REVIEW: Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Blusher - Great Dupe for MAC Love Rock?

PACKAGING - 4/5
QUALITY - 4/5
PRICE - 4/5
OVERALL - 4/5

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN? Yes!

WHERE TO BUY? At Boots! easy!

ABOUT: Oddly enough, this is the one product that i cant find on the Prestige website (http://www.prestigecosmetics.com/, note: there is not UK website so everything is priced in US$) ,so there are no claims to be proved or disproved. The site does however say that all of their products are 100% free of talc, oil, fragrance, parabens and synthetic binding ingredients.This is always something that makes me take notice of a company and i find it really reassuring - after trying mineral foundation (Lily Lolo) and it working magic on my skin i definitely feel happier knowing that there are no extra 'baddies' lurking around.

COLOURS TESTED: 01 Pink (not particularly creative) , but it does do what it says on the tin! This colour is a cool toned pink shot through with shimmer veining. There are 3 other colours in the range, one is a lighter peachier colour and the other two are more browny based.

PRICE: Pretty inexpensive at £7.99 for 1.5g

DID IT WORK FOR ME? Definitely! I admit that i am a bit of a blush fiend but being so pale i tend to find that tons of blushers overpower my face and i can end up looking a bit like two cheeks with eyes...but i LOVE this.

Pardon the picture, this was taken after a LOT of dancing but it gives you an idea!

The colour is very buildable so I build up a great colour which just never seems to look like 'too much' and i think it would look great on pale or dark skin tones...maybe not so great on yellow toned olive skin. The shimmer is gorgeous. Especially with blush i think shimmer is VERY difficult to get right and it is soo easy to look fake and chunky. But this is the perfect combo of colour and shimmer and always looks really glowy. I tend apply it with a small Bobbi Brown face blender brush to place it on the apples of my cheeks and it looks great for creating a dewy looking flush...One that even the BF has commented on in a 'ooh, you look healthy, what have you done' kind of way. Winner!

PROS
- The overall look is soooo beautiful

- Minerals. They say this is like slathering your skin in shea butter as oppose to a bunch of chemicals

- no need for a separate highlighter

CONS
- The lack of added binding ingredients make this a bit powdery and i always end up with blush powder all over the place

- Because of this i tend to go through it quite quickly

- There are not so many colours in the range

It has to be said though that none of these cons bother me all that much. I'm on my second one and i reckon this is something i will repurchase again and again.

If you have any more questions just give me a shout!

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!