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. 

A Couple of Cheeky Kiko Purchases

As always on a Saturday, I found myself *accidentally* buying a couple of make- up bits on my lunchbreak at work. 

I wandered into Kiko, and these two beautiful vibrant shades fell into my hands.

Since I bought the 24- pan Kiko palette, I've become obsessed with picking up new shades and building up my collection. I have been so impressed with the quality of these shadows so far, there has only been one which is less than impressive- I go through my whole collection in my 'Kiko Palette' post which I did a few weeks ago.

These two shades are so vibrant and beautiful. I'm using my kiko palette to fill in the gaps in my eyeshadow collection, which is saturated with bronzes, browns and nudes. These are like Spring in an eyeshadow.

226 is the beautiful peachy pink, which I think would work amazingly well as a blush as well as an eyeshadow, especially because kiko eyeshadows come in such generous sizes.

252 is the muted lilac/purple. I am loving this colour so much at the moment, and I have nothing quite like it to create a bright, spring-y eye. Looking forward to giving that a go for sure.

As always, they are beautifully pigmented but silky smooth at the same time. When I create an eye look using these colours, I'll be sure to create a post on how they blended and wore- but knowing that the quality of my other eyeshadows is so good, I expect they will live up to others.

The lipstick is one of Kiko's smart lipsticks, and was on offer at 2.50, so I grabbed it. It's a pale peach: the kind of colour I LOVE this time of year. It's very sheer, a wash of colour with just the right amount of pigment to make it really pretty and wearable. Also- it smells like a MAC lipstick. I tried it on last night briefly and I couldn't get over how good it smells. It also leaves your lips feeling really nourished and plump. Definitely not a long-wearer, but one for the Summer months with a little more glossy- ness and the moisturising factor. (and the amazing price tag)

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

5 minute make- up ~ Spring Pinks

Happy Easter!

So today I did this quick, fresh-looking Spring make- up. 

I do apologise for the edited photo, when I looked in the mirror, my face looked fine, but when I took a photo, I just looked horrible, so. Sorry.

I only used things from my previous post, so I took the Rimmel BB cream allover, concealer in the obvious places, a healthy dab of the Revolution Blush in Love on my cheeks, and the Technic highlighter dabbed on my cheekbones and on my brow bone.

The eyes were super simple. 

A swipe of the Bourjois 24 Hour cream eyeshadow allover the lid (in Petale), and a little browny eyeshadow swished into the crease- i used the second from the left shade in my Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette.

I've been loving the sans- eyeliner look recently, I think it looks really fresh, so I just went straight in with mascara.

For the lips, just a quick splash of the Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle for a nice natural flushed pink.

Voila!

Hope you've had an amazing day,

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 White Nail Game

The white nail thing is definitely happening for Spring/ Summer this year.

I love this trend, because it makes my nearly-white skin look more tanned, and the darker your skin, the better it looks. 

Theres loads of off-white colours around, I know the Nails Inc ones have been really hyped up, but they are price-y.

Check out Barry M, they have a really good selection, and I have my eye on a few of them.

The one I'm wearing here is Easy Going by Sinful Colours, and it's a slightly pink-white. Really opaque consistency, and a nice shiny finish. Takes a fair while to dry which is a bit of a pain, but if you have the patience, it's worth it.

Love this trend, I'll be on the hunt for more off-white shades and I'll surely update the blog when I find some

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

Top 5 Spring Nail Picks

Spring has definitely sprung here in the UK, so I've had a rummage through my nail varnish collection and picked my favourite spring shades :)

As you can see, they're all pretty light colours, because I think summer is about really bold but fresh, light shades. Summer is for bright oranges, corals, and neons to compliment your tan, and I've definitely worn out my autumn and winter dark reds and purples... so it's definitely time to change up and go for a fresher look. From top to bottom-

Barry M Nail Paint in Bright Pink (£2.99)

So this is just a classic bright, baby pink. So girly, so fresh and... yeah, spring-y. Looks really nice with all skin tones, but would definitely look amazing on darker skin tones. 

Maybelline Superstay 7 Days Gel Nail Colour in 130 Rose Poudre (£4.99)

This is the newest one to me out of this collection. I tend to stick to Barry M Nail polishes (can you tell?) because I know they're great and have an amazing selection of colours. I think I heard about this formula on youtube and so I had a look in Boots and picked up 2 colours. (The other colour is a dusty blue and is more winter-y.) This one is my new go-to nude shade. It looks quite browny in the swatch but its just a really basic pinky/brown nude, it almost blends in with my skin. The colour is amazing, and the brush on this polish is SO good. Really fat and flat, which makes applying so easy. However, I'm not sure YET if this lives up to the hype. The first time I wore it, it didn't stay chip-free for very long at ALL. (To be fair, none of my nail polishes seem to be staying on at the moment so I'm pretty sure it's a top coat/base coat issue...)

Barry M Nail Paint in Berry Icecream (£2.99)

I think this is my favourite nail polish of all time. It's stays so well, and is such a beautiful colour. It's a really light lilac, which is opaque but really subtle and pretty, especially for spring. If I had to recommend any of these, it would be this one. I get compliments all the time when I wear this, it's just a really nice shade which is just a little bit different.

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Heartbeat

I actually got this in a sale in Boots for a pound, so I am not sure if it's available any more. It's an average formula but it's the colour that's amazing. Look for a really nice iced- light blue shade if you like the look of this one.  This shade looks so pretty, and an easier way to wear a bright white nail polish. Also looks amazing in the summer with a tan, or if you are lucky enough to have skin darker than paper.

Barry M Gelly High Shine Nail Paint in Blueberry (£3.99)

The gel formula from Barry M is really really nice, I would recommend checking it out if you haven't already. It's a bit thicker than the normal formula, so it takes longer to dry, but it leaves a really shiny thick colour on your nails. This colour is so lovely, it's a kind of bright powder-blue (?), bright but not too in-your-face. I think this is great for Spring or Summer, it looks so fresh, and is an easier way to wear a blue nail polish.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x 

My Kiko Palette

*the shadow three from the right should be 220 not 240

So this is my Kiko eyeshadow collection. Kiko is the nearest thing  I can afford which is similar to creating my own MAC palette. Kiko eyeshadows are £5.40 each (compared to MAC's £13 or something ridiculous), and recently have been on an offer making them £2.80 each. Amazing. In the summer I picked three up, you can probably tell from the palette view which ones from how destroyed they are. So I originally had a three- palette and I enjoyed the eyeshadows so much that when I saw them on offer again I grabbed four more, and then another one. These eight are actually sitting in a 24- place palette. I know, I got really excited. The reason is, the 9 palette was only £1.50 cheaper than the 24 palette. So, ya know. I'll eventually fill it up I'm sure.

So here are my eight eyeshadows. Two I use for eyebrows as well, and the rest are a sort of wintery collection of pinky purples. I've lent towards purply colours because, firstly, I have a lot of browny eyeshadows, and secondly, its winter. Oh, and thirdly I got told purple looks good on green eyes, which I have, so I'm trying to use them more.

In the swatches photo, these two are the colours on the far left. I have no idea how they have come out looking so brown, but I found the palette so hard to photograph too. They look their truest in the top photo of the whole palette. These are 293 and 233 in that order. They are both deep cranberry, 293 is slightly darker. It's really hard to talk about how lovely they are when the picture is so bad, but have a look if you are in a Kiko store.

This is 236 and 239. They are two of the originals, and these photos are so much better. 236 is a beautiful champagne shimmer which is so lovely as a base colour, and also works well as a shimmery highlighter. 239 I use as a brow colour, but it is very so slightly too dark since my hair got lighter. But, I have to say I can tell you that these last ALL DAY in the brows, and on the lids too, no smudging or budging. Also a really good ashy taupe crease shade.

This is 218 and 237. 218 is my least favourite of all of my shades. It's basically a base colour, cream with sparkle, but the colour pay off is really poor on this one, meaning its super sheer. This could be dusted over matte eyeshadows to make them shimmery, but its not very pigmented compared to the others. 237 is my new brow shade, and is basically a lighter version of 239, and matches my brows perfectly. I mix in a little of 239 for a stronger brow if I fancy it, otherwise this is the perfect everyday replacement for the shade 'Frisk' in the Naked 2 basics palette which I do NOT want to use everyday and use up.

This purple shadow is 246, and its a cooler- toned purple with a lot of shimmer. It's so pretty, and works really nicely with the more cranberry shades, as well as the lighter shades. The last one is 220 (labelled 240 in the top photo) and it's my first more Spring/ summer shade for this palette. It's a bit darker than it looks here, its a really pretty peachy colour with gold shimmer and its soo lovely, perfect for warmer weather, and I know this will look great with a tan. 

Kiko eyeshadows are definitely worth checking out, so cheap, and the chance to design your own palette which is amazing. The pans are actually really big too, so I was considering having a look for a couple of blusher/ contour/ highlighter colours too.

I've got another 16 slots to fill up and I can't wait!

Thanks for reading, hope this was useful!

Lou x