5 Day Makeup Challenge

Last week I took part in MAC 5 Day Makeup Challenge on Instagram (Take a look at my Instagram here)
Basically what you had to do was take a photo of your makeup for 5 days stating what the focus was, what products you used and how long it took you to create. You can search the hash tag #5DayMakeupChallenge on Instagram and see what other artists have come up with for their daily looks!
I thought I'd share with you guys in a bit more detail my makeup looks from last week 

So here goes. 

(Please excuse the awkward self photos, I hate taking photos of myself, but it was for a good cause so I made an exception haha)

Day 1

Focus: Bold Lip

Time to do: 15 mins

Products used: 

Skin: Studio Sculpt Foundation in NW20

Mineralize skinfinish powder in Medium Plus

Warm soul Blusher

Eyes: Paintpot in Painterly

Liquid liner in Blacktrack

Lips: Lasting sensation Lipliner

Lady Danger Lipstick

This is the look I usually go for when I am a little pushed for time, a classic flicked liner and a bold lip. Only takes 15 mins to do and looks like you have made an effort!

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Day 2

 Focus: Soft brown smokey eye
Time to do: 15mins
Products used:
Skin: Studio Fix Fluid in NW20
Translucent finishing powder
Bronzer in Matte Bronze
Eyes: 'Quite Natural' paintpot
Espresso and Mystery Eyeshadows
Dipdown Liquid Eyeliner
Number 3 False Lashes
Lips: Ample pink Plushglass lipgloss with Saint Germain Lipglass over the top.

This is a really quick way to create a soft smokey eye. Use The paint pot in quite natural to create a base over your eyelid, this is a darker colour so does a lot of the work for you. Then I blended it out with a little espresso eyeshadow and created depth with Mystery eyeshadow which is slightly darker. All these colours are matte so creates a nice every day smokey eye. 
I used ample pink plush glass on my lips as my lips a fairly small and the plushglass gives them a little extra boost. I added Saint germain over the top to add a more pinky colour! 

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Day 3

 Focus: Viva Glam Friday!
Time to do: 20mins
Products used:
Skin: Studio Fix fluid in NW20
Mineralize skinfinish in Medium plus
Eyes: Vintage selection Paintpot
Blacktrack liquid liner
superslick nocturnelle liquid liner
Fascinating eye kohl
Lips: In Anticipation Pro long lip liner
Viva glam Nicki Minaj 1 & 2 together. 

Fridays at MAC are dedicated to Viva Glam! Viva glam is the charity that MAC supports and all money from out Viva Glam lipsticks goes to help those with HIV and AIDS. Read more about the charity here.

For this look I created a double flick liner using blacktrack fluid line and used silver superslick liner in between to make it stand out a little more. I put fascinating eye kohl in my water line which is a white kohl pencil (this is a good tip for making your eyes look bigger)
On my lips I combined the 2 Viva Glam Nicki lipsticks to make a soft pink. 

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Day 4

Focus: Saturday Theme day

Time to do: 20mins

Products used: 

Skin: Studio Sculpt foundation in NW20

Mineralize skinfinish in Medium plus

Bronzer in Give me sun!

Eyes: Groundwork Paintpot

Club and Brown down eyeshadows

Blacktrack liquid liner

Lips: Stripdown Lip liner and Viva Glam Nicki 2 Lipstick

Saturdays at MAC are theme days! All of us on the counter wear the same look and its usually based around a theme. This week was on the Trend Puri-Tan which you can read about here.

I used an eyeshadow called club on my eyelid and blended it out with Brown down eyeshadow which gives it a nice smokey look. On my lips I used a neutral lipliner and Nicki 2 Lipstick over the top!

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Day 5

Focus:  Metalic Smokey Eye 

Time to do: 20 mins

Products used: 

Skin: Studio Fix Fluid NW20
Mineralize Powder Medium Plus
Matte Bronze Bronzer 
Dainty Blusher

Eyes: Amber lights and Smut Eyeshadow
Feline and Blacktrack Eyeliner

Lips: Betty Bright Limited Edition Lipstick

To create this eye I used a metalic gold shade called Amber lights and pressed the colour in to the center of my eyelid. I then used a darker matte grey/brown colour called smut and added this to the inner and outer corners of the eye and blended slightly in to the crease. I lined my top lash line with gel eyeliner and used a kohl pencil for the inner waterline. The lipstick was a limited edition shade from the collection 'Archies Girls' which is a lovely pink/coral colour!

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Check out my looks on my Instagram @Makeup_bykerry I try to post on there as much as I can and put a lot of my work up on there!

Send me your Instagram links too!

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!