Comparative Literature Student Jackie Ashworth-McLintock tells us about her make-up bag essentials:
Clinique Even Better Foundation with SPF15
Having
tried somewhere between twenty and thirty different foundations in the last
eight of so years of makeup wearing, this is one of the few I’ve repeatedly
purchased. The benefits of this
foundation for me lie in its medium- to full-coverage and oil free formula,
which is perfect for my blemish-prone, combination skin. It covers blemishes and post-blemish redness,
and only requires a small amount of complementary concealer and setting
powder. At £22.50, it’s not exactly a
steal, but the 30ml bottle tends to last several months, even with my heavy
usage. Furthermore, the quality of this
product I feel allows for more leeway in the quality of powder and concealer,
on which I tend to look to save money.
It goes without saying that a foundation with an SPF is just plain good
sense.
Benefit
Hoola pressed bronzing powder.
Again,
at £23.50, this is not a cheap product, but when I bought mine, it was £21.50
if my memory serves correctly, so that should give an indication of how long
each box lasts. The product is pretty
much the perfect bronzer for me. It’s
entirely matte, and I was told by the “BeneBabes” (I’m so sorry for just saying
that) at the counter that the formula contains no orange tones, only browns, so
you’re pretty much guaranteed to not look “tangoed”. Hoola is good for delivering a pretty glow,
but the real beauty in the totally non-shimmery finish is in contouring. A sweep under the place my cheekbones ought
to be and under my chin, where a second one occasionally likes to hide, and I
like to think I look about 4lbs lighter.
Benefit
Miss Popularity
I
don’t know if this product even still exists!
It doesn’t seem to be in Benefit stores or their website. However, eBayers can snatch it online for
only £6.95 at the moment. It’s been over
four years since I acquired this product by accidentally-on-purpose never
returning it to a friend, and I imagine she’d had it for a while first, and
it’s STILL going on strong. It’s a tiny
bottle of extremely pigmented shimmery highlighting powder. I use it under my eyebrows every single day,
to add some definition to my eye area and occasionally reflect the light away
from unplucked straggling hairs. If I’m
going for a smoky eye look, I often dab a little smudge of this in the inner
corners of my eyes, to open the area up a little more.
Makeup
Academy Intense Colour Precision Eye Liner Pencils
For
some items in my makeup bag, I much prefer to spend a little more and get a
little more quality. In fact, I have two
eyeliner pencils in grey and black by Benefit that I will always want to use
and thus I think is fair to spend that little bit more on. However, when it comes to shades of eyeliner
that I just don’t expect to be using everyday, I look for a bargain. I absolutely love MUA’s eyeliner pencils, not
only do they come in eight different colours (black, white, brown, white,
green, navy, turquoise, lilac and even orange), they have a sharpener in the
lid, and they cost only £1! I own every
colour (yes even the orange), and although I barely use some of the colours, I
just know how badly I’d kick myself if I needed orange eyeliner and didn’t have
any – and at less than a tenner for a full set, I couldn’t say no. The colour is very pigmented, and it’s surprisingly
longwearing considering the price. A
surprise favourite among the colours for me is “Lovely Lilac”, which is
slightly pearlescent and complements my brown eyes well. I run it underneath my lower lashes if I have
brown shades on top, and it adds an almost-unnoticeably smoky softness.
Makeup
Academy Blusher
Another
absolute steal at only £1 each! Whilst I
have a couple of more high-end blushers, I tend to gravitate towards one of
these a lot of the time. Personally, I
can never decide which blusher the day calls for until I’ve done the rest of my
makeup, and because of the price of this one, I was again able to buy the
entire range of shades. So I can decide
if I want a delicate pink flush for an understated look, a bronzed pink for a
summery day, or a deep purplish brown for a dramatic, contoured evening look,
I’m covered. And all for under a
fiver. I don’t think you can say fairer
than that.
