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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MUA Haul: Bargain or Bin

(wearing Flawless Primer, Luminating Foundation, Gel Eyeliner and Lip Lacquer)

 (wearing Matte Lipstick in Wilde Berry)

  (wearing Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle)

(Wearing Intense Colour Eyeliner in Forest Green)

 MUA.MUA.MUA.

The acronym grabbing the attention of everyone remotely interested in make-up.

For me, it wasn't to much the products themselves that caught my attention, but rather the buzzword 'bargain.' Having tested so many beauty products, I've learnt that expensive doesn't always guarantee you quality, and that there are some hidden gems to be found in bargain brands.

So this haul all started when I signed up to The Sun+ online for £1 to receive a £20 Superdrug voucher (you should check it out, they have amazing offers, and you can cancel the subscription shortly after). Now we all know make-up can be expensive, and I wasn't expecting the voucher to stretch very far, until I heard about MUA. I walked away with a whopping 8 products!!

Undress Your Skin Flawless Primer - £5

Primers are one of those products that cost a lot, yet the result is very subtle. One of those products you convince yourself you can do without. Now when I say subtle, I don't want to demean the importance of a primer. When you find a good one, you'll never be without it. In regards to this particular product, it does do the job. It creates a smooth, even and matte layer upon which you can apply your foundation. This product gives you what you pay for, and no added extras like colour correction or luminosity. It's not the best primer I've tried, but I was really happy with the result considering how much it cost. My only issue is that a little doesn't go a long way like others I've used. The bottle's quite small, and you will go though it quite quickly.

Undress Your Skin Luminating Foundation (Medium) - £5

I was really surprised by this foundation. I've never really got on with high street liquid foundations. I usually find them too drying for my skin and being olive toned, it's a right old hassle trying to find a match. The first thing I noticed about it was how runny in consistency it was. I saw this as a good thing, as the YSL and Estee Lauder foundations I've used were of a similar consistency and were very moisturising. The shade was a perfect match so I didn't have to faff around with neck and chin blending (I bloody hate that). Coverage wise, it wasn't as matt as I would have liked, but MUA do a Matt foundation, so I can't really complain. It left me with a nice and natural dewy look which for Summer I think is perfect.

Gel Eyeliner - £3

I actually used this gel eye liner before the Jane Iredale one that I reviewed HERE so this was my first experience of it. For me, gels have the best elements of both pencil and liquid liners. You have the intensity in colour of the liquid, and the control and precision of the pencil (depending on what brush you have of course). The brush on this product is quite short and square, which I really liked. The gel itself is more of a paste so you have to make sure there aren't any lumps on your brush or you'll get in a right state. To my surprise, there wasn't much smudging and my wings lasted longer than if I'd used a pencil. I have actually almost finished the pot, so for £3 this is more than a bargain, it's a bloomin' steal.

Intense Colour Eye Liner (Forest Green) - £1

I don't think there's much you expect from a pencil eye liner other than vibrant, sharp lines that last. This pencil is creamy in texture and has a gorgeous metallic, dark green hue that is perfect for adding a bit of drama and depth to an evening look. Just a thin line on the top lid is all you need. It also works well for blending with eye shadows. Now that I know how brilliant they are, for £1 I'm gonna get the whole lot. Oh, and the fitted sharpener in the lid is soo handy.

Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle and Wild Berry - £1 each

I was so excited about trying these when I bought them. Now if you've ever been to an MUA counter in Superdrug, you'll know they're always an absolute mess ( which I can only put down to popularity). It's like someone's set loose a fashion conscious yet penny-pinching honey badger. So when I went to get the products, there were only a scattered few of these lipsticks left, but luckily in the shades I wanted. I thought Wild Berry was perfect for a moody red whilst Lilac Belle was cute and kitsch. However I was a little disappointed. The shade of Wild Berry once it's been applied differs quite drastically to what you see. It's a much brighter red, which clashes with my olive skin tone, but would definitely suit someone fairer.  The Lilac Belle isn't as deceiving. I knew it would be a risk choosing such a light shade, and it doesn't suit me as much as I hoped. They also have that cheap, plasticy texture that means no matter how hard you rub it on your lips, you barely get any colour. I've managed to get some use out of them however by manually scraping off a bit of lipstick and massaging it into my lips, and mixing both colours together to get a wearable shade. For £1 I can't say it's too much of a surprise, and I'm happy to continue using them the way I have been.

Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Kooky - £3

When I saw the word 'Velvet' I knew I had to try this. I'm a sucker for purple lips anyway, and I loved the pictures I'd seen all over Instagram of matte lips. In the short term, this product doesn't disappoint. The colour is gorgeous and slightly cooler in tone than my MAC Cyber lipstick. It's wet to the touch at first but in a matter of seconds dries to create a brilliant matte look which I adore, despite the fact the coverage isn't as even as I'd like. Now this lacquer is fine if you don't plan on eating/drinking anything whilst wearing it. The first time I discovered this, I ended up with camo style lips, and looked down to find most of the product on my burger. Despite this, I do love this product. A cheap price to pay for quite a dramatic statement, even if that statement does need a top-up or two every now and then.

Undressed Palette

I was very eager to try this palette as everyone's been raving about it. If you're into reading beauty blogs then you've probably heard the word 'dupe' thrown around a lot. If not, this basically refers to a product that is very similar to a more expensive counterpart. In this case, the Undressed Palette is the dupe for Urban Decay's Naked palette. I've never tried the Naked palette but being a beauty blogger I've heard so much about it. The colours in MUA's palette are stunning, and I love how each matte shade is paired with a metallic. It saves you trying to figure out what colours work together (I mean, of course you can experiment,but for beginners this makes life so easy). The pigmentation is incredible for a product so cheap, and the shades blend together really well. I'm going to do a separate post just for this palette, so I can show you the variety of ways in which these shades can be used, so watch this space. 

Until then, go grab yourself some major beauty bargains (if the stand isn't too much of a mess.) 

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Summer Festival Foundation with Oxygenetix

IT'S FESTIVAL SEASON! There's nothing that makes me more excited for Summer than festivals, especially if I'm going to one. I wanted to go to Download, Sonisphere and Glastonbury this year, but I had to make do with watching it on TV (sad face). 

Even though it's unlikely I'll be attending a festival this year, I've been an avid festival goer for the last 5 years now, and as someone who loves fashion and make-up, packing was my Everest. Each time I went, I would learn some packing life-hacks that would make my next fest less stressful. However the one thing I always failed to get right was make-up. What do I take? What will the whether be like? Can I go without? If it rains will I look like a panda? If it's too hot will it melt?  Blah blah blah blah. 

There were multiple times when I'd settle with a quick touch of foundation and be done with it, but it would never stay on, and the notion of reapplying was a bit of a palava. Just recently though, Oxygenetix were kind enough to send me a sample of their 'Summer & Festival Friendly' foundation. I must admit I smugly smirked with skepticism when I read this. I wondered if the people at Oxygenetix had ever experienced being packed in like sardines trying to catch a glimpse of your favourite band whilst someones sweaty back is rubbing up against your face. But I pushed my doubt to one side and gave it a go. 

The moment I tried it I swallowed my words. You'll all know by now that I'm a huge fan of mineral make-up, and gave up on liquid foundation quite some time ago, however Oxygenetix's may have changed my mind. 

After doing a bit of research, I learnt that as well as being a good foundation for Summer and festival atmospheres, it's also aimed at those with surgical/acne scars or skin injuries. So of course, the coverage is incredible. I have a few acne scars on my cheeks from those spotty teen days and other than applying layer upon layer of mineral foundation, I've never found anything else that covers them. One layer of Oxygenetix was all I needed though. It blended in perfectly with my skin tone, and was incredibly light, which was my original reason for preferring mineral over liquid. It's also 13 times more transfer resistant than other cosmetics, so whether you're swimming, running, dancing or even moshing, it won't rub of on your clothes or other people's. It's also water resistant for up to 90 minutes of swimming time and lasts all day. So you don't have to worry about touching up your make-up if someone in the crowd throws a cup of beer (at least lets hope its beer) your way. With an SPF of 25 on top of all it's other benefits it seems that Oxygenetix caters to all the foundation issues you'll encounter whilst on holiday or at a festival. 

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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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