Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet + Clinique City Block Sheer = Ultimate Summer Face Base combo?

Its a public holiday in the UK on Monday and the hubby and I have gone away for a long weekend to get some much-needed sun in the South of France. For me, one of the best things about going away on holidays has got to be duty-free shopping at the airport - it is a beauty junkie's heaven. To avoid being overwhelmed by the vast array of beauty things on offer, I have a rather long beauty lust-list that I keep on my phone which I constantly add to whenever I come across something that catches my eye. Unfortunately due to London's chaotic transport system, I arrived at Gatwick Airport with only a little bit of time for shopping so only managed to pick up a couple of things.

On top of my beauty lust list (see below) is the new Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Foundation which I managed to pick up before racing for my gate. Last week I went down to the Chanel concept store in Covent Garden and picked up a sample of this foundation and was colour-matched to shade #30 (note: I am NC30 in MAC), and I have been trialling it all week and have absolutely fallen in love with it so I knew I had to treat myself to a full sized one. I still want to use it for another week or so before giving my full review but my first thoughts are:

• Application: this foundation is so lightweight it feels like you have nothing on the skin and is a wonder to blend, this is best done with the fingertips.
• Coverage: is light to medium, it does give decent coverage and evens out your skin tone and looks like your own skin, and it seems to be quite buildable, however it is not a full coverage foundation so if its absolutely flawless skin you are after, or you have quite dark blemishes to cover, this may not be right for you.
• The Finish: the matte finish is wonderful without making your skin look flat or dead, and as an oily-skinned gal this managed to stay shine-free for most of the day, though I needed to blot once or twice later in the day, however there is no foundation I have ever tried that keeps me shine free all day.
• Wear time: it lasts for a good few hours but I would say after about 6 hours its starts to show a bit of wear.
• Packaging: true to Chanel style the bottle is very chic and perfect for taking on holidays as its in a plastic bottle rather than heavy glass.

Like I said I have only used this for about 4 days so it is still early days but right now I am loving this foundation and think it could be perfect as an everyday foundation for me, and it is especially great for the summertime and on holidays for that fresh, even-toned skin look!

The second item I picked up was skincare related rather than makeup. I have been looking for a lightweight, matte finish SPF for my face as a) it is coming into summertime and I am currently on holidays in the sun and b) I use a night cream with glycolic acid in it every other night so needed something to protect my skin from the sun's damaging rays. On a whim during my quick duty free dash, I asked the lady at the Clinique counter for their best face SPF for oily skin and she referred me to the Clinique City Block Sheer SPF25 Oil-Free Daily Face Protector. I tried it for the first time today and I must say I am impressed, it applied beautifully and sank into my skin immediately without any greasy residue, went on completely invisible and created a great matte base for my make up. After about 6 hours of wear there was still no sign of any grease on my face and using it with the Chanel foundation my skin is still shine free which is a miracle! I think I may I have found my perfect summer face base combo!

Do you change up your makeup routine in the summer? Let me know what goes on your face when the sun shines in the comments below, would love to read your recommendations for summer time beauty!

Lisa x

The New Kid

Well hello there! After being inspired by so many amazing bloggers out there, and then umming and ahhing and making all the excuses under the sun for about 2 years, I have finally started my very first blog, elle elle beauty! I am going to use this as an outlet to express to you, my yet-to-come readers, all my thoughts and pretty pictures of all the things that I think make life worth living (okay so might have slight tendency to be overdramatic). t I love all things beauty, but I'll also throw in a few random things now and then on food stuff, travel stuff, fashion stuff and home decor stuff, just to spice things up a bit. 

So without further ado, for my very first post I am going to tell you about my my current favourite foundation, and it is Kevyn Aucoin's Sensual Skin Enhancer. I have oily skin so I need a base that is going to last the whole day on my face without sliding off, and I have found that this combo has really worked for me the last few weeks.

Kevyn Aucoin's Sensual Skin Enhancer is a recent discovery for me but having read such amazing reviews for it I had to try it for myself. A word of warning: this is extremely pigmented and less is definitely more, which is good as it comes in a really dinky little pot and is on the pricey side at £38 for 18g of product, but I think given the pigmentation levels it will last just as long if not longer than a regular bottle of foundation. The first time I swatched it in Space NK, much to the horror of the sales assistant, I dug out a moderate sized blob from the pot and swiped it on my hand, and oh my days, you could've covered my forearm with it, it was that pigmented!

Told ya it was dinky.

Remember, less is more.

Lesson learned, the way I apply it is to get a teeny amount about the size of a pea on the back of my hand, and mix it with either an oil free moisturiser or for a nice glow I mix it with NARS Light Optimising Primer (so underrated on the beauty blog scene!), then I buff it into my face using the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. When using it alone, make sure your skin is well moisturised as you will need a good amount of "slip" to get a nice thin layer of coverage on your face, or else you may end up with the dreaded cake face. I have a few faded acne scars on my cheeks and whether I use it diluted or "neat", it has a really good medium coverage that is buildable and it leaves your skin with an amazing glow, and I get lots of nice comments when I wear this foundation!

A swipe so you can see how thick and pigmented it is.

Blended out, you can see the finish and the glowiness.

Oil control wise, I still need to powder to set the foundation, and this will keep me shine free for a good 3 to 4 hours. I then will need to blot 1 or 2 times during the day using either the Body Shop Tea Tree Blotting Tissues or Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot face powder. When I get home after work it does show a bit of wear but its still mostly sitting pretty on my face and not sliding off in a horrific waxy mess.

You can also use it as a concealer as it gives amazing coverage, however I tend not to use it for this unless I have a mean mother of a spot to hide! Instead I like to use a lighter (in colour and texture) concealer such as the Maybelline Instant Anti Age Eraser Eye in Light.

Lastly shade-wise I would definitely recommend swatching in store as when I looked it up online I thought I might be the shade SX11 but that was way too dark for me when I swatched it in real life, and SX08 is the perfect shade for me. (For reference I am a NC30-35 in MAC).

I am really loving this combination for my face right now, and for me the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, when applied right, is the perfect balance of long-lasting coverage whilst still looking natural.

See you in the next post!

Lisa x