.png)
For the past year, if and when I could get away with it, my everyday makeup consisted of a dab of concealer and a swipe of lipstick. The reality was there wasn't a lot of point in me wearing makeup for a few reasons - working from home, 50% of my face was frequently covered by a face mask and the small fact of having a nonexistent social life. I’m sure you can relate!
Oh, and the one time I used Zoom it was for a physiotherapy video call - worthy of going full glam, I think not.
And while the ongoing 'situation' (the one I'm trying not to refer to) hasn't greatly changed, I think quite a lot of us are now getting back to a semi-normal way of living. Especially when it comes to being around others for more than 30-minutes while doing the weekly food shop.
This has meant I’ve begrudgingly started to wear more makeup. At first, it felt alien, I forgot how to apply a steady line of liquid eyeliner and there have been a few occasions I've been overzealous with bronzer and foundation that I've had to wipe it off and start all over again... I wish I was joking!
But then something happened, I began to enjoy applying and wearing makeup again - woohoo! The old me was back! Okay, that's a tad dramatic, but life feeling indifferent to makeup wasn't for me. It just felt a little bland.
So of course once I got the bug there was no stopping me. Yes, I could have simply re-discovered old favourites but I wanted new fresh feeling products to try out to quench my thirst for makeup again. This is where the post starts and I stop telling you the most obvious and tedious story you've ever had to read.
Cue the makeup brands I've loved buying from and using in the past six months that have contributed to the reason I returned to beauty blogging.
RELATED POST: Why I Returned to Blogging
This post contains affiliate links
When I first started Makeup Savvy way back in 2010 I wholeheartedly didn't expect to keep it up. Other than enjoying reading books I'd never been consistent with hobbies and my history of starting blogs and letting them fizzle out after a few months was strong.
But beauty blogging was different, something stuck.
It was still the early days of blogging, well in the beauty niche it was, and if you were blogging about makeup it was for the pure love of it. There was a sense of community, mainly on Twitter, and a rawness that meant a blog post didn't have to contain editorial-quality images or professional copy to be enjoyed.
Blogging was an outlet for myself and many other bloggers I knew at the time and most importantly it was fun! Content wasn't PR samples led (more on that later) or wrote in order to make money. It was just simple; take some badly lit photos with the flash still on, skip editing them and write up a review without any links what so ever. Done!
Fast forward to today and there's a definite standard to aim for if you are still in the beauty blogging game, a lot aren't. With ever dwindling magazine sales across the board in the last 8 years I expected beauty and fashion blogging would pave the way for a more authentic kind of content - or, so I naively presumed.
And in some ways it has. There are still bloggers that will give you unbiased reviews but even then it comes with the caveat of 'not too many negative reviews' and pairing it with images that look straight out of a magazine, something I'm guilty of trying to achieve.
So What Happened?
Amazon is pretty much a go-to for everything now, including makeup! But while the beauty department is still a chaotic mishmash there are endless drugstore products to unbranded skincare and accessories to discover making it feel like an Aladdin's cave rather than a jumbled mess!
So I thought I'd delve in after re-purchasing one of Amazon's bestselling makeup products last week and share with you six of the best selling beauty products on Amazon right now! Some products I really didn't expect to be as loved and purchased as they are.
Looking for the best Black Friday beauty deals? Makeup Savvy has you covered! From the best sale picks to discount codes and even freebies, I have scoured the internet to find the deals worth checking out this Black Friday into Cyber Monday!
With retailers competing for sales more than ever before, it seems like every website has multiple deals and offers, making for an overwhelmed shopping experience. So a simple rundown of the best beauty offers is needed - see below! I've also included my own favourite gift sets for Christmas, along with the sales I've already taken advantage of!
In recent years there's been a surge of love for eyeshadow palette which has essentially fazed out the need to buy single compact eyeshadows. There's without a doubt less single options around and I know I personally only ever pick up single eyeshadows when they are extra special or in pan form to add into a custom palette.
However, I've recently come across a new and improved single eyeshadow range that is not only spectacularly pigmented but costs only £1.50! They also come with the cutest seasonal shade names, such as Gingerbread, Cinnamon and Pecan.
Read below to find out where you can pick up these amazing budget eyeshadows along with some swoon-worthy swatches!
Now is the time we are seeing a huge influx of Christmas beauty gift sets that while aimed at gifting others, I know as a beauty lover I and many others will simply want to treat themselves to.
But while I repeat 'I must resist' under my breath while Christmas shopping, I believe a little treat, especially a money-saving one, is certainly allowed in the lead up to the 'big day'! Below I've sourced a range of affordable Christmas beauty gifts from the totally inexpensive to the luxury but with a huge saving, all of which I'm really impressed with!
As the temperature dips, I find myself using lip balms daily and with a slightly excessive stash I enjoy the fact I get to use lip balms more. So today I thought I'd run through my favourite lip balms for dry lips, from under £2 to a pricey £21!
Side note/question: Do you believe using lip balms perpetuates dry lips? I'm really not sure if I believe it! I think over applying can have the opposite effect but using a lip balm as and when needed really does keep dry lips at bay for me or helps remedy them at least. What are your thoughts on this?
Nothing inspires me more to be creative with colour than an Autumn palette. Deep berries shades and rust tones are my thing and Autumn is the perfect time to let them shine. For me, this is with both eyeshadow (you can read about my favourite autumn eyeshadow palettes here) and nail polish.
Come this time of year I can't wait to paint my nails, often picking an autumnal base colour and pairing it with a glittery top coat as I like to believe with both Halloween and Christmas on the way I can get away with a little daytime sparkle.
There are endless autumn nail polish shades you could go for but I decided to pick out the most noteworthy shades from my collection. There's a delicious palette of autumnal shades here along with two stunning top coat nail polishes that couldn't be more perfect for this time of year if they tried. Oh, and all nail polishes here are budget-friendly!
Around this time of year, as the leaves begin to fall and there's a pleasant chill in the air, I find myself naturally changing up the makeup products I use. From deeper shades on my eyes to different tones on my nails.
So I thought I'd run down the products I'm purposefully changing up in my makeup bag this autumn/winter in hope to give a little makeup inspiration. I also kind of love talking autumn makeup in general!
It's not often I feel the need to sit down and write an impromptu post, but as soon as I saw this amazing beauty bundle launch on Cult Beauty just today not only did I snap it up for myself but I knew I have to share it with you too!
This post contains affiliate links.
Whether you are into beauty boxes or not, this Cult Beauty Starter Kit is a collection of amazing products for only £30 but with a worth of over £100, plus free shipping!
Find out below all you need to know about the contents of this amazing kit and why I bought it for myself... other than it being an amazing saving, obvs!
There is no denying makeup launches are coming thick and fast these days and with Christmas on the way it literally seems impossible to keep up and know what's worth buying and what isn't. Yes, choice is an amazing thing but I can't help but feel over faced at times with the rate of new makeup releases from even my most favourite brands, such as Charlotte Tilbury, Makeup Revolution and all their spin-off brands and Too Faced to name but a few.
Basically, I've been going through New Makeup Release Fatigue! Seeing everything but not buying anything because, arghhhh, why so much?!
Thankfully I've got myself out of this head funk and so I wanted to share what I've done to combat it. So that if you are feeling the same as we are bombarded with new makeup launches and Christmas gift sets you can see the wood for the trees and buy like it's 2005 again! Bare with me, I know this all sounds a bit of a ramble but I feel I have a point to make with this post!
Over the years I've picked up quite a few makeup tips and tricks that I use every time I apply makeup. I've found simple makeup tips to generally be most effective, and they is really are a few gems!
So today I wanted to share with you the best easy makeup tips that I personally recommend trying out. From how to perfectly blend eyeshadow to creating a smooth eyeliner flick every time, I really hope you pick up a few things here!
It's all well and good that I share the best makeup dupes around, but do I actually use them? Today I thought I would share with you my own most used makeup dupes that I have felt are worthy of staying in my makeup bag and have stopped me buying the more expensive version - yes, I often stop buying more premium products when a makeup dupe is that good!
Below you will find some of the best makeup dupes of 2019 that I have been totally sold on and absolutely recommend picking up.
Makeup gift sets make amazing gifts to give come Christmas and Birthday's but I've found I actually pick up quite a few for myself when the save in there. Of course, this happens in the Boxing Day sales but I always have my eyes peeled the rest of the time.
In the past, I've picked up some amazing value beauty gift sets along with skincare sets that have allowed me to discover more from brands I love or simply offer such a good saving I can't refuse them. Also, there are times when I'm planning on picking up a product but it's actually more worth picking up the product in a gift set for a little extra.
So this week I wanted to share with you the best value makeup gift sets for 2019. Granted there will be lots of new gift sets launched towards the end of the year in time for Christmas but you will find most of the mentioned gift sets here are either on sale or simply amazing value.
For the past few months I have been using a huge array of beauty products that have been perfect for summer. These include both high and low priced products from an interesting mousse SPF for the face to a berry flavoured lip scrub and even a roll-on eye shimmer that works amazingly well.
Blog posts like these remind me of favourites posts that I use to write many years ago. So I've excited to share with you my current summer favourites today that could be useful if you have a holiday planned or to simply used beyond the summer months. I hope you find a few new products to try out here!
Finding the right blush for fair skin can be tricky. Many a time I've tried out a new blusher purchase only to find it looks too dark, bold or harsh against my pale skin, however much I use to light hand to apply it.
However pale blushers do exist, so today I thought I'd walk you through five of my own which I believe are some of the best blushers for fair skin. From peach tones to pale pinks I have you covered!
With summer here I've been opting for long-lasting makeup products over what I would normally reach for, especially come hot days. This got me thinking to what the very best long-lasting makeup products actually are because let's face it, some products can be fading, melting off the skin or completely gone within a matter of hours after application.
Which is why knowing of good long-lasting makeup products is a good idea. From the best long-lasting primer from the drugstore to a lipstick with longevity that stays put through eating and drinking while still feeling comfortable on the lips.
Here I have the best of the best that are all worth picking up if you have oily skin, a special occasion coming up or simply want your makeup to last.
This is a paid collaboration with Coco & Eve however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
When it comes to self tan, I'll be honest, I've always been weary. With pale skin, previously used fake tan in the form of sprays, oils and even gradual lotions have always left me with streaks and visible darkening on my hands and feet; the biggest give away your tan isn't natural in my opinion!
But with a pre-existing love for Coco & Eve (you read my rave review about their fabulous hair mask here) I jumped at the chance to try their brand new Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam; The world's first anti-ageing and anti-cellulite self tan with zero nasties AND the promise of no streaks and no bad smell! Oh, and it's of course cruelty-free & 100% vegan!
I don't know about you but when summer rolls around I find myself wanting every new beauty launch however much makeup I already own!
But reality says otherwise, which means if I want to add to my already bursting makeup bag I need to seek out high quality but low priced products that I'm sure I will use. Below is just that, a line up of new summer launches that I've already been loving, perfect for a guilt-free spend.