What's In My Make-up Bag: Beauty Blurgh

We're having a look inside another lovely beauty bloggers make-up bag today, and this time it belongs to Vivienne from Beauty Blurgh...

If I were to show you every single item I currently have in my make-up bag(s), we’d be here until the end of time. Some people call it hoarding, but I prefer to think of it as collecting…ah, who am I kidding? To say I'm a make-up hoarder is an understatement. Despite my self-confessed issue with needing to purchase absolutely every single cosmetic item ever created, I’d say that I have a handful of products that I use on the regular that give me my go-to fifteen minute work face. When I've inevitably over-slept and am late for my shift, I need products that can be applied quickly that give lasting results; the carefully-selected products I’m about to show you do just that!

Face:

On any given day, my skin is the thing I spend the most time on, no matter how basic I want my makeup to be. I think I’m what dermatologists professionally call ‘a grease monster’ and have also been blessed with blotchy and blemish-prone skin. Thanks, genetics! Whilst I’m not insecure to the point of covering my skin all the time, for work I always like to wear a good amount of coverage.  

For my primer, I realise I’m late to the game with this one, my new favourite is Benefit’s Porefessional. It gives the nicest and smoothest cover over my skin and makes my concealer and foundation glide on like a dream. I mean, what’s not to love? 

Next comes concealer; it’s fair to say I’m not remotely adventurous when it comes to concealer, so much so that I still use the very first concealer I ever bought: Rimmel’s Hide the Blemish Concealer in Ivory. It’s cheap and cheerful and does exactly what its name suggests as well as hiding my dark circles; what a bonus, eh?! However, it’s foundation that is my true saviour. My long-time favourite is Clinique’s Superbalanced in the Alabaster. It’s a little on the expensive side but, for me at least, this foundation lasts ages, applies really well and does a stellar job of evening out my skin tone.

To add a pop of colour, I’ll pick a colour from Makeup Revolution’s Sugar and Spice blush palette. It’s £6, includes eight gorgeous shades and is beautifully pigmented, especially considering the cost. Then comes the process of sealing it all in. If I don’t use a loose powder over my face when I’m done, my makeup will slide down my face by the time I get to work, let alone make it to the end of my day. The best I’ve used to date is Rimmel’s Match Perfection. Yes, it does go everywhere, but, my god, does it do a fabulous job of sealing in your look!

Bonus feature: If I have an extra few minutes (a rarity, I assure you), I’ll incorporate a subtle contour into my routine. My face is oval and kinda lacks any well-defined shape, so a small amount of contouring from Smashbox’s Step-by-Step does a great job of giving me some cheekbones.

Eyes:

Whilst genetics failed me terribly when it comes to my skin, I’ll give it some credit for my eyes and brows. I’m lucky enough to have naturally dark and curled lashes and dark, well-shaped brows. That being said, a coat of Clinique’s High Impact mascara gives my lashes a little volume as well as enhancing their overall length and Maybelline’s Brow Satin in Dark Brown fills in the odd gap in my brows. If I have a little more time, I’ll also give myself a cat-eye using my Collection Extreme 24Hr Felt Tip Liner, but this is a bit of a luxury.

Lips:

Lip balm is an absolute must for me when it comes to my work face. Following a recent trip to the U.S., I maximised on the opportunity to buy some EOS lip balms for a fraction of the price we pay in the UK. Would I pay £7 for them here? Probably not, but for $3, they’re not half bad! Following a generous swipe of one of those, I usually apply a nude lip. My current favourite is GOSH’s Darling; it’s beautiful, trust me on this one!