Party Make-up

Last weekend was Eid and we went to large gathering for lunch. Since my outfit wasn't all that blingy I thought I would do a bold eye and try something new. The inspiration for this look is from Arabic style of make-up but definitely a LOT toned down version of it since its daytime and honestly I am not sure if I would be able to carry off super done up eyes! :)

My outfit was red with some gold and green so I used those colours to contrast/complement the red. before I got started I put tape aligned with the end of my eyebrows and outer corner of eyes to get the defined outer line of eye shadow.

So here is how got this look:

1. Inner half used Half Baked (UD Palette) and outer half used a bright green (88 color palette) taking both colours above my crease.Did not blend the meeting point too much as I wanted a clear contrast in shades.

2. Created the outer V with a matt black and dark green keeping the V under my crease. I found that with my hooded eyes this really helped to create that depth and shadow. Of course blend it really well!

3. Used a shimmery highlight color for under brow and inner corner of the eyes.

4. Under the eyes I took the green and black and layered it top of one another so that the green was peeking out from underneath

5. Used Collection 2000 glitter wand in the inner half of under eye for a touch of bling. 

6. Finished it up with some mascara and filling in my brows. 

7. Cheeks: Mac Dollymix

8. Lips: Nude and Gold lipstick (Loreal/Lancome)

Review: Collection 2000 Cream Puff in Angel Delight

I got this the other day as part of the 3 for 2 offer at Boots (RRP is £2.99) when I bought some glitter eye liners. It says on the tube its a 'velvety,soft,matt finish lip cream' and for me it ticks all those boxes. I love it! It applies smoothly and does feel amazingly soft with a matt, opaque finish which is so nice since matt stuff is usually drying on the lips. 

The colour is nude with a hint of soft pinky-brown if that makes sense. On the swatch it looks more coloured than on my lip where it comes off more as a nude shade with a hint of pink. 

So, the downside is the lasting power. It lasts a couple for hours but would need application after a meal. This is not a big deal for me and I will be trying out their other shades in this range for sure, although they do only have 4 shades! 

I would definitely recommend this to others although the colour options are limited...

Everyday Day Make-Up

I love the cut crease eye make-up technique especially for the novice like me. Its so easy to do compared to to the outer v technique! If you want a dramatic version its suggested to use a eye pencil and blend it out (Makeup geek website, link below the image). I used eye shadows only for a softer daytime version of this style, mixing up a matte shadow for the crease and shimmery for the lid. After that simply blend, blend and done! I used neutrals but you can use any colours you want just using a matte and shimmery shade with the matte shade being slightly darker for the crease.

Image @ http://www.makeupgeek.com/makeup-basics/makeup-101-how-to-apply-eye-makeup/

Products used: 

1. For the lid: Heavenly Bliss Mac e/s

2. For the Crease: Matte Brown from the 88 colour eyeshadow palette

3. Inner corner and under brow highlight: Pearl Mac

4. Lips: Nature's blush by Loreal topped with Coral Sands Lipgloss by Loreal

5. Cheeks: Sunbasque (Mac)

Make-up on Holdiay

I just got back from a lovely holiday in Nice, France. What I enjoyed the most was the weather..it was awesome! This was my first time flying Easy Jet and if you are not familiar with it they have proper luggage restrictions. At check-in some poor fellows were caught unaware that they had to pay for checked in bags. So, I was extra cautious to carry as little as possible in terms of make-up.I decided to do a flawless face make-up while changing up my lip colour using bold reds and pinks to balance out the lack of eye shadows. I wanted to avoid carrying too many brushes so the stippling brush kind of acted like a multi-purpose one. Also, the cream blush was a good choice which can be applied with the fingers. The bright lips were perfect for the summery weather! So here is what I carried:

Face: Foundation, Concealer, Bronzer,Highlighter, Cream Blush, Stippling Brush

Eyes: Mascara, Kohl Liner

Lips: Collection 2000 (Ruby Red), Maybelline Lip Liner, Maybelline Party Pink (dupe for Mac Craving), NYX lip gloss in Beige.

Wearable Fall 2012 make up trends

Fall is here... but feels more like winter to me which depresses me so so much. To cheer me up I'm contemplating buying me some nice stuff to get the current fall looks.  So I was checking out new trends for this season and below are some of the more wearable make-up styles for you, if like me you are not so adventurous but would like to keep up with current trends.

1. Mulberry Lips: I can't remember when I last wore such dark lips.but I am willing to give it a go this season.Some of the other runway pictures sported really dark, vampy colours but the colour used below surely seems wearable especially on medium skin tone like mine.Time to get shopping for a new lippy!

Seen at: Etro. MAC Film Noir. Photo: Gorunway.com

2. Butterfly effect eye: I love this multi-coloured effect... great for a night out.

Seen At: Roberto Cavalli, by McGrath. Photo Imaxtree.com

3. Winged Eye Liner: This always helps to give your eye a wide awake look. 

Clockwise from top left: Fall 2005 Emanuel Ungaro, Fall 2006 Valentino, Fall 2009 Chado Ralph Rucci, Fall 2012 Anna Sui. Photo: Gorunway.com.

4. Rosy Cheeks: This is the most everyday wearable look. You can get this look by smudging some red lipstick on and blend with a damp sponge (Shisheido, Dick Page). For a day time look I would pair the winged liner with some rosy cheeks. 

Seen At: Dior, Issa, Michael Kors, Temperley.

Real Techniques Blush Brush Review

After my success with the Real techniques Stippling Brush I went ahead and tried out the Blush Brush by Real Technique. Just like the stippling brush it feels super soft on the skin. At first I was slightly taken aback by the size of the brush.Its quite big along with the handle and I was worried that the application would  not be precise with this. However, the tip is slightly pointed so that solves that issue. It picks up little colour at a time which can be a good thing for applying vibrant, pigmented colours as you can slowly build up to the intensity you want without looking like a clown by applying too much then trying to make it lighter. Best thing with this one and the stippling brush too is that there is no shedding at all. These brushes are genuinely good quality especially for the price! (RRP £10 at Boots)

Overall, I do like this blush because its so soft and its great for darker blushes but sometimes with lighter shades it takes a while to get the desired amount of colour on the cheeks. 

Dark smokey Eye

Hadn't tried a smokey look in a while so thought I would give it a go this weekend. I suppose the most important thing is blending otherwise its highly likely to end up with what looks like a black eye. To warm up the face I used a coral lip gloss.

Products Used:

Urban Decay Naked Eye Shadow Palette
Lip: Rimmel Sunset topped with Loreal Lipgloss in Coral Sands
Cheek: Mac Sunbasque Blush

£30 Budget: Purchase No. 3 MUA Cosmetics Mini Haul

So I thought I would try out a new brand this time and selected MUA Cosmetics which is available in Superdrug stores based on some good reviews. Here is the stuff I got:

1. Glittberball Eye Shadow Palette £4: This has 12 shades of glitter eye shadows. Bit too much glitter for my liking. Some of the darker shades (Bronze, green) are nice to add a touch of glam to the eye but the lighter shades hardly show up on my skin (Peach, Pink). I find they have too much glitter/shine compared to colour. 
2. Liquid Eye liner Shade 2 £1: The colour is a nice one but once applied and dry it does not blend in with the skin nicely. 
3. Lip gloss Shade 3 £1: I am not a big fan of lipglosses so don't know why I got this. The good thing is that its not sticky, has a nice scent. Colour wise just gives a pale,sheer pinkish tone to my pigmented lips. So sometimes I use it to tone down a lip colour if needed. 
4. Eye Dust- Shade 3 £1 This is a nice product. Pigmented and applies nicely.

Ok, so I know this stuff is cheap hence I should not expect much, but if I can't use it at all then no point buying it no matter how cheap it is! Overall, I am disappointed with these products and don't think I will be getting much use out of them and will not  be going back to the MUA counter. 

Bold Red Eye Make-up

This weekend I took a break from the bold lip look to bold eyes. And what could be bolder than red eye shadow! Since it was for a lunch party I kept the red to a minimum and balanced it out with neutral colours to tone it down. 

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Products Used:

88 color eye shadow palette ( Red just around crease, Black to fill in brows)
Mac Patina  eyeshadow (Eye lid)
Naked (UD Naked Palette) (Brow Bone)
Loreal Mascara (Carbon Black)
Kohl Pencil Smoulder Mac
Blush and Bronzer: Blunt (Mac)
Lips: Rimmel Sunset (Dupe for Viva Glam V). It looks good when paired with a bright eye but on its own it makes me look rather pale.

£30 Budget Purchase 2: Sleek Lipstick Candy Cane

I am so into bold lips as you can tell from my profile! :) After a red lip I have ventured into the world of pinks, neons pink to be exact. I was looking at popular Mac hot pinks and found Impassioned described as a bright warm pink which was what I was looking for. Upon dupe hunting I found Sleek true colour lipstick in Candy Cane which I got on Amazon for £4.

Candy Cane is a warm bright pink which is creamy when applied and quite pigmented too. The packaging is also quite sleek as the brand suggests.The downside is that the lasting power is not great and it requires regular touch-ups. The only trick I know of keeping your lipstick on for longer is applying concealer or a nude lip liner all over before applying the lipstick. Since I don't own Mac Impassioned I do not know if its an exact dupe or not but it sure is similar.

Overall, I am happy with the colour itself although it is bothersome to reapply often; it is well-suited to my olive/tan/medium skin tone.

So, its mid September already and far I've spent £15. 15 days to go with £15 in hand...things are going well I'd say! :)

Picnic Day Make-up

The weekend embraced us with some gorgeous weather and we decided to go for a picnic. I wanted a simple dewy face to match the gorgeous sunshine and make-up that wouldn't melt away with my ice-cream ! For the eyes I attempted the cat flicked liner with a black eye shadow instead of kohl pencil which would have smudged in the outdoors. I love this nude lipstick from L'oreal; unlike other nudes this one doesn't make me look washed out or deathly but helps to warm up my face with some hint of colour.

Products Used:

Eyes:  Buck Shadow (Urban Decay Naked Palette) on the lid, Carbon (Mac) upper lash line, Smoulder eye pencil lower lashline (Mac)
Cheeks: MAC Blush in Sunbasque, No 7 Skin Illuminator in Peach
Lips: Loreal Natures Blush 840 

Review- Hijab Pins

I was bored of using the usual round stick pins which comes in a wheel so I started looking and found these  flower style ones that caught my eyes courtesy of Hijab Jewels website. They come in various colours some of which seem continually out of stock. So I just decided to get what was available. These are all priced between £1.20- £2.50.

My favourite from the pictures was the one called Chanel (white/black) which I believe is not listed anymore. Upon receipt I realized the blue one was bigger than expected. Surprisingly, once worn it fits nicely on the side of the head and does not look over the top at all when worn with a plain scarf. These days I find myself wearing the blue one most often. 

The other ones are pretty too; The only tiny glitch I find is that due to the raised flower shape they are always slightly away (less than 1/4 inch approx.) from your head regardless of which angle you wear then in. The stick pin is adhered with some glue and topped with individual pearls. In the smallest flower (red) the glue bit does show but since its the same colour as the pearl on top it kind of blends in.

Overall, I find these are happy and cheerful pins and sturdy might I add...and I'm liking them a lot! :)

£30 for 30 days! And my first purchase!

In order to ensure I do NOT splurge on account of my newly found passion, I've decided to cap my make-up/beauty related expenses to £30 a month. More reason for me to be bargain hunting. Fun times ahead :). My first item of purchase is this lovely blush from Mac called Dollymix. 

Its a sheer tone from Mac described as a 'pure candy pink'. On me its gives a lovely flushed look great for  everyday use. Although lot of people have said to use it with caution, on my skin tone it doesn't show up  horribly loud at all. Its gives me the nicest rosy cheeks. You can build up the colour if you want a more stronger look. That's what I love about bright, pigmented blushesOverall, I'm loving this blush and recommend to those having skin tone similar to mine! 

I got this from Ebay (from a top rated seller) for £11 and in comparison to my store bought blushes this matches the quality and packaging both. If I am being critical the only difference I feel it feels a little chalkier than my other MAC blushes. It might be because its new?!? It doesn't bother me at all since it applies nicely. All in all, I'm happy to have saved £6 on this purchase by not buying this in-store.

Mint Green Look

This is my make-up look for a weekend lunch gathering with some friends.

Excuse the sad
face :)

I've been loving the trendy mint green for this season and wanted to try out a look with those colours. I added the brown for some contrast. 

Products used for the eyes:

88 Colours EyeShadow Palette 

Mac Black Tied EyeShadow used to line bottom

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner

Loreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black

Short Intro and Review (Real Techniques Stippling Brush)

Hi everyone! So excited to be writing my first blog post today. I have recently been hooked on to all things beauty related(better late than never). I have learnt so much from bloggers and youtubers that I thought why not contribute in whatever way I can. I am a revert to make-up; I lost interest in it a while back but have recently gotten into the whole beauty scene most probably sparked by my minuscule weight loss! Hence the need to up to date my collection..I'm planning on doing that gradually as I don't want to (also cannot afford to) put a dent in my already empty pocket! I'm always on the lookout for bargains and boy do I love dupes. I would not buy a pile of cheap junky products for the price of say high end product. However,don't mind compromising 'slightly' on quality for one-third the price of high end products. I'll be scrubbing it all off at the end of the day anyways!

First off most important are the tools! Brushes, brushes, brushes. Today I want to write about the Real Techniques Stippling Brush by Samantha Chapman. 

I must say, I do like this brush. It feels so soft on the skin and the foundation sets nicely with this one without leaving streaky patches. I have washed it a couple of times so far and its held it shape nicely. Normally I put the foundation on my face in dots then use it to blend it all together. It does have a big handle which is meant to let it stand on its own which is not so great when you have limited make-up storage space or want to carry it with you.

It retails for £11.99 at Boots (that's where I got mine from). Currently there is a offer of buy 1 get 2nd at half price. :)

In conclusion, at drug store price its a great bargain due to its superior quality. I'm no expert but I think it works great and does the job for me. I'm glad I made this purchase.