Two Summer Scents

When it comes to fragrances, I usually go for something quite dark and musky. Basically my fragrance wardrobe is overloaded with overpowering heavy night-time appropriate scents which don’t really suit the Summer season too well. In Summer, I do love a light and fresh fragrance that isn’t too in your face and heavy. Recently I have picked up two newbies that fit the bill perfectly and I couldn’t be more obsessed with light airy scents!

First up is a real summer scent, Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess. This is essentially Summer in a bottle, in fact it is also a Summer exclusive as this scent is only available during the Summer so act quick if you are interested in this one! This scent is an Eau Fraiche so is pretty weak in perfume terms however comes in a hefty 100ml bottle at pretty good value. I picked this up when I was away so got it a good bit cheaper but it retails around the £50 mark. Moving onto the best bit however, the actual scent itself. With notes of Coconut, Vanilla and Mandarin, it’s not hard to get the Summer vibes from it! Basically, if you love something sweet and summery then you will love this!

Next is another new-ish release from Calvin Klein in the form of ck2, the second edition to their genderless fragrance.  A scent I have been desperate to get my hands on since it was released as this is just so beautiful! First of all, shout out to the unique minimalistic bottle design which is rather quirky. I picked up this scent in the biggest size being 100ml but there are smaller editions too. This size retails for £53 however I picked it up 40% off at Urban Outfitters when they had a deal on! That deal is sadly over but there are a lot of discounts around to be found! Again this is another beautifully fresh and airy scent with notes of Mandarin (similar to BG), violet leaf and sandalwood. I find this scent pretty long wearing which is good for an Eau de Toilette and it is isn’t overly sweet in scent probably because it is genderless but instead quite woody and crisp. I think this is going to be a fragrance I will love for a long time to come!

What is your favourite Summer scent?

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Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation Review

The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation has been at the height of many rave reviews so of course I had to see what all the fuss is about. I’ve been loyal to Nars Sheer Glow for so long so it was about time I tried something new in the high end category. I am a huge fan of Charlotte Tilbury and her always impressive beauty range so it was about time to try one of her base products. So is the Magic foundation all that magic?

PRICE/DESIGN

The Magic foundation retails at £29.50 which is around the average price mark for a high end foundation. It comes in a tad cheaper than her Light Wonder foundation and is actually a decent price for the Charlotte Tilbury (CT) range considering she uses a more premium price point. It is also a little cheaper than the Nars Sheer Glow foundation so whilst it is still on the pricey side, it isn’t as eye-watering as some of her other products. The bottle design also boasts a luxury look as expected from the CT range. It makes a great dressing table decoration with a frosted glass design and a very pretty rose gold lid, I mean who doesn’t love a bit of rose gold!? Paying a high price, you will be glad to know this foundation also features a pump unlike some other high end foundations (*cough* Nars Sheer Glow).

SHADE RANGE

This foundation comes in 15 shades so covers a really good spectrum of skin tones. I have Shade 2 which is a perfect match for my skin tone. Her website shows a very detailed description of each shade so it’s easier to match up if buying online (like me) or if you have a counter near by I would recommend picking up a sample. Also, if you buy from her website you can pick 2 free samples, one being the foundation to try out, something I should have done!

COVERAGE/FINISH

The foundation has a semi-matte/satin finish, much like Nars Sheer Glow. It isn’t too matte on the skin but isn’t dewy either although it does give off a little natural glow. It is probably my most preferred finish for a foundation and one that usually works the best for my combination skin. The foundation is marketed as being full-coverage so one that seems more appropriate for special occasions. However one of the first impressions I took from using this foundation is that there is no way it is full coverage. It is much more of a buildable medium coverage foundation. I definitely have to work in thin layers to build up the coverage as desired which does use up a lot of foundation for one use which is pretty disappointing particularly for a ‘high coverage’ high end foundation.

APPLICATION

The actual application of the foundation was the most disappointing thing for me which sadly isn’t great considering it really is the most important factor to a foundation. The foundation applied incredibly cakey and was so drying on my skin. After trying out the foundation in different ways, I found the best method for application was to actual pat the foundation into my skin with a buffing brush opposed to buffing it in. Using that method, it sits much better on my skin and does appear as cakey or stick to dry areas. It has similar effects to many drugstore foundations I’ve tried were there is days were it looks decent and others were it doesn’t look great. The longevity also seems to vary on me as well but overall isn’t too bad. If there is one good point to mention, it is that the foundation does seem to wear better as the day goes on and with my makeup complete, the foundation looks a lot better than the first application.

OVERALL

As the holy grail foundation for many, sadly this fell a little short for my liking. The shade range is impressive as you would expect for a high end foundation but the application and coverage is such a disappointment for me. Foundations are always different for everyone but this foundation just doesn’t work as well on my skin compared to others. I can get away with it as it usually settles down during the day however I can’t see myself repurchasing this! For me it just doesn’t live up to the hype or the claims behind the foundation.

Have you tried the Magic Foundation?

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Best Essie Nail Summer Shades

When Summer comes around I am all for bright nails. I am more of a neutral gal when it comes to nail shades but there is something about bold colourful nails at this time of year. After having a look at my collection to pick out my favourite Summer picks, I realised that all my favourites happened to come from Essie. No surprise really but they do have a great shade range and the formula of their range is always impressive.

SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND

A new shade from their current Summer 2016 range, a gorgeous orange-y coral shade that will look amazing with a tan.

CHILLATO

One from last Summers range, a gorgeous pistachio lime shade which is a super unique colour.

AVENUE MAINTAIN

What is better than a beautiful light sea blue for Summer! See my full post on this one here, funnily enough on a Winter related note.

HAUTE IN THE HEAT 

A bright fuchsia shade from a previous Summer collection.

FIFTH AVENUE

The perfect red that everyone needs in their collection. A versatile classic shade that would work all year round but the bold hue would be perfect in the Summer months.

ROARRANGE

A vivid orange shade that would look great on tanned/darker skin tones.

What is your favourite Summer nail shade?

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Welcome to the new Styled By Lauren

So if you read my Mac Brave post or if you follow me on Twitter then you may have been aware of the little changes planned around Styled By Lauren. Now after so long of debating a little change finally my little online space is looking fresh and new. I was getting a little bored of the old layout and it was leaving me a little frustrated. Now I am super happy to have a new improved site (imo anyway!) for you all which hopefully you all like as much as I do.

I always like things to be clean and simple so my blog pretty much is that. I also wanted to inject some little personal touches along the way so I have updated the pages and navigation too so hopefully it is a little easier for you guys having a little browse!

As you may see I have also finally updated my domain *celebration dance*. I was getting rather annoyed by my old wordpress domain which of course still contained the ‘4everfashion’ name which was getting a little old now! So you can now catch me here via styledbylauren.org although you can still access my blog via the wordpress url. Also, in the topic of newness I briefly mentioned previously that I am now on Instagram! If you like a dose of beauty related images then follow me here @styledbylaurenblog and I will happily follow you back!

Thanks again to everyone who reads my blog, you are all awesome and I hope you enjoy my new design! Please do feel free to have a little explore, enjoy!

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