February Favorites

Better late than never! Not much majorly stood out for me in February, but keep reading to find out what did!



Lush Face Mask: Cosmetic Worrier

Seriously, can this weather piss off so that I can stop having SUCH bad skin. I wake up and I swear everyday a new, unsqeezable boulder had made a nice home on my face. It appears that my chin and forehead are prime locations. Fortunately, thanks to Lush's amazing face masks, my skin can become somewhat silky smooth and slightly less spotty. Give one of these masks a go. They make bath time so much more luxurious and relaxing, and my skin is getting a whole load of goodness at a time where it really needs it.

NARS Laguna Bronzer and Benefit Hula Bronzer

It is all about the bronzer at the moment. I mean if you live in the UK, you need a bronzer. We are in February, truly a time where the summer tans are completely gone and we are in no way getting any sort of sun to give us any kind of glow. A sheet of foundation is necessary for my to hide my pasty, spotty winter skin and in order to put a nice wash of colour back in my complexion I NEED bronzer. A bit of a cheekbone and forehead contour does the trick. And I'm loving these two at the mo. A lot of blending and you've got yourself a nice, natural, sun-kissed glow.

Sigma E40 and and E60 Brushes

These have definitely been my favorite brushes this month. The E40 has been great at subtly blending a little bit of bronzer into my creases, creating depth to my eyes and, of course, a bit of a summery glow, as well as blending out brighter colours really nicely, because who doesn't love wearing bright colours to brighten up these dim months? The E60 is great for setting my eye foundation/concealer. You can really get into every little crease and line and I've found that since I've started to use this opposed to a normal powder brush that my eye makeup doesn't crease or cake and lasts virtually the whole day!

Dove Summer Glow Nourishing Lotion and Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning

Being tanned is important to me. Call me shallow, but I just don't feel nice if I'm not tanned. Don't get me wrong, if I could pull off the 'pale and interesting' look (and I so wish I could) I would rock it all the time, but alas, I don't. These are my 2 go-to fake tans which, at the moment I'm using a couple times a week. They're both gradual tanners which I love because neither of them streak, they give me a really nice glow, they don't go all weird and horrible as they fade, and you can control how dark you go depending on how often you apply it. I use the Dove on my body and the Clarins on my face and I actually think the Clarins makes my skin look so much clearer...Although that could just be colour.

Colgate ZigZag Toothbrush Scraper Thing
Bit of a random one, but I've been loving using the tongue scraper on the back of my toothbrush to exfoliate my lips! It really helps get your lips nice a smooth and rid them of any dead skin you may of inherited from the cold. Great for you lipstick lovers like me.

What were you loving in February?

Dani Alexandra
Xoxo

What's In My Makeup Bag?

So this is my current makeup bag...



Don't ask, I don't know....I wish this was my makeup bag, and someday soon, it will be...


Ted Baker MAISA Large Bow Wash Bag

Anyway, and this is what is currently in it!



A Pair of Tweezers
A Pencil Sharpener
NARS Laguna Bronzer
Vichy Dermablend Foundation in 35 Sand
Clarins Gloss Prodige in Candy 04
2 Eyelure Lash Glues (Even though I'm not wearing any lashes today)
Garnier Roll-On Anti-Dark Circles (I believe it's the darker shade)
EcoTools Powder Brush
Benefit Porefessional
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown
Benefit Bad Gal Pencil Eyeliner
Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner in Glossy Black
Bourjois Blusher in Golden Rose
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder in Soft Sand
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Medium 1 Custard

Dani Alexandra
Xoxo

Current Skincare Routine

      
Purity by Philosophy, Tea Tree Toner Water by Lush, Hydra-Matte Lotion by Clarins

      
The Scrub Of Your Life by Soap and Glory, Face Masks (Rudolph and Brazened Honey) by Lush, Tea Tree And Witch Hazel Spot Wand by Boots

I've been having a bit of trouble with break-outs recently (I'm blaming the cold weather), but my current routine seems to be helping clear up some problems.

I cleanse my face with my Purity 2-in-1 facial cleanser every morning and night (it is AMAZING at taking make-up off) and follow this with my Clarins moisturiser, which is good for combination skin. Since I started using this moisturiser I have noticed a massive difference in my skin; it is rarely ever oily or dry any more. If I have a day where my skin is feeling particularly dirty or tight (usually after a night of drinking) I'll spray the Lush Toner generously over my skin. It is so so refreshing and awakening.

I exfoliate twice a week, using The Scrub Of Your Life normally on a Monday, then a Lush Face Mask on a Thursday, ready for the Weekend. I absolutely loved Brazened Honey, my skin was always so so soft and refreshed after using this. I wasn't overly keen on the Rudolph (a limited edition Chritsmas face mask), but it did make my skin slightly less red, but that's about it.

I am addicted to picking spots, even when they don't really exist yet (I know, disgusting) and I honestly can't stop myself most of the time. I have found this Boots Spot Wand really helpful in keeping my hands off of my spots and I do notice a big reduction over night when I've used this bad boy. It's double ended so has a day side and a night side and I use both but do notice a bigger difference over night.

What skincare products would you reccommend?

Dani Alexandra
Xoxo

Daily 'Off To Work' Makeup

Because I work in a supermarket, I don't like to go too OTT with how I do my makeup day-to-day, although the makeup-oholic in me still can't resist waking up an hour and a half before I need to leave to spruce up. 

This is generally the look I wear when going to work and as you can see there isn't anything too dramatic going on. No eyeshadow, no dramatic lips and a subtle wash of colour on my cheeks

These are all the products and brushes used to create this look, and I'll list them in the order I used them:

Benefit POREfessional

Clinique Superprimer Colour Corrects Dullness

Clinique Superbalanced Foundation in 03 Ivory

Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard

Sigma F70 Concealer Brush

Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder in 5 Soft Sand

EcoTools Bamboo Powder Bruah

NARS Bronzer in Laguna

NARS Its Kabuki #21 Brush

Bourjois Blusher in Healthy Mix

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown

W7 Paint The Line Liquid Liner Black

Benefit Bad Gal Pencil Liner

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Elf Lip Balm (I'm sorry, it's really old and faded and I can't find it online now to give more details!)

Mac Lightscapade

Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour Brush

So I start off by priming my t-zone with POREfessional to minimize the look of my pores as this is where they are the worst. I focus it around the creases of my nose cause they are really huge there! I then go in with my Clinique Primer and prime my whole face, including my t-zone. I just squeeze it onto my hand and give it a little rub with my index finger before I apply to warm the product up. Now onto my Clinique Foundation which again I just pour onto my hand and dab with my Sigma F80 then apply to my face with a mixture of dabbing, swiping and circular motions. This brush blends in makeup super easy so is doing all the work for you! Now time for the NARS Concealer which I dot under my eye. I blend in the very very underneath of my eye with my Sigma F70 then just use my ring finger to dab in the concealer to the darkest parts of my black circles. I also put the concealer up my forehead and down my nose which I blend with my F80, and around the creases of my nose and on any blemishes, which I blend with my F70. Now time to set everything with my Bobbi Brown Powder and EcoTools Brush and I just start but dabbing it all around my eyes to stop any creasing. Then I dab a good amount all around my t-zone and then lastly, just enough to set the makeup on the rest of my face. After I've dabbed it all on I just gently swipe the brush all over my face with no product on to make sure it's all nicely blended in. 

I now contour my cheekbones and forehead with my NARS Bronzer and NARS Kabuki Brush by just swiping the brush down my cheekbones in the line between the top of my ears and the corner of my mouth (I don't go all the way down, sort of up to where my pupil starts if I'm looking straight on). I then frame my face up towards my forehead and then down my forehead, bringing the product on the side of my forehead down more than the product in the middle. I then use my Bourjouis Blusher with the little brush it comes with on the apples of my cheeks and bring it up my contour line. I blend everything out really well with my EcoTools Brush because I don't want any harsh lines and just want a subtle contour for work. 

Next I fill in my eyebrows with my Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil and I don't really have a particular technique in how I do this, I just go with how it turns out that day! Obviously I aim to keep them thicker in the middle of my face, gradually getting thinner on the outside, and I don't really have an arch so I try my best to sort of curve them off. I hate really harsh angles at the beginning of my brows (although I think that looks great on other people), so I try to blend the product there with a cotton bud, my finger or the little brush thing that the pencil comes with.

Now onto my eyes which is really really quick, simple and easy! I start with W7 Liquid Liner. I literally just draw the thinnest line possible, not from the very corner, but close enough, all the way to the outer corner of my eyes. If I have time or can be bothered with the hassle I'll do flicks, but I couldn't be assed today so I didn't. With my Benefit Pencil Liner I'll sometimes line my entire waterline (top and bottom), but today I just opted for the outer corners. I think it just adds something nice, and makes my eyes look a little bigger. Mascara is super easy because Benefit's They're Real is amazing. I just do 2 coats from inner to outer corner, top and bottom. That's it. The mascara does the work for you. 

 

Almost there! I just use this Elf Lip Tint balm thing obviously on my lips to give them a little pop of colour and life, nothing too obvious and I wouldn't really get the chance to reapply lipstick at work so wearing a full blown lipstick would be a bit risky (hello bitty-ness)! 

I finish off by highlighting with Mac Lightscapade and a Sigma F40 Brush just above and below my brows, down my nose, above my cheekbones and on my cuspids bow. I don't go too crazy with this, literally just dab and a quick swipe kinda situation and VOILA. I am done.....once I've sprayed my face with Urban Deacy All Nighter Setting Spray to hold everything in place as much as I possibly can for a day of stacking shelves. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Dani Alexandra

Xoxo