The Beauty Bits Allana Made Me Buy & I’m Loving

Last month my Canadian mate, Allana, came to visit and we had a bloody good time. Like a trooper she fought off the jet lag and stepped straight off the plane and into a full day of shopping, eating and the ‘Isn’t Brighton AMAZING?’ tour that I crack out for all my friends. She lapped it up like a true pro and despite our non-stop chattering, we also somehow managed to film two videos during her stay (have a watch of a real-time ‘Get Ready With Us’ here). We also ended up in town on Black Friday completely by accident, but hey – when in Rome? You can see the resulting haul on her channel. It features a couple of style bits and a couple of beauty bits, the latter of which she handpicked out for me from her holy grail edit. It’s the first time I’ve bought makeup in a long while and it’s almost like those 15 minutes being swept around the counters in Boots lit a fire in a belly.

You see when Allana left, I ended up buying more makeup from her recommendations. There were a few items that caught my eye that she used during our GRWM and after dropping her off at the train station I came home to scan FeelUnique for her favourites like the true Lan fan that I am. Her makeup aesthetic contains two USP’s that sing to me; firstly, a glowy base – and I’m talking like real GLOW here – and secondly, a plump pout created by liners and tinted balms so it never looks overdone. I thought I’d throw up some mini reviews of my purchases today, because I’ve been loving them all, along with the items that she enabled me in real-life to buy. A MAKEUP HAUL? I know, it’s been a while…

Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer. Out of all the things that I’ve purchased thanks to Allana’s points in the right direction, this my favourite of them all. It’s been a long time since I tried a new primer that I felt really made a difference to how my makeup wore for the rest of the day, but whenever I use this I spend at least two minutes after applying my foundation marvelling at how subtly glowy and healthy it makes my skin look (that’s a mental image for you, LOLZ). The idea is that it’s a moisturiser and primer in one, however I still go a little ham with my moisturiser and SPF underneath it and just layer this on top; but this would probably have enough juice in it to act as moisturiser in the summer months I reckon. It’s pretty watery, so feels almost like a serum when you apply it and the dry-down is slightly tacky which provides a stellar base for whatever you apply on top. If you’re dehydrated or dry and fancy picking up a new primer to give a whirl, you can’t go wrong with this.

Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow. All I need to hear is the word ‘glow’ when it comes to base and I’m there. I’ve bought it. I’m loving it. I’ve tried the original version of this formula and I can’t say I was much of a fan, but this version? Yeah, I’m in it. I still haven’t worked out how it gives so much glow without a speck of shimmer running through it, but it gives such a dewy finish to the skin that I’ve actually been mixing it in with less shine-inducing formulas to find the perfect balance. Pop a squirt of this, with a pump of the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and you’re on to something special. FYI I use the shade 4 in both and I would say that it’s a little optimistic for me right now, but it gives a nice amount of warmth to my complexion that I can just about get away with if I wear a roll neck.

Dior Diorshow Fusion Mono in Météore. Word on the street is that this absolute gem of a product is being discontinued. I almost had to catch Allana from fainting when the lady at the counter shared this awful news. So if this enables you in anyway then run to your nearest stand IMMEDIATELY. I can’t say that I’m particularly found of sparkle in my eyeshadow, and my stash consists mostly of mattes. But there are occasions when I want to jazz things up a little, so say hello to the perfect ‘jazzer-upper‘. It’s a creamy textured powder eyeshadow that you could lose yourself for a good couple of minutes in, just staring because it’s so mesmerising. Worn on it’s own it offers a touch of shimmer and not much else, but layered over other shadows is where it really comes into play. I’ve been doing my normal matte look and then popping a little of this in the centre of my lid with my finger and it just adds an effect that almost looks glossy. Bloody love it.

Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara. Here’s the thing with Allana, she has the most ridiculously long au natural eyelashes that I’ve ever seen. I think they might even be longer and curlier than my sister’s, and that’s saying something. Of course this makes her a terrible person to take mascara advice from. So what did I do? I took her mascara advice and DUR this doesn’t look as epic on me as it does on her, for obvious stumpy lash reasons. Because it’s not a waterproof formula this doesn’t hold a curl, but it does bring volume and length by the bucketload. Which is why I’ll be holding onto this one next time I get a lash lift, because I think it would look the complete nuts – volume, length, separation and all.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip in 3C. *leans in and whispers* Before I bought this lip pencil I actually didn’t own any lip pencils. SHOCKER. I know the trend right now is to have lips so big that they resemble a baboon’s backside, but I’m quite happy plodding along with my pretty thin lips that completely disappear every time I smile. My eyebrows start to join up in the middle if I don’t pluck them for two days, so I have bigger fish to fry in the face department. However, I knew that I was lacking a nude that would help to define my lip line a little more and act as a long-wearing base for the long line of not particularly long-wearing lip colours that I use. Allana recommended this shade because it’s not too brown or too pink and I have to say it’s a pretty good match for my lips. It also doesn’t move. Like, ever.

Glossier Generation G in Jam. Seeing Allana use this was all the motivation I needed to complete my Generation G collection, so I now own every single shade (if I’m honest I’m surprised that it took me so long). The colour in the tube of this is pretty terrifying, but on the lips it transfers to a beautiful berry with a purple undertone, that I can imagine looking frickin’ fab on anyone and everyone. The great thing about this formula is that they almost act as a matte balm; so there’s no shine involved, more a soft finish that looks natural on the lips and wears off evenly, meaning that there’s no need to panic about reapplying every 10 minutes, or have that long-wearing matte thing where you feel like your lips are about to fall off your face. Nice.

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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