Easiest Nudes Ever FOTD

I picked up the Easiest Nudes and Glamorous Nudes palettes when I got my allocation through from Benefit at the beginning of the month.  Here's a look I did using the Easiest Nudes palette.  I really like it, but definitely felt the need to add some black shadow to it to get the look I wanted.

Face

Benefit Porefessional primer

Benefit Big Easy Light

Benefit Boi-ing concealer Light

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer White and Light 1

Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light

Benefit Majorette blush

Benefit Dandelion blush

Eyes

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Benefit Easiest Nudes Ever palette

Urban Decay Blackout eyeshadow

Benefit They're Real gel liner

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero

Benefit They're Real mascara

Benefit Brow-zings Light

Lips

Revlon Strawberry Shortcake lip butter

Fall makeup is back!

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I updated!  I've been feeling pretty ill, so haven't been wearing makeup when I'm not in work.  I finally decided to put some face on yesterday, and although it's still fairly warm I'm definitely in the mood for autumn makeup.  Dark lips are back!  

I gave YSL's Fusion Ink Foundation a go.  It's ok, although I prefer their Touche Eclat Foudation.  Fusion Ink didn't hold up any longer on my oily skin, which was a shame as I had heard it was better for oilier skin.

Face

Benenfit Porefessional primer

YSL Fusion Ink Foundation B10 (for some reason they only go as low as 20 in their cooler toned BR shades)

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer White and Light 1

Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light

Illamasqua Naked Rose blush

Eyes

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Lancome Ombre Hypnose Dazzling Eye Colour in Topaz Dore

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

Rimmel Glam Eyes black liquid liner

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

MAC Lip Pencil in Vino

Shiro custom opaque gloss in Ganondorf 

Revolution lipstick in Divine - Review and FOTD

My skin has been going absolutely crazy this week so I've haven't really felt like taking photos.  To cheer myself up I splashed out a whole £1 and picked up Revolution's matte lipstick in Divine.  

It's a light peach, which just leans slightly pink.  This is about the lightest colour I'll go for on my lips, as anything paler tends to look a little corpse-like on me.  Mattes seem to be the toughest finish to get right, and when I first applied this lipstick I was expecting it to be drying as it was on the stiffer side and dragged across the lips a little.  I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was though!  I wore it without a gloss on top and didn't ever feel the need to add some hydration, which for me is very impressive.

It's not the most forgiving lipstick, and even though I prepped my lips you can still see where it shows up dry skin that I thought I'd gotten rid of.  It wasn't noticeable from a distance though, so providing you exfoliate and moisturise it's wearable.  I've reached for this lipstick a couple of times, and I'm eager to pick up a couple more shades.  They're so cheap that I won't feel guilty for treating myself!

The look is using my usual face stuff, and my Naked 3 palette with Urban Decay's Demolition and Zero pencils to smoke it out. 

Dark lips on a summers day FOTD

My eyebrows look seriously dark in the photo below!  Not sure why!

Face
YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift Concealer White and Light 1
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light
Detrivore Apocalyptic blush
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Lightscapade 

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Shiro eyeshadows Angry Cuccos and Hordor
Laura Mercier eyeshadows Cafe Au Lait and Kir Royal
Boots Natural Collection eyeshadow in Sea Shell
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Delinquent
Illamasqua pencil in Vow
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara
MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips
Chanel Rouge Noir lipstick 

Simple smokey FOTD

Just a simple brown smokey eye I did for work.  I'm getting to the stage where I'm going to have to start repeating myself when it comes to work looks.  I hope there are plans in the pipe line for some more colourful eyeshadows and lipsticks!

Face

Benefit Porefessional primer

Benefit Big Easy Light

Benefit Boi-ing concealer 01

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

Benefit Sugarbomb blush

Eyes

Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette

Boots Natural Collection eyeshadow in Sea Shell

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero

Benefit They're Real mascara

Benefit Brow-zings Light

Lips

Benefit Benetint

Soft and summery FOTD

After being in a metal box on the hottest day of the year all I wanted to do was take my makeup off when I got home.  As I was going out in the evening I re-did it, opting for a lighter look.

Face

Laura Mercier foundation primer

YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealers White and Light 1

Benefit Boi-ing concealer shade 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

MAC Alpha Girl beauty powder blush

Shiro Cake eyeshadow (as highlight)

Eyes

Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Lancome Ombre Hypnose Dazzling Eye Colour in Topaz Dore

Shiro eyeshadows in Epona and Hordor

Boots Natural Collection eyeshadow in Sea Shell

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Demolition

Illamasqua pencil in Vow

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

MAC Watch Me Simmer lipstick (as stain)

Dior Addict lipgloss in Petal

Smoky brown FOTD

Once again I didn't have time to set my camera up to take pictures before work.  Today I just did a simple smoky brown eye and added some lashes that I'd cut in half.

Face

Benefit Porefessional primer

Benefit Big Easy Light

Benefit Boi-ing concealer 01

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

Benefit Sugarbomb blush

Eyes

Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Benefit Holy Smokes! creasless cream shadow

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette

Boots Naturals eyeshadow in Sea Shell

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero

Benefit They're Real mascara

Benefit Brow-zings Light

Active Cosmetics Dazzling lashes cut in half

Lips

Benefit Sugarbomb lipgloss

No makeup makeup FOTD

Today was one of those days that called for no makeup.  Sort of.  I didn't want to go completely naked, so I did no makeup makeup.  I focused on my skin, defining round my eyes just a little.  It's days like this that I reach for Benefit's latest brow product, Gimme Brow.  It's been out a while now, so I'm sure most of you have read reviews on it.  I think it's a great brow solution, building on the hairs you naturally have, but for most days it's not enough for me.  I love a nice strong brow.  However, a strong brow looks a little daft with no other makeup, so Gimme Brow lets me add just a bit of definition, colouring the super blonde hairs at the end of my brows so that you can actually see them.  The eye close up here is more so that you can see the brows rather than the eye makeup!

Face
Laura Mercier foundation primer
YSL Touche Eclat Foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer in White and Light 1
Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder in Light
Illamasqua powder blush in Rumour
Benefit Dandelion blush
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Urban Decay Theodora palette
Illamasqua pencil in Vow
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara
Benefit Gimme Brow Light/Medium

Lips
Dior Addict lipstick in Diorling

Benetint FOTD

The one thing I feel Benefit are missing from their range is a good red lipstick.  I put on about 5 layers of Benetint to get a decent red colour.  Here it's topped with a Dior gloss, but I when I'm on the counter I use Bella Bamba gloss instead.

At the moment I'm still missing a couple of core essentials from my Benefit collection, such as under eye concealer (Fake Up), finishing powder (Agent Zero Shine), and a liquid liner (Magic Eye).  I'm sure I'll pick these up soon.  Magic Eye in particular is a great liner, although I had a chance to play with the new They're Real gel liner today, so I may just wait for that!

No eye close ups today as it's a pretty basic look.

Face
Benefit Porefessional Primer
Benefit Big Easy Light
Benefit Boi-ing concealer in Light
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer in White and Light 1
Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder in Light
Benefit Dandelion blush
Benefit High Beam

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Broken (Theodora palette) 
Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette - darkest shade
Rimmel Glam Eyes black liquid liner
Benefit They're Real mascara
Illamasqua pencil in Vow
Benefit Brow-zings in Light

Lips
Benefit Benetint
Dior Addict gloss in Iconic Red 

Big Beautiful Eyes tutorial

So it seems life doesn't want me to blog at the moment.  As soon as had life quietened down and I get a few days off I got some horrid fluey bug that left me stuck in bed.  I finally feeling well enough yesterday to do the tutorial I'd been meaning to do all week.

On days where I'm working at Benefit I (obviously) have to wear all Benefit makeup.  I have a few bits and pieces now, one of them being the Big Beautiful Eyes kit.  This kit is one of their older pieces as I remember it from when I worked for Benefit years ago.  The shadows are smooth and pigmented, and a joy to work with.  The only thing I miss is not having a black eyeshadow to work with.  In this tutorial I use a black pencil (which Benefit do do) in place of a shadow.

1.  After prepping and priming your eyes as usual, pat the pale pink shade from the palette all over the lid.

2.  Apply the medium brown shade in the crease.

3.  Pat a nude shade under the brow bone and blend down, softening the crease shade.  Benefit's Call My Bluff works well, or you could just use your usual face powder.

4. Apply the dark brown shade from the palette into the crease on top of the light brown and blend.  You shouldn't take this shade up as high as the light brown.

5.  Draw a small v at the outer corner of the eye with a black pencil.

6.  Put some of the black pencil onto a flat shader brush.

7.  Use this to blend out that outer v.

8.  Apply the dark brown shade under the eye.  Use what's left of the black on the shader brush under the outer third of the lower lash line.

9.  Line the lid using black liquid liner.

10.  Add mascara to finish.

I wore this with Benefit's Big Easy Foundation (love this), Sugarbomb blush, and Juicy Details lipstick.

Caligraphy FOTD

I've been seriously hating my skin recently.  That crater on my face?  Yeah, that was a black head.  Ewww.  Totally at a loss as to how to fix it though.

I picked up the Calligraphy palette a couple of years ago in the sale, and it's not one that I reach for often.  I think the blue liner makes this look way more interesting.

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1
Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light

Benefit Dandelion blush

Eyes
NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base

NYX jumbo pencil in Milk

Guerlain Calligraphy palette

Urban Decay 24/7 pencils in Scorch and Sabbath

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait in Colire

Super quick FOTD

So the past couple of days I've been doing some work in a new makeover studio in Bath.  As it's a good hour - hour and a half away, and I love my sleep, I haven't had time to take decent pictures of my makeup.  I snapped this shot with my phone before my first client showed up this morning.  I tend to stick to quite simple makeup when working with the general public.  I'm having a love-hate relationship with my fringe at the moment.  The slightest drop of rain and it goes curly :o(

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1
Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light

Illamasqua Peaked velvet blush

Eyes
NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base

Urban Decay Glinda palette

Rimmel glam eyes black liquid liner

Illamasqua pencil in Sophie

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUE Aqua Brow

Lips

Guerlain Rouge Automatique 660

My every day look

This is my go-to makeup look, but I don't think I've ever posted it before.  The lipstick has photographed darker than it really is, it's actually quite a soft, baby pink.

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primerYSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1
Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light
Illamasqua Rumour blush

MAC mineralize skin finish in Porcelain Pink

Eyes
NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base
NYX jumbo pencil in Milk

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

Sleek Oh So Special palette

Illamasqua gel liner in Infinity

Illamasqua pencil in Vow

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Lips

Armani Rouge d'Armani Shade 507

Before and after FOTD - Look Good, Feel Better

With all the no makeup selfies floating around Facebook and Twitter for breast cancer awareness, I thought I'd take this opportunity to post about the cancer charity Look Good Feel Better, a charity that I'm hoping to be involved with in the near future.  They focus on helping women deal with the visible effects of cancer treatment, such as loss of eyebrows and eyelashes, and skin issues.  At the two hour sessions women are given a goodie bag, and taught the best techniques for dealing with the effects of their treatment.  For many of these women, it's not just about makeup.  It's about taking control of something that cancer had taken away from them.  It's amazing just what an effect not looking sick can have, and how it's a step towards feeling 'normal' again.

So what can you do?  Well you can either donate directly to LGFB via their website, or you can get yourself down to your local Benefit Brow Bar where they're holding Brow Arch March where you can get your brows done whilst donating to the charity.  Alternatively, you can text 'BROW14' followed by the amount you'd like to donate to 70070. 

For today, I have included a no makeup shot of myself (eep, scary stuff!) in the form of a before and after shot.  If you do take part in the no makeup selfies, don't forget to donate some money as well!

Face
YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1
Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light
Illamasqua Naked Rose blush

Illamasqua Rumour blush

MAC mineralize skin finish natural in Light

Eyes
NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base
NYX jumbo pencil in Milk

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

Illamasqua gel liner in Infinity

Illamasqua pencil in Sophie

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE aqua brow

Lips

Armani Lip Maestro in 500

Naked 3 FOTD

It's been a while since I've reached for my Naked 3 palette.  It really is the perfect neutral palette for me.

Face

YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

Illamasqua Rumour blush

MAC Pet Me Mineralize blush

Benefit High Beam

Eyes

NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base

NYX jumbo pencil in Milk

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette (Strange, Limit, Mugshot, Darkside, and Blackheart)

Rimmel glam eyes black liquid liner

Illamasqua Sophie pencil

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips

Armani lip maestro in 500

Lancome Ombre Hypnôse Dazzling Eye Colour Topaze Dore review and FOTD

Lancome's French Ballerine collection isn't exactly ground breaking as far as spring collections go.  It's all about soft pinks, and to be honest, if I hadn't been killing time in a beauty hall, I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all.  But I did.  And in amongst  all those pink blushes, palettes, and lipsticks, stood two new Ombre Hypnôse Dazzling Eye Colours.  I've somehow managed mostly avoid the new cream-powder shadows that have been done so well by brands like Chanel and Armani.  But, alas, I swatched both shadows, and quickly fell in love.  

I opted for Topaze Dore, a warm peach shade, over the cool pink tones of Spinelle Rose (strange choice for a cool toned girl like me).  The peachy-ness stops the shade from being too warm, meaning it'll look great on most skin tones.  The shimmer is absolutely beautiful.  It's not glittery, but it's so shimmery that it almost looks wet on the lid.  It catches the light just right, and is truely one of the most beautiful shadows I own.  I was concerned that it was going to be too sheer on the lid, but it built up nicely.  I think the great thing about this particular shade is that my skin colour looks like it is part of the shadow, if that makes sense?  I paired it with shades from my Naked 3 palette, as it's from the same colour family as a few of the shades in that.  

The shadow itself is soft and bouncy, and I found that patting it onto the lid worked best.  It didn't make it through the whole day without creasing (even over a primer), but that's my oily lids for you.  It has taken a lot of restraint for me not to purchase more shades!  I'm hoping I'll have some spare cash before Spinelle Rose disappears.

Please excuse the not so awesome brows in this look!

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

YSL Touch Eclat foundation BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

MAC Sculpt powder

Illamasqua Rumour blush

MAC Mineralize blush in Pet Me

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade

Eyes

NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base

Lancome Ombre Hypnôse Dazzling Eye Colour in Topaze Dore

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil (I can't remember which one!  Sorry!)

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Sleek brow set in Light

Lips

Benefit Juicy Details lipstick

Gemini FOTD

I was glad to see this Sephora face chart was nice and simple, and a look that I always love; black winged liner and a bright lip.  As I was off to the cinema I knew that I'd be needing to wear my glasses (I always should, but don't!).  A bright lip is perfect for a simple look that looks great with, or without glasses.  I opted for a bright pink lip, rather than fuchsia, as I wanted to wear my Armani Lip Maestro.  It's such a great formula that even after cinema drinks and lunch it still looked great.  I took a gloss with me (Chanel Aragonite) in case my lips got dry, but didn't find myself needing it until about 8pm!  It's a shame that you can't see what an amazing pink it is unless I seriously play around with the contrast/brightness etc (which I haven't done as it'll mess up the rest of the picture!)

Face

Maybelline Baby Skin primer

YSL Touche Eclat foundation in BR10

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift White and Light 1

Illamasca Lover blush

Guerlain Météorites Pearls Powder

Eyes

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Illamasqua eyeshadow in Slink

Urban Decay Theodora palette

Rimmel Glam Eyes liquid liner

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

(I also added Illamasqua pencil in Vow to my waterline before I left the house)

Lips

Armani Lip Maestro shade 505