Prom Makeup

Prom season has come around again, so I've put together a few makeup looks that would be perfect for your big night! 

Pretty in Pink

This is the perfect soft and sophisticated eye makeup for your prom night.

What you will need:

Painterly Paintpot.

Pink Freeze, Sushi Flower, Cranberry & Sketch eye shadows.

Blacktrack Fluidline. 

Fascinating Kohl Pencil.

Haute & Naughty Mascara.

Number 3 False Lashes

• Start by pressing 'Pink Freeze' eye shadow in to the inner corner of your eye with a pencil brush. 
• Softly blend 'Sushi Flower' in to the middle and outer corner of your eye and blend just slightly above socket line but do not take too far up towards the brow. 
• Blend 'Cranberry' in the outer corner of the eye and in to the socket line, take it underneath to the bottom lash line as well and blend well.  
• To add extra definition use a small amount of the darkest colour 'Sketch' in to the outer corner and the socket line and blend well. 
• Add 'Blacktrack' liquid liner on top lash line and 'Fascinating' Eye Kohl in your bottom waterline. 
• Add your mascara and/or lashes

Quick tip: When applying lashes, put the lash glue along the base and leave to dry for about 60 secs. This way the lashes will stick straight away with out you having to hold them on. This makes putting lashes on a lot easier. Also make sure you measure the lashes to your eye before you stick them on, 9 times out of 10 you will need to trim them slightly. 

Glitz and Glam

If you want to add a little sparkle to your prom outfit, the perfect way to do this is with a simple glitter eye!

What you will need:

Eclair Paintpot 

Glam Crystal Eyeliner in Funk

Feline Eye Kohl

Wedge Eyesahdow

Opulash Mascara

• Apply Eclair Paintpot all over your eyelid and blend properly so it fades out towards the brow. 
• Use wedge eye shadow to make edge a little softer and blend a bit easier. 
• Use the Glam Crystals Eyeliner (You could use any colour, I have chosen the gold) and apply straight on to the eyelid from the wand. 
• Use feline Kohl pencil and blend this in to your lower lash line and also apply in your waterline. 
• Apply Mascara and/or lashes which ever you prefer. 

Quick Tip: Using glitter liners are easier than the loose pigment as you don't get any fall out. when using these liners build up the intensity of the pigment by layering up, make sure you wait a few seconds between each application for the glitter to dry. 

Feline 

This is a classic and timeless look that will go with any dress you choose! 

What you will need:

Painterly Paintpot

Smut & Carbon Eyeshadow

Blacktrack Fluidline

Feline Eye Kohl

Haute & Naughty Mascara

Number 20 Corner Lashes

• Apply 'Painterly' Paintpot all over your eyelid as a base. 
• Using a small angle brush take your 'Smut' eyeshadow and carefully etch out a line where  your crease is. Blend this out with a soft fluffy brush but try to keep the sharp edge in the crease for the 'Cut Crease' effect. 
• Add a small amount on 'Carbon' eyeshadow in to the outer part of the eye to make it look a little more dramatic. 
• Smudge 'Carbon' in to the lower lash line and blend well. 
• Create your flick liner using 'Blacktrack' Fluidline. (Click here for more detail on creating the perfect flick liner)
• Add 'Feline Kohl' Eye Pencil in to lower waterline.
• Finish with 'Haute & Naughty' Mascara or False Lashes. I used corner lashes to emphasize the feline shape even more. 

Natural Beauty

This is a great look for you girls who like to take it back to basics but still want a beautiful makeup! 

What you will need:

Painterly Paintpot.

All that glitters & Dazzlelight Eyeshadows

Coffee eye pencil

False Lash Mascara

• Apply 'Painterly' all over eyelid. 
• Use a fluffy brush and blend 'All that glitters' eye shadow on to eyelid and blend out towards the brow. 
• Take a small amount of 'Dazzlelight' eye shadow and press in to the center of the eye, creating a highlight. 
• Use 'Coffee' eye pencil to line your upper and lower lash line & smudge it in to make it softer. 
• Apply your mascara. 

Smokey Eye

Sexy smouldery eye is a certain way to make an impact!

What you will need:

Blackground Paintpot

Carbon & Cinderfella Eyeshadow

Feline Eye Kohl

False Lash Mascara

• Using a fluffy brush, blend 'Blackground' Paintpot all over the eyelid. Use this as a guide to where you're going to add your eyeshadow. Make sure you blend well. 
• Add 'Carbon' eye shadow over the top of the paint pot. Pat the colour on and blend it outwards.
• Pat 'Cinderfella' over the top of the 'Carbon' eyeshadow and blend the edge. Don't over blend it or the glitter pigment will fall out. 
• Take 'Carbon' and 'Cinderfella' eyeshadow underneath the lower lash line and smudge it in. 
• Use 'Feline' Eye Kohl in the waterline.
• Apply False lash mascara and/or False Lashes.

Pop of Colour

A simple yet effective way to add a burst of colour to any outfit! 

What you will need:

Macroviolet Fluidline

Designer purple Pearlglide Liner

False Lash Mascara

Fascinating Eye Kohl

• Using the 'Perfect flick' technique, create a liner using 'Macroviolet' Fluidline. 
• In the lower lash line apply 'Designer Purple' Pencil and smudge in with a small brush. Be sure NOT to apply this pencil in to your waterline. It has small glitter particles which will irritate your eye.
• Use 'Fascinating' Eye Kohl in your waterline.
• Finish by applying your Mascara or False Lashes. 

Quick Tip: Using a lighter eyeliner in your waterline makes your eyes appear bigger. Apply the darker liner in to your lower lashes but not in the actual waterline. Use a colour like 'Fascinating' or a skin colour pencil to give the illusion of wider, bigger eyes. 

I would love to know what you think of these looks. Which one would you choose? 

Spring Fever Glossybox

I received Aprils Glossybox a few days ago and thought I'd do a quick post to share with you all what goodies I got this month! I was pretty impressed with this one, there was a few products in there that I have been meaning to try for a while but just haven't got around to buying! How convenient that they got sent straight to my door ;) 

This month Glossybox collaborated with fashion and textiles designer Pearl Lowe. I love the  pattern on the box, this will come in handy as a new way to store some of my beauty products!

So here what was inside:

Essie Nail Polish in Cute as a Button - Full Size (Full Size RRP £7.99)

I was so pleased to see this little gem laying the the bottom of the box as I have been meaning to try out some Essie nail polishes for a little while. It is the perfect spring colour, a lovely pink/coral which would brighten up any outfit. I cant wait to try out some more nail polishes from this brand. The quality is great, I have had it on now for 3 days and not a single chip and the colour hasn't faded at all. It also has a slightly bigger brush which makes painting your nails doubly quick!

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Lipcote Lipstick Sealer - Full Size (Full Size RRP £3.99)


Now this seems like such a fantastic idea! I have never tried it before but have heard a lot about it! I love a bright lipstick but hate when it wears off and fades throughout the day! Especially when I am at work I don't always have time to keep looking in the mirror checking my lipstick is still intact and not smudged all over my face. I haven't had a proper chance to try this out yet but I will be sure to wright a little review on it when I do! 
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Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - Sample Size (Full Size RRP: £40.30)







I am so excited to try this product. I'm a bit of a sucker for skin care and will try anything that claims it will give me the perfect skin. This is a rice based exfoliating powder which turns in to a creamy paste when water is added to it. I have only used this product once and so far so good. It instantly made my skin feel soft and smooth. I can't wait to try it a few more times to see the full effects! 

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Nip + Fab Body butter in Coconut Latte - Sample Size (Full Size RRP £9.95)










This smells gorgeous! Its a lovely creamy moisturiser that absorbs quickly in the skin and banishes any dryness. it makes your skin feel lovely and soft after use. I really like this product so far, I think I may even purchase the full sized version once I've used this one up! 

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So Elixir Purple by Yves Rocher - Sample Size  (Full Size RRP £44 for 50ml)








This is a lovely floral scent. Its not my usual type of perfume but its pleasant all the same. This is a pretty decent sample size too, I think I could definitely get a good few wears out of it which is great because I like to wear a perfume a couple of times before I purchase it just to make sure I actually like it! 





Thanks for reading lovelys

Primed to Perfection

Before becoming a makeup artist I never really realized the importance or priming your skin before foundation. I have found that a lot of people miss out this step when applying their makeup.

If you use a decent primer it will keep your foundation on a lot longer, it gives a smoother base to put your fondation on to and can reduce how much foundation you actually need to use.

My all time favorite primer is Prep + Prime skin base by MAC. It is the one I have used for the past few years and it does the job for me. I find this primer really soothes my skin and reduces any red blotchy patches. My skin can get a little oily sometimes and this product really helps to blot away any excess oil, without drying my skin out. One or two pumps of this normally is enough to cover my whole face which means one bottle lasts for a good few months! Well worth its £19.50 price tag.

I have been hearing a lot of hype about the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. It has won awards and got some great reviews so I thought I'd give it a try! It's good to try other products and brands as you never know, there might be something better out there for you!

I tried out this primer for a week under my foundation. My first thoughts were that when it goes on it has a slightly oily texture but once rubbed in it makes your skin feel silky soft. It did make the application of my foundation a little easier and for the first couple of days I was really happy with it.

But after the couple of days I found my skin was becoming increasing dry and flaky. I have combination skin but have never experienced this from previous primers! I hadn't changed anything in my skincare or makeup routine except for the switch of primers. So I knew it must have been this product drying my skin out. After this I converted back my old primer and my skin went back to normal. 

This smashbox primer is £25 which I think is a little pricey for a little tube.

I won't be re-buying this particular primer but would be interested to try the more hydrating version by Smashbox and see if that's any better.

I would love to hear if any of you have used this Smashbox primer and had the same outcome? I wonder if this primer would work better on a really oily skin tone? I'd love to hear your views!

Storage Solution

I have been searching for ages to find a stylish and practical way to store my personal makeup. I keep most of my makeup kit in clear makeup bags nicely organised and in my travel suitcase so I can easily transport it for jobs.  But my own everyday makeup somehow got neglected and ended up in a (very messy) drawer. I wanted to display it some how so it would be more organised and wouldn't get damaged.

I had seen on YouTube a few different people showing their makeup collection, and these clear acrylic draws had popped up a lot. I did a little research and found out where I could get my hands on some! I found my answer at MUJI!

I firstly bought a couple of the 2 drawer ones just to see what they were like. I loved them! They look great on my dressing table and they keep my makeup organised. 

I got one that has a flip top lid which is great to stand products that's are too big to fit in the drawers like foundations, moisturizers etc. The only thing I was a little disappointed with was is although the draw looks fairly deep, you can only fit one layer of blushes/eyeshadows etc. The eyeshadows only fit in laying down flat as apposed to having them on their side which would mean you could fit so many more in





I have 4 of the 2 draw boxes stacked up. The top one has a flip lid so I can fit some other bits neatly in there. I mostly keep my powders in these drawers, I also have some of my loose blushers and eyeshadows in the bottom drawers as well as my paintpots and fluidlines. 



I decided to try the 5 drawer one too. I like this one even more! It has slimmer draws which I think looks a lot neater. 



It fits mostly everything I want in to it, but as the drawers are narrower so some of my products don't fit in these drawers (like the paintpots). 

I mostly keep lip glosses and eyeliners in these draws. They fit perfectly and are nicely displayed so I don't have to rummage through trying to find one to wear. I also keep some of my unused products, tester pots and eyeshadow/lip palettes in these drawers too.

I also got a smaller holder which I keep my lip/eye pencils and lipsticks in.

You can buy these and many other storage boxes from Muji. I definitely recommend these to anyone who is looking for a new way to store their makeup. They are reasonably priced and are great quality!

Happy Shopping

My Makeup Bag

Today I'd really like to share with you my every day makeup essentials. These are my basic items which are always in my makeup bag. I love to experiment with different makeup products, but I always have them few items which I always go back to.

Here's whats there:

Primer: Prep + Prime Skin Base

Foundation: Studio Fix Fluid NW20

Powder: Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus

Bronzer: Mineralize Skinfinish in Give me sun!

Blusher:  Warm Soul Mineralize Blush

Eyes: Paint pot in Painterly

Eyeliner: Blacktrack Fluid line & Engraved Powerpoint Eye Pencil. 

Mascara: False Lashes Extreme Black

Eyebrows: Spiked Eyebrow Pencil

Lipgloss: Ample Pink Plushglass.

All products by MAC

Skin

I always use a primer underneath my foundation mainly because it keeps my foundation on a lot longer than if I just apply the foundation straight on to bare skin. I have tried a few primers but find the Skin Base by MAC to be the most effective. It calms and smooths the skin and reduces redness (which I find means less foundation is needed) It also blots away excess oil, and gives a smooth base to apply your foundation on top.  

I tend to have a lot of trouble with my skin because it doesn't fit in to one category.  Its sometimes dry, sometimes oily and I get break outs every so often. 

I still haven't found the perfect foundation for me (and believe me, I've tried them all!)

The Studio Fix fluid seems to be the best that I've tried so far. 

It is a matte finish full coverage foundation which exactly what I love about it. 

A little bit goes a long way with this foundation so you don't end up looking 'Caked' in makeup (as long as you use the right amount, if you put a lot on its going to look like a lot, obviously?)

The matte finish is great as it prevents your skin from looking oily or greasy throughout the day. I find this foundation gives me the coverage I want without having to use a concealer. Although if I have a few spots I use a small amount of Studio Finish Concealer to give that extra bit of coverage. 

The powder I use is Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus. I absolutely love this powder. It sets the foundation and gives that extra bit of coverage which helps your skin to look just that extra bit more flawless. It doesn't stick to any dry patches but also eliminates shine which is great for people like me with combination skin. 

Cheeks

The bronzer I normally use is Mineralize Skin Finish in Give Me Sun! As in the winter my skin is very fair I do need to be careful with this one. This powder is very pigmented so a little bit on the brush is all that's needed. I love this bronzer for the summer months as it gives a lovely glow and is the perfect colour to use when you have a tan!

My favorite blusher is also part of the Mineralize range and is called Warm Soul. It is a lovely Brown/Peachy shade with a slight shimmer. I use this just on the apples of the cheeks to add a colour and glow.

I normally use a cream colour base as a highlighter on my cheek bones and my favorite colour to use is hush. It has a slight pinky tone to it and a lovely pearlized finish which reflects the light beautifully.

Eyes

I always use a paint pot on my eyelids even if in not wearing any eyeshadow. The Paint pots are smudge and crease proof and prevent oily eyelids! If you wear an eyeliner like me these help to keep that in place too. I usually use the colour Painterly as it is the closest to my skin colour so looks very natural. These do come in several  different shades to suit everyone. 

The eyeliner I use is Blacktrack Fluidline. Its a gel based liner which means it glides on effortlessly  I use this eyeliner on my top lash line only.  I normally use my 210 precise liner brush to get a really sharp flick! 

I use Engraved Powerpoint eyeliner on my bottom lashline. I normally just draw it as close to my lashes as possible (not actually in the waterline, this can make your eyes look smaller and will also wear off quicker) and then just smudge it in with a brush.

My favorite mascara at the moment is False Lash Extreme black. It is a great lengthening mascara, but what I love about it the most is the brush. The brush is narrow at the tip and gets thicker towards the base, this defines each lash making your lashes look lovely and thick.

Eyebrows

I must admit, I do use several different products on my eyebrows depending on how I'm feeling. I sometimes use Mystery eyeshadow with a small angled brush. Or I use Dipdown fluid line mixed with a tiny bit on concealer to lighten it slightly. But my 'go to' eyebrow product has to be Spiked eyebrow pencil. This is the easiest, quickest and most convenient way to do your eyebrows. It is a twist up pencil so no need for sharpening, it has a really precise point so you can get a really sharp brow which I love, or you can get a softer looking brow by lightly drawing in the missing hairs. The only downside to this product is you can't tell when its about to run out, so I always carry a spare just in case! 

Lips

My all time favorite lipgloss is Ample Pink Plushglass! It is the perfect everyday pink. It doesn't have a sparkle in , just a simple gloss. The thing I love about it the most is its a Plushglass, this has a lip plumping technology in it that gives you fuller looking lips. I have fairly small lips so this is a perfect solution for me! 

Hope you found this post helpful, I would love to see what your everyday makeup essentials are!

Glam Crystals

I discovered these glitter liners after watching Pixiewoo's YouTube Tutorial on Leona Lewis makeup that she wore on her XFactor performance a little while back. (Watch the tutorial here )

Pixiewoo found the actual products Leona's makeup artist had used on her for the show, which included these glitter liners. 

They are from Collection 2000, and they are called 'Glam Crystals'! I just had to try them out, if they're good enough for Leona they're good enough for us ay? 

So anyway I went down to Superdrug to get my hands on these. They are just £2.99 and they really are great! Get them here

I bought 4 colours to try, 

Glitz 1 (Silver) 

Dancing Queen (Pink) 

Funk (Gold)

and

 Le Freak (Blue)

What I really like about these is that they are so easy to use, you can apply them straight to your eyelid lid from the wand, with no mess. Loose glitter pigments always end up everywhere no matter what you do, where as these are a lot simpler.

They do take a while to dry, so a little bit of sitting around with your eyes closed is involved, but in my opinion, its totally worth it! 

My absolute favorite is Glitz 1 (This happens to be the one used on Leona)

It is so pigmented, only one layer of glitter is needed for a opaque finish. 

So here is my version:

How I achieved this:

1. Apply Paint Pot in Painterly all over the lid

2. Using  217 blending brush, start by blending Wedge eye shadow in to the socket line. 

3. Build this up by adding a darker brown in to create more definition (I used Espresso)

4. Smudge the darker shadow on lower lash line and add Smolder eye kohl to waterline. 

5. Take your Glam crystal eyeliner in Glitz 1 and slowly and gently apply over lid. Making sure not to go past your crease. I found it easier to do this looking down, this way you wont smudge the glitter by blinking.

6. Make sure you wait a few seconds before adding another layer if necessary. (I only did one layer)

7. Using Blacktrack Fluid line and 210 liner brush, create your liner. (Refer to earlier post if you need a hand with that)

8. Lastly apply your mascara or false lashes. 

(All other products by MAC. Glam Crystal liner by Collection 2000)

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My second fave is Dancing Queen

This one I did need to build up, but after a couple of coats the finish was just how I wanted! 

So here's how I created this one:

1. Apply Paint pot in Painterly over lid.

2. Using Blacktrack liner, draw a line in your crease. Blend this upwards. 

3. Use Shadowy Lady eye shadow  continue to blend out the socket line. (It should gently fade out to the brow bone. I used Stars and Rockets eye shadow to blend this out.)

4. Take your Dancing Queen glitter liner and gently paint this over your eyelid. Do one coat, wait a minute or so for it to dry, and then repeat. 

5. Use your Blacktrack Fluidline again to create the liner. The flick of the liner should meet the flick in the cut crease. 

6. Take the liner to the bottom lash line as well and smudge in.

7. Apply Mascara or Lashes. 

(All other products used are by MAC. Dancing Queen Liner by Collection 2000)

The Gold Glitter (Funk) didn't have quite the same effect for me. It was hard to build up, I think you would definitely need to have a gold shadow underneath because without that too much skin shows through.

I haven't got around to creating a look for the blue one (Le Freak) yet. Its not a colour I would usually wear. I think I will need to experiment a little bit with that one! . Any ideas would be appreciated!

Battle of the Brushes

Okay, so as a loyal MAC girl, I was a little apprehensive to try the RealTechniques brushes that I have heard so much about. But for such a reasonable price it seemed crazy not to give them a go.

 I firstly bought the core collection set, which I absolutely love! (Amazing value at just £14.66 at the moment on Amazon Get them here!) I will do a review on this set very soon!

But the brush I am going to review today is the Stippling brush. 

This was the main brush that I was really curious to try, as it was very similar in style to my trusty MAC 130 stipple brush!

I thought I would test it out and let you guys know what I think if it and how it compares to my MAC one.

Price

RealTechniques: £11.99

You can buy this brush from here!

MAC: £29

Get this one from here!

Bristles

RealTechniques: Synthetic

MAC: Mixture of natural and synthetic

RealTechniques

Pros

Very reasonable and affordable price.

Available in most boots stores and several online company's such as amazon.

Eye catching pink handle

Has a flat base so can stand up

Good size brush head to apply foundation quickly and easily

Brush head size also makes this brush very easy to blend all areas of face (even under eyes) with ease. 

Cons

I did unfortunately find the bristles on the brush quite coarse.
  When applying foundation I felt the bristles prickling against my skin which wasn't the most comfortable experience.

I also found this brush a bit of a challenge to clean, the white bristles take a couple of goes to get sparkling clean again. Although on the plus side, the synthetic bristles do dry very quickly. 

MAC 130

Pros

Very soft bristles. Comfortable and pleasing to use.

This is a very durable and sturdy brush. It will last you years if looked after!

Applies foundation flawlessly with little effort, the brush does all the blending for you so no need for arm ache when trying to get a streak free flawless skin!

Bristles are dense enough to buff foundation all over the skin but flexible enough for an even application. 

This brush is very easy to wash and dry. A pea size of shampoo gets all product out quickly and the bristles dry within a few minutes. 

Can be used with cream, liquid or powder products, making it an extremely versatile brush. 

Cons

Is quite pricey so may not be affordable for all budgets.

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MAC #130 Stipple Brush

Price 3.5/5

Bristle 5/5

Application 5/5

Versatility 4/5

Overall 4.5/5

RealTechniques Stipple Brush

Price 5/5

Bristles 3/5

Application 3.5/5

Versatility 3.5/5

Overall 3.5/5

Okay, so the realTechniques brush hasn't won me over completely. Although it is a great alternative to the MAC 130 brush, the quality of the brush just isn't the same! 

Hope you found this review helpful, I would love to hear what you thought of these brushes? Or if you have a different favourite?