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 

My holiday haul

I can never go to France and not pop into Sephora while I'm there.  I didn't go too mad.  I had to pick up another Aqua Brow, as it's my go to brow product.  I'd heard great things about Sephora's Cream Lip Stains, and as I'm a sucker for anything sparkly I picked up a glittery pink eyeshadow, and another MUFE Lab Shine lip gloss.  I also popped into Yves Rocher for their Coconut eau de toilette .

I don't have an awful lot to say about the eyeshadow!  It's a proper girly pink, and it's soft, pigmented, and blendable.  The tester in store seemed to have more glitter than this one though.  I'm hoping it's more glittery further down.

This picture shows off the sparkle in the eyeshadow and lip gloss!

I chose Lab Shine gloss in Shimmering Beige and I'm in need of good nude lip products.  It's a pinked beige with golden shimmer.  It goes on fairly sheer, and I'm sure it'll look great with a smokey eye.  Lab Shine glosses smell really sweet, which I quite like.  They're tasteless, which means I don't have the desire to lick it all off as soon as I put it on!  They're non-sticky too.

After reading a few reviews I went in knowing that I wanted to get one of Sephora's Cream Lip Stains, and after much deliberation and swatching, I chose Strawberry Kissed.  The name is spot on as it's a bright pinked-red, just like fresh strawberries.  It goes on opaque in one swipe and dries down to a matte finish quickly.  Once it dries it feels like you're not wearing anything at all on your lips.  Staying power is amazing.  Once dry is totally transfer proof.  No leaving marks on glasses!  It holds up through a meal well, providing it's not oily food (oil removes pretty much all makeup).  I'm so impressed with the formula that I wish I could get my hands on more colours right now!  I've been on the hunt for years for a good transfer proof red lipstick for my kit for brides, and this is perfect.  I seriously recommend trying these out for yourself!

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 

Choosing my eyeshadow using a random number generator!

At times I feel totally uninspired as to what to do with my makeup.  To help keep the creative juices flowing I decided to number all of my eyeshadows and then use a random number generator to chose 3 eyeshadows that I then have to use in a look.  Today's random picks, Flamepoint, Smashing Pots, and the light pink from Sleek's Sunset palette, went really well together.  I decided to pat Cake on top of Flamepoint to tone it down a touch.  The look ended up looking like one I did a while back, but I'm still pretty happy with it.

Face
Benefit Big Easy Light
Benefit Boi-ing Shade 1
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift concealer White and Light 1
Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder Light
Shiro Hearts eyeshadow (as blush)

Eyes
Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Sleek Sunset palette (pink)
Sugarpill Flamepoint eyeshadow
Shiro eyeshadows in Smashing Pots, War of Five Armies, and Cake
Rimmel Glam Eyes black liquid liner
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Chaos
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara
MUFE Aqua Brows

Lips
Shiro Shoop-Da-Whoop intertube

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 

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

Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Morning FOTD

A super simple look I did using Shiro's Nic Cage eyeshadow.  I'll admit that I bought this colour just for the name, but it truely is stunning.  I can honestly say that it's my favourite brown shadow, and it makes for a great smokey eye.  I tried to capture the pink and orange sparkle in the picture.  Also, Diorling lipstick and Ganondorf gloss make the ultimate dark red lip.

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 Rumour blush
Benefit Dandelion blush
Shiro Cosmetics Cake

Eyes
NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base
Benefit creaseless cream shadow in Bikini-tini
Shiro eyeshadow in Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Morning
MAC Fix+
Boots Natural Collection eyeshadow in Sea Shell
Rimmel glam eyes black liquid liner
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Perversion
Lancome Hypnose Star mascara
MUFE Aqua Brow

Lips
Dior lipstick in Diorling
Shiro opaque gloss in Ganondorf

Purple smokey FOTD

I love a purple smokey eye, so I of course had to use the purples in my new Sleek palette! 

Face

Urban Decay De-Slick in a tube

YSL Touche Eclat foundation BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White and Light 1

Lancome Poudre Majeur Excellence Translucent Powder 

Illamasqua Rumour blush

Fashionista Butterscotch blush

Benefit High Beam

Guerlain Metorite pearls

Eyes

NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Sleek Garden of Eden palette (Eve's Kiss, Forbidden, Flora, Entwined)

MAC Carbon eyeshadow

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Corrupt

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Lips

MAC Beet lipliner

Dior lipstick in Diorling

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

My red lipstick collection

I've put myself on a makeup buying ban for a couple of months, focusing on using what I already have.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to share with you the things I already have in my stash.  It'll also help me see what my collection is missing.  This post will be on red lipsticks.

Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour in Theodora

This lip pencil came in the limited edition Theodora palette.  It's a  true cherry red, which has very subtle shimmer.  As it's a very neutral red, it's one that will work on most skin tones.  It applies opaquely, and, as the name suggests, with a glossy finish.  It's really comfortable and moisturising to wear, however the slippy formula means that it is prone to smudging.

Guerlain Rouge G in Garconne

This is one of my all time favourite lipsticks.  Garconne is a bright, blue toned red, that looks great against cooler skin tones.  It applies smoothly, and opaquely, with a beautiful cream finish.  It's really comfortable to wear, and staying power is great.

Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait in Colire

This lipstick was my first liquid lipstick, and it was definitely a good choice!  Colire is a bright red with slight coral undertones.  Another opaque lipstick, this dries down to a comfortable modern matte finish.  Staying power is great, and if I need a red lipstick that's going to stick around all day, this is the one I reach for. 

Dior Diorific lipstick in Diorling 

Another blue toned cherry red, Diorling is a little darker than Garconne.  Opaque with a cream finish, this is another comfortable lipstick to wear, that has good staying power.

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Vixen

A deep red with brown undertones, this lipstick was part of my 'prefect dark red lipstick' series.  I love the colour, but the slippery formula didn't win any points from me.  Read the full review here.

Chanel Rouge Allure in Rouge Noir
Another from 'the perfect dark red lipstick' search, Rouge Noir is the closest I've come to finding 'the one'.  A brown toned dark red, this lipstick isn't as scary on as it looks in the tube.  Find my full review here.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Black Dahlia

Another dark red, this one leans more purple than brown.  Opacity is buildable, and staying power is good.  For the full review, click here.

From left to right: Urban Decay Theodora, Guerlain Garconne, Guerlain Colire, Dior Diorling, NYX Vixen, Chanel Rouge Noir, OCC Black Dahlia.

I think what I'm missing is a sheerer, more subtle red!  What's your favourite red lipstick?

Illamasqua Christmasqua - (Not so) Brazen Beauty

Illamasqua's competition yesterday was 'Brazen Beauty'.  However, I was going shopping, and then for a couple of drinks with some friends, so I didn't really want anything too OTT.  I went with a typical 1950's beauty look, and then upped the amp with it with a larger flick, some falsies, and some glitter.  Using MAC's Transparent Teal Reflects Glitter on my lips was a mistake.  It looks really pretty, but the glitter just went everywhere!  I didn't actually enter this one, as it wasn't as bold as it could have been, but here's the look anyway.

Products Used

Face

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

YSL Touche E'Clat foundation shade BR10

Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in Light 1 and White

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Porcelain Pink

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

MAC Smoke and Diamonds eyeshadow

MAC White Frost eyeshadow

MAC Arctic Grey eyeshadow

Illamasqua black gel liner

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Yeyo

Lancome Hypnose Star mascara

Random false lashes

Lips

MAC Cherry lip liner

Guerlain Rouge G in Garconne

Philosophy Vanilla Cupcake lip gloss

MAC Transparent Teal Reflects Glitter

Illamasqua Christmasqua - Sinful Smile

Today's Illamasqua theme was all about the lips.  I'm quite glad, as I've got a streaming cold, and don't think I could manage a full face of quality makeup!  This is my first time doing two-tone lips.  I don't think it turned out too bad.  The hardest part was getting the edges tidy, and I reached for my trusty skin base lift concealer for that.

Products Used
Illamasqua Sophie Pencil
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Virgin (Yes, I bought another dark red lipstick.  Review coming soon!)
Urban Decay Theodora Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour
Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Lip Shine (a gloss that actually taste like cake.  Best. Lipgloss. Ever.)
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in Light 1

Rouge Noir FOTD

The colours I chose for this look were inspired by MAC's Cult of Cherry collection, from back in 2008. 

I love the contrast of the bright greenish yellow eyes against the deep red lips.

The liner is a mixture of Lime Crime Magic Dusts in Circus Girl (bright yellow) and Lime Criminal (bright green), mixed with Illamasqua's sealing gel.  The lipstick Chanel's Rouge Noir, which actually looks really light in comparison to the lipstick used in the MAC shot!

Naked 2 palette FOTD

I nearly titled this 'Naked FOTD', but that doesn't seem entirely appropriate!  This is a pretty popular classic look that works on almost everyone. I wore foundation as well as my usual mineralize skin finish as I think this sort of look works best with flawless skin.  Now that summer has passed my skin likes liquid foundations a little more too.

Products Used

Face
YSL Touch Eclat Foundation (shade BR10)
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift (white and light 1)
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural (light)
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Porcelain Pink

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (Suspect, Snakebite and Tease)
Boots Natural Collection eyeshadow in Sea Shell
Rimmel Glam Eyes black liquid liner
L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes purple mascara

Lips
Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in Garconne