These are my beauty underdogs. The real hardworkers in my beauty arsenal that do all the work but more often than not don't receive any credit. These are my basics, my essentials, the little things than can be found most often at my bedside, in my handbag or on my person.
They are beauty saviors and without them I'd be lost - so here's to you the often overlooked beauty basics!


Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector 06
Perfect on it's own or as a base for your regular lipstick. Highly moisturising like no other balm or gloss I've tried before. I love to wear it on lazy days to provide a sheer 'my lips but better' tone to my pout, but it looks equally good with a deep smoky eye. Smells of vanilla ice-cream too, always a plus.

Loreal Superliner Ultra Precision
My number one everyday liquid liner, it's available in a variety of shades and finishes to suit different eye colours but I tend to stick with Black. It's not often I'm seen without my black cat eye 'flicks'. Infact, I've been applying my eyeliner pretty much the same way since I was 15. Precision application is provided via the built in liner brush and the deeply pigmented formula perfects my peepers daily.

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
These usually last me about a year, which at cost per wear make them a real bargain in my eyes. My skin type is normal to combination and it's quite common for me to get a bit of a shiny T-zone throughout the day. I use the shade 'Light Plus' to keep any sign of oil at bay, my skin looks natural and radiant with no 'cake' in sight.

Seche Vite topcoat
This stuff is uhhh-mazing! To the point where I actually don't know how I used to paint my nails without it. This miracle working topcoat provides a wonderfully glossy finish and boosts my drying time to under a minute - a real game changer in my opinion.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Mat Moisturiser
My favourite daytime moisturiser and the perfect base for makeup. Although I'm not so fond of the smell, it reminds me of Fairy washing up liquid... go figure?! This moisturiser has seen me through many a long day with minimal shine. It leaves a soft velvety feel to my skin, my pores look minimized and my make-up just seems to  sit better when I've used it.

Noticed that I've gained a few followers on Bloglovin, Hello! What would make it into your top 5?

The Bourjois Velvet liquid lipstick in 'Pink Pong' is perhaps the most perfect neon pink. On my lips it's not too warm, nor too cool. Most pinks in the more bright to neon section of the pink spectrum have a tendency to pull quite cool on me and take on an almost blueish/purple pink tone.
It applies as a wonderfully soft cream and dries down to a velvety soft matte finish. It's not too drying like other mattifying lip products I've used before to try and create a similar effect. In fact even when dry it still leaves a nice 'slip' on the lips.

The most noteworthy benefit of choosing Bourjois's offering over any other matte lip products for me is it's staying power. Once this stuff is on your lips it isn't going anywhere! Definitely make sure you apply this little guy just right on your first try. As harmless as it looks in it's neat glossy packaging, this stuff has staying power like no other - lethal to any other cack handed girls like myself!
Luckily the small doe foot applicator allows for a pretty precise application.

I currently own just 'Pink Pong' from their collection of 8. The 8 shades come in a full range of offerings from peachy nudes to hot reds, all with the same perfected mattified formula. I'll definitely be adding some more of the brights to my ever increasing matte collection.

Standout shades from the range: 'Pink Pong', 'Frambourjoise' and 'Hot Pepper'

I currently own 3 shades; two subtle shades 'Nude Ballet' and 'Rose Melody' and one statement shade 'Fuchsia Drama'.
The formula is like a mix of a balm and a gloss, a 'bloss' if you will! They're very moisturising, leaving my lips feeling beautifully soft once they've worn off and a bonus, it doesn't leave you with those yucky bits at the side of your mouth that you often get from your standard worn off lipgloss.

Though I love the two subtle shades I own, and I imagine I will get a lot of wear from them on a daily basis, the standout shade for me is 'Fuchsia Drama'. It gives an amazing *pop* of colour to my face, making the perfect statement bold lip. I already have my eye on 'Tangerine Sonate' to create a Mac Morange style vinyl lip come Summer.
RRP £8.99, but I snapped mine up with my Boot's points and on 3 for 2 - bargain!

This is a night time look created with Stila In the Light palette - Using 'Sunset', 'Sandstone' on my upper lid, 'Bare' as a brow and inner corner highlight, with 'Gilded Gold' smudged on my lower lash line. Finished with a flick of Lancome Artliner in Black, lashings of Maybelline the Rocket mascara and a slick of Rimmel's Moisture Renew lipstick in shade 'In love with Ginger'. Base is Nars Sheer Glow and The Body Shops Honey Bronzing powder and a touch of Nars 'Orgasm' on my cheeks.


I picked this palette up recently in Boots, I'd heard a bit about it but hadn't actually seen the palette until I found the Stila stall on a trip up to Leeds. Initially, I couldn't really decide whether I wanted to purchase it or not. I'd always been drawn to the Urban Decay naked palettes and had been saving up my points to purchase Naked 1- if I was going to buy neutral, I was going to buy the original. When I swatched the shadows on the back of my hand I had an instant change of heart. The Stila shadows were buttery and gave a great colour pay-off, there was an even mix of matte, glitter and frost shades making it much more wearable for daytime than the Naked 1 palette.