Fair Neutral Skin- Concealer and Foundation Swatches

This post contains affiliate links, if you buy something based on my recommendation using the links below, I will receive a small commission but it won't cost you anything extra.

*PR Samples 

This is a blog post I've been wanting to write for a while now. I know it will only be helpful to people with skin tones very similar to mine but I wanted to post it anyway. One of the things I do when I'm researching a potential base product is look for images of swatch comparisons. Over the past few years in particular I've gotten quite adept at shade matching myself online. I find the swatches on brand websites can often be unreliable so I try to find swatches from online reviews. Particularly those that compare different brands as that's the best way for me to see if a shade might match me. Keep in mind that these are more saturated swatches than the amount of foundation you would apply to your face and they are dried down for the most part. It's not so much about the depth of the shades compared to the skin on my arm as it is about the tones and undertones compared to one another. Hopefully, this is helpful if you're looking for your shade match in the Kosas concealer for example and you know your shade in the Lisa Eldridge foundation, you can easily see if they are comparable. I know everyone wants different things from their foundation or concealer whether it's having the perfect match, one shade deeper, a concealer that perfectly matches their foundation or one that's a tiny bit brighter for under the eyes. As you can see the range of shades is quite wide as are the undertones. All of these shades work for me, some better than others. It completely depends on the coverage level too as a sheer skin tint is more forgiving if it's not an exact shade match because there's less pigment. There are a wide variety of brands here, drugstore, mid-range, high end and luxury. If you would like to see a full, in-depth review of any of these products with before and after photos, application techniques etc. please do let me know. I have dedicated reviews of the IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream and Lisa Eldridge The Foundation. I've featured many of these products multiple times on this blog and on Instagram so if you want to see more you can use the search bar to find specific posts. I've posted two different swatch photos so you can see the differences in lighting. I have fair neutral skin and I like to match my neck more than my face because I have a mixture of undertones on my face as well as pigmentation and freckles which is why I can get away with such a variety of shades. If you have a similar skin tone to mine, you might find this helpful in some way. 

1. Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Concealer (N95)

2. Kosas Revealer Concealer (01N)

3. NYX Professional Makeup Bare With Me Serum Concealer (Light)

4. Sculpted Satin Silk Longwear Concealer (Vanilla)

5. *Note Cosmetics BB Concealer 

6. *YSL Beauty Touche Éclat Illuminating Pen (1 Rose Lumière)

7. *Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Eraser Multi-Use Concealer (06 Neutralizer)

8. *Rimmel Kind & Free Hydrating Concealer (10 Fair)

9. *IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Nude CC+ Glow (Fair Porcelain)

10. *IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Color Correcting Full Coverage Cream (Fair)

11. *Lancôme Teint Idôle Ultra Wear Foundation (120N)

12. *YSL Beauty Nu Bare Look Tint (Nu 2)

13. *L'Oréal Paris True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum (0.5-2 Very Light)

14. *Lisa Eldridge The Foundation (No. 5)

15. *Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector (0N1 Petal)

16. *bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (01 Fair)

17. *bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Foundation Stick (Opal)

18. Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Foundation (140 Porcelain)

19. No7 HydraLuminous Moisturising Foundation (Porcelain)

20. LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation (LN3)

21. Nabla Skin Realist Beautifying Tinted Balm (Fair)

22. *Lancôme Teint Idôle Ultra Wear Foundation Stick (Beige Albâtre)

23. Typology Tinted Serum (Type 1 Fair)

24. *Rimmel Kind & Free Moisturising Skin Tint Foundation (10 Rose Ivory)

25. Bodyography Oil Free Natural Finish Foundation (100)

26. Glossier Stretch Concealer (G11)

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and if you have any questions you can always send me a DM on Instagram. 

Emma x

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Sam and Nic Chapman MAC Makers Lipsticks

Last week I bought the Sam and Nic Chapman MAC Makers Lipsticks. I watched their YouTube videos for years and I've been using their Real Techniques brushes for as long as they've been around. When I saw the two lipstick shades I knew I wanted to buy them. They're two shades that I constantly wear and I like that the red is an Amplified formula and the nude is a Cremesheen as I'm not a huge fan of the MAC matte formula. I also loved watching their YouTube video about the launch. They said the lipsticks were inspired by two of my favourite French films, Le Mépris (Contempt) starring Brigitte Bardot and À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) which stars Jean Seberg. The shades definitely have a retro feel to them when I wear them. If you're a fan of the Pixiwoo YouTube channel you'll probably be interested in these lipsticks. Other than that they are just two gorgeous shades and I know I'll get lots of wear out of both of them. 

Nic Chapman, Charlotte Tilbury Bitch Perfect, Sam Chapman, Clarins Joli Rouge Lip Lacquer (Joli Rouge)

*Good Molecules Silicone-Free Priming Moisturizer
Farsáli Rose Gold Elixir
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (1 Fair)
*bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (Fair)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (Light/ Ultra Fair)
*bareMinerals Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer (Baked)
Soap Brows and Prep & Hydrate Coconut Facial Mist
Glossier Brow Flick (Brown) (Boy Brow and Brow Flick Set)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Amplifying Eye Primer
Sephora Mixology Palette (Sweet & Warm)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil (Perversion)
Urban Decay Born to Run Palette (Breakway, Weekender and Punk)
*Urban Decay Lash Freak Mascara
*Glossier Cloud Paint (Beam)
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat (Pillow Talk)
No7 Precision Lips Pencil (Red)
M.A.C. Makers Lipstick Sam Chapman and Nic Chapman
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder (1 Fair)
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Pixi Glow Mist

The lipsticks are priced at just under €20/£17.50 each and are available at Selfridges, Arnotts and Brown Thomas. What do you think? Which shade is your favourite?

Emma x

*PR Samples
**Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.

Another Kiss And You'll Be Mine- Robert Palmer Girl Makeup

"You're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love"

Ever since I first saw it as a child, I've been fascinated by the iconic music video for Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love. I don't think I saw his other videos like Simply Irresistible until I was a lot older. I always thought the women in the videos were so cool and glamorous . It could very well be where my obsession with red lips originated. I first tried this makeup look for a Halloween party almost 12 years ago and I've wanted to recreate it for my blog for a long time. I finally got around to it yesterday. I was having a bad week and I wanted to wear some makeup that made me feel powerful. That's what red lipstick does for me. The combination of the sculpting blush, strong brows, smoky winged out eyes and glossy red lips made me feel incredible. I highly recommend trying it if you're not feeling great, as ridiculous as it may sound, it made a huge difference to my mood. 

I examined the two videos and the makeup is very slightly different on each of the models. I wasn't trying to exactly recreate the makeup but more adapting it in a more modern way to suit me.

It's clearly not an inclusive music video by any means as all of the women have fair skin. The makeup is quite full on which I love but if you know me, you know I'm not a fan of heavy coverage but I wanted to stay true to the makeup in the video so I mixed two of the high coverage foundations in my collection. The bareMinerals BAREPRO is probably one of the lightest fair foundations that I own and it's probably better suited to oily skin types so I mixed it with the Estée Lauder Futurist as it's a slightly darker shade and more hydrating formula. 

I sculpted my face using the Fenty Match Stix in Amber to contour and then the Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer in Baked almost as a sculpting blush just under my cheekbones. I then applied Glossier Cloud Paint in Dusk to further sculpt the sides of my face and I left my cheeks bare. I applied some on my temples too in the space between the tail of my eyebrow and the arch. It's a typically seventies and eighties way to apply blush and I tried to tone it down a bit but it doesn't look as strong in the photos as it did in person but that's probably a good thing if you were looking to make this look more "wearable". Although I really do love the strong contouring blush look. 

I made my brows quite strong and actually used three products to do so. I firstly filled them in with a thin crayon, the Urban Decay Brow Beater and intensified the darkness with the Inked Brow gel and finally brushed them into place and added some volume with Glossier Boy Brow. Looking at the photos after I can see a slight gap that I should have filled under the arch on one of my brows but that's ok, my makeup is never perfect.

It's hard to tell from the stills of the video what eyeshadow shades were used so I decided to go with a mixture of different shades of brown and then some black to intensify the outer corner. You could also have used blacks and greys but I thought the browns suited me better. I started with a pale shade all over my eyelids and then a medium toned brown in my crease and winged it out. Then I used the Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Perversion on my outer corner both on my lower and upper lash line and blended it out into a wing. I then used the matte black eyeshadow over that winged out shape and gradually built it up until I was happy with the intensity of colour and the shape. I used two different browns to blend out the black and soften it. 

I haven't done my eyes like this in such a long time, I was actually nervous thinking I'd mess it up but I absolutely love how it turned out. I think this smoky winged out eye would be so flattering for so many people. Using brown along with the black just made everything much softer and more flattering. I applied lots of the Le Volume de Chanel mascara is it's the most volumising mascara I currently have in my collection. I cleaned up under my eyes and made them as bright as possible by using both the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye which has amazing pigment to cover dark circles and then the bareMinerals bareSkin Concealer on top of that.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
*bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (Fair 01)
Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Makeup (1N0 Porcelain)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer (Baked)
Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Dusk)
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (1 Fair)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
*Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
*Urban Decay Brow Beater (Dark Drapes)
*Urban Decay Inked Brow (Dark Drapes)
Glossier Boy Brow Grooming Pomade (Brown)
*Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette (Slow, Nudie, Faith, Lookout and Blackjack) Currently out of stock but the Born to Run palette has very similar shades
*Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil (Perversion)
Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (Light/ Ultra Fair)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder (1 Fair)
Pixi Glow Mist
No7 Precision Lips Pencil (Red)
Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lipstick Colour (Velvet Morning)
Glossier Lip Gloss (Clear)


To finish the look I applied a small amount of Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter on my cheekbones, bridge of my nose and cupids bow and then powdered the centre of my face with the Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. I tried this powder for the first time this week after my friend Andreea sent it to me because it was too light on her. So many people I know have raved about it to me over the past few years and I can finally see what all the fuss was about, it really is a gorgeous powder.

I had a few options for my lips but in the end I decided on a matte lipstick with a clear gloss on top. In the video, the women are wearing quite a bright, almost orange red, so I used Lisa Eldridge Velvet Morning and topped it with the clear lip gloss from Glossier for a vinyl lipstick look. I lined the edges of my lips with a slightly darker more classic red liner.

I'm so happy with how it turned out, like I said for some reason I was nervous to try this, mostly because I hadn't worn a smoky eye in a long time I was convinced I would mess it up, but I took my time with the blending and I loved how it looked. This eye look would be great with a more neutral lipstick or gloss too but I just adore how empowering it is to wear glossy red lips with strong eye makeup.

What do you think of this look? Would you wear it all together or is there one element you prefer?

Emma x



*PR Samples
**Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.

Como La Flor- Selena Quintanilla Inspired Makeup Look

I posted a makeup look on my Instagram yesterday and asked people to guess who inspired it. I had some great guesses like Dita Von Teese, Anne Hathaway, Lily Collins, Debi Mazar, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Katie Jane Hughes. It was quite a classic look with strong brows, a small cat eye and full red lips. so it really could have been any of those people but it was in fact the beautiful Selena Quintanilla. For anyone who hasn't heard of Selena, she was a Mexican-American recording artist born in Texas and known as the "Queen of Tejano music". Tejano is a style of music originating in the Texas- Mexico border region. 

Sadly Selena is probably most famous for her death. She was murdered in 1995 when she was just 23 years old by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of the Selena fan club who had also been managing one of her boutiques in San Antonio. Selena and her family suspected Saldívar was embezzling money from the fan club and boutique and on March 31st 1995, Selena met with Yolanda to discuss her suspicions. She shot Selena in the back and she later died in hospital. Yolanda Saldívar is currently serving a life sentence. 

Selena's untimely death has overshadowed her career which was at its peak at the time she was murdered. She won a grammy in 1993 for best Mexican-American album and had recorded her first English language album, Dreaming of You, which she was hoping would be her crossover album for success in the US. It topped the Billboard charts in August of 1995 four months after her death. She was played by Jennifer Lopez in a 1997 film about her and there is a Netflix series based on her life due to be released this Summer. 

There is so much more I could write about her incredible achievements from her short life but instead I'd encourage you to read about her yourself and listen to her music. She was so talented, her voice was incredible and she was by all accounts a wonderful woman who was taken from the world too soon.  

As you can see Selena was also incredibly beautiful with a signature style and makeup look (she was compared to Madonna for her style). The other day I was inspired to create a makeup look based on the one she wore so often. Natural skin, bold early nineties brows, some slight definition of the eyes and a small cat eye with fluttery outer corner lashes and full red lips in a signature shade which was supposedly a shade called 'Brick' by Chanel which sadly has since been discontinued. It's pretty much a classic fifties Hollywood look but with a nineties twist with the shape of the brows and the lined lips. I wasn't trying to emulate her or look exactly like her at all. I just wanted to create my own modern version of her beautiful and glamorous, classic look that suited her so much. 

I wanted to keep my skin looking quite natural and luminous so I used a combination of Glossier Futuredew and the No7 HydraLuminous foundation which is one of my favourite foundations I've ever used. I'm almost finished my second bottle of it and I will be definitely buying it again. 

I used the Urban Decay Inked Brow on my eyebrows as I wanted to make them look darker and more groomed, not as bushy as they usually are. I tried to get as thin a shape as I could considering how big my eyebrows are at the moment. I then gave some soft definition to my eyelids with some matte eyeshadows and a thin line of Glossier Pro Tip as Selena's signature eye look usually had a very thin cat eye just to elongate her eyes. I added some mascara and a few individual eyelashes from Ardell at the very outer corners of my eyes for a more winged out look. It's a fairly simple and classic eye makeup that you could wear anywhere. You could use a thin angled brush and some black eyeshadow too if you aren't crazy about liquid liner. 

Fenty Beauty 'Ma'damn', MAC 'Ruby Woo', Charlotte Tilbury 'Red Carpet Red', Lisa Eldridge 'Velvet Ribbon', Pat McGrath 'Elson', No7 'Brick'

*Glossier Futuredew Oil Serum Hybrid
No7 HydraLuminous Moisturising Foundation (Porcelain)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer (Baked)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (Light/Ultra Fair)
*Urban Decay Inked Brow Longwear Brow Gel (Dark Drapes)
Glossier Boy Brow Grooming Pomade (Brown)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
*Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
*Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette (Slow, Nudie, Tempted and Faith) Out of stock but the Naked 2 Basics palette has ver similar shades
*Glossier Pro Tip Brush Point Liquid Eyeliner
Milk Makeup Kush Mascara
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Glossier Cloud Paint (Dusk)
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (Fair)
No7 Precision Lips Pencil (Fire)
Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Lipstick (Ma'damn)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Powder
Pixi Glow Mist
Ardell Individuals Duralash Naturals Knot-Free Short
Duo Eyelash Adhesive Dark

To finish off my skin I did some light contouring and bronzing and a hint of a neutral blush as the main focus of Selena's makeup was always brows, eyes and lips. I lined my lips with two different liners, one true red and a darker red to contour my lips very slightly. I then applied the closest shade I had to Selena's signature red which is the shade Ma'damn from the Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Lipstick range. It was actually my first time using it and I loved how it felt and looked on my lips. I swatched some similar shades above so hopefully you can see how it compares to other red lipsticks. I brought the colour right to the edges of my lips and used a lip brush to get a precise line so that they looked as full possible without over lining them too much. I've done variations on the look for years and it's always one I come back to when I want to feel good about myself. I'd even go so far as to say it's probably my "signature" look too. I hope you like the look and that I did Selena's makeup justice. I wanted to add some details about her too rather than just referencing her makeup. Let me know what you think and whether you've heard of Selena.

Emma x


*PR Samples
**Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.

IT Cosmetics Pillow Lips

A couple of weeks ago I went to an event for the launch of the new lipstick collection from IT Cosmetics. The Pillow Lips High Pigment Moisture Wrapping Lipsticks come in two finishes and 14 shades in a collagen infused and long-lasting formula. They are infused with a Tri-Oil Complex consisting of jojoba oil, peppermint oil and sesame seed oil. This formula is meant to leave the lips soft and smooth and looking full and plump, minimising the appearance of lip lines. 

I was so excited to try these out after getting to play with them at the launch. The shades range from peachy and deeper nudes to berrys, corals, pinks and reds. I was given the shades Vision (a light peach nude), Humble (a nude cinnamon), Like a Dream (a red plum) and Stellar (a true red). I loved the idea that they were supposed to give great colour payoff in one swipe but with ingredients to nourish your lips. In my experience it's not something that is easily done in a lipstick formula, you usually have to compromise on something. 

After trying out all four shade I'm so impressed by how these lipsticks perform. In my experience of trying as many different lipsticks as I have over the years, it's rare to find this kind of pigmentation in a formula that feels comfortable and hydrating. I actually totally forgot I was wearing Stellar yesterday because of how lightweight it is on my lips. Three of the shades are cream and one is matte and there doesn't seem to be any difference with the formula, they all feel as comfortable as each other. The only difference is the finish, but even at that Like a Dream isn't a drying matte at all, it feels just as hydrating as the cream finish lipsticks. I think they've done a great job with the shades which all seem like they would work for lots of different skin tones. There's a few I'd love to try out, in particular 11:11 (a bright fuchsia), Wishlist (cool rose) and Fanciful (a bright orange red). They are €24 which I think is an excellent price for the quality you're getting. It's the same price as the Clarins Joli Rouge Lip Lacquers which were some of my favourite lipsticks launched last year and in my humble lipstick-obsessed opinion, these IT Cosmetics ones and the Clarins ones are much better than some I've tried that are a lot more expensive. 

If you like pigmented lip colour but hate the drying feeling some lipsticks can leave on your lips, I highly recommend trying these out at the counter. They're available from Brown Thomas and Arnotts now. 

Top to Bottom: Stellar, Like a Dream, Vision, Humble

Vision (Cream)

Humble (Cream)

Like a Dream (Matte)

Stellar (Cream)

Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face (Prism Rose)
No7 Protect and Perfect All in One Foundation (Porcelain)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
*Clarins Glow 2 Go Blush and Highlighter (Golden Peach)
Glossier Brow Flick (Brown)
Glossier Boy Brow (Brown)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (Light/Ultra Fair)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
*Urban Decay Primer Potion
Revlon So Fierce! Vinyl Eyeliner (Righteous Rum)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (Tempera, Red Ochre, Venetian Red)
Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara (Noir)
*Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Storm)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Powder (Translucent)
*Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Pixi Glow Mist
*IT Cosmetics Pillow Lips Moisture Wrapping Lipstick (Vision, Humble, Like a Dream and Stellar)

I hope you can see from the swatches just how pigmented the lipsticks are. I like the lightest shade Vision a lot more than I thought I would. It's one of those sixties inspired peachy nudes that look great with Twiggy style eye makeup. I also loved how Like a Dream matched my eyeliner, I feel like this would work on so many different skin tones. Stellar is probably the stand out for me though, obviously being a huge fan of red lipstick. It's a beautiful classic, true red that again would look amazing on everyone. I definitely think there's room in the beauty market for this collection. I love that IT Cosmetics always include skincare ingredients in their products, especially as makeup is on your face for a huge portion of the day, it's nice to know a product is actually doing something good for your skin too.

What do you think of this collection? Does it interest you or do you think there are enough lipsticks on the market?


Emma x


*PR Samples
**Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.