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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August Favourites

Like every monthly favourites post it is pretty much a necessity to start with the how is it *enter month* already! Really though, how scary is it that we are now reaching Autumn! I remember last Autumn like it was yesterday, it feels like we haven’t even had Summer yet! Anyway scary thoughts aside, it’s time to roundup some of my favourite products from the month. I had quite a few favourites this month since I stuck to a pretty similar routine everyday during the month. Not out of habit or laziness but I found and rediscovered some favourites that I will cherish for a long time to come.

First up was a rediscovery for me after being left abandoned in my makeup collection. The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette is a classic well-loved product and it’s only took me like 8 months to properly get into it! I received this palette at Christmas and of course being one of the Naked palettes I knew it was a winner already. However since I had so many makeup free days and quick 5 minute makeup routines, I never really had any time to start lugging out any eyeshadow palettes so sadly this got quite neglected. Over the month though I have started to fall in love with this palette. As you would expect from Urban Decay the quality is amazing. The shadows are super pigmented, buttery and easy to work with. You can create so many gorgeous looks with this either for daytime or for a night out. I am super glad I started using this again as I love it! If you want to recall my full review and swatches, see my post here.

There is no surprise really that the BareMinerals Complexion Rescue would get a mention. This was such a raved about base product I had to pick it up and I am so glad I did. It’s the most perfect Summer base or for those minimal makeup days. It basically gives you a better version of your skin, think dewy and fresh. It blends in like a dream and has a pretty good lasting power too! A product I know I can rely on for years to come! Check my full review here.

If you remember earlier this month I posted about my love for Mac Brave lipstick. Obviously after it being my go-to choice for lipstick over the month it is well worth a favourites mention. This is such a perfect everyday lipstick, I am obsessed. It is like the more muted version of my favourite lipstick, Mac Twig. It’s a pretty dusky mauve pink that gives a little twist on a simple everyday nude lip. It totally lives up to the whole ‘my lips but better’. The satin finish is also super creamy and comfortable on the lips and is pretty decent in longevity too!

This month, I also discovered a killer eyelash combo. Benefit’s They’re Real mascara was always a favourite of mine but it got pushed aside lately to welcome the arrival of Benefit Rollerlash. To prevent any mascara wastage going on I picked it back up this month and realised what I was missing out on. Teamed with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers it creates to die for eyelashes. They’re Real really lengthens your lashes although the curl was something that it struggled with. With a pair of amazing eyelash curlers it really opens the eyelashes and creates such a nice curl. The two together just looks hella fierce (I did just say that yes) and I love it. You can check my Benefit mascara trio review here.

Lastly was another newbie in my collection that I really couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The Body Shop Honey Bronzer is talked about a lot and for good reason.  I picked up Shade 2 which is still pretty light but a perfect shade. It really is a perfect bronzer for anyone with fair skin. It’s such a fine powder that blends in beautifully and being a matte formula it is super good for warming up the skin or giving a slight contour. It is also pretty affordable especially with all the amazing Body Shop offers so definitely one to add to the shopping basket.

P.S This post marks one year of monthly favourites posts! Yay! *celebration dance*

What have you been loving this month?

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2015 wishlist

 

New year, new long list of expensive beauty items I don’t particularly need. Last year seen the start of my makeup obsession and lets just say my purse wasn’t too happy with my shopping decisions. Getting to experiment with different brands and products has allowed me to become more aware of my makeup needs and what products I really need to achieve the best results. Its no surprise I have really took to high end brands and it looks like this year is going to be filled with trips to Space NK and House of Fraser.

Anyway on to the list, I have picked 8 items but lets be real here if I picked every item I wanted to buy then I don’t think it would be quite possible to cover them all in the one post so I’ve stuck to the top 8 most wanted.

First on the list is the best primer I’ve ever tried. Its the highly raved about Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation primer. I have had no luck with primers and I recently got a sample of this and tried it out and lets just say the results amazed me. It is pricey but its hella good. Next is the dream duo from Nars, the Sheer glow foundation and creamy concealer. You may recall seeing this on previous wishlists of mine and as you can tell I have still not spent the cash on it but this year is the year! I also want to try the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette in Streak, it just looks so heavenly and these shades seem perfect for my pale complexion. Now that my Naked palette collection is complete I need my hands on the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. The shades look so beautiful and the palette is always the talk of good reviews so why not! Being stuck with a cheap and terrible pair of eyelash curlers is doing me no good. After hearing constant rave reviews from pretty much every blogger particularly Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup these Shu Uemura curlers are meant to be the bee’s knees. No surprise that Nars made the list again with the Copacabana illuminator which looks like such a beautiful and effortless highlighter. And last but not least after converting my usual stippling brush in favour of a buffing brush for foundation I have noticed far superior results. It is so much easier to blend but I would love to get my hands on the Bobbi Brown Full coverage brush which I have seen so many bloggers using recently. Its pricey but it seems to get flawless results.

So what is on your 2015 wishlist?