Everyday Makeup Products

Hi everyone! Today I thought I'd share the makeup products that are in my everyday routine. These are the items that are present no matter what makeup look I'm going for and my absolute staples. Starting with base products, the first item is my MAC Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone Treatment, a primer that is amazing at creating a matte, longer-lasting base. I smooth this over any oily areas and really notice a difference in my levels of oil production and shine. The next product is more of a skincare item, but the Clinique All About Eyes Serum is something that really helps create a great base for my concealer. It really cools the undereye area with it's roll-on applicator and gives a nice level of moisturisation that sinks in quickly. The next step then is always to apply my Bobbi Brown Corrector which really is the best product for disguising and neutralising dark circles. On top of this goes my favourite concealer, the Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer which is amazing at brightening as well as applying a little more coverage.

To give my skin a bit of warmth, I adore The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01, a really natural shade for fair skin. It's also completely matte which is a bonus for me, as the more natural the finish the better. For contouring, the Kevin Aucoin Sculpting Powder is a firm favourite for me. This is a great contour shade as it's a medium toned brown with a hint of grey which really gives a natural shadow effect to slim the cheekbones, something that anyone with chubbier cheeks like me desires! Finally for the skin, a long term love of mine is the MAC Studio Fix Powder which I use purely to set my foundation on my nose where I'm most oily. I wouldn't use it all over as it can be a little heavy, but for some coverage and oil control it does a good job.

Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph one of my favourite brow products which is MAC Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow. This is a really lovely shade for anyone with medium to dark brown hair as it's very cool toned and I find it's the easiest method to really shape and fill my brows to how I like them to be. On top of this, I'll always use my Benefit Brow Zings in Dark Brown just to set them in place as well as provide a bit more 'filling in'. If you have naturally good shaped brows this is fine on it's own too!

Finally for eyes I have five staple products. Although I like a few different mascara's, the Magnetic Lash Mascara is definitely one of my favourite. It claims to give you 'falsh lash effect' lashes with it's two step system, one a normal lengthening style mascara and one fibre one for volume. I actually just use step one day-to-day as the second step can be a bit messy as the fibre's tend to give quite a bit of fallout and I love the effect of the first step alone for long lashes. To help curl them, I love the Shiseido Eyelash Curlers. They're a really good shape with a slight curve to fit the eye and really do a great job, far better than the Shu Uemura in my opinion! For my bottom lashes I love the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara which gives longer bottom lashes without looking unnatural or smudging.

The Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner is something I've now repurchased three times and it's definitely worth the hype. It's super black, lasts a long time and is the easiest method of application I've found with a slim nib and a pen style applicator. Finally, for priming my eyelids for eyeshadow the NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base is the best I've found for crease-free, long-lasting results.

So these are the products I use on an everyday basis! The only things I mix up really are foundations, eyeshadows and lipsticks which I love to change up daily. I'd love to know what products you use everyday, I find it's the best way to find out what products someone really loves!

New York Haul

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! Back in April I made a trip to New York for my mum's 50th, a surprise trip her boyfriend had been planning for her for months. It was incredible with all kinds of amazing experiences from a helicopter ride above the city, visiting Ground Zero (something I'd wanted to see for a while) and of course, all the shops filled with goodies we can't get in the UK! I haven't posted in an extremely long time, mainly due to focusing solely on getting my degree but now that I have obtained my 2:1 I'm back to blogging more regularly which I'm so happy about.

I did end up spending quite a bit in New York but trust me, this was me holding back. There were so many amazing brands and products I really had to narrow it down to the wishlist I'd had of things I really wanted to try. Here's what made the cut!

Can you tell I'm a foundation junkie?! Base products are definitely by far my favourite makeup product to collect and I'm constantly on the hunt for the 'perfect' foundation. Starting with the Tarte Clay Full Coverage Foundation, this was something I had to pick up after seeing countless positive reviews online. It is a lovely foundation, like it says on the packaging it offers great coverage whilst appearing light on the skin and not too matte. Really love this for covering up redness.

The next foundation was the first of my repurchases, the MakeUpForever HD Foundation which is my all time favourite base for nights out. It really does live up to it's title as in photos this makes my skin look flawless without an imperfection in sight. I don't love it for the daytime as it can look a little heavy but trust me, if you want something for photo or evening use, this is a great pick. My second repurchase was the Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 Foundation. Unfortunately, I picked up a shade darker than my usual colour so I'm unable to wear this unless I mix it with something lighter but the foundation itself it great for long lasting staying power and good coverage without looking too heavy.

Finally, I went for another Tarte favourite, the Tarte Clay Airbrush Foundation which is a powder foundation. I have to say, I'm undecided on this one. It's definitely one for days where my skin is looking a look less red which isn't much at the moment and I don't find the staying power great either. A bit of a let down but good for those who don't require as much coverage and have more normal skintypes.

Stepping away from foundations, I also picked up the extremely hyped GlamGlow Mud Mask. I have to say, for something so eye-wateringly expensive I really expected more from this. It is a good face mask but I wouldn't say it's any better than cheaper ones I've found at clearing my pores. If you have the money to spend it might be worth a try but I wouldn't buy this again. Another hyped product I purchased was the Fresh Brown Sugar Perfume. I love how America sells the rollerball perfumes, so convenient, I got far too excited over this! This perfume smells so amazing, as the brand would suggest it's a really fresh scent, slightly sweet but also citrusy. If you get a chance to smell this I definitely would, I'm addicted to it.

Next was a recommendation from a friend, the Clinique All About Eyes Serum. This stuff is my saviour against my puffy, dark circle eyes in conjunction with my Bobbi Brown Corrector as the rollerball applicator and product combined really cool and depuff my eye area. I didn't realise this before going but Clinique is SO much cheaper in the US so I'd recommend grabbing some of their stuff over there if you can.

Finally, I was given this Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Sophia which is effectively a lip plumping gloss. Firstly, the colour is so gorgeous. It's similar to my natural lip colour but with a really subtle shimmer to it and a sheen that makes my lips appear lighter. I'm not sure it massively plumps my lips but I really love the staying power and colour of this gloss, not bad at all for a freebie!

The only hair product I picked up was another thing I slightly regret, the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product. I'll start by saying it's not that this doesn't work, it does detangle and fulfill the uses listed on the bottle however I CANNOT stand the smell of this at all, it's so horrible! I have other products that do a similar job so I wouldn't buy this again, it was pretty expensive and I'd probably rather by something that has a nicer scent if it will be noticeable on my hair for days like this was.

Lastly, I bought a Victoria's Secret Body Spray in Passion Struck. I really wish these were more accessible in the UK as they are so lovely. This scent in particular contains notes of Fugi Apple and Vanilla Orchid, making it a really fresh fruity, sweet fragrance that I haven't stopped wearing!

So that's my New York Haul, have you tried any of these? I'd love to know what you all thought of the same products!