Loyal Companions

I have been asked quite a lot through my ask.fm page on what I put on my face on daily basis.
The thing is, I am not sure if I actually have a routine since it all depends on what time do I wake up and my schedule of the day.
It's been over a year since I previously made it - so here's an updated one.

Disclaimer: I am using variety of items,  from drugstore to high-end brand, from Asian to European. I tried to link each product to sites/e-commerce for your further information in case they peak your interest.

Prepping:
Started with setting off my alarms, crouching underneath my blanket, and yawning countless time before I walk to my sink.
When I am not using Avene Cleanance, I wash my face with Hada Labo AHA + BHA - Tamagohada.
I use it once or twice a week and it contains combination of AHA & BHA - basically acids that will chemically exfoliate your dead skin. Since I couldn't find this in Paris so I stock up whenever I go back to Jakarta.

On colder months when my face feels tight after shower, I spray my face with thermal water from La Roche Posay after.

To moisturise, I use Innisfree Green Tea Seed serum.
It's my second bottle and this serum lasts you forever, at least over 7 months with daily consistent use per bottle in my measurement of what forever feels like.
I walk around my room and dance a bit to my Spotify playlist before putting Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm as a primer. Yes - a men's aftershave, surprise, surprise.

It's been all over the internet hype and now I get why. This stuff works great on sensitive skin which I have and doesn't dry me out either. My only concern that it comes with a bottle with no transmitter, so I tend to pour more than what I needed. Considering the price, it's still extremely affordable, but coming up with a pump would make my morning easier.

Face:
When I go for a night out and I know I'll be taking lots of photos I'll wear my Make Up Forever HD Foundation - but other than that, I have been devoted to Bourjouis Healthy Mix Foundation.
The consistency is very light and it's semi matte, but the coverage is amazing.
I have been using since it 2015 and this is my 3rd - or 4th bottle. That says a lot about how much I love them.
My shade is 52 Vanilla, but during summer when my skin gets a little darker, I mix it with a bit of 53 Light Beige/54 Beige.
After, I put on some Couleur Vegetale Blush from Yves Rocher in shade Rose Capucine.

Those two are pretty much it.

Eyes:
Recently I'm trying to hit pan with Sleek's Au Naturel palette that I have owned for quite a while (hence how battered it looks). I just mix the colors depending on what look I am going for the day, usually it's subtle smokey eyes will do.
Sometimes I put 2 of the lightest colours - Nougat & Taupe, on the highest points of my face as highlighter.

Then I use Marc Jacobs Beatuy's Highliner in shade 42 Blacquer.
The colour pay off is incredible & it glides so, so smoothly. It's also retractable so there's no need to carry extra sharpener.
Keep my words on this one, this product will be huge one day.
Quality? Check. Efficiency? Double check.

I like my eyebrows looking like normal human eyebrows - drawn looking eyebrows irks me and personally it look scary. Young Brooke Shields is my eyebrow heroine.
I would just comb my eyebrow with Etude's Brow Mascara in Rich Brown - et voila, that's it.

And yes, no mascara on daily basis cause taking them off is not my favourite thing to do.

Lips:
My inner self told me that being faithful is important in life - but not when it comes to lip products.
I've heard so many people (read: mostly romantic interests) asking 
'Why do girls have to have so many lipsticks when they only have one lips?' - and the rest of the conversation would be me explaining that you cannot put different lip products (lip balm, lip gloss, or anything with lip plastered onto it) into one department and call them 'LIPSTICK'.

Or, when I feel sassy I would ask:
'Why do you have to have so many games when you only have one PS4?'

I know, I know, my logic is flawed here, but most of the time it works and victory is mine.

Moving on, I have tried (and own) way too many lip balms but always gravitate back towards NUXE Reve de Miel. I like almost everything from NUXE and this is actually my second pot.
Now you can see a pattern here, just like my foundation, if I genuinely like something, I'll stick with it because I am just a creature of habit.
But, if you find it excessive to spend that much on a pot of lip balm, you might wanna try Nivea Lip Butter.
I own every flavour except the non-scented one, they smell like dessert & work wonders too - with fraction of the price.

I have naturally pink/peach-ish lips, so when people thought I was using peachy-nude lipstick, it's basically just lip balm. If I want a flush of colour, I use lip tints. Any is fine but mostly I stick with Korean brands on this department.

For a night out, or when I am feeling like dolling myself up, I skip lip tint and go balls to the walls with wine hued colours.
I am never a big fan of overly matte lipstick trend and I am guessing that my fear of seeing cracked dry lips goes hand in hand with my addiction towards lip balm, so this Giorgio Armani's Lipstick in shade Attitude (601) is perfect. Other favourite is Mineral Botanica Lip Cream in Merlot which was a gift from my friend.

My two current lip products prove that price doesn't determine everything.
It's all about preference and how they perform, doesn't matter if it's 35€ or 3.5€ lip colour.
If they're good, they just are.

Final touch up:
Voila, done!
End of the long reviews/daily routine/rambling!

To finish it off, I seal the deal with Vichy Dermablend Loose Setting Powder.
I get why a lot of people (and makeup artists) swear by it, it contains SPF 30 and locks your makeup in place.

And after that, before rushing out to the door, I'd spray Jazz Club by Maison Martin Margiela's Replica series. It's my current favourite, a perfect winter perfume. It does actually replicate the smell of a jazz club - minus the cigarette stench. Although marketed as a male fragrance, both me & the sales associate at Colette agree that it could easily pass by as unisex perfume with its rum & vanilla undertone.