Stay Matte Powder

I thought it was time to review my favourite powder: Stay Matte Pressed Powder by Rimmel. You can get it for just £3.99 from most drugstores.          

                                                                                                                               

This powder is available in 6 different colours. This makes it the perfect powder for any skin tone. If you are unsure about which shade you use, I recommend that you try their transparent shade as it is just a clear powder. 

This powder is the ideal finish for your makeup look. It gets rid of any oily areas on your face and leaves your face looking matte but not cakey at all. It looks really natural and gives a very even coverage. This is a very easy product to apply and it definitely ensures that your makeup stays on all day. 

I'll be honest though, something that let me down about this product was the packaging. I find the lid cracks really easily. I've brought 3 of these powders before, 2 of which the lids had cracked by the time I brought them home. 

Another way I think this product could be improved, in my opinion, would be to add some sort of applicator. The only way you can apply it is by using a separate powder brush. I think it would be better, especially for travel, if you wouldn't have to buy a separate tool. I appreciate that it would drive up the price and some people simply prefer applying powder with a brush, but I think it would be nice to have the option. 

Overall, I would rate this product a 7/10, but it would be much higher if they made the packaging stronger. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and anyone who is looking for a good quality powder but for a low price. Thank you for reading, I will answer any questions in the comments xxx

Lasting Perfection Collection Concealer

Since every beauty guru ever seemed to rave about this particular concealer, I really wanted to see what all the hype was about. I didn't think it would be that good as it's one of the cheapest concealers out there. Oh, how wrong I was!

Lasting perfection in the shade "cool medium"

Lasting Perfection Concealer from Collection is available from drugstores at around £4.19, which is a very reasonable price. It's available in 4 shades: fair,cool medium, warm medium and dark. I picked it up in "cool medium" although I would say I'm probably more a fair shade (I just live in denial about how pale I am). 

You can't deny that this concealer does what it says on the package: it actually lasts. Personally, I find that the lasting power of this concealer is a few hours, but it obviously helps even more if you top it off with foundation and powder. 

I also thought that the coverage of it was quite good. I'll be honest, I've tried concealers that have covered my blemishes better, but this one does the job. It covers up any spots or circles I have pretty well. 

However I do feel like it could apply a bit more evenly. Especially under my eyes I usually have to apply a couple of layers so that it doesn't 'crack' like some concealers do. 

Overall this is a pretty good concealer, I would rate it a 7/10. I would also definitely recommend it to a friend. Thank you for reading, I will answer any questions in the comments.

Changing My Blog's Name...Again!

If you know me well than you'll know that I like to change my mind a lot. Apparently my blog's name is no exception. 

I've decided that I'm going to be getting rid of the blog name "Izzy K: Fashion & Reviews". Even though I love blogging about fashion and style trends, I think it is suggesting that I actually know what I'm talking about. The truth is I just do it as a hobby and I kind of make things up as I go along. 

I think that the thing I'll be writing the most about on this blog are reviews. I will still write the occasional fashion related or beauty post though. But that's why I'm changing the name of my new blog to...

*Drumroll*

Izzy K: Reviews & More

I know its not much of a change but I feel like it just suits my writing better. Thank you for putting up with me whenever I make a blog update xxx

Lasting Finish vs Match Perfection

For many, many years Rimmel has been my favourite makeup brand. I know that I can always rely on it for a good product for a reasonable price. I brought two of their foundations and decided to write a post comparing the two. As you may have guessed from the title, these foundations are Lasting Finish and Match Perfection. 

What I liked about Lasting Finish

Lasting Finish in the shade "soft beige"

Lasting finish has great coverage. I found that it would hide any redness and cover spots perfectly. There is almost no need for concealer when you apply just one layer of this foundation.

Another thing that really impressed me was the lasting power it had. Isn't it strange that lasting finish has good lasting power haha! But seriously, it says on the bottle that it lasts for 25 hours and that is absolutely true. Not that you would need it to last that long on a daily basis but its still useful that you don't need to reapply it throughout the day.

If you've read my posts about Rimmel foundation's before than you'll know I really like the smell of them, as strange as that sounds. It's a lovely fruity scent which makes my face feel really fresh. 

Things I wasn't too keen on with Lasting Finish

I thought that Lasting Finish did not blend well at all. You need a pretty good makeup brush to be able to apply it evenly. Also, it dried pretty quickly which meant I had to try and blend it quickly. 

I found this foundation felt really heavy on my skin and I don't like wearing it too many days in a row because it feels like it's too much for my skin to handle. Also, I found that it sinks into my skin, maximizing the appearance of my pores. 

What I liked about Match Perfection

Match Perfection in the shade "soft beige"

I loved the fact that this foundation is a lot lighter on my skin. It feels natural and it is a lot less noticeable than Lasting Finish.

I also found that this particular foundation blended pretty well. I find it really good because it means you don't get that awkward foundation line around your chin. I'm always guilty of having that line because I live in constant denial about how pale I am. But it's pretty easy to get away with a slightly darker colour with this foundation because you can blend it nice and smoothly. 

Things I wasn't too keen on with Match Perfection

Going back to the topic of nice smelling foundation (sorry if that sounds really weird) I thought this had a weaker smell out of both of them. I don't feel as fresh when applying this, and in my opinion it should have the "classic" Rimmel foundation smell.

Another thing is that the colour was pretty misleading. Compared to the other foundations in the same shade by Rimmel, it looked a lot paler. I'm glad I tested it before I brought it because otherwise I think I would have brought a darker shade. 

Is it just me or do they look like two completely different shades?

Overall I prefer Match Perfection out of the two of them but I think that's just because it suits my skin better. Nevertheless I would still recommend the two of them. I would rate Lasting Finish a 7/10 and Match Perfection a slightly higher 8/10. Thank you very much for reading, I will answer any questions in the comments xxx

Style Appreciation: Meghan Trainor vs Sprinkle of Glitter

The theme for this month on Beau Bloggers is "international fashion". I've been admiring both Meghan Trainor and Louise Pentland's (Sprinkle of Glitter) style for quite some time now. I thought why not make this post link to the theme? Despite  Meghan being American and Louise being from the UK, they both appear to have a very similar fashion sense. I don't want to make this post seem like there should be a competition. "Who wore it better, who suits this colour more" etc... I just want to show that multiple people around the globe can wear a similar looks and also take inspiration from each other. 

I guess even Louise spotted the resemblance as 

she made this "All About That Bass" lookbook

The first topic I want to talk about is hair. The two blondes both have gorgeous, long, shiny hair. They have also both rocked pink hair. I think this is one of the most obvious similarities.

Meghan has a few pink highlights...

...And Louise has dip-dyed her hair pink

Both Meghan and Louise seem to adore their skater skirts. Meghan tends to wear black skirts as seen in her "lips are moving" video but I can't imagine Louise doing the same. Instead her choice of colours matches her personality: colourful! Nevertheless, skater skirts seem to be an essential item of clothing in their wardrobes. 

This skirt makes this quirky outfit actually appear quite classy

Very few people could pull this colour off, but Louise is one of them

There is no denying that every dress Meghan and Louise wear is beautiful. They both seem to wear those really cute, girly, floaty dresses which are simply adorable. I am definately inspired to get a little pastle coloured dress for the Summer (I'm thinking really far ahead I know haha!)

This dress manages to be elegant but very colourful at the same time

Here you have it, a floaty, floral, girly dress. How cute!

Another favourite item of clothing for both girls seems to be cardigans. Colourful cardigans to be exact! And the great thing is about this is that they go with almost every outfit for almost every occasion. 

Meghan is wearing a pastel purple coloured cardigan 

And Louise is wearing a very similar blue cardigan

Ta-da! That was my little style appriciation for Meghan Trainor and Louise Pentland. These girls have, without a doubt, a very similar dress sense and I love it. What do you think about this cute style that they both seem to promote? Let me know in the comments xxx

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick

Usually when lipsticks say they're "long lasting" I'm like meh and just shrug it off. We've all been there where we think a product is going to be amazing because it says so on the packaging. Then you realise you've been overly optimistic. This, however, was not the case!

The matte version has the red packaging

This is what one layer looks like when applied

I brought this lipstick in the shade "Kiss of Life" from Superdrug for £5.49. The first thing I like about this product is the colour. You only need to apply one layer and it is already bold. This particular product is matte which is a cool effect and means you don't need to apply lipgloss on top. There is also non-matte version available which I am yet to try. 

Shade 111 "Kiss Of Life"

However, the wow-factor of this lipstick has to be the lasting power. I first noticed how good it was when my friend applied it before school and then I saw her at third period that day it still looked freshly applied. It honestly lasts for hours, even when you eat and drink whilst wearing it. 

The only critizism I have with it is that the actual lipstick could be longer so that it lasts longer. Don't get me wrong, I know the price is good so it would be easy to buy it again...but still. 

See what I mean about there not being that much of it?

I love love love this lipstick and will definitely be buying it again. I would give it an 9/10 as it really impressed me. Thank you for reading, I'll answer any question in the comments xxx

Simply Home by Yankee Candle

Happy 2015! I hope you all have a great year. I'm going to kick off this year's blog with a review for Simply Home by Yankee Candle.

What is Simply Home you ask? The trusted people at Yankee Candle have decided to start a collection of candles in a range of colours and fragrances that compliment your home decor. Clever eh?

I think they look pretty cute as decorations in my room

Even though it is from a different collection, Simply Home is made out of the same wax as Yankee Candle Classics. That means they have the same high quality as any other Yankee Candle product. They burn fairly slowly, allowing you to enjoy their strong scent for a long time. Even the sample size that I've used have lasted between 4-6 hours which is quite impressive considering their size. 

If you are interested in buying them, they are available at the following stores:

• Asda
• Asda Living
• Tesco
• B&Q

Overall I think these candles are the perfect present for someone, or if you just want to treat yourself. I'm going to kick off the new year on a positive note as I'm actually going to give Simply Home a 10/10. I don't often do that either! I would recommend these to anyone, because who doesn't love high quality candles?