April Favourites & May Wishlist

Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge £4.99- This is a product I had on my previous wishlist and was in two minds about. Well I'm glad I tried it thought, as it's replaced all foundation brushes I have. I prefer to use it dry or very slightly damp as when its properly damp it sheers out my foundation so much that I end up using loads. It gives a lovely uniform texture to the skin, smooths out uneven patches and application lines I didn't even realise I had! Also really great for blending out into the hairline and for colour on the cheeks, although it does take quite a bit of cleaning and I've scratched it with my nails already whoops!

Batiste Medium and Brunette* £3.99- If you read my post about Girlz Only Dry Shampoo from a while ago you'll know that I was never Batistes biggest fan as it would always give me the greying roots look, so I was really pleased to see the brown coloured version in my goody bag from the Brighton Blogger Meet. This is a medium brown powder spray that even before working in is so much less noticeable than the usual white sprays. This has a massive thumbs up from me!
MUA Out There Gloss in Candy Pink £2- You can read my full review with swatches of 8 of the shades here but Candy Pink is my definite favourite. Its a lovely light bluey pink and my lips aren't yet immune to the plumping action from these glosses. I also find my lips are a lot smoother and less dry or flaky when using these.

 MUA Lipstick Shade #16 Nectar £1- Another MUA purchase, I'm hooked! I bought three lipstick shades and will do a review post with swatches soon. This is quite a bright orange in the tube but tones down to a more corally colour on the skin. Its much less scary when you get it on your face and actually looks really nice blended out on the cheeks. I'm not a massive blush girl and don't tend to go for powders too much so this is just pigmented enough to make me look alive and awake without being some mental bright pink. Why I didn't actually get a cream blush I don't know, maybe they weren't out there on the stand? But I did half have my cheeks in mind when buying this and who says you cant put lipstick on your cheeks anyway? In the words of Wayne Goss 'Do whatever makes you happy'!

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter £3- When I first used this highlighter I was pretty disappointed as it didn't really seem to be doing anything, but as soon as I stepped back from the mirror into the light- wow, I looked glossy! The first thing that drew me to this was the gorgeous embossed pattern (although mine is a bit deformed now) and it has a lovely pinky pearlescence that goes well with my skintone. The only bad thing is that it isn't all that finely milled, so if you go a bit overboard it does tend to accentuate the pores a bit. I've been applying this with the MUA F2 Stippling Brush £3 which is another MUA product that I love as its soft and picks up just the right amount of product.
ILAH Semi Permanent Mineral Brow Travel Kit* £29.99- I was so pleased to see not only ashy browns in this little kit but also a black shade- I've had my eye on a few other kits but they just weren't dark enough, and for those us with very dark eyebrows a brown can look very noticeable and strange. This black isn't too pigmented which is good to avoid going overboard but mixed with the gloss it becomes a little darker and is great for creating defined ends. This really does have staying power as I do occasionally sleep in my makeup (cue gasps and finger wagging!) and happily my eyebrows have stopped wearing off in the night. This is so handy to throw in your makeup bag as its a nice sturdy compact that has a pretty big mirror for it's size.
Autograph Liquid Glow Illuminator £9.50- I'd been umming and ahhing over Mac Strobe Cream for months, swatching it over my hands and up my arms and wondering whether I really needed a lotion when I already had a cream highlighter. My answer came after reading some reviews and swatching the Autograph Liquid Glow Illuminator in the shop as its exactly the same but much cheaper! This is a light iridescent lotion with moisturising ingredients that's hypoallergenic and paraben free. It can be used under foundation, mixed with foundation or over the top for a dewy highlighted look. It also comes in two colours- white or bronze, with bronze being a lot darker than shown on the website but would be gorgeous in summer on tanned skin!
REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask* £30- I had a skincare overhaul last month and REN is featuring pretty highly in my routine at the moment. Usually this would be out of my price league but I had a small sample tube I'd been trying and the full size was kindly bought for me. This has an orange fruity scent and the consistency of jam but as it works so well I don't mind having a sticky face. I avoid active blemishes and it doesn't tingle, burn or dry my face but I instantly notice how much smoother and softer my skin is. Hopefully it will continue to keep my skin smooth and I'll notice more radiance in my dull complexion. A tip for if you're not seeing results- I noticed after the 3rd and 4th time the effects weren't as good as the first, I saw a couple of posts saying that people were getting better results leaving the mask on for 40-60 mins. At the moment I leave it for about 40 mins and am still pleased every time!
Clinique Supermoisture Makeup £21.50- As I said above, I've had a skincare overhaul and my new regime contains quite a bit of Salicylic Acid and Niacinamide that can be drying to the skin until it gets used to them. Unfortunately I've had quite a lot of dryness in problem areas so dug out my Supermoisture Makeup and have fallen back in love! This is a thick and creamy foundation that says it has sheer to moderate coverage but I thinks its definitely more medium as it covers blemishes so well. Even though its moisturising and gives a dewy finish it still dries down (unlike a lot of dewy foundations, especially highstreet ones that stay wet and transfer), but the dewiness comes from quite a bit of shimmer that may or may not be your cup of tea. Despite the shimmer I've been wearing this a lot combined with Stila SPF 30 tinted moisturiser and my acidified skin (lurrvely!) is thanking me for it.

May Wishlist

I did really well with my wishlist last month, most of the items were very affordable so I managed to get a lot of them and wasn't lusting too much over expensive things I couldn't afford! This months wishlist is a little smaller than others but still affordable so am looking forward to getting down the shops!
NYX Cream Blush in Glow- Maybe its time to stop blending lipstick onto my cheeks? I'll only know once I get my hands on a cream blush and this looks so gorgeous on other people I've seen with a similar skin tone.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream- Shannon (Shaaanxo on youtube) mentioned these and did some swatches in one of her recent videos, and they come in light colours that I've been loving but finding it hard to get in lipstick form. These are matte but long lasting on the lips so can be worn under gloss.
Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Colour- I haven't yet tried any lip products from Wet n Wild so will be really interested to see what I think of these. I've been wanting them for the same reasons as the Lip Creme above.
Autograph Instant Radiance Primer- I swatched this when I went to buy the Illuminator and really liked the texture and finish, Its not as siliconey as other primers I've tried and is meant to illuminate the skin under foundation. I might do a primer post soon as they're so hit and miss!
Amie Spring Clean Cooling Clay Mask- I received a sample sachet of this mask and was so impressed even after just one use! I used to love clay masks but haven't tried any out since my favourite was discontinued. This one tingles with Menthol and smells just like lime jelly from the added Lime Butter, my face felt so clean and bright that I cant wait to get my hands on a full size tube.
Sleek Luminous Pressed Powder- I've been swatching this in Superdrug and can't really make my mind up so its going on the wishlist until I do. This is a powder with light reflecting particles that is meant to set foundation but add a healthy glow to avoid the dullness that powder can sometimes give. I used to completely powder and matte down my face which gave my makeup great longevity but now that I prefer a more dewy finish it does sound like the perfect product... I think I'll have another swatch....

What are your favourites from last month and wishlist items? Have you tried any of the products above?