My Current Face Routine

I don't think I've ever really thrown around the 'HG' thing too much - one product that I like for a few months suddenly changes or my skin doesn't react as well to it any more and I'm back at the shops, staring at counters and shelves, trying to work out how much money I want to spend finding my next great thing.

At this very point in time, I am LOVING this combination:

Morning:

Wash: Garnier Pure Deep Pore Wash (I tried the 3-in-1 version with the mask/scrub/wash, but it was clay based and very very drying). Only need a little and the little granules are gentle yet effective enough to keep my slightly dry skin, flake free.

Toner: Clinique Clarifying Moisture Lotion #2 (I have dry combo skin and this is the only one I come back to. I really don't think I've had more than a little red spot for more than a few months after coming back to this gem again. It's effective and my face feels fresh, but it's alcohol free and gives you that boost of moisture. I've tried the normal #1 and #2, but after a few days, my skin lost all moisture and looked so dull.

Serum: I love my Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - even a little in the morning. But if I go to work after putting this on the night before and that morning, I can get quite shiny in the t-zone. Because of that, I only really use this on the weekend.

Moisturiser: Lancome Hydrazen for dry skin. I have bought SO many different moisturisers for dry skin/combo skin etc etc etc but I need moisture without the heaviness. Although this feels like a thick creme, it sinks in so nicely and keeps my face moisturised throughout a whole day in the aircon at work. I've been using this for perhaps a month and a half and I haven't even thought about switching - this is unheard of!! I'm thinking about getting the night one so I've got a bit more of an intense hydration when I sleep.

Primer: Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Mineral Primer. I can't usually use silicon based primer as I think it clogs my pores like there's no tomorrow, but this stuff seems to be working fine. My moisturiser takes perhaps 10 minutes to sink in, and I don't have time to wait for that, so I slap a little of this on my face and it seems to dry everything well.

Powder: I hate hate hate the ghostly powder look. I'm relatively pale and don't want to add to the fact that some people close to me call me Casper......and to be honest, I really can't be bothered with powders. They make my face itch, they dry out my skin and but mostly, I feel like it's just another annoying step in an already packed routine. BUT lately, I was using the Youngblood mineral powder foundation on its own. It was great, but I needed a foundation that would work well with my skin after I switched to the very hyrating Hydrazen. So now, before the powder I'm using a light foundation.

Foundation: MAC Mineralize Satinfinish. I went to the MAC counter and got a sample of this ages ago and tried it at home. Awful. The consistency was almost mousse-like and it seemed to get caught all over my face. I really wanted to love this and thought about it for a while and had a revelation - the colour match was all wrong. I went back to the store and bought the colour up. Perfection! Just goes to show how much colour really changes the way a foundation can look on your skin.

So I put on my moisturiser, let it sit for a few minutes while I do my hair, slap on the primer and brush my teeth, take a small amount of Satinfinish and quickly rub it on my face, get my lunch ready and quickly grab a small amount of mineral powder on my id bare minerals kabuki and quickly buff. It looks a little rough on my skin when I first look in the mirror, but 5 minutes later, the powder has melted into my skin and it looks fantastic!! I'm so happy with this at the moment and it still looks great at the end of a long work day as well in photographs.

Hurrah!

My only problem is that I don't have a good eye cream. I'm using Clinique's All About Eyes Rich, but it's just not doing anything for me at all. I'd love to hear recommendations!!

Clare xo

Face Base

I'd hate to count how many foundations I've got in my drawer. I never used to feel guilty about buying the cheaper ones to try and find the best, but now - full time job = a little more money and without realising it, I've become a foundation snob. I only want the ones that I have to pay more money for, because that seemingly means they are better quality.

Some ones that I have tried over the years:

Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid

Prestige Mineral Foundation

Dior ForeverSkin Extreme

Estee Lauder Double Wear

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light

Estee Lauder Futurist

Clinique Superfit, Superbalanced, Even Better...and a few more

Napoleon Perdis Stick

Napoleon Perdis Camera Finish

Clarins Matte

Korres Wild Rose Foundation

Natio Fluid

Revlon Colorstay

Almay TLC

and the list goes on and on...

I've never actually thought about how many I've tried, but it's scaring me to think most of these are still in my makeup drawer!!!

But price tag didn't necessarily equal quality. I had a stage about a year ago where everything I tried was settling in my pores which was annoying because it made me go out and buy more alternatives! Then my skin went through a 'I'm dry but I'm going to be shiny by the end of the day' stage which annoyed me even more, because I'd use a heavier moisturiser to counteract the dryness, but that would mean even mores shininess despite the fact I was using matte finish foundations.

I've been wearing (for the past 2 months in a row - which is unheard of!) Youngblood Mineral Powder foundation. I love how quick it is to apply and my skin has been relatively well behaved, so I don't feel like I have to cake on the makeup for work or for a night out.

I purchased the Ultimate Concealer as well as the Hi-Definition Powder and with all the products combined, I'm getting a really lovely natural but polished look that carries me through the day.

I'm actually quite happy at the moment - I had one bad skin day and went back to EL Double Wear for the day. I literally felt like I couldn't breath with this on my skin. It felt so unnatural and thick and I was scared that my face wasn't moving when I was talking!

For now, I'm quite happy playing around with different brushes and techniques with my Youngblood foundation, so everything else is just collecting dust in a corner!

aye aye OPI!

My current collection stands at....2!

I have Done Out in Deco (a kind of dull lavender colour) and Baby Blue (light aqua with a bit of a green tinge). The colours are nicer in real life!

Image from OPI.com

I was thinking of getting Mod About You (baby fairy floss pink) and saw the newest Alice in Wonderland collection consisting of a few old school glittery ones (it's kinda sad...I think I might still have some mega glittery ones in my drawer I used to save for those school dances....and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I had lipstick to match. yurghh!) and a couple of red shades. There was also the Hong Kong collection, a few of which I really like - Dim Sim Plum and Jade is the New Black, but I realised I had a bit of a weird feeling when I was thinking about which one I might buy.

Is it just me, or does anyone else get a bit turned off limited edition cosmetics? Yes - there's something very alluring about a once-off collector's item, and some of the colours are a lot more exciting than a few standard ranges, but then what happens when you finish the product and realise that you'd fallen in love with it? There may be ebay sellers who happen to have bought up big, but when the limited time is over, there's that feeling that you'll never be able to get back. Is that completely shallow? :)

A nice concept, but if i love something, i want it to be available to be mine forever and ever.

hunt for the ultimate nude

Edit: I've discovered the wonder that is MAC's Creme D'Nude...divine!! Not matte, so it doesn't look like I've kissed a chalkboard, but not so sheer that it disappears after a smack my lips together.

I've never really been a lipstick girl - I've always reached for the glosses believing that they make me look younger and more fresh-faced. I've seen my mum wear her signature bright pink lipstick for years and pull it off like no one else, but lipsticks have never really caught my attention until recently, I've realised. It seems as though this infatuation with lipsticks has coincided with my starting full time work.

I think there's something quite sophisticated about a light colour and it's definitely appealing to me more than the blindingly shiny lipglosses that have accumulated at the bottom of my bag.

so I've been around and around the shops, in and out of department stores, cheaper stores, looking at swatches online (which never give a correct indication anyway) in search of a pinkish nudey lipstick that will:

1. eliminate my natural lip colour....which is kind of the purpose of a nude lipstick anyway...

2. not disappear as soon as I apply it

3. be a flattering shade that's not too outrageous for workdays, but is lovely and versatile enough to be worn out.

I've found out the hard way that it's quite difficult to find the shade that I've got in mind - some are way too pink (which may work well on my mum, but seem to drown the rest of my face out), some are too glossy or sheeny and end up disappearing on my lips and others just look plain odd.

The other day, I was happily trying out some colours on my hand at the Lancome area before a rather pushy Clarins sales assistant asked if I needed help as the Lancome SA wasn't there. She then proceeded to push me towards her own counter. I started getting slightly annoyed as she began showing me colours that were no way near the nude category or that would be flattering with my complexion. Although a minute incident that I'm sure really wouldn't turn me off asking for help in the future, I decided that I had to take matters into my own hands and not accept anyone else's help. It was a mission I had started on my own and one I wanted to finish by myself! (Yes, lame...but I'm so over pushy assistants!!)

So far, I've purchased 2 cheapies - a Maybelline moisture lipstick and Rimmel long-lasting one. Both seem to cake up in the little lines on my lips and although the colours are ok, they just don't seem to be quite right. Next, I purchased a lovely Estee Lauder colour called Pink Sands which is really nice, but it seems to disappear quicker than I expected for this brand and has a little bit of a shimmery effect. I also purchased a Lancome one - I think it's a 350 or 353 colour which is nice, but it's a little brighter on my lips that I was hoping.

Today I went up to the shops attempting to escape this awful Australian coast humidity and walked past the YSL counter and picked up the lightest colour I could find - Rouge Volupte #7. Love love love!!!!!!

Although I'm not completely convinced that it's a nude, it's still the most happy I've been with a lipstick so far and with my current brunetteness, it sets off a lovely girly innocent look.

So a bit of a long-winded entry...but I'm pretty happy with the outcome!

In and Out

So thought i'd start off with and In and Out post inspired by the lovely Lollipop26!

In

Lovely giant kitsch rings! I had my eye on one in a cheap store that always has great costume jewelry and I did a little squeak when I found the last one hiding behind some sale items. It has three peach coloured roses with a few gold beads around them. One of those things that makes me happy when I wear it!

Healthy strong, long nails! I only recently discovered the Sally Hansen Miracle Cure - which is fantastic as I haven't seen nails on me like this since I was in the 6th grade! Haven't had fake nails and I don't think I need them now anyway!

Maxi dresses - I have a black tie event coming up and had no idea what to wear. I only really have shorter dresses in my wardrobe and I wasn't willing to resurrect my lovely hot pink and light green formal dress - sounds a little hideous but actually looked quite nice!! I found a black dress with gold and black beads on the bodice that is comfortable and flowy - could be dressed up or down and I can eat the full three course meal and no one will be able to tell! I swear that's all I'm going to wear if I ever become pregnant - they're so classy, flattering and carefree!

Surprise songs on my ipod that I forgot I put there - sitting on the bus going in to work and a song comes on that for some reason keeps getting skipped on my shuffle setting really makes my day :)

Out

People who sit on a full bus yelling on their mobile to their friends about some ladies with 'teacosy hats' who overtook them on the highway...where's the peak hour respect people?!

Bad haircuts - I had one a few months ago and still trying to build up the courage to go back. I'm trying to grow my hair again (even though I love my bob, it's too much maintenance and I'm wrecking my hair by straightening it every day) and I fear that by going back to the hairdressers, they may make another mistake and I'll be waiting even longer for the luscious locks to grow.

Harsh lighting! Every girls nightmare, especially when it makes your ash brown hair look orange and your makeup disappear! No one likes to sneak a glance and get rudely shocked by an unseemly reflection!

Overseas ebay parcels that take so long to arrive! I recently bought a BeneFit BrowZing set off the net and I really can't wait to get my hands on it.

Well, that's probably enough for the moment!