Rediscovering Old (and not so old) Beauty Products

I tend to get stuck in a rut when it comes to makeup, despite having a larger than average collection of products, it seems that I just forget what lies in my beauty drawers and stick to whatever happens to be in my makeup bag at the time. While I do love the products I use on a day to day basis, knowing that I've got drawers full of products that are not being used makes me sad...and just feels like a waste of money! The past few weeks I've been making a conscious effort to mix it up a bit, put less used products in my makeup bag, try new products, and re-discover older ones...and it has been great! There's been a lot of 'I forgot how much I loved this' and 'I can't believe I waited this long before using this' but there's four products that have made the biggest impact over the past few weeks, four products that I think are absolutely great so I wanted to share them with you and give you a little review of each one.

First up is the newest product, the Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand. I bought this about two months ago but for some strange reason I put it in a drawer when tidying up and completely forgot about it! Shame on me, I know! I've been obsessed with this product since properly using it, it really is a multi purpose product despite being advertised as just a contour product. It does a fantastic job of contouring, but also warming the whole face up, and you can't go wrong with dabbing a bit all over the eyelids! It's so easy to blend, which I really didn't think it would be, it doesn't move product that might be underneath, it lasts all day and doesn't go patchy, it's such a fantastic shade, and really does give you a perfectly chiselled, bronzed, healthy look. This is a dreamy product and I'm ashamed it took me so long to start using it!

The next product is one I have loved for such a long time, it's the Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in the shade Alaska (my very pale winter shade!). I'm always surprised at just how much coverage this product has, do not be put off by the 'tinted' description, it does pack a good amount of coverage. It's great at evening out skin tone, it covers a decent amount of redness and blemishes and then I find just covering over certain areas with concealer where needed, I end up with a really beautiful dewy base that really looks like there's nothing there. It's got great lasting power, is oil free, and has spf30 so is a great base choice for holiday, and just an every day kind-of base when you don't want/need fuller coverage.

Next up is an oldie but a goodie, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. This little beauty is a travel size version, as it's so teeny tiny I often miss it when rummaging through my products, and I truly forgot what a gorgeous finish this leaves on the face. It's a perfect powder to add an all over natural glow, whilst also setting your makeup. The shade is Dim Light, which I find slightly pink toned but I think that helps achieve the overall glow, which is oh so natural and flattering. Not to mention how perfectly sized this is for taking out and about, and for travelling!

(Left- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light, Right Top- Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand, Bottom Right- Nars Radiant Tinted Moisturiser)

And last but not least is another Charlotte Tilbury product, the Instant Look In A Palette in Seductive Beauty. This is a brilliant product that I used non stop for months, and then put it to one side to try other products and kept forgetting to use again. I think the size put me off for a while, I don't find it easy for travelling as it's quite bulky, but I do find it great for quickly getting ready in the morning, especially for work when I'm pushed for time. The shades in this are so lovely and flattering, all of the powders blend so easily, although if you're a little heavy handed with the bronzer then you can end up with darker streaks that take a little extra blending work to even out...but even so, this palette really is great if you're in the need for something to make getting ready a whole lot quicker and easier!

 (Look In A Palette: Top- Bottom: 7 Face Highlight, 6 Cheek Pop, 5 Cheek Swish, 4 Face Sculpt)

(Look In A Palette: Top-Bottom: 3 Eye Smoke, 2 Eye Enhance, 1 Eye Brighten)

I'm really enjoying rediscovering older products, as well as trying out newer ones, I'm now looking forward to getting ready each morning (which is a rare feeling early in the morning when it's dark and gloomy outside). Join me with shopping your own makeup stash, I'm sure you'll make some awesome rediscoveries too!