Makeup Medley No. 5

In lieu of a favourites for March, I thought I'd do another Makeup Medley post talking about the things I've been reaching for the past few weeks! Plus the 9th is a bit late for a favourites post is it not?

I've been going pretty light on the base lately because my acne scars are fiiiiiiinally going away! Hallelujah. So I've mostly been wearing just the Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint! Let me tell you I wish we sold this in my store because my rep page would be blowing up. I get so many questions from customers when I'm wearing this. It really evens out and perfects your skin without looking like your actually wearing anything. To conceal the few acne scars I have left and my sleep-deprived eyes I use the Glossier Stretch Concealer. I've sung the praises of this so many times, but it is SO good. I've actually been forgetting to put undereye concealer on this week (shocking), but it may be down to the magic that is the Milk Makeup Cooling Water. This stuff is so, well, cool. It's a gel stick with firming caffeine and soothing sea water to calm and hydrate puffy looking skin. I was a little skeptical when I picked this up but it works. I'm so psyched to use this in the summer because it feels incredible.

If I want a little extra coverage I either wear the MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation or mix it with Skin Tint. I think that this baby is quickly surpassing my beloved Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation to the top of my favourite foundations list. It's a beautifully lightweight formula with the most gorgeous skin-like finish. It blurs my pores and slightly covers imperfections. It's a solid medium coverage, but if you have something serious to cover up you'll still need to use concealer. I'm usually not a fan of MAC's foundations but this baby really knocked it out of the park. Because the weather is warming up, I've been piling on the bronzer to make up for my lack of tan (it'll never happen), and I pretty much exclusively reach for the Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Stonestreet (although I just got the Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow Palette. So.).

For my cheeks, the Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Moon Beach has been what I reach for. It's just so easy peasy and blendable, and I love the slight shimmer it gives. And I of course still adore my Glossier Cloud Paints. The star of the show is the Nars Multiple in Copacabana. WHY have I never used this before?? I'm actually a little bit annoyed about it. It gives the most beautiful silvery-champagne sheen and the cream-to-powder finish means it feels weightless on the skin. In short, I'm obsessed. And I'm adding more multiples to my wishlist (sorry wallet). I've actually been wearing a little eyeshadow recently (shock, horror!). Mostly sticking to a blended out eyeshadow wing using Bobbi Brown Espresso and Toast from this wee palette. A lot of people have been requesting a tutorial on this so stay tuned! For mascara I've started reaching for the L'Oreal Butterfly Intense Mascara, but only on top of the Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara. I know, I know, I'm very extra. But it makes my lashes look like I have lash extensions!! Super lengthened and volumized and separated. It's worth noting that I hate this mascara on its own (sorry).

And that's it! What have you guys been loving lately?
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The Best of Pixi Beauty

If you're new to this blog: Hello. My name is Amelia. I'm obsessed with Pixi. Like really obsessed. They've become one of my favourite brands and I especially adore their Skin Treats line. I'm very lucky to be on their press list so I've built up my collection quite a bit. But these are products that I've bought with my own money (bar one thing) and they are my favourites.

Oh, Glow Tonic. My absolute love. So much so that I bought the 500ml bottle. Oops. This is a 5% Glycolic Toner that removes excess dirt and impurities but also helps exfoliate the skin for a brighter complexion. Glycolic Acid has teeny tiny molecules that can get deep into the epidermis, meaning it can help accelerate cell renewal. Yes please. For something a bit stronger I love the Overnight Glow Serum which contains 10% Glycolic Acid. This will have you waking up with bright, smooth skin. I was a little skeptical when I first tried this because I'd never used a concentrated exfoliating acid previously but I loved it and am still loving it. This is a great option if you have more sensitive skin because it also has cucumber and aloe vera to soothe.

There's a lot of buzz going around about the Pixi Mists, and for good reason. I blimmin' love them. The Glow Mist is formulated with 13 natural oils and fruit essences, leaving your skin dewy and glowy. BUT, it also somehow manages to help your makeup stay on. It's literal magic. Speaking of magic, the Hydrating Milky Mist has become one of my top favourites. This beaut has Hyaluronic Acid and Black Oats, so it's super hydrating and refreshing. I only have little baby sizes of the Glow Mud Mask and Glow Mud Cleanser from a set, but I'll definitely be purchasing the full sizes once I run out! The cleanser is a cleansing mud, with 5% glycolic acid, and I feel like it does a great job at really deep cleaning my skin without stripping it. The mask has kaolin and sea salt to purify skin, and ginseng and aloe to balance. This really leaves my skin looking super energized.

A few months ago, the Pixi Pretties collection launched, several collaborations with different beauty influencers and I love allll the products. Three, however really stood out to me. I've been loving Aspyn's Glow-y Powders, they're so finely milled and come in three gorgeous colours. London Lustre is my absolute favourite, an icy white similar to my beloved Cover Fx Moonstone. I'm quite surprised by how much I've ended up loving the Lip Palette from itsjudytime's collection. I thought they would be a bit cheapy like typical lip palettes. But they're actually incredibly pigmented and creamy, in an almost matte-satiny finish that lasts really well! It's also been fun to mix and match and create custom shades.

Last but not least I obviously adore the Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse. I mean firstly, CH is my queen. Secondly, I love double cleansing. Match made in heaven. It's a solid and cream cleanser duo that's paraben free, fragrance free, and not tested on animals! The solid oil gets off all of my makeup SO quickly, even better than the Clinique balm. It's super gentle on my skin, but still powers through mascara surprisingly quickly. The cream cleanser is also lovely, it's sort of similar to my beloved Milky Jelly but more cream less jelly (think silk instead of clouds). The oil side contains Vitamin E to protect and condition, Cameillia Oil which is rich in Omegas, and Evening Primrose Oil to heal and moisturize. The cream side contains Vitamin C to protect and promote collagen, a Peptide Complex to plump and reduce lines, Arginnie which improves cell renewal and elasticity (yes, please) This is also becoming a permanent product, and by the hints dropped will be a part of a bigger CH collection (eeeeeeeee!)!

What are your favourite Pixi products? And let me know if you have questions about any of these beauts! And if you'd like $5 off your purchase from Pixi's website you can shop my link here: http://i.refs.cc/t7UQaaCa. This is an affiliate link, but I don't make any commission, just points towards more Pixi beauties!

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The Neutral Nail Edit

Here's another sneak peek into my ridiculous nail polish drawer and this time it's my favourite: neutrals. We all know I'm a boring person and I mostly wear neutral nails, so I have quite a few. And by a few, I mean a ridiculous amount. But here are my favourites!

The newest addition to the family is the beautiful Doe My Dear from Smith & Cult. Smith & Cult describe this as a dove grey taupe. I'm realizing now that this is going to be really difficult because all of the colours are really similar. But stay with me. The formula of this is incredible, and I love the packaging. People say that the brush inside that cap (the cap pops off) is difficult to use, but I actually really like it. It's really close in colour to Barry M's Gel Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Almond if you're in the UK. The formula is a little different, but I've gone through four bottles of this, it's my go-to neutral taupey shade. Nails Inc Porchester Square is also along the same lines, I just have this baby one but I really liked the formula! It leans a little more on the mushroomy-side of the colour spectrum if that means anything to you.

Obviously I have a lottttt of Essie neutrals. A lot. But I have four favourites, ones that I go to over and over again. My all-time favourite nail polish is Lady Like, a taupey-mauve that looks so so chic. Essie classifies this as a pink, but I would definitely put it in the nude category. If you want nude nude (and I mean a nude for my skin tone here, not everyone's), go for Topless and Barefoot. This is a slightly more pink toned beigey version of Sand Tropez and it lasts forever. I think pretty often really pale nude colours tend to crack and chip, but this one stays put without a top coat. Merino Cool is a mulberry that's a little pink a little purple, but firmly a neutral to me. I love this one in the fall and winter as it feels autumnal, but let's be real I wear it all year round. Last but not least from Essie is Chinchilly, a little bit more of a grey, but still gorgeous.

I keep including Formula X polishes and I know they're discontinued, but if you can ever find Monumental, buy it. This is such a gorgeous pale pale beige and again looks chic (all about the chic eh?). LVX's Rive is fairly similar and has a beautiful formula. It's also vegan and 7 toxin free! Last but not least are a few polishes from H&M! These specific colours are really hard to find online, but they should still be in the store. Mushroom is sort of similar to Doe My Dear, but almost a little warmer? Kalahari is the warmest of all, sort of a pinky taupe. If you've never tried H&M polishes before you neeeeeeed to! They are incredible and not too expensive.

What are your favourite nail polishes? (Mainly neutral recommendations please!)
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The Post-Spending Ban Haul

Right, so I may have gone a bit crazy. But after not buying anything for two months I had quite the wishlist. And saved a lot of money. And was on vacation. So. Justified. Also, I never really quite know how to write haul posts. I'll do mini reviews of the things that I have tried, but otherwise I guess it'll just be, "I got this and that." There's also a little photo diary down at the end there. I tried to take more photos but honestly I was a bit distracted and forgot!

Before we went to Charleston, I did place an order from Anthropologie during their 20% off sale. It was a moment of weakness. I ended up picking a bunch of skincare goodies, including the Kypris Antioxidant Dew which I am obsessed with. It's sort of like a hydrating serum that you layer with your other products and is quickly becoming a staple in my everyday routine. Speaking of staples I'm also loving the Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream. It's super duper rich and incredibly hydrating, I'll have proper reviews of these up soon. I also got some things from French Girl Organics, the  Créme Lumiére and Sea Spray.

So we ended up going into Sephora multiple times, but there was also a store called Blue Mercury that I visited a few times. They carried Chanel, NARS, Kiehl's, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Diptyque and a bunch of other luxury brands (very exciting). I ended up getting the NARS Soft Matte   Complete Concealer there because they were out of stock at Sephora, but I was soooo excited. I've heard great things and I'm loving it so far. They had some Smith & Cult nail polishes hiding at the back of the store so I obviously had to get Doe My Deer which is a beautiful dove grey. I went back the second day because I didn't get a chance to look at Chanel. So happy I did as I got the beautiful Illusion D'Ombre in New Moon. Not sure how to explain this to you because it is incredible. You'll have to look it up.

I honestly didn't go as insane in Sephora as I thought I might. I got the Bite Beauty Lip Pencil in the shade 012, a perfect my lips but better shade in a super creamy formula. Sam from pixiwoo convinced me I needed the Clinique Rose Pop Lipstick even though it's a shade I wouldn't normally go for, and I loooove it! Super pigmented and a matte formula that's still comfortable. I also picked up the belief Aqua Bomb Sheet Mask, which I will be trying out tonight! The second visit I had planned on picking up a perfume, but couldn't decide. So I got the Milk Makeup Cooling Water and Ouai Wave Spray instead. I was hoping the Urban Outfitters on King Street would have a big Milk section like my local one does but they didn't! So I was psyched when I spotted this in the Scouted by Sephora section. I tried in this morning and it felt super cool! I already have been talking about the Sunday Riley Good Genes and Tidal 100 point perks I got, but I also grabbed the SK-II Essence and Clinique Pep Start Hydrorush Moisturizer (after Tamira told me about it). 

On our last night we nipped into Ulta before going back to the house because Mario Badescu had a 25% off sale and I wanted to grab the Drying Lotion. I haven't tried it yet but I'm quite excited. I also found a tiny NARS endcap there so it's finally making its way into stores! I randomly decided to swatch Copacabana and immediately bought it. I'm not sure why this isn't still talked about all the time but this may be the best highlighter I've ever used. It's a cream but sets down and is an incredible sheen. I was complimented on it five times today (you need it). On our way back home-home we decided to stop at the outlets even though we were quite tired and I'm so glad we did. There was a Bare + Beauty store, which is pretty much a CCO for Shisedo brands. Meaning they had Burberry and NARS (and other brands) for a discount and they had an additional 20% off that day. Which means I freaked out. I got Burberry's Pale Barley for SIXTEEN DOLLARS. You GUYS. I nearly cried. I also decided to get Chestnut and the Gold Copper Eye Colour Cream because once in a lifetime opportunity ya know? I just received a Glossier package because I ordered the Generation G in Crush and the Headband (needed it right?) to support ma girl Jewlie. And I also accidentally ordered the Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow and some stuff from the Ordinary okay byeeeee

Here's a few of the photos we ended up taking!

 I hope you guys enjoyed this insaaaaaaaaaaane haul! Let me know if you've tried any of these!
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