People often marvel at how much makeup I carry around with me on a daily basis but I just feel happy to have all my products with me. However, I am trying to become more streamlined, mainly because I think the weight of my handbag is giving me a bad back!
I currently have this makeup bag by Lily and Lionel which I love. It is a good size and is in an animal print fabric which I love. I definitely have at touch of the Bet Lynch in me!
I actually feel I am quite restrained as I don't carry foundation or powder with me in my everyday makeup bag but I do have concealer. I couldn't be without this and at the moment there are two in my bag. I have my trusty Collection one (which is my favourite as it gives the best coverage for dark circles) and I also have this NARS concealer which I tend to use on top of my Collection one as I find it more light reflective.
Bronzer is also always with me. I don't really know why but I just think that sometimes I can look pale and rather ill and a quick swish of Bronzer perks my skin up. Again, I have two (though I don't know why and could definitely streamline here) this one by L'Oreal which is my favourite of the two as I like its colour and size, and this one by Bobbi Brown.
It will come as a surprise to no-one that blusher is always with me and again I have two - I am starting to feel a bit like Noah and his Ark....my current go-to is a new purchase from Charlotte Tilbury and I love it. It's a beautiful peachy colour and makes me look healthy and not like Aunt Sally from Worzel Gummidge. I also have the famous Orgasm blusher from NARS which I am also a big fan of but has a slight shimmer in it to me so I tend to use it a bit less in the winter. As you may have read in my previous post I am very in to highlighter at the moment so naturally I need to carry my theBalm one around with me as I never know when I might need that extra bit of glow!
I have fallen into a bad habit of carting around an eyeshadow palette with me. This isn't good and is excessive makeup carrying. I need to get myself some singles of the colours I really like or start buying eye shadow sticks which is what I want to do. Charlotte Tilbury have some gorgeous ones which I have my eye on. The palette I have been carrying around this week is the Urban Decay Smoky one - lovely but best left at home I think! I do have a few single shadows which I use a lot and think it would be better to carry these than a whole palette. Two mascaras also seem to travel around with me and I genuinely don't know why as I never remove my eye makeup when I am out and about and also don't reapply mascara maybe they are a security blanket for me! The two I currently in my bag are one by L'Oreal and this one by Maybelline.
I do like to go quite strong on my eye makeup so I carry both my liquid eyeliner by eyeko with me and my black khol eye pencil by MAC. I always have a cheeky touch up of eyeliner when I am out and about.
Usually, I carry a few lipsticks around with me and I think this is totally fine as I tend to change my lipsticks depending on my mood and my mood seems to change quite a lot during the day - can I blame my hormones for this? Or what seems to happen is I will go out in one lipstick in the morning and then catch sight of my face in one of the mirrors in Waitrose and hate the lipstick and feel the need to immediately change it!
In my bag now is one lip gloss by Smashbox and I love this. I also have two what are called liquid lipsticks by Kat Von D in the shades Beloved and Berlin. These last ages but can feel a little drying sometimes especially if I layer them. I always have my favourite Charlotte Tilbury one with me and two more natural/nude ones by MAC and Tom Ford. I don't feel this amount of lipsticks is too excessive....Oooh I did just find a couple of essential lip liners! One by Charlotte Tilbury and one by MAC.
Obviously, I need two or three brushes and I have two by Real Techniques. This one for Bronzer and this one for blusher along with this Louise Young fan brush for applying my highlighter. I also seem to have a Smashbox eye shadow brush (stolen from a palette) - best to be prepared! Luckily, my makeup bag is big enough to fit all these in.
Little extras that I also carry in my handbag with me are my Nuxe lip balm, though I really need a more sheen one as the Nuxe one feels more like a night time lip balm to me. I also always have my travel size facial spray by Caudalie with me as I love the smell of it and I like a little spray to wake me up or calm me down when required.
Does the above seem a bit crazy to you all?
Carole
xxx
January Favourites
I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote a blog post! I am trying to think of why I haven't posted in so long but I feel I need to be honest and say I just lost my blogging mojo. But it's back and I thought I would start with a post talking about the products that I have been loving using over the last month or so, including makeup, skincare and lifestyle items. I love reading these type of posts myself and thought it would be a good way to ease myself back into the blogging world.....
Makeup
I have been loving the glowy look this last month and to achieve this I have been using a highlighter called theBalm Mary Lou Luminizer Highlighting Powder. This gives a lovely highlight to my skin but it isn't too shimmery (too much glittery shimmer isn't good as skin gets older or if you don't have the best skin as it attracts attention to lines and problem areas) which means I can wear it in the day and it doesn't look discotastic - a good one for night is by JaclynHill for Becca in Champagne Pop. It's a bit unforgiving on my lines but I love how great the highlight is and as it's night I am hoping for more dimmed lighting!
I adore eyeshadow and wear it every single day, so I find palettes are great for me as they give me a lot of choice. I tend to stick to bronzey/brown colours but I do like to mix it up now and again and If I am going out I like to go darker/bolder and more glittery/sparkly - I am such a magpie! The two palettes I have been loving this last month are the Nude 'Tude eyeshadow palette - Naughty by theBalm. This is probably the more wearable of the two palettes I think as it contains more everyday eyeshadow colours - Sultry is particularly good as a crease colour to add depth to the eyes while Sophisticated and Selfish are good shades for all over the lids. It has a good range of staple colours for me but the other one I have been using a lot is the Self Made palette by Ananstasia as this is a bit more glitzy and sparkly which I love for a night time. My favourite shades are Hot & Cold and Pink Champagne.
Lipstick is the one product that I seem to always be searching for the holy grail of as I always seem to be just off with the colours I choose. I seem to find more lipsticks I like in summer, as I am a big fan of corals and bright pinks and these shades seem to suit me more but in my continuing hunt for the perfect nude lipstick I have been liking First Time by Tom Ford - it's a good shade for me and doesn't seem to drain every ounce of colour from my face! It is expensive though and I would like to find another one that is more reasonably priced. Any suggestions please let me know.
I am a big nail varnish fan and my current favourite is Sand Tropez by Essie, it's a lovely neutral colour and I have been getting a lot of compliments when I wear it.
Skincare
I have been using the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm. I have been so impressed with this product it removes my makeup really well but doesn't leave my skin feeling dry. I am getting through a lot of muslin cloths though and am very disturbed as to how much makeup comes off and the colour of it.
I am a fan of face masks in the winter as my skin feels like it needs extra love and attention and I have been enjoying using this one by Ren. I pop it on and then get in the bath and wash it off when I get out. I have been using this once a week and I think it is helping keep my skin a little bit happier this winter.
Keeping my hands from becoming scaly and that of a 90 year old woman becomes even harder in the winter so hand cream becomes very important to me and I have found one that I am loving (though I can't put it in my handbag) and this is by & Other Stories in Moroccan Tea and it just smells so amazing I cant get enough of it and it feels lovely on my skin.
A shower gel that is making me happy in these dark winter mornings is The Comforter by Lush it is not only a fabulous dark pink colour but also smells so good, along with the fact that it's all natural goodness is a small joy these bleary eyed mornings!
Haircare
My hair is coloured and also very fine (sob sob) so I find that I have to be careful what products I use on my hair as it can go very flat very quickly or will start being greasy at the roots and dry at the ends - glamorous I know! There have been two products that I have been using that my hair seems to like, the first is a shampoo by Nuxe. This is a more natural shampoo so you don't get lots of foamy lather when you shampoo but my hair has felt so nice since I have been using this - smells good too. To add to my hair joy my hair also likes to go frizzy - I am a lucky girl! But I have been using the L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil-in-Cream on my hair before blow drying and it does a great job in helping my hair look sleek (or at least sleek for me)
Lifestyle
I am currently re-living my youth and am wearing lots of earrings! When I was in my late teens/early twenties I had my ears pierced with 3 holes in one ear and 2 in the other - not sure how pleased my mum was! I have been seeing that wearing lots of earrings has become fashionable again and there is a great little pack I got from H&M for 3.99 they have 4 pairs of earrings including anchors and I just love them!
Obviously, with it being the New Year I have been trying to be healthier (this is a very up and down process) and have been using these cookbooks to inspire me. They all have some great recipes in them and am sure if I could give up the cakes and chocolate I would be fit and fabulous!
Another favourite is this mug my lovely friend Denise gave me - you know how much I love flamingos!
Carole xxx
