Autumnal Make-up Feat. Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint & Portobello Eyeshadow Duo

This is really just an excuse to showcase some products from Nars that I use regularly, however the tones are quite Autumnal!
This everyday make-up look starts with plenty of moisturiser and a primer. My skin is dry and believe me when I say it can look pretty crepey and dehydrated with the wrong base in the wrong light! Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint is a tinted moisturiser in a matte finish which offers light to light-medium coverage. It isn't ridiculously drying, but could cling to patches if you haven't prepped. The best application is using fingers or a sponge as I find it needs to be worked into the skin. I wear the Shade Finland which is light with a neutral- yellow undertone. This seems to subtly counteract redness. I actually prefer this to Nars' original tinted moisturiser as I prefer a matte finish to a shiny face any day of the week. This isn't the easiest (or indeed most challenging) foundation to work with, but it does a good job of unifying your complexion.

Review: Origins Ginzing Brightening Cream Eyeshadow

I have been using the Origins cream eyeshadow for some time now after picking the shade Bamboost up from a CCO (discount cosmetics outlet). This is now my everyday, most reached for eyeshadow. It is the most flattering, purple-toned taupe brown- very much like my favourite Mac shade, Quarry, but in cream form. It is just lovely.

The Best Mac Everyday Shades: from the pan to the eye!

I began trying Mac eyeshadows and building up my collection quite a few years ago. I've generally favoured neutral shades since I started wearing make-up, with the exception of a few of my teenage years where I experimented with crazy colours for fun. I am not denying that the more exotic colours offfered by Mac draw me in like the next magpie. On the contrary, I own some bright shades which I will look foward to showing off in a future post. But for everyday in my profession, I steer clear of anything that will make people double take.

Left: Malt; Right: Quarry

For those who prefer not to spend their time or money on make-up, I can totally see that many of the shades I will talk about lovingly and in detail are very similar, perhaps even clones of each other in some cases. If, like me, you have ever debated for minutes, hours, days over whether to go with one colour or its sibling, considering undertones, pigmentation and consistency, you may like this. The photos were taken at different times so the lighting may vary, I'm afraid.

I will start with my favourite: Quarry.