something different: my daily make-up essentials

Clockwise from top left: Benefit Porefessional, Benefit Cheekathon palette, Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeliner, Estee Lauder Double Wear Lengthening Mascara, Lord and Berry Kajal nude eyeliner, Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner, Hylamide Blur.

I'm not a big make-up wearer: I used to only do a coat or two of mascara and some lip balm before I head out of the house. However, a few months ago, I started adding some basics to my routine and this is where we are now. Having quite pale oriental skin, I am wary of adding too much of blusher or bronzer to try and add a bit of glow to my complexion. My skin is oily on the T-zone and cheeks but normal-dry everywhere else and I find the following products hold up well throughout the day plus or minus one or two top ups in the afternoon!

I don't wear any sort of foundation (BB cream or otherwise) and instead prefer to use a pore minimiser as my 'base'. Hylamide Blur and Benefit's Porefessional have both served me well for this purpose though if I had to choose one out of the two, it would probably be Benefit's offering because it lasts that bit longer during the day.

The Cheekathon palette is great value for money if you're a fan of Benefit blushers and as I had a House of Fraser voucher at the time, I opted to splurge. I use Dandelion, Dallas, Coralista and Rockateur on a regular basis (though not all at once!) and Hoola only when I look particularly ill/sleep deprived. 

Oily skin makes mascara and eye make-up an issue too. I like to look natural during the day so I don't always use eyeliner but when I do, Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof liner is brilliant. On the days where I want to look a little less made-up, Estee Lauder's Double Wear eyeliner in Espresso complements my dark brown eyes well. Lord & Berry's kajal pencil in nude is also good at brightening up the dark inner corners of my eyes and when used on my lower lash line, it helps hides the evidence of a poor night's sleep. Finally, Estee Lauder's Double Wear mascara is pretty much the only one I've tried that stays put for at least twelve hours.

I hope you've enjoyed this post where it is something different. I don't intend on blogging about beauty really often and it's just nice to share a routine I do on a near daily basis.