Happy Birthday BeautyMecca! Part 2

God it's been a crazy week. Not Britney-crazy but rushed off my feet, not a moment to think crazy. Not that I believe the poor girl is doing a lot of thinking. Bless. sorry, I digress.

You can always tell when the real world has interfered with my fantasy world if there have been fewer than three posts in a week. And for that, I apologise. Hopefully it's been a good crazy though and I should be able to share some exciting news with you soon...
But since we're here now, I do believe I promised you a peek inside my make up bag. Well, please do come in a have a look around!


Primers
I'm a total believer in the power of a good primer and given how many have burst onto the market in the last twelve months, so are a lot of you. I have tried many, I've loved a few but there is only one primer that will forever have a place in my make up bag and that is Smashbox Photo Finish. It is light, it is even and it does not let your foundation go - cream, mineral or even tinted moisturiser. I can't be without it. Honourable mention to Benefit That Gal and Estee Lauder primers but I always end up back at Smashbox. If you can't get to the states for your fix, try QVC or even Ebay.

Foundation and Concealer
An easy one. We all know there are a lot of foundations out there, right? But it can be THE hardest thing to buy. Well here are my top tips:
MAC: Every skintone, every finish, every kind of coverage you could want. I love Hyper Real when my skin is in good nick but you will not fail to find a foundation at the MAC counter.
id Bare Minerals
If you're looking for a mineral powder foundation, go NOWHERE else. This is the best. Again, heaps of shades and no filler crap. This is, in he words of Snoop, the Shizzzle.
Prescriptives Custom Blend
If you struggle to find the right shade of foundation then this is the one for you. I can't really imagine going back to any other liquid foundation now. The Custom Blend foundation might seem like a treat or an extravagance but once you've tried it, I promise you, you will never go back. Get the concealer too - brill bags.
Creme de la Mer Tinted Moisturiser
I won't labour the point. It's the best. Try it.
Benefit It Stick
Such a great concealer and super cute too.

Blusher
Stila Convertible Colour in Fuchsia
The perfect pink and ideal for this season's fuchsia lips.
Bobbi Brown
My favourite powder blushers tend to come from Bobbi. I'm so excited about Pink Raspberry I could burst but at the moment, I'm sticking with last season's duo colour palette.

Eyes
Stila
Yes, there's a theme... I adore Stila's shimmery colours for a daytime look that can be built up easily and blended together - you WILL NOT find me in the street without Cloud in my bag. Gorgeous. I also love the smudge pots, either as liner or as a really dramatic and long lasting burst of base colour.
MAC
They're the best eyeshadows ever. More pigment than anyone else, more colours than everyone else, longer lasting than everyone else. Done deal. Can't be without the Prune eyeliner either. I've genuinely had more comments about that one pencil than anything else on the site.
Mascara
I'm quite fickle with mascaras. For ages I was in love with Prescriptives False Lash (i bought two tubes! I never rebuy!) and I do love it but I'm a girl with a lot of mascaras to test. Bare Escentuals EveryWear is a pretty great smudge proof option and Avon's SuperFull is fantastic AND a bargain. I say, go Avon.

Highlighters
Benefit High Beam
Cult products tend to be cult products for a reason and that's all I'm going to say. Well, that and Miss Popularity is going to be creeping up on its sister product's top spot pretty soon...
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick
I love a product that doubles up and with all the colours in a shimmer brick, you can do your entire face by just adding a slick of Vaseline to your lips and mascara to your eyes. What's not to love?

Lips
Now, this could go on for some time - I am something of a lip colour collector so I'll try and stick to the products I use more often. Try.
Barbie Loves MAC Sweet and Single Lipstick and Spice Lip Pencil
My favourite lipstick ever. Moisturising, perfect with smokey eyes, great in a day, it's just wonderful. When it runs out, I will sob. Boots 17 do a shade called Antique Lace which is sort of similar but more peachy than golden pink. Sigh, I sense a replacement quest coming on.
Again with the cult - Spice is fab, even on me, the palest of them all.
Stila Lipglaze in All of Them
I have yet to find a lipglaze I don't like. Test me Stila, test me!
Aura Ammunition Gloss
A gorgeous berry shade that lights up my face for a night out. And coincidentally, tastes amazing.
Urban Decay Lipgunk in Hot Pants
Smells, tastes and looks like university to me. Love it. A great for this season's pink fetish.

I could go on... There are more eyeliners, there are balms, powders, compacts, radiance sticks, shapers and shadows but I've got to go to bed sometime. Advanced Night Repair might be incredible but without my eight hours, I'm an uber bitch no matter how great I look.