What's In My Makeup Bag

I always love having a nosey at what others have in their makeup bags and thought that I'd share the contence (hardly) of mine - well my essentials at least! I think it's interesting to see what people are loving and opens a whole aray of new products to me that I really should be giving a try. Some of these products here are featured in my most recent'Beauty Haul Post' which I posted at the weekend and have so far been really impressed by. So where to start? Lets go straight in at the deep end and chat about foundation.

My foundation at the moment is the Rimmel London Match Perfection in Ivory (I'm quite pale) and have found that it is the great match for my skin tone. It blends in evenly and smoothly with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and gives me semi flawless matte finish - I would say that it gives me medium coverage but is buildable if I'm wanting a heavier coverage. I'm quite impressed with this product as not only is it under £7 (bargain) but it doesn't feel heavy on my face and gives me good durability throughout the day (I wouldn't reccomend it for warmer weather however as it can start to sit unnaturally on the face!). Now however, I'm on the hunt for a more upmarket foundation to really give my skin a flawless finish for those oh-so special occasions and to give my skin some love - any suggestions? (NARS Sheer Glow, Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, MAC studio fix all catch my eye). 

Next is concealer. Now when it comes to concealers, I'm always on the hunt to find my saving grace and it's been hard work - trust me! It's hard to strike the balance of it being heavy enough to cover blemishes but not too cakey. Let's start with the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade 2. There have been plenty of raving reviews on this product but I'm in two minds. I find that it has to be applied quite sparingly as it has a tendency to be quite cakey (wrong shade maybe?).

For undereyes I'm in love with the Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer in the shade 2 - all the writing from the packaging has vaished - and have repurchased this multiple times. It's in a great twist pen format and can be applied really easily and isn't too heavy - I also find it great for covering blemishes which have been missed. Lastly comes the Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer in light. This is a recent discovery and is great. It is a 3-piece camouflaging kit with an undereye brightening concealer, complexion concealer and setting powder to finish it all off. I've found that you don't need too much and really does the job!

For powder I have the Rimmel Clear Complexion Transparent Powder which I apply with the Real Techniques Powder Brush (it's sooooo soft!) and is perfect! It sets my foundation and concealer in place and keeps my complexion slightly matte for around 4/5 hours until I could really do with another dusting - not too sure on the 'clear complexion' element however. After this I like to add a touch of colour to my cheeks with the GOSH Shimmer Brick Pink which adds a little shimmer and rosiness to my complexion - particularly great for the spring/summer time. Next I like to do my eyebrows and give them a bit more emphasis and a little filling in. For this I use the Maybelline Master Brow in Dark Blonde. It is a great colour for me but I find that it wears down quite quickly (even in one usage) so don't see it lasting very long. It is however a necessity in my routine.

Now for the eyes. I'm not a big fan of too much eye makeup and have only really recently started wearing mascara on a daily basis as I've finally found one which gives me a natural lengthening to my lashes and it's the No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara. On the waterline I have been using the No7 Metallic Eye Pencil. It's in a twist pen format but this broke not too long after purchasing it so now have to use a pencil sharpener to sharpen it - a little annoying! Lastly is eyeshadow. I'm no where near a pro when it comes to applying eyeshadow so like a colour which I can apply all over the lid to create a nice 'I've made a little bit more of an effort' look. My favourite everyday shade at the moment is MAC 'Patina' applied with the Real Techniques Shading Brush. It's really pigmented meaning that it produces a strong solid colour with not too much product. I would best describe this colour as a slightly matte gold (take a look at the swatch below) and is perfect for both day time and evening.

To round up an everyday look I love a little bit of colour on my lips. My all-time favourite has to be the Estee Lauder Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick in 'Pink Parfait'. Not only do I LOVE the name of this colour but the finish on my lips. It's quite a pinky pink (huh?) but it has a shimmery finish - yay! You may have guessed by now that I am a little shocking at describing colours and finishes so take a look at the photo down below - it probably gives the lipstick colour a lot more justice than my explanation (oops!) - you decide! I have been wearing this all year round as I love it that much but is probably in its element in the spring/summer time. The packaging has now changed as this one is quite old so hopefully the colour has remained just as gorgeous as this one is.

That's all the staples in my makeup bag at the moment but I'm sure I'll stumble upon more fab buys and add them to my hoard. What are you makeup bag essentials at the moment? Let me know in the comments below :)

Love,

Harriet xo