My Secret To Clear Skin - Quick Fix Facials Purifying Charcoal Mask

I honestly thought when I reached my twenties all my teenage spots would disappear but boy did that ever NOT happen! Much to my annoyance I have a very oily t-zone meaning there's always at least a few spots making themselves at home on my face. It's totally stupid to let it bother me because I know it could be so much worse. It doesn't make me any less insecure about my skin though, I'm only human after all. 

Recently I tried a few sample pots of the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask and I absolutely loved it but at £23, it's not really in my budget. After perusing the shelves of Boots to see what alternative face masks they had, I came across Quick Fix Facials. Not having heard of this brand before I was really intrigued as they had so many different varieties including a charcoal mask, for less than £5 each! I ended up picking the Purifying Charcoal Mask, mainly because I wanted to see how it compared to the Origins mask and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised!

Rimmel Nude Collection By Kate Moss - Review & Swatches

The newest addition to the ever popular Rimmel By Kate Moss lipsticks is The Nude Collection, a range of neutral shade lipsticks designed to be flattering on all skin tones. There are five shades to choose from ranging from a pale peachy colour to a deep brown-y red. Rimmel have even created a handy shade guide to help decipher which nude is right for you based on your skin undertones.

Shade Guide:

·         All Skin Types - 40, 43, 48

·         Neutral Skin Undertones - 40, 42

·         Warm Skin Undertones - 43

·         Cool Skin Undertones - 45

My Blog Disappeared!

I just want to apologise for my site being down for the last four days. You may or may not have noticed that my blog had completely disappeared from the internet and been replaced with a 'coming soon' message! Basically I had a few technical issues which were caused by my sheer stupidity and complete lack of technical knowledge. In other words, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing!

Fortunately I seem to have fixed the problem and rescued my blog from an internet black hole but it means for now I'm back to my old blogspot url agirlcalledeleanor.blogspot.co.uk. It was touch and go for a while though, at one point I did seriously think I'd lost my entire blog. That would have been two years of blogging completely down the drain! Ugh I would have been devastated!

I am currently working on getting my new custom domain name back so please bear with me. It's safe to say however that I don't want to risk loosing my blog all over again so it may take a few days!

Meanwhile I'll continue to upload posts at agirlcalledeleanor.blogspot.co.uk.

Ellie x 

Clinique Beyond Perfecting 2-in-1 Foundation And Concealer Review

The Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer has been around for a good few months now and I have to admit that it's been sitting on my dressing table for all that time. My sister picked me up a bottle on a trip to Italy and the shade she bought was slightly too dark so I've been waiting until I was a little more tanned to use it (thank you San Tropez gradual tan!). I have shade 7 'Creme Chamois' which is part of the 'very fair' colour group in the Clinique range and has a slightly pink undertone to it. I like to wear less makeup during the summer months so the idea of having a 2-in-1 foundation and concealer that is also lightweight really appeals to me. At £25 it's definitely on the pricey side for a foundation so it had a lot of expectations to live up to to justify spending that much!

There's a few things about the Beyond Perfecting foundation + concealer that I've never come across before, the first being the doe foot applicator. Obviously most concealers have this kind of applicator but never before have I used a foundation with one. It's designed so that one dip of the wand will give you a full-face application; the flat side used to sweep foundation across the cheeks, forehead and chin, the angled tip used on the jawline and nose and the pointy tip to conceal trouble areas. It's really great that Clinique have put a lot of thought into how best to apply the product and it does work really well for all these things. It did however take a few dips of the wand for me to cover my whole face and neck but maybe that's just because I have quite a large face!

The second being that it's a slow drying formula, of which I've never heard of before for a foundation. It takes a few minutes to settle into the skin so it's much easier to blend out, particularly on those difficult areas like under the eyes and around the nose. I use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply and ended up completely ignoring the application instructions from Clinique by applying the product straight from applicator to brush, it worked for me!

               No Foundation/Concealer                                 1 Layer Of Beyond Perfecting Foundation 

This is most definitely a full coverage foundation, it pretty much covers EVERYTHING! My main problem areas are redness, particularly around my nose and cheeks and also scarring from old spots. The Beyond Perfecting Foundation is excellent at covering both these problems but is lightweight enough that it doesn't feel as if you're wearing a really heavy layer of foundation. As for dark under eye circles, even though it's not something I have a particular problem with, I'm still not so sure I could forgo lightening the under eye area just because I think it makes me look more awake! I does however provide very good coverage of dark circles just without the brightening effect of an under eye concealer.

It really goes on quite thick which needs some getting used to and takes a good five minutes at least to sink in to the skin and look more natural. It's slightly unnerving when you first put it on as it starts off darker but lightens as it dries, just remember that if you're swatching it in the shop! It's not a huge negative though, it just means you can't really apply and go straight out. You definitely want to wait around five to ten minutes before you leave the house for it to settle into the skin. Once settled into the skin you end up with a natural matte finish that leaves the skin looking slightly dewy but not shiny. What with having an oily t zone, I'm a huge fan of using powder over the top but in the picture above I used no powder what so ever and was so impressed with how matte it looked without being drying. I spent the whole day with no powder too and not once did I look shiny so again, another product I can cut down on for the summer!  

As for staying power, I have to say I'm really impressed! The summer months are normally a big test for foundation by making sure it doesn't all melt off your face! I've been wearing it for the last few days where the temperature has hit 30'C in my part of the UK and not once did I worry that it wasn't staying put in the heat. In fact if anything it amazed me just how much of it had stayed on when I went to wash my face at the end of the day! It looked almost as flawless as when I first applied it, I really think the Beyond Perfecting Foundation is one of the longest lasting foundations I have ever tried!



The Clinique Beyond Perfecting 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer would be a perfect choice for a summer base if you're looking to cut down on the number of products you're using in the warmer months but are still looking for high coverage. It's already become a staple in my makeup bag. We really need more 2-in-1 products like this in the future please beauty brands!

Have you tried the Beyond Perfecting 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer? What do you think of the 2-in-1 product idea? Let me know in the comments below!

Clinique Beyond Perfecting 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer - £25 boots.com

Ellie x

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers - Review & Swatches

I'm a huge fan of a bright lip on a night out but it's always annoying when you're constantly fretting about whether your lipstick still looks good after a few hours. This is why I absolutely love liquid lipsticks, they're brilliant at staying in place even after a night/day of eating and drinking, my favourites being the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks. However I recently noticed that budget brand MUA have their very own range of liquid lipsticks, Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers and at just £3, they're a third of the price of the Bourjois ones! They're not particularly new to the market, I think they came out sometime last year but I wanted to see if they were any good for the price and let you  know the results. 

There are currently ten shades to choose from, most of which are really bright vibrant colours. They're definitely missing a trick here I think, hopefully they'll incorporate a few more everyday, neutral shades into the line in the future. I bought two Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers in the shades Dare, a deep Fuschia purple-pink and Atomic, an orange-red shade, both of which are really gorgeous, vibrant colours that dry matte.  

Starting with the application of the Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers, well it's safe to say that like with most liquid lipsticks, they're not exactly easy to apply. They come with a doe foot applicator that although gives you great even coverage, isn't so great for precise application particularly around the lip line. It's not altogether impossible but you may find yourself wiping it all off and starting again like I have on a few occasions! Personally I think a lip brush works much better with the Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers  especially if you're not used a liquid lipstick before. The colour pay off is absolutely incredible however and they last for ages! I've worn these for hours on end and even after eating a three course meal plus a couple of drinks, they look almost as good as when first applied bar some slight colour fading on the inside of the lips. The colour really doesn't budge though so you don't have to worry about it disappearing off your lips and reapplying in some dimly lit public bathroom! 

I do have another slight niggle with the Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers unfortunately. On occasion I've found that after a few hours they can go a little crumbly. It's not noticeable to everyone else but it feels uncomfortable to have little dry bits on your lips. It doesn't happen every time I wear them and you don't really lose any of the colour either, it is annoying but easily fixable with a little lip balm applied over the top.

If you're a fan of a bright lip then I would definitely recommend you give the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers a try; they're a great price, have excellent colour pay off and there are tons of really cool, bright colours to choose from. They're not quite perfect but at £3 they're great to test out whether liquid lipsticks are for you or not.  

Have you tried the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers? What's your favourite brand/shade of liquid lipsticks? I'll love some recommendations for more neutral shades so please let me know in the comments below!

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers - £3 superdrug.com

Ellie x

Contouring For Fair Skin - Maybelline Master Sculpt Review

Contouring can be very tricky for the best of us, it's something you can get either spectacularly wrong or absolutely spot on. It's even more tricky however if you're fair skinned, it's so difficult to find the right shade that won't end up with you looking like you have two orange streaks on either side of your face! That's where the new Maybelline Master Sculpt comes in, a 2 in 1 contouring palette with a highlight and contour shade that is supposedly the answer to all our contouring problems. It comes in two shades; Light/Medium and Medium/Dark which, from what I can tell, will suit most skin tones. 

The handy sized palette consists of a matte contour powder and a shimmer highlight on the top, which lifts up to reveal a decent sized mirror and a small contouring brush. I really like that some thought have been put in to the design of the palette making it perfect to pop in your handbag and use on the go. 

I bought the Light/Medium shade hoping for a good match for my pale skin which in fact it is. It's more of a skin tone colour rather than an unnatural orange shade and seems to be a lot lighter than any other matte bronzer/contour powders I've seen before. It picks up incredibly easily on the brush too, in fact maybe a little too easily so you do have to take care to be quite light handed. On first use I decided to give the little brush that came with the the palette a try. It's an okay brush, it's not scratchy and the thin, tapered shape make it easy to blend the product in to the hollows of the cheekbones. The fact that the handle is so small however makes it tricky to use comfortably so after the initial use I stuck with my Real Techniques Foundation Brush and Contour Brush to blend.  

I was really impressed with how natural the colour of the contour powder looked on my skin once it was blended out. It created a really soft shadow of colour and somehow managed to create  the effect of stand out cheek bones on my chubby cheeked face! I didn't go too crazy with it because the risk of going overboard with contouring still scares me but I have to say I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I feel like it's a product I could really easily integrate into my everyday make-up routine. As for the highlighter, well the slightly peachy colour to it means it blended almost seamlessly with my skin tone to create a really subtle glow . I used my fingers to apply it and again it was easy to pick up and blend out. 

In the swatch picture above I've layered both products twice to build up the colour enough to be able to be picked up by the camera. I've left it unedited so you can get a real feel of what the colours of both the contour powder and highlighter are really like.

I'd definitely recommend that Maybelline Master Sculpt in the shade Light/Medium would be a really great buy for someone who is fair skinned and has maybe been scared off from contouring in the past. The natural finish this left me with has swayed me in to thinking that perhaps contouring isn't just for bronzed beauties after all! It's probably not something I'll be doing every day but now that I know I can contour, I'll definitely be doing it more often!

Have you tried Maybelline Master Sculpt? Are you a contour fanatic or a scared newbie like me? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Maybelline Master Sculpt - £6.99 boots.com

Ellie x

Bourjois Aqua Blush - Review & Swatches

Just in time for summer, Bourjois have brought out a new range of gel blushes called Aqua Blush which boast a pretty impressive 12 hr hold. They claim it 'boosts your skins natural radiance with sheer fresh colour' and is currently available in a range of 4 different colours. I ended up buying #02 Cocoricorail, a coral shade and #03 Pink Twice, a rosy pink, mainly because I thought these two shades would suite my pale complexion best. 

Having never tried any kind of gel blush before I was really intrigued by the Aqua Blush, it sounds like just the product to help freshen up my summer makeup routine. I've already moved on to a light weight foundation so why not use a light weight blush too, it makes perfect sense! And light weight it is! It's incredibly easy to blend which is something I was slightly dubious about initially as when it comes out the bottle it does look very pigmented. You really only need a tiny amount for it to blend out beautifully and leave a gorgeous sheer, natural colour. You definitely don't need as much as I've used for the swatches above.  I've found the colour to be really quite build-able too,, little amounts with each layer blended out properly create the perfect flush of colour for an evening look. It really does leave your skin very glowy too, which seeing as that's the sort of look I go for in the summer anyway is great for me. The glow lasts too, maybe not quite as long as the colour but long enough to look fresh faced throughout the day.

The big question however is does it last 12 whole hours? Well no, not really but it doesn't need to either. The bottle is handy enough to pop in your bag and freshen up as the day progresses without the need for any bulky brushes. I will say however that is does last a good 6-8 hours and the colour on your cheeks never really disappears completely. 

- #03 Pink Twice -

- #02 Cocoricorial -

Along with my Bourjois purchases I got an amazing free gift too that I couldn't not mention. Boots is currently running a great deal both in store and online where if you spend £15 or more on Bourjois products, you get a free Sunkiss collection gift set! The set includes: 1 Full Size Maxi Delight Bronzer, 1 Bronzing Powder Brush and 1 Full Size Color Boost Lip Crayon in #04 Peach On The Beach. All of this has a combined total of just under £22, bargain! I recommend you get down to Boots fast if you're keen to get your hands on this as I'm sure it wont be round for long! 

Of both the shades of Aqua Blush that I tried, I have to say, surprisingly, #02 Cocoricorail was my favourite. I mostly tend to stay away from coral blushes as they can look too orange on my pale skin but this one gives me just the right amount of colour and actually ended up looking more natural than the pink. #03 Pink Twice is a really pretty pink however and does give that girly flushed look which, actually I really like too! Well maybe it's a draw then between the two.

Have you tried the new Bourjois Aqua Blush? Do you stick to more light weight makeup products in the Summer? Let me know in the comments below!

Bourjois Aqua Blush - £8.99 boots.com

Ellie x