Make-up when to splurge...especially when skin begins to age

I've just turned 36 and I've noticed that my face has started to develop a few more lines and wrinkles then it used to have. I see these lines forming around my mouth and under my eyes. My skin doesn't have the teenage oil production anymore and has become noticeably dry. I'm finding the drugstore brand concealers and foundations cake up my face and gather in the creases making me look older then I actually am. This is where the splurge comes in... you need to purchase high-end products to keep your skin looking youthful and radiant. Why? I find the products that I use in this look are finely milled. The illuminating powers aren't composed of big chunky glitter or thick pore clogging clay. The contouring powders melt into the skin and have the best, natural shadow colours around. I usually buy my lip pencils, lipsticks, eyeliners, and mascaras at Shopper's Drugmart...no need to break the bank on these items. I also don’t buy products all at once. For a treat, I will buy one item and collect them in pieces.

I also have added a setting spray to my routine..my favorite is Mac Fix Plus, but I bought another brand this week and it's working pretty well. The setting spray, melts away that powder look and creates a smooth finish.

(above) LancômeColor Design 5 Shadow & Liner Palette $60.00

Colour is Golden Frenzy..though in-store at Sephora it was called Canary. This shadow has beautiful colours, fantastic blendability, instructions for beginners and lovely soft pallette and very fine shimmer as opposed to chunky glitter.

(Below) Becca Shimmering skin perfector, pressed, in the colour Moonstone. I also have this product in the colour Topaz. This in the finest highlighting powder on the market. It gives me that dewy skin..that inner glow from within....not that overly sparkly skin...like i dusted my face with tinkerbell's butt. One power will set you back about $46.00 at Sephora, but it lasts a long time and it's going to be a staple in your make-up kit. Becca also makes a matte contouring power that my friends love...I haven't tried it yet! Hopefully soon!

The best contouring kit on the market in my opinion, is the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour kit. Everyone I know has tried this kit and has found the colours universally flattering. The colours are super pigmented, a little will go a long way on your contour brush. The price at Sephora is $55.00.... it is expensive, but you get alot of product and again you only need a little. This kit should last you a good long while. The next best pallette is named after famed make-up artist Kevyn Aucoin, but you get very little product in the book and the cost is a whopping $85.00. Do I want the Aucoin pallette anyway.....oh yes....maybe I will get it for Christmas...because...I NEED it....

Lastly, after you've finished your make-up you have to set it. I usually use Mac Fix Plus but I also don't mind L'oreal's Infallible Pro-Spray & Set. It takes the finished face, and seals it. I'm not sure how it works, but the misting spray melds all of the make-up in together and gives my face a fresh look..and it rids me of that powder finish.

Steps:

-Foundation all over the face. Right now I'm using Laura Mercier Moisture Supreme Foundation.

-Conceal under the eyes and cover blemishes.

-Set with a fine dusting power.

-Contour the forehead nose and hollows of your cheeks with the Kat Von D shadow

-Add blush to the apples of your cheeks

-Dust the tops of your cheek bones, forehead and tip of your nose with the Becca highlighter

-Finish your eyes with the Lancome Palette

-I shaded my brows with a little beige shadow

-Finish the look with lips stick and gloss....I've started to line my lips as well..it helps stop the lipstick from bleeding into the fine lines around my mouth

Mist face with setting spray

DONE!