Easy autumn makeup tutorial: Dark Smokey-Eye Makeup

I love autumn; I love the layering of textures and colour. With that in mind, I thought today I would share an easy autumn makeup look.

Autumn makeup look

Skin preparation

Prepare your face for makeup application as normal, here I have applied my Elizabeth Arden serum, Nivea moisturiser, and Rimmel Lasting Perfection Primer.

Bare faced before makeup

Step two: Base

Apply foundation. It’s the weekend (despite my jumper saying otherwise) so I don’t need heavy coverage so I’m using Too Faced’s Foundation Powder.

Applying foundation

Applying Too Faced foundation

Step 3: Eyes

Since purchasing the Rimmel Scandal Eyes crayons, I have loved creating looks with them and for this autumn makeup I am using Bad Girl Bronze which I am applying to the centre of the eyelid and blending out.

Rimmel scandal eyes crayon

Applying rimmel scandal eye crayon

From the Urban Decay original Naked palette, take ‘Dark Horse’ and apply into the crease of the eyelid, as much or as little as you like. Then blend as before.

Urban Decay original Naked palette

Blending makeup look

I also like to apply a little bit of Dark Horse underneath my lower lash line. Then take ‘Half Baked’ and pack onto the center of the eyelid.

Urban decay half baked

Urban Decay half baked

You could now curl your lashes if you want to before applying mascara; I am currently using Maybelline’s Lash Sensational.

Maybelline Lash sensational

And you’re done!

Finished makeup look

Finished Makeup look

Let me know if you have created this or a similar look 🙂

Until next time x

What I Got for my Birthday

Hey Sweeties,

These sort of posts are difficult to write as while I am kind of showing off a couple of new things, I am not deliberately bragging and I by no means hope that what follows is interpreted that way. In the same way as I show off a recent beauty or fashion haul, I kinda’ really want to show you two really special things that I got for my birthday that are just too beautiful and pretty to keep to myself.

So basically, last weekend was my birthday and for those asking, I am now the grand age of 28 years old with 30 now firmly on the horizon (Eek!). For the first time in several years, the day was spent with family which was lovely.

Anyway.

Unlike when you are younger where you take full opportunity to cram birthday and Christmas lists with gift suggestions, as you get older you either don’t make them at all, or you ask for something very specific. Everyone reaches that point where you are in charge of your own money and life, and thus generally buy everything you need and want yourself. That being said, sometimes you see something that you think, yes I could buy myself, but I would appreciate it so much more as a gift… and this is exactly the case with the new Pandora Rose charm bracelet.

Pandora Rose charm bracelet

As soon as I was aware of the release, I knew that it would be the perfect gift from Ian and going forward, it means the bracelet can be added to with new charms when Christmas, birthday’s and other special occasions take place.  View Full Post

My 2014 Beauty Favourites

Blogmas

Hey Sweeties,

On the penultimate day of Blogmas (*Sobs*) and before I get absorbed in the festivities with family here and in Devon, not to mention that today is also Beauty Review Tuesday… I felt it apt that we talk through a few 2014 favourites.

*FYI, it’s a long one so maybe pop & get yourself a cup of tea/coffee/juice/squash/wine…*

This year really has been a year of discovery, particularly in beauty (as discussed on Sunday’s post) and although I have tried loads of new products, many of which have been incorporated into my everyday stash, I couldn’t class them all as favourites. So for me, here is what made the cut this year in beauty & skincare:

Real Techniques Brushes:

Real Techniques Brushes

I have the Core Collection, the Starter Set, the Blush Brush and the Expert Face Brush and I just love them. They apply and blend makeup fantastically and clean really easily. I have had some problems though with cleaning the expert face brush (which I use for foundation) and the pointed foundation brush (which I use for concealer) as I have found they clog up with product really easily. However, with these I will clean them with baby shampoo like the others but give these two brushes an additional clean with conditioner which I find does the trick.

Urban Decay Naked Palette 1&2:

Urban Decay Naked Palettes

Urban Decay Naked 1

It’s safe to say that I now rarely use any other eye shadow palettes as between these two I have pretty much every look covered. You’ll remember I got bought the Naked 2 first (here) and then I later purchased Naked 1 while on a shopping trip with my Mum a couple of months ago (read that post here) and I really have never looked back. Both palettes have a great mix of matte and shimmer shades, all well pigmented and easily to blend. Trust me, the Naked palettes are worth the splurge!

Benefit They’re Real Mascara and Push Up Liner:

Benefit They're Real

I feel I have spent a lot of time with Benefit this year but the They’re Real Mascara has been a long time favourite since first purchasing it a couple of years ago. I don’t wear it everyday but when I know I have a long day ahead, maybe I am going out after work or it’s the weekend and I again, have a busy day out and about, I 9 times out of 10 reach for this product. I like that it’s thick but doesn’t clump together your lashes and it’s very long lasting.

You’ll remember that I was given a mystery new gel eyeliner to try out earlier this year (read that post here) which turned out to be Benefit’s They’re Real Push Up Liner. I appreciate that not everyone fell in love with this product but I really did. Although it can be a real bugger to get off, I just love how it applies and again, I reach for it when I know I need something to last all day.

I am excited to reveal Benefit’s new top secret product next month to you all! #CurlsBestFriend

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 09 Happy Nude Year:

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

I reviewed this product only last week so that post (here) will tell you why this has become a firm favourite.

Bourjois Blusher 95 Rose de Jaspe:

Bourjois Blusher

I purchased this product during a little Bourjois Haul a few months ago and this particular product has continued to be great to use. As I said originally (probably), the brush that comes inside the packaging is not worth using but I love the flush of colour this blush adds to my cheeks. Really well worth adding to your collection.

Rimmel Bronzer 022 Sun Bronze:

Rimmel Sun Bronze

I have used this product for a long time and although I have other bronzers in my collection, I just find this one does the job day in day out. It is great for contouring as well as for providing an all over dusting of colour to warm up the face. I would struggle to find fault with this item, even if you paid me!

Rimmel Colour Rush Balms:

Rimmel Colour Rush Balms

I know other brands have created very similar products to these Rimmel ones but as you all know, I just love these and to be honest they are a much more practical pop of colour for the everyday rather than choosing a lipstick if you were looking for something lighter to wear. For the summer months, these will be perfect and a firm staple. I have four in my collection -210 Boom Chic A Boom, 700 Not An Illusion, 300 Keep Mauving and Give Me A Cuddle (apologies the number has rubbed off on this one). For a better review of these products read an earlier favourites post here.

L’Oreal True Match Foundation in C2 Rose Vanilla: 

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

Now, the only reason why I have tried several different foundations this year was so that I could break away from this particular foundation as to be honest, asides from Mac’s Studio Sculpt (which I used on nicer occasions), I hadn’t tried anything else. I got introduced to True Match by a friend several years ago and was hooked on day one and I am still hooked.. but, I don’t now use this all the time and do now have a varied collection to suit different seasons, moods and skin tones. But I do think this is probably the best drugstore foundation on the market and therefore I can’t not raise this above the others as my all time favourite.

Smashbox Lipstick in Fig: 

Smashbox Lipstick Fig

As you can probably tell, lip products have played a really key role this year but I think they are probably the easiest products to try out as once you have found your eye palette and foundation and have a couple of good blushers, you’re generally sorted but lips, lips are different. A good lip product completes the look whether it’s a gloss, a balm or a lipstick and finding the right shades, types and colours can be a task in themselves. For me, I have discovered a real love for lipstick this year and this one from Smashbox, has become a favourite. You can read my original review of the lipstick here but having now tried it out several times, I can confirm that it does actually last really well but the trick is of course, to have dry lips to begin with otherwise this product will just slip off.

The Body Shop Almond Hand & nail Cream: 

The Body Shop Almond hand and nail cream

I love a good hand cream but I find I go through phases of using them rather than something I apply every day, although I will always have one with me. However lately I have been finding myself reaching for something slightly nicer than my basic one from Tesco and it’s been this one from The Body Shop which I got in my advent calendar last year. I like that it doesn’t overpower my hands in scent but it does nicely moisturise and absorbs quickly which I need from a hand cream.

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter:

The Body Shop Cleanser

To think before discovering this product that I was just using face wipes and eye makeup remover lotion (*shakes head and tuts*), well no more! The way this product melts makeup off your face is almost poetic and I couldn’t recommend this more highly to you all to try. In fact just go, go now to your nearest store and purchase this item immediately!

The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment (for combination skin):

The Body Shop Night treatment

The Body Shop as you have no doubt realised now pretty much is my go to place for skin care, and before 2014 I hadn’t been inside a store for years -maybe I’ll just include The Body Shop as a whole to be considered as part of my 2014 favourites? As you will remember, when I originally purchased this item and mentioned it in a haul post (here) this product had been recommended to me by one of the staff and it’s a shame I didn’t catch her name as she should now be on my Christmas card list! From the first pump this product has just worked so well for me and the difference it made to my face was noticed almost straight away. I don’t think it’s anything particularly magical but for a night treatment it basically hydrates my skin wonderfully while I sleep.

Phew! I think I am done! 

It is actually quite difficult selecting the best of the bunch as like I said, there are other products I use on a routine basis that I also think are really great but unfortunately I can’t include them all. However, what I probably will do at some point (early) next year is bring more of my collection together and show you guys what I have. As I have said before (I hope), I don’t get sent products so everything I review I have gone out and bought myself or in some rare instances, I have been gifted them by family. Therefore having a monthly favourites or even a regular (ish) favourites post just doesn’t make sense as you mostly see everything I buy either in a haul and/or an individual review. But we’ll see, maybe 2015 will bring new opportunities for this kind of thing…

Let me know what your 2014 favourites are and if there is anything you strongly recommend!

Until tomorrow x

London Shopping Haul -New Beauty & Fashion Purchases

Hi Sweeties,

I have had such a lovely weekend! My Mum came up on Friday to help wallpaper our living room (FYI, while we’re on the point, I’ll be doing a new home update/haul post soon where I’ll share with you more of what has been happening with that side of life)… and we had a day in London yesterday. Now Mum has headed back to Devon (so far away, sob!) and Ian has gone to work I am now sat reflecting on everything and things have become silent for the first time this weekend.

So, let’s get to the juicy part of my weekend… the London trip and a bit of a show and tell of what I picked up while there!

I’m terrible really, I am trying to not buy anything between now and January and then have a real wardrobe update and blowout in the sales but as the seasons change, there are always gaps that appear. For me, this year rather than do big chunky jumpers, I want to layer with tops and chunky cardigans and things like that… all of which I don’t really have. Doh!

Anyway.

London Shopping Haul-

Forever 21 Gilet

I actually didn’t really pick up much in the way of clothing but I did pick up an amazing fluffy gilet from Forever 21 (above). I saw it and was like, “that’s mine!”. This will be ideal for layering over pretty much anything to be honest and I can’t tell you how snuggly it is; perfect for wearing around the house and when out and about.

Aldo Trilby

Now, I can’t resist a hat but finding one that fits me well is quite rare as I have an odd shaped head. While Mum and I were in Aldo, I saw this hat, plonked it on my head and was like, “Wo!”. Mum took one look at it and practically marched me to the till point… she then noticed a lovely scarf so I treated her to that and she me the hat. Win win!

My next purchases were of the beauty kind…

Beauty Purchases

Beauty Haul

Topshop, The Body Shop & Urban Decay

Let’s begin with The Body Shop.

The Body Shop Haul

As you know, it was merely a few weeks since I was last in there having a little skin care haul and to be honest, didn’t expect to be back there quite so soon… if I did, I would have taken my ÂŁ10 off voucher with me (doh!). Moving on, we were passing and I thought while I had the opportunity I might as well stock up on my cleansing butter which I have loved since first purchasing it. I also grabbed a muslin cloth as I have learnt a flannel really doesn’t work… well it does, but despite washes and rinses following cleanser removal it gunks up something horrid with make-up!

While in the store I took the opportunity to investigate and take a look at the new Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate. I have been on the hunt for an eye cream of some kind as that’s the only area of my face that needs attention that I haven’t covered in my skin care routine so far so I thought I would give it a go. I’ll do a review of the product in a week or two once I have had a good chance to try it out.

Before heading to the checkout I had the briefest of glances across the make-up stand and this eyeliner caught my eye. I love a black liner as we know and now the weather is changing it’s creeping back into my everyday look but black can be quite harsh so I am exploring other colours. This product is the Smoky Plum Eye Definer and it’s a beautiful deep purple which I am excited to try.

Next!

As we also know, I don’t really venture into Topshop that often but the store on Oxford street is so big it can’t be ignored and the lull of the beauty section is impossible to avoid so, of course I didn’t leave empty handed.

Topshop Beauty Haul

You guys will remember the lipstick haul I did from there a few weeks ago and Depth has become a real favourite out of the four but I have lacked a lip liner to go with it… so I bought a lip liner in shade Deception which is a fairly deep red. I also picked up their highlighter in the shade Sunbeam. Now, I as yet am not really a wearer of highlighter but again, as we drift into the colder months I want to achieve a bit of definition and draw a bit of light to my upper cheekbones so I figured now was as good a time as any to make the purchase! Unfortunately the shade is a bit too difficult to swatch effectively enough to show you but it’s basically a yellowy gold shimmer; really pretty.

My next purchase I should really apologise for but I won’t. I will though confess it was purchased solely out of envy and feeling left out. Let me explain…

Urban Decay Naked 1

My Mum -like me- has really started to have a real allergy to certain eye shadows but I have been getting a long fine with my Sleek palettes and my Naked 2. So, as any good daughter would, I have been talking a fair bit about Urban Decay and suggested it’s something she should try by which I mean, wear some of mine for the day and she how she gets on. However, we passed House of Fraser and ventured through the beauty hall and low and behold, came across the Urban Decay stand. Mum loved the colours in the individual pans and picked out a beautiful pinky purple shade (Toasted). For ages she has also been desperate for someone to show her how to achieve a good smokey eye and Benefit are an obvious choice to achieve this. But the beauty assistant on the UD stand sat Mum in the chair and using Toasted as well as a couple of the other shades in the Naked 1 palette, created her the most brilliant but simple smokey eye using pink and brown colours. She absolutely nailed it! A traditional black & grey smokey eye would not have suited mum at all but this one she had done was perfect for her skin tone and also, her age. Mum was sold! Rather than just purchase Toasted (ÂŁ14), it proved far more cost effective to buy the whole Naked 1 palette (ÂŁ37). Of course, on reflection Mum really should have seen how she got on with Toasted and whether or not her skin reacted to it before taking the plunge with a whole palette but hey ho! While paying I got this strange overwhelming sense of envy… I wanted Naked 1 as well! So… I did (*hangs head*).

Ok, the haul is done! However, before I leave you I wanted to share something really exciting. Following my visit to The Design Studio a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned I fell in love with their pink and black bomber jacket… well, guess what arrived for me in the post…

TDS Bomber Jacket

Ta Da!!!!

…My very own TDS Bomber jacket! Yippee!! I just so love this and like my new gilet, I am going to be wearing this all over the place throughout the autumn-winter months. I can’t tell you how snug it is! Thank you so much Sally and Lettie! *Mwah!*

What have you guys hauled lately??

Until next time x

Purchasing the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette – First Impressions & Review

Hey Sweeties,

I apologise if anyone has clicked on this post in anticipation of seeing some nudity… there isn’t. Nudes however, yes there are, yes there are indeed… in Urban Decay’s Naked Palette 2!

Last week when I was down in Devon for a wedding, we nipped into Plymouth quickly for a coffee before heading home. As we entered Café Nero in House of Fraser, my eye was immediately drawn to the Urban Decay stand conveniently located practically right next door to our table. It was quite the distraction! While sipping my cappuccino and devouring a cheeky slice of red velvet cake, I had pretty much decided that today was the day one of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes was coming into my life. I was still nervous at the thought of spending the best part of £40 on a single beauty item but… I was ready!

I have heard an endless amount of noise about the Urban Decay Naked Palettes so of course the product was on my radar. I had maybe a week or so prior been perusing Feel Unique.com and I had in fact looked at the Naked Palettes and although in my head I have been coming round to the idea of being ready to splurge on something more high end… this won’t happen online for a first time purchase if I haven’t seen the product(s) in the flesh beforehand, I need to know and be sure of what I am getting.

Which Urban Decay Naked Palette to Choose?

The problem I soon faced however while standing within the realms of the Urban Decay counter was which palette to go for? There are now three of them, all beautiful in their own way but unfortunately I only had the budget for one. To be honest, I was pretty instantly drawn to Naked 2. Naked 3 was lovely and summery but with autumn on the horizon, soft pastel colours were not what I would be reaching for and I thought the original Naked palette, although attractive in its selection of colours, still wasn’t quite what I wanted but Naked 2 ticked all the boxes –a nice range of nudes, darker shades and a pink or two thrown in for good measure. What more could a girl want? Sold! The even better thing was that in light of my recent birthday, my Dad handed over the cash as a belated treat! Winner!

Urban Decay Naked 2

So, what do I think?

Firstly, I really like the packaging. For your money you do feel that you have bought something of quality and although I would say it is chunky in the way it feels in the hand, it’s perfectly easy to travel with (maybe not in your handbag though?) and the inside of the lid has a big mirror which is perfect for application on the go. The tin case is secure enough to not damage the palette itself, whereas something like one of the Sleek palettes, although slim and hard casing, if it bumps around in your bag all day you will notice that when you open it later.

Urban Decay Naked 2

For colour variety, I think this is a great palette. As I mentioned earlier, it contains all the eyeshadow colours I would want as we start the descent into autumn in a mixture of matte and shimmer textures and all brilliantly pigmented. My favourite shades at the moment are Booty Call (3rd from the left, I want to say it’s like a champagne cream) and Tease (5th from the left, a light chocolate brown), both matte shades. To wear, the product builds and blends fantastically and lasts all day. So even when your foundation is wearing thin, your eye makeup is still complete and looking fantastic! B.E.A. Utiful!

Having the Urban Decay Naked 2 now in my collection and experiencing the quality a higher cost beauty product provides, has certainly given me the confidence to consider purchasing more high end products. I still haven’t got the budget to go mad but certainly, rather than always rushing back to the drugstore, it may be worth venturing to department store counters for that more special purchase once in a while.

 

Until next time x

%d bloggers like this: