Fine One One! Back with a bang!

Hello! After a not-so-brief hiatus I am back to blogging! I pretty much vanished off the face of the earth through my fourth year of my degree, but it's all done and dusted now and I could not be happier!

Anyway, back to beauty. For my first review this YEAR (gosh it's been a while), I have chosen Benefit's new multi-tasking product, Fine-one-one. Incase you've missed the press, this product has been four years in development! It has a highlighter, a blusher and a contour all in one handy cream stick format. The packaging is, as always, pretty slick from Benefit. Take a look-see.

It's a classy metallic rose-colour, not too big, nice and portable, and feels quite sturdy, a must for me as I drop things all the time! All in all another pretty product from Benefit. So, on to the product itself.

As you can hopefully see there are three products in one, alongside each other. This is designed to be fool-proof so you just swipe across your cheek and blend lightly. Swatch please!



The highligher aspect of this is not that obvious unless you go over it a couple of times, but it is similar in colour to High Beam from Benefit. The blush is a corally pink matte shade and the contour is orangy peach in colour. This was from swiping it twice lightly. You do need to blend a fair amount to get rid of the obvious lines.

To be honest, it took me as much time using this as it normally does using blusher and highlighter individually and blending so I wouldn't use it as an "express" product but it would be really handy for travelling. Also, this will not suit all skin tones. For the price of £23.50, you do get three products, and this can be used on lips too, though I wouldn't personally choose to do so.

Overall: it looks pretty and does what is says on the tin. Useful for travelling but perhaps more of a gimmicky product than a makeup bag staple. 6/10

I did however LOVE the Benefit van:

FOTD- Everyday shopping look

So yesterday I had a day off and was meant to be going to meet one of my best buds but she had a bit of a family emergency so we had to call it off (poor thing :() but I had to go into town anyway so I thought I may as well make a day of it. I don't like girls who wander round town in heels and hair extensions, but it's nice to feel a bit more done up than normal isn't it? This is my everyday makeup with lashes thrown in and a bolder lip:

Hello nose!!! Lol gotta love our imperfections eh? So for this look, I used:

• The Porefessional by Benefit
• Loreal Nude Magique BB Cream
• Mac Mineralize Blush in Dainty
• Benefit "They're Real" Mascara
• Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Velvet Plum
• Mac Shroom eyeshadow
• Mac Trax eyeshadow
• Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink
• The Vintage Cosmetics Company Fake Eyelashes in Gracie
• Mac Satin Lipstick in Rebel.
• Brown infill powder (not sure where it's from)

Generally unless I have loads of spots, I like to keep my makeup light and opt for a light foundation or BB cream rather than a full coverage. I like to prime if I know I'm going to be out or working all day so my makeup doesn't shift, and the Porefessional is good for this. A bit of blush to warm up the cheeks (this blush actually doesn't photograph as bright as it is on). 

Then onto the eyes. I wanted a neutral eye as I was going for a bold lip, and this is my go-to eyeshadow. I love the formulation of the Bobbi Brown long-wear cream eyeshadow and really want another one, if only they weren't so expensive! As you can see my eyes are very deep set so I like to put a slightly shimmery/pearlescent shade on to open up my eyes, or for nights out loads of eyeliner to accentuate the almond shape. I have such tiny lids that most eyeshadow seems to vanish!!

It's more of a browny gold colour, which goes well with shroom which is a great highlighter colour for under your brow.  The glitter is obvious in real in life and I have had a lot of people comment on it. I love this eyeshadow it's so easy to chuck on day to day and blends well but does dry quickly. The lashes are the ones I got with my SheSaid beauty box last month and I love them! I use the eyeliner to blend the lashes in as my lash glue dries black so it covers any messy bits when my eyes are open.

I wore this floaty blouse with jeans, little ballet pumps and a tweed jacket with elbow patches, and used my hair donut to put my hair up in a more-or-less perfect bun. If you're busy, or if it's raining and you don't want to risk an afro, I always think putting your hair up is a nice alternative. This hair donut is a foam ring to help you create a nice bun, it came from Primark and was only a pound! I love it, it takes less than 5 mins, a foam ring and a bunch of kirby grips.

So that's my first face of the day post, let me know what you think and if you would like to see any more of these! xxx

Benefit "The Porefessional"

As the possessor of annoyingly oily skin, a primer is a must have and I have been struggling to find one that fits my skin perfectly.

I actually bought this for my sister for her birthday back in February after reading the hype on so many blogs, and after I gave her it I had a case of serious jealousy! Thankfully, Charlotte of Charlotte's Obsessions, enlightened us all as to the wonder of BuyaPowa and I snapped one up on there!

And boy I'm glad I did. The packaging is the quirky, girly style we have come to expect from Benefit, and I like the little picture of the action figure inside the box! I almost expected the primer to be that scary turquoise colour of the tube (to aid redness maybe) but was pleasantly surprised to find a nude, silky, half-gel half-cream come out. It smells vaguely fruity but not overpowering, and blends like a dream.

I could really just wear this alone, it makes my skin feel so smooth and mattifies instantly. When teamed with a great foundation (Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation is a current fave), my makeup seems to last all day without looking heavy.

Overall, I'd give this product a 9/10 and would definitely repurchase.