It's All About That Base

I'm all about that base....(refrains from singing Meghan Trainer.....).
Perfecting your base makes a huge difference to your makeup end result, and I love making sure I'm confident with how my skin looks. Over the years I've collected a few holy-grail base products, ones I know I'll continue to repurchase and have become staples in my day-to-day makeup routine.

Primer isn't something I use every day, simply because I don't need it and sometimes I feel it can clog up my pores. But a product I do use, which isn't marketed as a primer but I find helps to prime my skin and prolong the wear of my foundation, is the Elemis Pro-Illuminating Flash Balm. It's a relatively recent find for me, but it's quickly become a firm favourite for it's brightening, skin perfecting qualities. I'll be posting a full review soon.

Tips For School Makeup

It's the beginning of September, which means a lot of you will be returning to school, or maybe even starting at a new school. So, I thought I'd do a post on school makeup.


I want to start by saying that I'm sure most of you who are school age don't even need to wear makeup, so please hold back from doing so if you don't need it…what's the point in smothering your face with foundation if it's already clear and imperfection free? However, I know some girls suffer with spots, blemishes or if you're in the older years then you just would like to wear a bit of makeup anyway, maybe to cover those under eye circles.

TOP 4 PRODUCTS -
Concealer is a girls best friend. Concealer can help you cover up any areas you aren't happy with, maybe there's a blemish, or uneven skin tone you want to target, and you can do this without having to slap foundation all over your young skin. A concealer like Collection Lasting Perfection is perfect for school days, it's heavy coverage so if you have spots (which we all get in our teen years….and as we get older too sadly) it will help to hide those and boost your confidence, it's also very long lasting so it shouldn't wear off over the long school day, even if you're doing P.E. For under eye circles I'd recommend Rimmel Wake Me Up, it'll definitely give the illusion that you've had a good nights sleep.
Waterproof mascara was a must have for me during my school days. I always felt a bit naked if I wasn't wearing mascara, and it always made me feel so much better about myself if I had it on. I like the waterproof versions because they tend to stay on longer, also if you get all hot and sweaty during P.E it won't smudge and go all down your face. There's loads of waterproof mascaras in the shops, but I recommend any from L'Oreal.
Face powder was something I went through quite a bit of in school. I didn't wear foundation until my last year, but I did wear a mineral powder. I liked it because it gave me the tiniest bit of coverage, which is all I needed, and it stopped me getting shiny throughout the day. Rimmel Stay Matte is great, and so is Maybelline Fit Me.
Lip Balm was in my bag at all times…actually I kept it in my pencil case! I never had a tinted one, my school was too strict for that, but I used to carry around a plain Nivea lip balm just to keep my lips hydrated.

That's all the makeup I used to wear during my school years, but if I was there now I'd probably also wear an eyebrow pencil to give my brows a little definition - Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil is my favourite. An eyeliner just to line the top lash line - I'd choose brown over black as it's more natural and not so harsh, again Rimmel is the best for eyeliners. And lastly maybe a natural matte bronzer - nothing dark, orange or shimmery, just something to give my face a little bit more colour, Soap & Glory do a fantastic duo bronzer.

I hope this post has given all you school goers some help, and I hope you aren't as self conscious as I was because honestly there's no need to be! 

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My Favourite Powder

Whether you have oily skin or dry skin powdering your foundation is a good idea to set everything in place and to help it last all day.

I've used the Rimmel Stay Matte powder for years now, I've repurchased it countless times and will continue to because it's so brilliant and a bargain at only £3.99.
It's quite a light pressed powder that comes in 5 different shades, and transparent too (which is what I use) so whatever skin tone you have you can use it.
I love the transparent one because it won't give me more coverage but it helps to minimise pores, control any shine I may have, helps foundation to look even better and really does set everything in place well so your makeup lasts a lot longer.
The powder contains natural minerals, is free from fragrance, oils, parabens and talc so it won't clog your pores and it feels silky soft and natural on the skin.
Rimmel Stay Matte does everything I want in a powder, and it's great for my dry skin as it's not heavy and doesn't accentuate any patches.
The only gripe I have with this product is the packaging, I'd much prefer something with a flip up lid and mirror….but for the low price I suppose I can't really complain when the product inside is so good.

What powder do you use?

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Spring Blushes - NYX

Officially Spring doesn't begin for another couple of weeks, but the weather is getting a bit sunnier and there's a definite feeling of Spring in the air. I feel like Spring is the season for pink blush, I tend to go for more coral or peach in the summer but pink is the perfect transition for Spring.
NYX do some really brilliant and affordable blushes in a huge shade range, I thought I'd share two of them with you that I'll be using this season.

Cream blush in Natural

Powder blush in Peach

The first is a cream blush in the shade 'Natural' (£5.50). I nearly always opt for powder blushes, I just prefer them a lot more but this blush is really gorgeous. It's a really natural colour like the name suggests, it looks darker in the pan than it is when it's all blended into the skin, and it gives a beautiful glow. I thought this might be difficult to apply but I found it surprisingly easy - the best way is to blend it in with your fingers. As it's a cream formula it isn't super long lasting, I'd say it lasts for around 4 hours on it's on, but if you powder a bit over the top it'll last that bit longer.
The second blush is a powder in the shade 'Peach' (£6)….I have no idea what NYX were thinking when they named this product as it's not a peach shade at all, it's a cool toned medium baby pink. Normally cool toned blushes don't look good on me at all, but I find Peach really suits me and gives me a natural glow without any shimmer. It can be sheered out for a subtle wash of colour, or built up for a more intense look. The formulation of this blush is amazing, very pigmented, easy to blend, feels nice and silky and lasts a good 7 hours on the cheeks.
Both blushes are packaged well, nothing outstanding but for the price I didn't expect anything fancy.

Cream blush in Natural (LEFT)
Powder blush in Peach (RIGHT)

I'd highly recommend checking NYX blushes out! They're brilliant quality for the money and the shade range is so vast there'll be something for everyone.
Unfortunately they're a US brand but you can buy them from their UK website or Amazon.

What's your favourite Spring blush?

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