I’ll be the first to admit that I have far too much make up than I even need for freelancing never mind just for myself but, just like everyone else I like to keep my daily makeup bag simple. A few products that will change your make up from day to night, from office drab to party glam in a matter of minutes. These products I have in my make up bag are products that I can use without a bigger mirror, making them great for easy and quick application!
Foundation
I always carry a sample of my current foundation with me as it’s smaller than carrying the full product and more convenient. The next time you are in a store buying your foundation, ask nicely for a sample alongside your purchase for handiness. Not all counters sample as is their policy, so pop into Boots or Superdrug and buy a small jar, normally located in the Holiday Travel area and fill it up from your own just in case. This can come in so handy, drinks after work with the girls? Surprise date night from a loved one? More realistically I use it when I spill sauce down my face from eating something. Either way, makes for quick and easy touch ups! My go to foundation at the minute is Yves Saint Laurent All Hours £33.50, beautiful foundation and you need very little so will last you ages.
SHOP HERE
Powder
I am a lover of face powder but have yet to find the perfect one to suit me. I am currently bouncing around a few powders but in my makeup bag to bring around with me I tend to bring more afforadable powders. I have a habit of dropping them, so when I drop one that’s more affordable then it doesn’t hurt my soul as much. I once dropped my Estee Lauder Doublewear Powder £35 down the stairs and I swear, the sound I made only dogs could have heard. My favourite drug store powder is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder £3.99 and is never far from my makeup bag. There is no makeup look that can’t be solved by a puff of powder and a lick of lipstick! Plus, powder you can throw on without even looking so there’s not even any need to run to the loos.
SHOP HERE
http://www.boots.com/rimmel-stay-matte-pressed-powder-10097901
Multi Use Palette
Whether you are more of a blush person or a bronzer person, pick the palette that’s right for you and small enough that you can keep in your make up bag. My personal favourite is the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Palette, £49. When I feel in the mood to spend a little on myself and treat myself to make up, Charlotte Tilbury is my first stop, pretty much because of the packaging. If highlight and bronzer isn’t your thing then try the Filmstar Bronze and Blush, £60 instead. Both palettes will give you the ability to sharpen any make up look no matter the occasion.
SHOP HERE
http://www.charlottetilbury.com/uk/filmstar-bronze-and-glow.html
http://www.charlottetilbury.com/uk/filmstar-bronze-and-blush.html
Brow Gel
Normally I would have said just a brow pencil or powder however, as of recent I prefer a bushier brow and I love the way a brow gel through the hairs look. After work or before I go out somewhere this is always the last thing I do as it lifts a look and brings it to life. I use the Mac Pro Longwear Brow Gel, £14.50 and so easy and quick to use so a perfect addition to your makeup bag.
SHOP HERE
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123443187599_-1
Eyeliner
Even if I don’t take a make up bag with me I always take an eyeliner. You just never know when the situation calls for a cat eye or a smoky eye. For that reason, I carry both a liquid and a kohl, Mac Eye Kohl Ebony, £14.50 and Kat Von D Tattoo Liner £16. The pencil is best for a quick smoky eye and blend out with your finger, or if you can be bothered then bring a little blending brush in your bag too. Failing that, whip out that Tattoo Liner and cat eye your eyes for an elegant look.
SHOP HERE
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123443932599_-1
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123016001499_-1
LIPS
Whatever lip combo you feel your most sexy in, you have got to have that in your make up bag. Not going to lie, I have a ‘natural’ colour and a more out there colour for days where I don’t know what mood i’ll be in. For me I find it best to have a nude and either a red or a deep brown/plum colour to really amp up a look. As Elizabeth Hurley once said ‘Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.’
SHOP HERE
https://www.rimmellondon.com/en_gb/products/lips/lasting-finish-by-kate-moss
SERUM
I never leave the house without my Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum and I always have a little travel size in my make up bag. Pressing a little of this serum over my make up makes me feel like I can conquer the world. It rejuvenates and re hydrates my skin leaving me with a beautiful glow from within that no amount of highlighter can give you making it a perfect item to add before you head out somewhere.
SHOP HERE
FRAGRANCE
I’m a perfume lover, I am always spritzing myself with my favourites scents and love picking up sample sizes to keep in my make up bag. Currently I have Chloe and a Marc Jacobs fragrance in my bag. Beautiful sweet, fresh smelling to lift your spirits for a last minute night on the town!
And so concludes what’s in my make up bag, I would love to hear from you what you put in your make up bag, and if there’s anything I am missing out on carrying around!
This one is just a serious NOPE for me and my skin which is a shame because I see SO many beauty bloggers and You Tubers rave about this product but for me, it dries me the hell out. When I put my foundation over it, the primer lifts off and then sits patchy over it. My skin is dryer so really I shouldn’t use this for my skin type anyway but whatever, it didn’t work for me and I will not be repurchasing!
Okay, I guarantee this foundation will be someone’s number one go to and it is so hard to get the perfect foundation but this one is so far away from perfect I could feel my skin cry. It gave me pores and lines I didn’t even know I had. I really tried with this one, I actually used the whole bottle trying to make it work but it just wasn’t happening. Every time I wore it, it ended up seriously chalky. Coverage wise it ended up blotchy too, but it was deceiving because it looked great for the first half hour and then turned to shit.
I KNOW. I only bought this because every beauty blogger I watch uses it. This powder I don’t mind as much but it doesn’t last long on me at all. I bought it originally to ‘bake’ with, which was fine but it sucks so much moisture out of my skin that it makes me look even dryer than I already am. I would repurchase if there weren’t so many other great powders out there that I already have.
. Sorry to come for Benefit again, this one is just purely personal preference because I prefer a warm toned bronzer and this is probably the most cool toned bronzer I have ever used. In saying that, I don’t mind it as a contour shade but for the amount of times I actually contour it wouldn’t be worth repurchasing. I actually don’t like the packaging either, I always find that when I get to the end of my Benefit blushers I dig around the outside and lift too much product and it doesn’t go on nicely, you know?
Not specifically this one, but all cream blush sticks ever. I hate them. All of them. I can’t get to grips with these products to be used over foundation, etc. Also, I myself am pretty familiar with how make up works but to a regular person this is definitely a ‘lie in drawer and never wear’ kind of product. I have tried blush sticks over and under powder, on their own with and without foundation and I just hate them. Sorry. Although ‘Beach Stick’… I like the name.
loved this product when it first came out, it was revolutionary and while I was on the thick instagram brow trend this product was brilliant. Since ABH came out with this, there have been so many dupes released and it just so happens that they are better. The ABH pomade goes dry after it’s been open awhile and can be hard to spread out so because there are so many other affordable products that are in my opinion better, that’s why it’s on this list. For those interested, my favourite dupes of this are Make Up Revolution Eye Brow Pomade and the NYX Tame and Frame Tinted Brow Pomade.
Sooo, I will not be buying the other palettes (1,2 and 3) as well but not because I regret buying them. They were absolutely amazing at the time, amazing for when I was just starting out doing make up. As I have progressed in make up and learned more things and tried more brands I have just found that for the money I can get a lot more. The Smoky Palette however, I just couldn’t do anything with it. At the time that it came out I think that those who were interested in the Naked palettes could have done a smoky eye with the palettes they already had. To me, this is a waste of money because you don’t need a whole palette just to do a smoky eye. Not only that but the actual pigment in this palette wasn’t very strong and the colours were very hard to blend out and looked like a hot mess rather than a smoky eye.
Kylie Jenner Lip Kits. Oh my God. Oh my God. I just hate these. I am not a huge liquid lipstick fan on the best of days but these ones in my opinion really suck. All liquid lips are drying so aside from that they are always blotchy on my lips, so to get a decent colour I either have to put down a lipstick first in the same colour which – what’s the point? Or I have to put on about 4 layers of the liquid lipstick and that dry AF. On the other hand – colours are lushhh.
Amy Savage 