Back To School Series #2 | Natural School Makeup

Going back to school after the Summer holidays can be nerve racking, so it's best to plan out a simple everyday makeup look, so you're not late for your first day back because of a makeup mishap. So for the second post in this 'Back To School' Series I'm going to share a natural, everyday makeup look with you that you'll - fingers crossed - be able to complete in 10 minutes.

For your base you're going to want to use a light/medium coverage BB cream -I really like my Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream at the moment- it's better to use a BB cream rather than a heavy coverage foundation because it will look so much more natural, and more appropriate for school. As for concealer, I'm sure you'll all have your favourite but I'd recommend the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, because it does a great job of concealing under-eye circles and any blemishes you may have too! Finally set your base with a powder, I love my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder because it looks natural and doesn't make your face look cakey, plus it helps to stop you getting an oily face throughout the day.

 For blush you'll need a soft and easy shade to wear, so a light pinky-peach is perfect! I really like Benefit Hervana blush for more neutral days. If you have time you could use a little highlighter too such as MAC MSF in 'Soft & Gentle' or -as a cheaper alternative- MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter.

Now onto eyes, you're going to want to use either a shimmery neutral shade -like MAC 'All That Glitters' / MAC 'Naked Lunch'- or an almost-skin colour matte shade -like Urban Decay 'Walk Of Shame' / Urban Decay 'Foxy'- it's up to you weather you go for a shimmer or a matte as long it's natural-looking. You don't want to go over-board on eyes, so a little slick of eyeliner and a few lashings of a mascara should do you just fine.

For your lips, a light pink lipgloss or a glossy lipstick will be perfect. The Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors are great for a neutral gloss, and Revlon's Lip Butter in 'Strawberry Shortcake' would be great to use for shiny healthy-looking lips. And of course if you don't fancy a lipgloss or lipstick then you could use a lip balm of your choice to help prevent dry, chapped lips. I'm really liking the Maybelline Baby Lips right now.

So that is my natural school makeup look! Thanks for taking the time to read through this lengthy post and if you give this look a go yourself be sure to send me a picture on Twitter! My Twitter is: @Amybfashion35

Will you be using any of these products mentioned in this post? What do you think of my 'Back To School' Series?

The Makeup | Currently Coveting #2

I'm revealing my hot new must-haves for the up-coming months, and showing what's been on my beauty radar recently...

UD Revolution Lipsticks £15
Urban Decay have re-vamped their lipsticks and ,from what I've heard, the quality too. These new lipsticks come in a range of shades so there's bound to be one to suit everybody. Urban Decay claim them to "deliver insane colour payoff with creamy shine" so they sound right up my street! I particularly like the look of 'Native'.

Revlon Lip Butter Autumn/Winter Shades £7.99
Revlon are releasing two new Lip Butter shades for their Autumn makeup collection: Invite Only and Provocative. They're very natural shades - considering their for an Autumn collection - but I'd quite like to get them to add to my collection - haha!

Revlon Lash Potion Mascara £9.99
Yes, another Revlon product, but I definitely think it's the packaging that gets me with this mascara. It just looks so magical and lovely - strange I know. I've read a couple of reviews and they've all said good things so once I've got some of other mascaras used up I might give this a go.

MAC Lipstick in 'Angel' £15
This wouldn't be a makeup wishlist without something from MAC on here, and I'm always wanting a new lipstick too. Angel is a soft pink shade and it's a great daytime colour to wear on your lips. Plus Kim Kardashian wears it.

L'Oreal Paris Brow Artiste Eyebrow Pencil £5.49
Usually I prefer to use an eyeshadow to fill my eyebrows in, but it's the double-ended pencil that does it for me. One end has the coloured eyebrow pencil and the other end has a clear wax to set them in place, so it's super quick and easy.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint £4.99
After seeing Lily (from Lily Pebbles) use these I've been eyeing these up in Boots but I think it's about time I got around a bought one. My favourite shade is 'Rich Russet', a shimmery bronze/brown shade, which would be good to use as a base or just on its own.

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansers £?
These aren't actually on The Body Shop's website at the moment but I have seen them in-store already. Their new camomile range consists of; makeup removers, cleansing butter and a silky cleansing oil, all of which sound heavenly and I'd love to try. I'm not sure of the prices but I think they're around £9-£12 :)


What's on your beauty wishlist right now?

Monthly Favourites | June

Yes, it's that time of the month again where everyone is sharing their favourite beauty products that they've been using the past month, so here goes... This months favourites include some newbies and a few old friends that have made their way back into my routine.

Essie Nail Polish in Fiji- This shade has been gracing  my nails mainly this month. A milky pink shade that I think looks very sophisticated and I don't have any other shades like this in my collection. It suits pale skin tones (i.e-me) but if you had a tan, it would emphasize the colour a lot more. It does go streaky on the first coat but once you've put 2 coats on, there isn't a streak in sight.  As you know I love the brushes and formula of Essie nail polishes and they have never disappointed me yet.

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Conditioner- I'm sure almost everybody will have those days where your hair is so dry or you find it hard to get a bush through, I certainly do (especially after blow-drying my hair). To help get soft and smooth feeling hair, I've been using this Dove leave-in conditioner. First of all the scent of this is just heavenly, I like to spray it mainly on the ends of my hair to make them frizz-free and then go through my hair with a brush afterwards. It can be used on wet or dry hair too, perfect to reduce frizz, tame any flyaways and hydrate your hair.

Juicy Couture, Couture La La- It's described as a sweet blend of Mandarin and white florals on Juicy Couture's website, it's probably more for Spring time but I like to wear this kind of scent any time of year really. The bottle that this comes in is gorgeous, a pink ribbon and diamantés what more could a girl want?

Rimmel Stay Matte Face Powder- Every beauty blogger must have heard about this face powder at some point, Tanya Burr (and many others) swear by it and it's a bargain too. A light dusting of this, concentrating on my t-zone is all I need for shine-free skin - almost - all day.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer- Despite my love for the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, as I came to an end of one of my (many) tubes I decided to try something new. The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is one my favourites so I was expecting good things from their concealer. It covers very well leaving no signs of blemishes or under eye circles, it has a slightly thicker consistency when compared to the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer which I think I prefer.

So that concludes my June favourites, what have you been loving recently?

The Makeup: New Purchases

I like to change my makeup routine up quite a lot but once Spring is here I like to whip out my coral lipsticks and peachy blushers ready for a glowy and healthy makeup look. Hidden away are my deep reds and raspberry shades, and out come some more Spring-appropriate choices.

First up is 'Pink Punch' from the Models Own Ice Neon Collection. This super bright pink is getting me really in the mood for Summer and I can guarantee you this will be on my nails for the foreseeable future. Beautifully opaque in two coats, but it's not incredibly matte. It does say matte effect on the bottle but sadly it's not as matte as I would of liked.

Revlon have recently released some new shades of lip butters and with me being a huge fan of them already, I had to pick up at least one of their new shades. It has the same qualities of the original lip butters, a soft, creamy butter-like texture, hydrating and pigmented on your lips. How could I not resist? Juicy Papaya is a warm-toned peachy coral shade and instead of having shimmer in it (like the rest of the lip butters do), it's just one block of colour. Overall the pigmentation isn't fantastic, it's just a nice sheer lipstick to add a subtle wash of colour to your lips. Other shades that have been released are: Wild Watermelon, Pink Lemonade and Sorbet. All ideal shades for this time of year and I'll look forward to picking up some more soon.

Something else that's been on my wishlist for a while is the Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush in 'Santa Rose' and it wasn't until the other week that I managed to get my mitts on it. Santa Rose is a stunning muted pink/peach shade, and for £3.99 you can't really go wrong. It adds a subtle, healthy glow to your cheeks. This is a blusher I reach for on a daily basis, as it's great for everyday wear. The packaging isn't anything to rave about but as long as the product itself is good, then it doesn't really matter (although a beautifully designed casing always ticks all the right boxes for me).
A few days ago I purchased my first Mac lipstick (I'm hooked already by the way) and I wanted to pick a shade that would be easy for me to wear, so I went for Patisserie. A brown/pinky nude shade and I know a lot of people hate this phrase but, it is a 'my lips but better' shade. Sheer on the lips, so it's perfect for everyday wear and would probably please people who don't even like lipsticks, as you can't feel it on your lips. For my first Mac lipstick purchase, I am very happy and I look forward to my next buy!

March Favourites

So here's a quick post to show you what I've been loving using this month, it's been a while since my last favourites post (November to be precise..whoops!) but I'm back on track with now, thank goodness!

First up is L'Oreal's GlamShine Stain Splash (shade Romy). This has been in my makeup bag ever since I purchased it and I won't blabber on too much about this product because I did a review of this here. It applies smoothly and evenly, leaving a subtle gloss. Unfortunately the gloss doesn't last very long but the staining power in this product is fantastic, so even when the gloss has worn off your lips aren't completely bare. For £7.99 each these certainly won't break the bank and they come in a variety of different shades from lilac pinks to intrepid reds these are most definitely worth the price. Next up is Benefit's Creaseless Cream eyeshadow in R.S.V.P, I love how natural this looks on my eyes, it's shimmery but not OTT and these NEVER CREASE! I use this on its own and as a base for other eye shadows, it's creamy and glides straight on your eyelids with no bother at all and you don't need to tug on your eyelid to blend it in either. R.S.V.P is a dreamy champagne shade which is easy to build up too. You can also use these as eye liners, and there are darker shades available. Oh and I forgot to mention, these are only £7 on the Benefit website at the moment, such a bargain! They are so buttery and a delight to use and I'm so glad to have one of these in my collection.
Rimmel London Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in shade 101, has been my go-to lipstick this month. It's creamy and velvet texture makes them easy to apply and they are astonishingly moisturising, which isn't what you would expect from a drugstore matte lipstick. It's a dusky blue-toned pink and looks quite mauve on my lips and also gives the appearance of whiter teeth.
I'm a huge fan of bright natural eye makeup (especially for Spring), so this Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliner is fantastic for brightening up your eyes. I use this on my waterline and as these are water-proof, it lasts all day long. Their divine rich, silky consistency makes these the easiest to utilize.
Bare Minerals aren't really a brand I look at that much, but when I heard about their foundation (ages ago) I knew I would have to try it out for myself. It's high coverage and long lasting, which I would of never expected from a powder. This is actually a mini version of the foundation but you can buy it here for £25, which I believe is a pretty acceptable price, seen as you only need a tiny amount of this to cover any blemishes, scars or un-even skintone you may have.
And last but not least is my Stila Convertible Colour in shade Lilium, as I'm sure most of you beauty addicts out there will know how much these have been raved about previously, but as I was rummaging through my makeup drawers I came across this and decided to give it another go. Lilium is a stunning soft rosy pink shade, great for Spring, I like to use this on my cheeks but do occasionally use it on my lips at the same time if I'm going for a matchy-matchy look. I was impressed with how fuss-free this was to use because I usually end up looking like a clown when I use cream blushers but after a few practices I found a way that's suitable for me.

What have you been loving this month?

Everyday Makeup #1

Face: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Light Vanilla, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light 2, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow, Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, Benefit Hervana Blush, 17 Dazzle The Night Highlighter.

Eyes: Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold, Max Factor Eye-Brightening Mascara, Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (Shades used: Foxy, Tease and YDK), Collection Extreme Felt Tip Eyeliner.

What are you using at the moment?