A FEW FAVOURITES FROM MAC COSMETICS

MAC has to be one of my all time favourite makeup brands. Although it's slightly on the pricier side, the quality is great and many of their products are a firm favourite in my daily makeup routine and makeup collection. 

SUMMER BEAUTY EDIT

Although it has been Summer for a while, I have only just got round to writing this Summer's Beauty Edit. 

ROSE GOLD EDIT

I'm not sure about you, but I love rose gold and copper. I have filled my room with rose gold fairy lights, jewellery and spray painted some old pencil pots rose gold last summer. I even bought a copper lamp last weekend, can you tell I'm slightly obsessed? 

CONTOURING EDIT

Contouring may not be the newest trend on the block, but it is still as big as ever in the beauty community. Although I was scared to contour at first, I am finally getting to grips with it. I have found a technique that works for me and doesn't give me the dreaded 'muddy line' (I don't think so anyway...). Recently I have been trying a few products that can be used for contouring which called for a contouring edit. 

SPRING BEAUTY EDIT

Cheers all round, Spring is finally upon us and hopefully it will bring lots more sunshine and better weather. I absolutely love this time of year, admiring the daffodils and the blossom on the trees, it's just beautiful. It's time to put away the berry tones for another year and dust off the corals from the backs of our drawers. My base products stay the same all year round but I like to switch up my eyeshadow, blush, lip products and nail polish shades. 

THE GLOW GETTERS

Highlighting, for me, is a step I can't miss out in my daily routine. It adds a pretty glow and luminosity to your face. Here are 3 that I regularly switch in and out of my daily make-up routine. 

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick 'Pink Quartz' £33 is gorgeous. Not only can it be used for a highlighter by gently swirling your brush in all of the colours, but you can also use it as a bronzer or blush by selectively using the 5 shades within the brick. It contains small glitter particles which draws attention to your cheekbones when the light bounces of them. The packaging is luxurious, despite being slightly bulky, it opens by pressing a little button on the side and reveals not only the stunning shimmer brick, but also a large mirror. 

I took my first step into the world of highlighters when I received the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish 'Soft and Gentle' £24 for my birthday and since then, I have collected quite a few. I love the golden glow you can achieve with it and it is what sets it apart from any of the highlighters that I own. It looks amazing in the summer with a tan and lots of bronzer. The formula is very finely milled so it picks up on the brush easily and a little goes a long way. It is also great because it contains more shimmer than glitter so it looks very natural on your cheekbones. 

The Collection Speedy Highlighter £3.99 is the 'budget friendly' option. It is a cream highlighter in chubby stick form that easily competes with the high end highlighters in this post. It is very pigmented and gives a gorgeous glow to your cheekbones. I love how easy and quick it is to apply and I do so by rolling it on straight from the stick and blending the edges with my foundation brush. 

What's your favourite highlighter? 

Lauren

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EVERYDAY EYESHADOWS

Eyeshadows are definitely my favourite make-up product to buy. For some people it's lip products, and although I do love them too, I usually come out of Boots with an hand covered in different neutral swatches. I wear eyeshadow almost everyday and I love doing so, I find it adds so much to a makeup look. All of these shades are neutral, one-wash shades which are easy to apply. 

Every eyeshadow look has to start with a base and in my opinion, cream eyeshadows are the best. The Maybelline Colour Tattoos are a great option. They're affordable, pigmented and there is a vast colour range. My favourite shade for an neutral everyday look is 'On and On Bronze'. It's a gorgeous brown shimmer which can be worn on it's own or as a base for another eyeshadow and it will help to intensify the colour.

The L'oreal Colour Riche L'ombre Pure Eyeshadows are pigmented, creamy and easy to blend. What more can you ask for? I particularly love their formula because it's rich and feels like a cream eyeshadow on application which means it can be applied with either a brush or your finger tip. 'Cafe Saint Germain' is a gorgeous shimmery taupe and to intensify the look I apply some of 'Quartz fume' to the crease.

Maybelline never fails to amaze me with their products and they are definitely one of my favourite drugstore brands. For everyday I love their Colour Show Mono Eyeshadows, which you will have seen me rave about here. Both shades can be swept across your eyelid with no fuss and no time at all. 'Copper Fizz' is a gorgeous copper shimmer where as 'Stripped Nude' is a matte warm brown, great for adding slight definition to the crease.

MAC eyeshadows are my all time favourites. They're expensive but worth every penny. 'All That Glitters' is a gorgeous champagne with a peach hue. I love wearing it on it's own or with a matte brown in the crease. It makes blue eyes pop and gives a 'wet-look' to the lid.

What are your favourite everyday eyeshadows?

Lauren

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UPDATING YOUR MAKEUP BAG FOR AUTUMN

Autumn is upon us and even though I'm sad that Summer has finished, I'm excited to switch around my make-up products and start using some products that I put away last year. I find it can get boring applying the same products everyday, so quite often I switch around a few things in my daily make-up routine and delve around my make-up draws to get inspired. It's time to ditch the coral lips and embrace the berry tones. 

RADIANT BASE: I have been using the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation £7.99 everyday recently and it is the perfect base to buff into your skin for everyday. It has a medium coverage, makes your skin look radiant and has great lasting power. However, now the sun has disappeared and the grey, gloomy days are upon us, I would recommend mixing half a pump of the Seventeen Skin Wow £5.99 in with your foundation. Or, apply it onto your skin before your foundation and it acts as a primer and gives radiance. The Match Perfection does give a gorgeous glow to the skin, but it looks even better mixed with Skin Wow and gives you that lit from within look.

RED TONED EYE-MAKEUP: Eye make-up is pretty much universal all year round but there is something about the Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita Eyeshadow Quad £38 that screams Autumn to me. The deep red tones of the enhance shade pair very well with a berry lip. That is the cliché Autumn look after all. To add a little twist, apply the prime shadow (the champagne shade) all over the lid and in the inner corners of the eye, the enhance shade on top, the smoke shade (dark brown) to deepen the crease and then the pop (copper glitter) on top of your look to add some sparkle. The palette is so versatile and can be applied minimally for day time or heavily for a night look. 

PRETTY CHEEKS: The Benefit Rockateur Blush £23.50 pairs well with the rusty tones in your eye makeup and the vampy lips. What I love about it is that it doesn't clash, adds a little somethin' somethin' to the apples of your cheeks and brings the look together. It's a pretty pink shimmer shade which is very wearable for everyday.

BERRY LIPS: You all know how much of a fan I am of my pink-nude lip tones and bronze eyes, well this Autumn I am trying to force myself to step outside of my comfort zone and enjoy wearing a darker lip. After all, it can't do any harm can it? The entry level option is the Rimmel Colour Rush Balm 'Keep Mauving' £5.99, a gorgeous pinky plum shade. The crayon packaging makes it easy to apply and it twists up so you don't have to worrying about sharpening it. If I'm feeling more adventurous, then I'll apply the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre 'Unleash Me' £16.50. This is a gorgeous berry purple with red undertones. The lipgloss formula means it sits nicely on your lips and leaves a pretty stain when the gloss element has faded away.

What products will you be using this Autumn?

Lauren

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MOST USED MAKE-UP BRUSHES

I think that if you have the right tools for applying make-up you are halfway there, then it's down to your technique and the quality of the make-up your using to achieve your desired look. Obviously you can apply make-up with your hands but I don't always find that it works so I rely heavily on brushes. I apologise that the brushes in this photo are no where near clean, I guess it shows how much I love them. There are 4 main brushes that I reach for on a daily basis...

The Real Techniques Multi-Task Brush-£20.99 lives up to its name as you can use it for applying so many different products and comes in a set of three travel friendly brushes. If you're thinking of buying your first make-up brushes or have never tried Real Techniques brushes before, than this is certainly the set to buy. Recently I have been using this brush to apply foundation and it gives a light base which is what I have needed for back to school. 

The Real Techniques Stippling Brush-£10.99 is great for blending your foundation or concealer into the skin without leaving any harsh lines and can give you a very minimal look.  If you're heavy handed when applying blush or bronzer, it can easily be fixed by some blending with this Stippling Brush. Besides using it to apply foundation or blend makeup mistakes, it also makes applying cream blush easy and fuss free. 

I'm obsessed with the Bobbi Brown Sheer Powder Brush-£31.00 at the moment, I love how soft it is, it's size and how easy it makes applying products. I'm usually quite lazy when it comes to applying blush and I have found myself applying it just so I can use this, and that's saying something. Despite the fact that you do get the odd hair shed onto your face, it does the job pretty well. It makes applying bronzer, highlight and blush a dream, and applies a thin layer of powder to set your foundation. The price tag is another downside but it makes a great investment and will last for years. 

Another member of the Real Techniques Travel Collection is the domed shadow brush. It applies and blends eyeshadows effortlessly and is super soft and fluffy on the delicate eye area. 

What are your favourite make-up brushes?

Lauren

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FUSS FREE LIP PRODUCTS

As you will know, when it comes to lip products I am not the most adventurous person you will ever meet. I am definitely a neutrals girl and I love muted pink/brown shades which add a hint of something to the lips. If you are like me, you will love this blogpost as here's a round up of my favourite 'fuss free' lip products. 

One of my current favourites is the Bourjois Colour Boost 'Proudly Naked'. This crayon has the shine of a lip gloss, the moisturising element of a lip balm and a hint of colour. It doesn't look much when swatched or in the bullet but once on the lips is a gorgeous shade and just enough visible colour for day-to-day. 

Similar to the Bourjois Colour Boost, but for a few pounds cheaper is the Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick 'Belle'. They are very similar, but I adore the Seventeen packaging and it's perfect for carrying around in your handbag. The lid comes with a flip out mirror which is perfect for on the go as you don't then have to go digging around your handbag for a mirror, so the perfect 2 in 1. 

Oh the dreaded thought of the hair stuck in the lip gloss moment, but somehow I still manage to accumulate lip glosses to try. My first go-to lip gloss, is the Essence XXXL Lipgloss 'Taste the Sweets'*. Despite the slightly sickly sweet scent and taste, the colour is stunning and looks gorgeous on the lips. 

Another of my favourite lip products is the Tanya Burr Lip Gloss 'Picnic In The Park' this is certainly the most adventurous lip product in this post as shock horror, it's hot pink. Don't worry, it's quite muted (you can relax). I like to apply this on top of a nude lipstick as I find that they work really well together and the gloss adds just enough colour to the lips for everyday. If you are feeling adventurous it can be worn on it's own and the pigmentation is amazing. 

Last but not least is my beloved Revlon Lip Butter 'Peach Parfait'. You guessed it, it's a subtle pink with a brown hue, but it is slightly different to the others. It contains gold shimmer which help to create a subtle illusion that your lips are bigger and fuller. In addition, I love the moisturising element in the formula, so it doesn't fade awkwardly.

Swatches left to right, Bourjois Colour Boost 'Proudly Naked', Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick 'Belle', Essence XXXL Lipgloss 'Taste the Sweets', Tanya Burr Lipgloss 'Picnic in the Park' and Revlon Lip Butter 'Peach Parfait'.

What are your favourite fuss free lip products?

Lauren

*PR Sample, to view my full disclaimer, click here.

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