Bronzers for Pale People | Nars, Bourjois & More

I'm pale! I mean, like Caspar the Friendly Ghost pale. I think I manage to get that into every post somehow, so you probably know that but I wanted to share what products work for my skin tone.  

Bronzers for Pale People | Bourjous Bronzing Powder, Solait Maxi Bronzer, Nars Laguna Bronzer and GOSH Stippling Brush!

The first in the little mini-series I have on product for the pale people is bronzers. I've only just found bronzers that work for my skin, and I wanted to highlight which ones I love!
 
 I'm not sure if the fact that I have major pink undertones in my skin will effect how bronzers looks on you but I thought I'd let you know in case it does.   

The first thing about applying bronzers for me is finding the right brush to use. I found the best brush for getting the right amount of product on my skin, and for blending is a stippling brush. It gives a nice blended effect and it makes it a little harder for you to go OTT and look like an Umpa Lumpa. You don't have to fork out the big bucks to get these either. I know the MAC one is meant to be amazing but mine was a 99p clearance one from GOSH and I also have one that was about £3.50 from ELF. They work for me, so I won't be spending 10 times the amount of higher end brushes.

GOSH Stippling Brush

Now, on to the actual products! 

1) Nars Laguna Bronzer 

Nars Laguna Bronzer, £26.00 link

I'm sure you've heard about this from everyone and their mum. It's a cult product, but it's so amazing. This is one of the few products I've brought and have really thought this is worth the hype. 

It's a great bronzer and I can work for so many skin tones. I thought this might be a bit to dark for me but with the stippling brush it just adds the most beautiful shape and warmth to the skin. You can build it up with a heavier hand, but with the stippling brush and on pale skin it adds shape and warmth, without that orange under tone that so many bronzers have. It also leaves the skin with a nice luminosity rather than mattifying it!
    

2) Solait Maxi Bronzer in Sun Glow

Solait Maxi Bronzer in Golden Glow £4.99 link

This is cheap, and cheerful. The was the first bronzer I found that worked for my skin, adds a nice warmth to skin without making you look like an extra from TOWIE and you get a huge amount of product. 

This doesn't have any sparkles or anything like that in it,  but in a way similar to the nars product, it leaves the skin with a nice luminosity to it so you don't look very matte and dull. It's a nice brown colour, and it's not to orange. You can go a little over the top with this, which is why I sue this with a  stippling brush, but if you are careful it looks great! 
 
3) Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder in 51

Bourjois Bronzing Powder in 51 £6.99 link

This is somewhat of a cult product too. I actually got this as a secret santa present, and love it! It's a nice light shade, but it contains shimmer. I always thought, and hear people going on and on about how it's matte, but it's not! It has some quite obvious shimmer in it! But, despite the shimmer it doesn't make you look like an OTT glitter ball. It looks nice, and the only way you can see the shimmer is it you look for it. It's nice that it gives you a 'glow' and it adds definition to the face. I think that it might make you look a little orange with some foundations and skin tones, but with a light hand it looks great! It's cheap too!    

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Smokey Eyes | Drugstore Edition

I love a good smokey eye for a night out and I have a number of options in my collection to help me create a nice look. I was thinking about it the other day and my favourites for creating a smokey eye are all drugstore products so I thought I would share with you my favourite products to create a nice look. 

Let’s start with bases. I think when you are using dark colours like grey and black it’s essential to have a good base down so that the colours go on opaque and stay there. I either reach for my Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Immortal Charcoal (link) or I use my Maybelline Gel Liner in Black (link) as a base all over the lid. It just makes everything more intense which I love. 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Immortal Charcoal and Maybelline Gel Liner in Intense Black

When it comes to shadows only every really reach for three palettes. The first is from Miss Sporty and is the cheapest of the bunch. It’s just their Eyeshadow quad in Blue Eyes (link). It has four shadows in the tiny palette, and I like that it’s not just greys and black but they have thrown a deep purple in their two. It really makes my eyes pop which I adore. 

Miss Sporty Smokey Eyeshadow Quad in Blue Eyes

The other palette I quite often reach for is the MUA Professional Eyeshadow Palette in Starry Night (link). This is a total bargain at £4 for 12 incredible shadows. You get a nice range of greys and dark colours to create a look along side some amazing highlight shades to make every seem a bit brighter. 

MUA Professional Palette in Starry Night

The last of the shadows that I reach for is a quad from GOSH. I’m not sure you can get this in this packaging any more but GOSH still do quads and trios with amazing smokey eye colours. Anyway, this quad is called Smokey Eyes (link) and had 4 colours in there to create the perfect smokey eye look. I love this palette because I can use it a mirror on a night out to and make up that my shadow stays nice and dark. The colours range from a really nice shimmery white to an intense matte black. The black is actually pretty amazing, and is a really deep black colour. 

GOSH Eye Shadow Collection in 001 Smokey Eyes

Now, in my opinion the smokey eye isn’t complete with a beautiful bit of eyeliner. I tend to switch it up between liquid liner and gel. My favourite gel liner is the Maybelline one I mentioned above, and my favourite liquid liner at the moment is the Collection/Collection 2000 Extreme Felt Tip Liner (link). It’s a nice liner that is really black, and because of the felt tip style it’s nice and easy to apply.

Collection 2000/Collection Extreme Felt Tip Liner (Black)

Kohl liner is super important to me with a smokey eye. A white on the waterline can open your eyes up a little if the black on your lids closes your eyes to much. A black can intensify the look and add a little more drama. I love the Sleek Eau La La liners in Noir (link) and White Noise (link). There are a number of other great liners to like the MUA Intense Colour Liners (link) and Maybelline Master Drama liner (link).

Sleek Eau La La Liners in Noir and White Noise

Top 3 Primers | George, MUA and GOSH

I must admit that I'm a little lazy when it comes to primers, and that I'm one of those people who complains about my foundation not lasting long enough. I know, I know if I wasn't so lazy and just slapped on a primer it would be better and I am trying to do that.

So, with that being said, in my quest to find a the perfect primer I've tried a fair few. The following three are my ultimate favourite drugstore primers!  

George Face Primer, MUA primer & GOSH Velvet Touch Primer

1) George Face Primer
This for me is the most comparable one I've found to the POREfessional from Benefit. It's not exactly the same, so don't run out thinking it is but there are few similarities that might make me think about repurchasing this rather than the expensive Benefit one.

It claims to be a moisturizing, non sticky base for makeup that can be wore alone or with foundation. I would mostly agree with this, apart from the moisturizing part. It doesn't dry out my skin or anything but it most certainly doesn't feel like it's moisturizing it.

It smooths out the skin nicely which I love, and it does make makeup last longer. It doesn't mattify the skin like the POREfessional, but the effect it leaves when you put makeup on is very similar in my opinion.

 2) GOSH Velvet Touch Primer
This is the most expensive one of the bunch. the packaging that is shown in the picture is the old packaging and I managed to pick this up for £1 in a Superdrug clearance but the regular packaging (a bottle and pump) is about £12 a pop for 30ml.
It's totally worth the price, and this is probably my favourite of the three. It does everything that it's meant to and it does it bloody well.  The clear and fragrance free formula says that it fills in fine lines and deep pores and leaves the skin matte.

 3) MUA Professional Primer
This is the most basic of the bunch, and if you want something simple that doesn't really do anything other than make foundation a little longer this is the one for you. It doesn't leave anything matte, and it doesn't have a tint at all. It leaves the skin moisturized and just ready for makeup. It's not going to be the best to smooth skin or fill pores but it works if your blessed with normal skin. It's also only £4 a go, and it lasts ages so that a win.