CHANEL MAT LUMIERE: luminous matte powder makeup

I'm sorry, what? Is this a beauty post? Why yes, yes it is! Finally, after numerous 'i'm back'/Instagram/round up posts, I'm finally doing a blog post on a beauty product! This is the Chanel powder that I picked up at the airport last summer when I went to Egypt with my family. Before this I used a Benefit powder and whilst I really liked using it, I was in the mood for something more 'high end'. So I popped into the duty free area at the airport and headed towards the Chanel counter. I originally wanted to check out the Chanel lipsticks and nail varnishes but when a "luminous matte powder" calls...

I'm someone who doesn't wear make up every day. I don't need to as I'm at school all day every day and as it's an 'all girl' school, I don't feel I need to 'impress' anyone - I am comfortable walking around school with a bare face. But for the times that I do feel like piling my face with make up and making myself look at least a little better than my 'natural face', I really wanted to treat myself and get a luxury product that would at least work towards making me look a little flawless. And my lord, I think I found it!

This is Chanel's Mat Lumiere Powder, with SPF 10, and I have the shade 40: Sable. It's quite dark and it's definitely not the right shade for my skin but when placed over the top of my liquid foundation (it's a Lancome Teint Miracle one and i'll hopefully be doing a post on it soon!) it sort of works. I'm a little gutted that it only really matches my skin tone when I have a tan (very very rarely...) but maybe next time I'll go for a lighter shade? Anyway, the product is a compact powder that looks a little creamy when first applied (i.e. before blended in). It's absolutely gorgeous and so so so luxurious. As well as the product itself, the packaging is equally as lovely and extremely classy. I love the little velvet packet it comes in (although impractical as it gathers wonderful amounts of dust...) and the pan itself is so sleek! At first I was so afraid to touch it as I didn't want to get fingerprint marks on it but I guess temptation gave in ;) The product is also refillable as the actual powder can be removed from the pan so you don't have to buy a whole new product every time, just another powder (which i'm thinking/hoping will be cheaper).

The little booklet that comes with the powder claims that it contains "the perfect balance between softness, radiance and a matte finish" and I agree. It's definitely (i emphasise this greatly) matte which is perfect for me as I have a quite oily skin so when applying a liquid foundation, it can make me a little shiny, thus makin a matte powder over the top very useful. "The powdery MAT LUMIERE formula blends delicately into the skin to ensure shiny areas are mattified, the complexion is evened out, imperfections are instantly concealed and the radiance of the face is revealed" - now how wonderful does that sound? And it does exactly what it claims. Matte = check! Imperfections concealed = check! I feel that when I apply this powder it covers all blemishes that I may be suffering with at the time which to me is the best thing of all! Then finally, radiance = check!

The above pictures of myself, whilst not of the best quality or of great beauty (i try!), show how great the product is (both in light and shadow - this was unintentional and just happened with the position i was sat in when i took the photos). You can tell where I have blemishes but at least they aren't as obvious as they would be without make up. I wear this powder, as mentioned before, with a liquid foundation underneath and apply it with the sponge that comes with the product. Obviously, this isn't my chosen way to do this (as it isn't too hygienic as the sponges do get very dirty and do carry bacteria) but when my mum asked the lady at the counter what the best way to clean/wash them was, she simply said to use a new one and gave us a whole load of extra sponges to take home so I try to start with a new one every month to be a little more hygienic. Regardless of this issue, I like to apply it this way and it really does apply nice and smoothly. After I've applied a layer with the sponge, I blend it in further with a Face Brush from Bobbi Brown (unfortunately, not something i recommend, it's far too scratchy).

Unfortunately, at first, I thought it had broken me out as after the first use I got a lovely helping of spots and it did put me off for a while. I decided to let my blemishes calm down before giving it another go and I think it was just a coincidence as since then, it hasn't broken me out. I do still get spots but I get them regardless of my use of the powder. The powder itself is a little heavy (although it does claim to be light on the skin in the booklet) so I am wary of it clogging my pores but do make sure to give my face a deep clean afterwards. But the benefits and beauty of the product completely over ride this and I still love it!

In terms of coverage and staying powder, it has a full coverage and although it doesn't last all day, it still looks amazing by the time I come home (it is still practically full coverage at the end of the day to be fair and i can vouch/guarantee this as i work in a coffee shop once a week and by the end of my shift, i think the coverage is still great).

Another positive (i don't think i could compliment this product any more to be honest...) is that it makes my skin feel pretty flawless. I feel so wonderful and confident with my skin when I wear it and I think that's the best thing you could say about a facial make up product.

And a final point, unfortunately a negative one, is that it's very easy to rub off. This means fingers and hands can get grubby if you touch your face and it can transfer onto clothes quite easily but if you blend/buff it into your skin well, you can avid too much transfer.

Overall, I am so so so glad I got this and splurged on a higher end product. It's the most expensive make up I own (with the average UK high street price being £37.00 it's certainly not cheap, although i did get it at a discounted price of £30 at duty free but i would will be willing to pay the full price when i've run out) and it's so worth the price! I absolutely love using it and the fact it's got a huge mirror in it means I can whip it out in public and re-apply whenever necessary (ha ha ha, i'm joking! i'm not that shallow...).

I have recently hit the bottom of the pan with this so it means that I've really managed to get to grips with the product and have been able to really give it a go before I did a full review. So I hope you take my thoughts seriously and I'm hoping I've managed to convince you to maybe treat yourself to this beauty! If you do, here is the link for the product on Selfridges (here!) but I do recommend you going in store to check out the colour range in person and maybe get some advice on what the right colour is for you (and maybe some free extra sponges if you're lucky like me!).

Updates:

1. I apologise for not posting sooner but there isn't really any excuse apart from lack of motivation and lack of hours during the day. I go back to school on Monday so obviously posts won't be too frequent (not like they are anyway) but hey ho, we deal with what we've got!
2. I haven't actually been up to much this week so there isn't all that much to update you on. I've been the pub with friends, then bowling with the same friends and for a walk at a HUGE national trust park with another friend. It's been nice. Apart from today, I had work which was tough but it was actually a really good shift and I had a wonderful Chinese takeaway to look forward to when I got home.
3. Tomorrow I'm going with my mum to her gym to hopefully join! I'm so excited to get back into fitness (lol jks, who am i kidding?! i've never been 'into fitness'...) and I'm hoping to really lose a good amount of weight before summer. Speaking of which, my parents have been speaking about a summer holiday to Morocco, erm yes please!
4. I've been suffering from a cold recently so hopefully it'll clear up soon (i already feel a bit better) - I'm just so tired of a constant 'supply' of colds that someone keeps giving me!
5. As I finished work today, early than I usually do, I decided to pop into Boots to treat myself! I've been needing some new shampoo and conditioner, some shower gel and some bath soak so when was a better opportunity apart from today? I couldn't afford everything on my card but luckily I received my very first tips and used them for the rest. With my card, I purchased the Herbal Essences 'Herbally Ever After' 40 Years Anniversary Shampoo & Conditioner, the Radox Spa Condition Bath Soak with Honey, Milk and Almond Oil, the Original Source Vanilla Milk and Raspberry Shower Gel and finally the Tresemme Keratin Smooth Shampoo & Conditioner (quite a haul!). Then, with my tips I bought each of the shades of the new Barry M Textured Effect Collection - Atlantic Road, Station Road, Kingsland Road and Ridley Road. I can't wait to try them out and of course there will be some reviews!
6. I don't think there is anything else I have to tell you guys apart from I hope we're all okay and I hope you've had/you're having a good weekend! :)

liar, liar, pants on fire!

So I hold my hands up. I admit it. I am useless. I cannot blog when I say I will and as a result, I haven't blogged in a while. I always think that I'm going to have plenty of time to blog and always say, on here, that I will but then something crops up that just completely takes up all of my time. There honestly aren't enough hours in the day (as said my Daloni on her blog!) but I do try! Sometimes, though, I'm just too tired to even try and produce a blogpost! But today I did in fact break up from sixth form for half term so fingers crossed things will become smoother (probably need to stop saying this...)!

For today's post, I thought I'd do another catch up - sort of like my last post - on what I've been up to, where I've been etc. I really prefer to do these posts when I 'come back to blogging' after a long period of time. I apologise if you follow me on Instagram and have seen these pictures before but ah well! Here we go though...

Who doesn't love receiving Zara packages? I've needed a new handbag for a very very long time and I've wanted to invest in a more expensive one for a while now so I went ahead and treated myself to this beautiful bad boy! I believe a few other bloggers have the same bag and it's honestly the most handy bag to have. There are 5 different sections so you can fit loads in!

I think Toby liked the box as well... He spent the majority of his time just rustling around in the paper, bless him.

At the start of the month, my parents and I took a trip to London. It's sort of an annual thing and I absolutely love going. We did a variety of things including some sight seeing and show going. On the first day we popped over to the British Museum before going to get something to eat and then heading to see The Lion King. The show was honestly amazing and I would really love to see it again! On the Sunday we just sort of mooched around Harrods. I was sort of underwhelmed. I was expecting this sort of 'magical' department store but I think I didn't really like it because of the overcrowding and the 'pushiness' of the staff. Also, everything is so expensive there! I fell in love with the Moomin Troll toy as well but unfortunately, he did not come home with me :( Then, before we headed home, we went to see the new Cirque Du Soleil show. I have been going to see Cirque Du Soleil shows since I was 7 and as my parents are such big fans, I couldn't help but fall in love with the shows either. They are honestly insane and I really think EVERYBODY (yes, that's each and every one of you!) should go and see one of the shows! The just get more and more magical everytime you see them.

Now I'm sure most of you know that HMV is closing down/changing owners so a lot of prices have been reduced which is a bonus if you are a film/TV lover like me! However, I didn't go as crazy as I thought I would and just bought these two things (actually, it was more like my mum bought them for me...). Little Rascals is a film I always used to watch when I was little and then I completely forgot it even existed until my friend brought it up a couple of months ago. And Everybody Loves Raymond is a classic. It's just got such good dry humour and Raymond reminds me of my dad so much!

How could I not do an impression of a walrus when I had a packet of chocolate fingers to myself?

When I was little, on Red Nose Day, my mum would always give me her old badges instead of buying new ones (she does the same with her Children In Need badges too) and I always felt special wearing a different one to everybody else. But this year I decided to buy my own and maybe I can start a collection of my own? 

Going to help my mum with the Sainsbury's shop is always a bad idea... I always end up putting really unhealthy and unnecessary things in the trolley! To be honest though, the cocktail sausages are my favourite thing in the world! And the cupcake was on a 3 for 2 offer... I couldn't pass up on the delicious-ness!

Kigu are my favourite ever company to buy onesies from. They have the most amazing selection and they are so so so comfortable. Last weekend I went on a Brownie camp (i'm a volunteer by the way) and the theme was 'jungle'. We had a jungle party on the Saturday evening and so I just had to buy my costume from Kigu. It also meant I could add to my collection (of a dinosaur and rudolph!)!

Just a selection of photos from the weekend. I did actually have a lot of fun but it was exhausting! The place we stayed at was beautiful though and it was nice to head to the countryside for a little bit.

As soon as I got home I shnuggled into my new onesie and did nothing...

I also spent plenty of time eating chocolate... I was given the box of Celebrations from the main Brownie leader as a thank you which was so lovely of her. And the second picture shows the selection of goodies my parents got me as a 'welcome home' gift which was very sweet of them!

For all those that didn't know (although you'd be crazy to have missed such a wonderful occasion) it was Pancake Day on Tuesday!  I'm a HUGE pancake fan but I only ever have sugar and lemon. Well, I tell a lie. The picture shows that I have maple syrup on my American style pancakes. On Pancake Day, in our family, the tradition is that my dad makes the pancakes so that's when I have the traditional/crepe style ones with sugar and lemon. YUMMY IN MY TUMMY

And yesterday was Valentine's Day. Unfortunately I did not have a man boy to spend it with so I went out with my girlies instead. In the morning, however, I did get a card of my parents. Bless. I think it was more out of sympathy, however. After I'd finished school for the day, I went to the cinema with my friends to see 'I Give It A Year' (hilarious and definitely recommend but a little crude in some places...) before popping to Frankie And Benny's for something to eat. The rest of the night was spent watching The Hills and reading... 

So that's all I've really been up to recently. Nothing that exciting and nothing that interesting. I am actually up to quite a bit in the next week so fingers crossed I have something to inform you on/blog about! I'm hoping, also, to get some beauty posts up!

Tomorrow I think I might be heading into Manchester for a spot of lunch, maybe a new piercing? and a little bit of shopping. I'm also supposed to be going to a 1975 gig in the evening but I'm not sure on those details so I'll see! For now though, I am shattered so I'll love and leave you! :) :) :)

here to stay

Hello everyone! I have returned! After 2 weeks of gruelling revision and exams, I can return to blogging without feeling guilty for not revising! It's safe to say I am very happy that my exam period is over (until summer at least) and I'm looking forward to getting back into a nice, regular blogging routine. I did actually finish on Thursday but I didn't want to do anything that night but relax and pamper myself and then last night I went into Manchester with my friend Lottie and we didn't get back until very late. So today I thought I would update  you on what I've been up to these past two days :)

I don't really have much to say and the only pictures I have are ones I took on my iPhone but I hope you enjoy! After school on Thursday, I walked down from school to meet my dad at Costa before he treated me to a frozen yoghurt at our local Yogberries. It was so delicious and I forgot how good they were! I got a small natural with honeycomb and white chocolate buttons. I'm already excited about getting my next one!

When my parents got home we then went out for dinner at one of my favourite restaurant's - The American Bar and Grill. It does the most amazing dishes and I always get a burger. Every time. They're honestly so delicious and can't recommend it enough. If you're ever in that area, definitely pop in! On Thursday night, my parents and I shared some nacho's and then I had a Sweet Carolina burger. Please enjoy the next few pictures of food porn ;)

(these are seriously the best curly fries you will ever try!)

(i hope you can see from this picture that i enjoyed my dinner very very much!)

After dinner we just came home as we had school/work the next day and I simply played some Pokemon on my Nintendo.

Last night, as I've already mentioned, I went into Manchester with my friend Lottie for our first 'date night' in a while! To those who visit Manchester often, you will probably know of Affleck's Palace? I don't even know how to describe it but it's full of lots of little shops/stalls with all sorts of clothes, jewellery, food etc. There are literally so many things you can buy there! Anyway, I only go to get my piercings and last night I was going to get a few more but unfortunately we were too late and it had shut :( I was a little disappointed as I've been looking forward to getting some new piercings for ages but I guess I'll just have to go another time! However, after an unsuccessful part of the evening, we went to the cinema to check out times for The Impossible, booked some tickets and popped for a spot of dinner at Wagamama's. It is probably our favourite place to eat ever and we always go there. We both had a Chicken Katsu Curry (let's be honest now, why would you have anything else?) and caught up which was lovely. 

After we were done we headed round the corner to the cinema and settled down to watch The Impossible (trailer here). I have honestly never seen such a moving and emotional film. I was in tears from pretty much the beginning to the end. It was both heart breaking and amazing at the same time. I guess it didn't help that it is based on a true story. When the tsunami hit in 2004, I was only 10 and didn't really take into account the true damage that had been caused. The film opened my eyes to the horrors that happened and how unbelievably horrendous (that doesn't even cover it!) the tragedy was. I definitely recommend to everyone to go and see it. Even if you don't cry at sad films, it will just move you completely. The following picture will show you how much Lottie and I cried...

(maybe mascara wasn't the best idea...)

Safe to say I'll be avoiding emotional films for a while...

But yes. That's all I have to update you on for now! I'm going to spend the rest of the day watching The Hills (seasons 1 - 5) and watching films. I honestly can't explain how nice it is to just relax after working non stop for the past month. But to the rest of you, I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend and have had a great start to the year!

There may be another post later but we'll have to see :)

new year, new me...

I hope this motto really does apply to me this year. Not just in blogging, but in all aspects of my life. Every year I try to make my life 'perfect' and I know it will never ever be that way but I can at least try to make it as good as I can.

I finally got my laptop back from the computer repair store today. It decided to die (literally) a few days after Christmas and they called yesterday to say my hard drive had completely broke so they had to put in a new one. Unfortunately that meant that I lost everything so I'm having to start again with the all my documents, pictures, music etc which is devastating but I guess it'll teach me to start backing things up now. Luckily I did have a few things saved on various memory sticks so I've recovered some items but I have lost a lot.

Anyway, moving on. I am actually going to be 'leaving' blogspot (again!) for a bit as I have some important exams coming up when I go back to school (which is unfortunately on monday) so I really want to crack down and concentrate. I just know I'll get distracted if I try and keep up with blogspot every day/try to post everyday so I'm going to remove the temptation until I'm finished. My last exam is on the afternoon of the 17th so I will return then! I doubt anyone will miss me too much but it's sweet if you do :)

After I come back to blogging properly though, I really do want to move forward with my blog and hopefully make it more successful. I guess over the past couple of years that I've been blogging, my posting routine has been quite haphazard and I've never really been that regular with my posts. Personally, I hate it this way and it annoys me that I can't get into a routine. It's mainly due to all my other commitments, school and the fact I'm just so busy with other things. Therefore, this year, my blogging resolution is to make my blog more scheduled. This motivation has really come from reading lots of other blogs and seeing how amazing/successful my favourite bloggers are. It's not that I want lots of followers (i mean, it would be nice...), I just want to have a slight impact on my readers :)

So yes, thanks for sticking by me and for reading this little post. I hope everyone's had a great start to the year too. But if it was full of revision like me, I wish you luck with your exams! I'll hopefully see you all soon and I look forward to coming back to posting!

(all pictures were found on google images)

merry christmas!

Just a quick post to say I hope everyone's had a really wonderful day (and you carry on having a nice day if you're still celebrating)!

I've had an amazing day of eating and spending time with family. My parents and I woke up later than usual this year (i was dying for the lie in!) before we all opened our presents. After that, we went to my grandparent's/aunty's house, which we do every year, for a gorgeous dinner and more present opening! Then, on the way home we popped round to another aunty's house to share funny stories and eat chocolates.  It honestly was an amazing day and I wish it lasted longer than it did.

Ah well, I'm now sat feasting on a Chocolate Orange whilst watching Hercules (my mum bought me all of my disney favourites for christmas - she knows me too well!).

Again, I hope everyone had as great a day as I did and continues enjoying the festive period!

christmas jollybobs

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVE EVERYONE :) Eeek, it's only two more sleeps away and we can hardly call tomorrow night a 'sleep' as we'll all be too excited!

Let me first apologise, as per usual (it wouldn't be tradition if i didn't would it?),  for no posts since the 8th (jesus christ, i didn't realise it had been that long!) but I broke up from school on Friday so it's been a bit of a rush these past few weeks to get everything done. I am now free, however, and have a lot more time to post! I still have lots of revision to do as well as extra days at work but we'll see how it goes :)

I wasn't sure what to do for a post today so I thought I'd make a little round up of all my Christmas-sy pictures from my phone. I haven't had chance to use my main, digital camera in a while so the quality isn't all that good but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

christmas cookie

tesco getting into the spirit

my local town centre looking all pretty and festive

cringey christmas earrings that i just couldn't turn down

my advent calendars this year

christmas yumminess

building up my christmas dvd collection (i also bought the grinch after this photo was taken!)

my very first christmas jumper!

i came home from work last weekend at my mum had put this on the windowsill in my room

my little bumpkin looking guilty as he was trying to eat my tree...

christmas banter

our beautiful main tree!

an early christmas present (yes, real jeffery campbell litas!) - thanks daddy!

got myself a christmas halo at work today

This is the first year in a long time that I've actually been excited for the 'big day'! I usually don't get that excited until the morning of the 25th and the feeling doesn't tend to last that long. However, this year, I've really been getting into the spirit!

On Friday, my school held their annual pantomime which is done by the year 13's (my year) and it was so much fun! We don't do one of the traditional tales (e.g. Peter Pan/Aladdin etc), however. Instead we write it ourselves consisting of all our memories and the big things that have been a part of our time at school. Ours was about the end of the world and consisted of lots of different characters from different shows/films etc. I played Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and it was a really good laugh :)

After we had finished at school my friends and I went out for a pub lunch at one of my favourite pubs - The Swan With Two Nicks. I opted for garlic bread and the steak burger. It was SO good but a little too meaty for me (if that makes sense?) so I couldn't finish it but it was really tasty. When we were all stuffed we headed our separate ways and I just came home. That evening though I met up with a friend who I talk too a lot but rarely get to see which was nice.

Yesterday was the first day of my revision (which didn't actually go that well as i kept falling asleep and i barely did any - tut tut beth!) and I also went to the cinema with my two friends, Pippa and Vicky. We went to see Pitch Perfect and it was really good actually! It's sort of like Glee but not as cringey. I really do recommend it if you're into those type of things but I can say it's not for everyone. After that we went to a nice little cafe for lunch where I got a chicken and bacon club with chips. It was honestly so amazing that I'm already looking forward to going back!

In the evening I had to go to the Trafford Centre with my parents to pick one of my Christmas presents (the Jeffrey Campbell Litas!!!) and to finish my shopping which was all very smooth. I didn't have that many presents to buy this year - my parents (i actually got them 4 each which i'm really happy about), my godson, a few friends and a secret santa for a girl at my work. I managed to buy them all with my own money which has never happened before so I'm even more excited to give them out! When I got home, then, I had to wrap them but I did it whilst watching Four Christmas' so it wasn't too bad.

I was at work today for 5 hours as an extra shift over the holidays so it wasn't too bad but I was glad to be home. I'm going to go off now and do some revision (or at least attempt it) before getting a decent night's sleep as I have another shift tomorrow as well as a great night out to look forward too tomorrow evening!

I hope everyone's doing well and that you're getting into the festive spirit! And if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you're having a lovely and relaxing break! Hopefully a post for  you all tomorrow, but if not on Christmas day! :) :) :)

guess who's back with a brand new track?

A silly webcam photo and a nice one. I would have taken a 'selfie' on my iPhone but it does't blur out my flaws quite like my dodgy webcam.

I firstly want to apologise for my absence on the blog front recently. I've had a lot on these past 3 weeks that blogging just wasn't an option. It's basically the same old thing (not such a brand new track eh?) but I did want to say sorry. I know that this blog is for me but I appreciate the followers I have and do feel bad when I don't blog that often.

I won't go into detail about what I've been up to as it's honestly not that interesting. But I did just want to mention that I'm still here!

However, there are a few things I thought I'd tell you:

1. I have been loving (like really loving) Rose's blog, The Londoner. It's a lifestyle blog and she is always updating with the most gorgeous pictures of food I want to eat, places I wish I could visit and parties I would like to be invited too... If you're the type of person who likes snooping into the events of other people's lives, then you really should go and check it out.
2. I also won Becky's iPhone case giveaway! I was actually sat in an assembly at school when I got the tweet and I had to try really hard not to squeal in delight! I was so shocked because I never win anything! Becky said she would e-mail iconemisis with my details so I'm just waiting for a response from them so I can pick my prize! I'll let you know which one I pick :)
3. How excited are you all for Christmas?! This is the first year in a long time that I've actually been looking forward to it. Usually I'm not that fussed until Christmas Eve! In my family, the tradition is to not put the tree up until we've all broken up from school/work which is usually the 21st (late comers...) and whilst we decorate it, we all watch Love Actually. 
4. I'm actually going to see the filming of The Voice on Thursday! My friend Vicky managed to get 6 tickets by applying for them online so she's taking me, our other friend, her boyfriend and two of his friends. I'm really looking forward to it and I just hope we managed to get in (it's all to do with first come, first serve unfortunately)!

That's it for now as I'm going to do some work and finish watching Sex And The City 2. I might even, possibly, sneak a slice of chocolate orange yule log (hoping it's as nice as it sounds!)... I'm hoping to do a post for you tomorrow on the first 9 days of my Liz Earle advent calendar! My mum bought it for me as a surprise and unfortunately it arrived a little late but I'm so so grateful I have it!

Hope everyone is okay and is having a nice weekend! :)