Corrupted.

Testing out more of my yummy Illamasqua products, today I'm wearing their Corrupt lipstick, Precision Gel Eyeliner and Eyebrow Cake. In fact, I'm almost head to toe llamasqua today - hair to neckline at least anyway!

I started with my brows today, masking out the shape with concealer (MAC Studio Tech) then painted in the shape and filled in any gaps with Illamasqua's Eyebrow Cake in Thunder.

Then I made a custom blend base using a mixture of Rimmel Wake Me Up, Skin Base & Furore pigment. This is a really nice way to create a dewy foundation for my oily skin.

I kept my eyes simple, washing Furore (told you this was a very Illamasqua heavy look) over the lids, then MAC Charcoal Brown into the crease and under my bottom lashes. I lined my top lashes with Precision Gel Liner and added lashings and lashings of Max Factor False Lash Mascara.

I used Corrupt on my lips as I've been admiring it on other people and their website for ages and finally brought it last week. I love it. I'd been wanting a nice warm pink and this is great.

I finished up with a mixture Lover & Hussey blushes and added some Benefit Hoola bronzer over the top. I have a massive spot on my upper lip, and no amount of make up will disguise it. So I've made a feature of it by faking a little beauty spot on top of it. Might keep it!

 

Another silver look!

Blimey, I haven't posted on here for over a week, oops!

Been a busy ol' time with bookings in the evening and weekend including my first wedding of the year.
Luckily for the bride, it was lovely and sunny on Saturday and she and her husband both looked gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing their pics soon.

The look today was inspired by Susannah Reid from BBC Breakfast, who I think carries off silver eyes very well. I've done a silver eye look before but it was quite heavy and smokey and I'd been wanting to do something a bit more daytime wearable.

To create a dewy base, I added some of Illamasqua's Furore pigment to their Skin Base foundation. It dries it out a little but with my oily skin that's no bad thing! To add warmth to the eyes I contoured with grey and plum and also ran the same shades underneath my eyes. I finished up with my Sleek Mystic lippy.

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Magnetism... again

I'm wearing my Magnetism lipstick again by Illamasqua and have paired it with lighter eyes than yesterday's smokey eyes.

It's an awful pic of me, plus I'm overdue a wax as had to move my weekend booking and all I can see is hair on my face and ugly bushy brows. Friday morning can't come quick enough!

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Feeling Twenties

Today I've gone for a bit of  a twenties theme with warm smokey, brown eyes and Illamasqua's deep raspberry pink Magnetism lipstick. 

Maybe I've been inspired by The Great Gatsby although I haven't seen it yet although I'm DESPERATE too!

Has anyone seen it? Anyone in the Croydon, UK area want to see it with me!?

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Pretty in Pink

Today I wanted to wear my Sleek Mystic lipstick as it's one of my favourites and I haven't worn it for a while. I did a look with it before so I wanted to do something a bit different but still keep it simple and wearable.

I don't usually wear gold on my eyes but I used the light gold from my Illamasqua Complement Palette on a client at the weekend and was dying to see what it would look like on my eyes. I then lined the top lashes with my Maybeline black gel liner and softly smudged some brown eye shadow under the bottom lashes. 

I added a peachy pink blush (a mixture of Bourjois Peach & Chanel Rose Initial) and then lightly applied my Mystic lippy with Illume lipgloss by Smashbox dabbed over the top.

I think it's a pretty, summery look that would be great for a wedding guest or bridesmaid.

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How to create a flawless base

I really like my base today. I have a few spots on my chin and my dreaded dark circles are in full effect thanks to my cranky, teething toddler that doesn't seem to need any sleep! 

It's quite a few steps so not a quick morning routine but worth the time and effort for a big event where you want a flawless base. This won't work for everyone, if you have particularly dry skin for example you may want to set the foundation lightly with a translucent powder instead and start with a hydrating primer.

After working a matte No7 primer into the skin, I lightly apply MAC's Painterly Paint Pot over my dark circles and a tiny amount of green corrector to my spots. 
Then I lightly apply MAC's Soft Ocre Paint Pot to my eye lids up to my brows plus any areas that I sweat or my makeup tends to slide around and wear off. Paint Pots dry to a powder finish and don't budge so act as an extra primer. 
Next I apply MAC's Radiant Rose Prep & Prime Highlighter under my eyes down to my orbital bone and then I apply Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. I work this into my skin with the same brush that I used to apply my matte primer. 
Next I apply MAC Studio Sculpt concealer and finally I finished up by dusting MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation over the top to set it all and add extra coverage. Though I set the under eye area with translucent powder.

So, yeah a few steps but this combination gives great coverage and doesn't budge!

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Classic Smokey Eyes for the Weekend

Since I'm to have had a smokey eye week I wanted to finish up with a classic dark grey look.

I generally find that greys can look a bit dull on me as I have dark hair and brows so I thought I'd try starting the look with a purple base to add a bit of warmth. I coloured the whole of my lids in with a soft purple eye pencil as purple brings out the brown in my eyes. From there I used my Mon Smokey palette by Lancome which I've used in every look this week and I think they all look pretty different, don't you think?

A smokey eye means that the darkest colour is at the base of the eye and, as it reaches the crease it smokes out to gradually lighter shades.

Over the purple pencil I applied the mid grey over the entire lid and blended it up over my brow bone. I then applied the black to the lash line, blended it upwards and applied the glittery black all over the lids. I mirrored the look under my bottom lashes and applied the lightest grey from the palette to the inner corners of my eyes.
I then lined my inner rims heavily with black eyeliner. Finally, I ran the lighter colour just under my brow bone, curled my lashes, applied false lashes and then mascara.

I think this look really needs a well groomed and strong brow (eek, mine are due for a wax this weekend so had to stop myself from plucking!) and not much else so that the focus stays on the eyes.

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Daytime, Nightime, Any Hour...

Ha, I wonder if anyone could guess what song I was humming to myself as I wrote that title?

Anyway, today I wanted to create a day through evening makeup look that could be worn in the office, a hen party, at a wedding, anywhere you want a polished look for daytime and jazz it up for evening.

Ideally you want the base to last all day so cleanse, tone, moisturise, wait for these to sink in and then apply a primer. This will hold the foundation in place and stop it from going patchy and then powder after the concealer to set it all.

For the daytime look I used my Bourjois Smokey Eyes palette in Vintage Rose. I started with a wash of the lightest colour, blended the middle shade across the outer eye and into the middle and added the darker colour into the crease and outer corner of the eyes. I lined the lop lashes with brown gel liner and then smudged the darker colour from the palette over the top of it. 

Finally I ran some of the darker colour underneath my bottom lashes, curled my lases and applied a couple of coats of mascara.  

I'm wearing a light pink blusher, some bronzer and red lipstick that I've blotted well and added a nude lip gloss to.

To intensify the look I used my Lancome Hypnose Mon Smokey eye shadows. 

I went over the eyeliner & under my eyes with the black eyeshadow. I used a pencil brush but you could use cotton buds. Hold a tissue to protect your cheeks as the dark powder will probably spill and it's a bugger to remove. I also ran the black sparkly shadow over the top for added glamour, lined my inner rims with black eyeliner & applied another coat of mascara to the top lashes.

The only other thing I did was add a bit more blush, add some of the pink sparkly eye shadow to the tops of my cheeks and redo the lips.

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Blue Smokey Eyes

Yesterday I created a soft, daytime smokey eye look using my new Lancome Hypnose Eye Shadow palettes. For that look I chose to apply the product with a dry brush for a softer look.

So today I used the blue (Bain de Minuit) palette with a wet brush mainly, to create a more vivid & dramatic look.

I ADORE these blue colours and will be getting lots of use out of both of the palettes! Similar to yesterday, I did use a little of the smokey black (Mon Smokey) palette to intensify the look.

I kept the blusher to a minimum and used some of the pink shade in the Mon Smokey palette to highlight the top of my cheekbones and then finished up the look with pink lipstick.

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A Quick Smokey Eye

I had decided to give myself the day off today. I've been working in the evenings and weekends on wedding trials as well as my blog everyday and was feeling a bit make up'd out. But after a little retail therapy this morning where I brought two gorgeous eye shadow palettes by Lancome & some pressed mineral foundation by Bare Minerals I was feeling better and more inspired.

Amazing what a bit of shopping can do for you hey?!

The Lancome eye shadows are both Hypnose Drama palettes. One is different shades of sparkley blue (Bain De Minuit) and the other is five smokey, sparkley greys & blacks with a pretty pink thrown in too (Mon Smokey).

Using mainly the black/ grey palette I used the shades dry. Taking the pink all over the eye, I blended the darker shades over the top, lining the black around my eyes with the sparkly black on the other corners. To lift the look I finished my washing a bit of the midnight, sparkly blue from the other palette over the lids and underneath as this added just a little warmth to the grey.

I paired the eyes with pink cheeks and pink glossy lips. I think tomorrow I'll use the same palettes and create more of a dramatic look by using a wet brush as today I used dry brushes as I wanted quite a soft look.

What do you think?

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Yummy Plummy Eyes

Today I fancied wearing my Illamasqua Havoc eyeliner and creating a plummy look.

These colours are great with brown, hazel and green eyes. It's a nice alternative to black and really brings out the green in your eyes.

I have done a a clean and simple look with this eyeliner before so today wanted to make the eyes a bit more colourful so included soft purples and plummy colours and finished up with a pink gloss on my lips.

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Orange and pink, they go together right?

I woke up this morning thinking about a look with soft orange eyes and bright pink lips. Maybe because I wanted to use my Rubenesque Paint Pot by MAC. 

I got it ages ago and hardly ever use it as it doesn't really suit my colouring - it's a pearlescent orange/peach that looks amazing on green eyes. That said, I felt I had to use it as it was just staring at me from my kit bag. MAC Paint Pots are creamy but dry to a powder finish. They're high in pigment so can be a great base to start off an eye look. They won't budge or crease so you don't need an eyelid primer underneath.

I didn't want to do a heavy orange look, I tried it a few weeks ago and it was a disaster! So, I kept the eyes quite light with a wash of Rubenesque, some contouring in the crease for depth and then lined my top & bottom lashes with a dark brown eyeshadow using an angled brush. I used shadow rather than gel/ liquid eyeliner as I wanted a softer, more natural look.

Then I went for bright pink lips. What do you think? I like it, I think. Looks like a softer, more daytime version of my Leigh Lezarck look.

BAD pics of me today BTW - I look half asleep because my toddler has started waking at 2am and crying for the rest of the night. Here's hoping she sleeps through tonight!

The make up is the same in both pics but the bottom pic shows of the eye colour better. I look like I'm about to fall asleep in it though, yuck!

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A classic with a twist!

I've been admiring this image of gorgeous Holly Willougbhy for ages now. Such a classic look that would be gorgeous for a bride.  

I was also dying to try out a BarryM blue eye pencil that I brought earlier this week and couldn't decide which look to do. 

So, I decided to do both!

I started with the classic look - black eyeliner flicking out slightly, groomed brows, pinky/ peachy cheeks and pink lips (also care of BarryM). Then, for an alternative look I jazzed it up a little by adding blue under the eyes. For the second look I added a little extra blush and also softened the eyeliner slightly by going over it with dark brown eyeshadow. I love both looks!

Classic look

Classic look with blue along bottom lashes

Classic look with blue along bottom lashes

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It's a green day

After a going purple crazy yesterday I thought I'd try a green look today.

I used to wear green a lot but I think maybe I got tired of it or started to feel it was a bit obvious for brown eyes, so haven't worn it for ages.

I brought a green metalic liquid eyeliner by BarryM yesterday so built the look around that, using different shades of green on my lids, in my socket and under my eyes then lifting the look by adding a wash of a warm brown across my brow bone. 

I did try the look with a glossy orange lip colour which you can see in the bottom pic but, as usual, I wiped it off and went with a nude gloss. I really like it (the top pic) as there is still a hint of orange on my lips under the gloss.

I'll definitely be wearing green again, especially the liner which is a pretty forest green colour with added shimmer as it's metallic. Plus cheap as chips (£4.79 in Boots) as it's by BarryM!

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Lavender, purple & pink!

After last week's lipstick fun, I really wanted to play around with eye colours this week.

I had popped into Boots to pick up a new foundation & concealer this morning but, of course, I walked out with a whole lot more. Damn my addiction to makeup - it's such an expensive habit!

Amongst far too many other things, I brought a gorgeous Lavender eye pencil by BarryM, a purple felt tip eyeliner by Collection (SO easy to use!) and Rimmel's Wake Me foundation. Since I'd gone a bit purple crazy in the aisles I thought I'd try out my new purchases!

Here is a pic of my final look and below you can see how many looks I tried before settling on it!

 

First, I created a lavender eye look using the BarryM pencil. I started with a wash of the light pink (Shade 9) from my MakeUp Academy Immaculate Collection palette. I then ran the lavender pencil along my top lashes, winging the shape out and also under the bottom lashes.
As I was applying the colour I felt compelled to use pink mascara for some reason - it was seen quite a lot on the SS13 catwalks, particularly at Donna Karen's show. So I did.

Next, I tried out the purple felt tip liner, running it over the lavender line I had already created. It's quite a dark so I applied a darker purple along my bottom lashes (mixture or shades 24 & 7 from MUA palette). I also blended a little of the pink pigment (MAC Magenta Madness) used to create the mascara over my brow bone.
I stuck with the pink mascara for a bit then went over it with black as you can see below...

Lavender eyes & pink mascara

Dark purple liner with pink mascara on top & bottom lashes

Dark purple liner with black mascara on top lashes and pink on the bottom

Dark purple liner with black mascara on top & bottom lashes

Which look do you like best? I LOVE the lavender eye with pink mascara and will definitely wear it again. I also really lke the bottom two looks and will be wearing the last one out for pizza tonight!

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Feeling 60's

Over the weekend I was feeling 60's inspired so decided to create a bit of a dolly bird look with the eyes. 

I like to practice my eyeliner as much as I can and so really focused on my eyes for this look.  I played around with lip colours and settled on this one as it was fairly nude although I think even more nude & matte would have added to the 60's vibe. 

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Fun bridesmaid makeup look

I did a quick shop this morning and brought this FAB lipstick so obviously HAD to try it out.

The lipstick is Mystic by Sleek Make UP - it's a matte, long lasting colour but unlike many it's not drying as it contains added Vitamin E. I only have one coat on here and it stayed put all afternoon.

I wanted polished a makeup look but not too heavy so I kept my eye makeup to a minimum and added drama with brown eyeliner and my Bourjois Added Volume False Lashes. I think this would be a really fun bridesmaid or even bridal look.

I achieved this entire look using almost only high street brands so it's a very affordable look. Check under the image for a list of all the products used...

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Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation

Benefit Perk Up Artist concealer palette

Benefit Brow Zings brow wax & powder

Make Up Academy The Artiste Collection eyeshadows & highlighting powder

Maybeline brown Gel Eyeliner

Illamasqua Heroin eyeshadow for cheek contouring

Illamasqua Intrique Blusher for highlighting

Illamasqua Medium pencil in Vow

Benefit Hoola Bronzing powder

Benefit Blushing Bride blusher

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Bourjois Added Volume Lashes

Duo Lash Glue

Mystic Lipstick by Sleek Make UP 

Fabulous Forties Eyeliner Flicks

I've noticed that many of my bridal clients have been asking for retro/vintage style makeup this year. In particular eyeliner flicks with red lips which, my regular readers will know, is a look I LOVE!

Today I decided to create this classic look as I wanted to try out a set of Bourjois lashes I brought last week. I have short lashes and often feel that false lashes look and feel too un-natural on me so I'm always on the look out for new pairs to try!

I really like these Bourjois More Volume Lashes, they're criss-crossed at the base which adds volume and heavier on the corners which is perfect for a winged eyeliner look. Best of all they didn't feel or look completely fake on me so they get a big thumbs up.

 

To create the eyeliner flicks and ensure they're symmetrical, I used surgical tape which is a trick I learned at London Muse and have noticed many professional makeup artists do the same. Tear off two fairly long pieces of tape and stick one down on each side as follows:

Starting at the nose, line a piece of tape up with the outer side of your nostril and the outer corner of your eye then stick it down.

Do the same with the other piece of tape for the other eye, making sure that the tape is sitting at the same angle on both sides. 

Now you can draw on your eyeliner, using the edge of tape to create a winged shape. When you're happy with your flicks, remove the tape et voila!

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Summertime makeup

After a stressful and, frankly, crappy day yesterday I woke up today wanting to do a more colourful and simple look. This is my summer holiday night out makeup - a light base, definition around the eyes and bright glossy lips.

I can't wear too much makeup in the summer as my face sweats it all off. Yuck! I was so worried about having embarrassing sweat beads on my face throughout my wedding and carried blotting papers with me all day. It was mid summer (in England mind) and I was sure I'd be saying 'I doooo!' with a sweaty top lip but, looking back, I don't think I sweated at all. Amazing!

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