Heather Does Make Up

Illamasqua Sophie-I Smoky Eye

2012-02-09T02:08:00.000Z

If you're a fan of Illamasqua, you'll know that the company supports the Sophie Lancaster Foundation by selling the Sophie Medium Pencil, wristbands, and by accepting donations online. It's a great cause and if you'd like to read up on the foundation you can do so by clicking here. Their newest collection is all about discovering how to use the Sophie Pencil to create a non-conventional smoky eye with lots of definition and drama!

I really love the promotional image for this collection - it's so simple with just a couple of different shades yet the shape still makes it dramatic and adds an edge. Goes to show that you don't have to use 10 different eyeshadows to make an impact!

My version.......

Excuse the hideous department store lighting!

Collection Products:

Sophie Pencil

Eyeshadows in Stealth & Machine

Sealing Gel

Masquara in Raven

False Eyelashes

Lipstick in Test

Sheer Lipgloss in Artifice

Here's a video tutorial of the technique which you can use to re-create the look or you can always come up with your own interpretation of the Sophie look! :D

80's High Fashion Make-Up

2012-01-31T23:27:00.000Z

80's high fashion with some bold colours and strong lines!

Indoor Lighting.....

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere 020

Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer #135

Illamasqua Gleam Cream Flex

MAC Harmony Blush as contour

Illamasqua Chased Blusher

Eyes:

Illamasqua Yes eyeshadow on lid

Illamasqua Paddle Medium Pencil to draw line in crease

Illamasqua Fatal eyeshadow in crease

Illamasqua Fame on lower lash line

Face2 Cake Liner

Ardell Demi Luvies

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil

Lips:

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Manic

Illamasqua Corrupt Lipstick & Liv Lipstick in centre

Metallic Mushroom

2012-01-27T08:27:00.000Z

A few months ago I won a Picture Polish giveaway on Tara's blog, www.keepingupwithme.net (do check it out). Picture Polish sent me three polishes of my choice, one of which was this incredible metallic shade called Metallic Mush (love the name too!). It's an amazing champagne colour and is really lovely and easy to work with. I have two coats on here followed by Illamasqua's Top Coat. I'm a sucker for metallic nail polish so this one definitely now has a spot among my favourites!

Picture Polish have some other interesting colours which you can check out on their website: www.picturepolish.com.au. The other two shades I chose were Honey Dew and Red Devil and I'm loving both of those too.

Illamasqua Sirens Theme Make-up

2012-01-18T21:41:00.000Z

If you follow me on Twitter some of you may know that I've been working for Illamasqua here in Sydney for the past couple of months. Every weekend we have a theme day on the counters so I thought I would start sharing a few photos of these on my blog. Last week the theme was our Sirens Collection from 2009. You can take a look at all of Illamasqua's previous collections here. Sirens is all about radiant skin, golds, bronzes and sea blues which are perfect for summer here in Australia.

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere 020

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20

Dior Bronze Matte Sunshine in Honey Matte

MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base as a highlight

Illamasqua Powdered Metal in Ether over the top of Pearl

Illamaqua Blusher in Lover

Eyes:

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Ore on lid

MAC Mulch mixed with Illamasqua Bronx in crease

Illamasqua Boomerang to deepen crease

Illamasqua Solstice Liquid Metal in inner corners and in centre of lid

Clinique Cream Liner

Illamasqua Debonair Medium Pencil under eye

Illamasqua Dance eyeshadow over Debonair

Illamasqua Furore Pure Pigment under brow

Illamasqua Brow Cake in Motto

Lips:

Illamasqua Brink Lipstick

Illamasqua Furore Pure Pigment in centre

If you've been following Illamasqua's collections let me know which was your favourite :) Also if any Sydney ladies are around Bondi drop into the counter in Myer and say hello!

Rainbow Bright

2012-01-14T02:44:00.000Z

Just the eyes for this post since I was only having a bit of a play around with some bright colours and wasn't quite sure what would come out of it! I really do like this colour combination though...they remind me of 'My Little Pony' colours. If you played with those in the 80's or 90's then I'm sure you'll know what I mean :D

Products Used:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Crystal Avalanche & Gesso

Urban Decay Alice/Painkiller & Underland/Flash

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow #92

NARS Desire Blush

Face2 Cake Eyeliner

Urban Decay Tease Eyelashes

Laura Mercier Blonde Brow Pencil

I know it's a bit belated since I haven't blogged in a while but I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Years! I spent Christmas day on the beach this year which was quite bizarre...didn't quite feel like a proper Christmas without cold weather and big coats and turkey for dinner! Think it must have reached about 30°C on Christmas day in Sydney. It was good to do something different for it though all the same. Hope everyone had a very happy start to 2012 too! :D

Starry Night Nails

2011-12-12T03:19:00.000Z

I had this nail colour on with the navy and black look from my previous post. It's Barry M Nail Paint in Navy. It looks more cobalt blue in direct daylight but in dull or artificial light it looks like much more of a deeper midnight blue. The formula is fantastic - lovely and opaque in two coats. I find Barry M polishes last really long without chipping too.

Navy & Black Eyeshadow Tutorial

2011-12-05T22:00:00.000Z

The main eyeshadow that I used for this look is the very gorgeous MAC Contrast. It's a dark navy but it reflects a little bit of a purple tone too which I think makes it a lot prettier and more interesting than your standard navy. This is one of those eyeshadows which I absolutely love but rarely use so I thought I'd give it some time in the spotlight today! Hope you enjoy it!

Products Used

Face:

Make Up For ever Mat Velvet + Foundation #20

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Warm Ivory

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Powder

MAC Harmony Blush as contour

MAC Pinch O' Peach Blush

Eyes:

MAC Paint Stick in Black Black

MAC Contrast, Vex, Carbon, Vellum, Gesso

Clinique Cream Liner in Black

Ardell Demi 102 lashes

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde

Lips:

MAC Ample Pink Plushglass

1. Apply a black base but only a tiny amount and sheer it out. I used MAC Paint Stick in Black Black which is a pro product but you could use something like MAC Blackground Paint Pot or even a kohl pencil blended out.

2. Take MAC Contrast eyeshadow on a fluffy blending brush and blend this all over the lid and slightly above the crease. Leave a little space on the inner corner free of colour for the moment. Run some Contrast underneath the eye too.

3. On a small tapered brush apply MAC Vex eyeshadow to the inner corners and around the tear duct area.

4. Add some black eyeshadow to the outer corner of the eye on a small pointed brush. I used MAC Carbon eyeshadow but any black will do. Take some of the black underneath the eye too but just on the outer third of the lower lash line.

5. Take a tiny bit more Contrast on the blending brush and use it to blend out the black eyeshadow. You may need to apply and blend a few times to get it to look perfect.

6. On another blending brush, blend around the edges with MAC Vellum eyeshadow. If you don't have Vellum you can use a shadow which is a similar colour to your skin tone. You can apply a brow bone highlight here too.

7. Line the upper lash line as well as the waterline with a black gel liner.

8. Apply mascara and add some false eyelashes. That's the eye make-up finished!

Hair Care Products Worth Trying Out!

2011-11-26T11:56:00.000Z

Time seems to be flying by lately and I only just realised that my last blog post was almost a month ago now. I've been meaning to write about my staple hair care products for a while so here's a new post on them and hopefully it won't be quite so long until my next post!

Redken Blonde Glam Shampoo - I've been using the Blonde Glam Shampoo from Redken for years now and I think it's a great shampoo for blonde hair. I find it really does help to eliminate brassy tones and keep the colour nice and bright. It's not heavy at all and it has a fresh lemony smell.

Redken Extreme CAT Treatment - The Redken CAT Treatment is a protein based product for re-building the hair structure. This stuff is intense though so it's only necessary for damaged hair and should be used only every so often. It's not the type of treatment that will leave your hair soft and shiny after immediate use like a mask would so you do need to use a good conditioner after this. If your hair has had long term damage from colour or from going overboard with straighteners then this might definitely be a product to try out.

Kerastase Reflection Chroma Riche - This is hands down my favourite conditioning mask of all time! Since I get my hair coloured very regularly, I have to be vigilant about constantly pumping lots of moisture back into it and the Chroma Riche is perfect for doing that. It doesn't weigh down my hair whatsoever or leave behind any residue - it just does a fantastic job at leaving my hair really soft and shiny. Definitely try this out if you're looking for a new hair mask!

Redken Extreme Anti-Snap - The Anti-Snap is a leave in product for damaged hair. Like the CAT Treatment, it's protein based so it helps strengthen hair and it also provides some heat protection. I only tend to use a small amount of this on the ends of my hair to prevent having too many split ends.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime - I've only discovered this in the last two or three months but I really wouldn't be without this product now. It's a leave in serum which contains several different oils for conditioning the hair. I use about a pump throughout my hair while it's damp and then once my hair is dry, it's left very soft and healthy looking. Serums which I've used previously have always left a lot of residue behind but this is one doesn't at all so even if you have incredibly fine hair like me you should be able to use the Elixir Ultime without a problem. I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone!

Hope that was of interest to some of you! Please do let me know your favourite hair products in the comments as I'm always looking for some other great ones to try.

Top Ten Nail Polishes for Autumn/Winter

2011-10-30T14:00:00.011Z

Here's one for those of you in the northern hemisphere!

From Left to Right:

OPI Bastille My Heart - This is a beautiful rich wine shade which I think is really glamorous. It reminds me of something like cranberry sauce which is perfect for coming into wintertime.

OPI Let Me Entertain You - I really adore this polish! It's a deep pink which is packed full of sparkles. I think this one is perfect around Christmastime.

OPI Peru-B-Ruby - This is a gorgeous pinky-red colour. I love jewel-tones for autumn/winter and like all of OPI's polishes it's almost opaque in one coat and perfect in two.

Ciate Cocktail Dress - A lovely berry-red without shimmer.

OPI Vodka & Caviar - A deep, blood red shade. It's a very classic colour which I don't think you can ever go wrong with.

From Left to Right:

Orly Rage - I included this in my summer nail polish favourites post but I equally love it around the festive season. It's a beautiful rose-gold with a very metallic finish.

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald - A dark teal green which has some subtle blue shimmer running through it. You can see what this looks like on my nails here.

China Glaze Joy - I think this is a really unique polish. It's a mauve-purple with some gorgeous gold reflects. It reminds me of MAC Trax eyeshadow.

Zoya Mikka - A beautiful dark, rich plum shade. I've posted a NOTD with this polish previously which you can see here.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Black Cab - A classic black without shimmer. I think black can be a really glamorous, dramatic nail colour once it's applied well. It looks fantastic with a really glossy top coat.

Do let me know what polishes you enjoy wearing for autumn/winter!

Trend: Colour Block Make-up

2011-10-24T21:00:00.003+01:00

The colour blocking trend was huge last season in Europe and now that we're coming back into spring/summer again in Australia the trend seems to be continuing on here too in a big way. I decided to follow the trend for this make-up look using purple eyeshadow paired with a bold, contrasting red lip. It may not be for everyone but it's always fun to have a play around with different colours!

Face:

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Foundation #20

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer #3

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

MAC Harmony Blush as contour

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow in Iced Gold

NARS Cactus Flower Blush

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Her Alter Image & Parfait Amour mixed on lid

MAC Parfait Amour in crease

MAC Graphology to darken crease

MAC Crystal Avalanche on inner corners

MAC Vanilla on brow bone

Clinique Cream Liner

Ardell Demi Wispies

Laura Mercier Blonde Brow Pencil

Lips:

MAC Redd Lip Pencil

MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick

I really love pairing bold, clashing colours together. If you didn't want to do bright eyeshadow and a bold lip together, you could always incorporate the trend into your look in a more subtle way like using a contrasting nail polish or lipstick to the colour of the outfit you're wearing. It's one to have fun with!

A Few of my Current Favourite Things

2011-10-18T09:45:00.001+01:00

I thought I'd share some of the things I've been really loving lately. Apologies for the less than fantastic photo quality but I had to take these with my iPhone due to my camera having died on me!

MAC Strobe Cream - This is a great moisturiser with added light-reflecting particles which gives great luminosity to the skin. I like to wear it all over my face underneath foundation but it can also be mixed in with your foundation for a more dewy finish or it can be used as a highlighter over foundation on the tops of cheekbones or wherever else you like to highlight. I think this will always be a staple in my make-up bag!

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Foundation - This foundation is fantastic for a very perfected looking base. It has a matte finish and can give full coverage without feeling heavy or like you're wearing a mask. I like to wear a sheer layer blended in with fingers after I've applied some MAC Strobe Cream to my face. If you have dry skin, this may not be the foundation for you but it should suit normal and oily skin types.

MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl - I've been loving this for a highlight on my cheekbones lately. It doesn't have shimmer in it which makes it perfect for both daytime and nighttime. It also photographs really well which is always a plus!

Benefit They're Real Mascara - I think this has become my new favourite mascara. It's got a rubber wand which is something I always favour and it gives amazing separation and length. It's not the most volumizing but I don't mind that since it means that it's completely clump free. It lasts all day too without any smudging or flaking. This is one to try out if you haven't already!

Ardell False Eyelashes - I think Ardell are one of the best brands for false lashes. The quality is second to none, they come in so many different varieties and the low price tag is definitely the icing on the cake! My favourite ones are the 102 Demi's but I'm also liking the Demi Luvies which I picked up at the IMATS last month.

Burt's Bees Lip Balm - I suffer badly from dry lips at times and I think this lip balm is probably the best I've tried for keeping them hydrated. I've got the one with added pomegranate oil but they come in a few different flavours.

MAC Lipstick in Runaway Red - This was limited edition with the MAC Me Over collection. It's a gorgeous deep red with a slight hint of a pink tone. I wish this was permanent as it's such a stunning shade of red!

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Heartbreaker - I've loved this lipstick for quite a while now. It was one I used in one of my first FOTD's on my blog which you can see here. It's a gorgeous deep fuchsia which I've been wearing almost every night I go out lately.

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Titivate - I love Illamasqua's medium pencils as they glide on so easily. Titivate is a bright pink which pairs well with almost all my bright pink and fuchsia lipsticks.

MAC Runaway Red, Rimmel Heartbreaker, Illamasqua Titivate

St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse - I've been relying solely on this false tan since arriving in Sydney. It can be applied really quick and easily and dries almost instantly which is always a good thing when you're house sharing and don't have time to fuss around in the bathroom for an hour!

Revlon Nail Polish in Plum Attraction - I'm a sucker for dark nail polish and I haven't stopped wearing this one for a few weeks now. It's a gorgeous deep purpley-plum shade. It applies really easily and lasts a good four days on me without chipping.

Alien Eau de Parfum by Thierry Mugler - This is absolutely my new favourite scent. I've a feeling that this won't last too long since I can't help but spray it constantly! I'm terrible at describing scents but if you haven't tried this yet go and get a spray of it as it's just delicious! I'm in love with the bottle too - I think it's a great design and it's also refillable.

Maxi's - A non beauty related favourite of mine lately has been maxi skirts and dresses. The skirt in the first photo is by a brand called Lioness which I found here in Sydney. It has a mullet shape at the end where it's longer at the back which I love since it gives it a really flowy appearance. The dress in the second photo is from Urban Outfitters. It's chiffon and has a nude slip underneath which stops just above the knees. Both of these have been great during spring in Sydney since the fabric is nice and light which is definitely needed in the warm weather! I've been seeing so many gorgeous maxi's in the shops lately so I think they'll be a staple for spring/summer over here.

Well hope you enjoyed my current favourites. Let me know if anyone else has tried any of these products and what you think of them!

A Hello & a few Travel Snaps

2011-10-05T11:27:00.000+01:00

I've posted a couple of new blog posts since arriving in Sydney but they were both pre-made from when I was back home so I thought I'd do a quick post to say a proper hello from down under and to share just a few photos of my travels so far!

Hello!

En route to Sydney, I stopped over in California for a few days. I stayed in Santa Monica which was really gorgeous. You definitely know you're in California when your're at Santa Monica beach - lots of people working out and rollerblading in hot pants! Here's a photo of the beach with the famous pier in the distance...

The last time I visited LA, we never actually found the Hollywood sign so I was very glad to have gotten a good view of it this time around!..

A view of LA from the Hollywood Hills! It was absolutely roasting hot up there that day. The bus driver told us that it was the hottest day they had all year so my photos up there were taken in a bit of a hurry!..

The beautiful Rodeo Drive. If only I had the money to be able to splurge in the shops there! Beverly Hills is exactly how it's pictured in the movies. It's like an entirely different world.

Standing in Johnny Depp's footprints in Hollywood! I really love seeing all the hand and foot prints of the stars especially those of the old Hollywood era. I didn't have time to find Marilyn Monroe's prints this time but I remember it being a bit surreal seeing them the last time I was in Hollywood. Her handprints were tiny too if I remember correctly!

I finally reached Sydney after a couple of very long plane journeys! I've been trying to find my way round the city for the past few weeks. It's definitely quite a contrast to Dublin or other European cities but so far it's a pretty cool place to be.

I went to the International Make-up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) Sydney at the end of September so I thought I'd share a few photos of some of the make-up on show there. I've been to IMATS London too a couple of times and really love these shows as they're always so full of inspiraton not to mention lots of discounted make-up! Although the Sydney event wasn't as big as the London one, it was still worth going to and it took place at the the beautiful Darling Harbour which is such a lovely area to spend a day.

This look was my favourite. I loved the romantic quality of it with the gorgeous pale skin..

Well that's it for my photos so far. My camera actually broke a while ago and I haven't replaced it yet so I've been unable to take any more photos for the time being. If anyone would like to recommend a camera brand/model to me that would be fantastic as I'm a bit clueless as to what one to get next. Blogging may become a bit slow while I'm over here due to a combination of unreliable internet connection, atrocious lighting and quite a lot of housemates which means making new posts can be very difficult to virtually impossible! I still have a few pre-made posts from back in Ireland though so I'll upload those over the next while. I hope everyone is well and having a good week!

NYX Black Label Lipstick Review

2011-10-01T14:59:00.001+01:00

As nice as it might be to buy expensive lipsticks, I really don't think they're a necessary make-up product to splurge on since there's so many inexpensive brands producing really fantastic quality lipsticks these days. I've tried the NYX Round Lipsticks previously and think they're decent quality for the very low price tag so when I saw that they released a Black Label range I was really eager to try them out too. The Black Label range is slightly more expensive and also slightly higher quality than their Round Lipsticks.

The first shade that I got is 'Cherry' which is a really beautiful bright cherry red colour. It's not a unique shade of red but I actually really love this one being the red lippie addict that I am. It has a nice glossy finish which gives it a very juicy appearance!

The second shade I bought is called 'Orchid' which is a violet-pink shade. It's fairly similar to MAC Pro Lipstick in Violetta, just slightly pinker, so if you didn't want to splurge on MAC then I think this is a good alternative.

The pigment is really nice and the texture is extremely smooth. They have a lot of slick to them which means that they glide on very easily but it also means that you may need a lip liner to get a very precise outline and to prevent them from bleeding. They have a lovely glossy finish too which I love since it means that lipgloss is not necessary and I'm admittedly not a big fan of wearing gloss. They're extremely comfortable to wear and very non drying which is a huge plus if you're a chronic dry lip sufferer like me! The fact that the finish is quite glossy, however, means that they don't wear for as long as a more satin or matte finish but I personally don't mind that too much.
The packaging is a little cheap looking and a bit bulky. I would have thought a more sleek tube would have been a better option for this range but I do like how you can see the colour on the end of the tube which makes it easy to find the shade that you need in a rush.
I bought these from www.love-makeup.co.uk for £8 which would be €9-10 which is very reasonable but I think you can actually find them for even less in the USA or from ebay.
Overall, I'm impressed with these and would recommend them if your'e looking for a bit of a cheap thrill. The range has lots of colours to choose from too so I think they're a good option if you want to expand your collection of lipstick colours.

Pros: Smooth, glossy finish, comfortable, non-drying, inexpensive
Cons: Need a lip liner, not extremely long-lasting, bulky packaging

Mark out of 10: 7

Would I buy again: Yes

Dramatic Smoky Teal Eyeshadow

2011-09-14T01:26:00.000+01:00

I wanted to do something quite dark and dramatic here since I feel like I had my fill of light summer make-up looks and I've been absolutely loving all the dark smoky colours that are emerging for autumn/winter (even though I'm now in Australia where it's spring again which feels a bit bizarre!). So here's the look I came up with using MAC Plumage as the main shadow which is a beautiful teal green colour.

Face:

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Foundation #20

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Warm Ivory

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

MAC Harmony Blush as contour

MAC Coygirl Blush

Eyes:

MAC Paint Stick in Black Black as base

MAC Plumage on lid and in crease

MAC Typographic on outer corners

MAC Vellum on brow bone

MAC Prance in inner corners

MAC Reflects Pearl

Clinique Cream Liner

Ardell Demi 102 lashes
Laura Mercier Blonde Brow Pencil

Lips:

MAC Plumful Lipstick

On my nails I have China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald. It's a gorgeous emerald green shot through with some blue micro shimmer which gives it a slight blue reflect when it catches the light. I love this polish!

What's in My Bag for Travelling

2011-09-03T18:28:00.004+01:00

So I'm off to Australia tomorrow! It's all very exciting but also quite scary. I'll have three different flights to go on in total. The first is from Dublin to London, the second is London to LA where I'll stay over for a few nights and then finally I'll fly from LA to Sydney! Altogether I'll be over 24 hours on a plane which I'm definitely not looking forward to in the slightest but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. I'll try and keep updating my blog as much as possible while I'm away. I do have some pre-made posts which I'll be uploading so hopefully I won't have to abandon the blogging world altogether. So here's just a quick final post before I go showing you what I'll be taking on the plane. I know people enjoy being nosy! :D

I plan on taking my make-up off on the plane so that I can keep my skin moisturised throughout the flight so I'm bringing a few products with me in case I want to put a little bit back on again on arrival. Here's what I have: Some MAC, Illamasqua & Hakuhodo brushes, MAC Painterly Paint Pot, Clinique Cream Liner, Nivea Lip Balm, Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow, Make Up For Ever Matte Velvet Foundation and Lift Concealer, Benefit Mascara, Make Up For Ever Concealer Pencil (great for making eyes look bright and more awake), MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl, Laura Mercier Brow Pencil, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Monte Carlo & NARS Funny Face Lipstick which I like to use as a cream blush as well as a lipstick as it's very face brightening!

I'm also bringing a Unii Palette which is great for travelling. In here I have: MAC eyeshadows in Vanilla, Dazzlelight, Phloof, Wedge, Haux, Espresso and Embark. The two blushes are NYX Pinky and NARS Deep Throat. I definitely won't be using all of these while travelling but I thought I may as well fill the palette anyway!

For cosmetics I'm bringing: a toothbrush and toothpaste, a mini hair brush, Optrex Clear Eyes Drops, there's some Kerastase Elixir in the little pump bottle so that my hair doesn't dry out from all the air conditioning, MAC Fix+, Oilatum Moisturiser, Milk of Magnesia because I have a terrible stomach, Nivea Face Wipes, Hand Sanitiser and some ear plugs in case there's any screaming kids beside me!

I also have some Ray-Ban Sunglasses, my passport which is in a very cute butterfly passport holder that my sister bought me, my iphone, my purse which is from Urban Outfitters and a couple of books which are: Ugly Beauty by Ruth Brandon about the history of Helena Rubinstein and L'Oreal and A Clash Of Kings which is the second book in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series by George Martin. I just finished reading the first one, A Game Of Thrones, which was fantastic so I've high hopes for this one now too!

My Top 15 Neutral MAC Eyeshadows

2011-08-26T22:05:00.000+01:00

If you've been reading my blog for a while I'm sure you'll have seen that almost all the eyeshadows that I use are from MAC. It's definitely my favourite brand for eyeshadows mainly because of the huge range of shades and different finishes. So, since I'm a huge lover of neutrals, I thought I'd show you my top 15 neutral eyeshadows from MAC. There are a good few more than this which I really enjoying using too but I tried to pair it down to the 15 that I tend to reach for the most.

1st Row, Left to Right:

Vanilla (velvet) - This is a basic ivory shade which I use everyday as a highlight or as a base shadow. I think everyone needs a matte or an almost matte shadow which is a similar shade to their skintone to use as a base, under the brow or to blend the edges of crease colours so, for me, Vanilla is perfect for this.

Dazzlelight (veluxe pearl) - A lovely light shimmery cream colour which looks great on the lid or on the inner corners. It's a brilliant shadow for brightening up the eyes.

Phloof! (frost) - This is a pink toned highlight shade. It looks very pretty on the inner corners.

Naked Lunch (frost) - A pink champagne. This looks lovely all over the lid, either on it's own or paired with some browns. It makes a great 'daytime' shade.

Jest (frost) - Jest is a slightly peach toned pink. This is another one which I love to use all over the lid. It looks beautiful paired with some plum or pink toned browns like Sable or Haux.

Vanilla, Dazzlelight, Phloof!, Naked Lunch, Jest

2nd Row, Left to Right:

Patina (frost) - This is labelled as a frost but I definitely wouldn't call it frosty. It's a very pretty antique gold with some subtle gold shimmer in it. I like to use it on the lid with bronzey shades in the crease.

Soba (satin) - A lovely medium golden brown with a tiny bit of gold shimmer running through it. This works well as a crease shade.

Wedge (matte) - Wedge is the perfect medium neutral brown. This is a definite staple for me and a really great basic shade to have.

Sable (velvet) - This is a beautiful brown with a slight plum tone.

Haux (satin) - I think Haux may just be my all-time favourite brown! It's a very pretty soft rosy brown which I use all the time as a crease colour.

Patina, Soba, Wedge, Sable, Haux

3rd Row, Left to Right:

Woodwinked (veluxe pearl) - I actually don't like woodwinked at all on myself as it turns into a very rusty orange shade which is not flattering on me. If you have pale skin be careful with this one as it may or may not work for you. I've still included it in my top 15 because I love using it on people with medium-dark skin where it transfers as a fabulous warm bronzey gold. It can create a stunning smoky eye when blended with a bit of dark brown or black.

Mulch (velvet) - A gorgeous bronzey brown with some gold flecks.

Espresso (matte) - This is a medium-dark golden brown which I use mainly in the crease or outer corner. I think this is a great basic brown to own.

Mystery (satin) - I could have included either Mystery or Brun here. If you have one of these two then you won't need the other. Mystery has a very slight plum tone to it. I'ts not very exciting but it's a staple for using as a liner or through the brows for brunettes.

Embark (matte) - Last but not least as it's one I can't be without! Embark is a dark red brown which I love to use in the outer corner.

Woodwinked, Mulch, Espresso, Mystery, Embark

I'd love to know what anyone else's favourites are. Feel free to let me know in the comments!

Dark Plum Nails for Autumn

2011-08-19T21:28:00.001+01:00

I'm a huge fan of dark nail polish colours especially dark berry tones. Zoya Mikka is a very dark plum shade which looks almost black until it catches the light. I think this is a perfect shade for autumn/winter since dark purple tones in particular are very on trend for this season. Mikka came out with Zoya's Pulse Collection in 2008 I believe but you can still find it on places like ebay.

This is the first Zoya polish that I've tried and the formula was great - perfectly opaque in two coats. I also added Illamasqua Top Coat to finish them off. The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the size of the brush which was a bit small. I prefer brushes like the OPI ones which are larger and flat since I find they apply the polish a lot neater. Otherwise, though, I think it's a great polish and a gorgeous shade!

NARS Funny Face of the Day & Giveaway Winner

2011-08-09T21:37:00.015+01:00

I recently acquired NARS Funny Face lipstick and have since been having somewhat of a love affair with it. It really is the queen bee of all fuchsia lipsticks. It's bright and definitely packs a punch but it's not garish since it still retains a good bit of depth. The consistency is beautiful - pigmented, smooth and matte without being heavy or dry. What more could a girl want in a lippie! I don't think you could be disappointed with this one.

Face:

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation #120

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer #3

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder

MAC Harmony Blush to contour

NARS Blush in Desire

Eyes:

Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Platinum as a base

MAC Naked Lunch eyeshadow on lid

MAC Wedge eyeshadow in crease

Clinique Cream Liner

Bourjois Volumizer Mascara

Ardell 117 lashes

MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in Dirty Blonde

Lips:

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Titivate

NARS Funny Face Lipstick

Here's a shade comparison of Funny Face with MAC Show Orchid and Girl About Town lipsticks. Show Orchid is on the left, Funny Face is in the centre and Girl About Town is on the right. I actually don't love how the two MAC lipsticks look on me. Funny Face, however, has a bit more depth and almost a slight berry tone to it which I find a lot more flattering with my skin tone. I imagine it would look gorgeous on many different skin tones.

Left to Right: Show Orchid, Funny Face, Girl About Town

The winner of my Topshop make-up giveaway is......Ashii! Congrats to you! The goodies will hopefully be on their way to you very soon and I hope you enjoy them.

Make-up Tips: How to Help Make-up Last All Day

2011-08-03T01:17:00.012+01:00

I'm asked all the time about how to get make-up to last all day long. These are just a few of my general tips and favourite products to help with this. This info is probably widely known already but hopefully it will be useful to some of you.

Base:

Choose the right foundation for your skin type. If you have oily skin stay away from oil based foundations. Opt for oil-free, mattifying formulas instead. Water-resistant formulas are fantastic at holding up well on any skin since they resist oil, light rain and humidity. It's also extremely important to ensure that the ingredients in your foundation are compatible with your moisturiser or primer underneath it. For example if your moisturiser/primer is oil based make sure that your foundation is oil based too and not water based as oil and water don't mix. My tops picks for long-wearing foundation: Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet +, YSL Teint Resist, Make Up For Ever Face & Body and Estee Lauder Double Wear Light.

Primer is not necessary for everyone but it can help make-up last longer on certain skin types. If your skin becomes dry and flaky throughout the day opting for a hydrating primer can help combat this. On the other hand, oily skins can benefit from a primer which is specifically designed to keep oil at bay, preventing make-up from melting off. My picks for primer: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer (Original, Hydrating or Oil-Free), Make Up For Ever All Mat and MAC Matte Gel.

For concealer it's best to stay away from very creamy formulas. My top choices for concealer: MAC Pro Longwear Concealer (for under eyes) and Make Up For Ever Full Cover (for face).

Powder is a must for setting everything in place. The key with powder application is to press it on rather than dusting it over the face. The best thing to use for this is a good old fashioned velour puff. Sometimes the old tricks are still the best! If you want to use a brush, use just one side of it to push the powder onto the skin.

Eyes:

Eye-primers are great little products for keeping your eyeshadow in place all day. They tend to be slightly tacky which gives the shadow something to grab onto. My picks for eye primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion and MAC Paint Pots.

Gel eyeliner tends to be the longest wearing eyeliner formula. These can also be water resistant making them ideal for lasting well on the waterline. My top gel liner choices: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner and Clinique Brush On Cream Liner.

Tubing mascara is a fantastic new formula which is completely smudge-proof and flake-free. This stuff doesn't budge until you remove it with warm water. Top tubing mascara choice: Clinique Lash Power Mascara.

If you find that your eyebrow powder fades throughout the day, choose a waxy eyebrow pencil instead. If you want something completely budge-proof several companies have come out with some fantastic waterproof brow products. My brow picks: MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil and Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector.

Lips:

To help your lipstick last for the longest possible time a great tip is to use a lip liner first and to fill your entire lips in with it. This mattes out the lips, allowing lipstick to grip on better. It also means that if your lipstick does fade after eating etc. there will be a stain underneath and you won't be left with a rim of lip liner around naked lips! Never a good look. My top lip liner pick: Make Up for Ever Aqua Lip (it's waterproof for even more staying power!).

Applying lipstick with a lip brush means that you can really work the product into all the crevices. Apply a thin layer with a lip brush, blot, and then apply another thin layer. This helps to really seal the colour in.

If you want to wear a lip gloss go for a super sticky kind. When it comes to long lasting lip gloss, the stickier the better! My top picks for lip gloss: MAC Clear Lipglass, MAC Tinted Lipglass and Make Up For Ever Super Gloss.

If anyone has any other tips which I haven't mentioned please do share them in the comments below! I'd love to hear them.

I'm also still in the process of going through all my giveaway entries. I'll announce the winner in my next post so keep a lookout for that!

Grey Eyeshadow Tutorial

2011-07-24T23:41:00.006+01:00

Something a bit more fun today - dramatic grey eyeshadow with a pop of bright pink on the lips to brighten things up! You could tone it down with a nude lip though too if you wanted. Hope you enjoy it!

Products Used:

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation 20

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer #3

Make Up For Ever Star Powder on cheekbones

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

MAC Matte Bronzer

MAC Pink Swoon Blush

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Vanilla, Gesso, Scene & Typographic

Make Up For Ever Star Powder #902

Clinique Cream Liner

Max Factor False Lash Mascara

Ardell Demi Wispies

Laura Mercier Blonde Brow Pencil

Lips:

Dior Addict Lipstick in 865 Collection

1. Apply MAC Painterly as a base. Sweep some Vanilla eyeshadow (or any shade which is close to your skin tone) all over the lid up to the brow. This ensures that the following eyeshadows will blend seemlessly. Next take some Gesso eyeshadow and appy it to the inner half of the lid.

2. Take MAC Scene eyeshadow or another medium grey shade and, with a flat brush, apply this to the outer half of the lid. Now take a fluffy blending brush like the MAC 217 and blend this across the lid into the Gesso shade.

3. Now take a dark grey (I'm using MAC Typographic) and apply this to the outer corner of the eye on a flat brush. I created an angled shape with this. Use the same flat brush to sweep the eyeshadow across the lid into the medium grey shade. So there should be a nice graduation of colour now from light to dark.

4. Take some more Vanilla eyeshadow and use this to blend around the edges so that they're not so harsh. I used a MAC 222 Brush for this.

5. Take some of MAC Scene and run it under the eyes. Now take some shimmer (I used a Make Up For Ever Star Powder) and press this over the area where the Gesso eyeshadow was applied on the inner corner. Take it around the tear duct area too.

6. With a gel or liquid liner, line your top lash line. Apply some black liner to your waterline too. Add mascara to top and bottom lashes. Apply some false eyelashes and that's it!

Here's the finished eye make-up again.........

I hope everyone had a great week/weekend. I received my Visa for Australia a few days ago which is equally exciting and extremely scary! It definitely hasn't quite hit me yet that I'll be moving there very soon. Trying to think of how I'm going to manage packing everything is really beyond me at the moment. It will definitely be very nice to be going somewhere with some lovely sunshine though. I'm going to be passing through California too for a few days on my way there which I absolutely can't wait for. I lived in California for a few months several years ago and I love the place so it will be so nice to be back there. Beats Ireland any day! :D

Current Favourite Blushers

2011-07-17T20:04:00.003+01:00

Powder Blushers

Swatched From Left to Right:

MAC Merrily - A red with golden shimmer

MAC Pinch O' Peach - A fairly neutral matte pink

NARS Deap Throat - A peachy-pink with shimmer

NARS Torrid - A coral with shimmer

Cream Blushers

Swatched From Left to Right:

NARS Cactus Flower - A watermelon red with gold shimmer

Topshop Flush - A bright warm pink

MAC Something Special - A soft pinky-peach

Graftobian Raspberry Wine - A rosey-red shade

Has anyone else tried any of these? Let me know what you think of them or what your recent favourites are! I always love checking out new ones being the blush addict that I am :D

Defined Crease Tutorial with MAC Rebel Lipstick

2011-07-14T02:01:00.007+01:00

Rebel is one of those lipsticks which can work on absolutely any skin tone, from the palest to the darkest. It looks great sheered out to a stain too or made into a gloss by mixing a tiny amount in with some clear lipgloss. It's really versatile and tends to be a favourite among make-up artists. I paired it with very neutral eyeshadows here but I think the defined crease and winged black liner still inject just enough drama to balance out the deep lip. You can of course also use this eye make-up with just about any lip colour!

Products Used

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation 20

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20

MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

MAC Matte Bronzer

NYX Blush in Pinky

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC eyeshadows in Vanilla, Gesso, Wedge,

Embark, Carbon

Urban Decay Buck eyeshadow
Make Up For Ever Star Powder

Clinique Cream Liner

Make Up For Ever Concealer Pencil

Maybelline Volume Express Mascara

Ardell Demi 102 Lashes

MAC Dirty Blonde Brow Pencil

Lips:

MAC Plum Lip Liner & Rebel Lipstick

MAC Clear Lipglass

1. Appy MAC Painterly Paint Pot as a base. Next, apply a good amount of MAC Vanilla eyeshadow all over the lid all the way up to the brow. Doing this ensures that the shadows which will be applied later will blend really easily.

2. Apply MAC Gesso eyeshadow to the lid on a flat brush, keeping it below the crease.

3. On a large fluffy brush like the Illamasqua Blending Brush sweep some MAC Wedge eyeshadow onto the area slightly above the socket line.

4. On a pointed brush (I'm using one by Louise Young) apply a darker brown shade into the crease. I mixed Urban Decay Buck and MAC Embark to get the shade I wanted. The pointed brush should create a very defined line in the crease with the eyeshadow.

5. Take a MAC 217 or a similar blending brush and blend the top edge of the darker brown where it meets the lighter brown shade. Now just keep applying more dark brown and blending it. You can apply more of the lighter brown too if it begins to get lost.

6. Run some of the Urban Decay Buck eyeshadow underneath the eye on a flat brush like a MAC 242. I also applied a tiny bit of MAC Carbon eyeshadow very close to the lower lashes on an angled brush to define my lash line. If you already have dark lashes and a dark lash line you may not need to do this.

7. Line your top lash line with a cream/gel or liquid liner. I used Clinique Cream Liner on a MAC 210 brush.

8. Line your waterline with an off white pencil. I used Make Up For Ever's Concealer Pencil. On a small brush, apply a shimmery eyeshadow to the tear duct area as a highlight. I used a Make Up For Ever Star Powder for this.

9. Apply mascara to top and bottom lashes. Add some false lashes and you're done!

Here's the finished look. The eye make-up is really quite simple - it just requires some good blending work!

A Little Giveaway (Closed)

2011-07-10T17:40:00.006+01:00

I've gained quite a lot of new followers over the past while and since I've just reached the 500 mark I thought I would do a bit of a giveaway to say merci beaucoup! :D

There's a few lovely ladies who definitely helped to generate a lot of traffic towards my blog recently and who I'll just give a quick mention to - both The Beauty Bite and Your Style Scout who did very lovely posts about my blog and Lipstick Rules who also featured my blog in one of her posts. So thanks so much again ladies! I've also seen that a few people have very kindly added my blog to their favourite blog and 'link love' lists so I very much appreciate all of you who have done that too!

I'm afraid it's a fairly small giveaway this time since I'm moving to Australia in a couple of months which I need to try and save a few pennies for! I think these are two great products though which I really like myself and hopefully one of you will enjoy them too!......

The Prize:

Topshop Cream Blush in 'Head Over Heels' - A beautiful coral shade (I don't have this colour but I have 'Flush' and I absolutely love the texture of these).

Topshop Lipstick in 'Show Off' - A lovely medium pink. To save me from opening the new lipstick you can see what it looks like in my favourite lipsticks post here and also in my pink eyeshadow tutorial here.

How To Enter:

1. Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect.

2. Leave a message in the comment section and include your e-mail address in it so that I can contact you. Please only comment once.

For Extra Entries:

~ 'Like' my page on Facebook (1 extra entry). Please leave your Facebook name with your e-mail in the comments.
~ Add a link to this giveaway on your blog - either in a post or in the side of your blog (3 extra entries). Please leave the URL in the comments with your e-mail.

The winner will be chosen using random.org. The giveaway is open internationally and will end on 29th July at 11pm Irish time. Good luck and thanks again to everyone for following!

Giveaway is now closed.

My Top 10 Make-up Products

2011-07-05T03:50:00.008+01:00

I was tagged by the very lovely Lil Lady's Life to do my top 10 beauty products so here they are! I'm obviously always trying out new products and finding new things that I love but these are all products which I can always rely on and which I will probably keep coming back to.

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation - A gorgeous foundation which gives medium coverage and has a lovely healthy, slightly dewy finish. It photographs beautifully too despite it containing SPF. This is probably best suited to normal-dry skin types. It's apparently being discontinued at the end of the year though so stock up before then if you like this one!

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - A fantastic concealer for under eyes or to cover minor redness (not ideal for blemishes). It's got great coverage but never looks cakey or dry around the eye area.

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder - This is definitely the best loose powder I've tried. It's finely milled so it doesn't look overly powdery and it does a fantastic job of setting foundation and concealer. Shade #12 is translucent and suits fair-medium skins but this comes in a range of other shades too.

Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond - A beautiful powder highlighter. It's got a very fine shimmer so it gives the skin a really gorgeous, sophisticated glow and doesn't look over the top.

Shu Uemura Glow On Blush - I can't say enough good things about Shu Uemura's blushers! Both the matte and shimmer ones are absolutely gorgeous - super soft and they apply seemlessly. My favourite shade is P Pink 30 but they have a huge range of really amazing colours. Love these!

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold - A cream highlighter which I think will always have a place among my top beauty products. You can take a look at my review of it here.

NARS Alhambra Eyeshadow Duo - These are two great staple lid colours. I love the quality and texture of these as well - they're buttery soft and lovely to apply.

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black - I favour this over any other gel or cream liner because it stays really creamy and doesn't dry out like ones from other brands do. It's very easy to apply and can be used on the waterline too.

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - Painterly is a great eyeshadow base. It acts like a concealer, covering up any redness or veins on the eyelids and leaves you with the perfect blank canvas! Eyeshadow clings really well to this too which means you get a stronger colour pay-off.

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara - This has been my favourite mascara since it came out. It gives great length and separation and never looks clumpy. The one in the photo is the 'Fusion' version. I'm not quite sure what the difference is between this and the original - they seem like practically the same product to me!

Hope you like my favourites. Feel free to tell me your top 10 too!

Pink Eyeshadow Tutorial

2011-07-03T14:41:00.009+01:00

I'm still on a bit of a quest to stay away from brown eyeshadow all the time so I decided to use a bit of pink today. I don't use these kind of shades enough but I actually really love soft baby pink eyeshadow - it's a great colour for grey eyes in particular. I amped it up a bit here with some mauve and plum and lots of black liner.

Products Used

Face:

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation #120

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

MAC Harmony Blush for contouring

MAC Mineralize Blush in Gentle

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder

Eyes:

Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Starlit Pink

MAC eyeshadows in Seedy Pearl, Shale, Shadowy Lady,

Vellum & Vanilla

Clinique Cream Liner

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Elise half lashes

MAC Dirty Blonde Pencil & Omega eyeshadow on brows

Lips:

Topshop Lipstick in Show Off

1. Apply a pink base to the eyelid. I used Clinique's Cream Shadow in Starlit Pink.

2. Use a flat brush like the MAC 242 to press MAC Seedy Pearl eyeshadow onto the lid.

3. Blend MAC Shale eyeshadow into the crease with a 217 brush.

4. Run some of that Shale under the lower lash line using the tip of a flat brush. I used the 242 again.

5. On a slightly pointed brush, apply MAC Shadowy Lady eyeshadow about halfway into the crease and blend some onto the outer corner too. The brush in the photo is by Louise Young but it didn't pack on enough colour so I used the Laura Mercier crease brush after. If you have small eyes you could use a pencil brush for this too.

6. Take some Shadowy Lady underneath the eye too - just on the outer third of the lower lash line.

7. On a small pencil brush like the MAC 219, apply some MAC Vellum eyeshadow onto the tear duct area.

8. Blend an eyeshadow which is a shade lighter than your skin tone under the brow as a highlight and to soften the edges of the crease colour. I used MAC Vanilla on a 222 brush for this.

9. Line the top lash line with a black gel/cream liner and wing it out at the end. You can have a look at my winged liner tutorial here. I used Clinique's Cream Liner on a Louise Young LY24 brush.

10. Apply the gel liner along the waterline. Line the outer third of the lower lash line with the gel liner too and before it has time to dry smudge it out with a q-tip to soften it. I went back and added a bit more Shale eyeshadow under the eye at this point too. Now just apply mascara and add false lashes if you wish. I added some half lashes by Elise. .........That's it!

My hair has been quite dry lately so If anyone knows some really great conditioning products then please do leave your recommendations in the comments! It would be very helpful! I'm thinking Morrocanoil may be a good option.

Hope anyone in Canada had a good Canada day on the 1st. Oh and a happy 4th July (tomorrow) to everyone in the US!

My Skincare Routine & Favourite Skincare Products

2011-06-30T16:10:00.008+01:00

A few people have asked me what my skincare routine is and what products I use so here it is for those who are interested! I have a normal skin type most of the time but it can become dry in winter and it's also slightly sensitive. My routine is fairly fuss-free and simple. Here's what I would do morning and night.......

Morning:

Tone and moisturise. I don't tend to cleanse in the morning because I don't ever feel the need to - I think that over-cleansing is not always a good thing especially if your skin is on the dry side. If I need a sun protection I will use that instead of my moisturiser. I'll exfoliate in the morning too with a scrub every so often.

Night:

Cleanse, tone, moisturise. If I've been wearing false lashes I'll use a separate eye make-up remover to my regular cleanser. Sometimes I'll use a serum at night underneath my moisturiser (mainly just in winter when my skin is drier) and I use an eye cream too whenever I remember!

Here are the products that I like to use and which work well for my skin type.......

Cleansing:

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - This is hands down the best cleanser I've tried. I've been using it for about 3 years now. It's quite a thick cream but it's very gentle and you can use it over your eyes too without irritation. It comes with muslin cloths which are fantastic since they act as a mild exfoliant and leave your skin really soft. The cleanser is really effective at getting rid of every last trace of make-up and this is one I would recommend over and over again!

Aveda Pure Comfort Eye Makeup Remover - I'll only use a separate eye make-up remover like this if I've been wearing false lashes. I've found that some eye make-up removers have stung my eyes in the past but this one doesn't at all. I'll soak a cotton pad with this and hold it on my eyes for a good few minutes to let it dissolve the make-up and lash glue. It then gently wipes away without having to rub your eyes too much which is never something you want to do!

Toning:

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - This is a very gentle toner and it's alcohol-free which is brilliant since it won't dry out the skin. It's full of natural ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile and cucumber which are very soothing and great for sensitive skins. It also gets rid of any last remaining traces of make-up.

Moisturising:

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturiser - The Kiehl's moisturiser is another product which I've used for years. It's not too thick but I find that it's very hydrating and it works great under make-up. There's no heavy fragrance so it's good for sensitive skin.

MAC Strobe Cream - This is a moisturiser which has luminizing particles in it. It's great for wearing during the day under a light foundation for an extra glow. It's not as hydrating as the Kiehl's so I'll use this mainly in summer.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado - This particular cream is only for moisturisation so it's quite basic but it does it's job well and doesn't irritate my skin. I'm quite interested in trying the Origins eye creams next though.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Unlike a moisturiser which will only be absorbed into the first few layers of skin, a serum seeps down further into more layers so it helps to repair the condition of the skin more effectively. I love this Estee Lauder one because I find it really does help to clear up any dry patches which I get around my nose in winter and my skin is left very smooth and hydrated after using it.

Exfoliating:

Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator - This is a gorgeous exfoliating cream. It doesn't leave skin feeling tight or dry since it has cocoa butter in it. I find my skin is left extremely soft after using this.

Sun Protection:

Shiseido Extra Smooth Sun Protection Lotion SPF30 - This is the only sun cream which has not irritated the skin on my face so I definitely won't be without this one! It also goes on matte so it's absolutely perfect for under make-up.

Has anyone else tried any of these products? Do let me know what you think of them!

Tag ~ I love Lipsticks

2011-06-26T20:03:00.009+01:00

1. How many lipsticks do you have?

I won't count. That might mean owning up to an addiction :D

2. What was the first lipstick that you ever bought?

One from The Body Shop when I was about 14 I think! I don't know how I remember that.

3. Which is your newest lipstick?

Topshop 'Show Off'

4. What is your favourite lipstick brand?

I like MAC for their huge variety of colours and finishes. Another favourite is Chanel since I don't think their lipsticks can be beaten in terms of texture.

5. Favourite Pink?

I don't wear true pink lipsticks too much. I recently picked up Topshop 'Show Off' lipstick though and I've been liking it a lot so I think that has to be my new favourite pink.

6. Favourite Nude?

I don't actually wear nude lipstick much anymore but I used to wear MAC Patisserie a lot which is a great natural shade. I tend to use this a lot on other people too.

7. Favourite Peach/Coral?

It has to be MAC Vegas Volt which is a fantastic bright coral. This looks great when it's sheered out a bit too so that becomes a slightly softer coral shade.

8. Favourite Red?

Well since red is my favourite lipstick colour I couldn't pick just one! So the three that I love are: Chanel Rouge Allure in Flamboyante, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Monte Carlo and MAC 'MAC Red'.

9. Favourite Hot Pink?

Dior Addict Lipstick in Collection. It looks red in the tube but it goes on as a hot pink.

10. Favourite Brown?

Hmmm.....we've moved on from the 90's I think! :D

11. Favourite Rosewood?

Chanel Rouge Coco in Organdi Rose. This is a lovely rosey shade which is great for a very natural look. My photos don't do it much justice I'm afraid!

12. Favourite Plum?

MAC Plumful. I like this one in winter especially.

13. Other Favourite Lipsticks?

MAC Hibiscus (limited edition), Chanel Rouge Coco in Orchidee, Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Heartbreaker, MAC Milan Mode, MAC Lustering and MAC Media (not one I'd wear on myself too much but I really love dark vampy lipstick shades and this one is beautiful for those that can pull it off!).

14. Favourite Lipglosses?

NYX Round Lipgloss in Doll Pink, MAC Lipglass in Hot House (limited edition), Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Petulant, MAC Ample Pink Plushglass and MAC Love Nectar Lustreglass (looks lovely over coral lipsticks).

I wasn't tagged by anyone - I just thought I would do it anyway. I tag anyone who would like to do this!

Plum & Gold Face Of The Day

2011-06-22T14:45:00.010+01:00

I've been doing the same old look with brown or neutral eyeshadow lately so I decided to do something a bit different today to get myself out of this little make-up rut! I did this look on a girl a while ago for an event and thought I would give it a go on myself. I can see it being a good option for a summer night out as it's still a bit smoky but it's not overly heavy for the summertime!

The lids were more shimmery but my camera has a habit of not picking that up!

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation 20

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

Dior Bronze Matte 002

Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

NARS Deep Throat Blush

Eyes:

MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl as a base & on waterline

MAC Patina on lid

MAC Vanilla Pigment on inner corner

MAC Sketch & Shadowy Lady mixed together in crease

MAC Beauty Marked (tiniest bit) to darken outer corner

MAC Reflects Gold pressed over Patina on lid

Clinique Cream Liner on top lash line

Chanel Sublime Mascara

Ardell Demi 102 lashes

MAC Dirty Blonde Pencil & Omega eyeshadow on brows

Lips:

MAC Vegas Volt (tiny amount sheered out with finger)

MAC Love Nectar Lustreglass

I hope everyone's having a good week so far. I'm off to see Bridesmaids in the cinema later which I'm looking forward too. It'll be a good distraction from all the rain we've been having here lately. It's been raining practically non-stop for weeks now ): I think I can officially say that summer is non-existent in Ireland!!

If anyone would like to request a look, tutorial, review etc. please feel free to do so! You can leave any requests in the comments or on Formspring which is located on the side of this page.

Fake Tan ~ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2011-06-17T21:14:00.007+01:00

I was initially going to review one or two fake tans individually but I thought it would probably make more sense and be a bit more helpful to review all of the ones that I've tried together and also do a quick comparison of them while I'm at it!

The 4 that I will be comparing are: the St. Tropez Mousse, St. Tropez Lotion, Xen Tan Dark Lotion and He-Shi Liquid Tan. These are all within the same price range. I also have Xen Tan Transform Luxe in the photo and I'll review this briefly too but I can't compare it with the other tans since it's a gradual tan and not a weekly one so it serves a different purpose. I've been using most of these over a few years and the ones which are newer to me, like the He-Shi, I've been using for a few months so I think I've given them all a fair try!

I'll also just mention that tans do react differently on different skin tones and types so do keep in mind that these reviews are just based on my experience with the tans on my own individual skin.

Before I apply any tan, I exfoliate really well. Right before putting on the tan I'll apply moisturiser to dry areas like knees, elbows, feet, wrists and under arms. All of these tans last about the same amount of time on my skin. I think the longevity of the tan has quite a lot to do with the condition of your skin. For example if your skin is dry and flaky then the tan may not last too long so make sure to exfoliate and moisturise well. Generally if your tan starts to wear off patchy or scaly then you're probably not exfoliating regularly enough. To keep a good colour, I have to apply any of these tans a few times a week. If you're tanned already then you may not need to apply them as often but I'm basically starting from a blank canvas, lol!

St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse

Application - Since this a mousse, the application is absolutely fool-proof. I find that it applies best with a surgical latex glove. It's extremely quick and easy to spread around and it dries within minutes so you don't have to wait around before getting dressed. The mousse is brown so you can see where you're applying it and it does also give a little bit of instant colour. This is one tan that you can actually apply in the morning and leave on throughout the day as there's absolutely no residue or stickiness. It's completely streak-free and very even. I think it's a great one to try if you're new to tanning.

Smell - St. Tropez is not the best smelling brand of fake tan and the mousse does have that classic fake tan smell while you're applying it but I actually find that it's not too evident after the application process. The smell doesn't get any stronger as it's developing. I often put some of this on in the morning and leave it on all day and, unless I'm smelling really closely (lol!), then I really don't find it to be too evident.

Colour - It gives a very natural colour - no orange in sight! This won't be very dark after one application but it can definitely be built up over a few days.

St. Tropez Bronzing Lotion

Application - I tend to use a surgical glove again with this one. Since this is a lotion, it takes a little bit more effort to spread than the mousse version but it's still extremely easy to apply. It's a brown lotion so you can tell where you're applying it and it takes a very short time to dry - although probably not quite as quick-drying as the mousse. This one is best applied at night and the excess showered off the next morning. Again, it leaves no streaks or unevenness at all.

Smell - This smells the same as the mousse - just a classic smell of the tanning ingredient, DHA. Definitely not the best scent in the world but not unbearable either I don't think!

Colour - Gives a nice non-orange colour. I find the colour of this leans more towards the yellow toned side so it's more of a golden tan. It's not the darkest of tans but it can be built up. It's not my favourite colour-wise mainly due to the more yellow tone which is not ideal for me personally so I don't find myself reaching for this one over the others.

Xen-Tan Dark Lotion

Application - This applies nicely with either a glove or a mit. The lotion is quite a thick one so this tan probably takes the most elbow grease to spread around. It's by no means difficult to apply, however. It's a very dark brown lotion so, like the others, it's easy to know where you're applying it. It dries after a few minutes too. This tan does leave a slight bit of a muddy appearance after application. For this reason it absolutely needs to be applied before bed and then showered off in the morning. After showering, though, it's lovely and even with no streaks at all!

Smell - It smells like marzipan! After a few hours, however, the smell of the DHA will come through a bit. I really don't find that to be an issue though since it's one that I'd be wearing overnight anyway.

Colour - Xen-Tan has more of an olive base so it's never orange or too yellow. I think it's a very realistic tan shade. It gives a darker colour than either of the St. Tropez tans.

He-Shi Express Liquid Tan

Application - The consistency of this tan is like water. Now this proves to be a bit problematic and off-putting when applying it as you have to be very careful that it doesn't drip all over the place. To catch drips, I'd recommend spreading a big towel out underneath you or you could apply it in the bath. Since it's an extremely runny liquid, it must be applied with a mit so that it doesn't become too messy. It's a brown colour so you can tell where you've applied it and it's very quick-drying. It leaves no residue at all behind. I've been applying this before bed and letting it develop overnight which is most convenient for me. Unfortunately this is where it goes a bit downhill because, despite it having looked nice and even after application, a few times now I've woken up with a streaky, uneven tan which didn't go away after showering! I tried to apply it several ways to avoid this happening - not moisturising before, moisturising before, using different mits. I even bought the He-Shi mit to see if that would help. I found that both using the He-Shi mit and moisturising before (despite it saying not to!) actually did make a difference. The last time I applied it I only had a minor streak which wasn't too bad. Overall though, I think the application is a bit hit or miss for me.

Smell - He-Shi has only a faint tan smell. I can barely smell anything at all when I'm applying it. It does become a bit stronger as the tan develops, though but it's still not strong in comparison to others.

Colour - Streaks aside, the actual colour itself is brilliant. It gives a deep colour quickly and is a believable shade. It's a very bronze colour and is not orangey or yellow.

Best Ease of Application: St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse

Best Smelling: Xen-Tan Dark Lotion

Best Colour: He-Shi (despite the fear of streaks!) and Xen-Tan. I really like the tone of both.

Best Overall: Xen-Tan Dark Lotion and St. Tropez Mousse (yes I'm allowed pick two :D )

I'll just give a quick mention to the Xen-Tan Transform Luxe. This is a gradual tanner - so it's like a moisturiser which has an added tanning ingredient. It's great for applying between your main tan applications to keep the colour up and it also means you don't have to apply your main tan as often. This would also be great if you already have quite a deep natural tan and just want a bit of a boost or else if you're extremely fair and just want enough colour to take the pale edge off. It's also fantastic for hands and feet. It smells like Vanilla which is lovely and only a very tiny amount of a fake tan smell comes through after a while.

January Jones Inspired Make-up Tutorial

2011-06-13T18:43:00.015+01:00

I think January Jones always has really beautiful make-up. She keeps it quite simplistic a lot of the time which makes her look so effortlessly gorgeous. She tends to wear orange or warm red lipsticks quite often paired with minimal eyeshadow. I think it's such a fresh and modern look. I obviously haven't copied the make-up in these photos exactly - I just tried to re-create the general feel of it. January also has hooded eyes which means that it's impossible to see the eyeshadow she's wearing well. I can, however, see that she's wearing a golden colour in her inner corners and also black liner on her upper lash line so I just did a bit of guess work from that! Other than that, the skin is kept very light and natural with a nice glow on the cheeks.

Products Used

Face:

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation 20

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW20

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow

Dior Bronze Matte 002 Honey Matte

MAC Something Special Cremeblend & MAC Pinch O' Peach Blush

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

NARS Alhambra Duo

MAC Arena & Vanilla eyeshadows

Clinique Cream Liner

MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl

Chanel Mascara (Sublime)

Ardell Individual Lashes

MAC Dirty Blonde Brow Pencil & Omega eyeshadow

Lips:

MAC Hibiscus Lipstick

1. Fill in brows quite thick and not too precisely as January's brows have a natural shape. Apply MAC Painterly Paint Pot to lid as a base. Next, take the golden shade from the NARS Alhambra Duo and apply all over lid.

2. Apply MAC Arena eyeshadow very softly into the crease. This shouldn't be too obvious - it's just to create a tiny bit of dimension.

3. Run a little bit of that MAC Arena eyeshadow underneath the lower lash line too.

4. Apply MAC Vanilla eyeshadow underneath the brow as a subtle highlight.

5. Line the top lash line with a black liner (I'm using a cream liner) and add a wing at the end. The wing should be small - much smaller to what I would usually do!

6. Line the waterline with MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl which is a lovely antique gold colour. You could also use an off white pencil if you wanted to. Apply mascara.

7. Add some individual lashes with some DUO eyeslash adhesive. Apply another layer of mascara to blend the false lashes in well with your natural ones.

That's it! It's a very simple, minimal eye make-up look. The main focus should be on the bright lipstick!

Top Ten Favourite Summer Nail Polishes

2011-06-06T15:51:00.011+01:00

From Left to Right:

Orly Rage - An amazing metallic rose gold. I love metallic nails in summer as they really catch the sunshine. This is equally pretty at Christmastime.

OPI Dim Sum Plum - I love this deep pink shade for toes in particular.

Orly Fancy Fuchsia - This is more vibrant in person than it looks in photos. Texture is a bit goopy but I really love the colour. It's a gorgeous Barbie pink.

Barry M Lemon Ice Cream - I did a post about this one a while back. It's a nice cheery yellow (:

CND Guava - A lovely peach. It's quite a soft colour so it's a good option for something which is still bright but not fluorescent or over the top. CND polishes are great quality too.

Revlon Tropical Temptation - I think this is the perfect coral shade. It doesn't have too much red, pink or orange in it - just the perfect balance!

Rimmel Coralicious - This is more of a red coral. I like this one on my toes especially with Tropical Temptation on my fingers.

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream - A gorgeous sky blue!

Essie Coat Azure - This is a medium blue with a slight bit of shimmer. It definitely reminds me of the sea!

Rimmel Sky High - A nice medium turquoise colour.

Hope you like my picks for summer!

Neutral Toned Eyeshadow Tutorial

2011-05-31T18:31:00.003+01:00

This is the same eyeshadow look that I'm wearing in my previous post (Neutral Eyes, Red Lips). I just thought I would show you how I went about doing it! I use more or less this same technique for any eyeshadow that I wear. The names of all the products are listed below but here's a photo of everything that I used anyway! ...

1. Apply MAC Painterly Paint Pot as a base all over the lid. You can of course use any base or primer that you like. I just prefer Painterly because it covers redness and leaves a nice blank canvas. I apply this just using my finger.

2. Blend MAC Soba eyeshadow onto the outer half of the lid and into the crease with a fluffy blending brush like the MAC 217.

3. Using a flat brush like the MAC 239, bring some of that Soba eyeshadow underneath the lower lash line too.

4. Using the same 217 brush that was used before (I just wiped it off), apply MAC Dazzlelight eyeshadow to the inner half of the lid. Take a bit onto the tear duct area too. This opens up the eye.

5. With a small pointed brush (I'm using the Laura Mercier Crease Brush), take some of the golden brown shade from the NARS Surabaya Duo and apply it to the very outer corner and slightly into the outer part of the crease so that it creates a 'c' shape.

6. On the 239 brush take some of that NARS eyeshadow underneath the eye - only on the very outer part of the lower lash line.

7. Now the harsh shape of that darkest eyeshadow needs to be blended out. Take a bit more MAC Soba eyeshadow on the 217 brush and go back into the crease with this, using it to blend out the dark NARS eyeshadow. I tend to blend in both windshield wiper and small circular motions.

8. Take some MAC Vanilla eyeshadow (or any shadow which is about a shade lighter than your skin tone) on a MAC 222 brush and apply it under the eyebrow on the brow bone. This adds a bit of a highlight as well as softening the edges of the crease colours, making sure everything is blended really well.

9. Line your top lash line and wing it out if you want to. I'm using a cake eyeliner and a Louise Young LY24 brush. I've already done a winged liner tutorial so if anyone wants to take a look at that you can do so here. Line your water line too with whatever you like to use (I use Clinique's Cream Liner in black). Apply mascara and that's it! You can always add false lashes here too - I used half lashes with this look in my previous post.

Voila! Hope that was somewhat useful! Here's the finished look (you can also of course see the full effect of this look in my previous post!) ...

Neutral Eyes, Red Lips

2011-05-29T20:11:00.004+01:00

This is actually from a while ago but I never got round to posting it til now! I was trying out MAC's Soba eyeshadow which I think is a great shade for a nice neutral eye. Since the eyes were fairly neutral I opted for a red lip with MAC's 'MAC Red' lipstick which is an all time favourite red of mine!

Face:

Diorskin Forever Foundation 010

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW15

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

Dior Bronze Matte 002 Honey Matte

MAC Well Dressed Blush

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Dazzlelight on inner half of lid

MAC Soba on outer half of lid & in crease

NARS Surabaya Duo (left side) in outer corner & crease

MAC Vanilla on browbone

Face2 Cake Liner on lashline

Clinique Cream Liner on waterline

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Elise half lashes

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde

Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper in Blonde

Lips:

MAC Redd Lip Liner & MAC Red Lipstick

MAC Clear Lipglass

I know a few people have asked me before to do an eye make-up tutorial so hopefully I will have some of those on the way soon!

Some Exciting New Goodies!

2011-05-24T22:09:00.014+01:00

A few bits that I've picked up over the past couple of weeks which I thought I'd share with you.....

Make Up For Ever Face & Body Foundation

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer

As I mentioned in my must-have products for summer post, Make Up For Ever's Face & Body is one of my favourite summer foundations. I've worn it for the past two summers so I had to pick up another bottle for this year! I got shade #20 since I've been wearing a bit of false tan. I also picked up Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer because I'm a big fan of the Healthy Mix foundation and thought the concealer looked quite promising too. I got #52 which is the same shade as the foundation I have. I've used this a few times now to cover dark circles and minor redness and so far so good...I've no complaints!

Kiko Milano & Topshop Nail Polish

I was in Rome at the weekend and we came across a Kiko Milano shop one of the days where I picked up a couple of their nail polishes. I'd only briefly heard of this brand before but I thought the nail polishes looked quite impressive and they had a huge range of shades! I got #'s 313 (hot pink) and 332 (purple). They were also a huge bargain at €2.50 each! I also bought a Topshop nail polish before I left in the shade Celestial which is a gorgeous cornflower blue. I love Topshop nail polishes - they always have great colours, they're opaque in two coats and are very easy to apply! Swatches below are all two coats.

MAC Hibiscus Lipstick (Surf Baby Collection)

Dior Addict Lipstick 578 Diorkiss

I went into MAC about a week ago to have a look at the new Surf Baby Collection. I wasn't exactly bowled over by anything in the collection except for one of the lipsticks called Hibiscus. I've been looking for the perfect orange-red lipstick for a month or so now and I think I've found it with this one! It's a cremesheen formula but it also has a tiny bit of a subtle gold shimmer running through it. I also bought another one of the Dior Addict lipsticks in the airport on my way back from Rome since they were significantly cheaper than they are here. I got the shade Diorkiss which is a lovely medium pink colour. I'm really loving the formula of these Dior lipsticks!

RMK Ingenious Powder Eyes Eyeshadow ME-02 Metallic Gold

I've been eyeing this RMK eyeshadow for ages now but since we don't have the brand in Ireland I was waiting to get it on my next trip to London. However I recently found out that ASOS stock RMK now so of course I had to order it! I also had a 20% discount code which I was very happy about since these are quite pricey! ME-02 is a very light gold/champagne colour and it's extremely metallic. I think it will be great in the inner corner or as a wash over the lids with some black eyeliner. I love the packaging too!

NARS Cream Blush in Cactus Flower

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Something Special

I've recently had a complete 180 when it comes to cream blush. I used to really dislike it but since realising that they're not all a sticky, gloopy mess I now can't get enough of the stuff! When placing my ASOS order for the RMK eyeshadow I also ordered NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush. It's a beautiful watermelon colour with some gold shimmer running through it. It may look a bit scary in the pan but it's softer when it's applied and you can sheer it out or build it up as much as you want. I think it's a great summery colour and can see it working on most skin tones. I also got one of the MAC Cremeblend Blushes when I was in there last week. The shade I got is called Something Special and is a light peachy-pink colour. Neither one of these is sticky - they're both very smooth and easy to apply. So far I really like them!

NARS Cactus Flower, MAC Something Special

Well that's it for all my new purchases. If you've tried any of these let me know what you think of them!

Dior Addict Lipstick 865 Collection Review

2011-05-19T21:18:00.005+01:00

Dior have just recently revamped and modernised their iconic lipstick, Dior Addict. It now has an entirely new appearance and formula and the collection contains an incredible 44 shades! Dior have categorized the lipsticks into three different styles which I think is really fun. The three styles are: Rock Icon Style, Doll Style and Glam Icon Style.

The shade that I bought is 865 'Collection' and belongs to the Glam Icon Style! It looks quite red in the tube but when applied it's actually a gorgeous fuchsia/bright pink colour. I think this is the kind of shade that could absolutely be worn either with a stronger look for nighttime or to add some colour to a more neutral daytime look.

The new formula has less wax than a classic lipstick. Instead it has a gel which claims to provide hydration and shine. I think this just may be one of the best textures in a lipstick that I've tried so far. It's smooth, has a gorgeous shine and is comfortable to wear. It also has a lovely amount of pigment - not as much as the Dior Rouge lipsticks but still a fantastic amount. On top of all that I think the packaging is just so beautiful! The price is very steep though at €28. I was lucky enough to have a gift card which I bought this with but I still think if you want a bit of indulgence then they are worth splurging on. The only fault I can think of is that these have a rounded top instead of the classic pointed one which makes them a bit harder to apply precisely so therefore I find that a lip brush is required.

Compared to my Chanel Rouge Coco Shine this has more pigment. The Chanel, however, is a bit glossier. The Chanel Rouge Coco Shine also feels more moisturising but I think the Dior Addict may be a bit more long-wearing. It's really hard to pick a favourite! For ease of application and less effort I tend to grab my Coco Shine. However, when considering shade range and quality of colours then the Dior Addict comes out on top.

Pros: Smooth, hydrating, nice shiny finish, good pigment, amazing packaging
Cons: Price, rounded shape makes application more difficult

Mark out of 10: 9

Would I buy again: Yes

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend whatever you get up to! I'm off on a little holiday to Rome tomorrow for a few days which I'm extremely excited about! (:

My Top Must-Have Beauty Products For Summer

2011-05-16T14:14:00.004+01:00

SPF

The best sun cream I've found is the Shiseido Extra Smooth Sun Protection Lotion SPF 30 which is for both face and body. This is the only one that I've tried which doesn't leave me with a sticky, greasy face. It actually goes on matte which is amazing since it's therefore perfect to wear under make-up. It doesn't smell the best (well actually it smells quite bad!) but I can tolerate that if it means less sun damage for my skin! For lips I like to use the Nivea Lip Care Sun which is SPF 30.

Bright Nail Polish

Summer is definitely the time to go to town with bright nail colours! I think Barry M is always a great brand for brights and they even have a neon range of nail paints.

Sheer Foundation

I always tend to go for lighter foundations in summer time. I'm not sure too many people like wearing thick, heavy make-up in hot weather! I really like Make Up For Ever's Face & Body Foundation. It offers sheer coverage with a healthy dewy finish. It's also water based so it's very lightweight and comfortable. It's suitable for all skin types and the icing on the cake is that it's water resistant once it has set which is really brilliant for summertime.

Bright Lipstick

A vibrant lipstick is always a fun option for summer and looks great with a bit of a bronze glow. I don't think you can beat MAC for their range of bright shades. 'Lustering' (a bright watermelon pink) is a summer favourite of mine.

Metallic Eyeshadow

I think a wash of a metallic eyeshadow on the lids looks really gorgeous in the sunshine. MAC pigments are brilliant for getting a great metallic effect especially when they're foiled (used wet). I love the shade Gold Mode and both Melon and Tan look very pretty on tanned skin.

Bronzer

I think bronzer is a summer essential for warming up the skin. My favourite is the Dior Bronze Matte Sunshine and I use the shade 002 Honey Matte.

Hair Treatment

I use hair treatments all year round but I think they're really important in summer to give moisture back to your hair which the sun has taken away especially if you have colour treated hair. The Kerastase Chroma Riche treatment is the creme de la creme of hair treatments as far as I'm concerned! It's the only one I've tried which doesn't weigh my hair down or leave a horrible residue. If you have extremely fine and colour treated hair I think you will love this one! If you're a real sun worshiper Kerastase also do a whole Soleil range of hair care products.

Fake Tan

Having skin that would give a vampire a run for their money, fake tan is definitely a must-have for me when showing a bit more skin during summer. Tried, tested and loved by me are St Tropez and Xen Tan. I'm currently trying out He-Shi tan and so far I think it's fairly good. I'm not sure if it beats the others but I may do a full review in another post soon.

Exfoliating Gloves

Not the most exciting of products but these gloves are fantastic! They work a whole lot better than any scrub and they only cost a few euro from Boots! Exfoliating your skin to get rid of dead skin cells really helps to make it look a lot healthier and of course smoother. It's also an absolute must to keep exfoliating regularly when using fake tan to prevent it from going patchy or scaly.

Body Moisturiser

Another essential for keeping your skin in good nick. The one I love to use in summer is the Boots Coconut & Almond Body Butter. Coconut is one of my favourite smells and this is brilliant if you have dry skin. Another love of mine is the Shiseido Energizing Body Cream which makes skin incredibly smooth and smells like heaven! (sadly I can't afford this one too often though!).

What are anyone else's essential summer products?

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme Review

2011-05-08T19:41:00.007+01:00

When it comes to highlighters I definitely favour either cream or liquid versions over powders. I think they look a lot more natural as they really blend into your skin as opposed to just sitting on top of it like a powder does. I bought the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Iced Gold a few months ago and it has very much become one of my top favourite highlighters.

It's described by Jemma Kidd as being a 'light-diffusing creme' which can be used 'under or over foundation or on bare skin.' I wear this over my foundation just on the tops of my cheekbones, down the centre of my nose and maybe a tiny bit on my forehead since my skin is on the slightly drier side. A tiny bit goes a very very long way - I've been using this constantly for the last few months and as you can see from the picture it still looks like I've barely used any!

The texture of this is really beautiful. It's extremely lightweight and very smooth and easy to blend. It's definitely not thick or sticky in any way. It contains no detectable shimmer particles at all so it really does just give the skin a very healthy dewy finish. I think this is a great one for daytime especially if you're outside as your face won't look shimmery or glittery or very unnatural in daylight.

I would describe the colour of this as being a light champagne as you can see from the swatch. I think this colour would look great on both fair and darker skin tones. They also do a Rose Gold shade which is obviously more pink than this one.

The other cream highlighter which I own and also really like is the MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl so I thought I would do a really quick comparison of the two. Pearl is swatched below on the left and the Dewy Glow Iced Gold is on the right. As you can see Pearl is more of a yellow gold colour. The texture of the MAC Cream Colour Base is also heavier and thicker than the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow so, while it's still easy to apply, it doesn't go on quite as effortless as the Jemma Kidd one. I tend to prefer the MAC Pearl for nighttime as it's that bit more intense. MAC Cream Colour Bases contain 3.2g and cost €18.50 (if I remember correctly). The Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow contains a huge 10g and cost me €21.25 including shipping from www.feelunique.com. So you get a lot more for your money with the Jemma Kidd! Overall I do prefer the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow.

Mac Pearl on left, Jemma Kidd Iced Gold on right

The only thing I don't like about this product is that the outside of the compact is made from a similar material to that of the NARS packaging. It's that velvety texture so it attracts dirt and gets very grubby looking and even when you wipe it down it doesn't come off. Other than that though I can't fault it. I think it's a really fantastic product!

Pros: easy to apply, lightweight, no detectable shimmer, gives natural dewy finish

Cons: outside of the compact gets dirty easily

Mark out of 10: 9.5

Would I buy again: Yes

How To Wing Your Eyeliner

2011-05-03T14:11:00.009+01:00

Winged eyeliner is probably my favourite thing to wear when it comes to make-up. I wear it everyday and I think I would feel a bit naked without it! Since it's something I'm wearing all the time the number one question that I get asked by other people is could I tell them how to achieve it - what is the technique and what products are the best. So I thought I would do a post about it with a little bit of a picture demonstration which I hope you will be able to follow easily enough! I'll start off first with the products and brush that I use.......

I generally use one of two products - either a cake or a gel liner. The one I'll talk about first and maybe my preferred of the two is a cake eyeliner. I use one by Face2 (as shown in the first photo above) which is an Irish brand that is stocked in our Make Up For Ever store here. For those of you elsewhere in the world I've been told that the Make Up For Ever one is very similar. So a cake eyeliner, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with them, basically looks like a poster paint. It's completely solid in the pot and you add water to it to turn it into a liquid. The reason I prefer this over a regular liquid liner is that you can mix it to the consistency that you want and also it lasts forever! I've had the one above for two years and while I've hit the metal pan in the centre there's still about half left! I also prefer it a bit more than a gel/cream liner because I find I can achieve a smoother line. The consistency that you want to mix this to should be really quite fluid but not overly watery - you want almost a creamy liquid. The one downside of a cake liner is that on darker skin tones it sometimes doesn't come out a very intense black colour like a gel liner does. While it may look black on fair skins if you're darker it may only look like a charcoal colour. So therefore you may need to go back over it a couple of times to get the intensity.

The second product which is also a great option is a gel or cream liner. The one I like to use is the Clinique Cream Liner (as shown in 2nd photo above). The Bobbi Brown one is also nice but it dries out halfway through the pot so I end up throwing half the product (and half my money!) away. The Clinique one stays creamy til the end. If you are a complete beginner with liner this type might be better for you as it's a bit more foolproof since it doesn't dry immediately giving you time to fix a mistake. The only thing I would say is to make sure you have enough on your brush. Gel and cream liners tend to be water resistant, unlike cake liner, and so are fantastic to wear on the waterline since they don't budge! They also tend to be a bit more long-wearing than the cake.

Now onto the brush.......

My favourite brush for liner is the LY24 from Louise Young. As you can see from the photo it has an extremely fine tip. I know this brand is not readily available to everyone so something similar would be the MAC 210 or any brush which is extremely fine. I've also heard of people even finding ones like this in art and hobby shops. Some other make-up artists use angled brushes and that might work for some people - whatever you find easier for you. I definitely find the original kind much easier to work with though.

So now a bit of a demonstration. I'm sure there's other ways to achieve this but this is just my technique. Don't try to do the whole thing all in one sweep without lifting your brush as you'll lose all precision. I break it down into three steps which I've shown below..........

Step 1. Draw a thin line close to your eyelashes. Don't worry about any wing just yet. This line also doesn't need to be overly neat as we'll be going over it again later anyway. It's *really* important to tilt your head backwards when doing liner because you need your eyelid to be as flat and smooth as possible so that you get a nice fluid line.

Step 2. Draw in the outer line of your wing. This should generally angle upwards in the same direction as your lower lash line. Just imagine that your lower lash line is continuing on upwards. If you have a hooded eye, however, you may need to angle your liner slightly more outwards in order to avoid the hooded area. The length of your wing is down to personal preference. If you want a dramatic liner make the wing longer and make it shorter for a more subtle one.

Step 3. Now you need to connect the wing back to the line along your eyelashes. I've mapped it out here in red. Don't start at the very tip of your wing. Leave the very top of it alone as that part should be left extremely fine. Now connect the wing back down along your eye, gradually making it thinner as you reach the inner corner of your eye. So it should be thicker on the outer part of your eye and thinner towards the inner corner.

...........

That's it! If you need to go over it again to fix any lumps or bumps or to thicken it then you can. Now you just need to line your waterline if you want to and apply your mascara and you're done!

Here's the finished look with a lined waterline and some mascara.........

I really hope that all made sense and that is was useful to somebody! If you have any questions just write me a comment below!

Let me know if you gave it a try and how you got on!

MAC Plumful FOTD

2011-04-26T09:54:00.015+01:00

I'd just like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has followed my blog so far as I just reached 100 followers the other day and in less than a month too which I never anticipated happening! I was afraid of even starting a blog as I thought absolutely no one would follow it so thank you so much everyone! (:
So now on to the FOTD...

This is one of my staple eyeshadow combinations - I tend to wear this or something very similar when I don't have time to think about what I'm going to use. I find that it works well with almost any pink or plum lipstick and blush which is very handy. My skin is a tad on the pastier side in these photos which is just down to the lighting. I'm definitely not *quite* so pale in real life! I do generally like to embrace the pale but now that it's coming into summer I'm thinking it may be about time to get stuck into some fake tan!

Face:

Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Foundation in Bombshell

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder # 12

Dior Bronze Matte 002 Honey Matte

Chanel Joues Contraste in 56 Tea Rose

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

MAC Phloof in inner corner

MAC Jest on the lid

MAC Haux in the crease

MAC Embark in outer corner & crease

Face2 Cake Liner on upper lashline

Clinique Cream Liner on waterline

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

ELF False Lashes

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde

Lips:

MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Scandelicious (tiny bit)

I really wasn't getting on well with the foundation I used here - Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme. It sunk into all my pores very badly which I've never experienced from a foundation before. I've been testing it out for about a month now and I'm sorry to say that I don't think very highly of it at all. For this reason I'm not too sure yet if I'll do a full review on it. If anyone would really like a review, however, then please do just let me know and in that case I'll be very willing!

Yummy in Yellow

2011-04-19T19:06:00.010+01:00

Barry M is one of my favourite brands for nail polish and this is my newest acquisition from them. It's called Lemon Ice Cream # 307 and it's just a gorgeous shade of yellow - bright but not garish. Unfortunately the texture of this one is not too fantastic. While it applies easily it is quite sheer so 3 coats are required which is a bit time consuming. For a few euro though I don't think you can complain too much! I'm really loving the colour yellow lately and I'm very much enjoying having this polish on my nails - i'ts lovely and cheerful! (: I'm wearing 3 coats in these photos followed by Illamasqua Top Coat.

Continuing on with my current yellow obsession I just bought this top from Zara for the summertime which I thought I would share with you. I've never previously owned any yellow clothes so this is definitely something different for me but I can't wait to wear it! I bought this polka dot skirt from Zara too which I think I'll wear with the top!

Is anyone else loving yellow lately?

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Monte Carlo 62 Review

2011-04-15T14:40:00.012+01:00

I finally picked up one of the new Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipsticks while I was out and about last week. I've been meaning to try these since their release here back in March but have been pondering over which colour to get for a few weeks now (oh the dilemmas of a make-up artist, lol!). It was either between the lovely Monte Carlo or Bonheur. I eventually settled on Monte Carlo - a gorgeous glossy strawberry red shade.

I absolutely love the idea behind these lipsticks - they look like a lipstick but have the finish of a gloss...minus the stickiness! The texture is lovely - extremely smooth and glides on really easily. I've been wearing Monte Carlo for the past week and so far I'm loving it! It's very comfortable to wear and feels nice and moisturising. The only downside for me is that I find that I had to apply it quite heavily to achieve the full colour pay-off since these lipsticks are fairly sheer and so for this reason I can see it running out quite fast. It cost me €26.50 which is very pricey but what do you expect from Chanel! Other than that, however, it's a beautiful lipstick which I'm really enjoying. I think this will be perfect for the summer months when I still want a nice bit of colour but may want to look a bit more effortless! I also think it would be great to wear over a heavier lipstick for a bit of added shine in lieu of a sticky gloss.

The ad campaign for these on the Chanel Makeup Confidential website is so cute! You can check it out here: http://chanel-makeup-confidential.chanel.com/en_GB/#/collection/27/44

Pros: Easy to apply, very comfortable to wear, lovely glossy finish

Cons: Must be built up if you want to get a good colour pay-off, pricey

Mark out of 10: 8

Would I buy again: Yes

Heartbreaker

2011-04-12T22:12:00.018+01:00

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 016 Heartbreaker has been one of my favourite shades now for the past few months. It's a really beautiful fuchsia which I instantly fell in love with it after seeing Zooey Deschanel wearing it in Rimmels ad for these lippies. The texture is also great considering the low price tag. They go on very smooth and have a lovely sheen to them. The lasting power is really good too. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the fake cherry smell - and unfortunately this is the case with all Rimmels lipsticks. I can definitely overlook this though since it's such a gorgeous colour! I decided to glam it up today with a slight smoky eye but I think this would look equally great with minimal eyeshadow and maybe just a winged liner.

Face:

Diorskin Forever Foundation 010 mixed with Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet 15

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair

MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base

MAC Prep & Prime Powder

Dior Bronze Matte 002

NARS Deep Throat Blush

Eyes:

MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl as a base

MAC Patina on lid

MAC Mulch in crease

MAC Espresso in outer corner

MAC Vanilla Pigment in inner corner

Clinique Cream Liner

Max Factor False Lash Mascara

Urban Decay 'Tease' false lashes

Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde

Bobbi Brown Brow Shaper in Blonde

Lips:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Heartbreaker

MAC Superglass in Totally Bang!

Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme Blush Review

2011-04-06T16:46:00.008+01:00

I think I’ll begin by admitting that I’ve never been a fan of cream blush on myself. I don’t have oily skin - it’s normal to dry - but I’ve still always disliked the fact that the previous ones I’ve tried have left me looking too greasy, feeling sticky, or just didn’t give my cheeks enough dimension.

So I’m sure you’re wondering why I went and bought a whole palette of cream blush?! Well as a make-up artist I have to have a bit of everything in my kit and some products which I dislike on myself I love to use on others. The Graftobian blush palette was therefore ideal for me as it has shades to suit a whole host of skin colours.

What surprised me the most, however, was that I actually really love how this cream blush looks on myself! They’re definitely not gloopy or sticky in any way but actually very smooth and easy to blend. They do dry down quite a bit so they’re not overly-shiny or dewy but still leave a nice healthy glow. The fact that they do dry down also means that they don’t move around. It doesn’t budge all day on me and I had to cleanse my arm twice to remove the swatches! For this reason I can see them working well for oily skins and also being ideal for brides. The pigmentation is fantastic as you can see in the swatches. They can be built up or sheered out as much as you want. I like to apply them with my MAC 109 brush and a tiny bit on the brush goes a very long way.

From left to right: Peach Blush, Vienna Rose, Raspberry Wine, Autumn Breeze, Cherry Glaze

Swatched in same order as above (natural light - no flash)

'Peach Blush' swatched heavy and sheer

The one fault I will mention is with the darkest shade - Cherry Glaze. Now I don’t know if it’s just a dud in my palette but it’s not very pigmented like the others. It feels almost ‘wet’ and doesn’t adhere to the skin very well. I'm wondering if the 'glaze' in the name also reflects the texture of this one? It’s not a shade I would have ever used much so I don’t mind and like I said it could just be my palette.

Unfortunately, being an industry brand, Graftobian is not widely available to buy in shops. I bought the palette from ‘crcmakeup’ on ebay and it cost me £13.82 before postage so roughly €16. With postage it was approx €25 which I think is very good.

Pros: Great texture, great pigmentation, long-wearing, not too expensive

Cons: Not widely available, problem with darkest shade

Mark out of 10: 7

Would I buy again: I'm not sure if I'd buy the whole palette again as I just don't use the darker shades. If they came in individual pots I would most definitely buy a couple of the lighter shades on their own.