an essay in a short amount of time.

Give yourself a break

Some people are able to work for a good 2 hours and then give themselves a longer break, but I just can't seem to do that. After about 45 minutes maximum my attention span has gone and I just get distracted by anything. I like to spend about 30-45 minutes revising and then I will give myself a 10-15 minute break. This gives me time to either check my phone, watch a quick youtube video or get a snack. I find this really helps me to stay on track because when I start revising again I am able to concentrate more. Its also important though that you stick to the amount of time you've allocated as a break; its so easy for 10 minutes to turn into and hour or more if you let it!

Have a good studying environment

My favourite place to revise is sitting on my bed with my laptop next to me playing music and my phone right beside me but this is just a disaster. I almost never get any revision done this way and if I do it's not very effective and it will have taken me ages. The best place to revise is in front of a desk without any distractions (such as your phone or music). As boring as it sounds you will get the most revision done and it will not take you as long as if you were to waste time on your phone or laptop!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x

April Favourites

Hello lovelies, today I would like to share with you some of the products that I have been using a lot throughout the month of April. Let me know what your favourites were and if you like any of these too. Hope you enjoy!

Benefit - Shy Beam

When I first got this product I used it to highlight my cheekbones, brow bone, cupids bow etc. but I didn't like the finish at all! I didn't find it to make much of difference and I could hardly tell it was even on my face. I prefer a pretty intense highlight on my cheekbones and this product really didn't give me that. However, I saw someone on Instagram using it underneath their eyes to highlight with, so I thought I would give it another go and see how I like it. Oh my gosh, I am so glad I saw this because I am obsessed!! This product looks so beautiful under your eyes to highlight, especially on days when my undereyes are pretty dark and I need something to brighten them up! So, I've pretty much been using this product every day along with concealer under my eyes and I am loving it!

Benefit - Dandelion Face Powder

I have had this blush for a little while now and for some reason I haven't been reaching for it. However, now that the Spring and Summer months are soon approaching I thought I would change up my makeup look and go for a more natural and pretty pink blush. Dandelion is such a pretty shade and you almost can't tell that you're wearing it because it looks so natural. I have a feeling that it is going to be one of my go-to blushes this year!

Body Shop - Honey Bronzer

I first saw Gabby from the youtube channel 'www.youtube.com/user/velvetgh0st' talking about this bronzer and the way in which she was praising this product just convinced me that I had to try it out. I'm so glad that I did because it is so lovely! I find it so quick and easy to blend with a big fluffy brush and it gives such a gorgeous bronzy glow to the skin. It comes in a few different shades which is ideal because the lightest shade is still perfect for me even when I'm super pale. The only bronzers that I have hit pan on are the Nars Laguna bronzer and this honey bronzer, so to me that says a lot about how much I love them both!

Mac - Soft & Gentle Mineralize Skin Finish

When I am looking for a new highlighter I am always drawn to super glowy shimmery powders which is exactly what this highlighter is. I like to apply it to the tops of my cheekbones, the tip of my nose and cupids bow and it just gives such a subtle shimmer to the skin. Sometimes I wear it on top of a cream highlighter if I want a really glowy look. Although, it is still gorgeous if you only wear it alone and it looks so pretty when it catches the light. 

Mac - Brule and Cork Eyeshadows

This month I have really been loving wearing a really neutral eye look with just a few matte shadows. The two I have used most are these, I use Brule all over my lid and up to my brow bone to give me a smooth base to blend my shadows onto and then I run Cork through the crease of my eye. Cork is a light warm toned brown which is such an everyday wearable colour and it goes so well with a gold or champagne eyeshadow all over the lid.

Benefit - they're real tinted primer

I have been so obsessed with this product this month. I love the original version of this product as the black mascara so I thought I would try out the primer version. I love that it is brown because it looks slightly more natural for days when I don't want a super black eye look. However, most days I like to pair this mascara with my favourite Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara. Together they make my lashes so much longer, have so much more volume and keep a curl all day long.

Dodo Lashes - 'D119'

A little while go I was contacted by someone from this company and they asked me if I would like to try out a pair of their lashes for free, which of course I accepted! I'm so pleased that I did because I am so obsessed with them! They're so gorgeous and I find them to be the perfect style for my eyes! The only thing is, if you;re not a fan of a thick band then you may not like these, although I did't find that to be a problem for me at all! If you want to try these out you can use the code 'littlebeautywonderland' to get some money off your order!

Mac - 'Half n Half' Lipstick

There isn't anything particularly special about this lipstick other than that it has been my go-to lipstick for this month. It is a very pretty pink toned nude which is my favourite type of lip colour to wear as it matches with pretty much any makeup look I tend to wear!

Thanks for reading,

ffy x