For all of you girls out there with problematic skin that still want to embrace the "minimal and lightweight" barely there makeup trend at the moment, I feel ya. Suffering from breakouts on a regular basis can be difficult and while I could go on and on about the skin care products that worked for a little while but then suddenly stopped working in the hopes of you guys finding a few recommendations, I thought I would keep things effortless and chic and share a few products that are basically my light weight and go-to for acne coverage lightweight makeup!

Because the majority of you probably don't know who I am or anything about me, I thought I would start with a little background information. Anyone who follows me over on my personal blog, Porcelain Beauty, and read the post I did on the True Face Behind The Blog will know and have seen that my skin is extremely pale, acne prone, and that I also suffer from redness and overall just a pretty uneven complexion. I've tested a bunch of products over the past few years in the hopes of being able to make my skin look as flawless as possible, and I've just about got it down to a fine art now! The most important thing to remember is that thinner layers of makeup will always be more affective and you'll also find that your skin looks 10x more natural. When I first started out with makeup I used to slap on a thick layer of foundation and blend it pretty roughtly if i'm being honest; it looked extremely unnatural and plastic and actually made my skin worse because I was clogging my pores and wasn't allowing my skin to breath. My personal favourite base for days where I want a more minimal and fresh makeup look is the Bourjois CC Cream. Priced at just £9.99 this is a super affordable and lightweight base that despite being quite a low coverage really helps to smooth and even out the complexion due the the colour correcting qualities. I picked up the shade Ivory which is the lighest of the 4 offerings and it's actually a pretty good match for my skin. Because the coverage is quite light it's super easy to work with and blend out even if it doesn't match your skintone exactly. You can apply this with your fingers, a beauty blender or your favourite foundation brush too!

Make sure to only apply a small amount - you can always add more if needed!

For areas that require a little extra coverage, for me that tends to be under my eyes, around my nose and around my jawline, I like to use the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. I apply a small amount and blend that out with a small domed brush and then buff the edges with my beauty blender. I also love the Nars Creamy Concealer for covering blemishes. I recently reviewed and compared both concealers on my own blog a few weeks back now so definitely check out that post: Worth The Hype: Creamy Concealer V Naked Skin. I think that dewy skin always looks the most natural and so I love to apply a little bit of highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones and the high points of my face. If you suffer from naturally oily skin I'd advise sticking to just your cheakbones, and if you have dryer skin you can always apply a highlighting primer before your foundation/base to give your skin that extra boost! One of my current favourite liquid highlighters is the Inika Light Reflect Highlighing Cream*. To set everything in place I like to go for a mineral foundation just to give that little extra coverage, something like the Inika Mineral Foundation* works perfectly! Inika is a brand that a lot of people seem to overlook and so if you'd like to find out more about them make sure to check out the Brand Focus post I did on them! 

By filling in my brows lightly I'm able to achieve a more natural feel to my makeup look too. I'm a huge fan of a bold brow, but it would definitely look out of place with a light and effortless base! I love pencil brow products and brow gels for days that I want something a little lighter. Something like the Pixi Natural Brow Duo* is perfect as it has a brow pencil on one side and a gel on the other. It's perfect for travelling too. Make sure to go for a shade slightly lighter than your natural brow, and when applying the gel make sure to brush upwards which helps to lift your face, make you look more youthful, and to ensure it looks as natural as possible. To add a little flush of colour into your cheaks I recommend the Clinqiue Cheek Pops, but if you're looking for something with more of a light reflecting quality either the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes or the Milani Illuminating Face Powders work perfectly! Did you know that you can now purchase Milani in the UK?! 

To finish everything off I like to lightly apply and blend out a cream eyeshadow, something like the Maybelline Colour Tattoos. A lovely light wash of colour over the lids can automatically make you look more awake and put together, you can add a coating of your favourite mascara and a lip balm, maybe the Clarins Instant Lip Perfectors, and you're good to go! This would be perfect for most day to day casual occassions really, and the base products will even see you through to an evening event paired with a winged eyeliner and a bold red lip!

Make sure to comment bellow what your favourite products for achieveing a super fresh and lightweight look are - i'm always looking out for new products to test out! A massive thank you to the lovely Jasmine for inviting me to guest post on her beautiful blog and thank you for taking the time to read the post!

- Heather x