Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser

image from http://www.maybelline.co.hk

If I were to line up 50 women and ask them if they thought they had any imperfections on their face, I’d say 90-95% would probably say yes and then start rattling off a list as long as your arm. If I were to be lined up and asked this question, on my list would be the size of my pores on my nose and cheek area. I have very big and visible ( to me anyway) pores and always have and it used to cause me endless bother with spots and blackheads in my teens.

I am no longer a teen (boo!!!!) so I no longer have the issue with spots (yay!!!!). However, I still have large pores that are highlighted depending on how I apply my liquid foundation and most definitely when I use powder. I don’t like it as it makes my skin look dull in these areas and therefore, uneven skin tone.

As you can imagine I’m a sucker for any product that claims to reduce the sight of unsightly pores. Cue imagery of Vee at the till with her bank card wishing the product in her hands will make her look divine and banish the holes in her face. So readers, this was a reality last week with the new Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. ‘Go on,’ I said… ‘They say it will work…”Maybelline wouldn’t lie to me would they?’ £7.99 later and I’m staring at the mint coloured tube on my desk. Yep. A sucker.

Maybelline’s Baby range so far is good, albeit only their Baby Lips is what I’m talking about but even so. Check out my post on this below. To me this price is reasonable. I’ve spent money on Benefit’s Porefessional primer at £24.50 and gave it away, Clinique’s pore refining solutions, god knows where that is, long gone, Neutrogena, Olay, Simple, I’ve had the lot. If they worked for me I wouldn’t be doing this post!

This morning I decided to apply my make up as normal to one side of my face and then on the other I used the Baby Skin. I did this for a proper comparison as sometimes you can use a product and it can almost have a placebo effect. I didn’t buy this product for it’s primer purposes so I’m not going to comment on it in this way.

The Baby Skin is like most primers, it has that gel-like formula that leaves your skin feeling silky and you only need a tiny bit for a good coverage of the pore ridden area. I then applied my liquid foundation (with my fingers) over the half with the Baby Skin, applied the rest of my make up and then took a step back to look fully into the mirror.

The pores are still visible to me. Quite a bit, but not as bad as the Baby Skin free side. Hummmm. I think I genuinely believed (don’t laugh) that if something is called an eraser, it will erase what it is meant to erase. I would however have to say it definitely did minimise, or blur the look of my pores. So not a total con right? It did reduce the look of pores, they didn’t fully vanish, maybe I’m asking too much. Or this product is designed with people in mind that don’t have large pores, only small ones that you can’t really see anyway.

Who knows! Maybe it just something I’ll have to accept and need to be smart and think cosmetics can’t solve everything. Would I recommend this product? Yes I think I would. It does make them appear less prominent, you would just have to bear in mind they might not disappear completely. An improvement nonetheless. This is definitely a dupe for the Porefessional and does the same thing, possibly even better, but for 1/3 of the cost. Maybe I’ll just have accept these pores. Maybe I’m just born with it….

Maybelline Baby Lips

H&M Large Kabuki Brush

I love good brushes. I love big brushes. I love Kabuki brushes. See where I’m going with this post? I picked this brush up in H&M just out of curiosity for about £4.99. I had heard that H&M do very good makeup tools and their brushes were exceptional and very reasonably priced.

I use a translucent powder to set my foundation, especially after using liquid and like a Kabuki brush to do the trick, however, I’ve recently had to throw mine away, so I was on the hunt for a new one. You can pay a fortune for a decent Kabuki brush so I wanted to try a H&M one to see if the rumours were true.

I like the size of this brush, it means you can get all over your face with a few sweeping motions, bringing down ‘getting ready’ time to a minimum and also the benefits are that one side of your face isn’t more polished than the other (guilty as charged).

Even after using vigorously, the bristles didn’t come out (take that Bare Minerals brushes). Do I have a criticism? Well, the size isn’t going to suit everyone, but this would be perfect if like me you use a translucent powder or you like a bronzer. I wouldn’t recommend it for applying foundation, not precise enough.

Not a bad brush considering, and for less than a fiver, give it a go.

Oldie but Goodie: YSL Touche Eclat

I’m beginning a new feature on my blog about some classic beauty products we all know and love. These products are iconic and are beauty staples in many a peoples make up collection. I will start with perhaps the most famous of all. YSL Touche Éclat.

I have loved and used this product for 10 years now, I had it when I was at school, have used it religiously and so have become a master of this product, (If I say so myself). I have a love affair with YSL cosmetics and have only recently starting to branch away from the brand, simply because I’m potentially missing out on some great stuff. Fear not YSL, I’ll never leave you.

First things first. This is NOT a concealer!!!! The most common misconception attached to this wonderful product. I have even been to various YSL beauty counters and the assistant has informed me its good for covering blemishes! Its really not. This product is a highlighter, and when used correctly can give your face the ultimate radiance which is surpassed by none other. Why would you want to highlight your blemishes?

About 5 years ago, possibly less than that, the Touche Éclat came in only one colour, No.1. Now 6 shades have been added to cater to different ethnicities, which is great! I have used both No.1 and No.2, but for me No.2 is a little too similar to my skin colour so I didn’t get the benefits of a highlighter. The trick is to get the Touche Éclat a little lighter than your natural skin tone.

The consistency is creamy, the little brush on the end is smooth, I have never experienced the bristles to come out, and you control how much product is released into the bristles by clicking the black button on the bottom.

So how exactly is it used?

It is used to highlight certain areas of the face, where the light would naturally ‘bounce off’, so the top of cheek bones, bridge of your nose etc. There are also other good places to put it, I like to put mine across the eyelids and at the corners of my eyes to make me look more ‘awake’, this will also work effectively under the eyes, as a dark circle corrector.

Another place I like to put the Touche Éclat is where my cupid’s bow is and I trace out the outline of my lips. I do this when I’m wearing a brighter lip colour, to really make my lips pop, look defined and make them even more eye-catching.

The Touche Éclat retails here in the UK for about £24.00. Which makes it a high end piece. However, this can last you 6-12 months (I’ve had mine since Christmas).

I think everyone should try this product. I wouldn’t bother looking for a cheaper alternative and I wouldn’t try and look for another product so you can be different and not follow the crowd. We Touche Éclat sheep follow for a reason. It really is the best. It’s won award year after year since its explosion onto the beauty scene in 1992, at one point selling 1 every second and nothing has ever came close. Dior, Clarins and by beloved MAC have tried to compete to no avail.

This is one beauty icon you need.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Collection

Giddyness doesn’t quite cover what I felt when I saw these travel sized Smashbox products. It is hard to find Smashbox in the UK, only a select few Boots stores hold them. this set cost £14.00, but they are mini’s. These primers are raved about all over the internet and are the number one choice for many make-up artists. Smashbox is a US brand with many choices of primer, I like this set because its oil free, so it’s not going to react with your foundation or powder and it will mean the ultimate base to hold on to your make-up.

The first of the set I am going to talk about is the Photo Finish Foundation Primer RRP £25.00. This is used after moisturiser and before foundation for a perfect complexion. It goes on your skin making it very smooth and you only need the tiniest amount to fill in fine lines and even out your skin’s texture, allowing for flawless photos. This makes your foundation last longer as it prevents your foundation slipping right off during the course of the day. Definitely the best primer I have used to date.

The next primer is the Hydrating under eye primer RRP £21.00. Now this to me is one of those unnecessary products we convince ourselves (usually egged on by the assistants behind the counter of our favourite stand) we need. As I’ve said before I use YSL Touche Eclat under my eyes just to brighten them up when I haven’t slept well or I’m not feeling too good and I think the coverage is perfect and I don’t need the added extra of a primer. This primer does hydrate the eye area so it’s quite refreshing on the skin making your eye feel instantly brighter.

The last one is the Photo Finish Lid Primer RRP £15.00. I would always recommend a lid primer, especially if you are like me and you have oily skin. This will guarantee your eye-shadow and eye-liner maximum staying power all day long. There is not too much to explain about this, however, I have some negatives about this though. The first is the smell, it has quite a painty smell to it, think the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. The second is that it gives my eye lid a darker shade making it yellowy in colour. I don’t think there is a need for pigment to be in this product. It does what it is supposed to very well, only because of these negatives would I recommend Urban Decay’s Primer Potion as an alternative as the product is clear upon application.