I overhauled my beauty case, and this is what I learned

Until about 6 months ago, my beauty case was a bit of a mess. I had accumulated an array of products that were either freebies in goodie bags or bought on the run during a quick trip to Mecca or a pharmacy while travelling. Sure, I had always had my go-to products for things like foundation, face cream and a few other items but that was about it. So I treated myself and invested in a make-up artist to go through my beauty case to tell me what I needed to toss, what to keep using and what I needed to add. This make-up artist goes by the name of Kate, and she was (still is) brilliant. She mentioned it is common to feel like you need to tweak your beauty case approximately every 5 years, as your skin and features change. I’m going to share with you what I learned to hopefully, inspire you to do a little cull and refresh of your own beauty case. And if you remember nothing else, remember this: you can apply the same rule to your make-up case that I extol for your wardrobe. Buy once and buy well.  

WHAT I GOT RID OF

The lip shades that didn’t suit me

Items I’d had for way too long
I had a Napoleon Bronzer that had been worn down in one particular spot, which intern gave an uneven colouring when using it.

Unflattering eyeshadows or highlighters
As a general rule, your skin tone will either suit gold or silver. This rule not only applies to jewellery but it also applies to the shades you apply on your face in the form of eyeshadows and highlighters. I suit golden tones so when my make-up artist tested a silver highlighter on me that I’d been gifted, it was no surprise she wasn’t impressed with the shade for me. Instead of tossing this, she said store this in a secondary beauty case that you don’t need to go through every day and use it to highlight your collarbones on a night out. Brilliant tip! 

These are the products we then added. If you’re not in the position to do a full overhaul all at once, I would take some time in going to the stores where these items can be purchased, and getting your colours tested at least, so you can gradually add them as you wish either when sales are happening online or in store. 

10 ITEMS I ADDED

1. The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA surface Hydration Formula.
I wanted a general face cream to use at night that wasn’t too heavy. Kate recommended this brand and what I love about it, is it’s reasonably priced and easy to find. You can purchase this brand from Priceline or Myer. 

2. Bare Essentials Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream (Shade: Ginger 06)
Prior to having this session, I was using the Nars Tinted Moisturiser, and if you had told me that I’d be getting rid of this after my appointment with Kate, I would have told you you were crazy! I really did love the product I was using but the reason I went to Kate in the first place was that I was feeling a little tired and not like my 20-something-year-old self used to feel. She recommended I change to a more dewy and brightening foundation which is what Bare Essentials did for my skin tone. 

I apply this product with my fingers but when I need a little more coverage for a night out or an event, I’ll use a foundation brush to apply it. I use the Mac foundation brush. 

3. Bare Essentials BareSkin concealer (Shade: Fair)
For an inexpensive equivalent, Thin Lizzy is also really good. Kate said I could keep the Thin Lizzy concealer I already had but the problem was I had bought the wrong shade so could only use it when I had a fake tan. I decided to try the Bare Essentials one and haven’t looked back. 

4. Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
This is by no means an ‘essential’ item but I do find it makes my make-up stay on for longer.

5. Mac Pro Longer Paint Pot (Shade: Groundwork. This shade suits a lot of different eye colours but I highly recommend going to the Mac store and getting one of their professionals to colour match you)

You can use this as a base if you’re doing a heavy eyeshadow look or you can use it by itself as a subtle eyeshadow for everyday. What I love about this is it can be applied with your fingers (win!) The other bonus is that it acts as a primer for your eyelid, which makes it long lasting. It’s creamy, not a powder which is nice for an ‘ageing lid’. While we’re on ageing lids, Kate also recommended to avoid highly shimmery eye shadows as you get older and just use them as a highlighter on your cheek bones or collar bones rather than an eye shadow as it gets caught in the crows feet. 

6. Hourglass Lighting Bronzer (Shade: Luminous Bronze Light)  

I use this when I’m wearing a red lip and go easy on the eye shadow during the day. 

7. Stella lip/cheek cream blush 

Really nice as an alternative to a red lip and bronzer. I use this with a nude lip mainly. See below for colours. 

8. Red lipstick
Either ‘Relentlessly Red’ by Mac or ‘Heat Wave’ by Nars. I find Mac lipsticks more moisturising. My Nars is quite matte but they both stay on extremely well. 

9. Nude lipstick

Peach Blossom by Mac or Cosmo by Mac. 

10. Fake tan
La Beach (this brand also has a tanning mist for your face, hands and feet which is super handy). The colour is amazing and lasts! I also love EcoTan which is organic. Both brands state they are vegan and cruelty free with minimal nasties. 

WHAT I KEPT

Mecca Save Face 50+ 

I love this as a day moisturiser and it also acts as a primer too. 

Neutrogena’s gel cleanser
A dermatologist once recommended Neutrogena to me and I’ve been using it ever since. They mentioned it’s the one product that doesn’t absorb in to the skin and Neutrogena is gentle enough. I also use Cetaphil. When I’m travelling I don’t take my cleanser, I just use Mecca’s Micellar Water. It smells really nice and I find it to be quite moisturising for when I’ve been on flights/sitting in a car for long periods of time.

OTHER BEAUTY-CASE STAPLES

A blending sponge

Did you know you should wet it before use and squeeze the excess water out? Ever since I was told this I haven’t looked back. It presses your make-up in to your face and sets the dewiness. If that’s a word. 

Make-up brushes
Morphe brushes from Mecca are great and quite reasonably priced. 

Other handy should-dos (but rarely do) 

Shampoo your make up brushes regularly. Make-up glides on so much more easily when you take the time to do this. 

Make it a priority to do a blitz of your make-up haul before you add any new products. It helps you to stay on track and know what you have to go with the possible purchases. 

Make-up sessions with Kate can be added on to any A|M Styling package.