My Favourite Foundation
2017 was the year that I first dabbled with high end foundation. Until very recently I didn’t “see the point” of splashing out on something 4-6 times the price of my favourite high street bases. Eventually this year, curiosity got the better of me and I tried a selection of more expensive options. By far, my favourite of the lot is the Bare Minerals BAREPRO Performance Foundation* - a new liquid innovation form the Bare Minerals brand. It offers a pure formula designed to offer 24 hours of coverage, thanks to a formulation which is water, sweat, heat, humidity and transfer-resistant.
My Favourite Concealer
For me I’ve been all about two concealers this year and nothing changed from the 2016 line-up. First, I use Urban Decay Naked Concealer under the eyes to brighten and conceal the area. I then follow up with the NARS Creamy Concealer under the eyes, but also around the nose and chin. The NARS concealer has a drier and thicker texture, offering a stronger coverage, but in a more matte finish! Together the Urban Decay and NARS duo, give me everything I need! When I need to travel light, I've been using the Too Faced Born This Way Concealer. It gives me a good level of coverage and brightness, but in one very quick application.
My Favourite Powder
Another year may have passed but I’m still obsessed with the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder! It is certainly one of the better powders you can buy, so I love that it’s available on the high street. The Bourjois powder is a perfect match for my skin, what I personally like about this powder is that it's incredibly fine milled, so it does not feel heavy at all. Still it gives you great coverage, sets makeup and keeps shine at bay all day long. Some powders can feel quite drying on the skin, but this is really comfortable. When I’m feeling fancy, I follow the Bourjois Powder, with the Hourglass Setting Powders, which just add a lovely flurry of light to the skin and leave you looking effortlessly diffused!
My Favourite Mascara
Again 2017 was the year of fancy mascaras and I have two this year that I can’t part from! The first is the IT Cosmetics Super Hero Mascara, which I’ve already repurchased twice! The formula aims to give you super volume, length and stretch, using lash-lifting polymers, volumising collagen, strengthening biotin, proteins and peptides combined with extreme black pigment. Just one coat gives you the most beautiful, dramatic lashes, all the way from the root to tip! I have really watery eyes, so I top the IT Cosmetics mascara with the Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara, which is the best waterproof mascara I’ve ever tried. It offers you an intense curl, volume and length – plus it does not budge! I even use this on it’s own from time-to-time, which is saying something, as most waterproof formulations are incredibly lacklustre!
My Favourite Brow Products
Fast forward another year and this Benefit duo still sit firmly at the top of my favourites list! I’ve actually had Benefit's Gimme Brow in my stash for three years (obviously not the same tube) and I’m still obsessed with it – it remains a firm favourite in my collection. Benefit's Goof Proof Pencil is exactly what it says on the tin, it's a bold claim, but Benefit say that this is the easiest brow filling and shaping pencil yet! It’s actually a double ended pencil - on one end you have a spoolie-brush and under the other spectacular lid you're greeted with a non-sharpen pencil. The pencil is a diamond shape, which is slightly skinner on the top than the bottom. This means you have a thicker end to do the bulk of your brow and a skinny tip to do some more precise work. The pencil itself is quite soft and it glides on to your brows with ease.
My Favourite Blush
This year I tried a lot of blushers and I really enjoyed switching things up a bit! Last year I gave first place to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush and this year I’m not swaying far from that! I’ve been loving the Hourglass Ambient Strobing Blush, which essentially mixes similar coloured blushers, with Hourglass’ famous strobing powder formula. It means that you get a beautiful colour on the cheeks, which is underpinned by such a fabulous glow! I have to give an honourable mention to the Mary Kay Baked Blusher, which gives the same gorgeous finish, but is packaged in a stunning heart design – what’s not to love?!
My Favourite Bronzer
This year I officially hit pan on TWO of the NARS Laguna Bronzers! I have to say that this has never happened so quickly before, but I found myself hitting pan really quickly and then the rest of the pan cracking into a million different pieces. It leads me to believe that they’ve slightly changed the formula, or they are being stored differently, which is altering the texture. That being said, I still love the product and I think it’s second to none when it comes to bronzers. It’s a beautiful pigmented powder, but it’s the perfect colour for lighter skintones. It’s completely matte, which means you can apply as much or as little as you like – and not end up looking like a glitter ball. Hurrah!
My Favourite Highlighter
I’m ever so fickle when it comes to highlighters – I swap and change what I’m using like the wind, as I simply have so many to get through! One of my favourite releases of the year were the Too Faced Love Light Highlighters, which have a gorgeous design featuring a heart-shaped compact. What’s lovely about these is that the colour is completely buildable, moving from something light touch, to something that can really build up for a wow factor!
My Favourite Lip Product
As soon as the Clinique Chubby Sticks were released, I was immediately obsessed. I always picked up the free samples in magazines, stalking the shades I didn't already have. When the Clinique Crayola lineup was released last year and I couldn't resist treating myself! I picked up the crayon box with all the shades and I’ve actually been doing a good job at rotating around all the shades. However, I have to say that Melon is up there with some of my favourites – I love that it’s a sheer wash of colour that you can apply on-the-go.
My Favourite Single Eyeshadow
I really didn’t have many single eyeshadows in my collection this year, but I had to give a shout out to the Illamasqua Metallic Powder Eyeshadows. Available in three shades which cover the three most common metals Hoard (a golden hue), Enchantment (a silver hue) and Superstitions (a bronze hue). This means you can use them alone, or combine them for more depth across the eye. It’s no surprise that these Metallic Eyeshadows are super pigmented – making them super impressive!
My Favourite Liquid Eyeshadow
The Stila magnificent metals glitter & glow liquid eyeshadows are literally glitter eyeshadows in a pot and they literally became my 2017 obsession! In fact, if you managed to catch me not wearing one of the many shades, you’ve probably seen me feeling a little bit daring! Inside each of the square tubes you find a dazzling, long-wearing liquid, with the most crazy, pigmented eyeshadow. The glitter inside is a mixture of pearl and glitter, in lots of different sizes, which allows you to achieve a really spectacular sparkle. The formula is actually very light-weight as it’s water-infused, which allows it to dry quickly on the lid. I simply swipe this onto my eyelid, blend it out with a fluffy brush and I’m good to go. Did I mention that EVERYTIME I wear these I get loads of compliments – instant winner for me!
My Favourite Beauty Tool
For me, this last year was all about discovering the beautyblender! Yes, it’s been around for twenty years, but it took me twenty years to discover and appreciate it’s beauty. It’s completely transformed my makeup routine and some other tools that I considered “perfect” have been shunned to the side lines. You simply ‘bounce’ the wet beautyblender onto the skin to distribute the product. Meaning that you get a beautiful flawless finish on the skin, with your foundation looking basically undetectable – genius!
