Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Face Cream

This was a last minute purchase before I went to Skegness last May, I was reading a blog post by Serena over at Pretty Wild Things (her Summer Beauty Essentials - Boots), when I read up about this little beauty.

The premise of this sun lotion is that it has been designed to work under makeup (for all those beauty mavens out there this is a godsend), as soon as I knew this little titbit about it that was it I was sold and on my trip to boots it ended up in my basket.

The product looks very eye catching with the coloured swirls in the bottle and the bottle comes with a pump (making this easy for application onto the face)and once the cream is pumped out it comes out in a flat ribbon, and gives off a scent of coconut.

I did find this to be a bit sticky and greasy once applied to the skin (this is not a good sign for anyone with oily skin, so I was wary about using this). I also found that once I had applied a setting powder over my makeup it did take some of the greasiness away.

I wasn't that sold on this sun cream as it did feel quite greasy and felt like my makeup was just going to slide off once heat was added to the mix. I did mix this in with a foundation that did not have an SPF to see if the foundation would counteract the greasiness of the suncream, and it did help quite a bit and once powder was added it did calm it down.

I wouldn't buy this again due to the amount of steps you have to go through just to get to the point where I feel my makeup is going to stay on. The theory behind the cream is sound and if it worked for me it would have been amazing, but it didn't.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
xxxx

Travel Makeup Bag - London Edition

As you know if you follow me on Instagram I went to London on Tuesday and just came back yesterday (that's why the blog was a bit quiet, if you were wondering). Being the beauty blogger that I am (it still feels weird calling myself a beauty blogger), I took some makeup.

On with the makeup bag, the theme for this bag is minimal (this is a dirty word in my vocab when packing), as we are only taking 2 small suitcases (1 for clothes and the other for shopping).

The makeup bag I am using is from Primark, I think it was either £1.50 or £2.00, it's quite spacious, you can fit quite a bit in there.

I do love how roomy the bag is so if you were going away for longer you could really fit a lot in before it starts to pull at the stitching.

As you can see I did fit a lot into the bag, I mostly chose things that were waterproof (due to the hot weather, it hit 27 degrees yesterday) and that were quick to apply.

I chose to use MUA Matte Perfect primer to prime my face ready for my base, I've been playing around with this and it seems pretty good, and doesn't feel to slick on the skin. For my base I chose the Avon Ideal Flawless CC Cream with an SPF of 50 as it was hot down there and I wanted something light on the skin so it wouldn't be too cakey on the skin. Concealer was easy I had Soap & Glory's Kick Ass Concealer, the main reason as it covers both under eye and any blemishes on the face.
To set my makeup I packed the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in Vanilla, the powder smells really fruity (this is because it has fruit therapy in the product), it applies really well onto the face.
I also took some bronzer and I also grabbed another Bourjois product which was their Chocolate Bronzer in Medium, this was quite pigmented and you only need a small amount of this. I also took a blisher in the shape of Natural Collection Blusher in Pink Cloud.

For the eyes I packed the sample of Urban Decay Anti-Ageing Primer Potion that I received with my Naked palettes (I received 3, 1 with each palette so I put it all into one small pot). I am loving this primer, and I wanted to buy it while I was in Selfridges but couldn't see an Urban Decay counter.
I also packed 2 Rimmel ScandalEyes Shadow Sticks in Trespassing Taupe and Bluffing , there was also the Avon ColorTrend Colour Elements Eye Duo Stick in Fire. These were packed as they were quick to apply and they were light (didn't want dark colours as it is Summer, let's get some brighter colours in there). I also packed Rimmel ScandalEyes Kohl Eyeliner in Nude, we were walking so much this was good just to take some redness out my eyes so I still looked bright and bushy tailed.
As the weather was roasting I thought it best to take a waterproof mascara so I chose the Bourjois 1 Seconde Volume Waterproof Mascara in Black. This is a lovely mascara that applies well and stayed on all day, really impressed with this.

For lips I packed the Hawaiian Tropic Lipgloss in Island Berry, this has an SPPF of 25 so was protecting my lips from the sun while also adding a wash of colour as well. I also packed 2 lipsticks, Soap & Glory's Super Color Fabu-Lipstick in The Missing Pink, which is one of my all time favourite nude pinks, and Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Rose Tweed, which is another nude pink but a tiny bit brighter.

 I took some retractable brushes with me as well so I could apply the powders as well as the CC Cream (a full summary of these brushes can be found here).

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
xxxx

Hawaiian Tropics Lip Gloss - Island Berry

I was in Boots when they had an offer on their sunscreen (buy one get one free), I ended up buying the Hawaiian Tropic Face Suncream and getting this as a freebie.

I don't wear lipgloss that much but when I was on holiday, I popped this into my makeup bag (it's coming with me to London in my makeup bag).

This is a really lovely lip gloss, it applies to the lips really easy, and the applicator is quite hygenic (being plastic). The colour in the tube can be quite scary but it applies to the lips sheer with a hint of colour.

This lip gloss smells fantastic really fruity and reminds me of Summer, it also contains an SPF, which is fantastic as it adds extra protection to your lips with SPF25. The formula isn't sticky on the lips and with this a lot does go a long way.

Overall a great lipgloss, and one I can't wait to get back using when I am in London.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma
xxxx

May Favourites

Welcome to my May Favourites, I know it's a tiny bit late and I am behind on my posts but I am getting back on track so bear with me)

Burt's Bees Lip Balm with Acai Berry
I have re-found my love for this lip balm, it smells gorgeous and just reminds me of Spring/Summer.

N.Y.C. Big Bold Bronzer - ManhatTan
I'm a newbie when it comes to bronzer so I thought this spring/ summer I was going to try out some bronzers and see what all the fuss is about.

The Body Shop Raspberry Eau De Toilette
When I heard The Body Shop were releasing a Raspberry range I was over the moon, I love the scent of raspberries, so I had to get the perfume when it was released. The perfume smells lovely really fruity and such a great one for Spring/Summer.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet - Framboise
This particular colour wasn't on my wishlist but when I saw it in store I thought it looked like a really nice color. Once added to my lips the colour was a lot brighter then I expected but I will admit this was a really nice colour on my lips and it stayed on for ages.

Rimmel ScandalEyes: Rockin Curves Mascara
This was a launch from Rimmel last year as part of their ScandalEyes range, this comes with a broken heart shaped brush. The thin point of the brush gets into the corners of my eye and the shape allows for the brush to grab every lash, and there is no fallout from the mascara during the day.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
I am in love with this powder (as you can see in the picture above I have hit pan), when applied to the skin it doesn't oxidise so it stays translucent on the skin and really keeps my make up in place.

NYC Showtime Mascara
This I have had for a while and rediscovered my love for it (as soon as I do that it's then time to throw it out DOH!!). The brush is quite small so it does get into all the hard to reach places

Hawaiian Tropics Lip Gloss - Island Berry
This was part of a buy one get one free offer when I bought the Hawaiian Tropics face cream, when applied to the lips the lip gloss is very sheer with no colour on the lips, but  the smell of the lip gloss is fantastic, it smells really fruity and really summery.

I hope you liked my favourites this month.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma

xxxx

Holiday Skincare

I finally have found some wifi in Cafe Nero in Kings Lynn yay so here's a post to keep you all going for a tiny bit till Sat/Sun

As you know by my post yesterday I am away for a week and wifi is spotty at best so I thought I would do a post on what skincare items I brought with me.

Micellar Water

This is a biggie I deported my Garnier micellar water into a pump bottle for easier transport. I love this micellar water it does really well at cleansing my face.

Halo Eye Makeup Remover Wipes

These are if I get back late and I am being lazy at removing my eye makeup these do the trick nicely.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Face and Body SPF30

I love this it's small so itcan fit in my handbag easily and it does a good job of protecting me from the sun.

Hawaiian Tropics Silky Face Lotion SPF30

This is a new purchase, I saw that this is good to be applied under makeup (that is always a good thing) at the moment it is in a testing phase with me so keep an eye out for a review next month.

Botanics Toning Spritz

This is a big favourite for me it takes the last hanger ons if my makeup so I'm ready for applying my moisturiser.

Boots Cucumber Eye Gel

This is really cooling for under the eyes and helps with the puffy eyes.

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Moisturiser SPF15

This is a really nice moisturiser and mattifies the skin really well.

Travel Wipes x10

These were bought from home bargains for £1 I think they are really useful they take off my makeup when I am being lazy and they are good for wiping hands.

Thanks for tuning in

Gemma

xxxx