Since I wrote about my current skincare faves (which you can find here) I thought it would make sense to follow up with a make-up version. So here are the things I don't think I could live without currently, as I use all of these each time I do my make-up. Here are my ultimate failsafes!
The Body Shop Instablur Primer
This is the priciest of products on my list but hear me out because I believe its well worth the £14 *gasp* price tag. I've never been one for primers and didn't honestly see the point, well now I do. I bought this after a lovely lady in the Trafford Centre branch committed her time to helping me find make-up that would cover up my acne & dry skin (which at the time were both horrendously bad and affected me so much I rarely wanted to leave the house). She spent ages with me, testing out different things and putting me a full face of make-up on to walk around with and see how it wore. A little side note but I find that The Body Shop staff are usually always so lovely!
Right, down to the nitty gritty of me listing off why I love this. First of all the smell is delightful, an almost floral scent but not overpowering and also you don't need a lot of this product to cover your face. The consistency of the primer can take a while to get used to and I find it doesn't really work on a brush so I just apply it with my fingers. When I'm wearing this primer I find that my make-up not only goes on smoother but it also 'sticks' better to my face, lasts longer because my foundation doesn't just get absorbed and therefore putting your base on is easily buildable. Lastly I really find that this helps to minimise my pores and give my face a smoother appearance. Now because of the price I only tend to use this on heavy make-up days (c'mon we all have them right?) so otherwise I'll just use a BB cream. Either way, even if you don't want to give this product a try I would say that applying some sort of primer or BB cream before your foundation will do wonders if you have tetchy skin.
(If you're feeling like you don't want to spend that much but have a couple of Body Shop products on your list then do check out an outlet store of theirs, they always have fantastic offers on that will save you lots of pennies!)
MUA 5th Birthday Eyeshadow Palette
I searched high and low for this palette and just when I was about to give up I finally found it. In a sense I do regret this because it's been the most amazing & functional palette ever...and it was a limited edition. So once I hit pan I've no idea what I'm going to do with myself although I assume there will be plenty of similar shades from MUA's huge selection. I think it's best I bullet point why I love this palette so I don't go on with myself too much!
- For the very small price tag (£5 I think) the pigment in every colour is spectacular, lots of depth to them, they blend so well & they wear for hours and hours
- There's such a great range of colours and selection of shimmers & mattes, its a really usable palette for all kinds of looks
- With all the shades being in one palette it's a fab piece of kit to take on holiday
- The shimmer shades aren't too glitzy/don't fallout and the lighter colours are great for highlighting your inner corner/brow bone
- I've had this for a long time now and it's lasting for ages (thankfully!)
- It's the only thing I use for eyeshadows and once it's run out I will definitely be hunting down replicas of every single colour
Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream
It took me forever to get hold of this, everywhere I went it was out of stock with only the tester stick sitting there teasing me. When I'd finally given up I'd popped into Boots out of curiosity and managed to get the very last one in stock in the shade (frosty pink) I'd wanted. Fate! Now, I cannot stress enough how good I find this - especially as a highlighting novice - you barely have to use any product for a great highlight, it isn't greasy or too creamy and it's just so easy to use. I love a convenient product and this is just brilliant, I dot it on all my high points and from my temple down to about a third of the way into my cheek (just under by eye bags of course) and then smudge it slightly to make sure it's blended in. I also find that it's very buildable so one sweep is great for a natural look or you can really go crazy with it for some severe strobing! When I'm putting effort into my make-up I like to pat a little powder highlight on the top and the cream holds it so well. It lasts all day, doesn't look shiny/sweaty and just makes me feel so glowy; for such a budget price I'd really recommend giving this a try!
Barry M Genie Lip Paint
To be honest I don't really feel I need to justify my reasons for buying this lippy, I mean it's a green lipstick that goes on pink, ultimate wizardry! Aside from this and the gorgeous, punchy packaging it's actually a really fantastic, unique product. I didn't take a picture of a swatch because the lipstick adjusts to the alkaline in your lips, so it looks a different shade of pink on each person! For me it looks very similar to the packaging, a hot Barbie pink. This lip stain claims to last for 8 hours and I can definitely agree with that; even after food, drink and me vigorously wiping my lips they were still a vibrant pink colour. I know many can worry that lip stains are drying but this one feels just like a lip balm would and it moisturises for hours. All I can say is make sure you swatch the tester before purchasing as there is no guarantee you'll like the shade it turns on you; when my mum swatched it, it was a very pale pink colour. If you needed to know any more about the legitimacy of the colour adjusting to you, my boyfriend kissed me before he left for work and when I saw my reflection, my lips had changed to a plum colour!
NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray
I went through the matte phase and battled with constantly greasy skin ruining my vibe, then when I finally tried to embrace this and the dewy look, my skin became exceptionally dry, flaky & snake-like (thanks contraception). Tonnes of products later - including prescription ones - in order to get 'normal' skin back I'm about halfway there with combination oily/dry skin. I still adore the dewy, glowing look and this spray for me just enhances what I manage to achieve with moisturiser & make-up. Popping about 3 spritzes of this over my face when I'm done applying my make-up does wonders, but at first I'll be honest, I was underwhelmed. Why? Well as per usual I expected immediate results, I wanted to look instantly dewy and fabulous. Despite this not-so-great first impression I stuck with it and over time realised that it really does hold your make-up ALL DAY, doesn't make you look sweaty or sticky and you do end up looking fresh faced with a healthy glow! For the holding power of this spray and the fact it does give you that dewy/highlighted look I think it's a bargain and it's definitely the best setting spray I've used out of the numerous things I've tried.
What makeup essentials do you always keep handy? Let me know in the comments!
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