BLUSH // NYX OMBRE BLUSH - FEEL THE HEAT

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MAC COSMETICS // BLUNT BLUSH

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BLUSH // Everyday WoC Friendly Blushes

Blush is by far one of my favourite parts of makeup. 

The way it brings warmth to the face has always astounded me, I don't know what is it about them but I do love me some blush!

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Favourite Beauty Products Of 2014 Pt 1 || Eyes, Palettes & Face

Although I have loved cosmetics for a while, 2014 seemed to be the year where I REALLY put time and effort into trialing and testing out new products for my makeup regime.

 Last year I published my Favourite Beauty Products of 2013, it'll be interesting to see who made the cut to 2014.

Just a word of warning, this is gonna be a long one (especially when it comes to face/base products) so brace yourself!

Once again I've broken this down into Eyes, Face, Lips with a few new additions to this year which are Palettes, Skin Care and Ones To Watch in 2015.

If you're a makeup lover like myself I'm sure you'll enjoy this post, so without further ado, let's get right to it!

     

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Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Radiant

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Make Up For Ever Second Skin Cream Blush 515

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Milani Baked Blushes

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Nars Pierre Hardy High Voltage Blush in Rotonde (LE)

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Sleek Bronze Block

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NARS Dolce Vita Blush

   

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La Femme Blushes

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - Mood Exposure

If you're a regular beauty blog reader you would have seen the name Hourglass Cosmetics pop up more than once on your reads.

Famous for their Mineral Veil Primer and Ambient Lighting Powder, Hourglass is viewed as one of the must have brands to hold in your make up collection.

I had never tried any of Hourglasses products before but decided to take the plunge when I heard of one of their newest products - Ambient Lighting Blush (RRP £28.00)

What They Say:

"This groundbreaking hybrid combines the customized lighting effects of Ambient Lighting Powder with a spectrum of breathtakingly modern hues. The result is a natural radiant finish with seamless, soft-focus and buildable colour...Ambient Lighting Blush uses Photoluminescent Technology to exhibit depth and dimension..."

Well...let's just try to simplify this shall we?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush is a blush twinned with that extra special Ambient Lighting Powder glow. This glow gives the blush another dimension, taking away that flat one dimensional colour that you can get with some blushes.

I picked up the shade Mood Exposure, mostly because it was described as a 'soft plum' and out of all the blushes I felt that this shade would compliment my skin tone the best.

Application

Fairly simple, just lightly swish and apply!

My Thoughts

Well...let's get straight to the point.

I was extremely underwhelmed from the start.

Upon first glance the plum tone in Mood Exposure did not seem strong enough for my skin tone.

It also looked very flat in the pan but I put that to the side because of the inclusion of the ever famous Ambient Powder.

However when I used it I was still underwhelmed.

Now don't get me wrong! 

This is a really pretty colour, a subtle but natural looking plum blush.

The consistency of the blush itself is also very soft, almost buttery and the blush is very easy to blend.

On the swatches below it looks a bit ashy on my skin tone but once applied it does appear warm, but this, to me, was it's only selling point.

I've never used or swatched the Ambient Lighting Powder but from the talk of it I expected more of it with this blush.

As you can see the finish of this blush is satin, almost matte from my swatches.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Ambient Lighting Powder but I was expecting more of a glow as standard.

All in all I feel that the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush in Mood Exposure is over hyped.

Whilst a pretty colour I don't think that the addition of the Ambient Lighting powder added anything to the effect of the blush.

When I wear this I find myself layering other blushes on top, it simply does not have that X-Factor that Hourglass claims it has.

If you're looking for a super subtle looking blush I would somewhat recommend this but it would be cheaper and easier just to use a light hand with the blushes you already have.

I would have to say, I wouldn't buy this blush again but I have not yet given up on the Ambient Lighting Powder. 

I'm hoping the Powder's will impress me more than this blush did.

If you wish to pick up this blush you can purchase it from Space NK HERE.

If you're in the US you can purchase these blushes directly from Hourglasses website HERE.

Do you own any of the Ambient Lighting Blushes?
What do you think of them?

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Summer Lush List

The sun is FINALLY making an appearance and I couldn't be happier!
I love preparing for this season, I change up everything, my clothes, my hair and even my make up!
My latest list contains some of the beauty items I've been luring after for summer.

Melt Cosmetics - The matte lipstick brand created by Instagram star now turned Riri's MUA Lora. Her and her partner in crime Dana have created a small but eye catching range of matte lipstick that I have been lusting over for some time now. 
I have my eye on DGAF, Blow and Shady Lady right now. The only thing putting me off is the shipping, but for these gorgeous lippies I'll just have to bite the bullet!

NARS Contour Blush in Geniah -  This is a product that NARS is due to release very soon! A contour duo with a lighter and darker shade to provide a more natural contour. I think it's a fab idea and Geniah really looks like a great shade for WoC. As it yet to be released feel free to grab some info regarding this duo from Temptalia

A La Carte London  Bespoke Foundation -  There is something about having your own bespoke foundation that fills me with  unexplained glee!

A La Carte offer bespoke make up for products such as lip glosses, lipstick and eye shadows but my eye is on the foundation.

A perfect match?! Yes please! 

Sugarpill Burning Heart Palette - After seeing this post I realised I needed a this palette in my life. I think matte yellows look amazing on darker skin tones and would really love to experiment with all the colours including the ever famous Poison Plum.

MAC Eye Shadow Palette - For the first time, a few weeks ago I went into MAC and swatched some of their eye shadows...this was a bad idea as I fell in love immediately! Initially I wanted to pick up the Warm Neutral palette when it landed but it wouldn't contain all the shades I wanted so I guess this summer I'll start creating my own MAC palette. 

Very excited...bank account is not!

Charlotte Tilbury The Perfect Vamp Kiss -  You guys already know about my lust over Charlotte's make up range. This kit looks perfect for me, the focus is on creating the perfect vamp lip, but wow, is this pricey! 

Alas, the heart wants what it wants!

Make Up Geek Pigments - I already have a few MUG products that I have found outstanding so I know these pigments will fit the bill.

These pigments come in a gorgeous array of shades and are heavenly pigmented. You can tell the MUG team put a lot of work into their products which is something I really love in a brand!

La Femme Blush Palette -  I'm not sure why I do not have a La Femme blush palette in my possession yet! From what I've seen La Femme blushers are pigmented, long wearing and fantastic in price with many shades that suit WoC. This is a must have, that I MUST HAVE!

MAC Lip Mix in Crimson - You can blame NikkieTutorials for this one, check out the AMAZING red lip she created with Crimson and Riri Woo. I've been obsessed with adding Crimson to my collection ever since. A MAC Pro product but worth the extra effort in my opinion!

What's on your summer make up wish list?

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Illamasqua Excite Blush and Succubus Intense Lipgloss

I am a genuine newbie to Illamasqua. 

The only other Illamasqua product I own is their Skin Base in 15 which is a great full coverage foundation, so I figured it was time for me to add to my make up collection.

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NYX Butter Gloss and HD Grinding Blush

I cannot tell you how excited I was when NYX got back to me about being their Blogger of The Month!

Not only am I a huge fan of their products I love the fact that they are so accessible for all, a lot of my favourite Youtubers use NYX and it's fantastic that I have the ability to buy the exact same products!

NYX kindly sent me some products to review which I was super super excited about so ladies and gentlefolk let me introduce you to the following:

NYX Butter Gloss in Cherry Pie - £5.00*

The Butter Glosses are one of NYX's newest products.

Now let me be honest here, I have never really been a lip gloss fan, most of the lip glosses I have tried out have been sticky, gloopy and uncooperative, however I have always found a friend in NYX lipglosses (they are the only lip glosses I own) so I very excited about the new Butter glosses.

I was sent the colour Cherry Pie which is fantastic for my skin tone, it's warm enough to use on it's own as a stain or applied on top of your favourite lippie.

This colour is buildable when used on its own but as I don't like to overdo gloss I decided to apply this like a stain.

One thing I absolutely love about this product is its texture, as it's name indicates, it is like butter! It feels like lip balm on the lips which is always a thumbs up from me!

This is a great product for those of you who want to introduce colour into your everyday makeup routine without going overly bold.

The glosses come in 12 gorgeous shades ranging from warm pinks to very subtle reds.

If you are anything like me and you're not a fan of sticky lipglosses I would definitely recommend this product to you!

Next up:

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Grinding Blusher in Apricot - £14.00*

You guys know how much I LURRVE blush. I cannot get enough of the stuff so when I heard about NYX's HD blush I was overly excited! (Lol! Makeup loser!)

This blush is not only tailored for easy application (finely milled,) it is paraben free and made to photograph fantastically, as an Instagram lover and blogger this is a bonus!

At first I was a little bit sceptical as I always am with most pink toned blushes as they can show up ashy on my skin tone but I went ahead an applied and I was glad I did.

This colour is GORGEOUS!

It's a soft pinky orange toned blush which gives me an effortless natural healthy glow.

This matte blush is heavily pigmented and a little goes a very long way!

I also love the packaging of this blush, the sleek tub with snazzy grinder makes application more exciting - it's all about the little things!

If I had one con it would be that it is sometimes easy to waste product with the grinding blush but this can be remedied by only turning the grinder gently.

This blush is available in 8 natural shades from pinks to subtle browns making it suitable for all skin tones, winner!

I wasted no time swatching and applying these two.

As you can see the two worn together give the most effortless natural look. Sunkissed and healthy!

I am absolutely loving these products which are fantastic for those of us who love the natural flushed look.

Don't forget to check out NYX Cosmetics website 
to shop and find out more information on their products. I would honestly recommend them for the price and quality! 

I've already had a cheeky shop on there, watch out for my post regarding their bronzer and orange concealer coming soon!

I am so chuffed to be able to receive these fantastic products and to be chosen as NYX's Blogger Of The Month!

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