Fusion Fever

 As someone who observes beauty trends from a distance, is somewhat intrigued by crazes and 'of the moment' products. Before Christmnas I attended a trend report presentaion in The Soho Hotel given by the beauty team at Stylist Magazine. Covering nail, hair and make-up looks which are set to have their 15 minutes of fame in SS15. As a hair product junkie it's obvious to say that due to my line of work I was in attendance to see their opinions ion this area but was pleasantly surprised at how interested I was in all the trend topics. Based on looks from Fashion Week last September we should be embracing the blue fusion look, and for many reasons I totally agree.        

Black eyeliner is a defining essential to my everyday make-up routine. I've tried every brand, every style (subtle for the day is the best approach) and it has become almost like a best friend.So it to say that it's extremely tough for me to not reach for my MAC Fluidlne in the morning is the biggest undestatement you'll read today! What can I say I'm a girl of tradition. But with all this being said, I'm in need of a fresh approch to daily beauty and trying new colours is the easiest way, and just in time for spring.  

                                                          

                               

,emtioned in my last post (whivh you can read here http://cicijewels.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/january-loves_16.html ) I mentioned one of the latest product buys, MAC Mountain Air Pencil Liner. Given a voucher for Christmas, I used tis to invest in some of the products that I either want to incorporate into my SS15 make up bag or just the clasic essentials. Since buying, I've used this liner once on a night out with the girls, and forgot to take a picture! Oops... 

Admittedly, this look could have worked out better, partly due to my eagerness to also showcase my new smoky eye shadow set. My thinking was that the liner would still be able to stand out amoungst the smoky shades whivh took up the rest of my eye, sadly it didn't. One big aspect that I didn't take into consideration was that a fluid liner as opposed to a pencil would have worked better. I think for future reference I'll stick to nude, muted tones on the eye lid when opting for this look again.    

                                             

                                      

One of the biggest reasons that I think will work in favour of this trend is I really don't see how this can't work with anyones skintone. I'm naturally quiet pale and try to keep my foundation to a similar shade. and then opt for a darker option for events and nights out and this colour worked really, really well. Particularly becasue I have blue eyes, the product compliments overall and I imagine that it would be just as beautiful on sallow, tan skin. If Mountain Air doens't float your boat, try something else. There are so many shades and brands (and budgets) to choose from that there is no excuse to at least try the trend. 

I can't wait to give this look another go, and this time I will absolutely post a picture on Instagram (instagram.com/cicijewels) . 

                                                                LOVE C X      

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

Bobbi Brown: Make Up Brushes Full Set

I had been thinking for a while that Ive wanted to invest in some really good make up brushes. I usually pick up some as I tend to need them, like a new foundation brush every so often, blusher brush every few months, the odd eye shadow brush here and there. But this time I did things a little differently, I bought a whole 24 piece brush set. I have used MAC brushes in the past, and I'm not saying they are bad because let's face it they're not but I wanted to try a brush that I hadn't used before and I have only heard great things about Bobbi Brown. I have to say I'm a bit biased because I bought the Bobbi Brown Make Up Manual about a year ago, so I've been wanted to try the actual brushes for these specific looks. I know I gave in.... 

For me, a good brush brand has always been determined on the basis of how good the foundation brush is, simple but true. Some brushes just don't blend the foundation on my face (not that I'm using a lot of foundation by any means). With my skin being dry/combination, I use a an oil free foundation mostly and I like one that gives a light matte finish which requires a make up which sets properly, which just can't be achieved with a bad brush. My personal view is whatever the cost, I'll pay it if the job is done right! 

When my brushes arrived, naturally I was really excited to get going and try them out. I'm a big fan of BB cream and always try and put this on before my foundation, I tested out the Bobbi Brown foundation brush for this, and I was really, really happy with the result. The brush is also quite strong so it can hold the harsh blending against my skin which can often be the case when applying. For my actual day time foundation I use my Chanel #6 foundation brush still, as much as I'm loving my Bobbi Brown brushes I can't bear to stop using this one. It's the best one I've ever used because my make up sits perfectly on my my face after I use it and after I wash it, it doesn't feel out of place or clumpy which can often happen. 

Other than the one exception of using my Chanel brush, I've been using my Bobbi Brown brushes and I'm so pleased with them. I just think that it's important to point  out that I have not been asked to review these brushes by any company, I just really enjoy using them. I'm also the type of person who will use a different brush for everything. Yes, I'm that annoying person! But since I first started to really become interested in the different angles of applying make up I have become fascinated on how much better my overall look is because I've used a brush, and properly also. It is really important to learn how to apply properly. 

Another result of this investment, I went away and bought a new Urban Decay Naked palette, it's the only real way to experiment right? Well, this palette is just simply stunning anyway and I'm sure most of you are all too aware of beautifully easy it is to blend the rich tones. I have a few of my favourite combination which I will put together in a blog post soon. 

Naturally enough I am now all about taking care of my brushes |(I'm afraid to admit that this wasn't always the way). I try my very hardest to clean my brushes at least once a week and I've noticed that it makes me make up appear much better as a result, mainly due to the fact clumps of old make up is now gone from the brush. I'm aware this is common sense to most people but honestly, cleaning brushes regularly is such a new craze for me and I'm loving the results. The product that has been highly recommended to me over the years is MAC Brush Cleaner. I'm still discovering the best method; at the moment I'm mixing with water and rinsing the brushes through. It does give a deep clean but I would love to know if anyone has other tips or tricks for cleaning brushes. 

Another exploration for me with my new brushes is I'm experimenting more with eye make up as I previously mentioned. So I picked up a new Urban Decay Naked 2Palette, which is mainly made up of dusty tones of brown, gold, deep lilac, blending beautifully together to give a wide variety of overall looks. 

Have you tried the Bobbi Brown brushes? What are your thoughts? 

Love C X 

XO

February Loves ....

American Eagle Outfitters graphic shirt
Pull Bear print top
Helmut Lang blazer

River Island cigarette skinny jeans

Topshop espadrilles shoes

Boyy leather purse

Halcyon Days bangle bracelet
ASOS diamante ring

Mac cosmetics makeup

TheBalm blush

Love C X 

So Fresh & So Clean

Working full time means that my evenings now consist of winding down and relaxing. My beauty routine has since changed during this process of part-time to full time working lady. I've spoken about the strain of making sure that my make up stays in tact for the full nine hour shift, but occasionally I top up my foundation on my lunch break (which I think is normal!), so this requires to wear a full face everyday which I don't mind but I need my skin to breath also. So part of my New Years resolution was to take better care of my skin and this is when I introduced facial masks into my weekly beauty regime. H&M offer a great range of facial scrubs for 99c which I was first very skeptical to try because of my sensitive skin  but many of my friends have raved about them so I took a chance and picked up the olive oil option. After applying all over my face (avoiding eyes and mouth) and letting it soak into my skin for 15 minutes. If you haven't used one of these facial masks before be warned that after about two minutes you will no longer be able to move any part of your face! Afterwards my skin felt extremely smooth and fresh and the following day I noticed the difference, especially after I had applied my make up I had a glow off my skin (something I could get used to).

To brighten up my spring wardrobe I am also investing in a little nail revival, primarily in the form of nude shades. I am usually a massive fan of Barry M nail polishes but when it comes to the nude options they tend to crack quiet easily and don't seem to go the distance aswell as the darker shades. I've decided this time around I am going professional in the form of shellac. I've tried this before so I now how nice it looks and lasts much longer than the average self polish. I'll make sure to post the results to the Facebook page (CiCi Jewels).

My all time favorite scent has to be Chloe. Every Christmas I end up with loads which thankfully gets me through the year. What I like about this scent is that it is quiet light and not over powering, very femine and lasts for hours! This year although I did manage to receive some other smellies as well, including Giorgio Armani "Si" and Paco Rabane "Lady Millions". For the past few weeks I have been wearing "Si", which I would never have picked for myself, and was surprised with all the compliments I have about the fragrance. Very pleased with the results and smells of late.

Love C X