Daisy Chain Fashion: Beauty

Beauty Review: KIKO 3D Lifting Foundation

Hey Everyone!

A good foundation is essential in almost everyone's 'full-face' makeup routine. If you don't have a good foundation, you can end up without that flawless base you strive for. Some people would suggest avoiding cheaper brands of the product, and those who have the funds will often head towards high-end, or designer brands. Me? I aim to find the best quality product, for as little as money possible, which is how i discovered the KIKO 3D Lifting Foundation.

I had only ever heard of KIKO a few times, not being aware it is for sale in the UK until I came across one of their stores by chance. The brand as a whole, i can only describe as MAC, but for half the price! The quality and range of products is a match to MAC from what I have tried so far from them!

But on with the Foundation Review:

Let me first tell you about my skin type- I have dry/ oily (combination) skin, that is also pretty sensitive to most products. I also suffer from regular breakouts, meaning the texture of my skin is not smooth.

The KIKO 3D Lifting Foundation is perfect for my problematic skin! The foundation, from the pump comes out quite thick and feels silky smooth to touch. It is a slight peachy scent, and comes in 10 different shades.

When applied to my face (using my beauty blender), it blends out easily and smooths over all my blemishes, helping me achieve the flawless base I desire.

Whats more its hypo-allergenic, meaning i don't have to worry about it irritation.

The smoothing qualities of this product is also supposed to be effective over time, however I can't say I have experienced this; perhaps the effects take a long period of time over constant use (i have been using it for 3 months and other foundations in between).

The Brands description of this product promises:

"A silky foundation - a pleasure to apply – enhanced by highly functional active ingredients that act on signs of aging from the very first application: your face will immediately appear more radiant, smoother and firmer.

Over time, oxidative stress and cellular stress are reduced and collagen synthesis is reactivated.
The lightness and softness of the texture, combined with the natural look of the pigments create a "second skin" effect where blemishes are eliminated and radiance is enhanced."

This product falls into the medium price category, retailing for a reasonable £14.50. I believe this is a fair price for the quality of the product you are purchasing! You also receive free delivery on all orders, if you order online, with a choice of two delivery options. Or just pop into one of their stores (find your nearest store here)

Love Emily x

Look Out for next weeks post (Sunday 10:00GMT): Holiday Haul- Key Pieces

10:00:00
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Beauty Review: Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation

bblogger

20:14:00
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My goals and why I blog

a levels

Heya,

So a bit of a different type of post today. Being in my last year of Sixthform and therefore last year of school, I am having to make some very important decisions as to what I am going to do after I finish school... There are so many options out there, and I'm not going to lie, I've struggled to know what to do. I know what I want to do as an end result, but achieving that is the problem... The options:

UNI

APPRENTICESHIP

GAP YEAR /WORK

My career goal is to work within a fashion company within the social media environment, and I have sent off so many enquiries to multiple Fashion Companies and Magazines to gain experience in this field. The fashion industry is commonly known as difficult to get into, having an extremely competitive market, so I feel as though this may be the best way to put my name out there.

I have had past experience of this being a successful method, as last year I was offered a week’s internship at Hello! FashionMonthly after emailing looking for Year 12 Work Experience. During my week there, I developed my organisational skills, whilst sorting and organising the Fashion cupboard. I spent long hours doing this, but seeing all the amazing shoes, clothes and accessories ahead of season for both designer and high-street brands made it so exciting! I was then able to walk through Oxford Street looking at the window displays saying “I’ve seen this before”. I also got the chance to help plan the ‘Agenda’ section of the magazine for the big October Fashion Issue, looking through multiple press releases and catalogues, scouring for items that spoke the key trends for Winter 15. I also developed my knowledge of the fashion industry and brands, whilst also learning the different stages of production, the roles within the magazine, and the ways in which magazines are publicised, i.e. through social media. To get to my placement each day I had to travel quite far, relying on trains, followed by a walk, but it was well worth it. Laura, the Fashion Assistant at the magazine, and the rest of the HFM team were all so lovely and welcoming and made sure me, and another intern on work experience were happy at all times!

I have always been interested in working within Fashion since I was pretty young, maybe 9 or 10, but back then all I wanted to be was a fashion designer, constantly (and I mean constantly) designing cute little collections, and creating my own boarding schools (Mallory Towers was my fave book series when I was a kiddie) and designing their uniforms for every little part of the school! But I began to see past designing when I came across fashion magazines. Once I had discovered these I was hooked on the focus of fashion and the journalism. Leading me to want to become a fashion journalist, but being a fairly shy teen the idea of broadcast journalism or going out to speak and interview at events did not appeal, and so I began to wean off that idea when I thought this was an integral part of the job. I realise now it’s not so much, either that or I’m not so shy anymore, however this lead me to starting my blog.

So jump forward to around October 2013, I’d been thinking for a while about starting a blog and so I made my first Blogger account. But I was really nervous as to what other people would think so left it empty for about 6 months until I plucked up the courage to write my first post, which has now accumulated well over a 100 views. I followed this with my first tutorial, how to create a hair bow. Looking back on my old posts I realise they were not all that great. I used hardly any words and the format was very basic, however I feel that eventually they started to take good shape after I developed a schedule and became more involved in the blogging community.

So far my blog has bought about many opportunities for me, including my involvement in the new social platform Soapbox, a vlogging app whereby its members can post short tutorial videos concerning fashion, beauty and style. I was contacted to become a partner/creator for the channel, which I excitedly agreed to.

I have a few goals for my Blog, both long-term and short-term:

· To become more actively involved in the Blogging community
· To regularly post
· To enjoy blogging
· To keep my readers wants in mind

My involvement with blogging has also allowed me to realise that social media plays important and enjoyable part in my life and blog, which encouraged me to think, what if I could have a career in this? That’s when I discovered Fashion Media. Fashion and beauty labels and magazines will hire people to be in control of their social media, promoting the company and discovering the new and best ways of reaching the audiences.

So that’s my story and goals, now just to decide how I can achieve this…

Love Emily x

12:47:00
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Beauty haul

bblogger

Heya,

So I've been doing a lot of shopping lately, in particular beauty/skincare shopping, and so I thought I'd share with you some of the things that I have bought.

I have been wanting a new foundation for a while now as I felt my old foundation was too matte for my skin during the winter, so I went on the hunt for a slightly more dewy foundation, that was just as good quality. I chose the Loreal True Match in Rose Beige. I love this foundation as it blends really well and has excellent coverage. The colour however, will probably be slightly too dark for me during the winter, when I will become paler, but for the time being it is perfect!

My trusty Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, a must have in my beauty routine. I took a little break from using this a while back, for some reason I can't remember, but I'm so glad I went back to it. Excellent long wear coverage- the best I've found for both dark circles and blemishes!

Since using a more dewy foundation, I have started using a powder, just to mattify the areas of my make-up that are more prone to disappearing throughout the day and to set my concealer under my eyes. I picked up this Collection Pressed powder as I knew it would do its simple job for the very small price! I apply it using a small fluffy brush to easily cover the target areas.

Slightly late on the band-waggon, I finally got round to picking up some Zoella Beauty bits. I chose the Bath Fizzers and Body Mist. They smell and look amazing.

After hitting pan on my go-to brow shade in my W7 eye-shadow palette, I thought it was time to invest in a eyebrow palette. I picked up the Revolution Shaping Kit in Medium/Dark which was super affordable, and offers three shades as well as a wax, an angled brush and a set of tweezers, super perfect for on the go! I generally use the middle shade for everyday, but depending on the look I'm trying create, i do also use the slightly lighter shade and darkest shade.

The last item in my haul, is this Bourjois Matte Velvet liquid lipstick in this gorgeous nudey-pink colour! I love the texture of this, its not sticky, like you may expect from a liquid lipstick, it feels super soft and velvety, and doesn't dry your lips out meaning its fab for winter! The colour is also extremely pigmented, one coat will be enough to last the whole day without fading! I plan to purchase the dark red version of this lipstick really soon!

I hope you have enjoyed discovering what beauty products I have recently been buying and perhaps this has inspired you to go out and try some new, or go back to some old favourites!

Love Emily x

10:00:00
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Beauty Review: L'Oreal Reds Collection- Eva's Red

Beauty

Heya,

So I'm a sucker for Lipsticks- every time I visit a store that sells makeup I'm straight there, looking for new lipstick colours. So on my holiday I was doing as I always do, looking at the makeup, and come across this lipstick, just sitting perfectly in the L'Oreal counter waiting for me to buy it. This is a Loreal Collection Exclusive by Eva Longoria in the Shade 'Eva's Red'. It is a Slightly muted red with an orangey undertone, something I had not really come across in a red lipstick before, so really, I had to add it to my collection!

The casing for the Lipstick is soft and velvety to touch making the product feel Luxurious and Sophisticated. That accompanied with the Gold hardware makes it look expensive, something that is really isn't as its within the under £10.00 range!

The staying power of the product is so good. It's a colour you can wear all day for that everyday addition of elegance and sophistication, that you'll only need to top up maybe once a day, depending on the nature of your day. if your drinking lots out a cup, a slight top up may be needed! For extra staying power, apply and set it using a tissue.

The first swatch is a thick coating of the lipstick- around 3-4 layers. The second is just one layer- as you can see there's not really much of a difference, showing the excellent pigmentation of the lipstick!

This colour is perfect for any occasion and season. From daytime to nighttime, Winter to Summer. I have worn this Lipstick a lot since I bought it in the Summer, until I temporarily lost it (that's another story) but since I found it again I have continuously worn it! It makes a statement without being over the top!

I bought this for £6.99 in Boots which I find is SUPER reasonable for a product of this quality! It is part of a collection of other Reds designed by other famous names. There are also other colour collections within the Collection, including a nude collection and a new pink collection. Although I only have one from the range, my next trip I will definitely be buying some more! And as its 3 for 2 on L'Oreal cosmetics at Boots at the moment, it's the perfect time!

Ratings /5

Long lasting- 4.5

Colour intensity- 5

Colour range- 5

Overall- 4.9/5

Love Emily x

10:00:00
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Holiday 2015: My Holiday Makeup Look | Beauty

bblogger

Heya,

So I thought I'd share with you my Holiday look that I wore most days- it's essentially a Bronzed look with a nude lip and bold Brows. I chose this look as it gives a natural summer glow, and is not too heavy for when the Sun is out- there's nothing worse the having thick makeup on in the heat!

So this is the look:

And here's how to achieve it:

Step 1, as always is to moisturise and prime you face- I use a matte foundation so the moisturising step is essential for me!

I then take my Collection Concealer (my holy grail product), and put this under my eyes in a triangle shape, and follow this by dotting out any blemishes/ spots using the applicator. Then it's time to blendy- blendy using a fluffy brush. I use the real techniques expert face brush. I find By applying my concealer first, I don't need as much foundation and I achieve a better base for my foundation.

Next I take my foundation- Loreal Infallible matte foundation in Vanilla- and dot this around my face, evenly, followed by blending it out with my Face Brush from the Nic's Picks Collection. I should now be left with a clear base.

Moving onto brows. I use an eyeshadow in a deep brown similar to my natural colour, from my W7 'in the nude' palette, a great dupe for the Naked Pallettes. I take an angled liner brush and dip in the colour, then following and defining my natural brow shape, enhancing the arch.

Once my brows are complete I move onto eyeshadow. As a base I start with the Maybelline Mono-colour in the shade 'lustrous beige'- a beautifully pigmented rose-gold with a hint of silver. I cover my whole lid with this up to my crease. In the crease I use a mid-dark shimmery bronze colour using my Real Techniques angled shadow brush. Holding it with the longest part of the brush in the crease so the colour is applied and blended at the same time.

Now it's time for eyeliner- the tricky bit! I alter between the loreal super liner (a pen) and a liquid liner, really it's up to what you find easiest! I look down into a mirror, meaning I can keep both my eyes open while applying. I try to keep the line along my lash line to a medium thickness, but most of the time this doesn't work, or it will on one eye and not the other, so I end up sorting the thinner one which turns out thicker... It's a never ending struggle! But, when it's eventually even I create the wing at the edge of my eye.

My favourite mascara right now is the Maybelline Lash Sensational (see my review here) which I use I my upper lashes only. I tend to apply 4-5 brush strokes on each eye.

For my bottom lashes, I leave them mascara free, however in my water line I apply a light/medium brown eyeliner, all the way along, to add a bit of subtle definition.

I don't spend the time contouring for this look. I just take a my Seventeen Bronze Shimmer rocks and apply this on a big fluffy brush as an all over bronze on my forehead, cheekbones, chin and nose. This creates a nice healthy glow!

Nearly finished...

Lastly, for my lips I take a nude-pink lip liner to define my lips, outlining them. Then take my Kate Moss Rimmel 101 Lipstick to fill them in, then blend the two colours together.

Hope you like this look, and will maybe try it youself? Let me know what you think!

Be sure to checkout my last two Holiday 2015 posts below:

Fashion

Lifestyle

Love Emily x

10:00:00
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Beauty Review: O&M Project Sukuroi Gold Smoothing Balm

bblogger

Heya,

So I was recently given the opportunity to discover the O&M (Original Mineral) Project Sukuroi Gold Smoothing Balm, and it has become my firm favourite Hair Product.

I had never heard of the brand so I have done a little research for you all to know the company a bit better, if like me, the brands come unfamiliar to you. Original Mineral is an Australian Hair Care company who "challenge the artificial norms of professional haircare with formulations that are both effective and gentle". The company tries increase the use of natural ingredients, reducing and removing the harsh chemicals that are found in most hair care products. They also deliver Amonia-free hair colour, defeating the myth that you have have to use hair colour with Amonia for great results.

Now for the product itself, to start off with, the product comes in the cutest little cream textured card box with gold foil embossed font for the product name, which is a really sweet touch, as it projects what you find inside.

The product itself is within another form of packaging inside the box, a circular gold pot with a brown lid taut twists off. The pot is easy to open and close properly after use.

Once you open the lid the first thing that greets you is the most amazing smell. It's a smell of elegance and sophistication, if that could be a smell. It's sweet and perfumey, but it doesn't wear off throughout the day, meaning your hair will smell amazing for ages (until you wash it out). The product consistency is that of most shampoos, and is not sticky; it's more like an oil than a gel or cream, and so sinks into you hair and skin smoothly. The product is gold with what seems like a slight shimmer to it, however when you put it into your hair it leaves an intense shine,shimmer and softness to the hair. If you look carefully you can see all tiny flecks of glitter on your hair- but this product is not like something from a 90s teenagers OOTD (I.e. Glitter hairspray), it's a shimmer of elegance. The product also contains Keratin which strengthens and restores hair-perfect for those with damaged and lifeless hair.

I like to use this product after I wash my hair, before I dry it, when I know I will straighten my hair, as the shimmer/shine looks great against the sleekness of straight locks. I also take the product from them lid of the pot rather than where the most part of the product is, as it means I can take a smaller, more precise amount, without wasting any. This will usually be a finger-tip scoop as it recommendeds on the packaging, which i will apply to the ends of my hair- never to my roots because of its oiliness it could create with oil-prone roots.

The product promises: "smooth, glossy and feather like softness to the hair" which I would agree with completely.

A 100g tub retails for around £26.00 and can be purchased from Shopstyle.co.uk and Net-a-porter.com

Thank you so much for reading

Love Emily

14:48:00
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Review: Maybelline Lash-sensational Mascara

Beauty

08:51:00
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BeautySpotter.

App

20:03:00
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SISTERHOOD OF THE WORLD BLOGGERS AWARD

Award

22:13:00
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My Make-up Storage and Organisation + How to make it!

Beauty

19:06:00
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Top 5 Charity Shop shopping tips, for finding a great bargain.

Beauty

Heya,

On my recent break to Southport, visiting family, we took a visit to a lovely little town full to the brim with lots of amazing Charity Shops, or Thrift shops. Here we found lots of lovely bargains on items that would usually be a save-up treat. In one particular shop, I found a beautiful Topshop dress that would usually retail for around £60.00, however I bought it for £5.50. I also found a cute set of Jam Jars, that I am planning on using for my Beauty Products. What's more, all the proceeds go to worthy charities, meaning it benefits all.

Because of these fab finds, I thought I would share with you my 5 top tips for finding a worthy bargain in Charity shops.

No matter what the store looks like from the outside in, messy or neat, there's all ways a chance you will find something amazing, even if that is hiding amongst other things, so my first tip would be:

1. Give every Charity store a chance.

I find that usually the stores with the most stock, and those that are a little messy, have the best stuff. It may take a lot of rummaging, but you could find something.

My second tip would be:

2. Don't be afraid to try something new

You see this beautiful top, but it's not something you would usually go for. Don't be afraid to try it, take advantage of the fact that there are dressing rooms and try it. If you don't like it at least you gave it a chance. Chances are you will love it, and if you don't try, you may regret it. Don't forget once it's sold its gone forever.

That leads me on to my third tip:

3. Always try on what you find

If, and when you find something, always try it on. Charity stores will not accept returns and refunds, so once you've bought something, it's yours forever (unless you sell it on or redonate) so it's not worth not trying it on before you buy it. You can't always guarentee that that size 10 dress you've picked out will fit just because it's your normal size.

My fourth tip involves the location of the charity shops you choose. I find that the wealthier the area, the better bargain you may get, and so my fourth tip is:

4. Try to go to wealthier areas for big branded bargains

If you love the idea of owning designer or expensive items, Charity shops in wealthier areas will often have been donated items that are of a high end, or more expensive brand, meaning you can often pick up some great bargains for a fraction of their retail price.

My last tip is not really a tip, but more of a reminder:

5. Think about how your money could be helping someone, or something around the world or at home

When buying at charity stores, your money will go towards a charity, hence its title of a charity shop. Think less of your items being preloved, and more of the fact that you buying something you love, may help someone with something they love.

Don't forget to donate your old clothing, shoes, accessories and homeware, if in good condition, as most stores are always in need of new stock.

I hope that my tips have helped and inspired you when going charity shopping. Please let me know what you think, by leaving me a comment below, or contacting me over any of my social media accounts. Do you like this type of post? Would you like to see more? Has this helped or inspired you? I'd love to know!

Also please let me know what types of post you would like to see in the near future?