Monday 30 November 2009

Request numero uno

Earlier this week, I received a request from one of my friends:

"ere, any tips on how to apply that glittery powder gear that barry m do. i got some aaages ago and wana know how to use it properly. Blog it up x"

Well Miss Prettyful I do indeed have some tips, and to conincide with the fact it is the 1ST OF DECEMBER TOMOROW I have decided to show you a christmassy make up look using Barry M Dazzle Dust. 

Here are the products that I used.



I started out with a clean face and some moisturiser.  I applied a primer over my eyelids and then a neutral beige *yawn*.  I then applied Mac's Patina Frost eyeshadow up to my socket, I like using a brush, but if you prefer use those little fingers or anything you like.  Then I used Mac's Velvet Moss (kindly bought for me by my BF) I applied this to my socket line and outer corners using a really soft big brush I blended and blended to get a really soft look, and no harsh edges between the two colours. Are you ready for the tip.......here it comes.......... 

before you apply the dazzle dust stick your finger into some Vaseline and gently pat pat pat over the eyshadow taking care not to rub, otherwise the effort you made earlier with the blending with have gone to pot. 

easy peasy!

Then using either a really compact brush or your finger, dip into the lighter dazzle dust in Chocolate and pat the colour onto the inner part of the eyelid and fan out slightly into the green.  Now using dazzle dust in Khaki pat into the socket and outercorner and slightly overlap with the chocolate.  Using a soft brush buff the two colours together where they join and fan out and keep going until your eyes are nice and even.  I used a little cotton bud dipped in the Khaki underneath my eye and smudged.  You  may think to yourself, why have I applied eyes first? It really is up to you, but I find glitter goes all over my face and its so much easier to take a cleansing wipe and get rid of all the unwanted glitteryness than to carefully touch up your perfect foundation.  Now here is that prettyful close up.



Normally I use quite a dark blusher but I just used a Nars Multiple in Antibes for a slight sheen to my cheekbones.  To finish off my christmas look I used the most festive lipgloss I have ever seen Golden Gloss by YSL.  I think you could add come falsh eyelashes and you would be ready for any Christmas party!


 
So there you go Miss Prettyful I hope that helps x

Tuesday 24 November 2009

My paramore


Sadly I don't mean my forbidden lover, my life isn't exciting enough.  I am talking about the teeny bopper rockers "Paramore", responsible for a song featured on the Twighlight soundtrack which stars Robert Pattinson *sigh* goes the breath of two ladies who should know better. 

Being from the north east I have heard lots and lots about Lauren Luke aka panacea81 and her do it yourself tutorials.  For those who don't know who she is; Lauren is one of the most viewed users on youtube.  People email her with make up looks they want to create, for example Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole and Britney Spears.  Lauren then provides a video of how to do it yourself, some videos have been watched up to three million times, which is a number I just can't seem to fathom. There is so much going on with this lovely lady I could blog all day, but here is a link for you http://www.bylaurenluke.com/ 

Now I sometimes feel that I can be a bit boring when it comes to experimenting with colour on my eyes so I thought I would give one of her looks a go.  I decided to go with the lead singer of Paramore in the video for Ignorance (????? I'm no longer with it *sob*).  Here is the video that I used: http://www.youtube.com/panacea81 I didn't have the exact same products that Lauren used but don't let that put you off.  Here is the final look.



I think I could easily wear this for a night out what do you think?

I would never have chosen the orangey lips to go with smoky eyes, but I dont actually  mind it.  Here is the make up I used....



I used the purple and black from an Estee Lauder eye shadow palette, Benefit High Beam (can you tell I use this a lot?) and a Lancome glossy lip nectar.

I have got to say I really enjoyed having a go at this, Lauren is a warm, genuine person and doesn't make you feel patronised when she is going through the look step by step.  When I was in my teens I used to spend hours in front of the mirror applying and reapplying make up. Having a go at this made me realise I kind of missed the whole, have a go even though it might look silly attitude that I no longer seem to possess.  I am now going to mess around a lot more.  With my pale skin and red hair I sometimes shy away from eye colour that is bright and strong, but I think I am now in the mood to experiment more, and that's all down to Lauren Luke.  I would also like to add that I had a go at the Britney Spears Toxic inspired look, and lets just say that's a photo that will never see the light of day, not my finest hour..... 


Sunday 22 November 2009

Mwaaa x


As the weather starts to get cold my lips feel like they crack and shrink up, and with my lips being a bit on the small side, keeping as much surface area there is very important to me.  I also love wearing dark lip colour and nothing draws more attention to dried out lips than lipstick. 

I have bought lots of lipsalves including most recently a Cherry Cola chapstick from Claires Accesories and it smells just like the real thing mmmMMmmm, yes an impulse buy and as you would expect no real relief from sore lips.  So back to products that eight year old girls dont buy. 

The one lipsalve I keep going back to is Blistex relief cream its fairly cheap and can sort your lips out in an overnight treatment.  This cream is slightly greasy but unlike other lipsalves its doesn't just form a greasy layer on the top of your lips, it sinks in.  I once got a thick lip and and after a few applications of this, they were as right as rain.  

Another fav of mine is Carmex I love that *tingle*, I tend to use this when my lips just need a little bit of love.  You may be wondering why Vaseline isn't on my list, well I don't like how greasy it makes my mouth feel and I often find it moves up towards my nose slowly throughout the day, maybe it's got something to do with all that talking! One of my make up teachers once told me that Vaseline was the worst thing you could put on your lips, it can cause your mouth to stop producing the natural oils in your lips.  This is because your lips become too reliant on the false oil that you are using to soothe them. True or not make your own mind up but please let me know if you have any favourites, as long as it isnt the Crem De Lar Mer lip balm which is £35!  Next time i'm at duty free I'll have a sneaky try and let you know if its any good.

Friday 13 November 2009

The little sneak


SUCKKERRR!!! that's me.  When I should be buying Chrimbo pressies for everyone else I am drawn into the online auction trap.  Hmmm I'll just see what make up bargains are out there....well put it this way I didn't get a bargain I got a fake.  A Nars Orgasm blusher fake, mine for only £12.75.  I thought I would never fall prey to this type of thing, but I did, and as soon as I went to apply the colour, well there was none.  I already own a Nars blusher called Exhibit A and as you can see it is as red as red can be, the colour you see in the compact is the colour you get once applied to your face. 

 











As you can see you can barely see the peachy colour!!! 

That is when I felt the thud of disappointment. Beginning to explore the packaging, I noticed there was no mention of colour on the packaging or compact.  The blusher was also imprinted with "Nars" this isn't standard.  You may ask how I didn't notice this when I was bidding, well it was down to some clever photography.  The perspex protecting the blusher was covering the pressed blush.  If I had spotted the imprint before I bid, I wouldn't be as mad as I am right now, plus I'd be about £13 better off.  As soon as I realised I'd been had, I began to search the internet for examples of fake cosmetics and found this really helpful article by Bella Sugar 
http://www.bellasugar.com/1075153.  This confirmed that it was indeed a fake.  Gutted.  Here are a couple of pics to show you where the fakes went wrong.  The top blusher is the real one......


So let that be a warning to all you bargain hunters out there, if you are going to buy cosmetics from an unofficial source be sure to have a right good nose and if you are not sure don't do it!



Tuesday 3 November 2009

Wipe that dirty face

Now I'm not afraid to say that I am a right stickler when it comes to taking my makeup off, "yawn" I hear some of you say, but I can't bare that feeling of last night's face all over my pillow. Plus it's not always my pillow (yes that's right I'm nothing but a hussy!!!) so I thought I would share the products that cleanse my virginal face.

My own bed - About a year ago I was invited to a Virgin Vie party and being at a bit of a loss of what to buy, I remembered an article about cleansing oil. Now when I looked into the best ones Shu Uemuras Cleansing Oil was the name that kept on coming up and this was at the bargainous price of.... £23.49 and that's for the smallest bottle, a tear was shed. So as I was flicking through the Virgin Vie catalogue I came across Second Skin Cleansing Oil priced at £10.50 for 125ml. Some of you may cough at that price but I didn't think it was too bad, plus I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about when it came to oils. I use about three or four shakes of the bottle and rub it first into my dry skin and then gently around my eyes, I then take a hot muslin cloth and hold it over my face and wipe off. This oil is recommended for dry and mature skin, I have combination skin and since using this break outs have definitely become less frequent. It even gets rid of stubborn eye makeup. I'm just starting on my second bottle, and its quite rare for me to go back to the same product so I think that says a lot. http://www.vieathome.com/

My other cleanser of choice is Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, this smells delish. I'm a sucker for eucalyptus and as you rub this in it makes your skin tingle ever so slightly. You then remove the cleanser with a muslin cloth which are included with every purchase. I tend to use this when i feel my skin is looking a little bit dull. So now that winter is here this will be coming out to wake me up on those dark mornings. I have had a lot of Liz Earle products, and I love them, so if I got a gift set from Liz Earle every Christmas I would be a very happy lady indeed. http://uk.lizearle.com/

Sleepsing over - A lot of the time I sleep out at my Boyfs and I can't always be bothered to take my normal cleansers, so I end up relying on Simple face wipes and the LOreal De-Maq makeup remover. I only need a little drop and rubbed gently onto my eyes I soon resemble a panda which I can then remove with a wipe, I then like to splash my face with some water to get rid of any oily residue. This is super quick and I can soon put my head down for some well needed beauty sleep.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations, because I love nothing better than squeaky clean skin x