I’ve put together a colourful mood board of my favourite eye, lip, and cheek makeup favourites.

Why not test out a few for 2015 and see which ones become your staple this year?

Eyeshadow Palettes

1. NYX Cosmetics Palette // 2. Bobbi Brown Palette // 3. Urban Decay Palette // 4. MAC Palette // 5. Smashbox Palette // 6. Coastal Scents Palette

1. NYX Cosmetics Palette: The NYX Palette costs around £9 – £10 which is fantastic value for what you get. Highly pigmented, goes well with primer and an excellent travel product. A balanced amount of neutral and dark colours. The 07 palette is great for everyday wear.

2. Bobbi Brown Palette: This is one of the pricier palettes, but you’re paying for the Bobbi Brown quality. It’s a safe choice as it’s long-lasting and you can be as creative as you like. It can be mixed and matched with a range of sweet-to-sultry eye looks. It comes with a mirror — which is always handy.

3. Urban Decay Palette: I’m a massive fan of Urban Decay because it’s great for everyday wear and it contains all of your natural colours. You can even use the colours as a bronzer too. They’re not as pigmented as NARS, MAC or Bobbi Brown but buy this one for the range and ease.

4. MAC Palette: Every Makeup Artist’s treasure chest reveals MAC signature eyeshadows. To house the beauties, get frisky with personalising your shade palette or there’s Warm Neutral and Cool Neutral, which contains the best picks.

5. Smashbox Palette: Smashbox is fresh in the market, but the makeup range is yummy. Popular eye openers, the chocolate palette, is great if you want a mix of natural and night colours. The eyeshadows are on the small side but is the only palette that comes with a luxurious mascara.

6. Coastal Scents Palette: Suits those who are daring and love their bright eyeshadows. Even though you have to build up the colour, the pigment is decent. There’s an enormous range of colours. The lid did break on mine, but the eyeshadows are still alive and kicking. (Just keep the lid closed).

Single Eyeshadow

1. DIOR Eyeshadow // 2. NARS Eyeshadow // 3. Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow // 4. MUA Eyeshadow // 5. Illamasqua Eyeshadow // 6. Rimmel Eyeshadow // 7. MAC Eyeshadow

1. DIOR Eyeshadow: Apparently this palette can be used wet or dry. When I learnt this, the first thing I thought was, what does that mean? Can you wear them while swimming? The idea is that you can wear them dry for a natural pop of colour but you can dampen an applicator and use them wet to build up the colour and increase the pigment.

2. NARS Eyeshadow: Long lasting, heavily pigmented and always the best in the market. I don’t need to talk much about NARS; it’s my favourite eyeshadow without a doubt and the beauty junkie favourite.

3. Bobbi Brown: These are great because they don’t crease on oily lids and fading is minimal. Milled formula. Amazing for day to night make up.

4. MUA Eyeshadow: A bargain brand that made it’s way to the UK (yay). Guess where you can buy it? Superdrug! The packaging isn’t long-lasting, but, if you are more bothered about eyeshadow texture and variety, that let’s face it, are the most important attributes of a good eyeshadow, and then this one is for you.

5. Illamasqua Eyeshadow: Ever since Illamasqua invited me to their workshop event, I was delighted to be their mannequin for the day and I fell in love with the brand. The range contains the most pigmented and dramatic of all eyeshadows.

6. Rimmel Eyeshadow: For a drugstore product, I’ll try not to be too critical. It’s very sheer; the applicator isn’t great and the shadows break off which end up flying everywhere. However, it’s great for everyday makeup. They have decent lasting power.

7. MAC Eyeshadow: Ridiculously amazing colours, MAC has the best range of colour. You, folks, know how MAC eyeshadows are: long-lasting, high in pigmentation and they stay put. Easy to blend and you can play with different textures.

Eyebrow Pencils

1. CK Brow Pencil // 2. Benefit Brow Kit // 3. Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil // 4. MAC Brow Set // 5. Clinique Brows // 6. Shavata Eyebrow Pencil // 7. Laura Mercier Brow Powder // 8. Smashbox Brow Trio

1. CK Brow Pencil – Best for: Beautiful Blendability

2. Benefit Brow Kit – Best for: To dress the exposed parts of a stripped-down arch.

3. Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil – Best for: For Creating Teeny-Tiny Hairs

4. MAC Brow Set – Best for: Setting your brow shape, adding just the tiniest hint of hue, or managing longer, unruly arches

5. Clinique Brows – Best for: Just the Right Amount of Sheen

6. Shavata Eyebrow Pencil – Best for: Creating the perfect shape

7. Laura Mercier Brow Powder – Best for: Adding heft to brows that already have a nice shape

8.  Smashbox Brow Trio – Best for: Extremely Long Wear

Blushes

1. YSL Blush // 2. Estee Lauder Blush // 3. NARS Blush // 4. NARS Multiple  // 5. Dolce & Gabbana Blush // 6. Chanel Blush // 7. Bobbi Brown Blush // 8. Benefit Blush // 9. Rimmel Blush // 10. MAC Blush

1. YSL Blush: This is a fun blusher palette which you can experiment with, for blusher virgins, swirl this clever quad together and apply with a good blusher brush for a subtle glow.

2. Estee Lauder Blush: The perfect winter blushe, it’s a warm pink that extends that faading tan just a little bit extra.

3. NARS Blush: Known for their blush expertise, Mata Hari is no exception. Bold and beautiful, this blusher is strong, so tap your brush before applying in an upwards sweep. It will definitely show up in images.

4. NARS Multiple: I. Love. This. Stick. I use this religiously on most of my shoots. It shows up in images as a healthy glow.

5. Dolce & Gabbana Blush: The splurge favourite, smooth application, looks flawless, totally matte. Great for huge pores and oily skin and lasts all day. The best thing is that the brush is superb in this one!

6. Chanel Blush:  The best thing about Chanel’s makeup is the packaging, look how polished it is! My favourite blush shape, a 3D half moon that looks like a mineral marble. Texture, wear and blush are all A+.

7. Bobbi Brown Blush: One of the favourites and another image ready blush. It works well for yellow based skintones and as it develops through the day and it looks more and more like it’s part of your skin. I love the colours too.

8. Benefit Blush: An excellent travel product as it’s an all in one blush, lip gloss and highlighter in shimmery pink, a coral, and an orange. Does need reapplication as it’s a liquidly stick.

9. Rimmel Blush: Cheerful, very pretty sheen and a peachy fresh light glow to your cheeks.

10. MAC Blush: We tend to shy away from the Essex look, but this rose blusher has just the right amount of orange undertone to perk up your skin with a healthy glow without looking like a piece of crayola.

Lipsticks

1. Lancome Lipstick // 2. MAC Lipstick // 3. Bobbi Brown Lipstick // 4. Dolce & Gabbana Lipstick 5. Topshop Lipstick // 6. Shiseido Lacquer // 7. Aveda Lipstick // 8. Max Factor Lipstick // 9. NARS Lipstick // 10. Burberry Lipstick

1. Lancome Lipstick: Look at that 150 dark red, it’s so bright that you may have to reapply a few times to avoid creases. But it’s super full and super moisturising.

2. MAC Lipstick: The favourite. With MAC’s endless range of beautiful sheer and matte shades: my favourite is probably Dubonette, a heavy red Great Gatsby looking colour. The lighter shade I like is called ‘Modesty’.

3. Bobbi Brown Lipstick: Great full coverage lipstick, rich colour, smooth, creamy and tasteless if you’re a lipstick muncher. Faves are Party Alice and Sandwash pink.

4. Dolce & Gabbana Lipstick: The great thing about this lipstick is that it doesn’t bleed. It does have a scent and weird taste but look at that packaging, wide range of beautiful shades, good coverage and decent staying power.

5. Topshop Lipstick: Not a huge variety, but then again, who wants to spend an hour trying 20 different shades of red? Excellent value for money and spot on in my book. They have great pigmentation (nothing worse than no colour pay off). Doesn’t leave your lips chapped beyond repair.

6. Shiseido Lacquer: Best suited to those with yellow undertones, they suit brown eyes, my favourites are RD203 – Portrait, RD305 – Nymph and RD607 – Nocturne. I find lacquer lipsticks easier to use for when you’re in a rush and there’s no need to ‘top up’.

7. Aveda Lipstick: Some of the colours from the range are great! Not badly priced and great coverage. The Nourish-Mint lipstick in Star Grape is my favourite.

8. Max Factor Lipstick: The best high street lipstick. These lipsticks are fantastic quality. Very pigmented, creamy texture, long lasting and luxurious packaging.

9. NARS Lipstick: Super moisturising and an incredible range of colours, NARS is well known for their campaign imagery featuring their latest lip apparel. NARS Lipstick = pigmentation of the gods.

10. Burberry Lipstick: How beautiful is the criss-cross detail on this lipstick?! I would whip this bad boy out just to show it off. On a practical note, this piece of luxury is a soft satin lipstick which has combining oils and light waxes and even contains anti-aging ceramides which are essential for the sensitive skin on that area.

Love & Lipstick, Monica x

 Location: Brick Lane, London

Credits: Photographer: Tanvi Madkiller | Make Up Artists: Donika

1. NYX Cosmetics Palette // 2. Bobbi Brown Palette // 3. Urban Decay Palette // 4. MAC Palette // 5. Smashbox Palette // 6. Coastal Scents Palette 1. DIOR Eyeshadow // 2. NARS Eyeshadow // 3. Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow // 4. MUA Eyeshadow // 5. Illamasqua Eyeshadow // 6. Rimmel Eyeshadow // 7. MAC Eyeshadow1. CK Brow Pencil // 2. Benefit Brow Kit // 3. Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil // 4. MAC Brow Set // 5. Clinique Brows // 6. Shavata Eyebrow Pencil // 7. Laura Mercier Brow Powder // 8. Smashbox Brow Trio 1. YSL Blush // 2. Estee Lauder Blush // 3. NARS Blush // 4. NARS Multiple  // 5. Dolce & Gabbana Blush // 6. Chanel Blush // 7. Bobbi Brown Blush // 8. Benefit Blush // 9. Rimmel Blush // 10. MAC Blush 1. Lancome Lipstick // 2. MAC Lipstick // 3. Bobbi Brown Lipstick // 4. Dolce & Gabbana Lipstick 5. Topshop Lipstick // 6. Shiseido Lacquer // 7. Aveda Lipstick // 8. Max Factor Lipstick // 9. NARS Lipstick // 10. Burberry Lipstick

Let’s face it, contrary to the bold claims and vague promises that appear in the skincare world, there is one universal truth that dermatologists and consumers agree upon: moisturiser does work. But, there’s an endless range. The skincare TV adverts always blast: “the latest, most innovative formula yet”. So, where do you even start?

You need to look for three properties, anti-ageing protection, SPF and antioxidants. There’s three moisturisers with all of these, Estee Lauder Daywear, Clinique Moisturiser and Olay Essentials Day Cream. Aside from the smell and the childhood Déjà vu (my mother used to wear it), It’s the only moisturiser that I found that has: hydration, antioxidants, UVA/UVB protection, doesn’t clog pores and one doesn’t leave a hole in your purse.

Wrinkle prone already? If you’re 35+, I would recommend Elemis Marine Cream for collagen production and it’s got raving reviews. Throughout the years, I’ve collated a list of my beauty discoveries, the ones that I feel, work on my skin. I’ve tested a lot of products, on the supple road to finding my staple collection. Time to time, you’ll discover them on my blog.

I use La Roche-Posay Redermi Anti-Aging every three months. If there’s one ingredient that could be considered the fountain of youth, it’s Retinol. It increase cell cycle turnover, helps promote collagen and in doing that, it decreases pore size.

Lastly, for blemish prevention, La Roche Posay Anti Blemish is perfect for your handbag and great for preventing breakouts and skin damage from spots. Most of us have a good record when it comes to the consistent application of the peripheral skincare (eye cream, serums, masks, toners and so on).

Life just gets in the way. But with the right products, we’re making a big difference. Above is my picks of the big multitasking hitters to invest in now. Come on, spill. What unbeatable beauty buys have you got for me to try?

Location: Studio, East London

 Estee Lauder Daywear | Clinique Moisturiser | Olay Essentials Day Cream | Elemis Marine Cream | La Roche-Posay Redermi Anti-Aging | La Roche Posay Anti Blemish| Brightening Products

 Credits:
Photographer: Dmitry Pahomov