Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

The term 'BB' cream has always been a familiar one to Asian countries and up until a year ago, a product concept that always intrigued me. BB creams, or Blemish Balms as they are also known are a type of base that is supposed to blur imperfections and promises a flawless base.  Since 2011 a lot of companies in the UK have jumped on the bandwagon, Garnier being the first and now high street beauty chains such as L'Oreal, 17 and now Maybelline have brought out their own take on the famous Blemish Balm.  

I took the plunge and decided to try the Maybelline version which was £7.99.  It claims that it is an 8-in-1 cream, promising skin benefits such as evening of skin tone, blurring imperfections and leaving a glowing, fresh faced finish.  It also contains a high SPF of 30 which is an added bonus.  

On first impressions, the colour looked far too dark for my skin and I'd bought the lightest shade.  Once I applied it to my face, the colour seemed to match up but I found it didn't really do much.  I could still see imperfections that should have been 'blurred' and my skin tone was still all over the place.  I wasn't expecting a medium - heavy coverage, in fact I don't like that in any of my bases, but I expected a lot more.  It feels lovely on the skin and does leave a dewy finish which I like but it looked more like I'd popped on some moisturiser rather than a skin base.  

To begin with, I was using my Sigma or Sephora brushes to apply the product and many of the reviews written said they'd found that fingers worked best for application.  I've now tried both and neither work any better.  I guess I expected more from a product that has been quite popular but maybe BB cream just isn't for me!

How do you apply the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream?

Pay Day Splurges

I popped into town on pay day, with the hope of finding a christening dress but to no avail.  Instead, I picked up a few items off of my wish list and a couple of other random bits.  

Essie's Fiji, Tart Deco and Sexy Divide

When I heard that Essie would now be readily available in Boots and Superdrug, I was pretty excited.  After hearing so many great reviews from American bloggers, I knew I'd want to add a few colours to my overflowing collection. I know they are available online, but I don't trust the swatches you see online because 9 times out of 10 they are completely different in real life.  I'm currently sporting Tart Deco on my fingers and toes and absolutely love it.  The brush is thicker than a usual nail polish applicator, meaning you don't have to continually apply product to cover your nail.  The formula was creamy and opaque, I only needed 1-2 coats to get full opacity.  I put my nails through a days work at Tesco, where my nails usually end up battered and broken and but the end of the day I had one tiny chip which was unnoticeable to anyone else.  Needless to say, I'm impressed and can't wait to use more from the Essie range.  Do you have a favourite Essie colour?

It seems that every high street make up brand is jumping on the BB Cream bandwagon. I had yet to try one and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so picked up the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light. I'll let you know how I get on with the product and whether I prefer it to foundation.  

It's no secret that the Bioderma Micelle Solution became incredibly popular within the beauty blogger world, but unfortunately it's not the easiest product to get hold of in the UK.  I happened upon this No. 7 product whilst browsing Boots.  I had a £5 off voucher so this was only £4 - a bargain when you can buy Bioderma on eBay for £20+.  It comes with a pump which allows it to easily and evenly distribute product.  If you'd like to see a review on this, let me know!

I've needed a new travel make up bag for a while, but haven't found any that I like.  I popped into Urban Outfitters looking for a necklace when I stumbled upon this.  It's perfect to fit everyday essentials in and will come in so handy next week when I start at More! Magazine for a two week internship.  

I have been looking for a sideways cross necklace for what seems like forever.  After seeing them on Etsy and being forever sold out, I gave up hope and forgot about it until I watched an OOTD video that ThePersianBabe put up. Low and behold, she was wearing this necklace and I knew I needed to try and find it when I next went to Urban Outfitters.  It's really simple and dainty, but most of all it's silver! I love silver jewellery at the moment and hardly ever wear gold, so I was so happy they had these is silver and gold.  

My beloved Vectra's have been falling to part for a while now, but I love them so much I went into denial.  I decided enough was enough and picked up a new pair.  These are made of canvas, whereas mine were the originals made from suede, but I've been told that these are a bit stronger and should last longer! 

I must find a Christening dress now and stop spending money on beauty and miscellaneous items.  Do you have any online boutique suggestions that I could look at?