The Summer months seem to be a time when we all want our skin to look and feel it's very best so we can be confident enough to let it breathe and embrace being 'au natural', without the layers of makeup. But we don't just want it for the summer, we want it all year round, yes? Hence we are talking all about that natural base. For me there have been so many new products responsible for giving my skin life, so I felt it only right to share that love! We all have our preference when it comes to foundations, tints and coverage but one thing that we all seem to agree on is wanting our skin to glow, radiate health and look flawless.
Thankfully I have always been lucky with having clear skin, apart from the odd hormonal breakout as I do take very good care of it and always have done. I have a normal/combination skin type and based on an everyday look, I always opt for a light/medium coverage and in summer I only ever want light textures that look and feel almost invisible as I want my skin looking clear, glowing and flawless and most importantly, still looking like skin. Therefore I choose base products that are long wearing yet give me a demi-matte, dewy kind of finish.
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin |
Before any makeup ever hits my skin, skincare is key for me and I cannot stress enough how good looking skin all starts with your skincare routine! I have many skincare posts, product recommendations etc here and over on my Instagram should you ever want or need advice - your always welcome to message me should you want help!
Priming is also another important step that is key to a good base but a few of these products I am about to touch on do that job for you - (see previous primer posts here & here).
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| Dior Backstage |
Although I have my favourite foundations and tints etc that I use religiously, I do love trying new (which is all part of my job!) but never have I been so impressed by lots of new products all at the same time. They are at the luxury end of the scale but they are worth every single penny in my opinion and are worth a read at least!
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin |
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Charlotte Tilbury, ByTErry |
• BY TERRY CC Serum, 30ml, £61/€68 - available in 4 shades (buy here)
This serum has been spoken about a lot in the beauty world because it is hot property. This is actually more skincare than makeup but it does enough to allow you to go makeup free should you want the option to or you can mix in a little foundation to give you a little coverage. This Colour Correcting Serum helps dull, dehydrated skins with a radiance boost as it creates a veil of light reflective pigments to blur imperfections and give you a more even toned, radiant skin. The serum itself smells very lightly of fresh roses and feels like silk. It is heavenly! I use the shade "Apricot Glow' which gives my skin a gorgeous warm tint and on no makeup days, this just brightens up my complexion to make me look more alive. As well as mixing this in with other bases, you can use this serum under foundation as a primer to help correct skin tone which shall also enhance the finish of your foundation. This is a perfect one for holidays and summer days where you want nothing on your skin but the confidence to wear it 'au natural'. Pricey yes, but worth every single penny!
• CHARLOTTE TILBURY Flawless Filter, 30ml, £30/€40 (buy here)
A product that I have used constantly since I purchased it back in April because it is truly amazing on the skin. Flawless Filter is a customisable complexion booster with the ability to act as a primer, highlighter and digital filter. The magic ingredients all help to soft focus your skin by illuminating and making lines and pores appear smaller and more refined. I have already spoken about it in full (here!) as I use this with and without foundation to give my skin a natural glow that highlighters just don't give it. Although it does sound similar to the ByTerry Serum as above, they really are very different. By Terry gives more skincare benefits as it is designed to work on correcting skin tone etc where as the Flawless Filter is a makeup effect that gives you that flawless finish. In turn, both amazing products to have in your collection.
• CHARLOTTE TILBURY Flawless Filter, 30ml, £30/€40 (buy here)
A product that I have used constantly since I purchased it back in April because it is truly amazing on the skin. Flawless Filter is a customisable complexion booster with the ability to act as a primer, highlighter and digital filter. The magic ingredients all help to soft focus your skin by illuminating and making lines and pores appear smaller and more refined. I have already spoken about it in full (here!) as I use this with and without foundation to give my skin a natural glow that highlighters just don't give it. Although it does sound similar to the ByTerry Serum as above, they really are very different. By Terry gives more skincare benefits as it is designed to work on correcting skin tone etc where as the Flawless Filter is a makeup effect that gives you that flawless finish. In turn, both amazing products to have in your collection.
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin |
• ICONIC LONDON Prep/Set/Glow /Mist, 120ml £18.50 (buy here)
I had to add this product in as I was suckered into buying it through Instagram. Iconic London have a habit of using Celebs/Reality Stars to plug their products and the person I was following gave out a promo code so I thought why not try it! I have never ever tried anything from Iconic before but I know of their highlighter drops which are very popular with many fellow bloggers. The Glow Spray is a multi-tasking face mist containing cucumber, chamomile, green tea and Vitamin E to set your makeup, refresh and hydrate your skin and leave a subtle glow thanks to the tiny light reflective particles in the spray. This is what had me sold, the glittery-ness when you shake the bottle, it's so magical!
I am however a tad on the fence with this one as it is a very strong wet spray which is not quite fine enough for my liking yet it certainly does feel cooling and refreshing on the skin. Because of the intensity of spray and the glitter aspect, you really need to make sure you are covered up before spritzing it on or you shall be covered in glitter .. unless you have your shoulders and neck out then your fine. Although my clothing looked very glittery, I wasn't seeing the end result on my face too much? I really thought it would make more of an impact but on the body its beautiful! Décolleté, shoulders, legs etc all look super pretty with this misted on, all with the added benefit of cooling you down too! So save this for a Beach party or a Party Night out where the more shimmer the better as it really is great for a subtle all over glow. If you have tried it, let me know your thoughts!
Next up, a new release and a product that I have been using all summer .... |
| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Chanel Tinted Moisturiser |
• CHANEL Les Beiges Sheer Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturiser SPF 30 PA++ (buy here)
This is a new Tinted Moisturiser that is lightweight, super hydrating and instantly evens out your skin with a light coverage and nice tint of colour. The ultra fine fluid is creamy and glides on easily when applied with your fingers - it's that easy to use. If you want a bit more coverage then you can apply it with a brush.
It is no secret that Chanel foundations are some of my all time favourites as Vitalumiere Aqua is my all time No1 favourite and my go to since it launched about 8 years ago. For me, this tint is a lighter version of Vitalumiere Aqua as it has the same feel, texture and lightweight feel. It gives a very light coverage so if you are looking for more of a foundation then this isn't for you but if you are looking for something that gives you an outdoor glow as in natural, sheer yet perfected, then this is for you. The shades are different to that of the foundation line, but there is still a lot to choose from. I absolutely adore this tint and have been wearing it constantly all summer. It's gentle enough for all skin types, gives you high daily sun protection and is one of the best tinted moisturisers I have used. Worth the try!
On to another new release that once again seriously impressed me, yet more than I ever thought ....
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage Foundation |
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage Foundation |
• DIOR Backstage Face & Body Foundation, 30ml, available in 40 shades! (buy here)
The Backstage Collection is a brand new launch from Dior that consists of a whole range of foundations, eyeshadow palettes, face palettes and brushes. The two things that drew me in were the Foundation and Glow Face palette; once you see them you'll know why! The new Backstage Foundation has a natural, matte finish with medium buildable coverage that is waterproof and sweat resistant. It can also be used to camouflage minor imperfections on the neck, shoulders, legs, or anywhere else. The formula allows you to create a natural or medium flawless finish and more importantly, comes in a whopping 40 shades which means DIOR have catered to everyone!
I love the packaging. It does in fact resemble MAC face and body but with a matte look bottle instead - as per the foundation finish. I love the fact that this means it is very portable and the lid twists and clicks so you know it is safely on. The only slight downside with this type of tip is that it does leak a little inside the cap and I hate waste, but if stored upright then your fine. DIOR did superb designing this collection as it sure does appeal to everyone.
Dior foundations have never really been my thing; not because I haven't wanted to use them, not at all, I just always find their bases very drying on the skin and look very 'mask-like' on especially the famous Forever foundation. For some reason the ad campaign and hype around this whole launch had me dying to try it out and I am so glad that I did. I think in the back of my mind I was secretly hoping to like at least one Dior base and in fact it ended up being love!
The formula is beautiful; it melts into my skin to give just the perfect amount of coverage where my skin is perfected yet still shows through and isn't masked. It is matte but not too matte and sets fast so you need to blend rather quickly. To put the waterproof/sweatproof claim to the test, I was in fact wearing it over our insane Monaco heat wave where it's been 38/40 degree celsius and this with stood it all. I mean we are talking extreme heat, extreme humidity, sweat etc and it didn't move. This is why I am so blown away because I always need to powder my nose and I didn't! So if you haven't tried this one yet and have been contemplating it, then add it to your list fast. In my opinion, it's a winner.
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage Foundation |
In addition, a good highlighter palette is key to enhancing a glow further I say and here are two newbies that I added to my collection that I feel would work for everyone ...
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage |
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage |
• DIOR Backstage Glow Face Palette, £34/€38 (buy here)
Sticking with the whole natural beauty theme, the Glow Palette helps to maximise that by giving you 4 shades of radiance and luminosity. Within the palette you have two highlighters, one white one golden, a rosy blush and a bronze blush. The embossed Dior within the powders adds to the gorgeous look of this palette as it is utterly gorgeous! The powders are very shimmery, highly pigmented and blend like a dream as do Dior powders in general. You can even swish your brush over all for shades for a more intense cheek/bronzed look.
I love the packaging and the plastic casing makes this very portable being not too big to pop in your handbag or travel bag and is such a great a flattering shade range on all skins and all ages.
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick |
• BOBBI BROWN Shimmer Brick Palette, £55/€62 *Limited Edition* (buy here)
As soon as I saw this on my IG feed (thanks to the lovely BBPRO MUA Hannah Martin) I was sold. I don't actually own any of the famous shimmer bricks as a single but I have always meant to add them into my collection so this was the perfect way to do that! The trio palette contains the 3 most popular shades - Rose, Copper Diamond and Apricot. These shimmer powders are universally flattering and can be worn alone or together; the good thing is you can completely customise the look that you want. The powders are infused with ultra fine light reflecting pigments that give your skin a totally natural looking, sun kissed glow.
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| How to achieve Natural, Perfected, Glowing skin, Dior Backstage |
As you can tell, I have been a big fan this summer of using minimal products as opposed to using many products to get that 'natural look' - we all know the feeling right?
I shall without a doubt have many more recommendations to follow as even as I am writing this post I have another pile sat on my desk (hint hint the NEW Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold palette so stay tuned!) but I hope my opinion here has helped in some way!
Do you have a favourite?
