Everyday Make-Up

Hello lovely people!

I thought I'd show you a really easy, simple, but still pretty make-up look that can be worn on an everyday basis, or for an evening out by adding a bright lip. I hope you like it!

So I used shadows from the Urban Decay Naked Palette, which I absolutely love! It's probably my most used eye palette and has so many combinations of colour and effect. You can stay pretty neutral in your make-up with this one, which it predominately my "look", but because the shadows are highly pigmented, you can build on them to create something more dramatic and creative if you want to.

Whenever I get a new palette, especially one as well known as this one, I generally hop on to YouTube pretty quickly to watch some tutorials and other looks people have created, just to see how other people are finding it and the sorts of things you can do with it. I got this one back in 2011 as a Christmas present and I've loved it ever since! One of the tutorials that I watched was by Anna Saccone from TheStyleDiet. She's a neutral gal like me, so I was drawn to this tutorial which I'll pop below:

 

This routine has pretty much stuck with me since then and is the basis for my go-to look. I don't wear it every single day, but it's one I go back to pretty often. Anna's is fairly dark, I keep mine softer, especially if I'm using liquid or gel liner on the upper lid.

So I'll just leave a list below of what I used and where I used it. 

Face

Foundation was Benefit Big Easy in 01 Fair

Concealer was Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory (I think - the label has rubbed off, hmp!)

Powder for setting for Benefit Hello Flawless in Ivory

Contour powder was Heliopolis from the Sculpting Duo Palette

Blush was Benefit Rockateur

Eyes

Virgin all over the lid, inner corner and up to the brow bone

Sin over the lid

Buck in the crease and down onto the outer third of the lid

Maybelline Lasting Drama gel liner on the upper lid

Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Perversion in the tightline

Maxfactor Clump Defy False Lash Effect mascara on the top and bottom lashes

As you can see, I left out a few steps from Anna's original tutorial and I kept my brushes in very, very, very light contact with my lids to keep this look soft and natural. You want the brush to barely touch the skin and you want to blend really well using a clean fluffy brush. 

Lips

EOS lipbalm in Pomegranate

(I was doing an interview/observation day when I wore this, so I wouldn't have been able to keep reapplying lipstick. Lipbalm was the next best option!)

I hope you like this look, and this new list form of what I used. I'm going to try it this way for a while just because I think it looks a bit tidier and cleaner on the blog, and it stops me rambling on about products - ha ha!

IOTD - Anna Saccone. She was one of the first beauty bloggers I found, and she heavily inspired me to start my own blog. Her message has kind of always been "Change your style, not yourself" which is a message I like. Experiment with fashion and make-up, but stay true to who you are.

SOTD - Showstopper by Brandon & Leah. I've been watching a lot of Kim & Kourtney Take Miami and this is the theme song. Brandon Jenner is their stepbrother and he has this band with his wife. They have a couple of EP's on iTunes and I really like them.

Faces of the Week - Holiday in St Ives

Hello lovelies!

I do hope you're well and that you had a fabulous weekend!

Today I'm going to share with you the make-up I wore each day of my holiday. This, like my holiday OOTD's, will be quite a long post and also quite a picture heavy post. I know that not everyone likes this sort of thing, but it's a good way for me to share the kind of make-up I enjoy wearing, and hopefully it does appeal to some of you. I'm hoping to start writing a few more posts about things I'm buying and also some reviews. But I hope you do enjoy this post all the same!

Sidenote - All the eyeshadows I've used are from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I thought I'd tell you that now so I don't have to repeat it every time. I also got back into curling my eyelashes - WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN DOING THIS FOR LONGER?! Gosh!

So, this was the first day and I wore my usual foundation/concealer/powder combination which is Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation, Fakeup concealer and Hello Flawless powder all by Benefit. I wanted to keep my eyes fairly simple so I used Virgin eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Naked palette all over the lid, in the inner corner as a highlight and under the brow bone, applying this with a simple shadow brush from Boots (cheapie but goodie). I then went in with Buck from the same palette in the crease and outer third, applying this with the Good Karma Shadow brush by Urban Decay (this was the free brush I received with the Naked palette). I then used a Sigma E30 pencil brush to blend these together. I then used Maybelline Lasting Drama gel liner and the brush that came with it to line my lash line, together with Bourjois Kohl & Contour black pencil liner in the water and tight lines. Finally I finished off with Benefit They're Real on my top and bottom lashes.

So, this was . So, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. Virgin all over the lid, inner corner and up to the brow bone. I then applied Hustle to the crease and outer third of the lid, applying a little of Toasted to the middle third of the lid.

I actually wore the same make-up on the next two days because I really liked the combination of shades. So, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always - these are my staple products that never really change. I started with Virgin all over the lid, up to the brow bone and in the inner corner. I then used Smog all over the lid and Darkhorse in the crease. Then, just in the middle third of the lid, I applied a small amount of Halfbaked to create some more colour and sparkle - brighten up the eye a bit. I then used my Illamasqua Sculpting Duo kit to contour and highlight, with their blush in the shade Ambition. On my lips (and I actually wore this everyday but apparently took photos before I applied it on every other day apart from this, doh!) I wore a new addition to my make-up collection which is part of the L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privee. This is Cheryl Cole's lipstick in the shade Barely Greige by Cheryl. I absolutely LOVE this lipstick. It's very moisturising and very subtle. You do have to reapply it throughout the day, but that doesn't bother me too much. Over time I hope to buy the others in the collection because they're all so pretty, especially Barely Peach by Julianne Moore. So lovely!

Again, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. I used the eyeshadows as the day before, except more of Darkhorse and no Halfbaked. I kept it more natural on this day - so didn't use any blush or contour either.

(Apologies for the inconsistent flash in these photos - I officially HATE my camera!)

Aaaand once again, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. I applied Virgin all over the lid, up to the brow bone and in the inner corner, as I often do. Then I used Toasted all over the lid. I did this look when I went to Leeds, post here, and as I talk about in that post, I LOVE this eyeshadow. You can use it on it's own because it is iridescent and looks more built up. Great if you don't want a heavy look. Illamasqua contour kit and blush was the same as the other days.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

IOTD - Courteney Cox. I watched a few episodes of Cougar Town last night, I really enjoy it, makes me giggle A LOT.

SOTD - Moi Je Joue by Brigitte Bardot

FOTD and Contouring

Hello!

I thought I'd show you a make-up look I wore recently using my new Sculpting Powder Duo from Illamasqua, an eye palette from MUA and a couple of Rimmel lipsticks.

So, I started with my usual Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation in "Ivory: I'm Pure For Sure" which I applied with a Real Techniques Expert Face brush. I followed with Benefit Fakeup in "Light 02" on my dark circles and any blemishes - I'm talking about you Mr Spot next to my mouth, you poop head! I blended this in using an Eco Tools concealer brush.

It was at this point that I went in with the Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo Contour Kit. Applying the neutral shade - "Heliopolis" - under the cheek bone. I applied this using the Real Techniques Setting brush. My cheeks naturally go inwards so it's fairly obvious where to apply this on my face, however if you suck in your cheeks you'll see where to apply it on your own face. It's a very subtle contouring kit - you're not going to achieve crazy results like Kim Kardashian using this. If you're looking for a good tutorial on how to use this kit, try this one. I then applied "Ambition" blush powder, also by Illamasqua, to the apples of my cheeks using a Real Techniques Blush brush - which is amazing! Above that, using another RT Setting brush, I applied "Lumos" highlight - in the Sculpting kit - along the top of the cheek bone. I used a very small amount of "Heliopolis" either side of the bridge of my nose too, for a bit of shaping.

For my eyes, I used the MUA "Undressed" palette which I bought from Superdrug, firstly by applying "Shade 1", a very pale, pearly pinkish white shadow, all over the lid, into the highlight and on the brow bone. I then applied "Shade 10", a chocolatey, shimmery brown on the outer third and crease, blending the two shadows with a tapered blending brush from Sigma. I then lined and mascara'd like usual - Bourjois Kohl and Contour in the water and tight lines, Benefit They're Real on the lashes.

I applied a little of the Lasting Finish Kate lipstick from Rimmel in shade "03". Over that I blended Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in shade "200 Latino", which is a softer tone of a bright pink. I just used my ring finger to blend it, but you could a lip brush, either is fine.

And that's it! Hope you like it!

Inspiration of the day - Christina Hendricks

Song of the day - 30 Minute Love Affair by Paloma Faith

Leeds FOTD

Hello!

So a few weeks ago I went to Yorkshire to visit my sister and a few of my friends, taking a trip to Leeds during the weekend I was there. I'd never been there before, but it's a great town with some fantastic shops and interesting things to look at. I went to Illamasqua for the first time which blew my tiny mind - I wanted EVERYTHING! I'll be posting a "What I've Purchased Recently" post in the next week or so, so you can see what I bought in there. In this post though, I thought I'd share with you the make-up I wore that day. It was really quick and simple, but looked nice, so perfect for a day out shopping.

I started with Diadermine cleanser and moisturiser, then used the Porefessional, Stay Flawless and Oxygen Wow foundation - all by Benefit, followed by Fake Up concealer on blemishes and dark circles.

I only used one shade of eyeshadow which was Urban Decay Toasted from the Naked palette. This coppery colour is iridescant so it looks more built up in colour than it actually is. Eye trickery, that's what it is. And I'm lazy. So I love it. Haha!

I lined my water and tight lines with my usual Bourjois Kohl and Contour black eyepencil.

Then coated my lashes with Benefit They're Real mascara. Apologies that you can see my contact lens in this photo - it happens.

On my lips I used Aquaphor lip balm to prevent chapping - it's bloomin' cold up north! On top of that I used Benefit Kiss You lipgloss from the Glossytown set.

Et Voila! C'est Fini!

IOTD - Anouck Lepere

SOTD - Dancing on My Own by Robyn

Fake New Year

Hello again!

So this year, not only did I celebrate New Year's Eve on the 31st, but one of my lovely friends organised a Fake New Year's Eve for us too. Unfortunately, at this time of our lives, me and my friends are all doing different things in different places, so it's very rare that we're all able to get together and do something. Real New Year's Eve was really good fun, but a much smaller, more chilled affair than usual, which was why it was nice to do Fake New Year which was a little more, well, a little more!

I thought I'd share with you the outfit I wore for this get together:

Sorry about the dusty mirror, I didn't realise how bad it was but I was just too tired to clean it and then take the photo again.

I wore another dress from Oasis (http://www.oasis-stores.com///oasis/fcp-product/4470124926#GBP) which was £48, though I was able to use my student discount which made it cheaper.

Then I wore fleece lined black tights from Debenhams (http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_081010530160_-1) again, which saved me during a 12am walk to the beach - madness!

Then I wore my heeled ankle boots also from Debenhams, by Mantaray (http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_050010110060_-1) which are £49 and serving me brilliantly!

My make-up was the same as what I wore for my friends festive drinks, which I'll link just here (http://elizabeebee.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/festive-drinks-make-up-look.html)

And that was everything!

IOTD - Leighton Meester. Still watching Gossip Girl and I just love this woman!

SOTD - I Say a Little Prayer by Dionne Warwick