What I Learnt from Wearing Makeup Every Darn Day

When I close my eyes and think of the Christmas holidays, I dream of nights spent watching TV by the fire, Elf, Love Actually, trying to win at Scrabble and failing horrendously, early nights, late mornings, lots of Baileys and elasticated waistbands. It’s literally the dream. However this year we ended up spending a lot of time in the car, getting up early to get to places on time (YAY CHRISTMAS TRAFFIC) and I think we managed one lay-in. HOW? The two-ish week break just flew by and was a beautiful blur of friends and family gatherings and lots of cheese. It wasn’t as relaxed and chill as I pictured it being, but it was definitely lovely and I’m sure in need of an elasticated waistband now.

Along with all these visits came the fact that I had to look presentable. Every day. For a lot of days in row. Which is something that I’m not all that used to (have you seen my dressing gown-heavy snapchats?). These days I wear makeup twice or three times a week maybe, and so putting makeup on every day for two weeks straight was an interesting one. Here are five lessons I learnt…

Is there a makeup look that CHANEL Adrienne doesn’t go with? I don’t think so. I feel like whatever look I do on my eyes and my cheeks, or even if I’m wearing no makeup at all – CHANEL’s Rouge Coco Lipstick in Adrienne does the trick. I know I’ve mentioned it a million and one times before, but it’s my favourite lipstick for pretty much every occasion. It’s pigmented, but not overly so. It’s moisturising, but there’s not too much of a sheen to it. It’s a nude, but it doesn’t make you look like death. It’s perfect.

MAC Soba Eyeshadow is everything. I know that MAC Saddle isn’t the easiest to get hold of and although Soba doesn’t look too similar in the pan when they’re both sat together, but it does do a similar thing on the lid – giving a moody matte wash of colour, just with a bit less warmth to it. It’s what I wore basically all month-long on my eyes as it’s just so easy to use and apply. I take it on a MAC 217 all over the lid, smudge out the edges with my finger and call it day.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk no longer looks luminous. I always hold on to a bottle of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk whenever I’m having a declutter because I have fond memories of it looking completely awesome on my skin; banishing redness and evening everything out in a completely flawless, yet natural-looking way. The other day I grabbed it because I needed an extra helping hand in the coverage department and instead of doing all the amazing things I remembered it doing, it just looked dry and matte and generally lacklustre. I have a feeling that my bottle is well past it’s best by date so it might be worth picking up a new one. Anyone else find the formula to zap hydration?

The Surratt Eyelash Curler is sent down from heaven. I recently got my eyelashes lifted and tinted again, so these badboys will be in retirement for a few weeks, but for poker-straight, curl-resistant eyelashes the Surratt Eyelash Curlers are a complete godsend. The cushion is much wider than other curlers on the market so you never end up pinching at skin and it means you can really dig it down into the base of the lashes. A couple of pumps is all you need, along with lashings of waterproof mascara, to unleash your flutter potential.

Filmstar Bronze & Glow really makes me feel like a filmstar. I rediscovered the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow over the Christmas break and I forgot just how glowy the end result is. The highlighter side is one of the most subtle highlighters I’ve used, yet it still imparts a golden-luminosity to the skin and I feel like J.Lo whenever I use it. It’s the bronzer side though that I really love. It has a reddy warmth to it, which makes it look a bit blush-like on my skin and yet the bronze tones add a sculpting dimension. Try it. You’ll be singing ‘If You Had My Love’ into a hairbrush in no time at all.

Photos by Lauren Shipley