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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Orange..?

I had an orange look in my head today but I'm not sure I really pull it off!

Orange isn't a colour I tend to wear generally but I like to set myself a challenge. 

I started with a brown on my eyes, then packed a bright orange from the Sleek Shangri-la Respect palette onto the lids and across the brow bone. I lined my top lashes with black liner but makbe a dark brown or blue would have worked better.

On my cheeks I used my Sleek blush palette in Lace, which is a trio of orangey hues. 

I swept the lighter colour over the top of my cheeks, the bright orangey red across my apples and the darker, shimmery one around the bottom of my cheekbones and up onto the apples. I added little contouring under my cheekbones with my Heroin eyeshadow and highlighted the top of them with Intrigue Blusher, both by Illamasqua. I blended the colours throughout with my kabuki brush to avoid any harsh lines.

I finished up with an orange from one of my fab Kryolan lip palettes!

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Dark lips don't always = goth.

For my look of the day today I was inspired by one of my favourite lip liners, Nightmoth by Mac. 

I expect some people are put off wearing dark lipstick for fear of looking too heavy or gothic. But done right I think it can look very slick and modern. Even black lipstick. The trick is to keep everything else clean and light. 

I wanted a fresh, light base with good coverage so used a moisturising primer by Body Shop followed by Illamasqua's Skin Base and Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer. I used Illamasqua's Rude cream blusher and set this and the foundation with Mac's Translucent powder.

For my eyes I washed them over with Mac Shroom, an off white, shimmery eye shadow and blended Illamasqua Heroin eye shadow into the crease to add a little depth. I lined the top lashes with black felt tip liner by L'Oreal and applied Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara to the top and bottom lashes. I also lined my water line with a peachy pencil called Vow by Illamasqua.

I think the key to this look is to balance the dark lips with the rest of the face. 

After lining & filling in the lips with Mac Nightmoth lip liner, I blended in a little Illamasqua Pristine lipstick, which is a matte black and cleaned up any mistakes around the lips with a cotton bud and a brush dipped in concealer. 

I didn't need a bright blusher so contoured my cheeks with Illamasqua Heroin eye shadow under the cheekbones and Illamasqua Intrigue Blusher on top, which is a white blush - one of my favourite and most used products. I added warmth with a hint of apricot blusher by Bourjois.

As a final touch I added some extra highlight to the high points of my face with Illamasqua's Gleam.

An added bonus to this look is that by going for a big statement lip, you're distracted from the two mountainous spots on my chin!

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Make up tips for glasses wearers

When I started wearing glasses a few years ago (over 10 actually, yikes) I was wasn't really sure what make up to wear with them. I was still getting used to wearing glasses and never seemed to get it quite right.

A decade of playing around and I've worked out that, during the day I just like to enhance my eyes to help them stand out but not look too 'done'.  

Glasses can sometimes magnify the eye area so I feel it's particularly important to get my under eye concealer right so that my dark circles are well camouflaged.
I apply pencil eyeliner above the top lashes (here I've used a dark plum) and smudge it a little with a similar coloured eye shadow. This softens the look and sets the pencil. I run the same brush I used to smudge the pencil liner just below my bottom lashes too.
I like to curl my lashes, apply mascara and then comb through the lashes to avoid any clumps.
A bit of blush, lip balm/ gloss and I'm good to go about my business!

From there, if I'm at work or out and about, I can either build up the eye make up to make a more smokey look or add a bright lippy. I find that it's one or the other for me.

Below you can see I've spent more time building up the eye make up, making the eyeliner thicker and winging it out very slightly. I've also built up the colour so that it's heavier and more of a smokey look.
I added more blush then tried a couple of lip options, the first image below is a purple lipgloss with a nude shimmery gloss patted on top. The second image is the same eye make up with a pink gloss.

Which of the three looks you prefer?

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Yay, the sun is here!

After a very long winter we've had a week of glorious sunshine. Me & Molly have made the most of it by getting out everyday and today we met a friend across London which meant very little time for make up.

So, my LOTD (look of the day) is a natural & easy one. Just foundation (mixture of Illamasqua Skin base, YSL Touch Eclat foundation & L'Oreal Apricot CC cream), liquid liner (Illamasqua Havoc Precicion Ink), Mascara (Max Factor False Lash Effect), A bit of blush (Sugarbomb by Benefit) and a lip balm.

I mix my foundations to get the right shade and consistency. Sometimes I like more coverage but during the day, particularly when it's sunny I only want a light base.

My brows are in urgent need of attention. I had to push my waxing appointment back by a week and am desperate to pluck and straighten them up but must resist!

I don't look very sunny n this pic do I? I ripped the scarf and cardi off as soon as I stepped outside!

Molly on the other hand, looks super sunny & smiley in her pic of the day! Shame we have rain forecast over the weekend.

 

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Look of the day... Inspired by Leigh Lezarck

Hello lovely readers! I was flicking through Company magazine today and was struck by how gorgeous & totally hot Leigh Lezark looked on the cover. Don't you agree?

I love her sultry, bronzy eyes, contoured cheeks and pink lips so thought I'd create a version of it for my look today. 

Image courtesy of http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/company-magazines-cover-star-leigh-lezark-130400454.html

First, I thought I'd show a pic of me with no make up on for reference. Not a very pretty sight but good to see what a difference a bit of make up makes eh?!

I love the eye make up look but wasn't sure about the pink lips, I think a slightly different shade would have looked better on me but just as I went to change the colour a friend arrived with her toddler in tow to play with my little monster, Molly.

I love the eye make up look but wasn't sure about the pink lips, I think a slightly different shade would have looked better on me but just as I went to change the colour a friend arrived with her toddler in tow to play with my little monster, Molly.

As we were sipping our tea and munching on biscuits, I thought I'd best take the lippy off. Plus, I felt a bit over dressed to be honest. Pink lip removed, I preferred the look with nude lips so when our visitors left I ran upstairs to add a pink lip balm I got a while back from Clinique (Pudgey Peony Chubby Stick) and I love it. What do you think?

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