Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24HR

Finding the perfect foundation can be a little bit of a nightmare as everyone has different skin tones and skin types. When I'm foundation shopping, I always find that I'm between two of the lightest colours and that one makes me look like an oompa loompa and the other makes me look like a ghost. I can never win. Until now, my trusty foundation for the last few months has been Illamasqua Skin Base and in terms of coverage I would say it is one of the best foundations out there. However I find that the Illamasqua Skin Base can look a bit dull on my skin. It matches my skin colour perfectly, but it doesn't give me the radiant glow I desire. 

Last Saturday my Illamasqua Skin Base finally came to the end of it's bottle and I needed to find a new replacement. I searched through each House of Fraser beauty counter and found myself lost and confused. I've tried Clinique and it just didn't work for me, I've tried Clarins and found it to be too drying - I didn't know where to turn.

In the end I decided to try Lancome. I haven't tried Lancome foundations before, but I've heard so many great things about them. I also recently heard that they had brought out a new foundation and since the lady asked me if I wanted to try anything, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to experiment. An hour later, I left the store with two little samples of their moisturisers and the foundation I have been eager to try.

The Lancome Teint Idole Ultra is Lancome's first 24hour foundation that according to the website:"Gives you an even, flawless looking complexion. No need for touch ups." The foundation blends effortlessly on the skin and indeed creates a flawless looking complexion. The foundation offers buildable coverage and can be worn lighter during the day and heavier for special occasions. 

What I love the most about this product is that it gives me a radiant glow. The foundation has a slight yellowish tone which to be honest is probably a little bit off colour for my skin tone, but it adds warmth and a dewy finish. The colour looks impeccable and for the first time in a way, I feel like my skin has a healthy, youthful look. I don't believe products that claim to last 24Hours and unfortunately this does not last the whole night through, but it is really easy to touch up and comes in a glamorous bottle - for that reason, I will forgive the product.

Overall, I'm really happy that I bought the Lancome Teint Idole. Yet again, it isn't my Holy Grail foundation, but it's getting one step closer. My skin colour looks perfectly matched for once, I look healthy and my skin looks natural what more can I really ask for? Lancome seriously have impressed me.

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December Sales: Beauty Edit

Everywhere you go, it's impossible to escape the big red 'Sale' signs at the moment. Each shop trying to lure in customers for half price gear, which in all fairness is usually worth around that amount to begin with. I admit, I'm one of these that can't resist a sale. Show me a big red sign and i'll be in there quicker than you can say stop. In fact, I've been in town nearly most days over the Christmas period and I've picked up some pretty fab items. Despite grabbing a handful of fabulous sale items, I've been pretty disappointed with this years sale shopping. I don't know whether it's just me, but shoppers this year seem to be going crazy. Swishing their way through each aisle and knocking everything over just to grab one t-shirt that has a few pounds taken off it. I've experienced a lot of quite rude shoppers giving me the evil eye for picking up an item before them and I've realised i'm incredibly lucky that I don't bruise easily as I've been knocked about going through the River Island sale rails. Although I paint a picture of a frenzied boxing day, in the end I survived and I walked away clutching a few items that made all the trauma worthwhile. 

I didn't really see many beauty items that I wanted this year. My eyes kept wandering around all the nail polish sales, but I already have almost 200 nail polishes that I don't wear so I resisted the temptation. Instead the first beauty item I opted for was this Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir Gift Set from Boots. As mentioned previously, I'm obsessed with perfume so any opportunity to get a new bottle for a lower price I'm there. This Guerlain gift set was purchased in the Boots half price sale on Christmas Eve from the Boots online store for the price of £21 compared to the pre Christmas sale price of £42. I've always been drawn to this gift set because of the beauty bottle shape and I love perfumes with a strong fruity scent. This perfume is based around the fragrances of black cherry, rose and licorice.

My second sale item was this beautiful Lancome Alber Elbaz collectable eyeshadow for approximately £8.00. I spend a lot of my time wearing darker eyeshadow colours and I decided that this time I would opt for something a bit lighter and seeing this colour on sale made me leap at the opportunity. I love the Lancome Alber Elbaz collection - the packaging is beautiful and the shimmering shades look fabulous.

Have you bought anything nice in the sales?

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#MCRFW Christmas Blogger Box

Christmas is almost over and the New Year is imminent. The trees will be down shortly and Christmas 2013 will be a distant memory. It's strange how fast Christmas creeps up on us all and then vanishes rather quickly. I always feel like I'm thrown into the festive wonderland at full speed and then halted as soon as I've got used to the idea. It feels like Christmas is never long enough to adjust to the festivity. Although Christmas is pretty much done and dusted this year, I just have enough time to show you my final Christmas treat from the team at Manchester Fashion Week. A few months ago you may have read that I'm now one of the Manchester Fashion Week Official bloggers, which means I have access all areas for when the week goes ahead and I'm one of the official reporters for the latest Manchester Fashion Week news. To help all their bloggers get into the Christmas spirit and to show their appreciation towards us, each of the bloggers have been presented with a blogger box full of wonderful goodies from various Manchester Fashion Week collaborators. One of the first and most exciting items was the festive personalised bauble for my Christmas tree from the company Getting Personal. I love the design and how sentimental the bauble is, I can't wait to hang this on my tree next year when I have my own place.

The other items in the box included a fab pair of tights from Pretty Polly, body treats and sweeties from Wilko's, haircare items from Aldi and this beautiful bracelet from the fashion and jewellery company Oliver Bonas. Also in the box was a pair Proporta gloves that can you can use whilst using your phone - they are probably going to be my most used item and the Filofax and notebook from Paperstone. I love the little pink filofax and I'm hoping it will help me get blog organised for 2014. The filofax is a wonderful pink colour and £2.00 of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research, a perfect excuse for buying one in the New Year.

Lancome Foundation samples and gift bag, Pretty Polly Paternity tights, Paperstone Breast Cancer Filofax,  Body Wash and sweet treats from Wilkinsons, Aldi Miracle Oil, Bangle Oliver Bonas, Proporta Gloves

During the box giving event, we were all told exclusive information about Manchester Fashion Week which hopefully I will be able to reveal in the not too distant future. All I can say is that big things are on the horizon for #MCRFW and I can guarantee when you hear the news, you will be as excited as we are.

Would you consider heading to Manchester Fashion Week?

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Valentines Day Perfume

I have two major obsessions in my life and when I say obsessions, I mean verging on OCD. The first is checking my emails all through the day, literally every five minutes. This often causes me to wake up at unearthly hours and check for new mail that I know probably won't be there. My logic seems to fail as not many people would really go out of their way to send an email at 3am. My next obsession is perfume. Big bottles, small bottles, flower scented or musk, I can't get enough of them. I'm a perfume addict and I've never been ashamed of it. Don't you just love walking past someone in the streets and being hit by a beautiful scent of wild flowers and fruits? I'm instantly drawn to women with an impeccable taste of fragrance, so god knows how the male species manage to control themselves. With Valentine's day just under two weeks away I thought it would best to show you some of my high street favourites. 

• La Vie Est Belle - Lancome

I was luckily bought this by my mother at Christmas and I haven't stopped wearing it. It smells really feminine combining citrus fruits with a warm, sweet floral scent. Having managed to go through almost three perfume bottles in the last few months, I'm happy to say this scent is lasting me the longest. 

• Jimmy Choo - Flash

Those who love the original Jimmy Choo perfume will fall in love with this new scent. I've always admired the Jimmy Choo perfumes and when I had the opportunity to try this the other day, I felt so sad leaving the shop knowing that right now I can't afford it. The bottle is very glitzy and stylish, which would look perfect in your handbag or in your bedroom. The perfume exhibits a very fruity and floral scent with base notes of pink pepper, tangerine and strawberry.

• Marc Jacobs - Dot

Marc Jacobs Dot is perfect for anyone that likes quirky designs and wants to stand out from the crowd. I've always been an admirer of Marc Jacobs and his perfumes simply evoke a sense of his crazy design work.  The perfume is very fruity with an undertone of vanilla and musk. Great for those who perfume a subtly sweet scent rather than something over powering.  

• YSL - Manifesto

I love this scent, but unfortunately I have just run out. The YSL manifesto is great for those who like to appear sophisticated and sexy. The bottle is curvy, quite simplistic yet glamorous  I love the purple detailing and the signature YSL logo. YSL manifesto is very floral and feminine with top notes of Lily and Blackcurrant and base notes of Cedar wood, Sandalwood and Vanilla.

Finally, here's my very latest perfume and the scent I'll be wearing this Valentine's day - Especially Escada. 

From the moment I walked into the perfume shop and tried this product, I knew I wanted it. It was the bottle that drew me in with it's beautifully carved golden top and the pink colouring of the scent. 

 Unfortunately saving for a wedding has made me sacrifice my perfume addiction and I had to pull away. A few weeks later, I received an email from a wonderful PR lady asking if I would like to try any of their new fragrances. When I saw this bottle being mentioned, I kindly asked if I could have a sample. Happily expecting a vial, I told myself that I would be able to carry that around until I eventually could afford the bottle. Imagine my surprise when I opened my parcel and there was a full sized bottle of the perfume - doing my job definitely has its perks. 

Especially Escada is a very feminine and playful scent. Like the advertisement for the perfume, I can easily see myself wearing a little pink dress and picking roses wearing this product. It's fruit and fresh, making this a perfect waking up product. When I spritz this perfume, it makes me feel more awake, more vibrant. The perfume smells of pear, rose, ambrette seeds, Ylang Ylang and musky notes, all combining to make a joyful, bright and alluring spray. When a perfume makes you feel so good about yourself, you know you have to have it. This perfume has my personality to a tee and I can't wait to wear it for my special valentines evening. 

What is your favourite perfume?

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