The lover of all things avant-garde and glitter in me desperately wishes this post contained some terrifically exciting make-up, but I’m afraid, on this occasion, it’s all a bit prosaic because over the past few months doing my face has mostly been reduced to a five minute routine consisting of tidying and then quickly choosing a feature to up the ante on slightly.
And it’s had to be like that, to be quite frank – I’m often running late and never quite get round to finishing my make-up before I leave the house. I’ve now got these looks down now, so once I’ve done skin and brows, I can just do the rest on the tube or in a cab.
If you’re after recommendations of make-up, these are all brilliant and I have really put them through their paces. They wouldn’t have remained a permanent fixture in my make-up bag for so long unless I was truly impressed with their performance //
Base / SPF (ALWAYS) + L’Oreal Glow Pro Foundation. Annoyingly you can only buy it online, but as a shade indication, I use 205 mixed with 202 and somewhere in the middle is my perfect shade (I usually mix two or more foundations for the right shade and finish). The finish is, as the name suggests, glowing but not greasy. It has decent staying power and is unifying with moderate coverage, but you still need spot stuff – and freckles will show though (this I love). Where I need to cover redness, I use Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in shade 03. I powder on my t-zone and around my chin with Jurlique Rose Silk Finishing Powder.
Face Colour / Bronzer: Guerlain Terracotta Light in 03 Brunettes swirled across my nose and around the edges of my face to mimic having caught the sun. Blush: mostly been Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic in Pillow Talk (out next month) or Nars Orgasm both applied to apples of cheeks.
Highlighter / Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighter in Kitten or RMS Living Luminizer applied with fingers, blended by patting. If I’m in a real hurry, I swipe whichever one I’m using across eyelids too and just add mascara.
Eyes / I’ve mostly been using Bobbi Brown’s Nude on Nude Eye Palette in the Bronzed Nudes edition, or Tom Ford Cream and Powder Eye Color in Naked Bronze. I’ll either use the darker hues as a liner, or use a fluffy brush to apply shadow up to my crease line and cup a little around the outer corner of my eye.
Eyeliner / If black: Trish McEvoy Gel Eyeliner, if brown: Clarins Intense Kohl in 02 Brown. I use both on top of my eyes and the Trish one in my waterline – the Clarins one is a bit dry to go in my waterline, so I generally use it as I have done in the below picture.
Brows / Only one product has beefed up my brows of late: Suqqu Balancing Eyebrow applied with a slanted brush (the Laura Mercier one is brilliant) and then fixed in place with the Lord & Berry clear brow gel.
Mascara / Smashbox Superfan and Bobbi Brown Smokey Eyes Mascara. Both brilliant, former offers more of a fan, latter more bulk.
Lips / Mostly I’ve been wearing Charlotte Tilbury American Sweetheart, which is a nude with a hint of pink and looks great with a smokey eye. Otherwise, I’ve also liked Burt’s Bees Lip Shimer in Apricot for a subtle, hydrating peach. If I’m wearing red, it’s mostly Chanel Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur in Corail. If hot pink, it’s Tom Ford Flamingo.