NOTD - Max Factor Bright Orange

The clue's in the title folks!

I had got my heart set on Mad about Mango and Bubblegum from the new scented Revlon range, but when I got to Boots, where they were 2 for £8, they didn't have Bubblegum and tbh Mad about Mango wasn't quite as orange as I had hoped, it was a softer less in your face shade than the rather appropriately named Max Factor Bright Orange!

Taken indoors (much clearer if you click to enlarge)

 You may notice that comapred to recent NOTD posts my nails aren't looking quite as nice as usual.  This is because something really bloody annoying happens to me after a few glasses of wine - I seem to become hell bent on self destruction and invariably my nails get it.  I cannot tell you how deeply peed off I was at 3am this morning cleaning lilac nail varnish off the tattered remains of my nails, especially as I had planned to buy nail varnish today.  I am so bloody cross with myself for doing this yet again, think I am going to have to get a bottle of stop and grow to slap on my nails whenever I drink to stop this from happening.

Outside in full sunlight (again not sure about quality, click to enlarge)

 I absolutely love this nail varnish, its the really juicy splash of colour I was hoping for, these photos are no base or top coat and 3 coats of polish, there is still some vnl which would usually bother me but today not so much, largely I think because I am so disgusted by my nails a bit of vnl is the least of my worries.  Will have to do another NOTD post with this colour when my poor nails have had chance to recover.

Bright Orange is £3.99 from the Max Factor Colour Effects range, in Boots although this shade isn't available online.

I also picked up a lush lipgloss, a moisturiser that has been hitting the press and replaced my concealer, posts on all 3 to follow during the week.

Foundation - another contender

Disappointed with a capital "d" with the Bobbi Brown sample I got.  On initial application it is incredibly moisturising, almost too much so and is very shiny.  And then, even without any powder after an hour or so it is dry, tight, itchy and looks powdery as hell.

Got a sample of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in a magazine (Edit: it was the January Feb issue of Glamour just in case you fancy trying it) at the weekend and with nothing to lose slapped some on.  First impressions good, it is quite strongly perfumed, but I like that.  It is slippy, very liquid and light in texture and I immediately assumed coverage would be pants.  It applies really nicely, blends easily - so far not taken a brush to it only used my fingers and no issues at all.  As you may have read in earlier posts my nose is having some serious issues right now.  When I applied a reasonable amount of this foundation it looked dry and flaky and not great at all, Em was at home and she insisted that I wasn't using enough, I needed to build up the coverage - with other foundations that would be a terrible idea but this stuff is amazing. I added a good bit more, till I was happy with the coverage and it looked fine, not great but not bad at all.  When I looked in the mirror 20 minutes later it is no exaggeration to say that it looked terrific, total coverage with no tell tale redness or dryness.  The foundation seemed to have melded into my skin.  I have a glow!  Not the sheen of a shimmer filled foundation either, and not shiny "lard face" shine, just a glow as if lit from within, I ate a candle style!  So this stuff is either fab or I am about to discover that Steve and I are increasing the size of our family!!  

So photos, as I have them thought it would be useful to add the photos from last week to this too.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Beige Tendre - 20

Bobbi Brown - the 3 coats photo

Max Factor Experience Weightless foundation

Now clearly for £9.99 the Max Factor is more than holding its own, but when you compare the £27 Bobbi Brown with the £31 (shee'it!) Chanel the difference, on my skin at least, is marked.

Couple that really show off the "glowy" effect of the Chanel.

I really like how my skin looks in this - glow not shine.

Ok some fair old shine here but that was full light from the window, where its not beaming it does look much nicer than usual!

Having done a bit off googling it seems that Vitalumiere Aqua went on sale in the UK on 14th January - although its not availalble on the Boots website at the mo I think it is on Debenhams and Selfridges.  Frankly if you are in your 40's with dry, lack lustre skin that can never get enough moisture, with pores that seem to suck your foundation into them to make a real feature of them, with a propensity to just generally look a bit shite, then this is the foundation for you.  All £31 of it.  Did I mention the price?  Luckily I have a little cash stash for just such purchasing emergencies - shhh!  Oh and better than all that it comes in a lovely tube, all the better for hacking up to get out the last very vital drops.

Bobbi Brown - Moisture Rich Foundation

I have used Bobbi Brown foundation before, pretty sure it was one I repeat purchased until I got fed up of having to go to Leeds or Manchester to get it.  Decided that as its famed for its lack of pink tones that it might help to hide the pink in my complexion.  Went to House of Fraser in Leeds, Charlotte the SA was very thorough, cleaned off all my foundation - is there anything nicer than sitting in from of the world and his wife with all your blemishes on display?!  And then did 3 swatches Alabaster, Porcelain and one other didn't catch name of it but it was too warm.  She decided that Alabaster was too pale, whilst Porcelain was an exact skin match it would be too chalky applied all over so tried a 4th, Cool Beige, which we both agreed worked well.  She used the Moisture Rich formula as I had said that I like to look dewy rather than matt, this might be slightly more glossy than dewy in reality, even Steve commented that my skin looked "greasy" before I toned things down with a dash of loose powder.

That was yesterday and whilst I was loving the shade and the tone of the foundation on me I wasn't sure that slip sliding away look was really working for me.  This morning its a whole other story.  I am loving this foundation.  Yesterday I thought it was too hydrating/moisturising/oily and I certainly couldn't wear this without a bit of loose powder, but thats actually a benefit, in the past adding powder for a bit of extra coverage and to set my foundation has led to the dreaded face cake look, on this foundation the powder takes up the shine, adds a little extra coverage but still looks fresh.  The yellow tone, to my eye, is very apparent - in a good way!  My face just looks fresher, cleaner and a huge benefit is my blush, MAC Lilicent cream blush, looks lovely on top of this - which is good as MAC at Selfridges in Leeds no longer have Uncommon in stock.  I have a tiny sample pot that may just last me the week and then I am going to have to purchase I think.

Photos:

Indoors with flash

Outdoors in what passed for daylight today!

 FOTD

Face - Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich foundation in cool beige

           Dusting of Dior loose powder

           MAC Creme blush Lilicent

Eyes - UNE matt shadow in S02 all over to even out tone

           Bobbi Brown shadow in Taupe on lower lid and dry to line under eye

           Clinique superfine liner for brows in soft brown

           L'Oreal Mascara in black

Lips -  Bobbi Brown Cream lipstick in Heather Buff

           Bobbi Brown lip pencil in Cocoa

Ladder - B&Q!  taken outdoors with flash as its so over cast.

Update - my face started to feel really tight by midday and I cleaned all my foundation off, added some moisturiser and re-applied. I think all the powder to take down the shine had done it.  

No foundation redness very much in evidence.

One coat of foundation, much less pink but still not enough coverage.

3 coats and a slap of lippy in the hope it'll stop you noticing the horribly unwaxed top lip!
Reasonable coverage but ooh the shine:

But if I add powder to matify am going to end up feeling dry and tight.  Bloody bugger and damn, might end up sticking with the Max factor at this rate.
Ok in for a penny in for a pound.  Same thing but with Max factor Experience weightless foundation.

 Max Factor - 1 coat.

MF - topped up with a bit more where the pinkness is worst, not 3 coats though.

MF whupping BB' arse I feel!
How's that shine?

It's still a bit shiny but no worse than the BB.

Side by side comparison, as you look at this pic on the left is the MF and on the right (the side with droopy eye!) is the BB. Even without bearing in mind the MF is £9.99 and the BB is £27, I think MF is the winner.  What do you think?  Apart from that you are sick to death of looking at my face!  Haven't given up yet, next stop will try another BB foundation in the same shade but in a less moisturising formula.  Hope you found this interesting.

Max Factor Experience Weightless foundation - before and after

***** GRAPHIC CONTENT******
This post contains images of nudity. Images that will shock you to your core. Ok, well maybe that's a bit extreme but at 44 my glory days are all in the past and my face is a map of my memories. Ooh, I rather like that! Which is a rather lovely way of saying that I look like ten types of crap without make up:





















Shiny, red and blotchy, it's a great look.

You have no idea how hard it has been to take a photo of me, with a full face of slap, that actually looks better than that one above. I am freaked out at how pink my bloody face is and I thought it looked so much less pink than it actually does. I am going to have to slart my face in Boots No 7 green tinted gunge til I look like shrek I think. Anyway, finally here is the photo, had to go and stand outside so look a bit windswept into the bargain.

Maybe a bit less pink and blotchy but still pretty pink.

Now a close up, brace, brace, brace....

(looks like I have a 5 o'clock shadow to boot, I really don't promise!)

I really must work on not frowning so much although I think the crevasses above my nose are now permanent, loving that saggy jowl. Me and Judy Finnigan, separated at birth! At least I had the good sense not to marry Richard Madeley!

Em is off sick today and all the while I have been taking these she has been walking around singing "U-G-L-Y, my mamma's got no alibi - she UUUUUGley!"which she seems to think is lol, well excuse me if I don't lmao back, baby girl!

On the upside did some blog browsing yesterday and found a fantastic post about facial massage on a blog I hadn't read before - Beauty Mouth. Great blog and the facial massage post is a must read in my opinion as this lady really knows her stuff and as I have been of the slap on some cleanser, swoosh it about and rinse off school of thought some proper cleansing and massage can only improve things, who knows it might even reduce my horrid pink tone. Going to have to do something about this - any one with any ideas please shout.






















Cant manage to get a full face one of me yet, most of them dont actually look any better than my before photo

Life in freefall and a duty free haul

Selling a business and buying a house is exhausting and a complete and utter sodding nightmare, I am totally strung out and don't have the energy for photos of my purchases but have found a couple of great products that I want to share and I need to update on the Clinque eyebrow pencil I bought recently.

First up, best new foundation ever Max Factor Experience weightless foundation, it is billed as weightless flawless foundation and is frankly both and brilliantly. I honestly think it is the best foundation I have ever bought. Had loved Second Skin and was running out when I read this review on the Beauty Bite for this product and whilst on her lovely skin it looked like it might be a bit sheer I wasn't sure that it could be and still claim that all important "flawless" tag. Spent an age slapping it on in Superdrug (its not in Boots yet) and am seriously pleased that I did. I used Creamy Ivory in Second Skin and find that Beige Linen in this is actually a better shade for me. It has quite a dense, creamy texture which is great for my dry skin and gives great coverage, and builds well if needed. It is much less sheer than Second Skin so if you are feeling with the winter coming that you want a bit more between your pores and the rest of the world I would recommend this. I love it with my MAC Uncommon creme blush on top, will try and get some pics when I look less haggard.

Whilst in Superdrug I bought two MUA eyeshadows for £1 each, got shades 12 and 14 and am seriously impressed, Leanne has done a fab review so I recommend having a read of that.

After a week in Ireland stood in a field in the cold and rain, all in the name of earning a living (say it with me Fran "I must get a proper job"!) I decided that I NEEDED a duty free splurge. I got Clarins gentle peeling exfoliant, Clarins Eau Dynamisant shower gel, Chanel Aqualumiere gloss (a real treat!) and a clinique extra fine liner for brows. I also bought Em a MAC lip gloss in Bountiful, because she's my honey.

Having used the new Clinque brow pencil for weeks and struggled to draw my crappy brows into something that looked half decent I decided to go back to the super fine liner. I think the new thicker brow pencil would be great if you have fab brows that you just want to define, if you have crap brows that you have to create freehand then I for my money you'd be better off with the super fine liner. Lesson learned!

The big decision has been made....

Had decided that I love Max Factor Dazzling blue on my toes for my holiday pedi but was torn between something totally different on my fingers or something different but toning, class or clash if you will!

Whilst I was deciding thought I'd give Max Factor freebie Disco Pink a whirl. I just don't get it. If I was going to give someone a free sample of a product of mine in the hope it would encourage them to buy more they would get the very best of everything that I could offer and yet every time I get a freebie sample nail polish (Nails Inc on InStyle magazine) the brush is ten types of crap. This one has horribly splayed bristles that drag the polish and make neat application nigh on impossible, why would you do that. I compared the paid for Dazzling blue brush with the one in the freebie pink and they are leagues apart, both same size and design bottle so thats no excuse.

Anyway rant over, the pink is nice but nothing fab, just doesn't have the hotness I was hoping for, bit too dark toned. I had hoped it would be just right as the clash option for my holiday mani but having seen it next to dazzling blue its just not cutting it so have opted for Rimmel Sky High, I love this polish, it wears well, goes on nicely and works really well with the dazzling blue, I think.


Swatch application not proper mani btw and managed to smudge the Rimmel whilst smearing cuticles with a bit of hand cream into the bargain! So thats this evening sorted, bit more packing and then paint my nails!

NOTD 7 - Max Factor Dazzling Blue

As I had thought not quite as fab on the nail as it is in the bottle. Nice shade of blue, switching to a nice shade of greeny gold but you have to have your hand at a really weird angle to pick up a hint of the pink that would make it opal like. Nice application, bit sheer for my liking - you can see vnl in some of these photos. Not wowing me as a manicure but am liking bit time as my holiday pedi, the vnl thing isn't an issue on toes, as god forbid there should even be one! Photos are a bit craptacular, might have to edit if I get a mo but wanted to show you the promised swatches.




Post Edit - another go at trying to capture the goldy green, seems beyond my camera! Have had a tweak with this to try and get it to show a bit more true, think that you can just see the hint of pink in the bottle corner and on the bottom of my index finger nail and it shows more green on the bottom of the middle finger nail, hope that helps.


This shows the blue'nes a bit more!


This one the greeny gold


And this one the vnl, a bit!

Max Factor Summer Essentials Giveaway!

Who doesn't love a freebie? Even if half the time its stuff you don't want or need!! I needed another bottle of Max Factor Second Skin foundation in Creamy Ivory ready for my hols (Corfu, on Friday, can hardly wait!!) So having had a rummage to check that Second Skin was the way to go, haven't bought the same foundation 3 times in a row in like forever, I think - that's how good this stuff is, absolutely love it! Noticed that if you spent £15 you got a lil' make up bag with some stuff inside and thought that as the foundation was £13.99 I only needed a wee tiny thing to have spent enough and Lo! there was the Max Factor Max Effect range sitting there looking all sparkly and shiny and I had had half an eye on the Dazzling Blue nail varnish since I first saw them, for £3.49 I think? Teeny bottle but it just looks like a really nice blue/gold/purple duochrome, although actually that would make it a triochrome and they don't really exist do they!


Isn't it lush? Have a feeling that I might be disappointed by it in real life, it has a real opal look to it in the bottle but often this kind of thing doesn't convert in the wearing so we'll have to see - I promise swatches asap.



So onto the freebie. This cute make up bag, I have bazillions of make up bags and still don't have too many. Some one please explain this to Steve. Thank you.


And inside an array of loveliness.



I am actually really surprised. Black kohl eye liner, Em nabbed that straight away. Masterpiece High definition Black mascara, worth a try - my go to is L'Oreal precision - the comb makes my non-existent lashes actually show up - but I am happy to have this to try. Disco Pink Nailfinity nail varnish, cheesy name or what? Nice vibrant pink cream though, could be very Corfu! Earth Spirits eye shadow in Ultra Aqua which is a lovely pearly aqua shot with a bit of gold - TV Db rides again! Even if I only wear in on holiday with a bit of a tan and my new turquoise maxi dress! And a mini lippy which is no. 804 Hint of Red. I HATE lipstick, too dry, too claggy too vile, I always use sheer lip stuff, dont do gloss as am too old and dont like the gloopy feel, current fave is either the UNE lip balm or for a bit more colour Dior Serum De Rouge in Raspberry - £24 bought in duty free last November and it is fantastic, creamy, smooth, lightweight, nice hit of colour but sheer enough not to look old lady AND it'd doing your lips good, allegedly. This Max Factor lipstick has blown me away, its a do'able shade of red, pretty sheer and really really moisturising, feels lovely on.



And if that weren't enough you get two sample sachets of Second Skin foundation - Natural and Golden, both of which will probably be too dark for me and finally a £3 voucher off Second Skin foundation, which is fab! Oh and a pair of those weird toe separator thingies for when you do your pedi, so all in all just perfect as a pre-holiday selection of loveliness!

Had a fab weekend in the Lake District so photo blog will be getting some updates soon too, btw!