Lily Lolo Mineral Blush

My last post was kind of geared towards fooling yourself into feeling like you've had a summer by the amazing trickery of bronzer. Although we did see a slice of sunshine when the big fat bully of the jet stream left us alone for one measly week, now it's back to the same old. So following on from that post I wanted to just quickly tell you about the latest little purchase from Lily Lolo who make, in my opinion, the BEST mineral foundation in loose powder format I have ever tried (and I doubt I will ever find one I prefer). Amen.

Given how much I like their foundation - I'm on my third pot of Blondie, a light neutral tone - I thought it was high time I tried one of their blushes. So I opted for a new shade, Beach Babe. That's a wishful-thinking-kind-of-name if ever I heard one. But that's OK. That's what we want! Because with this beautiful soft peachy pink and my Neal's Yard Mineral Bronzer, I am maybe one quarter of the way to becoming a Beach Babe myself! HA! All I need now is a beach, some kind of miracle bikini and some scorching hot rays. High Five! (OK and some sunscreen, shut up already)

The shade is very pretty, very summery without any sparkle because (all together now...) I hate glitter. It's just a very wearable colour. The texture is superb. Lily Lolo are really good at delivering a fine milled texture without scary nano-particles that do freaky disappearing acts in your cells and get up to nasty toxic jiggery-pokery when they shouldn't be. No, there's none of that here. Actually, although it is a great summer shade, it would be perfect all your round, as it would look very china-dollesque on a lovely pale, dainty face framed with a big cosy scarf and glossy dark locks. Can you tell I am a little sunshine-starved right now? Anyway...

I also ordered a Baby Buki brush to assist me in my Beach Babe fabulousness and although at first I thought it wasn't going to be a patch on the densely packed dream of the Super Kabuki, as this one has nowhere near the same tightly crammed bristles, it does actually perform perfectly well at popping on a dab of colour to one's grinning cheeks. Marvellous. 

Lily Lolo Mineral Blush in Beach Babe is £7.29
Baby Buki Brush is £7.99
www.lilylolo.co.uk
Tropical Paradise Picture available here. I really want this!

Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation

I admit I am very late to the mineral foundation party. I mean years late! It's not that I was unaware just uninterested. But I'm not trying to deliver breaking news here, just wanting to share a little favourite. I have been using this foundation for ages now and although it is no surprise I haven't yet written about it (considering a distinct lack of activity since the zombies took over my life) I can't actually believe I still haven't written about it! Gah!

So here's the story. I was sceptical on mineral foundations. I was sceptical of loose formulations especially. Only because those I had seen wear them just had a cakey kind of finish which is something I'd prefer on a plate rather than my face. (Mmm... cake) It all seemed a bit messy and not very portable. Well. The portable thing is still an issue with me but this, Lily Lolo Mineral foundation, has undone a few preconceptions making my foundation of choice right now - and it has been for many many months.

It's very silky. You can really buff it in which is the key to this kind of make up. Buff and double buff. It's simple really and the Super Kabuki brush I bought at the same time makes easy work of this. I bought the shade 'Blondie' after seeing it recommended as a 'suits all' shade for fair skins in some Sunday supplement and I think it probably does. It gives great, buildable coverage (did I mention the need to buff enough?) and a nice subtle glow with matte finish which doesn't even sound possible but it is. I use a layer of Madara Moonflower Tinting Fluid before applying as I like to optimise this glow and boy that really does it.

Quick aside: I really hate heavy coverage foundation that blanks out skin and looks too even, too mask-like. The thing with coverage (I keep finding myself saying this) is that if your skin needs a little help, going for full on warpaint only emphasises uneven texture and can highlight problem areas, like spots etc. If you go for a lighter, slightly more sheer formula (which is the good thing about this kind of application - you can gently build it) you get a finish which makes skin still look alive! And then you can target problem areas with precision concealing and colour correction. It's far more effective for a real look. Sorry rant/lesson/opinion over. Back to Lily Lolo...

The nice thing about Lily Lolo is that it really is a pure brand. Other mineral make ups of this type can contain fillers, dyes, bismuth oxychloride, nanoparticles etc which is misleading when you are trying to flex a bit of buying power and choose natural. And there are a lot of 'mineral' make ups out there, from practically every major make up house. But not all are made equal. Read the labels and don't be fooled!

The bonuses of natural mineral make up are plentiful! There is a natural SPF with titanium and zinc oxide (though this isn't accredited) as these both align on the surface of the skin helping to reflect the sun. Plus both these ingredients can have an anti-immflammatory effect. Since the minerals stay on the surface of the skin (if they aren't nano-sized), nothing gets absorbed which keeps pores clear and prevents anything unwanted ending up in you body and damaging cell health. The absence of liquid means there is no need for preservatives, keeping it even more natural. The Earth has a million colours and somewhere out there is a rock that can be crushed into your prefect match - no need for chemical dyes. And in this particular case, Lily Lolo mineral foundation is really cheap! Half the price of some at £12.49 and of superior quality in my opinion. So that really is a high scoring round. Triple bonus points.

Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation is £12.49 for 10g (which is normal and way more than it sounds)
Super Kabuki Brush is £14.29 (brush in picture above is a powder brush not the kabuki one)

Take a look here
www.lilylolo.co.uk

P.S. You can get smaller 0.75g samples of all colours from the website and try a selection of colours with their trial kits making it really easy to give it a go.