KIKO Natural Concealer // Beauty

"Liquid Concealer with a natural and radiant effect"

When the Kiko store opened in the Trafford Centre I was really excited but I didn't get round to trying it until Black Friday Weekend where they had an amazing offer of buy 3 get 3 free!  I spent just over £20 and left with 6 products which definitely isn't too bad!

MUA Pro-Base Conceal & Brighten

I've been using this for a good few months now and I've actually really been enjoying it!  I bought it on a whim when my last concealer was running out and as it was not CF I couldn't repurchase.  It was only £3.50 from Superdrug so I figured if it was rubbish it wouldn't matter too much.  The shade I purchased is Porcelain.

It doesn't actually specify what each one is used for but I use the left hand side one for under my eyes; the middle one for any blemishes or redness; and the right hand side one I steer well clear of!  The LHS one is great as it has a peachy tone which helps cover dark circles, it's almost exactly the same colour and consistency of Mac NW20 Studio Finish Concealer which is what I was using before.  The middle one is pretty much the same colour as my skin which is incredibly lucky!  Onto the last one... apparently this is a highlighter?!  You can see the glittery pieces reflecting in the photo but it's just so dark, why would you use a highlighter darker than your skin tone, doesn't that defeat the purpose haha?  The only way I've been able to use it is as a cream blush but even then I'm not keen on it.  However when it's £3.50 for a huge 11g of product I am quite happy to sacrifice one third!

I find that it seems to last quite well and doesn't crease under my eyes which is somewhat miraculous!  I set it with Benefit Powderflage (not CF and discontinued I believe?) and for the rest of my face I just use whatever powder I'm using - currently ELF Translucent Matte Powder.

I am still on the look out for another concealer as the the ingredients in this aren't great - contains parabens.  However if I am stuck it's something I know works for me and I can fall back on it.

Any cruelty free concealer recommendations?

<3

College #2: Basic Tattoo Covering

In college we had to a tattoo covering project as part of our basic makeup unit.  Unfortunately it is only a very small section whereas it could easily be a while unit in itself!  So this is just a very basic demonstration of how to cover a plain black tattoo.

You will need:

- Cleanser
- Heavy duty concealer: I used a mini Dermacolor palette in Fair
- Fine translucent powder
- A small brush i.e. eyeliner or lip
- Powder puff
- A big fluffy brush
- Cotton pads

I don't have any tattoos so I used my friend Laura to model for me as she has a black butterfly on her back.

• I started off by cleansing the area.
• Using a small brush I went over the black using D32.
• This is the first layer of D32 on the tattoo.  I have left the smaller wing bare for comparison.
• I then pressed a translucent powder onto it with a puff and removed any excess with a fluffy brush.
• I repeated the last two steps to build up D32 into two layers.

As you can see D32 is a reddish colour, this puts that tone back into the black which means using skin colours over the top will hide the tattoo much more easily.

• Next I moved onto concealing the whole thing. I matched Laura’s skin tone using a combination of D406 and D1W and applied it over D32.
• I powdered this layer to set it.
• Finally I touched up any areas which needed extra coverage.
• One last layer of powder to set it all into place.

The final effect

Before and after

This was only the 3rd time I had tried tattoo covering as I didn't have anyone to practice on in between college and doing this one for the project!  However, I am pleased with the outcome but next time I will try to blend the edges of each layer in more as I am doing it.  Dermacolor is quite fast drying and makes blending later on very difficult.

Being able to do this perfectly would be a fantastic skill, there are probably quite a lot of woman out there who would want visible tattoos covered up for their wedding!

<3

Day 9. Your Nine Step Daily Makeup Routine

I'm going to be honest... I am terrible with routines!  So, hmmm, this will be interesting!  Okay so let's assume that this is a day where I have enough time to do my make up - minimally - but properly i.e. not on the train!

Rinse face (I don't cleanse in the morning... or at night - BAD!)

Apply Origins VitaZing Moisturizer and leave for 5/10 minutes.

Foundation: Avon Cream-to-Powder foundation in Ivory - I don't love this product but I did a big clear out so this is the only foundation I have left, it is nearly finished so I'll be getting a new one soon.  Hopefully Illamasqua Skin Base!

Concealer: MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20 under my eyes.

Blusher: At the moment I am just trying to use up and old Covergirl one (not cruelty free) to get rid of it!

I then fill in my holey eyebrows using No7 Beautiful Brows Pencil in Blonde.

Lastly I apply my Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect mascara. 

 
but if I've got time... I like to put some liquid eyeliner on, I'm using MAC Penultimate Liner in Black, but NYX also do a really good felt tip one too.

Powder!  I am trying to use MAC Blot powder as I smashed it so it's just in a wee tub now all loose and I'm trying to finish it!

Yasss I think I managed to fudge 9 steps there!  Proud!

<3

Day 4. Four Makeup Products You Can’t Live Without

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect:

I've mentioned it before in Day 1, so I'll just say again, I use this every day and I love it!

E.L.F. Eyebrow Kit:

Any eyebrow product really because I got chicken pox a few years ago and being a teenager I was completely aware and just scratched them all... So now I am covered in scars!  I have one in my eyebrow so there is a hole and I always need to fill it in.  For everyday I just tend to use a pencil (mentioned in day 2) but as I don't like that one, for nights out etc. I use the E.L.F. eyebrow kit which is a pigmented cream and a powder.

Oilatum Natural Repair:

This was recommended by the pixiwoo girls and everyone went crazy trying to get their hands on some!  It is sold in Boots and it was sold out for ages but now it has settled down and is quite easy to get hold of!  It's a really nice moisturiser but because I have combination skin verging on oily, I don't use it every day - I have my Vitazing for that at the moment - I mostly use it if I'm giving myself a facial or after a shower before an important day/night make up wise!  Unfortunately I don't know if this is cruelty free or not, since it is a less common brand it is harder to find out about.  I'll try to find out before I repurchase and will post the results on here!

Mac Studio Finish Concealer:

I'm very lucky in that I don't get too many spots, but I really need concealer for under my eyes, I have such dark circles!  I've been using this one - Studio Finish in NW20 - for a while now and it is quite good.  I wasn't going to repurchase it, but now I can't because of Estée Lauder testing on animals anyway!  Not sure what one to get next, maybe Nars?  Any recommendations are welcome!

P.S. I had to use my top in the background of the last 3 photos because I was in my room and I usually just do it against my duvet but my cat sleeps on my bed and it was soooo hairy and disgusting that I just couldn't do it... haha!  But I think it looks quite good actually!

<3