MY MAKEUP COLLECTION (IF I WASN'T A BLOGGER)

- Advertisement information: this post discusses items gifted to me with no obligation to share them (marked *). In addition I have / have had a brand relationship with Cult Beauty, Fresh Beauty, MAC, Touch in Sol, Feel Unique, Nudestix, Stila, Charlotte Tilbury, Urban Decay, Milk Makeup, Beauty Bay and Fenty Beauty (gifting) and Look Fantastic (affiliate code used below) and Glossier (affiliate programme - not linked below) and Boots (paid advertorial content). My blog has Skimlinks and RewardStyle installed to automatically monetise purchases of products I link on my blog, therefore this post may contain affiliate links. All opinions remain my own and please refer to my Disclosure Page  for further detail -

I'm not sure if it's lockdown or my focus on skincare, but I've really honed my makeup collection, and - though I do own plenty more - I have reliable favourites I reach for time and time again. Therefore, today I'm sharing what I think my makeup collection would look like if I didn't have this blog - let's dive in...

- COMPLEXION -

My all-rounder in terms of skin prep has to be the Touch in Sol No Poreblem Primer | £14.50 | full review. I've repurchased it many times and if I had to throw away all of my primers and only keep one; this is what would be staying. It smooths my skin without that horrible slippery feeling or any pilling up and makes my makeup last longer, whilst giving my skin a nice satin finish, unlike the matte look most smoothing primers give. To set my makeup, it has to be the Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder* | £45 | full review. This is a super-fine, lightweight powder that never looks heavy or cakey and gives my skin a smooth, soft-focus finish.

I have two base products and they're both Nars - soz! I never really wear full-full coverage these days so we have one light-coverage option and one that has more of a medium coverage. My light everyday option is the Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser (St. Moritz) | £31 (15% off with code JASMINETALKS_LF) | full review. This is that perfect 'my skin but better' product for me; it evens out my skin's tone, gives it a healthy glow but still looks like my skin. It's also non-shiny and long-wearing. My 'proper foundation' option is the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (Stromboli or Barcelona) | £33.50 | full review. I love the satin, radiant finish of this product without it being overtly dewy or wet-look. It's a formula that you can sheer out or build up the coverage of and it gives this gorgeous, flawless look to the skin. It also wears really well for me. 

In terms of concealers: I have a corrector, one for under my eyes and one for spot concealing and I've honestly been using these for years, so it's probably no surprise for the regulars! I can't be without my Bobbi Brown Corrector (Peach) | £19.50 (15% off with code JASMINETALKS_LF) | full review | and I've gone thought at least 10 of these. It's a creamy product you can dab under your eyes to neutralise dark circles with its peachy undertone. It's one of those products you can also totally use on no-makeup days without it looking 'off'. My go-to under eye concealer for a while has been the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer (Medium) | £24 | full review. It's medium coverage, doesn't crease and brightens under my eyes nicely. It's perfect for everyday wear, because I can trust it to stay in place and it never looks too heavy. For spot concealing (or for everything on minimal makeup days) I always reach for the Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer (Ginger) | £24 (15% off with code JASMINETALKS_LF) | full review. Again, I've lost count of the repurchases! It's a quick and easy 'dab it on' concealer that's long-wearing and doesn't crease. It gives a medium non-cakey, not-even-that-matte finish that looks incredibly natural on the skin.

- CHEEKS -

My favourite highlighter for the last year or so has been the Jouer Powder Highlighter in Skinny Dip | £19. I originally had a mini of it but picked up the full-sized product more recently. It's got a gorgeous, smooth texture that's blinding but also really meshes with the skin and looks natural in a lot of ways. This is a warm peachy champagne-gold. Also in the powder category, my favourite blusher that I reach for over and over again is the Milani Baked Blush in Bellissimo Bronze* | £10.95. It's quick and easy to apply, it's longwearing and you really can't go overboard with it. It's the perfect warm-toned glow-y cheek colour for my makeup looks of choice. Finally, for powders, I really do love the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer (Tan) | £39 | full review. Despite being a powder, it blends like a dream, never looks patchy and has the perfect level of pigmentation. It's got a nice warm tone but it's definitely not orange at all.

Over in the cream category (which is where I tend to live these days) I have a few essentials. One of them is the Kosas Colour + Light Creme in Tropic Equinox* | £32 | full review. I reach for this when I want a natural, rosy cheek look, and there's a champagne-toned highlighter in there too. These creams have quite an emollient texture so are super easy to dab on and blend out. At the same time, the formula is really long-wearing. I also really enjoy the Ilia Colour Haze Matte Pigment in Stutter | £31 | full review. This is a 2-in-1 pigmented colour that's gorgeous on the cheeks and lips. It's long-lasting, non-drying and packs a serious punch in terms of payoff. The colour is a warm burnt orange / red. Finally, my favourite cream bronzer formula is the Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Cream Bronzer (Hunnie Glaze) | £28 | full review. This isn't overly matte or overly dewy, but it gives my skin a gorgeous glow. I love how it just really meshes with my skin and looks so natural. It's a dream to work with, it wears really well on the skin and it gives me a lovely sun-kissed look.

- EYES -

I've pretty much used nothing else for the past 5 years, so it's only natural that the Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original | £19.50 | is my eye primer pick. I swear, a tube of this lasts forever and I use it daily; you just need the tiniest amount to make eyeshadow pop and last longer. Another favourite is the Urban Decay Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette | £43 | full review | which is a gorgeous warm-toned palette with a twist; as opposed to red undertones, it's more in the green and yellow family. I think it's so beautiful; I can pull together an everyday look with this just as much as I can something more fun and interesting.

I feel like typically this is where I'd mention Soft Glam, but in all honesty for the past few months I've rarely reached for anything other than the Tarte Tartelette Toasted Eyeshadow Palette | £38 | full review. This is an understated gem; it's a warm-toned palette with oranges, reds and browns (so perfect for autumn) and all my basic mattes with some pretty shimmers. There are also some beautiful smokier colours in here too for more of an evening look. The mattes are also so easy to blend and have amazing longevity.

I love a quick and easy cream shadow stick and my go-to is the Nudestix Magnetic Metallic Eye Colour in Copper Foil | £20 | full review. I simply swipe it on, blend out the edges with my fingers and let it set, then I'm good to go. This is a gorgeous warm coppery-amber gold that's perfect for my go-to makeup looks. It also looks so multifaceted on the eyes, even if you wear it alone. My go-to liner (now I've pretty much retired the winged look!) is the Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Liner in Smoky Quartz | £16. This crayon is nice and smooth and gives off good colour payoff, but it stays in place all day long, even on my watery eyes. This is a warm, very dark brown colour that looks softer and more natural than black but still defines the eyes.

The brow pencil I always repurchase (despite the fact the spooly comes off every time!) is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Ebony) | £23. It's a really fine micro brow pencil that gives off colour but isn't too pigmented; it looks very natural and you can draw individual hairs on with it. The spooly is also really handy to ensure there are no harsh edges. It doesn't smudge or smear throughout the day and I love how many shades this comes in, most of which have that realistic, slightly ashy undertone. For mascara, we have the everyday option and the glam option. Day-to-day, I usually reach for my Glossier Lash Slick Mascara | £14 | full review. It never goes flaky or smudges on my eye area; it just gives a lovely, long-lasting lengthening appearance. For something more glam, my go-to is the Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara* | £29 | full review. It gives me that amazing separated false lash look. It's volume without the clump and it just gives me 'wow' lashes.

- LIPS -

I have three lip products I think would be essential for me, even if I didn't do this whole beauty blogger thing! The first is a sheer everyday lip in the Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Balm SPF 15 in Spice | £19.50. This is so moisturising and gives a nice flush of rosy warm brown nude that has me reaching for it time and time again. My go-to matte nude is the sadly-discontinued MAC Matte Lipstick in Strip Me Down | £17.50. Taupe is similar but doesn't quite do it for me like this one does! It's a creamy, opaque, comfortable warm beige-brown nude colour that's just perfect for my skin tone. Bring it back, MAC! Finally there's my 'going out some place' lip colour: the Ofra Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Miami Fever | £15.50. I recently repurchased this because it's an all-time favourite; it's a burnt red-orange matte liquid lipstick that stays in place without flaking or getting messy, stays on for ages and is actually pretty comfortable to wear!

If you weren't a total beauty junkie; what would be your key makeup items?

Don't forget to follow me on:

Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram

Read more posts from this series here!