The Background

When you don't have a Sephora in your entire country it sort of means that when you do finally get a chance to hit one up it's comparable to how I felt when I was seven and unleashed into the many aisles of Toys R' Us.

So, during a recent trip to France I paid a visit to Paris' Sephora store and picked up something that I've wanted for about a year now; Make Up For Ever's Ultra HD Foundation. I have heard endless good things about this product and have been super excited to try it for myself.

My Experience

This foundation is an oil-free, long-lasting liquid foundation and there's a whopping 40 shades in the range which really helps to create that natural-finish as you're not forced to opt for a shade which can be one or two tones from your natural skin colour. 

As I suffer from quite dry skin I've found the consistency of this foundation perfect along with a setting powder and spray it stays put all day. I use a beauty blender to buff the liquid into my skin and it instantly settled in to create a satin-like finish. The coverage is probably a light to medium and I often use two layers to cover a few blemishes or the more red areas around my nose. 

I haven't suffered any breakouts since using this foundation and my skin is quite sensitive and spot prone so a foundation that doesn't feel like it's clogging up my pores is essential. 

My Recommendations

If you've given this foundtion a go and had a few problems then the one thing I'd suggest is trying it with a different primer as this foundation is primarily water-based. Silicone based primers will cause Ultra HD to break-up and appear patchy so when shopping for a primer check to make sure that's silicone minimal or free to make the most of your Ultra HD.

Comment below if you've tried this foundation and what your thoughts are, I'd love to know! Also, if you have any recommendations for great alternative foundations that you're loving then let me know as I'm always on the look out!

COLLECTION AT BOOTS BEAUTY HAUL

Before we head off to Center Parcs for the week, I popped into Boots today to stock up on some essentials and some not-so-essential-but-still-really-lush beauty bits!

Ever since I gave the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer a go I've never used anything else to cover up my problem areas and under-eye area. I find nothing else conceals as well as this and I always opt for the lightest shade, 01 Fair, to give my under-eye area a lift and make it appear brighter. This concealer is also perfect for covering up those nasty zits that tend to spring up out of nowhere although I tend to find it can require a little pat from a finger-tip to really melt it into the skin for a natural finish.

Along with the concealer, I picked up another favourite of mine; Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Powder. This product teamed with the concealer really do make the perfect power couple. After I've used the concealer I whack some of this over the top - I use a powder brush and forgo the use of the pad/sponge that comes with this powder because I have a weird thing about bacteria/germs lingering on those things - and it sets everything perfectly!

While I was in Boots I also couldn't resist picking up a few coral/red/pinkish lipsticks. I've been after some lippys with more orange tones so I grabbed these three beauts - it's just a big coincidence that all of these products are from Collection but it makes for a consistent post fo' sho!

The lovely lipsticks are in the shades 16 Paper Rose, 17 Colour Pop and 2 Pretty In Peach and they're all quite similar with only very slight differences but I'm very excited to give them a go nonetheless! They were also on offer in Boots for only £2.50 each so I couldn't resist, I'm a bit of a lipstick hoarder - there's just something about lipsticks that are so aesthetically pleasing to me I don't know why I'm a weirdo - so I'm definitely thinking of getting a few more shades in this range if they stay at this price!

There are so many fantastic offers on at Boots at the moment and all of the Christmas boxsets and offers are in store already so if you live near a store then I'd recommend popping in for a gander.

Let me know if you've tried any of these products or if you're thinking of giving them a go yourself, I'd love to know!