Beauty Review: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Over the years I have tried an abundance of different foundations in an attempt to achieve the perfect complexion. I have tested budget friendly products and higher end ones. My skin is reasonably good; not too oily, not too dry and as of yet I don't have any signs of aging to cover so I consider my face to be a fairly good canvas on which to trial what is available on the market. 

Personally I like the look of makeup, I like to look like I'm wearing makeup. However, I also expect my foundation to look seamless on my face. I know, I am fairly particular! In the past I have found that lots of foundations apply fine but after a while oxidise making the colour change giving me tide marks. Not pretty! It is particularly evident as I have quite fair Irish skin. I also look for something with staying power. I work long shifts and need my face to stay in tact all day. My foundation needs to have longevity as I think using a lot of powder can make your face look caked or worse still, cling to those little fair hairs on your skin. No one likes a bearded lady!

 I have tried many different formulas and over the last few years stuck with MAC products; they were good quality and had extensive choice of colours and nice coverage. However, I was never entirely happy. Some oxidised on my skin leaving orangey patches, others didn't last as long as I needed. I was inspired to try Armani Luminous Silk after noticing that one of my favourite makeup artists Amrezy, posted about it quite a bit on Instagram. I loved the luminous glow and polished finish it have her.

 As I live in Ireland the retailers of Giorgio Armani Coametics are few and far between. It is available in Brown Thomas Dublin and on their website. I did my research online and used forums to determine what shade would suit me best, basing my search against my MAC shade of NC20. I decided that shade 4 was for me. I placed my order online and within a couple days had my foundation. 

It comes in a frosted bottle so you have to pump some out to see the true colour. In terms of consistency it was much lighter and runnier then the solutions I had become accustomed to. This foundation has a buildable coverage. I would use one pump for a light, natural finish and 2 for better coverage. Bare in mind this foundation gives a luminous finish so I don't know how well it would look on oily skin. Also even with 2/3 pumps freckles are still visible which I personally like. I would recommend

using a good primer in conjunction with this foundation to even out skin and perfect it in order to get the best and most luminous finish. All in all I would give this foundation a 9 out of 10. It applies like a dream, it lasts for hours, the finish is beautiful and although it is expensive the bottle will last for ages. The only fault I have is that perhaps the coverage may not be enough for everyone. 

Style Steal: Dunnes does Valentino!

As you may already know I absolutely adore shoes! There's no better feeling than buying a fabulous new pair of heels for yourself. They instantly add glam to any outfit and they always fit! One of my favourite footwear designers at the moment is Valentino and I'm always on the hunt for a budget friendly version of his style of footwear. I picked up a beautiful neutral snakeskin pair in Office while in London a few months ago which you can read about here but was after something in black to take me into the Autumn. 

These beauties have just hit the shelves in Dunnes Stores and are also available online. They are part of the Savida range which is known for its on trend, high fashion pieces and excellent quality. These are a patent black with cream detailing and retail for €40. The heel is quite narrow and high so I wouldn't recommend these for high heel novices! I will be wearing mine with jeans and a blazer to glam up an otherwise casual look but they would look equally as good with an LBD. Get your pair quick as the Savida stuff usually sells out super quick!

Outfits of the week...

I am now one of those people who wears a suit to work every day. I mean EVERY day, no casual Fridays! On my days off I love nothing more than to dress down in simple yet stylish pieces. In the last week I have made a conscience effort to post a few outfit posts to social media and I'm going to do a little round up for you all now!

I wore this first outfit on a Sunday after a night out. I was exhausted and was honestly just thinking of comfort! My jeggings are from H&M and were around €20 and they always have his style available in a few colours. They are SUPER comfy and I own several pairs! This tunic is chiffon and I picked it up in Dunnes Stores a couple months back. Leopard print is one of my fashion guilty pleasures! It never really goes out of style either so it's a handy option. I added a light, cream longline blazer on top just to smarten the look up. The blazer is from Forever 21. Finally, my sandals were bought in Tesco before holidays last summer but they currently have a really similar pair in Dunnes Stores for €12.

I spent Wednesday with my boyfriend who surprised me with these unreal new shoes!! Naturally, I planned my outfit around my new babies! 

The jeggings are a black version of the previous H&M ones. The Tshirt is a Guns'n'Roses one I picked up in Primark. They always have nice boyfriend tees. I always go up a size or two for that extra relaxed look. I threw a boyfriend shirt over the top to complete the look. Casual and comfy what more could you want?!

Open for business......

I am a typical girl and always complain about having nothing to wear. It was only recently when I gave my wardrobe a good spring clean that I realised the abundance of stuff I actually possess! Lots of it I hadn't even put on in ages and  to admit I really wasn't likely to wear it again. It seemed so wasteful to put it into recycling, I'm paranoid that my really pretty stuff will some day be made into a cloth to clean someone's toilet! I have also seen tv shows about those charity recycling banks where lots of the clothing is stolen by organised criminal gangs or else is sold to some commercial enterprise and very little of the profits is actually received by the charity. I decided I would sell what I could and use the money to invest in some new season gear. In the past I've used ebay to sell items but found this rather annoying and tedious. Today I decided to take the plunge and download Depop which I have heard lots about. Within 5 minutes my account was set up and my first item up for sale! I also followed a few people on it myself and while I don't really like the idea of wearing someone else's pre worn items, if I see something I like who knows what will happen! If any of you decide to download the app you can follow me @sophiebeauheauxblog and I'll follow back!