Benefit Porefessional - A Continued Repurchase

Whilst rummaging through my collection having a think about what post I wanted to do next I realised that in the 9 months I've been writing my blog I had completely skipped over one of my holy grail items, Benefit's Porefessional Primer. I have to say, in my makeup collection there isn't many items I've repurchased. Some because they will last me forever, some because I didn't like them. This however, is one of the few products I've not only repurchased but bought again three times.

So what makes it so good? For me it's that this product does exactly what I wanted it to, it mattifies, prolongs my makeup AND minimizes the appearance of my pores without feeling the thick or heavy feeling some primers can give on the skin. I must firstly point out that because my skin is pretty normal all over, I only use this product where I get oily which for me is just on my nose and then I either leave the rest of my skin or use something more brightening like the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer. After applying this I usually let it sink in for a few seconds and then instantly notice my pores appear smaller, so much so that when I've forgotten to use it on the odd occasion it's been immediately obvious to me! I use it every single day and always notice my make up sitting a lot nicer on that oily patch of skin and how much longer my foundation stay on.

All in all I'm certain I will always have this in my collection. I've never found a primer as good and as effective on oily patches and although it's expensive at £24.50 for 22ml I will never be without it, it is definitely one of my top five favourite makeup products of all time!

Have you tried this? What's your favourite primer? :) 

MAC Eyeshadow Collection!

Hi everyone! Hope you're all well. Today I wanted to do a post that's been requested a couple of times, what's in my MAC palette. My love for MAC eyeshadows started around three years ago and from there I've collected enough of these little beauties to finally fill up one of their fifteen eyeshadow palettes. I'll start by saying almost all my shades are neutral. I'm not too crazy experimental when it comes to eyeshadows, though you will see a like the odd purplely tone now and again! Onto the shades :)

From L - R by row: Orb, All That Glitters, Malt, Brule, Ricepaper, Era, Shale, Satin Taupe, Soba.

From L - R by row: Sable, Cranberry, Omega, Charcoal Brown, Tempting, Sumptuous Olive.

I organise the shadows roughly by putting pinker tones on the top row, yellower tones on the middle and then any other colours on the bottom row.

Orb (Satin) - This colour is a very light pinky beige that I love to use all over the lid.

All That Glitters - To me, this is more of a pinky gold champagne shade thatsuits everyone.

Malt (Matte) - This is another pinky beige that I love for in the crease

Brule (Satin) - Another great all over base colour but more of a white than Orb.

Ricepaper (Frost) - One of the first shadows I got! A pretty yellowish gold.

Era (Satin) - A light beige with shimmer (slight theme going here...)

Shale (Satin) - This is a pretty mauve grey that I love for a purple smokey eye.

Satin Taupe (Frost) - This and shale are the perfect match but this colour goes with everything.

Soba (Satin) - A goldy brown with fine shimmer.

Sable (Frost) - A plummy bronze, I use this a lot.

Cranberry (Frost) - The craziest shade in my palette but I love this for dramatic eyes! A reddish purple.

Omega (Matte) - I love this in the crease as a light contour but also through the brows paired with the next shade as it's a nice light brown.

Charcoal Brown (Matte) - Again, a great matte brown crease colour and brow shade.

Tempting (Lustre) - A great true bronze.

Sumptuous Olive - A beautiful golden green colour.

I can't go too much into the finishes as I know nothing about them but it's clear looking at this that I love Satin's, Frosts and Matte's! I do like something not overly shimmery usually with matte shades in the crease so too me it makes a lot of sense to have so many! If I had to pick out four must have shades I'd have to go with All That Glitters (my all time FAVOURITE eyeshadow), Malt (great for the crease), Sable (my favourite deeper shade) and Shale (great for the pop of colour). That's all the shades I own - I would love to hear what your favourite shades are too! :)

L - R: All That Glitters, Malt, Sable, Cranberry, Brule, Ricepaper, Era, Omega, Charcoal Brown.

L - R Sumptuous Olive, Tempting, Soba, Satin Taupe, Shale.

The move to Bloglovin'

Hi everyone! Bit of a generic post before my proper post later today. I just wanted to direct you all to my Bloglovin page as apparently GFC is also going next month! I'm still missing around 80 of you but would love for you all to follow me on there too :)

My page is: http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4300617/the-beauty-visual

Thanks everyone, expect to see my post on my MAC palette later today! x

Safe SPF'S

Hi everyone! Hope you're all well. As usual, I'm doing an introduction a little off topic but just wanted to thank you all so much. I hit 250 followers the other day and was over the moon to hit a whole new milestone and really appreciate you all sticking with me despite the lack of posts the last couple of weeks. I recently started a new job at Space NK which has been amazing, I sort of accidentally fell into it after getting chatting to the manager but I couldn't be happier to be working part time in a job I actually enjoy around so many amazing products doing what I love (but my bank balance does not..). Onto the post, I wanted to speak about something in beauty that's often overlooked but is so important all year round but particularly in the warmer weather, SPF's.

This Works In Transit Skin Defence (SPF 30) & Bioderma Photoderm AKN Mat (SPF 30)

Now, if you've read my blog for a while you'll know that whilst my skin isn't terrible I do definitely suffer with an oilier nose which is less than attractive, especially when you're in the sunshine all day. For a while now I'd been on the hunt for a lightweight, non-greasy SPF and have actually found two that work amazingly. I'll start by saying, there is no winner here as it really does depend on preference. 

First of all, it's worth noting that both these products have the same SPF of 30 and both contain 40ml of product. This aside, I would say they are two completely different products. The first thing I noticed with the This Works In Transit Skin Defence was the packaging. I for one love the pump as it disperses the first amount of product and stops it from getting so messy. In terms of consistancy, this one is a lot thinner than the Bioderma which means I mainly reach for this one on days where my skin is a little more oily as I can apply this, then a mattifying moisturizer and it won't make my skin anymore greasy or oily than it would be without it. In terms of scent, it is an extremely light smell which is slightly like normal suncream, slightly herbally. For someone who hates herbal scents I can honestly say, it's barely noticeable and isn't a problem at all on my sensitive skin. I don't know a lot about ingredients but I do know this product doesn't contain a lot of nasties - no parabens, no SLS and no mineral oil in sight which is always a plus though it does contain one silicone but I didn't find this a problem at all.

Onto the Bioderma offering you see the packaging is a pretty much the same as any other suncream with a tube dispenser (not that this put me off at all!). Now, the main reason I find this and the This Works to be so different is predominately down to the consistancy as the bioderma is thicker with far more of a suncream type texture. However, before you let that put you off completely it dries completely matte and leaves no greasy residue whatsoever. I was definitely scared when I first applied this and it didn't feel as smooth to spread around as the This Works but I love this for when my skin is a little more normal as it acts as my moisturizer and sunscreen in one due to the consistancy. I also love the smell of suncream anyway so that definitely doesn't put me off! Finally, like the This Works this doesn't contain any nasties and both have 'parfum' as one of the final ingredients listed so if you have sensitive skin like me, I don't see either causing you any problems!

I would say that both are universally good for most skin types though I would be slightly more careful if you have drier skin as you may need a thicker moisturizer over these. However, neither affected the longevity of my make up or make my sensitive/combination skin more dry or more oily OR have any type of reaction.

I purchased the Bioderma for £13.70 from Escentual.com, however it is currently on offer for £9.13 here and picked up the This Works for £29 from Space NK here.

What's your favourite SPF?