Getting my face on

Good evening my dear ones, how are we today?

I am doing our second post in the #teenblogseries and well, I've never done a make-up post before... so erm, yeah lets see how this goes shall we (it could be quite amusing so definitely keep on reading).
I am most definitely not any sort of make-up guru, but I have had my fair few years of practise; including those vital years as a young teenager where I was wearing the most ridiculous and badly done make-up and thinking I looked absolutely great (which I totally did obviously... cough).

Right, here goes!

My Foundation Routine 

I am a complete Bare Minerals addict. I basically fund their company.
Although, I go through stages; for many years before this I swore by Dior Nude and before that it was one of Chanel's lighter consistency foundations (the name escapes me, but they discontinued it which was a very sad day).

Anyway, I'm really loving Bare Minerals at the moment because the foundation really isn't too heavy. You can put a light dusting of their mineral powder for a very natural everyday look, but you can also build it up for a more evening feel. Plus it has been great for my skin!
I am unfortunately not blessed with the clearest of skin and this powder foundation does not clog up your pores like other foundations do, which is exactly what I needed.

Admittedly, Bare Minerals is expensive. It's not overly priced and personally I think you get very good value for your money, especially with the starter kit (I got mine for £50 and got four products and three brushes). If you're not so lucky with the state of your skin like I am then I would always suggest you invest in a good foundation, do plenty of research beforehand so you make sure your spending your money well. Buying a cheapo foundation will just make matters worse, plus they don't look as good or stay on for as long in my experience. It is totally worth it if you do your research well enough first. 
Another tip is wear as little as possible, just cover the bits that need it. You don't need a full face cover, that way your skin can breath more and your foundation will last longer. 

Step By Step

I begin with the bare minerals primer (which I forgot to photo oops) which feels 100% like smearing liquid pears over your skin. It's simply gorgeous and provides a smooth base to put your foundation, especially if you have cave-like pores like mwa.

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I then move onto my concealer, which I bought only a week ago and feel like I have finally completed the search for the perfect concealer. You hardly need anything to cover a blemish, and the bare minerals concealer brush you get with their starter kit is just as good. I'm one happy customer there!

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Just after I've applied
the mineral powder.
Looking super cheerful
here...heh.

Next is the mineral powder, which considering it is Bare Minerals main product, I use very little of it. I just lightly cover the parts that need it. Just to even out my skin tone and give extra coverage to those blemishes. If I'm going out for a night out, I may build it up a little more but for my everyday face I am a big fan of the more natural look.    

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Now I've got my basic foundation done, I move onto contouring. I don't always contour for my everyday face, but I though for the purpose of this post I thought I would (just for you guys). A little trick I was taught by the head make-up artist, the lovely Martin, when helping at an opera performance was to use a thinner brush to contour with, and then buff out the line with a larger, flat top brush. It's a really great way to get very precise contouring without it being too obvious.

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Afterwards, I'll put a little bit of bronzer where the sun would hit my face just to add a little colour. I keep it very minimal otherwise it just look ridiculous (the tangoed look is not my thing). Then my blusher, which shock-horror isn't Bare Minerals!! It's Clinique and is about a year old and it's such a lovely subtle colour. I use a slanted brush for my blusher as it is the perfect shape and size for the apple of the cheek. 

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Finally, I'll put a little powder on my t-zone and where I need flattening out a little. 

And taaaadaaaaaaaa, there is my finished foundation routine! Now, onto the eyebrows.

My Eyebrow routine

I've never really thought of my eyebrow routine, I just sort of do it. It's also not something I do everyday, it depends on how late I am that day really...heh. So I definitely learnt something new here and maybe you will too! 

 

Behold! My naked eyebrows.

First thing is first, if you don't own one of these little eyebrow brushy things, then I suggest you get one. I didn't realise how good they were until I got one on the end of a eyebrow pencil and I've never looked back since. In fact, I don't even use the pencil these days, just the brush.     

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So my beginning step after plucking is to brush the hairs downwards (using the magical eyebrow brush of course). This helps to find your natural shape along the top. This makes it a lot easier to follow this natural shape and enhance it a little if that's what you like. 

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When doing my eyebrows I concentrate mostly on the part furthest from the nose as my inner brow doesn't need too much attention. I use the slanted brush from The Body Shop as it is nice and thin, and the slant allows you to make nice neat lines so I don't end up with bushman eyebrows. 

For colour I actually use hustle from my naked pallet, basically because eyebrow powder is basically eyeshadow and I thought I'd save money. I could probably do with a lighter colour, but I decided hustle is the best fit from my pallet.
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After coaming down the hairs, I have found the natural line and drawn along the top making the line quite strong. Without adding anymore colour to the brush, I then buff this line downwards to fill in the rest of the outer eyebrow. 

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I then simply trace along the top of the inner brow to give it a little structure and fill in any bald patches I may have.

TIP: when colouring in the brow, I go against the direction of the hairs as it generally looks a little more natural and less like you've used a felt tip to colour in your eyebrows (not that other techniques mean your eyebrows look like that, but I could name few names).

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Finally, I add a little highlighter underneath the arch of the brow which lifts the brow and accentuates its shape. 

Here you can really see the difference between my finished eyebrow and my right-hand eyebrow. I think I should go out with odd eyebrows more often, it's a great look. 

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okay, I finished the other one so you can see the full affect.... and also so I don't look like a massive weirdo.

So, there you have it. 

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! (Mostly, it started playing up towards the end and I nearly threw my laptop out the window)

 If you have any tips on how I could improve my make-up routine or my post, please share! 

And now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!!