What's in my holiday makeup bag

If I have to find a positive thing about packing a holiday makeup bag I would say that it forces you to for however long you are away to to give some real love to just a few products. At least that is the intention this time round.

I've packed one of every essential and good or bad that is what I will be wearing on my face for the next seven days.

Quick review: Sampar Prodigal Pen (spot treatment)

I had one bridezilla moment just before the wedding. With three days to go and I had two awful, angry looking spots appear on my cheek. I tried a lot of home remedies and nothing was working, at this stage I had completely forgotten about anything I owned that might help and tweeted and text everyone I knew asking if there was a product that could make them disappear overnight.

MAC Russian Red

Red lips make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t understand the tones that suit me or even how to apply it neatly without making it look like I am going for The Joker look. But the first day of my wedding celebrations called for a red lip so I marched on down to MAC and asked them what to do.

I tried the shade Ruby Woo and still wasn’t convinced red is for me, then the makeup artist handed me Russian Red and that was that.

Unlike Ruby Roo, Russian Red is much more warm toned and a deeper red, which I realise I prefer. It has a true matte finish, and being matte means that the wear time is impressive — even after eating I didn’t feel the need to reapply. Matte finishes can lean on the drying side, but while I can’t say that this is moisturising, it didn’t dry my lips out.

I understand now why they say there is a red for everyone and I know I have found mine. I ended up wearing Russian Red both days of my hen weekend, my wedding and it was the only red lipstick I packed with me moving to the Middle East. The picture below was actually taken after my wedding, I realised after  I got back that I didn't have a picture of my makeup. The lipstick lasted through hours of celebrations, eating, drinking and kissing what was hundreds of family members.

At £15 it was more than I had paid for a lipstick before, but worth it because it hasn’t ended up unloved in a drawer and is one of many makeup momentos of I have from the wedding.

You can check it out Russian Red here. 

Liz Earle Strengthening Nail Colour

Liz Earle already have a colour range and towards the end of last year added nail polish to their collection.

The collection started with 12 shades, grouped into three sets of four: classic nudes, bold brights and deep darks and I feel I can confidently say there will be at least one colour that you love. The bold brights aren’t particularly bold, especially if you are drawn to neon shades, but all the colours are muted and gentle, perfect for everyday wear.

The formulas are designed to be strengthening and are enriched with avocado and borage oils to  nourish the nail and give a glossy finish.

The formula is on the runny side, but the colour payoff is great and something I haven’t experienced with such a formula before. In a hurry one coat would be enough, but I always prefer to add a second. The finish is streak-free and glossy and the drying time is pretty quick too.

At the event I was matched to the shade Sandstorm at the nude colour that would suit my skin tone best, and it really does. It is such a beautiful everyday colour that will see me through all seasons.

I also chose to try Pink Perpetue from the bold brights collection. As you can tell for a “bold” shade it is pretty muted, but I like that it is what I consider an office and night out suitable shade.

The polish claims to last 12 days, but unfortunately that wasn’t my experience, without a top coat I managed around 2 days, but with a top coat I only started to noticed wear at the tips at day 4 and chipping on day 5. Although it is not 12 days that is still excellent wear in my opinion.

I have to admit, the colour range was something I largely ignored from Liz Earle since I was convinced it was only good for skincare, but I am really looking forward to trying some of the makeup collection now.

I am very impressed with the polish launches and, as I said before, I am sure there will be at least one colour for all. The range has since been extended to include some beautiful spring inspired shades. Each bottle costs £7.50, which for the formula and colour payoff is a price I would be willing to pay.

If you are interested in getting your own Liz Earle Strengthening Nail Colour is available now online and instore. You can also find Liz Earle stands in Boots and John Lewis stores.

Love at first pump, Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser

Once in a while you discover a product that from the first use you just know you are going to love.

And that's what happened with Elemis's Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser. It is one of those simple cleansers that does the job it claims to do and that you enjoy using in the process.

Another late post: April Birchbox

This will be my last Birchbox post, I only have a few months of my subscription left and I am not able to receive them directly anymore anyway, but more than that I am finding myself bored - bored writing the posts and bored of the boxes themselves. That said I could do with a beauty box now more than ever since there was only so much of my stash I could bring with me and there isn't access to a lot of brands here.

Beauty fix: Dubai haul

I'm back! Apologies for the unplanned break, I actually didn't realise just how long it had been since my last post.

Settling into a new life has been challenging, and one of the more challenging things is living without the British high-street! But, during a recent trip to Dubai, I managed to get a beauty fix with a small haul from Sephora and duty free.