My beautiful new make-up bag...

It's actually a little sad how much I enjoy my new little make-up bag. 
Mint, floral, and super organised, tell me what's not to love, ladies?!

After spying it over on Vivianna Does Make-up a few weeks back, and feeling utterly ashamed of my somewhat revolting old excuse for a make-up bag, I decided to hunt this beautiful Paul & Joe make-up bag down while we were in the beauty hall at Selfridges. 
Somehow, a shopping trip intended for baby hat purchasing ended up in the beauty hall... don't judge me!

Although finding the Paul & Joe counter proved to be a somewhat stressful experience on a packed Saturday afternoon, let me tell you it was well worth it. 

You know when you're a kid, and at the beginning of each term at school you get all excited about getting a new pencil case and filling it up with new stationary? (Someone please tell me I'm not the only one?!) Well, this is like the 'grown-up' version of that feeling, Vivianna definitely got it right when she described this as the 'filofax' of make-up bags. 
I've been looking for a new make-up bag for SO long now, and I'm just the pickiest lady in the world so have been putting up with my old one until I found the perfect replacement. 
I love this SO much I  actually cleaned up all my make-up and brushes before putting them all in... haha

The best thing about this gorgeous little bag, apart from it's pretty-ness is the organisation. 
It has two removable pouches inside, one of which is see-through for quick access to those items you use most. I love the little pockets at the back for your brushes so they don't get damaged, a super important feature in my eyes, and rare to find in a make up bag. 

I can't believe I've managed to blab on for so long about this...

Have you ever shopped in Paul and Joe? What's your make-up bag of choice? 

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

I'm not really sure what I expected when I tried this 'Beauty Flash Balm' by Clarins. To be honest, I wasn't totally sure what it actually was... apparently it has been Clarins best selling 'radiance booster' for years now, and is supposed to help you achieve 'a more beautiful appearance in a flash'.

You can use it as a primer or a facemask, which initially seemed a little odd to me, but let's just go with it?!
 Anyway I've been using it as a primer. I'm not normally one to bother too much with a primer on myself (I know, bad beauty blogger & make up artist!) but you guys all know I'm very into products with a gentle comforting smell, and this is the real selling point for me with this one. It smells beautiful. For some reason it reminds me of being on the beach with my mum when I was little, and I love how after I apply it, I can still smell it on my own face for a couple of hours afterwards. I sound like such a freak...

Okay, so you have to apply a thin layer and don't rub it in, followed immediately by your normal make-up routine. 
As you can see from the photo, this is ever so slightly tinted, but not enough to show up. It has this gorgeous lightweight texture that sinks into the skin instantly, it's almost like you can feel you skin drinking up the goodness.
As a make-up base, it leaves my skin with very satin finish and it definitely does do a good job of keeping my make up in place all day.

I've found this so good for perking up my dull skin, and has definitely been great to use whilst being preggo and trying to fake the 'glow'. It manages to get that delicate balance just right, keeping oily shine at bay, whilst still letting me achieve that dewy glow most of us strive for with our skin these days. 

Over all, a winner for me and a welcome addition to my routine every morning.

Have you ever tried Beauty Flash Balm? What are your favorite primers?
 

Behind the scenes at my latest shoot...

 Apologies for the poopy photo quality, I only had my Iphone camera with me!

Hey there kids!
I thought I'd share a few 'behind the scenes' type photos with you from the music video shoot I worked on this Tuesday. I'm not sure how much I can really tell you, it's usually fairly 'hush hush' with these types of things until they are released.

It was a pretty early start, as the MUA you are usually one of the first on set and then one of the last to leave (thank god for the copious amounts of Jelly Babies, chocolates and Haribo we were supplied with!).
The morning was fairly hectic; I did 3 dancers make-up looks, a girl and two guys.
I have to admit, I LOVE doing men’s make-up, I'd love to have a job just doing male models!

We slightly altered the make up for the afternoon shots, and then the rest of the afternoon was spent 'standing by'. This means you literally stand on set and run in to do touch ups in between takes. This can be kind of scary when you first start out, but I actually really like this part of the job now!
The dancers routine was fairly fast pace (hence blurry photos), so as you can imagine there was a lot of sweat to mop up, shine to cover up, and lipstick re-appling going on. Glamorous hey?!

There was such a great vibe at this shoot, I got to work with MUA Zoe Tatum-Rooney, a dance team from Pineapple Dance Studios, and choreographer Mark Battershall (he's worked with Kate Moss and Florence Welch to name drop a couple. You might know him from the Pineapple Dance Studio TV series).
I even worked with a couple of the girls I trained in make-up with, which was really nice.
I definitely want to be doing more music video shoots!

I've got a couple of other shoots to tell you about too, I've been so unorganized and not blogged about them yet!

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser

The natural look | Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser 

Having always been quite self conscious about my skin, I never thought the day would come where I would convert to wearing tinted moisturiser over a full coverage foundation. 

So when my friend Laura and I popped into Space Nk in Muswell Hill for a little make-over, and I decided to give Laura Mercier Tinted moisturiser a go. We weren't doing anything that day so I figured it didn't matter if I ended up looking horrific... hehe 
Needless to say, I actually ended up wanting to buy everything she applied on me... c'mon girls, we've all been there, right?!

I'm not going to lie to you, the first time I tried it, I did feel a little naked. I'm so used to having a mask, it felt kind of funny not having complete coverage, and I did feel a little bare. 
It soon grew on me though, and I believe it or not, I actually feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin now. I've got used to wearing less, I feel a little bit more like 'me', if that makes sense?

This tinted moisturiser has a beautiful consistency to it, it sinks in so quickly and leaves my skin feeling nourished & hydrated. It's great for evening out the skin tone and just making your skin look like a better version of itself, rather than just covering it up completely. 
If you have spots or blemishes you will want to conceal them after applying this, as the coverage isn't enough to be able hide them completely (it's descirbed as a 'no-make-up' look). I've found wearing less coverage has actually improved my skin as far as blemishes are concerned. It's also oil free, perfect for someone like me who has quiet oily skin anyway.  

My favourite thing about this, is that it's so lightweight it's almost as though you aren't wearing anything at all, you don't get that feeling at the end of the day where you're desperate to take off your face! It's so nice to feel like you're wearing less, and I actually think it looks nicer too. much more fresh faced and natural. 

There are 12 shades to choose from, and it comes in a squeezy tube, which I really like as it's light to carry round in my make up bag. It's £33, which I know to some of you may seem like a lot, but you really don't need to apply much to get a nice even coverage. I've always been a great believer in 'you get what you pay for' as far as foundation, bases and skincare are concerned, and this is no exception. 

So, if you're feeling brave and fancy trying a base with a little less coverage than normal, I'd definitely recommend this.

Have you ever tried laura mercier tinted moisturiser? Do you normally wear a tinted moisturiser or are you a more full coverage kind of girl?