L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Blush

I have to admit this is one product that really did excite me when I first saw it. 

L'Oreal claims their Nude Magique BB Blush to be a unique gel which 

"goes on clear and transforms on contact with the skin, self-adjusting to the skins pH level to deliver a natural glow specific to your skin tone".

That all sounds very scientific, so instead of expanding on that quote and pretending I know what the hell I'm on about, I'm just gonna chat about my opinion instead. I can manage that.

The packaging of the BB Blush is so clean and simple and in my opinion, you really cannot beat it. 

Sure, I do love the pretty, eye-catching packaging by brands such as Benefit and Soap and Glory, but sometimes all I want is something simple and uncomplicated, and L'Oreal really hits the nail on the head in that sense.

The product does indeed dispense as a gel-like consistency as claimed. 

However, do be warned that you have to be quick when applying the product after it has been dispensed. It doesn't take long before it starts to stain your skin to the garish colour (garish for a blusher, anyway) shown in the picture above. 

Trust me, the first time I applied this it was not a pretty sight. I looked like i'd been slapped with a belt on both cheeks. But, as long as you blend it onto your cheeks relatively quickly (I use my fingers rather than a brush and it seems to blend well enough) and don't just leave it all blotchy for a few seconds, it provides a beautiful, natural rosy glow to your cheeks.

I'm not actually sure if the colour differs for different skin tones, as obviously I only have my own skin tone to go by, but the colour really did compliment my tanned skin. I was surprised at this due to the shocking pink pigmentation I could see on the tube nozzle, but once blended it became much more subtle and natural.

One thing I would say about the blush is to apply it in a dabbing rather than a rubbing motion. When I tried to rub it in, it left very little pigment on my cheeks. It was only when I dabbed that I could begin to build up the colour nicely. 

However, even using the dabbing motion, I did find that I needed to apply a good 2 or 3 layers of the product before I achieved my desired look. I believe this could be purely down to my deeper, more olive skin tone. I think the blusher would be much easier to work with on pale-skinned girls, where the pigment can really stand out and quickly give a healthy pink flush.

Bottom: dispensed product | Top: blended product

I was expecting to be left with quite a dewy finish seeing as the product is a gel, however this wasn't the case. Once applied, my skin felt silky soft to the touch and I was left with a finish that was probably more on the matte side; a really natural, muted glow.

It also seemed to last well on my cheeks; I'm usually not a massive fan of the more liquid-based cheek products purely because I find that they tend to disappear relatively quickly on my combination skin. However, this one stuck around pretty much all day with no unsightly blotching or uneven fading.

Overall, I really do like this product and have started using it on a pretty regular basis, purely due to how healthy and hydrated it makes my skin look. Once you get the hang of applying it evenly, the finish it gives is pretty much flawless.

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Blush can be purchased from Boots for £7.99 here.

Having read a couple of reviews on this blush before, I know that not everyone has been as impressed with it as I have so I'd really love to know your thoughts!

Have you tried out the Nude Magique BB Blush?

What do you think?

Love, 

Jo xx

Laura Geller | Blush-n-Brighten blusher and Baked Marble Eyeshadow

So following on from my little make up haul here, a good few of you mentioned that you'd be interested in seeing reviews of the Laura Geller products.

Your wish is my command!

L-R: Laura Geller Baked Marble eyeshadow in Moonstone/Blue Heaven, and Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten in Berry

I love the packaging of these products, namely the little plastic window that allows you a cheeky peek into the pan. How enticing...particularly when the products look so beautiful in the pan! The pots are really sturdy and I love the globular shape of the eyeshadow. The mirrors are also really quite generously sized.

So let's start off with the eyeshadows. In the pan, they have a lovely swirl of silver throughout, which gives the eyeshadows their shimmer applied to the skin.

They have great pigmentation and a really luxurious, silky smooth texture.



Unfortunately the above swatches don't do the shades much justice, but they are actually really lovely bright shades, particularly the blue which is a really vibrant colour. The eyeshadows last well and have minimal fallout. Overall a lovely little pallette.

Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow in Moonstone/Blue Heaven can be bought on the Laura Geller website for around £17 here. 

Next up is the Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten blusher in Berry.



Again, this looks absolutely stunning in the pan, although I was quite worried about the amount of shimmer in the powder! I had mental images of me looking like something out of Twilight, with cheeks so shiny you could use them as a mirror.



However the shimmer is actually really lovely and subtle. I am usually a lover of matte colour on my cheeks, but I actually can imagine myself wearing this quite a lot during the summer months, as it makes your skin look lovely and healthy.

This particular shade is quite dark and probably best suited to olive toned skin, but again it lasted me the whole day with no problems. It definitely needs to be applied in light layers as it builds up really quickly (as I found on my first attempt when I was in a rush for work).

Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten blusher in Berry can be bought here for around £19.50.

Have you tried any Laura Geller products?

Do you think they're worth their price tags?

Hope you've all had a good weekend. Last night I went to a 21st which was a fancy dress dressed as Lara Croft! My mum and I had spent ages making gun holsters to go round my legs and getting the outfit together but unfortunately a handful of people were asking me why I was dressed as Rambo.

So as you can probably imagine I wasn't very enthralled and kept going back to the bar for more G&T's to take me past the point of caring. It worked, trust me!

I spent this morning nursing myself back to health with a bacon and egg butty and a few brews. Good as new now! I also have this week off uni and placement so that I can tackle the stack of work that I keep adding to at my desk. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading,

Jo xx