Most Used Makeup Products

So I thought I would do a post on my 'Most Used/Everyday' makeup products as I get asked by friends, work colleagues etc about what products I use. These products are what I use every time I do my makeup and what I basically couldn't live without. I use these products to achieve my everyday makeup look but do obviously use other and more products for say if I was going out.

 

Smashbox Primer Water & Benefit Porefessional

I always start with a primer when doing my makeup, this step is something I never forget and personally feel that this changes the way your makeup looks. Primers create the base for your face which is very important in helping your makeup last and preparing the face for foundation. I do own a few primers but my two favourites at the moment are the Smashbox Primer Water & Benefit Porefessional as seen in the picture above. The Smashbox primer costs £20.00 and you can get it online and in Boots. This primer is very refreshing and feels amazing when you spray it on your face, this can also be used as a setting spray or you can spritz this on your face throughout the day to refresh and maintain your makeup. The Benefit Porefessional is the best primer for filling in any pores you have and evening out your skin. I personally use this on the area around my nose and inner cheeks and sometimes on my chin. This primer costs £24.50 and can again be purchased online and in Boots. I would say this is one of Benefits best makeup products and definitely worth purchasing. 



Dior Skin Star Foundation, Loreal True Match Foundation & Beauty Blender

After applying primer I next move on to Foundation, I would say Foundations have to be one of my favourite makeup products. My holy grail, ride or die 'ha' foundation has to be L'Oreal True Match. I love this foundation!!!! It may well be that this foundation just works well on myself but I highly recommend it and at only £10.00 think it is well worth the money. This foundation leaves such a nice finish and I love that you can build it up to how much coverage you want but I would say it is medium/high coverage on its own. My other foundation which I am using at the moment is Dior Skin Star Foundation, this one is more expensive at £32.50 but again is an amazing foundation. This can also be built up to what coverage you like and leaves a satin finish. 

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer & Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer



Three of my favourite primers are the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, this costs £22.00, the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer which costs £7.99 and the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer which is £17.50. The concealer I use the most often is the Maybelline concealer and I cant fault it. I don't use these concealers for covering blemishes etc as they are too light to match my skin once I appy my foundation, these concealers I use to highlight. I use these under my eyes to brighten usually in a downwards triange shape, on my forehead between my brows and again up into a downward trainge shape and finally a small amount on my chin. The reason I use this in all three areas is to even out the highlight, if you were to use it say only under your eyes this would make this area a lot brighter than the rest of your face, which is what we want but I like to even out my face by applying it on other areas.   



Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz & Eyebrow Setting Gel

 

Eyebrows, where do I start .. My favourite, favourite eyebrow pencil is Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, I'm sure a lot of people have heard of this as it is amazing! This costs £15.50 and you can purchase it online at Cult Beauty, Beauty Bay and Sephora, unfortunately this is not available to buy in store. I also love her brow gel to set my eyebrows, I'm currently using the Tinted Brow Gel which costs £16.50, this is perfect for setting your eyebrows.

Morphe Brushes Jaclyn Hill Palette

I currently use the Morphe Brushes Jaclyn Hill Favourites Eye Shadow palette at the moment, I find myself reaching for this palette every time I do my eye shadow. This palette includes 28 shadows which are highly pigmented and very blendable, and it only costs around £20.00. Unfortunately I think this was limited edition so is not available to purchase anymore, but Morphe Brushes sell loads of eye shadow palettes which are very similar and the shadows are available to purchase individually. I've already got my eye on another palette! 

Make Up Geek Eye Shadows and Large Z Palette

Some of the best eye shadows out there definitely have to be Makeup Geek Eye Shadows, these are very pigmented, blend amazing and have a huge colour range. I purchased these earlier this year after eyeing them up for about 2 years ha. These are available to purchase online at MakeupGeek.Com and shadows costs around £4.00 - £7.00, they are way better quality than Mac and less than half the price, I can't recommend them enough. This is an American brand so you will have to get these shipped and you will be charged for this but it is not too much. I also purchased a Z Palette with my eye shadows which cost £14.00, this palette holds 27 shadows and is a perfect way to store your eye shadows. 

Mac False Lashes Mascara & Eyelash Curler

I currently use a pair of eyelash curlers I've had for years, I feel any pair will do in all honesty and you can pick these up at Boots, Superdrug and any beauty stores. My current favourite mascara is Mac False Lashes Mascara, this retails at £19.00 and I've been loving it. I only have the small tester one which came with a recent Mac purchase but I am going to buy this.



Mac Miner 'Give Me Sun' Bronzer & 150 Large Powder Brush

I currently love MAC's 'Give Me Sun' bronzer, I use this bronzer every time I do my makeup as I love the colour. I feel I suite more warm toned bronzers than cool tones and this one is perfect as it is very warm toned. This costs £24.00 and can be purchased at any MAC stores and online. I use this with the Mac 150 Large Powder Brush which is perfect for bronzing up the skin. This brush costs £34.50 (yes MAC brushes are expensive), I use this on the top of my forehead, temples and in the hollows of my cheeks. You can contour with this powder but a contour/shaping powder is better to use.

 



Laura Mercier Face Illuminator & Sigma Tapered Kabuki F86 Brush

 

One of my favourite highlighters is Laura Mercier Face Illuminator, this costs £31.00 and can be purchased online and in store at Space NK. The highlighter itself is so pretty and I loved the swirly design so had to have it. I use the Sigma Tapered Kabuki F86 brush to apply this to the top of my cheek bones, end of my nose and the top of my lip. You can basically apply highlighter everywhere the more the better, in my opinion! This brush costs £16.00, way cheaper than MAC and just as good quality!



Mac 'Soar' & 'Boldly Bare' Lip pencil  & 'Honeylove' Lipstick 

 

My favourite lipstick at the moment is MAC's Honeylove, this lipstick is the perfect nude colour and I love it, this costs £15.00 and leaves a matte finish. I pair this with MAC's Soar and Boldly Bare lip pencils which cost £12.50.   

Ben Nye Banana Powder & Sigma Tapered Highlighter F35 Brush

Setting your under eye concealer, now not everybody does this and by all means you don't need to, but it is a step that I personally like to do. My favourite product for this is the Ben Nye Banana Powder, I believe this cost me around £20.00, I'm not aware of anywhere in the UK that you can purchase this in store but you can get it online. I bought mine on a holiday in America so was lucky to get this then as it is an American brand. This powder is a yellow powder which is best to use when setting your under eyes as this helps to brighten them which is what every girl wants. I use the Sigma Tapered Highlighter brush to do this as it fits perfect under my eye and is nice and soft. This brush costs £16.00 and can be purchased on SigmaBeauty.com.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray & Mac Fix Plus Spray

Setting sprays .. once you use them you will never look back! I didn't always use a setting spray until about 6-8 months ago and now I love them. My two favourites are Urban Decay All Nighter which costs £21.00 and MAC Fix Plus which costs £17.00. I use these sprays to set my makeup once finished, trust me it does make a huge difference. These sprays help to keep your makeup in place and help any powders you apply to sink into the skin and blend. You can also use these to freshen up your makeup throughout the day. The MAC fix plus is also good for making your eye shadows more pigmented, spray this onto your brush before picking up the eye shadow and the colour pay off is 10x better.

Mac Brush Cleanser & No7 Makeup Brush Cleanser

I hold my hands up, I'm not the best at cleaning my makeup brushes all the time but I do try. Makeup brushes should be deep cleaned at least once a month and then spot cleaned once a week I would say, this is of course depending on how dirty they are. I use the MAC Brush Cleanser and No7 Brush Cleanser to clean my makeup brushes. I use a small container and paper towel to clean my brush by swirling the brush in the liquid, wiping on a paper towel and then I lay them to dry on my dressing table with the brush head hanging off so that the brush can dry better. The No7 Brush Cleanser costs £8.00 and the MAC Brush Cleanser is £12.00.
 



Sigma Tapered Blending E40 Brush, Sigma Pencil E30 Brush & Mac 219SE Brush

 

Three brushes I honestly could not live without have to be the Sigma Tapered Blending E40 Brush (£11.00), the Sigma Pencil E30 Brush (£10.00) and the Mac 219SE Brush (not sure on price as was part of a holiday collection). The E40 is hands down my favourite eye shadow brush every, I feel as long as I have this brush I can always create a nice eye look. This brush is perfect for blending shadow into the crease and can be used to dust shadow on the lid also. When doing my makeup I always use this brush to blend a transition colour (light brown) into my crease and tend to wear just this on a daily basis. The Sigma Pencil brush and Mac brush are very similar as they are both pencil brushes, I use the Mac brush to highlight my brow bone and place eye shadow in my tear ducks, I use a shimmery shadow for this.  I use the Sigma brush to blend shadow under my eye close to my bottom lashes.