A few looks from the last couple of days

So I've been pretty rubbish at getting looks online over the last couple of days.  That's not to say I haven't been taking pictures though!

Face

YSL Touche Éclat Foundation (shade BR)

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Light

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1

Sephora Powder Blush in Raspberry Sheen

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Slink

Urban Decay Powder Eyeshadow in Blackout

Illamasqau Gel Liner 

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Sophie

Boots Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Sea Shell

Benefit They're Real Mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow 

Lips

Sephora Lipstick in shade no.28

For the next week or so I'll just be probably posting pictures of my eye makeup.  My skin has gone full blown hormone crazy, but I'll still make the effort to do some makeup.

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Lime Crime Magic Dusts in Prima Dona, Lime Crime, and Siren

MAC Pigment in Grape

Sugarpill Eyeshadow in Tako

Illamasqua Gel Liner

Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Sophie

Lancome Vertuose Mascara

Random Falsies

In this next look, I had the dreaded watery eye.  You can see how sore the outer corner of my eye got, and makeup just wouldn't stick there.  I was hoping to add false lashes to this, but my eye streamed every time I tried.  Even makeup artists have bad makeup days!  And for some reason the only good closed eye shot I had was taken with the flash on.  I guess this look is pretty much a fail as far as blogging goes!

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Sleek Badgirl Palette

Sleek gold shadow from the Sunset Palette mixed with Illamasqua sealing gel to create the liner

Illamasqua Gel Liner

Illamasqya Medium Pencil in Sophie

Lancome Virtuose Mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

FOTD - A little glitter

Originally I didn't plan to use glitter on this look.  But as I was packing my palettes away, my hand fell upon a cream glitter eyeshadow palette that I picked up from Claires over Christmas, and I just had to pop a little bit on.  The glitters in there are so pretty for such a cheap product.  Definite bargain buy!

I really struggled with the lighting today, which is why my skin looks so yellow.  I'm sure I'll be doing this look again, and hopefully next time I'll get some better photos.

Products Used

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Illamasqua Delirium Cream Pigment

Illamasqua Emerge Cream Pigment

MAC Illegal Cargo Eyeshadow

MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

MAC Plumage Eyeshadow

Dark purple toned blue from a random palette

MAC Nylon Eyeshadow

Clairs Lilac Glitter Cream Shadow

Rimmel Glam Eyes Black Liquid Liner

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Inspiration 26-08

More inspiring and beautiful looks I've come across this week.

Slink FOTD

I managed to put down my Illamasqua Reflection palette for a day to create this look.  It was the first time I've really used the eyeshadow Slink that I bought a while ago.  It's perfect for more neutral every day looks

Face

Lush Colour Supplement in Jackie Oats

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Light

MAC Minseralize Blush in Pet Me

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Illamasqua Slink eyeshadow

Sephora Meet Me At Midnight eyeshadow

Benefit I Cannes And I Will eyeshadow

Bobbi Brown Black gel liner

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes For Hazel Eyes

Lips

Amrani Lip Maestro in 500

Illamasqua - The Sacred Hour Review

So I've had a few days to play around with my goodies, and I have to say, I think this is my favourite Illamasqua collection as far as colours go.  Don't get me wrong, I love the more interesting products they bring out, but as far as wearing them on a regular basis, this collection wins hands down.  I'm a sucker for neutrals at the moment!

First up we have the Reflection eyeshadow palette.  The formula is the same one that was used in the Paranormal palette.  They're a strange cream-powder mix.  They're wonderfully soft, and they can be applied sheer, or built up for a stronger colour.  For me, these eyeshadows take some getting used to.  I imagine that those with drier lids won't have much of a problem, but for my super oily lids they slide around a lot.  Even with primer, they don't really seem to set.  This makes doing more precise application (such as the cut crease I tried in my second look) very difficult to nail.  I think that oiler lids will find that sheerer washes of colour work better than dark, heavy looks.  With not drying down well, these also crease quite badly within an hour or so.  So will this palette sit in my drawer, unused?

Hell no!  Look at those colours!  They compliment each other perfectly, and there's such a wide range of looks that you could do.  They're amazingly shimmery, but it's shimmer in a grown up way (not an 'explosion at the glitter factory sort of look!).  It's such a unique, interesting finish. 
Here's a couple of looks I did with the palette.  I've told myself I have to wear something different today, but I'm sure I'll be playing around with it, and figuring out the best way to make it work for me.  It took 3 or 4 attempts before I really got to grips with the Paranormal palette, but it was well worth it!

You can see the creasing already in the first look, and where it's smudged from a thin line to a thicker area on the inner crease of the second look.  Usually this would be a deal breaker for me, but I'm so in love with the colours and the bouncy feel they have when you load up your brush.

Next up is Velvet Blusher in Peaked.  This is probably my favourite item from the collection.  I'm a big fan of Illamasqua's blushes, and this new cream to powder formula has just made me fall in love even more.  Soft, buildable, and easy to apply, these blushes lasted a good 4-5 hours on my super oily skin in the ridiculous humid heat.  The colour is described as 'a dusky rose', and I think that's fairly accurate.  It almost has sort of raspberry undertones.  I could happily wear this colour every day, and it's taken top spot in my blush collection.  I'm sure that Sleek will be joining my collection soon enough.

My Bobbi Brown gel liner has pretty much dried up, so I decided this would be a good time to try out Illamasqua's offering.  It's a lot softer than the Bobbi Brown gel, which makes it far easier to apply.  You sometimes have to go over it a couple of times to get a really black colour, but it doesn't have any problems with layering.  As it's so creamy, I do seem to be using more of it, so I don't think it'll last as long as my Bobbi Brown liner.  Although saying that, I'm only half way through that pot and it's already dried up, so I'll probably still get the same amount of use from it, providing it doesn't dry up so quickly.  I haven't had any problems with it smudging or fading either.

Last but not least are the Skin Base Lift Concealers.  I suffer from slight dark circles, and a little reddness under my eyes.  Nothing to bad, but just enough for a concealer to make a difference.  The main problem I have with concealers is that they have a habit of settling into the creases below my eyes.  I've been a using Lush's Colour Supplement, as that doesn't crease.  The coverage is quite sheer, but I don't need much more.  However, I think that the Lush Colour Supplement will be finding a place in the bottom of my drawer now.  These Skin Base Lift Concealers are AMAZING!

I purchased both Light 1 and White Light.  Below are pictures of it in action.

 The first is without any concealer.  The second picture is just with Light 1 applied under the eye.  The third picture shows Light 1, with White Light applied at the tear duct too (the last picture was taken at a different time to the others, which is why the light looks slightly different.  I'll try to update this soon).

As you can see the concealer covers all the redness, and doesn't settle into fine lines.  It has a lot more coverage than the Lush concealer.  Adding the white to  the tear duct really brightens the whole area.  These concealers are like a good nights sleep in a pot!  David Horne, creator of this product, suggests using it to highlight too.  I've used a little of the white on my cheek bones, and it looks great.  I'm going to try his method of dotting White Light and Light 1 alternately and then blending.

Here's some looks I did with all the products.  The lipstick I'm wearing is an old Illamasqua one, which has since been discontinued.  The name has rubbed off, but I think it's called Resist.  It's a shame they don't do it anymore as it goes perfectly with Peaked blush.

I can really see myself re-buying every single item that I've reviewed.  And I think that's the first time I've ever said that! You really nailed this one Illamasqua!

Illamasqua Hemlock Nail Polish

With their new Sacred Hour collection, Illamasqua decided to re-promote one of their permanent nail polishes, Hemlock.  I'm reviewing this separately to the rest of the collection because it's going to be a fairly picture heavy post.

I've owned Hemlock for a while now, and it's one of my favourite polishes.  It applies smoothly and dries quickly.  The best thing about it has got to be it's ability to transform other nail colours.  I've swatched a few of my favourite combinations.  This colour is so hard to catch on camera, so I did some photo animations of it moving.  I couldn't use the recorder function on my phone, as it's so cloudy today, so lighting isn't great.  On with the swatches!

Lilac

Pink

  Blue Green

Purple

Matte top coat

They're all super pretty, but I think I like the pink and the matte the most.  Which is your favourite?

Barry M Amythyst Glitter Nail Polish

I have a love/hate relationship with glitter nail varnishes.  I love the way they look on the nail, but hate how hard they are to take off.  This beauty caught my eye while I was in Boots.  It's a clear polish, chock full of aqua, blue, pink, purple and silver glitter.  I was treating my boyfriend's daughter to a birthday nail varnish, and it was buy one, get one half price.  So why not?

This polish applied smoothly, and the glitter was evenly placed, without having to dab it on as you have to with some glitters.  This is it after one coat.

As you can see, the clear base means that it would be perfect for layering over another polish.  Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that.  I forgot to take a photo of this on it's own, so the one below is three coats of the glitter, with an Essie matte top coat (which I seem to put on just about everything these days).  The matte top coat dulled the shine slightly and made it look and feel flatter (in a good way).  I love it, and it feels like a slightly more grown up way to wear a full glitter nail varnish.

Wear time isn't amazing.  I managed to chip two large chunks off it within 3 days.  That being said, aside from that it there's very little tip wear.

Also, look what arrived in the mail yesterday.

The blush and palette from Illamasqua's new The Sacred Hour collection caught my eye.  I already own one of the nail varnishes, Hemlock (also pictured).  I needed a new black gel liner, as my Bobbi Brown liner is pretty dried up.  And I just had to try their new skin base lift concealers.  I had a bit of a play yesterday, but take any pictures as it was so hot and humid in my flat that my makeup was just sliding off of my face.  When I ordered they had sold out of skin base lift in white, but it came back in stock this morning, so I quickly placed an order for that.  I'll do a full review of it all when that arrives.

Bright eyed and bright lipped FOTD and tutorial

I felt like doing something a little different today, so I pulled out my Sugarpill palettes, and did a bright cut crease look.  And then I added blue lipstick.  Just cos I could.  I did take pictures of it with a pink gloss, to make the look more wearable too.

Face
Lush Colour Suppiment in Jackie Oats
Illamasqua Skinbase Foundation in shade 02
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light
MAC Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Sugarpill Burning Heart palette
Sugarpill Sweetheart palette
Urban Decay Blackout eyeshadow
Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream Shadow in Eternal Silver
Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black
Illamasqua medium pencil in Sophie
Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner
Benefit They're Real mascara


Lips - Blue
Illamasqua lipstick in Underworld on top of Illamasqua's Apocalips

Lips - Pink
Burberry Lipglow in Sweet Pea

1.  After applying your primer, use a synthetic flat shader brush to apply Maybelline Colour Tattoo shadow in Eternal Silver.
2.  With Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black, draw a line where your crease starts (when you close your eye, it's where you can feel your eyeball) with an eyeliner brush.
3.  Apply Buttercupcake to the inner most part of the crease using a tapered blending brush.
4.  Next to that, again using the tapered blending brush, apply Flamepoint, blending it into the yellow.
5.  Using the same method, apply Dollipop, blending it into Flamepoint.
6.  With the tapered blending brush, apply Poison Plum to the outer part of the crease.
7.  Take the flat shader brush and apply Blackout along the liner, blending it up into the colours.  Apply more of the bright colours if you need to.
8.  With a fluffy tapered brush, highlight under your brow with Tao, blending down into the colours.
9.  This is where you can tidy up if you need to.  I dusted away any fallout, and applied Eternal Silver where touch ups were needed.  I also took some makeup remover and made the outer area of the crease into a sharp line.  This helps you apply the eyeliner in the right place.
10.  Apply your black liquid liner along the upper lash line, winging it out and up.
11.  Apply Eternal Silver along the lower lash line.  Line both the upper and lower waterlines with black pencil eyeliner.
12.  Add mascara and you're done!

Inspiration

A beautiful sunset inspired look

Dita Von Teese wears a moden pin-up look

These pictures show just how much can be done to makeup on a computer

Another amazing sunset look

Smokey purple eyes

This is probably one of my favourite looks to wear.  It's one that I always seem to come back to.

Face
Lush Colour Suppiment in Jackie Oats
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light
Fashionista Blush in Butterscotch


Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Delirium
MAC eyeshadow in Yogurt
MAC eyeshadow in Shale
MAC eyeshadow in Parfait Armour
MAC eyeshadow in Beauty Marked
Light pink from Sleek Sunset Palette
Bobbi Brown gel liner in Black
Illamasqua medium pencil in Sophie
L'Oreal Volume Millions Lashes for Hazel Eyes


Lips
Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour in Glinda

Pink and blue eyeshadow tutorial

You will need:
Rosey-pink eyeshadow (Sephora De Luxe Punk)
Shimmery light blue eyeshadow (MAC Mutiny pigment)
Medium-deep purple eyeshadow (Urban Decay Tornado from the Glinda Palette)
Shimmery light blue eyeshadow (Urban Decay Aura from the Glinda Palette)
White eyeshadow (MAC White Frost)
Black Liquid Eyeliner (Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner)
Blue Pencil Eyeliner (Urban Decay Electric)
Mascara (L'Oreal Volume Millions for Hazel Eyes)

1.  Apply a rosey-pink eyeshadow with a small fluff brush.
2.  With a tapered blending blush, apply a light blue shadow in the crease.
3.  Using a short shader brush, apply a purple shadow just to the outer v area.
4.  Taking your tapered blending brush again, blend the purple shadow into the blue shadow.  Be careful not to over-blend.  You still want to see the blue shadow.  You may need to apply more of the purple or blue shadow during this step.
5.  Apply a pale blue shadow to the tear duct area with a flat shader brush.  Highlight the brow bone with a sheer white shadow, blending down into the blue with a fluffy tapered blending brush.
6.  With the short shader brush, apply the pruple shadow under the eye.
7.  Use a black liquid liner to line your eye.  I've done a thin line with a larger flick at the end.
8.  Line your water line with a blue pencil eyeliner.
9.  Apply your mascara and you're done!

I finished this look off with a matte medium blue-pink blush (MAC Fashion Frenzy) and a sheer red-toned pink lipgloss (Lacome Juicy Tube in Fraise).