Guest Post: What's In My Summer Makeup Bag

Hello lovely fans of Beauty Becky! I'm Rachael from the blog A Is For Ayla and I'll be guest posting here today, sharing what's in my Summer makeup bag.

Before we start, I should add that my makeup bag is a small Cath Kidston one. It's a thick oil cloth material both inside and out meaning those pesky foundation smears you sometimes get after a while can be wiped away easily to bring the ditsy floral print back to its glory. Inside, the bag comes with a small, round mirror also coated with oil cloth. It's handy for times when you need to do touch-ups but the products you're using don't have mirrors included. Generally, each print comes in 2 sizes of makeup bag. I have the smaller one which costs £10 and is better for a college or handbag. The other is slightly larger and for £12 is the perfect size for travelling.

For face, During the Summer I prefer to keep my makeup as minimal as possible. To make the most of everything that I do wear, I use the Smashbox Oil-free Photo Finish Primer. The oil-free version is relatively new and in my opinion doesn't get enough hype in the blogger community. It's a thin, smoothing primer which sinks in to the skin incredibly quickly and creates a perfect canvas for your makeup. Primer is important for Summer as in hot climate makeup has a tendency to 'slide' off the face or fade more quickly. To achieve good coverage but avoid feeling 'sticky' or 'cakey' in hot or humid weather I use the Bare Minerals Original Foundation. The beauty of mineral makeup is that its very low maintenance and does not require extensive blending or touch ups throughout the day and contains SPF - perfect for protecting your skin out in the sun!

For a little bit of dimension to my face, I use Nars Laguna Bronzer lightly through my cheekbones and around my forehead to enhance my Summer tan. I love dotting a small amount of blush from the Sleek Blush By 3 Palette in 'Lace' on to the upper apples of my cheeks. These blushes are very bright, perfect for Summer. The strong pigmentation means they need a bit of blending work but a bright blush is an easy way of adding colour to your face and can work for almost any skintone. I also love the Revlon Just Kissable Balm Stain in 'Darling' for adding a pop of colour. As a stain, its a fool-proof, low maintenance lip colour that doesn't take a lot of effort. Korres Lip Butter in Quince is the perfect balm to apply underneath as its really light and soft. I'll be honest, as a massive hay fever sufferer, a lot of the time I avoid eye makeup all together. Instead, I just curl my lashes to open up my eyes a bit more and add a bit of feminine flair where otherwise I'd be feeling (and looking) pretty under the weather.

And that's what's inside my Summer makeup bag! I'd love to know what products you're using for the season. If you enjoyed this post there are plenty more like it on my blog, A Is For Ayla! And lastly before I leave, a huge thank you to Becky for letting me post!