Aries FOTD

I was excited to do the Aries face chart in the Sephora star signs collection, as this is a look I used to love to wear.  Again, I followed the picture more than the instructions which would give you a more toned down version of the look I've done.

You may also notice that I'm back to using my YSL Touche Eclat foundation.  The Maybelline BB cream I was trying out had a tendency to oxidize and turn orange after a couple of hours of wear.  Those with more neutral or yellow tones in their skin probably wouldn't notice, but I didn't love it on my cool toned, pale skin.  Which is a shame, because aside from that it's actually a pretty nice BB cream for oily skin.

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

YSL Touche Eclat foundation in BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light

MAC Sculpt powder

Illamasqua Rumour blush

Benefit Dandelion blush

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade

Eyes

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Beauty UK Black and White double ended pencil

Urban Decay eyesahdow in Blackout

MAC eyeshadows in Warm Chill and Cool Heat

Sugarpill eyeshadows in Afterparty and Tako

Illamasqua gel liner in Infinity

Illamasqua Sophie pencil

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Girls With Attitude Diva lashes

Lips

Benefit lipstick in Juicy Details

Benefit Juicy Details and The Sexiest Nudes Ever

Benefit are one of those brands that put out fantastic products, but that I never seem to stop and look at when I'm visiting makeup counters.  I think that because I worked on a Benefit counter it feels like I already know the products.  Sometimes I need to remind myself that I haven't worked there for about 4 years, and their product line has changed a lot.

I picked up The Sexiest Nudes Ever palette as it contains four eyeshadows, and two (mini) pots of their creaseless cream shadows.  

 Their shadows have been reformulated in recent years (or not so recent, it's been a while since I checked them out!), but even before that their formula was spot on.  I still have, and use, some of my older Benefit shadows.  Soft, pigmented, and a dream to work with, the only thing that stopped me going back for more was their oh-so-neutral shade range.  Back then I was all about bright colours!  The Sexiest Nudes Ever isn't exactly what I'd call a nude palette, with white, pink, silver and purple eyeshadow, but that's why I chose it.  I have more than enough neutrals these days!  The silver is particularly impressive, and is probably the best silver I've ever owned.  The purple is on the sheerer side, but it is buildable.

Top: creaseless cream shadows in Bikinni-tini and Holy Smokes!

Bottom: powder shadows in Milk It!, Pause For Applause, Blingo!, and Raincheck?, 

then Milk It! and Pause For Applause on top of Bikini-tini, and Blingo! and Raincheck? on top of Holy Smokes!

The creaseless cream shadows have always been popular.  They're a lot creamier than Maybelline's Colour Tattoos, and therefore take longer to dry down.  This could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how long you take to blend out your shadows.  I've yet to try them on my now super oily lids.  I'm hoping they won't crease!  I will say however, that the cream shadow pots are tiny!  Below, you can see a photo of them next to a MAC eyeshadow (standard unit of measurement in the beauty blogging world).  I can see myself going through them pretty quickly, but I guess that's what would get you to purchase the full sizes!

I also had to pick up one of their lipsticks (I can't help it, I'm a lipstick addict!).  Their shade range is a lot smaller than it used to be, but they've still managed to find the right balance between sheerer pops of colour, nudes, and bolder brighter shades.  I opted for Juicey Details, a nude pink (cos I obviously need more pink lipsticks).  It's a medium pink that's on the sheerer side.  It adds a healthy dose of colour to my lips whilst still showing some of my natural lip colour, so it's a nice subtle pink that I'll be able to wear with loads of looks.  It's got a healthy amount of slip, and it's moisturising.  Staying power isn't amazing, but with a formula like this I wouldn't expect a long wear time.

Ignore the slight pink line around my lips, that's from the lip stain I was wearing before!

Oh, and the cardboard tube it comes in is completely adorable.  It makes me want to keep it out on my makeup desk, looking pretty.  And the actual lipstick tube reminds me of cake, which is awesome, because if there's one thing I love more than lipstick, it's cake....

Purple and coral lipsticks

Moving from pinks, these are my purple and coral lipsticks.  I don't have many of each which is why I'm doing them in one post.

Illamasqua  Underworld
This was my first Illamasqua lipstick.  It's a pinky purple with blue shimmer, which gives it a soft duo-chrome effect.  It's a little on the sheer side, and it can take some time to get an even application, but it's a colour that I haven't seen from any other brand.  It's wearable, but a little bit different.

Inglot Colour Play Lipstick No.95

I was drawn to the bright colours in the colour play range, and I just had to get this purple.  It's got strong blue undertones to it, which makes it a little more unusual.  The formula is comfortable and incredibly pigmented.  

Inglot 175

I picked this lipstick up thinking that it was going to be a dark red.  What I got was a dark, rich purple.  The joy of online makeup shopping!  Luckily I love this colour.  It has berry undertones which makes it super flattering on my skin.  It's also got quite a bit of slip to it, but it's not as messy as dark lipsticks can be.  It's one you'll probably want to wear a lip liner with though.

Lime Crime Poisonberry

This is my only Lime Crime lipstick, and whilst I'm not a fan of the packaging I do really like this lipstick.  It doesn't have the one swipe opacity that Lime Crime promise, and it does take some work to build it up to this colour.  It's a medium blue toned purple with subtle shimmer.  Despite the opacity issue, this is probably my favourite purple lipstick.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Liberte

It's not often that I pick up a sheerer lipstick, but this coral works well with a more dramatic eye.  I find the warmth in it is more flattering on the skin than a pale pink, but it still works with cool undertones.  Staying power isn't amazing, and, like MAC's lustre formula, it can be a little drying.

Sephora No.28

I picked this up whilst in France last summer, and it really is a great summer lipstick.  It looks great against both tanned skin, and those of us who are pale all year round.  It's about medium opacity with a nice glossy finish. 

 MAC Crosswires
I wasn't entirely sure where to put this one.  It's a bright pinky-red coral.  On my lips it pulls more pink, but from most of the swatches I've seen it's definitely more coral on others.  MAC's cremesheen formula is, in my opinion, their best.  Pigmented, moisturising, with a bit of a sheen, I also wear this as a sheerer colour by patting some on my lips with my finger.

MAC Watch Me Simmer

This is a bright coral which, again pulls more pink on my lips.  It's definitely more coral than Crosswires, and is slightly warmer.  The amplified finish means that it's fully opaque and fairly moisturising.  It feels heavier on the lips than Crosswires.

Pisces FOTD

Today was kind of a boring look from the Sephora face chart.  I didn't mind too much as I was feeling super ill.  I ditched the nude lippie in favour of something with a little more colour, and instead of plain black liner I used one that had silver shimmer in it.  Which then didn't come out as dark as the face chart suggested it should be.  And then I added a nude colour to my waterline....  But it was inspired by the Sephora face chart, so I figure it's close enough!  Looking forwards to the dark smokey eye tomorrow.

The close up of my eye is a bit crap cos I had to do it in the car, so lighting wasn't great, but there's not really that much to see anyway...

Face
Maybelline Baby Skin primer
Maybelline Dream Pure BB cream in Light
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light
Illamasqua blush in Rumour
MAC blush in Springsheen
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo cream shadow in Tough as Taupe
Benefit eyeshadow in Fawn Over Me
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Smoke
Illamasqua pencil in Vow
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Lips
MAC lipstick in Crosswires
Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake gloss

Aquarius FOTD

So I didn't make it through a whole month without buying makeup.  Almost as soon as I started to rejoice at my skin clearing up, it went all red and blotchy and I got lots of little spots.  I know it's because I'm really ill at the moment, but it got to me.  Whilst in Boots I spotted Maybelline Baby Skin primer, which every one has been raving about, and Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream for oily skin.  As my YSL foundation has run out I thought I'd give them a go.  They seem like they're doing the job at the moment, but I always like to wear new face stuff for a week or so before passing judgement. 

Anyways, next up in Sephora's star sign inspired face chart collection is Aquarius.   I used the product list as a guide line, choosing to use the chart rather than the instructions.  This one is far more interesting that the Capricorn face chart!

After having a massive fallout with the phone on my camera, I decided to dig out my proper camera.  It's a bit old, but the quality is pretty good.  Though for some reason my eyebrows look almost wet in the close ups.  I can promise that they don't look like that in real life!  Also, photographing glitter seems impossible for me.  I wish that you could see how pretty Illamasqua pigment in Beguile really looks.

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Light

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light

MAC Alpha Girl Beauty Powder Blush

Benefit High Beam

Eyes

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Sugarpill Tako eyeshadow

MAC eyeshadows in Cool Heat, Submarine, and Contrast

Urban Decay Blackout eyeshadow

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Beguile 

MAC Fix+ (sprayed on lid before applying Beguile)

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Perversion

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

Sephora lipstick No.28

Capricorn FOTD

I've been feeling a little run down recently, and I've been getting lazy with my makeup looks.  For now, I thought I would do a series of looks that Sephora have got up on their website.  The collection, which is inspired by star signs, uses MUFE.  Being in the Uk, I don't have easy access to MUFE, so don't have a lot of it in my collection.  I'll be using products that are similar instead.  You can see the full collection here.

First on the list is Capricorn.

 This felt like a really lazy look to be honest. It's the dullest out of all the looks, so it will get better than this.  It almost felt a little *too* nude for my liking.  Maybe that's just because I'm used to having at least a little colour in my looks!

Face
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Light
MAC Strada blush

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
MAC Era eyeshadow
MAC Spiced Chocolate (from Spiced Chocolate Quad)
Boots Natural Collection Sea Shell eyeshadow
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero
Illamasqua pencil in Vow
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Lips
MAC Shy Girl lipstick
Revlon Strawberry Shortcake Lip Butter

Bourjois Paris Color Edition 24h eyeshadow

I'm still on a no-buy as far as makeup goes, but that doesn't mean I can't look.  I had a little bit of time to kill, so I had a quick peak in Boots.  It's only a small Boots, so rather than being drawn to the high end counters like I usually am, I spent some time browsing the latest drug store offers.  That's when I came across Bourjois Paris Color Edition 24h eyeshadows.  These little pots of eyeshadow look very similar to Maybelline's Colour Tattoos.  They're a little different though as they're a cream to powder formula.  There are six shades on offer. 

From left to right: Or Desir, Petale de Glace, Prune Nocturne, Bleu Tenebreux, Kaki Cheri, Merveille d'argent

I really love the look for Prune Nocturne, which is a plumy brown with red shimmer, and Merveille d'argent, a sheer shimmery white-silver, that would look great on the inner corner of the eye.  Bleu Tenebreux was the only disappointing shade.  I'm hoping that the cream to powder formula will work better on my oily lids than normal cream shadows.  These have definitely made my list of products I want to try! 

Pin-up FOTD

Standard pin-up look today.  I was going to add false lashes, but then I managed to burn myself on my curling wand.  Didn't really fancy trying to add lashes with a finger and thumb all bandaged up.  Doing the liner was hard enough!  And it feels good to finally be able to ditch the liquid foundation again.

Face

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

MAC Sculpt powder

Benefit Dandelion

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade

Eyes

NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Urban Decay Theodora palette

Rimmel Glam Eyes black liquid liner

Illamasqua Vow pencil

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

Guerlain Rouge G in Garconne

Pink Lipsticks Part Two

To get me through my no-buy I'm going through my stash, discovering things I don't use very often.  It's also a great chance for me to show you some of my lipsticks that aren't new!  You can find part one here.

Benefit - My Treat
This is probably the oldest lipstick in my collection, and I think they've probably re-formulated their lipstick since then, but I think they still do this shade.  It's a medium coverage cool toned pink, with a very subtle hint of coral.  This lipstick is nicely moisturising and has quite a lot of slip, so staying power isn't amazing.  Normally around the two hour mark for me.

Illamasqua - Resist

Another older lipstick, this shade has unfortunately been discontinued, which sucks because it's such a great colour.  It's a medium-deep pink raspberry shade with a matte finish.  Illamasqua lipsticks aren't my favourite formula as most of them are matte and pretty unforgiving on the lips.  This is one of only a couple of shades I'll make an exception for.

MAC - Candy Yum Yum

This was so popular when the Quite Cute collection came out that it soon made a comeback in By Request.  It's the brightest pink I own, an almost neon blue-based pink, so it's not for the faint of heart!  It's a matte finish, but isn't as drying or clingy as some of their older mattes.  You'll still want to prep your lips before hand though.

MAC - Gladiola 

Another oldie, this was released with the Dame Edna collection back in 2008.  I don't wear it any more, but I don't have the heart to get rid of it.  It's a muted purpley pink with a matte finish.  This is one of those lipsticks that I'm trying to find a dupe for.  Although the packaging is so awesome that I'm not even sure I'd throw it away once I have a replacement!

MAC - Of Royalty

Once again, this is one of those lipsticks that I keep meaning to replace.  It's a cool toned light pink colour, and it's a cream sheen finish, which is one of my favourite types of MAC lipsticks.  They're creamy, pigmented and mildly hydrating.  I like this shade as it's not often I find a light lipstick that doesn't really wash me out.  

MAC - Show Orchid

This is one of my all time favourite MAC lipsticks, and the only one that I've re-bought!  Up until Candy Yum Yum, Show Orchid was the brightest pink in the permanent range.  This is a little deeper, more fuchsia than Candy Yum Yum, so is a bright yet wearable shade. 

  

MAC -  Sweet Thing
This is one of those lipsticks (like most of my MAC lipsticks) that I held on to in order to find a replacement.  It's merdium fuchsia pink with pink shimmer.  It's a glaze finish, which means that it's pretty sheer (although it does layer to medium opacity).  Glazes really dry out my lips, but I love the colour.  This one will be going in the bin soon, as over Christmas I found one that's very close in colour....

Guerlain Rouge Automatique in Illusion

The latest addition to my lipstick collection, this was part of the Crazy Paris collection, and one that I bought in the hopes that it would be a match for my old Sweet Thing lipstick.  It's a medium fuchsia with pink sparkle.  It's pretty opaque, and more pigmented than Sweet Thing (it's not hard to sheer down a lipstick should I want sheerer colour).  Despite it being so pigmented, it still feels and looks light on.  The sparkle is quite subtle and grown up, rather than glittery or overly frosted.  Rouge Automatiques don't feel quite as luxurious as the Rouge Gs, but it's still a really nice lipstick.

If anybody knows of any good replacements for Gladiola, My Treat and Of Royalty, let me know!  They're great colours and I'd love to be able to wear them again!