Fancy a delve into my springtime makeup bag? Why does that sound so dirty? Is it just me? This is what happens when I spend days editing content all by myself without any sensible adult conversation…

You should know that I very rarely change my makeup looks according to the season; if you’re expecting spring-appropriate colours here then prepare to be bitterly disappointed. There will be no pastel lip shades or eyeshadows in hues of mini egg blue and daffodil yellow. I do not suit those colours in the winter, so why would they suddenly look good now? Ditto the fiery auburns and reds that appear in the autumnal makeup collections, brought out to coincide with the turning of the leaves and the lighting of the bonfires: they make me look as though I’ve contracted myxomatosis. No matter what the season.

So there’s no real colour shake-up here. I know we’re supposed to “have fun with makeup” and “play around with shades” and that “you’ll never know what works for you if you don’t experiment” but, quite frankly, I do know what works and that’s why I don’t experiment. Twelve years as a fashion model and then fourteen years writing about beauty (with a bit of crossover) means that I’ve had just about every makeup look going plastered on my face. Do I need to clart around with a primary colours palette to find out that I will hate wearing winged liner in Kermit green? No I do not. I mean, each to their own – and some people love a winged liner in Kermit green – but I’d say the vast majority of adult women just want their face to look like a slightly fresher, more awake, marginally more glamorous version of the face nature so lovingly bestowed upon them.

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And this is why, friends, the general gist of my makeup bag rarely changes. There are tweaks to it – new and wondrous product discoveries come along, improvements in formulas happen that jilt firm favourites from their top spots and I’m always learning better application tricks and techniques – but as for the final look? I’m never suddenly going to start rocking an “oil-slick eye” to do the school run.

So. What are this season’s tweaks? What are the new and wondrous product discoveries? Read on. Or, if you want to skip the blurb and get straight to the twenty minute-long melée of casual chat and real-time makeup application then scroll to the bottom of the page and click “play” on the video screen.

Makeup Bag Tweaks for Spring 2024

Perhaps I should start by mentioning the things that haven’t been tweaked; I always think that if a product stays in my makeup bag for months (or years!) on end then it’s even more deserving of a nod than the new stuff. In this case we have good old Lancome Teint Idole Care & Glow* (full review here) which is now my number one foundation. Medium coverage, a fresh finish and a glow that is just about there. It’s not a visible dewiness that looks as though it would be slippery to the touch (as with NARS Tinted Moisturiser, for example, or the ILIA Serum Foundation) but a grown-up, sophisticated je ne sais quoi.

Used even more than the Lancome, though, is the Kevyn Aucoin Stripped Nude Tint*. (I use shade ST04 but can also get away with ST03.) This is my staple skin base for any day I won’t be on camera in some shape or form. (If I’m going to be on film it’s just safer to have more coverage because I never know how skin will look in low light, or in bright outdoors light, and a higher coverage means that it just looks good whatever the lighting conditions.)

The Stripped Nude Tint is, in my opinion, makeup perfection for anyone who wants an all-in-one, sophisticated skin finishing solution. It has the sheer coverage and glow of a tinted moisturiser but the flawless, blurring finish of a foundation. It’s hard to describe, but it’s as though it throws an extra veil of wizardry over the sheer layer of coverage it gives; if you had a blemish it would still show through, and if you have dark circles you’d still need a concealer, but the overall effect is that the skin looks unified in tone and imperfections are softened.

I really, really need to do a standalone foundation review on this one don’t I? Will get to it. Sharpish. You can find it at Space NK here*.

Old favourites covered: let’s get to the new tweaks.

Recently I’ve been playing about with the Sweed Miracle Powder (here* online): a powder foundation (I use Medium-Light) that feels almost creamy to the touch and simply melts into the skin. It gives a massively glowy finish. It’s almost too much to use over the T-Zone, really, and I’d avoid areas with fine lines and enlarged pores (because it will highlight them) but whisked on as a finishing/setting powder over tinted moisturisers or CC creams or what have you it is sublime. Extra coverage and a mega dose of glow – and any overly-dewy base products beneath it are set in place without dulling down the shine.

Then a couple of budget discoveries: the Camo Blush in Peachy Pink from e.l.f. cosmetics (£7 here*) and Revlon’s Colorstay cream eyeshadows. Specifically in shades Praline and Caramel (find them online here*) but they all have a very refined texture that slides beautifully onto the lids, blends easily and then stays in place for as long as needed. Take a look at the video to see how this looks in real life – even if you’re at work and you can’t have the sound on, just scan through and have a peek. It’s a great bargain buy!

The blush too – I’ve featured the Cargo Blush before but in the brighter shades. This one, in Peachy Pink, feels almost like a different product. I think because you can apply more of it (you can only use a speck of the brighter ones, they are so pigmented!) then you see more of the true texture. It leaves skin almost glossed, it’s very pretty. Again, watch the video to see it in action.

The lip routine is the same as always: liner in a discreet colour just to re-sketch the fading lipline back in (makes a world of difference, it really plumps them out) and then something soft and luscious and low-key to fill in the middle. I’ve been using Sweed’s Le Lipstick in Gabriella Beige Tan (online here*) over the usual Rare Beauty liner.

I have a few of these liners in different shades, this one is called Creative and has a hint of pink – it’s £15 at Space NK here*. It has a wind-up mechanism rather than requiring a sharpener and the liner is smooth to apply but long-lasting once set.

I also hugely rate the bronzing stick from the same brand (online here*) – I’ve been using it since it launched, which must be coming on for two years ago. Maybe three? Surely not. Anyway, I use the shade “Happy Sol” and just scribble it onto my face like a toddler before gently buffing in with a big brush. It’s great if you like that more sculpted look because if you scribble it on like a (very precise) toddler just underneath the cheekbones and to the sides of the temples it’s very quick to give it a cursory buff and achieve an easy contour.

Right, you need to watch the video now. Otherwise all that happens is I spend seven hours writing up what is basically a slightly embellished transcription of it. You can trawl back through historic What’s In My Makeup Bag posts and videos by clicking here – if only to confirm my earlier assertion that my makeup looks never really change. My face just gets thinner and less cherubic year on year…

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Products Featured:

Snail Headband, £3.79*: https://amzn.to/43sLiXA

Lancome Teint Idole Care & Glow, I use shade 220C, currently £31.60 at Boots*: https://bit.ly/4aPDhiP

Sweed Miracle Powder in Medium Light, £38 at Cult Beauty*: https://bit.ly/3IPgcjm

Rare Beauty Bronzer in Happy Sol, £25*: https://bit.ly/3NA4WKI

Elf Camo Blush in Peachy Pink, £7*: https://bit.ly/3xaQiE6

Revlon Creme Eyeshadow in Caramel, £6.99 at Amazon*: https://amzn.to/3xcyqZy

Vieve Eye Wand in Coffee, £23 at Cult Beauty*: https://bit.ly/4ctwRXE

Anastasia Brow Gel, £13 at Cult Beauty*: https://bit.ly/3TNi6Y0

Becca Eye Palette in Ombré Nudes, discontinued

L’Oréal Telescopic Mascara, £6.99*: https://amzn.to/3Tt1gfZ

Sweed Gabriella Beige Tan lipstick, £22*: https://bit.ly/3VtfEHz

Kevyn Aucoin Stripped Nude Tint in ST04, £36 at Space NK*: https://bit.ly/49acDQd