my daily essentials.

There's nothing I love more than having an unrestricted amount of time to get ready in the morning, being able to sit down, plan my 'look' for the day, get my tools ready, fix my hair, add accessories and not have the stress of a time limit, but anybody who works knows that this is a dream saved for weekends or days off. Although I don't always have as much time as I would like to get ready in the morning there are certain products that I just can not step outside of the house without using, these products are my absolute essentials and my favourite makeup and beauty products!

This is not in order of 'favourite' or 'most used' but i'll try to order it with what I use first going down to my final product, so first up is my Benefit 'fake up'. I bought this product when it very first came out as it was almost impossible to walk past a Benefit counter without seeing the promotion for it, as well as being an under-eye concealer one of the factors that appealed to me was that it had a hydrating ring to also bring some moisture to your face and, as anyone with dry skin will know, this is a very big selling point! It is a super easy product to use with just two steps; apply 'fake up underneath your eye and then use your ring finger to pat it outwards, done! If you don't have time to do your whole face in the morning I would definitely recommend this product to give you a wide awake and fresh faced look.

Next are two products which I use together. I'm not particularly fussed about which mascara I use so I normally flit between the two depending on whether I'm going for a thicker lash look or a thinner one. L'Oreal 'mega volume collagene'  has a thick brush and the shade I have is their extra black colour, it coats every lash and although it doesn't really make them look that much longer it definitely makes them look darker and thicker, this mascara is one I would normally use for a day/night out as you need to apply a few coats to get the full effect but I will use it on a day-to-day basis just applying one coat. The other mascara in my life at the moment is No.7 'midnight lash', the main reason I bought it to begin with was the packaging, it is covered in beautiful glitter and in the shop looked so pretty and sparkling. It has an unusual shaped brush with the bristles going from small to large and then slightly smaller again, this is to help ensure you catch all of your lashes and makes it easier to get to the tricky ones in the corner of your eyes 'midnight lash' has the opposite effect to 'mega volume collagene', instead of making them thick but short it makes my lashes look thin but much longer, it is an easy mascara to apply and wiggling the brush as you apply it will normally make one coat enough!

As I stated above there are two products which I use together, once I have decided which mascara I am going to be using for the day and after applying the first coat it is then time for my Ready To Wear ''lash extension', I got this product as a gift a couple of years ago and it is brilliant! It is a little pot with a brush applicator inside that applies tiny fibres to your eyelashes (you need to put a layer of mascara on first to help it stick), you put it on as if you were applying a mascara then give it a little bit of time to settle on the lashes, be warned you may get little fibre hairs drifting on to your face but they can be easily brushed off, once the fibres are settled on you then apply another coat of mascara over the top to lock them in, the mascara catches on to the fibres and extend your lashes. So easy and so effective! (Tip: applying it on top of your lashes as well as underneath can give you a little bit of extra length)

That is the basic bare minimal I will put on my face which normally makes me look human enough to go to work, next is a product which I imagine every woman either has or has had in their possession at one time, Batiste 'dry shampoo'. It can be a lifesaver on days when your hair is looking, not quite on top form or just when you need a bit of a hair boost. I know I said this post was about my daily essentials and I don't use this every single day but it definitely comes out a few times a week to put a bit of life back into my hair, you use it like any other spray you put on to your hair, just spray it on to the roots from a little distance away (getting too close can stain your hair white for a little bit!) and after a few seconds massage it in and voila! They have a variety of different smelling 'dry shampoos', at the moment I have their 'floral and flirty blush' but there isn't a specific one I go for, I also keep a mini bottle in my handbag for when I'm out and about!

I have always been a fan of big brand perfumes with bottles of Dolce and Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier, DKNY and many other occupying my perfume drawer until earlier this year when I received a perfume for my birthday from Next. I never knew that Next did their own perfume, although it seems most shops do now, and my mum being very much like myself only picked it for me because of the pretty silver glitter sparkling on the box, even the bottle itself has silver glitter dotted across the front! The perfume is simply called 'sparkle', and it is part of a range of products you can get including room diffusers, body lotions and sprays, since getting the perfume I have acquired the body lotion and diffuser too, all which have the same gorgeous scent. The scent is quite hard to describe other than using the words, 'perfect' and 'amazing', but I will try to list some words that I think best describe it; 'sweet', 'fresh', 'pretty', 'floral', 'fresh', I've never had to describe a smell before but I would urge everyone to go and buy this product and try it for yourself!

A little daily essential that I also use is the Lush 'charity pot hand and body lotion', I normally apply it to my hands after finishing my hair and makeup as I get quite dry skin and using lots of products can make this significantly worse. The pot itself is part of a charity scheme which donates 100% of the money each time you buy, there are a few you can choose from, mine is 'frack free somerset' which helps to prevent fracking in the Mendips. I love using this products as it is very soft and silky and instantly puts moisture back into my skin, I only really use it on my hands and have also purchased a mini pot to keep in my handbag!

Lastly, after going through all the effort of putting my make up on there is a product to help take it off. I use any sensitive face wipes to take off my foundation/concealer but am a bit more picky when it comes to my eyes. I have tried numerous eye make up remover products over the years but none quite cut it for me like Simples 'eye make up remover cream', it is, as it states, a cream which is a nice change from the liquid removers I have always used and is so soft and gentle on my skin. You apply a small blob of the cream on to a cotton pad which I then spread around a little bit with my fingers and then softly rub it on your eyelashes, it removes mascara straight away and leaves your eyes feeling beautifully soft and refreshed.

Well that was a little insight into my daily 'must-haves 'makeup routine, hope you enjoyed the read and let me know about your essential products and any you recommend!

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