The simple (drugstore) face

Hey, guys!

Hope you all are doing well! I have been busy, but have also missed writing. Have you ever felt like you have so many posts planned out, yet when it comes to actually putting a post out, you don't know, what to write about? Yeah. That's been me.

I thought that I'd get over that today by putting a simple and basic post out, namely my current makeup routine for casual days, very quick, very easy and I hope you enjoy! Before we get to that, I'd like to share some of the recent highlights.

First off, Christmas came early for this girl, as I managed to pick up a few fashion steals for the Winter season. Firstly, I visited the Second Hand bazaar at the local University and for a total of 230 dkk picked up these 6 pieces, including a pair of semi-leather pants from Vero Moda and a Topshop cardigan.

As you guys know, I have been looking for a good pair of winter boots - ideally - a pair of nice ankled heeled booties for when I feel like dressing up or am going out; and a pair of casual, chunky-heeled everyday boots with a good grip for when the snow falls. But as you also know, I am constantly on a budget, whilst trying to adapt a new (for me) quality over quantity attitude, so I couldn't afford two pairs of expensive boots and didn't want to buy cheap ones just to fill out a quota, so I was really excited, when I found these! The perfect in-between boots of what I just described, great quality, discounted from 1100 dkk to 650 dkk and all around a great staple to my changing wardrobe.

What else have I been up to?

I have been hanging out with friends.

I have been baking loads.

I have been mastering my breakfast oatmeal.

I have been dating :) Saw the Hunger Games 2 - I might have gotten too nervous during the movie - what can I do - I get into the story!

I have been paying attention to my hair - flashback to May/June this past Summer - yikes!

I have been playing around in the kitchen - enter smoothies, protein pancakes and sweet potato!

I have been faking a bigger bun that I possibly could create with my own poor hair ;)

And I have been really busy with a bunch of random, practical and personal things. Being unemployed is hard, I am telling you. (It is hereby not relevant, that I will read this sentence in a few years and bite my fingers.)

Now, onto the actual post, haha. Here's what I have been putting on my face lately! 

The basic idea is using as few products as possible and ending up looking as natural as possible. As you might know, if you've been reading my blog before, I have dry skin, so I try to avoid my makeup looking cakey and flakey and my skin feeling discomfort. I start off by moisturizing my face with the Madara SOS cream, which is a nice, organic, light moisturizer. I then mix two shades of the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundations (1 pump each) - the Sand I bought in the summertime and it's way too dark for me right now, but I use it as a contour - literally putting it on my face where I'd contour and then put the Ivory shade (which is slightly lighter than my skin tone) in the middle and on the high points of my face and blend out. This creates a nice, harmonious shade with a subtle, yet flattering contour. I have also been taking the advice of covering my nose in as little product as possible. My nose gets red, but I heard that the more foundation, concealer, powder etc you put on your nose, the more visible and unnatural your makeup will look. I'm still working on this, but a good trick is mixing in a tinted moisturizer in the foundation anf the touching up the red parts with a concealer. After that I cover any blemishes and my dark circles with the Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer - also in Ivory - (which I like to leave on for a few seconds before blending it in - otherwise I feel it's too light and liquidy to cover the under-eye area). I like this concealer, but my circles are too bad to be covered by this. I am still looking for a good one, even though the Maybelline Fit Me concealer did a great job too. Afterwards I brush through my brows with the used to be clear brow gel (need to get a new one, when I'm going home for holidays, I really like it - sets my brows without feeling crispy) and set my makeup with the Body Shop Vitamin E face mist. This leaves my skin glowy, healthy, natural and helps me stay hydrated during the day. If I feel like I am getting a bit dry, I'll just give myself another spray, but usually that's not necessary (and I don't carry it around). P.S. This is my third bottle, I think it's a great alternative for a powder in my situation and I love to re-use the bottles once they're empty. I have one for a DIY leave in conditioner and one for a DIY salt water spray. I finish off the look with my absolute favorite lip product of all times - the Dzintars lip balms and I cannot wait to stock up, when I get home! It's the shiniest, softest, long-lasting, tastiest, loveliest, flattring-est (?) lip balm I've ever tried. Love it.

And there you have it! My simple, every-day makeup routine. No brushes, no excessive products, no mess and no room for error :) Most importantly, my dark circles wins the award of "most improved" going from: "Oh, dear, have you been punched in the nose yesterday?" - to: "Hey, girl, that nose punch from last week is healing pretty nicely, huh?" ;)

Jokes aside, have you tried any of the products I mentioned? What else have you been up to? What kind of posts would you like to see? My coconut oil hair treatment? My week in outfits? More recipes? Gift guides? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you and I will, as always reply.

Talk to you soon,

Renate ❤