My 5 Product Face

It's a well known fact in my family that I need at least a good 45 minutes to put my 'face' on (my Grandad lovingly refers to it as 'the mask' which automatically brings to mind Jim Carey in green, charming eh?).

One day last week I was in a hurry to go prom dress shopping for my Cousin, I was under family peer pressure to get up and get going and found myself using only five products. It took me 10 minutes, a fraction compared to my usual record to apply. I was so blown over with it I've been using this look all week and thought it could be worth sharing.

For my base I did stick to my usual Revlon Colourstay 24 Hour Liquid Foundation (I've not found myself able to brave the BB Cream world outside of my house as of yet, I'm trying though). My shade is 150 Buff Chamois, and I use the Normal/Dry Skin formula. I love the smell of this foundation, and the yellow undertones in this shade is perfect for my skin, I traipsed around Boots carrying a bottle of No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Cool Vanilla to try and find the right shade for me, and 150 really is that. The foundation itself is very easy to blend and feels very light on the skin whilst giving medium coverage, I really enjoy using it and love how it makes my skin look. To apply my foundation I've been using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush since last October, it's very effective and easily blends the foundation into my skin with little effort, a staple in my eyes.

With my foundation giving only medium coverage I find myself needing more for my huge under eye baggies, although I'm fortunately blemish free at the moment. So I just apply the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer underneath my eyes and around my nose to cover any redness. After a rookie mistake I'm using Light 1, I originally bought Fair 2, which in hindsight was a thousand shades too dark and way to orange for my skin, silly me. As many bloggers have expressed, this concealer has very good coverage and lasts a great length of time. It does go a little cakey and creases a little on my skin, but I do have extremely dry skin in the areas I use it. I blend the concealer into my skin with a Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush, I assume this brush was designed for eye shadow, but I find it's the perfect shape to get into my eye contours and around my nose.

For my eyes I do cheat a little (strike me down now, I'm a sinner), but they are in one little compact, so I count that as one product. I'm still head over heels for my MAC shadows since the beginning of the year, and February has been no different. For this look I've been using Omega all over the lid with Satin Taupe blended into the crease. I found these colours really compliment my eye colour (green with orange centers if you cared to know), and they go really well with the outfit's I've been throwing on, which have consisted of mostly greys and creams. MAC shadows are a new obsession of mine and I'm determined to add a fourth to my little trio by the end of February. To apply these shadows I use the MUA E3, I am absolutely obsessed with this brush, it blends very effectively and is really soft. I use the whole brush to apply Omega, then add a little Satin Taupe on the tip of the brush and blend. A great 2 in 1, and a new staple in my brush collection, I'll be purchasing a few more very soon.

To finish my eyes I've been using Seventeen Wild Curls Mascara in Black for months and I honestly adore it. I never thought I would use a comb wand in a mascara, I love big bristly wands, however, since using this mascara I think I've been converted. It picks up all of my lashes with an even coat, it adds a little volume at the base and lengthens the lashes, but not so much that it could be deemed unsuitable for daytime. I've a feeling it may be repurchased very soon. Before I apply my mascara I do use some eyelash curlers, mine are just a cheap pair from Superdrug, but I'm hoping to save for a pair of Shu Uemura ones, or maybe even a Chanel pair to compare high end and drugstore.

Finally, to finish it all off I added a dusting of Revlon Colourstay Pressed Powder in Light. The powder adds a little more coverage and helps keep the make up in place for a lot longer. I wouldn't say my make up lasts all day, mainly the concealer ends up wearing a little thin eventually, but I'm hoping one day soon I'll find a concealer perfect for me. To apply my powder I use the MUA F4, a brilliantly big face brush, very soft and picks up a good amount of product, I'm really impressed with the MUA range and can't wait for them to perhaps extend their brush line in the future.


So that's it, my 5 product face, not too shabby ladies and gents. I'll probably end up going back to my usual 'face' application next week, but this is going in the vault for another week where I'm feeling I need to get back to basics for a while. What five products do you think you could survive with? Until next time...