Foundation Always Too Pink? Make Up For Ever Yellow Chromatic Mix Review

When I first started buying foundation everything seemed too dark and orange, but as the years have gone on it now seems that all the shades that are light enough for my skintone always pull too ashy and pink on me. No matter what the shade name- sand beige, buff, naked, ivory or vanilla, when dry these foundations just don't look quite right against my neck but the darker more yellow colours are just too dark.

My skin is naturally yellow toned but self tans (which I wouldn't be without) seem to make my undertone a lot stronger. Don't get me wrong, I don't walk about with the body of a Simpson, so it's annoying that brands think that when you're pale (even with self tan) your skin must be pink or beige coloured.

Make Up Forever Chromatic Mix in Yellow is a liquid pigment that aims to change the tone of makeup, allowing you to mix up your perfect shade with perfect undertone. The Yellow colour isn't a bright banana or Simpson colour but more a mustard yellow with a very slight green tinge that matches self tan well.

The pigment is in a small dropper bottle and is very liquid so I need just under one drop to mix in with my foundation for a full face. I find it makes my foundation a little looser and easier to blend, but it also dries a little bit quicker and smells a little strange once the product is mixed in. I've found it really helpful to counteract the ashy tones that beige and pink foundations can bring to my skin without darkening the foundation too much, and the colour blends easily into my neck to create a more seamless finish. The small bottle contains 13ml and although this doesn't sound like a lot, you need such a small amount that it will last for months.

I bought the water based pigment as my current favourite foundation Revlon Colorstay for Normal Skin is water based, but MUFE also do an oil based version for oil and silicone based foundations. I will probably purchase that too as the majority of foundations are oil based, especially from more affordable high street brands which seem to pull the pinkest on me in the lighter shades.

In addition to yellow, the Chromatic Mix liquids are also available in white, brown, black, red and blue which perform different functions from making make up lighter (white), darker (black) to removing luminosity (brown). I've heard the red and blue colours are very good for mixing the perfect foundation shade for dark skin tones, and I think a tiny drop of the black or brown colours would be helpful for anyone who tans well in the summer but hates having to buy a whole new set of foundations.

Make Up For Ever Chromatic Mix liquid pigments are available in the UK for £12.95 here.

#WrapMe Photo Wrapping Paper

I came home a little while ago to find an unexpected parcel waiting for me and I never would have guessed what was inside! After tearing through the outer wrapping I saw my cats' faces staring back at me straight from the wrapping paper of a little gift!

The gift inside was absolutely perfect for me. If you know me in person (or follow me on Twitter) you'll have already got the sense that I'm a bit of a crazy cat lady, so I'm not going to pretend that I won't be flicking through Homemade Treats For Your Furry Friends any time I get the urge to cook and whip up a treat for my fur babies.

The real treat though was the photo wrapping paper. I'd seen personalised wrapping paper, phone cases etc before and to be honest thought they were a bit gimmicky but when I saw the pictures of my kitty cats on this paper from Wrap.Me I was genuinely excited and thrilled that someone had gone to the trouble of choosing the photos. For that reason I think it's a brilliant way to dress up a gift, especially if you'll be sending it through the post (although I'd love to see a friend's face as they pulled the present from a gift bag!).

The paper is matte which gives it an expensive look and it has the Wrap.Me logo on the back which actually looks very useful to use as a guide for cutting straight lines. On the Wrap.Me website you can upload up to 30 photos to use on your paper, either from Instagram, Facebook or your desktop, and you can also choose different border styles. The paper costs from £4.99 for a single sheet up to £14.99 for a large roll and Wrap.Me offer free delivery in the UK.

If a friend has a birthday coming up I would definitely recommend taking a look at the Wrap.Me website and maybe making your own wrapping paper creation for their gift. I'll definitely be hanging onto the paper that I received as it reminds me of the cute times I've shared with my cats (however soppy that sounds!). So some fun or meaningful photos of memories you've shared with a friend would go a long way to making their gift even more special.

What do you think of the idea of personalised photo wrapping paper?