FOTD- Natural Everyday Make Up

Today I decided to do a natural everyday look combining the spring trends into it.

I used Painterly Paintpot from MAC all over my lids, then Jaan eyeshadow from my Athma palette over that.

I then used Vanilla from MAC under my brows to highlight and a small ammount in the inner corners of my eyes.

I put a little bit of Arena eyeshadow from MAC on my lower lashes, lined my upper waterline with Collection 2000 brown eyeliner, smudging a tiny bit on the corner of my lower lashes with an angled brush.

I then curled my lashes with my Tweezerman curlers, and applied one coat top & bottom of Estee Lauder Projectionist mascara.

For my brows I used MAC Brow Set in Beguile and Omega shadow on an angled brush to define the ends of my brows a bit more.

On the cheeks I used Barry M blusher in number 5 and Lily Lolo mineral bronzer in South Beach to contour slightly.

Clinique Airbrush concealer is under my eyes and as always I'm using a very sheer layer of Lily Lolo mineral foundation and the mineral concealer where needed. Then finally Lily Lolo mineral matte finishing powder which I recently bought.

On my lips I have Vaseline Lip Therapy tinted lip balm.

Hope you like it! It's such a gorgeous day today, when the sun is shining I always feel really good :)

Spring/Summer Make Up Trends for 2011 & Coral NOTD

I've been flicking through some magazines recently and the Spring/Summer make up looks this year seem to be quite 70's, with neutral brown smokey eyes, nudes and corals. But at the same time acid brights are in too so there's something for everyone.

Bright corals (images from Google)

Neutral eyes and soft lips

Acid brights at Christian Dior  

I really like the neutral/coral trend as I tend to stick with neutrals anyway and I love coral... So I am loving this years' make up!

I like seeing acid brights on other people but just not on me. If you're looking for some inspiration, Nic at Pixiwoo has recently done a really good acid brights tutorial- watch it here.

Another good thing about the neutrals/coral trend is that I have a lot of products for it in my make up bag already! I've picked out some things I'll be wearing this spring...

My MAC Athma Palette from the Mickey Contractor collection arrived the other day- it's the first time I've ever bought anything from a MAC collection. This is a really nice wearable palette and has a couple of nice shadows which are great for neutral eyes and aren't overly sparkly. The other two colours are a dark reddish brown & a matte black

I especially like Jaan (above) and Vivah (below)

I'll also be wearing MAC shadows (left to right) Era, Arena, Amber Lights

Era is a nice neutral with a lovely sheen to it, Arena is a good peachy colour and Amber Lights is a daring shimmering gold/orange, which looks similar to Vivah in the picture, but Vivah is more brown

Barry M coral blusher & MAC Hush CCB for peachy glowing skin.

Peachy pink, nudes and coral lipsticks

(left to right) Rimmel Tell No One, Vasaline lip tint, MAC Shy Girl, Rimmel Nude Delight, MAC Honeylove

• Tell No One- a bright, long lasting coral
• Vasaline Lip Tint- gives a sheer flush of pink while moisturising your lips
• MAC Shy Girl- a new lipstick which I got along with my Athma palette, it's a lovely peachy/pink nude colour
• Rimmel Nude Delight- a nice sheer nude although it doesn't stay on very long
• MAC Honeylove- a matte nude, can look too heavy and dark on me so I sheer it down and use lipbalm with it

Today to escape from the dull wintery weather I painted my toenails in a bright coral from Barry M. 

I used this colour on my nails when I went on holiday and loved it. Barry M polishes are really good and I really like the finish they give. They're also one of the very few I've tried which don't chip on my nails.

Excuse my ugly foot and lazy nail painting effort..!

Another polish I have which ties in with the trend is a nude polish- Frozen Fantasy from Estee Lauder. I got this with a free gift ages ago and haven't really used it that much, but I think it's a perfect colour for spring especially if you don't want bright nails. 

So there's my take on the spring trends! Take care x

2010 Favourites!

Hello everyone, this will be my final post of 2010, and what better way to do it than share with you my favourite products of the year!

 

St. Ives Invigorating Scrub- I use this every morning to exfoliate my face and my skin is always soft!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel- I love this product, the best moisturiser I have ever used! You can read my review of it here.

 

Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation, Concealer & Bronzer- This year I started to use mineral make up, and what a difference it has made! It looks so natural and lasts all day, is really quick to use but you don't feel like you have anything on! Most importantly though, it's good for your skin and it's cleared up my acne!

MAC Prep+Prime Finishing Powder- This is so finely milled, it keeps my shine away and makes my pores smaller.

Tweezerman Eyelash Curlers- they make my eyelashes look amazing!

 

MAC Brow Set in Biguile- I have fair brows and this really helps to define them. (sorry for the blurry pic!)

Clinique Airbrush Concealer- The best under eye concealer I've used, it doesn't cake or fall into fine lines like most concealers I've tried!

MAC Pro Palette- I love all these shadows, such high quality and I use all of the colours

 Soap & Glory Flake Away body scrub- My best friend got me this for Christmas. It makes my skin so soft and smooth, and smells divine! 

Umberto Giannini Sex Bomb Mousse- I really like this mousse, it makes my hair huge! But doesn't weigh it down or make it feel greasy and horrible like other mousses I've tried. I also love the packaging!

 Estee Lauder Projectionist Mascara & Clinique High Impact Mascara- These are my favourite mascaras of the year, and I'd buy both of them again

Nail polishes- (from left to right) Rimmel Chip Resistant Top Coat, Rimmel 60 Seconds Rapid Ruby, Barry M Grey (don't know the proper name or number!) Revlon Lilac Pastielle, Revlon Vixen.

 

MAC Powder Blush in Harmony- This is matte and brilliant for contouring on most skin tones!

 Rimmel Shake Up Pink Lipstick- I really love this colour and wear it most days, you can sheer it down or build it up for full on pink!

MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush- this is really nice highlight colour and also really nice on the eyelid.

Barry M Blusher in No.5- This is a really nice peach blush but comes up very orange on camera! It lasts all day on my skin

MAC Honeylove Lipstick- This is a nice matte nude, but make sure your lips are moisturised and aren't chapped otherwise it looks awful!

So they are my 2010 Favourites. Happy New Year everyone! 

xxx 

Make Up I'm Taking On Holiday!

I am going to Lanzarote tomorrow for a couple of weeks! I have never been there before but have been researching it a lot and am really excited... The beaches look amazing and I'm happy to be getting some sun as the weather here has been pretty miserable!

So right now I am in the middle of packing, and decided to do a post on the make up I am taking with me.

I've tried to take as little as possible....

But here goes!

Face:

• MAC Prep+Prime Finishing Powder

• Lily Lolo Mineral bronzer in South Beach

• Mineral Foundation in Porcelain & sample of Blondie foundation

• Mineral blusher in Clementine

• Mineral highlighter in Star Dust

• Mineral concealer in Blondie, Blush Away (green concealer for redness) & sample of Nude

I love Lily Lolo minerals & the link to their website is here

Eyes:

• My MAC Neutrals Pro Palette

• MAC Painterly Paint pot 

• Natural Collection Waterguard Mascara in Brown/Black

• Barbara Daly Eyebrow Pencil in Fair

• Tweezerman Eyelash Curlers

• Estee Lauder Projectionist Mascara in Brown

• Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Light

• Tweezers from Superdrug!

Lips:

• Carmex Cherry Lip Balm SPF 15

• Rimmel Shake Up Pink lipstick

• Maybelline Cream Gloss in Exquisite Pink

Nails:

• Barry M Nail Paint in Coral

• Collection 2000 Clear Top Coat

So that's the make up I'm taking with me... I probably won't use half of it but you never know! 

Have any of you lovelies ever been to Lanzarote? Or are you going anywhere exotic anytime soon? 

I'll be back blogging in 2 weeks time... take care girlies! 

xxx

Little Haul: Rimmel, Barry M

I went into Boots yesterday & got a few bits. I'm going on holiday next week and so I had a little list of things to get for going away.

I got this really bright polish from Barry M in the colour Coral. It will be perfect for my toenails while on holiday, and I know Barry M polishes stay on and don't chip.

I also needed a waterproof mascara. So far all the waterproof mascaras I have tried have always been really dry and spidery, not good when going for a natural beach look! I also don't like having to scrub away at my eyes trying to get the stuff off!

So for this reason I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a waterproof masacara. This is where good old Natural Collection comes in!

I bought their Waterguard Mascara, which says it is smudge proof and water proof. It was £1.99, and I tested it last night. It looks really natural, isn't dry, doesn't clump AT ALL, and most important of all...it's actually waterproof! When it came to remove it, it was pretty easy to remove, I didn't have to scrub away. What a bargain!


I also wanted a pink lipstick, which I could wear as an alternative to a nude, as I'm getting a bit bored of nudes!

I bought this Colour Show Off Lipstick from Rimmel in Shake Up Pink. I have a coral colour lipstick from this range, so I know that they are really pigmented and stay on. The colour is what I'd describe as a Barbie Pink. It's really bright when you layer it up but you can sheer it down to a nice natural shade. In the picture it looks more peachy, but it's definately a pink...I love it!


For going on holiday I also wanted to tint my eyebrows. My eyebrows are naturally very blonde, and I don't want to have to fill them in every day. I'll be swimming a lot too so I don't want to have to worry about anything rubbing off etc.

I bought 30 Day Mascara in Dark Brown. So I will let you know how that goes!

I bought another tube of Freederm Gel. If I feel I have a spot developing I pop this on and it calms it down!

I got a buffer for when in the shower. I was using a pouf thingy, but didn't feel like it did anything!

Finally, I got some good old face wipes! They had 2 for £4 on Simple wipes in Boots, so I grabbed a couple...

The Simple Wipes are my favourites for removing my make up & they feel really refreshing.

Products I'm Loving Right Now

This is my first ever favourites post!

But let's get right down to it...

Products I'm loving right now are....

MAC Eyeshadows- Vanilla, Era, Arena & Brown Down

• Vanilla really brightens my eyes up when used all over the lid & in the inner corners
• Era is a nice taupe lid colour with a nice sheen to it without being shimmery
• Arena brings out the blue of my eyes
• Brown Down is a great warm, matte brown good for socket work & adding definition. I use this along the lashline most days.

St Ives Body Scrub

As you can see I have practically finished it!

• Smells divine and leaves my skin so smooth...

Hush Cream Colour Base from MAC

•  I love this product, I use it on the top of my cheekbones as a highlight but also all over my eye lid, gives a nice peachy shiny eyelid. Doesn't stay on the lid for long though & creases. May try setting it with a powder to see if that works!

Estee Lauder Projectionist Mascara

• I have been using this for about 2 weeks and really like it. It gives natural looking lashes but lengthens and defines them beautifully. Doesn't smudge or flake off- love it.

Barry M Blusher in No.5

•  This coral blush really warms up my skin, you can vary the depth of colour building it up to a bright coral. It doesn't cake at all, blends in so easily that it could be mistaken for a cream blush! It lasts all day on my skin & think it's fantastic value as I bought it for around £3 or £4.

Natural Collection Lipstick in Sand Castle

•  I bought this over a year ago, so it could be out of date, who knows! It's a really nice sheer, natural pink which is pretty much the same colour as my lips. It peps up my complexion and is a nice creamy formulation. Not bad for £1.99... You can buy Natural Collection at Boots in the UK, and all of their products are under £1.99 (I think). They are also fragrance free & not tested on animals, hence the name Natural Collection!

Tweezerman Eyelash Curlers

•  They curl like no other! That's all I can say... and the curl lasts all day!

MAC Prep+Prime Finishing Powder

•  This is a white powder which when applied to the skin becomes translucent, no trace of white at all. It's so finely milled you don't look like you have anything on your face, yet it smooths out my face making my pores dissappear and controlling my shine! Love it. 

Bach Rescue Remedy

•  I sometimes can get stressed and anxious... as I'm sure we all do... this chills me out nicely!

Barabra Daly Eyebrow Pencil

•  You can get Barbara Daly at Tesco, this is the first of her products I've tried and so far like the brow pencil. It's a good colour for my very fair brows. 

MAC Harmony Blush

•  I use Harmony to contour everyday, it's a matte powder blush and a nice warm brown colour which suits my skintone nicely. I bought this after Tanya Burr  reccomended it for contouring. I also use this as a bronzer sometimes and bring it onto my cheeks and forehead to warm my skin up!

Blistex Relief Cream (sorry it's blurry!)

•  I pop this on at night time to moisturise my lips as they get quite dry sometimes. It helps with cold sores & chapped lips...does what it says!

 

 

What products are you liking at the moment?