The New Foundation

It is a rare occasion when a foundation graces the pages of FolkesThinks. However, with a SpaceNK incentive soon to expire I (as always) gave I good think as to what my splurge was going to be. I was pretty confident that I wanted a new foundation due to some important events coming up over the summer. After a lot of deliberating with friends I finally decided that the 'one' was going to be the updated formula of the Laura Mercier Silk Crème Moisturizing Photo Edition Foundation. 

Now I never owned the original. Infact my only experience with the brand is the tinted moisturiser, the famous secret camouflage concealer and, of course, their bath range. I had read a lot of mixed reviews about the updated foundation but decided to take a leap and try it (note this was a definitely a leap at £35!).

You all know I love a dewy, luminous base which is why I opted for this formula rather than the oil free version. I also was sucked into the label 'photo edition.' One trait I always suffer with is flashback on photos, and with one of these summer events being my graduation ceremony I do not want a record of my big shiny forehead. 

Trying to find my perfect colour match was a little difficult. That would perhaps be the main down point of this foundation, the colour range is not particularly impressive. The one I have isn't peeerfect, but once blended and buffed into the skin it gives a really nice base. In the after photo (the second one) please note I do not have concealer on. I just wanted to focus on the difference in complexion. 

So far I am loving this foundation. I've even worn it on a day when I didn't have a special event - now that's saying something in the Emily Folkes makeup bag. The coverage is on point, and it lasts so well. For example, I wore this for my graduation ball a few weeks ago and it lasted from 1pm in the afternoon till 1am. That deserves a round of applause I think. Oh and most importantly, the photos from the evening are not scarred with my flashback face. Bingo. 

What are your favourite high end foundations or Laura Mercier products for that matter? I would to try out more from her brand.

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It's a Sunday thing

When it comes to Sunday my routine for ultimate cleanliness is rather thorough. The bubble bath appears, candles are lit and pampering begins. In my opinion nothing says Sunday better than feeling squeaky, squeaky clean from your head to your toes.

In terms of my 'head' the weekly build up of product can leave my hair in a little bit of a tragic state. A weeks worth of moisturising and oil inducing products results in a 'bleurgh' effect on top of my head. A while ago I purchased the Bumble and bumble Sunday Shampoo. For some reason it has taken me some time to actually start using it. I have been known to do this occasionally with pretty and expensive things. They're just too nice to use...please say I'm not the only one who does this?!

However, at the beginning of the month I became more realistic, took the bottle to the shower and have never looked back. And why? Firstly, it gave a perfect lather - I really do love it when a shampoo gives you that perfect, even lather! Secondly, the smell was just clean in a bottle - a lil' minty, fresh sheets kinda' aroma. And thirdly my hair felt clean to the touch, so easy and frizz, fuss free to dry and style. I really good result for a girl untalented with a hair dryer.

My hair just feels really lovely after using this shampoo and has definitely tempted me to try more of the Bumble and bumble range. Any recommendations?

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Chanel dreams

Regular readers here will understand my love for the BB cream. For the record, there has only ever been one foundation that has starred on here - the Revlon Nearly Naked to be precise! However, on my 'beauty wish list' (yes, this does exist in notepad form) for a while now has been the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. Are there any beauty bloggers out there who haven't raved about this one? With a student budget and being a pricey number, not that money has stopped me before, I have always been reluctant to hand over thirty three pounds for this one.

Until recently, I landed a job that gave me a rather lovely twenty five percent in the beauty hall. Yes people, this was my dream come true. The dream Chanel purchase was made. With a good shake of the bottle I applied this to the back of my hand before dabbing my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and applying all over. It is a very watery foundation but oh my goodness this blends unbelievably well into the skin. I'm quite lucky that the shade I have, B10, is the perfect shade for my skin tone. It leaves my skin looking rather radiant and hydrated. I can understand the praises of this little expensive number. 

Although BB creams will always be my everyday I really wanted a good foundation for those bad complexion-more coverage needed days! And special occasions of course.

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Moving to the dark side

Now my friends will most definitely back me up here when I say I am not one for fake tan. During the school days I was always the pasty one. Simply because I was pretty bad at applying it and I never really fancied the orange look...especially when my face never matched the colour of my legs!

This summer I am not going on holiday - insert sad emoji. And, with not being able to rely on an English summer to give me a lil' healthy glow, I could be the pasty one all year long. However, after hearing the hype of the St Tropez Self Tan Express Bronze Mousse I was rather intrigued by the thought of having some colour... So, in my efforts to not be the pale girl this summer I thought I'd give it a try.

After applying the mousse to a tanning kit and moisturising it in where you like you simply leave it for an hour or three, depending on how dark you want your tan to develop, and then wash off in the shower. I left mine for an hour and had a lovely, non streaky (amen) natural glow. It continues to develop within the next 8 hours. I am seriously impressed with this one. 

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Spring Picks

I decided not to do a March favourites due to the fact that it would have been a pretty boring post. Throughout March I have continued to use all of February favourites and other products from my vast stash. To make up for it I have decided to treat you with an insight into my Spring picks.

Last year I purchased the Diorskin Nude BB Creme. A lovely, light consistency this is one for warm Spring days when you don't want your face clogged with a heavy base. As you will have seen from my last post, my most recent purchase of the Clarins Instant Light Radiance Booster will be an essential for my spring makeup bag. It can be used as a highlight or mixed in with your foundation/BB creme/whatever to create a radiant, dewy finish. Finally, an even more recent purchase is the recently launched Estee Lauder Double Wear All-Day Glow BB creme. If you know the lengths I have been to, to find this you may be surprised. I searched a gaazillion Estee Lauder concessions to find that shade one (darn fair skin complexion) had not be launched. However, I'm finally united, and I'm seriously happy. Expect a detailed post soon. 

When it comes to Spring I prefer a lighter finish on my lips. I will always reach out for a balm textured product. I love the Bourjois Color Boost Balm and Revlon Just Bitten Kissable stains (see my review here) for a subtle pop of colour. However, if I want something more prominent then Topshop Lipstick in Pillowtalk is a lovely, light shade of pink that just screams Hey, I'm a Spring shaded lipstick!

As it gets warmer I will always tend to reduce the thickness of my base. If I'm having a good complexion day I may even go naked: no BB cream, nothin'. As a result I will apply a cream blusher, usually Stilla Convertible Colour in gerbera. A warming, peach-pinked tone that perks me up just finee. At the moment I am still in the honeymoon stage with my Hourglass Blusher in dim Infusion. As a light pinken gold it is the perfect shade to take me forward into Spring. 

Last but not least, the nail varnish shades. Will I ever find a nail varnish I like that's not Essie or Nails Inc? I apologise if you're bored by my repetitive brand taste. However, I think these shades are pretty Spring perfect. Firstly, (left to right) is Essie in the shade Maximillian strasse her. Whilst this doesn't photograph well, it is a lovely green shade of blue; a more detailed review will be up soon! I'm always a blue kind of gal - I explained it all in my Blue post - and so this Nails Inc shade in Chelsea psychic garden will make me happy just from the sight of the bottle. Although I will be a truthful fan to my shades of blues, I will make this (two if I include Essie Watermelon) exception for Essie's Lilacism, what better way to introduce Spring than a shade of lilac. 

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Instant boost

The purchase of the Clarins Instant Light was what I call a binge spree: i.e. I had intended to buy something else, they didn't have it in stock and in disappointed needed something in replacement as I had so intended for the original. Unhealthy purchase, I know.

However, I'm not going to be full of regrets here. I had read a lot about this product on ghostparties and nouvelle daily, and was very intrigued to give it a test. My skin recently (as you will have read my complaints) has been looking seriously lack lustre: dull, a little grey and stuck in Winter. It really hasn't done a lot for my mood!

Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base (as its true title) is designed to target this need. I mix mine in with my bb cream to create a dewy boost. I was instantly impressed by the results; it definitely does the trick at enhancing your base.

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A new skin wonder

For many, many years now I have religiously used the Liz Earle hot cloth cleanse and polish. Morning and night I have been a loyal follower of this product, and it has worked wonders with my skin at times. However, since January my skin has been undergoing a bit of an annoying change. Small dry patches everywhere, sensitivity, hidden, under the skin blemishes on my forehead and just a horrible, dull complexion: this is just not what I'm used too. Whether it has been stress or weather related my skin has been calling out for saviour.

I do aaaaah-lot of beauty blog reading. Indeed, the first thing I do when I hit my laptop is click for my favourite blogs. So, with such productive reading and adapted knowledge I realised that there was a lot of hype (particularly from my favourite Vivianna Does Makeup )behind the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel. After thinking and thinking (and even more thinking) I realised it was time to hit cult beauty, be risky and purchase.

I'm used to a cream, thick substance cleanser, so the Oskia was a bit of big change when I pressed down on the pump. An orange-toned, slightly bitty balm comes out which is then applied onto dry skin and emulsifies into a balm. It has an oily texture and, massaged into the skin, generates a small amount of heat. After a wipe on a warm muslin cloth the difference was instantly recognisable. My skin had immediately gained a radiant complexion.

It has now been a week of using the cleansing gel and so far so good. My skin feels more radiant, plump and smooth, spots have gone and even more pores look more reduced. Although my dryness hasn't completely gone yet, they have dramatically reduced, so I don't look like such the scaly monster anymore!

Although expensive in price, my philosophy never changes with skincare: sometimes you have to invest to get some results. Good ingredients are not always cheap, but our skin, in drastic times, needs some tlc.

You can purchase the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing gel from Cult Beauty.

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Revlon Colour Burst

The launch of the new and updated Revlon Just Bitten Kissable and Colourburst Matt Balm has drawn quite a bit of attention of the blogger world. My obsessive readings of other sites had led me to produce a list of things I needed from Boots.

Approaching the Revlon aisles I assumed it would have been the pink shades I would have been drawn too, particularly Unapologetic as modelled by Alex on I Covet thee. However, after a lot of swatching I decided to be brave, in season, and purchase some orange shades: Audacious and Rendezvous.

Slightly wary as to how orange might compliment a brunette I was quiet pleased when I looked in the mirror! I have really enjoyed used the Colourburst Matt Balm, morning and night. Easy to apply, they come out subtle in tone so the more you apply the more you can build up your pop of colour. I think these are going to be some of my favourite shades for summer!

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An ode to Nars

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Body Shop Camomile Eye make-up remover

With my oily eyelids waterproof mascara is a necessity.  An odd feature I know, but if waterproof wasn't applied I would look like I was going for a halloween/mascara run down look everyday. Now, nobody wants to see that look do they! 

As a girl with expensive taste the Clarins make-up remover has been on my wish list for sometime. Why? Because my cheap simple remover, which claims to remove waterproof mascara does not work. I am left constantly rubbing my eye with a drenched cotton pad of remover and nothing is budging....However, this was my old routine.

 I heard a rumour out there that the Body Shop's Camomile make-up remover does the same job as Clarins and at half the price. I was, obviously, sold and went out straight away to purchase this needed item. I am pleased to announce that this boy does the trick. It is a dream to use. Simply shake to activate, squeeze a bit on a cotton pad, place over the eye for about 5 seconds and Voilà: all my eye make-up, yes my tough to remover waterproof eye make-up is gone!! Safe to say I have since removed the Clarins number from my wish list and replaced it with my replen of this. 

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