It may be snowing but I still want to look pretty!

Snow is great......if you are a child, I am 26 and have a job. Enough said.

So if like me your journey to work is taking forever and you have minimal time to get yourself ready this kind of makeup look is perfect. It's quick but gives you that effortless, pretty look which I love. This is also my weekend makeup (basically its my lazy makeup!)

Step 1 - Moisturise! My skin is so dry at the moment its horrible, so this is essential. I'm currently using Yes To Carrots Nourishing Rich Moisture Day Cream. I love the Yes To brand and their philosophy of using natural ingredients in their products.

Step 2 - Foundation. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua provides a light to medium coverage. It evens out your skin tone but allows your skin to still show through. If you have any blemishes you will need to use a concealer with this foundation.

Step 3 - Conceal and brighten. My favourite under eye concealer and featured in my top 12 of 2012, Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer. This concealer has the perfect balance of coverage and brightening, I cannot recommend it enough.

Step 4 - Powder. I am loving Maybelline at the moment and their Fit Me Pressed Powder is one of my newer discoveries. I like this a lot, it adds an extra bit of colour and coverage to the skin if you are using a lighter coverage foundation and I love the packaging.

Step 5 - Bronze. I love cream products, not only for their convenience but I just think they make your skin look much more natural and glowing. My favourite cream bronzer is Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel. Apply this with the Real Techniques contour brush along the cheekbones and on the temples.

Step 6 - Blush! Continuing the cream theme, cream blush is a must! ;) I love this colour by MAC. Its actually a Cream Colour Base in the colour "Pink Shock" Its a Pro only item, but if you ever take a visit to the MAC Pro Shop in London I highly recommend checking out all their different coloured cream colour bases. They make excellent blushes and the pigment is so strong you need the tiniest amount.

Step 7 - Brows. Fill those bad boys in, I'm currently trying to take a break from my MAC Lingering obsession as I'm getting through those babies at a ridiculous rate so I'm currently using an angled brush with Illamasqua's powder eyeshadow in "Boomerang" which is a really good colour match for me. I then like to brush them through with Illamasqua's Brow and Lash Gel. This stuff is amazing, it will keep even the unruliest of brows in place all day. Oh and it is clear, mine just has a lovely brown tint now!

Step 8 - Mascara. My Maybelline obsession continues and this is The One by One Volume Express Mascara. Pros - you can build up a good amount of volume in just one coat. Cons - the brush is a bit too fat for my liking, resulting in me always getting mascara on my eyelids! I would also really recommend Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara. I'm also using this at the moment and I love it.

Step 9 - Highlight. Cream highlight beats powder highlight every time! Highlight the top of the cheek bone, down the bridge of the nose, brow bone and my personal favourite, inner corner of the eye! The cream highlighter I used is actually by Tess Daly for Marks and Spencer. I don't think you can get this anymore but a better alternative is MAC's Cream Colour Base in Pearl which I have just used up.

Step 10 - Lips. Tinted lip balm is my best friend, if I was only allowed two items of make up they would have to be mascara and tinted lip balm. The one I'm wearing is a Sleek Pout Polish in Monte Carlo. Another product I would highly recommend and affordable too. In fact I feel like I should congratulate myself as I have been using and loving a lot of drugstore make up lately.

Although this particular colour of Sleek Pout Polish is discontinued, they still have some beautiful colours in their permanent range. I like this one because it leaves a stain on my lips after its worn off, I know some people may hate that but personally I love it. The only thing I don't like about this is the smell, a bit plasticy if you ask me!

And look at the little snowflake! Ahhhh

For nails I have particularly enjoyed this winter wonderland combination of Models Own Utopia (Gorgeous colour!) and Barry M's Hologram Hexograms which is my all time favourite glitter (this is my second bottle).

So there you have it, my lazy, snow day make up. If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them, particularly your favourite drugstore products!

 I will now leave you with a few obligatory snow pictures.

And this is the harsh reality of snow!

12 Makeup favourites of 2012

1. Laura Mercier Mineral Powder - I couldn't pick a foundation for the year, but I knew when it came to powder there would be no contest. I'm on my third pot of this stuff (for reference I usually wear the shade Natural Beige but I am currently trying Real Sand which is a touch lighter). The finish of this powder is beautiful, it leaves my skin glowing. I cannot recommend this enough.

2. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer (Shade SC-3) - This is the best concealer for blemishes, its industrial strength! It covers everything and the darker shade blends in with my skin tone perfectly. You get two shades of concealer, you can blend the two together to make your perfect shade or use the lighter colour under the eyes and the darker colour for blemishes. This concealer will also last you forever as you need so little. I think I need to try a Laura Mercier foundation next, seeing as both her concealer and powder are in my top 12!

3. Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer - I have used a lot of very expensive under eye concealers, most recently the By Terry Touche Veloutee which costs a wopping £35.00. This Maybelline concealer costs £6.99 and is ten times better! Honestly the best under eye concealer I have used, it has the perfect balance of coverage and highlighting. I wouldn't use anything else now.

4. L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic Waterproof Mascara - I had a bit of a love affair with this mascara this year. It adds both length and volume to your lashes and doesn't smudge on me at all. I honestly believe with mascara that drugstore is way better then high end. This mascara along with the Maybelline concealer have really made me fall back in love with drugstore makeup, there are some real gems out there and this is one of them!

5. MAC Powder Blush The Perfect Cheek (Matte) - This blush came out with MAC's Marilyn Monroe collection and I would have to say it was probably the best thing in that collection. I wore this blush none stop for a good few months. The colour is perfect, natural but still gives you a beautiful flush to the cheeks. Its the perfect blush for when you don't know what to wear or when the rest of your makeup is quite heavy. Such a shame that its not permanent to MAC's range, but this was the second time it had been released so I'm sure they will release it again at some point. On a side note I really hope MAC improve their collections this year, I want to get as excited as I was about Venomous Villains! Imagine if they released a Disney Princess version (SQUEAL!)

6. MAC Prunella Eye Kohl - OK this was a very random I have some euros left and I want to spend them in MAC holiday airport purchase. I never really thought I would love it, but I could remember someone on YouTube mentioning it (it may have been Kandee Johnson but I cant remember) and I just wanted to try it! I don't know what it is about this eyeliner but I will now never be without it! Since Ive got it, this is pretty much the only eyeliner I have worn. Its a dark, slightly metallic plummy colour and all I do is line my upper eye (pretty messily) and smudge it out with my finger and it looks beautiful! I like it because its not as harsh as a black but gives something more then a brown. Honestly I urge you to try this.

7. Chanel Emerveille Illusion D'Ombre - One thing that has changed about my make up this past year is that I want to achieve a more natural look. I want makeup to enhance my features, rather then mask them and with this I have also found I favour products that are quick and easy to use and if I can apply them with my fingers even better! Cream eye shadows are a perfect example of this. I slap this on with my fingers, then apply Prunella, smudge it out, apply mascara and I'm done. I love it and its so much easier then using 2 different eye shadows and 2 different brushes. Emerveille is the perfect colour peachy colour to make you look awake, I wish Chanel had more neutral colours in this range as I would swap all my eye shadows for these!

8. Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip and Cheek Balm (Shades Peachy and Rosy Glow) - Without a doubt my favourite lip balm ever. I can't believe these little pots don't get talked about more because they are amazing. I have two shades but I believe the Peachy Glow was a limited release for Spring/Summer but don't panic because the pink colour "Rosy Glow" is actually my favourite and is available all year round. Now I am favouring a more natural look, rosy glow fits in with that perfectly. This is a gorgeous pink colour which adapts with your skins PH, so depending on the person you will get a different shade. Honestly, I am obsessed with these, I really want them to release a red shade that would be amazing!

9. MAC Lingering Eyebrows - I think I have got through at least 6 of these this year, so really there was no way I could not include this in my favourites. Best eyebrow pencil I have used, lasts all day, very creamy, and the colour is so universal. I have got all three of my best friends using this now and that's saying something because they are not YouTube beauty addicts like us! Only downside is how quickly these run out, I have to buy two at a time now just in case!

10. Burberry English Rose Lip Cover - I can't do nude lips, I wish I could. I long to buy Creme de Nude, Myth or Hue but I just cant because they make me look like a corpse! This is my kind of nude, if you are after a Rosie Huntington-Whiteley lip colour then this one is perfect.

11. Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick - OK this was a very late contender but I have decided to put it in as I have fallen in love with it. This is a cult beauty item that has been around for years but what made me try it is (now this is very sad I know) Lord of the Rings! I am a huge Liv Tyler fan, even bigger Steve Tyler fan ;) and I was watching it the other day and just became a bit obsessed with her make up. After googling I found that this was the lipstick they used, so of course I had to try it. It looks very scary in the tube but on the lips its very sheer and moisturing almost like a balm, this is something I will always have in my makeup bag now and maybe I'll do a post on my Arwen inspired make up ;)

12. Miners Cherry Tin o' Tint Lip Balm - Again, another late contender but I am so in love with this lip balm at the moment that there was no way I couldn't include it, plus its only £2.99! If you haven't already noticed, I love tinted lip balms and this Miners one is my favourite for the beautiful cherry colour. As I mentioned I am going through my Arwen make up stage and this colour is perfect.

So that was a lot harder then it looks! I would love to hear your favourites and any recommendations.