What's in my makeup bag?

As with all beauty bloggers, collectors and general make up hoarders, I have a giant stash of beauty products. It's really not practical to be rifling through a zillion products on a daily basis before I finally decide what to put on my face. Instead, I keep the products that Im currently loving in a trusty makeup bag which sits on top of my desk/dressing table. Every few weeks or so I change things up in there depending on season and my mood, but I'm currently really happy with the contents of my make up bag, so I thought I'd share it with you all. Let's dive in. 

The Bag

A pretty floral offering from Clinique a few years back. I do own a lovely Lulu Guinness makeup bag however, due to the shape of the compartments, it's just too small for a few days away. It would probably work for an overnight jobby though!

Base

My primer of choice at the moment is the Pore Fessional from Benefit (because it's wonderful.) I have two foundations so I can switch up what I want from my skin. A full coverage and long lasting option comes in the form of the L'Oreal Infallible 24H-Matte Foundation in 11 Vanilla. A lighter and more radiant formula can be found in the Rimmel Match Perfection Light Perfecting Radiance Foundation in 100 Ivory. 3 concealers at the moment: L'Oreal True Match (2 Vanilla), for highlighting the under eye area, Erase Paste (No.1 Fair) from Benefit for covering pesky under eye bags and the Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NW20 for any blemishes or scars on my face.

My current powder is the L'Oreal True Match which is great for setting makeup and touch ups throughout the day as it's non cakey and really finely milled.The shade C2 Rose Vanilla has a slight hint of coverage too which is great for when your makeup starts to disappear half way through the day.

Brows

I'm really in to my brows at the moment so I have more products than I usually would, but I find that these three work really well together. First up is the Soap and Glory Brow Archery Pencil in Blondeshell. Then comes the powder from the Benefit BrowZings in Light, then I finish up with a slick of the Rimmel Brow This Way gel in 001 Blonde to set my brows in place.

Complexion

This is super compact thanks to the perfect face pallete that is the Sleek Face Form Palette in Light. I use the matte bronzing shade to contour and add some colour to my face, a dab of the rose goldy blush on my cheeks, then a swish of the highlighter on my cheek bones and down the bridge of my nose.

Eyes

I actually don't keep too many eye products in my beauty bag..The majority of the stuff I use on my eyes comes in palette form and sits on top of my desk (but more about that in a minute). In the bag itself, we have two cream shadows in the form of the Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoos. I have the shade Pink Gold, which is a really pretty mix between rose gold and baby pink. It gives the prettiest rose wash on the lids, great on it's own or under shadows. I also have the shade Vintage Plum, which is a gorgeous taupe-y plum colour. Next up in a tiny little quad from Estee Lauder, which is super compact but has some great colours in it. Insides we have Sugar Cube, a sheeny white, Iridescent Violet, a shimmery taupe-y plum shade, very similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoo. On the bottom we've got Lilac Whimsy, a pink toned lilac and Purple Passion, a true matte purple. These shadows are great on their own just for a wash of colour, but in particular I'm enjoying the combination of Maybelline's Vintage Plum and and Iridescent Violet from Estee Lauder, for a slightly softer smokey eye. 

I have two eye liners; the Model Co Black Eye Pencil, which is just the perfect black pencil eye liner and the Rimmel Glam Eye Liquid Liner (Black) which is my go-to for a cat eye. My current mascara of choice is the Maybelline Lash Sensational. It separates, gives volume and has the staying power of a waterproof mascara.

I also keep all three Naked Palettes from Urband Decay on my dressing table because they're wonderful and I can create any look I want from theses palettes.

Lips

And finally, lips!! It's only now I'm realising just how overboard I've gone in the lipstick department, but hey ho, I'm keeping it real! First up in the Rimmel Lip Liner in East End Snob (the perfect nude & Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip Cheat dupe). Next I have four lipsticks: MUA Lipstick in shade 15 Juicy. The is a really peachy pink nude. Then we have the Revlond ColourBurst Lip Balm in Demure- another peachy pink (more on the pink side with a bit of shimmer), my current favourite nude comes in the form of YSL's Rouge Volupte in 01 Nude Beige. SO PRETTY. If I want a pop of colour I'll go for the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 01. I have two glosses; Model Co's Strip Tease a sheer nude with blue toned simmer and Clinique's Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss. My final lip product is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Don't Pink of It, which is gorgeous, I need to get more shades!!

So there you have my current makeup bag. I know there are quite a lot of products here, but I do like to have the freedom to switch up my makeup daily as I'm not the sort of person to stick to one everyday make up look. I also like to actually use my makeup seeing as I have so much of it! What are your makeup bag staples?

Product Rave: Maybelline Express Remover

I thought I'd start another little series of posts here on my blog which will be short snappy little posts telling you about things that I'm trying that I'm absolutely loving. Sometimes I don't want to wait until my monthly favourites to tell you about all the great things I've been using.

I'm kicking off my first product rave with the Maybelline Express Remover. This is one of those sponges in a jar that is soaked with nail polish remover. A simple concept, but it works brilliantly. 

I like to keep on top of my nail polish, and don't often have bare nails. With this in mind, I need something that will quickly take off my old polish, without leaving a stain, so I can move on to my next colour. 

I literally dip my nail in the pot, do about a half turn with my finger, pull it out and it's completely clean! No residue, no streaks and no stains. This Maybelline one is about a pound cheaper than the Bourjois offering and works just as well. 

I'll definitely be re-purchasing! 

The Nude Lip

As wonderful as brightly coloured lipsticks are, every woman can appreciate the simplicity of a great nude lip. Brilliant for an every day look or paired with a more dramatic eye look. There are hundreds and hundreds of nude lip products out there, with different tones that suits different people, so it's easy to struggle to find your perfect go to nude lip. But I think I've found mine and I absolutely love it. So here it is.

The trick to my nude lip is that it's more on the brown/pink side of things, rather than a proper my lips blend into my face type nude. I start with the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in East End Snob. I line my lips and fill in my lips apart from the very centre of my top and bottom lip.

Next I go in with the YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in 01 Nude Beige. This almost looks sort of like a mauve-y pink in the bullet, but translates to the perfect nude once on the lips. 

I then slightly blend the lip liner and lipstick together with my finger.

To finish off, I slick on a little bit of Clinique's Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss to the centre of my lips.

& there you have my perfect nude lip...I find that because I build this up in layers it lasts really well on the lips and its goes with any look. What's you go-to nude lip combination?

Brows 101- How I Do My Brows.

Whether you're in to bushy and bold like Cara D, or just neatly groomed ones, brows are THE thing right now. For years they've been overlooked but finally people realise what an impact doing your browns properly can have. I've spent ages working with my brows to find what suits them best, from waxing, to plucking, threading and tinting I've tried it all & I'm finally happy with my at-home from routine, so let me share with you how I take my brows from grown out face bushes to on fleek groomed things of beauty. 

I'm going to break this down into two parts: first the actual shaping and taming and then we'll talk about filling in brows as part of a make up routine. 

First step is to make sure you have nothing on your brows and the surrounding area. You need to be working with clean skin. If you choose to tint your brows now is the time to do it. I don't colour my brows anymore so I'm moving straight on to waxing. First I grab a spooly and comb my brows through. I then use the Superdrug Brow Shapers to wax. These are so easy to use as they are pre-cut and create no mess at all. Simply peel off one of the shapers from the strip and stick it on the area of your brow that you want to shape. I usually start at the bottom of by brow near the front, then work on my arch and finish up my clearing any strays on the top. Remember when you whip off the strip to pull against the grain on the hair and hold your skin taught whilst you do so. Your brows will be a little red after, but I find a cold flannel really soothes then! You can easily wipe off any excess wax with eye makeup remover. 

If there are any pesky skorter hairs that the wax could grab, or that you could reach precisely with your waxing strip now is the time to grab your tweezers. Don't go crazy- you can always take more hairs away but you can't stick them back on! 

Once you've finished waxing and tweezing, comb your brow hairs upwards. At this point if your brow hairs are a little long you have the option to cut them- not too much though. Nail scissors are great for this as they are small which makes them easier to control.

Once your happy with the new shape of your brows you can fill them in. 

I'm currently using a brow pencil, powder and brow gel to fill mine in. This might sound excessive to some people, but it's what I find works right now! My brow hairs are naturally quite ashy and dark, whilst my hair is coloured a lighter blonde for summer. The problem for me is that tinting often results in a slightly red toned brown colour, which just doesnt work! So I use a ashy blonde pencil ( Blondeshell by Soap and Glory) to map out the shape. I then pop a little warmth through my brows with the powder from Benefit's BrowZings in Light. The combination of the two gives me the perfect colour. I then set everything in place with the Rimmel Brow This Way brow gel in Blonde.

*I usually leave about 4-6 weeks between each waxing/ tweezing session to allow my brows to recover and grow back naturally without being disturbed.

And we're done. What products do you use in your brow routine? 

Welcome to....100 Days of Happiness

For those of you that don't know, 100 Days of Happiness is a sort of challenge. Whether it be through a written log/ journal, or through photographs, the aim is to take a picture, or write about something that makes you happy everyday for 100 days. It's a great exercise that helps you really reflect on happiness and positivity. Your happy thing can be literally anything. Big or small, as long as it makes you happy that day, then it counts!

Today I am starting my 100 Days of Happiness....This is definitely going to be tricky, as 100 days takes us right through to October, but I'm going to do my best to keep on track and not miss any days out! 

I'll be posting all of my 100 Days of Happiness photos on my Instagram account, which you can follow here but I'll also be doing a monthly round up on my blog, every thirty days or so, just in case you miss anything! 

I'd love it if you'd join in a post your pictures either on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #100DAYSOFHAPPINESS so we can all see what is making everyone happy! 

Here goes day one.....

June Favourites

It's that time of the month again where I round up all of my favourites that I've been using in the last month. June has seen the end of my first year of university, moving back home and rather a lot of chilling out. July is to be the month of a trip away with my boyfriend, exam results and new home prep, so exciting things to come! 

I'm going to crack right on with my favourites and kick it off with my favourite nail polish of the month which has been Essie's Fishnet Stockings. It's my perfect red- a deep blue toned red, rather than anything really bright. It's classic and elegant and just goes with everything. The formula, as is expected with Essie polishes, is great and lasts ages on the nails. 

My next favourite is Soap and Glory's Clean On Me. The smell is what really gets me with this product, it just smells so good I could cover myself in it all day long. The formula is super thick and nourishing and creates a beautifully thick foamy lather. Great for in the bath or shower and the fragrance lingers throughout the day. Totally dreamy. 

Lush's Ocean Salt Scrub has been amazing this month. I've been using it in the shower on my face just to get rid of the uneven texture that can occur sometimes if you're like me and your skin has a tendency to be dry. Just make sure you moisturise well after you've used this!

Another skincare favourite this month has been a rediscovery in the form of Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion +. This is a classic product that is a total fail safe for me, Whenever my skin care is stuck in a rut or my moisturiser just isn't cutting it, I know I can turn to this and it will sort my face out. 

My final beauty favourite this month is the YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in 01 Nude Beige. It's my perfect nude lipstick. It's really comfortable on the lips, has great colour pay off and lasts really well for a nude lipstick (Which have a tendency to disappear super quickly!)

My fashion favourite this month is my new bag, which I picked up in the sale at Dorothy Perkins. It's the perfect shoulder bag to just pop in your essentials and go, rather than lugging the kitchen sink around with you!  I have a What's In My Bag post coming soon...

A food/health favourite would be green smoothies. Since I've been home and away from the horror that is the food in catered student accommodation I've really been enjoying super healthy green smoothies. They're great for breakfast or even as a pick me up throughout the day. I have a recipe for one of my favourite combinations right here.

And finally, my un-favourite for this month has to be the terrible weather we're currently having in the UK! It's supposedly summer yet it's rained nearly every day! I'm hoping the weather will pick up in July so I can actually spend some time in my garden!

That's it for this month's favourites. What have you been loving this past month?

Top 5....Red Lipsticks

Welcome back to my Top 5 series! If you've been around these parts for a while you'll know that every now and again I do a round up of my favourite 5 products from particular categories. Today I thought I'd focus my top five even more and let you in on the best red lipsticks, in my opinion. Here they are in no particular order. 

L'Oreal Color Riche Creme de Rouge in the shade 461 Scarlett Creme. This is a lovely classic red shade. The formula itself is sort of waxy meaning that the wear is extremely comfortable and doesnt stick to any dry patches. It lasts around 4 hours on the lips (no eating or drinking) but does fade slightly unevenly, mind you that's fairly standard for a bright lip. 

17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in the shade Rich. This is my staple winter red. It leans more towards the berry side of things, but it's still definitely a rich, deep red. Brilliant quality for the high street price, sticks around for ages on the lips and can be worn full on or toned down with a lip balm for more of a sheer finish.

 Rimmel Apocalips Lip Laquer in 400 Big Bang. Bold and glossy, I wasn't too keen on this when I first tried it but now it's my go to for a glossy red lip. It saves the hassle of having to use a lipstick and a gloss and it stains the lips afterwards. The pigmentation is incredible- a little goes a long way. This is more of an orange toned red, so probably better for warmer months, but great on a night out too to make a real statement. 

Clinique High Impact Lipstick in Red-y To Wear. This one is pretty much the same shade as the L'Oreal lipstick but the texture is far more nourishing and I'd say the pigment is even stronger. Again, very comfortable on the lips and great wear time. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in the shade 01. This is a slightly darker, bolder red than the L'Oreal offering. I'd say this has more of a creamy texture so is very opaque and rich on the lips. Wear time on this one is great and I find that it fades very evenly on me leaving a bold red stain behind, which is great if you can't be bothered with maintaining your red lip throughout the day.

And there you have my top five red lipsticks. What is your go to red lip & are there any that you think I need to try out?