Dior Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer: 001 Ivory

Those of you who read regularly may have spotted me having a little moan about my puffiness and dark circle issues that popped up last year. I've already talked about a few products I've discovered which have helped reduce puffiness and I've also mentioned Dior's Sculpt Concealer in a couple of posts, but I thought it deserved a little post/review of it's own, as I really am quite impressed with this stuff. 

Dior Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer

Dior's Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer is described as a unique line-diminishing, lifting concealer, which smooths features and leaves the eye area visibly refreshed and rejuvenated. According to Dior, with daily use, telltale signs of fatigue diminish and the complexion becomes more radiant and even. I've been using Sculpt for around 6 months now, and while I'm not sure about the more radiant, line reducing and even skin claims, I will say that Dior's Lifting Concealer has become a firm favourite in the dark circle camouflaging department, as it does a great job at covering darkness and reducing the appearance of puffiness. 

The shade range is rather limited with only 3 different colours to choose from (Ivory, Beige & Honey). I went with the lightest option 001- Ivory, which is actually a pretty good match for my NC15ish skin tone. The product is packaged in a handy, travel-friendly tube and comes with a doe-foot applicator which dispenses product well. 

Texture-wise, Dior Sculpt feels slightly thicker than other under eye concealers I've tried and it feels quite creamy, but not thick. I find a few tiny spots of product is all that's needed to cover my moderate dark circles, the formula is buildable though and I can add a second layer for extra coverage without ending up with a cakey finish. I apply a small amount with the doe-foot wand and gently dab product into skin or use a small concealer brush to blend. I actually prefer to use fingers, but either application method creates a nice finish, and the product does a brilliant job at covering up my dark circles and reducing the look of any puffiness that I happen to have going on. 

Dior Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer: 001-Ivory

While I do like Dior's Sculpt for the natural looking, decent coverage it offers, it's not the main reason I've been loving this stuff so much over the past 6 months. The thing that I like the most about Sculpt is the fact that unlike other under eye concealers I've tried, it doesn't settle into and emphasize fine lines. Creasing has been quite a big problem for me with almost all of the other dark circle cover ups I've tested, but Dior's Sculpt seems to hold up and stays put really well throughout the day. It keeps darkness nicely concealed and it feels comfortable and quite hydrating and light weight, too. I have also tried it out on redness and blemishes and it does an okay job at concealing both (it works better at camouflaging redness), but I prefer something slightly thicker like MUFE Full Cover or Vichy's Corrective Foundation to cover spots or acne scars. 

Dior Sculpt: 001 Ivory, MUFE Full Cover 4 & Vichy Corrective Foundation: Opal

Above, Ivory swatched next to Make Up For Ever's Full Cover no 4 and Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation in number 15 Opal to give an idea of the colour.

Overall, I think Dior's Sculpt Concealer is great stuff and is something I will definitely be repurchasing in the future. My only slight gripe with the product is the limited shade range, which might be a problem for some and the price, which is a bit steep at £17.85 for a 6ml tube (Escentual). To be fair though, I have had my tube for a while now and it's still going strong, because only a teeny tiny amount of product is needed to conceal dark circles. 

NOTD Ciate Sand Dune Paint Pot

I decided to give one of the shades I picked up with this month's issue of Marie Claire a go yesterday. Until quite recently, I completely bypassed nail colours with any sort of shimmer or glitter, but after adding a few sparkly colours to my collection, I have to say, I'm actually quite liking shimmery shades at the moment. 

Ciate Paint Pot: Sand Dune

Ciate Sand Dune

Sand Dune is described as a glistening gold on the Ciate site, which it most certainly is. It's a pretty, shiny pound coin kinda gold shot through with tiny shimmers. 

Ciate Sand Dune (3 Coats)

It took three coats of colour to get a completely opaque finish, but the formula is excellent and I had zero application issues. I've actually found this to be the case with all of the Ciate shades I've tried - they all seem to apply brilliantly and wear well, too. I added a coat of my regular topcoat over the shade (Seche), but the finish still felt really smooth and looked quite glossy without.

Overall, a nice shade and one I imagine will look pretty during the summer with a bit of a tan. 

Clarins Giveaway!

I spotted that Raspberry Rouge was two years old last week, so to celebrate and as a little thank you to everyone who reads and follows I thought I'd have a little giveaway. I've chosen something that I've really been enjoying myself recently, a Clarins Satin Finish Age-Defying Lipstick in the shade of your choice. 

There are 15 pretty shades to choose from, which are pictured below, you can take a closer look at the colours here, though. 

If you'd like to enter, please make sure you're following via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin (buttons on the right), and please leave a comment below telling me which shade you'd pick if you win along with an e-mail address, so I'm able to contact you should you be the winner. You can gain an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway (please let me know if you do).

The giveaway is international, so everyone's welcome to enter, and the winner will be chosen on the 30th of April using random.org. A big thank you to everyone who reads and good luck! 

The giveaway is now closed and the lucky winner is glitterbaby40. Congratulations! An e-mail will be making it's way to you shortly.

A big thank you to everyone who entered and again, thank you to everyone who reads and takes the time to comment. There will be more giveaways coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for more goodies.

Free Ciate Nail Colours with This Month's Marie Claire

A quick post on another magazine freebie. Marie Claire are currently giving away a full size bottle of Ciate nail polish with the May issue of the magazine. There are two different colours to collect (worth £9.00 each), Sand Dune and Pocket Money.

Ciate Sand Dune 085 & Pocket Money 107

Ciate Sand Dune & Pocket Money

Sand Dune is a pretty, shimmery gold and Pocket Money is a creamy fudge shade. I haven't done a full mani with either of the colours yet, but I have done some nail swatches and they both apply really well. To be honest, though, all the colours I've tried from the brand have been great in terms of application and finish, and all of the shades I've tried seem to wear well, too.

Top: 3 Coats of Sand Dune & Bottom: 2 coats of Pocket Money

The May issue of Marie Claire is out now and costs £3.80. There's also a free 25ml tube of Jergens Ultra Healing Body Moisturiser included with the magazine, and a discount code for 20% off at Ciate. 

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend!

Burberry Lip Glow: No19 Mallow Pink

Lip gloss is something I've not really paid much attention to for a little while. I've never been a huge gloss fan, as I'm not overly keen on the tacky/sticky texture and feel most of them leave on lips, but I do have a few favourites from various different brands. Over the past few months I've been favouring sheer lipsticks (Coco Shines & Chante's Lip Chics have both been favourites) that add a hint of colour and hydration to my dry, winter lips, but when I stumbled upon pretty swatches of Burberry's Spring Lip Glows, I completely fell in love with Mallow Pink and decided to order a tube. 

Burberry Lip glow No19 Mallow Pink

Burberry No19 Mallow Pink

A few Burberry goodies have been sitting on the wishlist for a while, but Mallow is the first thing I've ordered from the brand's cosmetic range and I have to say, I absolutely love the packaging. The sleek, weighty tube and checked lid are a real thing of beauty, as is the shade, which I'd describe as a vibrant, almost florescent red pink. Mallow's actually a bit more pigmented than I was expecting, but it can be applied sheerly/with a light hand for a more natural, less dramatic hint of colour. The shade does contain some very fine gold shimmers but they're barely noticeable on lips and create more of a glow than a frosty or shimmery finish. 

Burberry Mallow Pink

Texture wise, I find Mallow to be quite thick and almost gel-like, but it's definitely not overly sticky or gloopy. The doe foot wand does a pretty good job at picking up an adequate amount of product and applying colour evenly and the gloss feels quite creamy, smooth and really comfortable. Actually, I'd say Burberry's Lip Glows are among the most comfortable glosses I've tried and lasting power isn't bad either. Mallow seems to hold up for a good 2-3 hours on my lips and leaves behind a pretty, subtle stain as it fades. According to Burberry, the Lip Glow formula contains oils and ceramides that are supposed to hydrate and plump lips and I must say, I do find the formula leaves my lips feeling quite soft and lightly moisturised. 

Burberry No19 Mallow Pink

Above: Mallow swatched on my NC15 ish arm. A couple of layers applied on the left and the colour sheered out on the right. And below, a photo of what Mallow looks like on my fairly pigmented lips. You can just about make out the fine, gold shimmer.

Mallow Pink Applied

Overall, I'm really impressed with the Lip Glow formula. The gel-like texture, comfortable feel and pretty, incredibly shiny finish are lovely. I'm also completely in love with Mallow, which seems like a perfect Summer shade, and one I imagine I'll be reaching for a lot as the weather warms up. If you're into bright lip colours and like your glosses more pigmented, I think Mallow is definitely worth checking out. 

Available from John Lewis (£18.50 for a 6ml tube)

Free Aromatherapy Associates Products With May's Issue Of Red

Red are currently giving away Aromatherapy Associates products with this month's issue of the magazine. There are three different products to collect (worth over £50) from the Hydrating Rose range; A 30ml Hydrating Renewing Rose Cleanser, a 30ml Hydrating Triple Rose Renewing Moisturiser, and a 50ml tube of the brand's Hydrating Rose Face Mask.

I picked up a copy yesterday with a tube of the Rose Face Mask, which is described as a deeply hydrating mask to restore moisture to dry skin. I haven't tried it yet, but I must say, it smells absolutely amazing, and I'm really looking forward to giving it a go. Unfortunately, the two other products weren't available at my local shop, but I may have a hunt around for the cleanser tomorrow, as it sounds lovely! 

The May issue of Red is available now and costs £4.00.

Currently Lusting After: Green Eye Make Up & Nail Colours

Ever since emerald was announced as the Pantone colour of the year, I've found myself browsing through possible green goodies and jewel tone shades to add to my collection. I'll be honest, green's not really a colour I'm normally attracted to, especially when it comes to make up, but after coming across various different posts on pretty colours and products, the colour's really grown on me and I've been on the hunt for vibrant, green and emerald make up shades. Below are a few of the products that have caught my eye.

1 - Clinique Chubby Stick Eye shadow in Mighty Moss 
2 - Estee Lauder Extreme Emerald 
3 - MAC Steamy Eye Shadow 
4 - Bobbi Brown Ivy Shimmer Ink 
5 - Stila Liquid Liner in Moss 
6 - Butter London Thames 
7 - Illamasqua Viridian 

Much as I love the look of all the shades above, I do tend to be a bit scared of colour, so I think a nail polish or liner might be the way to go. I tend to be a bit more adventurous with nail polish shades and a hint of green liner seems a lot less scary than a shadow, so I may treat myself to Bobbi Brown's Ivy Shimmer Ink or Illamasqua's Viridian this month and work my way up to the more vibrant shadows that I've been eyeing. 

Will you be wearing green eye or nail colours this year? Do you have any favourite emerald shadows or nail colours?