Laura Mercier Foundation - A Review and First Impression!

Laura Mercier Foundation - Oil-Free - £34.00 - John Lewis - Selfridges - House of Fraser

So today I've had the most amazing opportunity to write about my first impressions of this Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation - all thanks to one of my close friends Sim, she gave me this foundation to review as the colour didn't match her skin anymore, (and who by the way, I NEED to convince to set up her own YouTube account.. her style/makeup is so amazing, I will keep you posted on the progress!)

My first impressions when I looked at the packaging was that its actually really similar to my current foundation, which is the MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 and my shade is NC 41. I really like that because the bottle includes a pump, which I find allows for more control over the amount of foundation you put on your face and so I find that I waste less! It also just looks sleek and pretty compact which is an advantage because I don't have enough storage space in my room at the minute, so it sits on my dressing table without causing it to look cluttered.

Without Foundation

So yes guys, this is my face without all of the slap on it that I usually wear ha. I used the 3 step routine (as always) to prep my skin before applying the foundation, and also applied the Benefit Porefessional primer beforehand as well. 

I find that the only reason I really wear foundation at all is due to scars I get from spots, and the redness around my cheeks and in-between my eyebrows. I don't always need full coverage, but I find that when I do that matte foundations work the best for me, as I already have oily skin, and any unnecessary 'glow' I tend to avoid, as in the light you may appear to look sweaty, and that's not really the best of looks! But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't shy away from using a foundation that has the word 'glow' in the title, but I just haven't found one yet that suits my skin! That being said, I think I may need to invest in 'NARS Sheer Glow Foundation' as I haven't read one negative review about it as of yet!

Anyhow, I digress.. 

A little swatch

So as this foundation is oil-free, it actually feels a tad heavier than my current foundation, which as I mentioned is the MAC Studio Fix Fluid, however I found that once you have applied it, it does not feel cakey at all!

With Foundation - Shade - Golden Beige

So as you can see, the foundation provides just enough coverage to blur out everything I needed it to.. including my dark circles, without my face looking as I said earlier - cakey. Sim had given me the shade 'Golden Beige' - this would match skin tones with yellowy/golden undertones within them, and is very similar to the shade I'm wearing in MAC at the moment, so anybody who is in the early NC 40s range could expect to perhaps fit the shade of this foundation. (Disclaimer: I'm not a make up artist, so don't quote me on that!!)
Infact, I had just washed my makeup brushes so I had to apply this with my fingers and I half expected it to not blend as well, but I was so impressed with how it just sort of sunk into my skin, and within minutes the finishing result was even toned skin! 
I only applied one layer, and I feel that this foundation would definitely be build able as the coverage is about medium (but its veering towards being full coverage, so I don't think that you can build up the foundation a lot, just maybe 1-2 layers should be enough!), the finishing being matte.

To be honest, on first impressions there is only one negative that I would point out and that is when you first apply the foundation, it can appear to feel slightly sticky.. although because I've never tried an oil free foundation, this could perhaps be a normal characteristic for this type of foundation? I don't know.. somebody will have to fill me in on this matter! 

So all in all, I think this is definitely a winning foundation for me, and I could expect to wear it both daily and for special occasions, because the coverage is just enough to make you look nearly airbrushed! I hope this helped if you were at all considering to buy Laura Mercier, and if you hadn't heard of this brand before, I hope that this review gave you all you need to know to perhaps try it out!

Thank you!

Jazz xox

Vegan Alternative to Pancakes Served Alongside an Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Hey guys! I thought I'd start of with a HAPPY EASTER! I hope that you have all spent your day eating eggs and being unable to move, I know I haven't.. the rents forgot to buy us easter eggs :(

So today I've tried something new, a vegan recipe!
Recently I've been trying to cut out most carbs and most dairy products out of my diet, mostly because it doesn't really suit my body and basically I feel fat and bloated all of the time haha. 
So for example, instead of eating bread and pasta, I'll most likely opt for brown rice or quinoa. And instead of drinking milk and eating cheese, I've opted for drinking almond milk and eating goats cheese (it's got half the fat and isn't too harsh on the stomach.) Doing this has actually improved the state of my mind and body so much! I used to feel so tired and bloated all the time, and after going through with this for only a week, sure it's quite difficult to follow along with a vegetarian diet, but I feel a lot lighter. 

So the first recipe I've experimented with is an 'Avocado Chocolate Mousse.' Usually I love a bit of Nutella on my pancakes, however it can get quite heavy and a little too much to start the day with. So I've found an alternative.

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe avocados

2-3 tablespoons of almond milk

2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder/drinking chocolate

Optional add ins - hazelnuts provide that amazing taste that nutella has, and although I didn't have any to hand, I would definitely recommend adding this in for a richer taste!

(for a richer taste, you can always melt chocolate and add that into the mix as well, alternatively if you'd like to make this extra healthy, you can add in raw cocoa powder and to sweeten, add in 2-3 dates.)

Just pop it all into a blender, blend until smooth and there you have it! All you need to do now is either refrigerate it for later and add a sprinkling of granola over the top and a few raspberries, or eat it as it is!

This next recipe is the perfect accompaniment to the mousse. Its an all vegan, banana pancake! I'm yet to perfect this recipe, as its reaaaally difficult to flip once its in the pan, because I haven't added any egg to it as a binding agent, I've only really used banana and baking powder so it's a little flimsy. I then added a teaspoon of self raising flour on a whim that maybe it would hold the remaining batter together once in the pan, and it worked! 

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 cup of oats - you could use gluten free oats if you'd like
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of bi-carbonate of soda
1 and a 1/4 cup of almond milk
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of self raising flour - or however much you'd want to use depending on how difficult the pancake is to flip

Optional add ins - nuts of your choice, chopped berries, chocolate chips

Now all you do is blend the whole mixture together, until completely smooth. If you find that the mixture is slightly too thick, add in some more milk and mix together. I then added in raspberries once I had blended everything together.

Once I had added the berries, I heated a pan up and spread some rapeseed oil over it so that the pancakes don't stick to the pan and create the worst mess imaginable. As soon as the pan has been heated, lower the heat down and then begin to pour the batter onto the pan. The lower the heat (but obviously not ridiculously low) the softer and lighter the pancakes.

Give each side 2-3 minutes to cook, and then flip. Be careful though - it can be a messy job and don't worry if the first one comes out as a total shambles, it took me almost 2 or 3 tries to actually get it right, and like I said, the recipe hasn't been perfected, so if you lot come up with any ways to create a more stable pancake, feel free to message me and let me know!

And there you have it - the pancake may look burnt, but thats just because you've added in banana so its 'caramelised', the inside of the pancake is beautifully light and fluffy, so the exterior is nothing to worry about!

Serve with all of your favourite pancake toppings (mine happens to be peanut butter, avocado mousse and raspberries), and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, my next one shall be an April favourites, which is a whole host of products and general stuffs I have been enjoying throughout this month, both beauty and non beauty!

Jazz x 

Trio of Healthy Smoothies/Juices

So this week I've decided to dedicate this post all to my love of smoothies and juices! I love making these largely for breakfast to use as a base for my cereal instead of milk (cue the groans and confused looks on faces) or just to take with me on my bus journey to college as I can sometimes have no time for a proper breakfast, so this fills me up and keeps me going until lunch.

Triple Berry Smoothie

This first recipe is really simple and only uses 6 ingredients. I love this smoothie because although the fruit that I am using are pretty much fruit bowl staples (in my house hold anyway!) I think that they are easily adaptable, as is the fruit I'm using in the other two recipes, and you can take things out and add things in as you please!

I make it using: 

1 Cup of Raspberries

1 Cup of Blueberries

(Approx) 1 Cup of Strawberries

(Approx) 3 Tablespoons of Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Cup of Water (cold is preferable) // Or you can use ice if you want a colder, more refreshing smoothie.

Honey to taste

I use the Vitamix blender which is DEFINITELY worth investing in if you make juices regularly, because unlike regular blenders which can leave juices and smoothies tasting.. not very smooth? This blends fruit and vegetable to a literal pulp, which I love! However I have also used it to make my own homemade hummus (if you would like a post on that, let me know!) and other such blend able foods. 

Right, so as I use that blender, I don't want to blunt the blades (this is if you are using ice, if not then don't worry,) so this is how I put in my ingredients - yogurt - raspberries - blueberries - strawberries - ice (this is what can blunt the blades so quickly if put in first apparently) - honey.  And then blend it all together! It produces the most sweet, yet slightly tart smoothie which is a perfect wake me up drink.

Unfortunately I haven't got a photo of the finished product because my brother decided to drink it all up before I could haha! 

Green Juice

Okay so does anybody else have this problem where they try and make green juices and they literally turn out looking like you've regurgitated the ingredients? THIS IS ONE OF THOSE JUICES. But believe me when I say that this tastes soooo good, I didn't even put the honey in it in the end!

I make it using:

1 Green apple 

A handful of grapes (green would probably be better for the aesthetics ha)

A handful of blueberries

1 Kiwi 

A handful of spinach

Honey to taste - although I don't really think it's needed.

Water // Ice

…. and blend! It's as simple as that. I would probably make alternative versions of this where I'd swap the blueberries and grapes for oranges and carrots, that would produce a sweeter juice, whereas if you then swapped the blueberries and grapes for a hint of lemon and cucumber then you'd end up with a more refreshing drink. There are endless flavour combinations with juices, and I think it's really fun to let loose with your creative side haha! 

Mango-Berry Smoothie

This last one was requested by my brother who is a massive fan of mango, but let's face it.. who isn't? So this is another adaptable recipe,

I make it using:

1 Banana

1 Cup of raspberries

1 Whole mango

1 Cup of yogurt or a splash of milk. 

Honey to taste … again I didn't use any, but featured it just incase your raspberries are tart or you have a slight sweet tooth ha.

And again, just blend! This smoothie is actually thicker than the rest of them, and thats largely because mango is quite thick once liquified and so is the banana, so if you want a thinner smoothie then I would substitute the yogurt for milk or almond/soya milk. 

I feel as if a banana and avocado smoothie would taste really good with a hint of cocoa power as well? Hm. Might just have to try that.

So there you have it, they are my three smoothies/juices that I like to make regularly, but usually it just depends on what I have lying about in the fruit bowl or fridge, and when there's fruit left over from the week that nobody's used, I try and challenge myself and see what I can do with it.. waste not want not right? I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, it's a little different from what I usually do, but I'm hoping to continue these kinds of posts, let me know what you think!

Jazz xox

THE FIRST IMPRESSION

Hello beauties!

As this is my first ever blog post, I would like to dedicate it to letting you (whomever may be reading) know exactly what I will be blogging about.

I set up this blog after being inspired by youtubers/bloggers, (Beautycrush, Zoella, Mouldyfruit to name a few) and decided to seize the opportunity once I got my hands on a new camera (wonderful excuse, right?) in order to show you an insight into my world of being an art student who is also a fashion enthusiast! 

At the moment, I am not exactly sure what it is I will be focussing my blogging around, but I thought perhaps this blog could be centred around artwork, fashion findings, and everyday lifestyle.. hm, just a thought.

Here's to happy blogging!

Jazz x