Make Up Of The Day #2

If you've seen my January favourites video, you will know that I have been absolutely loving the Urban Decay Naked 3 eye shadow palette at the moment. Such a variety of looks can be achieved from this one palette, and the look I'm talking about today is one of my favourites using all the matte shades.

Base

A mixture of Esteé Lauder Double Wear in 'Shell' mixed with a generous amount of No7 Skin Illuminator was applied all over with a Real Techniques Expert face brush, my favourite brush to use with this foundation. I used Maybelline's The Eraser concealer for under eyes and blogger favourite Collection Lasting Perfection concealer for any blemishes in the lightest shade.

The powder I used was an old favourite - Stay Matte by Rimmel. I then used the Sleek Face Form palette in Light to give some colour to my face and used the highlighter too on the high points of my face.

Eyes

I had run out of my beloved Anastasia Brow Wiz, so penciled in my brows with Rimmel's brow pencil in Hazel. I find it a bit too red toned so filled in any gaps with Revolution Focus and Fix brow quad in Medium Dark using the lightest shade.

Now to the fun part of the eyeshadows! I used Limit, a light matte and very blendable shade all over the lid, with Nooner in the outer corner and blended into the crease. Lastly, I deepened the outer V with Darkside and highlighted the inner corners and the brow bone with Strange. I chose to not use any eyeliner, instead finishing off my eyes with lashing of Collection 2000 Calorie Mascara, my favourite of all time!

Lips

The look was finished with one of my favourite lip products from the high street - Maybelline Color Drama lip pencil in Keep It Classy. The formula is long lasting, smooth and highly pigmented and just such a great product all round. Read more of my review of another colour here.

Do you have a favourite eye shadow palette? xxx

Glam Purple Autumnal Make Up

Autumn brings brisk sunny days, crunchy leaves and burgundy and cranberry make up, which is my absolute favourite. I originally filmed a tutorial for this look, but unfortunately the lighting was terrible and it just wasn't the quality I wanted to put out. It's quite a full on look as I went heavy on the eyes and lips, so great for a night out this season.

Base

I mixed together By Terry Light Expert Click Brush Foundation in '2 Apricot Light' with  Soap & Glory Hocus Focus Liquid Highlighter to give a bright base. You can read my full review here of the foundation, but I just love the texture and how it blurs out imperfections like my pores. Covering dark circles and brightening up the eye area is quite important because the eye shadow is so dark and heavy. I used Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in '2' as a colour corrector, then blended in Maybelline The Eraser Concealer in 'Light' to conceal with a beauty blender. For any blemishes and redness Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in '52' did a great job as it is very blendable, long lasting and good coverage. To highlight under the eyes further and down the centre of my face, I used one of my staple products - L'Oreal Lumi Magique in '1 Light'. You can read in more detail about my 3 favourite concealers mentioned here.

To set everything in place, I used an old favourite Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 'Translucent', then added some colour back into my face by way of a light contour with Benefit Hoola Bronzer. As the rest of the make up is quite heavy, I wanted a neutral blush so used Benefit Rockateur Blush and finished with MAC Lightscapade MSF to highlight my cheekbones and centre of the face.

Eyes

I always start with brows and used my every day products - Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Taupe' to define the shape, the lightest powder shade in the Revolution Eyebrow Shaping Kit to provide more density and colour and finally set everything in place with Maybelline Brow Drama in 'Medium Brown'.

To act as a transition shade, I used a fluffy brush to buff in a warm toned light brown shade, this time it was 'Force of Nature' from the Tartlette palette, before applying Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Metallic Pomegranate' with my finger as a base for the eye shadows. This cream shadow is so beautiful on its own as well as a base. I used the burgundy shade from my Estée Lauder 'Rasins' palette which has a subtle shimmery finish. To my outer corner I buffed in 'Sexy' a matte burgundy shade with a MAC 217 brush and then deepened the outer corner with 'Serious' a matte black, both from The Balm Nude Tude palette. Starting from the inner corner of the lid to the middle I pressed in Bellapierre loose pigment in 'Cinnabar' that is a shimmery more pink toned cranberry colour. To finish off the look I used 'Super Mom' from the Tartlette palette to highlight my brow bone, drew a thin line on my top lash line with L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim in 'Intense Black' and used lashings of Mascara Terrybly Growth Booster by By Terry. This look is quite dramatic, so I used Eyelure Naturalite Lashes to add volume and drama to the eyes.

Lastly, my favourite product for my lips at the moment. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Shameless' provides a deep intense matte purple, without being drying as the formula is really creamy yet still very long lasting.

Do you have a favourite Autumnal make up product? xxx

Makeup of the Day #1

I tend to switch up my make up look on a day to day basis (with the exception of a few favourite products of the moment) to match my mood, outfit and generally because I like to play around with it! I thought it would be a nice idea to put up a few looks every so often to encourage me to 'shop my stash' more regularly and maybe it will give you an idea on a new way to use a palette or help you get out of your make up comfort zone.

This particular look may be too dramatic for some people in the day due to the heavy(ish) eyes but I wore it during the day no problem. I wish my camera picked up my base products a bit better but I think that's because I need to play around with the settings - if you are good with camera settings please help!

Base:

I started with the Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream by The Body Shop in 01 which gives good coverage without being heavy or clogging up the skin, buffing it in with my buffing brush from Real Techniques (best brush ever). Next I did some concealing - tackling the dark circles under my eyes by blending Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque just in the inner corners with my ring finger. I concealed any blemishes and under my eyes with Revlon's Colour Stay Concealer in 02 Light, which is a little too yellow toned for me but fine once blended out. I always set my make up with a decent oil controlling powder and at the moment that is Maybelline's Matte Maker in 20 Nude Beige. This can go a bit cakey so you need to have a light hand with it. My really old but newly re-discovered  Avon Bronzing Pearls gave me some colour applied to where the sun naturally hits and then finished off with my new favourite Benefit Havana Blush combined with the highlight from the centre of Sleek's Contour Kit on top of my cheekbones. 

Brows:

I find brows quite difficult to master due to finding the right shade and not having loads of hair to work with but since getting the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Taupe/Ash Brown it has literally changed my life in terms of eyebrow game. It's the perfect shade and easy to work with - totally a new holy grail product. To set I used Maybelinne's Browdrama in Medium which is too dark but I've never been able to find a light shade so I just have to use it sparingly.

Eyes:

For my eyes I used a variety of shadows from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette: Chopper all over lid, Tease in the crease, Snakebite in the outer corner and finished with Foxy in the inner corners and brow bone to highlight. I used a mix of Tease and Snakebite smudged under my eyes, stopping about half way and Blackout as a thin liner on top using an angled liner brush. Finally I used a few coats of the curved version of MaxFactor 2000 Calorie mascara - I still like the formula but hate the brush so will definitely be going back to the original once this runs out.

Lips:

Because the eyes were so dramatic I wanted the lips to be quite neutral. I chose MAC Creme Cup which is not only one of my favourite nudey lipsticks but one of my all time favourite MAC lipsticks. Over the top I added Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 to keep my lips hydrated and glossy. I love this lipgloss/balm hybrid so much and its perfect for fuss free lips.

Whats your favourite make up product of the moment? xxx