New Year Makeup Bag MOT
With the start of a New Year, it's a great time to overhaul your Makeup collection, as you may have received new products as Christmas presents.
I know I'm guilty of this particular beauty sin, but sometimes it's good to have a run through just to remind yourself of what you've got.
First things first, you need to get rid of products that are past the expiration date.
Any cosmetic product with a lifespan of less than 30 months (2 and a half years) must show a 'Best before the end of' date. Look out for the egg timer symbol and date or the word BBE or Exp, followed by the date.
Cosmetics that last longer than 30 months must show a 'period after opening' time. Look for the open pot of cream symbol (the time in months is shown on, or near the symbol).
Here's a quick guide to makeup expiration dates:
Once you've gotten ridden of the expired products you can have a look at what's left.
BB's, CC's and Primers
Now I personally don't have this problem as I either use foundation or tinted moisturiser, but I know some people are confused between BB and CC creams and primers.
BB creams give a light coverage, similar to tinted moisturisers. Whereas, CC creams offer more coverage for those who suffer from redness but don't want to use a foundation.
Primer is for use under foundation to help your foundation stay put and help control whatever skin issues you may have, pore minimising, oil control etc.
So you're probably only going to want one BB, one CC and possibly two primers. I use two different primers as I have combo skin. I use Benefit
Pore-fessional on my T-zone, as it's an oil-free primer that helps minimize the appearance of pores and I use the MAC prep and prime Skin for my cheeks as they can be a bit drier.
Foundation
Try out your foundations on the middle of your jawline and choose which one best matches your skin tone. I would also keep one that is a few shades darker for during the summer when you may have a suntan or for when you have a spray-tan, and you can always mix your foundations together to create a personal shade for when you are in between.
Brows
Defining your brows was a big thing in 2016 and will continue on into 2017. No one should go more than 1 shade darker than their natural brow colour or it's going to look super fake and you'll end up looking like Groucho Marx. (see left).
Choose a fine pencil to help fill-in any missing hairs and define the edges, then use something like the Benefit Gimme Brow, which has a tiny little brush, like a mascara wand, to shape the brow and hold it in place, but also contains fibres to help give your brows that fuller look.
Lipsticks and Eye Shadows
This can be tricky, but I find the easiest thing to do is, line them all up and swatch them on your arm and compare colour and finish. If you already have something that is similar,throw the oldest one out or keep the better wearing one.
Well I hope this helps you slimline your makeup bag and happy makeup makeover!
Rhix
xoxo
