European Collection

In February, I travelled to Europe for three weeks so, naturally, had to cull my considerable beauty collection into a single (thankfully, fairly large!) cosmetics bag.

I always love "in my bag"-type posts so I thought I would share what I settled upon. 

Complexion: 

• Lancome Teint Miracle foundation.
• By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer. (Lovely liquid consistency with full coverage.)
• By Terry Teint Terrybly pressed powder. (Flawless, satiny finish.)
• By Terry Teint Terrybly Soleil in Exotic Bronze. (Matte with a glow... who thought it possible!)
• Nars Blush in Orgasm.
• Tom Ford for Estee Lauder Face Sheen. (This is beautiful, but long discontinued.)

Eyes: 

• Kevyn Aucoin Eyeshadow Palette #1. (This is no longer available in Australia - and the US website does not ship internationally - so I will be devastated when I eventually use it all up).
• Estee Lauder Liquid Eyeliner. (Also discontinued, but my favourite liquid eyeliner of all time.)
• By Terry Mascara Terrybly. (Lengthening, volumising and defining - no clumpy or spider-y lashes in sight.)
• MAC Powerpoint in Duck. (Gorgeous on the lower lashline for soft, matte definition.)
• Kevyn Aucoin Expert Brow Pencil. (HG.)

Lips: 

• [top picture] Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy with By Terry Gloss Delectation in Creamy Fig. (Prettiest, creamiest lipgloss of all time.)
• [middle picture] Chantecaille Lip Chic in Violetta. (The texture of these lipsticks is divine.)
• [bottom picture] Chanel Rouge Coco in Camellia with Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss in Diamond Rose. 

Since the trip, most of these products have become my daily staples - particularly Teint Miracle, Mascara Terrybly  and Touche Veloutee.

What are your travel essentials?

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Makeup Trickery: K.I.S.S.

We all know what KISS stands for. Keep. It. Simple. (Stupid.) A quick flourish is all it takes to elevate a simple makeup look to "wow" in an instant. Here are just some examples.

1. Luminous skin. Nars Orgasm Illuminator, a lovely peachy-pinky-shimmering concoction, is one of my all-time favourite makeup products. Just wear alone, underneath foundation or mixed with foundation or tinted moisturiser for a warm, healthy glow to rival Blake Lively's beautiful complexion.

2. Curled eyelashes. Using an eyelash curler before you apply mascara will give you a gorgeous wide-eyed look. I love Utowa Eyelash Curler, which curls the lashes "up", rather than "around", for a more natural effect, aka Miss Bosworth.

3. Bold eyebrows. Camilla Belle is the undisputed Queen of Brows. See how they frame her face so beautifully? Nars Eyeshadows in Bali (for brunettes) or Blondie (for blondes) are perfect for achieving a full, flawless shape. 

4. Peachy cheeks. When we apply foundation, concealer and/or powder, we take away all of the natural rosiness of of our complexions. Peachy-toned blush restores freshness and vitality. I love Chanel Joues Contraste in Espiegle.

5. Wear a bright lip. A glossy pop of colour on the lips can perk you up any day of the week, at any time. To mimic Jess Hart's lovely watermelon shade, go with Chantecaille Lip Chic in Zinnia - my summer staple.

What are your favourite quick, easy makeup tricks? Please share!

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5 Minute Face

Ever since I read an article on GOOP describing the daily routine of a busy, successful woman (Juliet de Baubigny, to be exact) which included a "daily makeup in 5 minutes", I have been determined to perfect my own 5-minute face. It took some trial and error. Sometimes it looked too natural, too rushed, or too sloppy. Often I am not wearing enough colour or my makeup doesn't last as long as I'd like because I haven't had the time to prep my skin.

HOWEVER. After lots of faffing and adjusting, I have finally perfected it. And here it is!

Please note: I recommend keeping all of your 5-minute products in a case together, to avoid having to rifle through your bathroom or dressing table drawers and wasting valuable time. I use a beautiful big Peter Alexander cosmetics case.

Laura's 5-Minute Face

1. Prep. 

This is vital, despite the time limit. Start with a waterless cleanser or toner to purify your skin. I love APOT.Care Irido-Radiant Micellar Lotion Cleanser. Follow with a hydrating serum and light moisturiser, suited to your skintype. I have oily, dehydrated skin and am obsessed with preventative ageing so I use N.V. Perricone Acyl-Glutathione as my serum and DDF Ultra-Light Oil-Free Moisturising Dew as a moisturiser. I finish with my holy grail of sunscreens: Clarins Day Screen UV Protect SPF30+. I don't use a primer because I find that these prep products, along with my choice of foundation, keeps my makeup lasting all day long.

2. Base. 

I start with a creamy, highly-pigmented concealer, patted gently around my eyes and nose. Hourglass  Hidden Corrective Concealer is perfect. I follow with the Dior AirFlash Spray Foundation. This stuff is brilliant - full-coverage, glowy with a flawless satin finish and long-lasting. I close my eyes and spray up and down the centre of my face three or four times, then blend with my MAC 187 Stippling Brush. 

3. Contouring. 

I swirl my 187 brush into my seemingly bottomless tub of Chanel Bronze Universal de Chanel Sun Illuminator and apply it in a 3-shape on my face - around the periphery of my face, under the cheekbones and under my jaw-line. I also apply a little on either side of my nose. It gives a beautiful glow and adds warmth to my skin.

4. Add a flush. 

A full-coverage foundation takes all of the colour out of my skin, so I need to add it back with a pretty blush. I use my Nars Yachiyo Brush and Nars Blush in Orgasm for a radiant peachy-pink glow on the apples of my cheeks and along my temples. 

5. Widen and define the eyes. 

A 5-minute look doesn't allow time for elaborate eye makeup, so I keep it very simple. I start with my eyelash curler (Utowa Eyelash Curler is one of the best) and follow with my volume and length boosting, never ever clumpy mascara, Chantecaille Faux Cils. I apply a swipe of my favourite eyeliner MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge in my inner lower rims and Kevyn Aucoin Expert Eye Pencil in Black in the upper inner rim for seamless definition. As a final touch, I subtly fill in my brows with my staple Chanel Brow Set in Brunette.

6. A nude lip.
I smudge a neutral lip liner onto my lips - Nars Lipliner in Tonga is ideal and oh-so-versatile - and finish with a swipe of my signature nude-pink lipstick, Chantecaille Lip Chic in Camellia. (I have a second tube in my handbag for touch-ups.)

And voila! An elegant, chic, everyday look, in 5-minutes flat. Let's not forget, I always finish with a spritz of fragrance. I have been wearing Serge Lutens L'Eau lately and it is clean, fresh and gorgeous. A "you smell beautiful" fragrance, as opposed to "your perfume smells beautiful".

Do you have a 5-minute daily makeup routine? Please feel free to ask me any questions about mine!

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In my bag

My lovely friend Jessica (who writes at her blog The Belle Lumiere) sent out a twitter request for beauty bloggers to do a "what's in my bag" post... which reminded me that I had taken pictures of the contents of my handbag a few weeks ago and completely forgotten to post about it.

In my bag, clockwise from top left (and proceeding in a spiral-y shape):

• My beloved, battered blue Chloe handbag, which I bought on sale in Paris.
• My far less battered black leather Prada purse, a Christmas gift from my parents last year (to appease me for not taking me to Italy with them... but taking my younger brother!)
• Cutler and Gross sunglasses. Everybody asks me about these. I think you can buy them on Net-a-Porter.
• My mini Mason Pearson hairbrush, from Adore Beauty. I have long, thick hair so it is best for touching up, rather than untangling. (My enormous Aveda Paddle Brush is ideal for that tall task!)
• (Moxie tampons.)
• Hourglass Oxygen Mineral Powder Foundation in No 3. I love this for a few reasons. 1. It has the coverage of a powder foundation, so is lovely for both touch-ups and foundation application on-the-go. 2. It feels light on my skin. 3. It doesn't make my skin look powdery. 4. The mirror swivels around - so I can use it as a compact mirror when applying my other makeup products too. 
• One of my favourite lipglosses, Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss in Diamond Rose. It gives such a pretty, soft pink lip colour, with subtle opalescence.
• The best eyebrow pencil in the world, hands down: Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Brow Pencil in Brunette. One end houses a soft, browny-taupe coloured crayon that mimics natural-looking eyebrow hairs and makes it incredibly easy to achieve the perfect brow shape and density; the other has a little comb to tame stray hairs. Genius!
• As you can see, my By Terry Rose de Rose Sheer Liquid Blush in Fresh Rose is severely depleted; that is because it is so beautiful. Just one pump, swirled onto the apples of my cheeks and temples, gives a fresh, rosy glow, instantly. I will savour it until the last drop.
• My Diptyque Solid Perfume in L'Ombre Dans L'Eau is a Christmas present I bought for myself. L'Ombre Dans L'Eau is described as a "bouquet of roses and blueberry leaves" - fruity, floral and green notes emanate. It is gorgeous and fresh and universally flattering.
• Nars Duo Concealer in Custard/Ginger is a lifesaver. If you have tried the Nars Concealer in a lipstick tube and found it too dry, you will find this formula much creamier and more blendable. I use it under my eyes, on blemishes and around my nose. 
• My holy grail of makeup brushes, Nars Yachiyo Brush. I use it for powder, blush (including powder, liquid and cream), bronzer, highlighter... everything! It is so soft yet dense enough to contour and provide definition. Plus it is light and compact enough to carry in the smallest of handbags and clutches. 
• Chantecaille Biolift Concealer in Cream is an extravagance (AU$100 for a little tube) but I really, really love it. It has a moistuiser inside that makes it perfect for dry under-eyes, and softly illuminates, deflecting away from dark circles. I use this over the top of my Nars concealer for an extra pick-me-up.
• Sadly, my Diorskin Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond crumbled during the time between the above picture was taken and writing this post. As I wrote in the post below, it is a stunning bronze-toned highlighter that gives the most beautiful, radiant cheekbones.
• A T2 Oolong Tea teabag. 
• Zoe Foster put me onto Aveda Hair Potion and I have never looked back. Applied at the roots of my hair, it gives a sexy, undone, tousled look to freshly blow-dried or straightened hair.
• Tic Tacs.
• Tatcha Aburatorigami Blotting Papers are whisper-thin, gold-infused papers I use prior to powdering to take away any shininess accumulated during the day. 

So there you go! It seems like a ton of things, now that I have listed them all...

What do you keep in your handbag? Will you blog about it too? 

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Universal favourites

I work in the beauty industry, so friends and family are always asking me for advice on what products they should use. Thing is, just because something works for me, that doesn't mean that everybody else will love it too.

Thankfully, there are some products that absolutely everybody adores. Here are just a few of them.

Hourglass Mineral Primer SPF15 AU$79 is magic in a bottle. It smooths the skin, evens skin tone, tones down redness and creates a beautifully silky, velvet matte base so that foundation just glides on top. It also enhances the longevity of foundation and concealer and provides sun protection. 

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation AU$99 is not my holy grail of foundations (although it may have been had I not discovered By Terry Light Expert AU$115); however everybody I have introduced it to tells me that it is everything they are looking for, and more. It has a gorgeous fluid texture, sheer but buildable coverage and gives a lovely soft-focus glow to the skin. 

Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna AU$72, on the other hand, is my holy grail of bronzers. It works for everybody except the very pale (try Too Faced Snow Bunny Caribbean Compact $49.95 instead) and those with deep skin tones (Nars Bronzing Powder in Casino AU$72 is an ideal alternative). All you need to know about Laguna is that it never, ever looks stripy or dirty on the skin like so many unflattering bronzers I see adorning girls at my local shopping centre. Its sheer formula and subtle shimmer provide warmth and definition, and mimic a natural tan.

Estee Lauder Tender Blush in Peach Nuance is an incredibly pretty pink/peach colour that is beloved by every single one of its owners (as far as my research suggests). As soft or bright as you like, depending on how heavy or light the application, it is wonderfully versatile and a must-have for anybody who wants a fresh glow emanating from the apples of their cheeks. (P.S. I tried to check the Australian Estee Lauder website for a price, but couldn't find this on there... perhaps it has been discontinued. If anybody knows otherwise, please let me know in the comments!)

Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond AU$88 is a stunning bronze-toned shimmer powder that can be worn on the high planes of the face - where the sun naturally hits - such as the temples, brow bones and the centre of the nose, forehead, chin and cupid's bow. Best for those with olive skin (or a fake tan), it provides a beautiful luminosity unrivaled by any highlighter I have come across.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner AU$42 is my fail-safe recommendation whenever anybody asks me to direct them to the perfect black liquid eyeliner. Its brush is fine, its ink is a delectable pitch black and its applicator is uncharacteristically reliable (for a liquid eyeliner). A definite winner.

YSL Shiny Lip Plumper in Candy or Nude AU$55ea are both perfect for a glossy nude lip. Candy is  a cool, pink-toned nude; whereas Nude is... just nude. For anybody who wants a low-key look, or wears smoky eyes, either (or both) of these are the answer to your prayers. They also help to "plump" the lips, so impart an addictive tingle whenever you reapply.

So what do you think? Have I enticed you with my list of universal favourites? Do you have any questions for me? Ask away!

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