Blue Smokey Eyes Guide

Hi my lovelies, hope you all liked my recent post on my Blue Smokey Eye Make-up look. So here's my step by step guide on how I did this make-up look and what products I used.

First of all, I prepped my brows. I was going for a bold look but wanted my eyebrows to look more natural so I decided to use the Anastasia Beverley Hills dip brow pomade in medium brown.

I applied concealer as a base on my entire eye. The first shade I used was a cranberry colour from MakeUp ForEver. This was applied in the crease line and I blended it upwards so it was more lifted on the brow bone. I then used a highlighter shade from the morphe 35P palette as I love how natural it looks. For my transitioning shade I used a mustard shade from the MakeUp ForEver as my transitioning colour.

Then I applied a black shade on the outer V area of my eye and blended the shadow towards the centre of the eye. Finally I applied the blue eyeshadow on the front part of my eye and I blended this shade towards the middle. Now I was ready to add the glitter over this beautiful bold eye makeup look. I used a blue glitter from NYX Cosmetics, I applied this onto the blue eyeshadow with the Inglot Duraline as a glue. 

Next comes my favourite part: THE LASHES. I coated my lashes with the Charlotte Tilburys new mascara the Legendary Lashes Volume 2. This applies on so well, it doesn't leave any clumps on your lashes at all and really makes them look longer than they are. 

PRICE: £25

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2qRe6I7

I used the Unicorn Flutter by Unicorn Cosmetics."The thicker, clusters of lashes create a feathery appearance and slightly spiky look. This super full, flared design offers incredible length to your natural lashes, and intensifies your eyes instantly. Perfect for special occasions where you want to stand out; these high quality, luxurious lashes look amazing once applied" (www.falseeyelashes.co.uk) 

PRICE: £9.95

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2Jpgf4D

So once the eye makeup was done I moved onto preparing for the base. I covered my eyes and sprayed the Pixi beauty Glow Mist before I did my base. You can apply this onto your face before and after your makeup for a fresh glow.

PRICE: £16

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2qRWufx

I used the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream instead of using a primer . This felt amazing on my dry skin and wasn't making my face oily. It's pricey but so luxurious and I think it's a great buy, worth every penny. 
PRICE: £70

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2qVGB7y

As I have dark circles, instead of using a colour corrector  I used the Charlotte Tilbrys concealer, The Retoucher in medium 3 as it has a peachy undertone. I then applied my actual shade which is light 2. I love the brush of this concealer, its similar to the YSL concealer and the formula is amazing. It's creamy and goes onto your skin effortlessly and blends easily. So if you have dry under eye area this will be the perfect concealer for you.

PRICE: £25

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vq5opj

To make my eyes even more bright and to set the concealer I dabbed the Revolution Luxury Banana Baking Powder and left it on for a few minutes to bake. This powder is similar to the Ben Nye banana powder but way more cheaper. 

PRICE: £5

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2JnaO6q

I'm in love with the Charlotte Tilburys Foundation range right now. I used the Hollywood Flawless Filter in tan 5 which is a 'Complexion Booster For Super Starlit Skin' and the magic foundation in medium 6. I love the coverage you get from this foundation, it blends smoothly onto the skin. This liquid foundation gives you that fresh look with a light coverage, evanescent texture and you're still able to hide any small blemishes you have on your face. It's long-lasting so you can apply it early in the morning before going to work and it will last you until you need to get changed into your pyjamas!

The Hollywood flawless Filter: PRICE: £30

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vFYEn9

The Magic foundation: PRICE: £32

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vBNMXo

          

I set foundations with the Airbrush flawless powder in medium 2. This helps to set the foundation in place and makes it last longer and it doesn't make you look cakey as it has a natural finish.

PRICE: £34

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vIWXFH

I can't get over how amazing the Hollywood Wand Duo set is. I used the Hollywood Contour Wand on my cheekbones, along my jawline and then I drew 2 lines on the sides of my nose. I applied the Hollywood Beauty Light Wand (highlighter) on my cheeks, on the bridge of my nose and my cupids bow. Both these products blend easily, you can use a beauty blender or a brush. But I used my finger to blend the highlighter so it didn't create any streaks.

Hollywood Beauty Light Wand: PRICE: £29

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vG105D  
Hollywood Contour Wand:PRICE: £29

                 SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2vIYo73

Last but not the least, I did my lips. I used the Huda Beauty Lip Contour in Spice Girl and I used the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Ruby Slipper. This is very long lasting and if you apply a lip balm underneath, it feels so silky on the lips. 

PRICE: $20

SHOP NOW: http://bit.ly/2qRUXpL

Hope you enjoy creating this look on yourself. Please let me know if you try any of the products that I've listed and let me know how you find them. 

Huda Beauty: The 5 Highlighter Palettes

Uffff the holographic packaging is just so perfect! I love it and I love all the campaign looks on the cover of the palettes. Each palette contains a creamy pearlescent base which you would use for strobing and then apply the rest of the powder shades. I prefer to have more of a natural glow so I usually skip the cream highlighter, instead I use it in the inner corner of my eye to make my eyes pop, on the bridge of my nose and on my cupids bow. However, if I'm getting ready for a special occasion, then I want that intense glow, so I go all out and apply a cream shade using my fingers as I feel when I use a brush it doesn't look as smooth, on my skin. The formulas for the powder shades are very creamy so they blend effortlessly well. The highlighters are perfect for an everyday look if you use a small amount or you can easily build on the layers and it doesn't look streaky. I think the only thing missing in these palette is a mirror, which I feel is very essential. 

3D Highlighter Palette: Bronze Sands Edition. This is the latest highlighter palette in this collection which has been launched this year. The palette has beautiful warm, golden and bronze tones which would be suitable for someone who has a tan to deep skin tone. There are instructions inside the palette on how to apply each shade in which order. Step 1 is to 'apply Barbados as a base to smooth skin and amplify light reflecting pearls'. I used my finger to apply this onto my cheekbones. It shows as a beautiful gold on your cheekbones. Step 2 is to 'dab Maldives from cheek to temple to set and bring out the pop'. And it sure does as it states on the instructions. When I applied this shade on it's own, it looks more like a champagne and gold highlighter which I would wear on a daily basis. Step 3 is to 'apply Aruba under cheekbones to add dimension and shape'. I finally found my perfect contour/bronzer shade. As I was using the Golden Sands edition palette previously, I felt the Tahiti shade in that palette was too light and shimmery to use as a bronzer for my skin tone so I'm loving Aruba. Step 4 is to 'sweep Bora Bora on apples of your cheeks for a healthy glow'. "Sweep" means to be very light handed when you apply it, as this shade can look over the top if you apply too much, as it has a copper tone. This is definitely my new 'go to' highlighter palette and I would probably use the the Zanzibar shade from the Golden Sands edition as I'm more of a pinky blusher type of gal and the Capri shade from the Pink Sands edition as my cream base! 

3D Highlighter Palette: Golden Sands Edition has been inspired by the Tropical flair of Exotic Islands. This was my first ever Huda Beauty highlighter palette purchase. I can still remember I was eagerly waiting for the release date and once it came online I had to get my hands on it. My first impression of this palette was like "Wow it really does take after its name and gives a 3D effect" It's suitable for medium to dark skin tones. Fiji is a soft gold strobing base which is very creamy like butter, so do be careful when applying this on top of your foundation as too much product causes streaks. I apply this using my finger rather than a brush. Seychelles is a soft gold which looks subtle on it's own or pops out if used on top of Fiji. It just sets on top of Fiji so brilliantly. Tahiti is a bronzey shimmery powder, this looks amazing if used as a highlighter for darker skin  tones. Zanzibar is a coral and pink mix with golden shimmers and goes on so beautifully on the apple of your cheeks. This has to be my favourite shade out of this palette. 

3D Highlighter Palette: Pink Sands Edition has been inspired by 'the softly golden and rosy shades of European Islands'. This palette is suitable for fair to medium skin tones. Capri is a melted strobe base and has a less creamy texture compared to the Fiji shade in the Golden Sands edition, it's almost like silk so I'm able to use a brush to apply this. I love it because it has the perfect texture for a cream base for my preference. Santorini is exactly like the whitewashed Island it's light reflecting pressed pearls has more of a champagne glow once applied. Azores as well as the other powder shades looks and feels so smooth on your skin. This shade didn't do much for my skin tone but it would look amazing if your more fair. I would use this as a highlighter to set rather than sculpt. Ibiza has a pink and gold shimmer to it so it's an amazing blush shade. I would use this as a blush for a day make-up look. 

Summer Solstice Highlighter Palette shades have been named after the worlds most amazing beach destinations. There's no instructions in this palette as well as the Winter solstice because you can use them anywhere on your face. Obviously you would you would use the cream highlighter as a base as step 1. Saint-Tropez is a cream base, similar texture to the Capri base in the Pink Sands edition and it has a yellow tone. Malibu is more of a bronze shimmer, it's such a stunning shade and very versatile you can use it all over your face. Although, if you're a medium skin tone, you can easily get away with combining the shades together as I felt Malibu was too dark for me as a highlighter on it's own.  Copacabana is a soft pink, it's not as intense as it looks. Mykonos has a duo chrome effect it's a purple.  I have to be honest but when this palette was released, I was like why would you include a purple shade in a highlighter palette?? Ok so personally, I wouldn't use it on my cheeks but the purple shade works wonders if used as an eyeshadow! I did try it on my cheeks and it doesn't look as intimidating as it does in the palette, it's definitely wearable. This palette would suit any skin tone

Winter Solstice Highlighter Palette: Huda was inspired by the ice queen persona. I love all the colours in this palette. I have used all 4 shades as highlighters and they look so amazing. Frosted Kiss is a very subtle and silky textured shade and not as creamy as the other cream highlighter shades in the other other palettes. You really have to dig into the pan to get this one out though. Arctic Glow has a blue undertone to it. The swatch I did was a few layers built so I could really show the pigmentation in the images. So don't be frightened by the colours as it doesn't appear blue when you apply it on your cheeks. Northern Lights has a green undertone, however when applied onto the cheeks its more golden looking. Winter Rose is a beautiful pink that gives you a healthy glow. 

Overall, I would have to say I do not regret buying any of these palettes as I can make use of all of them for so many different looks. If you do not own a Huda Beauty Highlighter Palette, you need to get your hands on at least one!! They retail at £40 each. You can buy Huda Beauty products from www.cultbeauty.co.uk. 

My favourite Matte liquid lipstick is...

What can I say about the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra-Matte liquid lipstick...it's impeccable. The quality is in the formula, the consistency is very creamy and the coverage is brilliant. The best advantage  is that you only need one coat so your lipstick will last you for longer. Once it dries it doesn't feel like you have anything on your lips as it's super smooth. It's very long lasting and your lips stay hydrated if you apply a lip balm prior to applying your lipstick. One more thing, it smells amazing compared to other brands I've tried!

My favourite two shades from their range have to be Serenity (pinky nude) and Ruby Slippers (dark rouge)
. I just love the final coverage these two shades give.

As it's Gerard Cosmetics 4 year anniversary, they have great deals on their lips range right now. Don't miss out on huge savings:

Gerard Cosmetics | Shop Our Anniversary Beauty Sets!

BROWS...BROWS AND BROWS!!

What's the first thing you notice when you look at someone. I have a tendency to always look at their brows! I don't know how many others do the same but if someone's got a mono-brow I really want to grab a pair of tweezers and start plucking their eyebrows. Well I wish I could do that but I would probably get punched in the face for doing so. A few years ago everyone was into very thin eyebrows but now it's all changed, girl's nowadays are growing their eyebrows thicker. The shape of the brows and the thickness can drastically change the appearance of someone's eyes. Therefore, you have to ensure you get your eyebrows done correctly, or else you're doomed!!

Now let me give you the correct technique on how to shape your brows by answering some common question women have on how to shape eyebrows:

How do you determine where your eyebrow should start from? Well the beginning of the brow should be aligned with the centre of the nostril and the inner corner of your eye. You could use a ruler or any type of card to measure with.

How do I create an Arch? The arch should fall over the back third of the eye. Use a white pencil to draw where the arch should be, look straight ahead and place a card at the edge of your nose and tilt it towards the iris.

Where does the eyebrow end? The outer corner edge of your eyes and the edge of your nose.

Which direction should I brush the hairs? If you have a brow bush you could use this to brush the hairs in an upwards direction or you could also use an old toothbrush. If you have any hairs that are too long you can trim these by using eyebrow scissors.

How light or dark should my eyebrows be? The colour should be a shade lighter than your hair colour if you have dark hair. If you have light hair then the shade needs to be a shade darker.

If you're eyebrows are misshaped or lack in certain areas, then they may need to be corrected for an inconsistent appearance. If you need to enhance you're eyebrows then you should use an eyebrow pencil and if you wish just to add colour, then use any eyebrow powder. You can use a brow gel to hold the hairs in place.

I recently purchased the Browgal starter set which includes 2 eyebrow pencils (1 warm and 1 ash tone) and highlightter and a clear eyebrow gel to set and seal. I don't usually use brow pencils but I absolutely loved the final finish after using this set. As you can see in the image, my eyebrows don't harsh like they would look after using other brow pencils. The price for this set is $75. Get yours now:

The best way to get started on your brow routine. Shop The BrowGal starter set today!

How to clean your dirty brushes

Oh I used to hate cleaning my make-up brushes, I would clean them using a towel and a brush cleaner. The strong smell of the brush cleaner gave me headaches and it wasn't ideal to use around a baby and young children. Even after cleaning them and leaving them to dry, they would still smell of the brush cleaner.

I recently discovered the 'Palmat' from Practk which is a sister company of Sigma. I used it with their SigMagic Brushampoo and OMG the results were phemonemal. My brushes look brand new and they don't have the strong chemical smell anymore, in fact, they smell amazing.

The 'Palmat' comes in 3 different colours, blue, green and purple. The packaging was brilliant and so funky that I didn't want to take the product out! The instructions are very easy to follow as the steps are shown in images. You can use it in your sink as the suction cups hold it in place or you can wear it on your palm. It has adjustable tabs for a customised fit.

It has 3 different textures which allows a deep cleaning of the bristles of even the densest brushes. This is definitely needed to clean and remove all the bacteria build up using brushes regularly.  Now I wash my brushes twice a week, which I highly recommend to do if you don't want breakouts.

The 'Palmat' has made my life so much easier as a make-up artist when you have to clean your brushes after each use. The only downfall is that you have to let your brushes dry overnight to use them again. I don't mind that though as long as my brushes are squeaky clean, I'm happy!

Get your Practk Palmat here: bit.ly/2IEIfSA

"Life is short, your lashes shouldn't be"

My new 'go to' website for false eyelashes

When you're looking for the perfect false eyelashes it can be a tough task to do. There are so many different companies that sell false eyelashes from different brands, you need to buy good quality eyelashes that don't look too fake.

I've come across this brilliant website where you can shop affordable brands as well as high quality branded false eyelashes. 

Buy the latest lashes at FalseEyelashes.co.uk

FalseEyelashes.co.uk stock over 1,500 styles from over 30 brands such as Unicorn, Koko lashes, House of lashes, Lilly lashes and also the high street brands such as Ardell and Eylure. The best thing about it is that they offer FREE 1st class shipping on all orders!! Saves you from going out, you can order your favourite eyelashes from the click of a button.

The lashes that I'm wearing in these images are from Unicorn and the style is called Rebel smoke. The price is £9.95 and if you hurry up onto the site right now, you can grab yourself a bargain as there's  currently 20% off this brand, the offer ends at midnight! (16/03/2018)

Shop amazing deals at FalseEyelashes.co.uk

Highlight & Contouring

When you see pictures of highlight and contouring mapping, it's usually specific to one face shape but everyone's face shape is different so there are different ways to enhance the features depending on how you want to appear. The way to determine where to highlight and where to contour is basically simple. The areas of your face you want to appear smaller and more defined you need to contour and the areas you want to pop more and create an illusion of something there, you need to highlight.

First thing I did was applied Illamasqua's Hydra Veil onto my skin, this is a must have product if you have dry skin, you can use it as a moisturiser or a primer. I applied a small amount of the Illamasqua Skin Base foundation in shade 09 onto my face and the Skin Base Lift concealer in the shade Medium 1 under my eyes.

I used the LA Girl Cosmetics Pro HD Conceal in the shade 'Creamy Beige' as a highlighter. As this is an American brand you can't purchase this from any UK stores but it's available from the following website: http://beautybcosmetics.com/la-girl-usa-cosmetics-pro-concealer-correct-highlight-contour-longwear.html and they're so cheap, only £5. I applied the product onto my hand first as if you squeeze the product directly onto your skin, then you may get more on than you require. I drew a line starting from the corner of my inner eye area, going towards the corner of my mouth and then towards the end corner of my eye area, basically like a triangle shape. To give your eye a lift, take the highlight shade slightly higher from the under-eye area. To make them appear more open and wide apart, highlight around the tear duct area.

Then I applied the highlighter on the bridge of my nose and on the centre of my forehead. If you have a small forehead then highlight more on your forehead to make it appear long, if you have a large forehead then highlight less on the centre and do more contouring around your hairline. If there's any other features you want to pop out, highlight those areas, hence I applied a small amount on my chin, my cupids bow and the corner of my mouth. I used the Morphe brush M436 to stipple the concealer onto my skin. This method is best when you're applying one product over another for a soft finish. For the smaller areas, I used the Sigma F65 brush to push in the concealer onto my skin.

To get those chiselled cheekbones, I used the shade in 'Beautiful Bronze' from LA Girl Cosmetics Pro HD Conceal. I started from where the top of my ear is and drew a diagonal line and faded it into the corner of my mouth. An easy way to find the exact position of where to apply is to squeeze your cheeks in (the famous fish face).

Then I applied a small amount on the temples to create a '3D' effect and along the hairline. As I mentioned earlier, depending on the size of your forehead, you can bring this line more onto your forehead, if you have a large forehead.

To create a defined jaw line, I drew a line beginning from where my ear lobe is and followed it to near the chin area. If you have a double chin then contour just under the chin area. If you have a large chin then you need to contour that area and vice versa.

To create an illusion of a straight nose, draw two lines on the side of your nose and connect it at the tip. I added an extra line to add a visual break so that the nose appears smaller than it is. If you have a small nose do not add the extra line. If you have a wide nose then shade more on the sides of your nose for it to appear more slim. If you have a crooked nose then you just ignore the side it bends towards and just draw two straight lines to create the illusion of the nose being straight.

To pout the lips, I drew a small line just under the lip area so that they appear more fuller and on the cupids bow. You can add highlight after applying lipstick to make them look even more bigger.

After blending, you need to set those areas with powder. I used 3 different setting products. The Light shade from MAC Studio Careblend was used to set the highlighted zones, the Betty-Lou Manizer from The Balm for the contoured zones and the MAC Loose Powder in the shade NC20 for the in between zones where I didn't apply any of the concealers.

Then I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit as my final step. I used the shade 'Banana' over the highlighted areas, and the shade 'Fawn' over the contoured areas. For an everyday look, you can skip the cream products and go straight to using the highlight and contour kit. The blushers I applied are from MAC in the shade 'Fleur Power' using the MAC 163 brush and Benefits Rockateur blusher on the apple of my cheeks.

Finally I applied the 'Mary-Lou Manizer' as a shimmer in the areas which I wanted to glow. Ensure that you don't use a cream highlighter/shimmer product over powder as it will make it look muddy. Also if you have oily skin then skip the shimmer. You can view the video tutorial on my YouTube channel, here is the direct link for the tutorial: http://youtu.be/tSeWF_wG_XA

Additional products I used:

EYES: 

Smashbox FAQ's Eye Shadow Palette: 'Cream' shade for brow bone

Urban Decay, Naked 2 Palette: 'Tease' for socket, 'Busted' for outer 'V' and 'YDK' for centre of lid

MUA Trio Eye-shadow, Innocence: 'Highlighter' shade for inner corner of eye.

LA Girl Fine Line, fine tip liquid eyeliner

Illamasqua eye pencil, SOPHIE: for inside the water line and outer corner of eye area

Tarte Cosmetics: Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara

i-Envy by Kiss lashes: KPE11

EYEBROWS: 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Pomade: 'Chocolate' shade

LIPS:

Illamasqua lip crayon: 'Fantasy'

Illamasqua, lipstick: 'Obey'

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!