January 2017 Favourites

Hello! Welcome back to za blushing giraffe, with a slightly late favourites post. So if you read my Jan chatty post you’ll know this last month has been the busiest start to the year I have ever had. PGCE year ain’t a walk in the park, thats for sure haha. So this post I’m gonna be sharing, as usual, the products that have been making me that little bit happier as the month flew by, leggggggo!

Starting with the base, I have been loving the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation in shade 7 (£32.00), which is a gorgeous light/medium coverage very glowy foundation. It’s super quick to apply because I literally blend in a little with my fingers and I’m done in 20 seconds flat. I LOVE IT. You get 40ml and the coverage is pretty buildable, which I do appreciate a lot for the days I may need a bit more coverage (and on the days I actually have the time to add some more too haha!). I didn’t love the concealer, but this foundation is a firm favourite.

Similarly I’ve been loving the NARS Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in St Moritz (£29.50), which I am now almost coming to the end of sadly! It has a little less glow than light wonder, however it does provide a smidgen more coverage and again due to its consistency I have been obsessed over how quickly I can apply this with just my fingers when I’m really in a rush. On days where I’ve hardly had enough sleep (which is pretty much 5/7 days!), I need a base that’ll last decently well, but provide me with a generous glow and both these products deliver. The NARS alternative does get you 10ml more AND has SPF 30, which is worth noting, but they’re both fabulous in their own way.

I have also still been obsessed with my Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX07 (£38.00), the BEST concealer ever if you’re looking for high coverage! I have spoken about it a lot on IG lately and just want to point you 👉🏽 in the direction of this post, where I share the three shades I have as well as the best way to use it in my humble opinion. Expensive? Initially yes, but one pot will last you minimum 2 years, which is a heck of a lot longer than a typical tube concealer that is around £20 – so if you really think about it, its amazing value for money. It has been my go to, because like mentioned a few words ago, when one is running on a tiny amount of sleep the dark circles are bound to be dark!

And finally, a product I have talked about SO much not just on my blog, but on every single social media platform I am a part of!! The embryolisse lait concentrate (£12.95-£20.00) is the best base ever, I have repurchased it sooo many times and although I am trying samples of moisturisers inbetween and trying to switch it up, nothing really compares. One of the key steps to a flawless makeup application is the skincare and the other step is the base you apply underneath. No other product gives me the same plump glowing skin as this does, and it takes foundation and powder really well!

Speaking of powders, there are two new ones in my collection and I have been enjoying them for different reasons. First of all we have the Revolution luxury banana powder (£5.00) which is their blatant rip off from Ben Nye! Literally down to the back of the bottle, they have copied everything and although I do think this is pretty naughty, this brand is a lot easier to get my hands on than that famous Ben Nye powder. I did used to own the B.N version, but I chucked it out a year ago as it was getting a bit too old, and I’ve not felt the need to order it since as the original is not expensive, but pricer than I would like to spend on a powder. Now this dupe is a gorgeous shade, not too yellow to the point where it verges on green like the E.L.F version, but also not too much of a rich shade either. This is the perfect powder for medium skintone/olive complexions and also deeper skintones for baking. I have heard SOO much about the Laura Mercier one and maybe one day I’ll pick it up, but typically I do prefer a slightly yellow toned powder and this stuff sets the face really well, doesn’t cake up or crease and lasts well! Whether you’re using it for an all over the face powder, or for baking if you’re a WOC this could be the best fiver you spend on a powder!

The second powder is one I never hear people talking about, its the Kiko soft light powder. Now I just popped over to their site and sadly I cannot find it anywhere 🙁 which is very upsetting because it makes me think they’ve discontinued it! However if you do spot it in a store near you, it’s worth picking up as its a lovely baked mineral face powder and its very comparable to the MAC mineral skin finishes. The main use I have found for it, is the soniaXfyza buffing technique, which Wayne Goss explains in detail here. This technique does work beautifully and the other powder I love to use it with, is the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless powder in medium. However the Kiko one is a great cheaper alternative, so I’m hoping that its a accidental slip up that its not one the website ☹️.

And finally moving on to the eyes, my go-to palette has been the gorgeous Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (£41.00), which seemed to be in everyone and their grandma’s yearly favourites! If you don’t have it yet and you’re thinking about whether you should pick it up or not, YOU SHOULD. Gorgeously buttery pigmented shades, that blend like an absolute dream! I have gotten so much use out of this palette and one of the best things about it is the vast amount of youtube tutorials out there using just this alone! I definitely get stuck in a rut when it comes to my eyeshadow looks, so to see so many DIFFERENT yet totally stunning looks on the tubes makes me very happy.

I have also really been loving playing with glitter and the Certifeye glitter pots (£5.00) are my all time favourites! They just add so much to a simple look and now I know how easy it is to apply, I almost can’t stop haha. Again there is a whole bunch of fantastic inspiration out on instagram and youtube when it comes to glitter, so a major fan! I have the mini bottles which are a fiver and they’ll last me a decent amount of time, however Ayesha (the brand owner) also have an amazing range of brushes and lashes and bundles too, so check out her awesome business ^_^

And my final favourite of January has been the Illamasqua precision ink liner in wisdom (£20.50) which I have swatched in my lastest haul post, so check that out if you’re interested. This liner has been a beautiful alternative to my regular black and brown liner, as its a stunning olive/khaki shade and to be honest without I didn’t think I COULD love liner more, but this has changed the game for me…obsessed!