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Amsterdam Birthday Makeup

If you follow me over on Instagram then you will know my lovely husband took me to Amsterdam for my birthday, its our 6th time visiting and we just fall a little more in love with the city each time. I wanted to share with you a few of my favourite products that I took with me in my makeup bag, I knew we would be going out for my birthday so I took some of my favourite products.

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation

I like the coverage this gives, its more medium than full but it covers redness and thats exactly what I need atm.. It gives a lovely soft focus finish to the skin and has a velvety smooth look to it. It is a very fluid foundation so it is easy to blend and a little product goes a long way, I do like to build up the coverage on more troublesome areas and you know this is never going to look caky or overdone. Although it has a very fluid texture it can often cling to dry patches so I always wear a primer with this and make sure I use a very hydrating moisturiser.

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara*

When I want Va Va Voom lashes there is only ever one mascara I reach for and it is the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir. This is seriously black and a couple of coats of this makes your lashes look so full and full of volume. I think this is the mascara that gives my lashes the most dramatic finish, it never goes crispy and your lashes look amazing all night long. Even the packaging is luxurious.

Stila Perfect Me / Perfect Hue Palette

I hate travelling with too much makeup and this palette is perfect because it has a whole look in one palette. You get five eyeshadows and two blushes and I have the fair/light option.

Eye Shades: Alluring (soft pale pink), Breathtaking (soft neutral white), Passionate (champagne pearl), Dynamic (soft taupe), Glamorous (warm chocolate brown)
Blush Shades: Romantic (soft pale pink), Playful (soft rose pink)

It is a lovely palette for creating quite a neutral smoky eye and the cheek colours are gorgeous too. I also like that its quite compact and it has a huge mirror in and I use it to do my makeup with whist travelling.

Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet in Maharajah*

I love the shade Maharajah its a vibrant pink and the perfect colour to amp up any look. I always tend to go quite low key on my eye makeup and opt for more of a bold lip. These Lip Magnets from Armani have the most comfortable formula and the colours are bold, pigmented and have a matte finish so that means it has incredible staying power. Once applied these last all night with out fading, its also such a pretty pink shade and a nice birthday lip option.

Amsterdam Party Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury The Feline Flick in Panther

I actually repurchased this in Amsterdam because the eyeliner I took with me just wasn’t cutting the mustard and I knew I could rely on Charlotte Tilbury not to let me down. This liner has a really fine nib allowing you to get a neat, precise line and achieve that classic winged liner look. I love this product it is easy to use, fuss free and it never smudges and the pigmentation is intense. So pleased to have a brand new one in my makeup bag.

Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in Bronze

On a day to day basis I use the Soap and Glory Solar Powder as my bronzer because its quite natural but I wanted a bronzer that was a little more intense for my birthday makeup & this Urban Decay one is gorgeous & if I use it with a light hand its good for contouring. It has a matte finish and it lasts really well on the skin. I also love the cute palm tree packaging.

Birthday Makeup Picks

Giorgio Armani Si Perfume

I recently posted about this perfume over on my Instagram saying how it is my signature scent and I feel more like me when I am wearing it. With that being said I knew I had to take this with me to Amsterdam & there was no way I was decanting it into a Travelo because I love the bottle and they do not hold enough perfume for me, not for a weeks holiday! So Armani Si is a perfume I discovered back in 2013 when it first launched and I have worn it ever since. I love how beautifully sophisticated it is, with a youthful fresh edge.

It has notes of Vanilla, Blackcurrant, Rose de Mai and Patchouli and base notes of blond amber which give it a sophisticated musky scent. When you initially spray this you can smell the Vanilla which gives it a sweet scent but it calms down to reveal a chic musky scent which lingers all day.

It is light enough to be worn through the day but is also sophisticated and sexy to be worn at night. This fragrance has a side that most people will love – the sweetness of the Vanilla and Blackcurrant, the beautiful floral notes of Freesia and Rose de Mai and the more sophisticated base notes of Patchouli and blond wood. It smells amazing. I’m so pleased I had a bottle to take with me to Amsterdam, what would be a birthday without your favourite fragrance.

Giorgio Armani Si Fragrance

Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Formentera*

This is a gorgeous cream blush, It is a pretty sun kissed rose shade and I think its a great shade for my quite pale complexion. It blends so well and with it being in a handy stick form its simple and effortless to apply. It worked well for my night out as it stayed put all night and it. I think this is one of my favourite cream blush products & the colour is quite natural but pretty.

L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Mono Eyeshadow

I love this shade, its a gorgeous metallic taupe and once on the lid it looks rose gold, its a great shadow to put on top of other colours just to give a look a little more glamour. The colour is intense and I love the finish of it, especially for a night out as when the light catches the metallic finish it looks really pretty. These Mono Eyeshadow colours from L’Oreal are such good quality and they have a really nice selection of colours. Very handy to travel with as well.

PR Sample

So I have been having a makeup clear out these past few weeks in an attempt to streamline and minimise my collection so its more manageable. I am by no means finished so I would say Its a work in progress. I’m a complete beauty addict but I noticed I wasn’t using a lot of my collection because I reach for the same products because I am lazy and get stuck in a rutt. I have a few of these de clutter style posts lined up over the next month,

I’m terrible at keeping eyeliners & mascara’s past their best, so I thought it best to start my de cluttering with those as they were easiest. This post is all liquid eyeliners & these are all either dried out or older than 5 months (at least). I am a real liquid liner addict, as some of you may know so I do have quite a few on the go at any one time.

Urban Decay Ink For Eyes

This is a waterproof liner & the fine nib on this is so precise and flexible. Its very, very good at achieving that neat, close to the lash line eyeliner look. It glides on easily and you can apply the liner to look quite subtle or build up to a more bold look. Its extremely pigmented and a deep black which dries quickly to a nice glossy finish. It also stays put, without smudging all day / night long. The colour also stays intense all day.

Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen

This has a more of a felt tip style nib and is a lot thicker than the others. I like it for quick application and you can achieve a bold, thick, dramatic line with ease. Again the pigment is very black and it dries quite quickly. This does bleed a little on me so I would recommend using an eye primer if you have wrinkly eyelids like me. The liner lasts a really long time which makes it a great affordable option.

L’Oreal Super Liner Ultra Precision

The sponge style nib on this eyeliner is SO long, which makes applying the liner incredibly fuss free. One application / line looks smooth, neat and is effortless. I love the flexibility of the nib and I find it makes doing a winged / cat eye look extremely easy. You don’t have to go over the same spot again & again with this liner, the colour is intense even after just one application and it never smudges. I have repurchased both of the L’Oreal liners included in this post so many times. They never seem to dry out & the colour never looks dull on the eyes. I just LOVE these so much.

Charlotte Tilbury The Feline Flick*

This is a fantastic liner for doing the classic cat eye look. The nib is quite short but tappers to a very fine nib, making it easy to get up close to the lash line & also create that winged out flick that goes to a lovely precise point. This liner glides on with ease and never looks patchy or dull. This is such a great quality liquid liner and very easy to use. What I would say (and it makes me a little sad that I have too) is this did dry out quite quickly. I might have been to blame for that as you have to make sure the lid is on properly but mine didn’t ever snap shut. Its still a fab liner & even I can do a killer feline flick with this!

L’Oreal Super Liner Black Lacquer

This has the same sponge nib at the previous L’Oreal liner and I love the flexibility and length of them. This Black Lacquer liner has a more rich black colour which dries with a vinyl matte finish. It looks so good on the eye and I think the finish makes the colour a lot more intense. This is one of my favourite eyeliners ever because the colour is just so intense and out of them all its the oldest and still going strong but it needs throwing out because it is old not because the colour isn’t good.

I would repurchase all of these, even the Charlotte Tilbury one, which was a really good liner, despite it not lasting as long as I hoped. If I was pushed to say which ones I would recommend the most it would have to be the L’Oreal liner, any of them because in terms of price and quality they always deliver, always!

What are your favourite liquid liners and are you like me and hang on to them longer than you should?

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