Top 5 Fragrances

For a long time now I’ve been wanting to overhaul my perfumes. I think when I first got properly into perfume (around 2008) I didn’t realise how long it took to get through a bottle, and now that 8 or so years have passed, my tastes have definitely changed and I’ve honed in on the kind of thing I really enjoy and want to wear. Fragrance is definitely an investment, but I’ve found for years that it can positively influence my mood when I’m getting ready to go out, and there are definitely certain scents that I associate with certain coloured clothes or that I love wearing on special occasions. It can be a really subtle thing, but that’s why I love it so much.

I should probably start by describing what I like in a fragrance and what all of these have in common. I'm into really masculine scents, think warm, spicy and woody over fresh, citrus or floral. My appearance is pretty classically feminine, i.e. long hair, makeup and in a skirt or dress 99% of the time, so I really like the contrast of wearing a masculine scent and the way the right fragrance paired with the right outfit makes you feel like a total badass.

Top 5 Concealers

I can't explain why but I really enjoy trying out different concealers and I found it pretty difficult to narrow my favourites down to just 5. For me these tend to be good all rounders and I really enjoy using each of them. I'll start with the drugstore options first - the Maybelline Age Rewind (in Fair) gets talked about a lot and it's for good reason. Some people have an issue with the little sponge applicator and think it's unhygienic, but I can assure you I've never come close to getting an eye infection or breaking out under my eyes because of this concealer so I wouldn't let it worry you too much. Plus the sponge applicator, although a bit weird and certainly unique to this product, actually applies and sheers out the products really, really nicely. I can just sweep it on and lightly pat it in with my finger and I'm done, so it's one of the quickest to apply of any that I own. I'd say it's a light-medium coverage concealer, not really enough to cover up recent post acne hyper-pigmentation, but enough for dark circles and it never looks cakey or heavy under they eye.

Empties

Yeah, I'm coming at you with another massive empties post because I don't have my life together enough to post these more often so they're probably always going to be huge. I thought the best way to do it was to split them into categories and I actually photographed them that way too to make life easier for everyone!