The past month or so has been a bit of a whirlwind for me and starting my new job paired with being in a long-distance relationship means I've pretty much been living out of a suitcase. These are the products that have pretty much stayed in my makeup bag and come with me on every trip.
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation | £31 + Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup | £30 | post
A bit of a pricey pairing but these two have been doing it for me this month. Nars Sheer Glow is my everyday medium-coverage satin-finish foundation but even though it's Autumn now, my Summer tan means my shade Stromboli is still the tiniest bit light. By contrast my shade in Estee Lauder Double Wear (which is a full, matte coverage I pack for evening wear) in Cashew is the tiniest bit dark. Both are close enough to work individually but lately I've been loving using Sheer Glow for the most part but then building the coverage where I need it (i.e. where my skin is looking a bit worse for wear or where my makeup tends to rub off quickly) with Double Wear. This has been working really well for me with my usual concealer combination, which I won't bore you with again (Nars Creamy Radiant on spots, Urban Decay Naked Skin under eyes).
Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot | £12 + Real Techniques Fan Brush | £20.99 (for set) | post
I really wasn't expecting to like One Heck of a Blot (review of the powder, foundation and primer coming later this week!) as I've not had the best experience with allegedly translucent powders. However this is different; I simply apply a small amount using my Real Techniques fan brush (which means it doesn't disturb my base at all) to the places where I tend to get oily or find my makeup slipping on, and my face stays pretty much intact and shine-free all day!
KIKO Rebel Romantic Perfecting Bronzer in 02 Medium to Dark | £12.90 | post
This is by far my favourite bronzer so if it goes into sale I will definitely be buying a backup! I was never into bronzer before discovering this but I've well and truly found the right one for me; it adds a bit of colour but isn't so warm it's orange. It blends out beautifully and looks very natural on the skin, perhaps because of the lilac setting powder in the centre of the matte bronzer (I swirl both together).
The Balm Mary Loumanizer | £17.50 | post
This is not the most travel-friendly product, as you may be able to tell this actually smashed and I had to repair it! I think this is in part to how finely-milled and beautifully soft the texture of this highlighter is. It's very much a bells-and-whistles highlighter but I still don't feel like a glitter ball when I wear it as there aren't glitter particles in this. It's the most gorgeous light gold shade that seems to suit a lot of different skin tones.
Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger | £17 | post
I really don't talk about this enough but this is one of the best blusher formulas in my stash. It's really nicely pigmented and doesn't go patchy on my skin (an achievement in itself) and is long-lasting. I definitely need to pick up more shades but for now I'm loving ginger; a sort of deep peach shade with the slightest sheen. It's very compact so perfect for travel, not to mention the flower pattern is super-cute!
Anastasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Granite | £15 + Zoeva Winged Liner Brush | £5.95 (for standard finish) | post
I've seen the light! The Anastasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow Pomade is the best thing that's ever happened to my eyebrows. You can honestly get a really natural look with this product, which I didn't realise (which led to me not trying this ages ago). I ordered online so the colour was a bit of a gamble and when Granite arrived it looked so dark in the pot that I was sure I'd made a mistake. However it's actually the perfect cool-toned shade if you have very dark brown (almost black) hair. I apply this using the Zoeva Winged Liner brush from my Rose Gold set and it works amazingly well for evening out my brows and making them look fuller. I finish up by brushing through with a spooly and applying brow gel.
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick | £21
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This is pretty much all I’ve been using as a base (I do still layer an eye primer under just to get the maximum wear-time on my oily lids. It’s just that perfect matte shade that’s just a bit more than my skin tone to even everything out and provide an amazing foundation for eyeshadow. I’m a cream eyeshadow lover but I’ve actually used this one pretty much exclusively the past few weeks.
MAC Pro Eyeshadow Palette | £10 per shade, £10 for palette, £2.50 for insert | post
If you’re a regular reader you probably know I finally finished my MAC 15x Pro Palette last month so of course I’ve used very little else. I love it for travelling as it has just about everything I need and I can create so many looks with this. I have a couple of highlighting shades, a little pop of colour and some neutrals in cool and warm tones ranging from medium to deep. My most-used shades are All That Glitters (a golden-nude) and Woodwinked (a golden-bronze) and they’re both Veluxe Pearl finishes (which is my favourite). Make sure you check out the post for a shade-by-shade breakdown!
Stila All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Intense Black | £14.50
My Holy Grail Soap & Glory Supercat started to dry up a bit so I thought I’d try something new and switch to this cult product. They are reasonably similar in that they’re a pigmented, opaque black, however the nib of the Stila is much thinner. It’s good in the sense you can get a thin, close like and get in-between your lashes more easily, however I find it a little trickier to do my wing with this. All in all they’re both nice but I think I’ll be happy to use this until it dries out but after that I’ll likely switch back to Supercat (which is only £6).
Benefit Roller Lash Mascara | £19.50 | post
This is pretty much my perfect everyday lengthening, defining, curling mascara. I’ll be gutted when this runs out as I got this on my flight back from Croatia a couple of months back for about £13! However Benefit is my one exception when it comes to buying high-end mascara.
Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal | £18 | post
This is my go-to when it want a fuss-free bit of something on my lips that will go with any makeup look (especially when I’m in a rush!) It’s a lovely rose shade and I know it’s a bit pricey but I love how nourishing this is on the lips as it means I can skip applying a separate lip balm.
I've linked to the posts with swatches of the products above but these are the ones I haven't yet reviewed on my blog:
Have you tried any of my current staples? What did you think of them?
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