My Makeup Bag Must-Haves! - The Base

I find such an abnormal sense of satisfaction when I have a new bag or makeup bag. Part 'OH MY GOD I LOVE SHINY NEW THINGS' and part 'I WILL BE A FANTASTIC NEW ORGANISED PERSON', I'm sure neither is healthy, but nevertheless my excitement at my new Zoella makeup bag is palpable...

Now, I'm fairly certain I don't need to explain to many of you who Zoe Sugg is, or the fact that she released a range of hot property bath and beauty items recently, but she recently added a new makeup bag/pencil case to the collection. The two designs she initially released weren't really my style, but her new 'Just Say Yes' bag is right up my alley, in all it's pastel peach and gold glory.

Inside I like to keep everday essentials I am using at the time, to avoid cracking out my whole makeup collection every morning.

Let's start with face and base.

For a long time Rimmel's Match Perfection was my staple foundation. Light Porcelain is absolutely ideal for my skin tone, which is hard to come by with pale skin. However, when Autumn came around I felt my skin was looking a bit dull and lacklustre so I wanted to give something else a try. I'd tried Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation a couple of Summers ago and liked it, so thought that could give my skin the pep it needed - And it worked. 

I bought Ivory as I couldn't find Light Porcelain, but it matched well (if not as perfectly as my Match Perfection... But who could expect it to compete with a name like that?). Claiming to give a radiant glow and anti-fatigue effect, I certainly do feel it's livened my skin up, and with a 'Vitamin Moisturising complex' it works a treat for my dry skin.

I apply my foundation with a Real Techniques Buffing Brush, and occasionally pat over my face with a their Miracle Complexion Sponge slightly dampened at the end just to avoid any brush marks.

When it comes to concealer, I'd been a Collection Lasting Perfection girl for a long time... Years in fact, and that's not going to change. But a couple of months ago, I felt like branching out and had long wanted to try some more Soap & Glory makeup. I opted for their Kick-Ass Concealer in Light (still a tad dark for me so I like to keep my Fair Lasting Perfection in there too). 

A three-step plan to conceal anything unsightly - A yellow toned concealer for general face work, a peachy one for concealing those under eye shadows, and a transparent setting powder with 'INSTA-FIX' technology to keep it all in place. 

I really love this concealer. The smooth texture means I'm not left with cakey looking patches on my dry skin, and as someone who doesn't like to use powder for fear of flaking and other horrors, I like that the little powder puff and setting powder allow me to really pinpoint where I want to apply, and it helps keep my concealer locked in a treat... Let's ignore the fact I broke mine...

I like to keep my sample size Porefessional by Benefit in my makeup bag. I don't generally go for primers due to my skin type, but I really like using this just over my nose where I can have visible pores, and on my under eyes and lids just to give my eye makeup that bit more staying power. 

Lastly, brows. I always keep a spoolie in my bag to brush through my brows before and after applying a brow product, which at the moment is my Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph shaping and highlighting crayon. A lovely ashy light brown pencil on one end, and a matte creamy bone coloured highlighter on the other. The shade is perfect, it's a great duo to have on the go. As you can see, mine is well loved and on it's last legs.

So that is my base. I tend to embrace the pale this time of year, and only get out the bronzers on nights out or if I'm feeling particularly ghostly. I'll occasionally dab on some blusher, but I tend to crack them out more as Spring rolls in.

Thank you so much for reading!

I'd love to know you're everyday essentials and makeup bag must haves!

xxxx

For more information on products mentioned:

Soap & Glory

Benefit

Zoella Beauty

Rimmel

Collection

Real Techniques

What's In My Makeup Bag? #2 EYES

I always enjoy 'What's In My Makeup Bag?' blog posts. I like to know what people are using day to day and what they like enough to consider them essentials in their makeup bags, so I thought I'd do one of my own!

I don't have a huge makeup bag, and I don't think I carry around an excessive amount of products, but everyone has different opinions of what is essential and what they're likely to want or need throughout the day, so here's mine...

EYES

Eyeshadow: I'll often throw the eyeshadow I put on in my makeup bag before I go out, but there are a couple that I always keep on me. The first is Collection 2000 Colour Intense Trio Eye Shadow in the shade Sandcastle. This has 3 shimmery nude shadows, a very pale cream, a slightly darker beige, and a warm light brown. I think this trio has a great selection for everyday makeup, and can be built into a couple of different looks and can work to adjust a lot of looks if you forget to put your eyeshadow in your bag or if you don't want to carry a lot around.

I also have my Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Bad Girl in my handbag. While a lot of colours in the palette are very dark or bold, they can be used lightly to create a wide range of looks, and it's great to have in your bag if you're going out for the day and night, as it's easy to make a neutral day look into an evening one with a smokey eye. It also has two great nude shades in it, Innocence (a frosty white) and Gullible (a frosty beige) which I use a lot for a wash of colour on the lids in the daytime.

Eyeshadow brush: I don't like to carry a lot of brushes in my makeup bag, so I just carry my eyeshadow brush from FCUK as I find good for most looks or touch ups I may need to do.

Eyeliner: I love liquid liners, and personally find them relatively easy to do on the go or touch up quickly. At the moment I'm using 2true Effortless Waterproof Eyeliner and am loving it. It lasts really well, applies accurately, and is opaque so it doesn't require numerous coats. I used to always carry a black kohl pencil or gel liner for my waterline, but have been needing a new one for quite a while since my Maybelline gel liner (which I really liked) dried out and it hasn't been top of my makeup priorities. When I repurchase one, it will undoubtedly live in my makeup bag everyday.

Mascara: I always have two mascaras in my makeup bag. I'll keep a waterproof mascara in there at all times (I'm currently using NYC Showtime Waterproof Mascara) to apply over my normal mascara if necessary or if I want to make it last a bit longer (this isn't scientific fact, just something I like to do!). I then will put in the mascara I am using at the time after I've put it on. I tend to alternate between Benefit's Bad Gal Lash Mascara, George's Lash X-Treme Mascara, and Rimmel Volume Flash Scandal'Eyes Mascara (all in black) depending on the look I want, as I find they all give me different effects.

Read my review of Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/glamour-and-benefit.html

Read my review of George Lash X-Tend Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/george-lash-x-tend-mascara.html




Read Part One of What's In My Makeup Bag? here! http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/whats-in-my-makeup-bag-1-face.html

Part Three coming soon!

Thanks for reading! xxx

Benefit 'They're Real!' Mascara Review

Benefit often has a lot of products I'd like to give a go, but are just out of my budget at the moment. Luckily for me, my mum recently bought the They're Real! mascara and didn't get along with it (she's quite sensitive to different products and brands), so gave it to me. I hadn't previously looked into the product or heard anything about it really so I was excited to give it a go.

They're Real! claims to lengthen, curl, volumize, lift and separate lashes, and I'd have to agree for the most part. I didn't know anything about the look this mascara was meant to achieve when I tried it for the first few days (the outer packaging had been thrown away before I had a chance to look), but I was impressed with the effect.

I was dubious about the wand when I looked at it, as I'm not a big fan of plastic wands generally, but I actually liked it. It meant that you were able to apply one coat and have defined but more understated lashes, or build up more volume with more coats, which is sometimes hard to do with bristles when you have less control over how much product is on the wand. Also, an aim of this mascara is to separate, which I always find plastic wands to be better at. However, I did find the more coats were applied, the less separated the lashes looked, and they became a bit more clumped together.

I did feel my lashes were lifted and slightly curled with this mascara. I don't tend to use an eyelash curler for everyday makeup, and am yet to try this mascara with a curler, but I find it works by itself to add a nice effect. I'm not sure I'd call it a curled effect, but it definitely lifted the lashes and I felt like it really made my eyes pop. It also worked great with one coat on my lower lashes as it defined them without making them look spidery.

As for it's lengthening effect, I was really impressed. My eyelashes definitely appeared longer to me. I think this product has the tiny hairs or fibres in it that a lot of lengthening mascaras have these days, and I find work a treat. I also find that the formula makes my lashes feel less dry and hard than some volumizing mascaras.

I know this formula is not waterproof, and I don't believe a waterproof version is available at the moment. I tend to get smudge marks on my lids with most mascaras I wear within a couple of hours, particularly non-waterproof ones, but They're Real! left no marks whatsoever, even after a day of wear, which was fantastic. However, if you live in the UK you'll know that we haven't really had any hot weather to test how it would last in those circumstances.

A downside of this product is that it is currently only available in black, so if you're fairer haired or are just not a fan of black mascaras, then this isn't for you.

Although I did really like this mascara, I wouldn't buy it myself at £18.50. I have found mascaras I prefer or that are nearly as good on the high street for under £10, so realistically I'm not sure it's worth it's price tag.

xxx

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - £18.50 - http://www.boots.com/en/benefit-theyre-real-mascara_1231677/

Glamour and Benefit!

I buy Glamour magazine most months, although not religiously, but when I saw that they were going to be giving away Benefit samples with the July 2012 issues, I knew I had to grab a copy.

I feel like Glamour used to have free gifts with the magazine itself a lot more regularly, and they don't seem to have had one for a while (although I might have just missed them).

I had heard great things about the Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara, and as it's not a product I'd normally consider due to price, I was very keen to snap up a sample size worth £10 (0.14oz, a full size tube is 0.3oz) with my Glamour for just £2.

I've been trying out the mascara for a few days, and have to say I love it. So many mascaras leave my lashes clumped together and feeling heavy with product, whereas while this defined my lashes well and was buildable, it didn't leave a single clump. It just left me with natural looking long and fluttery lashes.

The brush was nice and big and bristley, which I like cos I'm not a fan of the more spidery look you tend to get from the thin plastic brushes.

It didn't wear off, or leave me with transfer marks on my eyelid, and I used it on my bottom lashes with no problems or transfer whatsoever. Yet, it was also so easy to remove. I sometimes find I'm really scrubbing at my eyelashes trying to removed product, and can still wake up with panda eyes, even when I thought I'd cleansed thoroughly.

At the moment I wouldn't be spending £16.50 on a mascara, but if I could afford to, I definitely would buy this one. So if it's in your budget and you're looking for a good mascara, I'd recommend this wholeheartedly!

The other free gift options were the Porefessional Primer, which is supposed to minimise the appearance of pores for a smoother foundation base, and "that gal" Brightening Face Primer. I might even have to pick up another copy of Glamour with one of these samples!

Let me know if you tried the other free gifts and what you thought!

xxx

Glamour Magazine retails for £2 from most UK newsagents, supermarkets and other shops that sell magazines.