Thursday 16 June 2016

My Current Beauty Set-Up + Travel Make-Up Bags.

I've been in Perth for four months now - a long time, and definitely longer than expected. Luckily for me, I landed firmly on my feet and, instead of sofa surfing, in hostels or Air BNBs, I've spent that time at my aunt and uncle's, or at a friend's spare flat, meaning I've had, not just a house, but a home. I'm now back at my aunt and uncle's and will be staying here until I (eventually) leave Perth and they're house is amazing. I have my own part of the house consisting of a large living room, bedroom and bathroom, but the best part is definitely the beauty room that is adjacent to my room. I don't know how I'm going to leave. I'm probably going to have to be dragged to the airport. Let's take a look...






I have a large chest, which I mainly use to dump store my more basic, everyday clothes. One of the best things about this room is that it's surrounded by windows, meaning you can do your make-up in natural lighting, so you don't end up looking too different in different lighting. There's a large desk area, which has draws and a large double door storage area, but I tend to keep my beauty stuff on top of the surface area. There's a large mirror and also a smaller one attached to the floor, with a normal side and another which shows all of your imperfections - I rarely use that side, I don't need reminding... As well as the bright, overhead light, there are also lights built in around the mirror.


In one corner, I like to keep my sunglasses and my jewellery. I like to keep my sunglasses in their cases, just to avoid them getting scratched. My jewellery is kept in a large make-up bag as I just haven't really got round to displaying it get. I'm going to pick up some Muji drawers and dividers for it all as soon as I'm back in the U.K.


In the opposite corner, I keep my perfumes. How I have more perfumes than sunglasses here, despite being 15000km away from home, I do not know. I have YSL Black Opium, DKNY Be Delicious Red Apple, Ted Baker ...., and a few samples. I also like to keep my nail polishes with my perfumes. When I moved from Spain to London, my family advised (flat out told) me to only take five or less nail varnishes, which alarmed me slightly as I have about eighty, but I somehow managed it, and ekpt it up when I came to Australia. After four months, I am a bit bored of the same colours and am looking forward to using the other 75 I have back at home...

Next to my perfume, I like to keep my make-up brushes, stored in a toothbrush holder! There are a few little things that I'm missing from home, and two of those are my make-up brush holder and the other make-up brushes that I didn't end up bringing with me. With me, I have the Real Tecniques Core Collection, a few brushes from Nic's Picks from Real Tecniques and a Cala brush, as well as the eyeshadow and eyeliner brush that comes with the Sephora palette. I only actually use the buffing brush (for foundation) and contour brush (for concealer) from the Core Collection, though still carry the pointed foundation brush. From Nic's Picks, the brushes that I use most are the eyeshadow brushes and the face brush, which I use for contour. I use the Cala brush for powder and my fingers for highlighter.




Packing for a trip that you don't know when is going to come to an end is hard. Clothes wise, I basically chucked half of what I own into a very large, very overweight suitcase and hoped for the best, but make-up was a little trickier (even if I do miss the wardrobe full of clothes I left at home). I probably over-packed a little with make-up as well but there is still so much stuff back at my family home. Now, here I am, four into a trip in Australia, and I've managed to be extremely well behaved and not buy any make-up while here.



I divided my make-up into two bags; one with all my face make-up in (foundation, concealer, powder, contour, etc) and, in the others, everything for lips and eyes. As I knew space was going to be limited, one thing I made sure to do was to take as many palettes as possible and not individual pieces. One of the palettes I always make sure to take away is the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette, as I can do my bronzer, highlighter and blush with it, all of which also double up as eyeshadows. Due to all my travelling, this has unfortunately turned to dust, so one of my best friends gave me the Maybelline Contour Palette as a leaving gift. I then take two eyeshadow palettes, the Sephora IT Nude and the Make-Up Revolution Iconic 2 palette, both of which have a good mix of matte and glittery shades. The Sephora palette comes with it's own brush, which is actually usable (unlike most other brushes in palettes), and it's own eyeliner pencil. As I like multi-use products, I make sure to never forget the Sephora palette. Not only does it have my go to eyeshadows, but also comes with shades perfect for highlighter, eyebrows and eyeliner.





One thing I'm definitely not very good at is packing lipsticks. Most people have a pretty good system nailed; a nude, a red and a statement lip. Me? I tend to take about three of each. A few lipsticks that always make the great are KIKO's Unlimited Stylo in the shade Hibiscus Red, KIKO's Smart lipstick in the shade 908, KIKO's Velvet Matte Satin Lipstick in the shade 604, Sephora's Rouge Edition lipstick in the shade Crush and two NARS lip pencils: Cruella and Rikugien. I suppose that's not too many... Or at least it wouldn't be if I'd actually worn any of them.





Now that we've got the details sorted, it's on to the main base. I recently ran out of my trusted Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and am trying one from MUD. Concealer wise, I also keep it pretty simple. I make sure to always have KIKO's Natural Concealer in green with me to cover up any redness, as well as Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer and Natural Collection's Concealer. The first one I find to be a little bit too brightening for under the eyes, but like it down and around the nose. Despite the fact I've somehow got paler, I find it to be a bit too pale for me, so I might try this in a different shade. I used to use the Natural Collection concealer on spots on blemishes and, though it's not the best, it's definitely good for the price, but it's currently collecting (pun not intended) dust at the bottom of my make-up bag, as I've been using Benefit's Boi-ing Concealer - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I will definitely be repurchasing this, though perhaps in a shade darker. I am always looking to try new concealers though so if you have any recommendations then please let me know! I'm looking for something not too pricey and that can be used as a multi-purpose concealer.

Foundations are another item that I find a bit challenging but, unlike lipsticks and nail varnishes, they're quite bulky so are hard to carry around. I guess my choices depend on where I'm going and how long I'm going away for but, as I'm currently away for more than a few months, I've probably overpacked. As the weather can chop and change, I've brought KIKO's Mat Mousse Foundation for those days when it's hot & humid and I'm looking a bit shiny, Rimmel's Match Perfection for duey make-up days and Rimmel's Lasting Finish, which is a new, emergency buy that I had to run and get when I realised I'd forgotten all of my other foundations on a recent weekend trip away! The latter has turned into my new favourite foundation and beats even high-end ones - I honestly wear it almost everyday. Other than those three main bottles, I also have a mountain of samples that I brought with me. I'm currently enjoying both MAC Studio Fix Foundation and YSL Touché Êclat Foundation and suppose I should eventually settle on one to purchase. I have a few Urban Decay samples but don't really understand the hype around them (probably because I was given the wrong shade) and could take or leave the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Foundation. Like the UD one, I was given the wrong colour, so will have to look into getting the right one.




Eyewise, there are a few other pieces in my make-up bag, like KIKO's 193 and 33 Colour Sphere Eyeshadows, Maybelline's Volume Express, CARGO Lash Activator (blog post on this coming soon!), Natural Collection mascara, and KIKO's Everlasting Shadowstick, which is a great dupe for the By Terry Ombre Blackstar shadowsticks,



What do you always keep in your travel make-up bag?
Let me know in the comments below!

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