FOTD #5: Under The Weather

I've been taking a break from wearing any make up the last week or two on account of my skin being awful and being ill and just not wanting to put any on - I think we all feel like this when we're ill! 

Today I got up, had a shower got dressed and decided that I was going to make an effort today, even if I wasn't going to leave the house, I thought putting something on my face may lift my spirits a little! Also I've bought a few things lately that I really want to try out and a few more products that haven't been getting enough love!

Eeek! Eyebags!

I saw Nivea's Express Hydration Primer on sale for a little over €4 instead of near €8 so I picked it up! I usually skip primer but my skin is like an oil producing machine lately so I used this before my foundation. I used my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to stipple on my foundation, (Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum) I applied my two favourite concealers Maybelline The Eraser for under eye area (though it's helping very little on my really pronounced eye bags these days!) and Collection's lasting Perfection for redness/blemishes in the same way with the RT sponge. I dusted a little of MAC's MSF Natural all over my face with a large powder brush and finished off with Sleek's Blush in Antiqued.

I then moved onto my eyes. I primed my lids with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer potion, then taking My Naked Basics palette (which I posted about here!) I applied the shade Faint on the outer half of my lid and into my crease, and blended the edges with Naked 2. I then dusted W.O.S from my crease to my brow bone and then placed Venus in my inner corner and on the inner half of my eyelid to brighten things and make me look more awake. I then lined my lower lash line with Faint and then applied L'ancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, I also used Rimmel's Scandaleyes eyeliner pencil in Nude on my waterline to make my eyes look less red - it works a treat!

Sorry for the not great photos guys, I can't find my camera and took these on my phone. The new design/layout of my blog makes the photos massive so the bad quality is super obvious! It also makes my large eye bags at the moment very obvious - so unflattering! Ha ha!

It's amazing how much more human making an effort when you're not well can make you feel! Not a complicated FOTD by any means, if you've seen any of my previous FOTD's you'll know I favour easy no fuss make up, though my choice in shadows is still on the neutral side of things I'm finding myself picking out the darker shades in palettes over the lighter ones these days - which is a massive change for me!

What kind of look do you go for when you're feeling under the weather?

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I mentioned in my Summer Essentials post that I had recently bought Urban Decay's latest edition to their Naked line, the Naked Basics Palette.

I may be a little late to the party with this one as it's been out for ages now and every beauty blog under the sun has a review on this palette. I wasn't going to do one for that reason when I got it, but I've ended up falling in love with it and feel the need to give it a post of it's own!

L-R: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint, Crave

Swatches L-R: Venus, Foxy and Walk of Shame

Swatches L-R: Naked 2, Faint and Crave

So just in case you have been living under a rock and actually haven't heard about it, Naked Basics is a six pan eyeshadow palette that features all matte shades, with the exception of the first shade Venus, which is a slightly pearlecent shade, great for highlighting.

The other five shades in the palette are all thoroughly matte shades. I thought that as they are all matte that would mean chalky, badly pigmented shadows - I was completely wrong and very blown away by the buttery texture and great colour pay off of each shadow. 

naturally the darker shades are more pigmented but the lighter shades are nice too, personally I don't think there's a dud shade in the palette.

It's a nice sized palette too, not even a fraction of the size of the original Naked or the Naked 2 palette, so great for travel.

Comparison of palette sizes

Naked Basics really is a little beaut of a palette and has become the palette I automatically reach for daily. It's great to have a range of completely matte shades that still pack a punch pigmentation wise. I love my Naked and Naked 2 palettes, but this is what I would consider to be the best out of the three palettes in terms of the "Naked Look" that they're supposed to give. 
So definitely a must have palette for Neutral lovers like myself, do you own the Naked Basics palette, what are your thoughts on it? 

Where Have I Been? And My Summer Essentials

To say that I have had a busy few months since I posted last is an understatement! I actually didn't even realise I last posted in April, I thought it had only been a few weeks since I posted I've just been so flat out! 

Basically I've been so busy because my boyfriend and I have moved in together! We spent a few weeks looking at places online, and didn't like the look of any of them, but we eventually saw an apartment we liked the look of, arranged a viewing and we liked it so much when we went to view it that we decided that though its the only place we looked at we didn't want to look at anymore and we wanted this one, and I'm glad to say that I am now sat in that apartment typing this post :-)

As well as all the excitement of moving, we have actually been having somewhat of a summer here in Ireland for the past few weeks, the weather has been so hot here that I feel sorry for those who have booked holidays abroad, as they're seriously missing out on a miracle here weather wise! 

So with the temperature rising, my make up choices have swayed even more so to the natural side of things (I am a neutrals kind of girl) I have swapped heavy duty foundations and lipstick for BB cream and lip gloss, and in doing so I've discovered a few products that I don't think I'll be able to live without.

Maybelline Dream Pure BB cream

I hadn't fallen for the hype of BB creams, my skin has always been pretty bad and I thought there's no way that they'd cover up blemishes etc, but my skin has calmed down a ton lately and a few weeks back they had an offer on in boots cant remember exactly what the offer was but I ended up being able to grab Maybelline's Dream Pure BB cream for a fiver instead of nearly €12. I didn't expect much from this, but I fell in love with it. It gives a decent amount of coverage while still looking natural and looking and feeling like you have nothing on your skin. I even walked into the sitting room a few times after putting make up on and the boyfriend actually complimented me on my skin saying it looked really clear and I looked really nice, which is a huge deal as Noel doesn't ever notice anything that I put on my face! 

MAC In Extra Dimension Blush At Dusk

I went to Mac a while back and picked up a few things, this blush being one of them. Its a dusky pink shade that has the slightest hint of golden shimmer to it. I was worried it was going to make me look like a disco ball when applied, but I was pleasantly surprised. The shimmer doesn't seem to transfer at all and you're just left with a lovely soft and natural peachy pink flush to your cheeks. It's also nice built up for a more dramatic look.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Ive only had the Naked Basics Palette for a week or so, so I wont go in to too much detail as I want to do a separate post on it but - I 'effing adore the thing! A lot more than I actually thought I would in fact.

The Body Shop Strawberry Body Mist

Again, this is another one that got me compliments from the boyfriend! I was in the body shop messing around with some stuff, this being one of them but decided I wasn't going to get anything, went out of the shop to meet himself who didn't even say hello he said "did you spray something new on yourself? I really like it" so I turned on my heels and went and bought it! 

It's the perfect summer scent, and I'm so annoyed I hadn't found it sooner because I love it so much. It really does smell like strawberries too!

Soap and Glory Heel Genius Amazing Foot Cream

My feet are so neglected! I wanted to show them some TLC, so i picked this up from boots. Ive never tried any soap and glory stuff before and have always been curious about it. I'm so glad I got this, it's made my feet super soft and sandal ready, so if you have trouble with dry skin on your feet, get this put a good layer on your feet and pop some socks over it and it'll leave your feet super smooth!

Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm

I seriously cant praise this enough! Its a thick, heavenly smelling heavy duty lip balm that leaves lips feeling so hydrated and soft. I also love using it as a base under lipsticks to help them glide on and to stop them drying out my lips. Its tricky to get hold of some chemists have it but if you cant find one that stocks Nuxe products, you can get it from Cloud 10 Beauty here.

So these are my recent discoveries that are now firm favourites, I can see myself using all of these products all year round but the majority of them are perfect for summer use, especially with this crazy heatwave we've been having.

So, what are your summer essentials? Leave a comment telling me below!