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

Soap & Glory - 3 for 2 at Boots!

I popped into Boots the other day on the hunt for Soap & Glory's Original Pink perfume. Sadly it was out of stock. However, I did notice that the Soap & Glory range was all 3 for 2, and as some of their products can be relatively pricey, I thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up a few things and get one free!

I was keen to save some money for when I did track down the perfume, but I did grab a some of the smaller size products...

Hand Food

I was never a big hand cream person. I found a lot of the time they left my hands feeling greasy or smelling like an old lady, and it was certainly never something I'd splash out on.

However, when I started my new job in September I noticed my hands were getting very dry and generally a bit mistreated from moving things around, carrying things up and down stairs etc. I was given Hand Food in my stocking at Christmas, and it instantly became a heavily relied upon product. 

I've used my old one every day I've worked since Christmas and it's only just run out (although I only used a pea-sized amount as I found a little goes a long way). So I thought the 3 for 2 offer would be a good chance to pick up a new one. 

Hand Food does also come in a 250ml pump bottle for £7, which is clearly better value! Even so, I opted for the 50ml handbag friendly sized tube, costing £5 (the behaviour of a crazy person, I am well aware!).

The packaging comes ready with the alluring 'The most astonishing hand cream ever? You decide!' slogan, and it is certainly the best I have tried. Hand Food has the Soap & Glory trademark 'Original Pink' scent, that I've loved in their Clean On Me shower gel and Calm One, Calm All bubble bath in the past (and would have no doubt loved if I could've gotten my well-moisturised hands on the perfume!). This was a big tick in for the product in my eyes as I find a lot of hand creams tend to have very floral or peculiar smells that just don't do it for me. 

The formula contains shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow which contribute to it's gorgeous scent, as well as making it incredibly softening. Hand Food feels a little greasy at first but is absorbed very quickly with no residue or greasiness whatsoever, which I find great at work as it means I'm able to touch products without fear of leaving sticky hand prints all over them. 

If I had to find a flaw with Hand Food it would be that that it hasn't had much affect on my nails or helped protect them in any way, however it never claimed to so I can't really fault it for that!

The Righteous Butter

The Righteous Butter is a body butter that I'd never tried before, so I thought the mini size would be a good one to trial. I do tend to get very dry skin, especially after a Winter of heating drying it out. I also tend to take better care of my skin as Summer approaches and I want to start showing off a bit more skin and feeling confident enough to do so. 

You apply the product to damp skin, after getting out the bath or shower, and massage it in well. I've found that you don't need to use an awful lot, perhaps as it's being used on damp skin it helps it spread further. The formula is also quite rich, so it may be too much for some people. I, however, loved it. It sinks into the skin well, so you aren't left unable to get dressed for ages afterwards like you can be with some body lotions or butters. It also has the same scent as Hand Food (the Original Pink scent) so you're left smelling great too!

As with many of the Soap & Glory body and skin products, it also contains shea butter and aloe vera, making it very soothing to the skin, which I loved as my skin can get quite sore and irritated. 

The mini size costs £2.50 for 50ml. The big pump bottle is £10 for 500ml which again is much better value, but I thought I'd see how I got on with it first. Unlike Hand Food (purely because it's more convenient for my to have hand cream travel sized), I would definitely buy the large size of The Righteous Butter. 

Clean, Girls Body Wash

The Clean, Girls body wash was another product I was keen to try out and therefore bought a miniature of. I'd owned the large Clean On Me shower gel before and really loved it, but as I currently have a Lush shower gel on the go I thought I'd try a small version of something new for when I need to purchase a new one. 

I was drawn to Clean, Girls as the scent is described as 'natural vanilla, fruit and orchid extracts' and I am a sucker for anything vanilla scented! The body wash does smell really nice, however I do think I'm more of a fan of the classic Soap & Glory scent (Clean, Girls has the Mist You Madly fragrance that they have available in body sprays). The formula was lovely and creamy, and claims to have a 'built-in moisturisng matrix'. I can't say I personally noticed it softening my skin much but, as I have said, I do have dry skin and rarely do I find a shower gel that would have any noticeable impact on this. 

I don't think I'd purchase the full sized product, however at £6 for 500ml I do think it's great value if you are a fan of the Mist You Madly scent, or just in the market for any Soap & Glory shower gels/body wash.

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know your thoughts and your favourite Soap & Glory products!

xxx

Find all Soap & Glory products 3 for 2 here from Boots!