Face of December with Burberry Lip Mist in Rosy Red

I can be a bit obsessive (that's the Scorpio in me), but sometimes I just get hooked on a certain makeup look and wear it all month long.

This was Decembers face.

Before Makeup

MAC Fix +

I like to spray some of this all over my face before I apply any makeup as I find it gives my foundation a more glowy finish.

Face

Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light

This doesn't do anything amazing for your skin. It doesn't give it any extra glow, or fill in any pores but it has to be the best primer I have found for keeping your makeup on your face, which is all you really need from a primer.

Foundation

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation mixed with NARS Illuminator in Copacabana

Magic is a full coverage foundation, definitely not something I would want to wear in Summer, but good for these winter months. It's more coverage than I usually like but I like the flawless finish and the fact that it stays put all day. I mix a blob of the NARS Illuminator to bring back some glow.

Corrector and Concealer

Bobbi Brown Corrector in 'Bisque' and Clarins Instant Concealer

I'm a bit addicted to the Bobbi Brown Corrector now, its just the bomb at covering under eye circles. This Clarins concealer is equally wonderful, I love the light consistency especially when you're using a heavy concealer. A little goes a long way and you could wear it alone for that #nomakeup look.

Powder

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder

This and Charlotte Tilbury's powder are my two favourites, but this costs £3.99.

Bronzer

Too Faced Dark Chocolate Soleil

Looks like chocolate, smells like chocolate, but it's a bronzer. I'm not complaining though as it's one of my favourites. Rich colour and a smooth formula, also works as the perfect warm toned brown eyeshadow.

Highlight

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Red Head"

The worst two words in a makeup lovers vocabulary, limited edition. This highlight is a blush and highlight in one and I just love the warm peachy colour. It reminds me of Bobbi Browns Shimmer Bricks but less obnoxious, sadly it was a limited edition release from many moons ago.

Setting Spray

Tony Moly Pocket Bunny Moist Mist

Completely unnecessary step, but c'mon who can say no to that packaging?

Eyes

Brows

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel and Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium

I love this Anastasia Brow Wiz, it's been a game changer for me and replaced my beloved Hourglass pencil. The Gimme Brow I'm just trying to use up.

Eyeshadow Primer

NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

The.best.eyeshadow.primer.the.end

Eyeshadow

MAC All That Glitters

Can you tell this is my all time favourite eyeshadow? The perfect everyday, all over lid colour. It's going to take all my might not to repurchase this when I finally finish it.

Mascara

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Amazing, length, curl and volume, you need to try this.

Lips

Lipstick

Burberry Lip Mist in Rosy Red

I am particularly fond of a sheer red lipstick because it makes me feel like Liv Tyler. This is my favourite sheer red, so of course Burberry have discontinued it (hold me). These Lip Mists have now been replaced by the Sheer Kisses line, I haven't tried so can't compare. 

Nothing lasts forever hey.

Face of the Day with Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow in Sun Tan and Sun Light

This is a Face of the Day from last week when I went to BeautyCon London for work (I didn't stay long). I wanted to try some new products, as I have been getting a bit bored of using the same things all the time.

There are some new discoveries which I love, a few I don't love so much and some old favourites.

Face

Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water and Cover FX Illuminating Primer

I have only just started using the primer water so can't report back yet, except to say I love the idea of a primer spray and it smells nice. I will let you know my findings once I've used it a bit more. 

As far as the Cover FX primer goes, I like it but I don't love it. I wish it was a bit more illuminating because its quite subtle and once I've applied foundation and concealer, you can't really see much in the way of a glow. I do really like the texture, as its light and doesn't have that awful silicone feel, but I can't really say I have noticed a difference in the wear time of my makeup. 

Foundation

Dior Nude Air Serum

I hadn't tried any Dior foundations until this year but since trying Dior Star and now this, I can say I'm fully converted. This makes my skin look really smooth, almost airbrushed, without being heavy and still letting your skin show through. I like to apply this with my fingers working in sections over the face. My only complaint is that it doesn't have the best wear time and I find it starts to fade on oilier areas like my chin and nose towards the end of the day.

Corrector and Concealer

Giorgio Armani Master Corrector and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

I've only got a tiny bit of the MAC concealer left, I had to break open the tube with some pliers to get the very last of it out. I love that this concealer works well under the eyes and on blemishes and redness. It's high coverage and long lasting, I can see why this is so popular amongst MAC fans. 

Bronzer and Highlight

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow in Sun Tan and Sun Light

My latest obsession, I just love this. It makes me look like I've just come back from a two week holiday, bronzed and glowy my friends. 

Powder

Too Faced Primed and Poreless Pressed Powder

Still not loving this powder, but I'm almost at the end of it now. I definitely wouldn't buy this again or recommend it, it's just too ashy on the skin.

Eyes

Eyebrows

Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel in Strike and Illamasqua Brow and Lash Gel

Its not often I change my eyebrow combination, but I was clearly feeling experimental. The Brow and Lash Gel is not a new product, in fact it was my favourite until the L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper came along but the Precision Brow Gel is a new product for me. 

Compared to the Anastasia DipBrow, this is less harsh and more natural looking, but I just find these brow pomades a bit fiddly to use in general. I think I'll be sticking to my usual Hourglass pencil.

Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I dug this out because I wanted a matte eyeshadow and I knew this had everything I needed. 

I used W.O.S all over the lid with a mixture of Naked 2 and Faint in the crease.

Eye Liner

Delilah Slim Line Liquid Liner

I wanted a subtle flick, so used this on the outer third of my eye. I love the slim nib, it really lets you get a precise line but this smudged on me. Admittedly most mascaras and eyeliners smudge on me, but I would stick with my Stila Stay All Day over this.

Mascara

Benefit Roller Lash and Clinique Bottom Lash

When it comes to Roller Lash you either love it, or hate it and personally I love it. It takes a few coats to build it up but it really lengthens and curls my lashes, plus it doesn't smudge on me. Clinique Bottom Lash is a staple for me now because its pretty much the only mascara that doesn't smudge on my bottom lashes. I told you everything smudges on me!

Lips

Lip Liner

Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Tawny

If I had to pick between this and my MAC lip liners, this $1.99 bad boy would win every time. This is creamy, not drying and I really, really love the colour.

NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Bangkok

These NARS Pure Matte Lipsticks don't get spoken about much, but if you love a matte lip and you haven't tried these, you are missing out. My favourite colour in the line is Montego Bay and I have completely used that lipstick up. Bangkok is lighter in colour and pretty similar to my natural lip colour. It reminds me of that kind of Angelina Jolie, barely there shade.

February Favourites

Its a short but sweet favourites post this month. 

As you know, I have been making a conscious effort to use up some of my makeup. Which means I have been wearing the same lipstick, foundation, concealer etc for weeks on end. 

I only ever want to include true favourites in these posts, so its a very select edit this month.

Mad Men - The Final Season Part 1

There are so many things I love about Mad Men. Having watched it from the beginning, I have loved the subtle changes each season with the sets and costumes, taking us from the 50's to the late 60's where this season is set. I also love that each season is very reflective of the current affairs at that time. This season addresses gay rights, the Moon landing, the introduction of computers. I just find it fascinating, the late 60's and 70's were such an exciting time which Mad Men portrays so well. 

If like me you often feel disillusioned with our generation, Mad Men is a welcome escape.

£15.00 Amazon

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

I have to give it to Benefit, they make good mascaras (except Badgal lash!) 

I was super impressed by Roller Lash, it really gave a curl to my lashes and I love the doe eyed effect it leaves. Although this does seem to be a very polarising mascara, you either love it like me, or hate it!

£19.50 (full size) Boots

Essie Not Just a  Pretty Face Nail Polish

You know you're getting old when you start gravitating towards natural coloured nail polish. I haven't reached for a bright nail polish in months, I don't know if this is just a phase or whether I should just collect my free bus pass and Max Factor pancake makeup now and be done with it. 

'Not Just a Pretty Face' is my latest nail colour obsession and I've already got a pretty big dip in the bottle from using it all month long. This is such a pretty but flattering nude colour. I love that its slightly peachy toned, which is much more flattering colour for me than baby pinks. I apply two coats and although its not completely opaque, this just gives me really healthy looking natural nails.

£7.99 Boots

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Something Special

This was a rediscovery which I dug out my drawers at the beginning of the month and its been on my cheeks ever since. This peachy pink just gives the prettiest glow to my cheeks without screaming BLUSHER! If you know what I mean ;) I'm so happy that MAC reformulated their cream blushes a few years ago. They used to be very sticky and would leave a horrible tacky finish on your skin but now they are lovely and smooth with no stickiness!

£18.00 MAC

Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Puddles

Aka middle class crack. Sorcery for your tongue, these puddles are truly addictive. I'm salivating just thinking about them...of course this bag is long gone! Salted caramel really should be made a class A drug #justsayin'

£5.50 Hotel Chocolat

Benefit Roller Lash

I am not a massive Benefit fan but I do absolutely love their 'They're Real' mascara. When I heard they were releasing a new mascara, Roller Lash I knew I had to try it.

Roller Lash is designed to give your lashes more of a curl and lift, giving you that doe eyed effect. It has a slightly curved plastic bristle brush which is great for lengthening and separation.

I loved this mascara from the very first application. I really do notice more of a curl to my lashes and I like the length and separation it gives. Its a very clean mascara and does a great job of making your lashes look longer without looking like you are wearing a shit ton of mascara. I also love that it doesn't clump at all!

I will say that you need to build up a few coats of this mascara to see the full effect, but that's easily done. This wears well on my lashes and doesn't flake, but it did slightly smudge on my bottom lashes after a full days wear.

This is a winner for me and I will definitely be buying the full size version, however two of my friends have tried this and didn't like it :( It definitely seems to be a love it or hate it mascara, but as you can get the sample size with this months Elle magazine, you can test it out before splashing the cash.

Available from Benefit £19.50

Benefit Gimme Brow Dupe - L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper

In September I blogged about Maybelline's new eyeliner which is an exact dupe for Benefits hugely popular They're Real Push Up liner, but half the price. Well now I have another Benefit dupe for you, this time its for their Gimme Brow.

Benefit Gimme Brow (left) L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper (right)

Benefit's Gimme Brow is a tinted brow gel with fibers to give you instant looking fuller brows. Gimme Brow is available in two shades, light/medium and medium/deep. I really liked Gimme Brow, I thought it worked really well and I definitely noticed an improvement in the thickness of my brows but there was one thing that really put me off, the price. Gimme Brow cost £17.50 for 3g of product, three grams! That is an absolute rip off. So when L'oreal released their Brow Artist Plumper, which promised exactly the same results I had to try it.

The L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper comes in three shades, transparent, blonde and dark brunette and costs £5.99 for 7g of product. To put that into perspective, I could buy three of the L'oreal gels for the same price as one of the Benefit ones and apart from the L'oreal Plumper having a slightly bigger brush, they are exactly the same. I actually much prefer the L'oreal version because the colour dark brunette is a much better match for me. I have used this everyday for the past few months which is a pretty big deal, as I used to only use the Illamasqua Brow and Lash Gel.

The one thing that lets both these products down is the shade range. Benefit only has 2 shades and I really struggled to find a match. My hair wasn't dark enough for the dark option but the light option is a little too light for me. L'oreal has three shades and although the dark brunette option matches me perfectly, the blonde shade is awful! Its a metallic gold, which I can not imagine would look good on anyone!

Crappy shade range aside, for me their is no contest here and L'oreal wins by a country mile. If you can find a shade to match your brows, definitely try this!

L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette

Available from Boots £5.99

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner Dupe - Maybelline Lasting Drama Black Shock Gel Eyeliner Pen

Earlier this year Benefit released the first gel liner in a pen, 'They're Real Push Up Liner'. Now Maybelline have released their own version, which as far as I can tell is identical but half the price! 

If you are an eyeliner newbie, let me explain the difference between a liquid eyeliner and a gel eyeliner. A gel eyeliner usually comes in a little pot and you need to have a separate eyeliner brush to apply it. Its much thicker in consistency than a liquid eyeliner, so I personally find a gel easier to work with. Gel's also tend to last a heck of a lot longer than liquid liners and you can apply a gel to the waterline. Although you might need a bit of practise getting used to using an eyeliner brush, once you have mastered it you really have much more control and can get a much finer line/wing. 

The only downside to gel eyeliner is that it can be slightly more of a faff and isn't particularly practical for doing your makeup on the go. Something that these new gel eyeliner pens should help with.

The Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner has a silicone nib and when you twist the bottom of the pen, the gel is released, no need for a separate brush. 

This was actually easier to work with than I thought it would be. As the silicone nib isn't particularly flexible I thought I was going to get in a right mess, but its surprising how quickly you get the hang of it. The only thing I would say is that you can't get as precise a line as you would if you were using an eyeliner brush. 

Overall I was really impressed with this. It was much easier to work with than I thought it would be and   this eyeliner does not budge. I didn't wear any eyeshadow or primer with this, as I really wanted to test the staying power. I have quite oily eyelids and this didn't smudge at all. It stayed in place all day, which for me is a bit of a miracle. 

If you like thin, precise liner I would say stick with your eyeliner brush but if you don't mind your eyeliner a bit thicker and want to save yourself some time in the morning, definitely give this a try. 

If you were planning on getting the Benefit liner save yourself the money and get this one. Honestly they are identical, except Benefit's version costs £18.50 and Maybelline's £8.99. 

I'll leave you to do the math ;)

The Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner Pen is available from Boots online and in store for £8.99

Bridal Makeup - My Sister's Wedding

Last month I had the amazing but also nerve wracking job of doing my Sister's wedding makeup. 

Beforehand we did go to a Bobbi Brown makeup trial, which I would highly recommend. The trial gave me a lot of tips and tricks to help achieve a flawless, yet natural base. For the eyes we both preferred a more gold/bronzy look so I got to experiment a little! 

I thought I would share the products I used, along with a few tips and tricks you can use if you are doing your own, or someone else's makeup on the big day!

Can you see the concentration on my face?!

Although we were pushed for time and I did have a major panic that I was going to have to turn up with no makeup on my own face, I was so happy with how Emma's makeup turned out. She looked absolutely beautiful, I may be bias but I don't think I have ever seen a more radiant looking bride! 

I put that down to a combination of my makeup and of course all those sequins!

With Wedding makeup one of the biggest things you have to consider is photography. Flash photos and SPF don't work well together. The SPF causes a flashback and you end up with a really pale ghost face. This was one of the reasons we went for NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. It has no SPF, provides a good medium coverage, lasts well and photographs beautifully.

As we wanted the base to be flawless, I also used the Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick on any areas that needed extra coverage. I have never tried these Foundation Sticks before but I was impressed at how well they cover, whilst still looking very natural.

Primer

MAC Prep & Prime Skin (this primer is amazing!) and Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (sprayed before I applied any makeup and again once I had finished)

Foundation

NARS Sheer Glow in Fiji and Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick in Warm Sand in areas which needed more coverage (cheeks, chin, round the nose)

Concealer

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque under the eyes with the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit over the top.

Powder

Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Finish Powder in Medium

Bronzer

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow

Blusher

Benefit Dandelion Blush and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz

Highlighter

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light

Eyebrows

MAC Eyeshadow in Omega, used very lightly just to fill out the ends of the eyebrows

Eyeshadow Primer

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Eyeshadow

MAC shadows in 'All That Glitters' all over the lid, 'Mulch' in the crease and outer corner and 'Embark' smudged over the top of the eyeliner. I also used 'Blazing Star' from the Bobbi Brown Sand palette for a little bit of sparkle on the centre of the lid. 

Eyeliner

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink. I applied a thin line of this along the top lash line and smudged out with MAC Embark eyeshadow. A tiny bit was also applied underneath the lower lash line.

Mascara

Benefit They're Real and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. I also used some individual lashes by Eylure to add volume.

Lips

Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colour in Peachy with L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick in Nude Ballet. Throughout the day we touched up with Bobbi Brown Brightening Lip Gloss in Nectar

Out of everything I used, these are my three must have products for any bridal makeup. 

The Urban Decay Setting Sprays really extend the wear time of your makeup. I was super impressed at how long Emma's makeup lasted and I definitely think this was a big part of that. 

Lashes wise, I think individual lashes are the only way to go. Whilst they are a bit more fiddly than strip lashes, they are so much more natural looking and just add some fullness without anyone knowing you are wearing them.

For the radiant Bride look, a good highlight is a must. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light is my new favourite product and I have to say my favourite part of the whole makeup. This just makes your skin look like its glowing from within and photographs beautifully.

As well as doing Emma's makeup, I also did my Mums makeup. Like my Sister, I wanted her to look natural and radiant. My Mum has always been a big Bobbi Brown fan so naturally we used some of her favourite products. 

For foundation I used the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, which like NARS Sheer Glow has no SPF. The Marc Jacobs Lolita palette was the perfect neutral eyeshadow palette to use and those Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks give some serious wedding glow! Just like my Sister, my Mum looked beautiful.

Primer

MAC Prep & Prime Natural Radiance in Radiant Pink and Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (sprayed before I applied any makeup and again once I had finished)

Foundation

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation

Concealer

Estee Lauder Double Wear Brush-On Glow BB Highlighter used under the eyes to brighten

Powder

Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder

Bronzer

Bobbi Brown Brightening Blush in Bronze

Blusher

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nude

Eyeshadow

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Sand Dune, I used this cream eyeshadow as a primer with the Marc Jacobs Lolita Palette on top.

Mascara

Maybelline Falsies Mascara (Waterproof)

Eyebrows

MAC Lingering Eyebrow Pencil

Lips

Edward Bess Defining Lip Liner in Natural with Marc Jacobs Lip Gel in Role Play and Revlon Super Lustrous Lip gloss in Snow Pink

I would share with you the makeup that I wore but I honestly have no idea as it was rather hurriedly slapped on! 

It was an unforgettable day and I'm so happy that I got to be a part of it.