New Beautiful Things: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation and Nars Steven Klein Palette

One Shocking Moment cheek palette from the Nars Steven Klein collection

Of all of the Winter/ Christmas palettes or sets, this was the one I decided to treat myself to. Nars' blushes are often said to be the best quality on the market, and I get a lot of use out of the few I already own. This palette (part of the Steven Klein collection), features some of Klein's high-fashion photography. The image on this palette is striking and one of my favourites from the photos used for the collection. At £49, this is relatively good value for money- you get a matte highlight and contour (Paloma- the mid skintone set); the famous Nars Laguna bronzer; and four blushes. The blush shades are all unique from each other. There is a candy pink with sparkle, a deeper light-mid pink, a shimmery peachy shade and a rosy sparkly colour. For me, this is a collector's item and a great chance to try out some new colours. I have also found that the contour, highlight and bronzer create a fabulous warm brown eye look- keep reading to see what I mean.

Left to right: Paloma highlight and contour, Laguna bronzer Blushes: Robotic, Blasphemy, Luster, Dolce Vita

Nars' Audacious Mascara is an interesting one. If I had reviewed it when I first purchased it a month or so ago, I probably wouldn't have said very nice things! It is primarily a lengthening mascara with a hard plastic, spikey brush. It is a fairly similar style of brush head to Benefit's They're Real, in the sense that the brush can become somewhat of a weapon if you're not careful. The bristles are further apart and the formulation is more wet, which makes this pack on the pigment and can cause lashes to stick together. A month in, I am finally starting to really like this; it is one of those mascaras that become better as you use them up and the formula becomes a little drier. It does build some volume, but you need to know when to stop building with this product- if you go too far you are in danger of ending up with four eyelash clumps, rather than beautiful fanned, separated lashes.
Another product that I have been trialling over the last month is the much anticipated Magic Foundation by Charlotte Tilbury. The beauty of ordering from Charlotte's website is that you get samples of the shade you order and the ones above and below it, therefore you can always send the unopened product back if the shade is not a good match. I went for shade 2 because I have pinky-toned, light skin. It has proved to be a good match for me, particularly for winter months when my skin is at its palest.

Swatches (left to right): shade 3, shade 2, shade 1

This foundation claims to offer full coverage with anti-aging skincare benefits. It feels fairly thick when to apply, but not tacky or heavy. You have to blend this one well to avoid 'smearing' lines ruining the look. Once perfectly applied, I really love the way this makes my skin look: clear, velvet-matte and not at all mask-like. Before deciding whether to part with my money to buy this product, my research led to seeing a lot of mixed opinions, and probably more negative than positive. People complained that the coverage was too much, but I disagree. For me, it covers my blotchy pigmentation, but doesn't completely block out freckles and marks, therefore it evens rather than masks.
Overall, it has become one of my everyday favourite bases to wear. The confidence it gives me makes it worth the splurge and the shade is on the (ever-so-slightly) paler side for my skin, which makes it ideal for winter and guarantees that there will be no oxidisation problems.

Before and after wearing Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Foundation

  To achieve the bronzey make-up look below, I have used the Luster (peachy) blush along with attempting some light contouring with the Paloma contour colour. I am not a contourer on a day-to-day basis and to be honest, I don't generally bother, but having these shades make experimenting fun! For the eyes, I only used the palette. I washed the matte highlight shade all over my lids, then contoured the crease and outer corners with some Laguna bronzer to add a light shimmer. Finally, I added depth with the matte brown contour colour, which is a richer tone than the bronzer. I took this shade underneath the eyes lightly with a pencil brush, instead of using eyeliner. The mascara added the finishing touch, along with a sweep of brow pencil. This palette is so versatile and fun to use- a real investment!

What Winter beauty releases do you have your eye on?