Back To School | Easy Makeup

Hello! I'm not sure about you but in just under a week, I'm back to school! Whether you're starting a new school, collage, university or even just another year, it's a scary yet very exciting experience. However, if you are not looking forward to another year of getting up at some dreadful time in the morning, I have a quick and easy, school makeup routine for some early-hour inspiration! 

Step 1: A Flawless Base

For a clean, yet not cakey face, I like to use Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation. I apply a very small amount down the center of my face, then use a buffing brush to blend it outwards; to give my face an airbrushed effect. However, if you are happier with your skin and don't feel the need to wear foundation, I like to use a mixture of two concealers: Collection Lasting Perfection and Rimmel Wake Me Up. I apply a generous amount of the mixture underneath my eyes to cover my dark circles, and on any breakouts or blemishes I may have. To set this, I use a light dusting of a translucent powder- my preferred choice is the Rimmel Stay Matte. 

Step 2: Brow Perfect

Personally, I think eye brows are one of the most important facial features, as I always find myself looking at them on others first! I like to use a slightly darker brown shadow which I apply with a very compact, thin eye shadow/liner brush. I gently pat the shadow onto the hairs, filling in only the areas which are looking a little bare to make my brows look as natural as possible. Sometimes if my brows are looking very out of shape, I take a brow pencil to trace along the edges to neaten and enhance their natural shape. 

Step 3: Natural Lids
To me, it comes down to eye make up on determining whether or not you look like your wearing lots of makeup or hardly any at all. First up, I will always blend a nude shadow over my lids, just to erase any visible vains of redness. Then, I recommend not heading straight for black eyeliner, as this is very noticeable and maybe not the most appropriate for school. Instead, I like to use a brown eyeliner from Jack Wills. This is easy to apply, and I just draw a thin line across my top lash, then blend it in to soften any harsh edges with an eyeliner brush from Eco Tools.

Step 4: Wide-Awake Colour

If you want to cheat a natural, gorgeous flush, use a blush brush to apply any rosy pink or peachy coloured blush. I am using the Bourjois blush in the shade 54 Frosted Rose. To create the most wide-awake look, apply this starting at the far corner of your cheeks and move the brush in oval motions towards the center of your face. I am currently loving the blush brush from Spectrum Collections, you can buy it here.

Step 5: The Perfect Nude Lip

Lips, again, play an important role in making or breaking a natural makeup look. If you decide to wear a brightly coloured lip, this is fine, however it will not go down unnoticeable. For school, I start of by moisturising my lips with my EOS lip balm, as this will keep my lipstick on for longer. Then, I take my MAC lipstick in the shade Creme Cup, and apply a very light coat to my lips, starting at the center and moving outwards. After this, I take my ring finger and gently blend out the colour, creating a smooth finish. You could, if you want, go in with a clear lip gloss to finish the look; in this case I am wearing a clear gloss by Clinique.

Summer Sporty Chic

Hello! Some of you may or may not be aware but I am quite the sporty type. By this I mean, I enjoy basically all sport and I think it's a great way to be healthy, passionate, competitive and even sociable. I was actually quite surprised that I hadn't written a sport based blog post yet, so I took it upon myself to compose a typical summer outfit that I would wear to play some sports!

What I'm Wearing

Top 1- Jack Wills

Top 2- Gilly Hicks

Running Shorts- Topshop

Trainers- Nike

 I find it vital to wear little or loose clothing, as that then enables your skin to breathe- which is pretty important when you are sweating buckets exercising! The two tops I have chosen to share with you are both light weight and a thin material, however the blue Gilly Hicks top is more appropriate for the summer as it is looser and sleeveless. Bottom-wise, these are the first pair of running shorts I've actually owned. Considering I've been a sport addict for a good 7 or 8 years, I do not know how I managed to get away with cropped leggings and sweats for all that time. However, I must say I much prefer running shorts, particularly in the summer time, as my legs are so much cooler and in general this gives my whole body an all round, refreshed feel. Finally, my shoes from Nike are actually very new. I purchased these last week, alongside my back to school shopping, as my old trainers were too small and pretty much ruined. I have longed for a pair of Nikes for agggees, and luckily these were in the sale, but by far my favourite pair I'd seen that day. Anyway, it's important to have a decent pair of trainers to play to your best ability, I much prefer thicker soled footwear to flat soled!

I hope this has given all you sport enthusiasts some inspiration for outfit ideas- I think it's important to be stylish even working out!

Thanks for reading :)

xox

Back to Back MAC | Eye Shadow Edition

Hello! MAC Cosmetics is a widely known, very popular, high-end make up brand. But when it comes to comparing products within their brand, many people tend to struggle and not know where to start. Today, I will just be comparing their two (of many) types of eyeshadow; a paint pot and a normal powder eye shadow.

First of all, (on my finger to the left) I purchased the powder eyeshadow early this year; it actually being my first eye product from MAC. My immediate impressions of this product were great- the packaging was steardy yet size-appropriate and you got quite a lot of shadow. MAC themselves describe this product as a highly pigmented shadow which applies easily and blends well. I agree 100% with this description, however the application of this eye shadow (like any other) depends hugely on the brush you apply it with, as this could make or break the look. I brought this eye shadow in the shade Honey Lust which is a sparkly golden brown with quite alot of glitter in; definitely not a matte shade. Colour wise, I haven't had a problem, aside from the fact that this isn't particularly a day to day shade to wear. Saying this I did buy this to show off in the evening, for example to wear to parties or fancy meals out!

My second MAC eye shadow (on my finger to the right) is a paint pot which I got at the airport only a few weeks back. Out of the two, I must say I prefer this type of shadow. Not only is this colour very well pigmented, it creates seamless coverage over the lids which is nor cakey or too thick. This MAC paint pot is in the shade Vintage Selection which is a medium frosted, dirty peach colour. I chose this shade because it looks great alone on my lids, whilst being an easy, not too bright colour to pull off either during the day or of an evening.

 You can purchase the two products above here:

• MAC eye shadow- http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/154/363/Products/Eyes/Shadow/Eye-Shadow/index.tmpl

• MAC paint pot- http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/154/1573/Products/Eyes/Shadow/Pro-Longwear-Paint-Pot/index.tmpl