Byoo-tuh-fuhl: Currently on my face

Hello lovelies!

Today's post is a quick snippet into what my summertime beauty regimen has consisted of. As I'm sure my readers know by now, I tend to suffer with an extremely oily t-zone area on my face - and this is particularly annoying in the warmer months! I mean, there's gorgeous goddess does summertime glow then there's the non-practical greaseball. For all you combination-oily skin ladies, I know you understand the struggle of looking overly shiny! The key to getting a gorgeous, dewy glow? Keep the shine in check.

I've been wearing Chanel's Vita Lumiere Aqua on my skin, this skin base is great because it not only contains SPF 15 (one less stage in my beauty routine) but it's also a water based foundation, which believe-it-or-not is what oily skin is lacking! Dermatologists are always raving about dehydrated skin, and although consuming water is the best option for combating that, but by putting a water based product onto your skin, you can retain moisture beneath cells. A good mattifying powder is also crucial. So I've been reaching for Mac's Mineralize Skin Finish - a light dusting of this accross the forehead and nose does a great job. Remember: only powder the areas where you get particularly oily and this is usually the center of the face.

What about radiancy? Although dry skin gals tend to get away with highlighting better than those with oilier skin, strategic highlighting is still an option! I like to gently dab Mac's Lustre drops onto the high points of my face - the tops of my cheekbones, cupid’s bow and a tiny bit on the bridge of my nose. Remember: avoid areas that are overly textured such as skin blemishes or pimples, or have larger pores as highlighting only emphasizes this!

On my lips, I've been rocking the infamous Velvet Teddy pout. If there's one lipstick that made it big at the start of 2015 it was Mac's matte lip in Velvet Teddy - all thanks to someone's (overly) pouty pout, Kylie Jenner. Paired with Mac's 'Whirl' liner, this creates the illusion of plumper lips, and due to my medium-warm skintone this lipstick appears more as a taupy-nude on me.

What have been some of your summer time skin treats?

Saina
xo

Todays FOTD: Everyday Natural Makeup

Despite being a makeup junkie, there are few firm favourites that I use pretty much everyday and serve as holy grail items in my beauty stash. This post is a quick insight into some of the main treats my face is fed on a daily basis.

Base: Nars Sheer Glow in Santa Fe
I've been using this foundation for 4 years now and I still have no complaints. It's the perfect everyday foundation for normal-dry skin, due to its luminous finish I wouldn't recommend this foundation for oilier skin types as it may make your skin super greasy without constant powder touch-ups. Personally, I tend to get slightly *greasier* in my t-zone area, but I use Macs MSF after a few hours use and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. I wouldn't say this foundation radiates that 'glow from within' look, but rather has a beautiful satin finish that smoothes over any imperfections without drawing any attention to them. In terms of coverage, this foundation is sheer in texture, though buildable for soft coverage of imperfections.

Bronzer: Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel (Bronze Universal)
This cream-gel bronzer was all the rage a couple of years back, and most people seemed to have gave up on the application of this makeup newbie. Though once you've caught the hang of what works best with this product, it really works a treat in warming up your skins base. The trick, for me at least, is to use the product as I would foundation. I like to use this with my Real Techniques Expert Face brush, and gently pat in upward motions from the hollow of my cheekbones.

Contour: Benefit Cosmetics Hoola
Although I'm not a massive contouring freak, I like to use this product to create a slight illusion of a shadow for my cheekbones and down my nose. For olive skin tones, I find this works best as a contour shade rather than a bronzer as it has 'cool' undertones rather than a red base. It's also a matte product, which is perfect for defining the face.

Highlight: Mac Lustre Drops
With this product, a little goes a long way. I like to use a couple of drops of this over my cheekbones and down my nose to create a luminous and radiant base.

Lips: Mac Soar & Blankety
Soar is a mauve-pink liner that works perfectly to create the illusion of fuller lips. I fill around and in my lips with this shade and then tap Blankety ontop for a fuller, but also glossier pout.


Saina
xo

FOTD - Lunch & a movie.

Here's my first FOTD featuring some of my staple products. On warmer days like today (please may the weather continue like this) I like to use a more sheer coverage base for my makeup that is not powder based and will allow my skins character to come through during the day.
Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer is described as 'lightweight flawless coverage' and I agree. It creates a perfect dewy glow once accompanied with a lightly frosted highlighter, such as the Dior amber diamond which I also placed above my cheek bones, down my nose, and into the inner tear duct of my eyes.
I then used Mac's blusher in 'Format' to bronze and lightly structure my face, and Mac's 'Melba' to add a soft matte colour to the cheeks.
As always, my eyebrows were filled in using my holy grail Stila eyebrow set in 'dark' and using Chanel's eyeshadow palette in 'Enigma' a purple toned smokey eye was created. Finally, the look was completed with one of my favourite lipsticks of all time, YSL's Rouge Volupte in shade '2' - a slight pink toned nude.

Products used/mentioned:

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer 
Bare Minerals Correcting Concealer 
Mac's blusher in Format and Melba
Dior Amber Diamond
Stila Eyebrow Set
Chanel Enigma Palette 
Soap & Glory Thick & Fast mascara
YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick '2'

xo