Current FAVES

It's been a while since I gathered my favourites together so here is a current selection. I'll hopefully do in-depth swatches and comparison either by video or by blog post - so please feel free to comment with requests if this might be useful.

Firstly, toner!!! I recently booked myself in for a course of Diamond Microdermabrasion and my beautician asked whether I was using toner. I admitted I wasn't and she chastised me, claiming anyone with greasy skin should NEVER skip toner. For years I used Clinique's toner (the purple one) but I had decided toner was a gimmick and eliminated it. But after reading many positive reviews, I decided to buy Boots Botanic Rosewater toner. It smells divine and is so refreshing and uplifting. Best of all, adding toner to my regime seems to have helped my skin texture.

I may have mentioned Murad Oil Control Mattifier before; if not, I should have. It is wonderful for greasy skin and even seems to calm breakouts. It helps foundation stay on longer, too.

Makeup-wise, the crown must go to Guerlain: once again their collection dazzles. The Madame Rougit blusher is superb. It's pigmented, smells beautiful, and applies with a luminosity that only Guerlain have consistently perfected. It is pinker than Rouge G but very much in the same spirit. Their new eyeshadow duos are their best eyeshadow packaging yet - sleek, elegant, compact and sophisticated to the extreme. My favourite is Too Spicey. The brown is a matte, smooth neutral and the orange is surprisingly pigmented. Each duo has a glitter (sorry, "veil") and a solid shade. The glitters remind me of MAC Reflects Glitter (which I adore). Both work very well together and can be very sober or very glittery, depending on preference.

The L'Oreal Super Liner Brow Artist was reviewed with the rest of the collection here, so it comes as little surprise it is in my everyday rotation. Here it is, with my lashes - and no other makeup. It looks very natural and is a must-have for me!

The lashes are 100% real hair Red Cherry #523 (£2.99 from Bright Eyes Beauty) are rightly top-sellers. Incredibly flattering, natural, and easy to apply!

When MAC brought back their Style Black mineralised eyeshadows, I was ecstatic and bought backups of Young Punk and Gilt by Association. But I considered Cinderfella to be dupeable. Well, it actually is pretty original and I decided I did need it afterall. It is incredibly glittery (I am a magpie and addicted to glitter) but still very sultry as well. I find myself reaching for it on nights out.

Finally, after seeing countless positive reviews for Pixiwoo's Real Techniques brushes, I decided to try out the Expert Face Brush. And it does in fact put foundation on very smoothly. I prefer my Louise Young LY34 foundation brush, but this Real Techniques one is so much cheaper that for the price I think it gives it a real challenge.

Honourable mention and potential future fave alert: I have discovered a new skincare brand called Bochery... watch this space...