every girl has secrets in her beauty cabinet and i’m willing to share mine. this is not a definitive list but out of the mountains of products I purchase, plus the ones I am gifted with, these are my current obsessions.

everyday basics

a few dabs of concealer and touch eclat around the the eyes, a swoop of mascara a light dusting of foundation, followed by bronzer, and I’m good to go most days. i love the bare minerals range because it offers great coverage but doesn’t clog up pores.

everyday basics – yves saint laurent touch eclat (i can’t live without it), benefit boi ing concealer, bare minerals foundation in beige, bare minerals warmth all over face glow, covergirl lashblast mascara, vaseline

lunch date

If I have a little more time and i have a social event planned, I will include flicked out eyeliner with the help of a handy pen liner, i find it’s easy to be very precise because the brush is so thin. i’ll add a light blush onto my cheeks and swap the vaseline for illamasqua’s lipgloss in a bold coral hue.

lunch date: yves saint laurent touch eclait, benefit boiing concealer, bare minerals foundation in beige, bare minerals bronzer, bare minerals blusher, yves saint laurent liquid eyeliner pen, yves saint laurent luxurious mascara, illamasqua lipgloss in torture.

a full face

when I’m heading for a night out the town I go all out, and why not when there are so many products to choose from. i switch out my powder foundation for channel’s matt lumiere, it provides excellent coverage and leaves me with glowing rather than oily skin. i add black and brown eye shadow along the outer section of my lid blending in towards a light shade near my nose to give my eyes more definition. I tend to use benefit’s smokin’ eye, or a palette by bobbi brown, but have recently been trying out different lighter shades for summer including the pixi pretty eyes perfection palette.

i don’t really wear bold lipstick during the day, rushing around isn’t conducive to achieving the perfect pout, although i might opt for a bright pink every now and then. for nights out, when i have a little more prep time, i like vibrant shades and my favourite lipsticks are made my mac. i put primer on, a little lipliner before sliding on the lipstick and i’ve found the matte shades stay on all day and all night.

face therapy

while i am a huge fan of eve lom’s cleanser and liz earle’s cleanse & polish product that andrea is fond of (see her pre-holiday beauty post here) i have been testing out organic skin care range sophyto of late, and i’m very impressed with the range. i have been using the silken cleanser followed by the ph optimizing toner finishing with the anti-ageing serum.

to ward off pesky wrinkles and bags under my eyes i swear by strivectin-sd eye concentrate. it smoothes, hydrates and often hides the effects of a heavy night or two.another precious, but pricey, product i depend on to maintain youthful, line-free skin is lancome visionnaire. the pearlescent liquid leaves my skin like silk.

after spending months in the sunshine my skin had been looking lacklustre so i’ve recently added viridian skin hydration tablets to my skincare regime. when my skin is in real need of some tlc i use elemis fresh skin deep clean mask- it’s a sure fire way to get a brighter complexion in a matter of minutes. i’d love to know your beauty secrets.