l'oreal lumi magique foundation

 

so i'm around four months too late to be reviewing l'oreal's lumi magique foundation but i thought i'd do it anyway! i really do try and cut my spending on certain products and foundation is one of them as not only are even the cheap ones quite expensive, but also if i like the way a foundation makes my skin look then i generally stick to it!

having said that, with all the great reviews i've read about this foundation i decided to give it a try as opposed to repurchasing rimmel's wake me up foundation when it ran out. so far, i'm impressed! it took me a while to work out which shade matched my skin tone - it seems the range only really covers various shades of light skin which isn't great for darker skin tones but also makes it a little trickier when trying to find a match! yellow undertones? pink undertones? arghhhhh!

i ended up picking 'gold linen' (after about 10 minutes...) and i've found it matches my skin well. lumi magique is quite runny in consistency (i didn't find this as much with rimmel's wake me up) although this makes it quite easy to blend. however for some reason i find i use more foundation than i usually would despite this - i can't blame lumi magique though, maybe it's just me wanting more coverage?! 

coverage wise i'd say that lumi magique is medium although is easily buildable. i've used it for nights out when i've wanted a heavier coverage and it's worked really well and stayed put all night.

about the 'as lit from within' claims - o.k it is a bit dramatic and i would really never ever describe someone's skin as being 'lit from within'. in l'oreal's defense though, lumi magique is illuminating and really does brighten your complexion. if you haven't already (i thought i was the only one..?!) then i'd give this a go :) even better, superdrug have a 3 for 2 offer on all l'oreal products at the moment and it's spf 18. yay!

to beginners from a beginner: a guide to hair dye

 

                      before and after...

i'm a bit of a hair dye novice but i thought i'd share this review because i think reading about other people using home dye kits makes the task of doing your own a lot less daunting!

let me first explain my hair story to you... my hair is naturally dark blonde. when i was younger i worked as a junior in a hairdresser. of course the free cuts and colour were too good to miss so i started off with just lightening my t-section, eventually ending up with a full head of highlights, most of which were bleach. after i left the hairdresser i had to start paying full price for a whole head of highlights and pretty often too - my hair grows quickly and i can't pull off the shabby chic 'un-done roots' look!

after much umming and erring i decided to go darker. i fancied a change but also brown hair generally is a lot easier to keep up with because usually it is done with an all over tint that you can also do at home with a box of hair dye that costs £6 (as opposed to my usual £90... arghhh!!) going from blonde to brown is always a job for the professionals as it involves a pre-colour. but this is my second attempt at doing my roots and giving the colour a bit of a boost and so far so good!

i have to say, hair colour names are AWFUL. 'iced mocha'. really?? but other than that this was really easy to use and came with a long list of instructions and even a handy push-out section on the box to hold the hair dye in place when you aren't using it. i like the final colour and it's looking a lot healthier than the 'washed out' look i was apparently going for before!

so, to beginners from a beginner, here are my hair dye do's and dont's:

• don't be afraid to hover around the hair dye section for a good half an hour holding the box up to your hair and seeing if it matches. it's never going to be completely accurate but it's going to give you a good idea of what you're likely to come out with.

•  don't take your boyfriend with you to find the perfect colour. he won't appreciate it, trust me! 

• don't dye your hair just before a big night out. nothing to do with preparing for the worst (it'll be fine, honest!) it's just that hair dye really, really stinks and it takes a couple of washes to get rid of the chemically smell.

• do use a semi-permanent colour if you're worried about not liking the outcome. it will fade but remember that re-doing the colour will only cost about £6, which is a lot cheaper than professional colour correction for a permanent colour you hate. 

• do give yourself time to read the instructions and set up the bathroom ready to dye your hair. it can get messy, even with gloves on, and it may involve a bit of a bathroom clean up whilst you're waiting for the colour to develop!

• do a strand test. this involves cutting out a small piece of hair from the root (if this is done from an underneath layer of hair as opposed to the visible parting it won't be at all noticable) and testing the hair dye on it first to see how your hair reacts. the first hair dye i bought told me to leave the dye on for 20 minutes. i washed the hair dye off my strand test after 5 and it was the colour i wanted. i think if i'd have left it on the full 20 minutes my hair would've been black! 

• do take a watch into the bathroom with you and keep an eye on it. now is not the time to find out whether you can guess the length of a minute.

• and finally, do note down the brand and name of the hair dye you used in case you want to use it again. surprisingly, after 6-8 weeks even the name 'iced mocha' doesn't stand out as much as you originally thought it might.

...i hope this helps and let me know if you have any other hair dye tips or tricks! :)

l'oreal - gentle eye make-up remover

i picked up the l'oreal gentle eye make-up remover the other day on my weekly shop. i have to admit, i haven't actually used a specific eye make-up remover in a long time (shock!) and have just been using cleanser which isn't great at removing mascara and liquid eyeliner. finally, the time has come to get back into taking care of my eyes and a gentle formula is definitely the way forward.

l'oreal gentle eye make-up remover is a clear, watery liquid and i haven't found it at all greasy. initially it did sting my eyes a bit but i'm going to put this down to being too rough and rushed which resulted in managing to get some of it directly in my eye... my fault! now i've slowed down a bit, it manages to get my eye make-up off pretty quickly and i can see it lasting a long time.

unfortunately, i haven't tested it on waterproof mascara but as it's currently £1.48 at sainsbury's, it's definitely worth giving it a go!

l'oreal sublime bronze

i'm slowly emerging from my winter slump of unshaven legs and paler-than-pale skin so i thought it was about time i shared my favourite ever fake tan. i can't say i've tried many but i can honestly say there has been no need!

i discovered l'oreal's sublime bronze at a friend's party after i told the group that i was too scared to try fake tan in case i turned into an oompa lumpa (i'm quite short so adding orange skin to the mix is unlikely to be a great look...) one of the girls there who looked like she'd just been on holiday for two weeks told me that actually, she had the same skin tone as me (english rose/casper the ghost) and that her tan was down to sublime bronze. soon enough i had a go and haven't looked back since!

sublime bronze looks scarily dark when it comes out the tube but once it's spread out is a lot lighter. i use a tanning mitt - the cheapest i've found has been from primark - and make sure i rub it in until it's almost dry. it has a slight shimmer to it which may not appeal to all but i quite like it if i'm going out and if not, i make sure to tan in the evening. that way, the shimmer washes off after showering but leaves behind a golden glow.

i can't recommend sublime bronze enough for fake tan first timers as the finished product is well worth the usual fake tan risks! a little pricey aswell but a little goes a long way... find sublime bronze in boots for £13.47.