A very good excuse to shop!

I did it!!! I passed all my final exams and I can now say I'm going to graduate in Medical Laboratory Science this November!! It's a wonderful feeling as I have been working for this day for these past 4 years :D Soooo, that called for some shopping of course!!! Here's what I got:

From Dorothy Perkins, I picked up this gorgeous lace top and this vintagey dress, both of which I am very fond of.  Both were on sale that was a bonus!

From Stradivarius, I got this khaki green jeans as I have been wanting a pair for such a long time and I got it on sale as well.

Lastly, from New Look, I got three cute undies as they were on offer as well as some Montagne Jeunesse face masques and the cutest little hand wipes with a cat portrayed as Audrey Hepburn :D This really made my day!

Sadly, I didn't find any shoes in my size so I'm still hunting for a pair to treat myself after all this hard work :P

Review: e.l.f. Mineral Booster in Sheer

Today's review is about a product I got earlier in June and have been using it everyday ever since. I am talking about the e.l.f. Mineral Booster in Sheer.  I have been reading/seeing a lot of rave reviews about this product and I wanted to see what all the hype is about so I bought the small size one in the shade Sheer. 

Let's have a look at the packaging first.  It comes in a white box like all other products in e.l.f.'s mineral range and the product itself is supplied in a transparent plastic jar with a black twist-off cap.  Overall, the packaging is very sleek looking and I like that!  The small jar contains 5.1 grams of product which is a very good amount in my opinion especially when you're paying just €4!

The jar has a sifter for the product to come out from and when you first get it, there is also a transparent sticker over the holes.  You can either remove the sticker altogether like I did or else poke a few holes for the product to come out from.

Here's what e.l.f. have to say about this wonder product and then I will give you my opinions about it:

Achieve the ultimate, translucent "photo finishing touch" to your makeup, our Mineral Booster melts into your skin, infusing it with key vitamins A, B and E to promote healthier skin that’s noticeably silkier and smoother. Completely sheer and ideal for all skin tones, Mineral Booster gently absorbs oil and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and pores for a beautiful even finish. Wear alone or buff over our Mineral Concealer and Foundation to lend extra staying power and to achieve a professional and stunning porcelain matte look that will last all day.

I have changed my skin care products over the last few weeks (please let me know if you would be interested in an updated skin care routine post) so I cannot really infer which has made my skin look better but I do like the way my skin looks when I use this product.  I find that I do not get oily as much as I used to so that is the main reason why I like this product so much. 

Also, it has become one of my staple products especially during summer as it helps keep my make-up on all day!  I was most impressed the first time I used it when I had a wedding last week.  It was the first time I used it and my make-up lasted for a whole 12 hours!! No make-up melt-down, oiliness or foundation streaking so I was definitely impressed! On that particular occasion, I used it over my NYX HD Foundation which had the Inglot Primer underneath so I thought that it could be that everything helped keep my make-up in place for such a long time so I used the Mineral Booster in a few other ways and it never failed to deliver excellent results!

Here are my favourite ways to use it:

- Alone! It stays on all day and I could easily say that my skin doesn't feel oily so it's definitely a big plus!

- Over BB Cream: The Mineral Booster transforms the whitish reflects of BB Cream to a shade that is more true to my skin tone.

- Over Foundation: I like using this product to set liquid foundation to give me a nice matte finish and it also keeps it in place for longer!

In all cases, I always apply the Mineral Booster with my e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush as it blends it nicely onto the skin.  

The texture is very silky and smooth and it blends into the skin immediately.  So much so that I could get to photograph a swatch of the product as it is very sheer.  e.l.f. say that since it is so sheer, it is suitable for all skin tones but since there is a Tinted variety of this product, I would recommend that for darker skin tones.  There is also a shimmer variety and the Sheer one comes in both large (17.8g) and small sizes.  The others are only available in the small 5.1 gram jars.  

I just can't seem to stop using this product and as soon as I'm running out I will definitely get the large variety! You get your Mineral Booster from the elf cosmetics website here.

Another Collective Haul

Gosh I have been hauling too much lately! Guess I'll have to put myself on a spending ban soon :S Anyways, here are some things I picked up lately.  First up, are some more essence colour & go nail polishes.  I love the formula of these and their colour range is really nice. I picked up four more this time:

L - R: Let's Get Lost, What Do U Think?, Meet Me Now! & Sweet as Candy

Let's Get Lost & What Do U Think?

Meet Me Now! & Sweet as Candy

I also bought some more stuff from ebay.  This time, I got this cute flower bouquet ring in copper tone:

and I also got some nail supplies:

Acrylic Sample Kit to create 3D flowers on nails 

My bf bought me this cute bracelet with shoe charms! I instantly loved it as soon as I saw it in the shop window and we went in and he bought it for me :)

NOTD: Flowers and Dragonflies

Good morning my lovelies :) This week's nail tutorial features the nails I wore to the wedding I had last Wednesday.  I chose a glittery pink base and did the design on my ring fingers to keep it simple. 

1. Prep your nails by applying a base coat and proceed with applying two coats of a shimmery pink nail polish on each nail.  Make sure to allow enough drying time between coats.  I used Rimmel 60 Seconds in 400 Starlet.

2. On the nails you are going to do the design, choose a slightly darker yet sheer nail polish and put on a very thin coat. I did this on my ring fingers with China Glaze Awakening.

3. For the design, stamp or draw a half flower at the side of the nail with black nail polish and place a little baby pink coloured pearl in the centre.

4. The dragonfly is very easy to do: with a medium sized dotting tool, put a drop of peach nail polish for the head and subsequently place another three drops of the same nail polish with a small dotting tool for the body.  I used China Glaze Sunset Sail.  With a detailing brush, paint the wings in black nail polish.

5. When dry, seal with a top coat and you're done!

Review: Lioele Korea Triple the Solution BB Cream

Hello my lovelies :) Today I'm going to review the Lioele BB Cream I won earlier this month on a YouTube giveaway hosted by shampoop118. If you do not already, make sure to check out the lovely Stephanie :). Anyways, with all the hype surrounding BB Creams lately, it is no wonder that this review was highly requested, so finally here it is! For more information about BB Creams and their various functions, please check out this post :)

As stated previously, BB Cream has been very much hyped about lately and I wanted to try it out myself to see what all the raving is about but with shipping being overly expensive, I gave up on it so needless to say, I was thrilled to learn I had actually won one! 

I really like the packaging of this Lioele BB Cream as I think it is so girly.  The BB Cream itself comes in a tube with a pump at the base and a replaceable cap so it is a very hygienic type of packaging. Also, the pump makes for good control of how much product you get out.  In turn, the tube is supplied in a pink and gold box as you can see in the picture. The tube holds 50ml of product.  It is a very generous amount considering that a little goes a long way with this particular BB Cream.

The texture is quite thick and has a slight gray undertone to it. Don't worry though, the BB Cream will oxidize in air and adapt to your skin tone.  I'd say that this particular one has a light to medium coverage... it is not as light as a tinted moisturizer nor is it thick as a foundation.  In fact, it feels like you have nothing on.  The best way to apply BB Cream is to gently tap it on your face with your fingers to blend it as with a brush it can look cakey.

I like this Lioele BB Cream as it contains SPF 30 and I don't need to apply moisturizer, primer and concealer when I use it so it is a great all rounder for when you're in a hurry.  This one in particular has a slight pleasant smell of flowers with a hint of strawberries that gradually fades away.  It also contains hyaluronic acid to moisturize and nourish the skin.

This particular BB Cream is designed for oily and combination skin and it only comes in one shade, Natural Beige so I'm afraid it is not suitable for people with darker skin tones. I find that on me, it lasts well especially when I set it with a little Sheer Mineral Booster from e.l.f. cosmetics.

Overall I'm very fond of this BB Cream and from the very first time I used it, I could instantly understand what all the raving was about.

Have you tried any BB Creams ladies? What do you think of them? If not, are there any particular ones you would like to try out?