Nivea Express Hydration Primer

I've not had the best relationship with primers. There have been a few that I've thought were ok but never liked them enough to re purchase them. I haven't used a primer in my foundation routine for a year or maybe more, but a couple of weeks back I picked up Nivea's Express Hydration Primer for half off the usual price and I grabbed it as I had wanted to try it since it was released.

I picked up the normal/combination formula (the blue lidded jar) because my skin is odd - massively oily on my forehead/t-zone and very dry everywhere else!

This primer is supposed to provide long lasting moisture and also act as a primer for your make up. It has a creamy yet gel like texture to it. It's very strongly scented, quite a floral scent, which I happen to really like - which is surprising because usually I prefer face products to have no scent.

I have to say that I have really been enjoying this! Once applied, it absorbs quickly into your skin and leaves it feeling very hydrated, smooth and very soft! I also find that it holds up to it's claims of having long lasting moisture, my skin feels hydrated and comfortable all day even under make up. It keeps my drier areas of skin nicely moisturised while helping to keep my oilier areas more controlled.

As for how well it works as a primer it's pretty good! I usually notice my foundation wearing off on my nose and chin half way through the day and usually have to do something to fix it. With me it is inevitable that this will happen in these areas you put oily skin and the fact that I constantly touch my face together and there will be wear.

 I'm finding that with the primer underneath though that even though my make up starts to wear off in these areas that it isn't nearly as bad as it normally would be - and the one day I was really testing this out where I made myself not touch my face at all (that was seriously difficult by the way!) everything held up a lot longer than usual. 

Overall i'm really liking this and I think i'll be repurchasing it once it's run out. I think that it's a little expensive here in Ireland at between €6 and €8 wherever I've seen it, but now that I have tried it I don't think that the price would put me off getting it again! I also love that it's in pot form so i'll be able to scrape every last bit out of it! 

What primer are you using at the moment? If you've tried this one what are your thoughts on it?

FOTD #5: Under The Weather

I've been taking a break from wearing any make up the last week or two on account of my skin being awful and being ill and just not wanting to put any on - I think we all feel like this when we're ill! 

Today I got up, had a shower got dressed and decided that I was going to make an effort today, even if I wasn't going to leave the house, I thought putting something on my face may lift my spirits a little! Also I've bought a few things lately that I really want to try out and a few more products that haven't been getting enough love!

Eeek! Eyebags!

I saw Nivea's Express Hydration Primer on sale for a little over €4 instead of near €8 so I picked it up! I usually skip primer but my skin is like an oil producing machine lately so I used this before my foundation. I used my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to stipple on my foundation, (Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum) I applied my two favourite concealers Maybelline The Eraser for under eye area (though it's helping very little on my really pronounced eye bags these days!) and Collection's lasting Perfection for redness/blemishes in the same way with the RT sponge. I dusted a little of MAC's MSF Natural all over my face with a large powder brush and finished off with Sleek's Blush in Antiqued.

I then moved onto my eyes. I primed my lids with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer potion, then taking My Naked Basics palette (which I posted about here!) I applied the shade Faint on the outer half of my lid and into my crease, and blended the edges with Naked 2. I then dusted W.O.S from my crease to my brow bone and then placed Venus in my inner corner and on the inner half of my eyelid to brighten things and make me look more awake. I then lined my lower lash line with Faint and then applied L'ancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, I also used Rimmel's Scandaleyes eyeliner pencil in Nude on my waterline to make my eyes look less red - it works a treat!

Sorry for the not great photos guys, I can't find my camera and took these on my phone. The new design/layout of my blog makes the photos massive so the bad quality is super obvious! It also makes my large eye bags at the moment very obvious - so unflattering! Ha ha!

It's amazing how much more human making an effort when you're not well can make you feel! Not a complicated FOTD by any means, if you've seen any of my previous FOTD's you'll know I favour easy no fuss make up, though my choice in shadows is still on the neutral side of things I'm finding myself picking out the darker shades in palettes over the lighter ones these days - which is a massive change for me!

What kind of look do you go for when you're feeling under the weather?

Monthly Favourites: The Best Of October

The Best Of October

Hello! Hope you are all doing well! So I have never done a monthly favorites post before. I have always had it in my head to start doing them but for some reason I never have. Also, before anyone tries to tell me that November 9th is too late for me to post an October favorites post - you're wrong! : )

Face Products

L-R: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer, Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Bush, Benefit Cha cha Tint, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder

This month I've been trying to use up foundations because I have a drawer full of them. I have been making myself use the ones I don't like too, but in doing this I have actually grown to like one of the ones I didn't like before. I know everyone raves about Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, but for some reason when I first got it I really didn't like it, it made my skin look bloody awful and didn't last any amount of time on my face at all, though now I think that was because my skin was in awful condition when I first got it and now its improved drastically. So needless to say it was thrown in the back of my foundation drawer and that was that. Until I pulled it out again a few weeks ago and decided to give it another chance, and i'm pleased to say that I am now in love with the stuff! It makes my skin feel and appear so much smoother, even and brightened up and pair it with the matching Healthy Mix Concealer and my skin has pretty much been looking flawless, amazeballs!

For setting my foundation I usually use MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Natural, but I had my cousin's wedding last week and wanted something with a little more coverage. So I bought MAC's Select Sheer Pressed Powder and I'm really liking this. It's great for those days where I want a bit more coverage without looking plastered in make-up. That being said, I think this may be the cause of some breakouts lately. 

Blush wise, I found a lovely one a while ago in Essence's Cherry Blossom Girl Collection. I picked it up when I bought one of their double ended eyeliner pens, reviewed not so long ago here. I hadn't really used this until the last few weeks, but this is a lovely peachy/coral blush that goes on lightly for a lovely subtle flush. Its a great multi purpose product due to the two shades in the compact, I swirl them both together for blush and then use the lighter shade as a highlight which works really well.

I've been pairing the Essence blush with Benefit's Cha Cha Tint underneath if I want to add a bit more oomph to the blush. The two look really pretty together and it's been my favourite way to add colour to my face recently.

Eye Products

L-R: UD Feminine Palette (Old Version), Eyelure Katy Perry Lashes, Benefit They're Real! Mascara, UD 24/7 Liner in Perversion, Revlon Precision Lash Glue

I know the version of Urban Decay's feminine palette that I have is the old version, but honestly I prefer the colours in the one I have to the new one, hence why I won't be buying the newer one. I've been reaching for this most days, it has the perfect shades of shadow in there for putting together a quick and easy eye look that still makes you look put together.

Inside UD Feminine Palette

I wont say too much about my next favourite, as I will be posting about it in the next few days, but I've been really liking Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. It's pretty amazeballs!

When I bought my UD Smoked Palette, it came with a full sized 24/7 Perversion liner. Holy cow! It's amazing! It's the blackest black pencil liner I have ever seen and the lasting power with this is amazing, it lasts most of the day before I have to go near it to re-apply, it's really something else and I think everyone needs this liner in their life!

Now i'm not a big false lash wearer, but for my cousin's wedding I picked up a pair of Eyelure's Katy Perry lashes and they blew me away. I got the most natural pair called Sweetie Pie. They're so beautiful, they really opened up my eyes and I got tons of compliments when I had them on. Will be doing a post on them soon as I was so impressed I think they deserve their own post!

With the Katy Perry Lashes I used Revlon Precision Lash glue, as I hate the stupid little useless tubes of glue that come with eyelashes. The Revlon lash glue is in a league of it's own when it comes to lash glue, its so easy to work with and I had no problems with lashes falling off, it's fantastic!

Lip Products

Top: Strawberry Carmex, L-R: Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart, 17 Lipstick in Barely Blush

I love Revlon's Lip Products, my favourites being their Lip Butters, which I posted about here. Lately I've been wearing Sweet Tart non-stop, you can see swatches in the link posted above.

When I want something a bit calmer than the bright pink of Sweet Tart, i've been using 17's Barely Blush Lipstick. I really love this lipstick, it's been a consistent favourite of mine for a while now, I always get compliments when I wear it so that could be why!

Also now that it is winter, I've been breaking out the lip balms more than usual and my main pick every time is my Strawberry flavoured Carmex. My lips are pretty chapped at the moment and this is doing wonders for them.

Other Favourites

L-R: Nivea Happy Time Body Lotion, Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

I absolutely love the smell of Nivea's Happy Time Shower Gel, to me it's pretty much the best smell in the world, so I was so happy to see that they do a body lotion now! It's the same delicious orange blossom smell, and it leaves my skin unbelievably soft all day long, its brilliant!

Another long time favourite item is my Sigma F80 brush. It's a flat top synthetic kabuki brush that is used to apply liquid or cream foundations. I got this last year from Cloud 10 Beauty and it's been a firm favourite ever since. It flawlessly buffs foundation into the skin, leaving a smooth, streak free, airbrushed finish. Apologies for the dirtiness of the brush in the photo, it's in need of a clean! 

So that's it for my favourites for October, i'm already looking forward to posting November's favourites!

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