MAC Harmony Blush

For my birthday my sister got me MAC Harmony which has been a product I've wanted in my collection for a while. Harmony is a powder blush, although I prefer to use it for contouring. Contouring is a part of my daily makeup routine and after using this almost every day for a month, it has become my favourite product to use.

Describes by Mac as a 'muted rose-beige brown,' the cool tones make it the perfect natural contour (no orange in sight). I apply it with my Real Techniques contour brush in the hollows of my cheeks, my jawline, my temples and sometimes the sides of my nose if I'm going out. I love how natural Harmony looks and am loving using it in my current daily makeup routine. It costs £18.00 and you can buy it online here or at a counter.

I'm looking forward to adding more contouring and highlighting products to my collection, I've just recently purchased MAC Prep & Prime highlighter in Light Boost and added the Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate to my Christmas list. What are your favourite products for contouring?

Cream Blush: Bourjois Healthy Glow & Topshop Morning Dew

(Top: Healthy Glow, Bottom: Morning Dew)

First of all, sorry for being such a rubbish blogger lately. Last month, I didn't have any motivation to blog as I felt I was so busy all the time but this month I'm back and have lots of new products to share with you! Up until last year I had always been a powder kinda girl but I've now fallen in love with cream products, especially blush. Recently, I added two new pretty blushes to my collection: Topshop Morning Dew and Bourjois Healthy Glow and I'm loving both of them.

Bourjois 02 Healthy Glow - It has taken me a while to finally purchase one of the sought-after Bourjois cream blushes but as Superdrug were having a 3 for 2 on Bourjois I picked one up along with an eyeliner pen and one of the Color Boost lip crayons. I decided to go for the shade Healthy Glow which is a gorgeous bright orange/coral and was my favourite out of the four. It gives my cheeks a lovely healthy glow (appropriately named) and I love wearing it paired with a coral or orange lipstick and bronzed skin. Although the blushes have a cream to powder finish, they still manage to leave your skin looking slightly dewy and aren't too matte. At £7.99 they are reasonably priced and although I'm not keen on the other shades, this one is definitely a winner.

Topshop Morning Dew - After seeing the Topshop cream blushes on countless blogs and lusting after them for months, I finally decided to bite the bullet and pick one up. I'm a big fan of the Topshop lipsticks so was excited to try out the blush. There were a lot of shades to choose from and after spending 15 minutes swatching all the testers I decided to go for Morning Dew, a gorgeous pink. The Topshop blushes seem slightly creamier than the Bourjous ones which I think I prefer as I love the dewy skin look. You only need a little bit of this product as it's very pigmented so I expect it to last quite a while which is amazing for a product that only costs £6. I'll definitely be adding more Topshop blushes to my collection - I want them all!

I usually apply my cream blushes with either the Real Techniques Stippling brush, Expert Face brush or sometimes just my fingertips. What do you think of these products? Blushes are fast becoming one of my favourite products, any recommendations are welcome!

Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Blush - Euphoria

The other day on my lunch break I took a sneaky trip to Space NK for a little browse. As you know, you can't just go into that shop 'for a browse' and I ended up leaving with two Kevyn Aucoin products, the precision brow pencil (will be doing a review on that shortly, I love it) and one of the creamy glow blush's. I'm new to the Kevyn Aucoin product and so far I'm really impressed, after reading Corrie's blog I need both the Sculpting and Celestial powder next!

It was so hard to choose a shade, every single one of them was gorgeous but since I've got quite a lot of pink blushers I decided to go for a peachy/neutral. It was between Euphoria and Tansoleil (slightly brighter and lighter) but I decided on Euphoria as I've been looking for a kind of neutral one for a while. I've always been a powder blush kinda girl but since using this I've been converted, It's so soft and creamy and easy to blend. I apply it with my fingers on to my cheeks then blend it with my Real Techniques buffing brush for a natural finish. The thing I love about this blush is that it's really pigmented so you can use the tiniest amount for a natural glow or build it up to make it more intense.

I wore this blush to work for a full shift and it didn't budge or fade at all. The staying power is really good which I wasn't expecting from a cream product. I also love the little pot that it comes in, I definitely prefer simple packaging it's so much more luxurious. I love this colour for Spring but I can definitely see me wearing it all year round, it's such a neutral colour.

Overall, I'm so impressed with this little product and the gorgeous glow it gives me. The creamy glow blush's cost £19 and you can buy them online or in store from Space NK. I can't wait to get my hands on more of the Kevyn Aucoin products, if the two I've already purchased are anything to go by I know I'll love the rest!

Have you tried any of the Kevyn Aucoin products?

The Perfect Duo: NARS Orgasm & Albatross

My sister got me NARS Orgasm blush for my birthday and very kindly gave me her Albatross highlighter because she hardly used it - I loved it and was always stealing it! I actually asked her for the Sleek Rose Gold dupe but she surprised me and got me the real deal along with lots of MUA goodies. I've been using the blusher and highlighter for about a month now and I'm absolutely loving them.

First of all, I love the NARS packaging, it's so sleek and simple and looks gorgeous in my makeup bag. However, I do feel as though it gets dirty quite easily so I'm always cleaning it with my makeup wipes. Orgasm blush is a gorgeous pinky/peach colour with a gold shimmer through it. I'm not usually a shimmer kind of girl and usually go for a matte blush but I've always wanted to try this blusher as I've seen so many reviews on it. I think the colour is absolutely gorgeous and I've had a lot of compliments on it. It's quite a subtle colour but I like to put on a few layers to build it up which gives a stronger colour. The shimmer is very noticeable, so if you have problems with your skin it might highlighter it, but personally I think it gives me a lovely glow.

Now onto the highlighter...I've been wearing Albatross long with Orgasm and I know you can get these two in a duo which I think is great because they go perfect together. Like Orgasm, Albatross has gorgeous gold undertones which is why they look so good together. The pigment is great for a highlighter so a little goes a long way. I love wearing it on my cheekbones and on my brow bones, especially on a night out as it stands out in photos.

I also love wearing this along with my NARS Laguna Bronzer. I'm a bit obsessed with everything NARS at the moment and have one of the Multiple's and Desire Blush on my wishlist. These are definitely my favourite blush and highlighter to wear at the moment. Orgasm and Albatross cost £21 each and can be purchased here.

What do you think of these products? Have you ever tried them?

Melissa
xxx