The Everyday Face

I've always been someone who enjoys putting on makeup and takes my time doing it because it's therapeutic in a way, but just recently I have found myself putting on less and less makeup. I'm not sure if it's to reduce the time it takes me to get ready, or whether it's just because when I put on a full face of makeup I do look different! But either way, I thought I would share with you what I've been putting on my face as a basic everyday routine!

I swear by primer and just rceently I have been reaching for either the Nivea Men Post Shave balm (which I do think really works for my skin) or the Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Primer and these both just help the longevity of my makeup but if you want something to help fill pores, then the Soap and Glory one would be the better option for you! When it comes to foundation, I usually switch between a few different ones but my ski has been so dry and flaky in the mornings but will soon turn oily throughout the day and so nearly everyday I have been wearing the L'Oreal Infallible 24H foundation which I loved so much when I first bought and kind of just forgot about it but I need to go and buy a new bottle of this because I have nearly finished it all now! I find that this foundation is full coverage and that I don't use anywhere near as much concealer as I would with other foundations which is a bonus for me and it also just looks lovely on the skin and wears so well throughout the day!
As for concealer, I never find myself using anything besides the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer because it conceals everything perfectly and is a light enough shade for my whole face which is rare for a drugstore concealer! But I don't think I need to rave about this, because everyone has time and time again and I'm sure you've all tried it before now! Due to being oily, I do have to set my face, and for my under eye area I tend to lean towards using the MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural in Light because it sets the area for the whole day and also gives a tiny bit more coverage so that any darkness is completely concealed. Then for the rest of my face I have been using a recent purchase which is the Rimmel Match Perfection Silky Loose Powder and I find it stops my face from looking oily for most of the day, but I also love this because it's transparent meaning there is no extra coverage added to my face but also loose powders can be used for the "baking" method of the oilier areas of the face.

On a day to day basis I don't contour my face but I will bronze up just stop myself from looking like a ghost and bring a little dimension back to the face, and for this I have been leaning towards The Body Shop Honey Bronzer which I have loved for a long time now and I use the lightest shade because I find that isn't harsh on my skin and doesn't look orange at all which of course is a bonus! And if for any reason, I decide I want to wear blush, I will use the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in the shade Nude Mauve which has a sheen to it so it colour as well as a little highlight which for me is a great 2 in 1!
For my brows, even though I keep my face simple, I will still use my beloved Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde to shape and fill them in and then to set them in place I use the L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper which adds a little more volume as such tot he brows but you can trust this to set the brows in place for the whole day and a little more without being uncomfortable! Then for my eyes, I have been wearing either no eyeshadow or just a a matte skin tone shade to keep my eyelids from creasing throughout the day, but I have been using mascara for the top and bottom lashes to define my eyes. For the bottom lashes I always use the L'Oreal Telescopic just because the brush is so small and works perfectly for under the eye without getting mascara everywhere and then for my top lashes I don't have a specific mascara that I use, but I have been loving the Revlon Volume and Length and the Lash Sensational which both work well and can be built up to make the lashes look more dramatic if that's something you like to do!

That's all I've been using on my face recently, let me know if any of you use these products or if you're like me and use more makeup for different occasions instead of a day to day basis, I would love to know!

Beauties That I Continue To Love

I thought I would share will all some of the beauty products that I continually love and some of them I've been using for quite some time and others are fairly new into my routine. But when you when you love a product, you just know, right?!

The Body Shop is somewhere I'd only really considered going for skincare until a a year or so ago, and boy was I wrong! I always knew they did make up, but I kind of assumed it wasn't the best, and I can say I'm truly thankful to whoever swayed the decision on me trying out some of their beauty products! Both of the products from here are pretty well known within the beauty blogging world, just because they were so highly talked about at one point, and the first is the Instablur which I guess can be considered a spin off for a product such as Benefit's Porefessional! I have a few reasons why I prefers Instablur, but the main is because it doesn't dry out my skin anywhere near as much as the Porefessional, and I honestly think the consistency is so much better for filling in things such as pores and so I love using this as a primer! 

And the second product that I use a lot, is the Honey Bronzer, and the reason I constantly go back to this bronzer is for the simple fact that it is so light, and for a pale girl like me, the muddy look isn't the way forwards and so the lighter the bronzer, the better! They do have this bronzer in darker colours and I honestly think it's an all round great bronzer and I'd highly recommend it if you haven't already tried it!

For anyone who reads my posts or follows me on my twitter or instagram it will come as no surprise that I cannot live without these next two products, I think I use these every single time I do my make up (and then wonder why I run out so quickly)... The first of these two is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer which has been used by pretty much everyone, and for the price of this concealer, you really can't go wrong! It's coverage is amazing without being the slightest bit cakey, and the although the shade range isn't great, the lightest shade works for me and so that's all I'm really asking for!

The other highly loved product in my collection is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil and the reason I know that I can't live without this from now on, is that I recently used the last of it up without having any back ups (rookie error)! But when I went to buy another one, it was sold out, and I was without my beloved beloved brow pencil for a good three weeks and until I managed to find it in stock, my brows did not look like they usually would! They do only have two shades in their range but I find that they are pretty universal as far as one for brown haired girls and one for fairer and blonde haired girls go!

I put off buying this next product for a long time, just for thinking that I didn't need to buy a lip balm that was almost £10 because is a lip balm really that good? But yes, yes it is and I was proven wrong! I am of course talking about the Nuxe Reve De Miel and even in the not so cold months, this is a lip saviour especially for those who like to wear lipstick a lot! I tend to stick this on once I'm at the end of my skin care routine both in the morning and at night, and it keeps my lips hydrated for a long time! And I've not had a lip balm that can deal with seriously chapped lips like this once can! 

Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, the product that all beauty bloggers either own or consider owning (and will probably end up owning at some point) but who needs another eyeshadow palette, right? You do! This has the nicest variety of shades so you can make it work for day time and night time looks, and I also think  the shades would work for pretty much every skin tone because there's something in there to suit everyone's likings! And who doesn't want an eyeshadow palette that literally smells like chocolate?! I really want to try more from this brand and have so many things sat on a never ending wishlist! 

Powders are something that I really tend to struggle with because I have a t-zone that tends to get super oily and so as the weather gets warmer, I feel like I have to a billion powders on standby because I'll go through them super quick! And one that I have been loving for a while now is the MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural because it's one that seems to hold off letting the oil come through for quite some time before I feel like I need to touch up! And this powder, is one that is very light on the skin, doesn't transfer too much colour and doesn't look at all cakey on top of foundations and so I think this will probably be my go to during the warmer months to fight off that oil!

The last product that I use to death is the Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyesahdow Base and I'm going to need to get a back up soon, because I feel like this will run out, and I just won't know what to do with my eyelids! But this keeps eyeshadow in place so much longer than any other primer I have used, and when it says smudge proof, it really does mean it! Sometimes I can come home from work looking like a right mess (I regret nothing) and if there's one thing that I know will still be in place, it's my eyeshadow and I'm someone who was always pretty dubious about wearing eyeshadow and liquid liners for long periods of time for the fear of it all creasing, fading and just looking generally disgusting but I don't have to worry about any of that any more and I don't think 'll ever change from this primer - which is a pretty bold statement!

Let me know if you have tried any of these products and agree (or disagree) with me because I'd love to know! Also share what you love in your make up stash, I'm always on the hunt for new things!

Abigail

xo

April Favourites

The months keep going quicker and quicker, it honestly feels like I was writing my March favourites about a week ago! But yes, we are here again in this transitional month where I feel like I have changed up my make up routine a little bit and so this is what I've been enjoying using...

A foundation that I'd been eyeing up for quite a while now is the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin and the only reason I'd put off from buying it was because the colour range wasn't too great! However, I decided to just pick up the lightest shade which is very pink and luckily my skin tone has a very pink undertone, but I do have to bronze my neck a little because the foundation is still a little but too dark! Problems of a pale girl! I may do a full review on this in a few weeks as this claims to help the look of skin from three weeks of using it. I also like to apply this foundation with the Sigma F80 which I believe everyone should own because it just makes blending foundation so easy, especially if they have a thicker consistency!

A product that I've started to rave about is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil which is a drugstore dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz which I also love but if you can pay less for something that does the same thing, why not?! I also just find it so easy to use, and I love that one end has a spoolie so if I go anywhere and need to take my make up bag, I know I don't need to take a separate spoolie which is always handy! The only downside to this brow pencil is that it only comes in two shades and I find that the blonde one works for me but I could see why some people wouldn't be able to use these due to not having a colour that would match!

Bourjois is a brand that I love, however being ridiculously pale, the foundations don't work for me as they are always too dark and so I was sceptical about trying the Healthy Balance Powder, purely because I knew that those also come in different colours and I didn't know how much of the colour transferred onto the skin. I picked up the lightest shade (which I think is 51) and so far I have been loving it, and I don't find that it makes my foundation look any different and it leaves your skin looking healthy but sets the foundation well! It also comes in a tiny compact with a mirror so easy for use on the go, which makes this winner all round!

Another product for Bourjois is the Bronzing Primer and I love this because we all know that when the weather gets warmer, the cream products come out to play, and this seems like a dupe for the Soleil Tan De Chanel which has been on my wishlist for the longest time! But I love this because it really warms up the skin without making it look too muddy, and it's really easy to blend in because of it's texture! I tend to use the damn sponge to blend it in because it makes it look a lot more natural!

As the weather warms up, it means that oily skinned girls like me have to make sure that whatever we put on our face is going to stay in place, and so this means that I've been using the old faithful Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray which not only sets my makeup for the day but also controls the oil which is great because I don't have to worry about the possibility of the make up on my face disappearing! Another product that I decided to start using again the other day was the Revlon Highlighting Palette in the shade 002 which is great for a blusher and highlight all in one for those lazy days, and I love that it doesn't give off too much colour because it means you can build it up without it looking too much.

My last favourite for this month is the iPhone 6 Plus which I decided to get myself to replace the 5s, and I am loving the bigger screen, it makes things so much easier, and I find that I can now blog on the go due to having a phone with a bigger memory as well! I know that the 6 would have been big enough but I'm one of those people who just has to take it one step further!

I hope you enjoyed this months favourites, what have you been loving for the month of April?

Abigail
xo

February Favourites

I'm back with the favourites from the shortest month and this month I've found it quite difficult to find things I've been using religiously! But alas, here are the few things that I have loved throughout the month of February!

Most of the products for this month have been things that I stopped using and instead of buying new things, I thought I would have a little root through my make up and see what I could find! From previous posts, some of you will know that I am not a fan of blusher, at least not anything too pink or red, however, just recently I have rekindled my love for the Soap and Glory Love at First Blush which for me works as a blush and highlight all in one! The blush is built up of blocks of different colour and so I tend to stick with the lighter shades and I find that my cheeks never look too flushed which is a bonus! 

Staying on the lines of the face, after buying the Sigma F80 a while ago now and using that pretty much every day, I kind of forgot that I had other face brushes and one that I've began using again is Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and I forgot how much I loved this brush, its so dense and I find that it's great for really buffing foundation in because I am someone who prefers a full coverage foundation and sometimes they can look cakey if they aren't buffed in enough!

A new product that I've gladly welcomed into my routine is the Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base and for someone that has extremely oily eyelids, a good base is an unspoken rule, and I have to admit I'm always sceptical about primers but this one does last, and keeps my eye shadow in place even when I am doing a ten hour shift at work so this will definitely be one that I will repurchase! And on top of this primer, I have been wearing a MAC shadow that I bought and never really used to begin with but after seeing Anna use it, I knew I would love it! And this eye shadow is Sable which I have been wearing all over the lid, blended out at the edges, it's a beautiful bronze come plum shade and a lot of people have complimented how blue my eyes look when I have been wearing it!

I'm someone who doesn't wear eyeliner too often but when I do, I usually turn towards a gel liner because I find them easier to use than most liquid liners, but when I was sorting through all my eyeliners, I came across the L'Oreal Super Liner So Couture which was actually a free gift with a purchase but nevertheless the pen on this is so small that you can get the most precise line which is great! If anyone knows where to get this in the UK, please let me know! Most of this months favourites seemed to be based on the eyes but I have also been loving the Chi Chi Cosmetics 3D Magic Lash which is a mascara which makes my lashes look so good, I find the results similar to They're Real but it's no where near as difficult to remove! 

The last favourite for this month has to be Taylor Swift, I think me and my friend have been listening to her non stop, I've honestly had her albums on repeat in my car and I have no idea where this little obsession has come from, but I don't think its stopping any time soon!

The Brow Game

When it comes to eyebrows I never went down the route of filling them in, until about a year ago and to start with, I just used the good old MAC Omega eye shadow which I have to admit on lazy days, I still go for. It does the job! That was before trying out Benefit's Brow Zings which is again a do it all product - quick and easy - but I found that the colour was too dark even in the lightest shade, so I tend to use the powder side of this and leave the wax side!

More recently, I've been on the hunt for different products and have a few that I have been enjoying using, and for people like me who have to find brow colours for blonde hair, I've been searching for brow colours that match my hair! The first one I tried out, courtesy of Zoe and Gabby who both raved about it, is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil which I have in the shade Love is Blonde. At one end is a felt tip type nib which produces a tint and the other end is a waxy crayon which is the end I use because I find that the colour is a great match for lighter hair.

The next two products come from Anastasia Beverly Hills - who we all know, know brows pretty well and so I felt as though I didn't need any convincing when it came to buying these two things. The first one I bought was the BrowWiz in the shade Ash Blonde and this is handy because not only is the pencil amazing in terms of the colour and texture, the other end of this a spoolie and so it saves taking a spoolie and a brow pencil around. But the actual product itself is amazing and I love that the pencil is thin and so it makes it a lot easier to fill in the thinner areas without overfilling the brows. 

The second and final product that I have been using religiously since I got it is the DipBrow Pomade in the shade Blonde which I have to admit is darker than the pencil but nothing too different from my hair colour. But I feel I can't rave enough about this product, it's one of those products that you can put on at 8am and not worry about for the rest of the day because by the time its 8pm everything is still there; I honestly think this stuff is one of the best brow products I have ever used. I especially love that this is not anything like the texture of a pencil and so I find that this almost glides on exactly how you want it to and still looks natural!

There are a few more products such as the Gimme Brow that I want to try out, are there any products you think I should try? Have you tried any of the ones I've mentioned?

Blush For Me

I feel like I've been M.I.A recently, who knew that having no laptop could be such a pain - I do now! So for that, I'm sorry! And I wish I could promise more regular posts but my phone is not the place to typing up a lot of blog posts unfortunately! I will try my hardest though and whenever I can get a post up, I will!

I've decided to talk about a make up product that for me has always been a tricky one and that is blush... I don't know what it is about blusher, but we just don't get on that well! Never have and I feel like we never will and trust me, I've tried different formulas but no luck! Is it something I'm doing wrong? Am I not picking the right formula or colour? I'll never know!

Having a problem with redness is where I always thought I was going wrong because I could never conceal it well and putting more colour on top of that... just no! But alas, I still try with blushers and I think I've found myself some pretty foolproof ones that work work for me (or, work as well as they can for me!)

Soap and Glory Love at First Blush

I first bought this blush and used it a few times but I was never really a fan of shimmer, so I rarely used it and become one of those things that sat in one of my drawers and in all honestly, I kind of forgot about it! But I found it whilst clearing out and decided to put it in my make up so that I'd use it, and I'm so glad that I did! This blush is built up of different colour blocks that all hold a lot of shimmer and so I tend to find that less is more where this is concerned, but the colour is so subtle and just makes the face glow, I feel like this has opened me up to a world of dewy looking skin!

MAC Blush in Fleur Power

I think this was one of the first MAC products I ever bought and to this day, it's still the only blush I own from there (even though I have quite an extensive wishlist going on) and I love this colour! I have previously raved about it but this is a blush that I use all of the time, it doesn't even matter what time of year, I can wear this! Its one of those blushes that you just need to gently swipe on for colour that is noticeable, but I must say this is one of the longer lasting blushes that I own and use!

Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush in Blushing

This blush was a kind of spontaneous buy and I bought two shades, one of which being blushing and although I'm not completely sold on the idea of stamping it onto your cheek and blending it out, I do like the colour and so I'll continue to use it! It's a very light pink and so it doesn't look harsh at all and I don't feel like you have to put a lot for the blush to take affect. It's one of those blushes that works with pretty much any make up look but it would probably look best of pale complexions because it is so light! 

Have any of you tried these blushes? Do any of you have holy grail blushes? I would love try some new ones out!

Recent Purchases

When Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on, how can a girl resist a few new items? Now, I have to admit some of these items I didn’t even need, but if they are on the shelf, I'm probably going to end up taking them to the counter! I will point out though that not everything was bought from Boots, nor was everything bought on the one shopping trip; it was spread out over the course of three or four different occasions.

A few things I've had my eye on for a while (probably due to beauty bloggers raving about the items) and that seems to be why I buy half the stuff I don’t really need, but I do end up using it so I can’t complain! To make things a little easier because the list is quite long, I will group together items from the same brand.

REVLON

From Revlon I've picked up a few things recently and this isn’t usually a brand I go to often and I'm not sure why, because some of their products are pretty unbeatable and so I decided to go and stock up on the Revlon cosmetics. Everyone has raved about the Nearly Naked collection and instead of buying the foundation, I decided to buy the Nearly Naked Pressed Powder in the shade 010 Fair and from the few times I've used this (on top of foundation) the outcome has been incredible! I'm obviously not getting the “nearly naked” effect because the layer of foundation but it really does set the foundation while still giving me that natural colour from the powder itself. I've mainly used this as a powder that I use to touch up during the day because the packaging comes with a mirror and a foamy applicator, so it saves me carrying more than I need to! I also picked up the Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in the shade 100 Bare Light, and this is also something that everyone is beginning to go and buy so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and after the couple of times using this, it’s safe to say I think this will become a staple in the routine! Following in with the highlighting products, I got the Highlighting Palette in the shade 002 Rose Glow and as you would expect there is a variety of pale of pinks and shimmery whites that can act as a highlighter and blush all in one (what more could you need?!)

MAYBELLINE

Now, this brand used to be my go to, if I was in a drugstore, you would probably find me browsing this stand but just recently nothing has jumped out at me from this brand and so I haven picked up too many things from them. However what I have purchased is the Master Smoky Shadow Pencil in the shade Smoky Black and thinking back I have no idea why I picked this up but I am so glad I did! I get lazy when it comes to eyeliner and so this shadow pencil acts as my eyeliner and because it comes with a smudge applicator at one end, the shadow can be smudged out to create desired smoky or non-smoky look! Along with this, I also got The Falsies Volum’ Express mascara in Black Drama, and so far I haven’t been too fussed over this product and would probably choose to use other Maybelline mascaras over this one, but I will continue to use it and see if my opinion changes!

BOURJOIS

The only product I have ever owned from Bourjois is the Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder in 51 because it was always a brand I skipped when hunting for makeup. Alas I have loved this product so much that I am back for more from this brand! First off, I had to pick up another one of the bronzers, so I did that, and I think this product speaks for itself and I don't know of many beauty bloggers who haven't give this a try! Knowing that the bronzing powder was so good, I took it upon myself to look at a few reviews for the bronzing primer and I saw a lot of good things and so ultimately I went and picked one up. While having a browse at the Bourjois stand, I spied a foundation that intrigued me and it was the 123 Perfect Foundation in the shade 51 and this foundation supposedly has three correcting pigments to reduce dark circles, dull complexion and redness but we'll see if this really does match up to what it says and also what others have said in reviews about this product!

RIMMEL

I love this brand, there is no other way to say it, and so when I see a Boots 3 for 2, I'm obviously going to come home with something from Rimmel! The Stay Matte Primer was a must have for me because I prefer a matte finish to my face most of time and also I have been looking for a new primer, and the few times I've used this, I have to say, this is definitely a keeper! I also picked up too foundations and they are ones that I have previously used and so I knew that I would be getting my money's worth out of them! The first one is the Stay Matte Perfection Foundation in the shade Ivory and the second one is the Match Perfection Foundation in the shade Ivory, and I have to admit the only reason I had to repurchase these foundation was because I got one that was a shade too light in the Match Perfection and one that was a shade too dark in the Stay Matte... As you can see, I am no good at swatch testing in drugstores, I always seem to come home and realise I've bought the wrong colour!

SEVENTEEN

How did I only find out about this brand last year? No exaggeration. So, since finding out about this brand, I haven't actually bought anything from them, and then there was something that caught my eye and I'd been debating on getting it for a while! Guess what? I bit the bullet, and got it! Well actually, I got two, and they are the Blush Stamps and I got one in Made You Look and another in Blushin'. I am so excited to use these, they look so easy to use and the colours that I have chosen also look amazing (especially in time for spring!)

OTHER

Now, the rest of the products that I bought, I only purchased one thing from the brand, and so I will group these all together. First off, who doesn't like Soap and Glory? No one, that's what I thought and as I was innocently looking at the stand for Soap and Glory, I spotted the Sugar Crush Body Wash and can I just say if you haven't smelt this scent, you need to! It is like heaven in a bottle! But obviously I had to pick one of these up to go with the Scrub and Body Butter I already have that are in the same scent!

Something that everyone has raved about for a few years now is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and it wasn't until now that I owned one of these because for so long I have used the Clinique Airbrush Concealer and I thought I would try out the Collection concealer because for the price even if I don't like it, I can't complain! I picked up the concealer in the shade Fair but I have yet to try this out!

Besides having lipsticks from Topshop, I've never thought to pick up any other make up items from them, but when I was in London a few weeks ago, I decided to try out of one of there blushers which I got in Afternoon Tea (which is one I had heard lots of good things about) and so far I love it, the colour is so pigmented and is a great pink shade ready for spring. The creamy texture is something I've never tried with a blush but I seem to be doing okay with it!

Okay, so one of the most talked about foundation for spring at the moment is the L'Oreal True Match which I got in the shade W1 Golden Ivory. I've never really tried out any L'Oreal foundations but if it's being talked about so much, I had to buy it, right? I've only used this a couple of times, and it is a little dark on my skin (but it'll be great for Summer) but it does what it says, it really does a give a finish look that matches your skin, and would look pretty flawless on people who don't have such problematic skin.

Another foundation that I'd been putting off buying for a long time now is the NARS Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc but I was browsing online and finally took the plunge and decided to order it because sadly I do not have a NARS Counter anywhere close to me. I was afraid the colour would suit me, but luckily I didn't waste my money, and I don't think it gets much better than this foundation especially for the brighter months! I can't pick out any fault in this, it gives that finish that is enough glow that is doesn't overpower, and you still use shimmers either on top or underneath! I honestly don't think I've stopped using this since it arrived in the post!

Something that got suggested to me a while back now are the egg shaped sponges you can get to apply many products and I went in the search of the Models Own ones knowing that you get two and if I didnt like them it wouldn't be too much of a waste however I came up empty handed and turned to the much loved Real Techniques and ended up buying the Miracle Sponge which I have yet to use but I'm sure I will love it because everything else from Real Techniques is brilliant!

The last thing I have to talk about is Effaclar Duo+ which I have seen a few beauty bloggers use in the past and I knew that I needed to get something to try and help out with my skin, because I have a lot of scars from previous acne problems and I also get redness and this cream is supposedly to help unclog blocked pores, correct the appearance of blemishes, refine skin texture, controls the appearance of shine and fight against the appearance of marks! I've been using this every night underneath my moistoriser since I bought this and I have noticed that the shininess that I had on my face has reduced cnsiderably as well as the appearance of some marks that I really wanted to be concealed! Hopefully with continues use, this cream will work wonders!