Lazy Weekend Make-up

Waking up on Saturday morning to a clear sky and bright sun left my boyfriend and I yearning for a garden and a BBQ. So we packed up our things and headed to sunny Kent, where we decided to spend the weekend with his parents (in their garden, eating their BBQ).

Now this heat leaves me with all sorts of problems. No, I am not going to be doing much, but I would still like to look semi decent for any kind of pub gardening which might be going on. These are the products I chose to take with me and use when I was soaking up the rays, and getting sunburnt.

 

Benefit Big Easy in the shade ‘Light’: I grabbed this product because not only is it light wearing, but it also has an SPF 35 which I found very useful.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade ‘Vanilla’: It’s been a long week; I don’t think I need to say any more.

MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in ‘Light Plus’: I put this over top of the Big Easy to set it in place, and also used it for touch ups during the day.

MAC Eyebrows in ‘Fling’: Even when sunbathing, one needs their eyebrows  J       

MAC Bronzing Powder in ‘Golden’: I have really gotten into my bronzing recently, and I find this gives me just the right amount of coverage, without looking dirty. It is also slightly shimmery which creates a lovely sun-kissed glow.

MAC Mineralise Blush in ‘Dainty’: This colour is a gorgeous pale pink, giving me a light flush of colour, perfect for a lazy day.

No7 Intense Volume Mascara: Normally, I do not go a day without using one of my beloved Urban Decay Naked palettes, but this weekend I just could not be bothered. I found that a few coats of this lovely mascara was enough to define my eyes and work wonders on my lashes.

Maybelline Baby Lips: Extra hydration out in the sun J

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in ‘Sunny Seoul’: Don’t be silly, I did not wear this lipstick just in the garden, but it did come in handy when we went out to the pub. It is a perfect pinky-coraly shade, which went really well with the blush and bronzer I chose. Look out for a more detailed post on this lipstick in the near future!

Have you tried any of these products? What do you recommend for a hot, sunny afternoon?

Golden Eyes, Golden Ticket, Golden Weekend!

This weekend, I was lucky enough to take a trip to the theatre. I love the theatre. The lights, the singing, the dancing and the amazing scenery and effects. I love hearing the desperate chatter of theatre goers at the end of the show, debating the question – ‘How did they do it?’

The show of choice yesterday, was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I had heard many great things about the performance, and I was not disappointed! All of Roald Dahl’s eccentric (bordering on sinister) characters were portrayed immaculately, and the musical numbers were flawless. I would highly recommend a trip to see this show to everyone!

I had the idea for this week’s blog from a work colleague of mine, Rachel (thank you!), who suggested I share the make-up look which I chose for the occasion. These are a selection of the products I used – mainly MAC (obviously – they are my favourite brand after all).

 

 

This is the look which I created:

 

Here is how I did it. Right, lets start with the base.

 

 

I needed this look to last all day, so I began with my Benefit ‘Porefessional’ Primer. I then chose NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (shown here in miniture), I wear the shade ‘Deauville’. I dabbed it over my face and then blended out with my Beauty Blender. I tend to use two concealers. My MAC Studio Fix (NW20) is used for extra coverage on spots and blemishes, while my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Vanilla) is used to cover those dark circles. I set this all using MAC Mineralise Skinfinish (Light Plus), before applying Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

My eye look was copied from my favourite YouTuber – Jaclyn Hill, who recently did a make up tutorial where she demonstrated the on-trend copper eye look. It took me less than a week to get myself down to MAC to purchase the right shades I needed to replicate the look. You can watch the video here.  It involves taking the shades ‘Amber Lights’ and ‘Coppering’ (the bottom two shades in my pallette) mixed together and placed on the eye lid. This is then blended up into the crease and voilá – your eyeshadow is done! I just finished with a couple of layers of my Maybelline The Falsies mascara and I lined the waterline with my The Body Shop, black Eyeliner Pencil.

Next, I attempted some hightlighting and contouring (which I am yet to master). For contouring, I used my Benefit Hoola bronzer, and applied MAC Mineralise Blush in the shade ‘Dainty’ above. I then used my MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in the shade ‘Lightscapade’ to highlight above the cheekbone.

Finally, I applied my MAC Lip Primer and then lipstick in the shade ‘Hot Gossip’. This is a gorgeous pink colour which has that ‘your lips but better’ look.

 

I was really pleased with my finished look, and it lasted thoughout the 12 hour day (with a make up setting spray). I do, however, think this would look better with a coral blush, which I sadly do not own L.

Do you have any coral blushers you would recommend? How did you wear your makeup this weekend? 

Boots Booty (not the Beyonce kind) - A Drugstore Haul

After declaring myself ‘broke’ and spouting lines like: ‘I literally have NO money, I am going to be living on cereal’, I found myself on a shopping trip. After narrowly avoiding the Naked 3 palette (which I still can’t stop thinking about), I found myself perusing the wondrous aisles in Boots.

Somehow these items just jumped into my shopping bag and forced themselves through the till (funny how things have a habit of doing that?)

Soap and Glory ‘Off your face’ cleansing wipes (usually £4.50 but there was a 40% off deal at the time so I got for £2.99): The first thing that struck me about this product was the softness of the cloth! Normally I find cleansing wipes a bit scratchy – but these are like cotton! The cloth has 2 sides to it – a smooth side and a slightly bumpy side. I tested both sides as make-up removers, and I found the bumpy side was slightly more effective. They even removed eye make up pretty well – there was still a little residue on my eye, but overall I was impressed with their removal power.

When using facial wipes, I often find that my skin feels slightly sticky afterwards – but with this product my face felt smooth and dry! With a comforting fragrance of Olbas Oil – I will definitely be getting these again!

Soap and Glory ‘Puffy Eye Attack’ eye gel (usually £12.50 but £8.33 at the time): Normally, I get horrendous bags under my eyes and have been searching for a product to at least minimise them. ‘Could this be THE product?’ I wondered.

This eye gel has a thick texture, and a little goes a long way. I have sensitive eyes, so I have found in the past that some eye products have caused stinging. I am not going to lie, I did get a small amount of stinging, but mainly in the evening where I think my eyes are probably aggravated from my initial make up removing. I also tested the gel under my concealer (I use that magic ‘NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer’) and found that the two products worked well together.

After using this product every morning and every night, I have found that my eye bags are better, particularly near the end of the week. I’m not sure if I am ‘in love’ with it, but it is doing the job for the moment!

Maybelline ‘The Falsies’ mascara (£7.99): My usual go-to mascara is the MAC False Lash effect – so imagine my dismay when I ran out of it during these hard times. I had heard a lot of really good things about this mascara, and knew it is a particular favourite with beauty guru Tanya Burr, so I thought I would give it a try. If it’s good enough for Tanya, it’s good enough for me!

The applicator has a scooped brush, which also has a ‘flexi’ element to it. To be honest, it has probably taken me all week to get used to this. Normally, I like to remove most of the product from the applicator, so I can build up thin layers. However, for some reason this was not working, on the second coat, my lashes were clumping together and it looked like I had a grand total of 5.  I found the product worked better if I ‘tidied up’ the applicator, rather than removing the entire product.

 Now I have got used to the product, I am very happy with the results. I am able to create a fluttering lash, with a ‘wide eyed’ look. I love what it does to the bottom lash too!

Batiste Dry Shampoo in ‘Oriental’ (£2.99): Everyone and their Nan knows that this is the Holy Grail of hair products. This product should be in EVERYONE’S bathrooms, bedrooms, offices (I even have a friend who kept some in her car – sensible lady).

I have very long and thick hair. I am also lazy. These three factors often equate to waking up late, hair standing on end, on those days when I had set my alarm early, in order to leave enough time to wash my hair. This is when I find myself grabbing my dry shampoo in a frenzy, and desperately trying to make my hair do ‘something’. There is now a huge range of Batiste products – ranging from fragrances or specific formulas for your hair colour. I was drawn to this bottle, due to the packaging. I love packaging (I am an advertisers dream), and the purple oriental design caught my eye.

The fragrance is also lovely. Obviously, you can’t get completely away from the aerosol smell – but this product has a musky scent which I like. A great product and I don’t need to tell you that this will definitely be on my ‘repurchase’ list.

So, whilst I get back to my cereal, what are your drugstore essentials that you just could NOT live without? 

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11794385/?claim=9th5fy7w3ad">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>