My Spring Makeup Menu That Will See You Into Summer

We’re back on the topic of makeup again. WAHEY! Recently I have spent a bit of time raking through my beauty drawers. I’m feeling that a declutter is on the horizon; not because my storage is bursting at the seams, but as my routine has become more and more honed-in on my ABSOLUTE favourites, there’s more and more that’s got forgotten by the wayside. This raking is a ritual that I do often to serve as a tool to pull items back into the fold and out of giveaway territory, and during my last session I found some real gems. Gems that are perfect for this tipping point from spring to summer. Some are slightly colourful (hold on to our hats, we’re talking peaches and pale pinks here – DUR!), others are radiance boosting babes that I’d completely forgotten about and a few are just pretty and made me wonderful why they’re gathering dust in the first place. So if this post ignites anything in you, I hope it lights a fire in your belly to do the same and have a gander at your pile of unloved makeup. You might just find some bangers in there…

BECCA First Light Priming Filter. Often when I use a primer, I can vouch for it’s hydrating properties but not much else. However there are two that buck that trend. The first is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer (LOVVVVE!) and the second being this. The thing about the BECCA though is that it visibly brightens my skin tone. I always thought that the purple tint would be a total gimmick, but it’s really not. Instead it cloaks my skin with an extra boost of radiance and really lends a helping hand if I’m having a low coverage foundation day or am just blending out some concealer over the top. In fact this with the Glossier Stretch Concealer buffered on is a cracking combination.

CHANEL Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation. Who remembers this? What a blast from the past, eh? I went through multiple bottles of this back in the day (just for reference I use B10 in the winter and B20 in the summer) and recently repurchased a bottle for nostalgia. Turns out, it’s as stunning as ever. The formula is thin, but with the ability to even things out and you just don’t feel it on the skin at all. It’s certainly more matte than I remember it being, which just shows how my tastes have skewed over the past couple of years to the extreme side of the dewy spectrum, but it’s still a great choice on days when you perhaps are feeling a little more oilier than usual. It’s still the one I recommend to friends and family members who hate wearing foundation and everyone always reports back with good things to say. Side note: My Grandma always reports back with full notes as if I am writing a 2000 word piece on her feedback and it’s the cutest thing. 

Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff. Thanks to my postbox red cheeks, it’s not often that I turn to blush – let alone a highlighter pastel shade of pink – but there is something about this colour, the formula and the multiple photos that exist online of model-esque women looking absolutely fabulous in it, that make me pick up this product more often than you’d think. The thing with this kind of tone is that it’s so darn flattering on each and every complexion and it just makes you look perky. Being the blush-phobe that I am, I apply the teeniest tiniest amount with my fingers and then dab over with whatever I used to apply my foundation, just to knock it back a tad. Pinky postbox red cheeks come at me.

Bobbi Brown Blush in Pastel Peach. Whilst cream textures can look more natural on the cheek, I do find that powder formulas are just quick and easy and if you go wrong, are easier to dim down without having to smear your foundation/concealer/cream bronzer all over the shop. The pastel shade actually works really well for me because it is so subtle and the pale base means that it’s really hard to go over the top with it and it doesn’t just translate to ‘RED’ the minute that it comes into contact with my cheeks. If you were a lover of the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy a long time ago and fancy something more toned down these days, then this is the one for you.

Dior DIORSHOW Fusion Mono in Météore. I’ve done a terrible thing. I only picked this up in November and somehow it’s ended up in my overflow drawer with just a few fingerprints prodded into it. A TRAVESTY! So I’m pulling it back out because actually this is the pot of glossy lid dreams. All I want is for my lids to look like they’re coated in Vaseline (it looks better than it sounds – promise!). Given that that would feel completely rank on your lids, it’s all about light shimmery creams that can give that illusion and actually this fares pretty well. There’s a golden reflect to it, but on the lids it doesn’t give any base colour and instead just adds a topping of glow. I vow to wear this more everyday with nothing underneath and a shedload of mascara to achieve my Vaseline vibes.

Burt’s Bees Lipstick in Blush Basin. I often forget about pinks when it comes to my lips. In my head it’s always a decision between a nude and a colour. A lip balm or a full-on red lipstick. But what about the middle ground? A PINK! Just like blush then can really turn the notch up on your FOTD and do wonderful things like make your teeth look real white thanks to the blue-base of the colour. I don’t own too many, but this one from Burt’s Bees is a universal crowd-pleaser. For such a creamy formula it packs a hefty punch in the pigment department, so I like it best applied all over and then patted in with my finger. Pair with the Glossier blush for ultimate pink power. Right, I’m throwing this one back into my everyday makeup box right now.

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips Lipstick in Super Cindy. Peachy pink lipstick lovers listen up – I know you’re still out there. Gone are the days where the majority of my lipstick collection was made up of corals, as now it’s more of a nude and lip balm affair (so boring, I know). However there are still a handful of oldies that have made it through my various culls and this is one of them. This is my one and only Charlotte Tilbury lipstick that I own and I do so because it’s such a unique shade (plus I find some of the formulas to just be too drying on my lips). It’s a salmon shade, in that it’s a full-on peach with a slightly orange/pink base and it looks bloody perfect with green eyes let me tell you. For an instant spring/summer look I’ll be wearing this with my aforementioned base, more mascara than you can shake a wand at and then this patted on to my lips and cheeks. DONE.

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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