Arriving in London with a makeup bag that had apparently been filled by a drunken baboon forced me to get a little creative with my products. I honestly have no idea how I ended up with four bronzers and two foundations, but absolutely no brow stuff, no lipstick, and only one (quite dark and full) eye shadow.
But here’s what I did with what I had. It’s been a few weeks since the “WTF did I pack?” incident, but I’ve actually followed the same routine because I like it, and here’s the video to prove it. I have written a description with product links below.
Advertising information: no paid or sponsored content, contains press samples and affiliate links are marked with *.
Well: with Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation. For full review with before and after photos, click here. I won’t repeat myself – it’s pretty much flawless for a face base with long clothes for adults.
I then used the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow to contour and bronze myself, putting on too much and then having to peel it off for about twelve minutes. It was the makeup equivalent of making a kid’s lunch: heat it up for two minutes, cool it down again for ten. Go forward and then almost immediately back to the beginning.
Bronze & Glow is a great investment if you can afford it. There are many dupes out there, but none quite deliver the instant allure that this contour and highlight duo does. You can find it online here at Charlotte Tilbury* – I use shade Light-Medium.
A touch of blush – this is from Valentino (shade 9, here) and it’s great, but you don’t have to spend that much. Just a good rinse of something upbeat and pink will do!
And then eyes. This is where it gets revolutionary. I use the same Tilbury Filmstar palette on my eyes – contour to, er, contour and highlighter to gild the lids. It works so well! It really helps to shape the eyes, subtly, and the highlighter gives lift and brightness to the eye area. I am so impressed with this and love that it keeps all the tones on my face very even and tied together.
Then I stuck one Vieve Eye Wand in coffee* in the corners of my eyes and dragged it a bit towards the end of the browbones, to give myself the usual ‘eye lift’. If you’ve never done this before, then you’re in for a treat. It’s not necessary to work the product into your eye socket the way I do, which is borderline brutal, but the Vieve Eye Wand is chunky and soft and seems to fit right into the outer corner. It’s very buildable and blendable so I use a small amount, I don’t apply to the upper lid, but I take a small smudge brush and blend the small line of product so it’s soft and hazy and I smudge any leftovers on the bottom and top lash line, just at the outer edge of the eye.
Rather than explain it in a thousand words, it’s probably best to check out the video if you’ve never seen me do my little eye lift trick. It works right, right – you just have to make sure you follow the curve of your lower lash line to get the swipe in the right direction!
The mascara I’m using here is my trusty L’Oreal Telescopic, which I simply think is one of the best mascaras you can buy, regardless of price. I rate this in the dull gold tube and it’s usually around eight linds when you catch it on sale, which it almost always is, and it has a fine, narrow comb that’s flexible and mess-free. You can wiggle right at the base of the lashes and then pull them up to coat each one for a sleek and distinct look. I very rarely get product on my lids (happens with almost every other mascara) and I don’t get any fallout or smudging. I buy this mascara all the time – usually from Amazon Prime, see here*, but you can get it in Boots and Superdrug and it’s always in stock.
At the time of writing L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara is £7.07 here*
I use hairspray and an eyebrow brush for my brows because I’ve misplaced all my brow products (I put every single one of them in a little bag and then promptly lost it in the office avalanche) and I do my lips with a simple liner (Rare Beauty liner in Creative, see here*) pressed and topped with lip balm.
And that’s all. It’s a refresher routine, product-wise: I wish I had a fancy little picture of the products, but I don’t, and the Tilbury palette is almost finished anyway, so it doesn’t look photogenic. I’ll finish with some additional links to the pieces and buttons featured in the video, including the skincare prep and the top I’m wearing. I say, what a nice blouse!
Olay Retinol Eye Cream is currently 60% off. here*
Aveeno Calm and Restore Serum is here*
Skin Rocks The Moisturizer is online here
The Francine Floral Blouse I’m wearing is from Wyse London here
