My Makeup Collection: Primers & Concealers

For the final installment of this series, I thought I would combine both primers and concealers as they are both base products, and I don't have many of either to warrant separate posts. These particular areas of my makeup collection are rather small as I have spent the last few years trialling different products, and managed to find the ones that work best for me and the ones I enjoy using. 

I'll start of talking about concealer as it is a pretty important product in my makeup collection, as it covers a whole multitude of sins - from breakouts to tired eyes, it gets me through the day looking less like an acne-prone zombie. Like I said, I have spent YEARS trying out different products, and now I think I have managed to find the best ones out there that work well with my skin. My all time favourite concealer is the Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer. This is the concealer that I always have a backup tube ready and waiting for the day I run out, as it is a staple in my everyday routine. I have been using this concealer on and off since I was about 12/13, and it has been an everyday staple for the last 3 or 4 years. It boasts a 16 hour wear, and I can definitely agree that it lasts a hell of a long time. I can put this on at 6am, and it will still be pretty much intact by the time I'm taking my makeup off at around 8pm. It is super-high coverage, making a perfect option for me and I know I will use it for years to come!

A more recent addition to my collection is the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. I think this is an excellent all-round concealer, and is perfect for covering up the signs of a late night. I wouldn't say it was the best in terms of coverage, but it is pretty good! This is my favourite product to take with me on the go - I always have one in my car AND in my handbag for those little touch up emergencies! I honestly couldn't be without it! The Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer is another that is great for on the go touch ups. The handy little compact comes with two different concealer shades, a mirror, a setting powder and a powder pouffe. The concealer itself is pretty heavy duty and is the one I turn to when all else fails.

In terms of primers, I'm not too fused. I mainly apply them to keep my makeup on longer. So whatever the claims of a product I'm not too fussed. I own the Body Shop All-In-One Instablur and the Body Shop Tea Tree primer, but my favourite by far is the Benefit Porefessional. It is slightly tinted so I feel it offers a bit of coverage (which I seriously need atm). But if you're on a budget then the effects of the Instablur are pretty similar!

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My Makeup Collection: Highlight and Contour

Although this series has taken a bit of a back seat with all the christmassy posts that went on at the end of last year, it is back in full swing with the rest of my makeup collection coming up over the next few weeks! Out of all the products in my makeup collection, bronzers and highlighters have to be the latest editions. Until the back end of 2014, I hadn't heard of highlighters and I avoided bronzers like the plague thinking they'd all make me look completely orange! Although I don't have many of either, what I do have get used on a daily basis, where I mix and match depending on what other makeup products I'm wearing. As I don't have too many of either, I have combined them into one post, and unlike the rest of the series, I will talk about each of the products instead of just my favourites. 

In the run up to Christmas 2014 I bought a little trio of Benefit sample size products to try, and I fell in love with all of them. One of the items in the trio was the Benefit Hoola Bronzer (my first ever bronzer). I immediately fell in love with it and I wear it on a regular basis now. I thought maybe I'd given bronzers a bit of a hard time and so I took to Twitter to see what people recommended for those just starting out with them. A few people mentioned the Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze and Glow Face Sculpt and Highlight and I decided to go for it after reading the incredibly reviews! I won't go into too much detail as I'm pretty sure have a separate post dedicated to it, but the powders are so buttery and blend really well! I'm still sort of angry at myself for spending so much money on it, but I certainly have got a lot of use out of it and love wearing it!

As for highlight, I have a couple more to choose from on a day-to-day basis. If I'm feeling super lazy and can't be bothered to rummage through drawers to find what I want, I'll just use the Charlotte Tilbury duo as it has both a highlighter and a bronzer in one. I must say that the highlighter is one of the best highlighters I have ever used. To say it's a powder it leaves a gorgeous dewy finish and doesn't look at all caked on! A highlighter that definitely isn't cakey, is the NARS Illuminator in Copacabana. It is a liquid highlighter and one of my favourites for a night out - giving that natural finish whilst still saying ‘hello I’m here’. It isn't one of the cheapest options out there (although it lasts forever!) so if you're on more a limited budget you may want to take a look at the No7 Skin Illuminator Radiance Boosting Beauty Fluid which is a good dupe at an even better price.  Being creamy textures you can easily blend it out, but for me these are more of a daytime highlight as they look a lot more natural.

And finally, the Soap & Glory Glow All Out Luminizing Powder, which I haven't really used in a while. It was one of the first highlighters that I bought, and at the time I thought it was amazing. But since trying a few others I've neglected it, and although I'll end up using up - I probably won't repurchase it in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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My Makeup Collection: Foundations and BB Creams

Bases play a pretty key part in my makeup collection as I have terribly quite bad skin 98% of the time. I have a small range of products and generally pick and choose which one to use based on how my skin is looking at the time. As you can probably see from the products in the image, most of them offer medium-full coverage which I find incredibly important. There are occasions where I go out with no makeup on. For these times where I'm just nipping out to the shops, or somewhere I don't see the point in wearing a full face of makeup, but I still want a bit of coverage - I like to opt for a BB cream.

(I'll structure this post in the same way as I did my lipstick post as that way seemed to work the best so far.)

Foundations

Foundations (or maybe just concealer if I was trapped on a dessert island), as I mentioned at the start of this post, are one of the most important things in my makeup collection. They give me the confidence to go out and face the world. They cover my flaws so I don't have to worry about them being on show, and I can get on with worrying about other things. Since around 2010 (after ditching the notorious Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse) I have been using the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation on a pretty much daily basis (or base-is ha! Sorry, terrible pun). I'd say it was a medium coverage foundation with a dewy finish so I find it perfect to wear day-day. Towards the end of last year I did have a breif fling with the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation when it launched. Its more of a full coverage foundation, but I'm not as keen on the finish (demi-matte/satin?) and I found it took quite a bit longer to blend in. So I'm back on the Match Perfection! When I'm going out for a special occasion, I like wear the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation as it is a little more luxurious than my trusty Rimmel. It is a gorgeous lightweight foundation that offers quite a bit of coverage whilst still leaving you looking natural. One thing I must say is that this doesn't last "all day" by itself and you will need a primer underneath if you are going out for longer than a few hours. And I'd recommend those with oiler skin to avoid it as it will disappear very quickly and you'll have wasted your money...

BB Creams

BB creams are a fairly new addition into my makeup collection, only making an appearance within the last year or so. Even though I'm constantly lusting after many high-end BB creams and tinted moisturisers (mainly the Laura Mercier one), I only have two in my collection as the chances of them being completely used up are fairly slim. Saying that though, I have been loving wearing the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream a lot recently. Even if I have had a few blemishes, I've applied it all over my face and used a high coverage concealer to fix any particularly problematic areas. After deciding that I had a new found love for BB creams, I purchased the Garnier one after reading some good reviews on it online. But the lightest colour is way too dark for me and I was left very disappointed (especially when you can't swatch it before you buy it), so I'd recommend all fellow pale-faced people to avoid this unless you want to look like an Oompa Lumpa! 

My Collection

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in Light // Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light // Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 115 // NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in Ceylan // Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in Ivory // Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Ivory

What is your holy grail foundation/base?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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My Makeup Collection: Eyeshadow

I feel like I have been neglecting the beauty aspect of my 'beauty and lifestyle' blog recently. The majority of my posts have been gravitating towards lifestyle and I'm starting to miss photographing gorgeous products and their equally gorgeous packaging. So I thought I'd introduce a few new series on the blog and even start a few back up again (*cough* Skincare Sunday *cough*).

As you can tell from the post title, in this new series I am going to be showing you my makeup collection - which isn't huge, but it is certainly bigger than the average makeup collection. But I can use being a blogger as an excuse to buy more right? First things first, just to get it out of the way - some of the products photographed in the series may have been gifted to me by brands, but as always I'll make sure I highlight which ones and you can read my disclaimer comes under the FAQ drop down menu underneath my blog title if you wish.

As you can kinda see from the photo, I have quite a few - ranging from a couple of quid, to insane prices that I try and forget about. So there's something for every budget! Most of my collection are fairly neutral shades as I like to play it fairly safe and you can never have too many neutral eyeshadows. I prefer to buy palettes with multiple shades in as opposed to single eyeshadow pans as I just find them more luxurious, easier to travel with, and I can mix and match looks from complimentary shades.

So I'll start off with the premium eyeshadow palettes. I have three in total - the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette, the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Coded Eyeshadow Quad in Dolce Vita, and the Bobbie Brown Warm Eye Palette. Charlotte Tilbury and NARS have to be two of my all time favourite premium brands. They offer such high quality and luxury products. I have quite a large collection of NARS products and I am poised and ready, waiting for student loan to come in so I can get my hands on some more Charlotte Tilbury! ;) The three palettes have such buttery shadows that are extremely easy to blend. The NARS palette especially has brilliant pigmentation, although the other two aren't that far behind. Unlike all my other eyeshadow palettes, you can also use it (the NARS) with a wet brush to give an intenser look to your makeup. 

For those of you with a more limited budget, Soap and Glory offer shadows that are very similar to those in my Bobbie Brown Palette. I have two of the limited edition palettes from Soap and Glory, and they are regularly bringing out more and more. When they don't have any limited edition palettes on the shelves, they offer some beautiful quads with complimentary shades similarly to the Charlotte Tilbury quad. They have such a large range of shades too, varying from my sacred neutrals to earth greens and blues. I also have a couple of the No7 loose shadows and a little Stay Perfect trio in the shade 'Good Earth' that I use to fill in and highlight my brows. 

And thats pretty much my entire collection! What is your favourite eyeshadow in your makeup bag at the moment?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Best All-Round Concealers Under £10

Concealer. A basic essential for pretty much every makeup bag. But with so many to choose from nowadays, who even knows where to start? I spent years (and I mean years) looking for the best concealers to cover a multitude of sins, and this year I finally found a good range of them. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer - in shade 'Fair (01)' (RRP £4.19)

I remember trying out the Collection (or Collection 2000 as it used to be known) Lasting Perfection Concealer when I was around 14 and I thought it was the worst thing on earth.  But a couple of years ago everyone started raving about the product and I had no idea why after I hated it so much. Reluctantly I repurchased it, and I was actually amazed! I was so surprised after disliking it so much, but now know I couldn't imagine not having a tube in my collection. I have pretty much the palest skinned face in the world and often struggle to find shades to match. And even Collection, with their extremely limited shade range, manage to cater for skin matching that of albinos. Even if it is just slighlt too pale for my skin, the 'Fair' shade (01) is incredibly good at brightened those under-eye dark circles and it covers blemishes with ease! I'd warn against those with dry skin trying this though as it can sometimes emphasise and stick to dry patches, but for everyone else its brilliant! I have stereotypically combination skin and it suits by skin type perfectly!

Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer - in shade 'Light' (RRP £10.00)

First of all, I know you are all thinking 'that looks like it is so much more than £10', but it isn't! Now although this is at the top end of the budget at a bargain £10, you certainly get a lot for what you pay for. This sleek Laura Mercier like packaging includes a translucent setting powder and two (yes two!) shades of concealer. One for blemishes, and one for covering up those stubborn under-eye circles. Like the Collection concealer, it has an ridiculously small shade range; consisting of just 3 different shades (light, medium and dark), but what it lacks for in shades it makes up for in camouflage power! It is INCREDIBLE at covering up blemishes. I like to use my fingers to dab it onto blemishes as it helps give a natural finish whilst hiding those horrible spots. Having both concealer and a translucent setting powder, it makes a perfect product for throwing in your handbag or taking on travelling adventures - especially since it has a built in mirror and a little powder puff! 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - in the shade 'Ivory (100)' (RRP £5.49)

This little bargain, is probably one of the best concealers I have ever purchased (and repurchased). And I'd probably never have even considered it till I ran out of concealer and my sister gave me this as a replacement. It is amazing at both covering up and correcting. This is a perfect one stop shop if you are a girl on the go! The formulation makes it perfect for blending out and adding excellent coverage where needed if you don't fancy covering your face in a thick or heavy foundation. Like the foundation from the same range (Wake Me Up Foundation), the concealer has a slight shimmer to it which aids to brighten dark areas. Don't let that put you off though, it doesn't make you look like an extra in Twilight - but it does "wake you up" (ha get it?!). 

If any of you lovely lot have any recommendations for budget concealers, please leave them in the comments - I'm always on the hunt for different ones to try out!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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My Collection: Charlotte Tilbury

After many years of being a highly sought after makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury released her own range of makeup a few years ago. But it wasn't till the end of last year that I really noticed her products, when everyone was raving about the release of the Matte Revolution Lipsticks. They looked so beautiful that I had to have one of them. The signature rose gold packaging, the sleek square bullet - everything just screaming perfection. 

I finally jumped on the bandwagon in November and bought one in the shade 'Amazing Grace' as an early christmas present for myself. I fell in love with it instantly and wore it on pretty much an everyday basis for months! I even ditched the red lip on christmas for this beauty. 

After loving the lipstick sooooooo much I decided to branch out and see if the quality of her other products matched that of my new favourite lipstick. I bought the Film Star Bronze and Glow duo and I nearly fainted when opening the packaging (and when handing over the money). Not even the gold packaging. Just the outer packaging that you are meant to throw away (or hoard away in a drawer to never look at again).

Almost immediately after buying the Film Star Bronze and Glow, I found myself browsing the Charlotte Tilbury stand in Harvey Nichols and couldn't help but swoon over everything. I decided to treat myself to the Colour Coded Eyeshadow Quad in Dolce Vita after my friend pretty much took the money out of my purse herself to make sure I bought it. They are so buttery and I'm currently lusting after the different colour combinations on offer!

What have you all tried from Charlotte Tilbury and what are your recommendations for me to try next?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x
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