Hello Kitty FOTD :-)

As far as the hype goes I'm waaaaay behind on posting about this! I heard about MAC's Hello Kitty range 4-5 months before its launch... Pretty much like the rest of the makeup fanatics around the world! I came along to the counter on the second day of it being available only to hear from the MAC girls that nearly EVERYTHING had sold out online and that other stores within the area were calling their counter to get hold of more stock.

I know that some people however have felt that despite the hype, this range has very little to offer in terms of anything new or different. But I still feel that the colours, the packaging and the designs are oh-so-cute! Plus the looks developed for the face charts of Mild Kitty and Wild Kitty are fantastic - I got me some work to do :-D

On my little haul I managed to bag a fair few goodies (I wanted so much more, but really couldn't justify the expense!):

Wild Kitty Glitter in Reflects Very Pink
Beautiful pink glitter - makes me think of dusky roses!

Wild Kitty Lipstick in Fashion Mews

A very sassy lavender colour in Glaze, and if you look further down the stick you'll see a Hello Kitty face imprint into the lipstick *squeeeeeee*

Mild Kitty Lipstick in Cute-ster

A lovely pinky neutral shade in Lustre, once again with a Hello Kitty face imprint in the lipstick

Mild Kitty Glitter Eyeliner in Girl Groove

I nearly went for the pink eyeliner but the girl at the MAC counter showed me this one and I fell in love with it. It has transparent teal reflects with multi-dimensional pearl. It's very yummy and I highly recommend for nights out on the town :-)
I've tried everything but the Glitter so far - just trying to think up a look that will incorporate it, but that shouldn't be too hard as I lurrrrve ze sparkles! :-D

The other day I created a nice and easy night-time look and my piccies are below. I gotta say this look is one of my favourites so far - the glitter eyeliner goes really well over black kohl eyeliner.

What I used:

Face
Mary Kay Timewise Moisturiser
GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer
Mary Kay Signature Concealer in Ivory
Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation in Ivory 300

Eyes
Eyebrows - Mary Kay Eyebrow Definer Pencil in Brunette
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Mary Kay Signature Eyeliner in Steely
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Polyester Bride for the highlighter shade
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Grifter for the lovely pink on the eyelid
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Oil Slick - for the gorgeous smoky outer V!
Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara in Brown

Lips
MAC Wild Kitty Glaze lipstick in Fashion Mews

It's all about building on great foundations!

Well this is my first post for my blog - how exciting! : ) You might have guessed from the title that this post is a review about foundation - well one in particular! I thought I'd start with foundation because usually that's the base we work on!

The foundation I'm going to be reviewing is Mary Kay Full Coverage Foundation. I had it recommended to me by a friend and I honestly haven't looked back! I'm also speaking as a person who has never before worn foundation much, usually because I could never find the right coverage or the foundation would 'white' me out.

Please note you won't be able to buy this in-store, as you can only purchase from Mary Kay consultants (much like Avon). This isn't a problem however because if you go to the Mary Kay website http://www.marykay.co.uk/ or http://www.marykay.com/ you can find your local consultant (if you don't already have/know one) and get in touch with her directly.

You'll find the product comes in a white 29ml tube with a pink lid at a price of £12.50 (£12.00 now VAT is at 15% at the moment). This may seem quite a lot for what you get but this will easily last you a good 4 months as a little goes a very long way! You really don't need to apply that much to get a good all-round even coverage.

There are two types of coverage on offer - Full and Medium. Full coverage is for those of you with normal to dry skin, like mine, if you suffer from dry patches, flaky skin or just generally skin that seems thirsty for moisture then this is the one for you! It not only offers you great coverage but it also hydrates the skin for up to 6 hours!

Medium coverage is best if your skin leans towards the oilier side such as if you suffer from a T Zone etc. It too offers great coverage and controls excess oil for up to 8 hours. Both products are hypoallergenic (and not tested on animals!) and what I found useful is that they're also non-comedogenic which means they don't clog the pores. If you're anything like me this is a miracle because I have extremely blemish-prone skin and very few products on the market offer this benefit which means I came up in break-outs frequently.

The best thing to do is to start off by visiting your Mary Kay consultant as she can match the ideal shade of foundation for your skin tone. The great thing about this stuff is it offers buildable coverage, so you can start off by applying a light application and build up if you want more coverage. Or if you have a blemish or spot you'd like to conceal you can concentrate the foundation in that specific area by dabbing a bit of foundation onto the area (saving on buying concealer which is great!).

You can either apply using your fingers (some people recommend this as your fingers are warm which allows for better distribution over the face and eases blending). Or you can use a cosmetic sponge which helps to blend in the harder places such as the creases of the nose and around the eyes. This foundation is great as it sets after about 10 minutes and lasts the whole day. It doesn't go cakey, or peel or crumble like many foundations can nor does it smear off and transfer onto fabrics (unless you fiercely rub of course!). I only tend to need to reapply at the end of a hot or tiring day if I want to head out in the evening but have no time to freshen up at home.

In addition I've found my skin has improved since using this product - I don't get half as many blemishes as I used to and thought I would considering I'm covering my face in foundation every day now!

The final cherry on the cake, believe it or believe it not, is that if for whatever reason you're not happy with a product that you may buy from Mary Kay, you're entitled to a 100% full refund! Yes, that's even if you've used it and opened the packaging and everything : D

Overall this product is highly recommended. If you're tired of your current foundation not lasting the mile or working how you would like or fancy a change then I think you should try this next!!