Hello everyone, I thought I'd type up a makeup starter kit filled with ethical recommendations from yours truly. As 2016 draws to a close, you and I will be bombarded with fantastic deals and sales, so I hope this post is helpful for all, but especially for those of you who may not be too much into makeup, but just want to add a couple of bits to your collection. These items are all affordable and most of them you can purchase from the highstreet, however some I would recommend picking up online, because there are always great deals on them. These are also the items that I would repurchase if all my makeup disappeared, so I hope if you purchase any of them, you enjoy them as much as I do. Apologies for the lack of photos, teacher training AND short days = no time!
To prime or not to prime?
Personally I only use a primer on a special occasion, because I tend to stick to my Soap and Glory (£14.99) SPF 50 as being a base, which is so important ladies! I have written a post on it before, but the basic jist is that it manages to get makeup to stick onto the face AND protect the skin. However the Topshop airbrush primer (£12.00) is fantastic for providing a smooth canvas if you have uneven skin. If your makeup melts away quickly, spritz your face with a makeup setting spray after moisturising, but before applying any makeup - the MUFE Mist and Fix 30ml (£8.00) is travel size and very affordable to try out.
Foundation
If we are talking strictly bases you can buy in the drugstore, I would recommend the Bourjois Health Mix Foundation (£10.00) which has a beautiful medium coverage and really leaves a healthy glow to the skin. However the shade range isn't fantastic...so I highly recommend the EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation (£12.50), which I didn't love at first but I've grown to like it a lot. I find its quite versatile, though the finish is more on the matte side, if you mix it with some illuminator or even a tin drop of oil you can achieve a glowy finish. The coverage is great too, a solid medium but buildable. I tend to apply it with my E.L.F Stippling brush (£4.50) when I'm wearing it for 'everyday' as it sheers it out a little. They have actually recently released a bunch of new shades, so its no longer limited to just olive skintones. My new shade is 6.0 and I found their website quite helpful when trying to determine the perfect match here.
Correctors and Concealers
My all time favourite corrector is the Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer in Medium (£10.00), which IS pricy for the amount of corrector you actually get! This is a three piece kit and the good thing is, I can use each of the items just fine, however it is the corrector which I love the most. It is the perfect shade for neutralising my horrendous dark circles and works even better than a similar Benefit product! Pricy, but worth it...especially when theres a 3for2 deal on! In terms of actual concealers, the L.A Girl Pro Concealers creamy beige (£5.00) and Collection Lasting Perfection in 3 (£4.19) are my two tried and tested. The L.A girl one is more hydrating, yet has great pigmentation and manages to conceal and brighten at the same time. The collection one is thicker, creamier and if you have dry under-eyes won't be your cup of tea, but as long as I have colour corrected it works a charm.
Powders
Over the years I have liked powders more and more, because quite frankly I cannot wear makeup without a light bit of baking under the eyes these days! When I don't I notice the most awful creasing and melting of my undereye concealer. My favourite brightening yellow powder for under the eye is the Wet 'n' Wild Megaglo contouring palette in Caramel Toffee ($4.99), which I have a post on here. I like to bake with the Coty Airspun loose powder ($8.99) which works really well. I keep it on for about 50 seconds and then brush it off - works like a charm. I don't have a favourite face powder for all over the face, instead I just use the excess of the coty powder over my T-Zone which can get a little oily sometimes.
Contour, Bronzer, Blush and Highlight
For bronzing the face, Topshop's Mohawk (£9.00) is my all time favourite shade and formula from the highstreet. It is beautiful for those of you who have an olive medium skintone and provides the perfect warmth of the skin. Contouring wise, if you're looking for a really strong one which sharpens your features the Natural collection shadow in crushed walnut (£2.00) works a treat! I would advise you go with a light hand though. I have a few favourite blushers from the highstreet, the Sleek blush by 3 in spice (£10.00) is gorgeous for a medium skintone and I often will mix and match the shades. The value for money there is fantastic and so is the pigmentation! I also enjoy the Rimmel soft colour blush in pink rose (£4.00), which has been a long time favourite of mine and mentioned on my blog many times. It is a gorgeous natural flush and you are at no risk of looking like a clown. I have to say for highlight, I am a firm stickler for my highend ones - especially ABH! But when I think my collection and the one I would want to repurchase, I go back to the Topshop Glow Pot (£9.00) or their baked highlighter - either one is BEAUTIFUL. A little goes a long way and both of them can look very natural on the skin, or be built up for a more intense glow.
Brows, Liner and Mascara
Brows is a tough one because I am again so used to my ABH products, which are well worth the investment ladies! However if they're out of your budget, I would recommend checking out the Freedom eyebrow kit (£3.50) which I used to use all the time. It has a range of shades and even a gel in the kit, as well as a mirror, applicator and mini tweezers - the biggest bargain of all time! If you like a bolder brow and don't mind practicing, pick up their version of the ABH drip brow (here for a fiver). I don't think its quite as good as the ABH, but it does the job so long as you have a good spoolie. I am a real fusspot when it comes to eyeliner, but if I HAD to pick one I'd recommend The Balm's Schwing liner (£13.50). Not the cheapest, but by far the best you can pick up in superdrug or online! It is extremly black and lasts all day long. The applicator is thin and relatively easy to create cat eyes with, once you get the hang of it. When it comes to mascara, the only drugstore brand I ever spend money on is Essence! The 'I love crazy volume mascara' (£2.80) is a firm favourite and worth at least 4x the price.
Lips
Finally I'd recommend you pick up a good lip liner and the Rimmel 1000 kisses lip liner in spice (£3.00), is one I have back ups on, just in case they stop making it! My favourite affordable lipsticks are most definitely the Wet n wild mega last lipsticks ($2.00). They're very pigmented, beautifully creamy and ridiculously cheap - you can find a bunch of reviews for them on my blog by searching wetnwild! Liquid lipstick wise, The Balm's Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipsticks (£13.50) are fantastic. They feel comfortable, have a good pigmentation and aren't too drying. At the moment there is a cute little gift set available to purchase for the holidays, which contains 6 of the shades and is sold out everywhere, but keep an eye out, its a good one!
Final Touches...
How could I type up a makeup starter kit without my all time favourite Mario Badescu Facial spray (£7.50). It is definitely my go-to spray for before and after makeup, it hydrates the skin, diminishes any powderyness left on the face and just leaves me with a subtle glow. Although I am loving a more expensive version a little more, I'll always have a bottle of this in my collection!I really hope this was helpful for you all! It was so nice to sit down and blog without worrying about my huge to-do list, I kind of despair when I see the lack of posts I've managed to get up this year :( But thankyou SO much for continuing to read and support my blog, I hugely appreciate it!
Thank-you for reading ♥
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