One drink too many this weekend? - Too Faced Hangover primer review

Ahh, the weekend - nothing like going out for drinks with the girls, wearing jeans and a nice top (the equivalent of cracking a cold one with the boys in case you didn't know). 

Unfortunately, this also means waking up with a bloody headache the next day. If you can stay in bed all day, fair enough but imagine it's auntie Carol's 50th birthday! Cue Too Faced Hangover primer. A primer loaded with probiotics, coconut water and olive oils, to fake a good eight hours of beauty sleep. Of course, it's not limited to those days where you have an actual hangover - whenever my skin is feeling dry, dull or just a bit meh, this is the product I reach for.

It comes in a 40ml tube with a pump, which is my favourite packaging for almost anything as it is the most hygienic option. The primer has a milky white colour and smells divine, it has a light tropical scent which isn't overpowering or artificial at all. The scent also fades quite quickly, for those of you who don't like intensely scented products. The primer feels light yet very smooth on application, although it's silicone-free. I'd say it acts as a primer and moisturiser in one as long as you don't have dry skin, in winter I'd probably use a moisturiser beforehand. I usually put this on top of my serum and SPF and let it sink in for a few minutes before I continue with my makeup.

I wore this during the heat wave we had recently and do have to admit it did not prevent my makeup from melting off my face. Then again I haven't found any other product which does. However, I did notice my makeup sits a lot better on my skin and my skin just looks healthier, which is why I also wear it on no makeup days. Overall I'm really happy with this primer and will repurchase it once I run out.

The Too Faced Hangover primer is available to buy in Selfridges or Debenhams for £27 (although you can get a 20ml travel size for £12 which works out 3 quid cheaper).

Have you tried this already? What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear what your favourite primers are!

Omorovicza - Queen of Hungary face mist

Omorovicza is a brand that has been brought to my attention by Ruth Crilly (A Model Recommends) a couple of years ago. The Hungarian brand launched their first store in Budapest back in 2006. The entire range is made from naturally derived ingredients and is paraben and silicone free. They also give synthetic fragrances, colours and microbeads a miss, which is always a winner in my books. 

I've tried my fair share of trial sizes and sample sachets, but never took the plunge and purchased a fullsize product since they don't come cheap. So when I spotted the much raved about, travel sized, Queen of Hungary face mist around christmas last year I couldn't resist and oh my, it's beautiful. Not only does it come in the most beautiful glass bottle, it also smells divine. The mist is desribed as a toner and hydrating mist in one, making this the perfect allrounder. Whether you're taking this on holiday with you to calm down parched skin or just need some hydration throughout the day, the QOH mist has got you covered. It contains orange blossom, rose and sage waters which probably make for the gorgeous scent and Hungarian mineral-rich water known for its healing properties. The nozzle is super fine and distributes the product evenly, so you don't end up with big droplets all over your face; something a lot of cheaper face mists lack. This is the fifth step in my routine, right after I've double cleansed, put on eyecream and used my Pixi Glow Tonic (or the Nip+Fab glycolic acid pads!). I let it sink in and follow with serum and a moisturising spf in the mornings. The scent is without doubt one of the most amazing I've ever smelled. I also took this on holiday with me when we were in Bali and this, next to my Antipodes mask and spf obviously, was all I needed. It visibly hydrates dry skin and makes it feel plump again. Like I said, it doesn't come cheap at £46 for a 100 ml bottle but it's so worth it. If money wasn't an object, I'd be buying one of each from their skincare range!

Have you tried anything from Omorovicza? What is your favourite face mist?

The current skincare heroes

If you have read my previous posts you might know I've become a bit of a skincare addict. A couple of years ago I used a cheap makeup remover and slapped on an equally cheap moisturiser and I was done. Now I'm not saying cheap products are bad, there are some real gems on the shelves that cost less than a fiver but as soon as I finished uni and got my first real job, I was drawn to the higher end products that promised some amazing results. Paired with a then new found love for Caroline Hirons' blog I've accumulated quite a collection of lotions and potions, so today I'm talking you through my current favourites!

Let's start off with cleansers. Most days I'm wearing a full face of makeup so I need a heavy duty remover in the evenings. I used to love The Body Shop's camomille cleansing oil but it didn't remove stubborn mascara. I always double cleanse anyway but I prefer my first cleanse to entirely remove my makeup before I go in with the second cleanser. During a FeelUnique sale I decided to give the BareMinerals Oil Obsessed a go and I haven't looked back since. You only need one pump and it effortlessly removes every last trace of makeup. It smells delicious as well, very subtle and calming. After that I usually go in with the Pixi cleansing balm or glow mud cleanser, depending on how my skin is feeling. The cleansing balm feels rich and nourishing and a tiny bit goes a long way. It leaves my skin feeling plump and oh so soft. The glow mud cleanser on the other hand doesn't smell as nice as the cleansing balm but leaves my skin feeling really fresh, without that "stripped" feeling. With 5% glycolic acid this is my cleanser of choice when my skin is feeling a bit 'meh'. The texture is quite unusual, it's somewhere between a slippery gel and a cream rolled into one. It doesn't foam at all and I need a good squeeze to cover my whole face. My morning cleanser of choice is the Bliss 2-in-1-cleanser I reviewed here. It really helps waking up my skin and leaves it soft and polished before I put my makeup on.

On to serums and treatments. My all time favourite night time treatment is the Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate (reviewed here). No matter how dry, spotty or just meh my skin looks, this always comes to the rescue. It's your 8 hour beauty sleep in a bottle! I instantly notice a difference when I don't use this and I'll forever repurchase it! In the mornings I currently alter between two samples, the Origins A Perfect World age-defense skin guardian and BareMinerals Skinlongevity vital power infusion. I'm alright with the ridiculously long names because both products are amazing. The Origins serum feels like liquid silk when applied (I'm not sure if it's silicones, Origins doesn't list the ingredients on their website) and takes quite some time to sink in but once it has, it leaves my skin feeling nourished without being greasy. The Bare Minerals serum is much lighter in texture and smells lovely. It almost feels watery and sinks in in a matter of seconds. With this I get instant results as this leaves my skin looking super fresh and radiant. They are both on the pricier side, the Origins one is £50 for 50ml and the BareMinerals one is £45 for 50ml but I'd definitely purchase the full sized versions of both. I always, ALWAYS follow up with my favourite SPF, the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration face lotion. Living up to its name, it feels super silky and moisturising without leaving any greasy shine or white residue behind. It sinks in straight away, making it the perfect base before putting on your makeup. The tropical coconut scent is just the icing on the cake!

At the beginning of this year I vowed to make more time for pampering, body scrubs and face masks in particular. I got the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey mask for Christmas last year and really enjoyed using this over the past couple of months. So much so that I even took this to Bali with me! You can't beat relaxing on your porch, a divine smelling face mask on and a cocktail in hand, overlooking the sea. Now I'm not in Bali anymore but I still enjoy the mask, it has a lovely light vanilla-mandarin scent and really perks up tired or dull skin. I'd love to try more Antipodes products in the future, do let me know what your favourites are!

So these are my current favourite skincare products, let me know yours in the comments or over on Twitter!

5 concealers for every skin type and budget

If I had to choose one makeup item and get rid of everything else, it would be concealer. When I'm not tanned (which is like 99% of the time, I'm not good with fake tan) I have ridiculously dark undereye circles and discolouration around my nose and mouth, so concealer has always been a must. I've tried my fair share over the years, so today I'm talking you through five options that stood the test of time.

MAC Pro Longwear concealer £18
Like every MAC product this comes in a wide range of shades to suit every skintone and colour. My skin has yellow undertones and my usual MAC shade is NC25. Since I'm using this to get rid of dark circles, I always go for NW20 because peach coloured products counteract the blue veins which are causing them. I also go a shade lighter to brighten my undereye area. The Pro Longwear concealer has amazing coverage and staying power but can be a tad drying - on the bright side, it hardly creases on me throughout the day. The only downside to this is the pump. One pump would be sufficient to cover your entire face and it's quite hard to dispense the right amount, but four tubes down I finally figured it out.

Coverage: full

Staying power: up to 15 hrs

Shade range: 16 shades (8 NC/yellow toned shades, 8 NW/pink toned shades)

Packaging: glass bottle with pump

17 concealer £4.49

If you found the Collection concealer (my all time favourite) too drying you'll love this one. Same coverage and staying power but not as matte! Also, it's cheap as chips - what's not to love? I'll tell you: it only comes in three shades, extra fair (neutral, almost white), fair (cool/pink toned) and medium (warm/yellow toned). I use fair as an undereye concealer and medium on any blemishes but imagine anyone with a different skintone won't find a matching shade. I know we're used to shoddy shade ranges but three shades is quite meagre.
Coverage: medium to full

Staying power: 8 hrs

Shade range: 3 shades

Packaging: doe-foot

Bourjois Radiance Reveal concealer £7.99

This offering from Bourjois is very creamy and smells delicious. It contains glacier water and hyaluronic acid which makes it very moisturising and great for dry skin types. As an undereye concealer it claims to correct and illuminate which I think it does. It's peach toned (again, great to ban those pesky dark circles!) and has a light to medium coverage. Layered on top of the MAC concealer this gives me some seriously bright peepers! Unfortunately this also comes in a mere three shades, definitely something that should be improved in the future.
Coverage: light to medium

Staying power: 6 hrs

Shade range: 3 shades

Packaging: doe-foot

Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer £7.99

The Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer has been around for ages and it's one of those products I have put off trying for a long time because it comes with the most impractical sponge applicator. A product which is designed to use around the eyes surely shouldn't allow too many bacteria to harbour? Well, that's exactly what this is doing. The concealer itself is amazing, it's creamy, illuminating, has great coverage and staying power, but please, just put it in a squeezy tube, will you Maybelline?
Coverage: medium 

Staying power: 6 hrs

Shade range: 5 shades

Packaging: twist-up sponge tip

NYX HD concealer £5.50

This is basically the same as the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer and it's a concealer I'd repurchase without hesitation. It's £1.50 more but it's that tiny bit less drying and the shade range is a lot better than the Collection one which consists of a mere four shades. It's super creamy and longlasting and a great option if you're one a budget.
Coverage: full

Staying power: 8hrs

Shade range: 9+3 correction shades

Packaging: doe-foot

What's your favourite concealer? Have you tried any of these before?