How I Clean My Brushes | Two Simple Ways!

A little while a go I shared with you guys a handful of my favourite face and eye brushes to apply my makeup with. In order to get a good application it is important that your brushes are clean otherwise your makeup wont blend well and you'll be left with lasts weeks product on your face which is especially not good.

Makeup brushes harbour bacteria so you don't want to be putting that on your face otherwise it'll lead to breakouts or even infections. There isn't an amount of time set in stone on when you should clean your brushes, in an ideal world we would after every use but that's just not possible for most. So for this post, I thought i'd share with you a couple of ways I clean mine.

As I said, I for one do not have enough time to wash my brushes on a daily basis. However, if I find my brushes aren't blending my makeup as they usually would and I don't have enough time to wash and wait a long time for them to dry, I will do a spot clean. This consists of my makeup remover and a cotton pad, it's pretty simple.

I'll simply take the Garnier Micellar Water and put a bit on a cotton pad that I've split in half. I'll use one half for cleaning and the other half to dry. I tend to swirl my brush around on the cotton pad until the majority of the makeup has come off, next I'll take the dry cotton pad and do the same to dry the brush. I'll do this the night before or an hour or so before so that they can dry properly.

Now for the deep clean. I've heard lots of people say that they hate cleaning their brushes but personally I don't mind, I actually quite enjoy it. I used to just take a little baby shampoo on my palm and dampen the brush under the tap and swirl until the water runs clear. 

However, when reading a blog I saw that they were using a silicone oven mitt, I know it seems a little odd at first. They said they got the idea as they're a similar, cheaper alternative to the Sigma Brush Cleaner. The bristles get in between the little ridges on the mitt that actually clean them really well, I was so impressed at how clean my brushes looked and how soft they felt once I had tried it.

I will do the same process as I mentioned earlier, just with the mitt. First I will take some baby shampoo on the mitt, I will then dampen the brush under the tap and swirl on the glove til the water runs clear. To rid the brush of shampoo I will rinse it under the luke warm tap then either pop it bristles facing downwards in a brush stand or lay them to dry on a towel over night. Though, its better to stand the brushes with bristles facing downwards as the water will run away and prevent the glue from dissolving.

For sponges, its a little different. I must admit my sponge is on its way out, its starting to crack a bit and is really stained. I tend to do the same process for brushes but instead I use this Body Shop Tea Tree Cleanser as Tea Tree kills bacteria, therefore I know although my sponge is stained, I am hopefully killing the bacteria. I will the leave it to dry on the towel with the rest of my brushes.

And there you have it, a couple of simple ways to cleanse your brushes. Nothing too hard, time consuming or expensive! I'd love to know whether you have any techniques or tricks on how you clean yours, let me know!

HOW DO YOU CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES?

♥   ♥   ♥

What's In My Makeup Bag? | TRAVEL EDITION 2015

As you may know from my previous post, I'm currently on holiday in the South of England- in South Devon to be precise. As I am travelling, I tried to downsize my makeup as I didn't want to be lugging too much away with me. So today, I'm going to show you the contents of my travel makeup bag which will show you some of the bits I had to take away with me as I couldn't be without them. Also, just a side-note I will be taking brushes with me but I haven't included them in this post, you can see my most used face and eye brushes here and here- I shall be taking those with me.

1. Benefit Porefessional Primer

I must admit when I first tested this I didn't love it, I wasn't a huge fan of the silicone texture so it went to the back of my makeup storage. I gave it a go again and I love it- it doesn't reduce the size of my pores by a huge amount but it definitely makes my makeup stay on a lot longer. This will be great as i'm likely to have my makeup on early morning through to the evening!

2. L'Oreal True Match Foundation

This has pretty much been the only foundation I use for a good year now, you can see a review here. It's a light liquid formula with a medium coverage which is buildable, this is also the perfect match for my pale skin. It has a satin finish and although i'd prefer a dewier finish for the summer, that can easily be achieved by mixing with my moisturiser for a more natural glowy finish.

3. Seventeen Phwoarr Paint Concealer

Recently I've been choosing this over the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer as this covers my dark circles like no other. This is also great for covering blemishes but must set using powder, I keep my powder in my bag for on the go touch ups which is why it wont be mentioned here. This will be great while travelling to cover those dark circles due to lack of sleep and early mornings.

4. MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 4

I don't use this to set my makeup, I use this to bronze up my pale skin and also sometimes use it to contour. This is only £1 so you can't go wrong really! I'm super pale so this will be great for faking a sun kissed glow when the weather is likely to be a little miserable. I'm writing this in advance so fingers crossed for nice weather!

5. Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

This is currently the only blush I own, I mean I have a load of other cheap ones but this is my go-to! It's a dupe of NARS Orgasm and is a beautiful shimmery coral. This helps to put colour back into my face and the shimmer also works as a highlight- a perfect two-in-one product!

6. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt

I was going to take my Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold but I use that quite a lot and this often gets neglected so I thought i'd take this in a hope that i'd start to use it. This is a gorgeous copper, slightly pink shade and looks so pretty as a base for eye shadows.

7. W7 In the Buff Eye Shadow Palette
This is a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette which is why I bought it as I didn't want to splash out nearly £40 on a palette I may not use that often. I've also done a review on this palette here, I absolutely love it which is why I chose to bring it away with me despite being much larger and less travel friendly than my other palettes. I love this for the few matte shades, they're my go-to!

8. Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
Love this mascara! It seems to be a running theme here but I've also done a review on this mascara, here. I mostly review products I love just so I can rave about them, hence why i'm bringing them all with me. This separates my lashes and lifts them, making them so fluttery which is perfect for everyday wear which is why it's coming with me.

9. Soap and Glory Brow Archery in Brownie Points

I know there are two called Brow Archery, but this is the double ended one with a pencil at one end and a almost felt tip pen at the other end. I love the pen side for outlining my brows and filling them in with little hair like strokes. The pencil end is also great but I must be much more light-handed with it other wise it's a little too dark for me. My brows stay on all day with this, hence why I will be bringing it with me!

10. Lip Balm, Lip Liner and Lipsticks

Ok, I haven't downsized too well on this section, I just love lipsticks.

I've gone for the Nivea Hydro Care Lip Balm with SPF 15, purely because it has SPF in and I don't want to burn my lips- ouch! I've only chosen one liner as it's pretty much the only one I use, this is the Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Liner in Rose Quartz which looks beautiful alone but also pairs nicely with a couple of the lipsticks I've chosen. And finally for lipsticks I've chosen two of the Avon Color Trend Lip Stix in Foxy Fuchsia and Reddy To Go, a Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rosebud- my go-to and finally an MUA Lipstick in the shade Bare. 

And there you have it, I've tried to downsize a lot but I know i'm taking more than I need. If it fits in my makeup bag then why not eh? I'll be back on Wednesday with a Q&A and TAG so keep your eyes peeled for that, especially if you left me a question on Instagram. If you'd like to keep up with me and see what i'm up to whilst on holiday i'm @xtracesofmythoughts on Instagram. Would love to see you there!

WHAT MAKEUP PRODUCTS CAN'T YOU LIVE WITHOUT?

♥   ♥   ♥

Most Used Eye Brushes | Real Techniques, ELF and eBay sets!

As promised I said i'd follow up my previous post on my most used face brushes, but before I go into that I thought i'd let you know that I've done a guest post over on Erin's blog, here. Erin has recently just started blogging again and decided to add a new feature to a blog where every now and then people she know's from online or through blogging write something, whatever they'd like. I wrote 5 Things Things That Make Me Happy, so please go check that out and the rest of Erin's blog!

Anyway, here I am again talking about my most used eye brushes, although I have a lot more eye brushes than face brushes there are a select few I reach for every time I do my eye makeup. 

1. Lydia Professional Pink Flat Brush.

As you can see this is a small flat brush and I use this to pack on the base of my eye shadow. This holds the eye shadow well and i'm able to apply it with no fall out, however that could just be down to the eye shadow i'm using- who knows! I picked this brush up in a set from Amazon, here and they're so pretty- I've not had any problems with them so far, plus they come with a pink case that is very handy for travelling!

2. Large Pencil Brush.

Again, this was part of a set of 4 from eBay, here. I cant fault the brushes that came in this set, despite them being a little bigger than I thought they're such great quality and the bristles are so soft. It's perfect for applying eye shadow in the crease as it fits in nicely and if you keep working at the eye shadow it blends in nicely.

3. ELF Blending Brush.

I had heard good things about the ELF brushes and I really needed a blending brush so I picked up this to try. At first I was a bit disappointed with the quality, the bristles fell out easily and especially when washed. I stopped using it for a while and decided to try it again and I've not had that problem, perhaps there were a few odd bristles that just wasn't glued in properly? It's holding up well now and blends my eye shadow well, it's also really soft so it's perfect for blending! If this one isn't clean, i'll use one of the blending brushes from the eBay set I mentioned previously- although it's a bit big, it does the job!

4. Real Techniques Detailer Brush.

I've just realised that the majority of these brushes are from a set, however most of the sets are so affordable from eBay or Amazon. This brush is from the Real Techniques Core Collection and I use it for applying eye shadow to the lower lash line as it's so small and fits perfectly under the lashes!

5. Spooley Brush.

This isn't really a brush, well it sort of is as it has tiny bristles. This again was part of a set from eBay, here. The quality of this brush isn't that great but the rest of the brushes are so I can't fault them, plus I use this every day so it's had quite a lot of use, therefore it was worth it! I comb through my eyebrows with this before and after applying my brow pencil, it tidies them up when I've just rolled out of bed and after applying brow product to ensure it's spread evenly. 

And there you have it,  a quick run through of my favourite eye brushes. Each of these brushes/sets are great however if you're on a tighter budget then i'm sure you can find similar with all of these types of brushes in.


What are your favourite makeup brushes?
Please let me know in the comments!

♥   ♥   ♥

Most Used Face Brushes | Real Techniques and Bare Minerals Dupe!

I tend to talk a lot about makeup here on my blog but I never seem to talk about how I apply the products mentioned. Today I thought i'd run through my most used face brushes, there will also be a post to follow on my most used eye brushes- watch this space.

First of all i'll start with my base. Now I've never really got on with those flat foundation brushes as I felt like I was painting on my makeup and they left streaks, certainly not the look I go for on an everyday basis or ever. Instead I like to use a buffing brush, I started off with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush which I loved for about a year until unfortunately the bristles weren't as soft or the best for applying foundation. When reading Makeup Savvy, I discovered there was a dupe(here) for the Bare Minerals Perfecting Face Brush, you know that buffing brush with the dent in the centre to disperse foundation? Yeah, that one and I couldn't not purchase the dupe and give it a whirl, in a few words- I love it and it was less than £2, steal!

I also love using the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (This wasn't the most 'photogenic' so see the first picture) on a day-to-day basis as it's so quick to blend out foundation to give a natural finish to the skin. I recommend running this under the tap and squeezing it out so that the sponge doesn't absorb and waste your foundation.

Base complete, I'll go onto the brushes I use to finish my face. Another Real Techniques brush(I promise, this isn't sponsored), I use the Duo-Fibre Contour Brush for as the name suggests- contouring. I'm a newbie to contouring so I needed something to apply the product lightly so that I could progressively build it up. This brush is perfect for just that and is flat and tapered to fit perfectly into the hollows of your cheeks.

Left- Duo-Fibre Contour Brush, used to contour
Right- Contour Brush used to apply blush

Another Real Techniques Contour Brush that I don't use for contouring but blush instead. I find this is the perfect size to apply blush to the apples of my cheeks and the bristles are super soft so they pick up product well. However, sometimes I over-do it on the blush so I advise you use this with a light hand to avoid looking like Coco the Clown.

And last but certainly not least is the Real Techniques Duo-Fibre Face Brush which I've recently started to use for all over powder. I've never really needed to powder before, primers seemed to keep my makeup in place as I wasn't overly oily, though that has recently changed. I'm not sure whether it's to do with the weather and becoming a hot mess during the summer months- who knows. But what I do know this brush has been great for applying powder lightly throughout the day to combat the shine and without making my face look cakey. 

That's a wrap on my most-used face brushes, I know there's a lot of Real Techniques brushes but they just seem to work for me and they're not overly expensive which my purse is thankful for.

Have you got any makeup brush recommendations? 

Please leave them below, I'd love to know!

  ♥   ♥   ♥

April Favourites | Makeup, Skincare, Fashion and more!

It's favourites time! I feel like I haven't done one of these posts in a while and considering there's a few new and old things I've been loving I thought I'd share them with you. I'm going to split these into categories and first up is makeup.

Fairly recently I picked up the MUA pressed powder in what I believe is the darkest colour, shade 4. And yes you're probably thinking if you're a regular reader of my blog- but you're pale!? I actually bought this as I heard it was a good shade for contouring and as I wanted to get into contouring and sculpting my face I thought this was a good call for only £1! I've been using this with a light hand using the Real Techniques Duo-Fibre contour brush and it's been great for adding warmth and life to my face, though I've not quite grasped contouring, I'll keep going at it!

Next is skincare and I've actually gone back to an old favourite the Garnier Moisture Match moisturiser for combination and oily skin. I nearly always pick this up when I see it on offer as you can usually get it for half the price. As my Origins Gin Zing moisturiser is running out I started to use this one again as my skins been very combination recently with a few dry and oily patches so this has been perfect for hydration and combating oils, although I would say this doesn't make my skin look matte like the writing on the packaging suggests.

There have been a couple of things in terms of fashion which are both in fact from Primark that I've been loving.

First is these gorgeous grey suede pointed flats that have cross over straps. I've been wanting a neutral pair of pointed flats for a while and after scouring many websites, I thought i'd pop into Primark to have a look. They did not disappoint, as soon as I saw these I got down on the floor to search for a size 5, lone and behold just that, right at the back! These were only £6 I believe and I'm completely smitten.

I've wanted a black pair of Topshop Joni jeans for a while and after nearly caving and spending £40 on jeans that should last, I heard Primark had a rival for only £10- what!? I'm so glad I picked them up, they fit almost perfect all over and are so comfortable. I must go back and pick up another pair and see if they have any other colours. Fingers crossed they do a white pair!? Apologies as I don't have a picture as I stupidly put them in the wash just before taking pictures!

Last up is miscellaneous as I had no idea what to call this category but basically I've been loving Spring. The past couple of weeks the weather has been gorgeous in Wales, I think Summer came early? I've loved brighter mornings and lighter evenings, they give me the boost to just get up and go- as cringey as that sounds.

I've also been enjoying lighting more Spring/Summer appropriate candles and both these have been my long standing favourites for a while, Yankee Candle Simply Home Sunlight on Snow and Pink Sands. Granted the first doesn't have a very spring appropriate name but the scent is light and fresh which is ideal and Pink Sands is the most gorgeous sweet-smelling scent I've come across. Definitely thinking of getting both these in jars soon!

There you have it, a run down of my favourites this month. I look forward to what May has to offer as we move more into Summer, let's hope for less stress and lovely weather!

What have you been loving this month?

♥   ♥   ♥

I Can't Be The Only One? | Bad Beauty Habits

Hello! For those of you who aren't already aware I've changed my blog name, I was 'A Touch of Pastels' but now everything has been changed over. Yay!

However, today I thought I'd do something a bit different- talk through some bad beauty habits. The first is a given with the image below, makeup filled brushes!

- I don't clean my brushes as often as I should. Once a week I say, more like evey fortnight- probably a bit gross!

- My skin seems to eat my makeup, why? I forget to prime and set with powder or a setting spray. This is probably why I look a bit worse for wear when returning from college or shopping.

- I touch my face, by that I mean I check for spots that could've appeared through out the day and probably encourage more. Not to mention the urge to pop them, disgusting I know! Does this sound familiar?

- I'm too lazy to dry my hair after washing so I let it dry naturally, that's not the problem. When my hair is wild in the morning and I need to look semi presentable I straighten/put some curls in my hair but I don't use heat protection because it doesn't feel right on dry hair, and I wonder why my hair is so damaged!?

- Who has time to moisturise their body after every shower? Definitely not me! I don't want to wait around in the cold for my body to absorb the body butter so I don't get stuck to my clothes. I should really pick up the Vaseline spray on body moisturiser!

- Old makeup? Throw it out! I'm guilty of assuming a 2 possibly 3 year old cream eye shadow would be OK, it wasn't! Talk about extremely irritated and dry eye lids! Having said that, give or take a few months and it can't cause that much harm, if anything. What do you think about it?

- Steer away from the tweezers, or in my case scissors. When I was about 15, I thought my eyebrow hairs were too long and thought it'd be perfectly fine to trim them with scissors. I thought it was OK until I wiped the pencil off I used to fill them in, I was half an eyebrow down! Thank goodness it grew back but in some cases, it doesn't. So don't over pluck either!

- I'm sure most people have bitten their nails at some point in their life, whether that be down to habit or habit when you're nervous. Think of all the germs and bacteria on your hands and even worse hidden under your nail, this stopped me along with painting them with my favourite nail varnish!

- That little bit of skin at the side of your nail, do not pick it! Apart from the fact it hurts like a (excuse my language) b*tch, it can also get infected really easily- ouch!

- Who else picks at split ends? I found myself rummaging through my hair while watching TV to find split ends, while I thought I was removing them I was actually told I was causing further damage up the hair. Again, I wonder why my hair is so damaged!

Please let me know I'm not the only one? What are your bad beauty habits? I'd love to hear in the comments!

Also let me know what you'd like to see here on The Traces of my Thoughts.

Much Love,

♥   ♥   ♥ 

Makeup, Skincare and Showers | Collective Beauty Haul

 Recently I've been trying to save *huge emphasis on trying* as somehow I've managed to accumulate some beauty bits that I thought I'd share with you today. Thankfully, these bits weren't overly expensive and were quite affordable at drugstore prices.



First up while shopping online at Superdrug for some Makeup Revolution products for my friends birthday, I decided that I'd try out a few more MUA pieces. I already had a few of their lipsticks and I do really like them for the small price of £1 so I decided to pick up another matte one in Fawn Fancy, a beautiful dark nudey pink. My only bugbear with MUA lipsticks is their staying power which I can't really complain about at only £1, so I decided to pick up a lip liner in a similar shade called 'Pink Me Up' to see if this would help them last longer and although not all day I find paired with this lip liner my lipstick tends to stay on a lot longer! 



Another item from MUA is this pressed powder in shade 4, you're probably thinking that can't be the right shade simply because I'm so pale but I've heard bloggers say this is a good contour shade for paler skin. I'm not the best at bronzing or contouring so in order to get some practice I decided to buy this- so far so good!



So my brows are certainly not 'on point' so in a bid to sort them out after months of just using Maybelline BrowDrama brow mascara, I decided to pick up the Soap and Glory Brow Archery. Now, apparently this is a dupe for the Anastasia Brow Wiz, though I opted for the one without the spoolie end and the almost felt tip end instead. I love this, although it's more aimed for brunettes it works perfect with my somewhat dark grey brows. This was £10.00 from Boots.



I love Real Techniques brushes so decided it was time I needed some more and I saw @perksofchlo(on instagram) selling the limited edition duo-fibre collection, brand new for a fraction of the price. For college I tend to wear 'the no makeup, makeup' and these are ideal for light application so I'm really chuffed with these!



Moving slightly away from the makeup side of things, I picked up this Aveeno moisturiser. You may have heard me complaining that I had constantly dry under eyes and dry lids so after months of trying to sort it naturally, I decided to pop to Boots and ask. This was recommended to me as it's super hydrating and gentle on sensitive skin and I can't thank the lady enough, this has helped and I'm no longer a dry under eyes suffer. Yay!



Now onto the shower. My hair was in awful condition before I had it cut so I'm desperately trying to keep it healthy this time so my friends picked up this American Cream conditioner from Lush as part of my birthday present and it smells amazing although I'm not sure if it's doing wonders for my hair yet, my hair does feel amazing once out the shower and dried. 

Another thing they picked up for me is this Grapefruit Shower Gel from The Body Shop and oh my gosh, it smells lovely, so refreshing!




And that's the lot of my recent beauty purchases, not a great deal but I have been trying to save! 




What have you been buying recently?

Comment below,



♥   ♥   ♥

Fashion, Beauty and Homeware Haul | January 2015

I'd been waiting for the Boxing Day and January sales for the whole of December seeing as my purse wasn't in the best state, I love a bargain so was excited to see what the sales had to offer. I can't be the only one right?

Though I didn't find as much as I'd of liked to, I thought I'd still share what I've accumulated recently.

I'm not one for in store clothing sales, I just imagine rails of unwanted clothes with the odd few gems, but damn it- it's not in your size! I did brave a few shops on Boxing Day before work but I didn't find anything so resorted online.

First up is this lovely pale pink fluffy jumper, which I must admit I didn't really need but I really liked it and thought it would be comfy and casual to throw on with jeans for college or shopping. It was also down to £5 from H&M, such a bargain! 

Like I said I didn't find much in the way of clothes so lastly I bought a white oversized T-Shirt(I haven't pictured as it is pretty basic). Again I thought it would be a perfect go to casual piece to throw on in a rush with leggings or tucked loosely into jeans! I believe this was £4.

Moving onto beauty, I was planning on splurging a little on whats considered 'high end'. After browsing the sale and finding many products that I wanted sold out *huge sighs* I found this Origins sample set- perfect as there was quite  few items in the set I wanted to give a go. I'll have a review on this set next week, so keep your eyes peeled for my thoughts on that! This was down from £35 I believe to £22ish, which is no longer available I'm afraid.

Seeing as I had a boots voucher to spend, I thought I'd purchase a couple of items on my to-buy list. I've wanted the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to a while now, seeing as a few Youtubers have raved about it- not to mention their foundation looked flawless. So it went straight into my basket as soon as I got my hands on it for £5.99.

Apparently my fingers are very red and stumpy, hope this gives some idea of what the colour shows up as on the skin.

Desperately in need of a new blush the Sleek blush in Rose Gold went in my basket. Its a gorgeous coral pink with beautiful shimmer and after I bought it, I heard its a dupe for Nars Orgasm! This was only £4.49 too, a steal!

I also spent the Argos voucher I had for Christmas on the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette dupe, the W7 In the Buff palette, here (which is also available on Amazon, here). Let me know if you'd like to see a review and/or a look with this palette.

Lastly in terms of beauty a couple of repurchases, the Garnier Moisture Match in Shine Be Gone and Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. My skin definitely loves Garnier, I repurchased both of these more than a few times last year!

Moving onto homeware, I picked up a couple of pieces from H&M Home online. Who doesn't love rabbits? *rolls eyes at anybody who moves to raise their hand* I couldn't leave this cute pair, a rabbit and a squirrel printed on candle jars, so sweet and only £1 in the sale!

I have a slight problem when it comes to buying duvet covers for my bed, I cannot stop.
I can never have enough but this will be my last for a long while as i'm trying to save money.
Such a pretty floral and bird print on a duck egg blue background, around £13 in the sale at Dunelm.

The last in homeware and final in this haul is this. I love how this eyelash printed dish looks on my dressing table though I'm not entirely sure what to use it for. Let me know otherwise this'll have to just look pretty without a use. At only around £3 though, it's not that big of an issue!

What have you picked up recently?

If you'd like to see what I thought on the Origins Skincare set then stay tuned til next week via bloglovin' as I shall be posting a review with my thoughts then.

Much Love, 

 ♥   ♥   ♥

P.S. I have linked the ones that I can find and that are still available.

What's In My Makeup Bag? | Travel Edition

Hello!
As you can tell from the title of this post, today i'll be giving you an insight to my makeup bag and in particular what i'll be taking away with me, or rather what I've taken away with me- depending on when this goes up! I'll let you know now, I don't have the most luxurious high end makeup although I would love some- it's just not within budget at the moment and I feel the drugstore offers great quality products at more affordable prices so here we go..

Again, I don't have the nicest of makeup bags that are on offer to me, but this is handy as it fits everything in nicely without the need to leave the bag half unzipped! This is just a pink mesh bag that came with a gift from The Body Shop- handy!

First up is foundations, notice the plural? I was using the L'Oreal True Match foundation for a while on it's own, although it's great on it's own I wasn't too keen on the finish for summer as I prefer a dewier finish. I had the Rimmel 25 hour foundation lying around as I wasn't using it as I picked up the darker shade on accident.Now I know it looks really dark in comparison but just a little mixed in with the L'Oreal foundation creates the perfect finish and colour for my skin in the summer, so that's why I'll be taking a 2nd!

Next of course I couldn't go without concealer so in there I've thrown in my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection 16 hour concealer, perfect for the job and it's small, so perfect for travelling!

To then add some colour to my face I have a blush, this isn't a Barry M blush I just had to re-pot as it had shattered everywhere from the previous pan. If you can't tell already I love this blush which is why it had to be re-potted, it's a little hassle to use but I just tap a little into the lid and swirl my brush and it's fine! This is just a natural pink colour to give a flush on the cheeks with a little shimmer in. Usually I wouldn't be keen on shimmer but it's ever so slight and gives a glow to the cheeks also! No need to pack a highlight, great!

Moving on to eyes, mascara! I couldn't leave the house without a quick flick of mascara as quite frankly I look dead! Mascara just opens my eyes and makes me look more awake, so I've packed 2- again none in particular just ones I had lying in my stash to use up! I don't really notice the difference in mascaras as they all seem to have the same effect on my eyelashes, so I've packed both Rimmel mascaras, the Scandal Eyes for my top lashes and the Extra WOW lash for the bottom!

I could go without eye shadow each day but I love creating subtle looks to make my face look more made up and like I've made an effort! So in I've put the MUA Heaven and Earth palette which are a range of natural slightly shimmery shades to create subtle or more dramatic looks as each of the shades are so versatile! Also I forgot to mention, there are 12 different eye shadows in this tiny compact palette so again, perfect for travelling!

For my brows I sweep through the Maybelline Brow Drama brow mascara in Medium Brown- this matches my brow colour perfectly and makes them look fuller and more put together!

Last but not least, moving on to lips! I love applying lipstick last as I feel it just pulls the look together, providing you choose the correct shade not to clash with your blush or even eye makeup! Of course, i'm not the expert but I've included a range of 4 shades that are practically fool proof for the looks I tend to create on a daily basis. From left to right, MUA in shade 14 Bare, Natural Collection in Rose Bud, No7 in Vanity(bare in mind this is old, passed onto me by my Auntie who's quite the makeup hoarder) and lastly another MUA lipstick in the shade Nectar.

Bare- the perfect nude colour liptick- I think this could work for a range of skin tones too!
Rose Bud- a lovely pink colour that almost matches my actual lip colour so it's great for natural days!
Vanity- don't be fooled by the bullet like I was, this comes out as a natural brighter pink on my lips, I love it for a pop of colour!
Nectar- this is a lovely bright coral colour which looks amazing and so summery on a brighter day!

Last in the terms of actual makeup products is again another lip product, or eye for that matter! The Beverly Hills lip and eye primer, again passed down from my wonderful Auntie to make my lipstick and eye makeup last a lot longer on those warmer days!

Of course i'm taking makeup brushes to apply the makeup, these all fit in so nicely without squeezing them in and ever so slightly bending the bristles like I have done in the past! I'll list these like the lipsticks and explain what I use them for..
Eyelash Curlers
Real Techniques Buffing brush- buffing in foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Pointed Foundation brush- applying foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Contour brush- to apply blush.
Lydia eye shadow applicator- to apply the base shadow.
ELF Blending brush- to blend all eye makeup.
Real Techniques Detail brush- to apply a darker shade to the crease and outer corner.
Lydia Brow brush/comb- to brush through my brows and comb through my lashes.

And that's all for my travel makeup bag! For me this is just the right amount, admittedly I don't need to take 2 foundations, 2 mascaras and 4 lipsticks but if you've got the room- why not!? Let me know what's in your travel makeup bag or what would be if you were travelling this summer!

Until next time,

Amy X