The Winter Face

It only occurred to me a few days ago that I've pretty much been wearing the same makeup look over and over for almost the whole of winter. Normally in winter, I would be wearing some sort of jewel tone on my eyes, because I really think that these shades were made with winter in mind. This year though, black liquid has been my best pal, and there hasn't been a day gone by when I haven't sported a slick of it.

My makeup has been pretty simple, but with statement eyes. Kind of like a simple statement. For my skin, I've been all about the glow. Anything that could give me a faux glow, it's been on my face. So, with this in mind, my foundation of choice has been L'Oreal True Match in the shade Golden Beige. This is a medium coverage foundation with the most flawless and natural finish. I love that when I have this on, it looks like there is nothing on my skin at all. I've been setting this with MAC Sheer Select Pressed Powder in NW20, to keep any extra oil under control. For the added glow, Makeup Revolution Blush Palette in Golden Sugar has been the one. Perfect for warming up the face a touch, adding a little blush and highlight all at the same time, you can find my full review of it here. 

For the eyes, I haven't been using much at all really. For the brows, I've been running a little bit of Makeup Revolution Ultra Aqua Brow Tint in the shade medium, just for a little definition. I haven't been using many shadows which is quite unlike me, but I have been adding a quick wash of colour. My shadow of choice has been MAC All That Glitter eyeshadow which never fails me. For liner, Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner is my absolute fave. I've been applying this thicker than usual and adding a flick on the end. To finish, a few coats of Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara to give my lashes some body to them, followed by a slick of MAC Creme Cup mascara, and the jobs a good 'un.

I've been wearing this look so much for the past few weeks, so much so that I can't see myself changing it any time soon. What has been your winter look?

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Current High Street/Drugstore Favourites

In my daily work makeup bag, there is an eclectic mix of both high end and high street makeup products, all of which I love. I'm not one to favour a particular price brand of makeup as I find that there are some real gems available which are very purse friendly, and some pricier products are pretty rubbish. In my new job, I am working with high end brands on a daily basis and so my makeup bag was starting to get full of their products, but I was concerned that I was forgetting some of my well loved high street favourites. For the past few weeks I have been rediscovering more and more of my beloved high street/drugstore favourite, and I thought that I would share them with you today...

First up we have Bourjois Happy Light Foundation which has been my go to base. This has been great at work as the strong artificial lighting used to wash me out or make my skin look dull and flat, but now it looks glowy and healthy when I use this. The coverage is medium but can be built up slowly to create the desired finish. Along with this, I have been loving the Seventeen Stay Time Concealer for my under eye circles and blemishes. This is such a lovely formula with a creamy and easy to blend texture. I use the shade medium but have just bought a slightly paler shade to use as a natural highlight.

Another Seventeen product in the form of the Brows That! brow kit. This features a tinted wax, brow powder and highlight, along with a small brush and brow pencil. I have quite a lot of brow products and this is one of my favourites, it's great for travelling and creates a really natural finish. For my eyes, I've been favouring something really simple, so have just been using a wash of Bootycall from Urban Decay N2 palette as my shadow and then adding a flick of Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner. This has been my favourite liquid liner for a very long time and will continue to be! To finish this off, I have been coating my lashes with a couple of coats of Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara. This really makes my lashes look long and full, all whilst being a true black shade.

On my face I use a few different bronzers and alternate them daily so I didn't include one in this selection but I have included my favourite summer blush which is Peachy Cheeky from ELF. This is really stunning rose gold shade which really warms up my complexion and looks great with a tan. It also pairs extremely well with Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Peach Lights. This very subtle highlighter looks as pretty on the skin as it does in the pan. It doesn't make me look like a disco ball at all but instead makes the high points of my face look glowing.

So there we have my current highstreet favourites. These have all made their way into my makeup bag for my weekend away, and will be staying in it for a while yet!

What is your favourite makeup products from the highstreet/drugstore?

My Night Out Makeup

Nights out are few and far between for me. Whilst I was at Uni I would be out most nights and all I would have to show for it would be a raging hangover and a deep hole in my bank account! Now though, I find myself going out and actually enjoying making some memories, with meals out and some drinks with friends. Last night, Olly and I went out with some friends for a delicious meal and a catch up. I had been looking forward to it all week and had such a lovely night. I also really enjoyed getting ready, as I always do, but I just felt really relaxed and used some new products. So, I thought that it would be nice to share with you Face of the Evening and the makeup bits and bobs that I used.

Base:

Monu Firming Moisturiser (review coming soon!)

Bourjois CC Eye Cream

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation NW20

MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW20

ELF All Over Cover Stick Apricot Beige

Face:

Maybelline Fit Me Powder 125 Nude Beige

ELF Bronzer Cool (review coming soon!)

MAC Fleur Power Blusher

ELF Shimmering Facial Whip Lilac Petal

Benefit Browzings

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion Original

Stila In The Light Palette

Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara

Lips:

MAC Lipstick Creme Cup

MAC Dazzleglass Baby Sparks

Hair:

L'oreal Elvive Triple Resist Enforcing Shampoo and Conditioner

Moroccan Oil

Left to air dry 

Styled with GHD Irons

Aussie High Shine Hairspray

Wow, that was a lot of products! I really liked this makeup look and think that I'll probably wear it more often. I wanted something with a classic look so thought a soft neutral eye with a bit of depth would go well with a soft pink lip. 

What is your night out makeup?

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Date Night Face of the Day

I love Date Night! It's my favourite time of the week! This week with it been valentines we had plans to go out for a lovely meal and a few cocktails, however we were both pretty ill and instead sat at home with our feet up and did nothing. Instead we decided that when we were both feeling better we would go out for a meal, which ended up being last night.

As we weren't going for anything fancy, it meant that we didn't have to get too done up, but it was nice to apply make up properly for the first time in a week. I felt a bit more human, hallelujah antibiotics! The look that I went for was pretty simple but I wanted to make myself look a bit more awake. After being ill I'be had terrible dark circles and my skin has needed a huge pick me up! I applied a shimmery eyeshadow in the hope that it would brighten my eyes and I think it worked slightly, but I am having to layer on the illuminating eye cream recently. I applied a touch of bronzer just to warm up my face a tiny bit and added a coral blush for the same reason. I was wanting a statement lip but really couldn't decide on a shade so I decided to play it safe with a pinky nude shade. 

Products Used:

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Maybelline Fit Me Powder

Sleek Au Naturel Palette (for both eyes and brows)

Stila Smudgestick in Damsel

Soap and Glory Solar Powder

MAC Fleur Power Blush

Rimmel Matte Lipstick in Kate 101

I quite like this neutral and simple look, and will probably be wearing it for the net few days. I think the best thing about this particular look is that you can switch up so many things like the blush, lips or eyeliner. I think next time I'll try a brighter pink lip or a rose toned blusher.

What is your date night look?

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Soap and Glory Powder Trip

Like many bloggers, I'm a big fan of Soap and Glory. I started by loving the bath products, then moving onto skincare and finally the makeup. Since I first bought the eyeshadow quad in What's Nude, I have continually been drawn back to the S&G makeup stand in Boots. This Christmas, S&G were right on point with all of their gift sets, and one that I was determined to get my hands on was the Powder Trip set.

This palettes includes three of S&G powders, along with a half moon brush all designed to give the perfect finish in just one palette. Before this, I had never tried any powders from S&G as every single time I went to try them in store, there was never a tester or they were sold out. The palette also includes a good size mirror which is perfect for on the go touch ups. The packaging, although cardboard, is very sturdy which bodes extremely well for travelling. I just love the design of this and I'm not normally one for packaging, but it really will look lovely sat on any dressing table.

Onto the powders themselves...

First up is Glow All Out. A Luminizing Radiance face powder, a pale peach, shimmery powder which does look very akin to a blush. It may look a little daunting to some, as it does look very shimmery but don't let that fool you. When I swatched this powder, it was like touching silk. I have never come across a powder so soft in my life. Applied to the skin, this doesn't leave any sort of colour, just a brightening effect which is something that I have wanted to achieve for such a long time. The shimmer in this powder doesn't transfer 'glittery' at all, rather it's radiant and glowing. Just perfection!

Next is Love at First Blush. To me this is the most visually appealing of the trio. With three shades, all complimenting each other, these create the perfect 'natural glow'. If you really wanted to, you could try and use these shades individually, but that would require a pretty small brush. Instead, I just like to swirl my blush brush around and apply to the apples of mt cheeks. As you can see from the picture, it does have a large amount of shimmer included, which might put some people off, but it doesn't make you look like a disco ball. Just imagine that rosy glow that comes naturally, and this is what the blush gives. Again, this is a silky soft powder that applies with minimal effort.

Finally, we have Solar Powder. A duo sided bronzer that is pretty much a suit all shade. There is a darker shade that I have used for contouring, which I've found to be very similar to the infamous Nars Laguna. The lighter side is perfect for creating an all over sun kissed look, which is perfect for those with paler skin as it doesn't have an orange tone to it. This does have a pink overspray to it which does disappear after the first use which I was quite glad about because I just see it working with the bronzer. This isn't as soft as the previous two powders, but it still applies beautifully to the face.

I just cant get enough of this trio and really recommend each of the powders. This set was released as part of the Christmas Gift sets and was originally priced at £20, but it is still available on the Boots Website for £10, which is less than buying one of the powders individually! So snap it up quick if you get the chance! 

Have you tried any of these powders? Which is your favourite item from Soap and Glory?

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush

I'm a sucker for fresh, fruity fragrances, especially citrus ones so this combo is perfect for people like myself. It was back before christmas when I was wandering the aisles of boots and I saw the Sugar Crush shower gel amongst the Soap and Glory goodies so I just instinctively picked it up. Then a few weeks later when Boots had reduced the Soap and Glory Best of All kit to less than half price,  was quick to pick one up! In this kit was all of their best selling items, one of which was the Sugar Crush Scrub.

The shower gel is more akin to a body lotion due to its consistency, but just a few pumps of this creates plenty of suds and lather that leave you feeling ultra squeaky clean. The scent is that of fresh limes which leaves both me and my bathroom smelling amazing for hours after use. 

The scrub is amazing for those days when your skin needs a little help. The sugar and macadamia and sea salt included in this scrub, along with lime and almond oils create the perfect ingredients list for a body scrub. It is quite thick and heavy in texture but I actually prefer it this way as it feels like it provides my skin with the moisture that it needs. The bonus is that my skin has never felt so silky smooth. This has the same scent as the shower gel.

The shower gel is available at boots for £6.50 for 500ml and the body scrub is available for £8 for 300ml. There is also a body butter available from this line.

Have you tried any of the sugar crush range?