Let's Go Out Out

Apart from screaming the words to Crazy in Love or dancing to High School Musical songs in the cheese room at Oceana, the best part of going out for me is getting ready. Any excuse for me to slap on a bit more makeup than usual and dress up in outfits I don't wear too often but spend a lot of money on, I'm there. I'm also in my last week as a first year at uni, which is just terrifying to even think about. So last night was one of my last nights out in Southampton for a little while, so I decided to put a bit more effort into my makeup and outfit and got so excited about it that I demanded Emma wacked her snazzy camera out and snapped some photos of me. So, here we are, ladies and gents, with a little post about my makeup essentials for a night out, a bit of hair stuff and also probably my favourite look of the moment. 

Let's start with makeup, shall we? More out of necessity for this particular night out than anything else was green corrector. The recent sunshine has had me out at the beach and sunbathing in the parks, and it's fair to say I got a tad burnt. So using the green corrector from my NYX correcting palette, especially around my hairline, was very necessary last night for counteracting the redness. I also used the lighter concealer shade to cover up blemishes and peach toned corrector under my eyes. I go for these products more on a night out over, say, the MAC Mineralize Concealer, because they're much thicker, creamier products and less likely to budge. Alongside this, I used the Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done Tinted Moisturiser - no particular reason, it's just pretty darn good. 

Even though I am mostly tomato-coloured, I am also a little bit bronzed *gasps*. I know, this never happens to me. So bronzer was an absolute must last night to match my more-brown shoulders and chest, and Hoola by Benefit is the one. I think the blush in the Elf St Lucia Blush and Bronze Duo compliments bronzed skin beautifully, so this will be a staple in my summer makeup routine. A highlight that I've been adoring recently is courtesy of Revlon and is the Photoready Insta-Fix Highlighting Stick in Gold Light. Again, since this is creamier than a powder highlight, I find it stays on for a bit longer - perfect for a night out. It's also super quick and easy to use, which is ideal if you don't have too much time before you're meant to be off for pres. 

Next for brows, I just did my usual earlier in the day. Well, I say usual; I found a love of brow pencils earlier on the year, so a lot of my more recent makeup posts have featured them, but they just always break. Not what I'm here for. So I reverted back to my trusty Sexpresso eyeshadow from the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette - you can tell this palette is certainly well loved. I can't go a day without filling my brows in, so I had done this step earlier in the day. To top up before the night out though, I do like to go over them very quickly with the powder from the MUA Power Brow 3-in-1 pencil, just to beef them up a bit more to fit in with the bolder eyeshadow. Just quickly brushing this powder through on top of my day makeup saves a whole load of time. 

The best part of this look for me was the eyes. An absolute essential for me when I'm going out is to use an eyeshadow base - this way the powders that I use don't slip and slide everywhere in a tsunami of sweat (what a lovely image). My go-to is the MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study - not only does this prime my eyelids superbly, but it's subtle sparkle helps to bring out the shimmer in the eyeshadow. And of course, for the the main event, I had to use my NYX Ultimate Palette in Warm Neutrals - there's no better drugstore eye palette, trust me. I used the bottom left shade all over my lids, with a bit of the dark gold (bottom second in from the right) in the inner corners and the bottom right grey in the sockets and under the eyes. Also in the inner corners, I took the Royal Gold highlight from the Sleek Precious Metals palette to make the eyes really pop. Once again, a cream product - perfect for nights out. After smudging some of the Rimmel Soft Kohl Black Pencil at my lash line and putting some in the waterline too, I drew the tiniest flick with my Topshop Magic Liner in Engraved (no longer available and I'm mad about it). I also used my Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara to coat my lashes; I've been using this mascara for quite a while now and it is soooo good on the not-smudging front - perfect again for the whole tsunami of sweat situation. 

Lastly for lips, I used one of my favourite lipsticks: the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Criminal. This is one of my favourite shades for summer; noticeably a pretty pink, but not too bright and still quite neutral, aka the perfect match for an eye look a little more out there. The Urban Decay matte lipstick formulas do. not. budge, so even after a night of drinks and lyric-screaming, this lipstick stays right where it needs to be. How it's not the most drying product in the world, I have no idea. 

Next, we move onto hair. My hair has so many layers I can't do anything too extravagant with it. But when you're dancing around like a loon in a club, you're likely to get a tad warm, so I usually go out with my hair up. I did put a bit more effort in here; I straightened my hair with some Remington straighteners (they're actually Emma's but I've claimed them lol) and simply tied it in a ponytail. I made it look a little less sleek by pulling bits out in front of my ears. 

Lastly, the outfit. The outfit. I am in love with it, and it's the most simplistic going-out outfit ever. Firstly, huge s/o to New Look - that shop is doing bits at the moment. It's where I picked up this super pretty bralette, which is brilliant for dressing up or down - and the ideal choice for a night out where you want to look pretty glam but also not too OTT. I'm going to be wearing this all summer, with shorts, skirts, culottes, for day or night - I think it's such a versatile addition to my wardrobe. With this, I found these trousers from Cameo Rose at New Look and I freaking love them. Once again, they can easily be dressed up or down - I wear these to uni with a tee or light jumper tucked in all the time. I also love the little hint of green in them, I think it makes them a little different from your average pair of checked trousers. I do have to roll them up a bit, but that might have something to do with the fact I am very, very short. For shoes, heels on a night out for me is a massive no-no. Ever since I fell down the stairs in a pair of heels at a club I've never worn them out again. I think this pair of pink trainers from Pull & Bear (similar) add a little bit of colour while being a super comfortable choice for a dancer giving it their all (me). The big hoops are from Claire's: they might not be the most practical or safe choice for a club, but they sure are cool.

And there you have it - my favourite bits and pieces for a night out in Southampton. I'm definitely going to miss the cheese room at Oceana while I'm back home, and I'm sure it's going to miss my questionable dance moves too. 

From, 

Eleanor