Review: Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation (Shade BR20)

The Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Foundation receives a lot of attention from bloggers and beauty enthusiasts. It is a brightening, dewy foundation which follows the famous Touche Eclat illuminating pen highlighter which has been a cult favourite in the beauty industry for many years.
The foundation appealed to me because I have dry, often dull skin which is showing signs of age and stress! Bringing 'light' and radiance to my complexion is definitely something I look for and I wanted to see what this foundation could do for me. I chose the shade BR20, a pink toned pale shade. On application, it appears to be a good match, although in the winter months BR10 would probably match me a little better. Nevertheless, I don't regret my purchase of this shade, simply because I gain a tiny bit of colour in the Summer and the colour blends out very well to match me.

A Few of my favourite Things #10 (February 2015)

Currently wearing

  Nike Internationalist trainers

Being little over 5ft tall, I have got into a habit of wearing some kind of heel on a daily basis, whether it be to work, or mid-heeled boots at the weekend; it isn't good for my feet! I wanted to give them some respite when I'm not at work, so I went in search of some trainers that would look good with jeans, or even skirts and dresses when I'm out and about. I found them in the Nike Internationalists on asos.com. These black trainers have a suede toe and a grey mid section and heel. The heel is leather and is a darkened teal colour. The great news is that they also give me an inch or so's height, which makes me feel a lot more secure (I do like a bit of elevation in my shoes!) They are really comfy and look good with my favourite Topshop Joni jeans. I think these would also work with skirts and casual dresses. Due to the colour-blocking, they match many outfits, particularly as I love grey! 

How to achieve a 'no make-up' make-up look

'No make-up' make-up must seem a bizarre concept to those who take no interest in beauty products. The idea that you apply a range of products to your face, only to try and achieve the appearance of wearing no make-up is quite strange, but it's also something that really interests me. When your intention becomes to appear bare-faced, you have to think about application in a slightly different, more strategic way. You have to learn to accept what you are working with and make only slight adjustments to your natural features. Here's my run down to a 'no make-up' make-up look. Click below to see the results:

A few photos I've taken in London...

Telephone boxes at Covent Garden

Bright Spring Make-Up, featuring the Nars Tokyo duo

 Bright skin, light pastel eyes and lips: Spring is on the way! 

Products I've Used Up: February 2015

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel: I only fell in love with this once it started to run out! For the first three months or so of owning it, I didn't like it very much at all; now I want to re-purchase it at some point in the future! The reason why I didn't get on with it to begin with was because I was using it wrongly: I was massaging it into a wet face, rather than on dry skin. On dry skin, it feels like a nourishing, luxurious oil; on wet skin it is a thin milky texture which does very little. For a morning cleanse, this is fabulous.

A Red Lip Look for Cool Skintones, featuring Avon's Scarlet Siren

Red lipstick looks amazing on many women, but it's somewhat unfamiliar territory for me. I know that blue-toned reds are the best choice for those with cool (pink) undertones to their skin, so I purchased Avon's Scarlet Siren some time ago and wanted to start wearing it. With some winged liner and subtle shadow, I created an everyday classic red lip look which even I would brave on a weekend from daytime to evening. Enjoy!

90s Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) X Files Make-up

I've been watching The X Files recently and admiring Gillian Anderson. Her 'matchy' make-up style against her red hair is the inspiration for this look. Being a neutral lover, this is exactly the kind of face I like to wear in the daytime and as we both have pale skin, the peachy, brown neutrals work well. Here's how I achieved the look:

Matt Berry and The Maypoles at The Forum (Kentish Town), Friday 13th February 2015

I was privileged to get the chance to see one of my favourite musicians and his amazing band once again recently. Despite being knackered from a gruelling slog at work, this marked the start of a much-needed half term, and what better way to do it than to get on a train to London and cleanse myself of the daily grind!
For those not in the know, Matt Berry is an English comedian and actor, known for cult TV shows like Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The IT Crowd, House of Fools and Toast of London. As with the last time I saw him live, I suspect that much of his audience know him from his TV work, whereas I am more of a fan of his music. Growing up in a household of folk and prog rock synth music, I think it was only a matter of time when I found a love for it myself. As a teen it was all about the 90s R n B and 70s Motown, but now (as blog readers will know), I lean more towards folk music.
This show started with Mark Morris from The Bluetones doing some of his solo stuff. My favourite song he played was called Space Cadet. His voice sounded great on this track and reminded me ever-so-slightly of James Walsh from Starsailor (or should that be the other way round?) Morris also plays in The Maypoles with Matt Berry and returned on stage for the main set.
Talking of The Maypoles, this group of musicians put on a hell of a show! A highlight of the gig was the song Snuffbox (which comes from Matt Berry's comedy series under the same name). There were adrenaline-filled solo sections from Phil Scragg on bass, James Sedge on the drums and a playoff between Graham Mann on keys and Berry on his synth. There's a real sense of humour between the musicians on stage and although they must have performed these songs together many times over the years now, they genuinely take delight in each other's performance. 

A Few of my Favourite Things #9 (January 2015)

Currently wearing

  American Apparel beanie

With the bitter cold and (meagre) dustings of snow here in the South of England, the beanie has been a favourite of mine. This grey one from American Apparel has been a good investment as it is so warm and cosy, plus I like it on! The material is thick and feels very soft, yet durable. One of my favourite things about a beanie on me is that I get to pretend that I haven't got a 'five-head'! I wouldn't usually spend out on a hat, but the quality of this is so much nicer than cheaper beanies. I love the speckly grey colour as it goes with pretty much everything, and grey is probably my favourite colour for clothing- that's how exciting and daring I am!