High protection suncare for the face - MAC and Clinique reviewed

I am the typical English Rose - I have the whitest skin in the world! I have never had a tan in my life. The closest thing to a tan I have had was being the colour of a lobster! I find it's quite a pain to be so white.

I spent a lot of my childhood in Africa (I had parents who loved to travel!) and I did not really have much of a problem. Then I had a shock, two years ago I went on a holiday to Mauritius and after a couple of days I was feeling rotten and got prickly heat and after a trip to the chemist on the island I was told to cover up completely and stay out the sun!!! It was more than a little bit depressing! I now have to take allergy tablets 1 week before I travel abroad. So it is essential that not only I buy a good hat, I buy the appropriate creams and lotions.

My boyfriend lives in Athens and at the airport on the way to visit him last summer I bought a special bumper pack of Clinique Super City Block SPF 40! It is a little embarrassing in the mornings to apply all the different creams and things, I feel like a total prima donna! The only thing I really worry about is my face to be honest, I hate that red cheeked, red nosed 'british holiday look' so I applied the city block quite liberally to my face.

I did keep re-applying the block throughout the day, before and after swimming, but I noticed that my face was still slightly flushed at the end of the day. The lotion is actually quite thick, and it does feel like you have protection. When I returned to England I had a lot of freckles, which is a clear sign of sun damage. I was really upset because I followed the instructions and was very careful and still I got burnt!

I really do not know what to say about this product now. I loved the idea, but I am not really convinced it works in very hot climates (it was 40degrees-ish!). I do wear this whilst in England because I want to keep my skin looking youthful. The Super City Block is £ 12.23 for 40ml. You can wear it alone or underneath your makeup. I have tried both ways. To be honest it does work well with makeup (although it did feel a little more greasey that usual but I think that is to be expected with a product like this). It is also available in SPF 25, and 'New Derma White SPF 40' which apparently prevents dark spots and discolourations.

I found another excellent product and it's by MAC (surprise, surprise!) it's their prep and prime with face protectSPF 50! I found this not only to be an excellent makeup primer, and it gave me the confidence my face was being protected. Unfortunately the MAC UK website does not stock this product anymore, but it is still available in shops, and also in the USA.

The only downside of this product is that it is quite small, and you only get 30ml for about £24 (if I remember correctly!). Well, on the upside, it fits in your handbag very well!!! ;)

I'm sorry mac, I just don't get your shadesticks!

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a BIG fan of MAC products. I love them. I have once bought a shadestick in sharkskin and also beige-in.

I found the application of the shadesticks quite difficult because they felt very hard and aggressive on my eyelids. I also found them to cake a little and crease.

I was a little upset because this was my first flaw I have ever incountered with MAC. The shade-stick is apparently versitile because it can be used as a base, or as a simple eye-shadow. For me they just don't feel..... right. I far prefer Urban Decay's Primer Potion for a base as it feels far lighter and less sticky. I have heard that to make the shade-stick more useable you have to heat it up by rolling it between your hands. I tried this, and it didn't make too much of a difference. It is far preferable to buy a MAC paintpot!!! I think that we expect the highest standard from MAC, and really, this doesn't quite reach it girls!!

What do you think? Am I right?

The journey to find the perfect foundation

The journey to find the perfect foundation is like the journey to find your perfect relationship! Some people find their perfect match very easily, whilst others are not so lucky and even start to doubt that it really exists.

It can be quite emotional. There are ups and downs, there is the anticipation, the falling in love, the falling out of love, the tears of dissappointment and even the feeling of joy from a lucky escape!

Wearing the wrong foundation can effect your self confidence and can even make you look unhealthy. The secret to the perfect foundation - is wearing a foundation that no one notices! This search can be rather expensive.

It has taken me 10 years to find the perfect foundation. I am over the moon that I have finally found it! I previously used Chanel foundations because I loved their texture and their coverage - but I always looked as if I was wearing a lot of makeup. I really wanted people to comment on me, rather than my makeup!

My skin is very, very pale even the palest foundations looked slightly yellow/orange on me. I was embarrassed and was begining to think that my skintone was almost cursed. I visited the MAC counter, and even their lightest shades looked yellow on me. The coverage was excellent, but the overall look was yellow! The same with Benefit Cosmetics and even Bobbi Brown (all yellow based). Then I walked past the Prescriptives counter at my local shopping centre.

The Prescriptives lady explaned to me that she thought my undertones were blue/red, and she picked the colour that she thought would suit me, and she tested it along side another pale coloured foundation. The result was astounding! Finally a foundation that matched my skintone PERFECTLY. It also feels completely naked on my skin, as if I am wearing nothing.

I reccommend to visit the Prescriptives counter to get makeup matched to your colour. It is a little pricey, but it is worth every penny! Prescriptives are owned by Estee Lauder, which is the same company who make MAC - so you can be assured the quality is excellent.

If you have very light skin like mine, or not happy with the colour of your foundation - they will custom make the makeup for your individual colour! In my opinion this is the future of cosmetics, as each of us are individual and not a number. Prices start from £22.

Here in the UK you can buy online at House of Fraiser and QVC, check out http://www.prescriptives.co.uk and in the USA http://www.prescriptives.com