*REVIEW* Bourjois Brush Concealer (Beige Clair)

Hi!

 

 

I have a review today for you of the Bourjois Paris Brush Concealer - mine is in shade Beige Clair.

 

 

It's difficult to find an exact price for this product but online it seems to be going for around £3-4 pounds.

 

I got this recently along with a Bourjois mascara from Tk Maxx and showed it in a recent haul.

 

This is one of those twist up products where it comes out of a brush at one end - the only thing I dislike about these types of products is that you seem to always have to spend ages at the beginning twisting to get anything out.

 

 

Once the product does start coming out it does work well and dispenses the right amount of product for me. The brush is also a good size and not too stiff for the delicate under eye area.

 

On the packaging it says:

"Unifying and illuminating texture.

Expert brush.

Apply over dark circles and eyelids for a radiant look."

 

Being a liquid concealer this is never going to give you full coverage, but I do like using these for touching up or brightening up the under eye area even if I do need something a bit heavier to cover up my bad dark circles.

 

Here's a quick before shot:

 

 

As you can see I have  a lot of darkness/veins around my eyes.

 

After:

 

 

The coverage isn't actually bad for a liquid concealer! It seems fairly thick in texture and I was worried the shade wouldn't match but it works quite well!

 

I have to add something else generally on top to get rid of any remaning darkness but by using this first to generally even out the skin tone it means I don't have to pile on loads of a stronger concealer which makes my under eye area a  lot less cakey by the end of the day.

 

 

I'm generally pretty impressed by this concealer and since I've bought it I think I've used it every day since.

It's no miracle product and seeing as it doesn't do anything special I probably won't buy it again, but that doesn't mean that I don't like it and I will probably use up the rest of it.

 

Have you tried this concealer?

Thanks so much for reading!

Libby x

 

 

*REVIEW* Rimmel London Match Perfection 2-in-1 Concealer + Highlighter

Hi!

 

Today I have a review for one of my favourite concealers ever...the Rimmel London Match Perfection 2-in-1 Concealer + Highlighter...that name is a bit of a mouthful!

 

This is one of those concealers that is one that I keep coming back to again and again...I recently purchased this for the 3rd time.

 

 

I seem to remember the price of this previously being £5 but it appears to have gone up to £5.99...maybe it was always that price and I'm just not observant, either way it's not an expensive product at all!

 

My shade is in 010 Ivory.

 

This claims to "banish signs of fatigue and illuminate the eye area. With an oxygen complex. Lets skin breathe."

 

Is it just me or does that sound like it's been badly translated from another language? ;)

 

Aside from their slightly questionable use of sentence structure and grammar (sorry...my inner English critic is taking over) I have to say I feel that I believe that this product lives up to it's claims.

 

 

This comes with a little brush at the end and you have to squeeze it to get the right amount of product out. Sometimes you get air bubbles which cause it to spurt out suddenly but for the majority of the time it works out fine.

 

 

I think it needs to be said that this isn't going to be your incredible high coverage concealer. As a general rule of thumb liquid concealers do not tend to have amazing coverage.

The coverage for this is decent though and sometimes I do just use this under my eyes (I have really bad under eye veins).

It doesn't cover up the veins properly like a high coverage concealer would, but provided the circles aren't too dark (assuning I've actually managed to sleep the night before) it generally does a good enough job and I feel fine leaving the house with just this on.

 

The texture is fairly thin which makes it very light and comfortable to wear in the sense that it doesn't feel like I have a massive layer of cakey concealer under my eyes.

I do believe this does let my skin "breathe" and I use it on days when I want to wear lighter makeup.

 

 

The other use I have for this is for touch ups.

If my under eye circles are bad or I just want more coverage I'll use a high coverage concealer and then throughout the day I use this as the perfect touch up product. It's light, it's illuminating and just creates a really crisp "clean" under eye area and brightens it up. I love using this also to clean up any fall out that I've had.

 

 

So generally all in all I do love this product and I've mentioned it a few times already in various other posts and I can't believe I haven't reviewed it properly until now!

It's light for a minimal makeup day and it works great as a touch up highlighter too.

 

Have you tried this product yet?

Thank you so much for reading!

Libby x

How To Get Rid Of Under Eye Bags/Veins!

Hello! :)

One of the things I struggle with the most about my face is the fact that I have hereditary under eye veins/bags pretty much permanently. I have under eye bags, but then also the skin around my eye area is also quite delicate, thin and translucent, allowing all of my veins to show through (I tend to blame this on me being born too early…though I'm not sure I can give this as my excuse).

It’s always bugged me since I was a kid. Children can be pretty insensitive and there were always people saying “Why do you have veiny eyes?” :P I decided to do this post to hopefully give people some ideas about how to reduce under eye veins or bags!

 

 

These are my eyes on a "good" day, sometimes they are much more noticeable, though hopefully you can see the veins showing through, a bit of blue and darkness on the inner corner and also some puffiness. When a photo is concentrated like that may not look so bad but my eyes are very noticeable when you see my whole face.

UPDATE: I would just like to apologise in advance for the rather strange html things that keep appearing on this post...I've tried fixing it loads of times but it doesn't make any difference. The only thing I can think to do is type it all again but seeing as it already took me ages to type it the first time I don't really want to do that...so I'm sorry and I hope it doesn't disturb your reading too much! :)

 

Drink lots of water. This seems like an easy one, but it really makes a difference to your skin, hair and also your under eye area. I started drinking more water recently and not only noticed a huge difference in the brightness of my skin I also noticed less darkness on my under eye and less puffiness too. Most people seem to say that you should drink 8 glasses of water a day, but I generally drink out of water bottles so it’s hard to keep track of how many “glasses” that is. I think it varies from person to person too…I find that I forget to drink quite a lot (and then as a result I get a load of headaches) but now after trying hard to learn to drink more I now drink around 4/5 bottles in total. I drink a lot of tea too which also counts towards your daily fluid intake so it doesn’t just have to be water that counts.

 

Get plenty of sleep. Again, this seems stupid, but I’ve noticed that sometimes just an extra hour or even half an hour makes a lot of difference. My eyes are a lot less puffy by the morning and there is a lot less darkness underneath. The amount of sleep you need also varies between people at different ages and stages in their life, so you can adapt the amount you sleep to what you need and what is practical. Obviously most people won’t be able to get 12 hours sleep each night but generally I notice my under eye bags getting a lot worse if i get less than 7 ½ hours’ sleep.

Fix nasal congestion. I’ve noticed this really increases the severity of my  under eye puffiness so if your nose is blocked it really makes a difference. If it is because of allergies you can take something like Piriton or other allergy tablets. You can also get medication to help with congestion if you have a cold or flu.

Reduce salt intake. This isn’t something I’ve made a huge effort to fix really but after doing some research I’ve found out that it can cause circulation problems if you have too much salt and this causes the blood vessels to dilate, increasing the appearance of under eye circles and veins. Apparently also salt can cause water retention which will then cause puffiness under the eyes.

Some causes of under eye circles and veins are simply hereditary, and so sometimes there is only so much you can do to reduce them. In that case...there are some ways you can help hide them or disguise them…however I will start a separate paragraph for this!

I recently did a blog post on the *best high coverageconcealers*, so I’d suggest that you read that if you want to find out more about some good high coverage concealers.

For the best under eye concealer, you want one that is ideally just a shade or two lighter than your skin tone to highlight the area, however if its too light it will draw attention to the problem even more by making you look pasty. A concealer that is too dark for your skin tone will also not help, as it will increase the appearance of under eye shadows.

A primer is really essential if you want he under eye concealer to last all day and hopefully not crease as much. The best one I’ve come across is the Too Faced Primed And Poreless primer, as it makes the concealer last so much longer.

You also need a lightweight, brightening under eye powder to keep the concealer lasting but not creasing; ideally this needs to be a very fine powder to reduce the chance of concealer caking up. One that I have really liked is the ELF HD Under Eye Powder as it sets the concealer well but is a very pale pink colour that is very brightening. Mattifying the under eye area also helps as any shininess will draw a load of attention to the area.

Now onto concealers….the best one I’ve found and have been using for a while now  is the Hard Candy Glamoflage Concealer. It is VERY high coverage (it can cover tattoos if you layer it on) and although it is quite thick and can be drying, as long as you blend it out and make sure you under eye area is moisturised it is fine. If you want something lighter I’d recommend the MAC Select Cover Up Concealer which is a very lightweight liquid that has very good coverage. Also if your under eye circles are blue toned, a good trick is to use a salmon/orange toned concealer (maybe like the Benefit Erase Paste which also works quite well as its very creamy) it really helps to counteract the blue tones.

Well that’s about it! I hope this was useful to any other people similar to me who are struggling with under eye veins and bags! Thanks for reading!

Libby x

Benefit Erase Paste vs Boi-ing concealer!

Hello :)
Today I wanted to do a post based on one of the questions that I spent a lot of time researching before buying a Benefit concealer. I'm always on the hunt for new concealers that I love and a while back now I was looking at trying out a Benefit concealer, but I didn't know which one!

By a happy coincidence I now happen to own both the Boi-ing concealer and the Erase Paste, so I feel I can now give them a proper run down of which I prefer!

Here they are side by side...I got the Boi-ing in full size for around £16 and the Erase Paste is a smaller version from the "Finding Mr Bright" kit from Benefit.

 

 

Erase Paste:

Pros:

• Good pigmentation. The coverage is probably medium for this, but the coverage is pretty good as long as you layer it. (Swatches below)
• An orange/salmon colour helps to hide blueness under the eyes which makes it got for eye bags
• Quite creamy in texture and also thick, but does blend quite well.
• Lasts quite well on the eyes.
• The packaging..as with other Benefit products is pretty, but I don't know if you can count that as a pro...I wouldn't buy a product just based on it's packaging! :P
• Has 4.4g which is more than Boi-ing.

Cons:

• For  a full size this costs £19.50 for a full sized version...Very expensive for a concealer.
• Only comes in 3 colours...this one is in medium and is too dark for me. All colours have a salmon undertone to them which could mean colour matching is quite difficult.
• Creases quite badly under the eyes after a while...more than the average concealer.
• You generally have to dip your finger into the pot to get it out, which isn't too hygienic..I don't find this a major problem as it is typical with potted concealers.

Boi-ing:

Pros:

• This has 5 colour choices which makes it easier to find a colour match. It has Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Medium/dark, Dark. This also doesn't have the salmon tone that Erase Paste has which also might help with colour matching.
• Slightly cheaper than Erase Paste, this is only £16.50 as opposed to £19.50.
• Has 3g which is more than some concealers I've tried...yet it is still less than Erase Paste (but bear in mind it is cheaper)

Cons:

• Packaging feels quite cheap/plastic-y. The packaging isn't very sturdy at all.
• Again, like Erase Paste you have to dip your finger in which might be a problem for some people.
• I don't like the texture of this...to me it feels like a lip balm. It feels very greasy and even feels like that when it's on your skin.
• Coverage isn't good. This is expensive, but still has probably less coverage than some concealers I've tried that only cost a couple of pounds.
• Texture is hard to work with, it feels slimy and is hard to blend because when you blend it, you end up just moving the product around.
• Creases like crazy. More than Erase Paste. It creases badly no matter what powder or primer I use with it, by the end of the day it looks like a cakey mess.

I genuinely think the only reason I've managed to hit pan on the Boi-ing Concealer is that I have literally been trying it so many times to get it to work for me.

 

Above: Boi-ing

Below: Erase Paste

 

 

Overall:
Generally, I prefer Erase Paste to Boi-ing, but if I'm being completely honest I'm not that fond of either of them. I don't use either that much anymore as I've found better alternatives like the MAC Select Cover which is cheaper and covers better. My main problem with both is that they both crease quite badly because they are so creamy in texture. I can live with that with Erase Paste, as at least it does actually cover! Boi-ing has a horrible texture to me because it's so greasy, and it doesn't even cover well. Both of them are expensive, and like I mentioned I'm not too fond of either, but occasionally I do use Erase Paste. I don't use Boi-ing anymore, apart from when I want something to mute out the natural colour of my lips before applying lipstick. It does feel like a lip balm! Only not moisturising...
 :/

So overall I prefer Erase Paste and do use it occasionally. I would consider buying Erase Paste again if I find a colour that works better for me, as if the colour was better I could live with the creasing.
I won't buy boi-ing again, but I will carry on using it to mute out the colour of my lips occasionally.

Thank you for reading, I hope this was useful to you!
Libby x

My top 3 High Coverage Concealers!

Good evening :)
I decided to do a blog post based on something that I have always found difficult - finding concealers that actually have HIGH coverage!
I've compiled a list of 3 concealers in my collection that I feel have the best coverage.
Having inherited bad undereye circles and having acne scars I LOVE how much of a difference concealer makes.
These concealers aren't in any order but are just the ones that I feel have good coverage and can be used for different things.
 
1) Hard Candy Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer
 

 
 
This is probably the hardest to find if you're in the UK...I found mine online and paid around £6 for it, and I'm glad I did now!
The formula is VERY thick but still creamy. I use this for undereye circles and it really helps. One thing I'm not too keen on is that there are only 3 colours, and the shade I have ("Light") is a bit too pale for me, meaning in the summer I have to balance that out with something slightly darker.
The coverage is amazng though, and you can use this to cover up tattoos if you add plently to layers and then add powder. Obviously you can't pile on the layers that much if you're using it for your undereye area as it will cake up a lot but it still covers well with one layer.
With one layer this doesn't cake/crease too badly,  but creasing is inevitable with your undereye area.
I haven't used this to cover up spots as it's too light, but I imagine you could use it for that as long as you blend it well as it's very thick!
 
 
2)  MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer in NW20
 

 

The previous concealer was one that I use daily for undereye circles, and this is one that I use daily to cover up any blemishes! This is a very high coverage concealer and you can also build this up. I feel it's best to use your finger with this to warm it up and that helps it blend into the skin, but you can use a brush. I use this for blemishes mainly but as I also have a lot of darness in the very inner corner of my eyes near the bridge of my nose, I also use this on a small brush to brighten up my inner corner. This will definitely cake if you use it for your undereyes, but it still works well for blemishes. I feel so much better getting up in the morning knowing I can cover up any blemishes I have! This was around £14 for me off the Debenhams website and is $18 in the US. Quite expensive but you get 7g.

 

3)  MAC Select Cover Up Concealer in NW20

 

 I bought this for £14 off the Debenhams website after speaking to a MAC makeup artist who recommended it for my undereye circles The formula is pretty thin and it is expensive as it comes in a tiny tube, but I have had it and used it for a while and I haven't run out yet. The coverage is the best for a liquid concealer, I just wish there was more in the tube!I use this with a sponge to cover up dark circles and it is slightly dark for my skintone but only by a tiny bit, so I often apply a highlighting concealer over the top. The thin formula means that it doesn't cake up badly under my eyes and it gives great coverage.

So thats it for my favourite high coverage concealers, I'm already looking for new ones as I adore concealers! Sorry for having 2 MAC concealers as they are expensive, but they are worth it, and I have tried SO MANY concealers!

Thanks for reading!
Libby x