NARS MATA HARI

When I found out I had £5 on my Space.NK Incentive Card, I was straight down there. I've been needing to expand my blush collection seeing as all my current shades are all very similar, and being a Nars blush lover already it seemed a no brainer. Mata Hari was not the shade I intended on buying - when does that ever happen? I had Gina and Douceur on my to buy list, but I was swayed by the pretty pink Mata Hari.

As with all Nars offerings, you all know that the product is 'finely milled' and extremely pigmented, but this shade gives so much more. I think it's lack of shimmer that gives this pop of colour a certain edge as it brightens yet sculpts in all the right places.

I am literally obsessed with this rosy flush, but what have you guys been loving lately?

You can find HAYLEY LOVES on TWITTER and BLOGLOVIN' 

PRETTY IN PINK

If you told me six months ago that I'd do a post all about our rose shaded sticks and fuchsia flushes, I'd have laughed in your face and sworn that a pink blush and lip would be the last thing to enter my collection. Lately my inner Barbie has been released and I've been dipping my toes into the pink lagoon...

The newest and fast favourite of mine is the Clarins Illuminating Cheek Colour in Miami Pink which gives a subtle, skin like blush to the cheeks. It looks incredibly natural and blends so perfectly. NARS Orgasm, as infamous as it is, is one that doesn't get applied nearly as often as it should. Perfect for summer as it reduces the need to use a highlighter but still gives a sunkissed glow thanks to the golden infused shimmer. A very, very pink shade that slightly gives be the heebejeebies is Body Shop's All In One Blusher in Guava*. You need not worry though, as pink as it looks, a bit of blending ensures a sheer, incredibly natural wash of colour to your cheeks. It's shimmer free, so those of you who prefer a matte look, this one is for you. It holds skincare benefits as it includes Vitamin E and Marula Oil however I'm yet to see the effects - nevertheless, this has been a staple these past few weeks. Love love love.

Pink lips is probably my biggest fear, it genuinely scares me! I find the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Roomiest Rose to be SO stunning though, faultless to apply in it's crayon form and after about 3 hours of wear it fades beautifully to a natural lip colour - go to. The Revlon Lip Butters are perfect for trying out new shades, and my favourite pinky, shimmery shade from the lot is Berry Smoothie. Sometimes I find it difficult to wear, but when it suits, it suits.

Are you a pink lover, or a bit scared like me? Let me know what your favourite rose shades are!

You can find Hayley Loves on BLOGLOVIN' and TWITTER

The Summer Flush

I don't care what anyone says, Summer is coming, and I won't stop sporting my coral cheeks until it does - this could be a bright winter..
Until a few months ago I only had two blushes in my collection, and they were pretty awful to say the least. Then for some reason, I got a bit cheek happy and purchased a new flush whenever I could.

My current go-to shade has got to be the Revlon Photo Ready in Coral Reef. A shade that looks very scary in the pot, it's cream formula blends to be a subtle pinch of red/coral that you can easily build to a more stand-out shade. I would never, ever consider such a bright blush in the past but this really brightens up my complexion leaving me looking awake and glowy.
Another cream blush to enter my collection is the new Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow (PS, it smells AMAZING). This is a lot more natural than the aforementioned with a very slight shimmer to keep a glow going and avoid looking cakey or matte due to it's cream to powder formula. It's so lovely and peachy, I reckon this would be perfect with a neutral eye and bold lip.

If you saw my Nars Dupe post  you'll know this was a purchase I didn't really want to happen, it didn't need to happen, but it did. This Nars Orgasm is definitely a quick fix blush and the golden shimmer means I don't need to faff around with a highlighter - one swipe with a blush brush and my cheeks are pepped and glowing with a perfect pinky glow.
I went through a phase of loving the Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel (review here) but for some reason it got pushed to the back of my collection. I got this back out just the other day and boy have I been missing out! This creates the most natural flush and is so easy to work with. It's really buildable so you could create a stain but for me, less is more with this product.

I need a bronzer in my life, and this beaut from Bourjois definitely deserves it cult status. It's absolutely perfect for contouring as it's not too dark against my pale skin so it looks fairly natural. Occasionally I quite like to mix things up a little and replace my blush with a little bronzed number and this one looks so gorgeous. It creates a really lovely warmth to the face looking sunkissed and wonderful.
I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect highlighter, and although this one from the MUA Undress Your Skin range isn't quite there, it'll do me fine for now. It's not overly shimmery so you'll never look like a glitterball thankfully, but it has a beautiful pearlescent  sheen to it which is exactly what I look for. I do prefer my highlighters to be a little more champagne-y, but this will fit the bill for now!

What are your thoughts on my cheek choices? More importantly, what are YOU using? Let me know below!

You can find Hayley Loves on BLOGLOVIN' and TWITTER

Laura Mercier Bronzing Duo

You know when you look at an item of makeup in your collection and you just think "Well daayumn aint you a pretty little thing!" in that fantastic redkneck accent you're perfecting? Well this Bronzing Duo by Laura Mercier has got me saying just that! Can I just apologise for the awful swatch on paper - my camera just wouldn't take a nice photo of it swatched on me!? 

I have the shade Coral Bronze which consists of an almost matte bronzer and a gorgeous coral blush with a very slight golden shimmer. The bronzer is absolutely beautiful. It creates a really glowing, sunkissed look without seeming too orange or too "dirty". Since there's not too much shimmer, you can just about get away with contouring, but I'd rather keep that to my Bourjois compact and put a light dusting of this over my cheeks, temples and down my nose for an easy, quick and flawless bronzed look. 

The blush is unlike any shade I have in my collection but is going to be PERFECT for summer. A true peachy coral shade, this looks lovely on the top of the cheeks and blends really nicely into the skin. Alternatively, a big brush to mix the two colours together looks really pretty as well! Even though this is a powder product, it never looks cakey or too much, it just blends flawlessly.

The packaging is SO luxurious, it feels really well made and is going to look b-e-a-uuuuutiful on display! Obviously, this is perfect for travelling too, but I'm too scared to get it dirty haha!

What do you think? Go have a look in Space NK or your nearest Laura Mercier counter, you won't be able to not buy it! 

You can find Hayley Loves on BLOGLOVIN' and TWITTER.

PIXI sheer cheek gel - really natural blush!

It seems I'm on a never ending quest to find the best, natural blush and this product makes me question whether I've found it or not! The shade of this Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel is absolutely gorgeous, and you get a craaazyy amount of product in this. You hardly use any either, a little goes a long way!

So, the gel isn't very pigmented, however it's really buildable which I think is great - if it was more pigmented I think it'd be really difficult to work with and yeah. You only need the smallest amount, a little smaller than a pea, and I just dot it roughly where I'd like it to go then find myself kind of sweeping/pressing/dabbing it into place. It has a tendency to go quite uneven, but it's really easy to go back over with a little more gel. Howeveeerr, it could be a recipe for disaster if you use too much without allowing it to try. It can get sticky towards the end which means it can pull your foundation up causing it to all roll up and come off, so you really need to work quick with this.
To get rid of any lines I have, I just grab the brush I applied my foundation with and buff it in gently

As you can see, it creates a really nice, natural, sheer finish that looks lovely. I think this would be a great product for those who don't wear foundation as much and just grab some blush as it looks so much more natural than cream and powder blushes which tend to sit on the skin, rather than sink in like this gel.

Products I'm wearing: Clinique Even Better Foundation

Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel, L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Alarm, MUA Brow Kit

dainty doll blusher - 004 You Are My Sunshine. My definite Summer Shade!

I'm 100% sure I've found my summer shade. Dainty Doll is a brand I've always wanted to try, being fair skinned, it's obvious why - the shade are bound to suit my skin.

Dainty Doll blusher in 004 You Are My Sunshine is SO beautiful. When swatched, it's a gorgeous coral - pink with a golden shimmer infused. For me, this seemed incredibly daunting, I feared it would be very in your face and the shimmer would just be too much, as I much prefer a subtle colour. I couldn't be more wrong! The golden shimmer created a lovely sheen to my cheek bones and make my skin look dewy and bright. I wore this higher on my cheeks than I usually would as it definitely doubles as a highlighter.

The blush is really pigmented and brilliant to work with. I often find myself scared of cheek colours, they're difficult to work with and I just look ridiculous, however I really loved this. It was quick and easy to apply, there was no fall out what so ever and it blended in really nicely with my bronzer. I used my Real Techniques Contour Brush, featured in a post here, to blend this colour in and it worked really nicely providing me with accurate application.

I can really see this product lasting my a long time and cannot wait to wear it in the summer! I can really see the gold shimmer creating the perfect look. I really want to try out more from this brand. I've not heard such positive reviews about the foundation, so maybe I'll stick to blush for now.

What do you guys think, does it suit me?! I also thought it was quite similar to MAC Stereo Rose MSF, but I've not got that product, so I can't say for sure! Love to hear your recommendations.