January Loves

Beauty is the focus for this month. I'm in need of facials, smoothening balms and a core make-up kits that will ease me into the summer months. The masters of make-up, MAC, really delivered this year (along with the mother!) and I received the Christmas collection set as seen above. This set contains an eye shadow palette (black and white sheen), which I've been using as a highlighter on the brow bone and to compliment a dusty eye affect. Along with this the set also has Pro Pencil Eyeliner in Engraved,Jet Black Mascara and a beautiful black oval cosmetic bag. Blue eyeliner is a massive trend set to hit the beauty world for the coming season, so I managed to do some research for my perfect blue over Christmas. And although I went with MAC Pro Pencil in Mountain Air, Butter is brand which I've only heard great things about and would highly recommend for bold, bright colours. 

Contouring is a brand new feature to my life and after waisting alot of money, and patience, I think I've finally settled on the best approach fo me to take, based on my tone and skin type. More to come on this later in the month along with a feature on MAC Pro-longwear foundation.

As January is such a crap month, financially and socially, I've been spending a lot of nights in. Ideal for catching up on boxets that I've been meaning to watch over the past few months.  At the minute I'm hooked on Sons Of Anarchy (season 5!!!). But candles, candles are the main highight of my cosy nights in. Already a fan of low, dusty lighting, I strongly believe that these just so much more of a relaxed athmosphere to any room. My fave are Yankee Candles, ovbiously. 

All iteams, including links to buy, can be found here

Love C X

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner: Review

Being an avid fan of eyeliner, both under my eye and on the lid, means that I am always partial to beauty bargains. Last week while shopping for my product "up-dates", you know yourself, every so often you have to have to pop  along to Boots to re-stock your beauty bag. Well, during mine last week I spotted Rimmel promotions, including their latest mascara to the range "Scandeleyes Rockin Curves", offering a few euros off, which I couldn't resist! In the end I bought the above mascara, some Natural Collection concealer and lip gloss and today's featured product "Scandeleys Eyeliner".

The biggest point to note at this moment is that I am very particular with the way I like my eye liner to sit on my lid. For my under eye I tend to stick to pencil liner as it stays on longer and isn't as difficult to apply, but it is strictly gel liner "pitch black" effect on top. My usual Rimmel product of choice is "Exaggerate Eye Liner" and this new liner style does not add up in comparison. First of all if you like your liner really dark this is not the product for you. It comes out more like a faded black which is only really acceptable at the end of the day when you are falling into bed. Well, it doesn't last until the end of the day anyway. If it is still visible at lunch your doing well. Another aspect of the product that has me on edge is that I don't think I am going to get very long out of it , this mainly due to the fact that I have it less than a week and it seems to be drying up already. The "Exaggerate" product has a  refill pot which the brush sits into allowing to achieve the ideal jet black lines above the eyes. Overall I am very disappointed with this product and if you are a keen eye liner wearer such as myself I would say stay away from this.

Another promotion that Rimmel are doing at the minute includes the eye shadow chubby sticks as part of the "Scandeleys", I bought one in the deeper purple shade. Last week I went out with a few friends and wore this shade to brighten up my make up (nude lip, basic contouring) and it did exactly just that, it looked great! What I loved the most is that it lasted until I got home and I didn't have to re-touch once (I wish the same could be said for my eyeliner).  I will be picking up one in every shade available.

Love C X

Be Happy, with your Foundation!

Over the past number of years I have tried many, and I mean many, different brands of foundation. At first I am always happy with the initial results, they tend to blend well and give the radiant effect that we all crave. But over time, usually this time frame being a few weeks, the initial happiness fades and I find myself back at square one, trying to find a new foundation to buy.

I always find that a true test of how good a foundation really is is how it holds up by the end of the working day. Working in retail translates to being on your feet all day and generally a lot of physical movements, so naturally this has an effect on how you look by the time 6 pm arrives. When I realise that the foundation that I have bought cannot see me through this period I simply move on to the next. But alas! I think my may have finally found my foundation heaven in the form of Clinique "Stay Matte".

Clinique was first recommended to me by a friend about six months ago but it was actually the "Even Better" foundation that I was told to try. Now I did try this option but it just did not suit my skin type at all (oily to combination) so I browsed the brand for alternative foundations and this is when I decided to try "Stay Matte". I wasn't hopeful at first as many had let me down in the past. At the beginning I was pleasantly surprised with the results, it gave me the radiance, easy to blend, there was a shade to match my skin tone (004 Fair) and above all it still looked in tact by the end of the day. With my type of skin foundation tends to look particularly shiny even after I have applied powder and previous matte foundations that I have tried have all resulted in my skin looking "cakey". So trying to find the perfect option which will offer a matte effect with just the appropriate amount of shine has always been a struggle, so I was genuinely shocked that I found all of this with this product.


Six months later and I am still blissfully happy with Clinique "Stay Matte". Only in recent years have I understood the value of truly investing in brand (expensive) beauty products, the value being the long lasting beautifying effects. Not that this product costs much, 27 Euro is actually a bargain for how happy I am with it but is still a significant difference if you are accustomed to buying your foundation in Boots. This is the only product from the brand that I am using at the minute but now I am considering investing in other items, such as the chubby sticks, pressed powder or nail varnish (which I have also heard is really good).

Clinique is also a brand that I had never thought to buy before it was recommended to me.  I was very determined for certain brands, such as MAC, to work for my skin tone and this was partly because everything else from that brand worked so well on my skin and I love them. But you have to listen to your skin and if it works with a specific brand or product you must stick to this until you feel it longer continues delivering these results. If like me you have struggled with different foundations over the years I urge you to give this a try because it may just be what you have been looking for.

Love C X 

Best Beauty Brand of 2013

As all hard working women know, it can often be difficult to find a make that will last all day. By biggest issue is the effect that make up leaves after it has begun to fade; scaly, dry and overall unattractive.  So I have been searching for products and tips which can improve the length of my make up since I began to wearing it. During this time I have tried and tested almost every make up brand in the form of foundations, powders, bronzers, lipsticks or eye beauty, which could not only go the distance but have the consistency to continue to give me the look that made me fall in love with a brand.

One day while browsing in Penney's I decided to have a look at the beauty counter which is usually just by the till, primarily Catrice, Essence and NYC products.  Now I love buying new make products and I especially love a bargain so this was the perfect combination. The first brand that I starting picking up products was Catrice and I think on that first day I bought eyeliner, mascara, foundation and an eye shadow, and the best part was the total was around 10 Euro. Not only did I love the price but I went on to love the products.

I started using the "matte mousse" first and loved the results. It gives great results for a flawless effect and lasted longer than most foundations for a reasonable 4.50 Euro, although I think the price may be slightly higher these days. I no longer use this product because I found after time I realized this was not the best foundation for my skin type (combination). My skin feels its best when using "matte" foundations so I now use Clinque "Stay Matte" and the results are amazing. Also with this Catrice foundation it only lasts for about 2-3 weeks which can be irritating having to constantly go in and buy more! The eye shadows are also extremely great value and the brand offer a vast range of colours and tones to choose from.

But it was the following product which was the clear winner for me; Catrice Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner. I had previously used Smashbox Primer as it is suppose to have the best results but I wasn't sold. It was alright but it was definitely not worth the money and didn't have that much of an impact on my make up so I couldn't understand the obsession and it mad be reluctant to try primers again. But I did! This primer not only kept my make up on ALL day but it retained that smooth, just applied look also. It is by far my favorite beauty find of 2013. 

The brands lip liners are also very effective. As a newbie to the lip liner world I dare not compare it to the effects of larger brands products but it converted me. My grads was a few months ago and it was my first experience using it with lip stick. I went for the nude effect and was very impressed with the  results; long lasting and beautiful natural tones. 

So there you have it, another year and another beauty discovery. Let me know if any of you are using any of Catrices products and what you think of them.

Love C X 

In The Shadows: Sephora

When it comes to beauty and make up "looks", I always tend to go for a dramatic eye and a soft lip. Therefore when it comes to investing in eye shadows I try to buy palettes as they are just a lot better value for money, and it is also a great way of experimenting different colours. As I have told you guys already, I was recently in Paris and while shopping over there I bought lots of make up in Sephora on the Champs Elysee. One item in particular I have not stopped using since I came home and thought it was only appropriate that I covered a post on it, and that is the Nude "IT" Eye Shadow Palette. 

This palette is made up of ; 7 eye shadows varying between tones of gold and brown; a base shadow which acts as a lid primer; two highlighter shadows to apply after the initial shadow colouring has been set; two eye liner shadows (brown and a darker shade of brown); a contour eyeliner pencil; a 2-in-1 brush acting as an all over shadow brush and an eyeliner brush. The set comes with a sheet which explains each of the shadows and what part of the eye they are to be applied to, and I could not believe that it cost only 30Euro. I thought this may be a special offer, but I have since checked the Sephora website and this is the retail price and it is not a sale item. 

As Sephora is not available in any of the shops near me I was not expecting to stock up on as much products from the brand that I did. In the end I ended up buying powder, cheek highlighter, lipstick, lip gloss, the eye shadow palette and a few more shadows. I have gradually been testing them over the past week or so, and I am now converted! The eye shadows have stayed in place all day and no smudging what so ever, which can sometimes be a big problem when wearing shadows all day. I have never been the type of person who has used eye lid primer either but after using the one in the set Ican completely see why people invest. I am not going to go into detail about the other products from Sephora as I want to stay focused on this particular palette but I will say this, I bought four lipsticks and I wish I had bought more. 

Seeing as beauty is not particularly my area of expertise, I wouldn't  feel comfortable yet giving any tutorial about how to achieve this look as seen above. But this is an image that I have gained inspiration from when applying nude eye shadows, and with this palette you will definitely be ably to re-create the look. Maybe in the future I will start tutorials but not for the moment anyway.

Love C X 

Girl with the Iron Mask

This year I am really excited about Halloween. I love dressing up, but in particular I love dressing up in Gothic attire. I know Halloween is usually themed with death, blood and gore, but this year I am taking a slightly different approach. While in Paris I stumbled across this amazing costume shop (which was also really cheap) near Hotel Du Ville, and while looking around I found the most beautiful range of masks ever. After trying everything on I decided on a black lace masquerade style face piece and a matching black feather for my hair. This has pretty much been the focus for arranging my costume for this year. I have been racking my brain as to what clthes to wear with this, but I think I nearly have everything in place. 

The next big task when putting a creative costume together is figuring out what what to do with your hair and make up! For Halloween, the focus for your face is the crazier the better. I have this image in my mind that I am going to paint my face white, in contrast to the black mask for dramatic impact and bold black/deep purple lips. At the moment I am still experimenting with colours and styles of how this look will piece together on the night but I will do a follow up post of my whole look and how I put it all together. 

                     

 

                             

 

As I have blonde hair, I think the black mask will go well because of the disparity of tones. Similarly, I would advise that any brunettes to opt for a white or lighter shade mask for a resembling result. My plan is to use a silver coloured spray to add a "deathly" image to my look, crimp and backbrush. Lots of hairspray will be needed also so I have been stocking up! 

Although the last image above has nothing to do with the masqerade look that I am going for, I love it! Maybe this could be a look for next year :) 

Everything about my costume will be up very soon including what products I used and where they were bought. 

Love C X 

Electric Bloom

Seeing as I recently spoke about what trends are being seen at this summers hottest festivals, it only seems appropriate to talk about how to add some festival fever to your face.  Although slumming it in a cheap tent is all part of the experience, it  is essential for every girl to maintain a fresh glow, it is completely expected at festivals to  break the boundaries with your make up.  Personally I enjoy adding a unique design on the face, particularly around the eye area as this is something that cannot be done everyday and it allows me to be a complete hippy in fields for a few days. But other looks which I will be trying out this summer include this two-tone lip . 

As soon as I saw this photo on Pinterest I knew this was something i was going to have to try. it seems relatively easy, simple but effective. To begin this look, and with all looks including a strong lip, I would first prepare the lips for the product which is just as important as the lip stick itself. Primers are an excellent product for ensuring that the lip colour will stay and that it will also last longer. Personally, I use MAC Prep & Prime fro Lips. I cannot apply any lip colour without using this primer and highly recommend this brand for a true performance of how primers should work. Following this a lip brush is always needed to ensure perfection when applying the lip colour. Again for me I use Mac's 318 retractable lip brush which works perfectly every time. A steady hand is required. Also, while at festivals it is imperative to go a little crazy and do something outside your comfort zone. My comfort zone is red when it comes to shades! Therefore this summer I am going bold with neon pink, I went through a serious MAC phase a few months ago so most of my products in my beauty bag are this brand so the colours I am recommending are MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme. It really does what it says on the box, and stays on ..... for ages! Especially at a three day event you are going to need something that will go the distance so investing in a long lasting product is worth every penny spent. I would find a shade that suits your skin tone (never be afraid to ask for counter assistance, its what they are paid to do) and get either a shade lighter or a shade darker. Grab your lip brush and gently apply the darker shade onto the brush. Whatever shape you decide to create with the products, start to outline on the lip with this design. Practice before you head away for the weekend to avoid wasting time on the first day trying different designs or shades! Also practicing will help you decide on which shade should be placed where on the lip. This look is definitely original and I do not think many girls will think of this so make sure to try this look before someone else does.  

Cheeks are also a great area to decorate when getting involved in all the festivities. I enjoy the simplicity of just simple little black hearts on cheeks and so easily done. Start by picking up/ grabbing you liquid eye liner (I would recommend the liner stick rather than pot liner as it will be easier to apply). Liquid liner will also stay on the face longer as pencil can fade away really easily, and I would use Rimmels black liner. if you already have pot eye liner, never fear! This will work just as well as the stick, it will just require the assistance of an eyeliner brush for precision. Bobbi Brown have a fantastic eye liner brush and its also award winning so you know your in safe hands. To complete this look I would apply a strong eye with the addition of more liquid eye liner above the lid of the eye and and black pencil liner on the bottom and keeping the lips nude.A great mascara to use is Benefits Bad Gal Waterproof mascara. This will allow the lashes to stand out from the large crowd and get noticed!  This will complete the look of the festival reveler. 

Enjoy the festivals guys, Love C X