Wake up Boo....

Updated Everyday Beauty Routine 

Due to my break in blogging (let’s call it that) I thought I would write an updated post on the makeup products that I am using every morning. There seems a lot, I know, but I love makeup and it’s part of my morning routine and sets me up for the day. Not everyone needs to use this many products and you can pick and choose what works for you. 

I make sure my skin is moisturised first and then I use a primer, as I have oily to combination skin, and find my foundation can easily slide off my face before lunch. I have a few primers but my current morning favourite is the NARS Pore & Shine Control one, followed by my NARS foundation which is their All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation. If I have a morning where I am going out for a fancy lunch (am not sure what fancy lunches I am going to..) I would use my Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow under my foundation for some extra luminosity to my skin. I also like my YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer for a bit of extra glow - I love the gold flecks in it. Who doesn’t love a bit of sparkle in their makeup?

I have only mentioned maybe a thousand times my obsession with my black circles, so I move on to concealing them next. I am always changing my concealer trying to find the perfect one. I have an old favourite and a new one on rotation at the moment. The one I keep going back to is the Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer with the fab sponge applicator. My new one is the Too Faced Born This Way concealer. I also conceal any redness or any of the crazy hormonal spots I keep getting and at nearly 43 I am just loving these!

I like to powder my face due to its oiliness and I like the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. I then do my eyebrows and I am currently using two products together as I like a well defined and strong brow. Firstly, I use a Maybelline Browdrama Pomade Crayon and then go over the top with the Glossier Boy Brow. I should say that I do have HD Brows done too to help define and shape my brows.
 
I am a big fan of bronzer. I did say at the beginning of the year that I wasn’t going to fake tan my face as much but it turns out that I feel happier with some colour on my face and to help with this I use a bronzer too.  I have been using the Tom Ford Ultimate Bronzer in Gold Dust for a while now and for me it’s the perfect bronzer. Blusher - which is my favourite thing - is next and my new go to is by Marc Jacobs Beauty in the shade Lines & Last Night Air Blush. It’s such a great colour and lasts too - it’s so pretty too.

Eyeshadow is next, and as you saw from my previous blog post I love a palette and at the moment I seem to alternate between the two NARS ones - The Loaded and Wanted Palettes. I then use a black liquid eyeliner and I have just bought a new one by Guerlain which I am really liking. It is expensive though and I still really like my much more purse friendly Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner.  Then I apply a black kohl pencil to my waterline and I again have a more expensive pencil and a cheaper one which I seem to alternate between. My Trish McEvoy Intense Gel Eye Liner one is lovely and soft and could be used on the eyelid too, and it has a handy smudger on the end to do a smokey eye, or to make it look more natural. My more budget alternative is a Rimmel black kohl pencil which is very good.

I change my mascara so much as I can never find one I really love and I am currently using the Maybelline The Colossal Big Shot which I really like. I am a big fan of the Maybelline and L’Oreal mascaras and for the more expensive ones I like the Clinique High Impact Volume Mascara, Charlotte Tilbury’s Legendary Lashes and Dior’s Diorshow Pump ‘N’ Volume mascara.

I think I may own more lipsticks than anything else. I love them and to me they can make an outfit and brighten my mood. I tend to wear brighter colours. I just can’t seem to find a natural or nude shade that suits me. I tend to go for Corals, Pinks and Reds. The ones I use on rotation are my YSL Rouge Volupte Shine no.12, Charlotte Tilbury’s Lost Cherry and Coachella Coral and Tom Ford Patent Finish Lip Colour in No Vacancy.

All these products make up my everyday look.  I have been known to be seen without it on but these are rare occasions as makeup makes me happy and it is best not to scare people I find.

Hungry Eyes.........

Eyeshadow Palettes

I am a big fan of eyeshadow palettes. They are all I tend to use these days, as I like to apply more than one colour on my eyes, so it makes life much easier for me. It’s probably out of date now but I still like to sweep a main more neutral shade over the whole eyelid. I then use a darker one on the outer edge of the eye and into the socket line. I then use a lighter colour in the corner of the eyelid nearest to the nose.  Then for my evening makeup I apply sparkle or glitter to the middle of the eyelid. To make the eye “pop” as they say.  

My two current favourite palettes are both by NARS- the NARSissist Loaded Palette and the Wanted Palette both containing 12 shades. Loaded is more gold/bronzey in tone and Wanted more pinky/rose gold. They both contain a mixture of matte and glittery shades which I really like as I do enjoy a bit of sparkle for a night out. 

I really like the Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow quads as they have the perfect colours and shades for a smokey eye which is my go-to look. They also tell you on the bottom how to apply them which I think is so helpful. My favourite two are The Dolce Vita and The Legendary Muse. Dolce Vita has copper and bronze shades while The Legendary Muse is more golden. As you can probably tell my usual look is a copper/bronze smokey eye for the day and the same - but more intensely with some sparkle - for the evening. Recently though, I have been liking more pinky shades on my eyes which I incorporate into my bronzey smokey eye look.

Other palettes I like are the Anastasia ones. I enjoy her Modern Renaissance one which is shades of brown/bronze and berry and I have her new palette which is called Soft Glam on my wish list. It looks perfect for me. I also like my Huda Rose Gold palette which is pretty but I find the foil shades tricky to apply.

I mustn’t forget the Urban Decay palettes. Their range of NAKED palettes are so successful and I think for good reason. I have 2 or 3 of the palettes and have used them well. I think for me the original palette and the Smoky ones are my favourite. I also rate the Heat one but to me it feels more of a summer palette and think it will get most use when the sun comes out. The sun will re-appear won't it?

The mini MAC palettes are also really nice and have 9 shades in them. I have the Burgandy one and all the colours are very wearable. The other palettes in the range look great too and are reasonably priced. I particularly like the look of the Amber one.

I do use the odd individual shadow  - there are some MAC individual shades I really like such as one of my favourites called Amber nights. I also like individual ones to add glitter or sparkle to an evening look. Top Shop has a couple including one called “shuffle the cards” and for a bit of va va voom of an evening I love my Stila Magnificent Metal in bronzed bell - just the right amount of glitter. No longer being 17 I don’t need glitter flying all over my face and landing in all my wisdom lines!

I must give an honourable mention to an eyeshadow duo from NARS which is my staple at the moment for my evening eye look.  The duo is called Isolde and are the perfect copper/bronze/gold shades. To say I love it isn’t too strong a statement - my feelings run deep for this eyeshadow.

I keep meaning to try the NYX palettes and the Colllection or L’Oreal ones as these all look like they have some lovely shades in them. The NYX Ultimate Shadow palettes in particular look very good. Please let me know if you have tried any of them. 

On my wish list currently is the new Charlotte Tilbury Smokey Eye Makeup Palette, and her Vintage Vamp quad, the MAC Warm Palette x 15, Huda Beauty Smokey Obsessions Palette and the Too Faces Chocolate Gold one as it looks all kind of glitzy.

I would love to know your favourite palettes or ones that you are thinking of burying. I can never have enough eyeshadows or makeup in general......I have only spoken about eyeshadows and palettes here but my love of eye makeup runs deeper than this. Keep your smokey eye out for further eye related blog posts.