Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

I have to say I'm a bit scared of foundation. I like the finish when it's good but I've seen too many horrible foundations which make me a bit nervous of them. What foundations do I like? Well I am a fan of Estee Lauder Double Wear for good coverage and staying power but I'm not convinced I have found my shade yet (pesky in store lights) and it doesn't come cheap. I like some of the Boots No 7 for something a bit more affordable and my trusty Virgin Vie One Step Face Base is handy when I've got rid of any dry patches. Overall though, like most make up wearing women I'm always on the look out for something... more.

Good drugstore foundations are notoriously difficult to get hold of with there being no advice on colour match and no real chance to try the products out so I wasn't convinced this Rimmel foundation would be a keeper. Given it was reduced from an RRP of £6.99 to £4.99 I thought I had nothing to lose - well aside from £4.99 obviously.

First things first, the colour choice is poor. 6 shades in all. Very poor. As a paley I went for Ivory and although I often mix my white Illamasqua foundation with my Estee Lauder foundation to tone it down I've been using this one as is. It is a leetle bit orange but nowhere near as bad as I expected. It applies nicely - quite like EL Doublewear but it comes with a pump which I'm hoping means less waste. It also dries in pretty quickly though I'd say you have a bit more of a chance to run it over the face than I do with the EL Doublewear before it sets. It sets fairly matte for me and this is a good thing for my combination skin. The coverage is good for me - not too heavy but enough to give me a smoother base and even out my skin tone. As it dries so quickly I'd imagine it could be built up for a better coverage. It describes itself as "25 hour" (yes who needs 25 hour foundation blah, blah) and as "non transferable" and from what I've seen it actually does what it says on the tin. Bottle. Which is no mean feat especially at this price point!

BEFORE

AFTER

(Ick horrible photos - and I'm blaming the wonky mouth on an ulcer - ouch)

Overall I am super impressed with this - the application, the finish, the longevity on my combo skin, the PRICE, the packaging doesn't look too cheap either and the pump is handy. The only thing letting it down is the choice of shade which isn't a huge problem for me personally but I know there are lots of people out there who won't be able to use the shades available which is a shame - hopefully Rimmel will add more to the range soon.

This is definitely going to be my new every day foundation, especially coming into the summer when I need something with a bit of staying power and don't fancy using something more expensive day in, day out.

So any of you tried this or tempted to? I definitely recommend it and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it :)

LoubouLush x

NOTD Revlon Scented Nail Polish Beach

Another day, another scented nail polish.

As part of the 2 for £8 offer I also picked up "Beach". Mainly because I was intrigued as to what beach should smell like (I'd love a scratch and sniff label on the bottle) and also the colour looked like it might be fun for the summer.

The photos show 1 coat to 3 coats.

Again the polish takes quite a bit of building up for colour which is a bit disappointing. The polish itself is quite watery but applies easily and dries relatively quickly. The colour isn't too bad - a sort of lemony lime green with a touch of metallic. I think it would work nicely as a base for some nail art or a crackle top coat too. A solid base coat of a nude or white polish could help things along too.

The major disappointment of this though was... the smell. It's um... I'm not sure how to describe it. It seems stronger than the Peach Smoothie reviewed previously. I guess I can't complain as well, what should it smell of?! But it smells like a weird fruity shampoo with a hint of plastic. Not overly pleasant if I'm honest. And while the colour is a bit of fun I can't find anything special about it and if anything the scent is pretty off putting. I doubt I'd repurchase.

Have you tried this one? Will you be trying any of the others?

LoubouLush x

Slimming World - Week 3 & 4

Week 3 Last week was week 3 and I put on 1/2 a pound. I was a little bit disappointed but can't pretend it was a shock either. I haven't been sticking to the plan as well as I should be.

Week 4 I missed official weigh in this week due to work but suspect from my home scales that I'd have stayed the same. I'm aiming for a 2-3lbs loss for Week 5.

I really need to get my act together now and make a proper effort at this because it should work if I stick with it. I thought I'd share some the little things I'm doing...

- I'm snacking on lots of fresh fruit (though it is £££) - favourites are mangoes, strawberries, melon, apple, grapes, raspberries and blueberries

- Pasta with passata and fresh herbs and a little mozzarella is a big hit dinnerwise and cheap!

- Slimming World chips are MUCH nicer than expected

Really I'm finding with SW I'm eating fresher stuff - less processed and less fatty which all in all has to be a good thing in my mind.

Anyone else on the Slimming World wagon?

LoubouLush x