The Review: Illamasqua Blush Duo

I've been on a bit of a blush love train recently (I blame Vanessa), and one of my current loves is the Illamasqua Blush Duo in Lover and Hussy. I picked this up at a bargain price in a blog sale, and it had only been swatched once. I had actually wanted this last summer but never got around to picking it up, so I was so pleased to come across this!

For starters, the packaging is definitely on the bulky side but I have actually found myself reaching for it because of the mirror inside, for everything from plucking my brows to doing my eye makeup. I don't know what's special about it but the mirror is really nice! 

So onto the product itself, I wasn't sure whether I would love the shade Lover, a bright matte apricot shade, just because it is pretty bright, but it looks really lovely on the cheeks. Hussy is a gorgeous bright matte candy pink, just perfect for summer, it really perks up the complexion. The powders are really soft and pigmented, so you only need a tiny bit, I can't see me hitting pan on these any time soon. The wear of these is excellent too, they will still be intact on the cheeks by bedtime, even after a hot sweaty day in London, no mean feat I assure you.

This is my first forray into the world of Illamasqua blushes, but it certainly won't be my last!

Have you tried any products from Illamasqua?

Summer Makeup Shakeup

Summer is officially here, and so obviously my first priority is mixing up my makeup stash. Obviously. I know, I have a problem.

For me, Summer makeup means glowy, bronzed skin, and pretty pink colours. Today I'm coming at you with my pick of the bunch.

When it's hot, your makeup is going to disappear from your face much faster than usual, so a good primer is essential. Right now I am obsessed with the Max Factor Face Finity Primer which in a nutshell, is basically glue for your makeup. It's not budging anywhere with this. 

When it comes to bases, I want something that's gonna make my skin look naturally healthy and glowy, but I don't want to compromise on coverage. A good all rounder is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, which has a good medium but buildable coverage, and makes the skin look really healthy and glowy. 

I love using cream products in the Summer months, and the Bourjois Bronzing Primer is a favourite of mine, I like to take a tiny amount of this on the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush in the hollows of my cheeks and around my temples. It blends out seamlessly and gives a naturally bronzed look. I'm loving pairing that with the Estee Lauder Pure Colour Cheek Rush Cello Shot in Pink Patent, which is a gorgeous bold pink liquid blush which looks incredibly natural on the cheeks, and lasts really well throughout the day. If I'm not feeling cream blush, a nice shimmery one will do the trick, one of my favourites is the NARS Orgasm blush a deep peach with a strong golden shimmer, it just screams summer.  I like to go all out with highlighter too, to give my skin a real glow, one of my favourites is TheBalm Mary Lou Manizer, a gorgeous champagne gold highlight that really gets your skin glowing.

I'm all about the bold lip colours for Summer, but I do love a sheer formula. The Estee Lauder Pure Colour Lip Shine in Plexi Pink is a beautiful blue toned bright pink, but it's sheer formula means it's not too scary, and still daytime appropriate. A similar formula is the Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colour and I love the shade Rosy, a pinky coral lipstick that can be built up to pack a punch, or worn sheer for a little pop of colour. If I feel like going all out then I'll reach for the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in L'Exuberante, a vivid matte pink with blue undertones. It's bright, but it's also really freaking gorgeous. 

What are your favourite Summery makeup picks?

Summer Handbag Essentials

It's been seriously warm in the UK over the last couple of weeks, causing a hasty switch up my makeup drawers to include a more heat-friendly selection of products. The rotation also took place in my handbag, and here's what was left.

Blotting Sheets: Pretty self explanatory, for my skin, heat = oil. I like to keep The Body Shop Tea Tree Blotting Tissues on hand, they absorb any excess oil on your skin like a dream.

Setting Powder: My makeup seems to just vanish off my face throughout the day, so I like to keep a good setting powder on hand. I love the Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot powder, which takes away any excess shine, and helps my makeup stay in place all day.

Hairbands: Again, pretty self explanatory, I always start the day with my hair down and styled, and by midday I  want it up and off the back of my neck. 

Facial Mist: This one is mostly for use on the tube, the underground in the summer heat is practically unbearable, so I keep a facial mist on hand to cool my skin and stop myself from overheating. The Aven Eau Thermale Spring Water is great because it's pretty much just water in a can.

Body Spray: Heat + Tubes + Walking around London = Hot sweaty Jaye. I like to keep a body spray on hand to counteract that. Right now I'm loving the Q Awe Body Mist, a fine, refreshing body mist scented with jasmin and rose.

Hanging Out in California

 If you read my beauty blog, or follow me on any kind of social media then you will know that on Saturday my dad and I headed to the airport with far too many clothes to head to LA. This is my second trip to LA, and I've fallen for the city even more.

We are here on business but we had a day to ourselves on Sunday before getting to work this week. The two of us, plus two work associates hired a little boat and took it out in Newport Beach. We picked up a box of beers, plugged in an iPod and cruised around the islands. It was pretty awesome. We ended up at my Dad's favourite sushi restaurant in the evening, Sushi on Fire, and gorged on delicious sushi. Not a bad day.

I'm hoping to get a little shopping done, and spend some time on the beach too. We are here til late Thursday night, when we head up to New York!

I've been filming bits and pieces from the days so far, I'm thinking about editing that into a little vlog? What do you guys think?

Perfume Loves

Perfume is something I mention infrequently here, mostly because I'm freaking awful at describing scents. However, a lot of people have asked me for perfume recommendations recently, so I figured I'd round up the ones currently in rotation for you.

Vera Wang Lovestruck was a birthday gift from my sister, and spot on it was too. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to buy perfume as a gift, it's such a personal thing, but my sister clearly knows me very well.  This is a floral scent, which I don't normally go for, but it's sweet enough that it works for me. It's got notes of Pink Guava, which gives it it's sweetness, Tuberose that makes up the floral component, and musky woods that stop it from being too overpoweringly sweet. The combination is a very grown up, but still playful scent, perfect for work or school. Plus, how cute is that bottle? Apparently this scent was inspired by Romeo and Juliet, ohhhh the romance.

I've always been a fan of quite strong scents, I have a few from Thierry Mugler, but the one I'm currently reaching for is Womanity. I'm not normally a fan of fig scents, but I love this. It's got a sweet fig note, caviar midnotes, and a fig wood tone too, and it's pretty intense. This is my go to for summer nights, it's quite a strong, grown up scent, but it's really really addictive. 

One I have spoken about a few times before is the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche. This literally smells like summer in a bottle, it's such a refreshing fruity fragrance. There are a lot of notes in there but the ones that matter are vanilla and coconut. It smells like suncream and Pina Coladas. Freaking delicious.

My current 'signature fragrance' is Giorgio Armani Si, which was on my wishlist from it's September launch until I unwrapped it on Christmas day. People seem to either love or hate this fragrance, my awesome friend Melisa hates it, but I think it's positively addictive. The main note in this is Cassis, a very dark, rich, fruity scent, but it's also got Amber Wood, Patchouli and Freesia. It's one of those scents that would be described as 'sensual'. I love it.

Another daytime appropriate scent is Police To Be Woman, a fruity mix of clementines, lime and apple, with a few woody undertones. This is a super fresh perfume, one I always reach for on particularly hot days.  Also, I love the bottle. 

And lastly, my long term love Vera Wang Princess, the first proper perfume I ever fell for. This is a real mix of fragrances, there's waterlily, pink guava, musk, amber, apple, and mandarin, it's a really fun, fruity scent, with a little sophistication too.

What are your favourite fragrances?