Sup dudes? -that sounded far cooler in my head!

This week we’re taking a dive into my make-up bag. I get a million and one questions about how I do my face and what products I use. I’ve been reluctant to share much given I’m not exactly a MUA or Beauty Blogger. I think it’s safe to say I specialise in adulting f*ck ups with a few other bits and bobs thrown in! Happily, after having the privilege of working with some amazing make-up artists on photo-shoots over the years, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. Not totally looking like I’ve been playing with crayons then. I hope. Whenever dad finds me putting any on he likes to ask “Are you painting?”

I have drawers upon drawers of make-up, but I travel back and forth from Dublin visiting mam and dad at the weekends, so I carry around my version of a bare minimum. I’ve finally decided to open up my little red bag for all of you to judge!

First things first is a good base. I used to suffer horrendously with acne. At times it looked like you could peel off part of my face. You’d be hard pushed to find some pictures of me as a teenager for that reason. I still suffer with acne, but not to the same extent. In the mornings I exfoliate my face with the Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Face Wash. To wash this off, I use an exfoliant pad from The Vintage Cosmetic Company. Then, I extract all the crap from my face with an extractor tool from the Body Shop. Probably not the best plan, but it works for me and keeps my spots from growing. I follow that with tea tree oil and witch hazel. A spot of Nivea Urban Detox Face Cream follows this. I do all of this again in the evening again, but I use some eye make-up remover too!

Being ginger, I really struggle with finding products that suit my skin. I glow in the dark. There’s no point in attempting to chuck on some fake tan, because tanned gingers don’t look quite right. Especially in Ireland when there’s nowhere near enough sunshine to convince people it’s real! So, I embrace my Casper the friendly ghost self! I have been using the same foundation for years rarely deviating. The No.7 Beautifully Matte Foundation in shade Calico has been my holy grail for years. I use a silicone sponge to shove it onto my face. When I’ve quite finished plastering myself, I conceal all of my eyebags and spots with the Madison Make-up Contour Palette. I use the same palette to pretend I have good cheekbones. Actually I use the blusher and highlighter from it too. It’s class. I couldn’t name a better palette for my translucent skin.

Next we’re onto the eyes and eyebrows. I’ll be honest I used to have sluggy eyebrows. They’re naturally blonde, so I was forever colouring them in badly. Thankfully, Juliana from Make Blink Studios sorted them right out by tattooing individual hairs. Now I just use a Ted Baker comb from a set my brother (legend) got me for my b-day. You can check out my blog about the procedure here. I generally stick to reds, coppers, burgandys and browns for eye-shadow. The Naked Heat palette is my go to. I don’t feel like me without winged eyeliner. I do the cat-eye with Essence 18 hour wear liquid liner. I use a teeny bit of kohl under my eye.

Nails-wise I love a bright colour. At the moment my nails are very yellow. I’m quite impatient so I’m reliant on Rimmel 60 Second Polish.

Finally for lips, as much as I love a red (and I have plenty of those), typically I just stick on some version of a pink liner with a spot of lip balm over it. It’s a safe option. I’m dreadful for getting lipstick everywhere. Last week one of the gals pointed out to me that I had managed to get lipstick on my forehead after snacking on chocolate. Don’t ask me how!

Fingers crossed you picked up some product tips! Especially if you’re a pale human like me!

Write soon!

Kat X