My top picks for summer time lips!

That magical time of year is upon us. Sunshine, BBQs, cider, tan lines all mean that it is summer! Summer is the time of year when I ditch the foundation and ‘Russian Red’ replacing with those lighter bases and pink glosses.

For the last 3 weeks I have found myself reaching for these three lip products to finish up my looks. They are all pink, fresh and scream summer!

 

 

The first product is a new one for me. I was lucky enough to receive it as a birthday present from one of my very good friends. I have seen the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector on various blogs, but I have never tried it until now. I have got the shade ‘Apricot Shimmer’ which is a gorgeous baby pink. The product had a very creamy texture, and applies giving a sheer colour. It is perfect for an easy summer day and has all those nourishing qualities all lip products should.

My second pick is a Tanya Burr lipgloss in the shade ‘Picnic in the Park’. Tanya Burr is probably one of the first YouTubers who I subscribed to, and when she announced she was releasing a line of nail varnished and nail polishes, I was intrigued. I ordered two, and the first thing that struck me was the smell. It literally smells like strawberries and cream. This gloss is a much brighter pink and the colour is much more pigmented than the Clarins. I have found that I need to pat in the gloss to make sure I get even coverage, but once it’s there it lasts a good few hours.

My final product is a bit of a blast from the past. The NARS Lip Lacquer in the shade ‘Chelsea Girls’ has been in my collection for a while now, but I have been giving it a wide berth. The main reason for this is I find it really hard to apply from the pot. However, as I was putting together a smokey eye, it cropped up on my radar. Once I applied it, I fell in love with the product all over again. The colour is more of a peachy-pink which creates more of a nude lip look. It is a great all rounder, and I believe it pretty much goes with every eye look and skin tone.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your favourite picks for summer?

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?

My Secret to Flawless Foundation.

Over the last few years I have tried many different combinations of bases, with a variety of application techniques. Everything from creams, liquids, powders with brushes, fingers and cosmetic sponges.

That is until I found these three miracle products. I have found that when I use this combination, my foundation looks simply flawless, and it is so easy! If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that simplicity is a must for me!

I begin the routine by priming my already moisturised skin. For this look, which I would normally save for evening or a special event, I use my Benefit ‘The Porefessional’ primer. I take a pea-sized amount and press it into the skin, starting with my chin and t-zone, then blend the product out to the cheeks. ‘The Porefessional’ is a favourite with many of the bloggers I read, and it deserves all the praise it gets. My pores are not particularly large, but I do find the primer blurs imperfections and provides a great base to easily blend in the foundation.

Now for the foundation. These next two items are probably some of my greatest purchases. The NARS Sheer Glow foundation and Beauty Blender may not be the cheapest items on the market, but boy are they worth the money! NARS Sheer Glow is also infamous in the blogging world. It is a medium to full coverage foundation and is easy to build up over problem areas. I have also found it covers a multitude of skin sins, such as redness or breakouts. A couple of pumps on the back of the hand is all I need, so I find a bottle lasts a long time. When using the Beauty Blender I find it works better damp. I wring it out under the tap and squeeze until the sponge has almost doubled in size. Using a hand towel, I dry the blender off until it is just slightly damp. Then I pick the product up with the Beauty Blender and dab it over my face, working the product into the skin.

Viola! The flawless foundation look is complete! I do like to set with a dusting of my MAC Mineralise Skinfinish, and obviously copious amounts of my concealer is also required to cover my bags!

Have you tried any of these products? How do you create your flawless foundation look?

Something about 'Torrid' - A NARS Product Review

I am going to hold my hands up here, and say that I had never heard of the make-up brand NARS until about a year ago when I first started obsessively watching YouTube videos and reading beauty blogs. I kept reading about their products and all of them sounded luxurious and gorgeous, I just had to give them a go!

Needless to say, I could not wait to purchase their Creamy Concealer and the infamous Sheer Glow Foundation, both of which have now firmly secured a place in my make-up collection. As you can imagine, it came as no surprise that I found myself heading straight to the NARS counter on a recent shopping trip, to potentially find my next ‘new favourite’.

I knew I wanted a coral blusher, and after looking at a few suggested by the assistant, I decided to buy a powder blush in the shade ‘Torrid’.

 

This blush is incredible and exactly what I was asking for! I am really annoyed at the picture because it really does not do the pigmentation in the pan justice. In the image, it looks really pink, but I can assure you it is the perfect mix of warm pink and orange tones. Initially, I was not so sure about the blush when the assistant pointed it out to me as it seemed to be quite glittery, here are specks of gold visible throughout the blush. But, when applied to the skin the glitter blends beautifully and is hardly noticeable, creating a gorgeous flush of colour. I was surprised to find that it applies quite sheer, but the colour is easily buildable and the blush is very buttery which makes blending a breeze.

 

I have tried this blush with a variety of looks; simple day time, evening makeup and even with a bold lip. I have to say that the blush really worked with all of these looks, but I particularly enjoyed it when matched with simple winged liner, and a bold fuchsia lip.

‘Torrid’ has now become my staple blush, and I have used it every day since I purchased it three weeks ago. I would really recommend it if your stash is missing a coral blush (or even if it’s not!)

Have you tried any NARS blushes? Which shades are your favourite?

Spring Pub Lunch Makeup Look.

Friday was one of those rare occasions, where my boyfriend and I had the same day off. The weather looked semi-sunny and dry, so we decided to go for a pub lunch. Whilst the boy was making some conference calls (in his pj’s!), I experimented with my makeup. I really liked the look I achieved so I thought I would share with you what I did.

I always start with my eye makeup, just in case there is any fall out which may ruin the base. I began by applying my favourite eye shadow primer, Urban Decay’s ‘Eyeshadow Primer Potion’. Then, I reached for my Naked palette, also by Urban Decay. Using the brush provided, I took the shade ‘Smog’ and placed it on the inner and middle third of the lid. I then took the shade ‘Darkhorse’ and placed on the outer third. I took a MAC 217 brush to blend the edge and where the two colours meet. The colour ‘Smog’ was also placed under the eye. I curled my lashes and applied the No7 Intense Volume mascara. I love this mascara at the minute and you can read all about it in my blog post here.

Now moving onto the base. I started by pressing in Benefit’s ‘Porefessional’ primer, concentrating on my t-zone. I then applied my MAC Mineralize Moisture foundation in the shade ‘NC20’, buffing in using my Real Techniques Stippling brush. I covered any blemishes with a bit of MAC’s Studio Finish concealer in the shade ‘NW20’, continuing to blend using the Stippling brush. My bags were banished by blending some of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade ‘Vanilla’ under my eyes and brow bone, using my fingers. Finally, I set it all using MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in the shade ‘Light Plus’.

I do not tend to do much with my brows. On this occasion, I gave them a quick brush and then filled in using the MAC Eyebrows in the shade ‘Fling’. I do not have to fill the middle much, but I did use it to create an arch.

I added some colour into my face by using MAC Pro Longwear Blush in the shade ‘Stay Pretty’ on the apples cheeks.

The look was finished with the lips. To create this colour I used MAC’s Lip Pencil in the shade ‘Hip ‘n’ Happy’ as an all over colour. I then went over top with MAC Cremesheen Glass in the shade ‘Japanese Spring’.

I was really happy with the look, and felt confident stepping out of the house.

Have you tried any of these products before? What would you wear for a pub lunch date?

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?