A/W Makeup Edit

Now that we're fully into autumn - complete with rainy days and the occasional hail-storm - my makeup requirements have changed yet again. Typical - I had my 'everyday autumn look' all planned out but predictably some things didn't work out as I'd hoped, while other (shiny and new) products have been springing up all over the place, luring me in with their introductory offers and pretty packaging (I'm looking at you, Bourjois). So once again I've come to something of a makeup limbo, in which I've been using (and  loving) lots of different products but haven't yet settled into an everyday routine. (Once I do, don't worry, you guys will be the first people I tell). In the meantime, I'll try to keep this short and sweet because we have a lot to cover...

Base

Since purchasing the Bobbi Brown tinted moisturising balm (in Light/Medium) back in September I've been trying to figure out how best to use it for my skin type. There's no real rule with this one, it can be a moisturiser or a foundation depending on how dry/mature your skin is and the finish you're after. For me, applied alone as a moisturiser this is way too rich (the sales assistant did try to warn me but I'd fallen too deeply in love with the product to care), and applied like a foundation with the Real Techniques buffing brush (which was plan A) it still leaves me looking rather more glowy than I'd like (if you have super dry skin you'll be fine, but mine is more normal/dry). So far, the best way (for me) that I've found to apply this is mixed with an equal-sized blob of the Body Shop's Vitamin E moisture cream for a lightweight yet nourishing tinted moisturiser that gives skin a natural, healthy glow and touch of colour. On good skin days I'll apply this plus a dusting of powder and leave it at that, but for days when I've stayed up late the night before/not eaten too well/both, and need a bit more coverage, I reach for the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer in Honey. This covers, disguises and cancels out all manner of sins (like Tippex for the face?) as well as brightening the complexion, and is therefor my go-to when I've been guilty of burning the candle at both ends. Ideally I could do with a lighter shade for the winter months, but at £21 I may well just have to make do...

Despite already being pretty much covered on the autumn base front, I simply couldn't bypass these latest offerings from Bourjois, (especially with £4 off the whole range for the first 4 weeks). I originally picked up just the luminous serum primer, telling  myself I didn't need another foundation, but after seeing it on what felt like every blog under the sun (and seeing that it was still on offer), I swiftly made a trip back to Boots to snap it up (in 52 Light Beige). The Happy Light primer was a bit of a no-brainer for me, since for a while at the back of my mind I'd been wanting a serum, a primer and something to give my skin a bit of life on those lacklustre 'grey skin' days, and this is all of those things rolled into one, from one of my favourite brands (kind of like the Kinder Egg of the beauty world). This works beautifully teamed with the Nars concealer and Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder (which I recently repurchased in Silky Beige, a much better match for me than Warm Beige - see my Halloween post), as well as under the accompanying foundation for a healthy, happy luminous complexion! - exactly what one needs on a Monday morning. The foundation is equally blissful to apply, thinner in texture than its Healthy Mix counterpart and glides on like a dream when applied  with fingers (my personal favourite method), but for evening wear if I want to look a bit more 'done' I'll use the Real Techniques  buffing brush for that airbrushed photo-finish look.

Cheeks

Not being a bronze/highlight/contour kinda gal (especially in the winter), this section will likely be the quickest. At the moment I've got two (fairly similar) blushes on the go, and both are equally lovely go-with-everything shades that apply really nicely. Rimmel's 'Santa Rose' is of course a powder blush, which I typically apply with the big fluffy Real Techniques blush brush for a soft peachy wash with just the right amount of shimmer, while Revlon's 'Pinched' is one of their Photoready cream blushes in a gorgeous, natural peachy-pink shade. I've only recently started using this but so far I'm really enjoying it - I apply to cheekbones with fingers then blend out with any one of my Real Techniques brushes (whichever happens to be cleanest), namely the buffing, expert  face and contour. The soft, creamy formula blends seamlessly giving cheeks a very natural, pretty flush of colour (which looks especially nice teamed with the Happy Light duo and just a touch of mascara) - a really nice one for if (like me) you're just starting to experiment with cream blush. I am still on the look-out for a nice red-berry-toned blush, but so far all I've found is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty (sadly not available in the UK) so if anyone knows of any good ones please let me know!

Eyes

Eyes-wise it's been all about the lining and lashes recently (when isn't it?) - I do kind of wish I could get into wearing nude shadows but let's face it I take long enough getting ready in the mornings as it is (2 hours, people) without getting involved in that. But while over the summer a quick swipe of Barry M brown kohl was enough to define my lashline, come autumn I've been hankering after something more striking and for that I've been employing the PIXI Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Cocoa (a deep, dark black/brown), which promises the boldness of a liquid liner in pencil form. This does create a really dark, defined line - which is great - however it doesn't budge an inch once applied so if you go wrong, ain't no smudging putting it right, but I do really love this for days when I want that extra definition without the liquid. But for liquid days (every now and again when the mood takes me) out comes the old-faithful Collection Fast Stroke liquid liner (in black/brown, natch) for a no-fuss bold lashline and feline flick. Lashes wise my Shu Uemera eyelash curler hasn't left my side, making my eyes look so much more wide awake and my lashes hold an impressive curl. Mascaras have gone double duty since my black/brown Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion started to go a bit dry and lack volume, prompting me to give the original waterproof black version a go. Scary stuff - for me, this is just too much on it's own (and too wet somehow), not to mention a bugger to get off at night. I've found total happiness however, in using the Fusion to fan out and seperate the lashes, giving them a base coat and building it up to a point, before going in with the waterproof version to add that final bit of volume. Et voila - fluttery, full, dark lashes. A bit longwinded yes but worth it. Brows wise I haven't been using brow gel on the daily lately because I'm lazy don't feel I really need it when I've had them threaded, neither do I often pencil them in, but one thing I do always have to do is brush them into place both when starting and finishing my makeup, and for that reason the Topshop brow pencil never leaves my makeup bag.

Lips

You all know by now my love of nude lipstick for autumn and so my two daily picks will come as no surprise at all, so much so I feel it pointless to even say the names 'Mac Hug Me' and 'Rimmel Notting Hill Nude'. Both are pinky/peachy nude shades that suit my complexion perfectly, as well as being ultra wearable and moisturising. While these are my unrivalled go-tos when I wanted to look polished and put together, some days when I'm feeling plain lazy and want to look more relaxed and laid back all I want is a nice, sheer tinted lipbalm. And on those occasions I reach for either Maybelline's Baby Lips in 'Peach Kiss', a subtle shimmery peach nude, or Burts Bees tinted lip balm in 'Hibiscus' for a pretty soft rose-red lip. I mentioned my love for the No7 Poppy King  lipstick in 'Power' in my recent berry trend post, and if anything that love has grown; more and more I've been picking this up in the mornings and slipping it into my coat pocket for daytime excursions. A little bright for the office perhaps, I've found the perfect way of toning this down for work is to apply some Vaseline underneath (couldn't resist this latest Halloween-themed limited edition) before patting on the colour for a muted, glossy berry lip. Lust list wise I have got my eye on a few more Mac nudes (Jubilee, Patisserie & Shy Girl) however a couple of weeks back I had to sit myself down and tell myself that really, two nude lipsticks can 100% see me through the A/W season. Having said that, I really want Rimmel's Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte lipstick in 107, which looks ridiculously similar to 'Power' - but you can't have too much of a good thing, right?

As I said I'll be straight back to you once I figure out a daily routine, but until then,
what products have you been enjoying  lately?
Anything I should know about?

Chandra

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