Hard and expensive lesson learned with concealers

So I've learned a hard and expensive lesson when it comes to choosing my shade of concealer. For years I've always thought of myself as pale seeing as I keep out of the sun and don't get a tan. So thinking that I was pale I always bought the palest or one of the paler toned concealers. As a shade lighter than my actual area will brighten the area right? Wrong.

The past year I have used Benefits Boi-ing concealer in light, Fake Up in fair, erase paste in shade 01. Then Nars Radiant Creamy in Chantilly all these together add up to a small fortune not to mention others that I will have tried. All along I was buying the wrong shade for me. I knew straight away that the Nars Chantilly was too light but my main problem was buying offline! It only really became apparent looking back at photos of myself taken at weddings etc that my concealer was far too light for myself.
I have now learned that it is important to buy your concealer from the make up counter and to get matched up to a shade by a professional.

Knowing this I got myself down to Bobbi Brown in Selfridge's at The Trafford Centre. I went with minimal make up, wearing no concealer made me feel like a zombie in such a crowded place but I persevered. I have quite dark under eye circles and knew that I'd need the corrector as well as a concealer.
I got matched up to the corrector shade light biscuit and the concealer due in warm ivory.
When she applied them I instantly looked more awake and alive. The corrector is a important step for my skin as it neutralised the darkness of the circles and then using the concealer is step 2. Last of all it gets set with the powder.
It is a expensive price to pay at £42 for buying the wrong concealers but now that I've found the one I can buy it offline as much as I like.
The shades that she matched me with are both the 3rd lightest that they do so not the first or second lightest shades which I would have bought and wasted my money on.

Have any of you made the same mistake as me? Or think you could be currently guilty of it? Put your concealer down and get down to your local department store and get matched up properly.

Jodie x

In a rush, running late? Check out my 5 minute makeup routine

If I'm running late and need to be out of the house quick here are my go to products to get a flawless look that will get me out of the door quick:

Step 1: Benefit Porefessional - 30 seconds
I squeeze a small pea sized amounts of this on the back of my hand and apply by pressing it into the skin. I use this at the sides of my nose and on top of my nose where I find my pores to be at their most visible.

Step 2: Benefit Fake Up concealer - 30 seconds
I do one swoop under each eye and pay let gently with my fingers to blend.

Step 3: Benefit Peek a Bright Eye's kit - 2 minutes
With the fluff brush apply the base shadow, then dab in the contour shadow and blend into the crease of the eyes concentrating on the outer corner. Then dab in the pearly pink shadow and apply to the centre of the eyelid.
Now use the liner brush and the dark contour shadow to line the top eyelids.
With your first finger apply the eye bright creme on the inner and outer corners of each eye and blend well. Then swipe across your brow bone and blend you will now look nice and awake.

Step 4: Benefit Fine One One - 1 minute
Swipe the stick from the apple of your cheeks up towards your temple do this 2-3 times on each cheek to build up colour, lightly blend with finger. Now swipe across the lips and gently blend to give the lips some colour.

Step 5: Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara - 1 minute
Apply a couple of coats to each eye to build up to the desired length and volume.

5 minutes gone and you are ready to leave the house gorgeous. X

Benefit concealer comparison for fair skin. Boi-ing, Fake Up & Erase Paste

I have very pale skin and there are so many concealers out there in a bazillian shades so which will suit you best? Here I have compared my favourites in the lightest shades that Benefit make.

From left to right in the swatch they are:
1. Erase Paste shade fair
2. Boi-ing shade 01
3. Fake Up shade light

Even though they are all the same brand the colours and textures are very different, so it is best to try out samples before committing to a full size product. You can do this by trying out the product at your local Benefit counter for free.

Erase Paste: 4/5 - best at brightening the eye area.

Pros - This is a amazing concealer for under the eyes as it brightens as well as conceals. It really does make the dark circles and discolouration dissappear and leaves the eye area looking more bright and youthful.
Cons - I find it creases really bad and that I have to constantly smooth it out under my eyes throughout the day. Also it not the best at covering blemishes compared to the other two.

Boi-ing: 5/5 - best coverage.

Pros: This is my favourite concealer and my go to product on a daily basis. I really need to buy the full size product of this one.
This concealer as described by Benefit is industrial strength and it lives up to its name. It is more matte than the other two which I love as no one wants to looks shiny. This conceals the dark circles under the eyes flawlessly it looks very natural and matches my skin tone perfectly. This one is the best at covering blemishes and any red areas around the nose, as any discolouration instantly dissappears.
Cons: it does crease a little bit under the eye.

Fake Up: 3/5 - best at not creasing.

Pros: This has the prettiest packaging and is perfect for carrying around in your handbag for any daily touch ups.
Unlike the others it moisturises the skin as well as concealing what a nice bonus. The best thing about this concealer as unlike the other two it doesn't crease under the eye which is great!. Also the colour matches my skin tone better than the Erase Paste.
Cons: for me this doesn't give the best coverage it is like a mixture of the other two. It doesn't give as good coverage as Boi-ing but it does brighten a bit like the Erase Paste. It is definitely a good concealer and I would still recommend it but for me it isn't as good as the other two.

Please let me know what you think is the best concealer for you and why. I hope I have helped some undecided ladies which concealer to get who are pale like me.

UPS has arrived with my Benefit Fake Up - hydrating concealer *squeals*

This isn't out in shops until March 30th but after trying it at my local counter I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was worried that with the moisturiser it would appear greasy and sheer but when I tried it it was amazing and gave great coverage.
Luckily Benefit's UK website have started selling it early.
My first thoughts are that the packaging is adorable as always! I have gone for the light shade as I'm pale. I am going to give this a test run today as my favourite concealer is Erase Paste without a doubt so it will be interesting to see how this compares. I have bought this product solely to keep In my handbag for touch ups as Erase Paste is a bit bulky to carry around.
I will report back with my findings ladies and I plan to do a youtube video comparison of this against Erase Paste and Boi ing.

Handbag essentials - March 2013

The make up that I carry with me on a daily basis is constantly changing as I try out new things. So this is my March round up of must have essentials. I keep them all in a little make up bag that I keep in my handbag.
This month I am carrying around:
- Benefit Porefessional mini
- Benefit Hello Flawless powder in ivory
- Benefit Fine One One
- Benefit Coralista lipgloss
- Benefit Laugh with me Lee Lee perfume mini.

I use the Porefessional daily as it is silky and feels great on the skin. It reduces the visibility of pores, I don't know how it does it but it does. Most days I use this solo with no foundation. I have a full size of this in my make up bag but a mini is great to carry around for any needed touch ups in the day as you can wear this over or under make up it is truly a wonder product.

The Hello Flawless powder is great as you get a sponge and a brush applicator with it so you can get as much coverage as you want with this product. You use the sponge first on any areas you want more coverage and then the brush after for lighter application. I love how it has room to store these underneath the powder. I don't like liquid foundation so I prefer to use this on days when I want to wear foundation.

As I have mentioned before I am a huge fan of the Fine One One as it is a blusher and highlighter all in one just sweep across the cheek and voila instant colour. I use Hervana blusher and Watts Up highlighter when I'm getting ready in a morning but this is great for touch ups as the colours are so nice. You can build up colour too I recommend trying this out as if you are worried that you will look like a clown after one sweep across the cheek don't worry you won't. I introduced my best friend to this and she went out and bought it straight away. It is any girls handbag must have.

I've never really been one for lip glosses as I don't like the stickiness and the fact that my hair gets stuck to it as soon as you step outside but this isn't that sticky at all so that's a plus.
I had the Life on the A list gloss with my jetset kit and found the colour a bit too light for my liking. After looking online I had it set in my mind that I would buy the Dandelion lip gloss but when I tried it out in store the colour of that was too light too so I went for Coralista it gives great colour. It's good as I hardly wear lipstick and this is great for everyday colour.

I adore the Laugh with me Lee Lee perfume that I got with my Primed For Takeoff set it smells truly amazing. This is weird as when I tried them out in store on those wooden test sticks I didn't like any of them. But since getting it I love it as it smells so different when on the skin. So when you try them at the counters I would recommend testing them on your wrist to get the true smell.

I keep all these is a cute little Benefit make up bag called 'Bermuda Betty' the size is perfect for me as it keeps all these things In with room to spare. It fits perfectly into my handbag and it has a nifty mirror inside too.

There is just one item missing which I haven't received yet which is the new Benefit Fake Up hydrating concealer. I am so excited about this it isn't in stores until March 30th but they have started selling it early online si I an hoping to receive it tomorrow March 21st. I will keep you updated on this. I was lucky enough to try it in store and I believe it will be great. I tried it as I was worried that because it has a moisturiser around the concealer i thought it would leave under the eye looking shiny and greasy but it doesn't. I will post about it when I get it. Please check out my YouTube channel for Benefit make up tutorials. Comment me any requests you have :-)