Too Faced Born This Way

I'm normally quite apprehensive when it comes to trying new foundations, but when I was presented with an array of the new Too Faced Born This Way Foundations, I was actually quite excited and couldn't wait to give them a try.

Oil-free, this foundation claims to diffuse the line between make up and skin, providing an undetectable medium to full coverage. It's said to conceal imperfections whilst leaving the the skin naturally radiant, and with ingredients such as Coconut Water, Alpine Rose and Hyaluronic Acid, your skin is cared for in terms of moisture, elasticity and appearance.

So, what do I think? 

I really do like this foundation and love that there's a twelve shades to choose from. The frostiness to the glass bottle makes choosing a shade without pumping and swatching difficult, but I went for Light Beige and I'm actually quite pleased that I did. 

On first impressions, I wasn't too keen on how the product applied to the skin. I always use a brush to apply my foundation but I found that it didn't blend as well as I'm used to and took a little bit of working in to really get going and banish the brush lines. Once applied, I really like how it sits and looks on the skin. It certainly isn't undetectable, but I don't mind that. The coverage is nice and buildable and I would go as far as saying it's my ideal coverage level. I personally don't have lots that I necessarily want/need to cover, but I like that look. 

For me personally, I wouldn't use a powder on top of this foundation at fear of it looking too cakey. It's definitely more matte finish than dewy and light, but equally, it leaves my skin looking really healthy which is pretty.

I'm not quite sure how far skincare ingredients can benefit your skin in a foundation, so I can't really comment on those, but I guess if they're included, that can only be a good thing?

I'm really enjoying using this foundation and so I'm really glad I stepped out of my foundation comfort zone. 

Too Faced Born This Way will cost £29.00 and will be available to buy in August, at Debenhams. 

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Clinique Eyes- Chubby Lash, Just Browsing & Pretty Easy Eyeliner

Clinique have recently been ticking all of my boxes where eyes are concerned and I've been really enjoying using three of their products combined.

Their Chubby Lash mascara, Just Browsing Brow Styler and their Pretty Easy Eyeliner Pen have been three of my top three make up pieces since receiving them and I've found myself reaching for them daily, or at least all of the days that I manage to wear make up.

I personally didn't think that the Chubby Lash Mascara would be something that I would like, as fattening my lashes isn't my main goal when it comes to mascara and I normally would go for something more lengthening, but I'm completely and utterly obsessed. 

The brush is in my opinion the perfect size and I find it gets to every lash beautifully, coating them all really well. It's a buildable consistency if you want to create lots of drama, but with results being pretty instantaneous, for the look I like to achieve, it's not necessary to build it up any further, and I wouldn't personally want to risk getting any clumps.

I was shocked to see quite how long my stumpy lashes looked on application and so I've found myself to be pleasantly pleased with the results.

I'm absolutely all about the brows and so when I saw Clinique's new Just Browsing Brush On Styling Mousse, I knew I just had to give one a whirl. 

Brows are everything for me when it comes to make up and I find that I've been using this to finish my already filled in brows to create that shape and "undone" look that I love. The tint, whilst really lovely, does just that- it tints and sadly doesn't fill in my brows, which is the look that I personally go for. 

For a quick make up ready to dash out of the house, I absolutely would use this to add a little something to my brows, but for now, I'm loving using it as more of a "setting and styling" mousse, for thicker and fuller looking brows.

For me, the Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeliner Pen is where it's at. This Eyeliner is amazing and I've found myself raving about it so many times now. It's the perfect size, pigmentation and Blackest Black finish and I personally cannot get enough. 

It's great for getting as close as you can to the lash line to create a fine and delicate line as opposed to anything too thick and over the top, plus it's fine pointed pen shape is the perfect tool for a fine feline flick and applying with such ease makes it a real winner in my opinion. 

Along with Clinique's new Skinny Sticks (£15.00) which I'm personally not 100% sold on yet, Just Browsing (£16.00) and the Pretty Easy Eyeliner Pen (£19.00) will be available to buy at the end of this month (31st July), whilst the Chubby Lash is already available in four shades costing £17.50.

What do you think of the look of these products? Do you think you'll be sold like me?

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The Balm Nude'Tude Eyeshadow Palette

A brand that I've really been loving recently is The Balm and of course, one of their stand out products for me was always going to be their Nude Eyeshadow Palette- surprise!

Made up of twelve shades, Nude'Tude is home to both shimmery and matte tones and I must say, I'm a huge fan of them all minus maybe one or two at a big push.

Sassy, Stubborn, Selfish, Sophisticated, Sexy, Serious, Snobby, Stand-offish, Sultry, Seductive, Silly and Sleek are the twelve S's and each of them provide really great pigmentation and colour payoff. I'm not so keen on Sassy and Stubborn, purely down to the fact that they're shades I hardly ever reach for due to the fact of them not doing much for me, but besides that, they're still great quality.

A shade that I'm particularly fond of, is Sexy and I just know that come Winter time, that will be a shadow that will be rocked a lot.  

Sultry and Seductive are the two tones that I'm wearing in the in look above, they're both perfectly wearable tones for daytime but can also be jazzed up for something more special of an evening.

The Balm Nude'tude Eyeshadow Palette costs £30.00 as is available to buy at Feel Unique.

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BELLES BOUTIQUE IS BACK

It's been a while since I last sat down and gave my blog any attention, but I'm pleased to announce, that I'm back.

Being a mum is certainly more demanding than I ever imagined it would be, and in turn, over the first year of parenthood, it left me with minimal time to myself and even less time to even consider blogging.

My blog is my thing and it's what I've loved doing for the past five or so years and so to go from posting daily to barely posting at all has been a genuine struggle and brought me heartache. That might sound extremely dramatic to some as I've equally been in the happiest place in my life, but honestly, not posting as frequently as I had hoped effected me more than I ever thought it would.

Before becoming a mum, I was under no illusion that being a parent would be hard, but I never considered that my blog would have to take a back seat in my life. I am a blogger, and I wanted to blog. To see something that I had put so much effort into building up over the years almost disintegrate in front of my own eyes, well, lets just say it hurt. It took me to a really low place at times as I felt I'd lost a part of me, but now, a year in, I'm finding a little more balance and I'm determined to get Belles Boutique back on track.

Some of you may question why I took to giving YouTube my online attention if blogging was my original passion, and the truth is that because throughout those weeks of Harrison's first year, it was the outlet that I needed. Being a mum is hard, but YouTube allowed me to share my journey and document the most precious moments in my life to a community that I felt "got it". Uploading my real life was and is for pleasure and I get great satisfaction putting together videos of my weeks with Harrison and engaging with an audience, but posting about make up, when I barely had time to shower, wasn't real life for me and it would have felt fake. 

Fortunately, I have now found the perfect balance, well at least I think I have, and I intend on spending at least two days a week whilst Harrison's in nursery focusing on my blog. 

I'm most likely going to mix things up a little bit, although Belles Boutique is and will continue to be predominately beauty based. 

If you've stuck around, thank you so much. I genuinely appreciate all of your support and I'm so pleased to be back.

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