Make Up Monday

Happy Monday guys,

So lately I've been putting a lot of time and effort in to improving my blog. I've spent many hours creating a more personalised look, which I hope you'll find easy to navigate as well as pleasant to look at. And I've also been jotting down pages and pages of ideas for future blog posts.

I wanted to try to incorporate regular make up and beauty posts after getting such lovely feedback on my make up looks in the past. I'm no expert, but I am passionate about eye make up and I've always loved experimenting with different colours. Over the last year I feel like I've lost a part of my identity because I've not worn much make up due to being house-bound with my back injury- I just didn't see the point with no where to go.

I realised how much I missed wearing it and how disconnected I feel from the person I used to be, so I've decided to make the effort to wear some as often as I can- for me. To bring back a part of my personality that was lying dormant. I know many see make up as a way to conform to society's standards, but for me it's always been an extension of myself and a form of self-expression.

So... here is the first (very poorly named) "Make Up Monday". I hope to bring you this feature every week with a make up or nail look, or perhaps a post about my favourite brands or products.

As I currently have Hydrotherapy sessions on Mondays and they're taking the life out of me, I'm going to start this week off with a peek in to my make up drawer.

I don't have a make up bag; I have a make up drawer. My collection is the smallest it's been in years as I had a thorough clear out not too long ago and threw dozens of expired products away. I used to have a plentiful collection of Bnevertoobusytobebeautiful powder eye shadows, liquid shadows and liners, and cream lipsticks which had all expired so I shed my tears and said my forced goodbyes. I was devastated to part with it all.

I've been trying to find a way to organise my make up drawer without spending money I don't have on drawer tidies, and recently used an old Lush bath bomb box to store my nail polishes in. The points of the star make good dividers for each of my product types!

This is my entire make up collection, taken just before I bought my new Lush base and eyeliners. My favourite brands have to be Inglot, Lush, Benefit and The Body Shop, but I also use Maybelline, L'Oreal, Bourjois, Too Faced, Mac, and Rimmel. I also have a couple of B things remaining.

Bases

 I have very fair skin, so my bases are always in the palest shades I can find. I'm lucky to be blessed with fairly good skin, so I don't always feel the need to wear a heavy coat of foundation. I find mixing a foundation with moisturiser usually gives me enough coverage. With a face full of freckles I'm never going to have an even skin tone!

This is my very streamlined base collection. Which includes:

Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous Lite

Lush Jackie Oates Colour Supplement

The Body Shop Pressed Powder in 01

Benefit The Pore-fessional (great magazine freebie)!

Bnevertoobusytobebeautiful Bon Bon Highlighter

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Liquid Concealer in 01

and

a few samples of Maybelline BB Foundation

Blushers and Other Face Powders

 

I'm cautious when applying blusher as I never really know how much is enough or how bright it really looks. I usually stick to pale shades of pink and peach- I do have a pink complexion but I do like wearing peachy blushers, too. My favourites to wear have to be the Body Shop Shimmer Waves which gives a healthy glow; Benefit Sugabomb used sparingly which adds warmth; and also the Maybelline Dream Touch Blusher in Peach which is soft and blendable.

 

The Body Shop Shimmer Waves Blusher 02

Benefit Sugar Bomb Face Powders

Benefit Powder Pop Face Powders

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Peach (possibly Apricot- doesn't say!)

Inglot Freedom System Blusher Shade 31

Mac Sheertone Blush in Pinch O' Peach A79

The Body Shop Cheek Colour in 03 Heather Pink



Mascaras

The one product I cannot live without is mascara. Mascara is an every day essential for me; I feel it opens up my eyes, and makes me look awake. If I was abandoned on a desert island (hopefully with the cast of Lost!) I would want a mascara on my person in case I happened to be stranded with Sawyer and Sayid... Well, a girl can dream.

  I prefer to use waterproof mascaras in the darkest shades of black I can find. I find they stay put on my lashes, and work best on sensitive eyes. I can't have mascara getting in to my eyes- as a contact lense wearer this would be a disaster! I also love wearing the Benefit Bad Gal Plum as a great alternative. The mascara is a subtle dark burgundy, and it really opens up the eyes.

Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara Miniature in Black (Awesome magazine freebie)!

Benefit Bad Gal Plum Mascara (A nice subtle but eye popping alternative to brown).

Benefit They're Real Mascara in Black (Amazing lengthening mascara).

Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof (Volumising and jet black).

Avon SuperCurlacious Mascara (Black curling mascara- freebie).

Clinique High Impact Mascara (Magazine freebie).

Lips

I'm not a big lipstick or lip gloss wearer. I'm prone to very chapped lips which isn't a great look mixed with colour, so I tend to make my eyes the statement, and only apply make up to my lips every once in a while. I've got quite a small, pitiful collection.

L'Oreal Color Riche Serum in Beamy Plum

The pink lipstick is a very old L'Oreal which I doubt is even made anymore.

Benefit Ticket To Glossytown Lip Shine- So Frisk Me, Nude-Tude, Spiked Punch, Life on The A Lost, Kiss You, Foxy Lady

The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain Bronze Glimmer (Magazine freebie).

Lip Rock Designer Lip Fashion in Rose. (Magazine freebie).

Benefit Her Glossiness (Amazing magazine freebie)!

and

B Mint Julips Sugar Scrub (now sold by Lush).





The lip scrub is very minty and tastes like an After Eight or Mint Aero. Yum! It works well at exfoliating the lips. I actually forgot I had this and found it recently when having a spring clean.

 

Eye shadows and liners

Eye make up is one of my favourite vices. I'm obsessed with colourful eye shadows and am particularly a fan of wearing green. It's not a colour that everybody favours, but I personally think it looks good with my pale skin and dark eyes. I love experimenting with different colours and enjoy trying different combinations and looks.

As I said earlier, I recently cleared out a lot of old make up, so I have a small, but well loved collection of eye make up now. This photo is minus three other Lush eyeliners which I bought a few days after taking these photos. As you can see, I love colour, and I usually bring home shadows in shades of green. It's a bit of an obsession...

I have...

Inglot Freedom Palettes in 22 various colours

Lush Eyeshadow in Happiness

Bourjois Smoky Eyes in Violet Romantic, Vert Trendy, and Mordore Chic

B Beatrix Eyeshadow (trinket pot).

Mac Matte Eye Shadow in Newly Minted

The Body Shop Eye Colour in Golden Meadow

L'Oreal Colour Appeal in Pure Gold

and

Bourjois Eyeshadow in 01

These are a few of my favourite colours. The gold is so warm and striking. The green eyeshadow in the trinket pot is my all time favourite eye shadow, which of course had to be from a company that folded. I recently remembered that I had kept this eyeshadow as I couldn't bare to part with it, but all this time I'd been thinking that I'd held on to a brown shadow. Best realisation ever! The lime green Bourjois is one of my favourite shades of green to wear; it's so bright and cheerful and definitely makes a statement.

 

These are my Inglot palettes. I bought these in New York last summer as a replacement for my B make up. The great thing about this make up range is that all the palettes are sold separately, in lots of different sizes, and you can then choose and buy your favourite colours to make a personalised palette. How fantastic is that? It's great to have the freedom to pay for the colours you want, as there are always at least one or two shades in make up sets that never get used. This way you're paying for colours you're sure to wear! And when you've used up a colour, all you have to do is order a refill instead of investing in another expensive set.

I think I got carried away on this visit- I came away with 22 eye shadows and a few nail polishes! I don't regret it for a second. I love every shadow. The colours are all so vibrant and highly pigmented, and the make up remains bright all day without shifting! Being a bit of a colour junkie, I really couldn't love this make up range more. There are hundreds of colours in the range, and I love the greens and turquoises in particular. I'm a little hesitant at removing each shadow to share the colour numbers in case I damage them, but if you want to know a particular shade, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to tell you!



These palettes are magnetic and can be stacked together for easy storage.

 

The new Lush make up range is absolutely fantastic. Vegan, cruelty-free, made mostly from natural ingredients, brightly coloured, blendable and highly pigmented. In short, it's all fabulous! Check the range out!



Lush Happiness Eyeshadow

Lush Healthy Eyeliner

Lush Motivation Eyeliner

Lush Feeling Secure Eyeliner

 

The Body Shop Eye Definer Shade Black (Magazine freebie)!

The Body Shop Eye Definer Shade French Navy (Magazine freebie)!

Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Liner in 001 100% Black

Bourjois Paris Contour Clubbing Waterproof in Blue Remix

Bourjois Paris Regard Paillete Sparkling Eyeliner in 34. Vert Stupefiant

Bourjois Paris Regard Effet Duochrome Eyeliner in 61 Vert Dore

Too Faced Starry Eyed Glitter Liquid Eyeliner in Obsessed Fan

I love a bright eye pencil for defining the eyes. The liquid Rimmel eyeliner is one of the best liquid liners I've ever used. For a couple of days after wearing it on the inner lash line, I look like I've had my lash line tattooed! (In a good way, of course)!

Make Up Brushes

A good set of make up brushes is an essential for every dressing table. If properly looked after, a good set should last for years. They can make such a difference to getting the right look.

I bought these gorgeous glittery sequined brushes from Bnevertoobusytobebeautiful several years ago because they were so pretty and Vegan! I'm not a vegan, but I do care about the critters. These brushes were rather expensive- if I remember correctly, the powder brush was about £20 alone. The glitter has faded a little over the years, but the brushes still work as perfectly as they did when I first bought them.

I bought each brush in the full-sized range.

L-R Powder Brush, Blusher Brush, Foundation Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, Angled Eyeshadow Brush, Lip Liner Brush, Eye Liner Brush, and  Brow and Lash Brush.

I was going to include swatches of the make up in this post, but the post is already so long I didn't want to turn it in to an epic snooze fest. I hope you've enjoyed taking a look in to my make up collection.

Let me know what you think!

Do you use any of the same make up products as me? What make up can't you live without?

Thanks for reading!