My Updated Evening Make Up

I've recently gone for the chop and because of this and as we are well into Autumn, I've decided to make some changes to my make up. 

This post is about an evening look with dark eyes and berry lips. 

Step 1: After the usual cleanse, tone and moisturise I apply Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as a primer. 

Step 2: Then, using my fingers I blend in Chanel's Aqua Vitalumiere foundation all over my face making sure to blend in at the neck. I'm still loving this foundation, it gives the perfect coverage for me. 

Step 3: I then use No7 Instant Radiance concealer to cover the dark circles under my eyes. I just dab it on and blend in with my fingers. 

Step 4: Next, I use Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on any lumps, bumps and blemishes again, blending with my fingers. 

Step 4: To set my foundation I apply a thin layer of No7 powder in translucent using a Front Cover Cheek brush. 

Step 5: I then apply the best bronzer in the world ever, Chanel Bronze Universal to the hollows of my cheeks, temples and nose. 

Step 6: I'm still loving the Sleek Brow Kit that I blogged about many moons ago. I fill in any gaps using the wax and set my eyebrows using a small amount of the powder. 

Step 7: I'm still obsessed with my Urban Decay Naked 2 Pallette and I use my Front Cover Fluff and Buff brush to apply Booty Call all over my eye up to my brow bone. I then apply Verve to my lid using the same brush and then using a Front Cover Point + brush I add Pistol to the crease and underneath then eye.

Step 8: My Kiko black eyeliner is the best I've ever used, I never feel like I'm dragging it across my eye as it glides on so easily. I apply this to my upper lids and to the water line.

Step 9: I curl my eyelashes using my No7 curlers then quickly apply a thin layer of Dior Lash Maximizer before applying Dior It- Lash Mascara. 

Step 10: I then apply Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power using my Real Techniques Blush Brush and Sleek highlighter using a small blusher brush.

Step 11: The final step is the application of No7 High Shine Intense Lip Crayon in Sultry Kiss. It's a lovely berry colour that's perfect for winter and as it's the shape of a crayon is really easy to apply. 

And there you have it, my autumn, smoky evening look. It's not the best photo but let me know what you think! 

Becky xx

My Holiday Make up Staples

Hello! 

So we've all been there, the weather is heating up or we've taken ourselves off abroad and we want to look sunkissed, beautiful and natural within the first 5 minutes of stepping off the plane (or is that just me?)

Well I can't guarantee that, but I can recommend some of the products that I use in the summer and some new purchases that I will be using in the warmer months. 

Foundation: 

When my freckles start to appear (my face doesn't tan) I either like to wear a very light foundation or none at all. The two products I've been enjoying the most are the No7 BB Cream and the Dior Airflash foundation (I know I regularly rave about this but it is a lovely light foundation for the summer) the only downside with this product is that it has no SPF.  I love the No7 BB cream because it looks very natural but leaves a smooth, dewy look to my skin and also has an SPF of 15. Plus it's very reasonable even before the £3 discount vouchers. 

Concealer:

I still get bags and blemishes in the summer so I do need to continue to use a concealer. I'm loving Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer at the moment as it isn't cakey but offers good coverage. 

Apologies that the photo isn't the best but these are well loved products! 

Eyes:

I don't like to wear too much eyeshadow or eyeliner in the summer. I just don't want to end up with sweaty panda eyes. I do however, like to give my eyes a wash of colour and I think bronze looks beautiful when you want to achieve that sunkissed look. A recent airport purchase was a Clinique Eyeshadow Quad in Morning Java. This is the first time that I've tried Clinique eyeshadows but I really like them. There's a highlighter, bronze, light brown and dark brown shade and they work very well together without looking too over the top. I apply the light brown all over the lid and the bronze in the inner corner of the eye and below the lower lashes. I use the dark brown eyeshadow as a liner on my upper lid, shove a bit of mascara on and hey presto! 

For an even easier eye look, I've just bought Maybelline's Colour Tattoo eyeshadow in On and On Bronze. The colour is a lovely bronze cream. It is quite metallic so I keep the application quite light in the daytime but it has a lovely sheen to it and works well with just a bit of mascara or a small amount of eyeliner on the upper lid.

Bronzer: 

A firm favourite of mine is Chanel's Universal Bronzer (and I'm glad after paying just over £30 for it!) I apply this bronzer to the parts of my face that would naturally catch the sun and I think it's amazing! So natural yet very effective. It makes you look as though you've been sitting in the sun all day. 

Cheeks:

When I'm wearing bronzer I don't always apply blusher. But on days that I do, I sometimes use the Nars blusher in Luster. This is a bronze blusher that helps to further enhance a tan. The other option is No7's Pop and Glow stick in Rose Blossom which is a pastel pink. This is a cream blusher which gives a natural glow to my cheeks that seems to stick around for a good few hours. 

Lips:

In the summer months I tend to favour lip gloss, particularly during the daytime. My favourite is No7 BB Lip Cream in Blush Coral. The cream itself is very nourishing and offers UV protection which is always a bonus. It's easy to apply and is fairly long lasting. The subtle coral colour also works really well with a tan. 

So that's it for my recommendations. Of course I still wear mascara and I have to tame my crazy eyebrows. My favourite mascara is the already blogged about No7 Exceptional Definition mascara in black. To avoid a shiny face I make sure that I apply a powder to set everything in place, I also like to use a highlighter on my cheekbones to enhance the glowy, sheeny look.

I hope that this post has inspired you to change up your summer looks, it would be great to hear of any other summer recommendations that you may have. 

Thanks for reading xx

Daytime Make-up Routine

Hello! It seems like ages since I wrote my last post so to make up for it I'm writing a super long one today. It's been lovely to hear from people who are enjoying my blog and I've had a few requests to do a post on how I apply my make up. I am in no way an expert but I do really enjoy putting my make up on and using tips that I've seen on other blogs so I thought I would share how I do things. 

Oh and bit of a disclaimer- there are some truly hideous make up free/semi made up pictures of me I am sorry but I thought this needed pictures to stress the point a bit. So here we go... 

Step 1: Here is my totally naked face. I had a wash with Origins checks and balances foaming face wash (a new purchase-totally loving it-it's like washing in shaving foam!) toned with La Roche Posay Effaclar toner and moisturised with Origins GinZing.

Step 2: The first thing I do make up wise is apply a primer. I do this most days because I like the way it smooths out and brightens my skin and helps my make up to last. Today I used the Benefit That Gal brightening face primer.

Step 3: I then apply my foundation. Today I have used my Dior Airflash foundation in 202 with the Dior 12 foundation brush. To apply I spray the brush with foundation, work it over my cheek, then spray and do the other cheek, then a spray for the nose and chin and a final spray for my forehead. I spend quite a long time buffing the foundation into my skin as I like it to look quite natural.

Step 4: Concealer time. I've dotted No7 Instant Radiance concealer in 2 under my  eyes and No7 Stay Perfect blemish cover in Medium over spots and imperfections (I've got quite a few of those!) I then blended these into my skin with a No7 concealer brush which I think works better than using your fingers as you're not adding grease to your face or wiping away the make up. 

Step 5: Eyebrows. The photo is a bit scary for this but it all works out in the end! I used the Sleek Brow kit in 818. Firstly I use the rounded brush to apply the wax - you don't need much of this just a light covering to tame the brows. Then, I use the angled brush with a very light covering of setting powder. I colour in my brows as mine are very patchy and are totally different shapes so it helps to match them up try and make them look related. Kind of. 

Step 6: I'm using my Sleek eyeshadow pallette today so have decided to use my No7 eyeshadow primer first to keep my eye make up in place (I don't need to use a primer with my Dior compact, might be a quality thing?) I just shove my finger in the pot and rub it all over my eyelids not going above the crease. 

Step 7: I like to use a highlighter on my brow bone. Today I've applied a small amount of No7 Instant Radiance highlighter and smoothed it over with my fingers just to give a subtle sheen.

Step 8: Next is eyeshadow. I used my Front Cover fluff and buff brush to apply Sleek's Calm before the storm all over my eyelid. 

Step 9: I then layered Sleek's Thunder Storm (which is a goldy shade) over the top and applied Dust storm (a dark brown) to the outer edge of my eye blending into the crease and also underneath my bottom lashes, from the outer corner to just before the middle of the eye and Thunder Storm from the inner corner to the meet Dust Storm. (Ramble, sorry).

Step 10: I ALWAYS wear eyeliner but for some reason I didn't put it on today... So I went straight to ny Front Cover eyelash curlers to give my lashes a bit of a boost. 

Step 11: Mascara. Today I went for No 7 Exceptional Definition mascara in black. I've had this mascara for a few weeks now and it's starting to thicken a little which I love! It volumises and lengthens my lashes even more than it did originally. Brilliant stuff! 

Step 12: To avoid a big, shiny face I used a little bit of the Clinique Gentle Light powder in 3 over my forehead, nose and chin with a fluffy 17 powder brush.

Step 13: I've started to enjoy contouring my cheeks a little. So I used the bronzer from the Sleek contouring and blush pallette with my new Real Techniques Blush Brush (less than a tenner from Asda and I love it!) I suck my cheeks in and apply the bronzer in the hollows and extend it to my temples and apply a little under my chin(s).

Step 14: After bronzing I used the No7 Mineral Perfection blusher in Soft Damson on the apples of my cheeks with  the same brush. I find smiling helps the apples to stick out a bit so you don't go overboard on the blusher. 

Step 15: It's all about the highlighter on the cheekbones now. I used the Sleek highlighter from the contouring pallette with my Real techniques brush just on the cheekbones extending up the temples. 

Step 16: My final step is my lips. Today I used Tanya Burr's lipgloss in Picnic in the Park. It's a new gloss and I love the colour. It is a very natural peachy pink but unlike a lot of glosses it is quite pigmented so you can actually see the colour. The Brucie Bonus was that it was only £6.99 from Superdrug and it smells lovely. 

And that is it! I unclipped and straightened my fringe for the final photo and here it is...

Thank you for persevering through some truly hideous pictures. This make up routine is a day time routine for me, maybe a little more than I'd wear for work but for a trip to the shops or a day out somewhere (we are really into our National Trust trips at the moment- old I know!) it's a perfect look for me. I hope that I was of some help and please let me know if you have any tips/product recommendations etc.  

Becky xx