FOTN: A Friendly Birthday Tea

We went out for tea a few days ago for a friend's birthday and I managed to snap a few photos of my make up before we left so I thought I'd share! I used a couple of products that I've not used in a while 

Reckon I look a bit cross-eyed in this one?!

I used a little Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach under my eyes and blended it in with my fingers. I then dotted some Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium 3 on any blemishes (I have a few right now, grr!) or redness and buffed it in with my Real Techniques Buffing brush. I applied a layer of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40 and buffed it in with the same brush. I put a little Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer under my eyes and used my fingers again to blend that in. I set everything with my Clarins Ever Matte powder in Translucent/Medium on an ELF Studio Powder brush before adding a tiny bit of NARS Laguna bronzer (I'm still learning to use this!) with a MAC 168. I used the same brush to apply MAC Warm Soul mineralize blush to the applies of my cheeks and used an Illamasqua Highlighter brush to add some of theBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer to the high points of my face.

On my eyes I used some NARS Smudgeproof Eye Shadow Base before filling in my brows with my Smashbox Brow Tech. I've lost my favourite brow brush so had to use a random small brush that I had. I then ran a little MUA Clear mascara through my brows. I applied Urban Decay's Half Baked eyeshadow on my lids and used more of the Mary Lou-Manizer on my brow bone and inner corner. I added some Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel eyeliner in Black Ink with a bent eyeliner brush (I love this sort of brush for applying liner) along my upper lash line and on the outer corner of my water line. I curled my lashes and my mascara of choice was the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof. I applied two coats. 

I exfoliated my lips with Pow Wow lip scrub from LUSH and applied a little Nivea Milk & Honey lip balm before starting the rest of my make up. The lipstick I wore was MAC Freckletone. 

That's it! That sounds like a lot of products, doesn't it?!

Stace xx

My Current Make Up Routine

I've been using almost exactly the same products every time I wear make up at the moment so I thought I'd share! I've not been feeling too adventurous, as you will see. 

Face

BeneFit POREFessional Primer 

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40 

Clarins Ever Matte Powder in Medium Transparent 

NARS Orgasm Blush

TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer

Eyes

Smashbox Brow Tech in Taupe/Soft Brown

MUA Clear Mascara

NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in Sahara Treasure

Maybelline One by One Mascara in Black

It takes less than ten minutes and lasts pretty well throughout the day. In the photos I'm wearing the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Evasion. Once we've graduated and got settled into our new flat I'm going to have to make an effort to mix up my make up a bit!

If anyone has any tips on taking photos of their own face, please let me know. I was great at it when I was 16 but for some reason I'm terrible at it now!

Stace xx

PS - I have a blog sale going on if you're interested, almost everything is half price or less and the shipping is a flat rate so you can buy as much as you like without having to pay more for shipping!

Weekly Make Up: Pink?!

I decided to go for slightly cooler toned products this week so stuck to pink blushes rather than my usual peachy tones. However, looking at the swatches...I might not be branching out as much as I thought! As a highlighter I've got my favourite, TheBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer and for blush I'm going to be using Dior's Strawberry Sorbet or NARS Orgasm. 

 L-R: TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer, Dior Strawberry Sorbet, NARS Orgasm

For my eyes I've dug out my Urban Decay Naked2 palette and a couple of the Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows in Tough As Taupe and Audacious Asphalt. For liners I've got the Soap & Glory Supercat black liner which I didn't use last week (oops!) and my usual Milani Liquif'Eye in Black. I'm trying to use up my Bobbi Brown Everything mascara before it dries up so I've opted for that mascara this week.

For my base, I'll be using the Clarins Ever Matte foundation (although I do have a sample of Clinique's Even Better which I've been loving too!) I've got my Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach and Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium 3. My setting powder is the Clarins Ever Matte in 02 Tranparent Medium. This has been working really well for me as a setting powder - it may have overtaken my MAC MSF Natural!

For primer, I'll be using my trusty Too Faced Shadow Insurance on my eyes and I've gone for Clarins Beauty Flash Balm for my face. I had mixed feelings about this product when I first used it but I've been really enjoying it for the past week or so. Expect a review soon!

For lips I've included a Jack Black lip balm in Black Tea and Blackberry, a 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Beehive, a Clinique Superbalm mini in Currant, my Red Dwarf Pro Longwear lipstick from MAC and MAC Chatterbox. I have a feeling that this week is going to be all about the lips!

 L-R: 17 Beehive, MAC Red Dwarf, MAC Chatterbox

C'est tout!

Stace xx

Weekly Make Up: Something Old, Something New

Face

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation in 109 Wheat

Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in 02 Transparent Medium

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in 3 Medium

Eyes

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in Black

Milani Liquif'Eye Liners in Black and Brown

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Shadows in Bold Gold and Bad To The Bronze

Bobbi Brown in Sepia Ink

Chanel Eyeshadow in Beige Lame

Cosmetics A La Carte Brow Ink in Taupe

MUA Clear Mascara 

Soap & Glory Supercat Liner in Black

Cheeks

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer Highlight Powder

NARS Blush in Luster

Lips

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Gothic

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Lip Gloss in Electric Cherry

Soap & Glory Lipstick in Naked Beige

NARS Lipstick in Honolulu Honey

Elemis Fresh Skin Loving Lips Lip Quenching Balm

I went for a mixture of old favourites and new products I want to try out this week - I've been enjoying it so far! I'm sorry this post is so late!

Stace xx

TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer

Say hello to my current highlight powder of choice!

I bought this from Feelunique.com just after Christmas. It is currently priced at £16.00 (link).

I apply this lightly with my MAC 188 on my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose and cupid's bow. It leaves me with a really nice subtle sheen. There's not a chunk of glitter in sight here so it's great for every day use.

The shade leans more towards a golden champagne which is the most flattering highlight shade on my skintone. I think this will work for a lot of skintones, though.

It also makes a lovely eyeshadow when applied heavily. I've worn it as a shadow a few times and I didn't notice any fading or creasing. 

Have you tried this? What's your current favourite highlighter?

Stace xx

Make Up I'm Using Right Now

I used to have a make up bag of products which I switched up every week but over Christmas I got back into lugging out all my make up in the morning (it's in one big drawer). I'm on the hunt for new storage since I've downsized my collection considerably so I want to get back into having a weekly make up bag. By the way, if anyone has any suggestions regarding where I can pick up a small set of drawers for storage, leave them in the comments!

Did I say I'm going to have a make up bag? I meant a tin. A Burt's Bees tin, to be precise. Not that that matters at all! Here's what's inside...

MUFE HD Primer - I'm just trying to use this up. It's okay but it's nothing special.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3 - I like this because it's so quick and easy to use!

NARS Sheer Glow in Santa Fe - This is my current favourite foundation. It's easy to apply and leaves a nice finish.

MAC MSF Natural in Medium Plus - I got this recently since my Medium Dark was too dark. I love using these as setting powders or on their own on lazy days.

TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer - I've been enjoying this highlighting powder so much recently. It's always the first one I reach for.

NARS Gina Blush - I picked this up in a blog sale last week and I've not had a chance to try it out yet so I'm going to spend all week wearing it!

BeneFit They're Real Mascara - This little guy is on his last legs so I imagine I'll only get another week or two from this tube. Best mascara I've ever used, though.

Cosmetics A La Carte Brow Ink - I got this in a Carmine box and it's been a revelation!

Milani Liquif'Eye Liners in Black and Brown - I think I have two back ups of the black...so I feel the need to use them up.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance - Does this product require an explanation? 

Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette

I've had this for a while but I've barely used it. My favourite shades are the ones on the bottom row. Green eyeshadow, anyone?

Elemis Fresh Skin Loving Lips Lip Balm - I've lost my 8 Hour Cream so this is my go to lip balm. It's light but moisturising at the same time.

Clinique Superbalm in Rootbeer - I'll be working on using this up this week. I like it but I've got so many glosses...

MAC Mattene in Delectable - When I got this I wore it a lot but I've not touched it since so I thought it was time to rediscover it.

Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer - This smells amazing! It's one of my favourite glosses right now.

Do you do something similar to this? Or do you give yourself plenty of choice every day?

Stace xx