The Going Out Makeup Look

Despite still being in my teen years I have a rather poor social life. I rarely venture out for nights out on the town instead favoring staying in to watch a load of crap weekend TV. Since it’s such a rare occasion I do step out I do like to up my makeup game and put in the effort. All my favourite and top makeup picks come out to play in being those trustworthy products that I know will stick around for a long night. There is no surprise really that it’s all high end products that made the cut as I do like to make good use of my investment pieces that I know work well for me. I did surprisingly head out last weekend although for a very special occasion as I headed to see One Direction in concert so obviously I wanted to look my best. There is a mix of newbies and old favourites that I have put together to form a killer night out look.

Starting with base, this is really were I put a lot of trust in my products to be long lasting and work for my skin. As always I start with primer and of course my holy grail Smashbox Photo Finish Primer excels in helping makeup last longer and still looks fresh throughout the night. I’ve never found as good a foundation as Nars Sheer Glow. It provides a buildable satin finish and blends beautifully into the skin. Another favourite from Nars is their Creamy Radiant Concealer which does the best job at concealing blemishes and redness. Mine is currently running low which does make me panic cause pricey repurchase may be necessary! In terms of concealing eyes, I start with my Bobbi Brown corrector to cancel out any discoloration under the eyes then use my Clarins Instant Concealer over the top.

On to the more exciting products to give my complexion a little bit of life. I am so excited to say that I finally own the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Palette. This palette is what dreams are made of. It is so gorgeous. I firstly use the sculpt shade to warm up my complexion and give my cheekbones a little definition. Then I like to go a little crazy with highlighter by patting it on to the tops of my cheekbones for that intense glow. To perk up the cheeks you can never go wrong with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes in particular the shade Diffused Heat. With highlighting properties these blushes really light up the skin and don’t appear flat.

Onto the eyes. As usual my Benefit Gimme Brow for a little sweep through the brows to make them a little fuller. In terms of eyeshadow, I have been going a little palette crazy recently. I finally picked up the Urban Decay Smoky palette cause obviously I had to, right? With deep intense shades it works perfectly at creating more full on night out looks. The shimmer shades in particular in this palette are truly stunning and the shade Radar is one I am forever reaching for. For the full on dramatic eye look I like to finish by curling my eyelashes with the Shu Uemera eyelash curlers and many coats of the Benefit They’re Real mascara.

To finish off, I like to add something a little bold to the lips. I find going out gives me the perfect opportunity to crack out the bold dark shades. One shade I have been reaching for recently has been Mac D For Danger, a bold berry red shade in a matte finish that sticks around from dinner to drinks to home time.

What products do you reach for on a night out?

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September Favourites

Another month gone by, another time to round up my monthly beauty favourites. I feel like September is the last month to really say goodbye to the tinted moisturisers and coral shades in order to prepare for the darks shades and matte complexions ready for Autumn. Looking at my favourites this month I really have went for more Summery and natural picks perfect for an everyday minimal makeup look. I have found some great products this month that worked a treat during the Summer months and hopefully will work well into Autumn and I won’t have to push them to the back of my drawers.

Starting with base, there was two base products that worked perfectly in giving me a flawless complexion over the month. Firstly, I pulled out my Topshop BB cream again to start getting a little more use out of it. I reviewed this a while back now here and at that time I was a little in the middle with this one. I liked the coverage but the shade and application didn’t always go down well with me. Since I started using this again I have just been loving it. It seems so different from when I started using it. The shade seems to be a little better suited especially when I’ve piled on the bronzer and with my skin improving lately it blends in really well and sits perfectly on my skin. It’s also so great for during the day whilst I’m working as it is super lightweight but also has a beautiful glow to it and lasts really well too! Hopefully if the shade still works well with me, this will be one I will keep using into the new season!

The next base related product is from Clarins and a product I mentioned in my recent Clarins Haul post here. It is of course the Clarins Instant Concealer. This is just the perfect under-eye concealer I’ve ever used. It is so incredibly lightweight but still offers a good whack of coverage. As it is a really thin consistency a little goes a long way and it blends in like a dream. A concealer that I think will get a lot of loving from me for a long time to come.

To add a little colour to the cheeks, I’ve been loving the Clinique Cheek Pop in Melon Pop. I mentioned this here alongside it’s matching lipstick. This is such a gorgeous blush and so summer appropriate. The coral-y peachy pink shade is super natural and soft looking on the cheeks and the formula is super fine so doesn’t feel overly powdery or too much. As Autumn swings around I may have to turn back to my dusky rose shaded blushes but I definitely need to pick another one up from the range as they are so lovely!

Finally, there is probably no surprise here when I mention this well loved lip combo. I talked about these two in my Nude Lip post here and it’s been the one lip look I’ve worn for the majority of the month. Charlotte Tilbury Miss Kensington lipstick and Pillow Talk lip liner really are the perfect nude lip and as I’ve been in need for something work appropriate during the month this combo has worked perfectly for the natural makeup look. For those light makeup days, this is two that I can always rely on.

What has been your favourite products this month?

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A Clarins Haul

Clarins are a brand I’ve been wanting to try properly for a while now. I have had so many products from their range on my ever growing wish list for so long now so when Escentual had an amazing 25% off everything on their website I took it as the perfect opportunity. If that’s not an excuse for a haul then I don’t know what is! I have been trying out my products for a couple of weeks now and I thought I would give you all my first impressions but it is safe to say I am pretty happy with all my purchases.

As soon as I heard about the 25% off there was two products that struck in my mind that I had to pick up. The first being the Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil in 01 Honey. This is a product that I’ve been so looking forward to trying since it was released earlier this year as part of the Spring collection. This oil was so popular when it first launched that it ended up being sold out everywhere for so long which explains why it took me so long to pick this up. The Oil is essentially a part skincare part makeup hybrid, offering lips nourishment and moisture whilst providing a clear sheen over the lips that works alone or over another lip product. I am not the biggest fan of sticky glossy formulas but I thought this would be lovely as a lip treatment for when my lips need a little hydration. It is super comfortable on the lips and really doesn’t feel overly sticky or heavy.

The other product I had my eye on was from their skincare range namely their One Step Facial Cleanser with orange extract. I had seen this product mentioned a couple of times by a few bloggers/YouTubers and the convenient cleanser seemed right up my street. Whilst I adore my Liz Earle cleanser, sometimes I need something that will take seconds for when I have limited time in the morning and this fits the bill perfectly! There are a few types of this cleanser although I picked the orange extract one which works with all skin types and it feels so refreshing on the skin which is great for those early mornings. I’ve not had a lot of use out of this yet as my early morning uni days are soon to arrive but I do really like this so far.

One of Clarins most popular makeup products is their Instant Concealer so obviously I had to pick it up and see what the fuss is all about. This liquid concealer is completely different from anything I’ve used before. Unlike my usual doe foot applicator product, this comes in a squeezy tube with an impressive 15ml of product. The concealer has a super thin consistency so it’s really lightweight but still offers good coverage. It is the perfect concealer for under the eyes, it blends so easily and feels weightless which is perfect for me as I am not a fan of thick concealers in the under eye area. This is a concealer that I think I will grow to love for a long time!

Lastly, I also picked up one of the Ombre Matte Cream to Powder eyeshadows in the shade 04 Rosewood. I had seen these eyeshadows numerous times and I had always wanted to try one out for myself. After a long debate about shades I picked up Rosewood which I expected to be of a light brown shade although really it appears more as a dark taupe-y brown colour. The colour isn’t something I would really usually go for but it works really well as a transition shade for in the crease. The formula is nice, it has minimal fall out and has a nice velvety texture although if used alone I do find it takes a little work to apply smoothly so I think I will be keeping it more as a crease colour which works better imo. The packaging though is so beautiful, in-cased in a cute clear pot with a mirrored lid, it looks super pretty!

Are you a fan of Clarins?

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