Chanel Marie Blog

Summer is so close you can almost smell the optimism, the BBQs going on from garden to garden and  and cheap suntan lotion lingering in the air. I really hope that 3 day thing the other week wasn't our summer and the rumours are true that Britain is in for 33 degree long summer! 

Summer in Britain is my fave, if not only for the friendly persona everyone suddenly whacks on. Out of nowhere you’re making jokes about portable barbecues with strangers in Tesco Express at 7pm on a Saturday and smiling at fellow commuters whilst cracking open a can of something cold and alcoholic on a Thursday eve. It’s pretty sassy and sexy and it brings out the best side of us I HATE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AND PEOPLE AND RAIN Brits.

Anyways, i thought id out together a short list of things to do when you random sunny days jump out on you and you need to have a plan of action to make the most of it! because lets face it non of us know what the 'British summer' will bring. 

01. Now this first idea is my favourite as I'm on a health kick at the moment I'm very looking forward to this.. Run to the nearest supermarket and buy an assortment of ice cream (but let’s call it gelato because we fancy bitches holidaying on the Italian Riviera), some whipped cream, fruit, chocolate toppings and some of those random sauces kept next to the meringues in the supermarket. Make the biggest sexiest sundaes your belly and your Instagram have ever seen.

02. Have a date day, either with your boo or your best gal pal at your nearest city, or swank town if you live somewhere cool. Get the train in, wear flat shoes and pack an emergency jumper and bottle of water and do an unplanned bar and food crawl. Just stroll about, explore, get a bit drunk, take photos, never look at your bank balance again.

03. Wear coral lipstick. I mean, it’s the only time of year (aside from your hypothetical trip to the Caribbean next January that’ll absolutely definitely happen) you really get to make use of it.

04. Make your normal Friday night dinner, complete with a lil glass of wine, obvs, and eat it outside. Maybe you have a garden and you just throw a blanket down and carry your plates out and watch it get dark. Maybe you load up your dinner in tupperware and head to a park. It doesn’t have to cost a single lil penny to feel like you’re pretty much 100% eating dinner on holiday somewhere swish.

05. Find someone who would probably slice out their own spleen for a couple of child-free hours and use it as an excuse to do all the things you definitely 100% want to do. Go to a nearby beach, visit the zoo, get ice cream and chips. Maybe go on a merry-go-round. Spend 2ps in an arcade. And also, help someone out because helping is pretty darn nice.

06. Eat barbecued halloumi. I’m sorry, I wanted to end this post on something motivational and heart-warming, but really, when you think about it, what’s more motivational and heart-warming than grilled cheese?

Thanks for reading! 

Chanel Marie x

Benefit are probably one of my all time fav brands and a lot of my go to stuff is Benefit (hula your the one). When I first saw the Porefessional Matte Rescue I was over the moon mostly because I LOVED the packaging and just thought it was super cute. Also i am always open to using new products. 

I feel like you definitely get your moneys worth in this tube! The product its self is a very thick blue gel like formula so a small layer over your face will do just fine or just in your problems areas, then just carry on with the rest of your make up routine. The first few times i used this product i noticed a huge difference, my make up just looked all round much better however a big thing for me is that the formula made my make up last a lot longer! I don't really know any other products like this on the market - especially ones that sink into your skin and not just make it sticky.

Now the Pro Balm is something I have seen a lot about all over the world wide web, especially with beauty YouTubers. Now I totally dig this stuff, I feel like it's a really good primer and also a sort of blur cream. It's quite a thick, matte consistency which really helps smooth out your skin and make pores less visible. I feel like there are quite a lot of these sort of products how there but it is hard to find the right one for your skin sometimes. What I also really like about this balm is it's a sort of beige tone and not just a plain white/clear primer. So I haven't been able to put this baby down!

Chanel Marie x

No, I definitely did not need another eye shadow palette, but the gorgeous warm hues in the Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour Quad in Rust completely knocked any sense out of me. Who can blame me? The palette has a base, define, contour and highlight shade – the first three being matte, and the last containing some minimal shimmer. I think it’s a great size to travel with! First Impressions: I have only swatched these on my arm so far, and the shades are super soft to the touch (especially the base colour). There’s good colour pay-off but they look a little bit powdery. I shall test them on the eyes this weekend and hopefully I will have a review up soon.

More from Urban Decay’s Summer Collection! I have been using the It Cosmetics CC Cream as my daily base of choice for a very long time. If you read my NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint review you may know I tried to branch out and it didn’t work out too well for me. I thought I’d try the Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector instead, as it promises optical blurring, a luminous finish and SPF 20. ‘Luminous finish’ sounds like the complete opposite of NARS’ offering, but when Urban Decay say this product will blur imperfections, even out my skin tone and leave me with ultra-definition skin, how could I refuse? First Impressions: I have used this every single day without fail for the past week, and so far, I’m very impressed! I have to say it’s giving my beloved It Cosmetics CC Cream a run for its money. I slap some of this on in the morning, and by the end of the work day my makeup still looks wonderful. I love that my skin looks like skin, while still looking evened out and polished. I’ve been taking some progress shots for a review so you can see how it wears; watch this space!

Colour correcting is all the rage at the moment, and recently I’ve been using the Becca Backlight Targeted Corrector in Pistachio  to remove any redness from blemishes and the sides of my nose. The Becca correctors are lovely, but they do have tiny shimmer particles which I wish they’d left out. When I saw the Urban Decay Naked Skin Color Correcting Fluid in Green, I picked it up as it’s completely matte. Plus, I had heard it was a similar (if not the same) formula as the concealers which I love, so I knew we’d get on well. First Impressions: This corrector is no joke – it is SO pigmented. You only need the tiniest amount of product to visibly reduce any redness. Like the concealers, it sets very quickly so I make sure to apply and blend straight away.

I love Bite Beauty and I just had to have at least one of their new Amuse Bouche lipsticks – the shade Honeycomb just spoke to me. Can we just take a moment? Peachy beige nude perfection. My favourite Bite Beauty lipstick is the Luminous Crème Lipstick in the shade Date, which is discontinued/only available in a mini duo, and I’m damn pleased to say this is the exact colour, just a little bit less luminous.  First Impressions: It’s very creamy and SUPER opaque in one swipe! It settled into some lines but overall I was pleased with how it wore for the few hours I had it on. I will keep testing it out!

Hope you liked taking a peak into my recent purchases..

Chanel Marie x

I am DEFINITELY ready to try any new product that claims to be matte and can help a sister out with shiny skin. Nars is one of those brands that creates such a hype when they release new products - and this matte tint was no exception. This tint comes in 12 shades, I went with Alaska which is the light 2 shade, but turns out that it was darker than I expected. So I would suggest going with a shade lighter than you think - or just wear fake tan which is what I did! First of all I LOVE the packaging on this product - it's sleek and simple which is fitting with the rest of Nars's products. 

It really does have a matte feel to it and I feel like it does go on pretty flawlessly. It reminds me of a primer as it gives that sort of velvet feeling. It's very lightweight and doesn't feel too cakey like some matte foundations can. Coverage wise I don't feel like you can build this tint up so if you want full coverage this probably isn't for you. Matte wise I am totally digging it - however I still found by the end of the day my nose area was still pretty shiny which is my most problematic area. I think this is a great sort of everyday product and not so much for a more fuller coverage look. It still looks good once you've set it with powder which I can struggle with after using some matte foundations as they completely dry your face out. 

If you suffer with shiny skin I think this is probably a product you should try out and see if you like it! However I do think it is pretty pricey when you don't get a totally full coverage. But right now this is my go to foundation. 

Have you tried out any of the Kylie Lip Kits yet?

CHANEL MARIE x

At first I wasn't sold on This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, I thought it was all hype and not worth the investment as most of the other sleep help products are. I'm sure that if i had given the spray a couple of weeks of use i would have saved myself a few restless nights. 

You see This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray isn't the most sweetly scented of products, it is far from unsavoury, it just takes a little getting used to that's all and this may be where it looses the odd user. The Deep Sleep Pillow relies on the power of aromatherapy - using natural oils to gently soothe, relax and comfort even the most tightly wound of people (yep that's me). The two central notes of This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray are Lavender and Vetivert, which combine with wild chamomile to create a sleepy yet herbal scent; in my opinion it is a little stronger than other sleep sprays, perhaps that is why it is so potent? If I had to compare the fragrance of This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray to one thing, it would be a more refined version of Sudocrem. Bizarre on paper yet oddly relaxing and dare I say sleepy in person.

 I've tried several, if not tens of dream inducing products and very few work. A light mist of This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray over my duvet and pillows (if in a hotel I do mist a few sprays into the centre of the room) and within minutes I am deeply relaxed and feeling rather sleepy. If that is not enough I often find that when I use the This Works spray my quality of sleep is improved (I have a deeper slumber and don't awaken several times during the night for no good reason), which I am putting down to being in a blissful, serene mood before falling asleep.

Will This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray cure insomnia? Probably not but it will help those who are a little restless drift off to sleep that little easier. I can't recommend it enough and will forever have a bottle on my bedside table - how times (and my sleep patterns) have changed.

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray £16/75ml via Feel Unique -LINK

Oh just look at these beautiful products, Have you ever seen anything so gorgeously photogenic as this? The make up artist Charlotte Tilbury realised her make up range in 2013 and since then has made waves in the beauty industry. Each of the products wrapped in rose gold packaging just screams luxury but like most people ask is it worth the price tag?

There are lots of positive reviews but sometimes reading reviews on beauty products doesn't exactly give you the answers you need because every single persons different and a product could work great on somebody but not yourself so the only way was to grit my teeth and press check out on the beautylish website..oops!

The moment I laid my eyes on the opulent packaging, I realised I had no regrets. I mean, Charlotte just gets it. I picked up the Matte Revolution Lipstick in Very Victoria (£23) and the Air Brush Flawless Finish powder in Fair (£33)

 I was most looking forward to trying the Air Brush Flawless Finish powder. I’d briefly heard a few bloggers/vloggers talk about it, and I was getting pretty bored of using my Rimmel Stay Matte everyday and i there is nothing wrong with spending a little extra on a make up powder. What an upgrade is was though. Firstly, i thought the powder was going to be far to light for me when i first saw the product in the pan even though i have quiet fair skin. However it didn't change the colour of my chosen base. The product doesn't add coverage but it did set my make up nicely and blurred out my pores and fine lines. It is a micro-fine powder with soft-focus nano particles, and its texture is silky smooth. It’s not completely mattifying, as it still allows the skin to look like skin, which is what we want, right? However if you have oily skin thought you may have to touch up throughout the day.

Still early days, but so far I’m very happy with both these products and I definitely want to keep exploring Charlotte Tilbury’s fabulous line. Next on the list for when I’m feeling super spendy are the Filmstar Bronze & Glow (a cult classic), the Light Wonder Foundation and a Lip Cheat lip pencil. 

Thanks for reading,

CHANEL MARIE x

Champagne Pop is described as a soft white gold with pinky/peach undertones. It’s said to be a shade in between Moonstone (suitable for fair skin tones) and Opal (suitable to medium-dark skin tones). This is one of the softest powders I’ve ever touched; it also seemed a little bit softer in texture than Opal. Although I’ve only worn it once (after taking these photos), I noticed that while it is highly reflective, it doesn’t look frosty or emphasise pores.

Champagne Pop’s box is beautiful – it has little drops to mimic champagne bubbles. The highlighter itself comes in the regular black/silver Becca packaging, which was disappointing considering it is limited edition. They could have really done something extra special with it. You get 8g/0.28oz of product, and considering how little you really need, it will last you forever! If you’re into strobing (read: lots of highlighting), Champagne Pop would be perfect for it, and would also look stunning as an eye shadow, on the collar bones and shoulders.

It was really hard to capture what Champagne Pop truly looks like in real life. When swatched in photos it looks very similar to Opal (pictured), but in RL it didn’t!  To me, the difference in undertones (golden vs peachy) is noticeable enough to justify owning both. I do think every skin tone could wear this, so Becca and Jaclyn hit the nail on the head in that respect.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - 

CHANEL MARIE x