My 12 Hour Makeup Edit

What is that strange warm glowing ball in the sky I see before my eyes, oh yeah it's the sun? Something here in the UK we have all been unfamiliar with the last couple of months. The weather is slowly starting to warm up and the days are lasting longer, which is great for us blogging gals wanting that bright photo. However, the weather isn't that great for our make-up. These are the makeup products I tend to reach for if I am on my feet all day and don't really have time to be touching up my face.

If I know I am going to be wearing makeup all day a primer is essential for keeping my makeup at bay. The primer I tend to reach for at the moment is the Hylamide HA Blur*. This product is amazing to use as it not only minimizes pores, it blurs and plumps the skin too. Which is exactly what I need if I am working a long shift at work as this keeps my foundation in place all day. I find my foundation glides onto my face so much easier when I have this on my skin. Speaking of foundation if I want full coverage I reach for Estee Lauder Double Wear every time. This foundation is amazing for covering imperfections and giving you that flawless base that doesn't move all day. It's a little bit pricey but totally worth it. Similar is The Ordinary Fluid Primer £5.00.

A concealer I absolutely swear by that has changed my life and my skin is Urban Decay Naked Skin. This concealer is amazing for hiding dark circles, covering spots and brightening your complexion. It can sometimes be a little too heavy which is why I tend to only reach for it when I am wearing makeup all day. I have tried loads of highlighters over the years and the only one that I'd go as far as to say is my holy grail is the Mary Lou Manizer. This powder highlight is incredible for giving your face a healthy glow. I find the more hours I wear it the healthier my skin looks, not sure if that's because I have oily skin but hey it's a good'in!

To set all my makeup in place I tend to reach for either the NYX Matte or Dewy Setting Spray, depending on what I fancy. These sprays are affordable and help keep your makeup in place for a little while longer. The Urban Decay Setting Spray is my favourite setting spray, but unfortunately, I ran out and I now use this as an alternative.

What makeup keeps your face in place??

Last Minute Halloween Makeup

When it comes to Halloween I take my hat off to those who take the time to research, practice and plan their outfit in advance. Every year I tell myself I'll do the same and instead I am rushing around last minute pulling together some sort of 'creation' with mostly my makeup and some black outfit because black is scary right? 

Today I wanted to put together a quick post on some of my makeup staples that are perfect for Halloween for those of us who don't have the time or just don't really like dressing up, but want to get into the spooky-spirit.

When it comes to creating a frightening face you definitely need a bold eye look so a palette I'd definitely recommend is Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares. This palette is full of adventurous shades that you'd never really touch for your everyday makeup. This palette is perfect for creating a Halloween look as it has all the shades you could possibly need and for £4 you should definitely have it in your collection. I always associate eyeliner with Halloween, I guess it's from previous cat makeup looks I've tried and failed with over the years. You could definitely create an amazing makeup look with eyeliner, even simple designs like spider webs, stitches or some sort of skeleton look. If on the off chance I wear eyeliner I always reach for Soap&Glory Supercat Liner as this creates such good makeup looks without the hassle of smudges or mistakes.

I've included my Too Faced Sweetheart Blusher because this blusher has amazing pigmentation and what's Halloween without going a little ott on the makeup? Even if you were dressing up you could always use this if you were dressing as a clown or a rag doll.

Halloween makeup isn't complete unless there is something going on with your lips so I've included three budget-friendly Makeup Revolution Lipsticks. If you weren't wanting to dress up but wanted something bold on the lips, then what's more daring than a green lipstick? This and the purple shade is from Makeup Revolution's 'atomic' range and only costs £1. I think these would look great if you were to dress up as a unicorn or a clown, very bold and quirky so great for Halloween. I have also included a very deep purple lipstick that shows up as black, from MR's rose gold collection just in case the green was too daring. This shade goes really nice with a smokey, bold eye to look so definitely a one to grab if you want something not too in your face.

What is your Halloween look this year??

Brand Focus: Benecos Makeup

I mean, who doesn't absolutely love a budget-friendly, au natural makeup brand right? I was kindly sent a lovely surprise package from Benecos filled with stunning makeup products to try out. I have heard and mentioned Benecos in a blog post before so I was so excited to try more of their range out.

This is a natural cosmetics beauty brand that is animal-friendly, BDIB certified and have a colourless eco look. If I'm being honest when I read the term 'natural' I do sometimes make a quick judgement and assume they won't be as wonderful as some brands, but this really made me think differently.

Bronzing Duo £4.15 | Link

This bronzing duo did take me back a little since I am quite pale and this doesn't look like my shade. However that didn't stop me trying it out, it reminds me of Solar Powder by S&G in the sense it blends in so nicely to how you want it to look. That rose hues shade with the warm brown gives you a lovely sun-glow effect perfect for a sunny holiday.

Natural Lipstick 'First Love' £3.90 | Link

This lipstick really excited me as the shade is something I tend to reach out for quite often. These wonderfully creamy lipsticks nourish, protect and soften your lips with active ingredients including jojoba, sunflower oil and organic beeswax. This lipstick shade really matches my skin tone well which makes it the perfect everyday lip.

Natural Lip Gloss 'Natural Glam' £3.73 | Link 

Not the biggest of fans of lip glosses but this shade really struck me to give them a try more. These are wonderfully nourishing lip glosses that give your lips a berry-tone gloss and don't leave you with a sticky texture. I think this is perfect for those 'no makeup' days or over a nude lip, I really love this gloss!

Mono Eye Shadow 'Forget Me Not', 'Apricot Glow' and 'Soft Vanilla' £2.49 Each | Link

I think out of everything the eye shadows were what I was sceptical about since I've found a lot of inexpensive shadows tend to not be as pigmented or stay in place for long. These softly shimmering eye shadows are the perfect subtle shades for a natural look. These are very powdery and go onto my lids so easily without having to reapply. I love the soft vanilla shade as a base eye shadow I use this all the time now and it just stays in place all day. I can see these being a staple in my everyday makeup routine.

Nail Polish 'Hot Summer' £3.23 | Link

The nail polishes are not a natural cosmetic product from Benecos but that didn't stop me from trying it out. This shade is perfect for summer! The shade is very rich and looks lovely on my nails, it somehow makes them look healthy. It dries fairly quickly and stays in place for a few days without chipping.

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*PR Sample/gift.

Have you tried Benecos out yet??

Girl Tries Nivea Men's Shaving Balm

Never thought I'd see the day where I try out a Shaving Balm for men I mean, I'll use my boyfriends Nivea Face Wash if I stay at his but other then that I stick to my own facial products. After reading so many great reviews on Nivea Men's Shaving Balm for keeping your makeup in place all day as a primer, I finally decided to see what the hype was about and put this balm to the test.

I haven't grown a beard, yet.

You can pick this balm up pretty much in any drugstore or supermarket for around five pounds so not at all expensive or difficult to find. I decided to trial this product out on a day I was off from work but still went out as I wasn't sure how my skin would react to it. Once moisturized, I went ahead and applied this all over my face and down my neck. It has a creamy white, almost runny consistency and the scent isn't the best, it definitely has that manly scent to it which I'd usually like but it also smelt a little bit sickly as well. It blended into my skin very quickly and didn't leave me with any sticky or tacky finish which I was expecting. It doesn't reduce the appearance of imperfections or pores like most of my primers do so I was sceptical on how my makeup was going to look during the day.

I went ahead and applied the rest of my makeup and I must admit my foundation glided on so much nicer and effortlessly than normal. When all my makeup was applied I did notice my skin had a little bit of a healthy glow to it, I have oily skin anyways but this balm gave me a little healthy glow where the sun naturally hits my face. Once ready I went out and got on with my day keeping a tab on how my makeup was holding up throughout.

4 Hours Update

Once I checked my makeup I noticed my face looked a lot more dewy than normal. Usually, I go all matte with my makeup but this balm has definitely made me think twice on embracing more of an oily, dewy look. I really like how my makeup has that healthy glow to it. However, it did feel as though it would get a little bit shinier during the day so I popped a bit of powder onto my forehead and chin.

7 Hours Update

By this point, I did notice the tip of my nose was starting to melt, but this was the only area on my face that looked as though it was melting off. Therefore this could have been my own fault not the balm as I may have missed applying it to the tip of my nose as everywhere else looked fine.

9/10 Hours Update

As I was taking my makeup off I definitely noticed my makeup was still pretty much in place and nothing had budged since the last time I checked. I am really quite impressed with how this product has turned out. However, I did find once I removed my makeup my skin felt a little bit greasy so I am worried that maybe this could make my skin more oily if I was to use it all the time and maybe even spotty.

Overall though I am really impressed with this balm it definitely kept my makeup in place all day and I only touched it up once. I loved how it gave my face a dewy, healthy glow it's definitely made me rethink how I'd like my makeup to look. I would definitely use this again on those days I know I will be wearing makeup for a long time, but I don't think I'd wear it every single day purely because I think it will make my skin more oily than good.

Have you tried this balm out yet??

Drugstore Makeup Tryouts

As much as I enjoy splurging out on high-end makeup it is always nice to try drugstore makeup in the hope it'll save me an arm and a leg. Recently I've been a little bored of my everyday makeup so I picked up a few bits n bobs in the hope that they'll rekindle my love for makeup again, and they did!

H&M 'Smoky Nude' Eye Palette | £9.99

An eye shadow palette was one of the bits I picked up in my haul and so far I am impressed. This palette is ideal for little trips away as it contains all the shades you need for both day and night, I took this palette to London with me. The shades aren't amazingly pigmented but they do stay in place all day long and give you the perfect neutral look. I always pick up palettes like this as I think they're so handy for travelling and for every day.

L'Oreal Infallible Foundation | £7.99

When you use a product for so many months your skin can become immune or you stop seeing the benefits and this is how I felt towards Double Wear. I decided to try a cheaper alternative foundation to wear every day and keep DW for those special outings. I decided to try L'Oreal foundation after reading lots of great reviews, but I was worried about the shades. I picked up the lightest shade and surprisingly it was perfect for my skin! This gives light to medium coverage and leaves your skin with a lovely smooth matte finish. This feels a lot lighter on my skin than DW ever has and it stays in place all day, I sometimes even forget I have makeup on that's how smooth it feels. I am really impressed with this foundation and I will continue to use this since I will be saving over £20!

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer | £5.99

This concealer has really high ratings online which was the biggest reason I decided to try it out. After reading so many amazing reviews I was expecting positive things, but to be completely honest I didn't see it. The shading was too yellow toned, it did nothing for coverage under my eyes and it didn't really cover blemishes, as well as some other drugstore concealers, do. I am going to keep trying it and see if it makes a difference with the L'Oreal foundation but on first impressions, I am not blown away.

Collection Define & Perfect Brow Powder | £4.19

When it comes to brows I prefer filling mine in with a pencil/tip as you have much more control over how defined you want your brows to look. I picked up the Collection D&P Brow Powder after watching a tutorial on Youtube and really liking how easy it is to use. When I went to purchase if they didn't have a blonde shade in my local Boots so I went for brunette which is a little bit too dark for my brows so I have to comb it out a bit with a gel brush. Despite the shade I really like this product it definitely defines your brows to how you want them to look, it is incredibly easy to apply and makes your brows look on fleek!

What drugstore makeup have you been trying??