Holiday Makeup Kit

Hola! Whilst you're reading this I will be more than likely getting ready to get on the plane, but thank goodness for scheduled posting! It's so refreshing knowing I planned my Holiday series earlier so that I can enjoy a week away without any worries, just pure relaxation. Anyway! Here's post number 2 in the holiday series I have going on and this is... my Holiday Makeup Kit! 

To be honest, I wear a lot of makeup. Makeup is my thing and I always pack more than I need because how I do my makeup depends on my mood, I'll never know what I want to do with my makeup until I actually sit down and do it. You never know what inspiration might crop up so it's better to be prepared! Hence why I take a hell of a lot of makeup with me whenever I go away. 

To keep all my makeup safe and sound whilst I travel, I keep it all in this Off Dutee makeup bag! and yes, everything does fit in it! Even my palettes, I've tried it. So if like me, you can't go anywhere without your babies then I'd definitely recommend this makeup bag! So let's crack on with what I actually take with me!

Face.

I'm taking away 2 primers; MAC Strobe Cream and MAC Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage. I use Prep+Prime Skin on a day to day basis but if I want an extra glow underneath my foundation I use MAC Strobe Cream. 

I'm only taking one foundation and that is my NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in the shade Stromboli. This is my favourite foundation ever. It's thin in consistency, it's full coverage, it glides across my skin and feels so so comfortable. Plus it doesn't contain any SPF so you won't be getting any flash back on your holiday pics! - winner.

I need 3 concealers, MAC Studio Conceal and Correct Palette in Medium, Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer and MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NW15. I use the MAC concealer palette purely for the salmon pink shade in the bottom right corner as I apply this under my eyes to brighten them and correct any dark areas before applying foundation. I use the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer under my eyes as we all know this is my favourite under eye concealer and finally I use the MAC Prolonger concealer as an eyeshadow primer as it keeps my eyeshadow staying put all day!

I couldn't go anywhere without my Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Setting Powder! Such a staple product for me. Click here for a full post on my under eyes! And of course I'll be taking MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark to set the rest of my face. 

There's only one bronzer I need in my life and that's MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in Give Me Sun. It's a beautiful warm bronzer for my skintone and it's been my favourite ever since I got it.

Do I really need to take 4 highlighters? Of course! I'm taking Benefit Watt's Up highlighter for the daytime. I don't wear a lot of makeup on the beach other than SPF and maybe some foundation at the start of the week when I'm not-so bronzed goddess. However, I thought this highlighter would look good on the cheeks during the day and also to add to my décolletage and just on my shoulders to add a bit of glow to my skin on the beach. 

I use MAC Global Glow on the areas where I have applied bronzer and I also apply this on my legs and arms on a nighttime when I go out to add EVEN MORE glow to my body. 

Then obviously left over are my two favourite highlighters, Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in Gilded Honey and Mary-Lou Manizer from theBalm.

Eyes.

I'll be taking away with me my Benefit Browzings in Medium. If you read my June Favourites post you'll know why I much prefer this to my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow now (However, I'm taking it with me incase I need a product with a bit of staying power during the day).

I'll take three mascaras, Benefit Rollerlash which is my favourite mascara and also a miniature of the YSL Faux Cils mascara (I've been trying this out recently and I love it!). Alongside these two is the Benefit They're Real mascara in Beyond Blue, I love this mascara for times when I feel a bit creative and this product is a great way to add a pop of colour to your makeup! For a look I did using this mascara click here.

Of course I'll be needing lash glue, my favourite is the DUO Eyelash Adhesive which has the dark tone. 

2 single Kiko Wet and Dry High Pigment Eyeshadows in 18 and 36. I purchased these last week and I wanted to take them away with me so I can play around with them a bit more. For swatches on both of these shadows, here's a swatch picture I posted on Instagram. 

As far as Eyeliner pencils go I'm taking a white, black, brown and nude. The black and brown ones are MAC and in the shades Coffee and Feline. The nude eyeliner is Rimmel Scandaleyes and the white pencil is NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk.

I'm taking 2 gel/liquid eyeliners, Morphe Gel Liner in Slate and also the NYX Vivid Brights Liner in Vivid Halo. Obviously I need a black gel liner with me and I love this yellow liner for again creative purposes (the creative juices don't stop flowing when you enter a different country people!) to see a look I created using this liner click here. 

Last but not least for the eyes is my Peaches Makeup loose pigments in Kitten and Pearl. As I mentioned in my June Favourites, I use these for highlighters. 

Lips.

The further down I get in this post the more I feel like it's all a bit excessive but trust me when I say I've shrunken this down three times already and this was actually the minimum amount! haha.

I'm taking with me my 6 favourite MAC lipsticks in Myth, Honeylove, Modesty, Shy Girl, Relentlessly Red and Ruby Woo.

I'm also taking this bright orange lipstick from No7 this is the Stay Perfect lipstick in the shade Gay Geranium. 

I'll only be taking 4 lip pencils a brown nude, a pink nude, an orange and a red. MAC prolongwear lip pencil in What a Blast!, MAC Stripdown liner, MAC Cherry liner and NYX Nude Pink lip liner. 

I couldn't bear to be without my NYX holy grail lip products which are NYX soft matte lip creams in London and Abu Dhabi, NYX Butter Gloss in Fortune Cookie and NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Peanut Brittle. 

To stop my lips drying out I'm taking my trusty MAC Lip Conditioner (smells like mini eggs, are you sold yet?) and also Benefit Cha Cha Balm - perfect for the daytime and looks beautiful with tanned skin!

Last but not least is my two favourite glosses Dior Addict Collagen Activ and MAC Lipglass in Oyster Girl. 

Palettes.

I couldn't just take one palette, but I think I've done pretty well in taking my Morphe 35O and I've also managed to fit my favourites from MAC and Makeup Geek into my Z palette too. I've popped my MAC Melba blush into my Z palette, as we all know I'm not a blush person but I love this blusher so much so popping it in my Z palette was handy!

PHEWF! That finally concludes my Holiday Makeup Kit, yeah it's a bit excessive but like I said in the beginning I like to be prepared and you never know when inspiration might hit you like a crashing wave. Let me know what you staple products are for taking on holiday with you in the comments below! See you soon.

Rebecca

June Favourites

This month's favourites is juicy! I've tried so many new products this month so there's some new goodies that I've been loving.

My first favourite of the month is the Peaches Makeup loose pigments in Pearl and Kitten. For swatches and full review click here. I've actually been using both of these not on my eyes, but as highlighters! Kitten is more pink than Pearl but they look beautiful on the skin especially when caught in the sunlight! 

Next up is Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl in Gilded Honey. Ahhh..another highlighter! I have been using this everyday non-stop ever since it was delivered, hence why it's not looking as fresh as it did in my Feel Unique Haul post! It is a beautiful golden highlight however, I do feel like I need to do a few layers before I get my desired beam of light reflecting off my cheeks. But then again, maybe that's just me being excessive with my highlight again!

This month something changed within me. Brace yourselves because about 2 weeks ago, I fell out of love with my Dipbrow Pomade. For some reason, my dark, defined brows just weren't working for me anymore. I wanted fluffy brows where my actual brow hairs were more visible, ya feel me? So I've switched back to Benefit Browzings, this is the old packaging so this is the shade medium but I believe for the new packaging the old medium is equivalent to shade number 4. I've been using my Anastasia 12 brush to define underneath my brow and going in with less product at the top (here's a picture from my instagram to show you how they've been looking). 

Earlier this week I picked up a NYX Vivid Brights liner in the shade Vivid Halo from my nearest NYX counter. And it's just gone straight into my June Favourites because I am so impressed, everything from the brush to the pigment was STUNNING and now I am desperate for more colours. To see a look I did with this product, click here. 

Another NYX product I've been obsessed with is the Butter Gloss in the shade Fortune Cookie. I got this towards the beginning of the month in my feel unique haul and I've been wearing it over the top of MAC Shy Girl lipstick for a peachy lip colour and that's been my go to! I love the formula of the butter glosses too, as I've mentioned before they are not sticky which is what I love.

My last but not least favourite of the month is the Tony Moly I'm Real sheet masks. I'll not go into too much detail about these as I'm doing a full review on all the 11 different kinds soon so keep your eyes peeled for that! But all you need to know is that I have definitely fell in love with them.

Thank you for reading my June Favourites, let me know what your favourites are this month in the comments below! See you soon.

Rebecca x

Bronze, Bronze, Bronze

The weather this week in the UK made it feel like summer is actually here! (Rather gloomy this weekend but hey ho, let's hope it's on its way back!) and summer makes me think about bronzey, tanned, glowing skin. So here are a few of my favourite products to get that J Lo glow.

NYX Liquid Illuminator in Gleam. This works so beautifully as a primer underneath foundation. It's not as strong as MAC strobe cream but it definitely gives a lit from within look. 

NARS Bronzer in Laguna. Before MAC Give Me Sun, this was my favourite bronzer of all time and I still do use it from time to time. It's quite a warm bronzer but it has little flecks of gold in it. When applied it looks like a matte bronzer but in direct sunlight you can see a bit of radiance on the skin where the bronzer has been applied. A truly beautiful product. 

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in Gilded Honey. My new little baby. Ever since I got this I have been using it every single day (it had replaced my Mary-Lou, something which I never thought would happen!) it's a beautiful golden highlight without being too much of a yellow gold. As the shade describes it is a beautiful honey shade, it is truly stunning and I can't wait to take this away with me! 

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Give Me Sun. This particular shade is very popular and if you know me personally, you'll know this has been the love of my life since I got it towards the end of March. It looks very daunting in the pan and I wouldn't recommend it for fair skintones as it could look very orange but my god this is beautiful. I use this as my all over bronzer and it blends out like a dream and I feel like this is my number 1 staple product for that "just stepped off the beach" bronzed glow. 

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Global Glow. Now this is a highlight which used on its own on my particular skintone would look mucky as it darker than my skintone. However, that's not what I use this for. This highlight isn't as potent as highlighters such as Mary-Lou Manizer from theBalm or the Laura Geller Gilded Honey it just adds a very light glow. So what I do with this is after I've applied my MAC Give Me Sun I take this product on a fan brush and lightly (very lightly) dust this all over the areas where I have applied my bronzer just to get super glowy skin (without it being too noticable, I obviously don't want to look like I have highlighter all over my face). I don't really favour a matte finish, although I love a full coveragw, I love to look super bronzey and glowy and for my skin to look radiant and actually like skin through my makeup and this step really helps in acheiving that. 

Those are my favourite products for that beachy, bronzey, glowy skin! Let me know what your favourite bronzers and highlighters are in the comments below! See you soon!

Rebecca x

January Favourites

One more week and our January blues will be over! And I'm glad it's flown by but how shocking to think that one twelfth of 2016 has gone already! So since it's near enough the end of the month, here is a slightly early January favourites post! Although because of my absence over the past 2 months or so there have been so many favourites however I couldn't include them all so I narrowed it down to just a few staple products which I have been in love with recently.

My first favourite is the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in the shade Global Glow. If I had to pick my top 5 favourite makeup products there would definitely be a highlighter included. I love the look of dewy skin and not having glowing cheekbones makes me feel completely naked. It may come as a surprise but I don't actually own the shade Soft&Gentle I know a lot of people love it but there's just something about it which is too pink for me and I just don't like the look of it on myself, I tend to favour more champagne/golden tones in a highlighter so when my boyfriend got me this as a Christmas present I knew it was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship. Because this highlighter is quite dark and bronzey I think it works best by layering it over my Mary-Loumanizer highlighter with a MAC 188 brush and then blending it down into the bronzer on my cheeks as well, I also dust it on the sides of my forehead just above my eyebrows to add a bit of a glow there as well as this highlighter isn't as intense as the Mary-Loumanizer. 

Next up is the Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Setting Powder. I purchased this from the House of Fraser website on Black Friday so I was lucky enough to get a bit of money off as it was my first time trying it. I had seen youtubers and makeup artists on instagram and snapchat use this so much and I'd heard nothing but good things about it so I wanted to try it myself. I will never purchase another loose powder ever again except this one, it is like silk on my skin! I apply it using the Real Techniques Setting Brush to set my concealer underneath my eyes and also any oily areas such as my forehead and at the sides of my nose and then i'm done for the day! My under eyes don't look cakey or blotchy they just look smooth and flawless. I personally wouldn't use this as a powder for all over my face as I don't really like a matte finish I prefer to look dewy on the other areas which I don't set with this powder, but if you're a fan of the matte look then go for it!

The NYX Jumbo Pencil in the shade Milk is another product which is talked about on youtube and instagram and as I mentioned in my last post about visiting the Clothes Show this was definitely on my mental shopping list whilst I was at the NYX stand and when I spotted the jumbo pencils my eyes frantically scanned the whole rack for the Milk shade and luckily enough I got one! I've been using this to highlight my brow bone starting off with just a splodge of white underneath my eyebrows, then using a small concealer brush to guide it right underneath my eyebrows and then blending it into my eyeshadow primer with a Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. 

Last but not least is the MAC Prep+Prime Highlighter Pen in the shade Lightboost. When it comes to contour and highlighting I prefer to use a cream or liquid to highlight the high points of my face and using a powder to contour. I love this product purely because of the colour and how easily it blends out, the colour is yellow toned which is what favours the shade of foundation I wear. I apply it under the eyes, in the centre of my forehead, down the centre of my nose and a small amount on my chin and then blend it all out with a damp Beauty Blender. 

Let me know what your favourite products are this month and if you've used any of my favourites and let me know what you think of them in the comments. See you soon!

Rebecca x