Smokey Eyes - Eid look

Hi all, happy Ramadan! I was requested to do a Smokey eye make-up look and I thought it would be the perfect time to do a make-up tutorial on it now, just in time for Eid! 

There are so many variations of the Smokey eyes look, you can go for the classic black Smokey eyes, keep it natural and add black to the ends, add colours and with different nuance of the colours. It's entirely up to you, go crazy with colours if you like!! 

In the tutorial I uploaded on my YouTube channel, I did my face first and then the eyes, but I used a make-up shield to prevent fallouts under the eye area. If you're doing this look for the first time on yourself, I would recommend you do the eyes first, as it can get very messy. 

Start off by applying primer or any concealer on the eye area. Some people have a problem with eye-shadows creasing and that happens if you don't use a base on your eyelid. You can use a nude eye-shadow if you don't have an eye primer. Using a base on the eye-lid helps you with blending, lasts longer and prevents it from creasing or smudging through the day. Once the eye area has been prepared, it's time to add highlight just under the brows. I used a cream shade from the Smashbox FAQ's eye-shadow palette as a highlighter on the brow bone. I've had this palette which I got from QVC a while back now and I think it was a limited edition, it has 5 lovely shades, a cream, orange/peach, brown and grey, I can't remember what the other one was as I dropped it and broke the mirror inside (ooooops bad luck) and the one of the shades popped out too! I used the MAC 239 brush to dab it onto the brow bone.  

To contour the eye, I applied the "Tease" shade from the Urban Decay: Naked 2 palette into the socket of the eye, I used the Sigma E25 Blending brush to blend it in from the outer corner area and took it into the front in circular motions. To make the black appear better in pictures, it's best to apply a gel liner as a base on the eyelid, therefore I applied Illamasqua's Precision Gel Liner in Infinity. I used the Sigma E35 Tapered Blending brush to apply the gel on the outer corner and faded it into the front of the eye, but not all the way. 

Using the shade #65 from Inglot, I applied it over the base. I applied this with the Sephora 10 brush again from the outer corner and faded it into the front. If you did the make-up on your face first, then make sure you tap the brush so that any excess powder falls off before you apply the shadow on your lid. It's your choice how high you want to take the black shade, personally on myself I don't like it too high up but if you prefer to, you can blend it upwards so it fades into your crease by gently going up in a circular motion.

If you want to add shimmer then apply an iridescent shade of your choice at the front or on the middle of your eyelid. I used the shade "Pistol" from the Urban Decay, Naked 2 palette and I applied this using the Sephora 28 shadow brush, you can use any flat shade brush to apply this. Then I blended the black into this as I didn't want the grey to show as much.

I applied the shade orange/peach from the Smashbox FAQs eye-shadow palette in between the crease and the brow bone as a transition colour to create that ombre effect. I applied this using the Sigma E45 small tapered brush.

Using the Sigma E10 small eye liner brush I applied Illamasqua Precision Gel liner in the water line and then at the top. Then I used the Sigma E20 Short Shader brush for smudging to minimise the harshness and make it look more smokey. 

Then I curled my lashes and applied the Tarte Cosmetics: Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara on the bottom lashes first as it instantly opens up your eyes, then I applied it at the top. I complete the whole look by applying false lashes from SalonSystem: natural lash, I used #120. 

Please check out my Smokey-Eyes make-up tutorial: 

http://youtu.be/ARYTFF9bbaU

Thank you

Tarte Cosmetics: Best Face Forward beauty kit review

I ordered this new beauty set from QVC by Tarte Cosmetics which is an American brand. Now I just have a thing for American make-up products but I've never tried any of their products before and wanted to know what all the hype was about. So I was watching QVC last week and when I watched the launch of the products I thought OK so I need to really try this brand out, plus it was a great deal not to be missed only for £38.40 plus P & P. Although the price has gone up I feel it's still a great value. You can purchase this set on here:http://www.qvcuk.com/tarte-6-Piece-Best-Face-Forward-Make-Up-Collection-&-Bag.product.208035.html. Let me tell you my first impression on using the kit. 

When I opened the box I was like wow I loved the colour combination and design of the products and the make-up bag looked so cute. Apparently it's only designed for QVC so it's limited edition people!! You can use the make-up bag to put your everyday make-up products in or take it on a holiday. I really needed one like this for my holiday I just came back from India last month.

Anyway's let's get on with the products. You'll get one Amazonian clay eye-shadow quad which contains 4 beautiful warm/neutral colours: 2 matte (Ivory Little Thing and Love Runs Deep) and 2 shimmery shades (Heart of Gold and on Copper the World). The colours are very well pigmented and are designed to mattify and control oil for more of a long-wear because of the natural ingredients they use from the Amazon rainforest. This is also limited edition so you can only get it if you buy the whole set. 

You will love the 4 in 1 mascara called: Lights, Camera, Lashes which curls, lengthens, adds volume and conditions your natural lashes as it's infused with plant botanicals and waxes which will protect your lashes unlike other mascaras which can damage your lashes. If you just apply one coat on both lashes I think it will do the trick as I applied the mascara on one eye first, then dipped it back into the product to apply on my other eye, but it clumped as there was enough product left previously.

Now my favourite product from the kit would be the coloured clay CC primer. They have 5 different shades: fair, light, medium, tan and deep. You can match the shades available to your skin tone, but it doesn't have to match exactly same as you can apply foundation over it. My shade is medium. At first, when I applied the primer onto my face I thought it was slightly dark for me and made me look like I had a tan, but once I blended it on, it was a perfect tone for me and I didn't even have to wear foundation over. The texture was similar to the Benefit Porefessional primer and I love using that product as a base. The design of the actual product is like a hourglass wheel, it has one tone of purple then the colour of your skin, then goes onto a green shade and finally another skin shade. There are many benefits for you using this primer. The specially designed stick helps to blur imperfections, helps with discolouration and eliminates redness. It doesn't feel like you're wearing anything, it really let's your skin breathe. Your skin will look and feel more smooth after applying this product. It's also great for sensitive skin or older skin as it consists of natural oils and natural preservatives which are friendly for your skin.

I've never been fond of blushers that are combined together with a bronzer and highlighter so the Coloured Clay Bronzer Blush in Pink Bronze would be my least favourite product. Overall it does give you a sun-kissed look if that's what you prefer.  I just have a certain way of applying a bronzer, blusher and highlighter separately. 

I love the Double Ended Complexion Brush, one side is like a kabuki flat brush which you can use to buff the foundation onto your skin with, and the other end is tapered so you can use it to apply the blusher or use it for contouring. The bristles are super soft, outstanding quality and feel great on the skin. 

Last but not least is the Lip Surgence lip crème in Vintage and the shade they provided is Honeysuckle Pink. Upon applying this product it feels and tastes absolutely great and looks flattering. It doesn't make your lips feel dry or chapped, it's very creamy and doesn't feel like you have anything on. It's infused with vitamins C & E, plus peppermint and jojoba oil. For those of you who have come across jojoba oil will know the marvellous benefits to the skin after using it. Jojoba oil is a liquid wax which is extracted from the seed of the jojoba plant. It's greatly used to boost hydration whether used on the lips, on your skin or for other parts of your body. 

Please check out the quick make-up demo I did on my YouTube channel on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R7bxjeeJxQ&feature=youtu.be. I created the whole look using this kit and the only additional products I used was the Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow pomade in chocolate shade and the Benefit Erase Paste in medium to hide my dark circles.