What Is In My Makeup Bag?

I have been clearing out my makeup box recently, getting rid of all the old or half used products that I no longer reach for regularly.  I thought that I would show you the products that is my core kit to use, some expensive, some cheap!

This is my makeup box.  I got it as a gift one Christmas.  If you have read this blog before you will know that I love anything that is Paris, so this makeup box is perfect for me.  It isn't too large which is helpful in that I do not splurge on makeup, but fits everything that I need.

The first photograph contains all the regular things that I use on my face.  I will list them below.

Foundation: Collection Illuminating Touch £5.99 - Superdrug

This is a new foundation for me.  I have been trying out a few, more expensive versions but this one goes on beautiful and has really nice illuminating quality.

Loreal Paris Lumi Magique Primer - £9.99

I really love this primer.  It goes on lightly and again, gives a really nice luminating quality.  If my skin is looking well, sometimes I just use this with a little powder on top and forego the foundation.

Loreal True Match face powder £6.99

This is a great face powder.  I use a huge brush to apply and a little goes a long way.

Benefit Fake Up Concealer - £18.00

This is really nice concealer that is hydrating and goes on really smoothly.  I use this under my eyes and dotted around my face.  I would recommend letting it set for a couple of minutes before you move on with your routine.

MUA Eyeshadow in Chestnut - £1.00

I use this product for my eyebrows.  I simply use a slightly damp small angled brush and use it to lightly fill in my eyebrows and slightly extend the line.  Far, far cheaper solution than the alternatives on the market!

Rimmel London Rock n Roll Nude from Kate Moss - £6.50 

I originally bought this lipstick as I wanted to try out a different colour from my usual red.  I was not happy with the shade on my lips so at first, it was regulated to the bottom of my make up box.  But then, I remembered a trick that I learnt recently when covering up bruises on my legs.

If you apply a pale pink lipstick over the bruise and then concealer, the bruise disappears.  It is like magic.  Remembering this trick, I wondered if I could use it to help with the occasional dark circles I get under my eyes.

I used the makeup hack this weekend when I was going to a class early on Saturday morning.  I had quite a few comments from people saying how alive and alert I looked.  Believe me, it was just the concealing trick.  I felt like a zombie! 

I would highly recommend it if you get dark circles under your eyes.

This second photograph has the more fun items of my makeup collection.

Benefit Dandelion Powder - £20.83 on sale at LookFantastic at the moment

This is a very well known product.  It is a beautiful rose colour with a slight shimmer that looks wonderful when used as a blusher.  Sometimes I sweep a light dusting all over my face.  It looks great when you have a tan and gives a lovely but subtle shimmer.

Loreal Volume Million Lashes £9.99 & Clinique Chubby Mascara £15.75

I love both of these mascaras.  They give great defination and you can achieve a lovely height with your lashes.

Barry M Natural Dazzle Bronzing Powder

I have had this product a while and upon Googling for the price, it appears that this product is now discontinued.  I really like to use it in the summer months for added colour but I think I may need to buy a new one!

Nars Larger Than Life Longwear Eyeliner £19.00

£19.00 is a lot to pay for an eyeliner, but it is the best that I have ever used.  This is a product I will always buy.  It goes on easily, like a small crayon and once applied, it lasts all day and in some cases when I go out and forget to take my makeup off (oops), all night too!

NYX Illuminator - £9.00

I like this product a lot.  A little goes a very, very long way so be careful when you apply it.  I like to sweep it on the top of my cheekbones and just under the eyebrow to highlight.  This is a great product to use for  night out, but I don't generally use it during the week at work.

MUA Eyeshadow Pallette - £4.00

This pallette has some lovely colours in the brown tone.  It also has a lighter colour which is great for highlighting under the brow,  I like the light browns and the gold tones.  I do not use eyeshadow too much, but this pallette is my go to when I go.

So that is it!  I hoped that you enjoyed the tour around my makeup products.  As you can see, I use products from the very cheap, to mid range and then the more expensive products like Nars.  The thing is, is to find the product that works best for you.  More expensive is not always better.

Do you have any beauty hacks that you use?

Hair Care on a Budget

I have done so many things to my hair over the years.  I have been a blonde, a brunette and a redhead.  I have had very short hair, very long hair and everything in between.  I am lucky in that I can have my hair straight or curly, but the thing about all these different hairstyles and hair colours is that it can do damage to your hair.

I have had colour in my hair since I was around 15 and straightening irons have been a major part of my life for years.  Although my hair is very thick, it can be coarse and in summer for reasons that I do not understand, my hair falls out everywhere.  Good job I have a lot of it!

Here are some of the styles I have had over the past couple of years.

Hair care is so important.  There is a misconception that you have to spend a fortune on your hair products in order to maintain healthy hair, but it simply isn't true.  The important thing is to spend wisely and in the right places.

For shampoo and conditioner, I go to the pound shop.  Now I have always (stupidly) turned my nose up at things from the pound shop, but the truth is, you can get some great products for, surprising haha, a pound.

You still get your named brands, the only difference is that they buy them in when the expiry date is running out.  With things like shampoo and conditioner that you replace every month, that is not an issue.  At the moment I am using coconut oil shampoo and conditioner which is giving my hair a wonderful shine.

For heat protection and styling I use more expensive products, but they are still under £10:

I use the TIGI Catwalk Sleep heat spray to maintain healthy hair when I use my irons which I got from Cloud Nine.  This one is infused with lychee and honeysuckle which prevents moisture loss which is important for my coarse hair.

I also use the TIGI Bed Head Joyride Texturising Powder  This is a primer which you put on prior to using your irons.  It adds texture and grip which makes styling so much easier.

Finally, rather than using an expensive hair mask every month, I buy a thick moisture infusing conditioner, again from the pound shop.  I wet my hair and then apply a ton of it on my hair and then comb through,  I then put a wrap over my hair and sleep in the conditioner overnight.  After washing out the following morning, my hair feels wonderful!

What hair tips do you have on a budget?

Guest Post: Mansplaining

Today I have a guest post from the lovely Nicky of Happy Lippy.  I particularly like her post about that utter cockwomble Mike Pence  Today Nicky is talking about mansplaining.

via GIPHY

“Man Finally Put In Charge Of Struggling Feminist Movement”. Oh yeah, this is a real article headline I found. After reading the article it was clear it was meant to be satire. The thing is...would it shock you to actually see a headline like this? Probably not, it wouldn't shock me anyway.

Despite the fact that it is women who have spent years fighting for the vote, fighting for rape to be illegal even if you're married and demanded reproductive rights. According to some men, we just aren't as good at it as we like to think. When it comes to sex and gender function we are still apparently so inadequate we need a man to explain our inadequacy to us, and what we can then do to work on that.

Despite how many men have kindly reminded me not all men are this badly behaved or ignorant I've learned it really can be any man who decides to enlighten you. 

All it takes is an analytical mind that's not been hampered by the possession of a uterus to remind us how clueless we are about complex concepts. Gender fluidity and social construction of sex are too big for our smaller brains to grasp, alas all us feminists just get distracted with being overly emotional over who won "Legs-it".

Before the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and even Beyonce braved expressing opinions about how someone experiences womanhood, liberal men - convincing themselves that they are allies to both trans people and all women – have been quick to lecture us on the topic. 

Despite the many ways in which woman think feminism should be done, the ultimate goal is to create an inclusive conversation where we can get to the root of systematic behavior that suppresses the ability of women to succeed. Mansplaining is when a man speaks to a woman with the assumption that the she knows less than he does about a given topic, even when it’s painfully obvious that she knows more. Mansplaining only serves to define a certain type of arseholeishness, it undermines men's understanding of the other forms of privilege they may have.

Thinking about the anti-feminist idea that “reverse sexism” is common nowadays, I have heard men throw around the word ‘womansplain’ before and it's the point that if a man can explain something condescendingly, then a woman can as well. Which of course is true! Of course it is. 

But clutching to that argument just ignores the fact that mansplaining was invented to unmask privilege -– the kind of privilege a lot of men assume they have to assume that they are right, that women are wrong, and that it is their duty to explain something to the poor woman who just isn't getting it.

Basically that's the whole foundation for which mansplaining was made: Privilege. But by calling out men for mansplaining, feminists are bringing up a taboo word almost boardering on summoning Voldemort it's that frowned upon.

Okay I'm getting a bit on the ranty side so here is something I hope helps. Some hints and tips for when mansplaining will happen to You, because it had and it will. 

1. If it happens over the internet, you could send them a link to buy the book "Men explain things to me".

2. Explain mansplaining to them! Let's give them the benefit of the doubt for a moment...

3. Question them always.

"Oh, I thought I knew loads about biology because I have a degree in it, but clearly you know more than me. Have you got a Masters?" 

It's always fun undermining their authority.  

Thanks Nicky for a fantastic post!!