Monday 11 January 2016

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

Hello Lovelies

Today I have the first in what will be a series of blog posts sharing with you my favourite beauty and make up products of 2015 and rather than write a mammoth post which would take you about 2 weeks to read I have decided to split my favourites of 2015 into categories which are base products, lip products, eye products, skin care, nail products and hair care and today I am going to kick off the series with my favourite base products of 2015. 

Primer

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

My favourite primer of all time is the Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer, I have extremely dry and dehydrated skin but using this primer means my skin looks flawless after applying foundation, I have tried numerous primers over the years but the Smashbox Hydrating Primer is the only primer I have ever re purchased and will continue to re purchase. I do have a full review of the Smashbox Hydrating Photo Finish primer here on my blog if you would like to read a more in depth review. I would highly recommend this primer to anyone with dry or dehydrated skin it is amazing and makes a huge difference to the way my foundation looks, it isn't the most affordable primer but you only need a small amount meaning it will last a long time, if you would like to try it you can find it on the Boots website here for £28.00 for 30ml. 

Foundation

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

The first foundation I am going to talk about is Illamasqua Skin Base,  I use the shade 07 which is a perfect match for my cool toned skin, skin base is available in 26 different shades and is brilliant for my extremely dry and dehydrated skin, if I am asked which high end foundation I recommend I always say skin base. It is described as a medium build-able coverage, I personally think it is more of a medium to full coverage and one of the things I love about it is that I don't have to wear concealer when I wear it, it covers my under eye darkness and any blemishes I may have. Skin base doesn't contain any SPF so is a perfect foundation to where when being photographed and it applies beautifully. My preferred method of application is with a beauty blender, I find this gives flawless results. I can't recommend skin base highly enough and if you haven't yet tried it give it a go you won't be disappointed, you can pick up a sample at an Illamasqua counter or have the foundation applied so you can "try before you buy" I love it and have been purchasing it for years and will continue to do so. If you would like to try Illamasqua Skin Base, you can find it on the Debenhams website here for £32.50 for 30ml or on the Very website here for £32.00 for 30ml. 

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products


Another favourite foundation of 2015 is the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, I have the shade 100 Ivory which is a great match for my skin, I find it really hard to find drugstore foundations because they are usually more suited to a yellow toned skin and I have a pink toned skin and finding a foundation for dry skin from the drugstore can be very hard too as most are more suitable for an oily or normal skin. Wake me up is a lovely foundation, it has a light to medium build-able coverage and applies well, again I find using my beauty blender to apply the foundation leaves me with a flawless finish. I do have a full review of the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation which you can read here if you would like some more information and to see a photograph of me wearing the foundation. I would highly recommend the wake me up foundation if you have dry/dehydrated skin and are looking for a drugstore foundation it is a lovely product that applies well and leaves a flawless finish and at an affordable price. If you would like to try the Rimmel wake me up foundation, you can find it on the Superdrug website here currently on offer for £5.99 (full price £8.99) or on the Boots website here for £8.99.

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

My last foundation favourite of 2015 is the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder foundation, I have the shade 3 fair which is a great match for me. I love this foundation it's a light to medium coverage and applies beautifully with my beauty blender and leaves my skin looking flawless. There is 40ml of product in the Light Wonder where there is usually 30ml in most high end foundations meaning it should last longer too, I love the packaging of this foundation it's a plastic tube with a rose gold lid and it looks lovely on my vanity, the foundation feels lovely on the skin and isn't heavy at all and doesn't feel like I'm wearing make up at all, I do have an in depth review and photographs of the light wonder foundation on my blog which you can read here if you would like to and if you would like to purchase the foundation you can find it on the Selfridges website here for £32.00 for 40ml. 

Concealer

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

My favourite under eye concealer of 2015 and of all time is the MAC Select Moisturecover concealer in the shade NW15, I absolutely adore this foundation and it is perfect for my under eye concealer, it doesn't crease at all or settle into any fine lines. Having very dry and dehydrated skin means I suffer from fine lines, that and being the wrong side of 40! The select moisturecover doesn't crease at all and is fantastic for covering blemishes too. To read my full review of the MAC Select Moisturecover concealer click this link for an in depth review including swatches and more photographs, the concealer has a lovely texture to it and blends beautifully with my beauty blender or with a fluffy brush, I prefer to use a MAC 217 if using a brush. The shade NW15 is perfect for me as it is a little lighter than my skin tone so is brilliant for brightening my under eye area or for using on any other area's I might want to highlight. If you would like to try the MAC select moisturecover concealer you can find it on the MAC website here for £15.50 for 5ml.

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

The MAC Pro Longwear Concealer is another 2015 favourite of mine, I have the shade NW20 in the pro longwear and use it to cover blemishes or use it as an all over base instead of foundation, it is a fabulous product and I adore it although I cannot use it as my under eye concealer as it does crease on my skin but if you are young and don't yet have fine lines and you do not suffer from dry/dehydrated skin it will be fine and would be an amazing all round concealer and if I could use it as an under eye concealer I would only ever buy the pro longwear. I have also tried mixing the pro longwear concealer with my Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder foundation and my MAC Face and Body foundation to give them a little more coverage and both look incredible so if you have the products I would highly recommend trying to mix them and use as your base. I do have a blog post all about the pro longwear here if you would like to find out more information and see photographs and if you would like to try the pro longwear concealer you can find it online on the MAC website here for £17.50 for 9ml. 

Powder

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

I have tried numerous powders over the years but I always go back to the MAC Blot Powder, I use the shade Light, blot powder is a finely milled pressed powder, it is available in 5 shades Light being the palest although it is colourless. I use a MAC 187 brush to apply the blot powder, the 187 brush is a large duo fibre brush and I find it applies a light dusting of powder without it being cakey. Having dry skin finding a powder can be a nightmare but the blot powder is brilliant for my dry and dehydrated skin as it doesn't cake or settle into any fine lines, I really like it and have re purchased it many times. If you would like to try the blot powder, you can find it on the MAC website here for £20.50 for 12g of product.

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

Another powder I loved in 2015 is the Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Finish powder, I have the shade 1 Fair, there are 2 other shades available medium and dark. I do have a full review post of the Charlotte Tilbury airbrush flawless finish powder on my blog which you can read here for an in depth review and photographs of me wearing it. I bought the powder with some birthday money I had and since buying it I have used it a lot, it does give a lovely luminous finish and doesn't cake or settle into any fine lines but it is very expensive at £33.00 for 8g of product so £12.50 more expensive than the Blot Powder which has 12g of product,  both powders give the same results and I love them both but have hit pan massively on the Charlotte Tilbury and not at all on the MAC Blot Powder despite having the Blot Powder for longer. I would say if you like luxury products and nice packaging and money isn't a problem then go for the Charlotte Tilbury but if you don't want to spend as much and you want the product to last longer then go for the MAC, I get exactly the same results from both powders and love them both but for me I wouldn't buy the Charlotte Tilbury again because of two reasons, one being the price, it is very expensive and the other reason being I have hit pan massively and considering I only purchased it around the beginning of April 2015 and by the summer I had hit pan massively and I don't wear make up every day so was only using it around 3 times a week isn't great and I think if I wore make up daily I would use the powder up in around 3 months or maybe less so for me it is far too expensive. I do however love the powder and it is a definite favourite of 2015 and is beautiful just unfortunately not economical for me at all. If you would like to try the Charlotte Tilbury airbrush flawless finish powder you can find it on the Selfridges website here for £33.00 for 8g of product. 

Blush

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

The first blush I want to mention is the Primark blush in the shade Pink, this blush was just £2 and is huge, I bought it after I was asked if I could try some of the Primark make up and share my thoughts and to be honest I didn't expect to love this blush as much as I do. It is a lovely shade of pink that gives a nice flush to the cheeks, it does look quite scarily bright in the pan but it does transfer onto the skin as a nice pink flush, I used this blush non stop for months after I bought it and the above photograph was taken just last week and as you can see I haven't made a dent in it despite using it many times. I do have a blog post on the Primark blush showing swatch photographs and a photograph of me wearing the blush which you can read here if you would like more information on the blush but I would highly recommend the blush and if it is still available in Primark I would snap it up, it's stunning and an amazing price too. 

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

Another blush I loved throughout 2015 is the MAC Royal Sunset blush, this blush was part of the All About Orange collection in summer 2013 and I would go as far to say is my all time favourite blush, it is absolutely stunning. It's a peach/coral blush with a pink undertone and looks beautiful on the skin and is my most worn blush every summer, I just wish I had bought more than one because it was limited edition, luckily MAC do often re promote products though and if this is ever re promoted I will be snapping up another 1 or 2 of them as backups. After much researching I have never found a dupe for this blush and after searching the internet it seems neither has anyone else as I couldn't find one online for you either so it seems we will have to keep our fingers crossed for a MAC re promote but if ever you do come across this blush in a blog sale or a CCO I would snap it up as it really is stunning. 

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

MAC Mocha blush is another of my all time favourite blushes, I love it and it's the blush I wear most throughout autumn and winter, it is a lovely pink/plum toned neutral blush that goes well with any lip colour and a blush I recommend a lot when asked about MAC blushes, I love it and would happily re purchase it over and over again, a little product goes a long way as I have used this blush so many times over the years I have had it and have not yet made a dent in it, MAC blushes are expensive but they are worth the money, the colour payoff is incredible, they last forever and are available in stunning shades with a shade to suit everyone, I have quite a few MAC blushes on my wish list. I would highly recommend Mocha, it is a stunning shade and one that would suit many skin tones, if you would like to try it you can find it on the MAC website here for £18.50.

Highlight

Favourite Beauty Products Of 2015 - Base Products

The highlight I chose as my 2015 favourite is the highlight from the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow palette, it is absolutely stunning and I adore it, the highlight has a golden tone to it and has a beautiful sheen but isn't overly glittery, I use a light hand when applying the highlight as a little product goes a long way and I have used it so much without making any sort of dent in it at all, I use a tiny amount on a Real Techniques setting brush and brush over the tops of my cheekbones and it gives the most incredible finish, I do have a full review of the Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow palette on my blog which you can read here if you would like to see photographs of me wearing the highlight and swatches too, it is a stunning product and one I am so pleased to have in my collection. If you would like to try the palette you can find it on the Selfridges website here for £49.00. 

Those were all my favourite base products of 2015 and what a lot of products there were! Some of the products were new products that I tried for the first time in 2015 and some are old favourites, it was hard to narrow down products to put into this post as I love so many products but these are the products I have reached for the most over 2015 when doing my make up. What category of favourites would you like to see next, would you like to see nail products, skin care, hair care, eye shadows and products or lip products? Please let me know either in the comments or via social media or email. 

Do you have any of the products that I featured in today's post? And please tell me what are your favourite base products of 2015, it's always good to get product recommendations and to try new things so I would love to know what your favourite base products are of 2015. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x












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