VIDEO: Get Ready With Me

new video alert!!! so excited to be able to share this one with you as it’s been a long time coming. as you know i have been wanting to do more videos on my channels to share with you my everyday life, beauty tips, shopping hauls, travel and more. turns out a day spent with a bunch of inspiring people doing just that was enough of a push to get myself a ring light and finally do something about it… now we are just waiting to actually BE home to use it, but that’s another story.

one of the first videos i wanted to do was a get ready with me video where i show you how i apply my everyday makeup. i always get asked about how i get the look and what products i use so when london drugs approached me to do exactly that i jumped at the opportunity. the truth is that for the most part the products are easily interchangeable. if you follow my snaps (@ania_boniecka) you know we had an unfortunate luggage incident in vegas recently, that literally left us high and dry without our bags and any of our essentials (travel tip: along with those expensive designer bags in your carry-on, throw in some things you will actually need when stranded and in a bind). we had to make a middle of the night drugstore stop to pick up all of our needed essentials and the thought occurred to me that this was going to be my angle. what products would you pick up on a midnight drug store run to put on your best face the next morning without having to sacrifice quality? in the process i actually ended up finding some of my newest favourite products and trying out ones that i’ve had my eye on for a while. a win, win, win.

over the years i’ve had my makeup done by professionals a LOT, i’ve had my makeup done by some of the best people in the industry. people that have gone on to be personal celebrity artists, start their own beauty lines and are generally doing amazing things. i’ve also had my share of some really bad makeup, i’ve even had an artists pluck my eyebrows until they bled once! i’ve had makeup done for fashion shows, magazine spreads and even vogue. so when i say that i’ve seen it all, i mean it. there are things i have learned over the years that i want to share with you now and some of these notes and thoughts that didn’t make the cut are below:

about spf: it’s super important to protect your face, if you are going to wear makeup make sure you start off with the right base. always prep your skin with an spf cream or choose a foundation that has spf built in. sun will accelerate your skin’s aging. as someone who tans really easily i know how important it is. i know an artist who always shields her face from the elements and you guessed it, she’s flawless, like not a single sunspot, wrinkle or crease on that perfect face of hers. if you are looking for the fountain of youth this is the first step.

lip balm: i love the look of lipstick, but on an everyday basis lipstick dries my lips or i eat it off. i don’t want the hassle of having to re-apply all day. when i put my face on in the morning i want to know it’ll be there when i’m ready to take it off. lip balm is one of those things that i always have kicking around. every time i eat something salty and need to hydrate i will have a lip balm on standby. the best trick i’ve learned is to throw in a lip balm into every purse i own. i actually have a list of a couple essentials that i always carry on me (more on that later). without having to check off that list every time i leave the house i will just get a handful of each item and throw it in every bag for peace of mind. the spf rule applies. get it with spf if you can, the skin on your lips is very sensitive.

mascara: i don’t actually have a favourite mascara. the secret every makeup artist will tell you is that the maybelline great lash mascara is the way to go. for me it’s all about the applicator, but i haven’t found the one defining brand i love the most so i will usually just play around with different kinds. i swear there is a new mascara out every week so there is definitely a lot of choices. mascara is also one of those products that actually goes bad quicker than any other makeup product. 6 months is supposedly the cut off but who are we kidding, all of us are guilty of stretching it out. as much as i think the expiry on mascara is some kind of crazy industry plot to have us buy a new mascara every day i HAVE had mascaras dry on me, become clumpy over time, or even irritate my eyes. thankfully drugstore mascara’s are as good (if not better) than some of the more high end options out there, they are more affordable, won’t break the bank and easily accessible. find one that works but you don’t have to get married to it, with all the new product the world is your oyster. in the video i used the l’oreal voluminous superstar with built in primer. i am still using it and happy with the results.

eye shadow: next on my video making agenda is the question of blending, this is another one of those questions i get asked a lot. i love using brushes, they make me feel like a pro superstar but i always go back to the best blending tool i have, my hands. it’s important to find shadow with the right consistency. if you find that then the rest is a piece of cake. the l’oreal la coleur infallible eyeshadow comes really close to achieving that perfect consistency. it makes it easy to apply and blend and comes in a variety of really great colors.

eye pencil: i LOVED this cargo swimmables eye pencil all the way down to it’s easy to remember name. i usually opt out for using eye shadow for my under eye but find that it doesn’t last through the day. this great soft waterproof liner is my new best friend.

brows: are always optional. i will complete the look with a good defined brow if i am feeling it that day but for the most part i am happy with going without. when i do go for it, however, i like to use the right tools. there are so many brow products on the market right now it’s hard to chose. i find a fine pencil like this maybelline eyestudio master precise skinny gel liner does a great job, the consistency is right for blending and it can even double as an under eye pencil when you are in a bind.

finishing powder/setting face spray: as awesome as having all day lasting makeup is there is little you can do about shine, it happens to the best of us. this is where a good finishing powder comes in. you don’t have to apply it at the same time as the rest of your makeup but have it on stand by later in the day. it’s a great product to have multiples of to leave in your desk at work, in your car or carry with you in your bag. i used the nyx hd studio photogenic finishing powder because i wanted to try it out and i was happy with the results. another great alternative to powder is a good finishing spray, you don’t need a brush which makes it easier for storing. maybelline and nyx both have great products and you can chose between matte and dewey finishes.

see all the products that i used and shop them online or in store at londondrugs.com or click here.