Beauty On A Budget

Hello everybody! Below are some of my favourite drugstore makeup products. With all of these products being £8 and under its impossible not to love them. Check out my next blog post where i will be showing you how to create a glamorous makeup look using all of these products!

xx

How To: Contour & Highlight For Beginners

If you've ever wished you could change your face shape or camouflage problem areas, the answer is as simple as learning how to highlight and contour with makeup. By using bronzer, blush, concealer and highlighter, you can subtly alter how your face looks. It may take a few tries to get the exact look you want, but the process itself is fairly simple and fun!

Before you start to contour and highlight, you'll need the right makeup. Gather the following products. Contour makeup – Use a product labeled for contouring or use a cream, liquid or powder foundation or concealer that's one shade darker than your usual shade. Powders are easier to blend, but creams and liquids give more dramatic results.

Bronzer – Bronzer can add more dimension to your face and even work as a combination contour and highlighting product. Some experts suggest using a darker bronzer versus a concealer or foundation for contouring.

Highlighter – Use a cream or powder based highlighter. If you do not have a highlighter handy, you can use a concealer or foundation that's a shade lighter than your usual shade.

Concealer and foundation brushes – You can always use your fingers, but i recommend a flat top brush for better application and blending.

Lets get started:

- Apply your usual foundation.

- Outline the hairline with contouring makeup using a makeup brush.

- Follow the line to just under the cheekbones. Suck in your cheeks and trace the underside of the cheekbones. Remember the E shape.

- Complete the E shape by going back to the edge of the jaw line near your ear and tracing the jaw line to the outer edge of your chin.

- Apply highlighter in a C shape just inside the contouring line from hairline to just above the cheekbone.

- Blend both carefully using a foundation brush.

- Trace both and the cheek area (for better blending) with powder bronzer.

As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect." Spend some time experimenting with different products, shades and brushes until you get the look you want. Soon you’ll be contouring and highlighting like a makeup pro! Its easy once you know how!

xx

The Power Of Makeup

Hello everybody, today I am very excited about this post. I have seen so many Youtube videos about this topic. So today I am going to be doing a blog edition. The Power of Makeup is the topic I selected. Its safe to say that I have absolutely zero confidence when it comes to wearing no makeup. Makeup is my mask, which i use to hide behind, to hide from my spots, redness and scarring. Hopefully having this makeup less picture of me on the internet will help me learn to love my imperfections!! (maybe... probably not)
The Foundation that i am currently using, (MAC mineralize foundation in NW25)  is a medium to light coverage. I like coverage for my redness, but I don’t want to look plastic.
Concealer! To hide those under eye bags and scarring i have on my cheeks, And to cover up that i may or may not have stayed up until 2:30 in the morning watching Youtube videos.

The concealer i have used for years and absolutely love is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I have shade 2 to cover my blemishes, and shade 1 to highlight under my eyes to brighten those dark circles.

For powder I am currently using Mac Studio Sculpt Defining powder in Medium Plus, which matches my foundation shade perfectly. To set my under eye concealer i use Collection Translucent Powder on a small fluffy brush.

Contouring and Blush. To define my face and bring out my natural blushed cheeks. I use a Sleek contour and highlight palette, and mac 'Style' blush, which is a peach/coral colour. When you’re really pale (yours truly) you need a little help bringing out your natural colour, so i find this mac blush perfect for that.

For my brows i mix and match a few different light brown eyeshadows. Because my hair is such a mix of  different colours its hard to decide what colour my eyebrows should actually be! (my hair is currently lilac) I ALWAYS use a brow gel to set them in place, cus' aint nobody got time for eyebrows sliding off your face?!

In the picture above, for my eyes i used Blue Brown pigment from Mac, which is a new purchase (i am obsessed with it!) and Kid eyeshadow, also from mac to blend it into my crease. Vanilla Pigment on the inner corner and brow bone with Tanya Burr lashes in Date Night to finish the look.

Lips, i always overline them. without fail! My top lip is basically none existent, so i need all the help i can get! I used Stripdown lipliner from mac

and Doubleshot lipstick, mac also. which provides a luscious pout!

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that my makeup free face didnt terrify you too much

XX

Chrissy Teigen Sun Kissed Glow

Not ready to accept the fact that its no longer summer? Me neither. All the more reason to make the most of that post-holiday tan and go for a bronze goddess makeup look. Here I will be showing you how to recreate a sun kissed bronzed makeup look, inspired by Chrissy Teigen. 

Follow the steps below to copy Chrissy's makeup...

(For this, as my model I used my friend Anna who is naturally very tanned. If you have very fair skin like me, a fake tan is probably going to help this look work better for you.)

Apply a liquid foundation. Once dry, apply a cream highlighter down your nose, on your cheeks and anywhere you want to bring light. Add a setting powder afterwards to keep everything in place.Take a large fluffy bronzing brush and sweep your bronzer across the forehead, along the cheekbones and over the chin. A bronzer with a hint of shimmer will be best.Apply a matte brown eye shadow over the entire lid. Then, apply a shimmery gold/cream eye shadow along the crease and lash line.Draw a very thin line of  bronze/brown shadow across the upper lash line to act as an eye liner. Do not flick out at the edges. Do the same along the lower lash line and layer the bronze shadow in the outer V to create a more intense colour.For the lashes, you can use false lashes or you can simply apply several coats of mascara.Apply a nude lipstick and a shimmery gloss and finish by using a brow pencil to fill in your eyebrows.

And, you're done!

xx

Autumn Inspired Copper Eye & Nude Lip

This look is subconsciously a result of the appearance of Autumn. The clocks have changed, it's dark at 4pm now, and the weather is decidedly cooler. These copper and brown tones are are a reflection on Autumn. I love these colours and I can see myself wearing looks like this in the upcoming weeks. Although warm tones suit my eye colour, I think on my fair skin they can look very dramatic. Still love 'em though, and I hope you do to.

Product list;

Skin:

Foundation - Mac Mineralize moisture foundation in NW25

Concealer - Collection lasting perfection concealer in No1, fair

Powder - Studio sculpt defining powder, Medium plus by Mac

Bronzer - Bronzing powder in Matte Bronze by Mac

Highlighter - Mineralize skinfinish Lightscapade by Mac

Eyebrows:

Brow pencil - Soap & glory 2 in 1 brow pencil in blonde

Brow gel - Loreal Paris brow artist plumper in light/medium

Eyes:

Eyeshadows - Kid, Rule, Antiqued, Sable & Coppering, Vanilla pigment

Eyeliner - Collection extreme 24 hour felt tip liner in black

False lashes - Eylure lashes No141 (exaggerate collection)

Lips:

Lipliner - Essence Lipliner in No11, In the nude

Lipstick - Taupe lipstick (Mac)

Continue reading below for the full face tutorial;

When you apply foundation to your entire face, you've created a blank canvas, so you have to go back and add in the dimensions. Remember in Art classes at school how you used darker shading to push an area away and lighter shades to pull an area towards you? That's all we are doing here! Contouring creates the illusion of a stronger jawline, more chiselled cheek bones and a slimmer face. The easiest way to do this is to draw an E shape on each side of your face to contour. Anyone can do that right? I used a powder bronzer for this look, but a cream bronzer is usually the best product for this. 

Steps;

After you have applied your foundation all over your face, it's time to contour, (before powder) dip your brush into your bronzer to load it up. Swirl the brush on the back of your hand to take away some product so it's not too intense. Start at the middle of the top of your hairline and begin the letter E by tracing along the perimeter down to your temple. Suck in your cheeks slightly to see exactly where your cheekbones are and continue the letter E by sweeping the brush from your temple to just underneath your cheekbone (to hollow it out). Go back along the underside of your cheekbone to the ear and then down your jawline. I also like to fill in the neck so everything blends in nicely. Repeat on the other side.

Now to highlight! Swirl off any remainder bronzer onto a tissue or the back of your hand and use the same (or different brush. It's up to you) and fill up with the highlighter. I like to highlight the majority of my face, so anywhere the light hits my face I apply it. Tops of the cheeks, bridge and tip of the nose, brow bone, temples and a tiny amount on the chin. The highlighter will bring forward those areas and make them stand out. To set everything in place I then use a large fluffy powder brush and apply my powder to my T-Zone, chin and jawline. 

Brows, I won't go into detail on because everyone has their preferred look. (Check out my previous blog post on a step by step how to guide to perfect eyebrows!).

For the eyes, apply Quarry eyeshadow all over the lid and blend it through and slightly above the crease of the eye. Make sure you blend out any harsh edges when apply each colour. Using a tapered blending brush, buff  Rule and Woodwinked into the crease. Make sure you don't blend the shadows too high up your lid, the focus for this look is the lower lash line. Apply your favourite black eyeliner to the outer corner of the eye are create a wing. Easy. For the lower lash line use Coppering eyeshadow on a s,all tapered blending brush and apply along the whole lower lashes. (Build up layers of colour to increase the colour payoff and intensify the look). Use a small angled brush to apply Vanilla pigment on the brow bone and in the inner corner of your eye. Add some lashes, and the eyes are complete. 

Last but not least, use a nude Lipliner to line your lips. I like to slightly over line my top lip (it barely exists) and thoroughly apply your Taupe lipstick. To add a bit more dimension to my lips I like to dab a small amount of Vanilla pigment onto the centre of the top and bottom lip for a more glamorous look. 

VOILÀ!!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

xx

Whats In My Makeup Bag.

Like most girls, i absolutely love makeup. For the majority of my life i would buy my makeup from Superdrug or Boots. I would always be drawn to products on sale or on offers, but i have learnt how important quality is when when it comes to the things we put on our face every day. I think, investing in good but painfully expensive products every now and again isnt so bad. Remember, i am a novice at this, and while i might not know much, i do know that i love these every day products. These are products that on a daily basis, i cannot live without. (you will notice throughout my blog that i have a slight lip product obsession. im not even sorry!!) 

I hope you enjoy this post, however short and sweet it may be!

Makeup Bag - Skinny Dip London (Avaliable on Asos.com)

 

Giorgio Armani Si - £69.90

Dior Lip Maximizer Lipgloss - £23.50

MAC lipstick (Doubleshot) - £15.50

MAC Pressed Powder (Medium Plus) - £20.50

EOS Lipbalm - £7

MAC Studio Fix Concealer - £15.50

Yves Saint Laurent Tint-in-oil (Crush me orange) - £23.50

*LEFT* Real Techniques Setting brush - £5.59    *RIGHT* Coastal Scents Pro Blending Fluff Brush - £2-5

xx