What I've Been Reaching For Lately

 

I struggled immensely to narrow down this list of favourites; April and May were great for discovering gems. Side note: aren't these flowers gorgeous? Got to love some summer blooms.

 

When it came to renewing my faith in favourites of months gone by, I picked up MAC Harmony Blush a lot. I don't think I'm saying anything you haven't already heard if I tell you that this is my favourite contour shade of all time. This past couple of months I put down the others that I was trialling to embrace this ash brown contour again.  No regrets.

 

Another love I wasn't anticipating, was to bring back Maybelline Lash Sensational. My Mum tried the mascara once, hated it, so passed it along to me, and I've been loving it for my first coat of mascara on my top lashes (before I go in heavy with the Better Than Sex), and as a bottom lash mascara. Staying with the Maybelline trend, I couldn't not include the Fit Me concealer in 'Fair', which I have completely used up in the couple of months I've owned it. I posted a whole review of that baby over here.

 

 

Lately, I've developed texture on my skin around my chin and nose - the kind of texture that doesn't look great underneath foundation, and just generally lowers your overall mood. I have a feeling that it might be linked to hay fever, since its more of a rash than acne, but I've been using E45 cream twice a day and the texture has cleared right up. In a matter of days. I had to include it in this favourites, because I'm now convinced that E45 is a lifesaver.

 



In terms of lip products, three stood out as the only picks I'm really using at the moment. 'Cool Girl' by TooFaced is a matte liquid lipstick that I won in a giveaway hosted by Alice, and I'm so grateful since this formula is the only matte liquid lip formula I will use. I don't find it drying in the slightest, and this cool brown nude shade is right up my alley. The other Liquid Lip I've gravitated towards (and by gravitated, I mean I wear it literally every time I go on a night out), is Alyssa from Colourpop. A beautiful baby/medium pink satin shade that I die over every time. I'm not going to elaborate much on the fact that I included the Bare Minerals Gloss in 'Flirt', because y'all know how my heart beats for that gloss. Enough said. 

 

 

When I haven't been wearing acrylics, I've been wearing a Morgan Taylor nail polish in the shade 'Watch your step, sister!' (I can't say that out loud and take myself seriously at the same time). It's a pretty neon pink, that doesn't chip easily and applies like a dream. As for perfume, I've been wearing Accord No1 Floral by Zara which, as you can probably imagine, is a strong floral, feminine scent.

 

Finally, my Z palette has been my best pal. I even left it at home by accident when I went back to university and had to ask my Mum to send it over in the first class post. The two additions to my palette that I've used non-stop however are 'Issues', a peach nude by Colourpop that works beautifully as a crease colour, and 'Grandstand' by Make up Geek, a foiled copper/red brown that is a stunning lid shade. I'm such a convert to the single shadow lifestyle, let me tell you.



 

The High End Products I Have No Trouble Justifying

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

I'm currently writing this in my dressing gown with a huge mug of mocha, watching Leeds from my window on the 17th floor. Isn't life peachy?

 

There are some products that I turn to time and time again when it comes to High End, and even though they don't always make it into my ride or die everyday makeup bag, I have no trouble justifying the $$$ I spend on them. Sure, the drugstore has a lot of gems that I would never stray away from (maybe that can be a future post, who knows), but isn't it a lovely feeling walking away from the luxury counters with a spontaneous purchase? I know this can't just be me.

 



 

My NARS Multiple in 'Orgasm' is immediately what I think of when I try and list my favourite high end products. I use this as a duo cream blush/highlight combo, and the "sheer warm pink with golden shimmer" is absolutely gorgeous in summer, let me tell you. Nothing beats that sleek matte black packaging; gimme all that NARS lovin'. This is £29, but if you're feeling spendy and you want a memorable product, this is your one.

 

When it comes to liquid lips, I am unbelievably picky. If it isn't comfortable, or even slightly drying, then its out of the equation. The Jouer liquid lips are stunning when it comes to formula and shade range - I own two of the metallic shades in 'Snapdragon', which has a whole post over here, and 'Citronade Rose', a beautiful ballet slipper pink. These feel as soft as a cloud (lets just pretend I do actually know what that feels like) and stay put for a good few hours. And £15 is not astronomical for a good quality liquid lip.

 

 

Preeetty sure you've heard me bang on about the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish a couple of times already, but if you haven't heard me say it, listen closely. I know this is typically a face powder, but the medium/dark shade is a lovely light warm bronze for pale skin. £24.50 is a lot to pay for a bronzer, but this is a high end product post, and I wouldn't hesitate to repurchase this. I find that MAC products are usually my favourites when it comes to bronzer/contour *cough* Harmony blusher *cough*.

 

The Urban Decay De Slick setting spray has been a regular in my collection since day one, the early makeup years. I literally wore this in a desert and my foundation didn't slide. Urban Decay, you the real MVP. I bought this mini version recently for £10 and it is the cutest size to pop in your handbag to top up throughout the day.

 

Last but not least, my top find of 2017. Bare Minerals Buttercream Glosses, ILY hunnies. £17 is pricey but believe me, I cannot stress enough the perfection in this formula. I did a whole post about these a couple of weeks back that you can read here, where I sing their praises on a whole new level. I would buy so many of these if money would allow, and have not a single regret. 100% justified, all day every day. 

 

The Bare Minerals Buttercream Lip Glosses || Lip Swatches

 

If there's one beauty find that I've been ecstatic about in the past few months, its definitely the Buttercream Lip Glosses by Bare Minerals. I know what you're probably thinking; there is no way that she can be devoting yet another post to glosses. But here we are, and yes I am. Believe me when I say that these glosses? Life changing.

 

I'd wanted to try these ever since Jaclyn Hill and Kathleen Lights started raving about the shade 'Groovy' (way too light for my liking, but I was obsessed with the idea of a non-sticky, pigmented formula. For those of you who've read my heartfelt dedications to the Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lips, you might recall that that particular formula is the definition of right up my street.) For £17, they aren't the cheapest product, but if you're someone like me who prefers gloss over any other lip category, its well worth a try. I liked the formula so much that I went back and purchased a second shade!



 

The first shade I picked up back in April was 'Flirt' - a beautiful mauve gloss with no shimmer, just high pigmentation and an unreal finish considering that these aren't sticky, at all. Obviously, the universal lip gloss rule still applies, if it's a windy day, don't wear your hair down and pop this on and hope to avoid chaos. It is a gloss, after all. The formula is thick and long wearing, and the colour pay off is so beautiful. I'm not sure how well the paler shades would look (I'm not a fan of the milky lip gloss look), but they've got rave reviews from high profile gurus, so I would probably be assured in the fact that they look just as lovely as the darker shades I chose.

 

The second shade I bought was a bit of a risk considering I usually stick to mauves and brown nudes; 'Heartbreaker' is a dark pink, a step up from the traditional mauve but not yet gravitating into hot pink territory. And surprisingly, its my favourite. It makes my lips look healthy and hydrated, whilst being one of the prettiest pink glosses I've ever laid eyes on. The only thing that doesn't deliver with this product is the "subtle vanilla scent", which must be hella subtle, because I'm just not getting it. It would have been nice to get a buttercream scent that lives up to the name, but we can't fight all battles at once.



 

I would highly recommend these, even when taking the price into consideration. As always, the quality of Bare Minerals packaging is 10/10, and if you leave the disappointing scent out of the equation, I'd give the glosses that score to match. They definitely rival my Colourpop favourites; currently on my makeup shelf at university I have all my essential glosses lined up, and the Bare Minerals/Colourpop combo is all that I need. I know without a doubt that these babies are going to make it into my 2017 roundup.

 



Flirt, Heartbreaker