Five Things I Love (September 2012)

Another incredibly tricky month for narrowing it down to just five products.  I’m also seriously late with this as I try and do this list in its matching month, but it’s been a busy few weeks!

I’ll be writing a full review of this soon but I currently have several foundations that I’m obsessed with, so most mornings involve “Sophie’s Choice” type decisions.  This one is currently getting the most use as it has the most fantastic yet natural coverage and I can actually build it up to the point where I can skip concealer completely and just set it in place with a bit of powder.  Mucho love for this reasonably priced foundation.

I ordered a load of Sigma brushes ages ago and wasn’t particularly impressed with them at the time, but they’ve slowly been making more regular appearances in my daily make-up routine and I’d say round Kabuki is probably my favourite way to apply foundation at the moment.  It’s not only quick and easy, but it buffs foundation in brilliantly leaving skin looking naturally well covered.

Regular readers will know that I’m doing a long-term review for Jan Marini at the moment and whilst the core products are great, I have so, so, SO missed using a face mask.  So the JM peeps took pity on me by sending me this to use too and it is Fabulous with a capital ‘F’.  It’s very much a treatment mask rather than a pampering one, it smells a bit strange and whilst it doesn’t feel bad on the skin, it isn’t one of those ‘man do I feel pampered’ masks but boy does it treat! The dominant ingredient in this is Retin-A which is widely known for it’s quick and effective impact on skin and this mask leaves skin feeling softened, soothed and treated.  You’re only supposed to use this up to three times a week, and if you’re my JM rep reading this then of course that’s exactly what I’ve been doing and I haven’t been using it more….

This was one of those shades that I had to have the minute I swatched it.  It’s very nude with a hint of pinky warmth and it’s a brilliant base shade for daytime.  I use this with a bit of Laura Mercier’s Topaz both in the crease and under the eye and it makes for the most fantastically easily wearable day look.  It’s also sheer enough (but buildable) so that you could use it as a highlighter on the face.  If I had to compare it to others in my collection I’d say it’s similar to Bobbi Brown’s Champagne and Pixi’s French Lace, but it’s a little warmer and the amount of shimmer is spot-on.

I was sent the rest of the new shades in the Mirror Shine lipstick line (post coming soon!) which was a fantastic eye-opener for me as I ended up having to swatch a lot of shades that I wouldn’t normally have dreamed of going anywhere near! The one that really stuck out for me is Scrumptious which is a dark yet warm berry shade.  It’s the perfect on-trend shade for A/W12, yet it’s surprisingly wearable for daytime looks.  I’ve used and abused this since I first swatched it, hence the rather sorry state it’s in in the picture above…

I’ve already started work on Octobers list; it’s that time of the year where there are loads of new arrivals and things to get excited about, so it really is hard for me to just pick five!

Disclosure:  Foundation, lipstick and mask were PR samples, eye shadow and brush were purchased by me.