My go-to face for a weekend outing

On Wednesday I had a day off work and because my dad was off work as well we went to the Trafford Centre. As I was putting on some slap I realised that I've fallen very much into a routine with my weekend makeup, so I thought I'd share what I've been doing!

After I've done my skincare I get cracking on my eyes to let the moisturiser sink into my skin. I prime my eyes with my trusty Mac Painterly Paint Pot - one of my holy grail products - and set over the top with the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. My go-to eyeshadow palette at the minute is the Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, but mostly the light matte shades. For work I quickly put Low Blow in the crease but on a day where I have more time this is what I tend to do. First off I take Chaser and dust it all over my lids. Then I get to work on the crease with Low Blow, little bit in the crease, blend it out, in the crease, blend it out (I seriously over blend). I also take a bit of Chaser on a Mac 217 and put that through the crease as well, because you know we haven't had enough blending yet! To finish off the eyeshadow portion of this endeavour, I used He Devil with a very light hand on the outer corners and then - of course - blend! Ooh I almost forgot, I also take Ounce on a fluffy blending brush on my brow bone as a highlight. 

Urban Decay Naked Heat Pallete: Ounce | Chaser | Low Blow | He Devil

I would like to try out a new primer but for now I'm using the L'Oreal Infallible Matte Priming Base which is working okay. It sometimes feels a bit slippy but it does keep me matter than I would be without it. I'm still loving the Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Ivory (don't let the picture fool you, I'm very close to the end of this but because it looked a bit dodgy in the photo I shook up the bottle to make it look shiny and new!). I really need to try out a new concealer (any suggestions let me know) but at the minute I use the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer under my eyes and then the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer - one of my favourites - everywhere else. To set it into place I went back in with my Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder and dust it all over. My Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer gives my face a little bit of warmth, the Mac Blush in Eternal Flower gives my cheeks a bit of colour and to finish off my base I smother my cheekbones in the Tanya Burr Illuminating Powder in Champagne Sorbet. I LOVE this. It's not the most intense highlight but it makes my cheeks look kind of wet of I really like that kind of vibe.

Brows! The Fleur de Force products are my go to for all my brow needs. As I've not had my brows tinted for a few weeks I went in with the Fleur de Force Brow Pencil in Medium to bulk them out a little more and then used the clear brow gel from the Eylure Fleur de Force Brow Tamer. I love how cool toned it is, it makes them look more natural than my usual products, but still a bold brow. 

Time to finish up the eyes, I took He Devil underneath my eyes and smudged it out a little with a fluffy brush. I need to get a new eyeliner because my Soap and Glory Supercat Liner is running very low but it had to do. This product does a good wing and I love a winged liner look especially with a brown crease. A quick line in the waterline with my Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl Eye Liner and a few lashings of the L'Oreal Paradise Ecstatic Mascara (love this!) and that's my eyes done. I'm so happy we're getting into the warmer months because I've been ready to crack out my Mac Liptensity Lipstick in Smoked Almond for a while. I, love, this! It stays for a long time on my lips but doesn't feel drying and it's like a nude but has a bit more about it. I can't wait to keep wearing these throughout the colder months.

What's your favourite lip colour for Autumn?

Mac Liptensity Lipstick: Smoked Almond

Giving my skin a treat | Evening Skincare Routine

Part two of the skincare saga and we're onto evening (if you missed my morning skincare routine read that here). There's a bit more to it in the evenings as I like to give myself a bit more of a pamper. What I do is snuggle down in bed with my Q&A a day book and a box of my skincare stuff. I like to do it in bed because it takes me about 15 years to do it as I like to let it all sink into my skin.

Before any of this happens I take my makeup off. Usually I do it as soon as I get home from work, get the sweaty foundation off my face. I always do a double cleanse. First I start with my Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil, massaging it over dry skin the wiping it off with a wet flannel. I like this oil. I never thought I'd be into oils as my skin is quite oily already but it gives my skin a boost of hydration and takes off my makeup like a dream. Also, minimal mess - and I can get drops of makeup all over the sink. I then go in with my Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Deep Cleansing Milk, love love love. It's quite thick and I use it to get off the little bits of makeup the oil cleanser missed. It feels so cooling and luxurious on my skin, it's just what my skin needs after a day of makeup.

I got the Body Shop Satsuma Hand Cleanse Gel in my Body Shop Advent Calendar last year and in an effort to use it all up I started applying it before I start my evening skincare - now I'm addicted. It's as if it starts the whole process off and I know that my hands are a clean before I start prodding my face. I give my face a quick wipe with the Simple Micellar Water, a spritz of the Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Mist then we crack on. I use the same eye cream as I do in the morning, the Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream, and really tap it into my under eyes giving them tonnes of hydration. I also use the same lip balm as in the morning, the Palmers Coconut Oil Lip Balm.

Now onto the exciting stuff. I only started using a serum about six months ago and now I couldn't imagine my skincare routine without one. It stops my skin from becoming too dehydrated but doesn't turn me into a massive greaseball. I use the Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate, not too oily and it has sort of a bouncy texture to it. I smooth it over my skin and then pat it in. After waiting maybe ten minutes I go in with my moisturiser. I'm using the Body Shop Oils of Life. It is a good moisturiser but I don't know if it's a bit too oily for my skin. To be fair I've been using this since before Christmas  and I've not had any major issues. I am coming to the end though so if anyone has any recommendations for a new moisturiser I'd be more than grateful! All I do is bounce it into my skin, apply some Soap and Glory Hand Food and then it's done! Sleepy times for me (or more like watch the end of the episode of Grantchester then watch some YouTube and fall asleep watching people trying to live in a tiny house).

What's your favourite skincare product?

Giving my face a wake up call | Morning skincare routine

I love reading posts about people's skincare routines, partly because I'm nosy and partly because I want to know if there's some sort of miracle product that I need in my life. So, in case anyone is nosy like me, here's what I slap on my face in a morning in an attempt to perk up my skin and make me look half awake. For the record, my skin is blemish prone and oily but can be dehydrated (I've never had someone tell me so I could be wrong but that's what I think it is).

The first thing I do when I wake up is go and splash my face with water. Just a little bit to get the grease off and I rub it on my eyes because I always seem to have some mascara leftover from the day before, no matter how much I try and take it off! The first proper step is using the Simple Kind to Skin Micellar Water on a cotton pad over my face, just to make sure every last scrap of dirt is off my face from the day before (and also because it feels nice on my sleepy face). This is one of my favourite micellar waters along with the one from Garnier. They do the job and are really affordable, you can't really go wrong. Next I give my face a spritz with the Body Shop Vitamin C Face Mist - not because I think it does anything magical but because it feels great in the morning. As I'm writing this I'm realising that my entire routine is based around what feels refreshing on my face and I don't actually know if there are any benefits of putting it on my skin!

Next up I apply my latest eye cream of choice which is the Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream. I'm not loyal to any eye cream and I have to say so far nothing I've tried as ever blown me away. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know! I just get half a pea sized amount and slather it under my eye until it feels like it's sunk in. It's quite thick but I feel like my under eye area needs a bit more hydration. I mentioned this product in my July favourites post and you can read just how much I love it there but it's the Palmer's Coconut Oil Lipbalm. Tastes amazing and does the job at hydrating my lips. Yum! Last but certainly not least is my moisturiser. I've been using the Body Shop Vitamin C Moisturiser and I think it's been doing a pretty good job. It smells amazing! Zingy and delicious it feels cool on my face in a morning and really helps to brighten everything up. What I like about it most is that I can feel it sinking into my skin and not just sitting on top like some of the moisturisers I've tried previously. It doesn't make my skin feel greasy either which is a win win!

I'm enjoying this routine at the minute, it seems to be working well for me. Stay tuned for the second part of my skincare routine next week.

What moisturiser are you using at the moment?

Everyday Makeup Routine

I have literally been loving my Kiko Eyeshadow Stick in 05 Rosy Brown and so to celebrate my love I thought that I would do an everyday makeup routine. I'm really getting into this whole videoing thing, although I'm not a fan of watching the faces I pull, especially when I put eyeliner on. Horrendous! So without further ado, here's all the products I used and the video of me putting them onto my face.

The Body Shop InstaBlur

L'Oreal True Match Foundation // N1

L'Oreal True Match Concealer // 02 Vanilla

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder // 002 Pink Blossom
Sleek Brow Kit // Dark
Maybelline Brow Drama // Medium Brown
Kiko Eyeshadow Stick // 05 Rosy Brown
Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette
L'Oreal Super Liner
Rimmel Scandeleyes Mascara
Soap and Glory Solar Powder Bronzer
Mac Satin Blush // Immortal Flower
Maybelline Eye Studio // Golden Beige
Kiko Kiss Balm // 02 Apricot

My Skincare Routine

I've never done a skincare routine on my blog before which seems very strange seeing as though I'm VERY into it. If I haven't gone through each step of my routine I feel like something's missing on my face. This has been my routine for about nine months and I don't think that it's going to change for a very long time so let's jump into it!

In the morning the first thing I use is the Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser. This just takes off any remaining grub that may still be on my face from the night before but also wakes me up a little bit (because those 9am starts are just not working for me at the minute). Next up is my beloved Seaweed Toner from The Body Shop. Until I found this my skin was just an oily mess but now it only starts to get a little greasy as the day goes on. This isn't stripping but it leaves my face feeling matte and clean. Then the Simple Revitalising Eye Roll-On comes out to play and is so soothing on the eyes that I just want to roll it on all the time! I also use the Simple Spot Roll-On which is similar to the eye one but is designed to tackle spots. It's not the best one I've ever used but it's not too bad, I'd rather have a tea tree one as I feel like that's better than tackling spots. Next up is my lip saviour; the Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub. This takes off the dead skin and leaves lips feeling soft, and tasting really delicious! While the scrub's on I use The Body Shop Absinthe Hand Cream. This has become a habit now and when I don't do it, I feel like there's something missing. After slathering on my Maybelline Baby Lips I use my Nivea Oil Free Day Moisturiser. I can feel this running out by the day which really makes me sad. It's moisturising without making my skin feel greasy and slippy and I don't feel too shiny later in the day, which some moisturisers tend to do. Moving onto night time and to take my makeup off I used to use the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish but I still need to repurchase so for now I'm just using The Garnier Micellar Water which does the job just as well but it takes a little bit more time. The only change to my routine at night is that I swap my moisturiser. I use the Vichy Night Detox which is the best night moisturiser I've ever used. It's thick but, again like most of these products, it doesn't make my skin oily and greasy. I'm going to be sad when this runs out and I may have to do a cheeky repurchase.

So that's my skincare routine. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know because as I said I'm in the market for a new 'makeup takeoff' cleanser so any suggestions would be greatly received!