Summer Party Glam

Summer Sunset Eye Look

Hi everyone!

I am back with this new colorful eye tutorial, the mix of eye shadows I chose to use for this look reminds me of a beautiful summer sunset! It's been sooooooo long since I've written a blog post so I feel a bit rusty. (forgive me)

Today i spent the majority of my morning looking at holidays online, trying to cheer myself up during this cold gloomy weather here in the UK. I came across a stunning picture of a sunset on the beach, and decided to create an eye look using the lovely warm and summery colours. Here is what i created:

(please ignore how bad my eyebrows are!! they are in desperate need of a good plucking)

If you would like to create this look for yourself, just keep on reading...

The products i used are:

- Brule (Mac)
- Coppering (Mac)

- Wet & Dry Pigment in #19 (Kiko)
- Master Precise liquid eyeliner (Maybelline)
- Vanilla Pigment (Mac)
- Tanya Burr Lashes in 'Date Night' 

- In Extreme Dimension Mascara, in black (Mac)

Step 1:
Apply Brule eyeshadow ALL over the lid to create a perfectly smooth base.

Step 2:

Using a pencil brush, apply Coppering eyeshadow through the crease. Keep the line through the crease as neat as possible and try your best not to get any on your lid. Keep building up colour by packing the colour on the lid in a tapping motion. You want the colour to be as intense as possble!

Step 3:
Using a clean fluffy blending brush, buff out the edges until evenly blended. I blended the colour out into a subtle wing so that when my eyeliner was applied it all flowed nicely.

Step 4:
Use your pencil brush again, and the same Coppering eyeshadow, apply the colour along the outer part of the lower lash line. On the inner corner, do the same thing with the yellow wet and dry pigment. I used this dry for a subtle hint of yellow.

Step 5:

Apply a bold winged liner, however long/bold you would like it. I like to use a concealer along the bottom edge of the wing to neaten it up slightly.

Step 6:
Apply Vanilla pigment from mac on the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye to brighten the look.

Step 7:
Apply your favourite mascara, pop on the lashes, and there you have it.

Simple!!

I hope you enjoyed this post!!

XX

Review: Real Techniques Miracle Complextion Sponge

 As my close friends know, i am a huge fan of the pixiwoo sisters and the real techniques brushes. So when the Miracle Complexion Sponge was launched i knew i had to give it a go (although it has taken me until now to actually buy one). This sponge is not like the old fashioned sponges your nan once used, but instead it is a brilliant little tool that allows you to create a full coverage and flawless base in a matter of minutes. 

The beauty blender took the world by storm and a lot of people had mixed reviews. I personally love using beauty blenders, although i feel that by wetting it with fix+ doesnt help my oily skin in the slightest. All that aside if you liked the beauty blender and found it worked for you, this is just as good, or dare i say, better and more importantly it is a quarter of the price. 

This is similar to the beauty blender but the reason we prefer it is because it has three different sides which can be used for all different areas of the face aswell as to create different finishes.

- The rounded side can be used to cover larger areas of the face. If you apply your foundation to the back of your hand, pick up some of the product with the sponge and rub it on to your face then it creates a light coverage. If you are a fan of cream blush the rounded side is great for applying this.
- For a fuller coverage i like to use the flat side and dab it onto my skin. You can do this only in the areas where you need a more fuller coverage and use the rounded side on the areas which need less. On the real techniques website it suggests using the round side in a stippling motion to achieve fuller coverage but i have found that the flat side does a much better job and Samantha Chapman uses it this way too! The flat edge is great for getting in around the hard to reach areas such as the sides of the nose and the under eyes.
- The pointed end is amazing for applying concealer around the eyes, the nose area and concealing smaller areas which need precise and dense coverage. You can use the rounded side to blend the product in after applying it to the desired area.
- The pointed side is also super for contouring the face. It can be used to add cream bronzer under the cheek bones and on the temples and highlighter under the eye, on the forehead and down the center of the nose.
There honestly is nothing bad to say about this product. The material it's made from is super high quality. It does exactly what it is meant to do and it gives you amazing looking skin (if the makeup lasts on you throughout the day is a matter of try and see as it really depends on your skin type) . I have tried this out with all different types of foundation formulas and it works well although avoid using it with powder products if you want my honest opinion because it can cause makeup to cake.
Once you are done with this you can use some baby shampoo to rinse it off and start fresh again. As this dries it goes back to the original size. When i just use this for my under eye concealer, instead of washing it fully i just spray some brush cleaner on it and rub it on some tissue to remove as much product as possible. (lazy, i know.) The cleaner i use is from Superdrugs exclusive brand 'B'.

Best of all this beauty will only set you back £4.99  from boots and at the moment this is on special at buy one get one half price so there is no reason why you shouldn't give this a go. It would also be a lovely little stocking filler for a special girl in your life.

For anyone new to makeup or for someone that doesn't have time to be using several brushes to create an even base then this is just the tool for you. Its super quick and easy to use and it's incredibly affordable! Everyone should try one of these at least once and this is a great option rather than forking out on the, what we now feel is overpriced, beauty blender.

Have you used this sponge? How did it work for you? Let me know what you though!

xx

Makeup Transformations

No7 Airbrush Away Foundation Review

Airbrush away foundation which retails at £16.50, claims to give you a "flawless, smooth appearance from every angle."   The Airbrush Away foundation is said to be suitable for all skin types and has a medium coverage. It is meant to blur lines and imperfections for a flawless, airbrushed finish whilst still looking natural and skin like.The texture of this foundation is super smooth and silky. It blends over the skin beautifully. I used a flat top buffing brush from ebay to blend it out which i feel works better that using my beauty blender. With just one layer my skin already looked great. It had evened out my complexion, covering redness and adding a smooth finish, whilst still allowing my skin to show through. I added a second layer for some more coverage and it builds so well. A little goes a long way and you can really buff and blend for a super natural finish but also build up easily for a fuller coverage.
Two layers provides a light/medium coverage that still looks so natural, as the foundation really blends with the skin. It covered everything I wanted, so any redness and uneven tone on my skin, it helped to cover any blemishes and over all, just gave a really flawless look.
The Airbrush Away foundation also wears really well throughout the day, it stays smooth and even. The finish is quite dewy, so I did find that right at the end of the day it did make me look a little bit oily but nothing a touch of powder can't fix.

Have you tried this foundation yet? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

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

From Day To Night...

If you are like me and work late on saturday afternoons (pure hell) this cheats makeup will be perfect for you. There's nothing i hate more than coming home from work and having to rush to get ready for my night out. By just touching up your foundation slightly, changing your lipstick and adding a bold lip colour you can quickly go from a basic bitch to glam AF in seconds (literally) Today i was feeling daring and paired a shockingly pink eye liner with a purple lip, and im kinda obsessed with it. 

Below are pictures of the makeup i wore today...

Adding a bright colour along the lower lash line and changing your lip colour really does make a huge difference...

Glam in seconds!
xx

Perrie Edwards Inspired Makeup Look

Inspired by Little Mix's Perrie Edwards i decided today that i would re create this gorgeous yet simple look. it really is as easy at it looks! With the use of just two eyeshadows and your daily brow and foundation routine, this look is all yours. 

To start, apply your foundation, powder, contour etc; and grab and champagne and a burgundy eyeshadow, (I used Charlotte Tilbury Quad in Dolce Vita) Using a fluffy shadow brush, apply the champagne shade all over the lid for a subtle glow. Apply the burgundy shade with an angled shadow brush for a more precise application. I started by drawing the outer flick and ran the excess product along the upper lash line.  Layer the burgundy for a more intense colour pay off, concentrating mainly on the outer corner. Use the same shade along the whole of the lower lash line and blend with the fluffy shadow brush used previously. Lastly, apply your favourite mascara and you're good to go!

how easy was that?!!

Effortless glam in a matter of minutes

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