Every morning I’m faced with the same old predicament: get up and apply some makeup or have an extra ten minutes in bed. You can guarantee I choose my bed every time. However, I’m not brave enough to go to work barefaced so have to try to make myself look presentable with a limited amount of time and a few products.
When I don’t have time to sit and blend in my foundation, the Max Factor’s Instant Complexion Enhancer CC Cream comes in really handy. It’s more like a tinted moisturiser than a foundation so doesn’t need as much work. It’s light and refreshing yet gives me good coverage. If needs be I top up with a little concealer. I forgot to photograph it but no prizes for guessing which one I use (Collection’s Lasting Perfection concealer - review here).
I have to add powder when I need my makeup to last all day and my current dusting of choice comes from Paul & Joe’s Limited Edition Pressed Powder UV. It contains finely milled glitter which adds a sheen to my face - the perfect pick me up for when I’m at work. Onto blush and my usual office choice is MAC Powder Blush in Supercontinental, a bright yet natural coral shade. It’s perfect for giving me a bit of a flush whilst not being too OTT or girly. Unfortunately it was a limited edition from a collection last year so you will find it hard to hunt it down. I’m using it sparingly!
Now for the eye area. I tend to keep my eyes really simple whilst at work because as you nine-to-five girls know, too much tired eye-rubbing will leave you looking like an office zombie. I apply a good few lashings of Maybelline’s Mega Plush Volum’ Expess mascara to keep my peepers looking wide awake. I didn’t get on with this mascara at first as I found the formula rather runny and hard to work with but I persevered and glad I did. I fill in my browns using the amazing Browzings duo from Benefit. As you can see, the wax (left) is my favourite but I stick to the powder (right) during the day for a subtle look.
Finally, the lips. Whenever I wear bright lipstick during the day at work I’m often asked if I’m going out afterwards and I get sick of saying “no I just like fancy a change!” Can’t a girl wear a bit of bright lippy if she pleases? Jeez! Most days I opt for a touch of lip balm to keep my lips soft but glossy. I make sure I keep it on my desk and top up during the day, especially in the colder weather. My all time favourite lip balm is the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant. If you don’t have this in your makeup bag then why not? It cures an array of ailments and I love how soft it makes my lips feel.
And there you have it. This whole routine takes around 10 minutes and is so fool proof it can be done when half asleep. I plan on doing a few more What’s On My Face posts so let me know other ‘faces’ you would like to see.
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Lately the make up world has been all about the contour. I blame the Kardashians, Kim in particular, for making us feel completely insignificant for not having chiseled cheeks and bright brow bones. Although the look may be hard to perfect, there are some great products on the market which can help us along our way. These Urban Decay and Sleek palettes for example are basically a ‘contour in a kit’ and contain most of what we need to give it a go. But which one do I like more? I don’t need both...that’s for sure.
Urban Decay are trying to replicate the success of their Naked eyeshadow palettes with their offering: the Naked Flush palette. The kit contains a bronzer, blusher and highlighter. I like how the products are proportioned in the palette. You get more bronzer than you would highlighter as you obviously use this product on a larger area of your face. With the Sleek palette you get equal amounts of each and I can see me running out of the blush much quicker that I do the highlighter. The Urban Decay blush is a vibrant pink which only needs a very small amount on the brush. It blends in well but can be a little bright if you apply too much. I’m not a fan of the highlighter in this trio. I find it’s a little too pink toned and although it does look lovely over the blusher, it’s hard to blend into the rest of your face. It’s not the right shade for my brown bone and I wouldn’t even attempt to add it down the centre of my nose (another prime highlighting point).
Sleek’s highlighter is a lot more face friendly and I find myself adding this everywhere on my face, including my cupids bow. The bronzing powder is a beautiful matte brown shade and perfect for blending in the hollows of my cheeks to make my cheekbones stand out. It suits my skin tone and doesn’t have any orangey tones unlike the Urban Decay bronzer which is more suitably used as a bronzing powder rather than a contour. I love Sleek’s packaging too. It’s really...well...sleek, and I love how each of the powders are in their own pans so they won’t smudge together and look messy.
If you haven’t guessed by now the Sleek palette is definitely my favourite. It’s half the price yet does a better job of shaping, highlighting and accentuating my face. It also contains the Rose Gold blush which is one of their most popular blushers and looks beautiful on most skin shades. I think I’m in love! The Urban Decay is a nice palette however I think it only really works on my cheeks and doesn’t give the full contoured effect that I’m going for.
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