Now I don't know about the rest of you, but 99% of the time, I am NAAAT feeling eyeshadow as part of my everyday makeup. I barely have enough time to put the basics on, let alone faffing around with packing the colour onto my lid, blending (repeat x10), adding a darker colour to give depth in the crease, adding an even darker colour on the outer third of the lid, and then defining the outer edge of the eye with a cotton bud so that my eyeliner goes into a sharp point. (I'm worn out even thinking about and typing those steps..)
Occasionally I will give myself a bit more time to get ready, only then does an eyeshadow situation occur, aside from those times, fancy eye make-up is strictly reserved for nights out. (To all you gals who wear beautifully blended eyeshadow on a regular basis, I JEFFIN' SLAUTE YOU. THAT IS A WORK OF ART AND ENDURANCE.
So lets start shall we?
Skincare/Base:
As I mentioned in my Highlighter 101 post, I am very much a dewy make-up follower. So to create my deliciously dewy base, I start off moisturising and adding some glow to remove the dullness from my skin with Mac Strobe Cream. I then spray 4-5 spritz's of Mac's Prep & Prime Fix+ all over my face, and then sit like a lemon for about 20 seconds, fanning my face and waiting for that all to sink in to my skin.
In terms of foundation, I switch it up a little bit! I know some people say that foundation is their saviour and they have that one holy grail foundation. But to be completely honest, without sounding like I'm bragging, I don't really need to wear foundation! I am very lucky in the way that my family all have/had pretty good skin so I have never suffered with acne or sensitive skin. Now don't go thinking that I have some sort of Victoria Secret Angel's skin because that is certainly NOT the case! I always have at least one little spot somewhere, little buggers... So what I'm trying to say with that stupidly long-winded explanation, is that some days if i just C B A to deal with the hassle of foundation, I just whack on some concealer and powder and I'm away!
But if I do wear foundation, it is usually between my No7, Stay Perfect Foundation (the shade has rubbed off, so I'm not sure what one I am but they have an amazing colour match machine so go get colour matched!) Or my Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Mont Blanc. I usually opt, surprisingly, for my No7 one purely for the ease of application! Both are fairly similarly in formulation, however the Nars one doesn't have a pump and that really gets on my nerves! Now I know that you can buy pumps for them, but I'm sorry if I'm paying £31 I expect a jeffin' pump! So yeah that's why I usually gravitate towards my No7 one. However I would say that the Nars Sheer Glow one does give a slightly dewier complexion, a slightly fuller coverage and has slightly longer staying power. I usually apply my foundation, first with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and then with a damp, Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I use the brush to distribute the foundation as evenly as possible across my face, then I use the sponge to really push the product into my skin so that it's not just laying on the surface and can be easily wiped away. Also, I sometimes find that the brush leaves streaks across my face from the brush fibres, so I dab the sponge all over my face just to make sure I don't look streaky!
Concealer/Powder
I'm sure most people are aware that there are mainly, two different types of concealers. One type of concealers are those formulated for covering dark circles under the eyes, and others for covering up those pesky pimples! I use the Maybelline Eye Eraser Concealer to cover up my horrific under eye bags.. (As you can see by the picture, mine is pretty gross atm.. Sorry..) It is one of those concealers where you have to turn the middle of it and the concealer comes up from the bottom and into the applicator, which in this case, is a sponge one. Now, I do really recommend this concealer as it is really easy to apply and blend. Mine is in the shade Light (that's a shock, not..) And I just apply this in 2 triangles under my eyes, dragging it out towards my cheekbones to help highlight and brighten my under eyes. However the one problem I have with this concealer, is that surely the sponge must be really unhygienic after a few applications?? All of the excess concealer from the previous application is left in and on the surface of the sponge, so that surely can't be working wonders for my skin? However still a fab concealer, but I recommend getting a new one every 1-2 months for hygiene reasons!
The concealer I use to cover my spots (ew) is a renowned favourite of mine and I'm sure many of you lot! And that's the Collection, Lasting Perfection Concealer (and yes I did just have to google the name and double check it was right because the bloody label/name has rubbed off!? I know this happens all the time to most people, so I'm assuming that you reading this, similarly feel my pain? I get mine in the shade Fair 1, and to be fair (lol) I probably could do with getting the next shade darker because it is a bit light for my skin tone (a miracle I know.) With spot-covering concealers, you want to use one that is as close to your foundation/natural skin shade as possible because you want it to cover up the spot, not highlight it like the under eye concealer (obviously..) I have made the mistake of using a concealer that was too light for me before, and it ended up looking like I had halo's around my spots, which unfortunately drew more (unwanted) attention to them.. NOT CUTE. Again, I would thoroughly recommend this concealer, it is probably one of my holy grail products in my makeup bag. I must have gotten through at least 10 on these in my life, and at only £4.19 a tube it doesn't exactly break the bank.
Powder wise, another holy grail product, I currently am and always have used, the Rimmel London, Stay Matte Pressed Powder in the shade 006, Warm Beige. As someone who has Normal to Combination skin, I don't exactly look for products to remove shine/excess oil from my face, because there is none! Having said that, I know girls who have oilier skins and they tend to opt for powders such as the Mac Pro Longwear Pressed Powder, because it is has a higher coverage and helps to absorb some of the excess oil and consequently reduce the shine! However, I think that if you have a similar skin type or are on the hunt for a cheap powder that is still very effective, give this one a go for sure!
Bronzer/Highlighter
When I had my makeup done at MAC a few months ago for my Summer Ball...
The gorgeous Nichola, (savethosekisses on Instagram, check her out!) who I absolutely adore (Hiya Nichola if you're reading this!) used Mac's Matte Bronzing Powder on me and I LOVED IT. I believe I have the shade Refined Golden but I may well be mistaken, because like my Collection concealer, the label has faded.. I digress! This bronzer does admittedly look slightly, dauntingly orange in the pan, but I assure you, comes out a gorgeous golden colour. I must point out that this does need to be used with a very light hand though because it quickly becomes very dark! I love that this bronzer is, as it says, completely matte. Because I have used other bronzers in the past that have had shimmer in them and with all of the highlighter and glow already on my face, more shimmer is NOT what I need. I use the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply it, I swirl the brush into the pan, tap off any excess, dust some of it off onto the back of my hand so that it isn't too harsh. Then I suck in my cheekbones like a fish to find the hollows of my cheeks and gently buff the bronzer into the hollows in circular motions to make sure there are no harsh lines. I also apply some to my temples, making sure I blend it into my hairline as well! And then finally along my jaw bone and MOST IMPORTANTLY down my neck! ORANGE FACE + WHITE NECK = MAKEUP SIN.
I'm sure that you guys have had enough of my highlighter rambles, so I won't natter on any more! Take a look at my Highlighter 101 and my The Game Changer posts, to read a bit more in depth into my favourite 'glow-getters' (get it? Go-getters?) (Yep I'll stop..) But I basically switch between all of these highlighters depending on my mood, my skin tone (Casper the ghost or fake-tanned) or normally whichever one is closest!
Now a step that I'm sure 99.9% of you don't do, or even know about for that matter is inner corner highlighting! Normally you would only use an inner corner highlight in combination with the eyeshadow that you had applied onto your lids. However, as I have explained, I tend to skip the eyeshadow on a day to day basis but I do still apply an inner corner highlight! To most this will seem strange and silly-looking, but personally I love it. I dip my ring finger into my MUA-Undress Your Skin Highlighter and apply it (generously) to the inner corners of my eyes. Because this highlighter is more pearlescent based, applying it onto the inner corners of my eyes really brings out the whites of my eyes and makes me look more awake (which I desperately need..)
Brows:
Another, summer ball makeover enabled purchase from Nichola was Mac's Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering. This has changed my brow game. Now I'm not saying that my brows are "on fleek" because they are far from it, but they have DEFINITELY improved. I used to use a Rimmel eyebrow pencil, but because it kept going blunt from where I kept using it, I wasn't able to get the sharp defined strokes that I get with the Mac pencil. It is a retractable pencil, so as the product gets used and consequently worn down, you twist it to bring more of the product up.
However, one major downfall with this product is how quickly it gets used up. I reckon I go through one of these a month? (crazyyyy) and also, I've found that when it gets towards the end, the product snaps off frequently :((( But nevertheless, I still really like this product and would recommend it!
Lashes:
I am one of girls who uses two mascaras... This is NOT necessary by any means, but I do prefer the way my eyelashes look with both mascara's on as opposed to just one of them.
Before I apply any mascara, I curl my eyelashes. I know that to some, eyelash curlers look like a terrifying contraption resembling something from one of the Saw movies, but I assure you they are perfectly safe. Just make sure you don't accidentally catch your eyelid when you clamp your lashes down, because I can tell you from numerous experiences, that this BLOODY HURTS.
First up, I use the Maybelline, The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara in Black Drama. I use this mascara primarily to give my lashes some volume (as the name suggests..) and I must say it is amazing! Eventhough it is a wetter formula compared to the other mascara, once you've let it dry it doesn't budge! Next up, to give my lashes some much needed length, I use the Loreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara in Magnetic Black. THIS IS FAB. If I could only wear one of these mascara's, it would be this one for sure. It really does give my stumpy lashes some well needed length, so that they can actually be seen!
Lips:
I'm kind of ashamed to admit this.. But on most days I generally just whack on some Vaseline and I'm out the door! Because I work in retail and I only normally get one break, there's not many opportunities to keep touching up my lipstick/lipliner to make sure it doesn't bleed down my face.. However, with that being said I have become a lot more adventurous recently! My favourite combo's at the moment are all from Mac. First up is my favourite 'pinkier' combo; Soar Lipliner with Mehr Lipstick over the top. Then for a more brown-toned lip, I tend to opt for Spice Lipliner with Velvet Teddy Lipstick over the top! If you're just looking to wear one lip product on it's own, and are looking for a shade in between pink and brown, I would point you in the direction of the infamous Whirl Lipliner (an apparent favourite of Kylie Jenner's.)
So this post turned out to be A LOT longer than I had planned, and that now makes me look like I cake the make up on my face, but I can assure you that this look is VERY natural. As a complete eyeliner noob, I steer clear of the "feline flick" as it usually turns out to be more of a "feline face" after I attempt to make them even.. So with no eyeliner or eyeshadow involved, this means that it is a very natural looking face!
Hope you've enjoyed this post (*essay*)
Kez xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment