Seaside makeup, 2015 edition

Another year, another trip to the charming town of Southwold. And another opportunity to test my makeup against blustery sea winds!


What works in London doesn't work here - bright matte lipstick, contouring and strong brows just looks out of place here! So I brought quick-to-apply products that give a natural look.

Why bother with makeup at all? I genuinely considered not bringing any, but the wind and cold bring out a lot of redness in my face.Without a bit of concealer to tone it down my face resembles a tomato with eyes. (Oh, the joys of having sensitive skin...)

I need a 5 minute routine, focussing on:

Toning down the redness in my skin
Evening out my skintone
Making me look like I'm barely wearing makeup!

What did I bring?

 MAC Studio Sculpt Defining Powder in Light

Nars Creamy Radiant Cocealer in Vanilla

l'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Meduim/Dark

Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof mascara

Benefit Benebalm

Real Techniques Beauty Blender

This capsule collection covers all of my makeup needs. Top marks go to the Beauty Blender, which applies and blends my Studio Sculpt and concealer beautifully. I've been dampening it with La Roche-Posay Thermal Water Spray before use, which really helps to calm my skin. The Maybelline Lash Sensational is the best budget mascara I've used in terms of staying power - it just doesn't budge! The l'Oreal brow plumper gives me groomed brows in seconds, and the Benebalm gives a hint of soft red to my lips, doubles up as a blush, keeps lips moisturised and doesn't jump onto my beer glass!

How did they hold up against the weather?

Despite the glorious sunshine in my photos it was freezing cold! I've never been more thankful for thick socks, gloves and my cosy M&S parka in my life! I find that makeup doesn't last as long in anything other than mild weather, and the wind was so strong that I was literally blown along like a balloon several times today. My base became a little patchy towards the end of each afternoon, but it was nothing a quick dab of Studio Sculpt couldn't sort out, which can be applied with a brush, a sponge or a clean finger.

I found this was a perfect routine - it took under 5 minutes to apply, looked natural, and I didn't need to worry about reverting to my natural tomato-faced state by lunchtime.
 

I'm interested to see how my choices compare to last year's seaside makeup post - I'll do a comparison soon.

Thanks for reading!