Summer Base

If you’re following me on Twitter, if not why the hell not?! Get following, now. If you are you will know that I am making a little change around here and will be going back to focusing totally on beauty with only a few posts in the month that are lifestyle/fashion. Its my passion so wanted to get fully back to it. Why not kick start the changes starting with the base. Its one of the most important parts of make-up for me, due to not being confident in my own skin. If only you could chop and choose what skin you wore day to day, wouldn’t it be amazing? I suppose we kind of do with make-up don’t we. One day I will be confident enough to step out of the house with the bare minimal of make-up and still feel good about myself. Baby steps for now though. But right now I love nothing than quite a heavy coverage to cover those imperfections, dewy glowing skin.

Once Ive completed my skin care routine its time to get the primer on, this part is important for me because I want to make sure that this ain’t gunna budge from my face all day. If its a day pottering about here or there or a fully fledged shopping day with a few coffee stops thrown in. This stuff needs to stay put, at the moment I have been using the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer I have the mini version at the moment but have been loving it so much that I’m gunna add it to my birthday wishlist. Its an oil-free primer, silicon texture once you rub it in. Once it is all rubbed in it feels soo silky and smooth and I love it. I think because I have some quite large pores on my skin this really helps to cover them and make my skin look that little bit more flawless, it also keeps your make-up on all day. Like serious.

Next comes the foundation, this really gives me the dewy skin that I am after which im sure most of you could have guessed that Nars Sheer Glow would be featured in this. I have mine in the shade Santa Fe which is a medium shade, this is literally my go to foundation at the moment. Like I said this is what really gives that dewy glowing look that we are all after. I use a stippling brush and stipple this into my skin. I then buff it all out to make sure it is all even and covers all areas, I also blend it down into my neck just to make sure everything is all covered. I then go in with Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard, I use this on any imperfections or redness on the skin. I then use a make-up sponge to make sure that the imperfections are covered but also that the concealer is blended into the foundation. The last thing we want is some nice darker patches on your face!

The next step for me is to put a lighter concealer to lighten my face, which totally brightens up the look. Another obvious one I am obsessed with the Urban Decay Naked Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer and I have mine in the shade Fair Neutral. I put this in a triangle under my eyes, down the centre of my nose, a small amount where my nose meets my forehead, above my cupids bow and at the bottom of my chin. I then take the make-up sponge again and blend this out. I don’t like it looking too obvious that I have the lighter concealer on so I totally blend this through into the foundation just to make it look more complete. I love how creamy and blend able this concealer is, creating a gorgeous effect. I also find that this never creases under the eye, it stays put.

To set this all in place I start by using a powder, for me this something that I have never splurged on but think I am ready to take the leap so let me know of any powders you like for setting everything. No surprise I use the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in the shade Transparent. This just sets the foundation and concealers together, although it is a matte powder it doesn’t really turn the look into a matte look, I dab a big fluffy brush into the powder and lightly spread this around my face, making sure I concentrate on where I have put the concealer as this will also help to stop the concealer from creasing. The last step for my base is also to set it, I think this is what has really been helping keep my make-up put through out the day. Its the Urban Decay All Nighter Make-Up Setting Spray, I spray this all over the face once I have completed up to powder. I wait for this to dry before applying anything else to my face just to make sure it really sets in. I have been using this everyday for at least two weeks now and I am in love.

CharlotteSamantha