Nude By Nature - BB 5-in-1 Miracle Cream

So, I have been meaning to write a post about this cream for an awfully long time but just kept forgetting!!

Today I finally realised I still hadn't done it so here is my review of this cream for your enjoyment :-)

I have been using the Nude By Nature BB 5-in-1 Miracle Cream on and off for a good couple of months now after receiving it in a past Bellabox (I think?).

At first this BB Cream and I had issues. I mean REAL issues! I found it so hard to work with and just kept getting very frustrated every time I tried to apply it of a morning. It dries very fast to a matte finish and becomes practically impossible to work with once it has passed the point of blendability. If I tried to apply too much I ended up with streak city all over my face and if I applied too little I ended up being stuck with an unfinished face that was practically impossible to blend and even out.

Then, one day I finally found the exact amount I needed to apply to get perfect coverage for my face and a love affair was finally born. See, love can be something that can grow on you eventually.......

Here is a little bit about this BB Cream:

'Our BB 5-in-1 Miracle Cream takes the best skin care mixed with the best in mineral make-up to give your skin the nourishing softness you like, with the flawless finish we love. BB instantly hydrates, corrects, perfects, protects and gives your skin natural radiance in one lightweight application. BB you best, beautiful self with this natural wonder!'

So, once I found the perfect application amount I became hooked on this cream. Once it sets it gives such a nice matte finish to the skin that is ideal for those days you just want to walk straight out the door without any fuss. It covers small blemishes with ease and makes the skin look nice and even in a way that a regular tinted moisturiser just doesn't seem to achieve.

This BB Cream comes in three shades, Light, Medium and Dark according to Nude By Nature's website.

The shade I received was Medium which is a tad too dark for me, especially now it's winter and I've resorted to my almost ghost-like paleness again. But, I wouldn't say that it's so dark that I feel I have a mask on so I've still been using it over the past few weeks on a regular basis. I'm lucky that I have been blessed (??) with a lot of freckles so it tends to be a similar shade to them and therefore blends over my face quite well. I think the light shade would have been a perfect match though so may look into trying this next time.

The scent of this BB Cream is a winner too. It's quite pleasant without being too overpowering and doesn't stay with you all day which I think is a bonus.

Overall, this is probably one of the better BB Creams I have used so far and seems to be the one I reach for most often.

Has anyone else tried this BB Cream yet? Do you find it as temperamental to apply as I do?

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Michelle xx

Short & Sweet Session - July 2013

Welcome to my first ever Short & Sweet Session post as described here. I was initially going to do one of these posts per sample product that impressed me at a time but decided to just group my favourites for the month together instead as this ended up being a bit more sensible to me (and a lot less time consuming too!)

This month there were only four sample products I used that I thought worth mentioning. They were as follows:

1) GKMBJ One Minute Treatment Hair Mask - I loved, loved, loved this product and am most definitely going to get myself a full size. The smell is delicious and it made my fine, straw like, frizz fest of a head of hair feel so much softer and more manageable. I also love that it only needs to be on for one minute to do its magic. This means I can slather it on after washing my hair and do something else quick like shave or exfoliate and then it's ready to be rinsed off. This is way more practical than other hair masks that need to be left on for 10-15 minutes or so. I'm not a fan at all of getting in the shower, getting out to let my mask work and then getting back in again just to rinse and any product that doesn't force me to do that but still works is great to me!

2) Kiehl's BB Cream - This has to be one of the best BB creams I have used so far. Firstly, it smells kind of like a chocolate coated coffee bean to me which I was a tad excited about every time I went to use it, secondly, it blends into the skin beautifully and leaves a lovely matte finish without a hint of greasiness, and thirdly, a little of this cream goes a seriously long way so this deceivingly small sample lasted me about 5 or 6 uses before running out. This is definitely up there as one of the best BB creams around in my opinion.

3) Remedica Vanilla & Shea Nut Body Creme - This creme is so lovely that I was almost tempted to try eating it. My sensitive, eczema prone skin soaked this creme up like there was no tomorrow and felt really soft and nourished. The smell of this creme is unbelievable. It cannot be adequately described in any other way than delicious. I felt so decadent applying this after showering and before heading to bed at night and found that the scent lasted all night and through most of the next day on my skin as well. Definitely a great, luxurious creme for those whose skin needs that bit extra pampering sometimes.

4) Aromatherapy Associates Relax Bath & Shower Oil - For some reason I'm usually not a big fan of the scent of lavender but I found that I really loved it in the form of this oil. A few drops of this in the bath fills the whole near vicinity with the subtle scent of lavender and the oil ended up making my skin feel lovely and soft and I didn't even have to moisturise afterwards. I'm intrigued now about trying some of the other scents in this range in the near future.

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried any of these products before and what you thought about them?

Have a great week!

Michelle xx

FOTD featuring Arbonne Cosmetics

A couple of days ago I reviewed some products from the Arbonne Cosmetics range here and decided to post a quick FOTD which I did incorporating all of those products for what I think is an easy and very simple daytime look.

For this look I used the following products:

Face: Nude by Nature BB  5 in 1 Miracle Cream, Mirenesse Touch On Concealer in Golden Cream, Arbonne Cosmetics Blush in Blossom, b Collection by Bloom Cheek Tint in Napa Valley (to highlight), Australis Bronzing Powder in Golden (to contour)

Eyes: Arbonne Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Divine Plum blended out all over lid, Mirenesse Touch Up Brow Sculptor, Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Mascara in Black

Lips: Arbonne Cosmetics Lipstick in Scarlet

I'm absolutely loving bolder colours on my face at the moment now it's getting a bit cooler temperature wise.

Is anyone else embracing darker shades now we're heading into more chilly weather?

Michelle xx

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector (BB Cream) Light & Medium

Well I was so excited a few weeks ago when I was informed that I'd been a lucky winner of two of the Garnier BB Creams from a competition run on Lilit's blog Makeup & Macaroons and I just couldn't wait for them to arrive in the mail.

I was fortunate enough to win both the Light and Medium shades (which came in a cute little Garnier canvas baggy I must add).

Here is a comparison between the two shades:

Left: Medium shade, Right: Light shade (as if that wasn't obvious to most of you anyway)

The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfectors claim to contain Vitamin C and Mineral Pigments and are supposed to:

* Even complexion
* Reduce sun spots and imperfections
* Boost healthy glow
* Give tinted 24hr hydration
* Protect with an SPF 15

I have now been using the Light shade for a couple of weeks and it is a really nice tinted moisturiser to use. My skin feels soft and non-greasy after applying and it gives quite good coverage over small imperfections. I like the fact that it contains an SPF as well as I'll admit I'm way too lazy to apply a regular sunscreen onto my face first before my regular moisturiser and on the odd occasion that I have done this my skin has felt so greasy and awful I always wished I'd not done it.

There are only two issues that I found I have with this cream. First up is the smell. I find it a little too overpowering for a face cream as it's very much like a floral perfume going onto your face which is a bit much for me to bear for every day use. I can be a little sensitive to smells sometimes though so this might just be a problem that is purely individual to me.

Secondly, I find it hard to blend in completely and sometimes and the cream can seem to just 'sit' on top of the skin and look a bit filmy unless blended in really well. Again, this might just be because my skin has a tendency to be a bit on the oily side sometimes and might not be an issue for anyone else.

I haven't tried the Medium shade on my face as yet as I think it will be way too dark for me to wear on it's own as I'm quite pale. I do think that it will be good to mix the Light and Medium together once summer hits though as that might make a better shade that I can wear.

Has anyone else tried these creams yet and formed an opinion on them?