My Top 3 Foundations

Finding foundations is something I really struggle with and always have for as long as I can remember. As a delightful woman from a Clinique counter once told me, I have 'virtually no colour' to my skin - "I mean, seriously. You really are pale aren't you?!" Lovely. So, as you can imagine, foundations that go as pale as I am are quite hard to come by. For this reason, when I find a shade I like, in a formula that I love, I tend to stick with them like a loyal dog does to its owner.

NARS Sheer Glow: I use this in the shade Siberia, and this is my fail safe foundation. It gives the perfect amount of coverage for me, so I can use it if my skin is really bad, or if it's good and I just want that extra bit of coverage. Sometimes I do tend to find that it clings to those fine hairs or dry patches on your face, but that's easily corrected by mixing it with something that has a more moisturising formula. It's one of those formulas that look nicer the longer you leave it to set, but I do always powder over the top just to increase the wear time, as I find that isn't great if I'm having an oily day.

DiorSkin Star: This would be my absolute perfect foundation if the colour was that little bit more accurate. It is slightly too dark and more on the yellow side than I would like, but it can be corrected with a lighter concealer and taking my bronzer down my neck. This is the foundation I gravitate towards if I want to fake that I'm having a really good, glowing skin day. Wayne Goss once described it as 'the perfect selfie foundation' and I have to agree. While I wouldn't use it for flash photography as it has a high (30) SPF, it does look beautiful in your standard photographed. Mixed with Dior Glow Maximiser Primer, this is my favourite base ever.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation: The more long-lasting sister of Sheer Glow, I was bound to love this foundation. However, only if I mix it with a moisturising, luminising product. It's far too drying for me just on its own but once you get the hang of it, it's a wonder product. It lasts all day and looks undetectable on the skin, whilst giving you a great amount of coverage. Plus, because you only need one (but I usually add a little extra) pump, it will last for absolutely ages.

Are there any foundations you think I should try? I'm always in the market for something new.

Lollyrocket Candle Co.

Lollyrocket is a local company to me, and one that I've thoroughly enjoyed supporting for a good while now. I first became familiar with them when they opened up a store in my home town, selling homewares and vintage items, along with their own natural soy wax candles. When they sold their store, I was gutted, but you can imagine my excitement when I found out that they were opening an online store selling their candles.

I recently purchased three of their 1/2lb candles from a shop in my town, but you can see a full list of stockists here. One of my pet hates with candles is that they often come in a variety of bright colours. However, because all of the candles in the Lollyrocket range are white and come in glass jar casing with a gold lid to hold in the scent, these will fit beautifully within any home. I absolutely love knowing that these candles are made using natural ingredients, and the quality definitely reflects in the product. They burn beautifully, evenly, and give off such a strong (but never over-powering) scent, and supposedly have a 40 hour burn time.

The one I'm currently burning is brown sugar & fig, but I also picked up candy floss and candy shop.
Since the scents are so unique, the only way I'm going to be able to describe them is by taking the notes descriptions from the website and put them into 'Alice' terms.

BROWN SUGAR & FIG
Lollyrocket says: top notes of fresh figs, peaches, and passion fruit followed by middle notes of 
coconut milk, vanilla orchid, jasmine, muguet, and freesia. Balanced with base notes of vanilla beans, caramel, maple sugar, fig leaves, and musk.
Alice says: Fruity, floral, fresh and sugary mixed in a bowl and poured into a candle jar. It's quite a grown-up, classy smell, but one I think everyone would like.


CANDY SHOP
Lollyrocket says: A fruity blend of cotton candy, lemon drops, caramel and raspberry jam with subtle base notes of musk.
Alice says: The most unique candle I've ever smelt. Sweet, but really fresh at the same time. Every time I smell this, it reminds me of walking into a sweet shop on the seafront and brings back so many happy childhood memories.

CANDY FLOSS
Lollyrocket says: A delicious, sweet blend of fresh strawberry and French vanilla.

Alice says: The warm smell of candy floss but without the strong, sweet sugar. This makes it a little bit more fresh and more bearable for sweet scent haters. 


Lollyrocket 1/2lb candles are individually priced at £8, but using the code 'giveme3' on their website, you can get 3 for the amazing price of £20. I love knowing that my hard earned money is going to an independent, local company who invest a huge amount of time to the quality of the products and not to a large corporation. I've now got my eye on some of their other 1/2lb candle scents, and I'm desperate to try their new 1lb boxed candles. Every single one smells insane. I'll never buy another Yankee Candle again. 

The Body Moisturiser That Actually Works

I'm going to put this out there and say that Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion is the best moisturiser my skin has ever been lucky enough to have slathered on it.

I'm not someone with dry skin at all, but my skin just seems to reject every body butter I've ever put on it. The only other product I've ever used that did anything near to what this does for my skin is coconut oil. However, I just couldn't tolerate the smell of it, and I think that's a really important factor with something you're going to apply to your whole body daily.

Since I'm a big fan of Lush products (their use of natural ingredients is really important to me and my sensitive skin), and I love vanilla scents, Vanilla Dee-Lite was an obvious choice for me. Not only does it smell absolutely insane, it contains ingredients that my skin seems to absolutely love. The combination of kiwi fruits, cocoa butter, illipe butter, coconut oil and tamanu oil means that it has amazing moisturising powers, but is really light on the skin and sinks in after just a few minutes. The only thing I would change is the packaging. Because you rub the product in with your hand, it doesn't take long for the bottle to get really slippy and difficult to use. I would much prefer that it came in a tub, but nothing good ever came without its faults.

If you have dry or irritated skin, I can't sing Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite's praises enough. Do you have any recommendations for good moisturising body products?

The Beauty Product I'll Never Run Out Of

Everyone has a signature scent. One that all their loved ones recognise them by and are remembered of when they smell it elsewhere. For example, Stella by Stella McCartney is my mum's signature scent. Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood is my nan's favourite scent. Well, Black by Zara is mine. Thank goodness I've found a perfume I love that's cheap and cheerful too.

Zara Black is a really inexpensive perfume, but amazing quality. The scent really does linger all day. Right from when it was released, I started purchasing this. So, I now have all the old editions of the packaging, all new sizes they've released and I'm not even ashamed to say I have my own little back stock of it in my beauty drawers. The thing that concerns me the most is that they'll discontinue it and I'll be left to settle for a perfume I don't like nearly as much. For that reason, I have about 4 boxes of the stuff laying around, 2 bottles at my boyfriend's house and a couple of bottles hanging around in my bag. It's safe to say I won't be running out of this for a while.

Are there any beauty products you stock up on and panic buy? It can't just be me, no?...

Go For Bronze

I'm a pale girl. There's absolutely no beating around the bush with that one. Bronzer is my best friend and the makeup product I rely on the most to make me look like a normal human being. However, it isn't just a warm toned powder I love to brighten up my complexion; I also love bronze makeup shades that bring my face to life. These are some of my favourite products that make me look a little bit more tanned, whether I've got bronzer swept across my face or not.

FACE: I always rely on warmer toned products to give life to my face. My favourites for this are Mac MSF in Soft & Gentle, Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve and the discontinued Nars Douceur blush. They're not too muddy looking on the face, but help to sculpt and give a natural flushed glow.

EYES: There are four bronze products I love on my eyes to warm things up slightly and surprisingly, they're all really affordable. For cream bases, I use Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze or Kiko Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick in 06. Then, my go-to shadow for making my eyes warmer is Rimmel Scandaleyes Mono Eyeshadow in Smoky Quartz and if I fancy a bronze liner look, I love Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Bronze.

LIPS: With lipsticks, I don't ever wear anything to brown because they simply don't suit my complexion. However, these are some lip shades that I've found, that are just brown enough and don't make your face look too sunken, they warm up the face instead. Clinique Pop Lip Colour Primer in Beige Pop is my favourite, but Maybelline's Colour Sensational Lipstick in Tantalising Taupe is a drugstore favourite. I like putting a dab of Maybelline Colour Elixir in Caramel Infused in the centre of my lips with these products, to make my lips look more pouty.

These were my favourite products for bronzing up my face, with no bronzer, fake tan or sun in sight. What are your favourite products for warming up your complexion?

The Best, Most Unexpected Primer Ever

As I mentioned in my previous post on long-lasting makeup, I've found that primer extends the wear time of my foundation and base makeup dramatically. I was quite content with my Max Factor Facefinity Primer and the effects it had on my makeup application. However, this very quickly changed as soon as I discovered Nivea for Men's Sensitive Post Shave Balm.

Whilst watching a NikkieTutorials video one day, I was stunned when she pulled this out and said she was going to use it to prime her face. However, it all became clear when she explained that the second most used ingredient in the balm is glycerin. Glycerin is known in the makeup industry for adhering any makeup placed on top to it, and helps to maintain the outer barrier of the skin and prevent dryness or scaling - things that are guaranteed to make your foundation wear off faster.

There's no getting away from the fact that this product smells 'manly'. It's a man's product. However, when applied to the skin, it blends in really effortlessly and the smell disappears after just a couple of minutes. Not only is it great for helping to create a bullet proof base, but it also soothes any skin irritation you may have too. At such a small price (I paid the full price of £5.35, but it is regularly on offer), you'd be silly not to give it a go.

My Long-Lasting Hero Products

I'm that girl who will apply a decent face of makeup in the morning and by lunch time, I'll stare into the mirror to see cakey skin, creased eyeshadow and a patchy lip. As I'm sure you'll agree, this is never pleasant. However, as I've suffered with it for years, it's meant that I've tested a whole host of products that have helped keep it at bay. I recently visited Disneyland Paris (blog post coming very soon!), and really put these products to the ultimate long-lasting test. I applied them at 7am, and by the time the fireworks finished at 11:30pm, my makeup was still in place.

KIKO LONG-LASTING STICK EYESHADOW (06):
I am such a fan of these eyeshadow sticks from Kiko. I can't sing their praises enough. Simply apply over the lid like a crayon, and blend out the edges with a clean finger or brush. Because of how long-lasting they are, you have a few seconds playing time with them until they're completely dry, so I usually apply one eye at a time for this reason. Once they're set, they're not going anywhere.

TOO FACED PERFECT LIPS LIP LINER (Perfect Nude):
I'm a big nude lip wearer and very rarely venture out into the typical long-lasting brighter colours. However, I've found the only way of wearing a nude lip without having to reapply regularly, is by wearing a nude liner all over the lip. I love the creamy formula and colour of this Too Faced one, but any neutral liner will do the job.

MAX FACTOR FACEFINITY ALL DAY PRIMER:
I've found that primer makes a massive difference to the wear-time of your foundation, and this one from Max Factor is great for the price. It's got SPF 20 in it, so great for general everyday wear, and contains silicone so creates a smooth surface barrier between your skin and your foundation. The real selling point of this for me is that it never alters the finish of my foundation, which is unusual for a primer of this kind.

NARS ALL DAY LUMINOUS WEIGHTLESS FOUNDATION:
I won't beat around the bush with this one. It is a faff and a half to apply, but if you can get the application right, and find a way to get it to work for you, it is a really great long-lasting foundation. I have quite dehydrated skin, so applied on its own, this foundation clings to every dry patch on my face. However, if I mix it with a drop of something more moisturising (I like mixing it with No7 Instant Illusions Rapid Radiance Balm for an illuminating finish), it tends to look much better. You do get a more lightweight coverage this way, but I like that you can have a long-lasting, fresh base.

AVON MAKEUP SETTING SPRAY:
I've been a big fan of the Urban Decay All-Nighter Spray for a long time, but this one from Avon blows that out of the water for me. I don't know what's in this stuff, but I've noticed such a massive difference in how my foundation wears when I apply this over the top. It leaves your skin looking luminous, but really dries your makeup down. I'm in love with it. (Ps. It's also currently on sale for £2.50, so go and stock up while you can)

Do you have any tips to keep your makeup lasting all day?