Luxury Beauty Edit #2

I've been really big on drugstore products the last couple of months, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of high-end bits making there way into my daily routine, if anything, I'd say about 80% of the products I use day to day are high end, and the majority of my holy grail, go-to products are high end. 

Today I wanted to chat to you about five products that work exceptionally hard in my makeup collection. The go-to products that get used on a near daily basis, but don't get anywhere near enough recognition on this little corner of the internet.

First up, the Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Proof Sheet. This little eyeshadow trio is my go to when I don't know what to use, or when I don't have time to think about it. It's what goes into my makeup bag for weekend trips and time back home, and it's just an all round goodun. The pink champagne shade looks great all over the lid, with the brown taupe shade in the crease, or even along the lash line as liner. The champagne shade is great for highlighting the brow bone and inner corner, but it also doubles as a great cheek highlight if you're travelling light. The shadows are incredibly soft and pigmented, and they stay put on the lids well all day, so you can apply it in the morning and not worry about it all day. 

My current handbag lipstick of choice is MAC Coral Bliss, a beautiful nudey peachy coral lip colour, very appropriate for the beautiful weather we've been having here. Despite definitely being a peach, it seems to go with everythin, and it's a cremesheen formula, so it's super moisturising on the lips.

 Not a day goes by where I don't use the Space NK Cheek Contour Brush, for something. Without a doubt my favourite brush for blush and bronzer, if I lost this I'd buy another one before a single blush application went by. It's that good. It comes in at around £25 so certainly not cheap, but not overly expensive either. It's got fairly coarse natural bristles which are tapered to perfectly fit in the hollows of your cheeks. Because the bristles are thick and coarse, it picks up product really well and disperses it really evenly, but the brush itself is still soft on the skin. It washes really well, and I haven't had any shedding issues at all. Everyone needs one of these. 

I've talked about my favourite setting powder before, but incase you missed it, I'll mention it again. There is nothing more finely milled, more pore blurring, & glow giving than the Chanel Les Beiges Powder. Sets makeup without making your skin look overly matte, and somehow gives you a healthy glow. Plus look how swish the packaging is. Big thumbs up from me. 

And lastly a product I've been using for years now, the YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch 01, a beautiful peachy pink highlighting pen that really corrects my under eye circles, and adds a little glow to the area. It's amazing the difference this makes! I apply this pretty much every day on top of my under eye concealer and it just gets the job done.

What high end products get a lot of love from you?

The Luxury Beauty Edit #1

Sometimes, I just feel the need to indulge in something a little more luxurious. It's no secret that I love my high end products, so today I'm gonna chat about some of the high end products I'm loving right now. 

Marc Jacobs The Lolita Eyeshadow Palette

Ohhhh, be still my beating heart, have you ever seen anything this beautiful? I can't get over the quality of these eyeshadows, they're so soft and buttery, they apply like a dream, and stay on all day. Three matte shades, three shimmer shades and a glittery shade. The shimmer shades all look great across the lid alone, and the glittery shade can transform any look. The three matte shades are great useful shades, a highlight, a crease shade, and a dark shade for deepening the look or using as a liner. I just particularly love the two shimmery shades at the end. Also, the packaging. My heart, oh my heart. 

Lipstick Queen Lipstick in Pink Sinner

I have become completely obsessed with Lipstick Queen lipsticks recently but this is my favourite. The Sinner lipsticks have an incredibly high pigmentation to them, they're creamy and they stay put throughout the day so easily. This shade is my perfect pinky nude, it's got enough colour to it that it doesn't wash me out, but it's still a nude so it kind of goes with everything! 

Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Gloss in Grapefruit

I found this at the back of my stash a few weeks ago and fell in love with it all over again. It's not in the slightest bit sticky, it feels like a lip balm, but it looks like a gloss. This is a pretty sheer pinky gloss that looks great layered over most lipsticks. This is a travel size so it's perfect for chucking in the handbag for on the go! 

Jouer Matte Moisture Tint

The new base love of my life. I genuinely feel like I could throw out every single base and just keep this, and I'd be totally satisfied. Good buildable coverage, smooth matte finish but not too matte, and it wears incredibly well throughout the day. I have the shade Porcelain, there aren't many shades so I was a little worried it wouldn't work, but it's actually perfect. If you haven't tried it, go get it.

What luxury products are you loving right now?

Where to Splurge and Where to Save

With a whole wealth of beauty products out there, from MUA to Tom Ford, it's hard to know where to invest your hard earned cash, and where to save. Because of this blog, the nature of my job, and even to a certain extent the uni I attend, I have had the opportunity to try a whole wealth of products from so many different brands, and it's become glaringly obvious that there are some products worth the splurge, and others that high end brands don't do any better than the highstreet.

Where To Splurge

Skincare - There's no point buying a tonne of expensive makeup, if your skins not looking it's best. There's something to be said for spending good money on your skincare routine, since upping the anti in mine, my skin has never looked better. You don't need to spend a fortune, but look for products with natural ingredients.

Brands to try - Bioderma, Origins, Liz Earle, Trilogy, Aesop.

Primer - Along a similar line to skincare, what's the point in expensive makeup if it's looking worse for wear by 6pm? I'm a big believer in primers, not only do they increase the wear of your makeup, but a good one can also blur imperfections, smooth uneven skin, and create a barrier between your skin and makeup to prevent breakouts. I have yet to find a drugstore primer that's as effective as a high end one, if you have any suggestions please leave them below!

Products to try - Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, Laura Mercier Radiance Foundation Primer.

Foundation - A good base makes the difference between looking okay, and looking incredible. Whilst the highstreet has certainly upped their game on the foundation end in the last year or so, I truly think this is an area still owned by high end brands. There's just something about high end foundations that wins that battle in my opinion. Plus, all the highstreet foundations I do like tend to have a really strong scent, which puts me off massively.

Products to try - Diorskin Nude BB Creme, Chanel Vitalumiére Aqua, YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat, Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation.

Blush - My love affair with blusher has been renewed in recent months. Whilst I do like some highstreet blushers, namely Sleek, Revlon and Soap and Glory, I just find that they've disappeared from my face by lunchtime. I don't ever find that with High end blushes however, they've completely stolen my heart, they all just seem to have incredible staying power!

Products to try - Nars Blushes, Benefit Blushes, Le Blush Creme De Chanel, Bobbi Brown.

Eyeshadow Bases - Eyeshadow base products seems to be something that high street brands haven't really dabbled in much. Whilst Rimmel do have one that I love, on the whole I much prefer higher end offerings, for staying power, increasing shadow pigmentation, and preventing creasing.

Products to try - MAC Paint Pots, Urban Decay Primer Potion.

Eyeshadows - I have a lot of eyeshadows and I've tried a lot of eyeshadows, but to me there's nothing on the high street comparable to the buttery texture, intense pigmentation and blendability of most high end shadows.

Products to try - Urban Decay Shadows, NARS shadows, Stila Shadows, MAC Shadows.

Eyeliners - Whilst I do have a soft spot for the Rimmel Scandaleyes liners, I haven't found anything on the highstreet that stays put as well as some of the high end liners I own, especially on the waterline. You gotta pay good money for lasting power!

Products to try - Smashbox Liners, Urban Decay 24/7 Liners, YSL Waterproof Eye Liners.

Lipsticks - There are brands on the highstreet that do nice lipsticks, but nothing beats luxury lipsticks for me. There are very few high end brands I've tried that don't do incredible lipsticks, they also tend to have shade selections!

Products to try - MAC Lipsticks, Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks, YSL Lipsticks, Chanel Lipsticks, Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colours.

Makeup Setting Sprays - I tried a few of these from the highstreet this summer and they did nothing at all, whereas my high end alternatives are life savers. This is something I don't mind spending on, since they last forever and make a big difference.

Products to try - Urban Decay All Nighter, MAC Fix+.

Where To Save

Concealer -  I've tried a whole wealth of concealers from all over the place, and with the exception of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, I haven't found a single high end concealer without a drugstore dupe that's just as good, if not better.

Products to try - Seventeen Phwoarr Paint Concealer, Maybelline Instant Eye Eraser Concealer, Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer.

Setting Powder - Whilst I'm partial to my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders and Chanel Les Beiges, the drugstore has really upped it's game in the setting powder department recently. Affordable, good, and if they break in your handbag it's not the end of the world.

Products to try - Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder.

Highlighter - Highlighter is a tricky one, I have a good mix of both high end and highstreet highlighters in my collection, and I love them all, but when it comes down to it, I love them all equally, there isn't anything particularly special about the high end ones, the highstreet ones are just as good, so it's worth saving your pennies and going for drugstore this time.

Products to try - Topshop Glow, Revlon Photoready Skinlights, Topshop Sunbeam Powder.

Brows - My three favourite brow related products were all from the highstreet, so this one was easy. I wasn't impressed with the MAC brow pencil, and I found a dupe for the Anastasia Brow Whizz, so drugstore wins this round.

Products to try - Along Came Betty Br-Wow, Maybelline Brow Drama Mascara, Soap and Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil.

Mascara - I'll always love my YSL Shocking Volume Mascara, but the drugstore has so many amazing mascaras you really don't need to fork out on a high end purchase.

Products to try - L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic, Max Factor False Lash Effect, Max Factor Waterproof Masterpiece.

Bronzer - This was another one where I have a good mix of high end and highstreet, and I do love a few high end ones, but there are a few drugstore ones I'm currently hooked on. It can be hard to find a non orangey bronzer in the drugstore but there are a few out there!

Products to try - Soap and Glory Solar Powder, The Body Shop Honey Bronzer, Bourjois Bronzing Primer.

Lipgloss - I never used to be a lipgloss sorta gal, I would never fork out loads of money for a non sticky gloss that wore off after a couple of hours, but now that there drugstore has started appearing with non sticky glosses too, I've gotten a lot more into them.

Products to try - Tanya Burr Lipglosses, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipglosses, L'Oreal Glamshine Splash Stains.

To anyone who's looking for a new product, or building up a makeup collection, I hope this helps!

What products do you like to splurge on?

Worth The Splurge

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have a weak spot for high end products. I can't help it, I think I got worse while I was working for YSL, being surrounded by luxury products all the time does get to you. Having said that, I have tried a lot of high end products that really don't warrant the price tag, so I thought I'd show you some of my favourite picks from the more expensive end of the spectrum.

First up, Blushes. For the most part, I much prefer high end blushes to high street, I just find they last longer and look better on me! Two of my absolute favourites come from NARS and Chanel. In my opinion, NARS just bring it when it comes to blush, they have every colour under the sun, and the formulas are incredible, they last so well on the skin, and are incredibly pigmented, so you only need the tiniest amount. My favourites are Orgasm, Mistinguette and Doucer. I'm not a fan of Chanel powder blushes, they are really chalky and you need a ton of product for any colour payoff, but I do love their cream blushes. I'm not even sure if they are still doing these, but my god they are the best cream blushes I have ever tried. 

Two face powders made the cut, first up, the highly coveted Chanel Les Beiges powder. This is an incredibly finely milled matte face powder that not only smells incredible, but keeps shine at bay all day. I love this because it never looks like you are wearing powder. Plus look at that packaging...*dribbles*. The other high end powder I am obsessed with is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders. I forgot to bring these home with me for the holidays and I already miss them so much. They, again, are incredibly finely milled powders but with varying levels of shimmer and different base tones, so they can be used for setting makeup, as highlights, and adding warmth to the skin. These genuinely make your skin look like it's been lit from within, they are so flattering. 

One base product I had to include is the Diorskin Nude BB Creme. If you read my blog over the summer you'll know I was obsessed with this. It's a lightweight creme with just enough coverage to even out your skin tone, but it makes your skin look like it's naturally perfect. 

In the lipstick department there are two brands that bring it. I love both the Chanel and YSL Lipsticks, they have great pigmentation, stunning colour selections and great staying power. Plus they look so luxurious. 

I'm not one for splurging on nail polish, but the Nails Inc Gel formulas are an exception. Big wide brush, glossy finish, one coat is all you need and the colours are gorgeous.

You don't need any of these products in your life, but if you're looking to treat yourself or someone you love, I'd definitely recommend all of these products.

What are your favourite high end products?