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

The Weekend Face #1

As you may or may not know, Matt and I met at Uni but he has since graduated and got a big boy job in London, meaning our relationship has gone from seeing each other every day to every weekend. We are quite lucky its not too far to travel, however I am an appalling packer and find it virtually impossible to pack light. I've been making a conscious effort therefore to try and squeeze down my make up bag for the weekend and plan ahead (although I am still terrible at this!) Among making my case a little lighter (the amount of skincare I take is not ok) trying to condense my make up bag has lead to me using well loved things I had forgotten about again and mixing up my make up routine. So I thought it might be interesting to show you what I take as a mini series on the weekends I go down to visit, but leaving out the standard staples as that would get boring!

Lets start with the base. I chose Healthy Mix as it gives light to medium coverage, which is buildable and also helps to perk up and hydrate my skin in this horrible weather (review soon) with the usual culprits of Benefit's Erasepaste for under eyes and Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer for any redness or blemishes. My new powder of choice - Rimmel's Stay Matte - was put to the test to set my foundation and keep oil at bay, but I'm not seeing much difference between this and my previous 17 Miracle Matte powder. Finally a dusting of 'London' from my Fashionista palette (amazing for travel) along my cheekbones combined a blush and highlight in one.

For my eyes, I chose to go for a natural look and began by lining the waterline with Rimmel's Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in 'Nude' and swept 'Naked' from my Urban Decay Naked palette all over the lid. This palette is amazing for travel as it has shades for every occasion so I take it with me everywhere as you can probably see from the battered packaging! I took 'Virgin' also from this palette as my brow highlight and used Bourjois Intuitive eyeliner to deepen my lash line - still not too sure on this one but a review will be coming soon. Lastly, lashings of my two favourite mascaras completed this look. 

For lips I took two lipsticks - Kate Moss for Rimmel 107, an amazing deep red which I have been obsessed with recently and wear for both the evening or day and Barry M lip paint in '101' - a milky nude shade. As my eyes were pared down I either went for a bright pop of red or combined both of these together in the style of Lisa Eldridge to brighten up 101 which can be a bit dead by itself.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! Let me know what you think of these products xxx

Wednesday Wishlist: 21st Birthday Edition #2

It's my birthday on Sunday so this will be the last birthday wishlist type post! Last weeks was quite popular, with a lot of you lusting after the same things as me. Do you like the look of any of these products too?

001. Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in 'Boy': Obviously I've got a thing for your lips but better shades at the moment and this classic lipstick fits the bill. I already have a lipstick of this type in Monte Carlo which I really love as the texture is so nourishing and moisturising.

002. Urban Decay Naked Basics/Naked 2 palette: I already own the original but I really want to complete my set of Naked palettes. I don't own either of the sequels so I would love to receive even just one as I love the original so much and get so much use out of it I think they would be a well loved addition to my make up stash.

003. Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask: Antipodes is a brand I've been wanting to delve into for a while but they are on the pricey side for me so I've never been able to justify buying anything from them just yet. This mask in particular sounds amazing and would be perfect for my skin type - a perfect first product to try from the brand.

004. Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch: Another raved about product that seems like it would suit my skin type perfectly. Either the original or the self-tanning one are high up on my wishlist!

005. Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm: I'm not going to bother typing out the whole name as I'm sure everyone has heard of this cleansing balm! I'm more of a cream cleanser girl who is obsessed with Liz Earle's C+P but after reading/hearing so many rave reviews I'm starting to think I need this in my life.

006. Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in '405': I'm a firm believer of 'a girl can never have too many lip products' and they are the main thing I go crazy over. After seeing these on Anna's blog it was love at first sight!

Here's to hoping! xxx