A/W 2014 Evening Make-Up

Aloha!

It's been a while since I've blogged about a make-up look but lately I've opted for an extra half an hour sleep in the morning! Plus the shorter days don't help as unfortunately it's usually too dark photograph. However, all is not lost! Because I've had a nice quiet Saturday so far and took the time to apply one of my favorite evening looks for A/W this year. I've also committed to ditching the fake tan and embracing my pale complexion along with enhancing the red tones in my hair to give me a bit of warmth for the cold seasons. I particularly like this look as it's easy to wear, warm and a recurring trend but conclusively the eye make-up makes it more than easy to switch up the lip stick (or gloss). 

Now I'm not diving in with too much detail about my base as that's enough info to have it's own post! So instead I'll do an updated foundation routine separately. First off I always, and I mean ALWAYS, fill in my brows first. I know a lot of people like to do this after they apply their eye shadow etc, still it really is down to personal preference. I truly feel it's easier to fill in my brows first, partly because without make-up my eye brows are virtually invisible but from an application perspective it gives me a nice frame to work with. Lately I've opted to shade my brows in with Buck from the original Urban Decay Naked palette, as my hair is slightly darker now, plus I haven't got round to buying a new pencil yet; the only downfall with using powder and an angled brush is that it does take twice as long as the pencil method! (For me anyway) Once I've shaded my brows I then brush them with L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper in light/ medium. This just gives a more defined and fuller appearance; and I must say, after using this, I will never go back to using Maybelline Browdrama ever again! And if you read my review you'd know that I wasn't too impressed to begin with.   

Before applying my eye shadow, we all know of that one crucial step that must be taken first, and of course that's to pat my eye lids with the religiously worn Urban Decay Primer Potion. I mean all I can really say is I've yet to find a primer that can beat this one, I'll apply my eye make-up at 6am and it will still be there, crease free, at 10pm without fail. I then used a flat brush to pat Nooner from Urban Decay Naked 3 palette onto the inner 2/3 of my lids. Subsequently using a fluffy brush to blend Hustle (Original naked palette) into the crease. I find these two shades compliment each other really well as they both have mauve undertones. Before highlighting, I applied Blackheart  (Naked 3) into the outter corner of my eyes and blended it downward, towards the lower lash line for a slight smokey effect. This subtle step is essential when wearing dark eye shadow for balance. Lastly, I used Strange (Naked 3) to highlight the inner corners and underneath my brow bone. To finalise my eye make-up I thinly lined my upper lash line with Bourjois Intuitive Liner and to be frank I can't actually praise this eye liner enough, all I can say is it's very unique and I will be writing a full review very shortly! Lastly, for impact, I laced my lashes with InStyle's Best Beauty Buy 2014 Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara, a mascara, in which you all know, I've been using since it was first launched 5 years ago and never looked back!

To assemble the final look a little colour is needed to warm up my complexion (otherwise I run the risk of looking ill) and what better way to warm up than by contouring with Bourjois Delice de Poudre, or as most people call it 'Borjois chocolate bronzer', simply because it smells and looks like a bar of chocolate. This combined with a light dust of Bourjois Little Round Pot in 48- Ashes of Roses give a sweet warm glow, without being too OTT. This combo has been my go-to for a couple of months now so will indefinitely be included in my 'Updated Foundation Routine' 

Lastly, to finish off, I applied one of my all time favorite party lipsticks L'Oreal Color Riche Lipstick in 290 Plum Passion. Sadly, it seems to have been discontinued but if you'd like to read my review click here. And of course, as I previously mentioned, this make-up look is very versatile so any nude, raspberry or plum lipstick will do the job! 

What's your A/W look?

Neeks x

March Favs

Aloha! 

So here we are on the 9th of April, oh how time fly's by! In all fairness despite still feeling the wntery blues, at the beginning of the month, it wasn't long before the weather seemed to feel that little bit warmer and of course the clocks went forward which means longer evenings (Yay!) I don't know about you but leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark feels miserable, a nice spring walk with my ipod in makes all the difference. All in all March was a pretty good month for me and as it came to an end my birthday arrived and I'm very happy to say that I celebrated it with all my favorite people. 

So to kickoff today's post let's begin with our first March favorite Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder. I'm sure you're all aware of Bourjois famous chocolate bronzing powder and for good reason to! It's light to medium shade is perfect for my complexion and even if I've applied tan it seems to adapt to my skin tone. It doesn't look orange and blends really easily, not to mention it looks and smells like chocolate. It's definite my go-to bronzer for this time of year, it gives me that natural glow and reminds me that the warm weather isn't too far away. Speaking of which, bright lips are a key spring 2014 trend. Bright oranges and pinks seem to be flooding the covers of my magazines. Okay so I know I sound like a bit of a stuck record here but I really am addicted to lipsticks and this month was no exception. Marches choice of lippy was Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick. Pink punch is a bright redish fuchsia, almost matte, with a healthy shine. This lipstick doesn't last as long as some other brands but it does have a fair amount of life to it and does fade nicely throughout the day. My lips feel hydrated and the vibrant colour is perfect for spring. I also purchased Hollywood Red  (you can never have too many red lipsticks right?) although this isn't exactly on trend it's probably one of the classiest lipsticks I've ever had and because it's not so 'in your face' it makes it easy to wear on a day to day. 

If you happened to read my Sunny Saturday's #1 post you'd see that I purchased the Body Shop Strawberry Hand Cleanser on a nice little trip to Gunwarf Quays. When I first opened it the smell of alchol seemed quite strong but after that all I could smell was yummy strawberries. All I could think of was devouring juicy strawberries in a nice sunny field somewhere. Definitely enough to get me into the spring mood and it doesn't dry out my hands like a lot of other hand sanitisers do. Let's just say I will be going back to see what other luscious flavours they have. On my trip I also purchased Body Shop Vitamin E Day Cream. I've been using this religiously since I bought it; as I have combination skin I always find it difficult to find a hydrating moisturiser that doesn't make my skin oily but this one absorbs instantly leaving my skin perfectly prepped for make-up application. It doesn't make me feel oily and I've definitely noticed an improvement in how supple and healthy my skin feels. Body Shop you've done well! Lastly on my list is a couple of skin products. Lastly on my skin care list, it's the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser ! I first mentioned this product in the Benefit POREfessional VS Maybelline Pore Eraser  post and I still stand by word. Since I've been using it I haven't touched Benefit's POREfessional and actually give it to my mum (she loves it) but if you're like me and trying to save some pennies it's worth a go. 

Saving the best til last I present you with my last March favorite L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil. Well I say it's my March favorite it's actually been a favorite of mine for a few months now. It's the best hair oil I've used to date. As you probably know I have quite fine hair so I need to be careful that products don't weight it down too much. And as we are all aware winter can take a harsh toll on our locks and sometimes we need to give them a little helping hand in restoring their shine. Not only does it give my hair a dazzling shine and feel super soft but it also smells lush, has UV filters and doesn't make my hair feel greasy! 

What's on your March favorites list?

Neeks x 

My New Fav- Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm!

Aloha!

As I was embracing my day off and purchasing some nice new work outfits I past Boots 'All cosmetics 3 for 2' *gasp* of course I couldn't pass up the bargain. I'd actually run out of a few necessities anyway so I thought this would be a good opportunity to hunt out some new editions to my make-up collection and I have to say this is my favourite purchase of 2014 and I cannot stress enough how brilliant it is. Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm (£5.99) is almost like a giant crayon, with a swivel at the base, so you can wind it up and down just like a lipstick. They have a variety of colours ranging from warm nudes to mauves and bright pinks, perfect for the new 2014 spring/summer beauty trends! I opted for On Fire and Keep Mauving as I've always been a love for pinks and have never tried a mauve balm before.

So after a full day of shopping I finally made it home and excitedly laid out all my new purchases, and let me tell you, before I had even fully taken the lid off I was already filled with the scent of an old fashioned sweet shop, which definitely fits in with the whole spring/ candy theme. Normally, I don’t like scented make-up but for some reason it doesn’t seem to bother me if it’s for my lips. I was a bit worried about the sticky factor- I seriously can't stand sticky lip-anything! If it’s even a tad bit sticky I won't buy it, but thankfully this blissful balm isn't sticky at all and actually feels as though my lips are being nourished, very similar to a Chap-stick or Vaseline. It was really easy to apply and despite it being really light weight it has a nice vibrant colour and a high shine. When I'd finished applying I did think to myself that this product is too perfect, it must have some kind of flaw right? Wrong. I actually thought that it would rub off after half an hour due to it's light weight formula but it actually stained my lips for a good 6 hours. I think the only thing that let's this product down is that it's definitely a day time lip. I don’t think the colours aren't strong enough to wear at night for me but paired up with a lipstick and I think we’ll have a nice combo. 

Okay so the last thing I want to mention is my favourite feature of this product, the thing is, I'm actually really impressed when it comes to multi-purpose items (that work) and this one definitely made it to the 'Make-Up Favourites' draw. The balms light consistency and splash of colour means it can actually double up as a cheek stain so in second cheeks and lips are perfectly co-ordinated. I haven’t tried this with the mauve shades yet but as you can see in the photo it works a treat with the pinks and reds, it seems to give the impression that you’ve made a real effort when actually it was effortless.  

Found any handy multi-purpose beauty buys? Let me know! 

Neeks x