Rimmel: Wake Me Up Foundation

Hey guys!

I've badly been wanting a new foundation, as both my go-to bases are on their last legs. I'm waiting until I'm in the airport in a month to stock up, but in the mean time, I wanted an inexpensive, but decent foundation.

Lo-and-behold, while popping into Boots in between lectures, I saw a strand of Rimmel's newest offering, Wake Me Up foundation. After a long, draining two weeks of essay deadlines, I needed a new alternative to guzzling coffee and covering my face with my hair. At an introductory price of €6.95, the usual RRP of €10.95 still won't break the bank. (I think it's an indication of how wrecked I am that I just typed PPR by accident.)

The packaging claims that it "visibly reawakens and illuminates skin, with a radiant glow and a flawless, natural-looking finish" and has an "anti-fatigue effect". Bring it on, I said. And did it?

I bought shade 103, True Ivory, as it was the palest shade. I'm pretty much ghostly, and sadly, it's a little too dark & yellow-toned for me currently. Taking into account that (a) my skin is a little paler than NC 15, and (b) I haven't seen the sun in quite a while, I think it should still suit most fair-skinned girls. I'm hopeful that it'll match my skin when it gets warmer, or at least with a hint of fake tan.

With flash

Without flash.

But otherwise, I think that this foundation pretty much delivers on its claims. My skin is dry/combination, but it applied miraculously. It doesn't cake or highlight any dry patches, and seemed to just hide all my pores. It makes my skin look dewy, which could be a problem for those with oily skin. I don't tend to apply foundation to my forehead, so I can't really comment on whether it's overly shiny. Of course, it's not a heavy coverage, which I like for during the day, but I still feel like I could wear this without concealer and powder, if in a rush.

So, would I recommend it? Yes. I don't think it's perfect for me, mostly down to my colouring, but I like the look of it, and for €10.95 for 30ml, it's a budget-friendly option for tired skin.

Chloe x

Emergency cleansing alternatives!

Hey guys!

So this is very much a last-minute, unplanned, not-very-well-planned-out type of post, that's coming as a result of my lack of organisation. As usual, I came home from college this weekend, but I didn't bother to bring home a bag or anything (I only had a large suitcase, & refused to bring it on the Luas at 8AM on a Saturday, I don't have a death wish. As it turned out, I woke up early so actually had breathing space on the Luas, & most likely could have brought the suitcase. But hey, too late now.) Either way, after just returning from Christmas holidays, I figured I didn't have anything to bring home - My washing could wait. But, the one essential I forgot was cleanser. Normally, I have some in my apartment & at home, just in case. But I left my No7 Hot Cloth cleanser in my apartment, along with my tea-tree oil cleanser, and even my emergency face-wipes. I thought I had left some of Tesco's cucumber cleanser down home (it's actually so good, & so cheap!) but couldn't find it. Apart from some ancient Clearasil, which wasn't so appealing, & half of Boots stock of face wash, I had nothing.

UNTIL. I thought of a suggestion from about a year ago. One of my friends had been talking about the Oil Cleansing method, which I had dismissed. Although my skin is dry, it breaks out often, badly, & unexpectedly. But tonight, I was desperate. Also, not very well prepared. All the reviews I quickly checked online suggested castor oil & sunflower seed oil. My mum doesn't tend to have these in her presses, so I had to improvise. Hello, Dunnes best sunflower oil & Johnson's baby oil. (Can you feel my desperation?)

Very simply, I mixed about a teaspoon of both in an egg cup. I poured it into my hands & rubbed them together, to warm it up, then gently rubbed it into my face with small circular motions. I was going to avoid my eyes, seeing as I have eye make-up remover, & then decided I may as well try that too. So my whole face got a going-over. I could literally see my make-up melting off, which did make me feel like at least something was being removed. Removal of the oil was pretty easy - I ran a muslin cloth under hot water, & washed it off. I figured it was better to soak a face cloth in the hot water & just press it on my eyes to melt my eye make-up, then used a cotton bud dipped in remover to take off the last remaining bit.

The result? Well obviously I can't comment on any effect it has on my skin, since it's only an hour later, but seeing as it was a once off, it hopefully won't go mad. My make up is definitely completely off, which is brilliant, plus it feels pretty moisturised from the oil which is appreciated right now!

Unusually for me these days, I had a full face of slap on.

Applied especially for Saturday night mass.

And BOOM, no make-up.

Also the appearance of a twelve year old without glasses & eyeliner.

So overall, while I can't see myself resorting to the Oil Cleansing method full-time, it was handy when I had nothing else! Have any of you had to resort to alternative cleansers? Or do you use the Oil Cleansing method every night? Let me know!

Chloe x

PS Also left my camera up there, hence the grainy web-cam photos. Apologies!

Going-out outfit & make-up

I've been wanting to re-join the blogosphere for quite a while now, but due to personal circumstances, haven't been very present online, or IRL! But seeing as it's a new year, I'm going to have a new start. I hadn't planned this blog post, (I'm trying to avoid writing an essay, & blogging is my procrastination) so photos aren't of the highest quality, etc. Hope it's okay!

This is a post dedicated to my appearance on St, Stephen's Night, which was quite a while ago. I went to my aunt's 50th birthday, then headed out to a local club afterwards.

I wore this dress. I got it in New Look, originally €24.99 but €22.46

sleeves & round neckline kept things classier. including my student discount. I am tack central, so I love animal print. Leopard, zebra, snake-skin, you name it. I admit that this dress was pretty short. I'm 5'7", so that was probably why, but of you were any taller, I'd definitely recommend tights! As you can see, I didn't opt for tights but I was a little nervous of flashing too much, especially after a few drinks! Something I love about this dress is that it's not too tight,but also not exactly 'flowy'. (It was perfect after loads of Christmas dinner!) I'm an hourglass shape, so it came in at the waist & then skimmed over my hips. I also like the idea of showing either legs or cleavage, so the longer

I'm not exactly great at accessorising, so I kept things to a minimum; my earrings were the black version of these feathery ones, also from New Look, for €3.99.

My ring was from Awear and is no longer on the website,but I believe it was around the €5 mark.

Shoes were a pair of Penney's finest black snake-skin shoes boots, at €21.

My make up was pretty stand-out, because I was in the mood for a different look. I did my usual face of:

Catrice Prime & Fine Smoothing Refiner

Mac Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation in NC 15

Catrice All Round Concealer

Rimmel Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder (One shade)

Benefit Coralista

My eyes had:

Urban Decay Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion

17 Perfect Definition Eyeliner in Onyx

Silver & G

old eyeshadow from Fearne Cotton's "Made You Look, Made You Stare" palette for Boots

Eyelure Girls Aloud (Nicola) False Lashes

And I did a brighter lip than usual.

I used a Yes To Carrots Lip Butter, then tried out a Models Own lipstick in Hot

Pink. It was a big step away from my usual nudes, but I did like the neon colour!

So overall, my hair & make-up came out something like this

Either way, I had quite a good night. I wanted to try out a bit of a different look, & I didn't chicken out.

My lipstick might have faded & the shoes might have come off at the end of the night in favour of flats, but there's no pictures of the messy part of the night.. Thankfully!

I feel quite awkward ending this post actually. I know quite a few bloggers finish up by asking a question, but I don't exactly have many followers. But give it time, I might develop into a questioning, non-awkward blogger!

Chloe x