My make up bag

The other day my friend, Chereen {the Beauty Ed of O Mag} asked me to contribute to her blogger series calledMy Beautiful Lifeon her fab beauty blog {For The Beauty Of It}. 

I so enjoyed doing this series; although shocked myself with the amount of beauty products I own – it really is a problem!

You can follow the lovely Chereen on Twitter here for some beauty banter, and please do check her blog out!

Below are the questions in bold followed by my answers, enjoy!

Beauty is…

I know it sounds awfully cliché, but I really think it is someone who actually smiles (it’s a perk if it’s a nice smile).

The best beauty advice I ever received…

To treat my neck and décolletage the same way I do my face. I have seen way too many wrinkly, sun beaten ladies who have beautiful skin on their actual face but their age is given away with a horrid turkey neck.

If I could use only one beauty product for the rest of my life, it would be… 

There are way too many for me to even begin to list but moisturiser would have to be it. I love a good moisturiser and the feeling that comes with radiant, glowing and hydrated skin. Plus, without this everything else falls apart 🙂

{QMS 24 hour all the way!}

In my makeup bag… 

Being a beauty blogger my makeup bag is a ridiculous size (I’m embarrassed to even photograph the 6 bags I have) but the makeup bag that I would pack when going on a weekend away is as below (and still a tad ridiculous seen as most of the time a wear tinted moisturiser and nothing else):

As a primer I have a few options as I really like my skin to look good at all times. I have both illuminators and primers and use whichever one I feel is best suited to my skin at that stage. Pathetic to carry this many around with me, but they are essential! As a foundation I use my MAC Face & Body (not pictured), my Benefit tinted moisturiser or my latest purchase from Bobbi Brown.

For bronzing, contouring and cheeks I use my fantabulous Woolies Apricot powder blush (Peach Melba) or my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze depending on whether I am going for a pretty peachy look or a bronzed summer look. I then contour with my Laguna from NARS and my MAC shimmer in Golden Bronze.

For concealing I use my Bobbi Brown (in beige) and MAC concealer (not pictured).

For highlighting I use my Inglot highlighter (shade 61) with my MAC Strobe tint. I then add extra radiance to my cheeks with the Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pink Truffle which I adore.

I then use my Chanel eyeliner for a night out with my Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown and NARS eye shadows which are all in very neutral browns and blacks that I love – I am not too adventourous.

Lastly, one my lips I love playing around with colour and pretty nudes and pinks. Again, hydrated, plum lips are a must for me. I love the Revlon Just Bitten lip pencils in Precious and Honey, my Dr Lip balm from the UK, my Piz Buin Sun Lipstick (old favourite) and my MAC lipstick in Crème Sheen or Russian Red.

The 3 most beautiful things in my life at the moment are… I could get all deep here, but would rather keep it light-hearted and superficial as we are talking about beauty products after all, so the three most beautiful things in my life are:

My home – I moved into my first proper home this year and have spent so much time making it a place that I feel comfortable and happy. I think it’s so special to me as it has been done on a budget, which has meant everything means that much more to me and has all been collected over time – from beautiful coffee table books and old art pieces to delightful ceramics and my Granny’s old clocks.

My beauty closet – yip, it really is a closet, but it makes me so happy. Beauty products have always been close to my heart and I spend a small fortune each month buying pretty smellies and magic creams, so love taking time to enjoy them although it can be a rather expensive hobby.

My Stationery – my stationery cupboards also make me very happy. It consists of every pretty ribbon and twine you can imagine as well as gorgeous cards, pretty papers, washi tapes, doilies in all weird and wonderful colours as well as glitter and pretty fine liners. One of the shelves has been dedicated to my cupcake making and has every kind of paper napkin, cute cupcake casing and sprinkle you can think of.