THE "NEVER FAILS" LIST

What is the "never fails" list? When I don't have time to think about what I want to put on my face I'll automatically grab these products. They are perfect for me and I know they will do the job exactly how I want them too. And I know they don't require too much effort to make them look decent! Also, when I can't decide what I want to use, these are the fail safe options.

First up - foundation! I use the No7 Beautifully Matte foundation in Calico (because "you look like a milk bottle" is too long to fit on the box). I got matched up when Boots launched the match service a year ago and I do not know how I coped without this stuff. I've never found a foundation that properly matches, that blends as well and lasts well before this. I have a couple of other foundations but I rarely go for them. I know I'm safe with this one and very little blending down the neck needs to be done to get it seamless.

Concealer was obviously going to be Collection's Lasting Perfection. I could not even count how many tubes of this stuff I've gone through over the past 4 or so years. I has great coverage for under eyes, blemishes and and red patches. Sometimes, I just cannot be bothered with foundation and just dot this all around my face and blend it together. It is fantastic!

This Kate Moss x Rimmel lipstick is insanely hyped up and with good reason. It's from the Matte collection that was released last year and is in the shade 107 which is a lovely deep berry colour. Perfect for the cold months! It's definitely my most used lipstick and it's nearly all gone - never had to repurchase a lipstick before! I have a lot of lipsticks and sometimes picking one when it's early in the morning is a very difficult decision so I always end up going for this one. It works with my skin tone, lasts a lifetime and even though it's matte it isn't drying in the slightest.

Another Rimmel products and this time blush. I got this in one of those Boots clearance's of discontinued lines - which is a bit gutting because it's my favourite blush. The colour that is the result of these 3 swirled together is perfect. I have an ever growing collection of blush but this is always the one I end up grabbing. The colour is pigmented enough to not be overpowering and gives the nicest look to the cheeks. I've sometimes seen these Rimmel 3-in-1 blushes in places like B&M Bargains so definitely keep you're eye open because I really love it. Mine is the shade Winter Glow.

The Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoos are another crazily hyped product and again wit very good reason. This is in the shade On And On Bronze and it the loveliest goldy-bronze colour. These are cream eyeshadows that don't budge and are perfect "lazy girl" make up products. You don't even need a brush to apply it. On a workday morning I don't give myself enough time for eyeshadow so this is perfect and I always end up grabbing it and just swiping it across the lid - done!

Final product is a nail varnish. This Barry M one is the shade Red Black, a supposed Chanel dupe of Rouge Noir. I forgot all about this until this week but looking at how much I have left in the bottle it's definitely my most used. I've had it on for 6 days and there's hardly any chipping and it's just the perfect colour.


What products never fail you?

HEATWAVE HANDBAG ESSENTIALS

If there's one thing us British folk love to talk about, it's the weather. I say "talk"... I mean complain. It's what we do best! If you're not from the UK, we've had the hottest weather ever the last couple of weeks and it's actually getting unbearable. We've even had a level 3 heatwave warning which is pretty insane!
This week has been so hot and sticky and being in an office all week with no air conditioning just getting more and more sweaty (attractive...) hasn't been ideal.
I planned out this post yesterday when I was trying to make a heat related headache disappear and today is actually not all that sunny. It's still really hot and humid but if it is still glorious where you are then slap on the SPF, drink a lot of water and here are a few essential bits to pop in your handbag for when you're out and about.

First an obvious choice but make sure you have your sunglasses. I hate having the sun in my eyes and having to squint. Also, I have a lot of weird fears and getting wrinkles is one of them. So I'm scared that if I spend too much time sun squinting, I'll get awful eye wrinkles! I should probably invest in some decent sunglasses but these are quite nice. They're from Dorothy Perkins for about £6 and the case was free with them. I have about 3 pairs of similar Primark ones scattered around my car just in case...
I get really bad headaches a lot and the sun really does me no favours so I always have some paracetamol in my bag anyway but definitely make sure you have some on hand.
With it being so hot and sticky, you just want you hair off your face. I'm finding my fringe to be getting slightly annoying now with the heat so my bag is now full of bobbles and bobby pins. It'll be pretty handy to have some kind of comb or brush. I got this comb from Primark in a pack of two for £1.
I'm hugely paranoid of being smelly at the best of times (painting a great picture of myself in this post) so I like to carry around a little perfume or body spray one. I got this House of Holland body spritz in a gift set and it's just a nice little refresher with a subtle fruity smell. I really like it.
I also have had the facial spritz in my bag since getting it in the July Glossybox and it's been a lifesaver. It is such a nice little refresher and it dries almost instantly and without ruining make up. MUA do a makeup fixing spray which is essentially the same thing, if that's easier to get your hands on.
There's nothing worse than dry lips so lip balms need to be your best friend. The ever faithful Vaseline is always going to be a great choice but I also really love the Figs & Rouge Multi-Tasking lip balm which also has a slight hint of colour to it, if you can't be bothered with lipstick.
Finally, make sure you have a great summer songs playlist loaded on your iPod for when you're walking or driving around. Summertime music is always going to lift your mood. My playlist this year contains the songs of Jake Bugg, Mumford & Sons and Bastille. I also love Skies Don't Lie by Example, a new song called Rivers by Bipolar Sunshine, I Don't Care by Icona Pop and for my massive guilty pleasures, anything by Taylor Swift and One Direction.

Make sure you keep hydrated and please wear lots of suncream. No, SPF 2 does not count. It will not protect you. Wear at least SPF 30, please!
I'm not trying to be a fun sponge. Have lots of fun and enjoy the weather but remember our British bodies are not used to this, aha!

HOLY GRAIL PRODUCTS

Holy grail products in the beauty world means the products that you love and repurchase over and over again. I don't have all that much, to be honest, because for a lot of certain make up items I am yet to find a product that makes me want to repurchase it.

L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara | No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation | Rimmel Stay Matte Powder | Benefit Brow-zings | Kate Moss x Rimmel Matte Lipstick | Real Techniques Buffing Brush | Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

For mascara, I would have put Maybelline Falsies in Black Drama in this post. However, I don't have any left and since buying Telescopic, I haven't been inclined to repurchase it this time. I had been using Falsies for a good 4 or so years though and I would definitely recommend it. But for now, I can't see my straying far from L'Oréal for a while.

This foundation has been my lifesaver. I've not even been using it a year but before it I was a total foundation noob. I didn't know what colour I needed or know anything about finishes etc. This is the perfect colour and the perfect finish for me and it's lasting me a pretty decent length of time considering I wear it practically everyday. I had the match service done in Boots and I wear the shade Cool Vanilla.

I've been buying the Stay Matte powder since I was at least 16, maybe even before then. I used to wear it just on it's own but as I've got older I have learnt more about makeup and prefer a higher coverage. This powder is amazing for setting make up and gives a lovely finish. I feel like it's only recently been hyped up in the blogging world but like I said, I've been buying this for a good 5 years.

Brow-zings is another recent-ish addition to my collection and I've nowhere near used it all but I know for a fact I will repurchase it.  was having total eyebrow wars before I discovered this baby. I use the shade Dark because my natural brows are really very dark, they're almost black but putting black on eyebrows is a little harsh, I think.

The Kate Moss lipstick is also something else I probably won't have to repurchase for a while but I definitely would do. It's my go to lipstick if I don't know which one to wear on a particular day. I have the majorly popular 107 shade. It lasts forever and matte lipsticks are my favourite.

Putting the Buffing Brush in this is a bit odd with it not being make up but before this brush came into my life I don't even know how I managed to apply foundation. I wish this brush was sold separately (it comes as part of the Core Collection set) because I'd probably buy at least one more just to have spares and so I can wash them more often. I would definitely recommend getting the Core Collection for this brush alone!

Finally, the insanely hyped up Lasting Perfection Concealer. I've also been buying this for a good few years but over the last few months as mine ran out I didn't repurchase it because I felt it started to feel cakey on me and I tried different ones. However, I recently bought it after seeing more reviews pop up again about it and I have fallen back in love with it. It's so cheap and great for under eyes and on blemishes.

I am still hunting for a holy grail eyeliner. I have recently bought a Bourjois one and I'm really liking it but it's a bit difficult for creating the wing at the end. The shape of my eyes doesn't help either, though. And as for blush and eyeshadow, I do love wearing them but if the ones I have now were discontinued, I don't think it would bother me and I'd just buy a different shade or brand. The items I've mentioned, without being dramatic, I don't think I could live without.

BEAUTY ESSENTIALS

Earlier this year I realised my hair was in shocking condition. I'd been dyeing it for a good 5 years, straightened it daily for 8 or so years, blow drying everyday and rarely having a hair cut. My hair felt horrible and it was split-end central.
At present I've not dyed my hair since April, I've not used a hair dryer since around June time and the same for fully straightening my hair. When I leave it to dry naturally, it dries so lovely and I'm angry at myself for ruining my hair. I do have to admit that I still use the straighteners just for fly away bits that stick out when I wake up! I had all the split ends cut out too and 4 or so months later I can totally tell the difference. Then I went on a hair product scout to find something to keep my hair in good condition and make it softer.
As well as bad hair, my skin isn't all the great either. (Aren't I lucky?!) So I'm always looking out for new skin care products and looking at what other people are using.
So here are the few bits that I use daily..!

1. E45 moisturiser - Pretty basic essential! You can use it everywhere and it's all hypoallergenic and it's good for sensitive skin so that is all I need. I use this in a morning before I put primer and my make up on and generally after a shower.
2. Batiste dry shampoo - The holy grail of dry shampoo and a total life saver! I used to wash my hair every day but I've managed to cut it down to every other day now (of which I can tell has also really helped my hair.) so this stuff is brilliant for a quick refresh in the mornings. I use the 'dark and deep brown' one because my roots are quite dark brown and I'm too paranoid of having white patches that I've not rubbed in properly!
3. Nivea Visage Pure & Natural cleansing lotion - I've only had this for a few weeks but I love it! I use it at night after washing my face and it makes my skin feel so nice and soft.
4. Simple Soothing Facial Toner - Another relatively new product which I'm also loving. I literally tell after the first use that my skin looked better; it's definitely clearing up my pores. I use this twice a day, generally. I think it's only new out, too, because when I bought it a couple weeks ago it seemed to be on offer everywhere. Definitely worth checking out, only cost me £2!
5. Tresemmé Split Remedy - I've not actually used this much recently. I bought it whilst I was still straightening my hair. I don't think it really worked all that much but I like the smell of it and if I put i on the ends before I leave the house it makes my hair look shiny.
6. Nivea Double Effective Eye Makeup Remover - I've only been using this for a week or so. I needed eye make up remover, this was on offer and I was curious about the 2 liquids in the bottle. You have to shake it really quite a lot for them to mix. It obviously has oil in it to remove the make up but then the other half protects eyelashes and doesn't leave oily residue. It says that you don't need to rub to get the make up off but you do to an extent (maybe that's because of how much mascara I pile on..!) but I will probably buy it again.
7. Argan Oil - I've been so curious about this for a long time. I've googled and blog searched for months trying to get as many reviews as possible. Always get nervous buying new products in case I don't like them and then I've spent money I didn't need to. SO glad I bought this though. My hair is so soft! When my hair is wet is put quite a bit all through it then on some morning I put a tiny bit through my hair (avoiding roots or it'll make you look greasy!). Definitely recommend buying this too.
8. Tea Tree cleansing pads & spot stick - These are Superdrug own brand and I've been using them as part of my night time skin care routine. I use the pads all over my face first, then the spot stick. (Then  use the facial toner and then cleansing lotion!) Obviously being tea tree I knew it would sting a little but... wow! No pain, no gain though, right? My spots did shrink down though so clearly works.

I took these photos a few days ago but since then I also added a new skincare product to my routine. I bought Garnier's Skin Naturals Anti-blackhead Deep Pore Wash. I've not used it enough yet to really have an opinion on it but having used Garnier products in the past I don't think I'll have any complaints.
Has anyone else used it?