My Current Makeup Rotation

Hi.

If you are like me and have to store your make up away in old beauty boxes and a set of drawers, you will know that it can be hard when you are in a rush to pick what make up you want to wear for that day. This is especially hard if you give yourself more time in bed and less time to get ready than you should like me. (Why is it so hard to get out of bed????) To help combat this problem I have a smaller make up bag on my dresser with all the items I want to use in. One of my fave things to do on a Sunday night is choose which items to put in my make up bag for the week. So here is my current makeup rotation. 

So I haven't been too adventurous when it comes to complexion and I have chosen many of my favourites as I want something I know I can rely on when I am going to work these include the GOSH Prime and Set Powder, Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, Revlon Colourstay Foundation and the NYX Concealer. For blush I have gone with one of my new faves the Barry M Cream Blush Stick and continuing on with the Barry M theme with the Barry M Light Me Up highlighter and the Barry M contour kit have also made it to my makeup bag this week. The highlighter I chose as I saw dizzybrunette3, use it on one of her YouTube videos and thought that it looked gorgeous. The Barry M contour kit is one of my faves in light packaging it is easy to travel with and the bronzer and the contour shades are beautiful just for adding a bit of colour although I am not a big fan of the highlight shade. 

For eyes I have a rather small selection as usually during the week I don't have time to apply anything. It takes a long time to blend those eyeshadows you know. So if I am have enough time I will usually go for the Barry M Eyeshadow Pencil as this is very easy just to put on my lid and blend away the edges for a quick look but still look put together. I also use the L'Oreal Superliner for days when I have that little bit of extra time to get ready. For occasions when I have loads of time to get ready or am going out out I will use the Charlotte Tilbury Eye Shadow Quad in Dolce Vita having the four shadows together makes it really easy to put together a look that looks beautiful. I also use the Urban Decay Primer Potion to make sure that my eye shadow stays in place and it also makes the pigment that little bit better too. For brows I am currently using this Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara as I have very full brows I am lucky that I don't need much doing to them put this keeps them in place all day. To finish it all off Benefit Roller Lash, nothing too dramatic in my books but this means it looks very natural perfect for work. 

And finally on to lips, I have a few selections depending on my mood for the day. If I what an autumnal lip I will go for either the Maybelline The Mats in Divine Wine or the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in Grand Cru both of these are perfect autumnal colours and need minimal topping up. If I am in more of a nude lipstick mood I will go for the Rimmel Kate Moss Nude Lipstick in 42, the Kate Moss line is one of my favourite for lipsticks and I have quite a few  already but also have my eye on a few more to add to my collection. If I am feeling particularly lazy I will just put on a swipe of the L'Oreal Infallible Mega Lip Gloss in Protest Queen, this gives a lovely gloss to the lips and at least looks like you have made some sort of effort. 

What is in your current makeup rotation? 

See you tomorrow!

Jess

x

Dark Lip Essentials

Hi,

Now that it starts to get dark at like 5pm and all the Christmas stuff is in the shops it is officially dark lip season. Here are my essentials for getting the perfect dark lip.

Lip Scrub 

A good lip scrub is essential to any dark lip. You don't want your lips covered in dry skin as otherwise whatever you put over the top will not look very good as it will all stick. My favourites are both from Lush the Mint Julips and the Santa's lip scrub, they are fantastic for getting the dead skin off and they also taste delicious. 

Lip Balm 

After scrubbing your lips, a good lip balm is an essential to make sure that your lips will take to the colour well. I usually put it on before I start putting my make up on and by the time I get round to doing my lips, it has sunk in. My faves are from Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm in either the original or coconut and pear scent the as they have no colour to them so don't interfere with the colour of the lip and they are nice and moisturising. 

Lip Liner

To get a good dark lip I feel a lip liner is essential, I usually outline my lips with the colour and then fill them I find that doing this makes the lip colour last a bit longer and when it starts to fade it doesn't look patchy. I really like the Maybelline Colour Sensational in Midnight Plum and Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil in Wicked, although the Urban Decay one is not a extremely dark it does go well with the lighter berry colours. They are both good at making your lipstick last just that little bit longer.

Lip Stick

Now for the most important part of a dark lip, the lip stick. Obviously there are thousands of different dark lips on the market but these two are my faves. From the drugstore is the Maybelline Colour Sensational Mattes in Divine Wine  this is a true dark lip colour and being a matte formulation means that it does not budge from the lips, deffo one to look into if you don't want to splash out a lot on a dark lipstick. Another one of my faves is a Mac lipstick in Plumful, this is what I would call an everyday sort of dark lip as it is not too dark but can be built if you want to, say if you are going out in the evening. 

What are you dark lip essentials? Tell me in the comments what your favourite dark lip is. 

See you tomorrow!

Jess 

x

Ebay Bargains: Brush Dupes

Hi,

I thought today I would show you some dupes for some make up brushes from ebay. Make up brushes can be very expensive but ebay is a good place to go to get some cheaper alternatives. 

Mac 217 Dupe - RRP £20 (99p - eBay)

Although I already own a Mac 217, I could do with a few more just as I am lazy and cannot be bothered to wash my brushes so often, but when they are £20 its just not worth it. So here is an alternative which means I could have twenty for the same price. These brushes are perfecting for blending eye shadow seamlessly into each other to create the perfect eye look. 

Beauty Blender Dupe - RRP £16 (99p - eBay)

Although I do not have the real beauty bender I do have the Real Techniques version of it. So maybe if you want an even cheaper version of that then you should go for this one, with a massive saving on both of the proces. This sponge helps to blend foundation into the skin and gives an almost flawless finish to the skin, a must for when you are going out. 

Real Techniques Pointed Crease 201 Dupe - RRP £12 (99p - eBay)

This is another brush that I already have which I find perfect for doing blending eye shadow in the crease and also for applying any eye shadow under the eye. It just looks beautiful and applies the perfect amount. Being part of Real Techniques professional line it is a bit more on the expensive side but this dupe looks perfect. 

Urban Decay Naked Basic Double Ended Brush Dupe - RRP £18 (99p - eBay)

Another brush that I already have this one is perfect for if you are on the go and don't want to take loads of different brushes with you as this one has two ends to it. One for applying eye show and blending it in, I tend to find that if I have more colour I will just use different sides of the flat brush to apply them. The only problem with this brush is that I don't know how to store it with the rest of my brushes as I don't want the bristles to get damaged. 

BareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush Dupe - RRP £24 (99p - eBay)

This is a brush that I am very intrigued to try as I do not know how my foundation will react with it. I feel like they would just go down into the dip in the middle and that all the foundation will be absorbed. I am glad that a cheaper alternative is on the market so I don't have to waste my money on something that might not be very good. 

The total value of all of the luxury brushes added together would be £90. Now if you don't fancy spending all of that the cost of all the dupes addeed together comes in at £4.95. What a saving! Is there any brush dupes that you know of? Let me know. 

See you tomorrow. 

Jess

x