'natural-looking no make-up' make-up

Of course, to get this, I should probably start with flawless dewy skin. But ALAS my skin is pretty dry at the best of times, and Winter has made it even worse.

Ugh. Spending time in air-conditioned rooms and being like, outside, in the cold windy atmosphere is severely messing with my face. And while I can nail a smoky eye or a sleek winged liquid-lined eye, a perfectly natural-looking non-obviously made up face is proving more difficult. This is my current obsession, so I must make it so. Here are the things I need to do it:

- A GOOD moisturiser. QV is just not cutting it anymore. It's good for sensitive skin I guess but I need something more hardcore. I need industrial-strength moisturiser. I want my skin to be as soft and smooth as a baby's butt and it is currently closer to the bottom of the glass of my 4th jaeger-bomb on Saturday night i.e. totally bone dry. I've heard good things about this...

...but if you have any other suggestions that you think might help PLEASE tell me. I'm practically begging on bended knees here.

- A new concealer! My Touche Eclat has run out (already! my makeup never runs out! this is so weird for me) and I'm wondering whether I should replace this pricey item or just get a proper concealer that will actually eradicate dark circles and blemishes as opposed to this one which, yes, does a very good job but only on top of layers of foundation. I've heard good things about the Bobbi Brown one but am open to suggestions. Especially cheaper suggestions. REMEMBER: I have extremely dry skin (have I mentioned that?) so I need a dry skin friendly concealer.

Otherwise I  may as well get this again, it's easier than making a whole new decision about something.

- Taupey, shimmery eyeshadow for bright-eyed-noobviousmakeup eyes, as demonstrated by the lovely Zoe Foster in this video:

I've sort of attempted to do this today with my limited concealer resources, so if you see me, tell me I look pretty. I actually tried a bit. I know.

Anyway. I'll probably just trot on over to Estee Lauder for another divine eye shadow. Not sure about a cream one though. I distrust cream shadows, what with all their ability to crease and whatnot. This powder one looks like a good bet:

- Highlighters! I loooove highlighters! Have you heard me bang on about highlighters/illuminators like every bloody day? Because I do. To anyone who will listen. I am a great big fan of Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks but they are a bit too flash and night-timey for the look I am seeing to recreate. I want to look naturally flushed and glowy so I want this baby:

While everything in this case is teeny-tiny I'm kind of ok with that for the time being. I appreciate the opportunity to try a whole bunch of things and see what works for me. See, I bought the normal size bottle of Benefit's 'Moon Beam' once upon a time and HEY that did not work for me. Way too subtle. So instead of a highlighter I now mix it in with my daytime foundation to fake the glow. That works a bit better.

- Brown eyeshadow palette. Can you believe I do not own one?! I can't! I mean, der, I have millions of brown eyeshadows but they are all old, or stolen from my mum from way back in the day when I used to stay home and play with makeup as an introverted 12-year-old (hah! how times change...). Also, all the browns I have are mostly individual cases and that is a pain in the arse. I want an easy-to-use, all-in-one kit dammit! Like this: