Make up Revolution Ultra face base

Ever since Makeup Revolution popped up in my local Superdrug I've been a HUGE fan. I use their pallets almost daily as they're so versatile. I've dabbled in a few of their other products, but never their foundations as Superdrug never stocked my shade. (The MUR stand in my Superdrug is slim pickings at the best of times)

However, today they had it in stock (HALLELUJAH!!) so I dived on it. Now, Ultra face base is a BB cream foundation hybrid, and it's only €3.85, so I wasn't expecting miracles. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I used a MUR primer and applied using a flat brush and just tapped with a sponge. Well, initially I was blown away. The shade is perfect for pale skin (I used FB02) as it's pale but pink toned so doesn't leave you looking ghostly.

It's much fuller coverage than any BB cream I've ever used, in fact it's a fuller coverage than some medium-full foundations I've used. It covered all my redness without needing concealor. The formula itself is quite thick, but blends and builds perfectly, and doesn't create a mask like effect. In my opinion it left my skin looking quite porcelain and almost airbrushed.

Freshly applied

What I love most about this base is its lasting power. Lately, my make up has been needing almost hourly touch up's to cover shine, but I honestly have not had to touch my face up all day. It hasn't separated or gone patchy on my oily skin, whereas foundations (with a much higher price tag) would only last about 2-3 hours. It also doesn't feel heavy on my skin.

After 10 hours and 0 touch up's

 If you want a full coverage foundation with good lasting power, that's buildable and blends well, then you really can't get much better than Ultra Face in my opinion. It's worth every penny of its €3.85 price tag. I'm going to give it a few more uses, and investigate the different shades, but id already be fairly confident using this foundation on clients! 

NYX Matte not flat foundation review

For some reason, Blogger decided to completely eradicate my original review from the face of the earth, so here we go with round two!..... fingers crossed!

As most of you know, unless you've been hiding under a rock, NYX landed on our fair shores a few months ago (in selected store) sending the blogerspher all a tizzy! My closest stockist was all the ways over in Bradley's Pharmacy in Blanch (boohoo) so getting my mitts on some was proving quite tricky! That's where the wonderful GirlFriday stepped in, took way my little shopping list and worked her magic!

I initially had my eye on the Invincible foundation (dat full coverage!!) but it wasn't in stock so I got Matte not flat instead! Lets start with the pro's!

It's one of very few foundations that matches my skin tone almost exactly without any faffing about! If anything, it's bordering on TOO pale! (I KNOW!!!) It comes in 5 shades so there should be something to suit all skin types!

It's blends really easily, and sets to a nice matte finish, but doesn't make my skin look dull or lifeless.

It has a fairly reasonable price point! (Can be yours for a sweet 13 fiddy from Littlewoods)

It has a medium to light coverage, so is enough to cover any mild redness, and feels nice and light on the face. The coverage is a bit of a double edged sword for me, even during the day I tend to lean more towards a full coverage, but I did find it to be quite buildable.

Now for the bad stuff...

I found that when I wore it without a primer it had a tendency to sit in my pores, which i HATE. Considering that I'd mostly be using this as a foundation for college, I'd often just be whacking it on and running out the door, so I don't have time to be worrying about primers! This is a bit of a bug bear for me unfortunately!

It's not hugely long lasting, I found after a few hours it was fading around my oily areas!

All in all I'd give Matte not flat 3/5. It is a good little daytime foundation, as long as you don't mind the occasional touch up, and prime time if you have visible pores!

Seventeen Stay Time Foundation

Love love love love love!! I'm actually surprised by how much I love this foundation!

A few months ago I bought Seventeen's Miracle Matte foundation and was so disappointed by it t hat I kinda swore off their foundation for good (everything about that foundation was  bad, it oxidized really obviously, was streaky and blotchy, just...ugh). However during my last little excursion to Boots I couldn't resist the lure of a bargain and picked up their Stay Time foundation for €4. It was strange, in one Boots it was €4, but the Boots around the corner were still selling it at full price......

Anyhow, I really wanted to LOVE this foundation, as I'm very fond of Seventeen as a brand, their eyeshadow's and Doll'd Up mascara are some of my absolute beauty staples! I can happily say that I'm incredibly happy with it, it knocked my, admittedly quite low, expectations outta the park.

Stay time promises to be a full coverage (yay) that will stay flawless on your skin for 25 hours. While I've yet to test the 25 hour part, I can vouch for the rest. I need a full coverage foundation, this comes out of the bottle quite thick but spreads really easily and evenly (I applied it with a Blank Canvas F20 foundation brush). My skin tone is immediately more even and any imperfections are really well hidden with this foundation, so much so I've little need for concealer. It does dry with a bit of a shine so a finishing powder is always necessary if you like a matte finish. It's definitely very long lasting, I applied it early yesterday morning and it still looked fresh when it was time to scrub it all off, it even survived a little early evening cat nap. One of my favourite things is that it doesn't oxidise at all so you don't start with a flawless base and end up 3 shades darker by the time you finish your make up.

I picked it up in Porcelain and I'm white as a ghost so it's really good for fellow palies! I'm so very impressed with this foundation, so much so I'll be popping back up to see if I can bag another bottle for €4! If not, I'd happily pay full price for it (which is coming up as €4.79 on the Boots website as it's just that good. But I've a horrible feeling they may be discontinuing it.... which would just be typical!

Blank Canvas F20 buffer brush and E32 blending brush

Blank Canvas very kindly donated an F20 buffer brush and E32 crease blending brush for each goody bag at the SBBC wrap up party. My current make up brushes are on their last legs and are begging to be retired so when I saw these I was like a kid in a candy shop, I couldn't wait to get home and play with them.

I used them both for the first time today and I'm so, so impressed. The F20's synthetic fibers are packed really densely and it's extremely sturdy, but still feels so soft and luxurious on your face. I found applying my make up with the F20 to be much faster than my flat brush, and left me with a more even, streak free, flawless finish. I also love the design of the brush, the pink handle is very cute and girly. One of the most annoying things about foundation brushes is when they leave little hairs behind on your face, but there was absolutely no fallout with the F20 I can absolutely see why it's one of their best sellers!

The E32 is made from incredibly soft, high grade goat hair and is easy to manoeuvre so it makes getting your eyeshadow blended right into the crease of your lid a doddle. I found my eyeshadow went on evenly, and blended out perfectly from the crease with minimal effort. 

The F20 sells at €13.99 and the E32 is €7.99, both can be bought from the Blank Canvas website. I'll personally be investing in a lot more of their brushes as both the brushes I have used seem to be great quality, effective, and well worth what they cost. I really cant wait to try more!

Max Factor CC Cream

Max Factor CC Cream €15.25

I've been threatening to buy this since I first discovered it in Boots, and my holiday gave me the perfect opportunity to try a new, lighter foundation because you know..... I need it! This CC cream promised a fuller coverage to BB creams, and that was the main draw for me. I need a full coverage, so BB creams never appealed to me, and I could never find one pale enough for me anyway. I picked up the fair shade yesterday (there are 3 shades to choose from- Fair, Natural and Tanned) and tried it for the first time today.

Before powder

Overall, I'm really impressed with this foundation. The coverage isn't sensational, but it's very buildable, so you can pretty much custom match it to your needs. I applied it with a foundation brush and the liquid formula blends very smooth and evenly. I've had it on all day and it still looks freshly applied. It dries with a slight sheen so if you like a matt finish, like I do, then a finishing powder is a must. As for it's colour correcting abilities, as you can see from pictures my cheeks are still slightly flushed, but it hid the redness of blemishes very well and freshened up the circles under my eyes.

After powder (Natural Collection Pressed Powder)