Twenty Swans

Okay, real talk – my birthday is this weekend and I am spending it with TrayTray in Bristol where she studies. I am incredibly excited for this, even if we have absolutely no plans as to what exactly we’ll be doing whilst over there.

Now, here comes the fun part – packing for it! What am I going to take with me from my makeup stash? I’ll be honest, there isn’t really much choice in some categories as my stash is quite small. I want to take products that are easy to use, reliable in a pinch and somewhat special for this occasion.

Base – A little pot of Estee Lauder Double Wear in 1w2 Sand

Admittedly, this is the only foundation I own and is my perfect skin tone match. It’s full coverage and matte, great for my oily skin and looks good all through the day. As you can see, I switched out the lid on my bottle for a spare one with a dropper, which I use to decant it into a pot for travel, because that glass bottle is not ideal, really.

Concealer – Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer in Light

This helps to brighten up my under eyes a little and, set well with a powder, won’t crease.

Contour- Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette | Review here

When I use the Double Wear foundation my face can look very mask-like, so I need to add the depth back into my face. This is the only contour product I own and I don’t feel the need to buy any others. I usually use the neutral and cool contour shades (Sombre and Shadowplay) as they’re lighter and easier to work with. I’ll also be using the ‘highlight’ shades to set my makeup so I won’t have to bring a separate powder.

Blush – Makeup Revolution Sugar and Spice Blush Palette | Review here

Again, the only blush product I own. There is a good variety in here for multiple kinds of looks and I really like using it so far.

Brows – Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Auto Pencil | Review coming soon!

This is cheap at just over £3 from Jolse and a recent buy, but I really like this so far! When I wear a full face of makeup my full brows tend to look less bold so I do need an eyebrow pencil to bring them back a little.

Eyeshadow – Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette | Review here

Eye Primer – Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

Am I really going to be hauling three whole palettes with me? Hell yeah. This palette will suit whatever look I choose to do over the weekend so it was an obvious choice.

Eyeliners| Reviews for both coming soon!

CLIO Brush Pen Eyeliner in Kill Black

BBIA Auto Last Gel Pencil Liner in Jazz (brown)

Both of these are Korean makeup picks, and well-deserved favourites too. On my oily eyelids, these don’t smudge one bit, only fading. They are also very easy to use. The reason I am bringing both is that I am pretty sure I’ll be rocking both intense and natural looks over the weekend so I may use only one liner or both. I like the BBIA for naturally enhancing my eye line or tightlining my upper eyelid, and the CLIO for attempting my winged eyeliner.

Lips

Bold  – NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl 

Nude – NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Walkyrie 

Dragon Girl is just right for the occasion – Tray bought this for last years birthday (!) So it’s been my regular pick for the special occasion. It’s a bright pinkish red. On the other hand, Walkyrie is a warm brown and a great neutral choice.

The Velvet Matte pencils are a reliable choice for me and so easy to use due to their pencil format. These go on very smoothly but somewhat set into a hard-wearing matte finish and I can count on them to last the day.

That’s everything – Now to make sure I don’t forget a single one of these when I set off, which is another challenge in itself.

What would you take on a weekend out?

Thank you for reading,

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