Work to bar in five minutes

Meeting up with friends after work is often bittersweet – it means good catch-up times, but if I’m going straight from the office, chances are I’m looking less than my best.

But never one to pass up a social outing, I do a quick patch-up and head on, and today I thought I’d share what’s in my face-fixing kit.

So to start with, every day I wear the basics, but if I know I’m likely to be heading out I’ll try to use something that is likely to stay put.

In the morning, I put on:

DiorSkin Forever foundation mixed with Urban Decay Naked Skin.

Inglot cream concealer.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder.

MAC matte bronzer.

Peach/pink blusher from this palette. (link)

Urban Decay Basics palette – WOS all over the lid.

Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in Black ink tightlined and pushed into the upper eyelid only.

Laura Mercier eyebrow pencil in blonde.

But 12 hours later, everything’s looking a bit tired and blemished...

Enter my repair kit, which contains:

Birchbox eyelash curlers.

MAC lipliner in Cherry.

Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette*.

Benefit kabuki brush.

Clarins mascara*.

L’Oreal Infallible concealer.

Benefit Porefessional.

Laura Mercier eyebrow pencil in Blonde.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-One Eyeshadow pencils in Sin and Rehab.

YSL Touche Eclat.

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Binge.

Kate Moss Lilabelle perfume.

I got the Porefessional sample with Glamour ages ago, and I’ve found it’s really great to get rid of shine without clogging my makeup, so I use that to matte any shiny bits, before using the concealer to hide anything that needs it.

The bronzer and blusher from the UD Naked Flushed palette give a bit of much needed colour and soft contour, and there’s a really lovely highlighter in the palette as well, so I use that on the tops of my cheekbones.

I’ve blogged before here about my love for UD eyeshadow pencils, and I use Sin in the inner corners, with Rehab on the outer 2/3 of my eyelids.  I recently picked up Binge eyeliner, which is a dark navy – a great alternative to black – and line the inside and outside of the lower lid. 

Last month’s Birchbox came with eyelash curlers and although I use my Shu Uemera ones every day these ones genuinely aren’t bad, and I’ve stuck them in my travel kit.  An obligatory swipe of mascara – this time a mini Clarins edition – gave my eyes a quick update.

Finally I’m loving bright lip colours at the moment and I used MAC lipliner in Cherry to give a matte pop of colour, and then if needs be I can stick some lipbalm over the top.  Lipliners are my new favourite thing at the mo, because they do not move!

I finished with a quick spritz of Kate Moss Lilabelle perfume, which is floral but not too girly, and the 30ml bottle fits perfectly inside my travelling kit.

And that was that!

In love with my new handbag - posting this week about my shopping trip to pick it up!

Do you have any hero products that give you a quick day to night look?