CHANEL Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder

CHANEL Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder SPF15 in #20: £38
When it comes to powder, I'm not a lover or a fighter - I'd rather go without, but my skin doesn't always feel secure or have just the perfect amount of shine all day. The CHANEL Les Beiges powder has changed all that. This palm sized compact boasts the ability to provide light coverage, showing a natural radiance and unleashing a healthy glow from within. Instead of a cakey finish that some powders can give off, the antioxidant powder helps to protect the skin from environmental factors and has an SPF of 15 to boot. A non-powder-powder, if you will. Sounds too good to be true, right?

The CHANEL Les Beiges comes in five shades, from pale to deep tones. Second in the lineup is my perfect match, and proved pretty difficult to track down. I managed to nab one over at the Boots in Westfield Stratford in the end, and have been living happily ever after with the little beige compact for around a month now. I find the little brush that comes inside to be perfectly adequate for on the go, but sometimes I'll opt for a big fluffy powder brush instead if I'm at home (looking at you, Real Techniques!). Generally speaking I apply a few gentle sweeps over a light base and it gives a lovely soft-focus finish which helps to make the skin almost matte but not dry looking in the slightest, and instead with a healthy glow, just as promised. I'd never expect a freshness from a powder that feels so lightweight, but it's so flattering on the skin.

As for the price, it's rather steep for what is essentially a pressed powder in a plastic compact, and I suppose it does help that I used my Boots Advantage Card points to buy it, but if I'm not exactly an advocate for face powder and it's won me over, I can only assume it will be a hit for everyone. If you're desperate for this and can't find your shade, fear not as you could always get a darker shade to use as a bronzer, or a paler shade for a highlighting effect. Then again, now I've got my spot-on shade, I'm glad I held off to find it. I feel really bad posting about it as I can't find my shade online anywhere, but it's definitely worth checking at counters as they just may have one with your name all over it.

What do you think of the CHANEL Les Beiges powder? If you've tried it, does it live up to the hype for you?

Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blushes

Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blushes: £7.99 each*
(top): #01 Nude Velvet & #02 Healthy Glow
(bottom): #03 Rose Tender & #04 Sweet Cherry
The Bourjois Little Round Pot baked blushers have been popular for a very long time - 150 years in fact! Whilst it's good to leave a good thing untouched, times are finally a-changing and a quartet of cream formula blushes have been added to the family at long, long last. Promising a radiant, seamless, 'second skin' effect in a cream-to-powder formulation, things are looking good from the off. Here's how I've been getting on with them!




Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in #01 Nude Velvet
#01 Nude Velvet is a gorgeous pale peach shade that warms up the cheeks whilst also being quite soft and subtle.




Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in #02 Healthy Glow
More intense than the previous shade, #02 Healthy Glow offers a beautiful peachy apricot hue that has a teeny tiny hint of shimmer to give an almost bronzing effect on the skin, as well as a blush.




Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in #03 Rose Tender
#03 Rose Tender is a soft baby pink with a very slight pearliness. Another subtle shade, adding a 'barely there' glow.




Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in #04 Sweet Cherry
Last up is #04 Sweet Cherry, a deep pink with brown and plum tones. I'm surprised it looks so natural on the skin but I think it would have to do with the deepness/coolness that almost acts as a natural contour.

The texture of these is beautiful, they melt into the skin with ease and although they feel quite slippy to the touch, you're not missing out on pigment. Despite the silky smooth formula they hold up really well on the skin too, and look fresh all day. They apply well with a brush (I've tried with the Real Techniques Stippling Brush) although pictured is how it looks applied with fingers. I think I actually prefer this method - the texture is so lovely and it saves on cleaning brushes.

To be honest, while all four are beautiful, #02 and #04 seem to be like ramped up versions of their counterparts. Saying that, #01 and #03 might be a winner for pale skinned beauties although the others can be used more sparingly too! Basically they are all lovely, but I really don't think you need all of them. One pink and one peach will do!

These lovely little pots are currently on offer in Boots for a pound less at £6.99 each. Are you tempted by any of them?

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Summer 2013

Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée in Heat Wave: £30*
Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Light: £30*
Estée Lauder Pure Color Dual Ended Liquid Liner in Black Sands: £21*
If anything's going to get me looking forward to summer, it's not the weather we're experiencing at the moment. Enter the new Estée Lauder collection, Bronze Goddess. The collection is a yearly, limited edition line-up that promises to leave you looking sunkissed whether you've managed to capture a glimmer of vitamin D or not. Operation Bronze is on..

First up is the Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer. I have the shade 'Light' and first off I'm impressed that there are four separate bronze shades for all skin tones (it also comes in Medium, Medium Deep and Deep) considering it's a mini, limited edition collection. The packaging is a beautiful tortoiseshell compact, with a huge mirror for on-the-go use. The colour is pretty warm toned, but not too orange (definitely not as much so as the Clarins Splendours Bronzing Compact, of which you can see my review here). It blends into the skin easily, and there's a tiny bit of shimmer in the pan up close, but it doesn't translate onto the skin. It provides a healthy, glowy finish which livens up the face and I can't say no to that.

The Pure Color Dual Ended Liquid Liner in Black Sands has both a black liquid liner and a goldish-bronze shade on the other end. I find the consistency to be very wet and runny with this, which could be tricky in a rush or those not used to applying liquid liners. It does dry down pretty quickly though, and stays black all day. I'm not really that fond of the finish as it looks quite 'stuck on' and if you rub hard enough it will peel off. The bronze colour is absolutely beautiful and I've used it both under my bottom lashes and just above my black cat flick liner. You can just about notice it in the photos, which is a shame as it catches the light beautifully. Overall this isn't something I'd rush out to buy, although I am enjoying using it!

Last but by no means least is the Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée in Heat Wave, which simply has to be my pick from the collection. A 'tri-blend' formula made up of liquid, powder and gel, Heat Wave gelée is a stunning shimmery gold. It packs some serious punch, so can be used sparingly (good news as it won't be around forever!). It looks beautiful on the cheekbones, but I can't just stop there so I tend to add a touch down the centre of the nose, brow bone and the inner corners of my eyes for a goddess-like glow, just as promised. It seems to be sold out on most online stockists already, but it's absolutely one to seek out at your local Estée Lauder counters - it's basically summer glow in a compact.

What do you think of the collection? I'm dying to try out the Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent fragrance now!

MAC Brows: Spiked Pencil & Beguile Brow Set

MAC Eye Brows in Spiked: £12.50
MAC Brow Set in Beguile: £12.50
In my high school years, I went through a phase of getting rid of almost all of my eyebrows. I'm pretty sure most people have been through a similarly harrowing ordeal, and I'm positive cosmetics brands are loving that the thick, natural brow trend has returned and a lot of us need some help with that. I don't think my brows are particularly thin now, the shapes just don't quite match and the hairs are just a little long and require some trimming. How high maintenance!

I'd been using a cheaper pencil for filling in my brows recently and the colour was just slightly off, so I headed out on a mission to find some more goodies to get a better result. I'd never really looked at the MAC pencils but for some reason (being that my MAC Pro card just arrived) I had a gander and stumbled across the Eye Brows range. A thin stick of creamy pencil that dispenses with a twist-and-click motion at the bottom. I opted for Spiked, a medium-dark neutral brown shade. It works really well with my natural hair colour; I make small, light strokes to create the look of hairs to fill in any sparse areas such as the very front of my otherwise bushy left brow. I then do the same at the arch of my right brow to make it more angular and try to square off the front a little. Sounds tricky and long-winded but it's just second nature now!

I also have the clear MAC Brow Set already but (as I said in my review here) I was intrigued to trying out a tinted one. I went for Beguile as it looked more golden than red-toned so would match my hair better. It's also a little lighter than my brow colour so if I go overboard with the pencil beforehand it evens itself out in the end. This helps to keep my unruly brows in place and looking groomed all day. I am prone to getting splodges of brown on my eyelids and browbone if I'm in a rush but it wipes off easily if you work quickly. I probably do prefer it to the clear version as it feels like 'more' of a product if that makes sense. You can get a clear gel for a couple of pounds on the high street but I don't see tinted versions everywhere.

I'm really happy with my purchases and I feel like my face looks so much more finished now. The prices aren't too steep for something that I know I'm going to use whenever I put makeup on, and I'd really recommend these shades for anyone who struggles to find a good shade to match- ie. not too red! Do you see brows as an important step in your routine?

diptyque Eau Mohéli

diptyque Eau Mohéli Roll-on Cologne (20ml): £30*
Last week I popped down to diptyque's Brook Street store to feast my eyes on the new summer scent, Eau Mohéli. The name is derived from the tiny island of Mohéli in the Indian Ocean, due to the ylang-ylang flower found there. Ylang-ylang plays the starring role in the scent, alongside pink peppercorn, tonka bean, blackcurrant leaf, patchouli and vetiver.

diptyque describe this new kid on the block as a fragrance that 'leaves the beaten track for wilder paths', and whilst perfume blurbs are sickeningly whimsical most of the time, I can totally see where they are coming from with this one. It's floral and exotic without being too sweet or woody. It balances both fresh and sophisticated genres beautifully - I'm one of those hard to please, "I know what I like" people and I must say it's hit the spot. It's the perfect 'grown-up meets girly' addition to my perfume stash. The packaging is gorgeous too - a pretty glass vial wrapped with a ylang-ylang design, encased in a velvet pouch which makes for a worry-free handbag staple. I wouldn't necessarily insist on carrying it around with you though, as I can smell the two swipes of this stuff on myself after a long day, but it looks and feels so luxurious that I can't help but take it with me. Perfect for travelling too, which I'm coincidentally doing this week!

So, it's happened. I've finally succumbed to the world of diptyque and there's no going back! Care to join me?

Laura Mercier Secrets: Shimmering Radiance

Laura Mercier Laura's Secrets Volume 5 'Shimmering Radiance' set: £42.50*
Every so often, Laura Mercier roll out a little kit of products to create a certain coveted look in a few easy steps with just a handful of products. Called Laura's Secrets, the fifth edition of the series goes under the name of 'Shimmering Radiance'. The new kit - which is exclusive to House Of Fraser - contains a travel size of the Foundation Primer Radiance and a Shimmer Bloc, as well as two new exclusive shades - one being a Lip Glacé, the other a Caviar Stick Eye Colour.

Upon first glance, the whole collection looked way too sugary sweet and pink for me. I generally sway towards a more bronze look so tend to gravitate towards coppers, golds and nudes. I was pleasantly surprised with this upon application though as it didn't look half as pink as I expected it to and suits me a lot more.

The Foundation Primer Radiance has been raved about in the blogosphere before so I was excited to try this one out the most. It doesn't really 'show up' as such on the skin, but just gives off a glow that looks as if it comes naturally rather than from a tube. That's a good thing! I'm only wearing a BB cream here (more on that soon!) which gives it some perspective. The little tube is also great for taking with me on my travels and saves that much-needed space for other things.

For the cheeks I swirled a fluffy brush around all four of the shades in the Shimmer Bloc and applied by buffing in lightly to blend the colours properly. The result is a radiant plum-bronze that kind of reminds me of Benefit Dallas. It looks pretty sparkly in the pan but doesn't translate as such at all, instead giving off a healthy glow.

When it comes to the eyes, I apply the Caviar Stick to the inner corners of my eyes and blend in and across the whole lid with my ring finger - the product is quite thick and pigmented, so there's enough to go around. I'm not a massive fan of the shade for the eyes as it's a bit too pink, but when blended out it provides a nice sheen and a good base for a powder over the top. I do like the formula though, so I'll definitely be on the lookout for some other shades. I then took a little of the bronze shade from the Shimmer Bloc and patted over the eyelid to bring out my blue eyes. Gotta love a multi-tasker!

Lastly is the Lip Glacé, in a sweet milkshake pink hue. I've got all my glossy lip needs covered with the likes of the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, but this felt non-sticky, moisturising and gave a wash of colour to the lips.

It's a pretty little set and would be a great shout for anyone wanting to try out some bits from the brand whilst getting better value for money. The two full size products (the Lip Glacé and the Caviar Stick) almost reach the same price as the whole set so I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of these in future! What do you think?