The Five Product Face

Base: Topshop BB cream in Light

Cheeks: Max Factor Miracle Touch Cream blush in Soft Pink

Brows: Me Me Me Arch Angel in Dark Brown

Eyes: Benefit They're Real

Lips: MAC Chatterbox Lipstick

On a day to day basis I'm normally in work by 7.00am, or 7.30am at the latest so I've become quite accustomed to early starts. This also means squeezing in a quick make up routine so I can spend more time eating breakfast (or sometimes sleeping). Disclaimer: This won't work miracles, I tend to look rough 95% of the time when I'm at work.
Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

Everyday makeup

I'm quite lazy when it comes to makeup. On days when I start work at 7am I tend to aim for a perfect base with just a few coats of mascara. This particular look is from a day off when I had a little longer to get ready but still didn't go all out.

I start with the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer, or polyfiller in a bottle. It's so god damn creamy and I find this, then the Revlon PhotoReady Illuminator sealed in with the Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation make for the perfect base. I conceal under my eyes with the Revlon ColorStay concealer and then pat in the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish. My base is finished with a sweep of the Revlon Powder blush in Racy Rose. I can never quite pack on the blush as well as when I get my makeup done by makeup artists, but I'm working on it.

I go in with the brows next and I'm currently using the MeMeMe Arch Angel. I use one end to tame and shape my brows and the other end to highlight just under my brow bone. I use my finger to rub in the Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream eyeshadow in On and On Bronze and blend it out with my Real Techniques base shadow brush. A few coats of the Soap and Glory Thick & Fast mascara and I'm done. Not forgetting my beautiful Chatter Box lipstick from the MAC Amplified Creme range.

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

The Sunday Post: An Appointment at Bobbi Brown

After my missed appointment with Rose, Selfridges Personal Beauty Shopper a few weeks ago (it was entirely my fault) we rescheduled for my next trip to Birmingham which happened to be on Monday when I popped over after work to see The Saturdays live on their Greatest Hits tour. 

I met Rose who let me tell you is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She booked me at the Bobbi Brown counter with the lovely Yasmin who set about creating the perfect smokey eye (word has it, hers are the best for miles). She talked me through everything she was using as she was applying it, which was lovely and I fell in love with the Limited Edition Smokey Nudes Eyeshadow Palette - such beautiful shades! After a lot of hard work I was all set to party along at The Sats with a full face of make up, something that rarely happens on a day to day basis anymore.

Bobbi Brown offer a selection of different make up tutorials and the best part is, they're all free of charge. It's definitely an experience I'd recommend if you have a fancy event coming up.

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

The Sunday Post: Recent beauty purchases

Revlon Powder Blush in Racy Rose

Avon Luck For Her perfume

Benefit Fakeup Crease Control Hydrating Concealer

Origins Night-a-mins Renewal Cream

Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Fancy a Dip

Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms in Mischievous and Audacious 

  I'm no beauty guru but I do love a good scroll through some beauty blogs every once in a while. I love seeing the newest releases and I'm most definitely no brand snob. Sure my Origins moisturiser cost over £30, but some of my favourite lipsticks are Avon, which may I just say is extremely underestimated as a brand.
Most of these are picked up on recommendations, especially the Revlon blush and Origins moisturiser - which smells like dark chocolate orange. I went into Boots intending on picking up either the Benefit Erase Paste or Bo-ing concealer, but the lady on the counter said I didn't need either since they are both heavy duty and recommended the Fakeup concealer instead.
I definitely think this stash will keep me going until we get into the colder season. 
Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin

Payday Beauty Treat: Benefit Porefessional

Benefit Porefessional*

So whilst everyone else spends their Valentines Friday in the courtyard of Somerset House, I'm watching the live stream from the comfort of my own home. Sure, I'd love to be there for real but for now, this suits me just fine. I've not long ago finished watching the Fyodor Golan show which was gorgeous, so many hot pinks and metallics and I'm also looking forward to Meadham Kirchhoff at 16.30 today.

Anyway, I picked up Porefessional since I've been wanting to try it for so long. I've heard great reviews about it and thought add it to my collection. I have about four different primers that I switch between so maybe another one wasn't really necessary, but hey I couldn't stop myself, especially since I had a gift card to use which made it all the more justifiable.

I've swatched it on the back of my hand and it's so smooth and soft, I literally cannot wait to use it on my face. I'm curious though because I always assumed it was a primer, but in the little leaflet it says you can pat it on over your make up. How do you use it?

Payday beauty treat: 3 for 2 on Maybelline

Maybelline The Volum Express Falsies in black drama

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Hydrate

I intended on going to Boots just for the Falsies mascara, but low and behold they saw me coming and quickly threw up the 3 for 2 signs. I can't resist. Ever. I picked up one of the colour tattoo eyeshadows that are a creamy gel consistency. I'll give this a whirl one day next week when I'm at home, I'm a little particular about wearing new products to uni or work before I've given them a test run in the comfort of my four walls. 

I also picked up one of the much coveted Baby Lips balms. I settled with Hydrate after spending a while deciding between that and Cherry (I love anything cherry) but my lips just can't hack these cold windy days much longer without them just falling off. I've heard mixed reviews about these so I'm looking forward to see what I think for myself! What do you guys think of them?

Payday Beauty Treat: All things Soap & Glory

Soap & Glory 2-in-1 Mask & Peel

Soap & Glory Night & Flight Moisture Miracle

Soap & Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash

Don't you just love everything about Soap & Glory! I couldn't resist the £5 off their skincare range that came in my Yule Monty gift set. It runs out on the 21st I think, so if you haven't used yours yet, what are you waiting for! At first I thought the voucher was for all Soap & Glory products, then settled for their make-up range before actually asking and finding out it was skincare.

I've never tried their skincare range before and didn't have any of these products on my wishlist. I stood pondering over the skincare counter for a good 15 minutes before settling on these three products. I opted for a mask, a moisturiser and a cleanser. I'm excited to try all three of these, starting with the night cream since I've ran out (it also smells like the apricot flavour fromage frais yoghurts). The other two I will slip into my skincare routine slowly, maybe I'll use a different face mask this Sunday night.

Payday Beauty treats: 3 for 2 on Rimmel London

Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in 107

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish lipstick in 016

Wake Me Up concealer in Ivory

Today has been one mad rush and I made a serious mess up on my mad dash in Boots. I got myself these two lipsticks and the concealer (3 for 2 - duh!) and then I thought I'd treat my secret santa at work to more than just £5. Is that breaking the rules? Or are we allowed to spend more if we want? Well I did anyway, I got her two nail polishes and the Kate Moss 107 lipstick, because lets face it, it's a must have. Got everything home and realised after picking up my 107 from the front, the one behind it wasn't actually the same. 

I looked at the swatch on the button and thought well it's not so bad, she might still wear that, opened the bullet and the whole end of the lipstick was mushed up in the lid. WHY? Why didn't I check it?! I'm going into Boots tomorrow to see what they can do, I mean I haven't even swatched it on skin so it's not even smeared, just a big mushy mess. What do we reckon? 

The payday beauty treat: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation: £33

I started this new tradition a few months back whereby every payday I treat myself to something beauty related. Now I know you may be thinking 'blimey you only pick something up on payday!'. Well let me tell you, H&M have this lovely thing called fortnightly paydays. Oh they are wondrous.

Last night I went to the German Christmas Market in Birmingham and couldn't resist a quick trip to the beauty hall in Selfridges. I knew exactly what I wanted and had a brief moment of panic when I stepped off the escalator and the floor had been moved around. After having a quick frantic run around for the counter I was quickly matched to the shade Beige Ivory. Silk Creme is a medium coverage which is perfect for this time of year and all the Christmas'y things we've got planned over the next few weeks.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo: £13

Okay, so lets talk breakouts. We all get them, some worse than others. I went all through my teens with clear skin and it's only been in the last year that my skin has been disobedient. It's also only in the last year I've wore foundation on a regular basis so I'm definitely putting it down to that. Oh to have fresh face again!

I don't know a single blogger who hasn't complained about their complexion since the recent change in weather. My saviour has been the much coveted Effaclar Duo from La Roche-Posay. This was a product that was always popping up on beauty blogs but I wasn't sure what it actually is. Spot treatment? Moisturiser? Primer? I've seen it used in all these ways.

I bought this in France in the hope it would help clear up the constant breakouts on my chin. I was that desperate I sat googling what spots on my chin meant, one website said it was hormones and another said it was a lack of fibre. I applied a little bit just on my chin right before bed and since I started using this about a month ago, I've had one spot on my chin which is considering what it was like before, is good.

Since the most recent breakout, resulting in three beauties around my face, I've used it as more of a serum: post cleanse, pre moisturise. Slowly but surely we're getting there. It's one of those products that you can experiment with to find how it works best for you, so I'd definitely recommend it, even if you only use it as a spot prevention treatment.

The French haul

I made sure before I went on holiday that I did my research and decided what products I wanted to buy whilst I was there. We stopped almost every day at a French town along the canal and whilst my sisters spent their time weighing up the Wifi potential getting excited about that all I was looking out for was the welcoming word 'pharmacie'. 

The first thing I got from Boots in the airport was the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hairspray which was a freebie with the September issue of Elle. I've got a long list of Bumble and Bumble products that I want to try so I've got high hopes for this spray. In Boots I also picked up Soap & Glory Hand Food. Hand cream is a handbag essential and since mine ran out that day I couldn't get on a flight without a new one.

Our next stop was duty free. I hovered around the MAC counter for ten minutes before deciding to try one of their eyeshadows, I picked up Mythology which is a gorgeous shimmery brown shade. I also picked up the Instant Smooth primer duo pack. I couldn't decide whether I actually wanted it or not but at £36 for 2 I couldn't say no. I guess even if I don't like it I can always give the other away on here. 

As I said I'd done my research about what I wanted to buy, but I didn't look into where to buy it from. I didn't know if there was some French equivalent to Boots or not. I played it by ear and just looked in every pharmacy I came across. My Mum had already picked up Bioderma for me and it wasn't until the last pharmacy I visited on my last day that I found the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm and the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. I will do full reviews of all these products after I've had time to give them a good trial.