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: 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!

10

Red She Said Challenge

Whilst having my daily Tumblr browse I came across the most stunning picture of the model Eugena Washington looking absolutely breathtaking.

Now, Eugena is gorgeous regardless but what made her stand out more was her make up.

Just took my breathe away!

The make up in my opinion is just gorgeous.

The highlighting and contouring is evident but not stark which is something that really helps to accentuate Eugena's gorgeous facial features.

I also love how natural this looks, with a gorgeous berry red lip. There's nothing I do not like about this look. 

The MUA Eloy Guerra did a fantastic job here!

After posting this picture literally everywhere Jessica of Look What I Got suggested that we do our own version of this look, so away I went to see if I could recreate this gorgeous work of art.

Now, unsurprisingly, this task was harder than I thought it would be, highlighting and contouring is something that takes a lot practice, especially when you need to make it look natural.

At first I tried to recreate the exact same thing in the picture above but this didn't work out too well, my highlighting looked BEYOND ashy and I just couldn't get my contour to work, so I removed most of the under eye highlight and opted for something a bit more subtle.

In the end it came out ok, I was a bit bummed that I couldn't incorporate the highlighting more but practice makes perfect!

The thing I loved most about this look was the eyes, subtle and shimmery with soft brown liner to create a subtle cat eye.

The lip was also super fun to recreate, it took a lot of different reds to come up with this look as I didn't have a colour deep enough to match the original.

All in all this was a fun challenge and may be one I'll bring to the blog more often!

You wanna know what I used?

Look below! ;)

FACE

Graftobian Hi-Def Colour Palette in Warm 3 (Ginger for Base, Femme Fatale for highlight, Sienna for Contour)

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC45
MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC50

MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter in Peach Lustre 

Wet N Wild Vanity Palette (Matte Brown for contour)

ELF High Definition Powder in Corrective Yellow

Daniel Sandler On The Loose Powder in 15

EYES

Inglot Eyeshadow in 406

Generic Brown Pencil

Wet N Wild Vanity Palette (Matte Brown)

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

LIPS

Barry M Lip Liner in Plum No.11

All the reds lipsticks I own basically (I used several including MAC R.E.D, Wet N Wild's Spotlight Red and Paris from the Sleek Lip 4 Tease palette)

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in Absolute Red

Sleek Pout Paint in Mink

Bellepierre Shimmer Powder in Celebration

Hard Candy Plexi Gloss

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Vamptress

Hi guys!

I wanted to share with you this quick FOTD that I posted on my Instagram the other night.

I love experimenting with make up and this is what I was doing when I came out with this look.

Below is the product list:

Face: 

ELF Eyebrow Lifter and Filler in Ivory/Dark
Maybelline Brow Drama in Dark Brown
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50
NYX Concealer Jar in Orange
ELF Mineral Personal Blend Foundation in Dark (mixed with Ben Nye Topaz Powder) 
LA Girl Pro Concealer in Fawn
ELF High Definition in Yellow
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC50
ELF Mineral Blush in Peachy
MAC Blush in Format
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer in Ebony 08

Eyes:

MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC50
Makeup Geek Gel Eyeliner in Immortal
Benefit's They're Real Mascara
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Lips:

MAC Nightmoth Lip Liner
Coloured Raine Lipstick in Plum Fairy

Contacts:

Freshlook Colourblends in Grey


I really love everything about this look especially the lips, Nightmoth and Plum Fairy are near identical in colour giving you the perfect vampy lip!

I also used a few new products which have swiftly become some of my favouties including the ELF Mineral Personal Blend Foundation which is FANTASTIC and the gorgeous Guerlain bronzer that I have been lusting over for months now!

Reviews will be up shortly for both!

23

Daniel Sandler Swatches and Initial Review

If you have read my previous post you'll see my recent Daniel Sandler haul.

I have swatching away like a busy bee to give you an initial review of the products I picked up recently!

So go and get yourself a good ol' cuppa, get comfy and let's get started!

(Don't forget to click the pictures to enlarge!)

Firstly let's talk about...

Perfect Canvas Fluid Foundation

Daniel Sandler's Perfect Canvas Fluid Foundation is described as a foundation that:

" provides invisible perfection for every face and skin tone. Proven outstanding in providing a gentle, and uniformly applied makeup to even out skin tone and blemishes, leaving a velvety smooth finish, providing medium coverage"

and I totally agree!

Perfect Canvas is for those of us who want to even out our skin tone for a natural everyday look.  

I liken the finish of it to MAC Studio Fix Fluid.

I found that you do not need a lot of this product for it to work well for you. 

I firstly applied Shade 10 with a dry stipple brush however applying it this way made me feel like I had far too much product on so I went in again with my fingers and blended it into areas of my face that needed coverage.

This provided a more natural look which I loved!

On a separate occasion I also wore Shade 15, applied with a damp stipple brush. This was by far my favourite way to wear this foundation. It provided me with a dewy, natural and even looking skin tone.

The great thing about this product is that it is multi faceted! 

It is a great product to mix with your daily moisturiser for a dewy natural look or this can also be used as an under eye concealer! Fab or what?!

What I absolutely adore about Daniel Sandler's products is the colour range!!

As a woman of colour it is always a God send to find a beauty range that not only caters to women of colour but the different tones that we come in! 

As you can see above Daniel's products cater for reddish undertones as well as golden undertones.

I have swatched Perfect Canvas along with my other foundations so that you can get an idea of the tones of Perfect Canvas.

Shade 10 is the shade that is most suited to my skin tone (at the moment) as you can see from the swatch above. I expect when the sun finally shows itself I may have to adjust this which I can do by mixing shades together.

Next we have...

Daniel Sandler Catwalk Compact SPf25

Catwalk Compact is described as the following: 

"Cream-in-a-compact leaves smooth matte finish and setting properties of a powder... Coverage is buildable, from moderate to high. Suitable for combination to oily skin types."

Initially I was not going to pick up this compact, I had never used a cream to powder foundation but from personal recommendation from Daniel himself I decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did!!

This product is fabulous! 

Great to store in your handbag and easy to apply.

It is also very light weight which makes it blend in like a dream!

As you can see from the swatches above this product is build-able providing medium to full coverage.

I would say try this out if your a fan of MAC's Studio Tech foundation.

The website recommended applying this with a damp brush for a sheer look, however I applied with a stipple brush, powdered and set with MAC Fix + for a more full coverage look.

Here I used as many of the products above so that you can get an idea of tones and coverage offered. I am normally one for sheer/medium coverage but for the sake of this review I built up coverage to medium to full.

I applied both shades of the Catwalk Compact on my face and Perfect Canvas in Shade 10 underneath my eyes.

I then set my face with On The Loose powder in Shade 15.

As it seems like it has been winter forever here in the UK, these shades are coming up a little bit warm for me, (my winter shade is quite pale) however I don't imagine this being a problem in the summer.

All in all I am super impressed with this products!

They are a FABULOUS price as well as being Women Of Colour friendly!

They are also VERY versatile. 

Each product can be used a number of ways ensuring you get the best use out of it, which is great for those of you who like to customise your make up or who work as MUAs!

For more information or to purchase these items visit Daniel Sandler's website HERE.

What do you think of Daniel Sandler products?

Are you tempted to try them out?

14

Base Face

If you have watched my Great Expectations video you'll see that one of my main goals was to create the perfect 'base face.'

I've been on this mission since seeing how incredible Destiny Godley's foundation routine left her looking! Absolutely flawless but natural looking.

I think this is a very hard thing to accomplish nowadays, especially if you want to cover up blemishes however I set myself the challenge and I think I have finally found a routine that works for me.

I use this look whenever I am going out to a bar, club etc and I find it works great for me!

Obviously this wont work for everyone but I hope you can take bits from it that may help you achieve your perfect 'base face' too.

Firstly I moisturise.

After moisturising I apply a primer. The quality of primer really makes a difference and helps your make up to stay flawless all night. I use Tony Moly's Egg Pore Silky Smooth Balm and I apply this all over my face.

I then move onto my brows, I fill them in with my ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Dark and then clean around them using my Coastal Scents Eclipse Palette. For a natural looking highlight, I use a lighter concealer on the bottom outer half of my brow and blend out, I then clean up the rest with a shade that matches my skin tone. 

Now I move onto my favourite part, the foundation. 

I have recently starting using MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NC50 for my full coverage foundation (no need for me to use concealer to hide blemishes when using this) and I LOVE IT! It's a perfect colour match and very long lasting.

I apply this by tapping out a bit on my hand, (I am sans pump) around a 10p size.

I then apply using my Real Technique's Stippling Brush. I buff the foundation into my skin using circular motions, insuring all product is blended in evenly.

Next step, the one made famous by Kim K. 

Highlighting!

I always opt for subtle highlighting due to flash from cameras.

I find the LA Girl Pro Conceal in Fawn is PERFECT for my skin tone. 

It blends in amazingly, allowing for the most natural highlight. 

I apply the concealer underneath my eyes in a triangular shape, down my nose, cupids bow as well as chin. I then blend it all in with a damp beauty blender until I am happy with the result.

I set with Ben Nye's Banana powder. 

I make sure I blend this in too. 

If I find I still have harsh lines with the concealer I go over lightly with my MSF face powder to blend the concealer even more.

Once this is done, I move onto bronzer.

I use Covergirl Queen Bronzer in Ebony Bronze Q120 in places that I would normally contour.

I would normally then go back in with my Sleek Contour Kit in Dark and apply the matte brown powder to the hollows of my cheeks making sure to blend out all the harsh lines.

Next onto blush!

I use two just because I love the look.

I first start off with NARS Blush in Taj Mahal (LURVVE) which I apply to the apples of my cheeks and with the remainder I apply this to the tops of my temples. I do the same with MAC's Blush in Format for a bit more warmth.

For a bit more glam, I apply a shimmer highlighter to the tops of my cheek bones, underneath my brow, down my nose and cupids bow.

Lately I have been reaching for ELF's Blush in Gotta Glow but from time to time I also use MAC's Cream Colour Base in Improper Copper or Accessorize Baked Bronzer in Bermuda Shade 4.

I skip powdering my entire face as I feel my face is quite matte after all of the above so I set with 

ELF's Makeup Mist & Set

(AMAZING PRODUCT, I love this much more than MAC's Fix +) to get rid of the powdery look and then...viola!

 I'm done!!! 

(wipes brow)

The rest (eyes and lips) are down to how I'm feeling at the time!

In the picture above I kept the eyes simple, just a coat of good ol' Maybelline's Great Lash mascara in Blackest Black.

My lips are lined with a generic brown lip liner, coupled with NYX's Round Lipstick in Minimalism and NYX's Mega Shine Lipgloss in Miami Babe over the top.

This all seems like a lot but it really becomes simple (and fast) after you get it down and the results are pretty thumbs up (if I do say so myself!)

I think it's just a case of working with products that you like and you are familiar with!

Do you have any tips to share that you use for creating a flawless base?

15

The Festive Look

At Christmas you have to go a lil bit 'all out' and get your 'fabulous' on!

You should also have a make up look to accompany those glad rags and this is mine.

The classic siren look with a twist.

The focus being the eyes and the lips without one overpowering the other.

How To Achieve This Look

For a flawless base make sure you apply primer, as the siren look is more about the eyes and lips we want to keep the face flawless and away from shine! 

 Use a mattifying primer such as Laura Mercier's Oil Free Foundation Primer.

Then move onto foundation, once again we want to reinforce the matte appearance so use a foundation such as MAC Matchmaster which is matte and adapts to the skin's natural tone. In this look I used shade 7.5. Conceal any imperfections with your favourite concealer.

I used MAC Studio Finish Concealer in shade NC50.

Next, I applied a base colour on my lid. 

This colour should be the same colour as your skin tone, we do not want an overpowering colour, just something to create a more flawless base. 

In this case I used my MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Deep Dark as this is a perfect colour to mimic my skin tone.

To create some definition to the eye and to create an uber subtle smokey eye I applied a dark brown eyeshadow to the outer corner of my crease and blended well.

Once I was happy with that I went in my a black gel eyeliner and lined my top lid. 

You can use Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink. 

A stiff eyeliner brush will aid greatly in creating the PERFECT flick, however if you are not too great at this have some cotton buds and make up remover near by to clear up any mistakes!

Line the outer corner of your bottom lid with a brown eyeliner pencil to enhance the subtle smokey look. MAC Kohl Eyeliner in Teddy is perfect for this! 

Use a pencil brush to smoke it out a little bit. 

Add mascara, my current FAAAVVV is Lancome's Hynose Doll Eyes and then add your favourite flirty lashes and viola! 

Eyes complete! 

Simple right?!?

Now lips! 

You can go with a classic red lip but yawn!! 

Where's the fun in that?!

Let's go ombre!

Take a dark plum lip liner such as MAC's Night Moth or Vino and line your lips, focussing mostly on the outer corners of your mouth.

Then apply your lipstick and blend

I used MAC's Lipstick in Runaway Red but you can use Diva or M.A.C Red.
For an added pop, dab pink lipstick onto the center of your lips!

Once satisfied, tidy up neatly with your concealer and set your make up with your favourite finishing powder.

And there you have it! 

A simple but effective festive look perfect for all skin tones!

What do you think? 

Will you be trying this out for your xmas parties?

What would you substitute?

15

Youtube Haulage

   

Hi guys!

Hope you're all well!

I recorded another video for my Youtube channel detailing the finds of my small and recent haul!

 

Enjoy and subscribe if you like what you see!

Items Mentioned:

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm in Medium: http://bit.ly/SaooYd

Body Shop "Matte It" Primer: http://bit.ly/NdnRIk

MAC Runaway Red (From the Shop, Cook Collection) : http://bit.ly/PZxcpm

Marshmellow Blends: http://bit.ly/yLuKHg
Double Whipped Honey & Almond Cake Body Butter - http://bit.ly/S5i5GK
Caramel Cupcake Body Scrub - http://bit.ly/TogcZj
White Chocolate & Honey Lip Butter - http://bit.ly/S5NUiX

Covergirl Queen Ebony Bronze in Q120: : http://amzn.to/XF4V8l

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof: http://bit.ly/S5isks

Soap & Glory Righteous Body Butter: http://bit.ly/VUvIPR

eBay Dupe "JC Skates": http://bit.ly/WSUrn7

ASOS Motel Dress: http://bit.ly/TO3Y8h

ASOS Marketplace Camo Jacket: http://bit.ly/P1kRN9

F.B.L Facebook Group: http://on.fb.me/Re21Sq

This isn't MY group, it is a group I belong to on Facebook but I recommend all bloggers to join! It's a fab group! :)

 

I have more posts coming up but my camera is broken so taking a small hiatus until it is fixed!

KEEEP WARM Y'ALL!!

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