Glamour Check!

I instagrammed this look ages ago and promised to do a blogpost letting you know what I used.

Tardy, much?

Anyway, i'll cut to the chase ...

It was to be an evening of bar hopping and a quick pub quiz (which we won, hell yeah! Team GB).  I was going for casual attire so I usually go for something a little more glam on the eyes.

Excuse the half stripped walls in the background ...

... and excuse the monkey eyebrows!

EYES: Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Ebloui as a base. MAC Woodwinked all over lid with Glamour Check! and Twinks defining outer v and under the eye.  Glamour Check! and Twinks are such similar colours you could easily just use one.  Mac Blacktrack fluidline to add a flick and line the waterline and MUFE Smokey lash to finish off.

CHEEKS:  Benefit Hula to bronze and contour.  Mac Springsheen and Illamasqua unrequited mixed together on cheeks. 

LIPS: Hmm, i'm sorry I actually have no idea - I can't remember.  How rubbish am i?! 

A special shout out to skin.  I used Smashbox Studio Skin which has been likened to Mac studio fix fluid.  I don't find the consistency quite as thick and find the colour range a little better in terms of the lighter foundations. (I sometimes find Mac SFF shades too pink or too yellow).  

A little goes a long way with this foundation and piling it on will leave your face hanging by your knees by the end of the day, it's so heavy!  However, a light application gives just the right medium coverage and is easy to blend.  It looks fresh, flawlwess and lasts all day and night.  The only judgement I have yet to make on it is whether or not it photographs well.  This is always the clincher for me.

Now I am off to work out how to make the best of this blog and possibly come up with a better look and name for it.  I feel like I have grown out of Saskia the Style Fairy ... girl feels like a numpty! Any suggestions, you can let me know :) 

x

17 Wild Metallic Eyes

I blogged about these creme shadows last week when I wore the wild nude shade for a natural look but today I tried out one of the deeper shades from the 17 Wild Metallic Eyes range.

Wild Midnight Blue is a gorgeous sparkly creme shadow with flecks of irridiscent navy, blues and turquoise greens, all blended beautifully to create a deep blue/navy shadow.

Of course, just like I mentioned in my last post, I immediately whipped out the iPhone to take some photos ... 

Excuse my manky mirror!

Then I realised that this hardly represents the truth of the shadow.  It can be applied as a sheer coat with just a sweep of colour or layered on which is the look I prefer.  The sparkle is quite subtle to begin with and almost appears like a sheen across the eyes, however, a creme shadow being a creme shadow, it does begin to crease with time and if you like this kind of look (I do) then you might just love the results. 

Foundation: Rimmel Lasting Perfection
Eyes: 17 Wild Metallic Eyes in Wild Midnight Blue
MAC Blacktrack liner, Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara
Cheeks: Benefit Hoola, Illamasqua Unrequited blush
Lips: MAC Dervish Lipliner, Estee Lauder gloss in Twilight Petal

As you can see Wild Midnight Blue creates quite a deep, sultry evening look.  Once it begins to crease a wash of blue is left behind along with lashings of sparkle so if you are looking for a laid back but intense party look, this is the kind of effortless glitter eyes for you.  I applied with a finger just buffing and blending the edges.  It took all of 2 minutes. 

creased after wear which I love but this photo doesn't capture the sparkle

Although I prefer to apply with my finger, it does get a bit messy and I find that of all the creme shadows I have tried, these really do work well with a brush, something I would normally find awkward with this kind of product.

On an aside note, the mascara I am wearing (and have been for the past month) is Rimmel Scandaleyes.  While it has a lovely thick plush brush, I am not keen on the formula.  Yes, the intensity and pigment is just right and it does create quite fluttery big lashes but I do feel my lashes look hard and a bit brittle once it fully dries.  You might even notice this in the photo above.

You can buy Rimmel Scandaleyes for £6.99 and 17 Wild Metallic Eyes are available at £3.99 each at Boots stores.

I was going to post my outfit post from today but since this post is huge enough, I will do it separately.  Oh, and before I forget, loads of you have been asking about my iPhone cover.  It's a multi colour leopard print and I bought it for around £3.00 in TK Maxx :) 

Does anyone else like a creased shadow?  Have you tried 17 Metallic Eyes?

x 

Scottish Fashion Awards 2011: What I Wore

Before I go into any level of detail about the awards like how fabulous Shirley Bassey looked,  how HAWT David Gandy is, how Henry Holland and his entourage brought the party, the lump in my throat when the wonderful Hilary Alexander won Fashion Ambassador or how much an honour it was to finally get to speak to Jonathan Saunders, I thought I would first show you what I wore to the event.

My evening started with a wardrobe dilemna - 2 weeks away from the gym had taken their toll and my jumpsuit had become a little tight round the edges shall we say.  I had to just make do and roll with it though.  This is the same outfit I wore for my birthday (I wore the same thing twice!! Quelle Horreur!)

Navy jumpsuit: Topshop
Shoes: Aldo
Fur Stole: Vintage Ebay
Earrings: Oasis
Rings: Karen Millen, Vivienne Westwood and some others picked up in stalls or abroad

I was hoping to wear some fabulous Warehouse accessories and a gorgeous Warehouse bag but unfortunately for me they were not in store.  I managed to make do with some last minute bits and bobs from elsewhere, including a cuff that fellow blogger Ann managed to pick me up after she learned of my accessory panic!!

Somehow I went from looking half decent and being quite pleased with my outfit to looking like a heffalump by the time photos were taken at the event.  Hmmph! Not quite sure how that happens but I'm hoping it's nothing the gym won't fix.

 For my make up I wanted a bright pink lip to match my nails which were painted in GOSH Flamingo.  I had forgotten what a fabulous shade this is!

I did my own hair up for the evening by trying to channel Chanel's catwalk look.  I literally scooped all my hair into a high ponytal, backcombed the pony to within an inch of it's life then scooped it all around the base, pinning with a few bobby pins here and there.  Naturally half a tonne of hairspray was added for extra peace of mind!

Face: Chanel AquaLumiere
Cheeks:  Nars Laguna, Nars Orgasm and a touch of Illamasqua Erzule
Eyes: MAC Brule, MAC Charcoal Brown (crease), MAC Blacktrack, Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia (Darkest blues mixed and layered over eyeliner).  MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara
Lips:  MAC Longwear Lipcreme in Love Forever

That's a lot of MAC!

I decided to forego false lashes but by the end of the night I wish I had worn them although sometimes it's nice to give the eyes a rest.

This is usually a failsafe outfit for me as jumpsuits are so comfortable.  Needless to say by the end of the evening my feet were killing me.

My fellow blogger gals who accompanied me to the do... Ann at Girl in the City and Morven from Cats and Rocking Chairs did not disappoint as they looked absolutely stunning.

More pics to come of all of us and a few schlebs too ;)

x

Cherry Sparkle FOTD

I featured this lipstick a while back on the blog but it's one of my favourite reds for creating a glam but wearable red lip.

For this particular look I applied some balm first - think it was just a chapstick from memory - before I applied The Body Shop's Cherry Sparkle (60) lipstick which creates a sheerer and softer lip.

 This was a look I went for on a last minute night out.  My make up was applied in minutes and for the icing on the cake, I  thought Cherry Sparkle would help lift the look and transport it to disco appropriate :)

Foundation was Estee Lauder Double Wear, Illamasqua Blush in unrequited and on the eyes MAC shrrom with MAC charcoal brown in the crease ... plus lashings of mascara and MAC fluidline in black track.

Admittedly, the cherry sparkle does not last as long over a balm but it is gentler on the lips.

At the moment I am running low on mascara options.  Why do all mascaras dry up at the same time eh?  I am looking to try something new whether it be drugstore or high end ... maybe both.

I like thick, black, voluminous lashes and I am notoriously fussy about my mascara but I would love to hear any recommendations you have that I haven't already tried?

x

Illamasqua Throb

I know everyone is blogging about this Illamasqua collection at the moment but I adore the imagery for it so much I had to post too so sorry if you are bored of it already!

Throb is base around Valentine's and has sexual connotation coming at you left, right and centre with a milky white nail polish called Load and the intense red nail colour in Throb.  The must have product for me is the intense lipgloss in Succubus, a glossy intense red which just looks beautiful!

The imagery reminded me of Alice in Wonderlands Queen of Hearts.  As you may remember this is what I dressed as at Halloween and at the time was quite proud of my make up.  If only I had seen this preview back then, I would love to have recreated this look.

What do you think of this collection?  And more importantly, what are your thoughts on Valentines Day?  Is it just another day for you or a day to be celebrated?

x

She wears a short black leather skirt

Over the festive period, I hardly think there was a night that I didn't have a party to go to or a gathering to attend. Needless to say my liver will need some time to recover as will my muffin top.

A small gathering at my place called for a relaxed glamour that included leather (naturally) and sequins.
Sequin Tee: French Connection (sales purchase); Faux Leather Skirt: Miss Selfridge; Black suedette wedge heels: New Look; French Moustache necklace: Cherry Loco (as seen in a previous post)
Accessories were simple again, once I was a bit of a magpie but I have toned down my costume jewellery in fear of looking a little bit tacky ... of course, a bit of tack can be good in small doses though. I stuck to a couple of bangles and my gorgeous new turquoise ring which was purchased recently in Egypt. It has become my replacement for the YSL ring since I decided not to buy it.
My make up look has been quite samey for the last wee while, as mentioned in my favourites post I have stuck to the Estee Lauder Extravagant Gold palette and this night was no different. I used the bronze shade from the palette all over and the darker brown to add definition and pearlised shade for highlight. I added MAC lashes in no.34 ... wow, are these impact lashes ... pretty full on while remaining demure at the same time.
Illamasqua Erzule was added to Nars Laguna to create another bronzed cheek and MACs Sun & Moon as blush, this time with MACs Belightful to highlight. A simple lipgloss again with Estee Lauders Extravagant Ruby pure colour gloss.
Again, I had my hair in a top bun ... it's the easiest hairstyle to pull off when you are out as many nights on the trot ... no fussing or overstyling although I am looking forward to letting the hair down again.

x

My favourite cosmetics of 2010

My favourite's list this year is not exhaustive... this year I have probably spent the least ever on cosmetics as I tried to cut back and be realistic about what I wear.

Truth is, when i like something - i wear it to death ... so my picks are the things I have used the most over the last year and will probably continue to wear into 2011.

From left to right:

Estee lauder Extravagant Gold eye palette. I posted about this a while back and since then it's practically been the only shadows I have used. Either used together or seperately, this neutral palette has the most wearable shades. It has been perfect for my winter make up but equally amazing when I went to Egypt ... creating fabulous summery looking smokey eyes. I have also found no need to purchase the Urban Decay naked palette now I have this ...

Illamasqua Powedered Metal in Erzule - this is the newest of my picks, only purchased last week but is already a firm favourite and can't believe I have only just discovered it. I lost a bit of love for Illamasqua for a while but it is definitely back on my radar. I had always been told this was for darker skintones but I find it absolutely lovely on my paley walley skin. It is lovely both on the eye and cheeks, although a lighter hand is needed for cheeks. This is also fabulous when used with a damp brush to the eye, creating a gorgeous metallic effect. Lush.

Another Illamasqua pick is their nail varnish in Boosh. This was sent to me by the lovely Mizzworthy who knowing I had a love for the Mighty Boosh and illamasqua nail varnish ... she knew I would love it. It is a tar like polish, the blackest of black and is fully opaque after one coat. Illa really do make the best nail varnish - they are always top of my list and well worth their price.

MACs Sun & Moon mineralised blush took a while to grow on me but once it did I couldn't resist it. It came out with one of their collections, unfortunately I can't remember which one... please remind me if you know. It is a lovely bronzed effect blush with hints of burnished pink. It adds a lovely glow to a bronzed look and for me was a perfect holiday colour.

My best discovery of the year was the Shu Uemura painting liners. My particular favourite and most worn being night blue. These liners are just so smooth and flawless to apply. They don't budge or fade at all throughout the day.
Surprise favourites for 2010 is the Topshop make up range. Cream blush in Neon Rose is an absolute love of mine ... I wore it all Summer and it gave a gorgeous glow of colour to the cheeks. So much so I have now hit pan on it (first blush I have ever hit pan on) and needs replacing. The highlight in Sunbeam is another favourite. Great pigment with a lovely sheen that can be worn during the day without too much glitter or shimmer cheapening your look.

What are your favourite make up choices of 2010?
Do any of these feature on yours?

x

There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow

New Year was brought in at a friends club night - Compact Disco at the Black Sparrow. Great night, great tunes, great company ... and a very very sore head and poor memory the next day.

As one of the many changes I would like to make to my blog this year ... Outfit posts are one of the main things I want to introduce. What better way to start than to show you my New Year get up. In keeping with a bird theme I went for full on feathers ... and of course as mentioned in a previous post ... my love for leather is still going strong. Feather and Leather. Nice ring to it.
Feather cape: ASOS; Black Boob tube: Topshop; Leather trousers: River Island; Moc Croc bag: Mango; Wedge heels: New Look

I went with the comfiest shoes I could find as it was a night of dancing, fun and frolics ... normally I would have gone for a long skinny heel with these trousers.
Accessories were kept low key as the feather cape was the statement piece of the outfit.
Bauble bracelet: Mango; Friendship bracelet: Links of London; Rolex: FAKE; Bling Ring: Marc Jacobs

Make up was quite bronzed using Illamasqua powdered metal in Erzule on cheeks and eyes. I used MACs Deep Truth (gorgeous dark blue/navy) underneath the eye and lined with Shu Uemura painting liner in night blue, using the Kimberley Walsh festival lashes by eyelure to finish off (I cut off the end feathers from the lashes to suit).

Lips were simply glossed using Estee Lauder extravagant ruby. I used Mac's sun moon and stars as a blush and cream colour base in Pearl to highlight the inner corner of the eye.

My finished look was statement while remaining comfortable enough for a night of fun twinkling my toes on the dancefloor.

How did everyone else spend Hogmanay?

x

Illamasqua NOTD: Shades of grey ...

Sales shopping has been a bit of a fail for me this year. I got into town, went to roughly 4 shops and just gave up. It was far too busy, the shops were full of strewn clothes in odd sizes and I decided I had better things to be getting on with.

However, thats not to say I didn't manage to pick up a few things, one of which was this lovely nail polish duo from Illamasqua.

Illamasqua nail polishes are one of my favourites, they are always super pigmented, usually only require one coat ... and no chipping for days.

This duo set was marked down to £20 from £26 ... still pricey but I knew from experience the quality would be great. Unusually, I went for a grey shade called DWS and a silver glitter called Harsh.

Neither colour particularly suit me and in the past I would never have considered grey nails but I was looking for something a bit different and thought I would give it a go while they were down in price.

I am pleasantly surprised at how pretty it looks on my nails. Grey is a sophisticated shade for the winter and the sparkle gives a festive finish.

I am especially impressed with the glitter polish which is just FULL ON glitter for the nails, it is amazing. One coat and your nails are a sparkly delight, 2 coats complete the bling. I wear it over the grey base which comes up lovely. I can tell it's gonna be a bitch to remove though.

What do you think of grey for the nails?

x

Bright , Bold, Beautiful

This autumn/winter I am loving bright, bold lips.

From Mac Impassioned to Illamasqua intense lipgloss in Indulge to Estee Lauders Extravagant Berry ... bright and/or bold lips is definitely the look I am favouring at the moment.

This is actually a look I favour more for daytime, sticking to my usual smokey eye for nights out. With a bold lip, I do try and keep the eye as clean as possible although I do occasionally smoke it up with neutral shades.

My absolute favourite bright lip of the moment is from The Body Shop. Their colourglide lip colour in Cherry Sparkle (60) is a gorgeous cherry red with hints of orange. It's a sophisticated and fun colour that goes well day or night.

(an old & v blurry photo of me wearing cherry sparkle)

Body shop lippies can sometimes be a bit drying so I try not to wear this too many days on the trot, giving my lips time to recover in between wear.

What are your bright lip faves?

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

Cheek of the Week! - Illamasqua Tweak

I will be honest, sometimes I quite like the Aunt Sally look.

This week I went for that look full throttle. A messy application of blush with little blending to create a ruddy, just been fooling around in a haystack kind of look ... not everyones idea of pretty I do agree but what the hay?! Geddit?!

I turn to Illamasqua Tweak for this look ... it's a really hot pink with elements of both red and coral in it. I imagine this is gorgeous on tanned and darker skins especially but it is pretty versatile and colour can be applied as lightly as you require. Although, it is very pigmented so you have to be careful if you are heavy handed.

The rest of my make up was kept very simple, mainly for the fact I was at work but if you have dramatic cheeks you need to tone everything else down for it to work.

This is a gorgeous colour, great for summer but equally as good for winter months as it gives a lovely rosey finish. It's probably not everyones cup of tea applied as heavily as this but I quite like it every once in a while. I have convinced myself it looks 'youthful'.

Also, a few people have asked what colour I am wearing on my lips from previous posts and it's the same colour I have on here ... It's a lipgloss by clinique but stay tuned for more info in a future blogpost.

x

How to: Leopard Print Nails

I can't stop looking at my nails!

I have always been of the opinion that nail art is a little bit tacky and always thought my nails were too small to try anything exciting anyway, but this morning I gave it a go. I am delighted with the results and long gone is any judgement of tacky. Or at least, it's the kind of tacky that I like!

Last night I painted my nails blue then today, on a whim, decided to add some leopard print to them. Here is how I did it:

I used the following:
From L-R; Sally Hansen Diamond Strength base coat; M&S nail colour in azure blue; Illamasqua Boosh; Barry M nail paint in bright pink; Nail bar top coat; a kebab stick (yes, you heard me right!)

1) I started by applying my base coat and painting my nails blue with M&S Azure Blue (this was from my Scottish Fashion Awards goody bag)
2) Once the blue had dried fully, I added blobs/spots of Barry M's bright pink. I wasn't too neat about this at all just 'blobbing' the nail paint randomly on my nail.
3) Again, I waited until the blobs were fully dry then I got my kebab stick to add the definition around the blobs. Now, a kebab stick probably isn't the easiest or best tool to use but it worked for me as it had a pointed end that I could dip in and out of the nail polish. I could have used a brush but I don't think it would have achieved the same precision.

I used Illamasqua Boosh which was a gift from the lovely Mizzworthy. It is my favourite black!

I applied the black around the pink blobs. I did this in a broken, disjointed manner. If it looks too neat you don't achieve the leopard print appearance. I also added a couple of random black blobs for affect.
4) Finally, once dried I added a topcoat then repeated on my right hand - which is waaaay harder if you are right handed like me.

And here is the finished result! What d'ya think?
The whole process really wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be, maybe about 30-40 minutes. It really depends on your polish and how quickly it dries.
Now I know how easy it can be, I can't wait to try out some other patterns and colours on my nails.

What do you think of nail art?

x