CODE Beautiful Fabulous Lip Duo + Giveaway

If social media has made me self-conscious about anything, it's the size of my lips. I wish my top lip wouldn't disappear when I smile & that my bottom lip wasn't wonky from a childhood accident. Lip fillers seem like the best solution to my issues & even though I've found a fantastic nurse to perform the procedure, I'm still a bit anxious about getting it done. It's impossible to scroll through Instagram without seeing thousands of girls with cosmetically enhanced lips & most of the time, it looks amazing on them. However you often come across people who have gotten the most awful looking trout pouts. You can get weird lumps & the risk of necrosis is also pretty scary. Plus despite my previous snakebite piercings, I'm not the biggest fan of needles! So for something a little less permanent, lip plumping products are a much safer alternative. Visually you won't get quite the same impact but at least you don't have to worry about butchering your face in the process. I've been testing out a couple of lip enhancing products that I was kindly gifted by CODE Beautiful. They specialise in creating handbag essentials that are effortlessly effective & flawlessly reliable. As such they only have four products in their whole collection. I received their Lip Intense Plumper & Soft Smooth Lip Liner which promise to deliver more defined, volumised & hydrated lips without a needle in sight. Both products are cruelty free & vegan friendly.





CODE Beautiful Lip Intense Plumper in Nude Rose* (£20)
This plumping lip gloss has such a unique formula. The gloss has been infused with coconut oil, sweet almond oil & castor oil for an instant boost in moisture as well as peppermint oil to give it a tingly plumping sensation. However the special ingredient is something that CODE Beautiful have called Hilurlip. This is an exclusive blend of hyaluronic acid, tripeptide-1 & dimethicone to help redefine the natural contours of the lips & create a more sculpted look. It promises to give you fuller lips over time. Hilurlip also contains compounds that protect the lips from sun damage & help to minimise the appearance of small vertical lines. The more you apply the lip gloss, the better the results!

The gloss comes in this gorgeous rosy pink shade which naturally makes your lips look larger. It's nowhere near as pigmented as it looks on the wand, in fact it becomes a very sheer baby pink that just adds a pretty tint to your lips. When you first apply the gloss you will feel an intense tingling sensation that lasts for about twenty minutes. During this time your lips will gradually plump up, creating a fuller pout whilst smoothing out the appearance of fine lines. The Lip Intense Plumper won't last through eating or drinking but the effects are still noticeable even after the gloss has worn off. I find it really comfortable to wear, it feels instantly moisturising & isn't sticky at all. It's one of the smoothest, silkiest glosses I've used & applying it becomes very addictive! After about a week of use I noticed that my lips were looking fuller without any product on so it definitely has a long term boosting effect. The results are very natural looking but it still makes me feel more comfortable with the size & shape of my lips.





CODE Beautiful Soft Smooth Lip Liner in Nude Blush* (£18)
Although the gloss looks pretty by itself, the real magic happens when you combine it with this lip liner. The formula of this lip liner is one of the nicest I've ever tried. It glides over the lips with the greatest of ease & blends out smoothly with no harsh lines. It's a lip liner, lipstick & lip plumper all in one. The liner is packed full of ingredients to stimulate collagen, condition & give volume. You can just wear it as a traditional liner to prevent feathering or contour your lips but I prefer to fill in my lips with liners as a long lasting lipstick. This allows you to overline your lips without it looking too obvious. I think the rosy pink shade is beautiful & naturally enhances the colour of my lips. It makes my lips look so smooth & youthful. If you wear it with the Lip Intense Plumper it doesn't last through eating but if you wear it by itself the colour will stay put for hours. One of my favourite things about this lip liner is the packaging. It features innovative self-sharpening technology so you get a perfectly pointed tip every time. You just turn the lid clockwise until you hear it click & your lip liner will be ready to go!


Bare lips

Wearing the Lip Intense Plumper

Wearing the Soft Smooth Lip Liner

Wearing the lip duo


Overall I'm really happy with these products from CODE Beautiful. They both look gorgeous whether worn alone, with each other or combined with other lip products. I love how they feel on my lips & although the results are subtle, they look fantastic. Plus this natural level of fullness is certainly more believable than suddenly getting 2ml of Juvederm injected into your lips! This fabulous lip duo will instantly enhance the look of your lips as well as increasing volume over time so they're well worth trying for both short term & long term results.

Fancy winning a set of these amazing lip products? I have teamed up with CODE Beautiful to offer a Soft Smooth Lip Liner & Lip Intense Plumper to one lucky person! Just use the widget below to enter. The giveaway ends on the 18th of June 2019. The full terms & conditions can be seen at the bottom of the widget. Good luck!

Win The Fabulous Lip Duo From Code Beautiful #14

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Annabelle Minerals

When I first started getting into makeup as a teenager I found myself rather intimidated by the thought of using a liquid foundation. Somehow it seemed so grown up & way too heavy for my young skin. For one of my first attempts to cover up the abundance of spots on my face, my mum bought me a compact of MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation as powders seemed like an easier alternative. However I soon found that MAC foundations only made my skin worse, whether that was because something in them broke me out or I just wasn't removing it well enough I'll never know. So I started to look into mineral foundations because the natural ingredients are supposed to be better for your skin & provide coverage without clogging pores. I used Lily Lolo & Bare Minerals products for quite some time but I think I eventually stopped wearing them because they always ended up looking a bit too powdery on the skin. In more recent years I have purchased the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder & still use the discontinued pressed version to freshen up throughout the day. But these days I almost always reach for a liquid foundation. Most major beauty brands don't do mineral foundations & I think we've all become so accustomed to watching YouTubers apply liquid foundation with a BeautyBlender that most us of probably don't even consider using mineral makeup anymore.

Annabelle Minerals recently sent me some of their products to try out & since then I've been having a bit of a mineral powder renaissance. I think when you stop using mineral makeup you forget just how good it can be & I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with these products. Annabelle Minerals are a Polish cosmetic company who have just launched in the UK & as such it can be difficult to find reviews written in English. The power of mineral makeup comes from their ingredients. They formulate products containing only four mineral ingredients - mica for illumination, zinc oxide to mattify & treat minor blemishes, titanium dioxide for good coverage & sun protection as well as iron oxides to give them colour. This combination of ingredients helps to perfect your base without skin irritants such as parabens, talcs, artificial colouring, silicones or preservatives. Their products are also vegan & cruelty-free.






I received three base products from Annabelle Minerals. These are the Coverage Foundation in Sunny Fairest, the Mineral Blush in Nude & the Radiant Powder in Pretty Glow. All of their base products are packaged in a durable plastic pot that comes with a moveable sifter to prevent spillage. In each pot you get 4g of product, which doesn't sound like much but is actually a really decent amount. They also have 10g pots of the foundation available to purchase if you want it to last even longer.




Let's start with the foundation. Annabelle Minerals have created mineral foundations with three finishes to suit all skin types - Coverage, Matte or Radiant. There are 22 shades to choose from with four different undertones. Unfortunately the colour range doesn't go very deep but I do appreciate the amount of undertones. I have a pale yellow undertone so I knew that I would be best matched to one of the Sunny range. Sunny shades were designed for women with warm undertones. They have strong notes of lemon yellow with distinct hints of gold. I received the Coverage Foundation in Sunny Fairest (£11.75) which is ideal for women with a very fair, warm toned complexion dominated by pastel yellow & white hues. At first the powder looked almost Simpsons yellow but it actually suits my skintone really well. For reference I wear NARS Siberia or MAC NC10.

The Coverage Foundation comes with an increased amount of titanium dioxide to fully conceal any discolouration, redness & skin imperfections. This also means that it gives you UVA/UVB protection with SPF 15. The formula is meant to provide full coverage & is suitable for most skin types, even those with dry skin. If you haven't tried a mineral foundation before, they are so easy to use. You just pour some of the product onto the lid, swirl your brush into the powder, tap off the excess & buff it onto the skin. The foundation looks best a few minutes after application, when the minerals have had enough time to melt into your skin. Unlike some mineral foundations, it's not drying at all & it doesn't look powdery. When I first applied this foundation I was amazed by how well it covers. Although I have a yellow undertone, I do have some surface redness in my face & this stuff immediately balances out my complexion.

The coverage is buildable without looking cakey or like a mask. When I use this foundation I don't have to use any concealer at all. I just use a smaller kabuki brush to concentrate the foundation in the areas that need a little more attention. The result is very natural looking with a subtle luminosity. The foundation feels really lightweight & comfortable to wear. It seems to smooth over my pores & doesn't gather in fine lines. I was surprised by how long it lasts on my skin. I have combination skin with an oily T-zone & it only starts to break down around my nose after about 8 hours of wear. My forehead gets a little shiny too but otherwise, it looks pretty flawless after a full day. I love the way it looks on my skin so I'd definitely recommend this mineral foundation!




When I first saw the Mineral Blush in Nude (£12.50) in the pot, I wasn't too impressed with the colour. It just looked really boring at first but as soon as I swatched it on my arm I fell in love. Blending it out on the skin transformed it from this almost brown looking powder to a fresh pretty pink. I love the colour so much & it looks absolutely beautiful on the skin. It features delicate pearl particles to illuminate & even out your cheeks. The blusher is very buildable & it gives such a natural flush of colour. I think it makes my cheeks look bright, perky & youthful which is certainly a welcome feature now that I'm in my 30s!




The Radiant Powder in Pretty Glow (£17) is such a lovely way to set your makeup. Although it looks fairly pigmented in my swatch, it becomes transparent when blended over your foundation. The Radiant Powder doesn't provide any additional coverage or alter the colour of the foundation at all. It simply imparts a luminous glow which makes the skin look fresh & well rested. I still felt the need to use my regular highlighter on top to make my skin extra glowy but I really like this finishing powder. It would be ideal for dull, tired complexions with fine wrinkles. I love the way that it almost airbrushes the skin for a naturally flawless finish.






Annabelle Minerals have some truly lovely mineral eyeshadows. Some of the colours are so stunning & as soon as I saw these pretty purple shades on their website I knew they would fill the lilac coloured hole in my makeup collection. Here we have Lollipop, Lilac & Cappuccino (£9.75 each). My absolute favourite has to be Lilac, it's such a fun pastel purple shade & it's really pigmented too. I used it all over my lids for a bright pop of colour & it looks utterly gorgeous. Lollipop is a much lighter & sheerer pastel violet so I wouldn't use it on it's own. In this makeup look I used it to highlight the inner corners & my brow bone, the effect is quite subtle but very sweet. I was surprised by how much I liked the Cappuccino shade, it's a staple coffee brown colour that naturally enhances your eyes. I think I'll probably get the most use out of this colour because it's a great eyeshadow for everyday wear. Here I used it mixed with Lilac to slightly darken the shadow underneath my bottom lashline.

I was really impressed with these eyeshadows. The loose eyeshadow powders feel silky smooth to the touch & have a shimmery satin finish. I was worried that they would be messy to use but there was hardly any fallout & they blend out so easily. My eyes can be quite sensitive & water a lot depending on which eyeshadows I use but I'm happy to report that these didn't irritate them at all. I'd never really considered trying mineral eyeshadows before but the natural ingredients definitely agreed with my eyes.

I also received the Mini Kabuki Brush (£9) to use with the eyeshadows. The brush is excellent quality & the handle feels really sturdy. The densely packed bristles are soft & flexible, allowing you to sweep eyeshadow all over the lid with minimal effort. I used it to blend the foundation underneath my eyes too as it's the perfect size for concealer.

Are you a fan of mineral makeup? Have you tried any products from Annabelle Minerals before?

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What I Bought From Glossier

It has almost been a whole year since Glossier first launched in the UK. To be completely honest I wasn't too excited about the launch as their whole natural beauty aesthetic really isn't my thing. I like to wear a lot of makeup & I like people to be able to see the effort that has gone into doing my makeup! Many of their products are overhyped & overpriced, especially their skincare range. Why would you spend £24 on one of their Super serums when The Ordinary make exactly the same product for a fiver? The cult of Glossier is very strong & in the end FOMO led to me ordering a few things just to see if anything lived up to the extraordinary hype surrounding their products. As an impulse buyer I normally want to try everything but when I placed my Glossier order I stuck to a small list of four items that I was longing to put to the test. I think it's telling that since the initial launch none of their new releases have piqued my interest so this looks like it might well be my one & only Glossier haul.



Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser (£15 / 177ml)
Skincare is very important to me & a good cleanser should be the cornerstone of any skincare routine. It's not often that I try anything new these days as the CosRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser is just absolute perfection to me but the Milky Jelly Cleanser seemed to tick all of my boxes. Gel formulas are my favourite to use, it has an excellent pH level of 4.5-5.0 and it's extremely gentle on the skin. You can use it on dry skin in lieu of a makeup removing balm or on wet skin as a regular face wash. The aptly named cleanser has a thick, viscous texture that comforts the skin & features a blend of five skin conditioners. It contains rosewater to soothe & poloxamer, which is normally found in contact lens solution, to cleanse. I normally love rose scents but the rosewater in this sometimes makes me gag. As a second cleanser it does a decent job of washing my face & leaves my skin feeling really soft without any tightness. However I don't rate it as a makeup remover at all. You have to really scrub at your face to get rid of every last trace of makeup & for me that negates all of the gentle cleansing that this is supposed to provide. Overall it's by no means bad but it's just okay? It's an alright product but I don't love it. I really do not understand the hype around this cleanser. I've relegated it to the shower to wash any excess conditioner off my forehead but otherwise I would not use the Milky Jelly Cleanser as a regular part of my skincare routine.



Glossier Birthday Balm Dotcom (£10 / 15ml)
Balm Dotcom is one of Glossier's star products. They claim it's a universal skin salve but like most people, I only use it as a lip balm. I was sorely tempted to order one in every flavour & colour possible but in the end I just went for the Birthday edition. The Birthday Balm Dotcom is untinted with subtle shimmery particles. Best of all, it tastes like cake! The flavour was inspired by Milk Bar, the award-winning bakery owned by Christina Tosi. I love watching her on Masterchef USA & would give anything to try her cereal milk ice cream or rainbow sprinkle birthday cake. Sadly I'll have to settle for a cake flavoured lip balm for now. I'm a big fan of the thick, moisturising texture and the scent & taste are incredible. The shimmer in this Birthday Balm Dotcom makes your lips look super pretty too. Before I ordered it I wasn't too sure if this product was just glorified Vaseline due to the inclusion of petrolatum but I honestly think it's so much better. If I were to repurchase anything from Glossier, this would be it as I'm not sure how much longer I can resist collecting all the other flavours!






Glossier Boy Brow in Brown (£14 / 3.12g)
Blocky Instagram brows are finally falling out of fashion & natural fluffy eyebrows are back at last. If that's the look you're trying to achieve then there's nothing better than a tinted brow gel. I've used quite a few brow gels from the likes of Anastasia Beverly Hills, Benefit & MAC over the years. They were all brilliant but Boy Brow is better than all of them. It thickens, fills in & grooms your brows all in one go. It's so quick & easy to use, giving your brows the desired amount of texture & definition in no time at all. One of the best things about this product is the tiny brush applicator. It's a minuscule spoolie that coats every individual brow hair without blobbing the product on your skin. Boy Brow comes in four different colours: blonde, brown, black & clear. I went for brown & I was really impressed with this colour. It's a deep ashy brown without a hint of red. I hate it when my brows look too warm so this shade works well for me. It has a creamy wax formula for a flexible hold that doesn’t flake but it still manages to keeps my brow hairs in place all day long. I get my brows tinted & threaded so I already have a pretty good shape but this stuff really helps to beef them up without making them look completely unnatural.






Glossier Cloud Paint in Beam (£15 / 10ml)
I was in two minds about ordering one of Glossier's Cloud Paints because I normally detest cream cheek products. I always set my base with powder & then I always apply a powder blusher on top so I felt like there was no room in my makeup routine for a product like this. People really seem to love these Cloud Paints though & I have to admit they look exceptionally pretty on the cheeks. They have a collection of six different shades that are designed to work on a wide range of skin tones. After much deliberation I decided to get Beam as I'm a sucker for peachy cheeks. Cloud Paints have a light, liquidy texture that easily blends out with your fingertips. They're sheer but very buildable & impart a healthy looking flush to the cheeks. I tend to be quite heavy handed with blusher but with these it's hard to apply too much so they always look fresh & natural. They go on very smoothly & contain blurring powder pigments which ensure a seamless finish. I adore the soft apricot tone of Beam, it really perks up my complexion & also looks cute when used on the lips as I have done in these photos. I still don't reach for it quite as often as my powder blushers but I certainly don't regret buying one of these Cloud Paints.

When I ordered these products from Glossier my expectations were really high & in the end the only thing that disappointed me was the Milky Jelly Cleanser. After actually testing their products I think that they do somewhat live up to the hype. A lot of people love Glossier & they definitely make some great stuff but most of their products don't interest me at all. I don't like their 'cool girl' attitude or that you need to have perfect skin to use most of their cosmetics. The transformative power of makeup is so much more interesting to me & their minimalistic approach just isn't in line with my own preferences. Now that much of the hype has died down I'd love to hear which Glossier products you like & what you think about their natural, no-fuss style of makeup!

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Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation & Concealer

Choosing a new foundation can be a complete minefield. I tend to be very fussy when it comes to base products. In the past I've struggled to find something that not only matches my pale yellow skintone but also provides the coverage & finish that I want. More often than not that means paying for high end products & foundation is something that I'm quite happy to spend a lot on because it's such an important part of doing your makeup. Even though drugstore offerings have improved immensely over the past few years I don't buy many of them because the shade ranges aren't very inclusive & my acne-prone skin can react to the cheaper ingredients. No matter how well my skin is behaving I mainly reach for high coverage foundations because I like to have a flawless canvas for the rest of my makeup. So I was really surprised by how much I enjoy using Rimmel's lastest base collection. They recently brought out a new lightweight version of one of their most popular foundations. I've been testing out the Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation & Concealer and I never thought I would say this but I think they might've converted me to wearing natural looking makeup! I either go out in full glam or completely bare faced so it's great to find something in between the two for when I need to look presentable but don't have time to cake on the makeup.




The Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation* provides long lasting medium coverage in a lightweight, hydrating formula. It boasts breathable skin technology that moisturises for up to 25 hours & it also features SPF 20. The foundation is very thin & easily spreadable. It does have a slight fragrance to it but it's not too noticeable & thankfully doesn't irritate my skin. Despite my affinity for full coverage foundations I'm actually very happy with this product. It evens out my skintone well, covering up any redness & discolouration without looking like a mask. You can still see skin through it yet it looks smoother & naturally perfected. It almost melts into the skin giving an amazing flawless finish. This foundation is very comfortable to wear as it feels exceptionally light & hydrating on the skin. It doesn't cling to dry patches & never looks cakey. The thin consistency allows you to build up the coverage without compromising the texture of the foundation. I've never tested Rimmel's 25 hour claims but I was still really impressed with the wear time. It lasts all day long & looks just as good at the end of the day as it does in the morning. One of my favourite things about this foundation is the massive applicator wand. It has a soft cushion tip which makes the application process very quick & easy whilst contributing to it's wonderfully smooth finish. I can just smear it all over my face, go over the top with a buffing brush & I'm done in a matter of minutes!

I received this foundation in the shade in Light Porcelain. This is the lightest shade they do & it's definitely pale enough for my skin colour. However the foundation is quite pink toned. The lack of pale yellow shades across most foundation brands does annoy me as the wrong undertone can make it seem like a foundation isn't light enough for you & I know this can be a huge problem for other fair skinned people. It is a shame that there isn't a Light Ivory shade like the concealer as that would've matched my skintone perfectly. I can still make it work for me as Light Porcelain is the shade I wear in every other Rimmel foundation & once you blend it in with the concealer they balance each other out to create a more neutral base.




To go along with the foundation Rimmel also brought out the Lasting Finish Breathable Concealer*. I received the shade Light Ivory which is a perfect match for my skintone. It has a round cushion sponge applicator at the tip. The concealer is dispensed through the hole in the middle & the sponge allows you to blend it out really easily. The coverage & texture of this concealer look absolutely beautiful under the eyes. I have quite bad dark circles but this covers up everything I need it to & it has the same lovely smooth finish as the foundation. It helps to reduce the look of fine lines around the eyes & it doesn't crease at all! I barely need to use any powder to keep it in place. I normally use quite a heavy duty concealer & have to bake my undereye area with loose powder to stop it from creasing or I end up looking like a hot mess. This is a much faster way of concealing my dark circles & looks just as good.

However I don't like it as much for concealing blemishes or scarring. It does add a tiny bit of coverage to those areas but I can still see the redness peeking through. The hydrating formula prevents it from looking cakey over spots & the smooth finish doesn't emphasise texture so it still works fairly well. I just find that I have to build it up quite a lot to achieve the level of coverage I desire. As a result I've gone through the tube rather quickly!




I think the swatches help to show the smooth texture & finish of these products. They really do look beautiful on the skin, giving a naturally flawless finish without looking mask-like. You can also see the huge difference in the undertone of the foundation & concealer. I was a bit freaked out by how pink the foundation looked when I first swatched it but it isn't too obvious when I apply it to my face. The foundation doesn't oxidise on my skin or dry down darker so what you see is what you get with this product & that's always a good thing! I love the feeling of swiping the foundation applicator over my skin. The cushion tip is super soft & spreads out the foundation in no time at all. It really is fab for when you need to get ready in a rush. Can every foundation have this wand please?!





To help complete my look Rimmel also sent me a couple of other products. I received the Rimmel Kate Sculpting Palette in Coral Glow*. This palette contains three different powders for highlighter, contour & blusher. I was pleasantly surprised by this palette. Normally if a highlighter isn't blinding then I don't want to know but this one imparts an almost ethereal soft glow to the skin. It's so pretty & would be a great choice if you just want to add a subtle sheen to the high points of your face. The second powder is supposed to be for contouring but it was far too warm & shimmery for that purpose. Instead I decided to use it as a bronzer & it actually warms up my complexion rather well. Most bronzers are too dark for my skintone but this one blended out nicely. My favourite part of the palette is the blusher. This kind of peachy pink is the exact shade I tend to go for & it looks beautiful on my cheeks. For my lips I used Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Vintage Pink*. I really like the texture of this lipstick. It feels very moisturising on the lips & I love the pink colour.





So here is my finished look using all four products! Overall I'm incredibly pleased with everything I tried. The foundation has fast become my go-to base product for when I'm short on time. I adore how it looks on my skin & I know I can rely on it to still look good hours later. Never before have I used a foundation that feels so light & looks so natural on the skin yet still manages to provide the coverage I need. The concealer is truly brilliant for under the eyes as it really brightens up the area & doesn't crease or settle into fine lines. The sculpting palette gives my face some much needed definition & the lipstick is a gorgeous colour. If you're looking for a new lightweight foundation & concealer duo then you should definitely check out Rimmel's Lasting Finish Breathable range. The natural looking coverage, super smooth finish & long lasting formula are just too good to be missed!

I received these products free from Influenster for testing purposes.

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