Tempting

The make up I chose to wear in yesterdays post was a little bit inspired by the Olsen twins smokey look that they have been rocking for ions.  I toned it down for day wear so it wasn't as deep and intense as some of their more recent dramatic looks.

-Insert ancient but gorgeous photo of Olsen Twins-

- Insert posey in the manky bathroom mirror photo of moi-

I STILL haven't cleaned the mirror! minger.

I used 2 of my very favourite MAC shadows to create the look, Tempting and Twinks.  Tempting is a lovely shade which is very similar to Woodwinked (another favourite) but slightly less intense.  It's a golden bronze with a slight shimmer, super pigmented and is fabulous to use as there is little to no fall out from it!

I started layering products starting with MAC Patina then applied and blended Tempting at the outer corner.  To add some depth I used Twinks, a rusty brown, in the outer v which also really helped 'lift' the look and avoided a flat bronze appearance.

Face: Chanel Pro Lumiere
Cheeks: Benefit Hoola, MAC Sun&Moon
Eyes: MAC Patina, Tempting, Twinks; MAC Smouler liner; Urban Decay Bourbon 24/7 liner;  Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara
Lips: No7 Nude lipliner; Tom Ford Lip colour in Blush Nude; Estee Lauder gloss in Twilight Petal

I really love wearing this kind of smokey eye and it was a welcome return of the nude lip for me.  I was never truly sold on a nude lip but I think having a break from constant images of nude lips on other blogs has made it a nice change to try on myself.

Lots of you have been asking questions about my hair colour so I am just compiling a post to tell you more about it and to show off some of the products I use most on my hair!

x

Halloween .....oooooohh!

This year for Halloween I went to my friends party in Newcastle. Jen dressed as Ursula from The Little Mermaid and I went along as Queen of Hearts. If I do say so myself, our outfits were pretty cool but I was mostly impressed with our make up which I did myself for us both.

I had tweeted a lot about this over the weekend so I thought I would show you the results.

Meet Ursula and Queen of Hearts ...
Depending how you look at it either Jen is teeny or I am massive. I am sticking to Jen being teeny, okay?! ;)

The unfortunate thing about going as Queen of Hearts and having loveheart shaped lips is that I looked permanently p****d off the whole night. Oh well, I guess it made me look a little scary in the spirit of Halloween of course.

Onto the make up ... ahhh I was so pleased with the make up...
I will give you a quick summary of the products I used:
FACE: EL Doublewear foundation in Al Fresco (this shows up a little pink on my skin and doesn't photograph too well), MAC select cover up, MAC MSF Natural
CHEEKS: Nars Laguna, Illamasqua blush in unrequited, MAC pearl highlighter
EYES: Bourjois pale blue shadow over the lid, Teal from EL Blue Dahlia collection under eye and in crease, Alice from UD AIW palette over lid and under eye, illamasqua sadist in crease, illamasqua roulette blended out at crease along with Queen from UD AIW palette and FINALLY illamasqua immortal on browbone. All this teamed with MUFE smokey lash mascara, Nadine Girls aloud lashes, Mac fluidline in blacktrack .... phew!
LIPS: Illamasqua lip pencil (unsure of name), MAC russian red

The heart gems above my eyebrow and on my cheek placed as a beauty spot was from a set of Broadway nails, nail & body art kit. I also used these on my nails. Nails in China Glaze Ruby Pumps, NYC white polish in manhattan and a glitter polish over the top.

This kit really deserves its own mention, the gems are still on my nails 4 days later and they show no signs of budging.
Now onto Ursulas make up. Ursula in the movie is obviously purple but I didn't want to paint Jen's face purple otherwise we might lose the effect and we also still wanted her to look attractive despite playing the role of a villain for the evening.
Make up summary
FACE: MUFE HD Foundation in 125, MAC MSF Natural
EYEBROWS: Lined with MAC carbon
EYES: Urban Outfitters blue eyeshadow all over lid, Zara purple duo shadow blended into crease and underneath the eye, MAC fluidline in black track to line the eye, a purple glitter liner underneath the eye, Sarah Girls Aloud party lashes (not shown in this photo)
LIPS: Lined with an illamasqua pencil, Gosh red lipstick
I then shaded and contoured Jen's face with the zara purple duo eyeshadow. This doesn't show up so well under the flash but looked fantastic on the night. Ursula's beauty spot was filled in using Urban Decay liner in zero.

Thats the finished look. I have to say I was a bit gutted to wash all that make up off after the effort that went into creating it but it has definitely got me in the mood for being more creative.

Did you dress up for Halloween?

x

My favourite products of the month!

It has been a while since I did a 'favourites' post so here's whats getting the thumbs up from me this past month ...

HAIR

• Bumble & Bumble Creme de Coco Shampoo & Conditioner - I love love love this. Smells great and helps bring the volume and shine back to my lack lustre hair! Result.

FACE

• Estee Lauder Double Wear - Now that I have a little bit of tan to my face I switched from Clinique Anti Blemish to Double wear. I try and resist using double wear daily if I can help it as it gives a full coverage but it's so lovely that I have worn it most days.

LIPS

• Estee Lauder gloss in Nude Rose - I bought this last year before my holidays and it has turned into a bit of a fail safe nude gloss for me. With a scent of fig, it smells as good as it looks!

CHEEKS

• Topshop Neon Rose - This is such a fresh bright colour for the cheeks. It creates a subtle glow that really brightens the face giving an almost luminous glow (not in the radioactive sense. It can be layered easily or applied sheerly for a subtle hint of colour.

EYES

• Urban Decay shadows in Drink me, Eat me and Madhatter from the Alice in Wonderland palette - I have been wearing these most days, it's an easy neutral combo that is perfect for work.
• Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Teal - again I got this as part of the AIW palette. It looks gorgeous on the waterline and takes my work look from day to night by adding some welcome colour.
  
• The Body Shop Metallic Eye Definer in Burnished Amber - this is another one I love on the waterline especially for summer when I am tanned (fake of course) and wearing bronze colours on eyes, lips or cheeks (but never all at once).

BODY

• Xen Tan - After a rocky start I think I have now bonded with the wonder of xen tan and I am now sporting a gorgeous natural looking tan that fades without leaving harsh lines or streaking - review coming up shortly ...
  

FRAGRANCE

• Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey Cologne - this is a deliciously fruity fragrance with hints of peach and plum as well as the obvious nectarine and honey, perfect for day wear and I always get asked what I'm wearing :)
  

NAILS

• Anything goes! I have been mixing it up with leopard print, bows, stripes and flowers on my nails. Perfect way of getting use of your polishes in one go

SHOES

• Topshop Wedges - these were purchased as part of a birthday treat as I loved the blush/nude colour and lace up front. Despite how they might look, they are actually really comfy. Honest.

CLOTHES

• New Look Harem Jumpsuit - I adore this. So comfy, so versatile and perfect for sunny weather. Easy to dress up with a belt, necklace, wedges or go casual in flip flops.

I probably have loads more I could chat about but this post has to end somewhere. For July, I am already predicting a return to brights on the lips (pink in particular) and pretty dresses ... yay for Summer!

x

Bank Holiday FOTD

It has been a glorious bank holiday weekend for me, friends, fun and good weather. The last of my 3 day obligatory bank holiday bender was an event called Fiasco Secret Location. An intimate number of revellers all get together at a bar then a bus/taxi transport us to a secret venue for a massive party and fantastic line up of DJ's! Oh and a random bungee run was thrown into the mix too - Great fun!

Anyway ... the day kicked off around 3pm ... I decided on casual but cool look - peg leg trousers with a loose fitting vest, leather jacket and wedges. Comfort prevailed as I knew I would be on my feet dancing from early on. As for make up - I decided to put my Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette to use. It had lay unloved for a few months as I let everyone else get on with the hype of such a delightful feast for the eyes (quite literally). I think I may be delving into it daily though as I loved the colours so much! FACE:
Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear
Concealer: Bobbi Brown creamy concealer
Bronzer: Nars Laguna
Blush: Illamasqua Unrequited
Highlighter: Topshop Sunbeam
EYES:
Shadow: Urban Decay AIW palette -Drink Me Eat Me - all over lid, Mad Hatter - crease, White Rabbit - browbone, Alice on lower lashline
Eyeliner: Bobbi Brown Gel liner and Urban Decay liner in teal on waterline
Mascara: Cover Girl Lash Blast
Lashes: Revlon Lush individual lashes on outer corner
LIPS:
Lipliner: Urban decay Wicked
Lipstick: MAC Angel
Lipgloss: Dolce & Gabbana Candy
I was so pleased with my make up, it felt fresh and lasted the whole day and night with no touch ups other than lipgloss. This is the first time I have worn EL double wear for a night out and it really lasted well and looked fresh even after hours of dancing!

Sadly, I am back in the office tomorrow ... hope you have all had a great bank holiday!

x

Another EOTD

It's been a very busy week so I've not had much time for anything so I thought I would show you another effort from when I was having a play with the Sleek Graphite palette.

This look was completely inspired by Pixiwoos video.
I followed the Pixiwoo's tutorial as much as I could. Using the dark grey/silver from the Sleek palette all over my lid and blending out with the lighter silver. I then used the purple shade from the palette on the outer v and crease of my eye and on the inner quarter I blended through some Urban Decay Mossgreen. I brought the grey from the graphite palette underneath my eye and then used a blue shade I had lying around on top (can't remember what this was)
I finished off with some MAC fluidline in blacktrack and YSL Singulier Mascara. Again with some tweeking and more care I could definitely wear this for the party season.

What do you think? Tips always welcome :)

x

EOTD - Purple Rain

A night or 2 ago, I was feeling a bit rubbish with having a cold (yet again) and in my pitiful state of boredom I decided to have a play about with my new Sleek Graphite Palette. For as much make up as I own, I rarely have time to just play or mess about with it so it was nice to do so.
For this look, I used my new Sleek Graphite palette (LE) and the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 2.
I started off using Mac Paint in Untitled as a base the applied the purple shade from the Sleek Palette (it's the bottom right corner purple). I applied this all over my lid. I had to really build up the colour with this so it was a case of applying then blending then repeat until I was happy with the colour pay off. In the end I took the colour higher on the lid than normal to add some drama and I also applied the colour under the lower lashline to create a smokey effect.
I then applied the darkest shade from the UD Book of Shadows - Perversion. I only applied a quarter to half way into the eye and really concentrated the colour on the outer v. I then applied the pink shade - Sphynx from this palette to the inner half of the lid and worked out toward the outer v. I then used UD 24/7 liner in zero on my waterline and lightly lined the lid with Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack. Also to highlight the brow bone I added some Mac shadow in Vanilla. I finished the look with YSL Singulier mascara.

I would definitely wear this look with flawless skin and light pink glossy lips for a night out. The overall look was a lot more matte than what I expected from both UD and Sleek shadows but I'd rather there was less shimmer with a look that is dramatic like this.

What dramatic eyes are you favouring? Any tips how I can make this better?

x

UDPP Shocker!

I know you guys have all seen this before and although I have seen this on many blogs/YT vids, I was still in awe when i did it myself.

I cut open my UDPP.

I knew there would be a lot left but I definitely was not prepared for quite how much was left. This packaging really is an absolute rip off!! It does mean, however, that I have so much more product to play about with, and the best bit is that it has a lovely new home .... a cute li'l hello kitty jar.Hope you have all had fun filled weekends! I have partied and hauled to my life's content ... will maybe get some posts up showin you some of my purchases.

x

The search begins ...... and mini haul!

So after the warm/cool debate ........ i decided for myself i must have a warm skintone and lucky for me the Mac assistant agreed with me when i went in to have a look in store today! yay!
However she did say i should still wear my NC foundation but break it up with NW concealer and powder to set so that i don't end up looking too golden yellow! I still haven't chosen a new foundation yet but i did pick up some Chanel pro lumiere samples and my friend bought YSL perfect touch and it looked great on her! So now i know I am warm toned (sorry but i had been needing confirmation of that for like 2 months before i could move on with my life! lol) i can begin the search for the perfect foundation to give me flawless beautiful skin.

So my little look around the shops turned into a bit of a shopping spree ..... and here is what i got!

• I picked up a cute pair of little purple pumps fromCoast in the sale ..... normally not the kind of thing i would go for but they were so cheap (£16) that i could not leave them in the store!
• Chi Volume Boost and the infamous Chi silk infusion ... this is my second bottle of this in the past month but again its going so cheap in Sally's just now that i would not dare leave it!
  
• RMK eye make up remover ...again another sale item. I have never tried this before but i have just run out of eye make up remover so nice timing!
• YSL Faux cils mascara in black ... love this!
  
• Urban Decay Velvet rope set - i have been hearing about these eyeliners from everywhere at the moment ... they are just so gorgeous and creamy and such a lovely colour selection - so wearable. love love love!
• My beloved Nars Orgasm. Its a kind of peachy pink blush with a gold shimmer going through it ... hmm lush!
• Mac select cover up concealer in NW20 and Mac select sheer pressed powder in NW20 ... i have never tried either of these so i am hoping they work well. I bought the powder because the other night i dropped my studio fix in the toilet while getting ready to go out for the night - whoops!! Hopefully this will be better than studio fix as it could be a bit cakey. I also bought Patina eyeshadow but didn't get a picture of this as i put it in its palette then misplaced it in the house somewhere .... so at the moment i desperately want to try a look with it but can't find it!!! idiot!
  
• Finally, i bought a candle from Nars called Shangri-la .... ooh it smells so gorgeous

So all in all quite a good spree i would say. I have a few other things I am on the look out for when i finally decide on a new foundation .... like Estee Lauders signature palette in 'Amber Honey' ... I've always thought of Estee Lauder as a brand for older woman but i am really drawn to this palette ... has anyone else used or uses Estee Lauder?
What do you think of it?
Rate or slate?!

xx