Starting Off: Foundation

Hello again!
This is the third installment of #theSOproject and this week i'm going to be talking about foundation!

To start off I should probably get back to basics and explain what exactly it is. Foundation is a skin-coloured make-up that is most commonly used to cover up blemishes, even out any redness or discoloration of the skin and generally give a more flawless finish to the face. It differs slightly from concealer, which is more heavily focused on eliminating particular problem areas or obvious blemishes. To find out more about concealer you can read my post all about concealer here.

If you're a teenager just starting out in make-up, you may still have perfect baby-faced skin, in which case, you really don't need to worry about it! I didn't start really wearing foundation until I was in about year 11 and to be honest there are still many occasions now when I just can't be bothered and a little concealer is enough. However, puberty often results in hormone-induced acne, which can make girls self-conscious. Ultimately though, women of all ages have problems with their skin from time to time and simply want some extra coverage, just to help with their self-confidence.

Luckily, the cosmetics industry has come a long way since our mothers and grandmothers were teenagers and there is an unbelievable range of foundation products on the market, ranging from BB creams and tinted moisturisers, mineral powder foundations and whipped mousse foundations to name just a few. However, all of this extra choice can be a little confusing, so i'm going to go through a few products that i've tried personally and hopefully it will help you to decide which kind of product you are looking for.

Tinted Moisturiser:
If your skin is in pretty good condition, with few blemishes and little oiliness, a great, lighter alternative to a classic foundation is a tinted moisturiser. What it will do is help with any dry skin you may have, whilst offering a subtle tint of colour, which should be enough to help even out your skintone, whilst still resulting in a very natural look. Personally I love MAC's Studio Moisture Tint as it has SPF 15 in it which is great for protecting your skin from the sun and it provides just enough coverage to make me feel confident with my skin. It's a little pricey at £21.50 but I love it a lot and i've repurchased it numerous times.

BB Cream:
BB (Beauty Balm) creams have been popular in Asia for ages, but are a pretty recent addition to the Western cosmetics market. BB creams are pretty similar to tinted moisturisers, but tend to be multi-functional, offering not only coverage but various skincare properties. They offer a subtle coverage, not completely eliminating imperfections, but evening them out and giving a very natural finish.
I have the Simple Kind To Skin + Perfecting Beauty Balm which retails at £8.99. It is only available in one universal shade, but from reading reviews online a lot of people with different skintones have said that it has adapted well to their individual skin colour. It's cheap, it gives a light, natural coverage and contains SPF15, Vitamins E and A and no artificial perfumes or colourings.

Liquid Foundations:

Liquid foundation is probably the most commonly used type of foundation as it is easy to use and there are so many different types available. It can be applied using a sponge, such as a beauty blender, a brush (personally I use my Real Techniques buffing brush) or can simply be applied with your fingertips. I've used many different types of liquid foundation over the years but at the moment my favourites are:
Benefit Hello Flawless (for a full review click here) £25.50 from Benefit
Bourjois Healthy Mix (for a full review click here) £9.99 from Boots or Superdrug
and Revlon Colorstay £12.49 from Boots or Superdrug
The main advantage of liquid foundations is that you can build them up to your desired level of coverage.

Powder Foundations:

Powder foundations, when worn alone, tend to offer a naturally matte looking finish and a soft, barely-there coverage. However, some powder foundations give this illusion of flawless bare skin, whilst actually offering quite high coverage. Brands such as bareMinerals specialise in loose powder foundations that can be built up to your own preference, from a sheer finish to a virtually full coverage. Powder foundations are also great for setting other products, such as a BB cream or a liquid foundation, making them last longer.
I love the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, which I use everyday to set my liquid foundation, or I wear it alone on days where I don't feel like wearing a whole face of make-up.
£22.00 from MAC Cosmetics.
I also like the Original Foundation SPF 15 from bareMinerals, as you can build up the coverage without it looking caked on and as their website states it "looks like a powder, but feels like a cream", so you don't feel as though your face is covered in layers of powder.
£25.00 from bareMinerals.

There are many other types of foundation out there, for example I was an avid fan of the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse when I was younger, but now I find mousse foundations far too drying, so I tend to avoid them.

Anyway, apologies for the extremely long post but I hope it has been informative and helped you in some way!

What is your favourite type of foundation?

Starting Off: Concealer

Hello again!
Tonight's post is my second installment as part of #theSOproject! (For more information on this, check out my previous post here.)

This week's topic of discussion is concealer. Concealer is essentially make-up that helps to conceal problem areas such as dark under-eye circles, spots, scars or discolouring of the skin. It is similar to foundation, but tends to be slightly thicker in consistency, in order to effectively hide these imperfections.

Considering how much make-up I own, it seems surprising that I have actually only ever used one concealer-not the same tube obviously! If you enjoy reading make-up blogs or watching beauty gurus on YouTube, you'll probably have heard of it before, because it really has become a bit of a cult beauty product and with good reason. The Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer from Collection, (formerly known as Collection 2000), is an ideal first concealer if you're just getting started in make-up or if you're simply looking for a brilliant budget concealer, with an RRP of just £4.19. It has a standard doe-foot applicator, which makes it handy for travelling as you can just pop it in your bag and touch up on the go.

Personally I don't suffer with blemishes on a regular basis and so I primarily use concealer to try and combat my hellish under-eye circles and redness around my nose, which this concealer does perfectly. However, if I do get any spots this concealer works equally well on those and definitely helps to hide them.

When it comes to application of concealer, it really does depend on what kind of concealer you are using. For example, thicker, potted concealers tend to be applied best with the fingers, whilst concealers with a more liquid-based consistency can be applied with a brush. I tend to use my fingers to blend in concealer under my eyes, as it is such a sensitive area and I just find it blends more effectively with my fingers. For particular problem areas however, the detailer brush from the Real Techniques core collection is really great at precisely covering up blemishes.

Sorry this post isn't particularly long, but i'm really pretty clueless when it comes to other concealers as I'm so loyal to this one! Do you have any recommendations for concealers? I'd love to try out some new ones!

Starting Off: Skincare

Hello again :)
I'm excited as this is my first post as part of the starting off project, which is a project run by Stephanie from Steph's Inside Voice, aiming to help teenage girls, or simply people new to skincare/makeup by giving tips on what we've found works best for us. There are over 120 bloggers involved, so at 6pm every Tuesday, check out the hashtag #theSOproject on twitter to check out all of our posts!

The first topic of discussion is skincare. To be entirely honest, i'm not massively into skincare products. I'm lucky enough to have never really had any problems with my skin, i've never had acne and apart from the occasional blemish my skin tends to be pretty good. Therefore I don't see the need to go overboard and spend lots of money on products to improve my skin, when it's fine as it is. However, I have found a few great (and most importantly, cheap) products, which work well for me. This is my basic, no-fuss skincare routine and for the most part, this is what i've stuck to for the last couple of years or so.

Face scrub: In the mornings I like to use a face wash to clean my face and wake me up. I love this Olay Smoothing Face Scrub (usually £2.49 from Boots) as it contains tiny exfoliating beads, which gently rub away any surface skin cells, dirt or leftover make-up from the previous day. Although the exfoliating beads make a noticeable difference, leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth, this product is very gentle so can be used on a daily basis, as opposed to some more harsh exfoliants, which should only be used a couple of times a week.

Face wipes: I'm probably going to get shot by beauty bloggers everywhere for admitting this, but yes, I am an avid face-wipe user! To be honest it's primarily out of laziness. When i'm tired and getting ready for bed I don't tend to want to embark upon a massive cleansing routine. These Garnier Fresh Essentials Ultra-Cleansing wipes (usually £3.25 from Boots) easily and quickly remove the majority of my makeup and leave my face feeling fresh and clean.

Toner: I love this Olay Essentals Refreshing Toner (usually £2.99 at Boots) SO much. As I mentioned above, face wipes are great for quickly removing your make-up. However, they don't always remove all traces of it and so after using wipes I like to take some of this toner on a cotton wool pad and wipe all over my face, to make sure i've completely taken off all of my make-up. This particular product leaves my skin feeling incredibly clean and refreshed.

Moisturiser: After using toner, before I go to bed I use Olay Beauty Fluid (usually £5.99 at Boots) all over my face. This is honestly my holy grail moisturiser. It's amazing. It is incredibly hydrating and nourishing but it's biggest advantage point is that it is absorbed into the skin SO quickly. I also apply this before putting on any of my make-up and it's great because I don't have to wait around for ages waiting for it to dry. Olay also sell a slightly different version particularly for those of you with sensitive skin (see here).

Although all of these products are very affordable anyway, Boots currently have an 1/3 off offer on selected Olay skincare and Superdrug have various Olay products in their "better than 1/2 price" deal, so you can get your hands on these effective skincare products for EVEN cheaper!

PS On my nails i'm wearing Kingsland Road by Barry M!