Makeup Must Haves // What's In My Makeup Bag?!

I love makeup. 

Period. 

I never used to wear much at all, especially when I was at school. Back then it was "FORBIDDEN"! Gradually, through the years I experimented more and more with different foundations, concealers, eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks, you name it I was trying it out. Now that I am a little older, I have come to find that I know what I like and don't like in a makeup brand or product. And I find that a product doesn't have to be 'high end' for it to be of value to your face. In fact a lot of high-street/drugstore brands work just as well. I don't like to spend a lot of money on each product unless it's truly worth it, and even then it makes me cringe! 

Put it this way I am a drugstore queen, I like deals, value for money and accessibility of a product.

 If you are either looking for some must-have products that are bank balance friendly, or someone who only uses high end brands but you are intrigued by what else the makeup counter has to offer you, then you have come to the right girl!

I am going to show you what I carry in my makeup bag on a day to day basis. I have split it into sections for you.

. Face

. Eyes

. Lips

In each category I don't always carry everything within my handbag, I tend to mix it up a bit each day. But those shown are my HG (holy grail) goto products.

Here we go. :) 

FACE

 

FACE.

1. I LOVE this concealer, I have been using it for years now. I use this around my eyes, especially the dark circles, blemishes and on spots. I always put this on before my foundation, and I know a lot of other people put it on after, but in fact I find it works better my way round. It acts as a base for the foundation so it doesn't allow it to sink into the dark circles and emphasise it more. Give it a go and see the difference.

2 & 3. I will then apply either foundation depending on what I am doing. For instance, if I am just wanting 'natural' looking makeup that day I will apply (3) as it is lighter and illuminates my face. If I am going out or have a job interview (which is a rarity at the moment) I will apply foundation (2) as it is a little thicker and has more of a matte finish. Both equally as good, just for different occasions.

4. I love this product by MUA. It is the 'Undress Your Skin' illuminating powder. It is soooo nice to use and I LOVE using it when I am wearing foundation (3) as it enhances the illuminating effect. It doesn't apply really thick, and is even on application. It gives a natural glow and makes my skin look healthy. I will always have this in my makeup bag and in my daily makeup ritual. 

5. The Collection blush is another favourite of mine. I use the shade 'Trouble' and it lasts for like FOREVER!! Seriously, I use it every time I have makeup on and it hasn't even hit pan yet. Again, it applies really nicely and evenly and leaves you with natural looking flushed cheeks. Winner!!


EYES

  I love my eyes, I regard them as my best feature, so I like to emphasise them as much as I can. I am currently loving the smoky eye look so these are what I have been carrying around with me.
I don't always wear this amount of eye makeup as I have bad hay fever and I just end up rubbing it off but when I can this is what I use. 

1. I start off with pencilling my eyebrows in, they are naturally really light so it looks like I have none. I look like an egg, a hard boiled egg. The colour I use is 'dark brown' and I love the Rimmel one as it has the staying power, easy to apply and it has the little brush on the lid to tame the strays. 

2. I have recently used the Eyeko eyeliner pen and I really enjoyed using it. It is smooth to apply, it doesn't drag like others I have used, it doesn't scratch the skin and it creates great cat flicks. I ALWAYS have a cat flick and I am pretty on point with creating them, but this pen makes it easier because of the nib. The only downside I feel this product has is that it sinks into the skin and the colour fades quickly. This is when I use product (3).

3. I will use the Rimmel 'Exaggerate' liquid eyeliner over the top of the applied pen to bring back the depth of the black that was lost. I love using this liquid eyeliner as again it's easy to apply, there is enough liquid on the nib to cover but not smother. It stays black and dries really quickly. I have been really reaching for the Rimmel products recently, especially their 'Exaggerate' range as they are richly pigmented, great value for money and the colour pay off is awesome. 

4. Next I will apply the Rimmel 'ScandalEyes' Kohl pencil to the inside of my waterline and tightline. Both upper and lower. This defines my eyes even more and I love to use it on the outer corners of my eyes so I can smudge and blend downwards. Hello smoky effect. 

5. Mascara's aren't a big deal for me as my eyelashes NEVER curl. It's so frustrating as I always have poker straight lashes and I always envy the girls that have amazingly spidery lashes. I just grab the cheapest mascara to hand and the Miss Sporty one is like £2. It's nothing special, but it does the job. 

6. And finally for the eyes, if I want to create the smoky, sultry effect then I will grab my Front Cover Eye kit. I brought it a few Christmases ago and it was quite pricey at around £35 but it was totally worth it and it's so pretty. It comes with the palette shown, and loads of different eye shadows and little accessories.

LIPS

When doing my make up it can either go two ways as far as my lip colour is concerned. I am currently loving either bright red lips or nude. 

If I have done heavy-ish eye makeup then I usually go for a nude lip and let the eyes do the talking. If the eyes are still dark but lighter in appearance, I will then go for the red. Red lipstick makes me feel glamorous, as stupid as that sounds. If I have that on, I feel good no matter how crappy I do actually feel that day. 

I always use a lip liner and matte lipstick, I just like the feel and appearance and these are always in my makeup bag. 

I didn't go into detail on my lip must-haves as I have touched on those before. 

I hope you have enjoyed finding out what I carry in my makeup bag and that there might be some products you would like to try out yourselves.

♥

Foundation Review // Maybelline Superstay 24hr & L'oréal Lumi Magique

Once upon a time, I never used to wear foundation...Well any makeup at all. Firstly, because I wasn't allowed to wear it at school and secondly I just didn't need to. I never had dark circles and bags under my eyes, I didn't have uneven looking skin and more importantly, NEVER did I get spots. 

Oh how times have changed!

As the years have gone by my skin has got progressively worse. It brings a tear to my eye even thinking about it. I have to wear primer, concealer, foundation and sometimes bronzer and that is just to correct my paleness, spot outbreaks, dark circles and uneven skin tone. I know I am not the only girl that struggles with this, so I thought I would do a review on the two foundations that are my go to product at the moment giving you my honest opinions on both. 

Maybelline Superstay 24hr Foundation

This product claims that is has the staying power. 

For 24 hours in fact.

 But is this actually true? 

The foundation also claims to do the following:

• Transfer resistant (which is what we all hope for when we are trying to make our face picture perfect right?)
• SPF 19 (we don't actually know if it really contains this though!)
• Look naturally flawless all day (that's a big promise.)
• Micro-flex formula providing 24 hour wear. 
• Withstands heat, sweat, transfer and touch (again a big claim.)
• Oil free, fragrance free, tested under dermatological control.
• Suitable for all skin types. 

As far as I am aware there a 6 shades. I did go onto their site to check this, but one of their sites shows 8 shades and the other 6. You can make your minds up about that. The shade I own is 010 Ivory, now you may say "woaaaahh, that is like...White!" Well surprisingly it isn't, it is actually more of a creamy beige colour with pink undertones. If that makes sense. It is still pretty pale compared to the other shades available and people that actually have colour to their face rather than looking like the living dead. Like me. 

Here I will show you a swatch. 

Wow, my hand looks awful in this picture. I promise you this is an upload error and I don't have grey scaly looking hands. :) I don't know what's up with this upload programme on Blogger. 

Sort it out!!! 

Moving on! You can see from the swatch that the consistency is fairly thick and smooth in texture. The colour payoff doesn't look much on the swatch but it's actually super good when applied to the face. I went for a shade darker than my natural skin as I wanted to add a drop of healthy colour to my face. I do find however, that the foundation does oxidise (when the foundation reacts to your natural skin PH and turn orangey), ever so slightly during application but it is easily blended out to achieve a natural look. 

I have tried many foundations in my time and used to use Estée Lauder's Double Wear foundation because it was slightly thicker than your average foundation and it was touch proof. For some reason I always seem to be touching my face or have my hands around that area and my base never seemed to falter wearing this. But of course it was getting a little pricey so I needed to find a drug store alternative. And for me this Maybelline Superstay foundation is it!! 

The consistency is exactly the same as Estée Lauder's and it stays put all day long just like it says on the packet. I have had many compliments about how my makeup looks flawless and this foundation is a big factor for that. You can use this foundation every day or just for a night out, it depends on how you like to wear slightly thicker bases.  

I do find under my eyes need touching up throughout the day as slowly the circles start making their way through, but that is all. I also find it sets best with a light dusting of bronzer and it literally looks flawless. It isn't heavy on the skin at all, which you think it would be considering the thickness of this foundation, and it doesn't look cakey either, it provides a natural finish even though it's fairly pigmented. However,the whole withstands "sweat and heat" claim I find isn't particularly true! I exercise and dance around my room with my Ipod on (as we all do at some point in the day *raises eyebrow*. Ha), and I get really hot and I am wiping my face a lot. Afterwards I find the foundation has made its way off my face slightly and I am left with the odd patchy part on my skin. With that said, it does withstand a beating and over all I am pretty impressed with its staying power even through exercise. 

Over all I LOVE this dupe Estée Lauder foundation and it is my 100% go to product and a definite must have foundation. At £8.99 (in Boots) you cannot go wrong, it is a steal and super easy to apply and blend. Boots,currently have an offer on in the UK for 'buy 1 get 2nd half price on selected Maybelline cosmetics'. If you didn't have a reason to go makeup shopping before... You do now!!    

I always look so happy in my pictures!! I am really. :D 

L'oréal Lumi Magique Foundation

A complexion illuminating base.

Does it do what it says on the tin? 

L'oréal Lumi Magique claims that it contains new Liquid Light Technology. This in return is meant to "infuse skin with a ray of light, illuminating your complexion as if lit-from-within." It also claims to give 'perfect coverage, without masking' and the result, 'a radiant flawless complexion that's full of life.'

• Gives instant skin radiance.
• Light texture, lets the skin breathe & 24 hour hours of hydration.
• Contains SPF 18.

Their site are  showing 5 different shades which isn't a vast range compared to other foundations out there and they are all pretty similar in tone. The shade I picked up is C4 - Rose Beige, I was looking to match the Maybelline shade that I had as I knew that goes with my skin tone. I would say it appears slightly more darker (shown in swatch picture down the page)than the other foundation swatch but when applied it has the same appearance.

 At the time of buying this I had blonde hair and I wanted a light foundation that I could wear when I just needed to take the edge off my own skin and didn't want a load of makeup on. I wanted something illuminating that would give me a natural glow and covered my under eye circles. Unfortunately as soon as I put it on it completely oxidised and the colour payoff was awful. I looked like a Dorito crisp!! Ha. Since then it had been sitting on my dressing table looking a sorry state. 

 I have obviously now become a brunette and a few months ago I decided to try this foundation again.The reason being was because I was running pretty low on my Maybelline one and wanted to save that until I really needed it. 

I was actually shocked at how different the foundation was on my skin. It looked awesome! It didn't oxidise and the colour payoff was true to what was in the packaging. I couldn't believe the difference, and I think the reason it looked how it should of in the beginning was because of my hair colour change. My hair was white before and I assume the orange tone to it was because my hair was so light. Now that I am darker it looks so natural and 'glowy'. If you are blonde and pale like I was, I would go for a shade lighter than mine, which I think is C1 - Rose Pearl. 

Here is a swatch. 

This foundation seems a lot more 'watery' compared to the Maybelline one which in turn makes it thinner to apply and is a great every day product. I find you have to blend this foundation in a lot more to avoid streaking and have to apply a few 'dabbed' layers under the eye to cover the circles but it is true to its word. It makes my skin have an illuminated sheen to it. A healthy glow. Again this product is light to wear, it feels like you don't have anything on, maybe it feels more like a second skin? 

It doesn't dry out the skin, but 24 hours moisture isn't really a given, it just feels the same to me. 

I have makeup brushes but I always end up using my hands to blend as it's quicker for me when I am in a rush and I am lazy. Ha. 

The only real downside to this product is that it isn't really touch proof, it does wear off after a while. So the staying power isn't entirely great and it does go patchy towards the end of the day. But it's a must have if you are just looking for something to throw on to make you feel human again. 

Here are a couple of pictures with me wearing the product. 

   

Excuse the awfully drawn eyebrows!! 

Whoops.

I literally just have the foundation on here.

No bronzer or blush. 

It's such a nice product to wear. 

 You can also get this product in your local drug store. At Boots & Superdrug it is £10.99. 

Over all I love both of these products, and I love them both for different reasons. The Maybelline Superstay 24 hour foundation is my favourite for its staying power and matte finish. I love how easy it is to apply and blend, I love how I can still touch my face without it transferring and of course I love the price. It is so affordable and actually lasts quite a while. The L'oréal Lumi Magique foundation is my favourite "throw it on" foundation that gives a super nice glow to your complexion. Is lightweight enough just to wear around the house and hide imperfections and is my go to product when I am looking 'crappy' but chilling indoors. Ha ha. 

I would recommend buying both of these products but if I had to chose my 'must have' foundation the Maybelline Superstay 24hours wins hands down as an all rounder. 

I am really picky with products... Well a lot of things in general (it has to be right), but if I say something is good... It is good!! I will always give a 100% honest opinion and if I don't like a product I will say. 

You can trust me fellow readers! :) 

I hope you enjoyed reading this review? Don't forget you can leave me comments, subscribe and follow me on all social media outlets. 

♥