The essentials.
It's all fahye's fault, for getting me started on makeup. I started commenting to her post, but with the photos and everything it started to get too long for my liking, and so I decided to make a separate post for it. This caught me on my last day in Shanghai - I'll be on a flight back to Sydney tonight, arriving tomorrow morning.
I barely wore any makeup before last year, when I started wearing contact lenses regularly (although I did get into a makeup routine a couple of years ago while I was interning at Baker & McKenzie). Try putting on eye makeup when you're half blind! It's impossible to do well, so I didn't bother. Since then, however, I've thrown myself into it whole-heartedly. I'm a hoarder and a collector, and I'm obsessive about colour. I buy more than I could ever use up, even though it eats up a good portion of my budget that I could otherwise be spending on more books (which I don't have the shelf space for).
These are the items I have in my makeup kit now while I'm on holiday; a few are new purchases I've made in Shanghai. It's Winter in China, so the colour palette is overall quite cool and dark.
BASICS
Back Row:
1. Shu Uemura UV Under Base - primer/mattifier I wear under foundation, or just on its own. I don't use this all the time, usually only when I need my makeup to last more than a few hours.
2. Becca Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 25 - I brought this mainly for the trips to Taiwan and Yunnan, where I knew I would be getting a lot of sun, and I wanted a natural look.
3. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - the only liquid foundation I currently have. I LOVE IT. I didn't wear liquid foundation before I found this; last year I had to throw away a couple of bottles I had that were so old they'd gone bad.
4. Shiseido Eyelash Curler - I have the famous Shu Uemura one as well, but I find this one fits my eye shape better.
Left: (top-down)
5. MAC Paintpot in Painterly - a cream eyeshadow that I wear as an eyeshadow base, or just on its own to dispel shadows on my lids. I've dispensed a bit into a manicare pot, to prevent the rest of the cream from drying up.
6. Prescriptives Concealer - rarely used, and mostly just around my nose when foundation isn't enough to get rid of redness.
Centre: (top-down)
7. CoverGirl LashBlast waterproof mascara in black - the brush is a bit too big for my puny lashes, and it's a pain to clean off, but NO CLUMPS! Great chemist mascara for everyday.
8. Dior DiorShow Blackout waterproof mascara in kohl black - darker, and more volume, for night-time.
9. Shu Uemura Liquid Eyeliner - this comes in a refillable brush "pen" (and Shu and Shiseido were doing it before Chanel and NARS both got on board), which is very easy to use, and lets you draw very, very thin lines. The black liner comes in a cartridge, that looks very similar to the cartridges in fountain pens.
10. Almay Bright Eyes Eye Base + Concealer - light, easy to blend, and inexpensive. I use this under my eyes.
11. Guerlain Eyeliner and Kohl Pencil in black - my favour pencil eyeliners. I have this in black, brown, and blue. All the colours are slightly metallic.
12. Shu Uemura Eye Brow Pencil - my brows are the first things I do after putting on foundation/tinted moisturiser. Sometimes I skip foundation altogether, but I never forget my brows. I think it was beauty blogger Dain at Ars Aromatica who first convinced of the importance of well-groomed, defined brows, but when you have naturally sparse ones like I do, this is an indespensible step.
13. Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in pink - a creamy, shimmery eyeliner pencil. Used in corners of eyes, or on bottom waterline.
Right: (top-down)
14. Shiseido Eyebrow and Eyeliner Compact - I usually carry this in my purse for touch-ups. When I want darker, more dramatic brows, I layer it over the eyebrow pencil.
15. Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder - buffed in to set foundation and blush.
Not pictured are my daily moisturisers. I use Clinique All About Eyes Rich, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer (day), and Egyptian Magic All-Purpose Healing Skin Cream (night, in Winter).
Also not pictured are perfumes that I have with me, decanted into atomizers for travelling: Guerlain Shalimar, Jo Malone Dark Ginger and Amber Lily, and Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque.
COLOUR
Back: (left-right)
1. NARS e/s palette Pleasures of Paris - eyeshadow palettes are good to travel with, and this one has a good colour range for day and night.
2. NARS Multiple in Maui - a dusty rose cream blush.
3. NARS blush in Zen - <333333! Great nude blush. Mostly used for contouring in the hollows of my cheeks, but often just on its own.
4. Chanel Tweed Effect Blush Duo in amber - new purchase.
Middle:
5. NARS e/s duo in All Above Eve - flesh-coloured shadows with slight shimmer.
6. NARS e/s in Bali - matte ash-brown. I often use this shadow to fill in my brows, or on my lids with All About Eve for a light, natural look.
7. NARS e/s duo in Brumes - matte gray and shimmery dark blue. For when I want a bit of drama.
8. NARS cream blush in Constantinople - beautiful, deep rose. I confess I bought this one mainly because of the name.
Front:
9. Chanel nail varnishes in Imperial, Dragon, and Mecca nail varnish in Lychorinda.
LIPS
Back:
1. Helena Rubinstein Wanted Shine in Bel Air Blush - this brand is not available in Australia, but I found it in several department stores in Shanghai.
2. Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in WN 270 - bright purply-blue red. AWESOME.
3. Chanel Rouge Allure in Orientale - coppery-brown.
4. NARS Pigalle - matte pink chocolate. I love NARS' colour cosmetics, if it isn't already obvious. Their colour range is enormous and highly unique. NARS is extremely expensive if you buy it from Mecca Cosmetica, the only store that stocks them in Australia, so I've started to order it from trusted retailers on eBay.
5. NARS Beautiful Liar - spiced coral.
6. NARS Transeurope Express - deep rose. Possibly my favourite red lipstick.
7. Shiseido Perfecting Lipstick in Acorn - light pinky-brown.
Front:
8. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Imperial - deep rose. My other favourite red. The Rouge Laques are a new formula from Chanel, a kind of liquid lipstick. I like them a lot.
9. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Ming - soft pink. A little conservative, for my tastes, but a very pretty colour. I wore it most days while I was in sunny Taiwan.
10. Guerlain Le Rouge G in Gems (pink) and Gracia (plum) - the most expensive lipsticks that I own. Gracia I bought last year while I was in Shanghai, Gems just a couple of weeks ago. The case (not pictured) has been described as a "space coffin", and weighs more than a lipstick has any right to. The lipsticks themselves though are gorgeous.
TOOLS
Top:
1. Kabuki brush - very dirty, and needing a wash. I picked this up very cheaply in Shanghai, so it's some random Chinese brand, but still quite good quality, considering all that. I use this to apply loose face powder.
Bottom: (left-right)
2. NARS Yachiyo brush - my best blush brush. Weird looking, ain't it?
3. NARS eye smudge brush.
4. Shu Uemura 6OB Badger - used for filling in my brows, and occasionally for eyeliner (gel liner or dry-to-wet application of shadows).
5. Shu Uemura 5R Kolinsky - eyeshadow and eyeliner brush.
6. Shu Uemura 10 Kolinsky - this and the 11 Kolinsky are my favourite eyeshadow brushes. I have backups of both, because sometimes you just need a clean eyeshadow brush.
7. Shu Uemura 11 Kolinsky.
8. Make Up For Ever 14S - for crease and outer-corner of the lid.
9. Gorgeous Cosmetics B111 - blending brush. GC is a new Australian professional cosmetics brand.
10. Make Up For Ever eyelash brush - apart from being great for unclumping mascara, the spoolie brush also multi-tasks as a brow brush.
11. Gorgeous Cosmetics 010 - liquid eyeliner brush. Too small for anything except gel eyeliner.
I barely wore any makeup before last year, when I started wearing contact lenses regularly (although I did get into a makeup routine a couple of years ago while I was interning at Baker & McKenzie). Try putting on eye makeup when you're half blind! It's impossible to do well, so I didn't bother. Since then, however, I've thrown myself into it whole-heartedly. I'm a hoarder and a collector, and I'm obsessive about colour. I buy more than I could ever use up, even though it eats up a good portion of my budget that I could otherwise be spending on more books (which I don't have the shelf space for).
These are the items I have in my makeup kit now while I'm on holiday; a few are new purchases I've made in Shanghai. It's Winter in China, so the colour palette is overall quite cool and dark.
BASICS
Back Row:
1. Shu Uemura UV Under Base - primer/mattifier I wear under foundation, or just on its own. I don't use this all the time, usually only when I need my makeup to last more than a few hours.
2. Becca Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 25 - I brought this mainly for the trips to Taiwan and Yunnan, where I knew I would be getting a lot of sun, and I wanted a natural look.
3. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - the only liquid foundation I currently have. I LOVE IT. I didn't wear liquid foundation before I found this; last year I had to throw away a couple of bottles I had that were so old they'd gone bad.
4. Shiseido Eyelash Curler - I have the famous Shu Uemura one as well, but I find this one fits my eye shape better.
Left: (top-down)
5. MAC Paintpot in Painterly - a cream eyeshadow that I wear as an eyeshadow base, or just on its own to dispel shadows on my lids. I've dispensed a bit into a manicare pot, to prevent the rest of the cream from drying up.
6. Prescriptives Concealer - rarely used, and mostly just around my nose when foundation isn't enough to get rid of redness.
Centre: (top-down)
7. CoverGirl LashBlast waterproof mascara in black - the brush is a bit too big for my puny lashes, and it's a pain to clean off, but NO CLUMPS! Great chemist mascara for everyday.
8. Dior DiorShow Blackout waterproof mascara in kohl black - darker, and more volume, for night-time.
9. Shu Uemura Liquid Eyeliner - this comes in a refillable brush "pen" (and Shu and Shiseido were doing it before Chanel and NARS both got on board), which is very easy to use, and lets you draw very, very thin lines. The black liner comes in a cartridge, that looks very similar to the cartridges in fountain pens.
10. Almay Bright Eyes Eye Base + Concealer - light, easy to blend, and inexpensive. I use this under my eyes.
11. Guerlain Eyeliner and Kohl Pencil in black - my favour pencil eyeliners. I have this in black, brown, and blue. All the colours are slightly metallic.
12. Shu Uemura Eye Brow Pencil - my brows are the first things I do after putting on foundation/tinted moisturiser. Sometimes I skip foundation altogether, but I never forget my brows. I think it was beauty blogger Dain at Ars Aromatica who first convinced of the importance of well-groomed, defined brows, but when you have naturally sparse ones like I do, this is an indespensible step.
13. Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in pink - a creamy, shimmery eyeliner pencil. Used in corners of eyes, or on bottom waterline.
Right: (top-down)
14. Shiseido Eyebrow and Eyeliner Compact - I usually carry this in my purse for touch-ups. When I want darker, more dramatic brows, I layer it over the eyebrow pencil.
15. Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder - buffed in to set foundation and blush.
Not pictured are my daily moisturisers. I use Clinique All About Eyes Rich, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer (day), and Egyptian Magic All-Purpose Healing Skin Cream (night, in Winter).
Also not pictured are perfumes that I have with me, decanted into atomizers for travelling: Guerlain Shalimar, Jo Malone Dark Ginger and Amber Lily, and Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque.
COLOUR
Back: (left-right)
1. NARS e/s palette Pleasures of Paris - eyeshadow palettes are good to travel with, and this one has a good colour range for day and night.
2. NARS Multiple in Maui - a dusty rose cream blush.
3. NARS blush in Zen - <333333! Great nude blush. Mostly used for contouring in the hollows of my cheeks, but often just on its own.
4. Chanel Tweed Effect Blush Duo in amber - new purchase.
Middle:
5. NARS e/s duo in All Above Eve - flesh-coloured shadows with slight shimmer.
6. NARS e/s in Bali - matte ash-brown. I often use this shadow to fill in my brows, or on my lids with All About Eve for a light, natural look.
7. NARS e/s duo in Brumes - matte gray and shimmery dark blue. For when I want a bit of drama.
8. NARS cream blush in Constantinople - beautiful, deep rose. I confess I bought this one mainly because of the name.
Front:
9. Chanel nail varnishes in Imperial, Dragon, and Mecca nail varnish in Lychorinda.
LIPS
Back:
1. Helena Rubinstein Wanted Shine in Bel Air Blush - this brand is not available in Australia, but I found it in several department stores in Shanghai.
2. Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in WN 270 - bright purply-blue red. AWESOME.
3. Chanel Rouge Allure in Orientale - coppery-brown.
4. NARS Pigalle - matte pink chocolate. I love NARS' colour cosmetics, if it isn't already obvious. Their colour range is enormous and highly unique. NARS is extremely expensive if you buy it from Mecca Cosmetica, the only store that stocks them in Australia, so I've started to order it from trusted retailers on eBay.
5. NARS Beautiful Liar - spiced coral.
6. NARS Transeurope Express - deep rose. Possibly my favourite red lipstick.
7. Shiseido Perfecting Lipstick in Acorn - light pinky-brown.
Front:
8. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Imperial - deep rose. My other favourite red. The Rouge Laques are a new formula from Chanel, a kind of liquid lipstick. I like them a lot.
9. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Ming - soft pink. A little conservative, for my tastes, but a very pretty colour. I wore it most days while I was in sunny Taiwan.
10. Guerlain Le Rouge G in Gems (pink) and Gracia (plum) - the most expensive lipsticks that I own. Gracia I bought last year while I was in Shanghai, Gems just a couple of weeks ago. The case (not pictured) has been described as a "space coffin", and weighs more than a lipstick has any right to. The lipsticks themselves though are gorgeous.
TOOLS
Top:
1. Kabuki brush - very dirty, and needing a wash. I picked this up very cheaply in Shanghai, so it's some random Chinese brand, but still quite good quality, considering all that. I use this to apply loose face powder.
Bottom: (left-right)
2. NARS Yachiyo brush - my best blush brush. Weird looking, ain't it?
3. NARS eye smudge brush.
4. Shu Uemura 6OB Badger - used for filling in my brows, and occasionally for eyeliner (gel liner or dry-to-wet application of shadows).
5. Shu Uemura 5R Kolinsky - eyeshadow and eyeliner brush.
6. Shu Uemura 10 Kolinsky - this and the 11 Kolinsky are my favourite eyeshadow brushes. I have backups of both, because sometimes you just need a clean eyeshadow brush.
7. Shu Uemura 11 Kolinsky.
8. Make Up For Ever 14S - for crease and outer-corner of the lid.
9. Gorgeous Cosmetics B111 - blending brush. GC is a new Australian professional cosmetics brand.
10. Make Up For Ever eyelash brush - apart from being great for unclumping mascara, the spoolie brush also multi-tasks as a brow brush.
11. Gorgeous Cosmetics 010 - liquid eyeliner brush. Too small for anything except gel eyeliner.