Saturday 30 June 2012

FOTD - 24/06/12

Hello! Just as I finished getting ready the other day, I thought "why not take some quick snaps for my blog?!"....so I did! Just a minimal, glowy make-up look using some of my favourite products at the moment. Hair wet & tied up in a bun (the ultimate lazy way to have my hair!) and I'm done!






I'm such a poser!
 Anyway, heres the products I used to create this simple look...



Base: MAC Face and Body Foundation in C5
Concealer: Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Medium 3 (Not shown in photos)
Powder: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Dark
Eyebrows: MAC eyeshadow in Espresso
Eye base: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Eyeshadow: Benefit Eyeshadow in Tickled Mink (All over lid), NARS Kalahari Eyeshadow duo (Gold colour in the crease and blended out)
Inner corner: Chanel Cream Eyeshadow in Emerveille (Not shown in photos)
Eyelashes: Curled with No7 Eyelash Curlers, Mascara: Bourjois Volume Glamour
Lips: No7 Lip Pencil in 20 Nude with NARS Lipgloss in Turkish Delight on top 

MAC Face and Body Foundation in C4 and MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Dark

I love this duo for a light, glowy coverage - the foundation gives your skin a real glow, and the powder just sets the make-up and stops it from sliding throughout the day as the foundation is water-based.


This lip duo is the perfect 'nude' shade for my skintone - sometimes if it is "too nude" it tends to look quite odd on medium/deeper skintones. The lipliner is the perfect mix of brown and pink to create a universal nude base for any lipgloss, and the Turkish Delight looks great over it, really glossy and lets the lip liner come through!


My mascara of the moment....it's drying out, so I wont say too much more on it or I may get emotional....(LOL) May do a review soon when I get my hands on a new one! Hated it at first, but it's become a real favourite of mine. I am also currently using Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Mascara and Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara also......I will talk about those soon!

Chloe x

Saturday 23 June 2012

Review: My current cleansers of choice! - Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish & Bravura Purifying Gel Cleanser

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Bravura London Purifying Gel Cleanser

I have come across the most spectacular cleanser I have ever tried! I have tried quite a few over the years, some were good, some did absolutely nothing to my skin. This one however, I look forward to using it every morning and evening - yes, it is the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. This cleanser receives so much praise and hype in the beauty world, and well deserved! I bought it having read various raves and reviews, and I wasn't disappointed. I've been using it for a good few months now, and it has already become THE staple item in my skincare routine (skincare routine post soon).

My second cleanser of choice at the moment is by a company called Bravura, based in london, and it is their Purifying Gel Cleanser for oily/problem skin. Now, I wouldn't say my skin is 'problem', however I have inherited my Mum's oiliness (Thanks Mum!), and am quite prone to oiliness in my T-zone and stubborn blackheads in my nose (Ew!) This cleanser is perfect for deep-cleansing as it uses topical exfoliants such as various acids and enzymes, which have really helped my skin. 

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - 100ml
The Liz Earle Cleanser is nothing short of miraculous, this cleanser is so moisturising and although I have combination/oily skin, I hate the tight, dry feeling that some cleansers give the skin but this makes my face feel supple and smooth when I use it. 


The main active ingredients in the cleanser are Rosemary, Chamomile, Cocoa Butter and Eucalyptus essential oil. The Chamomile soothes and calms the skin, so it is perfect to use if you want to strip your skincare back to basics through those breakout periods (Hormones!). The Cocoa Butter provides the moisturised feeling after cleansing without clogging pores and the Eucalyptus essential oil provides skincare benefits as well as a gorgeous aroma that is slightly addictive!


The bottle comes with this really convenient pump that allows you to control how much product you pump out. This pump format is available with the 100ml bottle, the 200ml comes in a squeezy tube. ( I prefer the pump!)




You don't need tons of this cleanser because it is very thick and creamy as you can see from the photos above. You massage it onto dry skin, working it into your skin for a deep cleanse, it feels really smooth and silky on the skin. Then comes the amazing part - the muslin cloth! Now, I'd never used a muslin cloth before this, but ohhhh man my life will never be the same again! The muslin cloth is thin and provides just the right amount of exfoliation for every day use - I don't want to be scrubbing my face within an inch of it's life every day! By using the cloth with hot water after massaging in the cleanser, it scruffs away any dead skin and leaves your face smooth and radiant. I don't think I could ever go back to using anything else!


Now for the Bravura cleanser...

Not the greatest of photo's as it was hard to get a non-shiny one due to the packaging!! - Sorry

After watching a video by Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on YouTube - and if you haven't watched his videos, you need him in your life!) about how to get rid of black heads (Video link here) where he mentioned a cleanser by Paula's Choice containing BHA Salicylic acid. 

A little lesson on BHA's (Beta-hydroxy acids) if you don't want to watch the video - Salicylic is the only acid of this type, it is perfect for the elimination of blackheads because it goes INTO the pore and 'pops the plug', as it were, cleansing deeply into the pore and flushing out the blackhead completely. They also have an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory action if you are particularly prone to breakouts. Amazing right? Well, I went to purchase the Paula's Choice Exfoliant which comes in a gel (2% BHA for Combination/Oily Skin) and a lotion (1% for Normal/Dry/Very Dry Skin). At £21.50 for 100ml, the price point wasn't too sad, however when I got to the checkout, the postage was almost £5! - for a bottle of cleanser, really?! So I decided to look around some more, possibly for a product that was cheaper and that did the same thing. 

That is when I stumbled across the Bravura cleanser - a cleanser containing not only BHA Salicylic acid for those pesky blackheads, but AHA Glycolic acid for exfoliating the skin's surface, perfect for sun-damaged/dry/sensitive skins as they aren't as harsh and they improve moisture content. The cleanser also contains Lactic acid, another AHA (Alpha-hydroxy acid), these acids are derived from fruit and milk. It also contains 'Papain' - an enzyme present in Papaya, don't even get me started on Papaya! This magical fruit exfoliates the skin by eating away at all the dead skin on the surface, leaving you with a smooth complexion. So, this cleanser has MORE active ingredients than the Paula's Choice one, and at less than half the price, it does the job very well!

The active ingredients speak for themselves and leave my skin feeling smooth, renewed and very, very clean! The BHA ingredient has done wonders for my blackheads as well as making the pores on my nose look much smaller and less 'wide'. 


The cleanser is a clear gel (made from Aloe Vera) and I will be honest and say the smell is quite strong and "chemically", nevertheless the smell isn't off-putting and doesn't linger on the skin. When applied to the face (dry!), it becomes less gel-like and more like a lotion, becoming white before sinking into the skin. Use it fast and efficiently to get the best results! Again, I use my muslin cloth to remove the cleanser and I use it in conjunction with the Liz Earle (either before or after) as I always double-cleanse!

Overall, I am very happy with these cleansers and what they have done for my skin, I would definitely recommend the Liz Earle for anyone with any skin type, and the Bravura for anyone with combination/oily/congested skin that needs a good clear out!

The Liz Earle (100ml pump and 2 muslin cloths retail at £14.25) can be purchased from the official UK site or at QVC and the Bravura (100ml retails at £8.39) can be purchased from the Bravura site. 

Friday 22 June 2012

Follow me on Twitter!!

Hey guys,

If you want to follow me on Twitter to see what I get up to, you can follow me @chloemykel
 or click here!


What my twitter feed is currently looking like - I tweet about my dog alot! :-)


If you do follow me, drop me a tweet and tell me what you think of the blog!!!

There is a post on skincare coming soon (a certain favourite cleanser of mine) and plenty more where that came from! I am planning to make a few more purchases of things I've had my eye on for a while, so once those arrive I will do a haul post with reviews to follow!

Chloe x


Saturday 9 June 2012

FOTE : Friend's Birthday Meal

Just a lil snap of my 'Face' this evening, hehe! Went out for my friend Conor's birthday and it was lovely, lots of laughs. Almost identical to the make-up I have been wearing the past few days....I love it!! Ruby Woo is addictive.

Enjoy, lots of love
Chloe x


Base: Nars Sheer Glow in Barcelona mixed with Mac Fix+ and Mac Face and Body in C5
Concealer: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection in Dark 4
Eyebrows: Mac eyeshadow in Espresso
Eyes: Mac Paint Pot in Painterly,  Eyeshadow from Sleek 'Au Natural' Palette (Can't remember the name!), Upper lashline- L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss, Lower lashline- Mac Eye Kohl in Teddy
Mascara: Bourjois Volume Glamour
Highlight: Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow in Rose Gold
Cheeks: Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour in Peach Whisper
Lips: Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner in Red Diva, Mac Lipstick in Ruby Woo
I Instagrammed this picture of the skirt I wore,
It's vintage and used to be my Mum's before I stole it from
 her wardrobe! It's so cute.

Friday 8 June 2012

Instagram!

I have been loving Instagram recently! If you don't know what Instagram is, it is a photo app you can download to your phone (Apple and Android only I think!) where you can edit your photo's using filters, and share them to various social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter! It's so fun looking at everyone's photos and they always come out great! 

I posted these snaps today after writing my 'Ruby Woo' lipstick review! Have a look and if you have Instagram, follow me! My username is: cocomykel


Yes, I am wearing my dressing gown! Comfy!

:-)

Lots of love
Chloe x

Review: MAC Lipstick - Ruby Woo

So here goes my first product review! I received Mac's 'Ruby Woo' in the post today so I thought what a great product to start off with!

'Ruby Woo' is described by Mac as a 'Vivid bluish-red' and is a 'Matte' finish. My first impressions of this shade was that it looked quite dark when you look at the stick, however when applied the colour is extremely vibrant and beautiful. 




Mac Lipstick - 'Ruby Woo' (Matte)
I am quite familiar with matte formulations as I am in love with my Revlon matte lipsticks - matte formulas are known to be quite drying and hard to apply which they are in some cases. My first impressions of Ruby Woo when I swatched it on my hand was that this was indeed the case; the formulation is quite dry. However this is what provides such a vibrant and block colour on the lips, and personally, I love the matte look! 

When I applied this to my lips it was quite tricky to get a perfect shape but I guess it just takes a little bit of practice! I loved the colour on my skin tone and the texture didn't look dry at all. (Yay!) Despite being matte, it doesn't feel like it dries my lips out at all, though I would recommend moisturising your lips beforehand with something like Nuxe's 'Rêve de Miel' lipbalm as it is nourishing on the lips but matte! You can apply it straight before the lipstick application and still get that matte look. 

Heavy swatch on the left, light swatch on the right
Natural light, with flash
Heavy swatch on the left, light swatch on the right
Natural light, without flash

As you can see from the swatches, 'Ruby Woo' is a very 'true' red colour, it is a great choice if you are looking for that perfect matte red lipstick. I love this lippy and I can tell I will be wearing this for days! 

Mac lipsticks currently retail at £13.50 and are available at all Mac stores and maccosmetics.co.uk, as well as Debenhams and House of Fraser.


Me wearing Mac's 'Ruby Woo' on my lips.

Other make-up...
Base: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Barcelona
Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Dark
Concealer: Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25
Set with Mac Prep + Prime Translucent setting powder
Eyebrows: Mac eyeshadow in Espresso
Eyes: Top lashline - L'oreal Superliner Carbon Gloss
Bottom lashline - Mac Eye Kohl in Teddy
Mascara: Bourjois Volume Glamour
Highlight: Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow in Rose Gold
Cheeks: Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour in Peach Whisper

Hope you liked the review! Remember to comment and you can follow me on Twitter @chloemykel :-)

Chloe x






Welcome to my blog! :-)

Hello beauties!
Well, this is quite strange as I have no followers yet, and I bet nobody has even visited my blog yet! But people who have seen my blog in the near future, this hello is for you!

My first ever post! So, I think I should start by telling you a little bit about me! My name is Chloe, I am 18 years old and I am just about to finish my last year at college. (I have had this blog on the back burner for over 2 months now as I was waiting until exams etc were over for me to really delve into it!) I am a make-up junkie, beauty obsessive, skincare freak. I love all things cosmetic and I am passionate about make-up artistry and the face. 

I have started this blog as a place where I can share all my beauty adventures with other beauty junkies (as I know there are a lot of us!) I read a lot of beauty based blog's myself and I enjoy reading about other girl's beauty favourites and what they get up to. Hopefully, this blog will be a place where lots of people can talk to me and where I can share my knowledge and interest in beauty. I am so excited to start this blog and I hope to include things like new purchases I have made along with product reviews, personal entries about what I'm getting up to and talk about new beauty releases etc etc. I'm sure I will be inspired as I go on :-)

Now, the name of the blog.....I love it! My middle name is 'Mykel' which rhymes with 'Chanel' so I kinda just thought it up randomly one day and it stuck! LOL! As you will probably learn to discover I love Chanel, their clothing, their make-up...I love it all! I think it's such a beautiful and cult brand that will live on forever and it continues to inspire me. I am also fond of some of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's famous quotes, one of which being on my page already! One that really sticks with me is "Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty". I love that quote! and I think it holds much truth. I really do believe in looking after what you have been given. 

But enough about that, a few other things about me.....I am mixed race - one half White British and one half St.Vincentian (St.Vincent is a small Caribbean Island, which is where my Mum was born!) and I am so proud to be! I love my heritage and I'm sure you will hear a lot about my family, especially my Mum as she is the most inspirational person in my life and so beautiful. I have a precious little dog called Chilly, again I made up that name, what can I say! Haha! I also have a gorgeous boyfriend called Jake and we have been together for over 2 years now, he is someone that inspires me daily and has become such a huge part of who I am. 

Cor...a little bit about me?! A LOT about me! Hehe! Anyway, I will leave it there but I will be posting very soon! I hope to see some new faces and followers on my blog, and if you have a blog, I would love to check it out!! I will leave my twitter and instagram usernames in my information bar down the side so you can contact me if you wish!

Lots of love!
Chloe x