Winter manages to suck all the life out of my skin, so in order to avoid looking too ghostly when I'm at my palest, adding a touch of cheek colour becomes an ever more important step in my makeup routine at this time of year. Currently, I have five favourite blushes that I flit between using, depending on my mood and the look I'm going for. As you can see, I tend to wear warmer red, rose and peach tones during A/W, rather than softer pinks which I reserve for spring and summer.
Back in the day, I was just as crazy about MAC as every other beauty-obsessed teen. I'd spend any extra cash I had on attempting to squeeze the entirety of my local counter into my makeup drawers. Since then, my fixation with the brand has calmed significantly and, as a result of giving other brands some attention, I'm now left with a ton of neglected products. But, there is a handful of gems that I still adore and reach for on the regular. I may get frustrated at the constant flipping and changing of their prices, but MAC will forever remain one of my most-loved brands, so here are my top picks of their products.
Some months I struggle with cobbling together a post full of favourites and then others, my picks are glaringly obvious and it's a complete doddle. This time around, it's the latter. The past month was one of the busiest I've had for a while and it felt like I was away more than I was at home. With all that travelling, my makeup bag was stuffed with the same line-up for the whole month and, the new products that I did try, happened to make the cut into my monthly edit immediately after giving them a go.
Usually, I switch up my makeup on a daily basis, choosing different products to cater to my change in mood, the weather or how my skin is feeling. Falling into bad habits recently, the cooler climate has made me want to stay in bed past my regular, 7am wake-up call, so I haven't had as much time to rifle through my collection every morning. Instead, I've filled my makeup bag with a variety of staple products and, for once, I've been happy to stick with them for longer than a week.
Who wants to waste any precious minutes of a chilled Sunday, by spending hours in front of the mirror, piling on a tonne of makeup? Not me. Unless I'm having a make-up free day, wearing my comfiest pjs and embarking on a Netflix marathon, then I want fuss-free, five minute routine, full of products that do all the hard work for me. But, I have a few rules. No liquid foundation. No contouring. No bold lipsticks. All I want is a fresh complexion, bright, defined eyes and a flush of colour on the cheeks and lips.
I'm Alice and I'm a shopaholic, especially when it comes to beauty products. One of my favourite things to do is to hit the aisles of Boots and peruse the premium counters in department stores, searching for new additions to my collection. But, as much as I can't wait to get my hands on the waves of never-ending new releases, I have a selection of trusty ol' favourites that I'd be lost without. If I've repurchased a product, that speaks volumes about how much I rate it, so here's five makeup must-haves that I need to have in my stocks at all times.
After wearing thicker foundations, darker eyeshadows and berry lips for the past, six months, I'm so excited to pare my makeup back and give myself a fresher, glowing look. Spring makeup is all about radiant skin, rosy cheeks and some brighter hues and I've found a great selection of affordable products to deliver just that.
I always think that A/W is my favourite half of the year, until Spring arrives. What's better than the crisp air, warming sunshine and beautiful dainty flowers appearing everywhere? Unable to wait before cracking out the pinks and pastel-tones, my berry lipsticks and navy nail polishes have already been shunned to the back of my collection. Soft dewy makeup is what I'm currently loving and my March favourites include some products that help to create that fresh glow that everyone's after.
When I spotted the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes, I was immediately drawn in, and after swatching up a storm, I took three of the six in the range to the till. I'm well and truly a sucker for marbled powders, so how could I resist? Just look at them! As soon as I laid eyes on them, I was instantly reminded of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes and it turns out that they're the ideal, drugstore dupe. Not only do they look practically identical, with the beautiful, swirled effect, but the soft-focus, lustrous finish is similar, too. I do still prefer the Hourglass formula as it's very hard to beat, but these make a great, cheaper option.
Nars do limited-edition palettes like no-one else and they have a hold on me. Fretting that I may miss out on the opportunity to get my paws on one, as each release is bound to be a sell-out, I practically sprinted to Space NK to pick up their latest, the Nars Virtual Domination Cheek Palette. Oh boy, it's a beauty!
The Benefit Box Powders have been around since I can remember, with the original, Dandelion, featuring in the magazine beauty charts regularly, hailed as a celebrity favourite. Since then, there's been an influx of new shades for us to lust after. I may not have fallen for them all, but I have built up a modest collection and definitely get my moneys worth of use out of them. It's rather rare for me to actually finish an entire blush compact, but this has happened with a couple of the Benefit box powders and, yes, I did repurchase.
The latest release from Soap & Glory, the Sexy Mother Blusher Blush Sticks hit the shelves just in time for Summer. Nice move, S&G. I've loved pretty much every makeup product I've tried from the brand and these cream blushes are no different.
