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

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush!

When it comes to foundation, most of the time I want quite a full coverage. I have redness in my cheeks and am very prone to blemishes which can give an uneven skin tone that I hate and am very aware of.

There are some very good drugstore foundations that I really like, but as I have very dry skin I find it doesn't take long for them to go cakey, patchy and flakey. Not a good look!

I've always applied foundation with my fingers, as I've tried the generic flat foundation brushes before and found they just did nothing for me, except leave me with stroke marks on my face (that I had to then blend out with my fingers anyway!) and a brush to clean.

After watching many YouTube videos featuring the Real Techniques brushes by Samantha Chapman (of Pixiwoo, as I'm sure most of you know!) and reading countless blog posts about them, I became interested in the Buffing Brush and the Expert Face Brush and thought this may be a good solution to wanting to use my cheaper foundations but still getting a good coverage and finish.

They appealed to me as they weren't the average flat foundation brushes, and of course their reputation preceded them. Both have been raved about endlessly for their foundation application, and ultimately my choice, as I'm sure you can tell by the title of this post, was the Expert Face Brush. This decision was made pretty much purely because the Buffing Brush is only available as part the Real Techniques Core Collection, which retails at £21.99 from Boots. While this is a great deal for 4 brushes (Detailer Brush - which I looks brilliant for concealer, Pointed Foundation Brush, Buffing Brush, and Contour Brush), I justified buying just the one I really need at the moment. However, I would love to buy the Core Collection at a later date, and as it doesn't include the Expert Face Brush, I won't be left doubling up on brushes for the sake of a couple more.

I have really noticed a difference to my base since using this brush, and other people have even commented on it, which has made me feel a bit happier about my skin!

I like to dot my foundation (currently Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation, which despite being Ivory is my Summer foundation for when I'm a bit tanned) on my cheeks, nose, forehead and chin and then buff it out in circular motions, before finally smoothly going over the whole face to make sure it's well blended. The brush also makes it really easy to pop your foundation down your neck quickly and over the ears if necessary to make the whole look more seamless.

I've found I have so much more coverage now, particularly on my cheeks which would in the past make it hard to apply blusher if there was redness coming through. It gives a beautiful flawless finish to my foundation  and makes it last a lot longer when I'm at work etc. It also makes me feel like I'm getting more from my cheaper foundations, and the brush isn't left caked in foundation, which leads me to believe the majority of the product is getting actually on my face instead of stuck on the brush.

I've used the Expert Face Brush everyday since I bought it, and am so glad I did as it's made me a bit more confident with my skin and makeup, which is well worth the £9.99 I paid for it!

Let me know if there's any other Real Techniques brushes I should try!

Thanks for reading! xxx

You can buy the Expert Face Brush here as well as the other Real Techniques brushes!

What's In My Makeup Bag? #1 FACE

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...

FACE
Foundation: I don't carry around a foundation everyday, especially if I'm carrying a lot about that day, and often concealer will fix any skin dilemmas that may arise. But I do often throw it in my bag before I go out, despite the fact I don't think I've ever re-applied foundation when out and about, unless I was going somewhere to get ready (like a friend's house before a night out or a special occasion where we want to get ready together) or if I'd rushed out without time to do my makeup (which is rare!). At the moment I am using the NYC All Day Long Foundation, which I love for a cheap foundation. It lasts really well and when hotter days come along it doesn't slip or sweat off.

Read my review of NYC All Day Long Foundation here! http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/nyc-all-day-long-foundation-review.html

Concealer: I carry concealer at all times! I used the Rimmel Hide The Blemish stick concealers for a really long time, until I recently bought the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer. I know this concealer has a lot of fans on blogs, and I understand why. I love it! It lasts throughout the day, has great coverage, allows you to pinpoint blemishes, and doesn't go cakey when built up. This has quickly become a staple in my makeup routine and I don't go anywhere without it.

Read my review of Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/collection-2000-lasting-perfection.html

Powder: I am always a bit scared when I get my powder out of my makeup bag. I've suffered from broken powders, bronzers, blushers and eyeshadows many, many times in my life! However, in the Summer I can get a bit shiny, especially if I'm running about a bit and therefore like to keep powder on me for a quick fix. I always buy translucent powders because I am quite fair, I use the palest foundations generally, and I don't want any coloured powder that may not match up well and would look very obvious on my pale base. I was using Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder untiil that broke recently, so I am know using Collection 2000 Pressed Powder.

Powder Brush: To apply my powder on the go I use a blusher brush by FCUK, which is great because it's slim and doesn't take up as much room as perhaps a larger powder brush would, and I only tend to put powder on a couple of places on my face, so it's good for keeping powder exactly where I want it.

Read my review of Collection 2000 Pressed Powder here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/collection-2000-pressed-powder.html

Eyebrow Pencil: I actually use a pencil eyeliner for shaping and colouring my eyebrows. I often get a No7 gift set for Christmas or birthdays and these (luckily) often include the No7 Amazing Eyes Pencil in Brown. I really like this for my brows as it's easy to do light individual strokes and the colour is quite ashy so it doesn't leave me with gingery eyebrows (which has happened in the past). Eyebrow products may not be considered essential to everyone, but my brows aren't very dark naturally and are quite sparse, so I like to fill them in to make them more defined, and consider this one of my makeup musts everyday. I probably wouldn't use these liners for my eyebrows if I wasn't getting them in gifts as there are cheaper brow products out there, or even just eyeshadows, but when I've tried eyeshadows I've found it hard to find the right shade. Also these pencils are really convenient for on-the-go makeup.

Mascara Spoolie Brush: I keep an old, clean mascara wand in my makeup bag to brush through and shape my brows before adding pencil or brow mascara.

Brow Mascara: I have only started using brow mascara the last few months, but now I don't know how I ever managed without it!I use the ELF Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara. I keep it on my despite the fact it's never required touching up or another coat because hairs have fallen out of place. I find once I apply it in the morning, my eyebrows are set all day.

Read my review of ELF Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara here!
http://beautyimaginarium.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/elf-reviews-part-one-eyeshadow-eyeliner.html



Part Two of What's In My Makeup Bag? coming up!

Thanks for reading! xxx

NYC All Day Long Foundation Review!

I recently bought the NYC All Day Long Smooth Skin Foundation in an attempt to find a good bargain drugstore foundation.

I have pretty dry skin most of the time, but as things warm up for Summer my skin tends to get more moisture to it and become more of the 'normal' skin type.
When I began using this foundation the weather was a bit cooler and grey, therefore my skin was a bit dryer. Although I always moisturise before applying my foundation, I found the product was a bit cakey on my dry areas and dried in any lines or on blemishes.

Luckily, the weather got brighter and a lot warmer and, unlike a lot of pricier foundations you find in drugstores, I felt this is where it excelled. I found it blended really well on the skin and didn't feel heavy or too much for the skin in the hot weather. It gives a more matte finish than I normally go for, but it didn't make my skin look dull.

As a paler girl I found the colour great for my skin tone. A lot of paler foundations I've tried have been too pink for the tone of my skin.

It lived up to it's 'All Day Long' promise and stayed put on my skin all day, despite being in the sunshine and walking around a lot (and let's be honest, sweating a bit! - Sorry!). I liked that after a few days of using it I could put it on in the morning and not worry about it melting off and being left too shiny.
It has no SPF but I use my Superdrug Vitamin E SPF 15 Moisturising Day Cream everyday before applying.

While it might be too matte for me personally in other seasons, I'll be using this in the warmer weather for a non-moving, reliable base. I think it's a great buy for the price (£3.99 from Superdrug), but possibly not for you if you have particularly dry skin.

Let me know if you've tried it and what you thought or if there's any cheap drugstore foundations you'd recommend!

xxx

NYC All Day Long Smooth Skin Foundation - £3.99 from Superdrug http://www.superdrug.com/foundation/nyc-all-day-long-foundation-classic-beige/invt/380850/&bklist=

Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care SPF 15 Moisturising Day Cream - £2.99 from Superdrug http://www.superdrug.com/superdrug/superdrug-vitamin-e-spf-15-moisture-cream-100ml/invt/398217/&bklist=

Beauty Bargain Hunting...

Is it just me or do all your beauty essentials seem to run out at the same time?
Although these must-haves might not be pricey individually, when you have to buy a handful of things at once, it can easily add up. So when I began to run low on a few things lately I thought I'd give some cheaper alternatives a go.

NYC All Day Long Smooth Skin foundation - £3.99 from Superdrug  
NYC Showtime Volumising Waterproof Mascara - £1.99 from Superdrug
2true Effortless Waterproof Eyeliner - £1.99 from Superdrug
Superdrug Vitamin E Skincare SPF 15 Moisturising Day Cream - £2.99 from Superdrug


A new foundation, mascara, eyeliner and moisturiser for less than £11 isn't bad at all. So I'm going to give these a go in my everyday routine and see how we get along. I don't expect miracles from cheaper brands but fingers crossed for some good results! 


Let me know if you've tried any of these and what you thought, or if there's any other cheaper brands you'd recommend!


xxx