Is your make up bag full to the brim of products you do don’t use and you just cant bear to part with? This can make your daily make up routine a lot harder than it need to be so let me run through 10 of your make up bag essentials to make your daily routine so much easier.

Primer

A good Primer can make the difference to your daily make up routine, it can stop it fall off your face and from going patchy.  My favourite primers to use are Nars Pore Refining Primer which is oil free and instantly refines the look of pores and creates a matt canvas for you to apply your Foundation.  My other kit favourite is Sara Hills Luxurious Face Primer which can also be used on its own without foundation which gives a nice dewy fresh faced glow.  Its very lightweight and very silky to apply.  If you are on a budget i would recommend Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer.  It helps the skin to feel light and helps refine pores and feels incredibly soft on your skin.

Foundation

Your foundation should match your skin tone perfectly, but we all know it’s pretty hard to do this when you’re just buying off the shelf. I can match your foundation for you or you can call into your local cosmetic counter. Whether your skin is oily, dry or combination with foundation matching you will find out what kind will work best for your skin type. My kit favourites are MAC, Illamasqua (for a fuller coverage), Nars Sheer Glow.  I like Armani and Tarte Water Foundation for my brides as its a very light foundation and perfect for ladies that dont wear a lot of make up as it doesnt feel heavy on the skin.  Again a budget foundation i would recommend is Bourjois Healthy Mix Radiance Foundation which enhances your complextion and they say it lasts for up to 16 hours which ive yet to test as ive never worn it for longer than 10.

Eyeshadow

Eyeshadow is something you simply cannot live without but not all shadows suit everyone unless you’re very lucky and have the perfect almond shaped eye which suits every style of shadow and technique.  It’s that product that will make your eyes pop, especially if you have small or hooded eyes. It can also be used as a liner too as i do daily as i have a slight drooping eye so eyeliner just dissapears into my lid and you can never see it.  Ill go into different eye shapes and techniques in my next blog but my favourite palettes i have in my kit are Anastasia Beverley Hills for a big smokey eye look and Tarte In Bloom palette which is my every day go to as they are so pigmented and the palette smells like chocolate which is just divine.  A good budget priced eye palette is Maybelline Blushed Nudes Palette which includes 12 shades with a rose gold pigments.  Finally before applying any eye shadow always use a good eye primer such as Urban Decay Primer Potion which comes in 3 shades and makes your shadow last all day.

Contour & Highlighter

Contouring and highlighting has been used by make-up artists long before now and its thanks to the Kardashians that this is now very publicised. Its a skill to be learned and im not a fan of very harsh contour and highlight, its meant to enhance your features and draw back the facial features you are not comfortable with.  People now a days are watching the wrong tutorials on You Tube and Instagram and are contouring the face to death and highlighting to look like the moon, this does not look good in every day wear, a little goes a long way.  The contour is meant to be 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone and the highlighter is means to be 2-3 shades lighter.

My favourite powder palette in my kit is Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow.  The bronzer is the perfect universal blend of pearl and pigment to contour features and mimic a sun-kissed complexion.  The highlighter is built up from a golden base that flatters any skin tone, and uses Light Flex Technology to capture light and radiate it out for a luminous complexion.  My fave go to cream contour and highlight kit is Sara Hills Shine & Sculpt Kit, which includes an illuminating and contour stick, this will last me a long time as only a small amount is needed, its easy to use and very blendable.

My high street budget pick to try is Sleek Face Form Contouring & Blush Palette in Medium which is great because it includes a blush too and is very pigmented.

Mascara

You need a good mascara in your make up bag that you only need to apply once that doesnt clump with a brush that does’nt pull or damage the lashes.  My favourite is Lancome Hypnose Drama.  It curls thickens and enhances your lashes which is long wearing and clump free.  My high street top pick mascara is Rimmel Scandaleyes with a big brush which actually volumises and defines,perfect for ladies who dont like wearing false lashes.

Eyeliner

I only use eyeliner in my kit not on myself other than Laura Merciers Tightline Cake Eyeliner to give myself a fuller lash look.  My kit go to is MAC Fluidline Gel Eyeliner for my clients.  Its a long wearing eyeliner which you apply with a brush and thats smudgeproof  and waterproof.  It goes on with the precision of a liquid liner but silkier.  My budget pick is Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama, which is highly concentrated in pigments in a clear gel base, suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens safe.

Lipstick

My favourite is MAC Lipsticks in matt, they dont dry out and the colours are as bold as you like, my favourite shade is Honeylove, i absolutely love nude lipsticks especially when wearing a heavy smokey eye.  My high street go to is NYX or Kiko matt lipsticks, not exactly MAC but certainly a good dupe.

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