My "no make-up" make-up essentials

A no make- up face, for me, means a light base and no eye make -up. I know a lot of people still like a coat of mascara with their looks, but personally for my stumpy eyelashes, mascara adds another 5 minutes onto the routine and then it just doesn't look natural any more.

For my base, I love using the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue - my absolute favourite lightweight base - and my usual trio of concealers ; Bobbi Brown corrector, Collection Lasting Perfection and L'Oreal Touche Magique. Obviously, the less product the better but as my skin is far from perfect, concealer is generally a bit part of any make- up look for me.

For brows, I try not to go to bold, and use my Soap&Glory Archery pencil in Blondeshell and the L'Oreal plumper in light/medium. Even though I'm not really blonde anymore, this combo just creates a soft, ashy brow which looks fairly natural.

To get rid of my veiny eyelids, I like to use the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in this lovely rosey colour which is an amazing everyday product. Lastly, a pop of pink blush on the cheeks completes the look, and today I used Benefit's Dandelion.

Thank you for reading, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas or relaxing break and you're looking forward to the New Year,

Thanks for reading, if you liked  this post you can follow me on BlogLovin' to stay up to date with all my posts :)

Lou

Brows | Back to Powder

Just when bold brows are phasing out, I get a real taste for them. Typical hey? Since my dark roots now take up about a third of my hair (I'm trying to pull it off as a grown-out-ombre look...it's not working), I can pretty much get away with a dark-ish brow.
My everyday brow preference is for the Soap and Glory Archery Pencil, paired with the L'Oreal Brow Plumper, both in blonde. I find both products quick and easy to use, and they don't budge all day, which is a definite plus.
But, when I have a bit of time for my face, I like to experiment with slightly bolder, better brows. Here I used the Naked2 Basics palette to really sculpt my brows out. Seriously, whatever colour your hair, this palette will have something in it for your brows, as well as being an amazing eyeshadow palette, obviously. I used a mixture of Frisk and Primal to match my shade, and I really like the results. Am I crazy?

My Brow Game

(Don't you hate when Superdrug put those stickers on everything?)

For a girl with tri-colour hair which can look anything from brown to ginger to blonde on any given day, eyebrows have always been a problem. I also think it's quite hard to find decent eyebrow products in the drugstore for fairer hair. I've tried a lot of pencils, and have found so many red-toned browns masquerading as 'taupe' or 'blonde', including the Rimmel 'Hazel' eyebrow pencil which looked hideous on me. (If you have darker auburn hair, that pencil would be perfection for you).
Recently, I feel like I've really found my eyebrow jam. It started with the Soap & Glory Archery pencil, which I resisted for so long, but finally bit the bullet and gave it a go.

So my only gripe with this you can see in the top photo- the pencil end totally crumbled within weeks of buying it, but I'm fairly sure that's because I've thrown it around my room a fair few times. Fingers crossed my next one won't do that. I opted for the double-ended product, which has the pencil at one end and the pen at the other, since I figured it was only £2 more and basically double the product. Fabulous.

So basically I love this. The perfect colour, lovely natural finish, and both sides achieve pretty much the same result so it'll last twice as long! I've already bought two back ups, and I'm fairly convinced that this is my holy grail eyebrow product. (in the shade Love is Blonde.)

The second product is the L'Oreal Brow Plumper in Light/Medium, which is a really recent find, but one which I feel has taken my brows to the next level. I've always used a clear mascara as a brow gel, mostly because I didn't see the point of buying a tinted one if you've already filled your brows in, but also because I've never found a good one. This one is really good. It holds the hairs in place and apparently adds fibres to make your brows look thicker... I don't know about thicker, but my brows look ( I hope) pretty in- place and shaped. (I know I need to pluck my brows, exam period has just finished ok?)

So yeah, I think these two are a really good combo in colour and product, and I've heard great things about the darker shades too!

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Face of the Day ~ 15 minute make- up

Everyone has those mornings when you have to get up and out really quickly, but you don't want to scare the world with your naked stressed face (I don't have the best skin, especially at the moment), so you need a make- up routine which is quick and failsafe, and this is mine. Enjoy :)

So that's my face up above- (I'm really not the best at selfies), and here is everything which is AWN MA FACE. It looks complicated, but it's really not. You might wonder why I have three concealers, but all will be explained...

Face

(Top to bottom: Rimmel Foundation, Collection concealer, Maybelline Concealer, Collection cover stick- see below for more details)

So, I think it's really important for bad- skin days or mornings when you don't have much time, to take more time over skin care than make up. I started my morning with an ex-foliating pad from Nip and Fab, then the Effaclar Duo from Roche Posay to try and calm my skin down, and then some moisturiser. I used Olay's Anti Wrinkle 2 in 1 Instant Hydration and Radiant Glow which is lovely and fresh.

Once your skin is looking a bit more perky and nourished, I would normally go ahead and apply primer. I really recommend the Rimmel Lasting Perfection Primer if you need your make up to last the day. I didn't have time this morning (/ I forgot), so I just went right ahead with my foundation, which I applied with my fingers because I didn't have time to buff it in with a brush. I used Rimmel's Lasting Finish Nude in Porcelain, and just applied a thin layer all over. Ma face. This is a really nice foundation in general- very light and fresh looking- and I think it's best to go for a lighter coverage foundation if you don't have much time in the morning. I then went in with my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair over my blemishes and around my nose. I did use a brush for this, and buffed it in to make sure it was nice and even across my skin. I used the Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 15 on my eyelids and under my eyes to prime for eye make up and to conceal my under eye circles. (This is where I needed a third concealer because my under eye circles were serious- I went over with the Collection Cover Stick in 01 and pressed that in).

Boring bit over. 

Now, colour in your cheeks is something you need if you are in a rush, or you need to look more awake. I used my Make Up Revolution Blushing Heart in Peachy Pink Kisses which is so shimmery and illuminating that you don't need to faff around with a highlighter.

Eyes 

I kept the eyes super easy and super neutral.

First, I filled in my eyebrows with my Kiko eyeshadows, in 237 and 239 mixed together to get a good shade. It would definitely be better to use an eyebrow pencil because it is quicker, but I'm currently between eyebrow pencils because I can't find a good blonde one. I then brushed my brows through with the Natural Collection Clear Mascara which is such a cheap version of a brow gel, and it's really good. Brows done and onto eyes.

The star of the show has to be the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creamy Beige.I applied this allover the lid with my finger tip, just smudging it in to make sure it's even. It literally takes 10 seconds to get a layer of colour. This isn't what I would call beige, it's definitely slightly darker, but it's a great base colour. 

At this point, you have two options. Go darker, and find a dark shade to quickly smudge through the crease. OR (as i did), find a lighter shade to press over the centre of the lid to brighten the eye up. I used a Kiko eyeshadow in 236 which is a shimmery peachy/brown/nude. 

Liquid eyeliner is something you shouldn't attempt if you are in a rush, unless you can do it quickly, in which case, I bow down to your superiority. I just smudged a thin line of dark eyeshadow- I used Undone from the Naked 2 Basics palette, but you can use any dark brown or black colour- along the lash line to make the whole look more defined. 

Mascara is also hard to do quickly. I will normally do at least two coats of mascara because my lashes just don't hold up with just one coat, as you can see here. I used the 17 Va Va Voom Mascara in Black, which is the BEST mascara. You need to try it.

Lips

Having lipstick on immediately makes you look more put-together and a little fresher. Wack on some lipbalm if you really have no time, but if you have 5 seconds, go for a sheer wash of colour which is easy to apply and isn't too bold. I went for  a sheer peach lipstick from the Body Shop- Colour Crush in 315. Really easy and fresh looking, perfect for spring.

Powder is optional at  this point. I'm not a huge powder fan, I find it always makes me look cakey - and believe me I've tried applying it in every single way- but i actually did put a little bit of the Rimmel Stay Matte in Transparent on my under-eye concealer to make it stay- put.

So, I hope you enjoyed this fifteen minute make up for a really natural easy look.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x