Daily makeup routine

My makeup routine changes very often, I like to try new products until I'm sure I have what works the best and then wait a little bit until new things come out and continue my search. My school makeup routine would comprise of mineral foundation/tinted moisturiser, concealer, blush and Lush Snow Fairy lip tint.

Things I use often

Weekends and holidays are usually a lot more elaborate.
1. Prime. An important step in my makeup routine. Priming keeps anything that you apply to your face in place and decreases shine, it also creates a smooth canvas for foundation to glide over. I have been using Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer lately and I'm loving it, because it's a liquid mineral primer it feels really interesting when you apply it, also really hard to describe. It hasn't irritated my skin so far and it neutralises a lot of discolouration and makes my foundation look even more luminous. So I dot it on my face, not much, probably one or two dots per face section, eg. left cheek, right cheek, forehead, nose, chin; and rub it in so that it covers my entire face. I then wait for it to sink in and set a bit, while I'm waiting I would apply an eye primer to the lid and underneath the eye to keep concealer and shadows from creasing. I've been using Smashbox Photo Finish lid primer, not sure how I feel about this one, it gets the job done, but I'm sure there are better ones out there (I will soon be trying the Urban Decay Primer Potion that so many people love).

2. Foundation. I enjoy playing with different foundations, so I usually do full foundation when I go out on weekends. Right now I'm trying out NARS Sheer glow and loving it so far. I also dot it on two to three dots per face section and blend it in with the Sigma F84 brush, this is my current favourite brush for foundation, it creates an air brushes finish and doesn't absorb product.

3. Concealer. I apply it with my fingers and blend it under my eyes, around my nose and on any blemishes. I'm using Maybelline Fit Me concealer right now, but I don't really like it, I think I'll go back to the Lancome Effacernes concealer.

4. Blush. Loving benefit tint/blushes at the moment, probably because it's so damn hot and I don't like to have heaps of powder on my face when I'm going to sweat it off, so cheek tints works much better. I apply a few swipes on the apples of my cheeks and blend outward with my fingers. I also like that I don't have to wash brush when I use these blushes.

5. Eyeshadow. I've been enjoying using a pearly yellow/white colour as a base and then a soft brown in the crease lately, but I usually like to go more dramatic if it's the weekend because I can't experiment with eyeshadows during the week. So I would apply a base colour of my choosing, for example, a soft pink, then blend a much darker mauve-y pink into the crease and maybe darken it more with MAC Carbon or an even darker pink. Then apply MAC Blanc Type with a fluffy brush on the brow bone and blend out harsh lines. And apply a highlight colour to the brow bone, I like Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Tattle Tale.

6. Eyeliner. I nearly always use a gel/cream eyeliner, I like the control the brush gives you and the range of colours that they come in. I really like MAC Fluidlines, but haven't tried many others, so I still need to try some before I can say which is my favourite. For the pink eyeshadow, I would use a brown eyeliner, so it's not too harsh, or you can use purple if you like. So apply a thin line across the eye and maybe wing it out slightly or thicken it at the outer corner. I use Benefit Get Bent liner brush, but I like to use a thin, dense painters brush as well.

7. Mascara. Pretty self explanatory, curl your lashes, apply mascara. My current favourite waterproof (it has been raining so goddamn much lately) mascara is the Bloom Full & Flirty Waterproof mascara. After using that I comb them with a lash spooly. And my favourite non-waterproof is Benefit BadGal Plum (as you can tell, I quite enjoy Benefit products), it looks really good with green or blue eyes and makes the whites of the eyes appear whiter and brighter.

8. Brows. Since I've dyed my hair, I fill in my brows if I'm going out. I use a brownish colour (Mudpie by Lily Lolo) that is similar to the hair surrounding my face and fill them in with the angled brush from EcoTools, starting from the centre and working to the tail, then using the leftover on the brush at the innermost part.

Tada! Done! Happy, fun times and partying now.