Everyday Essentials

Hey Guys,

I thought I would do a post on what I use for my 'everyday' make-up. That's if I choose to wear make-up, as I love going make-up free as much as possible. So this post will include some staples in my make-up bag especially for the upcoming summer months.

If you read my blog regularly, you should know by now that I love a dewy and glowing look, and the products I use for my base reflect this. For my skincare routine click here but for everything else keep reading. Once moisturised, I have been applying The Body Shop Instaglow CC cream in Peachy Glow. This is the perfect corrector for my skin and also contains SPF20 which is a bonus. It seems to even out my skin tone and gives me that glow I love. I also apply the NYX Dark Circle Concealer in Medium under the eyes. If I feel my skin needs that extra coverage I tend to apply MAC Face and Body foundation. This foundation is very light weight and perfect for that 'no make-up' look. It's the perfect foundation if you don't have problematic skin. I don't usually set my foundation with powder as I like to emphasise the dewiness. I make sure I brush the foundation over the under-eye area too and then conceal using Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in shade 20. You may have heard about this concealer before but I can't emphasise enough how fab this product is. It is the perfect creamy texture and gives very good coverage!

When it comes to eyebrows I'm a total 'Benebabe'! I love my Benefit brow products. I use the Goof Proof Brow Pencil in 5 and it's just so easy. The shape of the pencil is a diamond so you get one really sharp side for outlining and then a slightly wider side for filling the brows. It's self sharpening, you simply twist it up, and it also has a spoolie on the other end to keep those brows tamed. I set my brows with the Ready, Set, Brow Gel as they have a habit of falling downwards. This stuff is strong. They don't budge all day, which leaves me feeling great, as I am kind of lost without my brows!

Moving onto the eyes, at the very least I will curl my lashes and apply mascara. But the question is which mascara?? Long gone are the days where I literally had one mascara and would replace it when I was finished. I now have about five but I tend to go for L'oreal Miss Manga when I want a bit of drama as it adds a lot of volume, or Lancome Hypnose when I want a more natural fluttery look.

For blush, I can't stop using my L'oreal Infallible Blush Paint Palette in Ambers. It has every colour I need for whatever mood I'm in. It made an appearance in my Spring Favourites post (click here) and I haven't stopped using it since! It smells amazing too. My everyday highlight is always Mary-Lou Manizer from The Balm Cosmetics. Actually this was just my everything highlighter until Huda Beauty's 3D highlight palette came out (click here for post). However now I tend to use it more for everyday! It's the perfect gold and suits my skin tone so much. I love that it's not too obvious.

Finally, we come to the lips. My favourite lip pencil that I use most regularly is Spice by MAC. I always apply Sebamed SPF 30 Lip Defence to the lips. It contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil and just leaves your lips soft and ready for whatever you want to put on top. Most of the time I wear this on it's own and blend the liner into the lip for a super natural look. However, when I want a bit of colour on top, I love wearing L'oreal Infallible Lip Laquer in Gone. It gives a really natural looking finish on my naturally darker lip tone. Occasionally I will set my make-up depending on how long my working day is going to be. I really like the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day Setting Spray, as your make-up really does last all day. That and it smells beautiful! They have a whole range of scents too. It just finishes of the make-up routine perfectly.

I also just want to touch on brushes. For my everyday day make-up I always use Real Techniques. There's something about these brushes that oozes good quality and they're decently priced. I use the expert face brush to apply foundation, the contour brush for contour or highlight and their blush brush for blusher. These are a great set to start with and will last you a very long time!

It's actually quite surprising to see all these products together as I didn't realise quite how much I am applying to my face! These are all products I have used almost daily and would highly recommend. Feel free to comment or ask any questions below.

Amina xx