FLAWLESS SKIN LUXURY EDIT

My name is Dorota and I’m a glow addict. Combine that with a huge love for high coverage, Insta filter-like finish and we’ve got ourselves a little conundrum. So what does one do if full coverage is a must but one hates the mask-like finish?  Well, a good skincare prep, a glowing primer and a little oil always does a trick. Here’s my go-to flawless skin routine for days when one needs a bit of coverage to look human yet don’t want no flat matte. It’s the glow life people! 

Let’s start this lesson on glow with skincare now, shall we? I realise I often talk either skincare routine or makeup but the truth is, both are intertwined. Believe me, I didn’t want to like Omorovicza Illuminating Moisturiser. In fact, I wanted to hate it. £85 for a day cream sounds excessive and truly it is but this girl knew it was over after their first time together. The light buttery formula glides on the skin sinking in almost instantly. Skin looks plumped and healthy in seconds but there’s no artificial glow involved. Just great moisturiser packed with skin-loving vitamin C & E, apricot seed and jojoba oils and squalane on a base of Hungarian thermal water rich in anti-ageing minerals like zinc & copper. Despite shea butter present, my skin seems to accept it. For any days other than full coverage, this moisturiser replaces primer and simply just works. I’m so happy to have a 30ml backup (find yours in Latest in Beauty Icons Vol 2 box) as I might have fallen for it fast and hard but I can’t see it ending quickly. Get yours now at Omorovicza, Cult Beauty, Space NK & Fabled.

Ok so I’ve talked about The Hero Project Glow Drops forever but trust me, it’s just fab oil that’s all. A combo of natural oils and some essential just works for me but I understand that not everybody likes the latter in their routine. My advice is to try it and see for yourself, as this concoction seems to be loved by my skin. After morning skincare, I use one drop on each cheek and forehead and allow the oil to sink in, top up with SPF and it’s good to go for the foundation. I’ll chat about the latter in a bit but wanted to tell you how else I use the Glow Drops in my routine. If you’re after a dewy finish, just add a drop to your foundation. Please note that adding oil may make it more prone to oxidation as non-water foundation formulas normally are. I haven’t experienced it personally but it’s possible so please keep that in mind. I usually apply 1-2 pumps of the full coverage foundation and a little drop of oil makes it a lot more manageable if your foundation formula is little too dry. I also love it for my Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Stick. If you use it you know I’m right, but that baby does not blend that well with a sponge. I mean if you’re lazy like me and just go straight to your face, it takes bloody ages to bounce the sponge back and forth to get the seamless blend. What I do is either apply it to the back of my hand and add a little oil or apply to the face and just add a drop or two to the sponge. You can thank me later but isn’t it just the best multi-purpose glow hero? Get yours now for £24 at Look Fantastic and Birchbox.

Girl (if only I can pull off the sass some can when saying ‘Girl’ but imagine that!), if only I could go full coverage without a primer. Well, I can’t. I’m dehydrated, sometimes dry and well 33 so the lines are a thing. Charlotte Tilbury to the rescue! Hollywood Flawless Filter is the one for me. I just apply it everywhere and it instantly makes me look: glowing, more awake, blurred and fucking fabulous. I love the stuff. I apply a lot, I just take the doe applicator to each cheek, forehead and one for to the centre of my face. Told you. A lot. But it works. What I like about it is that it’s not too much. It’s great for dry skin sure but you can pull it off when you’re combination too, as it’s not too oily. There’s not much else to say here if you can afford it, buy it and if it’s a little too much, don’t worry there’s always L’Oreal Infallible Primer Shots Luminising Primer, I talked about it here, if you fancy a read. Grab yours for £30 at Charlotte Tilbury, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique and Selfridges.

Foundation. Chills. Love the idea of it alone. Foundation, just like building the house, the way you lay it down is key. I love that despite being whiter than white, there are now some brands catering to the ultimate ghost. Enter Huda Beauty #Fauxfilter Foundation. This one is tricky, it’s so full coverage that sometimes one pump is more than enough to cover your pimple, your face, your neck and your whole life! I like that it’s creamy but still light somehow. It’s not without its problems so if you’re dry make sure you prep well. It sets the tiniest bit in my smile lines but almost everything does, unless really creamy and sheer. You really don’t need to powder it down too. I find that I do it because I’m used to it but I’m trying to learn to let go. I try, bless me. I love it sitting on top of little oily base + CT Primer. Man, the finish it gives then - gorgeous! Perfect for a night out, long day at work/school and for travel too as it’s light. I’m not a fan of plastic packaging though and not because ‘it doesn’t feel luxurious enough’ - which it does btw in my opinion but simply because why use more plastic when there’s no need for it. Glass is a lot more eco-friendly, that’s all I’m saying. Your's at Cult Beauty & Selfridges for £32

Hello, concealer. Are you a fan? Damn me but I’m a concealer junkie. Which shade? The lightest one of course. There aren’t many that come in shade light enough for me to contour with but the couple has done well over the years. Latest obsession is the new Too Faced Born This Way Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer. It will set you by £24 so definitely not the cheapest out there but on another hand, you get 15ml of product. That’s right, that’s 3 times more as much as Revolution, new Charlotte Tilbury, Urban Decay etc. It’s still 50% more than Tarte (here in the UK around £30 and pain in the arse to get cheaper from the US - hello Customs!). At least this is what I tell myself. My shade was sold out the first time it came out on Cult Beauty so I had to wait my turn and finally grabbed it at Debenhams counter in Birmingham. The lightest shade is a teensy bit darker than Shape Tape but still light enough for me. I feel that it accentuates lines little less but if you have lines under eyes then nothing will hide them. I quite like it but I’m yet to find some time during the weekend to test it alongside Shape Tape. Will it top the 1st place of my favourite concealers, time will tell! Yours at Cult Beauty and Debenhams.

I found this little pot in the amazing Cult Beauty turns 10 influencer box but given all the amazing bits in it, I simply put it in a drawer and kinda forgot about it. That is until I was about to leave to do makeup for a lovely lady who wanted to learn some easy highlighting tricks but didn’t want the ‚full on glow’. Enter RMS Beauty Living Luminizer*. It comes in few other shades so white isn’t your only option but how perfect for me, your friendly ghost. So easy to use, it gives the most natural healthy glow to the complexion - no one will know you’re wearing it. Perfect applied by a finger before you powder or simply on its own when you’re having a no makeup day to perk up your complexion. My client fell in love and I kept it on top of my vanity since. For ultra glow, I use it as a powder highlighter primer. I take a sponge and blend it in a little then pick up powder and apply on top. Simples. Yours at Cult Beauty.

There’s nothing quite like Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy highlighter. The shade is simply perfect and works on all skin tones I’ve seen it on. Usually, I simply pick my trusty Morphe M310 Large Soft Fan Brush and swipe it on top of my cheekbones, temples, above the brow arch, nose bridge and tip, cupid’s bow - you get the gist, I bathe in this stuff! Lately, I’ve discovered a new method. Ok discovered may be overstating it a little but bear with me. I simply never thought of applying powder highlighter with dampened Beautyblender until a few weeks ago all my brushes were drying after their weekly bath but I needed to glow. There’s simply no way to describe it but OMFG. It’s powder highlighter but with the liquid finish, it’s blended in so seamlessly you’d think that overdone glow is your skin! I find this method accentuate pores and other imperfections a lot less than when applied by brush! I haven’t quite discovered an America but I’m shook! If you’re looking for that perfect highlighter, the one and only, ABH Amrezy is worth every damned penny! This was limited edition so I'm not sure if it's coming back in stock but you can join the waitlist at both Cult Beauty and Anastasia Beverly Hills UK.

In just a few steps, you too can achieve the flawless finish we all long for. I’m lucky to have pretty good skin with very rare breakouts but that wasn’t always the case. Adult acne hit me at some point too, but thanks to few changes in lifestyle and great skincare, I get to enjoy the smooth (almost) canvas that is my face. I don’t always wear full coverage, in fact, I’m happy with medium and often go sheer too but there’s something special about feeling like you’re walking around with blurred Instagram filter on. I hope this inspires you to play around with makeup to achieve just that - perfect skin for a day! 

I appreciate that today’s post is very ‘luxe’ heavy so if want me to show you an affordable edit, I’m happy to put together a list of my drugstore price point faves for flawless skin! Let me know if that’s something you’d like to see and as always your wish is my command :) You don’t have to spend a lot of money to achieve the look you want, don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise! 

Thank You For Reading.

With love,

*Products marked with * were gifted for review consideration & some links used may be affiliate. It means I earn a teeny tiny commission each time you purchase something by clicking on the link. All commission to date has been spent on makeup/skincare shopping or updating my camera/lights equipment. All the clicks and purchases are very much appreciated as they help me keep doing what I love most - reviewing tons and tons of makeup and skincare for you.  This does not influence my opinion in any way. I’ll always relay my unbiased thoughts to my readers.