Amie Mineral Bronzer – Sun Bronzed

Most of you will be familair with the skincare brand Amie which I have mentioned on this blog quite a few times with the Cooling Clay Mask, Skin wipes, Skin Shield, Morning skincare routine and the skin polish all of which I have loved discovering.

Amie is the French Word for a friend and the skincare company of a woman named Fiona Parkhouse who used to work for Estee Lauder. She had an idea about making skincare products for her daughter and says the reason she decided to do this was because she wanted something that would "respect her still child-perfect skin but deal with the changes that puberty was starting to bring, such as increased oiliness and breakouts. But I didn't want her using harsh, aggressive chemicals or medicated products. I wanted a natural range that would be gentle yet effective, appealing and affordable". Not only that, but every product within the Amie range is suitable for vegetarians and vegans because there are:

• No parabens 
• No mineral-oils 
• No petrochemicals 
• No sodium laureth sulphate or sodium lauryl sulphate 
• No ingredients of Genetically Modified Origin 
• No animal testing 
• No animal ingredients 
• All products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans 

Amie have now introduced 100% Mineral Make-up to their expanding range with foundation and bronzer and I have been lucky enough to use the bronzer** for some time now and I am really impressed with it.

Described as follows:

Amie’s Mineral Bronzer is the perfect way to achieve a healthy-looking, sun-kissed glow using 100% pure natural ingredients.

Available in ‘Sun Bronzed’, a beautiful medium shade that will suit most skin tones, Amie’s Mineral Bronzer gives a light, sun-kissed glow to the skin. It has a shimmer finish with light-reflecting mica that brightens and gives you a beautiful, healthy radiant look.

When I first opened the tub, which features a screw on and off lid, I was quite surprised at how dark it looked.  As someone who has pale skin, I was worried that this would be far too dark for my skin tone.  However, once applied I was pleasantly surprised because with a bit of work using my bronzer brush (of which I need a new one) you can blend it into something you feel comfortable with.

Hopefully you can see from the three swatches above when it is first added to my skin, slightly brushed and then blended in so there is a very light bronzed look on my skin, I haven't quite perfected taking photos of my face yet, but once I do the photos will get updated.

I am really impressed with this bronzer, if I apply it as I do everything else in a morning for going to work, it lasts all day long if I use a primer and that can be between 7-9 hours, if I don't use a primer (yes yes I know) then it lasts for around 5 hours before needing a touch up.  it costs just £14 and you can see it HERE.

Have you tried this bronzer from Amie? Have you tried any product from within the Amie range?

Glossybox - March 2014 Edition

So my Glossybox has arrived for March and this month I used my Glossydots to get it and having seen a few other posts, I was hoping I would get some of the products they got.

Again, this month is a themed box and it is called Beauty Blossom and Glossybox have said in their magazine that now we can put winter behind us, shed the tights and black wardrobe to welcome in spring.  So to celebrate the season of changed, they have curated a Beauty Blossom theme for march.  So this is my box.

My first thoughts are hmmm... I didn't get the serum which ive seen in a few boxes and I quite liked the look of that because I am quite obsessed with serums right now. So this is a breakdown of what is in the box.

Mitchell and Peach Body Cream - With English Honey, Organic Cocoa, Vitamin B5 and Shea Butter, this Mitchell and Peach body cream is perfect to leave you feeling as though you've taken a walk in the English Countryside.  A 40ml sample is included in my box and a full sized 180ml would cost £36.  So at a rought guess this sample is worth around £8

Sleek Make-up Pout Polish and I have the shade Bare Minimum - This tinted balm is full of nourishment and has SPF15, almond oil, shea butter and Vitamin E, it will leave  your pout looking perfect.  The shade is a sort of peachy brown nude but when you use it, it is more of a clear gloss and I actually quite like it. This is a full sized product and has an RRP of £4.49

Bellapierre Cosmetics Ltd Shimmer Powder and I have Beige as my choice - This 100% pure Mica shimmering eye shadow will provide you with a long lasting vibrant colour without smearing, creasing or fading.  I am not new to Bellapierre make-up, I have a fair collection and happen to think it is pretty fantastic, so this is a nice little edition and it is also a full sized product which retails for £12.99

So those are the main items for me, three alright ones that I will use.  Now onto the products which frankly I probably won't use and feel a bit cheated about.

Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair 60 second shot - Hmm well... I don't use Dove hair products because they leave my hair feeling lank and greasy and whilst this is a full sized 15ml tube which costs £1.49 it isn't something I would buy or indeed use.  I much prefer my label.m versions which leave my hair feeling wonderful.  But this is the second 'shot' from a High Street Brand I have had in a Glossybox, the first being Tresemme which I also didn't use as I am not a fan of the brand.

Then there is not one but TWO Juicy Couture perfume samples.  For me, the only good thing about them is the bright coloured cardboard packaging which caught my eye.   This is what Glossybox say about them:

"Meet us in Malibu with Juicy Couture's Malibu collection! This fragrance blends the spirit of carefree Cali with Glam LA and we love it.

Sadly I like neither scent, one is meant to be fruity and the other floral, all I can see is that I won't use them.

So all in all it is an alright box, three products I like and three samples that I don't like.

Did you get your Glossybox this month? What did you think to mine?

Lily Lolo - my introduction!

I have seen Lily Lolo products on so many blogs but have never branched out and tried them myself, so when the chance to do just that was given to me, I jumped at the chance. They claim that "Whether your skin is dry, oily or anywhere in-between, Lily Lolo makeup will give you a light, flawless and seamless finish without clogging or irritating" which I am interested to check out.

Lily Lolo is a British brand launched by Vikki Khan in 2005. Named after her two sisters Lisa (Lily) and Lorraine (Lolo) though for some reason I keep calling it Lily Lilo, don't ask why!

Lily Lolo have just re-branded their make up range which you can see on their website and in recognition of that I was sent two of their products to try and review.

Natural Lip Gloss in English Rose (£7.99)** - I would describe this as being a dusky pink shade which looks really pink when you first apply it and then as it settled down it becomes quite a pale pink which I really like. It is perfect for wearing on its own or over the top of a pinky/nude lipstick to add a little glossy look. One of my bug bears with some lipglosses is the tacky feel they leave on your lips, this lip gloss doesn't have this *hurrah* it is not sticky at all, it simply glides on. This gloss does also contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil to nourish and protect.

Mineral Eye Shadow in Miami Taupe (£5.99)** - This is most definitely the shade I would opt for, it is perfect for daytime or nighttime and one of those shades which you can have as a light coverage or build it up so that you can have a much deeper coverage, which to do you simply use it wet and the video I have mentioned below shows you how to do this. It is highly pigmented and as the shade suggests it is Taupe which is described as being a dusky browny grey shade or warm grey.

Now if like me you often struggle to decide how best to apply certain items of make-up, I was pleased to find that there are some really handy tutorials online, one of which you can see HERE. 

Which are your favourite Lily Lolo products?

The range itself is  BUAV approved as well as being free from parabens, synthetic fragrances, dyes, fillers and there is no animal testing.

Bellapierre cosmetics

Bellapierre cosmetics is a mineral brand of make-up and I don’t know about everyone else but it seems Mineral based cosmetics are the upcoming thing to try and to use.  I was recently sent a lovely gift package of products to try and I have no previous experience with any of them nor the brand itself, so it was something I was really looking forward to and something I have really enjoyed.

Here is a very brief introduction to Bellapierre cosmetics and you can read more about them and their products HERE:

So In my lovely gift bag, which in itself is stunning, I find myself with:

• HD Makeup Primer
• 5 eye shadow palette
• Compact Mineral Foundation in Ultra and it has a 15 SPF
• Compact Mineral Blush in Desert Rose
• Compact Mineral Blush in Peony
• Three make-up brushes - an angled blusher brush, a foundation brush and an eye-shadow brush

The HD make-up primer comes in a beautiful jar, is paraben free and it has been developed to treat dryness, fine lines, excess oil,enlarged pores and is suitable for all skin types.  When you apply it to your face it simply glides on and makes your skin feel really lovely and smooth to touch and it is really easy to apply.  All you need is a small amount of primer on your fingertips and then you gently rub it into the skin paying particular attention to your T zone, fine lines and wrinkles. Then simply wait for 1 – 3 minutes before applying your foundation.

The Bellapierre 5-in-1 mineral foundation has the same properties as concealer, SPF, finishing powder and setting powder, so you no longer need a different product for each job; this does it all.  It comes in 10 different shades and I have got the lightest shade there is because I am quite pale skinned. It suits my skin perfectly and on the Bellapierre website is that you can look at all of the shades and choose the one that closely fits your own skin tone.

When it comes to using this foundation, the use of the brush is brilliant, you only need the smallest amount of powder  and as you apply to your face using circular movements of the brush you get a really great coverage, so much better than some of the high street brands that I have tried in the past.

The compact mineral blush in Desert Rose is talc free and it comes in this really pretty compact case with a mirror and a puff.  I love the fact it has a push button to open the compact and that the puff has its own little compartment.  The colour itself is simply stunning, it gives such a lovely colour to your face and it doesn’t fade at all through the day, it remains on your face as though you have just applied it.  Application is really simple and straight forward too, using the angled brush, you swirl it into the compact to collect the blusher and apply it to your cheeks and t-zone as you would do with any other blusher you might have and use.  This blusher is available in four different shades.

The body and face bronzer comes in the same compact to the blusher, again with a mirror and a puff.  It also contains Jojoba which in itself helps to soften and soothe the skin.  Again using the angled brush you complete the exact same actions with this product as you did with the blusher and you apply a small amount of the bronzer powder onto your cheeks, forehead, chin and nose. This product is also available in four different shades.

The 5 eye shadow palette is really something special, I love the palette and all of the colours, it is a sleek design which fits so easy into my make-up bag, it combines a mirror and application brush.  As you can see from the photo, there are 5 different shades in this palette and they are:

• 001 Snow Flake, 
• 003 Champagne, 
• 009 Bronze: Go Natural
• 008 Lava, 
• 055 Diligence

All of these shades are stunning as you can see from the swatches and they really pick up the light when you are wearing them.  There are a further five palettes in this range.

The applicator brush is really easy to use, though I only tend to use it to touch up my eye make-up rather than carry the eye brush around with me which came as part of this gift set.  The description given of these brushes is as follows:

Bellapierre Professional makeup brushes are essential for flawless makeup application! Whether you use pressed or loose mineral makeup, we have an extensive collection of professional quality brushes to choose from! We have a variety of different types of makeup brushes for all different types of makeup applications, such as for blush, concealer, powder, eyeliner, eye shadow, and other brush sets with multiple brushes. Quality brushes allow you to apply your makeup easier, faster, and also make the experience more comfortable since they are made in specific shapes and sizes for whatever job is at hand.

Bellapierre have their own make-up brush and accessory range and I absolutely love the three that I have.  The foundation brush which is housed inside a plastic holder is made from 100% Natural hair and is a tapered brush head making it ideal for applying foundation to the nose and eye area.  As you can see the black handle really does add a nice finish to this brush and its rounded shape makes it very easy to grip onto.

The angled Blush Brush which again is a similar style and made from 100% natural hair,is great for contouring and all over cheek application.

The final product is the eye shadow brush which is brilliant, it makes applying eye make-up a simple and easy process.  As with the other two brushes, it is made from natural hair which creates a silky soft tapered brush head.

Finally, if you do go look on the official website, one of the best sections is the Tips and Advice section which you can see HERE the smoky eye part is exceptionally helpful!

Have you ever tried anything from this range? 

What do you think to it?