I love talking about makeup. I talk about it on my lunch break with the girls in work, on Twitter with my followers/those that I follow, my family, friends and also brands/pr's, because makeup is a huuuuge part of life for me. It's not so much about hiding, as it used to be when I was younger; at the age of 12/13 when most girls wore makeup, and you were made fun for your skin/hair/weight/intelligence level/where you lived/what bag you used/where you sat... so I basically wanted to blend in, with clean hair and as much makeup as I could get on my face, with my minimal pocket money's worth of products. I remember shopping with my mum and begging her to buy me this and that, saying that I needed it. I didn't need it. I just wanted it, so much, so I could fit in and go through school unscathed. I didn't get through five years of secondary school unscathed, but who does/did, right? So yeah, makeup used to be about, basically shovelling it on my face... but now, many years later, many tutorials watched and many products tried, I'm familiar with my face and what works on it.
My skin can wear a lot of bases, regardless of coverage, it's always the concealer I need to focus on and three products that I love to use are Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light Foundation (£29.50, here), Maybelline's Eraser Eye Concealer (£7.99, here) and Rimmel's Lasting Finish Concealer (£5.49, here). These three cover all manner of sins and blemishes, whilst still creating a light enough base that it still doesn't look too heavy. The foundation from Estee Lauder looks like more of a Summer/warmer weather choice, but I wear it regardless as it gives such a wonderfully glowy light/medium coverage. The two concealers are basically for any time of year in my opinion, and I'm all about concealer (keep your eyes on the blog to see a post dedicated to concealer). Continuing onwards, three products that I would have touched a year ago are three of my hero products; Charlotte Tilbury's Bronze and Glow Palette (£49, here), Too Faced's Chocolate Soliel Bronzer (£25, here) and The Body Shop's Honeycomb Bronzer (£13, here) - all three represent the evolution of my makeup choices and how with experience and influence, these three have become such an important part of my makeup routine. Yes, two out of three are a bit expensive, but with the quality, I use them everyday and they don't let me down. Charlotte Tilbury's Palette is a mixture of contour and highlight, a delightful pairing that complement each other so well, and give that added pop of 'wow' to the face (as you can tell, 'Sculpt' has more of a dent than 'Highlight', as I think the highlighter is a bit too sparkly for everyday usage). The quality is superb, as is the Bronzer from The Body Shop, which at only £13, is a bargain for how amazing it is - I have the shade 02 and it's perfect for when my pale skin has a touch of tan, but even in the dead of Winter, I'll still be using this to perk my skin up. The last offering from this section, is from Too Faced, and to be honest, it wasn't something that I was impressed with at first. I loved the smell, but the colour seemed a big blergh. Since I've reused it, I officially love it - perhaps I was too heavy with the brush I use it with, or simply wasn't used to it, but now it adds definition to my cheekbones and looks gorgeous on my skin.
Another three additional main face.. products. By main face I mean like, the cheeks/cheekbones etc... basically where you put all your base products. Anyway! I have an obsession with Bourjois' Cream blushes (£7.99, here), especially in the colours Healthy Glow and Rose Tender, which I use basically everyday because they go on like a dream, and can be easily blended should I apply too much. The little round pots pack such a colour punch that I take them on every holiday and weekend away, as they're so simple to use. Brilliant, creamy and long lasting! The last product is from Makeup Revolution, and it's their Goddess of Love highlighter (£4.99, here), a product that I've been in love with since I bought it; it's had it's own blog post dedicated to it, and I've inspired a lot of others to buy this pearly beauty, because it's amazing! Plus the baked highlighter is in the shape of a heart, so what's not to like about that?
Natural Collection Eyeshadows (£1.99, here) are a reintroduction for me, as I used to use them quite a lot when I was younger, as they were cheap, cheerful and a brilliant formula - fast forward a few years, and after accumulating a lot of eyeshadows, I find myself coming back to this fabulous little pots. The three colours above are (from left to right), Sea Shell, Milk Chocolate and Asteroid, which are a fantastic trio for any base eye look, such as a smokey eye, or even just a defined crease. Whether used separately or together, these three are bargain shadows that I cannot recommend enough to those looking to expand their makeup collection. Another quick addition to the eyeshadow paragraph, is a cream offering from Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot (£16, here) in the shade Bare Study, which is a wonderful glowy nude, i.e. the perfect base for any eyeshadow look. It especially looks gorgeous and illuminating in the corner of the eye.
Onto some of the most 'fleek-wothy' products such as Anastasia Beverly Hill's Dip Brow Pomade (£15, here), Benefit's Gimme Brow (£18.50, here) and Maxfactor's False Lash Effect Mascara (£10.99, here), the latter a product I tend to get all over my eyelids because of how big the brush is. It's really good, don't get me wrong, but I'm just useless and it goes all over my skin. But with blending, it goes away, so there are no black splodges on my face whatsoever, thank goodness. Combined with a good eyelash curler, my lashes look intensely black and curled, something I struggle with as my eyelashes really struggle to hold curl, even with a waterproof mascara. So yeah, as the hip kids say, 'fleek'. My eyebrows are something that I'm very protective over, and ABH is something that I'm so glad was introduced into my life, not only for the quality, but for the look it goes. Natural but dramatic brows... everything that you could ever want in a creamy pot; I apply it with an angled eyeliner brush, and then I brush through the brows with Benefit's Gimme Brow, just to give them some texture, as they can look quite flat otherwise. I like brows to look like brows, as that's what I prefer. Texturised brow goals?
The final three products are for the lips. I loooove a good lipstick, and two of my favourite brands right now, are Clinique and Mac, in the shades Poppy Pop, Melon Pop and Crosswires - three shades and two formulas that glide onto the lips, almost effortlessly, giving such a gorgeous look, perfect for any season. Although A/W tends to be more focused around darker colours (holla at me, berries), I do still like to switch it up with a pinky nude or an orange red. Clinique's Lip Pop's (£16, here) are gorgeous and long lasting, as they include a primer in the product, which helps them to stay put for longer than most lipsticks, and as I work in retail which involves a loooot of talking, these lipsticks stand up to their claims. Mac Creamsheen (£15.50, here) wasn't a formula I was really interested in when I got into the brand, but now, after looking for a more wearable, comfortable product from the brand, the shade Crosswires immediately caught my eye, and has immediately become a favourite. Especially when layered over Rimmel's Lip Liner in East End Snob.
What are your makeup bag favourites right now?
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