Thursday 31 October 2013

Happy Halloween: Surprise Guest Zombie Sister

Hi guys! Happy ol Hallo' Eve to you all. We have a surprise guest on my blog today and this is taking the form of my sister and her Zombie Halloween Tutorial for you all! We both are celebrating Halloween on Saturday 2nd November and so have been practicing our makeup for our outfits. Mine was up earlier this week you can check my vampire tutorial out Here and now its time for a zombie tutorial...


So to start off with you can either chose foundation or white face paint. I chose to use a light foundation and applied a thin layer all over the face using my hands. I then went on to lightly powder the skin to make sure the foundation was matte we don't get shiny zombies now do we. After this we then took a black eye shadow we used the black shade out of the Sleek Oh So Special! Palette swirled my real techniques contour brush in it and then tapped off the excess shade on the back of my hand.

We then applied this to the cheeks as you would if you were contouring, Chaz sucked in her cheeks and we drew a line with the brush and then blended with the other side. We repeated this on both cheeks until the hollowness was as dark as we desired. You can chose to go darker or lighter depending on what you desire.

After the cheeks we then went on to apply the same colour to the temples on both sides of the head and blended into the centre of the forehead. Taking the same brush we applied a dark purple shade (from an un-named palette) and placed this underneath the contoured cheek bones, blending up into the black (on both sides). This is pretty much the cheeks done, we then went on and applied the excess off the brush onto the jaw line and blended up towards the face to create shadow.

Onto the brows and the eyes... For brows we kept it simple and used the dark brown colour out of the Sleek palette I mentioned earlier, on the real techniques eye brow brush and just brushed the hairs upwards.

On the eyes we applied the same black shadow on a small blending brush and applied this to the eyes patting it down, and then using my Mac 217 to blend the shade down, creating a deep hollow effect. We then ran the same purple from the cheek bones under the eye, but just a little bit darker. Doing this a couple of times to create some layers and definition. I then blended this down on the cheeks with my Real Techniques domed shadow brush to help blend the eyes and make them look sunken and bruised. We then applied some gel liner to the top of the eyes and a kohl liner to the bottom lash lines, a couple coats of mascara and the eyes were done!

The lips were so simple to do, we basically coated them in foundation and applied the purple shade we used before around the outside of the lips and blended in wards. We then took the black shade and applied this to the corner of the lips and blended in. This was basically the lips done.

All we did then was add the blood using a paint brush and the look was complete.

We would love to see some of your Halloween looks so post some photos or if you've done a post, comment the link below and we will check it out!





Tuesday 29 October 2013

Halloween: Sexy Vampire


Hey guys its getting so close to my favourite time of year Halloween! So I thought I would do a little post on what Im dressing up for this year as Im going to a party same as every year, Although this year I thought I would change it up from the usual witch to a sexy bloody vampire. Heres my trial run let me know what you all think...


P.S the fangs kept falling out! Getting some new ones for the party...


So to start off I used a really light foundation Illamasqua shade 2 and blended this out all over my face, applying some of the Seventeen Phwooarrr Paint under my eyes and on any blemishes. I then used my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder all over my face to take the shine off my foundation and too keep the concealer in place.

Next I moved onto the eyes and took a red shade from an unnamed palette and applied this all over the lid. I then went in with a purple from a Bobbi Brown Palette and applied this to the outer corners and the centre of my eye. After this I then took 'Blackout' from the Naked 2 Urban Decay Palette and applied this to the corner of my eyes, blending this shade inwards to create a round socket effect.

Then I took the purple shade I used earlier and applied this underneath my eye to create a sunken deep look. I then took a pencil point brush and my Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Black and started to draw some veins underneath my eyes, I then took a Red Lip shade from an old Victoria palette and started to carry on with the veins. To set these in place I used some Baby Talc powder and brushed this over the under eyes and generally all over the face to make it super toned.

To finish off the eyes I then applied some of my fave lashes Eylure 202 Lashes to my top lash line and then filled in any gaps with some of my gel liner.

Last but not least the lips, I used my Collection Gothic Glam lipstick in shade 3 Revenge and applied this all over my lips first of all with a lip brush and then with the bullet itself. And this was the look I achieved.
This isn't perfect to how I'd want it but for a first try I would say its pretty good.


To create the look of blood around my mouth I used a red lip colour, the same as under the eyes and smudged it out with my fingers around my lips and down my neck.



What are you dressing us as for Halloween?



Sunday 27 October 2013

Mac Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skin Finish (MSF)

Hey guys heres another product from the previous haul; Mac's infamous MSF Soft and Gentle. Im pretty sure you would of seen this product reviewed and swatched hundreds of times this year but I finally jumped on the band wagon and decided to purchase it, so heres my opinion on this global phenomenon of a product.

Mineralize Skin Finish Soft and Gentle RRP £22

This msf is basically a highlighter, and i use it on the top of my cheek bones and down the bridge of my nose, to elongate my nose and to add some glow and shimmer to my skin. To start off with I think I best explain my skin, its rather flat looking, You could add the dewyest foundation and my skin would still not glow, nor look radiant or fresh. I don't know what it is, but with this highlighter I am able to trick my skin in to looking glowy, young and fresh by sweeping this highlighter above the apples of my cheeks (kind of underneath my eyes) and down the centre of my nose.



The glow from this highlighter is to die for, I love the shimmer as it gives a natural sun kissed look, yet you can build up the highlight to make it as strong and prominent as desired. The highlight looks completely different in different lights and in natural lights sometimes its hard to see.

The pigmentation of this product is rather good aswell, something I find Mac achieves in as all of the pigmentation in their blushes, eye shadows and highlighters are rather prominent and noticeable. Somethings never change, and I can now see why so many people hyped up this product.

Heres a photo of the highlighter on the tops of my cheek bones, down my nose and near the centre of my face;



I have now worn this everyday for the past couple of weeks and can honestly say Boy am I glad I bought this product, I love it and can really see the difference and change in my makeup, making it look more fresh and healthy.

Do you have any of the other highlighters from mac, or know a cheaper dupe for Soft and Gentle? Let me know in the comment section below.

 Love


Friday 25 October 2013

Homemade Blueberry Muffins



Hi guys, Ive never really thought of doing a food post or anything other than fashion and beauty but Im going to take the plunge and see what the response is like. So as those of you booming bakers will know this week we saw the Final of The Great British Bake Off Season 4 and Francis was crowned the winner! Woo Hoo for francis.

So I thought considering I have a huge love for watching people bake and eating the end results I would have a dabble at baking myself. For those of you who follow me on twitter or instagram will know that my all time favourite thing to bake and eat (hehe) is blueberry muffins. There is something about the sweetness with the tanginess of the blueberry's that makes me crave them, I swear my insides melt when I eat one, or two, or the whole bunch.

Anyway I thought I would do a little step by step on how to make these, So that you guys can enjoy the same taste as me! They are amazing.. If your not a fan of blueberry then you can swap them for anything else such as raspberry, strawberry, banana or even chocolate if your not a fruity person.

Im rambling so I best start. This recipe is to make 12

Make sure you have all your ingredients, you will need;


- 250g of Plain Flour
- 2tbsp of Baking Powder
- 110g of Butter
- 110ml of Milk
- 85g Caster Sugar
- 250g Fresh Blueberries
- 2 Eggs
- 12 Bun cases



1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 4 and leave to heat up whilst you prepare your muffin mix.

2. In a bowl cream together you butter and your sugar, to create a fluffy mixture. Make sure all the butter and the sugar are creamed together. When you have done this, Sieve out the plain flour mixture into a bowl and make sure there are no lumps and bumps left in the flour.

3. In a separate bowl crack both of your eggs and whisk them both together. Then add the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture, add your 110ml of milk and re-sieve your flour into this mixture. Or if you want to be lazy just simply add all of the flour.

4. Stir this mixture together for about (3-4) minutes or until all of the flour is combined and there is no white residue left around the bowl. Leave this to set for a couple of minutes.




5. Wash your blueberries in cold water and then add them straight into the mixture, stir these together until all of the blueberries have been added to the mixture. If you don't like blueberries then change this for any other fruit of your choice, Or if you want to be naughty add some chocolate drops.



6. Spoon your mixture into the muffin cases, Until they are about half full as they will rise once they are in the oven because of the baking powder and the flour.


7. One the cases are full you can then pop these straight into the preheated oven and they take approx 20 mins. Although it depends on how gooey you like your muffins, So keep an eye on them when they are in the oven.

8. When they are ready to eat just pull them out and sit the tray on a cooling wire so that the muffins will cool down before being eaten. Or if you like them warm then eat away.

If you would like to see any more recipes then make sure you leave your comments below and I will of course prepare some more as I love to bake!!




Love


Wednesday 23 October 2013

Mac Woodwinked

Hey guys heres another individual post of a product that was mentioned in my last Shopping haul post.
If you guys didn't check it out then you can have a look here and see all the products I bought when I was shopping.

This eye-shadow was bought mainly because I had seen it on youtubers and other bloggers and my friend Amy from Makeup Escape had it and I fell in love with the colour both in the pan and on the eyes.

Mac Woodwinked eye shadow RRP: £12.50
If you have never seen Woodwinked before then it is basically a warm brown shade with gorgeous flexs of shimmer running through kind of a golden tone. I have wore it a couple of times in many different ways. I have wore it all over the lid lightly blended, I have wore it all over the lid heavily applied and deepened the colour, I have used it as a smoke in the outter corners, I have used it under the eye to make them stand out a bit more and in many other ways. This shade really is a controversial shade, I am so glad I watched Tanya Burr and decided to pick it up. She uses it in numerous tutorials and claims its one of her fave shades!

The formula of this eye shadow is very creamy and silky and it applies like a charm, most certainly a winner in my eyes from mac. It is super easy to apply on both a flat shadow brush and a blending brush. A Mac 217 works great for working this shade and many others into the outter corners of your eyes.

This shade definitely didn't disappoint and I can see this will be making a staple in my Autum/Winter 2014 makeup collection quad. Thanks Mac!!

Love


Monday 21 October 2013

Collection: Gothic Glam Collection Lipstick Review

Collection Gothic Glam Collection Lipsticks: Left (Scorned) Right (Revenge)
You may have spotted that these lipsticks have been on the blog before, well technically they were in a recent shopping haul which you can find Here but now they are both being reviewed as I have had chance to wear them and try them and I thought I would share my thoughts with you on what I think about the products.

Collection (Gothic Glam Collection) Lipsticks

Top Swatch = Scorned | Bottom Swatch = Revenge

To start off with I bought the shade Scorned on a whim as basically an idea for a Halloween costume, for fancy dress. Its a deep dark purple, a very gothic shade, true to the collections name and something which I would not consider wearing on an every day basis as it is simply too dark. However, I realised that this shade can be patted onto the lips to create a bit of depth and volume to an every day look, or built up for a pack of real intense lip colour. I love the pigmentation in the lipstick and find that the colour pay off is exactly what you see in the bullet.

Collection Scorned RRP £2.99



In my honest opinion I do find this lipstick a tad too over powering for my very pale complexion. However, I think that with soft smokey eyes and liner just like the photo this lipstick can work to give an edgy look to any outfit. I applied this lipstick with a liner underneath Mac's Nightmoth Underneath and focusing on the main of the lips. I find that this helps the lipsticks longevity as in my opinion it has stayed on longer with the liner than with out. As I mentioned above, This lipstick is a part of my Halloween costume makeup and therefore is a bonus if it goes with anything else.


The second shade Revenge is a deep Red tone with dark brown under tones which shine through in different lights. To be honest I was a bit less happy with this shade in the shop than the other, but how its turned out I prefer this shade far more than the other. The red is the perfect red for my complexion, I have had so many friends and family members say that this shade suits me down to the ground, Not being big headed but I kind of agree. I love this shade when teamed with a subtle smokey eye and some winged eye liner, reminds me of the retro gothic look.

Collection Revenge RRP £2.99
This shade 'Revenge' Is my favourite shade and I have been wearing it almost everyday, There will be an Autumnal Look coming up soon on my blog with some photos but I thought I would sneak in a photo of my look with this lipstick.





Comparing these lipsticks from Collection to other high street brands I find that these lipsticks are both rather creamy and moisturising, and most definitely long lasting. Longevity is the problem I struggle with the most with high street brands, I want a lip colour that doesn't stain my lips but lasts for a while and these shades certainly do that. I have worn the Red shade Revenge around a handful of times and It is creeping up to be one of my all time favourite red lipsticks. I can honestly say that I have had Revenge on for 12 hours + (only a couple applications) and at night when I have come to wipe away the lipstick there is no stain, there is not even a hint left on your lips to suggest that this shade had been on my lips all day.







Thanks for reading let me know if you have any similar lipsticks and what works best for your skin tone.

Love


Friday 18 October 2013

Nars Orgasm Blush

Hey guys and dolls, so I recently did a Haul post on some things which I had bought at selfridges in Manchester and thought that I would individually review the products, as I basically hauled them on the day I got them and never really had a chance to properly trial and put them to the test before I blogged. So keep your eyes opened for the other products. You can see the haul post 

But today I am going to start off with Nars Orgasm Blush, basically because It is a cult favourite and I thought I would share my opinions on the product. As mentioned in my previous haul post, I was looking for a blush in Nars and didn't know which shade to go for and asked for help from the shop assistant who directed me towards 'Orgasm' because of my fairly light skin tone and the ability to wear pink and peach shades without being too washed out. Also she pointed me towards this shade as I love shimmer on the skin and most definitely in my cheeks and blush/highlighter. I am so glad I picked up this shade as it is the perfect peachy pink colour for my skin, I can build it up for a more defined blush and can use just a wash of it to put some colour into my cheeks.


Nars Orgasm Blush RRP £21.50 

Nars have definitely created some raunchy blushes in their collection and I have worn Orgasm every day for the past 2 weeks and can honestly say that I am in love, I love the texture, the formula and the finish on my cheeks and I will most certainly be purchasing some of its auntie and uncles (deep throat, super orgasm) Well done Nars, this is the first of many to come.




I apply this with my Real Techniques Blush Brush very light handedly, as I tend to have a heavy hand and sometimes go over the top with my blush. If I do I find that going over the blush with my foundation brush seems to wash it out a little and take some of the powder away.

This blush is highly pigmented and feels rather silky to touch and apply, heres a swatch of the blush on my cheeks;



I love this blush especially for the way it flushes my cheeks and adds quite a natural pinch of pink.

Do any of you have any Nars blushes? And if so what's your favourite shade?

Let me know in the comments below


Monday 14 October 2013

Shopping my Make-Up Stash!

Hey guys and dolls, so I have recently been seeing some 'shopping my stash' videos circling on youtube, of beauty vloggers sifting through their make-up and picking out products to use which they haven't for a while.
I jumped on the wagon and thought that I would give it a go. I know my collection is no were near as huge as any of the online beauty vloggers but its not small either, there are quite a few things i've bought, used for a while and forgotten about or things i just don't generally seem to use.

So I have decided that I would create a day to night makeup look using products I don't normally use. Let me know what you think of the look, and if any of you use any of the products or have any recommendations then let me know :)
Rimmel: Eyebrow Pencil (Dark Brown) | Rimmel: Match Perfection Foundation 100 Ivory |
Seventeen: Wild Metallic Eyes (Wild Nude) | Rimmel: Blush (Rose) | L'Oreal: Blue Eyes Quad |
Maybelline: Colour Sensational Lipstick (Mauve) | L'Oreal: Volume Million Lashes Black

This was the look I created using the above products

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions regarding any of the make-up looks then leave them below or email me, thanks again...


Saturday 12 October 2013

MAC Plum Dandy Lipstick

Hey Guys,
So I know its been a while since I spoke to you guys about Mac, but a couple of weeks ago I was shopping with my sister and she picked up a gorgeous Mac Lipstick. This is a shade I wasn't really crazy about at first, but oh boy I am now.

Plum Dandy (Frost finish) is one of the most beautiful plummy bronze colour lipsticks ever. In the bullet the colour looks a tad too metallic but once its applied on your lips oh my I caved it looks gorgeous. Perfect for every day wear or to darken up with a few more coats for a special evening out.

Mac Plum Dandy (Frost) Mac Lipsticks retail for £15

See how gorgeous it looks, it is by far one of my faves! Im not too keen on frost finishes but to me this one doesn't seem to look too frosty or glossy on the lips, its very moisturising too.


I would really recommend this shade to people who like pinky colours with sparkle, not the best description I know but it fits haha. My sister is 17 and this is her second Mac Lipstick which she loves more than the first. The first lipstick she bought from Mac was Peach Blossom, again a frost finish but more of a pinky toned nude colour. Something she could wear at school everyday and get away with it, well college.


This is how the lipstick looks on me, Im quite pale skinned but I find that it suits me quite well. It most certainly makes my makeup stand out more than without a colour on.

If you have any questions then leave them below and I will make sure to answer.

Love



Tuesday 8 October 2013

Makeup Haul!



Hey guys, so its basically my first week back at uni, and already me and my friend Amy whose blog is MakeupEscape decided to take our first shopping spree into town, dare we say we came back with some goodies.

On our travel round town there were 2 particular brands we both wanted products from Mac and Nars. 2 of my all time favourite brands and therefore we dug deep and bit the bullet buying a cult product the pair of us have wanted for a while.

Our first stop was Nars, I have been dying to try one of their blushes for a while I own their cult classic bronzer Laguna and love it and thought that a blush would complete the 'cheek' area. So, bearing in mind im very light skinned I thought I would ask for some advice off one of the shop assistants, She was called Jade and she was lovely, she told me to stick with a neutral peach shade yet something with shimmer and glow to bring my face to life and if you haven't guessed it already she was talking about Nars Orgasm. If you haven't heard of this blush then you have been living under a rock. I was a bit reluctant at first because whenever I have seen it or swatched it, It has always looked too shimmery and a bit too out there but apparently Im quite heavy handed and thats why. When she applied it to my cheeks I instantly fell in love and purchased there and then! Nars Blushes retail for £21.50 and If you haven't seen the blush before then It looks like this...

Nars Orgasam Blush RRP £21.50
Next stop was Mac, The night before I had been ooing and ahhing over Amy's Mac palette, and one gorgeous colour especially that she had Woodwinked. We have both seen this product before because we are huge Tanya Burr fans and Ive seen her apply it numerous of times in videos and heard her say its one of her fave shades and therefore it persuaded me even more. Dare I say I love a good neutral, but this is gorgeous most certainly one of my fave colours!! This shade retails for £12 and is gorgeous...

Mac Woodwinked Eye shadow RRP £12.50
Sticking with Mac we went back and forward back and forward eying up the all so cult classic Mac Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle. Once again we have both seen this numerous of times on blogs, videos on youtube and on peoples skin in person but I like to do my research into a product before I commit to buying especially as its £22. Its a lot of money to invest in something that you might not like. The girl once again was really helpful and tried the highlighter on the both of us and I have to say over the top of the Nars Blusher it looked amazing and once again I bought it there and then!

Mac Soft and Gentle RRP £22
On to the last 2 little gems; I was frantically searching around boots for a lipstick by Revlon called Black Cherry. I have seen it on so many people and have always wanted it, but to my look the colour just did not sit right on my very pale skin. However, A member off staff was so helpful and came over and ushered me to her 'secret stand' otherwise known as the new proudct stand were there were 3 lipsticks by Collection known as the Gothic Collection. The shades were perfect, one for every skin tone and dare I mention the price £2.50!! I picked up 2 as the other was more pink toned and not what I was after. The first one is called Scorned and is the darkest lipstick I have ever seen it is a purple colour with brown undertones, and is gorgeous, a bit too much for my typical make up of the day face but one I can see myself wearing on nights out and especially on Halloween. The second lipstick is something I do wear on a daily basis and is called Revenge (shade 2) it is a gorgeous deep dark red colour, very similar to Mac's Diva but without the £15 price tag. This shade is my favourite and considering this collection is Limited Edition I can see I will be going back to purchase another in this shade and maybe the pinky toned shade too.

L: Scorned R: Revenge Both RRP £2.99
Last but not least my flat mate has been using the new L'oreal Skin Perfection Serum from the Youth Code section they have just launched, and her skin has been looking radiant and flawless so I thought I would give it a whirl and pick one up whilst they were on offer in Superdrugs. I think I got this for around £11 but they normally retail for £17 so I consider this to be a bargain.

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Advanced Correcting Serum RRP £17
Have any of you tried any of the products above? If so let me know what your thoughts were.
If you have any questions or want an in depth review then contact me, or staye tuned because there will be seperate reviews coming very soon of each product.