Chanel perfection lumière + cheaper dupe

Chanel perfection lumière review + cheaper dupe:

Despite being a poor student, i am unfortunately such a sucker for branded make up. There have been many times at the end of the month when i'm just eating pasta because i bought myself too much in one month! Recently i have managed to restrain myself and only bought the Chanel perfection lumiere.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere (£36)

'PERFECTION LUMIÈRE controls every detail of a perfect complexion. Its invisible yet perfect correction of all types of imperfections and its "multi-faceted" radiance, colour, comfort and matte finish create a perfect complexion. Universal shades, an easy application, a light texture that glides on seamlessly, adjustable coverage: perfection has never been so simple' According to Debenhams.

I bought this foundation back in August, tax free between finland and sweden and have been using it everyday since. Despite the £36 price tag, i adore it!  

My foundation is in: 50 beige. 

Coverage: its about a medium coverage, but you can build it up if you need more. It really does well to leave a flawless and perfecting look and I find that i dont need to use too much to get a 'radiant' but still natural look.  Not only does it cover the redness in my cheeks, it also illuminates my face to make it look bright and awake. I find it gives me a more 'dewy' look rather than matte. It also has SPF 10. I always make sure my foundation has at least 10 SPF to protect my skin. 

skin type: if you have oily skin, i'd avoid this. Your face would look more oily rather than dewy. It is good if you have either dry or normal skin. But be warned, it will cling to overly dry skin and just make it look worse. It sets well with powder without the surface looking too 'powdery' if you know what i mean.

Pros: good coverage, SPF 10, dewy effect, soft, smooth and easy to blend

cons: price, small bottle (30ml), not good for oily to combination skin.

here are examples:

It almost looks like the foundation is my own skin, but 100x better!

Unfortunately, the price is really offputting. However, i've been using it since august and its still got quite a big product left. As a lowly student, i can't afford to pay £36 every time i need new foundation! 

If you don't want to fork out £36 pounds for the chanel, there is a good drugstore/high street alternative that isn't too pricey but gives a similar effect!

Dupe:

L'oreal lumi magique (£10.99)

Colour is Rose Sand

colour is Rose Sand

(wearing lumi magique)

"With age skin can becomes dull and tired. L'Oreal Lumi Magique Foundation helps give instant skin radiance. You will be glowing inside and out" boots

Again, the idea of this foundation is to give medium to buildable coverage as well as radiance. This too lights up your face and give a more dewy glow. Again, if you have oily skin, i would avoid this product (unless you are willing to blot/powder the whole day). At a price of £10.99, how can you say no??

Coverage: Like the perfection lumiere, this gives medium to buildable coverage, with radiance enhancing qualities. I find that in comparison with the chanel, its coverage is about the same.

Pros: Price! (£10.99 instead of £36!), radiant glow, easy to use/blend, same size as chanel but much cheaper (30ml).

Cons: size (30ml) easily used up if you wear foundation everyday, no SPF (that i can tell from bottle or description), again not good for oily to combination skin.

Overall, i adore my chanel perfection lumiere. I love the finish it gives me! however, when there are other products like lumi magique for cheaper, i may have to give up the chanel and trade in for l'oreal. Otherwise my bank is gonna start hurting :(

How i lost weight and toned up in 2 weeks

I am aware that everyone's bodies react differently and lose and gain weight differently, but this is how i managed it.  I started off at 59 kg (130 pounds) and ended at 61kg (134 pounds), and i am 5ft7. I found that the way to tell if i was losing weight was through pictures and measurements as opposed to weight. This is due to the muscle you build weighing more than fat.  Ladies, don't always judge your journey by your weight!

Here is a before and after photo between the 8th of july and the 22nd of july.

I was so proud of this progress, and this was down to two simple things.  A clean diet and daily cardio/strength training.
Now i know this doesn't happen over night, but it just goes to show how much a change of what you eat and how you exercise can affect your body.

This is how i did it:
On the 8th of July i joined a gym in Cardiff, and committed to go there at least 6 times a week in order to see any change.  If you can't join a gym, start running! its just as effective but costs nothing!
I began with cardio training on the cross trainer and bike, slowly working my way up to 45 minutes of cardio everyday.  As well as this, i started strength training for abs and arms mainly as i felt they were my problem areas, especially as i have scoliosis, i have to build up my abs in order to alleviate back pain.  Funnily enough, i did no butt or leg training but the cross trainer toned those for me!


Diet wise i ate completely clean. This meant NO soft drinks, sugary sweets or anything along those lines. It was ok for me as i'm not particularly a fan of those anyway. Hardest thing for me to cut out were the more savoury snacks like crisps. It was a  high protein diet, mainly turkey or chicken, a lot of vegetables and a few carbs (all either whole meal or whole grain if i do) and the occasional fruit! a diet low in bad fats and sugar.   I also tried to eat good fats like almonds or avocado. I also tried to eat a MINIMUM of 1300 calories a day.  anything under that will send you body into starvation mode, and it'll store any fat you eat. Its counter productive to barely eat!

A massive help was drinking two cups of green tea every day as well, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon.  It helps boost your metabolism and burn fat!

I drank A LOT of water, i could not stop peeing most of the day but my skin was so much better. i think a lot of my weight was water weight as well, so upping your water helps to flush out water retention! If you want to help eliminate water weight, i suggest cranberry juice (the ones without any added sugar or flavouring as they tend to be packed with sugar) and it helps flush excess water from your kidneys!

i cut down sodium/salty foods.  If your body has too much salt and not enough water, it will store excess water in your cells, which means you will hold more water weight!

If you want some ideas for abs, arms and other parts of the body training, check out blogilates youtube, most of the toning exercises i use are from there.
it was a lifestyle change rather than a diet!

Hair extensions: My experience.

Since the age of 19, i have been wearing hair extensions religiously.  Mainly because i have very fine swedish hair, that takes so long to grow! i don't think its ever reached past my shoulders and thanks to extensions, i'm ok with that.
But i thought i would do a review on the different types, as i've had nearly every hair extension type possible! Just to help give an insight on the variations of extensions and after care, as i could never find much information on them myself.

1st type: Clip ins.

Now i have always sworn by these due to how simple they are to use and are often a lot cheaper than the more semi permanent types of extensions.  They were the first extensions i ever had, and i've found that i always come back to them. They come in either human hair, or synthetic, but i find human is the best. You can cut, heat style and dye human hair unlike its synthetic counter part.  To attach them, you simply open the clip, attach it to the hair, and then close it. Here is a tutorial on how to insert them: how to clip in extensions. I've had so many sets of these, but they do wear out if you over heat style them (like i did, mainly going out too much at uni in my first year!), so invest in a spray leave in conditioner and heat protectant and they'll last you. You can buy them in literally any length and colour, and now more popular is thickness. The average hair extension set is about 100-120 grams with a range between 7 and 10 wefts to clip in, but thicker sets at about 160-180grams are becoming increasingly popular.
Here is an example of what the wefts would look like:

 I guess the thicker the hair, the more realistic they look. If you don't want to buy an expensive set of thicker hair, you can buy a 6ft weft of hair on eBay and your own clips and make your own, i used to do that and double up each piece so they were a lot thicker. There are so many tutorials on youtube on how to do that. I would definitely recommend these if you're looking for any easy way to add volume/length without committing to semi permanent ones. Good places to buy these online are ebay or foxy locks extensions, which are a bit pricier but definitely worth it!
These can also be worn in up-do's as well if clipped in right, you can literally do anything with them!

An example of my hair with clip ins: (also happens to be my favourite hair colour)

2nd type: Glue-in wefts

This type is definitely the messiest type of extensions, and also the 2nd type that i tried. I began to get fed up of putting my clip in extensions every time i wanted to go out somewhere, and researched into other ways in which to wear them. I stumbled across a website that sold 6ft wefts of hair, as well as a bonding glue (known as liquid gold) which would stick them into your hair for up to 2 weeks. You were also given a bond dissolver for when you wanted to remove them. I decided i liked the sound of these and bought them, cutting my own wefts (i usually doubled my wefts) and having my poor bf glue them in for me! You cut them in wefts like that of clip in extensions, but instead of clips, you're gluing them into place. However, they were so messy and needed so much care as if the slightest bit of conditioner got on the bonds they would loosen and slip. The glue would also get absolutely everywhere! I hated these the most, but i loved how thick and voluminous my hair was with them. It was a love-hate relationship. I wouldn't really recommend these, the glue often gets stuck in your hair and you sit there spending hours trying to comb out the remainders of it! You can't really put your hair up in these either which is a pain. I haven't ever gone back to using these but they do look good if you can get past the maintenance aspect.
If you do consider these, have a look on youtube for a few tutorials, i know there are some good examples of how to insert these.

An example of my hair with glue-in wefts:

(can you see what i mean with the volume??)

3rd type: U-tip bonds
These are the type that last the longest, usually up to 4 months if maintained properly! These are also the ones i've had most recently. They are applied to your head in individual strands along rows of your head, and often give the most natural look, and you are able to wear them in pretty much any style without the bonds showing. The glue is made of keratin, a protein naturally found in hair. They are attached by selected a some strands of hair, melting the glue and rolling it around the hair to bond it. Here is what the tips look like (this is a bundle of strands) and a video: U-tip extension tutorial

These are brilliant if you want a more permanent solution. To have these done in a salon, you're looking at about £300 pounds depending on how much hair/length you want, and you would have anywhere between 150 and 250 strands of hair, again depending on whether you want volume, length or both. I've had 3 sets of these put in, however, being the cheap skate i am, i bought my own off ebay and had my boyfriend painstakingly put them in one by one (he really is a star!). I loved them to begin with, but i do recommend buying a tangle teezer brush, (found here: tangle teezer) as it makes it a hell of a lot easier to comb through your hair and avoid matting! Again, with these you need to look after them using deep conditioners (as they are not part of your head, they dont get the same oils your own hair would), heat protectant, and leave in conditioners to keep them shiny and healthy! I would recommend aussie miracle leave in conditioner, it smells lush and keeps your hair so soft! My only bad experience with these was the removal process, as well as how much work went into them to keep them in a healthy condition!

An example of my hair with U-tip bonds:

4th type: Micro bead/bond extensions:

Last but not least, these are the final type of extensions i've had in my long journey. Attached individually like that of the u-tip bonds, they require no heat or glue whatsoever and are usually the more popular choice. Where the U-tips would have glue, these have a metal or plastic bead that are squeezed shut to attach to the hair (see video: micro bead extension video). These often last just as long as the u tips as well.  I've had two sets of these, one set i bought myself and attached, and one set done professionally. I found that these looked great and were comfortable and again, they can be worn in any style. My only problem was that the beads would slip quite a lot and you need regular maintenance to keep them from doing so. Otherwise, they last around 4 months like the others. I really loved mine but the slipping beads drove me nuts! Simple things like having a shower and drying my hair were starting to become a chore due to the sheer effort it took to dry them! To have them done professionally, it cost me £150 pounds from a mobile hair stylist who also provided a free tangle teezer ;) If you would like to know where i had them done and live in the Cardiff area, message me and i'll give you her info! Again, the hair needs to be conditioned (never near the bonds though) and protected like the others.

An example of my micro beads:

I hope this review helped anyone researching into hair extensions!

How to go from light brown to blonde: Garnier Color Naturals 110 review!

Let me give you a little background into my hair, it was originally a highlighted blonde pictured here: (my face was blurry so i blacked it out, sorry!)

And as usual, i got bored and dyed over it.  This time i decided to dye it a copper brown with ombre blonde tips.  I don't know why i always try and go darker, because i end up missing the blonde and having to go lighter again!

This was the colour of my hair when it was ombre. luckily for me the colour didn't last long thanks to the swedish sun + dandruff shampoo

And it faded to this:

I thought i was going to have to make a trip to the hairdressers and have gradual highlights done again (the slowest, most irritating way to go light without any ginger mishaps), and as i am in Dubai at the moment, i really struggled to find any hair bleach in any of the stores to do it myself. But then i stumbled across this in the super market:  Its called Garnier Color Naturals in 110 Sandy Light Blonde. 

Now usually i would avoid blonde box dyes like the plague as they are usually a recipe for a ginger disaster and an expensive trip to the hair dressers, but something drew me in. It states on the box that it will lighten hair 3 to 4 tones lighter, which for me was perfect as i wasn't planning on going too light. This is what is known as an 'extra lightening shade' which can also be found in brands such as l'oreal feria metallic silver blonde

The key is to look for the words 'extra' or 'ultra' lightening. This means that the dye alone will lift your hair colour without needing to bleach (depending on your starting colour). I know clairol do some excellent ones as well! However, this garnier was all i could get my hands on.

 I originally planned just to add highlights using a foil technic but ended up just applying it to my whole head as i lacked patience!  my natural root colour is a light ash brown (the mousy brown kind) so i was a little worried that my roots might end up turning orange! I watched the dye carefully for 30 minutes and then rinsed with the conditioner provided in the box.

And here is the result:

A light sandy blonde with remaining highlights!  it looks natural, and i managed to avoid the clown orange tones somehow! 

Welcome to my blog

I've decided to start up a beauty blog after about 2 years of constantly watching beauty gurus on youtube! Some of my favourites include BeautyCrush, DizzyBrunette3, AndreasChoice, DollyBowBow and a newer blogger lulutrixabelle :-)

Here i will be reviewing all my favourite beauty products, fashion, introducing make up tutorials and giving tips on healthy eating/living.

i'm considering also starting up a youtube channel :-)

Enjoy!