What's Inside My Makeup Bag:

When I was younger I used to fill my makeup bag with unnecessary products, believing that any makeup product used on that day had to be in my bag ‘incase of an emergency’. I’ve now learnt the best way is to only keep ‘touch up’ products and some essentials inside your bag. Here’s a little insight into what I carry with me almost everyday. My makeup bag is from Kurt Geiger (last year) and it fits the perfect amount of products inside. Due to its canvas material it does get dirty quite easily, but nothing a quick washing machine rinse cannot fix. 

A few necessities in there are my Cuticura Hand Sanitizer – this is my favourite hand gel as it avoids that harsh alcohol scent. The passionflower and mango is a light tropical scent that does not linger on for more than a few minutes. Secondly, is hand cream, this one’s from Superdrug (from a Christmas set), and it pretty much does the job. I also keep my Bach’s Rescue Remedy purely for the fact that I’m prone to small anxiety attacks throughout the day, and this helps keep them at bay. I keep The Body Shop’s Vanilla body mist with me just to spritz all over whenever I need that extra oomph. The spray is quite strongly scented, and I find the smell to stay on for a couple of hours – love this product, and I cannot wait to try the coconut one next. A good lip balm is an absolute must for me, as I seem to have dry lips all year round! My favourite lip balm is this Nuxe Reve de Miel as it has a matte finish and makes lipstick application easy after being used. 

As for makeup products, I try and keep the content to a minimum. Mac’s Mineralize Skin Finish is kept as a touch up powder, but I also like to keep a sample size of Nars Sheer Glow incase I need extra coverage. I also keep a couple of concealers in my bag (which I never really reach for..oops). These are Collection’s Lasting Perfection and Illuminating Touch concealer. As the bronzer junkie that I am, I keep Jemma Kidd’s Perfect Tan Bronzing Trio in my bag – this product is great for adding colour to your skin, and due to its light shimmer particles, it creates a natural looking glow. To apply these two products, I keep two brushes – Eco Tools travel size buffing and brozng brush. Not only are these super soft and easy to use, but they are the perfect size!

I tend to keep two lip products, one nude and one brighter shade just incase the day takes an unexpected turn and I want to snazz up my makeup. At the moment I’ve got MAC’s ‘Creme Cup’, which is a perfect pinky-nude shade, and Chanel’s ‘Insolente’ – a bright, blue toned, medium pink with slight shimmer.

Finally, I keep a small tube of one of my favourite mascaras, ‘Diorshow Extase’ for days where I am out for longer hours and my lashes lose their curl/volume.

xo

May Beauty Favourites:

This month my skin has witnessed a makeup intervention - a more brush-free makeup routine. I’ve been using the Cosmopolitan Beauty Sponge, and I absolutely love this thing. I achieve such quick and easy natural results, leaving the skin looking rather airbrushed and smooth, without looking like I’ve caked any product on at all. I use this in conjunction with my Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua, and it leaves a dewy finish with a slight glow, so if you prefer a matte finish, use a powder after to set the foundation. 

Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua is my go-to foundation during the warmer months, mainly because it feels really light on the skin. Despite its sheen finish, I find this has buildable coverage – depending on much product you layer on, you can cover almost all blemishes on those bad skin days. The foundation also has SPF 15 (which you can really smell, but I quite like the scent) and that’s an added bonus for those who like myself, are too lazy to apply an SPF. 

The BareMinerals Correcting Concealer has worked amazingly in conjunction with my foundation, covering imperfections and dark circles. I use my fingers to apply this under the eyes, around the nose and onto blemishes. There is no caking or drying out of the skin with this concealer.

This Dior mascara is a new discovery of mine. If you like big, volumized lashes whilst maintaining length and avoiding any product clumping, give ‘Diorshow Extase’ a go! I honestly feel like I’m wearing false lashes when I wear this. 

Stila Convertible Colour in ‘Petunia’ – following the brush-free theme, this cream blusher has earned a well-deserved spot in my favourites this month. I apply this onto my cheekbone using my thumb. It’s definitely a buildable colour, and it leaves a dewy (not oily) finish on the cheeks. 

OCC Lip Tar – I’m someone who wears bright colours on her lips all year round, a self-confessed lipstick junkie! And having recently discovered the OCC Lip Tars, I find that in the warmer months they are so much easier to wear – with all that Frappuccino sippin’ and all. They dry to a matte finish and I don’t have to worry about the colour budging for hours (literally, hours!). This shade ‘Radiate’ is perfect for adding colour to any look, it’s a vibrant orange toned red. 

Seche Vite & Essie polishes - As an attempt to add more colour in my life, I’ve been switching up my nail polish more often than usual. And I only have my Seche Vite to thank for that, this topcoat dries my nail polish in less than a few minutes, and it leaves a shiny, perfected finish. Some nail colours that I’ve loved recently are Essie’s ‘Fear & Desire’ and ‘Fifth Avenue’. 

xo