Summer Make Up Essentials

Hi everyone, once again this year we're having a typical English summer; wet, cloudy and chilly, great :-/  But despite that, it's still been quite humid and that can only mean one thing, frizzy hair and makeup that slides off your face within an hour of applying it!

So, I have come up with a few products that I love to use in this particularly muggy weather, that do two great jobs, they stay put and they still look pretty good.  So keep on reading to see what I use (of course this is purely makeup items and doesn't include main essential products like sun-block etc) :-)

When it's this humid, I hate using a heavy foundation, I still need a decent amount of coverage but I don't want it all feeling too thick.  So I prefer to either use a sheer foundation like the Rimmel Wake Me Up by just applying a much smaller amount than usual or you could use a tinted moisturiser or BB cream.

*Just a little extra tip, if you mix a little primer with your foundation before applying it with a brush, it will not only make it silky smooth to apply, but also your foundation will last all day through the warmest of weathers!  If you want to find out some more good beauty hacks, look out for an upcoming post in a few weeks time!

Of course concealer is still essential, but I find using a small amount of my Collection concealer, does the job just as well as using a lot of it but without the heaviness.

One of the best makeup items ever and my go-to product has to be powder, the Soap & Glory Kick Ass powder to be exact.  This stuff is amazing, it makes my foundation and my skin look flawless, keeps everything in place and lasts all day, I love it!

If you feel you just have to add blusher/bronzer/highlighter, just add the smallest amount, the idea here is just to use the basics and the bare minimum so as not to overload your face with products that will eventually fade and slide off!  I tend to use just the smallest amount of blusher just for a little colour (being this pale, I kinda have to!)  I like this Max Factor Cream Puff one, as it's quite sheer but leaves a really pretty glow.

I love using very pale but shimmery eyeshadow shades in summer and I often use just one shadow, it just helps to give a nice barely there look but still have a little sparkle :-)  One of my favourites is this Excess Shimmer eyeshadow creme in Copper by Max Factor, but I also love the Collection Eyes Uncovered (Nude Grey) palette which has some really pretty shimmer eyeshadows in, Under The Moon being one of my favourites, I've talked more about this particular palette in my Spring Favourites earlier this year.

But the real star of the show and one of my favourite products for Summer, is a pencil eyeliner.  Especially something like the Urban Decay 24/7 liners, mine is Stag, a gorgeous rich dark brown.  It's really easy to smudge and blend and it lasts all day.  Often I'll just use this and no shadow, plus of course mascara and that creates quite a nice look that's really quick and simple to do.

Of course you really can't forget mascara, if there's one thing I can't leave the house without, it has to be this!  I always wear one that I know will stay put the best and not flake or fade off even I'm hot and my lashes start to get oily.  As you probably know by now, my favourite is still the UD Perversion, I just love the look it gives, the volume and it always stays in place until I get home no matter how hot or how long my day has been!  But my new favourite has to be the Maybelline Lash Sensational, The wand creates a gorgeous fan with the lashes and keeps the false-lash look all day.

For my brows, when it's really hot, I don't tend to bother with them too much unless they're looking particularly uncared for!  In which case, I just apply a tiny bit of my Rimmel Brow This Way clear gel to keep them in their place.

Lipsticks; as wonderful as they are, I find it so hard to find a good one that will last especially in hot weather.  So slicking on a nice tinted gloss is usually all I do, Tanya Burr's Aurora or Smile Dream Sparkle are a couple of my favourites.  Alternatively, something like the Maybelline Color Drama lip pencils are really great and stay put quite nicely and they're quite moisturizing too.  Another favourite (as you might know by now) is the Soap & Glory Gloss Sticks, I just love the Raplumzel, it's a lovely sheer glossy cherry red that leaves a bit of stain even when it's worn off, so you're never left completely nude lipped :-)

I hope you like this post and found it helpful.  What products do you find are the best in the warmer weather, let me know in the comments :-)

Until Next Time Stay Happy ♥

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What's In My Makeup Bag 2015

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a great week and enjoying the sun :-)
For this weeks post, I thought I would give you an updated 'What's in My Makeup Bag' post.  I first did this post back in April last year, you can check that out here (ooh that rhymed). But since many of my 'everyday' makeup products have changed and I now have a newer and much nicer makeup bag to keep it all in, I thought it was time to let you have a little sneak-peek again.  So if you'd like to see what makeup items I use regularly, keep on reading :-)

I got this lovely bag a couple of months ago from Primark and I think it was only about £3.  I've been looking for something for a long time that was not only big enough to keep my makeup in but that I could also put my brushes in too, and keep it all separate.  Because, I don't know about you, but whenever I keep my brushes with my makeup, I find they get damaged a lot more easily.

So I was really excited about this bag because it has the two separate zipped sections.  I really like the peachy pink quilted fabric and I love the pretty gold zips and bow too.  It has loads of space inside and for the price, it's great quality, so I think it should last a good long while too.

Ok so on to the makeup

First off, my favourite foundation at the moment is the No.7 Stay Perfect.  The trouble is the bottle is huge and along with everything else I have to fit in the bag, it's just too huge.  So I keep a good usable amount in a little clear cosmetic pot with a screw-top lid.

I've tried several concealers over the past year and I still love the good old Collection Lasting Perfection (who doesn't) but I'm back to my old faithful Soap & Glory Kick Ass, it's truly amazing and I just love the setting powder too, so it's a great all-in-one.  I've even 'hit pan' on the powder, I really do need to get the full size of that, mental note!  On the odd occasion though (especially when the under-eye bags are looking particularly dark), I also use a dab on the Rimmel Wake Me Up.  I find it really nice a creamy and blendable and it lightens the area just enough.  I always use my Real Techniques concealer brush for this as it gives the most flawless look.

My blusher is old, there I've said it.  It's by MUA and to be honest I don't think this actual one is even available anymore and yes, I really do need to throw it away. Ooh no, I apologise, I've just checked and it is still available yeay!  But it is still a bit old.  Anyway, I am the worst at finding new blushers, I recently bought the Max Factor Creme Puff Blusher which was quite well recommended but I really didn't like it I found it left my cheeks looking blotchy!  So I really do need a new one, any suggestions?!

I was never in to doing my eyebrows, I thought what's all the fuss about. . . then I realised!  I honestly never do my makeup now without doing my eyebrows, it makes such a difference to my face.  I love using the Rimmel Brow This Way kit, although I never use the cream part (who does!)  I then finish them off with a swipe of the Rimmel Clear Styling gel to set them.

For my eyeshadow, it really depends what I feel like doing and what time I have to do my makeup!  For a quick look, I just use my old faithful Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze but if I have a little more time, I love using my new Collection Eyes Uncovered palette in Nude.  I mentioned this in my Spring Favourites post a while back and I've been loving it ever since.  The colours are so pretty and great for every day, they blend well, they last really well and it's a great small sized palette which amazingly fits in my makeup bag!  It makes me happy :-)  Of course I use my beloved Real Techniques brushes to apply all this and I love my old Revlon eyeshadow brush too.

For my eyeliner, I generally either use my favourite Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Stag that came with the Naked on the Run Palette.  I love this so, so much!  I add a little along the lash line then just smoke it out with my Real Techniques angled blush (how I ever managed without this brush I don't know!)  If I'm running low on time, I just use the same brush with a little of the black eyeshadow in the Collection palette and that usually works great too.

For my mascara, you know how I rave about the Seventeen Doll'd Up which I still love but my newest obsession is my wonderful Urban Decay Perversion mascara, it's just amazing.  Let's put it this way, if I could only ever use one mascara for the rest of my life, it would be this one. . . it's that good!

Ahhh lipsticks how I adore them :-)  Ok so I honestly have so many in my collection that I love wearing, but these little beauties are at the top of the list, the thing is I can never choose between them so I just always keep them in my makeup bag and just use whichever one I feel like when I've done the rest of my makeup.  The Five that I regularly use are S&G Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Lacquer in Charm Offensive, so pretty, lasts ages!  S&G Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks in Nudists and in Raplumsel, both gorgeous shades and very moisturising!  Maybelline's Color Drama Lipstick in 140 Minimalist, which again lasts a good long while and the shade is really pretty and summery and finally the beautiful Aurora lip gloss by Tanya Burr, so cute and lasts a lot longer than most of my other lip glosses!  I also always add a little E45 lip balm to my lips when I first start doing my makeup, that way it has soaked in and my lips are lovely and soft by the time I finish, ready for a lipstick.  My other life saver is this No.7 Precision lip pencil in Nude, it's a really nice neutral shade and is a great base for all my 'nude' lipsticks and it really helps them last even longer!  :-)

So there we go, that's everything I use regularly and have been enjoying using for a good while now.  I hope you like this post, apologies for it being ridiculously long! :-)  And Until Next Time, Stay Happy ♥

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