Welcoming Autumn

Hello beauties and welcome to my Realm of Beauty.

Autumn has arrived. The season of pumpkin spiced latte, halloween, freshers week, start of university, cardigans, layered clothing, cinnamon candles and getting ready for Christmas. It's also the season of gorgeous dark lips and dark, warm eyeshadows. So I thought I'd dedicate a post to welcoming autumn. A post full of beautiful berry colours and shimmery dark eyelids. These products are gonna be used a lot throughout the next 3 months.

As I have mentioned many times in the past, I am not really a fan of matte lips. But I couldn't really resist buying Mac's Diva when I visited the store last autumn. This was my favourite lipstick to wear all last year and I found myself reaching out for it as soon as the weather started getting colder. It's one of those irreplaceable products in my makeup collection. But, I still can't wear it on its own because I just hate dry lips. So what I do is I put on my best lip balm underneath and apply the lipstick over it. The lipstick is so pigmented that if I need to moisturise my lips throughout the day, I can just apply lip balm on top and it wouldn't make any difference to the appearance, it just makes my lips moisturised.
The lip balm I've been loving recently is Burt's Bees - Red Dahlia. This is a tinted lip balm with berry undertones, so it really goes well with Diva. I've never come across a lip balm as moisturising as Burt's Bees. It's one of those things I'll never stop buying. Also, keeping your lips moisturised is an essential thing to do in autumn/winter, otherwise you'll end up with cracked lips.

The nighttime version of the Mac's diva is my Clinique Pop - Berry Pop. I've already talked about why Clinique lipsticks are my favourites, so if you like you can check that out here: Why I think Clinique Lipsticks Are The Best.
The reason why I don't use this for daytime is because it's too precious for me. Also, if I wanted to apply my lip balm over it, it wouldn't really work since the lipstick itself is very creamy. So I just keep it for date nights and other night time occasions.

Swatch: Mac's Matte Diva and Clinique Berry Pop

Of course no dark lip is complete without the perfect lipliner. I always always wear lipliner with my lipsticks, more so when they are dark, or very red. And the perfect autumnal lipliner is Mac's Lip Pencil - Burgundy. This matches both of the lipsticks really well and I don't think I need to talk about the quality of it, since everyone knows Mac's lip pencils are THE BEST.

Moving on to blusher. I adore the Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush. The shade I use, which really compliments my skin tone, is Soft Murano. It also happens to be a very autumnal shade for blusher and it's perfect for a daytime look since it doesn't have shimmer to it.

For slightly more dramatic blusher to wear for nighttime, I love using Nars's Cactus Flower. The colour is so gorgeous and the gold shimmer makes it the perfect blusher for your fotd. It compliments a variety of lipstick shades, from classic reds to dark reds and berry. You can see the amazing shimmer in the swatch picture at the bottom of the post.

When it comes to eyes and creamy eyeshadow, you can't get much better than Maybelline's Color Tattoos. They have the perfect shade for autumn, which is called Metallic Pomegranate. This is such a gorgeous dark red with gold shimmer, which makes it a perfect match for the berry lips and the Nars blusher mentioned above. I apply this on my eyelid, and blend the edges into my crease. I don't tend to use anything else in conjunction though, it really is enough on its own. The texture is incredible and if you don't have oily eyelids like mine, it will last a long time without creasing. I just apply eye primer before I put it on, which makes it very long lasting. Although, I don't personally use it for daytime looks, since I think the colour and shimmeriness of it are a bit too much for daytime. But it's the perfect eyeshadow for evening looks. You can see the shade in the swatch photo below.

A matte shade that is perhaps more suited for daytime is Mac's Sketch Velvet. The shade is very cool slightly grey looking with a hint of dark purple. It's a very nice shade to wear in the crease, with slightly warmer tones on the lids. But on its own, it can be a very chic addition to your daytime look.

Swatches: Mac's Sketch Velvet, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate, Nars Cactus Flower and Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Murano.

For nails, I love Rimmel London Salon Pro - Celebrity Bash. It's the perfect shade of red for this season, and it compliments all the wonderful colours of makeup we've mentioned. These Rimmel nail varnishes have really good quality. They're glossy and shiny and don't need 2-3 coats to look proper, one coat is enough. Their consistency also doesn't change much over time, which of course is a bonus.

So there you have it my lovelies. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it interesting.
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See you soon x

My Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty.

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I started my training year and I've already found the perfect routine that is professional, quick, easy and long lasting. So I thought I would share it with you. This routine works for everyone who has to leave the house early in the morning and come home at 5 or 6 pm. That includes students and everyone with a full time job. It is a very minimal look and it only takes about 10-15 mins to do.

Before I start, let me just say that skincare is the most important part of my makeup routine. If I take care of my skin, I'm not gonna need a full coverage foundation, nor am I gonna need to spend a lot of time concealing spots and blemishes. If you wanna know about my skincare routine, click here: My Skin Care Routine | For Oily Skin.

This post will be divided into two categories: what I use in the morning; and what I put in my makeup bag for touchups at lunch time.

In the Morning

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation: this foundation is the love of my life! Those of us with oily skin have a difficult time finding a foundation that lasts a good few hours. As I've said this before, looking for a foundation that keeps your skin oil free all day is unrealistic. The best foundations for oily skins can keep you shine free for about 4 hours, after which you're gonna need powder to keep your face matte. 

After my long search for a good matte foundation, I finally found my perfect match with this Clarins foundation. I apply it with my fingers, mostly because I wanna save time, but also because I want light coverage. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer: the perfect concealer for your under eyes and imperfections alike, this is a holy grail product for me. It doesn't cake and it lasts all day. I apply it with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, using the tip for blemishes and spots and the cone for under my eyes and around my nose. 

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Seductive Pink: I adore this blush. It suits my skintone perfectly, it's very high quality, it lasts all day and it's the perfect balance of shimmery and matte which makes it perfect for a professional daytime look. I have nothing but praise for this beautiful product. I apply it on the apples of my cheeks and extend it to my hairline with my beloved Estee Lauder blush brush.

No7 Eyelash Curler: a very simple but effective addition to everyone's makeup bag. It does the job perfectly.

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara: if you want full, natural, long lashes then this is the mascara for you. What's more is that it doesn't smudge at all and stays in place throughout the day, even for glasses wearers like me. One coat is usually enough for me, but sometimes when I want a more dramatic result I apply two coats. 

Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil: another highly rated drugstore product, it is perfect for filling in your brows where you need it. The application is super easy and quick. The result is natural and long lasting. 

Mac Cosmetics Clear Brow Gel: one of those little products that make a huge difference to your makeup routine. Gives your brows some order and keeps them in place all day.

Lancôme Shine Lover and L'Oreal Color Riche: perfect lipsticks for daytime. They are both moisturising and add just enough colour to your lips to transform your face and complete your makeup look. Those of you who are regular readers know by now that I love my shimmery lipsticks and these two are the perfect examples. 

My Shine Lover is in the shade Plum d'audace, and my Color Riche is in the shade Berry Blush. Both are very subtle shades of plum/pink and are therefore perfect for a professional look. I switch between the two to introduce a little change to my routine. 

In My Handbag

Clinique Blended Face Powder and Brush: this is an absolute necessity for oily skinned people. It's the ideal way to reduce the shine throughout the day. Applying it requires minimal effort and time. It comes with a very handy retractable brush, so you can easily carry it with you. If you want to read my full review click here: Review: Clinique's Blended Face Powder & Brush.

YSL Touche Éclat: I use this when I'm really tired to add a bit of light and radiance to under my eyes and cheekbones. It sounds like an insignificant thing to do, but trust me it makes a huge difference. The highlighting elements introduce a natural light to your face and make you look refreshed. It also contrasts the blue in the dark circles to make you look well rested. 

Simple Revitalising Eye Roll-On: I know this doesn't really count as makeup, but it is a necessity for my makeup bag. Being a teacher is no easy task, you get very tired by lunch time but you can't really do anything about it. You eyes are tired and heavy and you just wanna sleep on your desk. This eye roll-on is the perfect product for those moments. It's so refreshing and instantly wakes you up and cools your eyes. 

Sanctuary Spa Velvet Hand Cream: in the wise words of house Stark: Winter Is Coming. And that means dry hands. I use this hand cream religiously at work. It doesn't make your hands slippery but it keeps them smooth and moisturised. They feel just like velvet, as it says in the name. This is one of those products that I'll keep purchasing again and again. 

With this routine I feel like I've found the perfect balance between simple and natural and time saving. The touchups take only a couple of minutes and the morning routine doesn't require you to get up super early and compromise your sleep time. And I know I haven't included any eyeshadow in the routine, but that's because I have very oily eyelids and even the best eye primer, such as Nars, can't keep the best eyeshadows from caking at the end of the day. Even when I use Maybelline Colour Tattoos, which are meant to be long lasting, with a primer it will end up caking. It really is a shame because I would love to play with eyeshadows in the morning, but there's really not much that can be done here. I just have to save it for those occasions when I'm only out for a few hours. 

There you have it lovelies. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. 

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See you soon x

L'Oréal La Palette Nude Rose Review and Swatches

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've started my training year and have been trying to adjust to getting up at 6 am and getting home at 5 pm. But hopefully, now that I have a regular schedule I can write more routinely.

Today's post is going to be about a beautiful eyeshadow palette brought to us by L'Oréal. I fell in love with this palette as soon as I saw it in Boots.
First of all, the packaging is very elegant for a drugstore palette. After all, you can never go wrong with a black case and gold writing.

But most importantly, the colour range is absolutely gorgeous. All the shades are very wearable and suited for every occasion. I especially love the orangey gold shimmery shade. The dark purple shade is also perfect for converting a daytime look into an elegant nighttime look. The palette is also sized perfectly for your everyday bag. What's more is that the brush that comes with it is very nice.

Let's move on to the quality of the shadows.
The application is quite nice. I would say they could be more pigmented. Also, they're a little bit dry and therefore hard to blend. But for the price of £14.99, it's pretty amazing and I would totally recommend it. Especially if you're not the sort to pay around £40 for an eyeshadow palette.

Now on to swatches. The top picture is natural light, and the bottom is with flash.

I hope you enjoyed this post lovelies.
Make sure you follow me on social media, all the links are on the right hand side.
See you soon x