My Under The Weather Face

Oh, my darlings, I've been quite under the weather for the past few days. Coupled with a little girl who is also ill and four totally sleepless nights in a row, suffice to say that I look pretty horrific! Yesterday as I was looking at my pasty face in the mirror and using my makeup magic wand to try to brighten myself up before I went to a meeting, I thought you may like to see what I used to pep things up in the face department.

First of all, my base is my usual saviour; MAC Face & Body in C2. It works every time to give coverage and glow without ever looking obvious. It is my all time favourite base for my skin.

Next, I had to bring in the big guns for my under eye area. My usual Clinique light reflecting pen just doesn't cut it when I've had no sleep and this concealer is always my reserve. Disappear by Estee Lauder has enough pigment to cover anything and still has a creamy enough consistency to avoid settling into lines. Go sparingly though, a little goes a long way. I also dabbed some around my red nose to hide the evidence of all the nose blowing!

My eyes feel red and closed so after I popped in a few brightening drops I needed to brighten further with the right choice of shadow. Dark shadows won't be your friend when you're feeling drab so I lightened up my entire lid with the slightly shimmery side (right, above) of the All About Eve palette from NARS. I then used some of the other more matte, pale peach tone over the socket bone to add a slight contour without adding much colour.

Then I turned to the classic Satin Taupe from MAC which I smudged into my lashline above and below for some soft definition to my eyes. I didn't feel that my poorly eyes could handle any harsh liner and the shimmery taupe helps to make my green eyes pop a bit.

I've been trialling the latest mascara from Bourjois for the past week and I think it's very good. It came into it's own yesterday in particular when my eyes needed all the help they could get to look open and awake. It has an unusual two step system whereby you can control the volume by using step 2 for more, or step 1 for less (the brush is dipped into more product according to which step you choose, therefore loading more product onto the lashes). I personally think it works best when I use step 2 first as it can clump a little. If you then use step 1 afterwards almost as a comb to brush through and remove the clumps, it perfects it, and the lashes look great. It worked yesterday anyway and that's all that mattered!

My cheeks needed some serious perking up to get rid of the palour so I used this lovely blush from new brand UNE which has just launched in Boots. It's called Breezy Cheeks and it has a soft creamy feel to it that glides on well. I applied lots all over my cheek and the soft pink had the desired effect, I instantly felt human again. When you're pale and washed out, a good pink is the only colour that will work...peach or tan shades won't help matters at all.

This liner has been in my personal makeup arsenal for a long time now. It is Whirl by MAC and I think it is a far superior shade to the ubiquitous Spice which is too orangey for my colouring. This is like my own lip colour but perhaps two shades deeper. It is the perfect base for pink and nude tones. I feather it lightly all over my lips to make sure the colour will last.

Last of all, my lip gloss of the moment; Snog by Rimmel. This is the perfect accompaniment to Whirl as it's a soft, gentle pink that gives the glow of health which I was so lacking! The tones tie in perfectly with the blush shade so all was looking fairly ok.... I loaded up with cough syrup, vitamins and echinacea and off I went to my meeting. Which went fairly well too, I'm happy to say, so all is well.

Now if I could get a nights sleep I won't know myself, as they say!