PRODUCT REVIEW - PRESCRIPTIVES CUSTOM BLEND FOUNDATION

PACKAGING - 4/5

QUALITY - 3/5

PRICE - 2/5

OVERALL - 2/5

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN? no.

WHERE TO BUY? In store at Jenners, House of Fraser, Harvey Nicolls or John Lewis. Unfortunately there is no UK website. Boo.

ABOUT: Here's what the American website says "Only prescriptives can create a shade to perfectly compliment any skin tone from pale ivory ro deep ebony. Then add in your preferred coverage, finish and specific visable skin needs such as oil control, moisturising, brightening and firming. And thats not all: The oil free, fragrance free, non acnegenic formula contains light reflecting particles to help diminish the appearance of flaws as well as anti oxidants to help protect skin all day. Brilliant!"

COLOURS TESTED: A custom blend mixed just for me.

With an appointment booked I went to Jenners, Edinburgh to have my foundation matched exactly to my bloody akward alabaster skin tone. I was greeted by a helpful assistant who removed the make up i already had on from around my jaw line. She then swatched 4 different pigment tones in the lightest gradient on my jawline and together we picked the one that seemed the closest match. we went for the warm one with peachy undertones.

We then talk about my skin needs and i say that i want oil control, no shimmer and with a medium to full coverage because i will be wearing it while performing under bright stage lights. With all this in mind she then goes about mixing my Custom Blend Foundation.

With a pale base she then adds in a bunch of other pigments including red, blue and yellow (its all looking pretty multi coloured and looks about as likely to be the right shade for me as a baby with a beard!) and then mixes the liquid by hand...NOTE: at this point she complains to me that they are not able to do this very well by hand and that they should have a mixing machine.

She then tries the colour out on me and it does indeed look great.

PRICE: Completely sky high at £47 for a 1 oz bottle. Its important to remember that its the mixing that you are paying here.

DID IT WORK FOR ME? No is the short answer. The colour seemed fine to me but after wearing it for a few days i found that i had quite definite tide marks so had to spend ages in the morning blending it into my neck...which is obvoisly paler than my jawline. Rubbish! I then continued to use it for a month and found that it broke my skin out in spots like id never had before. Maybe this is because i went for a full M/F coverage and wouldnt have been quite so thick if it were sheerer but i have to say, at £47 i wouldnt like to take the risk again.

PROS

- Blendable to your own skin shade.

- You can personally specify HOW you want your foundation to work for you by choosing your own properties ie shimmer, coverage.

CONS

- Broke me out. Badly.

- Cost. Waaaaay expensive

- Although the packaging looks nice, without a pump i found it quite fiddly and wasteful.

- It felt really heavy and greasy on my skin despite being oil free.

- Staying power wasnt great. i had to reapply around 3 o clock.

- Wasnt quite the perfect match that i hoped it to be.

Prescriptives Custom Blend Foundation swatched on my hand. Looks like a good match.

And swatched on my pale old neck. Not so good.

Queen of Hearts look

If there was ever an excuse to go a bit mad with make up, I never needed it. So Valentines day...its a day that (depending on your situation of course) you want to rock one of three looks:

1) Absolutely no make up while you hibernate under the duvet with a solo bottle of Voddy. No mascara needed. Boom.

2) The 'Im having a night out with the girls and i damn well dont need/want a man' look. This calls for all the things that girls love but men hate - ie glitter and loads of it... + the classic single girl stone cold defiance. Note: or independant coupled girl...dont let me descriminate! :0) . Why is it that women and men have different make up ideals? How come guys think that the natural = coy and innocent = sexy?? To be discussed later!

And 3) The Valentines Special. Girls everywhere will be doing either the sexy red lip or the classic smokey eye. Why? Cos both looks are a winner every time...but thats tried and tested.

How abour a 4th look,just for fun.

In the spirit of Valentines here is a 'Queen of Hearts' look. I took inspiration from this awesome graphic -

And Terry Hatcher's Halloween 2008 look -

And came with this. I used only red (lip pencil actually!) and black and came up with something thats a little scarier than the graphic...but it was fun!And yes, i definitely have a top on! get your minds outta the gutters people!

Valentines Day Presents!

Happy Valentines Day!

Certainly the cynics will be huffing and puffing through today with none too veiled critisism about the commercial unsincerity of Valentines day...and theyre right: Who needs to be told that you must be romantic or romanced today? While this sentiment of forced affection and sacharine lace hearts on cards comes out rather contrived and i have to say that really, i dont buy into it all that much. The fact is, if you can celebrate someone who means a lot to you, then why not?! But when its genuine this is nothing out of the ordinary.

The old saying goes 'Flowers if you're sorry, Chocolate if you love', But i'd much rather have something with meaning. And that is exactly what i got! Yay! Last night Fraser gave me a wonderful present full of memories. The wonderfully thoughtful gent gave me a framed poster from the Rufus Wainwright concert we went to together on the first night we realised that there might be 'something' there. It seems he's been keeping it safe under his living room rug for a year and a half now. Bless. How awesome is that!?



And i also did something with meaning for the BF: He is addicted to Dr Who. In particular the 10th Doctor, David Tennant. Im not sure how much of this is a direct correlation but BF wears solely (bum dum chah!) Converse on his big old feet and has a pretty substantial Con collection...so i wanted to make a special pair for him...step (bah dum chah!) forward Dr Who Converse!

Grab a pair of Cons. I chose white cos i was worried about how the pencil marks of the design would show up - In hindsight it was really easy to draw on so maybe you could try a brighter colour?

Take out the laces in case they get painty then draw on the design and then just filled it in using Acrylic paint. The beginning: Mmm, Tennanty.

All the paint!Woohoo!


Fill in the outline using a thin black Sharpie pen to really make it POP!

Repeat on the other shoe OR do a different complimentary design. In true Dr Who stylie i went for a dalek. I am reliably informed that this is an old school one. Huzzah. The finished product. Im pretty pleased with how they came out!

And here he is: All happy with his geek shoes! Bashful gent that he is, he tells me that i must state that he usually looks verry dapper and not quite as scruffy as this. he apologises for the disgruntled appearance and he was in fact very happy with the shoes - But it was early and he had to get up to go to work.

Today's finished look

To be honest, i haven't felt that affected by the credit cruch...until now. Ive never been particularly flush so having no money to spend certainly doesnt seem unusual for me. So how come i'm feeling it now? Well Tuesday just passed i was made redundant from my job as the events manager at a live music venue.Huzzah, time to start a blog! So, with no job and little money, I spent my afternoon at the pub in true British style,(BF paid for dinner and drinks, aw!) so i just went for a pretty natural look.



This gives you a better idea of how the Lily Lolo Foundation fits in with the rest of my make up. I really wanted to try out my new Bobby Brown Eye Palette Chocolatee Pour Les Yeux, so i went for a smokey eye in neutral colours with a pinky cheek and neutral lips (I think matt is a modern way to do this and really updates a simple look like this).

Here's what I wore:

FACE:
Armani Fluid Master Primer
Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation - Porcelain
Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick - Gold

EYES:
Bourjois Eyeshadow Blanc Diaphane as a highlight under the brow bone
BB Caramel Toffee Shimmer Wash on the lid
BB Cacoe Shimmer Wash in the crease
BB Chocolate on the outer V
BB Long Wear Cream Shadow in Sandy Gold right in the middle of the lid.
Rimmel Colour Rush Shadow in Jet Black along the lashline
L'Oreal Collagene Mascara - Black

CHEEK:
Prestige Skin Loving Minerals in Pink

LIP:
Kryolan Mini liprouge in LC003

The Boyfriend loved this look which is a good thing...Valentines Day in T - 2.5 hours!

PRODUCT REVIEW - LILY LOLO FOUNDATION

Ok, after a tutorial with the boyfriend i should now be equipped to place pictures properly - Huzzah!

PACKAGING : 4/5
QUALITY: 5/5
PRICE: 5/5
OVERALL: 4/5
WOULD I BUY IT? A big fat YES!

WHERE TO BUY: online at http://www.lilylolo.co.uk/. There are a few local salons that do stock the brand and these can be found also at the website.

ABOUT: The site says "Made from pure crushed minerals and containing no harsh chemicals, dyes or fillers, mineral foundation is not only gentle on the skin but also contains zinc oxides which have healing properties - perfect for those who suffer breakouts or have sensitive skin. Requiring no additional illuminating products, mineral foundation will give you the natural fresh-faced glow of beautiful healthy skin. "

COLOURS TESTED: Candy Cane and Porcelain.

The best thing about Lily Lolo is that they understand that people do not want to throw away money on some rubbish product. Lucky for them, the product is good. Beacuse of this they have introduced a sample system meaning you can purchase small, inexpensive samples to test the colours and whether you liked the product before commiting to a full size.

Candy Cane is a light pinkish shade with cool undertones for paler skins. I found this was fine when i first applied it but once it had settles in definitely looked a bit too pink for me.

Porcelain a neutral shade for the palest of the pale was perfect for me, if anything it was a tiny bit too light! And that never happens! But the great thing with mineral foundations is that you can mix them. I tapped in a tiny bit of Candy Cane into it and the colour was perfect.

PRICE: 99p for the 0.75g sample size - which lasted me over 3 weeks and a mid price range £12 for the full size 10g size in a sifter jar. This is going to last absolutely ages!Much longer than a regular liquid foundation which often retail at much more than this.

PROS
- Great Colour Range.
- Buildable Coverage. By appying thin layers you can build up from a sheer to medium/full.
- Not too shimmery.
- No Fillers and unnecessary fillers. The foundation contains only 5 ingredients:

1. Mica - reflects the light and reduces the appearance of fine lines and pores,
2. Zinc Oxide - offers SPF and calms skin complaints such as rosacea,
3. Titanium Dioxide - has SPF and is often found in sunscreens. also gives high to adhesionto the face, offering high coverage.
4. Iron Oxides - Produce beautiful earthy colours.
5. Ultramarine Blue - Used to cool down colours.

- Made my skin problems (uneven tone, prone to spots) much better in just a week!

- You get LOADS for your money.

CONS

- The lid of the pot seems quite thin and considering the mixing and tapping of the brush all goes on in the lid this may be a problem.
- This doesn't look amazing under camera flashs. It can make me look quite ghostly. However i feel that the benefits FAR outway a pale picture or two...Hell, i'm way used to that!
- Because of the loose powder, it can get messy.

Ok, so for reference, this is what i look like sans make up. It's not great. Still a bit uneven and you can see old acne marks. BLEUGH.



After applying Georgio Armani Fluid Master Primer and leaving for 10 mins, (the skin has to be TOTALLY DRY before aplication or it will go cakey) I then tipped a little of my mineral foundation into the lid and swirled my Lily Lolo Super Kabuki brush (£14) to pick up the powder. Tapped the excess off (HINT: less is more with mineral make up) and applied to my face starting at the jaw in cirular motions. This was the result -



The coverage is Med/Full and looks quite Matt in the photo...but in person it looks really natural and feels totally weightless. Clearly i need BLUSH!

Lily Lolo - A Great British Company!

My skin is problematic when it comes to finding the perfect foundation. Not only do i have sensitive skin that can be prone to break outs...but i am also the palest of porcelain.

In typical scottish style, i am pale.really pale. - The joke is that i tan from a light gray to bright white. When i stand in front of the sun i'm so pale that i go transparent. Once, while applying for my passport i was told that my picture would be disallowed as it was black and white...it wasnt, the flash just whited out my blusher!

My perfect foundation would be this:

- Medium Coverage to transform my ruddy, pale complexion into a glowing porcelain canvas of a face.

- Doesn't irritate my skin or break me out.

- Must be pale enough to avoid the orange cake look. and this is HARD. Even MAC doesnt have a foundation pale enough. NC15 makes me look distinctly mask like around the jaw.

So...hard to come by. I have spent years, £££'s of pounds and been sorely dissapointed when the foundation that i had such high hopes gets worn for a couple of days before i catch myself in the wrong light and i see it...tide marks. And so, back to the drawing board. BUT, this time i think i have found it!

It's called Lily Lolo and it is, surprisingly, an online based british company. All the products are loose powder minerals and unlike many companies that market certain products as 'mineral' whilst actually retaining all the chemicals of a usual foundation, this only has 5 super natural ingredients.

In the past week that i have been using it, my skin has become clearer, i haven't had any more spots, it feels light and natural AND i have found the perfect colour for me - Porcelain. They also have cover ups, skin finishes, blush and bronzers,loose powder eyeshadows, lip and nail colours.

But the best thing is, they sell small CHEAP samples so you can try it out or get a few samples to swatch and check the colours.Foundation, Bronzer and Shimmer samples are 99p for a o.75g tub (which has lasted me over a week now) and 49p for a 1/4 teaspoon in a ziplock bag of cover up, blush and eyeshadow and there are tons of colours.So definitely go check out http://www.lilylolo.co.uk/

PS i will do a proper review with pictures of the before and after...as soon as i can work out how to place the pictures better

Stephanie McMakeup - The Beginning!

Having spent what feels like millions of pounds on dodgy make up, (all the potions, brushes, foundation after foundation after REALLY rubbish foundation...not to mention beauty bibles from Cosmo and Glamour to the Bobbi Brown Make Up Manual for reviews and how to's of said miracle products) I began to look elsewhere for my make up fix.

We all know that what a product says on the box (glowing even coverage...and hydrating too!) isnt always what you get...Orange cakey mess anyone?!

I wanted to find somewhere where the 'shop sell' isn't all you have to go by. Somewhere an idependant source is encouraged to have a real opinion on a product and know that where it promises a more beautiful you, what you're really buying into is...well, you, but with a bunch of gloop on your face. And i found it! Make up blogs are a grand way of getting impartial advice (ha, that sounds like one of those insurance adverts!) and honest opinions where you can see for free, no less (!) what that eyeshadow that looks amazing on the advert and you were thinking of trying, really looks like on a real person, NOT an airbrushed model applied by a professional.

I'm Steph, 23 year old beauty addict, gullible 'ooh-look-at-the-shiny-things' impulse buyer and Holy Grail product searcher. Any opinions or reviews on any specific product are based on my OWN experience on my OWN ridiculously pale, slightly oily skin. This may differ from you're own experience but it is for me, an honest reflection of how I find the product performs.

If you have any comments or questions or any suggestions about anything to do with make up or beauty or....anything just drop me a comment with a contact and i'll get back to you :0)

I don't believe that beauty is only skin deep...For me it's in the right products.