What does a typical week's worth of makeup look like for me? How many individual makeup items do I actually use in seven days? That's what I was wondering one day when I had a little too much time on my hands...
Of course that makes for a good makeup blog post so I set about finding out, dutifully writing down everything I wore over a seven day period - Monday to Sunday. I figured it was going to be a pretty small and boring post because I was in a little bit of a makeup rut but it turned out not to be so boring after all - being this time of year it's been all about office lunches, parties and special dinners - all in all it was a more colourful week than I expected!
Now, this is a bit of a makeup porn post - lots of product shots coming up - but it's not a favourites post per se. There are lots of items I use for varying reasons, not necessarily because I love them best. You'll see what I mean as I go through the list.
I'm going to start with eye makeup because that's what I actually apply first, rather than my base. I managed to use 16 different eye makeup items which probably isn't a lot for some of you but it's quite a variety for me! That 16 comprised 8 eyeshadows, 5 eyeliners and 3 mascaras:
Here's the rundown on what I wore on my eyes:
My base routine is a little more, erm, routine I guess and I varied it very little over the week. I generally keep it very simple during the working week and will try to get away with as little as concealer, powder and a little cream blush if I can:
I very nearly managed a different lip colour for every day of the week but not quite because I wore an old Revlon lipstick on a few consecutive days, trying to finish it for my November empties!
Until next time
Vita :)
Of course that makes for a good makeup blog post so I set about finding out, dutifully writing down everything I wore over a seven day period - Monday to Sunday. I figured it was going to be a pretty small and boring post because I was in a little bit of a makeup rut but it turned out not to be so boring after all - being this time of year it's been all about office lunches, parties and special dinners - all in all it was a more colourful week than I expected!
Now, this is a bit of a makeup porn post - lots of product shots coming up - but it's not a favourites post per se. There are lots of items I use for varying reasons, not necessarily because I love them best. You'll see what I mean as I go through the list.
I'm going to start with eye makeup because that's what I actually apply first, rather than my base. I managed to use 16 different eye makeup items which probably isn't a lot for some of you but it's quite a variety for me! That 16 comprised 8 eyeshadows, 5 eyeliners and 3 mascaras:
Here's the rundown on what I wore on my eyes:
- L'Oreal Shadow Minerals (10 Gold) - I dug this out to use as a warm lid shade to counter a cool blue accented eye I wore for an office pre-Xmas lunch. I don't love this eyeshadow at all because of all the fallout and it literally disappears from my lids halfway through the day. The good news is it's been discontinued.
- Revlon quad (Tickled Pink) - You can see this eyeshadow quad is on its way to finished. I've been wearing the last remaining shade everyday as an inner highlight because I'm on a mission to try and kill it before the end of 2012!
- MAC (Phloof!) - I wore this as an inner corner highlight (instead of Tickled Pink - yikes!) for my Saturday night eye.
- MAC (Shale) - I love this neutral grey-purple shadow and wore it as a crease colour a few times during the week.
- Essence (Cappucino, Please!) - A staple browbone shade, a real workhorse neutral, and I wore it nearly every day.
- MAC (Deep Truth) - I wore this deep blue as a crease shade twice, stretching my colour boundaries for a colourful smoky eye.
- MAC (Tempting) - This golden brown shadow was a crease shade for me a few times during the working week.
- MAC (Satellite Dreams) - I wore this purple shadow all over the lids on Saturday night.
- MAC Powerpoint (Bordeauxline) - this plummy liner's a staple and a favourite of mine. I used it a few days during the week.
- MAC Powerpoint (Handforged) - I used this gold liner one day as a lower lash liner to contrast blue liner on the upper lid. I've had it for an absolute age, love it and ration how I use it cos it's no longer available :(
- MAC Powerpoint (Duck) - Another staple I used a few times during the week because this grey-brown is the perfect everyday liner.
- Urban Decay 24/7 Liner (Perversion) - I don't normally wear inky black liner but I wore this for a Saturday night rock chick look.
- Urban Decay 24/7 Liner (Ransom) - A lovely violet-blue liner that I wore for a pop of colour when I went out for lunch with the girls.
- Christian Dior Diorshow Mascara (Black) - One of my all time faves of the luxe mascara variety, I wore this a few times for a feathery, defined lash look.
- Maybelline Lash Stiletto Waterproof Mascara (Black) - This coated my lashes on the days I exercised after work. I hate the prickly brush but refuse to waste it because the formula itself is a pretty dependable everyday waterproof mascara.
- Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultimate Curl Mascara (Black) - I wore this a few times too just to mix it up a bit. I've been enjoying this creamy drugstore mascara because it thickens my lashes with no clumps and makes them reach for the sky!
Eyeshadows shown clockwise from left:
Tickled Pink, Phloof!, Shale, Cappucino, Please!,
Deep Truth, Tempting, Satellite Dreams
Eyeliner shades from left:
Bordeauxline, Handforged, Duck, Perversion, Ransom
My base routine is a little more, erm, routine I guess and I varied it very little over the week. I generally keep it very simple during the working week and will try to get away with as little as concealer, powder and a little cream blush if I can:
- L'Oreal Bare Naturale Powdered Mineral Foundation (Light Ivory) - My mind changes about this product constantly but now I just want to finish it. I wore it on the days I felt I needed more coverage and a bit of extra SPF.
- Nyx Mosaic Powder (Plummy) - I swirled my blush brush in this a few times during the week for a natural flush. It has a weird chalky scent but I do love the natural shade I get on my cheeks.
- L'Oreal True Match Blush (125 Nude Pink) - This literally sits on the border of nude and pink and I wore it to work because it's so easy to wear and again looks natural on me.
- Bloom Sheer Colour Cream (Shy) - I can see I don't like wearing bright cheeks much (at least on that particular week!). This soft pink cream came out to play on my cheeks on those days I didn't bother with any foundation.
- Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer (02 Nude) - I wore this every day to cover up my under-eye circles. I love this product and I'll tell you that again and again...
- No. 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter Powder - I managed to wear highlighter once during the week on Saturday night.
- theBalm Sexy Mama Anti-shine Translucent Powder - I wore this colourless, one-size-fits-all powder every day to keep my skin looking cool rather than slick.
Blush shades clockwise from left:
Plummy, Shy, Nude Pink
I very nearly managed a different lip colour for every day of the week but not quite because I wore an old Revlon lipstick on a few consecutive days, trying to finish it for my November empties!
- Wet 'n' Wild Lip Liner Pencil (666 Brandy Wine) - This is my lipliner of choice so it was the only lipliner I wore during the week.
- Chanel Extrait de Gloss (51 Insouciance) - I wore this creamy nude lip gloss over Rimmel's Undressed once for a work-appropriate lip.
- Revlon Colorburst (Raspberry) - This sheer red was another work-appropriate pick for the start of the working week.
- Revlon (Pinkerbelle) - I wore this lipstick on three days because it was down to the stub and I just wanted to FINISH IT! I didn't quite make it for November - because I got bored and needed a change from blue-toned pink lips - but it's in the bag for the December empties!
- Rimmel (Undressed) - I wore this to work one day partnered with the Chanel gloss. It's one of my favourite daytime lip combinations (see here).
- MAC (Gem of Roses) - I wore this subtle blush pink for a weekend daytime lip.
- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (Smitten) - I wore this bright raspberry pink to a pre-Xmas office lunch when I was in the mood for OTT eyes and lips.
The lipsticks from left:
Raspberry, Pinkerbelle, Undressed, Gem of Roses
(see here for a closer look at Smitten)
So, to get to the point of this long-winded exercise I used 30 different colour products over seven days. Is that a lot? Or simply average? I don't really know - this wasn't scientific in any way - but in any case it kept me occupied for a week!
How do you think you compare?
I'd love to know!
Until next time
Vita :)
Great post! I'd hate to think how many different products I use every week.. Too many I think!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see you do this experiment Stephanie! It's like looking into your makeup bag x 7! Maybe? Please??
DeleteI have the Loreal Shadow Minerals eyeshadow in 10 gold as well, and in the picture it looks like yours has a big crack in it and mine does too. I'm also not a fan of it. Interesting post!
ReplyDeletexx
Yes Candice - the dang thing is cracked and I don't remember dropping it :p. I've only worn it a few times. I'll it with primer and if that doesn't help, out it goes!
DeleteThat's an awesome post Vita .. Loved reading it .. will probably steal this idea from you and do it soon .. but I guess I will have lesser products, cos I am always in rush rush :)
ReplyDeleteYes go ahead and "steal" away Saumya. I want to read your post - I'm always curious!!! :D
DeleteSo many lovely products! It is great to see variety and products actually being loved and used :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Su! Glad to see you liked the post - Man am I everrrrr loving your blog. :)
DeleteHaha-no I don't think that it's too much when you're a beauty junkie! ;) At least you are using a variety of your products.
ReplyDeleteOn another note-I miss the days when all I had was about 30 pieces of makeup lol.
OMG - I can remember those days too, and then I got a full-time job when I was still living with the parents. I had to spend my money on something! ;)
DeleteThis is very cool! I like that you use a variety of things, even on a day to day basis. I should try to do something like this. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with Tracy...I kind of miss the days when I owned: one eye shadow, one eyeliner, one primer, one foundation, and a balm. !!! This really happened.
I'm really flattered if I've inspired you even in the slightest Larie! I actually plan out my makeup the night before at the same time I plan my outfit. That seems to kick me into using a variety of things rather than grabbing for the same things in the morning rush.
DeleteYes, I totally relate to the small makeup stash too. I remember...
Oh Vita, this is an excellent post. While I enjoy reading about the next best thing, I like reading about what you're using and how you're integrating it with what you already own. I also feel totally awesome for being in the Essence Cappucino, Please! club. I've started playing around with my makeup more to figure out what works for me, and CP *definitely* works for me. It's a fantastic all-over lid shade, brow bone highlight, and also as a highlight for the middle of my lid. It's one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the post Boo! And you can also understand why Cappucino, Please! has received a lot of mentions on this blog. It's the everything shadow and I use it just as you do. I could easily get by with this shadow alone if I had to! :)
DeleteLove this post so so much, a good makeup perving experience for sure :) You need to toss that L'Oreal gold shade, I have the concealer from that line and the pop is cracked too. I hate crap packaging! I have bought Cappucino Please because of you, among many other things, you are a danger to my expenses.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't believe little old me is corrupting you Emma! Sometimes I think it's more of the reverse - You're always tempting me, LOL ;)
DeleteI am very close to getting rid of the mineral shadow - I'm giving it one more try to redeem itself by wearing it over primer but I'm not holding out much hope. Also the thought of it cracking open and spilling mineral shadow everywhere scares me!
Thanks Claire! I was hoping you'd check out the post after I floated the idea on Twitter - sorry it took so long to put up!
ReplyDeleteI'm more than happy for you to "steal" the idea. I want to have a gawk at what you can get through in 7 days! :D
Oh wow Vita! At least you DO make use of almost all or if not half of what you have! I've been reusing the same palette all week - the naked palette. I am so in love with it! BTW what's the best mascara you've ever used so far? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that's a toughie trying to pick THE best mascara. Some of the best one/s - I can't pick a single one - are the luxe products. I love Diorshow as posted here but I also love Lancome's classic Definicils.
DeleteThat nearly empty Revlon quad - OMG. :O
ReplyDeleteSeeing this gave me a good sense of your makeup colour preference. :) Such a nice roundup of things and a great post! I'm afraid that mine is much smaller and boring by comparison.
I'm determined to finish that quad Liz - by hook or by crook!!!! Even if it's not quite finished it's going to get tossed into my last empties for the year because I've had it for waayyyy toooooo loooooonng! In terms of my colour preference I've never actually thought about that but, I don't know, maybe I'm a cool neutral fan whatever that means :) I'm sure your weekly makeup routine is not boring at all - I'd love to get that little insight into what you use and why!
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