Minimal & Glowy

Drowning in coursework deadlines and organising my return home for Christmas means I have neglected my weekly beauty-related ramble. The end of the term is always the most stressful, all I want to do is get home to a snuggly bed, full fridge and warm house which cannot be done until I've been a slave to the library and racked up a ridiculous amount of laundry to bring home.  Needless to say, time has been spent searching through books and writing essays meaning I've had no brain capacity for anything else. The time has now come when I can indulge in the things I love whilst cosy in my bed with tea and toast.

All the same, some good things have come out of my dull, assignment-filled days at Uni. I found myself sporting a particularly natural face because let's face it, nobody wants to sit in the library with inches of foundation on, rubbing those tired peepers and causing mascara to smudge everywhere. In order to look the slightest bit presentable with minimal effort required, I came up with this little collection of beauties to aid my tired face and some little tricks to achieve the most natural look possible.

For a base I rediscovered the beautiful product that is Chanel's Le Blanc De Chanel. Whilst it could do with a pump to prevent half a tonne of product gushing out at any one time, the tiniest bit goes a long way. I apply a small amount of this all over my face before my foundation. It is a sheer illuminating base which brightens my skin and helps me to achieve a really gorgeous glow, which can be a tricky task in the winter months, so this product is heaven sent. Bobbi Brown's Moisture Rich foundation is so perfect for lazy days when I still want to look presentable. It's a really light foundation which, when used with my Real Techniques Stippling brush, evens out my skin giving a really natural, dewy finish. I quickly dab some MAC studio sculpt concealer underneath my eyes with my finger to hide those dark bags and very lightly pop some Laura Mercier eyebrow pencil in Soft Brunette through my brows. With a light dusting of Rimmel's Santa Rose blusher across my cheeks and Burt's Bees beeswax lip balm on my moisture deprived lips, I only have my eyes to tend to. This is kept simple by entirely wiping down my mascara wand with a tissue, leaving a tiny amount of product on the wand, so I avoid coating my lashes in too much mascara. This makes my lashes defined and lengthened without drowning them in product. This is a sneaky trick of the wonder woman that is Mary Greenwell.

The idea is to be really light handed with all these products, with a sort of slap-dash attitude towards the makeup. This tends to be because I'm getting ready in a rush so can't afford to spend a long time in front of the mirror but also because a light handed approach means the look needs barely any preening or upkeep throughout the day because it is so minimal and my features are not too over powering.

*photos used above are my own