AUTUMN ADDITIONS

We had a pretty decent summer over here in the UK this year. It was even too hot a lot of the time and when the weather is like that you just cannot be bothered putting effort into make up when it's going to melt straight off your face.
I think that's one reason I prefer autumn. I know that there is no fear of a runny face and having my eyeliner ending up on my chin! I also love that it means I can wear black nail varnish and dark lipstick without being thought of as some kind of vampire. And my milk bottle-esque skin doesn't stand out quite so much in the chilly months!

Now that it has started getting colder, I've added a few extra items into my make up collection and rediscovered my love for a couple of others that got a little bit shunned during the lazy summer days.

The Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturiser is for dry skin and is a sample tube that got sent with an online order I made months ago. I don't have dry skin so I just chucked it into a box in my room. I've recently started using some new cream to battle my spots (more on that in a few posts time!) but it did leave me with some dry patches which I didn't welcome all that kindly. I dug out this and it's really helped nourish and plump up the skin. The dry patches disappeared pretty quickly but I've continued to use this every few days just so the cold weather doesn't attack me too much.
I bought the MAC Sable eyeshadow a few months back too. It's a Frost formula and a lovely shimmery copper-brown colour. It didn't really work as a summer colour all that much though and I didn't end up wearing it that much. It's a lovely warm colour and I've managed to find a way of wearing it with a matte brown blended though the crease to soften it too.
Rose Gold Blush by Sleek is one of those crazily hyped products and with good reason. I'm sure this has featured in my favourites way back and I don't think this is particularly a Autumn/Winter shade as it's got a good bit of shimmer in it but I just prefer blush at this time of year to pop a little bit of colour in to the skin.
A product that is a very new edition is the Benefit Pore-fessional. Another very hyped product that I've wanted for a very long time. This isn't necessarily a product I've wanted because of the time of year - in fact it would have made more sense to have it in summer - but it's a new addition to my make up collection this season!
The Rimmel Apocolips in Eclipse featured in my favourites for last month. I love dark red and berry lips but I feel that it isn't always acceptable in summer when everyone expects everything to be all bright and pop-y! This shade is beautiful and I'm still absolutely loving it and wearing it to death.
Another new make up addition to my make up, and in particular lipstick, collection is MAC's Rebel. I bought this a week or so ago and I'm alternating everyday between this and the Apocolips. This lipstick is a satin finish so it can be quite sheer but very buildable and the colour... oh .my gosh! I've admired it on the lips of Sammi from Beauty Crush for way too long and then seeing Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup also saying she loves it made me sure that buying it was an A+ decision. It isn't as scary as it looks in the bullet and I'm 110% sure this will be on my October Favourites.
I haven't lined my waterline since I was about 15 when the only makeup I did wear was black kohl on my lower lid. I don't know why but I decided to buy the Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner. I've heard great things about the staying power of them and I've been wearing it quite softly under the eye and smoking it out and I've also been wearing it as a top liner too and it's done a decent job.
Lastly, a product from this months Glossybox, the MeMeMe Cherub Blush Cheek & Lip Tint. I haven't tried this on the lips as I never like these multi-use products on my lips but a few strokes of the red liquid on the cheek and quickly blended in leaves the perfect rosy glow for this time of year. I'm pretty sure MeMeMe is found in Superdrug so I don't imagine this to be very expensive and I would definitely recommend it.

There's a few bits I've incorporated into my everyday routine this season. What are your favourite products at the moment?

ON MY FACE TODAY

I doubt this will be a new regular feature on my blog but we shall see...

GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer | Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation | Urban Decay Naked Basics | Benefit Brow-zings | Bourjois Little Pot of Blush | Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer | Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer | Bourjois Liner Clubbing | Revlon Lip Butter | MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural | Nivea Express Hydration Primer | MUA Eye Primer | L'Oréal False Lash Telescopic Mascara

I start with the Nivea Hydration Primer. I really like this because of the dual function of it; moisturiser and primer in one! So if you're in a rush, it helpfully cuts out a step for you. I do sometimes just use this but most days I go on ahead with the GOSH Velvet Touch Primer just across my cheeks and down my nose and a bit on my chin. This is the only primer I've ever used and I love it. It can be a bit pricey but I repurchased it last week from Superdrug and it had £3 off so worth checking out.

Today's foundation was the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. One of my favourite beauty gurus is Estée from essiebutton and she raves about this foundation all the time. Now that I've been matched to the No7 foundation and I know that actually goes well for me, I'm a bit scared to buy other foundations in case it's the wrong shade which, being as ghostly as I am is likely to happen. I stood at the Bourjois stand for way too long trying to discreetly/awkwardly put a blob of the tester on my face and just decided to go for it. I picked the lightest shade (obviously) which is '51 Light Vanilla'. When I went to use it today I thought it seemed a bit too yellow toned but it blends so lovely and is such a perfect match. I compared it with the No7 and they seem pretty similar but the Bourjois one feels much lighter on my skin.

Sometimes I just use one of the concealers but today I wasn't in any rush so I went crazy and used the Rimmel one for under my eyes (I use the shade '010 Ivory') and the Collection one ('1 Fair') for any blemishes and red patches mainly around my chin and nose area.

For brows I use the Benefit Brow-zings in 'Dark' just to fill in the sparse areas. I don't go crazy drawing the whole brow on because mine are quite a decent shape/length/all that jazz. (Maybe I should have taken a photo with my fringe out of the way... Sorry!)

Eyeshadow, (again, fringe is in the way, oops.) I used the Naked Basics palette which is my absolute go to palette. I first use the MUA eye primer all over the lid and then I used the shade 'Walk of Shame' which is a really pale pink all over the lid and then used the shade 'Faint' which is a dark brown in the outer corner and just blend it all together.

I always have to have liner on my last line or I feel naked. Today, I used the Bourjois Liner Clubbing in 'Ultra Black'. I mentioned this in my April Favourites and I really like it. Very easy to use and get a nice straight line with. 

For mascara I used the L'Oréal False Lash Telescopic. I haven't really noticed much of a difference between this and the original Telescopic but I still really like it and I'll most probably repurchase it.

I set all my base with the MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural in 'Light'. Pretty sure this is over taking the Rimmel Stay Matte powder for my holy grail powder. I find myself reaching for this one a lot more and it was definitely worth the money. As the product name suggests, you do get a lovely natural finish from it and I feel when I use this I never seem to have to touch my make-up up throughout the day.

Nearly there... blush is next and another Bourjois product (can you tell I'm liking them at the moment?) Superdrug had an offer yesterday that if you spend £12 you got a Little Pot of Blush for free (they are worth £7.49!) so as the foundation cost about a tenner it seemed silly not to take them up on the offer. I ended up getting the Instant Nail Polish Remover that everyone raved over last year because curiosity got the better of me and then I chose the blush in the shade '34 Rose d'Or' (That's Golden Rose to me and you.) It's a beautiful doll pink colour with flecks of gold shimmer through it, very pretty.

Then finally, on my lips I chose the Revlon Lip Butter in '096 Macaroon'. I also raved this in the previous favourites post but I honestly love it. The colour is perfect for anything  and the lip butter formula is lovely and easy to use.

Real Techniques Buffing Brush | ELF Stippling Brush | ELF Eyeshadow C Brush | Ecotools Airbrush Concealer Brush | Boots Foam Puff

The Buffing Brush from the Real Techniques Core Collection is one of the loves of my life. I use it for foundation and it just gives the best finish. The bristles are nice and dense and it really buffs the foundation in to make it look natural. I also use it to buff in concealer.

I used to use the Stippling Brush for foundation before discovering the aforementioned Buffing Brush, but I now use it for blush (which is why it is stained pink). I'm a bit scared of applying blush in case I end up with the clown chic look but this stippling brush lightly puts on the colour and it's easy to build it up too.

I LOVE this eyeshadow brush. It's a good size and shape to be able to pack on the colour and it was about £3 so an absolute bargain! I use the Ecotools brush to blend out the eyeshadow. Usually I use the Ecotools Shading Brush which is similar to this but as I've recently bought this one, I'm trying to use it more. Have to say though, I think I prefer the Shading Brush. Still, they're both very soft and do a decent job.

Then a bit boring but I use Boots Foam Puffs for applying my powder. They're about £2 for 3 and they wash really well which is good because it means I don't have to keep buying them even if they are cheap.

And the final product..!

Sorry this ended up being a lengthy post and congratulations if you read it all!

Thank you xx

WHAT'S IN MY MAKE-UP BAG

Over the last couple of months I've really started to love make-up and I've been buying a lot of it. Like most people I've had the struggle of finding foundation that actually matches my skin. I don't even want to know how much money I've spent on different ones. I have really pale skin. For the last year or so I've been using Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in 'Light Ivory' (because Ivory was still too dark...) but I still wasn't very happy with how it looks. I was always really paranoid about how my face looked.

Recently, the No.7 make-up brand from Boots launched their foundation match scheme. I saw the advert and was all "pfft, that won't work!" but my friend had it done and she recommended it so off we went to get matched up. It is amazing and I would definitely recommend getting it done if you're after a foundation that actually matches you and is reasonably priced. I ended up being "Cool Vanilla" and I really do feel so much happier with how my make up looks now.

Make up bag; Primark £2

Face:

GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer

No.7 Stay Perfect foundation in 'Cool Vanilla'

No.7 Blemish Cover concealer in 'Fair'
No.7 Instant Radiance concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in '001 Transparent'

Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light'

Eyes:

Maybelline Falsies mascara in 'Black Drama'

Barry M Liquid Eyeliner

Vivo Eyeshadow Pallete in 'Bronze Me Up'

MUA Eye Primer

MUA Eyeshadows in 'Shade 16 - Matt' and 'Shade 24 - Pearl'

Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner pot

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in '004 Black Brown'

Vivo Eyeliner in 'White'

Wow, writing it all down makes it seem like I put so much on but I don't wear it everything there all the time, particularly all the eye stuff. Also as you can see, I do stick to drugstore/high street brands (mainly because I can't afford to buy all of MAC.) The most expensive things there would be the foundation which was £14 and the GOSH primer is around the same but I'm quite willing to spend money on foundation if it's going to look good, be good quality and last. As far as primer goes, I don't even know how I managed without that prior to discovering it! MUA do a primer too for a couple of quid if you're not up for spending that much on it. This is my second bottle and I'll be buying it over and over again.
I probably should have got a new pressed powder before taking these photos, too! Oops!
The Falsies mascara is my all time favourite. I've easily bought it over 15 times now!

Brushes 1-5 all QVS via Superdrug:
(Powder, Foundation, Concealer & Foundation, Powder, Eyeshadow)
Brush 6 comes with Maybelline gel eyeliner pot

Again, I'd love to be able to afford Sigma or Real Techniques brushes but realistically I can't. I really like these QVS ones and I've not paid over £6 for any of those. They wash really well too. I got them from Superdrug but I'm pretty sure they're available in a few other stores too. I would love some higher end brushes though as they must be better at applying make-up for the price they are. I've recently ordered some e.l.f. brushes so I will post about those when I have them.

MUA shade 1

Barry M 'Touch of Magic'

MAC 'Impassioned'

Collection 2000 '5 Pretty Please'

Collection 2000 '6 Sugar Pink'

Rimmel '320 Funtime Fuschia'

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 20

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 02

Avon Colour Trend 'Passion'

Avon Colour Trend 'Doll Pink'

Topshop 'All About Me'

Topshop 'Brighton Rock'

Topshop 'Beguilded'

My name is Louise and I am a lipstick junkie. My favourites are the Kate Moss collection ones, probably shade 20 out of those two. It's such a bright pink. I definitely want more MAC ones. I treated myself to Impassioned a month or so back. I know £14 is a lot but they're so lovely. Topshop lipsticks are great too. They're not shiny but creamy and they go on nicely. Pretty much all these are various shades of pink but I'm trying to branch out and be brave and get other colours. The MUA one is a lovely red colour and Beguilded by Topshop is a very deep red/wine colour.

I never realised I owned this much until I did this post.

* I was not asked to write this post by No.7/Boots or any other mentioned brands