What’s in my makeup bag?

Good evening!

One type of post I absolutely love seeing is a ‘what’s in my makeup bag’ so I thought I would give it a whirl and give you all an insight of what I put on my face every morning. Most of these products change every few months, unless I find something I am addicted to, I like to change my makeup and try new things.

The makeup bag itself is from Ted Baker – and was a gift from one of my best friends at Christmas. I think this may have been in the winter range, as it is a deep purple colour, and on the Ted Baker website at the moment, there are mostly pastel colours ready for the spring. I do absolutely love this makeup bag, it has so much space which is handy when you’ve got big bulky bronzers and eye shadow pallets to fit in! I have always been a big fan of Ted Baker make up bags because they do some beautiful prints and colours. This particular bag is a shiny material so it is easy to wipe clean when I’ve got foundation all over it!

Starting with the first thing I put on my face in the morning is my face cream. I am currently using the Olay Sensitive Day Cream & Primer.

Since being pregnant, I have found that my face has become seriously dry. I never actually used to use a moisturizer on my face because I used to break out every time I used one, but I have actually found one that suits my skin. Although this cream is a day cream, I use a blob or two before I go to bed – and I wake up with beautifully smooth skin. I would 100% recommend this face cream to anyone that is looking for one, or for anyone that has sensitive skin. Some face creams can sting a little when I apply them, but this feels so luxurious.

It also works partly as a primer too, so once this has sunk into your skin, you call apply your foundation over the top for maximum affect. I don’t use this as my primer because it doesn’t leave my skin with a matte finish, that some primers do. I think this may be because it is also a moisturizer, so it leaves me a little bit shiny. Overall though, this is an amazing face cream.

Speaking of primers, I am currently using the Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Primer. I apply this after my moisturizer has sunk into my skin. I only use a very small amount just to brighten and smooth over my face. This really helps hide away any blemishes or dark patches I have on my skin, it also leaves a matte effect on your skin which makes it feel silky and I love it! Because I only use a little at a time, this tube has lasted me a few months and is still going.

Next up in my April make up bag is my foundation. I am currently using Avon Ideal Flawless invisible coverage foundation. When I was an Avon Representative, I actually sold a bottle of this to most of my family and friends because I couldn’t recommend it enough. It is classed as a ‘full coverage’ foundation and it definitely lives up to that title. Because my face has a few blemishes and freckles, I like to have a foundation that will cover that all up, and it really does! I am using the colour Ivory and it is a perfect match to my skin as I am quite fair (sometimes I do apply a little to my neck just to blend it all in, to avoid that dreaded orange line!)

At the moment, I haven’t got a foundation brush that I am in love with, I just haven’t found one that really does the trick so I do apply it with my fingers. I have tried a few that seem to just smear the foundation all over my face and most of it just stays on the brush, do you recommend any foundation brushes that have worked for you?

The concealer I am using is Maybelline New York Super Stay 24 hour concealer. I have purchased this in the lightest shade (no. 2 light beige) although I am quite fair, this concealer is lighter than my skin, but I think it works for me as it brightens my under eye when I’m tired and also hides my blemishes!

I do like this concealer but I don’t think it stays on for 24 hours, I do have to re apply sometimes as it hasn’t stayed on. But I do love the colour and think it makes a great highlighter!

The powder I am currently using (and have been repurchasing for a while now) is the Maybelline New York Matte Maker mattifying powder.

You can find this powder at most drug stores or supermarkets and it is so cheap. I use the shade 10 – classic ivory. This is my go-to powder for well over a year now, I absolutely love it and I have struggled to find anything that works as well as this one without spending a ridiculous amount of money. I feel that once I have applied this over my foundation and concealer, it helps the skin appear flawless.

The bronzer that I have been using for the past few weeks is the Bourjois Maxi Delight in the shade 02 olive/tanned skin.

I find this bronzer really luxurious, without making me look orange and seriously tango’d. It gives you the sun kissed look without being too much. It also has a shimmery side to it which I absolutely love. I apply this to my cheek bones and just above. You can also use this for contouring too as it is very subtle on the face and makes you look bronzed.

You can see from the picture above that the shimmer is subtle and quite gold which goes amazingly well with the bronzer. It also smells really really good as soon as you open it, which makes me love it even more!

Then there’s my go-to daily eyeshadows – my Benefit eyeshadow palette.

It’s the World Famous Neutrals palette, so I wear these every day. It comes with four eyeshadows and two cream eye shadows in the little pots which I absolutely love.

As you can probably tell by the swatches, the colours are very pigmented and last all day. I have found that I can blend them very easily and can make both day time and night time looks from this palette. I love the gold toned eye shadows because I find that they really compliment blue eyes.

For my eyebrows, I am using the Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 002 Hazel.

I have used this several ties, in between trying different things for my eyebrows but I have found this the most useful so far. Because my eyebrows are a little bit darker than my hair, I don’t want them to change colour even more, so I generally just need something to define them and fill them in and I think this pencil is perfect. I have previously tried Avon’s Perfect Eyebrow Kit, which comes with an eyebrow gel and a sort of powder with a small brush. I did use this for quite a while but it didn’t manage to last the whole day and I found that by the end of the day, it had start to wear off. I really love the Rimmel London pencil, especially considering the lid comes with a little brush for your eyebrows.

The mascara that I am using at the moment is a very recent purchase: Max Factor Masterpiece max – high volume & definition mascara.

I love this mascara, I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks and it is a lovely type of brush and doesn’t leave your lashes feeling clumpy. I can’t say that it gave my lashes a lot of length compared to my previous mascara (Rimmel London Lash Accelerator) because I felt this made my lashes look so long that they actually touched my eyebrows. I do have medium length lashes anyway, but the Rimmel mascara really helped make them look longer. If that is something you look for in a mascara, I wouldn’t personally go for the Max Factor mascara but if you are looking for something quite natural and light on your lashes then I would 100% recommend it.

Next up are my eyelash curlers – some people aren’t a bit fan of these but I can’t live without them.

I can’t actually remember where these are from because I’ve had them for so long but I have tried many different brands and they all do the same thing! They give my lashes a bit of volume when I curl them before putting mascara on, and sometimes after the mascara is dry I will give them a quick curl. Just make sure you don’t trap your eyelid because that can be really quite painful!

The lipstick I am using is MAC lipstick in the shade Cherish.

I cannot find a lipstick that I love more than this, as you can see I am almost at the end of it now and I will definitely be repurchasing it. Whenever I wear it, people always ask what it is because it’s such a lovely colour. It’s quite a nude colour and I think it is one of MAC’s satin shades rather than matte, however it doesn’t look as if it is really glossy on the lips. The good thing with this lipstick is that you could easily wear it by itself or with a little bit of lip gloss to dress the look up.

The lipstick is very pigmented and definitely stays on all day which I find so useful if you don’t tend to take a makeup bag out with you. MAC also do a lot of shades in the matte effect which I think I am going to try next.