my 'perfect' base

To me, make up is all about a good base. If you get the base right, more than half of your make up is done and I don't know about you, but to me, I feel a lot more confident with a great base. But a base isn't only your foundation and powder- it's a lot more. A good base starts with a good skincare regimen. I have been adapting my skincare and bought some new Origins bits (which I'm still testing- reviews coming soon!) which I am really, really loving so far, but I still haven't found the perfect skincare for me.

Struggling with very bad acne during my puberty-which started when I was around 11/12- I have always felt a bit insecure about my skin. The acne started clearing up when I started taking the anticonceptive pill when I was 15, but I still suffered from breakouts. As I got older, the area of my breakouts moved from my forehead to my cheeks, and now I do still occasionally suffer from breakouts on my chin and jawbones.

I tried everything to clear up my skin- clearasil (which was AWFUL! It only made it A LOT worse, it dried out myskin so badly), Nivea (which made my skin break out even more because of the perfume they put in their proiducts) and so on. As I got older, I started investing in some 'better' skincare products, but I didn't knew a lot about them so I used them the wrong way. Until recently, I wasn't really bothered with 'skincare' in general; I just removed my make up and cleansed my face, that's it. I wouldn't moisturise as I thought it would break me out, and my acne was my only concern back then.

That has changed. I do now cleanse, tone and moisturise, use a serum, scrub my face every week and apply some face masks and my skin has improved a lot since then. However, because I abused my skin so badly in my early teens I do now have some acne scarring and suffer from very, VERY large pores.

Now, that's it about the skincare. I'm planning on doing a whole post about it, so let me know in the comments if you would like to see such a post! Now on to the 'base'. I used to use no primer and very cheap foundations, which, looking back at it now, looked awful. They slided off my face after only 2 hours since I have oily skin, clogged my pores and I just generally didn't look sexy at all. (When I say cheap, I mean €2-€3- THAT cheap!). My first real 'more expensive' foundation was the Maybelline Mineral Powder, which covered up my acne a little bit and, because it was mineral, it made my skin breathe for a while. If you want to read my 'make up story and progress', read this post. 

My main concern with my skin are thus my pores, the acne scarring and some blemishes. Now on to what I slather on my face!

For a primer, I use the Benefit Porefessional. Ever since I found out about it and it's benefits (excuse the pun, I just had to haha) I wanted it and you can't imagine how happy I was when I finally bought it! It's a great product. Being more a balm than a primer it does keep my make up on all day and make my pores significantly smaller. I then apply my foundation, the Estée Lauder Double Wear Light foundation. Now, I do have a lot foundations but I tend to stray away from the more 'cheaper' ones, not only because I've had some bad experiences with them but also because I don't trust the ingredients. I'm a bit of a make up snob when it comes down to foundations, haha! I do love the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and Rimmel Wake me Up foundations though, but I like to mix them with my more higher end foundations. I do also have the normal Double Wear foundation, but even the lightest shade they have in stores here is wayyyy too dark for me. Bummer! It's a love-hate thing.

Then, on to concealer. I never really had a 'thing' for concealers, until I did recently bought a MAC one (review here!) and I do now use the Estée Lauder Double Wear concealer in shade 1. I do prefer a lighter coverage foundation at the moment because I'm not really loving the cakey effect, so just to make my skin look more 'perfect' I apply this and it really gives a great coverage! It doesn't crease and it does stay all day. Win!

For powder, I do use the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder which I do really love. It keeps me matte and also makes my make up look more perfect without a caked-on look (if you don't apply too much, that is) and as you can see, I have hit pan on it. I have been using it since December last year and only hit pan on it a few weeks ago, which says something about how long it will last you! For such a cheap price, I think it's a great powder and I even dare to say that it's one of my 'holy grail' make up products!

On to highlighter then- I do love me a good highlighter! Currently, I'm using MAC's Lightscapades MSF powder which I absolutely adore! I couldn't stop looking at it in the store so I just had to buy it. It was quite expensive (€27!) but I do love it. It's such a beautiful powder! It's a shame that it's only limited (it was part of the Reel Sexy collection, I think? The one with Beth Ditto in it!) but I heard that they also had it in stores a few years ago, so fingers crossed that it will come back in!

I do also use YSL's Touche Éclat. It's just such a cult product and everyone should have one! I bought it in a set with the Effet Faux Cils mascara and also got a kohl pencil and an eye make up remover with it, which are both very good! I'm not gonna write much about this one- many confuse it with a conealer, but it's not. It's a highlighter with light reflecting particles in it and I just can't wait to try the foundation!
Then, for blush, I use a Lâncome one. It doesn't even have a name on it and I have had it for sooooo long, I don't even know if they do still have it in stores. Just a little swipe on the apples of my cheeks and I instantly look healthier!
I was too lazy to clean my brushes haha so sorry if that offends you, but I do only use two brushes- a powder brush (that doesn't have an ame on it? It belongs to my mum and it's over 20 yearso ld now, but still going strong and it's just the best powder brush I've EVER tried, ever) and a Dior Blush brush. They're both really, really good brushes and I do apply my foundation and all the rest of my make up with my hands, just because that gives a more natural effect.

So that's it for my base. I know, it's a long post, but as I've already said, I do really like me a good base. Once I start writing about something (especially beauty wise!) I just can't seem to stop! I really hope you liked this post and let me know if I should do more posts of these on my blog. I was really hesitating about putting this photo of myself on here, but I thought you should see the end result! I'm really self-conscious so I don't know if this was a good idea but whatever, haha.

WHat do you use for your 'perfect' base? Any holy grail items that we should know about?

xoxo,
Charlotte