The Make-Up Alphabet: To BB or to CC

 As you'll know by now, any beauty posts on this blog are part of my journey of make-up discovery. In 5 months I've gone from make-up Neanderthal to cosmetic addict, but there are still some products out there that throw me, and this post is about one product in particular.

For the last couple of years an alphabetical trend has emerged in the beauty world - I'm talking about BB/CC creams. 

These abbreviations have been thrown around with the assumption that we're supposed to know what they mean. I'm not one to buy products if it requires any guess work as to what it does. I'd only just come to understand that BB stands for Blemish Balm and was ready to give it a go when CC creams came and stomped all over my new-found knowledge, bringing with them a wave of confusion. So what's the bloomin' difference?! 

BB

BB creams are Blemish Balms and from what I can gather are basically foundations with added skincare benefits such as SPF or anti-oxidants. Slap-bang in the middle of foundation and tinted moisturizers in terms of consistency and coverage, they're good if you want to 'ditch the cake' (sorry Georgia, stole your line.)

CC

CC creams on the other hand are Colour Correctors. Using 'light-diffusing particles' CC Creams address skin issues like redness, dullness or blotchiness.

So coverage-wise there isn't much difference, but whether you use a BB or a CC all depends on what effect you want it to have on your skin.

CLINIQUE

To help me understand, Clinique were kind enough to send me their latest CC creams so I could figure out what all the fuss is about.

Despite the difference in packaging, both of these products are the Moisture Surge CC Cream. They just differ slightly in texture and SPF. Whilst the compacts are SPF 25, the bottle is SPF 30 . Also, the bottle is of a more fluid consistency, whilst the compacts are thick and moussy, and obviously this has an effect on the ability to build up coverage.

The bottle is available in 9 shades, whilst the compact is available in 6, which is a little bit of a nuisance if you find a shade you like with the bottle, but want a different consistency.

Personally, I prefer the bottle because of its lightweight, liquid texture. When using liquids of any sort, I prefer a dewy finish to a matte one, otherwise my skin can look quite dry. The coverage on both was excellent. My skin is quite patchy anyway due to a mixture of old acne scars, dry patches and recent Summer tanning, so having a product that evens that all out is brilliant.

Clinique sent me these before I went on holiday, and I was using the Light compact as it matched my skin best, however when I returned, my skin had knocked me up to a medium, so luckily I could test both shades. They are a perfect match and blend with my tan instead of changing it.

The bottle is £28, and the compacts are £30. Now if you're looking for full-on coverage, I wouldn't recommend these. But if moderate coverage as well as the added skincare benefits are what you're after, I can assure you that you're in good hands with Clinique. I've had these products for two and a half months now and am still not close to running out so they will last you a good while. They're also versatile in the way you can use them, whether it's underneath foundation or mixed with moisturiser, or even alone, they'll do the job.  

So, do you BB or CC, or are you sticking with the good ol' foundation? 

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Holiday Beauty Essentials

                         

Seeing as I've been doing a lot of posts recently reviewing products that are suitable for the holiday season, I thought it was only fair that I did a post showing the products I took on holiday with me. I am god awful at packing lightly and am renowned among friends and family for having the biggest bag packed full of what I like to call 'just-in-case' items. There was a mountain of products I wanted to take with me, but we were only taking hand luggage which limits liquids to 100ml bottles, so I had to be very selective about what I took, and just pick items I knew I would struggle without. 

Clinique Airbrush Concealer

Having looked up the weather before I went, and discovering it was going to be between 30° and 35°, just the idea of wearing foundation in that heat made me feel hot. However I wanted to take something, just to get rid of those dark patches and cover up any burnt bits, so this little concealer was perfect. Its light reflecting qualities made my skin look dewy and fresh instead of the beaten, weathered look created by lots of sun, sea and sand. 

Clinique High Impact Mascara

It's always nice to dress up of an evening on holiday when you're going out for something to eat, and even if you're not intending to wear much make-up, a decent mascara can finish off a basic evening look perfectly. I've tried many mascaras since doing this blog, and so far Clinique's High Impact is my favorite. 

MUA Gel Eyeliner

I've been testing this product for quite some time now ever since I bought a hauls worth of MUA products with the aim of doing an MUA haul and review post (which will be up shortly, promise) , so I won't go into too much detail about it just yet. Obviously the fact I took it on holiday with me is proof that I'm happy with the product. I do find liquid eyeliners can be a little bit too strong for the skin on my eyes - which is quite sensitive - and eyeliner pencils are too faint. So I'm fast becoming a fan of gel eyeliners, and since I'm a huge cat-eye addict, I couldn't go on holiday without it. 

ArtDeco Peacock Coquette Nail Varnish

I knew I wanted to take at least one nail varnish with me, and I'm sure if like me you have a massive collection, you can understand how hard it was for me to pick just one. This particular nail varnish is from Art Deco's Autumn/Winter 2013 'Asian Spirit Western Feeling' collection which I loved. The reason I chose it is because it's such a chameleon shade. Depending on the light, it can range from a gorgeous turquoise to a forest green, and in some lights it even looks navy. There were points when I was laying on the beach and noticed my toenails were the same colour as the sea. 

St Kitt's Herbery Face Cream

My skin has such a tendency to look dry, and I knew the Clinque concealer would not work to its best if my face wasn't moisturised. It's so important to keep your skin hydrated if you're going to spend hours in the sun like I did, and having just reviewed a few St Kitt's products and loving them, as well as the bottle being the appropriate size, I felt it was a perfect addition. 

Nivea Powder Touch Underarm 

This little beauty came in my Cosmopolitan Superblogger Masterclass goodie bag and is responsible for my new found love of roll-on deodorant. I had such a love/hate relationship with deodorant sprays and could never find one that suited me 100%, and it never occurred to me to try a roll-on, but seeing as this was a freebie I gave it a go. The main issue I had with sprays was that they dried out my skin, but this roll-on has nourished it back to health. 

Mary Kay Limited Edition Retro Rose Cream Lip Colour

As a last addition to my planned evening make-up look, I took this lovely Mary Kay lip colour. Finding lipsticks that suit me is something I struggle with (god I do have a hard time of it ha) and reviewing the Mary Kay Hello Sunshine collection actually introduced me to the first set of lipsticks that worked with my skin tone and my hair colour. Obviously it's creamy and moisturising texture was an added bonus, and the dark yet warm shade added a sophisticated element to my make-up as a whole. 

BVLGARI Omnia Crystaline Eau De Parfum

Due to being very picky about fragrances, I only have a handful of perfumes that I like the smell of, and at the moment this is my favourite. I received this as a free sample, and loved the fact that it was a miniature of the actual bottle and not a little phial, and that it was parfum and not eau de toillette. As it's parfum, I don't need a lot and the scent lasts for hours. I've had it months and I'm not even half-way through yet (by the way I sincerely recommend applying for perfume samples - a much cheaper way of having a large selection of fragrances, then buy the ones you really like). Due to it's size and of course how much I love it, there was no question about packing it. 

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Get a Fresh Faced Look with Clinique

Ever since doing the Cheek Pop review, I've become a massive fan of Clinique products, and couldn't wait for the opportunity to do another one. Clinique were kind enough to send me three samples for a fresh faced 'awake' look which I was so excited to try out.

 Natural make-up looks are perfect for Summer. No one wants a cake face in boiling hot weather. There's nothing worse than your make-up slipping half-way down your face. 

Now I have quite an extensive make-up routine, so when I realised I had to create a fresh-faced natural look with just these three products, I wasn't sure if it would work. 

The first of the products was the SuperPrimer which colour corrects dullness in deeper skins. It actually took me a while to get used to this, because it's texture is very different to other primers that I've used. It's nowhere near as wet, and dries instantly once upon the skin, whereas others leave a dewy, moisturised feel.  It's also tan in colour, which surprised me. But the more I used it, the more I realised that both the texture and colour work to benefit your skin and the finished look. The dryness creates the perfect matte base for you to apply foundation too, so that it doesn't cling to any particular area, whilst the tan colour helps to gently even out your skin tone, whilst adding just a slight bit of colour to your face.

I have quite dry skin, and when my skin was at its worst, I found this primer a little too dry, but to fix this I used a thick moisturiser, left it to dry thoroughly, and then applied the primer. Problem Solved.

Next is the Airbrush Concealer. I fell in love with this instantly. So easy to use, and with the primer it creates brilliant coverage with no need for added foundation. It's so light on the skin, and reflects light, which hides any dark areas (this baby is absolute magic for dark circles under the eyes). It also works as a highlighter, particularly in the corner of the eye and just below the eyebrow.  I now take this absolutely everywhere with me. It's perfect for when you want a quick touch up, without having to heave out the foundations and brushes etc.
My only complaint would be that you can't see how much you've used, so you can't see when it's running out, and considering how much I love it, that's something I'm going to need to know.

With your skin sorted, the last thing to focus on is your eyes. No matter how fresh your face looks, if your eyes look tired it will ruin the whole look. This is where this bad boy steps in. Clinique's High Impact Mascara adds length and volume to an extent where it opens up your eyes, creating a wide-eyed effect, whilst at the same time separating them to make your lashes look as natural as possible. Nobody likes a clumpy mascara. 

So here's the complete look:

All in all, I am so happy with these products. It's actually changed my make-up routine completely, because in testing these product I've become so used to a light layer of make-up that I don't want to go back. The days are getting hotter, and we're all going to be looking for an answer to our melting make-up problems. I think Clinique have it! 

Steph x x x

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Hello Cheeky

Afternoon all!!!

Did you have a good Easter? How many Easter Eggs have you managed to devour? (I'm currently on my fourth, but that doesn't include all the cream eggs) 

Now before I have a chocolate induced spot outbreak, I'm currently enjoying trying out a sample of the Cheek Pop that the lovely people at Clinique sent me. 

LOOK HOW CUTE IT IS. I love the packaging, so much so that even though it's slowly decaying in my make-up bag, I still insist on keeping it. And the daisy pattern that the blush is set in makes me feel summery every time I open it, even though with each use it's slowly fading away, which makes me sad (so many feels). 

I'm really loving some of the summer shades for make-up that are out at the moment, and the Cheek Pop is such a perfect addition to your summer make-up collection. 

Now this blush is only available in four shades, which has received mixed opinions looking at customer reviews, but I really like the small selection. 

The four available shades are:

Ginger Pop 

Peach Pop

Berry Pop

Plum Pop

The first two are the two warmest shades, whilst the Berry and Plum Pops have a bluer, cooler hue. Each of these shades are vibrant yet natural in tone, and despite the small selection, there is a shade for every skin tone. All you have to do is break down the shades into a scale of dark warm-light warm- dark cool - light cool. Then you just need to figure out if you have a dark or cool skin tone and whether you prefer a dark or light blush. I feel when there are so many shades to choose from, that's when things start to get confusing. For me, I have quite an olive skin tone, and I usually wear quite warm, bronze coloured blushes, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and go for a warm light blush: the Peach Pop. 

I am so happy with this choice. I was honestly worried it would be too light for me, but it works so well, and actually brightens up my face. For a casual day look, I go for the hue on the far left on the swatch above. It's so subtle, but there's just enough colour present to highlight your cheeks. For an evening look, if I want my eyes to be the statement area then I'll opt for the hue in the middle, however if my eyes are quite bare, then I'll brighten up the blush. 

What I really love about this blush is that even though it's technically a compact powder blush, it's really buttery and soft to the touch, and  applies and sits on the skin like a cream blush. This creamy texture means that it can be applied and blended into the skin very easily with the fingers, which I actually prefer with this particular blush over using a brush. 

Have you tried this product yet? If you have I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also I' love to hear your thoughts on this post. I definitely want to do more like it, and I was wondering whether to put up a picture of me wearing the blush, but thought the swatch showed it better. Let me know what you think, any feedback is welcome : D 

Steph

x x x 

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