Everyday Makeup - Natural Glow Tutorial

Hi loves!

I am now back on my YouTube game and I've filmed some videos for my YouTube channel!

The first video is a essentially my everyday make up look with added luminosity and 3 lipstick options, 2 for my loud lipstick lovers and one for my nude lip lovers!

See below for the video and full product list

FACE:

Steam Cream

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX13

ELF High Definition Powder in Colour Corrective Yellow

BECCA Luminous Skin Colour in Nuba

MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC50

Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in #60

Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Turks and Caicos

Inglot Powder Blush in #41

MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Gold Deposit

EYES:

Makeup Geek Gel Liner in Immortal

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara

LIPS:

Option 1

MAC Cosmetics Flat Out Fabulous Lipstick

Option 2

MAC Cosmetics Heroine Lipstick

Option 3

LA Colors Lip Pencil in Dark Brown

KIKO Cosmetics Pencil Lip Gloss in 11

NYX Lipgloss in Miami Babe

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Petrol Black

My experimenting bug is back in full force meaning I'll be bringing more looks to the blog, I'm so excited to be sharing these with you guys! These looks will serve as good practice for me in the long run as I'm not so great with eye shadows.

Last night I decided to Shop My Stash once again and see what I could come up with.

I came across my Barry M Dazzle Dust in Petrol Black that I had fallen in love with on first sight but had failed to use.

It is such a gorgeous shade I had to create a look with it!

Petrol Black is a stunning duo-chrome black pigment with green iridescence; similar to the effect of spilt petrol I guess!

It's so hard to describe as a colour so feel free to check out some swatches HERE

For a full list of product be see below:

Face

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX12 (to mute out discolouration) 

Illamasqua Skin Base in SB15

LA Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in Fawn (under eye/t-zone highlight)

MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC50 (to set concealer)

Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in #60 (to set remainder of face)

Sleek Contour Kit in Dark (for highlight and contour)

ELF Bronzer in Turks and Caicos 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure (applied lightly)

Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder in Naked Dark (applied to perimeter of face)

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

UD Naked Palette - Virgin (brow bone highlight)

UD Naked Palette - Buck (transitional colour)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Petrol Black

Wet N Wild Comfort Zone Palette - Silver (inner eye highlight)

Maybelline Master Drama Khol Liner in Ultra Black (lower lash line and tight line)

MUA Smokin' Palette Chaos (lower lash line)

MUA Waterproof Every Lash Mascara

Lips

Generic Brown Pencil 

Sleek Pout Paint in Mink

MAC Cosmetics Freckletone lipstick

NYX Megashine Lipgloss in Miami Babe

I also tried out a new hairstyle with my twists, not sure I love it just yet but it's cool to be trying out new styles with braids!

If you want to try it out yourself click HERE for the tut!

Hope you enjoyed this look and stay tuned for much more!

:)

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Camera Ready Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

I've been hauling like a makeup fiend lately, don't ask me why!

I have a few more hauls coming up as well as a video but wanted to share these new buys as I'm really impressed with them.

A lot of these items are new buys; products I have never tried before so wanted to share my initial reviews of some of these hauls.

If you follow me on Instagram you would have already seen this small, relatively modest haul from a company called Camera Ready Cosmetics.

I came across Camera Ready Cosmetics after reading a comment left by a follower of another Instagram user stating that CRC hold samples of the infamous Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

I was happy to see that CRC actually sell samples to several different brands so I picked up a few samples as well as two full size products:

Sample of Ben Nye's Matte Foundation in Espresso Bean

Simply picked this up for contouring purposes, Espresso Bean is a very deep matte brown, suitable for very dark skin tones as a foundation and also perfect for contouring. 

If this was to be used as a foundation I imagine it would be amazing!

It's very pigmented and smooth, I really want to pick up some more samples in my skin tone. 

The fantastic thing about these foundations is the colour range, perfect for pale skin tones as well as women of colour. 

Fantastic in my opinion!

Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave - Americano

I really want to pick up the Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Palette in Mojave, it looks like a great alternative to the Anastasia Contour Kit but for women of colour but I'm waiting until IMATS to do so, so before then I wanted to test out the palette so I picked up a full size refill of the darkest colour in the palette - Americano.

Americano is perfect for contouring on my skin tone.

It is a cool toned deep matte brown that applies very smoothly, I am in absolute love with this refill. 

The pigmentation is impressive!

I definitely want to get the full Mojave palette now.

La Femme Sparkle Dust in Antique Gold

I've been getting into pigments lately so I decided to pick up this La Femme pigment, mostly because it was so affordable. I picked Antique Gold which is really just a gold with deep brown bronze undertone. Not as finely milled as some of the other pigments I have tried but still a gorgeous colour. 

You can see me wearing this pigment HERE

Samples of Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme Blush in Autumn Breeze and Cherry Glaze

I already own Graftobian's Hi-Def foundation palette which I really love so I decided to try another product from their palettes. 

The odd thing about these blushers is that although they come from the same palette they are both different in texture and appearance.

Autumn Breeze is a matte warm creamy peach blush which gives off a natural flush which isn't too overpowering whilst Cherry Glaze is as stated, a very, very sheer berry colour, slightly disappointing in pigmentation.

L-R Espresso, Americano, Antique Gold, Cherry Glaze, Autumn Breeze

I also picked up 3 samples of the 

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

I decided to purchase SX11, SX12 ans SX13.

The samples are fantastic to use not just to test out the product but also because the Sensual Skin Enhancer is naturally ultra pigmented, these samples will last you a while! 

Each sample costs $4.99 (£2.98) which isn't too unreasonable at all in my opinion.

I've tested out all three and I can see why there is so much hype around this product, the pigmentation is outstanding!

 I've used SX13 on several occasions and I still have a considerable amount left.

The Sensual Skin Enhancer can be used as foundation however I have bought these shades for highlighting purposes only. 

SX11 being for obvious highlighting and SX12 and SX13 being for more subtle highlighting.

I will be working more with these products so that you can see the full effect on my skin tone but for now I've swatched all shades so you can get an idea of consistency and undertone.

L-R: SX11, SX12, SX13

All in all my order came up to $58.68 or £35 and some change, shipping included.

I am really impressed with Camera Ready Cosmetics, I didn't need to pay customs and the package was delivered within 4 working days.

They hold a huge range of PRO make up brands including Kett, MAQ pro and Mehron as well as more commercial brands such as OCC, Stila and Sugarpill.

If you want to try out new make up or even the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, I would definitely recommend checking out this site.

Camera Ready Cosmetics

Have you shopped from Camera Ready Cosmetics?

Have your tried the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer? What do you think of it?

2

Valentines Day Look: Subtle Smoke

I'm back with another "easy to achieve" Valentine's Day look, if you have missed my other two you can find them HERE and HERE.

This time I guess you can say I've combined my previous two looks to get this subtle brown smokey eye with a ruby red lip.

Out of all the looks, I must admit, this may be my favourite, I love the combination of the subtle smokey eye with the bold red lip, but enough of me talking/typing, let's get onto how I created the look below!

Click To Enlarge

Brows

Same as always. 

I filled my brows in with a generic soft brown pencil, I then cleaned up the top of my brow with MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50 and the bottom with MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC45 (the LA Girl Concealer's are also really great for this and a fraction of the price of the MAC concealers.)

Face

Here I used one of my absolute favourite foundations for natural flawless skin, the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation in 6.5 Warm Almond. I really love this foundation, it is light but it manages to conceal my pores to give the appearance of natural flawless skin (if you have oily skin you may want to avoid this base, it's a dewy finish, or at least prime beforehand.)

I buffed this well into the skin and then moved onto concealer, I didn't want anything too drastic concealer wise but I did want to conceal the dark marks under my eyes that make me look tired so I applied (with my finger) the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX13, this is more of a nude toned brown which helped to cancel out my discolouration fabulously. 
I also applied SX13 to my usual highlighting areas, this includes the bridge of my nose, philtrum and my chin. To set I used the brown beige eyeshadow from my JC Nadia 28 Neutral Palette. 

Blending is also very important when highlighting, this allows your highlight to look more natural as you are removing any harsh lines of demarkation. I use my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to do this. This is a new buy that I am absolutely loving right now!
For blush I used my Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Glamour, I really love how warming this is as a blush.
For highlight I used my MUA Eyeshadow in 28 which is a cool toned bronze eyeshadow, I applied this to the tops of my cheek bones and bridge of my nose as well as my philtrum. This brings attention of the right parts of your face.
I contoured using my favourite contour powder the Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano, which is an uber dark matte powder, perfect contour colour for ladies similar to my skin tone.
I then bronzed using my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68, another new buy that I am absolutely loving! 

Eyes

Once again super simple.

Firstly I applied a shade similar to my skin tone to my eyelid, I used my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to do this. If you have oily lids remember to prime with something like Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance.

I then added some of my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68 to my crease and the outer corners of my eyes. This powder is a rich reddish brown which is perfect for warming up the crease. I also added this just below my waterline and blended out for further definition.

I wanted more smoke so I went in with my Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano and applied this with a fluffy brush to the outer corners of my eye for more depth. All you need is a deep matte dark brown eyeshadow for this. MAC's Embark or the brown eyeshadow from the Wet N Wild Vanity Palette would work perfectly as well.

I then went in with a clean fluffy brush around the edges of the eyeshadow to get rid of any harsh lines, using some of your face powder will also help with this.

If you need to, at this point, go in a reapply more of your face powder to your lid.

I didn't use any eyeliner with this look but feel free to add some if this is what works for you!

Once I was happy I applied my trusty Maybelline The Falsies mascara to my top and bottom lashes. 

Feel free to add several coatings for amazing lashes or falsies!

Lips

I really wanted a different kind of red for this look, a deeper red so I applied one of my favourite alternative reds, MAC's Diva lipstick.

I love the look and longevity of this lipstick but for this look it was missing a little something, that something turned out to be NYX's Xtreme Lip Cream in Absolute Red, a gorgeous glossy deep red with fabulous colour pay off. 

I applied a thin layer and achieved the most gorgeous ruby red lip!

To finish off the look, I applied my MAC Blot Powder in Dark to take away some of the shine from my base and voila!

I hope you've enjoyed my ever so humble Valentine's Day looks and I hope you all have a fab Valentine's Day, single or not!

MWAH!

8

Valentines Day Look: Bronzed Glow

With Valentine's Day almost upon us I thought it would be good to create a few looks that you could wear on a date or a night out with your girls for all the single ladies up in hurr!

This is the second look I came up with (you can see the first HERE) this is a really subtle but effective look, here, instead of a bold red lip we're making the focus your natural glow.

Now, a natural glow can be hard to create especially if you're not an angel but fear not! 

With the right products it can be achieved!

Click To Enlarge

Brows 

I started off by filling in my brows with a generic soft dark brown pencil, I then set my brows with Maybelline's Brow Drama in Dark Brown. To clean up my brows I applied MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50 at the top, NC45 at the bottom for a natural highlight.

Face

Start off with your favourite flawless finish foundation, mine is MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NC50.  
Once buffed into the skin well, start highlighting. 
We want our highlight to be noticeable but in a good way, I would recommend going in with a full coverage concealer no more than 3 shades lighter than your skin tone. Here I am using the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX11, this concealer is great and really effective in creating a glow/highlight to the desired areas. I applied the SSE to my t-zone including my philtrum and my chin. I blended this in with a fluffly brush and then set it all with a light beige eyeshadow from my JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette.
I've found the key to a natural highlight in blending out harsh lines, I used my 

Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to blend out concealer as well as to set my face.

I also used my Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano to contour (my new favourite contour powder!)

I then went in with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure, this a great neutral plum toned blush with not too much shimmer, really subtle but gorgeous.

Afterwards for warmth and more of a glow I used my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68 for bronzing around the perimeter of my face and my neck. For more highlighting I used Illamasqua's Powdered Metal in Ether along the same areas in which I used SSE.

Eyes

I started with MAC's Studio Finish Concealer in NC45 for a base. I then applied La Femme's Sparkle Dust in Antique Gold all over the lid (applied with a damp brush)

I used fluffy brushes to apply the Dark Brown and Black e/s from the JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette to smoke out the edges.

I always use Inglot 335 e/s  as a transitional shade, it's the perfect warm terracotta colour for my skin tone.

For a bit more shimmer I placed Inglot 406 e/s on the exact center of my eyelid lid using my finger for precision. This gives a 3-Dimensional effect when your eyes close, a little something extra that can help a lot with simple eyeshadow looks.

I wanted to keep this look soft so instead of a black liner I used a soft brown pencil in my waterline, I smudged this out with the brown e/s from the JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette paying more attention to the outer third of my eye for definition.

Next I applied several coats of my favourite mascara Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof Mascara in Black.

Lips

Lips are very simple!

I firstly started out with NYX Lip Pencil in Brown to outline my lips.

I then went in with the beautiful nude Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Dulce Caramelo, however this didn't really provide enough coverage for me so I went in on top of that with my Kiko Lip Gloss Pencil in 11.

I then applied my favourite lipgloss NYX's Miami Babe to warm up my nude lip.

Last but not least, I finished with my setting spray, the NYX Makeup Setting Spray in the matte finish.

And viola!

Done!

A wearable and relatively easy glowing skin look for Val's Day!

Your date is sure to be impressed!

MWAH...don't forget to send me one back, I don't have the lurgies...I promise!

6

Valentines Day Look: Ravishing Red

For my red lip ladies, I've created a simple and easy to wear red lip look for your Valentines date.

This look is perfect if you're not an eyeshadow wearer or a lashes wearer, all you need is your favourite red and a good liner.

For a full product list please look below!!

Click To Enlarge

Face

Start off with your favourite primer for makeup longevity and to banish those pores, I used the Tony Moly Egg Pore Silky Smooth Balm Primer. I then went in with my L'Oreal True Match Foundation in N8 Cappuccino which I buffed in well with a stippling brush, if you have dry skin feel free to use a foundation such as MAC's Face and Body or Make Up For Ever's Face and Body.

For subtle highlighting use a full coverage concealer one to two shades lighter than your skin tone. I firstly went in with my MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC45 to highlight the arch of my brow as well as underneath my eyes, I found that this was still a bit too understated so I then went in with Kevyn Aucoin's Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX12 which is about two shades lighter, just to perk up the colour. I set my concealer with a light beige eyeshadow from my 28 Neutral Eyeshadow palette.

I then buffed out the edges of my concealer to get rid of any harsh lines and went in with my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to blend out any further harsh lines, I also used this to set my foundation as I like the matte look.

My contour which you cannot see (sorry guys, I'll work on that for next time) was a mixture of the Ben Nye HD Matte Foundation in Espresso Bean and the Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano to set(both amazing products!)

For my cheeks I didn't want a shimmery blush, just a natural flush so I used a  bit of the Graftobian HD Blush in Autumn Breeze and set that with NYX's Powder Blush in Cocoa.

For bronzer I used the Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68 (a fab rich reddish brown, PERFECT for bronzing)

Then to add a lil something extra I went in with my favourite highlighter on all of my key areas. I used MAC Gold Deposit on the area right above my brows, down the bridge of my nose, on my cupids bow, my philtrum and the tops of my cheek bones. 
Feel free to go liberal with this, obviously you don't want to look like a disco ball but a good quality highlighter will stop this from happening anyway.

Eyes

Very simple!

Simply prime your eye, I used a bit of my Inglot Pressed Powder in 60 for this and then go in with your favourite/most pigmented eye liner. Normally I love using my Make Up Geek Gel Liner in Immortal (all time fav) but for this look I wanted to switch it up. 
I used my L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim in Black Intense. I first drew my line across my lid, I then tipped my head back to find where I wanted my flick to go (dunno why, but this method just works for me) I drew in my flick and attached it to the line on my lid, if you make any mistakes (which I always do) go in with a cotton bud dipped in make up remover, this will give you the sharp edge you need as well as fix the angle of your flick if you plotted it out wrong.

Next go in with your favourite mascara, I started with Benefit's They're Real for drama and then went in with the Maybelline The Falsies for volume and more drama.

You can add lashes to this look if you wish but this look works well without lashes too boo boo! 

Lips

Then add your favourite red lipstick. 
I decided to change it up and use a lippie I don't wear very often, if at all. 

Here I'm wearing Rimmel's Kate lipstick in 107, however, I swiftly realised why I never reach for this colour, I'm not a big fan of this lipstick on it's own, it's shade isn't dramatic enough for me (I find it quite flat against my skin tone) so I oomphed it up with Illamasqua's Intense Lipgloss in Succubbus you can also use NYX's Xtreme Lip Cream in Absolute Red, a fabulous alternative and deeper in colour...

anddddd we are all done!

A simple statement eye and lip without going OTT for Val's Day, a look perfect for beginners that doesn't break the bank!

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