FOTD Graduation Makeup - For When I Wanted To Look My Absolute Best

Over a month ago, now, I graduated from University. The ceremony was wonderful, I got to celebrate the with all my favourite people and be incredible proud of my friends and myself. I never thought that the day would mean so much, but it did.

I knew that the photos from the day would be around for the rest of my life, so I figured it was probably a good idea to look the best I could. I had a gorgeous dress, picked out my favourite jewellery, carefully painted my nails and curled my hair into perfect old hollywood waves. All that was left was my makeup, and as a point of pride, it had to be on point.

I knew I wanted a pinup-esque look, with slightly-above-neutral eyes, winged liner, red lips and extravagant lashes. I was so anxious that the makeup would go wrong (we've all had many bad liner days), fortunately, everything went well and I felt somewhat blessed.

To begin with, I needed perfect skin, so I started with my usual primer, Benefit's Porefessional. I then used Mac's Mineralize Concealer in NC20 under my eyes, around my nose and everywhere where I had discolouration. I set this all with Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NW20 by Mac. I then contoured with Benefit's Hoola, used Nars' Super Orgasm for blush and highlighted with Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone.

For my brows I used Mac's Cork on the inner section and Inglot's 329 for the rest of the brow. For the eyes I started by priming with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I then used Mac's Cork in the crease, using Inglot's 329 to deepen the crease. I then used Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha on the lid, setting it with Illamasqua's Pure Pigment in Ore.

I then used So Susan's Haute Light Highlighting Pencil on my waterline and in the inner corner. I set the inner corner with Inglot's Body Pigment Powder in 180. Next I lined the lower lash line with Inglot's eyeshadow in 329. I then used Bourjois' Pinceau Liquid Liner for my winged liner, finishing with Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara and applying Huda Beauty's lashes in Sasha.

For my lips I initially created an outline just slightly bigger than my lips with Mac's Boldly Bare Lip Pencil, then applying Sleek's Matte Me Liquid Lipstick in Rioja Red. I finished by using Make Up For Ever's Mist and Fix Setting Spray to keep everything in place, it being a big day and all (and it worked, my makeup didn't budge all day).

And here's me with some Prosecco in my gown and cap looking really proud of myself. My nail polish is Barry M's Coconut Infused Nail Paint in Flamingo.

To close, this is me and my friends after throwing our caps in the air and laughing because we were very bad at it.

October Glossy Box - I Missed Two Months, But I'm Back On A Good One

So I missed posting two months of Glossy Boxes on here, but I'm back with October's offerings. I even got this box through the post today, see how productive I'm being!

So, this month's box comes with five full-size products, which is rather lovely. Thus far this box seems to be pretty great.

First off is Talika's Photo-Hydra Day Moisturiser, which is worth £24.85 - which is about eight times more expensive than the Simple Moisturiser I typically use. The reasoning behind it's inclusion in the box is that Autumn is a rough season on the skin, which I agree with. So I'm excited to try this product. My only trepidation is that my skin is fairly oily, so I tend to buy moisturisers that are geared towards oily skin. Here's hoping this product doesn't horrifically break me out.

Next up is this little darling from Lanolips, Lemonaid Lip Aid. It retails at £8.99, again, more expensive than the lip balms I usually buy, but this does a little more. It is supposed to exfoliate as well as moisturise the lips. I'm wearing it currently and it feels light and nice on the lips. It also smells of actual home-made lemonade, which is great.

This is Play Paint by Jelly Pong Pong, which is a lip and cheek stain. It costs £8.95. It is advised that you only use a grain of rice sized amount, which I concur with - I had to seriously buff this out on the cheeks.

Regardless, I really like this product on the cheeks, it also provided a lovely, buildable colour on the lips. And, whilst I usually move towards burgundies in Autumn, I think I'm actually going to wear this a little bit.

Next is the Haute Light Highlighting Pencil from So Susan. Now I'm on board for any kind of highlighter. Highlighting is such an easy and natural way to enhance the face. I also don't really own a matte highlighter, so this product interests me.

Here is my placement of the highlighter. Now, it's not as creamy as a Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil, but it's by no means hard.

Here is the highlighter blended in. Blending it took a little work, and can only really be done with a finger, but I think it looks rather good. I also applied it to the waterline for good measure, which I really like the effect of, so I see myself mostly using this product for that purpose.

To finish is the Airbrush Blending Sponge by Nicka K, which sells for £6.50. Now, I already own the beauty sponge from Real Techniques, but from my cursory use of this sponge, I think I prefer it. The shape is more intuitive to the contours of the face and it have a denser make up than the Real Techniques Sponge, which I feel works better for applying products.

Overall, I really like the contents of this box. (The past two months were also pretty great). In my mind, I'm really glad I'm subscribed to this box. It's exciting to receive every month and I'm discovering some really nice products.

Next post I'll be talking about my make up set up, as I got a new desk yesterday, so I actually have a space dedicated to make up (and also one dedicated to work, but who cares about that...).