Everyday Makeup Favourites 2018

Current Beauty Favourites

Over the past year, I have been working towards a more minimal lifestyle and have been trying to declutter my life. One area that really overwhelmed me was my beauty stash. So I’ve managed to reduce it quite considerably, I now only have products that I love and use regularly. I don’t hang on to things just in case I might want to use them, or make excuses to buy new products when I clearly do not need them. Today I’m sharing most of the products that are in my everyday makeup bag and I would say it is a third of the makeup I now currently own and that makes me so happy!

Urban Decay Trouble Maker Mascara

Urban Decay Trouble Maker Mascara (gifted)

I’m usually the person who has multiple mascaras on the go at once, forever on the quest for the perfect all-rounder that ticks all the boxes. Well, I am here to tell you, I have found it and it is the Urban Decay Trouble Maker Mascara (please never let them discontinue it). I only have one mascara in my collection and it is this one. It is all I need. First up the packaging is super cool and looks like an oil slick, I love it. The wand has quite short bristles that apply the perfect amount of product to each lash & make them look thick, voluminous and the formula is so black! Zero clumping, no fallout and it doesn’t transfer or smudge. It is a pain to get off but that means it has some serious staying power. This is my number 1, my holy grail the ONLY mascara I need in my life. Oh, & it is Vegan, so that is a big plus.

Rimmel Brow This Way Eyebrow Gel (gifted)

I go between this and the Essence Brow Mascara, they’re almost identical and similar in quality, the Rimmel one I think has slightly better staying power. The Essence one is Vegan and Cruelty-Free but I can only get it in Wilko and that isn’t a shop I have locally so the Rimmel version is a good back up for me. This adds a nice amount of colour and texture to your brows, I like that you can use it alone for an effortless look or on top of your powder to set your brows and add a little more colour. It gives the illusion that I spend more time on my brows that I actually do and that’s what I want. I am all about that simple makeup life.

Current Makeup Favourites 2018

Vichy Dermablend SOS Cover Stick (gifted)

This is the creamiest stick concealer I have ever used. I tend to steer clear of stick foundations & concealers as they’re usually quite dry and hard to apply but this is buttery and blends like a dream. I use it everywhere, under eye bags, blemishes, redness and it covers all my imperfections with ease without looking heavy. I would say this gives very decent medium coverage. I quite often just apply this and feel confident enough to not wear foundation. It has been a lifesaver during the crazy heatwave because its formula is sweat, water and smudge resistant!

Enriched with a careful dose of mineral pigments, beeswax, carnauba wax and a lightweight oil, the formula allows for more spreadable and waterproof coverage that blends in effortlessly. 

Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in Bronzed (gifted)

I do have a couple of other bronzers but I just always go back to this Urban Decay one because it is matte and the colour is perfect for giving the skin a subtle healthy sun-kissed warmth. It is a lovely natural colour (on me) and you can easily build it up without it looking muddy or orange. It has been my goto bronzer this Summer and for £23 I think it is a Summer Holiday must have!

Soap & Glory Radiance Powders 

These two cheek products are stunning – I have used them for years, I wouldn’t be without them in my collection. I like that they both have a highlight, glow feel to them. The blush is a stunning light pink, peach on the cheeks with a gorgeous gold glow running though. It adds a healthy fresh glow to any look. The bronzer is a beautiful golden glow and I often use it as an eyeshadow and brow highlight.

soap and glory makeup

Essence Fresh & Fit Foundation

This creamy foundation gives a nice medium coverage whilst feeling lightweight on the skin, I hate it when your base feels thick and heavy. This foundation is enriched with a complex of vitamin b3, e, pro-vitamin b5 and cranberry water, it is fantastic to see a budget-friendly foundation with such fantastic skincare benefits added to their formula. These ingredients are going to help your skin glow, look refreshed and awake. I use it as my everyday foundation and quite often I don’t even feel the need to powder, it does have a nice glow to it without looking greasy or shiny. For £5 you need to try it!

w7 Mid-Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

I always travel with this 9 pan eyeshadow palette. It’s super compact and has 9 wearable, versatile shades. I can create a simple, smokey or even a bold eye look with this palette and it has a really nice mix of matte and shimmer finishes. For under £4 the quality is pretty damn good & I’m here to tell you that you 100% need it in your makeup bag.

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

w7 The Naughty Nine Eyeshadow Palette

NIOD Photography Fluid Opacity 12% (gifted)

This is nothing short of liquid magic, It’s flipping amazing. This is a highlighter, primer and serum in one (love a multi-use product) it instantly blurs imperfections and gives a healthy dewy, even-toned radiance. Designed to create a photo-ready finish on all skin types, this complexion perfector creates a lit-from-within glow in seconds with a wide variety of light-refracting prisms, tone and hue correctors, and photo-finishing technologies.

So you can apply to your skin alone or wear it under your favourite foundation to add a beautiful radiance and correct discolouration. It can also be mixed with other products for subtle radiance. It’s such an easy product to incorporate into your makeup routine. I haven’t ever used a product quite like this & I just can’t get across to you just how incredible it is and how radiant and glowing my skin looks when I wear it.

Dermablend Covermatte Compact Powder Foundation (gifted)

I am a loyal user of the Vichy Dermablend 3d Liquid Foundation and I am so pleased to have discovered this high coverage compact powder option. This is a really lovely foundation that has buildable coverage. The lightweight powder sits nicely in the skin giving you a velvety matte finish and it covers imperfections with ease. I wear shade 25 Nude and it’s a good all year round shade for me. When I want to achieve that full coverage, makeup last all day look I often set my liquid foundation with this powder simply because it makes my skin look incredible (flawless) and everything is locked in place all day! It is a great foundation if you have redness, acne scarring or just want a more full coverage look without your makeup looking heavy or dusty.

Imperfections are decreased by up to 60% day after day with active dermatological ingredients including sebum-regulating zinc gluconate and anti-imperfection salicylic acid and vitamin E. The appearance of pores is reduced and skin texture looks improved.

Everyday Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury Penelope Pink Lipstick

I must confess that I rarely wear lipstick or anything on my lips for that matter. I have a very small collection of lip products now and they’re all pretty much nude shades apart from a couple of more deep Autumnal colours. I like to wear quite a basic lip colour and go bolder on my eye look and I find Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks to be some of the most comfortable and long-wearing. This pinky nude shade freshens up any makeup look as works day to night. I love it and the packaging feels super luxe and special.

What makeup is in your everyday makeup bag?

Discovering New Beauty Brands in 2016

Trying New Beauty Brands

For me 2016 was the year of trying out brands and products I’d never used before. I was not only introduced to brands I had never heard of before but also given the chance to test out products that had been on my wish list for a while.

A few didn’t live up to expectations but I’m pleased to say most of them have become firm favourites. I thought I would share some of the ones that stood out to me. I am very much looking forward to trying more new brands this year and have a few on my radar already.

Pureology Haircare

Pureology Haircare

I had wanted to try this brand for the longest time as I’d only heard positive reviews from bloggers whose opinions I really trust. I was thrilled that the FULFYL haircare system that I tried out lived up to my expectations and my Mum even went out and purchased it for herself too. This particular range is formulated for colour treated hair and it protects your colour from fading whilst keeping your hair strong, nourished and looking super glossy. I am obsessed with it and the hair colour I used on my hair this year stayed vibrant for the longest time, I 100% put it down to using this trio.

NIOD Skincare

NIOD

Again I was excited to try this brand and I have to say its one of my favourite skincare discoveries of 2016. NIOD are a relatively new brand to the market but don’t overlook them on that count, they’re a brand that are pushing the envelope of ingredients and producing products that are fuss free, effective and pretty damn cool. Everything from their production & packaging right down to the products themselves are progressive. I have tried out a couple of their offerings this year but this Mud Mask has changed my life – well my skin. It has restored my skins radiance and I’ve certainly had fewer blemishes which pleases me greatly. I will be purchasing a lot more from them in 2017 and also trying a few products from their sister company The Ordinary.

Mac Palette Dupe

W7 Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

This is a budget brand that has always intrigued me, they are quite renowned for producing dupes and when I saw this MAC Burgundy Times Nine Palette dupe on MissMakeupMagpie blog I knew I had to try it. I love neutral palettes and this 9 pan palette has become a firm favourite. I’ve used it so much these past few months and if you are able to track it down (its like gold dust) then I urge you to snap it up. Its super pigmented, wearable and affordable, what more do you want!?

BRYT Skincare

BRYT Skincare 

This was a new British skincare company that I was introduced to this year but they mainly cater for younger skin and I’m certainly not in that bracket anymore. Nevertheless their skincare is gentle and although rich its not greasy or too heavy. I did enjoy trying out these three products, but I need something that offers more lift, tightening and hydration. BRYT seem to be ticking all the boxes when is comes to delivering affordable, ethical and botanical premium skincare. So if you’re under 25 then make sure you check them out. How cute and bright is their packaging too!

Skin Chemist Snail Serum Skincare

skinChemists Skincare 

This is quite a luxury brand which has a very modern minimal feel to its branding and packaging. I have enjoyed the products I have tried from them, especially the snail eye cream which I thought was very gentle and nourishing. It was very lightweight and felt cooling around my eye area, also my concealer applied so well over this. I have been using a few products from their Caviar range too but It’s still early days, so keep an eye out for a full review soon.

Ooh! Oils Cacay Facial Oil

Ooh! Oils of Heaven 

I adore using facial oils and love how versatile they are, these two from Ooh! have been a pleasure to use. The Cacay Oil was my favourite of the two and I mostly use this as part of my evening skincare routine but I do mix a little with my serum during the day of my skin is looking lacklustre. It helps to keep my skin looking radiant and hydrated and is great at reducing scaring and uneven skint one. This particular Oil has a high content of vitamin A, vitamin E and Linoleic Acid (omega-6) which have effective results in skincare.

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette-One-

Blank Canvas Cosmetics

Another brand I had never heard of before trying this palette but I have learnt that they have a huge following, especially in Ireland which is where this brand is from. They produce high quality makeup brushes and also a range of makeup products. The eyeshadow palette didn’t completely WOW me but I did like quite a few of the shades and think they are a brand to keep an eye on. The double ended brush that came with the palette was incredible quality and Its made me want to try a few more from their huge range.

What brands did you try for the first time in 2016, any firm favourites that you would recommend?

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow

W7 The Naughty Nine Mid Summer Nights Palette

W7 The Naughty Nine : Mid Summer Nights Palette 

I have already admitted this to myself but I’m without a doubt an eyeshadow palette addict, I just love them. I think it’s because the colours look so pretty altogether and I like that you can easily create an eye look without too much fuss. So when I saw this absolute beauty of a palette from W7 on MissMakeUpMagpie blog a few weeks ago I had to get it.

On the grapevine, I have heard that this W7 palette is meant to be a dupe for the MAC Burgundy Times Nine Palette & I wondered if the pigmentation would be there but I have to say this palette knocks it out of the park. All 9 shades are gorgeous, very pigmented and have little to no fallout The shades in this palette are perfect for Autumn / Winter.

w7-mid-summer-nights-palette

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow

The packaging is very MAC inspired, it feels like its very good quality, it’s slim, compact and sturdy, I also love that it has a clear lid so you can see the eyeshadows. You get 4.5g of product and 9 shadows in total. I think its a fantastic palette for the price. As with most budget brands, they haven’t named the shadows which annoys me slightly but that doesn’t take away from the quality, which is very good.

Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

You get 9 shadows in the palette and I like the range of nude-toned neutrals & the fact you get a good selection of coppers, cranberries and a few nude pink tones. I would wear every shade in this palette, it makes a very good everyday option as you can make it look quite minimal and muted with the pretty nudes or vamp it up with more of the deeper, richer shades.

There is a nice mix of mattes, satin finishes and shimmers all of which are pigmented and blend well. It’s unusual to find good affordable matte shadows but these are very good quality, in fact regardless of price, this is an outstanding palette and one I highly recommend checking out.

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