Base routine/ favourite base products

Oh hi! Welcome to my morning face, and my amazing mug which I got literally ten years ago. Welcome.

It's been a while, sorry about that, life got in the way.

Anyway, hopefully as  you can see from the title, this post is all about base (buttery biscuit base)..if you don't know what that means I don't think we can be friends. Look it up.

So for this, I used all (very almost) highstreet, or drugstore products to achieve a natural looking base which just needed topping up with whatever eye and lip look I fancied.
I won't say this is an everyday look - I tend not to have time to do a few of these steps- but this probably only took 15-20 minutes tops.

For foundation, my favourite at the moment is Rimmel Match Perfection in a mix of Porcelain and Ivory to get my colour. I love this stuff, even though I have pretty oily skin, and I think it might be better suited to normal to dry skin as it has a really natural/dewy finish. I do get oily on my T Zone during the day, but I prefer that to the foundation breaking down into patches which looks awful with foundations like the L'Oreal True Match. Anyway, I digress.

For concealer, a mix of my Bobbi Brown Corrector, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and the L'Oreal True Match clicky highlight pen thing. Love all these, great cocktail of concealers. Speaking of the Collection concealer, I used a little of Shade 4 to warm up my face just around the edges and on my cheeks. This isn't a cream contour, it's a pretty warm shade, but it works really nicely as a cream bronzer.

For powder (which isn't in the photo, sorry, it was 7am) I use my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Difused Light, as well as my Fit Me Powder to set oilier areas.

I like to cancel out discolouration on my eyelids every day, it just makes your eyes look so much more awake. I was using the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creme de Rose, but I have this sample of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray so I've been using that for a while now - it's lasting forever!

For my brows, I am looving my Anastasia Dip Brow in Soft Brown at the moment, I think it's dried out a little and I'm finding it a lot easier to not over- load. I top this off with the L'Oreal Brow Plumper. 

Somehow, for the rest of my face, I accidentally used three Revolution Products. Firstly, this huge Bronze/Shimmer/Highlight pan and then the blush in Love. Really like both of these, especially the bronzer which I always go back to. For highlight, which I basically put all over my face, I used the Revolution Radiant Lights palette which is amazing if you're looking for a budget highlight, really long lasting, and a great selection of three shades for all skin tones. Ah-maze.

So yeah! Think that's it. As I said, not something I have time for every morning, but definitely nice when I have a little more time in the mornings and I want a little extra bronze 'n' glow.

Thanks for reading!

Side note, I have child hair. Yep. 

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

My current concealer cocktail

Who- ever said that one concealer could do it all was lying. Or they don't have the under-eye circles I have... OR they've found a magic make up product I have yet to stumble upon.

Anyway, I'm all about that layering life to make sure those bad boys stay hidden all day long. I can't say I'm 100% in love with all three of these, or that they're my holy grail concealers, or anything like that. But at the moment, it's working , and until I finish them, I'm not hugely bothered about hunting down some alternatives. If I ever need a hint more coverage, I pop a tiny dot of Collection Lasting Perfection right on the darkest part of my eye to really hit it where it hurts. (What?)

Feast your eyes on my eye. (Eye-eye Sir). My camera is fairly flattering, so the intensity of that eye bag just isn't showing up. Anyway, I've done a couple of photos to try to show you the concealer- layering process, and the finished result

So, first of all, I dab a little of the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque into the purple-most bits of my undereye bags. Now, despite costing me almost 20£, I have found it hard to fall in love with this product. It's super SUPER creamy, making it hard to set, and not to crease the moment you apply it. But, it cancels out most of the purple-ness fairly well, which I suppose is it's number one purpose.

The next step is to layer a little of the Maybelline Anti - Age sponge concealer thing over top, just to cover the peachy-ness of the corrector. Side note: check out that blending job on my nose. Oh wow.

Lastly, I layer a healthy load of L'Oreal Lumi Concealer, which is basically a brightening pen. You can get loads of these, and I would recommend any that L'Oreal make as I've tried a good few. Loverly.

And that's it! Wack a little powder on just to set the concoction, and you're good to go. I would be happy to get this routine down to two steps, but the Maybelline concealer isn't a good colour match to my skin, and needs a bit of a pick me up.

Hope this was helpful!
Thanks for reading!
Lou x

Bobbi Brown Corrector | First Impressions

I've been wanting this one for a long long while, but somehow shelling out almost twenty pounds for a concealer makes me want to cry a little bit.
BUT, no matter how much I sleep, my under eyes are always purple. Always. A normal concealer just isn't doing it for me anymore so I wanted something heavy duty and correcting, so I could layer it with normal concealer.

Surprisingly, the lady matched me up with Light Bisque, rather than extra light (thank you Clarins Glow Booster), and applied it for me. It's now been on my eyes for around five hours, and I haven't touched it apart from adding a little setting powder over the top. That is one thing I've noticed already- this is a very VERY creamy, tacky product. I never usually set my under eyes because they are so dry, but this was creasing so badly when I came home it definitely needed some powder.
So far I'm impressed with the coverage and staying power.

I'll keep you updated, but I have a feeling this is going to change my world.

Thanks for reading!
Lou x

The Weekend Edit ~ Travel Make-up Bag

 I find packing a travel make -up bag so much fun. I think I'm a bit weird, but I love challenging myself to cut it down to a small selection which offers me a wide range of options. So here's my latest edit, I'm at my parents' for Easter and the few days ahead will hold family gatherings, photo opportunities, and some trips out to see friends etc, so my make-up bag has to be quite versatile. I'll talk you through my picks so hopefully you'll get some ideas :)

Face

Three concealers I hear you say, well- let me justify it.

The Rimmel BB cream is a no-brainer, it's my absolute favourite at the moment. Light to medium coverage, brightening and flawless looking. Light enough for a casual day, but with a bit of neatly placed concealer, it can become a bit more flawless.

The Collection concealer is for blemishes which might rear their ugly head. Dotted onto bits-I-want-to-cover, this concealer is perfect for heavy coverage jobs. And everyone is bored to death hearing about this one, so I'll move on.

Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a strange one. It's looks darker than my skin tone but when blended in it's actually fine. I use the shade 15. I use this as an eyeshadow base to even out my pigmentation on my eyelids, as well as under my eyes to cover those dark circles.

The L'Oreal Touche Magique is for those days which I want a little extra summin-summin. Stripped over the top of the Maybelline under my eyes and down my cheeks a little, it can look really brightening, and on a really good under-eye day, I could just wack this on atop my BB cream for a really luminous face. Brill.

 Blush, Bronze and Highlight

Bronzing/ contour goes straight to my Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte- perfect for both a chiselled cheekbone, and a sunkissed glow. 

Blush was a hard one, I wanted to take my MAC blush, but I've not been giving my other blushes much attention, so I've thrown in this Revolution blush in Love which is really really nice and fresh. It is matte but it lasts well and is a perfect Spring-pink.

For highlight, I gave the Mary Luminizer a break, and threw in this Technic Highlighter (available on Amazon) which is basically an amazing dupe for Benefit's High Beam, and a tenth of the price. I've had this for years, and it's perfect dabbed on the cheekbones or under the brows.

I chucked in my Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent for shiny days.

Eyes

I feel like this is such a condensed choice, I am so proud of myself.

For my brows, I went for my Revolution Aqua Tint in Fair which I love, and it lasts really well, as well as my Natural Collection Clear Mascara for combing them through.

I have two cream eyeshadows which are great for bases, and for quick washes of colour. I went for Creamy Beige from Maybelline because it's matte, and everything else I'm bringing is shimmery so I wanted the option. The other is Petale de Glace ( i think) From Borjouis- the name has rubbed off but it's a really beautiiful dusty pink which looks so fresh and pretty. 

I'm loving this Collection Eyes Uncovered palette in Nude Bronze, it's got a really good selection of shades, and the quality is amazing for the price. Also the packaging is so travel-friendly.

Mascara was an easy one- Va Va Voom from 17, my go-to mascara. Same with eyeliner- the liquid pen from Collection is the best. I threw in a pencil black eyeliner just incase, it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes.

Lips

Stuff happening this week will mostly revolve around eating, so no bold lips are welcome. The Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle is a nice balmy dark pink, the Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 103 is a matte mid pink, and the Maybelline Colour sensational in Glorious Grapefruit is an orange-y gloss. All fresh and spring-y but not high maintenance. Oh, and some Lip Balm from the Body shop which is chocolate smelling. Yum.

Other bits

Just a couple of extras. Baby skin primer in case I feel a bit pore-y, my lash curler because its an essential, and Barry M Topcoat, Basecoat and Nail Hardener in case I need to get rid of my current colour and I can't deal with naked nails.

So that's everything! Hope you enjoyed it and found it useful :)

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Top 5 ~ Spring Lust List

1. Benefit Roller Lash

The hype around this product has been on another level. However, since it's release, pretty much everyone has been praising it as a fantastic new mascara. I've watched my fair share of reviews, and I have to say I think it looks pretty good. Holding a curl is my number one problem with my lashes, so I am really excited about getting my hands on this (but maybe in a few paycheques time...)

2. Clinique Colour Pop Lipstick

I'm really really excited about these. Pigmented, moisturising, long wearing...isn't that the ultimate lipstick?! The colour range looks incredible, I've got my eye on Grape pop as a really fun, lilac colour for Spring.

3. Bobbi Brown Colour Corrector

This is in no way a new product, but my under-eye circles can quite often be quite a deep blue/purple colour, and I've been doing a lot of research, and this seems to be a lot of people's favourite for sorting that out. Definitely on my shopping list.

4.Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Who doesn't want this? The colours are amazing, the reviews are glowing, and it smells like chocolate. I think this looks perfect for summer, with the lovely warm browns, but a splash of colour with pinks and peaches which will look amazing with a tan. 

5. Zoeva Rose Gold Brushes

Oh. My god. So beautiful. Zoeva are some of the best brushes around, it seems, and the rose gold ones are just to die for. Sadly, they are so pricey that these will have to wait until this year's Christmas List...

Thanks for reading, 

Lou x

The "No- Make- up" Make-up Essentials

There are days when my eyes want a break, but I still want to leave the house and not look like a zombie. Unfortunately I don't have that great skin and strong brows which means i can look flawless at all times. There are three basic steps to follow to perfect your natural face if you're in a rush, or if you just don't fancy blending any eyeshadow today (it happens)

Step 1: Base

Something fresh, light, and radiant makes the best quick base fix. My base of choice is the Rimmel Radiance BB cream in Very Light. This is a fairly new purchase for me but I LOVE it. So light, so fresh, but decent coverage. Pretty radiant but not as glowy as the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. Love it. Check it out. Now. 

Next, wack on some concealer. I pop a bit of the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair on any blemishes, and the L'Oreal Touche Magique under my eyes.

Step 2: Brows

My brow products of choice are the Kiko eyeshadows, just mixed together and swished through my brows to make them a bit fuller and ...just better. Sorting your brows out makes everything look more ready, and your face look more framed and beautiful. I envy people with beautiful dark brows...

Flick some brow gel (I use Natural Collection Clear Mascara) through them brows to keep them in place.

Step 3: Blush
A bit of blusher perks up your face so well. Choose one which is also illuminating so you don't need to bother with highlighter. My go-to brush is MAC's Peachykeen. It's really sheer so I can build it nicely to get a nice flush.


Thanks for reading!
Lou x

First Impressions & Review ~ L'Oreal True Match Foundation & Touche Magique Concealer

I am still on the search for the perfect foundation, as most of my collection are not quite the ghostly- white colour which is the reality of my skin.
The only one I am wearing at the moment is the Rimmel Lasting Nude in Porcelain which is quite sheer, and is really boring to wear every day. So, the hoarder in me went wild on my lunchbreak at work yesterday and purchased the much-talked about L'Oreal True Match Foundation in R1 C1 Rose Ivory. I also bought the Touche Magique concealer pen in Ivory Beige. 
First of all, I was really really impressed with the range of colours for the true match foundation. There was a Warm, Neutral and Yellow toned foundation for each shade, which is so good ; if you're struggling to find a foundation which matches your skin, I would check out L'Oreal. I picked out the 'Rose' Ivory shade which I think is the cool shade? Judging from the C which surely means cool? However- 'Rose' suggests warm, and it does look quite warm so...who knows. Basically, I swatched all three ivories, and this was the palest. (#ghostlife) 
The concealer is full-on yellow, and supposedly illuminating, so that bodes well. Who doesn't love illumination ey? I'm after a lightweight under-eye concealer because I always find that concealer settles into my fine lines, so I thought this would be a good one to try.

Ok so, onto the first impressions. I will be checking in throughout the day to share how well it is wearing on my skin.



11am- 

When I applied this, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it blended into my skin. It is quite a pink ivory (hence the name, duh), and I was panicking when I was putting it on because the rest of my skin looked quite yellow. BUT, I persevered, and it seemed to blend to my face colour. Which is amazing. The colour looks really natural, and definitely is pale enough, so, ten points so far.
I was really surprised about the finish of this. I kind of expected an illuminating but fairly- full coverage finish. However, the fluid (ew) itself is thinner than I thought it would be, and the finish is pretty matte. I am not really a fan of a full- on matte finish so I was a bit disappointed about that. 
The coverage, however, is really good. I didn't put any concealer on apart from the illuminating under eye concealer (more on that in a minute), and the scar- zone - which is located on my chin- was fairly concealed. Obviously, still visible, but not too much. I decided to not apply any concealer to this area so I could really see how it wore. I also did not apply primer.
I striped the concealer under my eyes in a scary triangle shape, and was horrified at the bright yellow colour. Yikes.
However, I went ahead and blended it, and it really sunk into my skin and blended nicely. I'm not super blown away with this concealer yet...I don't know if it's because it's pale enough to be my skin colour, so it doesn't create the dimension it would on other people...or just because it's not as illuminate-y as I thought it would be.

12 noon-
After an hour or so I am noticing that the matte- finish is settling into a more natural satin. I am so pleased. My forehead, nose, chin and cheeks are actually reflecting light rather than lying completely matte and flat, so I am much more enthusiastic at this point. I can't believe how good the coverage is- the pores on my nose and cheeks are completely camouflaged, and I'm not super bothered about not having any concealer on my chin.
The concealer under my eyes has settled a little into lines, but this always happens. I've sort- of  blended it with my fingers to make it settle, so hopefully it will last a bit better. I have to say, the coverage on this is really good for an 'illuminating' product. I'm not itching to wack some more concealer on my under eyes which is promising.


4pm-

The foundation is lasting well, the natural oils on my skin (ew) have made it a lot less matte on my forehead and chin, making it look more dewy, which I like. It was really hard to  get a photo with the right light so you can see, but I hope you get some idea. Normally I would love a bit of concealer over that chin area, so apologies for my skin, which is (never) in the best shape.
The concealer seems to be holding up well too, I would prefer to have a little more coverage, but hey, it's doing well to be honest, medium coverage, and I suppose a bit brightening? Not as intense as I imagined.

6pm-

My facial expressions are just getting more and more awkward as the day goes on.
Anyway, nothing new to report since 4; shinyness around the chin and forehead, which I would normally have the option of powdering, but I probably wouldn't -I don't like my face to look flat. So far I am loving this foundation.
Under-eye area is holding up really well, no more fine lines visible than normal which is always a plus.

8pm-

This is my I've-been-doing-coursework-all-day-and-I'm-really-fed-up face. Can you tell?
So last check in, my make up has been on for about nine hours. The foundation lasted really really well, my chin and forehead are quite shiny by now, but that always happens because those are my oily areas. The concealer lasted really well too, I would normally touch up my concealer throughout the day and I didn't today which is good.

Overall I really like this foundation and concealer.The foundation has an amazing colour range, amazing blendability and a lovely finish. Ditto for the concealer. 
I would recommend them both!
Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed this post make sure you +1 this post and follow my blog for more reviews :)
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

February Beauty Empties

So I finished a few products, all of which I think are really good and I would repurchase, so I wanted to share them. :)

Firstly, this lipgloss from Avon which I have had for YEARS. I am not a lipgloss person, but this was my favourite. It was called 'Plump pout' in a clear shade, and this is something I would never normally pick up (Thank you, fifteen year old me). What made it so great was the smell, which was super fresh...kind of like mint and cinnamon (ew what? Trust me, it was great), and how it made my lips all nice and fresh looking, and plump I suppose. So yeah, this was great, and I will be looking at Avon to see if they still do something like this.

This next thing is a cleanser. And oh my god, its the best cleanser EVER. Its the superdrug Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser. This is such a nice balm cleanser which gets rid of all of your make up, and feels amazing on your skin. It also smells so nice and fresh which is a bonus. I think I actually prefer this to my new Body Shop Camomile Oil Cleanser and I definitely will be repurchasing it.

The last thing is something everyone knows about. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair. BUT. But. This ran out almost two weeks ago now and I'm actually surviving without it. I find that it is a little bit too pink for my skin, and actually not quite pale enough (my face is just white). It is also pretty heavy and can get cakey if I use it under my eyes. I've replaced it with the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 which is creamier and lighter, and really good, but STILL not quite fair enough, sadly. It'll do, for now, and I'll continue my search for a pale concealer.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x