Makeup Menu #2 | Spring/Summer

beauty
The weather is slowly beginning to warm up here in England which means it's time to switch up what's in your makeup bag. Heavy, matte foundations are out to be replaced by lighter, dewy-er finishes. Vampy lip colours are to be swapped with soft hues and chiseled cheeks are swapped for an all over bronze. This is how I'll be switching up my makeup bag this spring/summer. 

BASE: Winter is a time for full coverage, matte bases but summer makes way for a lighter base. My pick this summer is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation - review here -, it has a light coverage but can built on and when mixed with medium coverage foundation like the L'Oreal Infallible - review here - it creates a radiant base which still offers coverage. Personally I'm not a big fan of tinted moisturisers but if you're in the market for that kind of base the Bourjois CC Cream is a good option or the Bioderma Photoderm Max Tinted Cream*.

EYES: To add a summer edge to my usual neutral shades I've dug out my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette*, awash with pink toned neutrals it adds a lighter more fresh look to the eye opposed to using browns. If you don't already own the Naked 3 I'd recommend picking up the L'Oreal La Palette Nude in Rose instead as the colour scheme is very similar but the cost is a lot less and actually the shadow quality is better than the Urban Decay palette. I've also been using more cream shadows recently, the Bourjois 24hr shadows are a great cream to powder formulation, the one shown is the shade Petale De Glace but I also love the Maybelline Colour Tattoos, especially the shades Pink Gold and On & On Bronze.

CHEEKS: Recently I've switched out my powder blushes and bronzers for cream versions to add to the summer vibe of lighter skin. The Bourjois Cream Blush in Nude Velvet has been a favourite as its a perfect peachy pink shade which suits a lot of skin tones, it's also a cream to powder formula so it lasts a long time on the skin, Revlon and Max Factor also do some really nice cream blushers too. For bronzer I've been using the Maybelline Fit Me concealer - review here - in the shade 35 to add warmth to the perimeter of my face, there is a lack of cream bronzers on the high street - apart from the Bourjois Bronzing Primer which annoyingly broke me out - so using a concealer a few shades darker than your skin tone is a good option. 

LIPS: For lips I've recently been using the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Nude Delight, it's a warmer toned nude to my usual Kate Moss x Rimmel pick - review here - so is a nice change for summer. For a brighter option I love the Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balms especially the shade Vivacious which is a bright fascia pink, these crayons are super pigmented and moisturising - full review here.

What are your picks for this spring/summer? 

~ Jade xx

Benefits Roller Lash | The verdict

beauty
The Roller Lash mascara is the latest release from Benefit. With a patent-pending brush technology it promises to bring lift and curl to your lashes leaving you with a wide-eyed look. You can currently get a sample size of the new release in the March edition of Elle magazine if you want to try it before you fork out the £19.50 for the full size version, Keira Knightly is also the cover star this month so what’s not to like? 

I wasn’t a fan of Benefits They’re Real mascara and thought it was a bit blegh so I was excited to try out the Roller Lash to see how it compared. Firstly I really like the brush, it reminds me a lot of the Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara - Max Factors Clump Defy here in the UK - which is my favourite mascara I’ve ever tried. It’s the perfect shape to coat all of your lashes without clumping and the plastic bristles separate the lashes beautifully, it doesn’t add a lot in the way of volume however its not marketed to do so. The formula doesn’t smudge or flake throughout the day which is a plus as I normally look like a panda after a few hours. 

The downfall of this mascara though is it doesn’t hold a curl. The selling point of this mascara is that it offers perfectly curled lashes and when first applied it does deliver this, however after a while the curl drops and your lashes are left straight. I don’t normally struggle with keeping a curl in my lashes either so I was very disappointed.

Have you tried benefits new release?

~ Jade xx

The Red Lip | L'Oreal & Max Factor

current favourite
Left to right: L’Oreal 'Liya' red lipstick, Max Factor lip pencil 'Red Rush'

I love a red lip, there’s something about a red lip which is so classic, sleek and sophisticated to me. I could be having the worst morning or a bad skin day but as soon as I put on my favourite red lipstick I instantly feel better and like nothing could hurt my day.

L’Oreal recerntly launched their ‘Exclusive Pure Reds’ collection which is the sister line to their ‘Exclusive Nudes’ collection which was released a while ago. The range contains four reds specifically designed to match different skin tones so theres a red for everyone. Choosing the ‘correct’ red can be a hard task, as if you get the wrong undertone it could wash you out. The Pure Red line makes it easy with two reds to suit warm undertones and two reds to suit cool/neutral undertones. The formula is semi matte so it’s not overly drying but will still last without having to keep topping up the colour. The campaign is headed by Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore & Liya Kebede. I picked up Liya’s shade and I’ve been loving it.

To prevent my lipstick from moving around or bleeding throughout the day I’ve been using the Max Factor Colour Elixir Lip Liner in Red Rush. It’s a beautifully creamy formula so it’s easy to apply but still sticks around for hours making it a great base for lipstick, I’ve also worn this on its own.

Do you love red lipstick as much as I do?

~ Jade xx

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.