The stigma of adult acne

When I was a teenager I thought that I had the most awful skin imaginable. I now look back on myself and cannot believe that I picked fault with my lovely smooth skin. Sitting here now as a 27 year old woman I would give anything to have my lovely 15 year old skin back. The reason for this is not to do with the little creases that have appeared round my eyes and mouth, but more so to do with the fact that around 2 years ago I developed full blown acne, worse than any that I ever had as a teenager.

The thing with acne is that most people typically associate it as being a younger persons skin condition, something that you grow out of or that can be gotten rid of easily with a few lifestyle changes. This quite simply is not true. 

I have worked in the beauty industry for six years and have studied Beauty Therapy for two years, learning all the fundamental basics of skin care and how different products can help and enhance your skins appearance. Despite all of this knowledge, around two years ago after a stressful event my cheeks and chin decided to erupt into a lovely array of blemishes, red a sore to the touch. At first I put it down the hormones, hoping it would settle down within a few months, however, here I am two full years later and no further on. I have tried various different skincare products, recommendations and facials yet still my skin remains the same. I often feel conscious in my line of work applying makeup to other people that they must look and wonder why my skin is so blemished as I help theirs to appear flawless and I often find myself making excuses for the state of my skin.

I guess I just wanted to write this post to say to anyone that has acne to try not to worry. Sometimes it is just one of those things. I really admire Em from My Pale Skin Blog for raising the confidence levels in people like myself who suffer with blemishes. 

Anyways that's enough of my ramblings for now! xxx

Rita Ora Sunday X Factor Inspired Makeup

One of my favourite things to watch on a weekend is the X Factor. It sounds quite sad but I particularly love tuning in to see the judges and contestants makeup and hair looks. Last Sunday it was the episode where the judges picked which final 3 they were taking through to the live shows. Whilst watching I was particularly struck by how beautiful Rita Ora's makeup was. She had an amazing sixties style back combed pony tail and lovely frosted high-lighty styled makeup - (Is high-lighty an actual word?) 

Anyways... I decided to take inspiration and give this look a go myself. Of course I do not have the lovely Rita's face or eye shape so I had to tailor it a tad to make it work on my face and eyes. 

First up I applied my ultimate favourite foundation Doublewear by Estee Lauder in the shade Ecru. My skin is very blemish prone and has lots of pigmentation so I find this covers quite well. I then used Collections Lasting Perfection Concealer under the eyes to brighten my dark circles. For the eyes I used a mixture of MAC's Naked Lunch and Pink Freeze to help give that pink frosty look with just a tiny amount of shimmer. I also ran a tiny bit of Pink Freeze under my eye. To line I used Clinique's Black Kohl Pencil for my water line and Laura Gellers Calligraphy Eye Liners to do my little flick. My eye shape is slightly down turned and my crease runs quite low as well as my eye brow so it didn't look quite as dramatic as Ritas! I used my amazing Smashbox Shape Matters palette (pictured above) to do my brows and a little bit of light contouring. I set all of this with Bobbi Browns brightening Finishing Powder as this has a pinky mauvey tone to it. I finished off with Rockateur blusher from Benefit and Watts Up high lighter to give a nice sheen.

Over all I do quite like this look on me. It is not something that I would usually go for as I tend to stick to my bronzey brown colours but I think it is quite nice for the winter months as an alternative to the more vampy looks.

Let me know what you think xx

Last Weeks Makeup

Last week I had a play around with the Makeup Revolution Ultra Cover and Conceal palette in the shade Light - Medium. I had used this palette before as a concealer but wanted to try it out as a cream contour. 

The photo at the top of this post is the result (please excuse my photography! Still learning here!) I was really impressed with how easy to blend the colours were and the coverage that they gave. Being super pale I have to be careful when it comes to using concealers and contours as anything to strong can make me look very orange and like I have lines down my face. I started with the Benefit Porefessional, which has been one of my long time favourites. I love this primer and it works wonders on reducing the appearance of my pores. I then applied my trusty Double Wear foundation in Ecru using the Real Techniques brush. After that I took the lightest colour from the concealer palette and applied it in a triangle shape under my eye and across my cheek bone to use as a high light. I also took this high light colour and put a little in the centre of my forehead and the centre of my chin. As I have a bump in my nose I never apply a high light to this area as I don't want to make it more noticeable! I them took the darkest colour in the palette and used this under my cheek bones, around my forehead and down the sides of my nose. Again, having a hear shaped face I do not apply the contour shade to my jaw line as this will make it look more out of proportion with my forehead! I really loved the overall effect that this gave and I think that it looked quite natural. To finish off I added a pop of Benefit's Rockateur blusher and a tiny bit of the Watts Up high lighter.

For my eyes I kept it very simple and used my Make Up Revolution palette alongside my Clinique Kohl pencil for the waterline and the Laura Gellar eye liner. To finish off my lips I took a tiny bit of Estee Lauder's Dune Rose and dabbed it on with my finger so that it looked very natural.

Next up I am looking to purchase to Makeup Revolution Radiance palette. It looks beautiful! Let me know if you have tried it already.

Smashbox Contour Kit

I purchased the Smashbox Contour Kit a few months ago after struggling to find a way to contour my super pale skin. By pale I mean the type of skin that can go away on holiday and come back a week later looking paler than before I left.

What attracted my attention to this kit was the greyish toned contour shade as opposed to the usual more bronzey contour colours that stick out against my skin and look very noticeable. This kit comes with a highlighting shade that is light and blends easy without all of the sparkle and shimmer of some other high lighters. It looks really natural in daylight, which is always a good thing! The contour shade is perfect, just the right amount of greyish brown powder that when applied looks like an actual shadow. There is also the middle bronzer shade too, but I tend not to use this as much on myself.

I love that the powders are blend so easily, no harsh lines here! It also comes with a handy angled brush, making is perfect to for right under the cheekbones. I then use the sides of the brush to apply the highlighter.

It comes with a handy guide to tell you which colours to put where, although this does differ depending on your face shape.

This is my favourite product for contouring and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for something that is easy to use and blends well.

A Few Things From Boots

One of my favourite things to do is to walk around the beauty department in Boots and look at all of the exciting new products that have been released. I am a sucker for whatever is positioned at the top of each brands display. Whilst having a wonder round the All Out Pout palette by Seventeen caught my eye. There were two different shade selections to choose from, I went for the pinky toned one but there is also a coral option The palette contains six different gloss shades including a glittery one. I love the packaging, it is really sturdy and has a nice clip shut clasp. It comes with a little leaflet with hints and tips on to. The reason that this caught my eye was that it reminded me of a lipgloss palette that I had when I was around 15 years old. I always suffer from really dry lips and love wearing a gloss and I remember this working really well for me at the time - although that was over 10 years ago! The palette cost me £7.99 and Seventeen had an offer on where you got a free Cheek Stamp when spending over £6. The only colour that they had left was this bright pink shade. I do tend to stick to pink colours on the cheeks so will be giving that a go too.

I also picked up my favourite Bourjois liquid liner. I have used this for years and years. It has such a lovely fine brush, making it easy for getting that nice delicate line and it lasts all day.

My Every Day Makeup

Hi my name is Katie and welcome to my blog. I had been wanting to start a blog for forever! I am makeup and beauty obsessed. After attempting to start one last year and failing to keep up with it I have decided to start afresh. I am really excited to share with you any new finds that I discover and to talk abut products that have worked for me. I have decided to kick off with an oldie but a goody, my every day makeup!

I have been a fan of Estee Lauder's Double Wear for around 5 years. Whilst on training whilst working for another brand as a makeup consultant, I noticed that every person on the course had Estee Lauder's Double Wear in their makeup bag! Naturally I was curious as to it's popularity so decided to get matched myself. I was matched to the colour Ecru, which was one of the lighter colours. I really like this foundations staying power and the way that it covers everything. I have lots of acne scaring and pigmentation on my skin and this does a really good job of covering it and making my skin look nice and even. It genuinely does last the whole day too. I have tried other foundations but nothing matches up to this so far. If you have any recommendations let me know!

My newest discovery is the Real Techniques buffing brush, I know, I know, I am about two years behind everyone else on this one! I love Pixiwoo and always watch their videos, but for some reason I had never thought to purchase their brushes. I was in Boots last week when they had the core brush set on offer for £10.99! I thought this was too good an offer to pass up so decided to purchase them. I haven't yet tried out the other brushes, but I have been OBSESSED with this foundation brush. It actually is amazing, no word of a lie, I have never used something that makes foundation application to quick and easy. I absolutely love it and I really regret having not tried it sooner.

Another old trusty favourite it the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer in shade light/medium. I love this concealer, once again for it's coverage and staying power and also like using it as an eye shadow primer.

After reading a lot of reviews I decided to invest in the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. I was in the market for a new mascara and this was the one that the sales consultant said she had on so I went for it. Can't believe after working as a makeup counter assistant myself for 6 years that I was sold to that easily, but she was good! I like the look that this gives my lashes, it makes them look nice and full. I have experienced a tiny bit of smudging, but other than that I really like it.

Makeup Revolution is a brand that I really like. I think that their products are such good value and really good dupes of higher end products. I bought the Redemption Iconic Palette 3 around a month ago as it reminded me a bit of the Naked 3 palette. The colours are lovely for autumn, lots of nice bronzes and warm browns. Their staying power is good as well.

Lastly onto the lips. I have been enjoying using MAC Pink Treat lip liner lately. I really like the colour and find that it goes with a lot of my lipsticks that I already own. It is a twist up creamy pencil and doesn't pull or drag my skin on my lips. I like pairing it with Estee Lauders Crystal Baby lipstick - another long time favourite! This is a your lips but better colour, perfect for everyday wear.

What are your everyday products that you can't live without?