7 Basic makeup products worth of investing in.

Day before I moved out of Croatia I had my friend, beauty blogger Ana from Maybe's New Start over for a short creative session which then extended to a whole day hang out and send off for me.

Not only we worked together on a guest post, we were also taking photos, I taught Ana different ways to tie turban and head scarf while she gave me some quick tips and tricks on how to apply make up perfectly for different occasions. I was actually surprised on how much I didn't know and I had so much fun learning from Ana. She really knows her business.

After our fashion-beauty session I asked Ana for 5 basic tips on applying makeup, so here they are:

GOOD FOUNDATION.

In order for make up to look good on you first you need to take proper care of your face. Clean it and moisturize it daily.  If your skin is oily or mixed never travel without sheer finish press powder or other powder foundation which will keep the extra sebum (shininess we see on our T-zone mostly) under control. I use Bobbi Brown – Sheer Finish Pressed Powder (Warm Natural 6) and for foundation also Bobbi Brown's liquid foundation, Natural 4.

CONCEALER.

After carefully picked foundation which fits your skin tone, it is important to choose a good quality concealer. Pick concealer which is one shade lighter from your skin tone and apply it at the highest spot of your cheekbones and under your eyes, this will give you fresh and „awake“ look.

With this kind of application concealer replaces highlighter and gives you more natural look.

BRONZER.

Mat bronzer one shade darker than your foundation will be perfect for contouring. Contouring gives your face a whole other dimension which is why investing in good bronzer is very important. I use Max Factor Sun Frolic (shade: 34) which won Cosmopolitan Beauty Award here in Croatia last year.

EYE SHADOW.
It is best to start with having good neutral shades of eye shadow as these will go with any skin tones and eye colors. If your eyelids are a bit greasy and your eye shadow sometimes breaks off in little chunks it would be good if you invest in eye shadow primer which is really a foundation for your eye shadow which makes it stay put and it actually makes the eye shadow color more intensive. My favorite palette which Ana recommended and I got is Sefora's best selling pallet – Urban Decay Naked 1.

BLUSH & LIPSTICK.
Blush gives the final touch to your make up routine, best way to apply blush is to smile and apply it lightly and blend well to your cheeks. My favorite blush which I am using all year around is Clinique's fresh bloom allover (colour) in 06 Camilla shade.

Many girls don't wear lipstick daily but apply various colored lip glosses, whatever you choose to use make sure it hydrates your lips and that the color is suitable for your skin tone and the rest of the makeup.

MASCARA.

Ok, this is rather basic. Everyone uses mascara, but not everyone uses lash curler. Trust me, there is a huge difference! – said Ana. Definitely invest in good last curler. I am currently using Cover Girl Last Blast mascara and Mac lash curler. 

I was especially looking forward to learning how to use various make up brushes from Ana. When she rolled out her brushes on my table I said: Gosh do I need all that! – But Ana calmed me down with pointing out couple of basic brushes which I can use for more than one task.

1. FOUNDATION BRUSH.

Do not save on a foundation brush; invest in a good one because much of the way your foundation looks like depends on it. The most important is that this brush doesn't soak in to much of your foundation, that is applies it well.

2. POWDER FOUNDATION BRUSH.

The same as above applies. This brush you can also use for applying the blush and if you press it with your fingers it can also be used for contouring.

3. CONCELEAR BRUSH.

If you applied your concelear with your fingers before, try it with a thin fluffy brush it will make a noticeable difference, you will be using less of the product and it will look more natural.

4. COUNTURING BRUSH.

If you do not have a smaller foundation brush which is often used for contouring, press powder foundation brush with your fingers to me more precise or you can use a blending brush for eye shadow as well (4 on picture bellow).

5. EYE SHADOW BRUSHES.

From left to right these are: pencil brush – brush for precise application of eye shadow, eye shadow brush – brush for applying of eye shadow on the eyelid, smudge brush – brush for blending of pencil and eye shadow and blending brush – this brush makes your make up routine more professional as you will use it to soften up the edges in between different eye shadows you are using and you can use it for counturing. 

With this I really want to thank Ana for her time and patience with me, I had a lovely time and learned a lot!

Do share some of your makeup tips and more about your makeup routine with me, I would love to hear different ways you all do it! I hope you found this guest post useful and will be able to apply some of these tips and create yourself good, strong make up kit just like I did with Ana's help!