Benefit Hello Flawless

I'm now on my second of the Hello Flawless powders and recently bought Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation.

First the liquid foundation:

I find it so so hard to find a foundation that doesn't dry out my skin, and I've bought pretty much every foundation Benefit have brought out over the years, and always been in love at the start and then disappointed after a week or two. I bought this expecting it to be the same but I have been very pleasantly surprised! This has become my go to foundation for every day.

It's oil free, has SPF25, has a brightening effect and is buildable in coverage level. I have pretty uneven skin but I don't like to look like I've caked on foundation. SPF is a big plus for me, I love the sun but have the damage it does to my skin, and we all know how ageing sun damage is! This is a very liquid foundation, very thin in texture but goes on nicely with a foundation brush and you only need the tiniest amount, I don't even use a full pump. That gives me a decent coverage. It stays put for about 12 hours before needing a touch up, another big bonus for me!

Now the powder:

Powder is another big bugbear for me, I like to use it to set my foundation and give a nice polished look but find lots of them too drying. This powder can be used with a brush to give fine coverage or with a sponge (both are included) to give more heavy coverage. The powder has a very fine texture, almost like talcum powder, and again I only use a small amount and get a good result, in fact I find too much can start to look a bit cakey. The brush that comes with the powder is nice enough, very soft but kind of small and I have a set of brushes that I use but it's handy for those on the go touch ups, if you need them.

All in all, 4 stars from me, and only because the liquid is only available in 9 shades and the powder in 10 shades so a bit limiting in who can find a shade to suit. I've been desperate to love a Benefit foundation for a long time and finally I do!

Available here: Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow and Hello Flawless Powder, both £24.50   

Shellac Manicure & Pedicure

 I got a great deal on a Shellac mani and pedi, £12 for each. My plan was to have them  done for my upcoming trip to Ibiza but, typically, I could only get an appointment for 2 weeks before...Never mind, I was optimistic and hoped it would last!

Off I went to get pampered! Now, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my nails, normally painting them twice a week because they get a bit chipped or smudged or something that bugs the life out of me. Today was day 7 of the Shellac and my toenails are holding up well, no doubt they'll last through the holiday but the fingernails were dented, growing out quickly and not even enough for me.

I removed the nails tonight, after doing lots of research on how to remove it without doing horrendous damage to my nails.

The method that sounded best, and I tried, was this:

1. Cut cotton pads into quarters and saturate with nail polish remover (with acetone)
2. Place a cotton pad quarter onto nails and wrap in tinfoil (this helps warm things up and speeds up the process)
3. Leave for 15 mins (some people say 10 some 20 so I averaged it out)
4. Take the cotton pads and tinfoil off and scrape away the Shellac with an orange stick

I found that after 15 minutes the Shellac was all loose and very easily to scrape away, no stubborn bits left. My cuticles and nails looked very dry but once I gave my hands a good wash they looked fine. My hands need a little TLC with some good handcream but that's never a bad thing, is it?

My verdict on Shellac? I probably won't get a manicure again but I will get a pedicure done again.