Five Makeup Items That Give Me That Instant Pick Me Up

I remember the days before becoming a mum, I used to enjoy and spend a good hour doing my makeup every morning. Now I know this sounds excessive and a little bit over the top, but I enjoy doing my makeup; Nothing beats the feeling of getting a new eyeshadow palette and having a good play around with the shades and creating new and different looks. This routine that I used to have set me up for the day and I love the confidence good makeup can give me. Don't get me wrong I'm all about the natural look too and I don't need makeup on to leave the house, but if I'm honest I prefer wearing it and it makes me feel a lot better about myself. Fast forward two years and I barely get five minutes to do my makeup, if you have a toddler you will know that it is no easy task. I do miss my eyeshadows (they only come out at the weekends or special occasions) and although I don't spend anywhere near as much time on my makeup, I still want to wear it and I still want that instant pick me up that I get whenever I apply it. So today I thought I'd share my top five makeup items that I use every morning and these are the staples that I couldn't live without and the ones that really make me feel good about myself.


It's All About A Good Base

Can you imagine how everyone would look if foundation didn't exist? I'd feel so naked and bare if it didn't and its the one makeup item I can rely on to make me look and feel more human. I don't mind my skin in all its nakedness, but more often or not my I look tired from many sleepless nights and foundation masks everything, which is why I love it so much. It provides me with that instant pick me up that is always needed; I can look in the mirror and smile knowing that I look a little more put together. When it comes to foundation I'm more of a full coverage kind of girl and always opt for matte finishes. I would love LOVE to be able to wear light dewy foundations, but my skin is far too oily and within an hour of wearing them I look like a right slippery mess. I have a few matte foundations that I love and repurchase often. If I had to choose just one it would be the Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation, I love the coverage that it provides, its long lasting and covers everything - Any spot, blemish or redness is wiped away with this foundation which is one of the reasons why I love it. For those days where I don't want to waste an expensive foundation for just lounging around the house, I reach for my Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, which has a semi matte finish, is also long lasting and is really quick and easy to apply. Which ever foundation you love, it doesn't matter - It's an essential.

Faking Ten Hours Sleep

You'd think with Archie being almost two years old that sleepless nights are a thing of the past - I wish! If Archie is not waking up in the middle of the night from teething, then he's waking because of his overactive mind, which means I have the worst eye under eye circles ever. For me a brightening concealer for under my eyes is an essential and I like being able to disguise just how tired I actually am. I don't really use concealer to cover up blemishes or hide any imprecations, as I just use it for my eye area, I don't like anything too heavy. You guys know that I hit the big 3 0 last year and as I'm a bit of an oldie, I'm at the age in my life where small lines under the eye are a thing and it's the worst look ever when a concealer sets in these lines as it just makes them a lot more noticeable. My current favourite is the Maybelline Age Rewind Easer for Dark Circles, this is a must have product, especially if your a fellow tired mummy like myself. What I really love about this under eye concealer is that it instantly makes me look like I've had a good ten hours sleep and the fluffy sponge that you use to apply it is so soft which is perfect for this delicate area. I do get some slight creasing, but to be honest I don't think there is a product that will ever erase these fine lines and I'm always happy with how this concealer looks on, so its a big thumbs up from me.

I've Just Come Back of Holiday .... In My Dreams

So we all know that life is better with a tan and holiday skin looks one hundred times healthier, this is one of the many reasons why I love summer so much. Unfortunately for me summer is a long way off, I'm not planning on going on holiday and right now it's meant to be the start of spring and there's a couple of inches of snow outside, so my holiday skin is never going to happen unless I fake it. I love a good bit of bronzer and its one of those products that again makes me look and feel a lot healthier. One of my holy grail bronzers is the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, its the most gorgeous cream bronzers which looks amazing worn on its own, under foundation or over for a light contour. My favourite thing about this bronzer is that it gives me 'just come back of holiday' skin, it's so natural looking and really light weight, hands down it's the best bronzer I've ever used and I'm obsessed with it. My other favourite bronzer is Nars Laguna again I love how this looks on my skin and it always gives me that perfect golden glow without making it look like I've tried too hard. If I'm wanting to go all out with my makeup, I use Laguna to contour with and the results always make me smile and uplift my mood. I may not have been to the beach, but in my dreams I have.

Reaching New Highs With Lengthy Lashes

In my opinion, no makeup look would be complete without mascara and its definitely a step that can't be skipped. I just can't ever imagine putting on makeup and leaving out mascara, it just doesn't look right. I love how mascara opens up my eyes and again makes it look like I've had a lot more sleep than what I've actually had. I may not have time to wear eyeshadow, but there is always time for mascara. One tip that I've learnt recently from mummy vlogger Lucy Jessica Carter, is to only apply mascara to the top lashes because if you're tired and apply mascara to the lower lashes, the chances are its going to rub off under the eye area and make you look even more tired. Without realising, I rub my eyes a lot when I'm sleepy and I always look like a panda at the end of the day, which defeats the reason why I put mascara on in the first place. Trust me this tip really works and it's one to use if you loose out on a lot of sleep. My favourite mascara right now is the Urban Decay Troublemaker mascara and I love how long and fluttery this makes my lashes looks. The trick is to find a mascara that instantly gives that false lash effect and its the biggest makeup pick me up ever.

Brows That Take Care of Themselves

I would be horrified with myself if I had written my top five instant pick me up makeup items and not mentioned anything about my brows. Are any of you old enough to remember the days where filling in brows weren't a thing, I look back at old photographs of me in clubs without any product on my brows and literally die inside, how did we think this was okay? I don't know about anyone else, but brows take up a lot of my time, either I'm rubbish at filling them in or I'm just a perfectionist and it takes me too long - I really can't decide which one. Towards the end of last year the Maybelline Brow Tattoo came out and this changed everything. A couple of times a week I apply this gel onto my brows and leave it on for a few hours. I know this is not practical for everyone, but my mornings consist of tidying up and running around after Archie, so I definitely have the time. Once the Tattoo brow is ready to peal off, I'm left with filled in brows that are perfectly shaped and this lasts on me around three days, so I can skip the brow routine every morning, which saves me so much time. Also its a really great feeling waking up in the morning to have brows that are in place and ready to go, if that's not an instant pick me up then I don't know what is!

I would love to know what makeup products you swear by every morning that really help you feel more alive and give you that instant pick me up. Let me know in the comments.