Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation Review.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - Ivory - £8.99 Boots Website - here

Hi Ladies, Hope you're all okay! The other day on my blog I featured one of my top 5 ever products, which was my holy grail bronzer, the Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder, that gave me an idea. I was photgraphing a new Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (8th bottle i've repurchased I swear) for a haul and I thought it was about time I gave it credit & did a full review on it. It's weird that I talk about all the new products I've bought but I don't talk about or do review of the products that I actually love and use every single day. Anyway, sit back & get ready because I am ready to rave and rant about how amazing this foundation is.

I've actually used Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation since pretty much the week it was released, which was well over a year ago. I picked up a bottle and at the time I was pretty damn sad when I applied it, instantly I knew I loved the consistency and I loved the coverage and just how it made my face look but it was way too dark, I'd picked up the completely wrong shade but in all honesty I didn't care, I was tempted to wear it anyway, I couldn't believe how amazing it actually made my face look and how glowing I looked. I actually loved the finish of this foundation so much that I went back that very same day and bought another bottle in my shade. That was where the real love affair began and ever since I've been obsessed, when I say that I've repurchased this for the 8th time I'm not joking, I actually have just thrown 3 empty bottles of this stuff away.

For me, this foundation was a turning point for Rimmel, ever since they released this foundation Rimmel as a brand just seemed to get stronger and stronger and release amazing products and Wake Me Up was the starting point for Rimmel becoming my favourite high street makeup brand. This foundation is fantastic, firstly lets talk about the packaging, I honestly think this is one of the nicest foundation bottles you can get from a high street makeup brand, most of the other brands have the blandest foundation bottles with just a black lid but I love the bright orange lid of Rimmel Wake Me Up, I love how it stands out and has a pump. It's also housed in a really nice glass bottle, although after a disaster with bottle number 3 when it smashed into a million pieces on my bathroom tiles one morning i'm not sure how practical a glass bottle actually is, especially with a clumsy girl like myself. Overall though the packaging of this product is pretty nice and fun and I love the individual shape of the bottle too.

The first thing I want to mention about this product is the smell, it smells absolutely gorgeous, it kind of smells fruity I think, I can't quite put my finger on what it actually smells like but it's really a refreshing scent & I really really like it, you can smell it when you pump it out of the bottle but I don't think I can smell it on my own face when i'm wearing it. It's just a really nice fresh smell that isn't too overpowering. The next thing to mention about this foundation is the amazing coverage it gives, it pretty much covers all my imperfections by itself and I don't have to use half as much concealer, it's definitely a medium coverage foundation but is so easily buildable that you can build it to pretty full coverage. The amazing thing though is although this gives a pretty amazing coverage it still manages to look slightly dewy and has a really natural finish, it's a foundation where people actually don't know if you're wearing anything at all, which is crazy considering how high coverage it provides.

This foundation differs from lots of other foundations due to the fact that is has a non fatigue effect in it which help to give you a really nice awake finish & help to make you look much more awake. In order to do this the foundation does contain little tiny flecks of shimmer, it is completely invisible when you put it on your face though & isn't unflattering in the slightest, it leaves you with a really fresh finish & it's slightly dewy (although not shiny) which I've been really loving even despite my oily skin. Another thing I love about this foundation is how thick and creamy it is, it glides on to the skin and is one of the easiest foundations to blend in, it hides everything because of the consistency but looks completely light on the skin, I've actually forgot I'm wearing any foundation before because it doesn't feel heavy, cakey or mask like which I find most foundations with good coverage do. I also find that this foundation lasts pretty much all day especially when set with a good setting powder, it has SPF 15 in too which is obviously good if you're wearing it every single day and it's pretty cheap at only £8.99 a bottle which is also a massive thumbs up from me.

This foundation also looks even more incredible combined with the Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer (also photographed) in shade 002, I was going to include a full review of this in this post too but I don't want to go on for ages so i'll do that sometime over the next few weeks but together they are pretty much a dream team and for two really inexpensive products you can get a flawless foundation routine that really lasts on the skin and looks pretty much amazing.

Overall, I really adore this foundation, it is the best drugstore foundation I have ever found & I have a good 10 or more that i'm trialing at the moment (oooops! I know!), it gives a beautiful finish is good for both oily & dry skin and is pretty much every single thing I want in a foundation all rolled into one. I would definitely recommend it to pretty much everyone the only thing I would say is that it the colour match isn't that amazing because I think they only have about 7 shades so for some deeper skin tones or really pale skin tones you could be left without a match. Apart from that though this has holy grail status for me and I can't even begin to explain how much I love it. If you haven't tried it you need too!!! So let me know if you do.

Let me know if you've tried this opinion or what your holy grail foundation is and I'll speak to you all soon!

Lots of love

Gem xxx

-

Guest Post - Sandy at AB - The 4 best non-sticky lipglosses

 Sandy at Absolute Beaut - Guest Post
http://www.absolutebeaut.com/

Hi lovely ladies, I hope you're all okay! Today I am soooo excited to share with you all a Guest Post from the gorgeous Sandy who blogs over at Absolute Beaut. I tell you what she ain't half a beauty and i'm so excited that I can have one of her amazing posts on my little'ol blog! This is my first ever guest post and I really don't think I could have chose anyone better to do it with then Sandy, she's been such a star haha to be honest we've both faffed about for months and months but we finally got our butt's in gears and got our posts ready and when Sandy sent me hers earlier last week I was literally buzzing to share it with you all!
Anyway i'm not going to ramble anymore because this is Sandy's post not mine but please leave her loads of love in the comments section below and please go and check out and follow Sandy's blog here: http://www.absolutebeaut.com/ I promise you will absolutely love it, also find her on twitter @sandyatAB, or on blog'lovin here. Make sure to check out her blog too for my post about my 5 favourite lipsticks of all time! Anyway lets get on to Sandy's gorgeous post about 4 of the best non-sticky lipglosses!

You'd think that by now the beauty industry would have ditched the sticky lipglosses, right? But nope, they're still lurking around out there, with the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker glosses probably being the stickiest I've ever tried. Yes, the tacky lipglosses do have their positives - ultimately they last longer on the lips - but they don't half have some negatives too. Hair in lipgloss, lipgloss on face, lipgloss on cheek, and in my case my boyfriend ends up unknowingly wearing it too (which I secretly find hilarious and I sometimes give it a while before I tell him...haha). So if you hate sticky glosses, I have a few high street and high end options that I think you might love.

First up is the Chanel Glossimer in 165 Volupte. It's completely smooth on the lips but still has a little bit of grip, making it the longest lasting out of all four glosses. It's realllly sheer but for that reason I find myself reaching for it a lot, it's just really easy to slick on with any makeup look. With zero scent and no sweet artificial taste, the Chanel Glossimers are a great option if you have the budget to suit.

The YSL Golden Glosses are probably the exact opposite end of the Chanel Glossimers. These are in your face golden glitter with a really strong melon scent. But if you like your glosses super shiny, this is your dream gloss. The shade I have is No.3 Golden Pink and it’s the gloss that I'm wearing in the photo above – you can see how it gives lips an almost mirror shine. The golden shimmer doesn’t make it the most day-appropriate gloss, but on an night out it’s amazing. It was a staple for me on holiday last year, it’s great for a ‘sunkissed’ look.

Next up is the Bourjois 3D Effect Gloss in 50 Brun Exotic. This is actually quite an old shade, but the formula is one of the best drugstore options I've come across. The Bourjois offering also has lots of tiny gold sparkles, with the exact same feel as the YSL gloss (I think we may have a dupe here!). And if you love anything coconut scented, you will looooove this. It reminds me of Hawaiin Tropic sun lotion so whenever I put it on I instantly feel all summery.

And lastly is the newest lip gloss addition, Rimmel Stay Glossy in 120 Non Stop Glamour. I actually gave this to one of my friends for Christmas and after a bit of deliberating I went back and got one for myself. It's a gorgeous browny nude with teeny tiny gold shimmers. It's perfect for every day wear as well as being great to slick on over other lipsticks to make them less drying.

Packaging aside – YSL packaging is deff my favourite! - all of these glosses are pretty similar and most importantly they all feel so comfortable to wear when they're actually on the lips. If you only try one then make it the Rimmel glosses - with a non offensive scent and a flat doe-foot applicator, you won't be disappointed. If you have any non-sticky lipgloss recommendations, I'd love to know! Or maybe you much prefer stickier liglosses because they last longer? Team Silky or Team Sticky - which are you? Xxx

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder Review

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder - £6.99 Boots - here

Hi Dolls, Hope you're okay, I thought i'd do another post today, I already did one all about how to follow Gem's Beauty and some information regarding the Google Friend Connect Scandal so once you're done reading this one it would make me really happy if you scrolled down and gave that one a read too. Anyway I thought i'd do a post on one of my favourite products ever, I'd even go as far to say this product hits the top 5 makeup products EVER for me, which is a pretty big statement. So anyway lets get on with the review.

If you've read my blog for a while you will know I've always been a bronzer girl, some people love blush and I majorly love bronzer and I actually think this product could be why I am so in love with bronzers, this product completely changed my makeup routine years ago and I am still using it today. In actual fact I had my last one of these bad boys for 4 years and even after using it ever single day I still did not hit pan & I don't half slap this stuff on, I figured though that it was too old & gross too keep so I threw it away and with the Boots 3 for 2 offer on at the moment I decided that I would pick up another one & therefore a review seemed pretty much inevitable because everyone loves a nice, new shiny product. There is something about this particular bronzer that just hands down beats every single other bronzer I've tried. It is my favourite powder bronzer and just an absolute essential in my makeup bag, I love every single thing about it. And right now i'll say that I can't actually say one negative thing about it, it's just such a good product that I literally have nothing negative at all too say.

Firstly the packaging, the packaging on this isn't really overly glamorous but it does the job, the bronzer is housed in a really nice cardboard container, it's really simple it has a magnet in it so it stays shut and you can just pop it open to reveal the bronzer. It's nothing amazing and it's not really something that would look overly pretty on your dressing table but it's nice and compact, fits in my makeup bag well and does the job pretty perfectly, I've never found it to fall apart and my last one was still in tact after a long 3/4 years. When you open up the bronzer the bronzer is in 4 segments  a lot of people call this the 'Chocolate' Bronzer just because it looks like little squares of chocolate. The product goes down pretty deep and you actually get 16.5g's of product which is bloody loads especially for the price!! 

The product is ridiculously pigmented, I use my Real Techniques contour brush to apply this too the cheeks and then I normally blend it out with my Real Techniques blush brush but there is no swirling your brush endlessly with this product, you literally need the tiniest amount, anything more will make you look absolutely crazy. It's also a really gorgeous colour, it's not 'orangey' which therefore means you can completely avoid the oompa lumpa look but it's not a really dark brown either meaning that it really works on my slightly paler complexion, I think it would pretty much work on most skin tones though because it can be built up and I've seen friends that have darker skin tones than me wear it with ease too. The smell of this is pretty amazing, it smells really sweet, almost in between chocolate and vanilla so I am constantly sniffing it, it's quite unique for a bronzer to have a really nice smell but this has such a nice one that I can't wait to apply it, the smell actually sticks around for a few hours after application too which I love because I adore the scent, but if you're not much of a sweet scent lover than this may not be for you.

To me this is a pretty matte bronzer, although on the packaging for some reason it says that is has odd flecks of micro-glitter in it, I didn't find this at all and one of the reasons I really like this bronzer is that it's a perfect contour colour & it bronzes the face without adding loads of shimmer than can be quite unflattering when put in the right place. I do find that this bronzer doesn't make my face look really flat like lots of matte bronzers do though so maybe there is a few specks of glitter in it, I just don't think its detectable to the human eye. This product also has an awesome staying powder, this is one of the only powder products that actually lasts on my oily skin and it's not something I really need to re-apply during the day, it also applies really smoothly & is very easy to blend. 

I am seriously in love with this bronzer, this is not only one of my favourite drugstore beauty products but also one of if not my favourite makeup product ever, it's perfect and I don't reach for any other cheek products when this is around. I use it for contouring and bronzing the whole face and it works perfectly for both purposes. It's cheap as chips, smells like chocolate and works really well. I know a lot of people rave about this product and it has had a huge amount of hype, that is completely well deserved this product has holy grail status for me and I can't imagine needing to try any other powder bronzers (although I am tempted my Nars Laguna!) because this one does everything I need it to do. Everyone needs this product in their makeup bag so if you haven't tried it please go and give it ago because you won't be disappointed  Let me know what your holy grail cheek products are in the comments section below & if you have tried this bronzer as well! 

Thank you for reading!

Lots of love

Gem xxx

GFC Scandal/ How to follow Gem's Beauty

Hi Ladies, Hope you're all okay! Since the GFC (Google Friend Connect) Scandal has all gone down I've seen that the amount of people following me on their has slowed a considerable amount & therefore I think people aren't using it anymore. From what I understand the only thing that is actually leaving us on the 1st of July is Google Reader, which for me isn't an issue at all because I don't actually use it. When you log into blogger after the 1st of July you will still have Google Friend Connect & therefore all of your followers but you will also have all of your new posts from all of the bloggers you follow ready to read so therefore I don't know why everyone is panicking that much really! But anyway, since this whole scandal is happening and I know people would rather switch over and follow blogs in different ways I thought I would share with you all, all the ways you can follow Gem's Beauty. I don't know the definite future of Google Friend Connect but because everyone is boycotting it now I wouldn't be surprised if it was next to get the ax so it's probably not a bad idea to get prepared and try and convince my lovely readers to switch over and follow me on other forms.

Twitter -

@gemsbeauty93

I love following lots of different bloggers on Twitter, so please follow me and send me your blog links. Twitter is such a really great way to connect with everyone and I update when a new post has gone up or something has changed on my blog too. You can chat to me here whenever you want too and if you have any questions and want a more informal setting then tweet me here too! I do have my account set to private just because I didn't want loads of weirdo's or people that were going to spam me following me but if you send me a request I will accept you & follow back! 

Blog'Lovin

http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3954424

I loveeee blog'lovin, I've used it even before I started blogging to follow my favourite blog's and I now follow about 100 of my favourite blogs on it. It's such a cool website and they email you once a day with all the new post's from your favourite bloggers that you follow! I would love it if you could follow me on there! Blog lovin has got so much loving recently and I don't think it's a bad thing at all because it's a pretty good site to read blogs on & follow them on too. I've found a lot of the blogs I really love reading on blog'lovin just because you can go through ranks and find the best beauty blogs or look at the best food blogs or the best lifestyle blogs so it's all organised into categories that I like. The best thing about blog'lovin is the fact that even if you don't have a blog you can set up an account & start following Gem's Beauty! I remember before I started blogging I followed some of my favorites on there and I've used it ever since, it's also cool because you now get an email saying who's followed you so you can return the favor  And it has it's own Iphone App meaning you can catch up with all of your favourite blogs when you're out and about! Anyway please follow me on there if you like to read my blog, i'm trying to switch my readership over from Google Friend Connect to Blog Lovin &  I'm still missing like 400 of you :( which makes me really really sad!

She Said Beauty -

https://www.shesaidbeauty.com/gemmabul

I don't know how many of you guys use She Said Beauty, but I just made an account and thought I would share my user name with you anyway in case you fancied following me or just generally checking it out. If you just type in my name or my blog's name you should be able to find me on there or you can just click the link above. It's pretty cool because it automatically streams my posts on there and I can like products and posts as well so if you follow a lot of blogs it's quite a cool way to keep up to date, you can also personalise your profile too. So if you're stopping on over there I would really appreciate you following me. I've added a sidebar now so that should make following easier and I have my own little profile on their so you can see what i'm loving, posts i'm loving & all that stuff which is a bit more interactive! Give us a follow on there darls & i'll follow you all back!

Hello Cotton

http://www.hellocotton.com/mypage/gemmabullock

I don't really know how many people use Hello Cotton to follow blogs either but I thought I would link it anyway in case you wanted to give it ago. I'm absolutely rubbish at using this website and don't really have a clue what I'm doing, but I am going to try and work it out. Again I would love a follow if you're exploring on it!

Anyway thank you for reading this post, if you want to link me any of the ways to follow your blog down below then I will make sure to follow all of your blogs too so we don't all lose each other if Google Friend Connect does decide to go. I'm still going to be using it for now & following blogs on both GFC and Blog'lovin just to be safe! So would love if you would all return the favor!

Speak to you all really soon,

Lots of love

Gem xxx

Anti-Blemish Skinetica Review

Anti - Blemish Skinetica - Soothes, Calms, Clears - £9.99 100ml here*

Hi Dolls, hope you're all okay! I'm not going to ramble too much today because I have lots to say & I just want to jump right in and get on with the post. Now i'm sure a lot of you have heard of the brand 'Skinetica' by now, probably this time last year you hadn't, they're appearance in Glossy Boxes before Christmas really gained them a status & you may have seen reviews on blogs about Skinetica recently as they try and develop their brand. Every since I've seen all the hype that surrounded this product I've wanted to try it, it really intrigued me and to be honest I've pretty much only heard really good things about this product. This is why when the really nice Richard from Skinetica emailed me a fair few weeks ago now and offered to send me a sample of Skinetica I literally jumped at the chance. I was so interested too see how this differed from lots of other spot treatments and probably the biggest difference was that this one actually worked!

Anyway, I'm going to have to go back into my skin care history a bit in order too explain my love for this product. I used to have pretty good skin, I have quite combination skin, I have a pretty oily face and an even oilier t-zone but I get a lot of dryness around my eyes and nose. Apart from that though my skin was pretty much under control, the only problems I had was the fact that I'd get an odd blemish now again but nothing too major. That was until before Christmas, I don't know what the hell happened but my skin was ridiculous for a good 3/4 month period, I suffered a huge amount of spots on both sides of my cheeks and on my chin & I just couldn't for the life of me pin-point why my skin had done a compete 180 on me. I tried lots of different face scrubs and spot treatments but my skin would literally get worse by the day and I was so sad about it. I think it really has a negative effect on your confidence when your skins rubbish & I really hated it. Anyway I'm pretty much over the worst of my skin worries now (thank god, touch wood - all that jazz!) & I think part of the reason for that was using this product. Skinetica didn't magically remove my spots or anything like that but it seemed to balance my skin out again it seemed to calm my skin & just keep it under control. I now don't wake up and think my skins going to look worse than yesterday because I know it won't, I know that it's working and although it doesn't completely clear up your skin (but lets face it what product is going to?) it just makes your skin normal again & stops more blemishes from appearing.

I don't have any idea why this product works and to be honest I don't understand it and I can't really quite believe it, I think because it doesn't have any harsh chemicals that are found in most spot & acne treatments it really agrees with my sensitive skin & I find this to be one of the only face products that doesn't burn or irritate my skin or just make the problem worse. The science behind this product is that it does not contain any harsh chemicals such as Benzoyl Peroxide or Salicylic Acid which are the active ingredients in 99% of acne treatments. Maybe this is why it works so well, a lot of people have said once you've tried one of the spot or acne treatments you've pretty much tried them all because they all contain the same ingredients but this doesn't, so if you've tried everything else I would see this as a pretty good option. In fact ingredients such as Benzoyl Peroxide probably couldn't be any worse for you, there is evidence to suggest that it causes premature aging, can damage cells & thin your skin, do you really want to put that on your face?!

Another thing about Skinetica which is just amazing is how it works, you simply are instructed to pop this on your face when your skin is clean by simple slapping it on a cotton pad & wiping it across the affected area of your face. I do this after I've cleansed and Skinetica has kind of taken my toning step and I think it works really well. You then have to leave it to dry naturally which only takes a second or two. Then Skinetica actually keeps working on your skin for 12 whole hours when it's dried, that means you can apply it at night time and leave it on while you sleep and it's literally working on blemishes and uneven skin tone all night long.

I just think Skinetica is such a good product and I don't think I could rave about it anymore times if I tried. It's Dermatologically tested, has no side effects, contains no harsh chemicals and isn't greasy and it actually works! The only niggle I have with it, and I always have to have one haha is the smell, it smells very 'spot treatment' like and I know that it is a spot treatment so that's what you would expect but it takes a bit of getting used too, not enough to stop me using it though. I would really recommend this to anyone who wants to really be able to control their skin and if you're thinking of trying this I would say head over to the Skinetica website http://www.skinetica.co.uk/buy-skinetica-online.html and just read about it and see if it's for you. Also Skinetica are offering a FREE 15ml size bottle of this which means you can sample the product and see if it works for you, all they ask is you pay the tiny price of £1.00 for postage, you can find this on the website here http://www.skinetica.co.uk/. I would recommend this product to anyone who suffers with their skin because this for me just worked like no other product would, I would say make sure you check out the trial version first just because everyones skin is unique and we all react to different products recently but as a whole this product gets a massive thumbs up for me! Let me know if you've tried Skinetica & I'll speak to you all really soon! :) xxx