Make up essentials

Hey guys! 

Today's blog post is about my make up essentials. I use a variety of different brands and the prices of the make up I use varies depending on what sort of make up it is. I have extremely oily skin and I have the occasional acne breakout so I like having full coverage! 

The most important thing to do before applying any foundation is to prime your face! I find that my foundation applies a lot better if my skin is mosturised as it gives my skin a softer base to work with. The primer I use is Smashbox photo finish foundation primer. I absolutely love this product as it makes my skin feel nice and smooth! I apply the primer around my T zone as that is where my skin gets mostly oily. The primer costs £12.50 which is quite pricey but I find that it's defintely worth the money! Smashbox have a range of different primers for different skin types so it's defintely worth considering! 

Once my face is primed I begin to apply my foundation! On a daily basis I tend to use quite a heavy foundation because I like my skin to look fully concealed. The foundation I use is Mac studio fix in nc25,  my foundation has yellowy tones which I absolutely love because it blends into my natural skin really nicely as I have olive skin. I've been using this foundation for two years and I swear by it! It makes my skin feel flawless and matte and it conceals redness and acne breakouts! It costs £21.50 which isn't at a very reasonable price but I think it's worth buying because it gives great results! If you're interested in sampling the foundation just head down to your nearest Mac store and you can ask them to find you a foundation that matches your skin tone. Mac have a range of foundations and they do sell more lightweight foundations if you don't want full coverage. 

I think using a foundation brush is the best way to apply foundation because it makes the skin look a lot more finished and it prevents you from over applying the product. I use the Mac 190 foundation brush, it's one of their flat based ones. I absolutely love using this brush because it's really soft and feels smooth when you're brushing foundation across your face. I always do downward motions when using the applicator as it gives an even complexion. I paid £27.00 for this brush which isn't a very affordable price and I wouldn't normally pay that amount of money for just a foundation brush but it's definitely a good foundation applicator! There are many cheaper alternatives such as the real techniques foundation brushes, I also use brushes from that range as they're also really nice applicators but they're at a more reasonable price.

It's extremely important to use a form of powder to lock in your foundation! I apply powder directly after using foundation to give my face a matte look. I use mineralize skin finish in medium by Mac. I absolutely love this powder because it maintains my matte look and it feels very light weight. The powder costs £22 which is again quite expensive but it's so worth the money because it's lightweight and keeps skin matte! The powder is very long lasting as you'll find you don't need to constantly keep applying throughout the day and you won't need to use a lot of it each time you use it because it blends so nicely with the foundation. When I apply the powder I tend to dab it and not brush it on because of the product Im wearing beneath the powder, this technique works a lot better for me! 

I use the real techniques powder brush when I apply powder! This is my most favourite powder brush I've ever used! It gives my skin such a good result! I love that the brush is really big and it makes it easier to spread the powder across your face and its an extremely soft applicator! I paid £9.99 for the brush which is quite a reasonable price! I bought mine from superdrug but the brush is pretty much available in any store!

I always fill my eyebrows in because I like my eyebrows to have definition! For my eyebrows I use benefit brow shaping in dark brown. I love this product because it's so simple to use! In the small compact it provides two mini brow brushes and a pair of mini tweezers. It's a very straight forward product to use! I much prefer using an eyebrow pallet than a pencil, I could never quite grasp using a pencil! This product costs £24.50, I know that sounds pretty expensive as it is quite a small product but I have had the pallet since December and I've still got a huge amount left so it's defintely a good investment to make as it saves you from buying a new eyebrow pencil every other month!

For my eyes I just wear eyeliner and mascara. For my eyeliner I wear collection 2000 pen liner, I absolutely love this eyeliner and I've been buying this for a couple of years now! I find it very easy to apply as its a felt tip and not a liquid or pencil liner. I find it easier to use the pen liner and it has a good outcome. The eyeliner is extremely cheap! It's only £2.99 from superdrug which is extremely affordable and has such an easy application! After I have applied my eyeliner I would go straight onto mascara! But before that I would go through the talcum powder process! For further details on that go onto my previous blog post! The mascara I use is "they're real mascara" by benefit. I love this mascara as its not clumply! The brush is a really nice shape and for me it makes my eyelashes look extremely long! It costs £19.50 which is again pricey but it makes your lashes looks natural and not clumpy at all! Others may disagree but personally I love it!

Once all of my make up has been applied I would spray the matte finish spray by NYX. I love this spray because it sills in the make up on your face! It's perfect for the summer as it freshens up your skin and you simply spray straight after you've applied all of your make up! This is an essential item I would carry around with me! I found this spray at Birmingham hair show and paid £8.00 for it and I've noticed that the brand NYX isn't really in many shops although this product is available online like Amazon or even eBay and you could possibly pay less!

This is what I would normally look like after the routine :) 

Thanks for reading! 

Love Alexandra xoxo