Summer Make-up Bag

So it's not news I haven't written a post in a while. Okay, I haven't since February.

Since then there's been so many things I've found and have loved that I could write about. Rather than writing lots of reviews I thought I'd give you a peak into my make-up bag from the last couple of months.

Lots of things I've found and loved bundled into one!

The Base

So I've never spoken about the Dr.Jart BB cream before but it's incredible. It feels like it does wonders for your skin, it has a beautiful glow to it with a dewy finish and it's SPF 25. It just makes you look instantly healthy. Annoyingly it only comes in one shade so it's more of a summer product for me as I'm usually super duper pale. But don't get me wrong, it's not dark and will work for most people, I'm just the whitest person ever. It's often on offer so I'd suggest waiting to get the best price.

I've been wearing this just with the Collection concealer and sometimes a dusting of MAC Mineralize SkinFinish (which I couldn't find to photograph).

As for the All Nighter Setting Spray, you need this in summer. My skin used to eat make-up.

Cheeks

Mary-Lou Manizer is a bit of a full on highlighter. You need the smallest amount but it's stunning.

NARS Laguna is just, well, a classic bronzer. Love it.

Eyes

I was looking for a highstreet eye primer and came across the Soap and Glory one which definitely makes a difference. I put my most used MAC shades in quad and recently the look I go for is Naked Lunch all over, Charcoal Brown and Soba in the crease and Mulch for a smokey look in the evenings.

Lips

The YSL in Peach Passion is my go to summer shade. I think it's definitely worth the money. Recently I've found Macaroon by Topshop which is a pink shade with a bit of peach to it which I think is lovely too!

Dr.Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Soap & Glory It's About Prime

NARS Laguna Bronzer

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof

Topshop Macaroon Lipstick

YSL Rouge Volupte Peach Passion

MAC Quad inc. Charcoal Brown, Naked Lunch, Soba & Mulch

Real Techniques Blusher Brush

Real Techniques Contour Brush

Zoeva 104 Buffer

Zoeva 227 Soft Definer (x2)

Zoeva 231 Petit Crease

MAC 266

xox

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo

Maybelline Eye-Studio 24 Hour Colour Tattoo cream shadows available here for £4.99.

Oh wow, I really like these. I like these a lot.

These have actually been around for a while, and I completely ignored them. And I'll tell you why, dear friends, but not just yet. I picked up two colours in the shades "Pink Gold" and "On and on Bronze".
However I've noticed different stores and countries have different names for the colours which might get confusing. What's the deal there Maybelline? 

The reason I actually wanted to try these was to wear as a base before eye shadow so I picked up the colours I felt went best with my Urban Decay Naked Pallet. They're a match made in heaven for that. Can you see it? Ugh I feel like Cupid for the cosmetic world. "Pink Gold" would go perfectly as a base for the pink shades in the naked pallet such as Sin or Toasted. And "On and on Bronze" will really bring out the browns and golds such as Half Baked or Smog. They'll make any shadow last all day.

The thing is, I wasn't expecting to love these products to wear on their own. As much as I love the dewy look and how perfect they'd be for summer, I don't go for cream shadows.Well, the exception is these. They don't crease, they don't flake and they really do last hours (possibly not 24 hours but I won't be putting that one to the test). When I washed off my swatches they also didn't budge so I feel it's safe to say they're also waterproof to some degree. Like that.

The colours on their own are also beautiful! I literally fell in love when I swatched them in store. Just look at them, that bronze! If you're a fair English rose (like me!) then this pink is perfect for you.

Maybe the best thing is how soft and creamy they are to apply, they're easy to blend and won't drag across your eye lid. Nobody wants that do they? 

So far I love dabbing them with my finger over my eyes when I'm running late and just want a little something. Effortless and so beautiful. A small amount will give a shimmer and a sweep of colour which I like with the pink to brighten the eye, and the bronze I build up the colour intensity and blend out for a natural smokey eye.

I feel I ignored these for so long as the advertising was wrong. I only ever saw the turquoise or the  bright purple used in really bold looks. The reason they're amazing is because of the range of neutral colours and that they can be so wearable. I'm sorry I doubted you Maybelline, these will always be in my make-up bag from now.
Through sickness and through health. Like for ever and ever. 

Natural Glow Make-Up

So as a part of college last week I did the hair, make-up and photography to produce a photo shoot on the theme of "No make-up, make-up". This is all about creating a natural look with flawless skin but so it appears the model isn't wearing make-up at all. It's commonly used in skincare adverts (sneaky). I thought I'd share with you the look I went for with a glow to the skin.

My beautiful friend Fen Barr was sweet enough to come model for me and how fantastic does she look?

skin 

I started with Benefit High Beam on her cheek bones, brow bone and her cupids bow. I also re-applied this over the foundation too to give a beautiful highlight to her skin. Fen naturally has such clear skin, so I blended two shades of Kryolan Ultra Fluid Foundation to give an even but not heavy coverage. I used Kryolan Derma Colour to cover any dark patches or blemishes and MAC Select MoistureCover concealer around the eyes.

I used the highlight from the Sleek Contour Kit to highlight areas of her face, although this has small glitter specks in so be careful when photographing this. I then used Nars Laguna bronzer to contour and add warmth back to her face.

Eyes

Keeping to the natural look I used natural matte eye shadows to add some colour and shape to her eyes and Urban Decay shadow in Virgin to highlight the inner corner and under the brow bone. I LOVE this shade.

I also took a natural matte shadow through her brows with a small angled brush and brushed a clear mascara through to hold them in place. I put some black eyeliner onto a very thin brush and painted inbetween her lashes to give a light natural defintion. To finish off the eyes I put a small amount of white eye pencil on the water line.

Lips

I used a lipstick in a natural shade that had a slight peach tone to go with her beautifully tanned skin and added a lttle MAC lipglass to the centre of her lips and blended out. This enlarges the look of the lips and a slight shine for a healthy look.

Products Used:

- Benefit High Beam

- Sleek Contour kit

- NARS Laguna bronzer

 - Urban Decay Naked pallet

- MAC Lip glass

- MAC Select MoistureCover Concealer

 - MUA White eyeliner pencil

So there you have it, who else loves this natural make-up look? I can't wait to try it on myself now.