Saturday 27 September 2014

Make-up to Brighten a Tired Face!


I haven't blogged for a little while. Work is full on and I'm finding myself with very little time to myself, especially during the week- but hey, such is life!

This morning I really fancied doing a full face of make-up. If you're like me and only have ten minutes or less to do your make-up in the morning, you tend to stick to the bare essentials: a coat or two of mascara; a dab of concealer under your tired eyes; a swish of blush to make you look like you actually do belong to the world of the living! Make-up becomes less about fun and enjoyment, and more about necessity. 

So when I was confronted with a slightly work-worn face this morning, I couldn't wait to reach for my favourite brightening products:

The Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base in the shade Rose is something I need to use more. It is a lovely way to start your mission to achieve glowing, fresh-looking skin. I applied this all over my face for maximum effect! It is not one of these ridiculous glitter products; you will not look like a Twilight extra in direct daylight, but rather you will look like your skin is beautifully alive (even when it's really not!).  

To complete the base, I used Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation. I like the light consistency and brightening formula. It is a lighter coverage and will allow freckles to remain on show, which is fine by me. To conceal around the nose, under my eyes and over areas of discolouration, I used my favourite Nars Radiant creamy concealer in Vanilla. It brightens and keeps skin from drying up and looking more fatigued. I could have given my dark circles more of a smothering in concealer to hide them even more, but I find that heavy concealer can settle into my ever-growing fine lines and make me look even worse. I like to remember that it isn't actually 'natural' for most adults to have a completely uniform skintone across the whole of their face. 

I used my beloved Hourglass Ambient lighting Blush in Dim Infusion (a beautiful illuminating peach for fairer skin) on my cheeks, with a dab of Benefit's High Beam (liquid highlighter) blended over the highest points of my cheeks. The trick to disguising the fact that you are tired is to subtly illuminate your face.

For eyes, I wanted to achieve a brightened effect, so I opted for shimmer in the inner corners (Urban Decay's Venus from the Naked Basics Palette). I used an all over wash of W.O.S (Walk of Shame) and some of the light purple shade from my Nars 'Tokyo' duo. This beautiful combo is one I need to use more often. I find it so ethereal on the eyes; the white-silver shade is another excellent shimmer for the inner corners.   

Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Mushroom and L'oreal's Volume Millions Excess mascara gave my light-themed make-up some definition, as well as some gel eyeliner flicked out on the upper lashline (just on the outer third). 

For my poor, dry lips, I used my Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting (a light pink).

So what do you think? I may still feel tired, but I think I might manage to trick some people into thinking I've been getting my full sleep quota!



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5 comments :

  1. you look bright and beautiful! x Revlon lip butter looks interesting,i must give it a try!

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    1. Oh thank you, that's a nice thing to say! There are lots of different shades in the Revlon Lip Butter range, so definitely worth trying some out! x

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  2. I always wanted, but never tried NARS products, because they are pretty pricy for me, maybe You know some good cheaper alternative?

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  3. It's definitely worth looking at the drugstore before you purchase high end. Here in the UK, Rimmel make some lovely products and also Sleek Make-up tends to be really pigmented. Avon is a good brand too.

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