My Current Favourite Products

I go through fairly regular phases in my makeup usage: for a while I’ll be entirely focused on eyes, then I’ll whip through all my weird lipstick shades, and then I’ll move onto glitter and stick-on gems for a few weeks, before having a bit of a mental break with just brows and bright lipstick.

But lately I’ve been trying something new – actually wearing base product on a semi-regular basis. I’ve never been a person to wear foundation other than when I’m going to an event, but just for the hell of it I’ve been trying to wear it to the office. This has led to a new interest in face products, and a lessened emphasis on the eyes and lips. It probably won’t last long, but that’s where I’m currently at.

So, onto my current favourites!

Surratt Surreal Skin Foundation Wand in 2

I have extremely dry skin that’s also very light. I don’t have issues with visible pores or texture, although if my skin is particularly bad then I can get flaky patches, particularly around my nose. I get the odd pimple, but not often. I don’t have much to cover, so I want my skin to look like skin, just more perfected. I have this foundation in shade 2.

I couldn't get good photos of this on my potato phone for some reason, so this'll have to do

I need a foundation that is very moisturising, lasts through an eight-hour workday, and comes in a shade that works with my skin tone. I prefer my foundations to be light coverage with a skin-like finish, rather than being overly dewy or matte.

This is the foundation of my dreams! It meets all my requirements, photographs beautifully, and I love the sleek packaging and convenience of the attached brush. It feels like nothing on my skin, yet it keeps it feeling moisturised and comfortable. Plus it’s quick and clean to apply, which makes applying it during my commute much easier. (I always intend to get up early so I can get ready at home, but I never manage it.)

I am a dead-on match for MAC’s NW10, so my only quibble is that shade 2 is slightly too dark and yellow for me. But it’s sheer enough that I can make it work, so long as I blend it past my jaw.

This is an expensive product and it feels like I’m perma-broke these days, so hopefully I don’t have to buy this again any time soon. I’ll definitely have to save up for it.

Rituel de Fille Inner Glow Crème Pigment in Delirium

The packaging

In natural light

I exclusively use cream blushes these days, because they're so kind to my dry skin and I find that they have the most natural finish. Rituel de Fille is my favourite brand when it comes to cream products, and Delirium is my current go-to shade.

Delirium looks a bit scary in the pan, to be honest. It's a very orangey red, like blood. I apply it very lightly and blend it well, but I'm sure that it could be easily built up to a very intense colour. When sheered out, it looks gorgeous. 

L-R: one swipe, two swipes, one swipe sheered out

L-R: Rapture one swipe, Rapture two swipes, Delirium one swipe, Delirium two swipes

This blush lasts through most of an eight-hour workday, although it fades by the end - not to the point where it disappears, but noticeably compared to when it was freshly applied.

Rituel de Fille The Alchemist Highlight Intensifier

As with blushes, I prefer cream highlights these days as opposed to powder. I still have some powder highlights that I like, but I much prefer the finish and wear of cream products. Even though it's a cream, it still lasts through an eight-hour workday.

The Alchemist is a silvery glitter suspended in a clear cream. It doesn't change the colour of your base highlight - so if you use a pink highlight, the finish will still be pink - but it does add extra sparkle and gloss to the final look. 

L-R: two swipes, one swipe

This is a wholly unnecessary product, but it's one that I really love. I love colourful highlights, and I also love glitter, but all the glitter products I own are very opaque, so I can't apply them over another colour and expect the original base colour to show through. This product gives me a glittery effect but also allows the colour of the base product to remain visible.

MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo

It is She!

To be honest, I've never been a red lipstick girl. I have lipsticks in every shade under the sun, but red has always seemed sort of... boring. Basic. Not a match for my "messy glitter femme" aesthetic. I prefer purples and blues and black.

But I borrowed this from my girlfriend a month or so ago when we were on a road trip, and I realised that it was actually really nice. I then proceeded to nick the tube from my girlfriend and put it in my handbag, and that's where it's stayed.

There really isn't anything I can say about Ruby Woo that hasn't already been said. It's an extremely matte, vivid blue-red that while incredibly long-lasting (especially for a bullet lipstick), is an asshole of a product to apply. It drags over the lips, catches on flakes, is drying as hell, and doesn't layer well so if you want to touch up later on you need to wipe it off and start again. And yet... It makes my teeth look super white, it doesn't bleed or feather, it looks nice against my skin tone, and it makes me feel weirdly grown-up. I'm 27 but I still feel like I'm in my early-20s most of the time, but when I wear Ruby Woo I feel like maybe, just maybe, I could be a functioning adult. 

L-R: Mac Ruby Woo, Mac Lady Danger, Sephora Cream Lip Stain 96, Rimmel by Kate Moss 22