pre-christmas winter christmas new years party make-up

Doing what it says on the tin, this blog post is about winter make-up trends from the catwalk and mags as well as friends and celebs that are perfect for Christmas work does, family does and New Years parties. These are just a couple of ideas I loved the look of and have adapted as my new make-up styles for this years cold and flu season.

Have you been in a fight?

My favourite area to come up with make-up ideas for is for when you are going'out out' with your girls and with your cocktails and your best dress. Something I am going to be doing in a few weeks time.. I have decided on my dress so this make-up is made to match of course.

Deep purple eyeshadow - now this is an unbranded palette I got many a Christmas ago, but it works. I would recommend however - a palette I would buy if I had the pounds to spend - Vintage Romance or the stunning Arabian Nights I Divine palette by Sleek (both going on my xmas list). Bad Girl also has some stunning purple hues. When applying it is difficult to make it look like you haven't got a black eye... So to avoid the ruffian look I tried to keep neat lines and blended a lighter shade into a darker shade. Using liquid liner as my guide at the edge of the eye.

ombre ombre

I have been seeing ombre lips all over my instagram feed for a few weeks now and decided it was high time i give it a go. I tried a red and pink colour combo first but I think I was a little too daring using a dark shade of red for my first ombre! So I started again with purple and pink. These light hues are colours I don't normally wear but they felt very Christmas and cold and actually worked quite well despite my pale complexion.. I am now in love with ombre lips...

To get this look is actually quite easy (but easier said than done). I started by applying a line of Make Up Revolution Lipstick in Depraved around the outer line of my lip. I would recommend using a liner instead for your outside line or at least a brush to apply, as it will make the blend less messy. Then I applied GOSH Velevet Touch lipstick in Romance 156 to the inner part of my pout and smudged the two together with a brush. Blotted. Et Viola.

glitter underline

Another look I have seen a lot of on instagram actually this one.. I've seen it many times before of course but witht he glittering sequins we love to wear in winter and the approaching Christmas holidays everyone seems to just want more glitter! And I am not complaining. 

 

 

I used MUA Trio Eyeshadow in Innocence to shade in and blended my cut crease subtly. Blending light into dark (rule 1 in shadow application).

Then I use a very thin (wet) brush dipped in lots of 17 Eye Dazzle in Bronze to create a glittering underline. So so simple to do and so so pretty. 100% using this one come Christmas Eve!

Other products I used include: Avon Extra Lasting Eyeliner in Black, Shavata Brow Perfector, Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara in Black

frosty make-up

I know i know.. it's been a week but I am working on something amazing for my next nail tutorial. So while you wait for that I am going to do you some winter make up looks over the next week. I have a few favourite looks from the catwalks for winter.. now that winter is really kicking in it's time to show them off. The first look I want to show is the white on highlight look that you can see here from the Givenchy catwalk..

Careful contouring and highlighting and lots of white eyeliner (and bleached eyebrows) make up this look. I have adapted it for a day look with a bit of glitter...

PS only reason I have wet hair is that it was my only opportunity to get in the bathroom (fullhouseprobs!) but it worked ..

I used both flash and no flash so I could capture the glitteryness I used, I still don't think either of these images give it justice - much more glitter in real life!

I hate taking lips pics but .. there it is! Again, much more glittery in real life :(

How did I do it? What did I use?

.. Well my base is the same as my everyday make up but with a little less dark contour and more highlight, here I used my Sleek Light Face Form Palette. I use GOSH mineral powder in 002, 17 Super Stay Concealer in Light (it is most important to use this/foundation on your eyes on this look so you have a clean even colour to work with .. that way the white will be more obvious). I have had my brows tinted but normally I use Shavata Brow Palette and my mascara is Max Factor Clump Defy. 

For my eyes I used a standard white shadow - I don't have a white eyeliner so I lined my low bottom line with the shadow and a bit of vaseline. Then I used B. by Superdrug Eye Shimmer in Moonshine to line the bottom over again, then I applied a line of this to my cut crease (Barbie style) and blended that in with the white eyeshadow. I then used a taupe shimmer from MUA to blended and highlight. 

For my lips I used the B. eye shimmer to get the glitter going and then topped that with Avon Clear Plump Pout lip gloss. 

I hope you like this look.. I'm off to a baby shower now! <3

rainbow lips for pale girls

Taking a break from my 500 products of summer today I am going to review some lipsticks. The first set from Makeup Revolution aa affordable brand that explores colours I couldn't have seen coming. The second GOSH lip lacquers I have been using a couple of for a while and I thought I would review the whole set. I wanted to concentrate on how these lipsticks suit my skin colour because sometimes I see pale girls wearing that just aren't the right shade for them.

MAKEUP REVOLUTION SCANDALOUS LIPSTICKS

I have been seeing Makeup Revolution all over the blogger community and so I looked them up online and saw their limited edition scandalous lipstick range was on offer for £5 for all 5 lippies, how could I saw no? Incredible colours with incredible names. From the stop:

Crime: A gorgeous deep purple/pink shade, that goes on perfectly and is such a lovely colour for girls with pale skin. Love it.

Vice: A bright tangerine shade, goes on quite nicely and is a current trend for this summer so perfect if you are after a catwalk look. It didn't drown me out as I expected, I probably wouldn't wear it too often. An occasion lipstick for me.

Depraved: Almost a violet colour, something I've not tried before as I normally wear a darker purple but I really loved this shade, it matched my orange hair! But unfortunately it didn't stick very well to my inner lower lip :(

Felony: Yellow lipstick. YELLOW! I didn't like this lipstick at all I'm afraid. It completely drowned me out and was really difficult to get an even colour!

Immoral: Or as I like to call it Ichiban! Lipstick for men! I LOVE this, but more as a gimmick lipstick than a serious one - it also was quite difficult to apply.

Overall, I like the lipsticks for their price (usually a £1 each). They don't last that long but are easy to apply and are rich in colour! I would definitely buy more.

GOSH COSMETICS LIP LACQUERS

I love the brand GOSH, I have a lot of their nail polishes mainly, so I tested their lip lacquers that were launched earlier this year. These charming little nail polish style pots of gloss are lovely and smell lovely. I only picked colours that suit my skin.

Hot Lips: This shade isn't to harsh a red, it's soft and gentle. A perfect red for during the day.

Dangerous Lips: I love this red, it's great for evening drinks. It stays, but doesn't stain your lips. And its a nicer colour than the picture shows!

Sweet Lips: I wasn't sure about this shade, I don't normally wear pale pinks in light of the face I am pale but I like this lipgloss. It is really soft, not thick or sticky.

Other lipsticks and colours I am liking at the minute are Clinique's Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry (a deep pink) , MUA's Lipstick in Shade 1 (a really dark deep red) and GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in Yours Forever (a dark deep pink - almost red).

how my prom make-up should have looked

Ever since my prom, this being all of 5 years ago give or take a few months, I have said that my make up was the worst it has ever been and it totally ruined my night. Well not totally, I still had an amazing time with my best friends and I may have cried, I can't remember, you know, having slept since then. So I am now dedicating a post to how I actually wanted it. There was never any thick green eyeshadow or pencil eyeliner under my eye or tranny eyelashes in the equation (never should have been!)..

before - apologies for looking so miserable

after - I've just now discovered my wonky lip

what I used

To achieve this simple (yet my favourite) look I used all the below products and steps :)

These are the brushes I used, I keep it simple obviously, with a flat small lippy brush, one big soft brush for all my facey needs and a small shadow brush for well .. shadowing. 

skin

To start I primed with my favourite new GOSH primer (see review here) Prime 'n' Set Powder (<<remember its a link). Next I used my new concealer - never been a concealer person, I don;t know why but I've never been able to get a good 'un until this beauty came into my life - 17 Stay Time 18 Hour Concealer. Next a light layer of my Max Factor Whipped Cream Foundation in Light Ivory (40) - also a new addition to my make-up bag but it's going so quickly which is a disadvantage next to the way it clumps on my hand but makes my skin look sooooo smooth and silky. Then I contour, highlight and blush with my Sleek Definition Kit (review also here). 

eyes - with another shot cause i care

I shade in my eyebrows with my new Shavata Brow Perfector Kit, I don't pluck or wax or do anything to my brows (I never have) I can't be bothered to make a fuss when I don't need to so I don't. All I do is give them so colour with a brow shadow (because they are invisible) - my new one is from Shavata and the shadows are cream and so go on my easier and quicker than a powder shadow. I then highlight my brow bone with my eyeshadow brush and a bit of highlighter from my sleek kit, after this I use my MUA Trio Eyeshadow in Innocence. Here I apply a generous amount of the white shadow, it has a lovely sheen to it - and then I give my self a light cut crease ( this is a darker shadow in a line under my brow bone) in the mid brown shade, then blend with the white (keeping it very sinples). I also apply white the the inner part of my eye by the bridge of my nose to highlight, and under my eye to widen them. Next comes a thick (but not too thick) liquid eyeliner line with a love flick at the outer edge (my favourite part of this look). My new liquid eyeliner is  the best I've had to date, it is B. by Superdrug B. Dramatic Liquid Eyeliner. It's a felt type pen, which is the best way to apply liner! I followed all of this with my BEST EVER mascara, Rimmel Scandal Eyes Retro Glam in Extreme Black (review here!) - I neatened up with my Urban Decay Supercurl Mascara brush because it is very spiky and great to seperate those annoying lashes you can't get to.

lips

I got very excited today and bought two MUA lipsticks for £1, one is in this look because its Matte and beautiful and I love it and the other is a deeper red (because mine is running out so it's totally justified). This one is actually MUA Matte Lipstick in Scarlette Siren, I used my lippy brush to neaten up the edges. 

The sequel to this post will be 'how my prom hair should have looked' ... See you soon :)