I got my Manly 120 palette today! I read reviews on it and decided to buy it last week, and it arrived today, fully protected with like a meeellion layers of bubble wrap and a "handle with care" sticker on the front.. naice!

with included mini brush set & "pigments"

So pretty!

I'm soo excited to use this, can't wait, but I'm gonna be busy for the next couple days, working tomorrow & friday, have a wedding in Leicester on Saturday, so should be blogging shortly after that! Or I might add pictures of the makeup I do for the event.. or from the sleepover I had last night with two friends =)

<3

Naked Palette look

I was torn between doing a brown or grey/black look with this palette first, but decided to go with brown seeing as its a more neutral/everyday look.

First of all, let me talk about this palette!

From left to right: virgin, sin, naked, sidecar, buck, half baked, smog, darkhorse, toasted, hustle, creep & gunmetal. 24/7 eyeliners: zero & whiskey (non metallic brown).

I wasn't too bothered about it when I was blogging about the NYC palette, cos I thought I had most of the colours from all my Book of Shadows'. I do have a few of them already e.g. half baked, smog and gunmetal. But this palette also has two matte colours (naked & buck), satin colours (e.g. virgin, sin & toasted) and shimmery colours (e.g. sidecar, smog & creep).
Despite preferring bright colours like purples & blues, I actually love this palette, especially the matte colours as I don't have much of these! The double ended eyeliner is cute and seeing as Urban Decay don't sell whiskey by itself yet, I'm happy I own it.

For this look I used:

> UD Primer Potion
> UD Naked palette: virgin, sin, naked, smog, darkhorse, creep.
> 24/7 eyeliner "zero"
> Maybelline eye definer in black
> Dior Show mascara
> myface.cosmetics concealer "213"
> UD Surreal Skin concealer in "hallucination"

> Clinique "sunset glow" blush
> UD Lip Envy in "envious"
> Body Shop "merry cranberry" lip balm

To start, I applied Sin to the inner corner of the eyelid and a little further along the lid, including a bit of the crease. I then used Smog to pat on colour to end of the eyelid, followed by Darkhorse, blending the two together and upwards, using circular motions with the brush, then using windscreen wiper motions for blending in the crease. For a brow highlighter, I used Virgin on the brow bone, blending it down into the Darkhorse/Smog with Naked. I used Creep in the outer corner of the eyelid for a smokier look, making sure it's blended with the browns. For the bottom lash line, I used the Elf liner brush to add Smog, blending with Sin on the inner corner of the eye.

To line the eye, 24/7 Zero was used, on the top lash line and bottom waterline, followed by Maybelline eye definer (felt tip kind of liner) on the top lash line. To finish the eye, Dior Show was used after applying concealer under the eye.

For the cheeks I used Clinique's Sunset Glow blush, on the apples of the cheeks and blending.

 
To finish I didn't want too dramatic lips, so I used a lip stain UD Envious, with Body Shop lipbalm on top.

<3

FOTD

So here's my first Face Of The Day:

These are gonna be quick blogs for me, mainly ones where I just briefly show the makeup and tell you what I used.

I was wearing a purple-blue top, so I decided to use:

> Elf primer

> Clinique "sugar sugar" eyeshadow

> UD BOS II - "ecstasy"

> UD "goddess" eyeshadow

> UD 24/7 eyeliner in "zero"

> Dior Iconic mascara

> myface.cosmetics concealer in "213"

> Clinique "almond blossom" bronzer

> UD Lip Envy in "envious"

I applied Clinique's sugar sugar to the inner corner of the eye and on the brow bone, followed by UD ecstasy in the middle of the eyelid and UD goddess in the outer corner, blending with a brush.

I then lined the top eyelid with UD zero, and used a liner brush to slightly line the bottom lashline. I then used concealer, followed by Dior Iconic mascara to finish the eye. I then used a bit of Clinique almond blossom bronzer, stained my lips with UD Lip Envy, et voila!

<3

Back from shopping, I mean work!

I couldn't resist seeing everyone rave about the UD Naked palette.. so I bought one at work today!

Ohhhh yeaaa!

My justifications are: 

1) I love UD

2) It was payday yesterday

3) I get staff discount

4) I love UD

So look for Naked looks coming up! =D

<3

MAC gives you skin white as snow; lips red as blood...

After reading more and more about this MAC Disney Venomous Villains collection, I've been craving for it more and more! It's being released this September in the US and apparently in the UK in October. If this is the case, I'm anticipating major queues down at Selfridges and Westfield and any other stores in London.. which is a bummer for me, seeing as I'll probably be stuck in those queues!

I think MAC must've seen how popular the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette hit off and decided to go that step further and bigger; go with Disney, and being MAC and quirky, they chose the villains! Defo well thought out I'd say, it's already a hit in the US and I anticipate it to be just as big here!

Can't wait to feed my Disney obsession, soon I will be the fairest of them alll! Or not :/


<3

Sleek Palette makeup look

So I decided to do a look from the Sleek Sunset palette, and see whether the colours were any good. They weren't too bad, considering the price! Apart from fall out when using the brush on the eyeshadow, the colour on the eyes was vibrant and pigmented, albeit a bit too shimmery for my liking.

Here's what was used for the look:

> Elf primer

> Sleek palette - see pic below for which eyeshadows were used.

> UD 24/7 eyeliner in zero & 1999

> MO black kohl liner

> Maybelline black eye definer

> Elf eyelash curlers

> Dior show mascara

> myface.cosmetics concealer in 213

> Clinique sunset glow blush

> UD lip liner in "gash"

> Body Shop "merry cranberry" lip balm

Here's a close up of the colours used (and the previous Sleek post's swatches to see what they look like), I'll be referring to them by their numbers below!

After applying Elf primer (which I now use for every day/makeup blogs), number 1 was used first (a golden colour with a tinge of orange), on the brow bone and inwards towards the inner corner of the eye, in a patting/sweeping motion. Number 2 (a yellowy gold) was added on top of this for a stronger golden colour.

Number 4 (red) was used on the eyelid, on the inner corner of the eyes, and only slightly on the outer corner, as number 3 (a bronze red) was added more to the outer eyelid corner. I used number 5 on the eyelid creases, blending in with the MO blending brush, and then blending in all the colours so that the transition between the colours is not harsh.

I added a bit of number 6 (black) into the crease as the brown was not as dark as I wanted it, but this is optional for most people, if you want a less dramatic look.

I lined the bottom lashes thickly with UD 24/7 eyeliner in 1999, a purpley brown colour, then the full eye with all three liners (UD zero, MO kohl black & Maybelline eye definer) for a more darker line. Finally I used concealer and Dior show mascara to finish the eyes.

 

 

For the cheeks I used Clinique sunset glow with the Elf sculpting blush brush, under the cheek bones for definition.

For the lips I used UD "gash" lip liner all over the lips, with Body Shop's merry cranberry lip balm on top. I love this lip balm sooo much, it's been my favourite for the last 3 years, although the texture changed a little last year, when they introduced the new tin packaging. It gives a slight red tinge to bare lips, with flecks of gold, and smells and tastes gorgeous!

<3 

Prince of Persia.. Princess Tamina look

I've been a tad busy the last two days, so haven't had the chance to blog, but after watching Prince of Persia the other night, I've been thinking to do the Princess Tamina/ egyptian style makeup look.
Here's what it looks like in the film when she's first introduced (sorry about the quality, there's barely any pictures of this makeup look on the internet!):

 

So I finally got the chance to do it, and here's what I used:

> Elf eyeshadow primer
> UD Deluxe Shadow Box - "honey" & "underground"
> UD Eyeshadow Transforming Potion 
> UD 24/7 eyeliner in "zero"
> MO black kohl eyeliner
> Maybelline black eye definer
> Dior iconic mascara
> UD Surreal Skin concealer in "hallucination"
> myface.cosmetics concealer in "213"
> Clinique bronzer in "almond blossom" & blusher in "sunset glow"
> Elf luscious liquid lipstick in "maple sugar"


To start, I used Elf primer (thought I'd give it another go and blend in well this time!), then I added UD honey eyeshadow using the UD eyeshadow transforming potion (ETP). The ETP basically makes a powder shadow into liquid shadow, making it more shiny, which is what I was looking for as the Princess Tamina look is very shiny/metallic. I lined the bottom lashline with honey eyeshadow also using the ETP. I then blended UD underground into the crease of the eyes with the MO blending brush, but not too much as the gold is the main focus. To line the eye, UD zero eyeliner was used, along with MO black kohl eyeliner, and then Maybelline eye definer on top, for a more intense black (as the gold shadow can glitter down the liner). A larger flick was done on the top eyeliner compared to the smaller flick on the bottom lash line. More honey eyeshadow was added in between the two eyeliner flicks, and a diamante was stuck in place there too.
 

After applying concealer and Dior mascara, Clinique almond blossom bronzer was used under the cheek bones for definition, and a little sunset glow blush on the apples of the cheeks.

Finally, Elf lipstick in maple sugar was added for more neutral lips, which is a minty lipstick, with more of a lipgloss texture (a little sticky).

Now to think of what to do next!


<3

Sleek tryout..

Earlier this year (June 25th to be exact) I went to the Clothes Show in London (http://www.clothesshowlondon.com/), where I watched a great fashion show, saw The Wanted, and shopped around for bargains. Funnily enough, I managed to leave the show with... only makeup (despite the fact it was a CLOTHES show lol!).

I managed to buy a few Jelly Pong Pong goody bags for a bargain of a price, but one stand at the show caught my eye, and although I had tried out the shadows in Superdrug before (and not been too impressed; well who would after Urban Decay?!), I found their stand quite welcoming. They were selling goody bags for £10, I chose the "Jakarta" bag which included the following:

> Eyeshadow i-Divine palette in "sunset"

> "Glo" face & body highlighter

> Pout Polish in "raspberry souffle"- limited edition! (not in pic)
> "Harare" false eyelashes
> Nailed nail polish in "bare"
> Travelcard holder!

All this would normally amount to £21.95 (excluding the travelcard holder of course!) so I made a royal saving of £11.95.. not bad!

 

After trying out the colours on my hand/arm again, they didn't seem too bad, although I find them quite powdery i.e. dust everywhere when applied. But then they are mineral eyeshadows, and pretty good colours, particularly asian bridal colours (reds and bronzes).

I'll defo be using this palette sometime soon, with a primer.. whether ELF or UD, I'll have to see ;)

The Glo face & body highlighter is quite lovely, gorgeous colours and came with a nice little instruction leaflet on where to highlight on the face. I love bronzers/blushers like this because they have multipurposes- bronzer/blusher; individual colours can be used for highlighting the face; individual colours can be used as eyeshadow. Look out for this in looks to come, I'll be adding labels so the products are searchable.

Although I'm not that acqainted with eyelashes, these are my third pair, and I still don't seem to have the knack of putting them on.. practice makes perfect though eh!

I'm not too obsessed with nail polish out of all makeup items, so it was good to have this to the collection, but I must say it is a nice nude colour, very natural, as if barely on.

My most faaavourite product of this goodie bag has to be the Pout Polish, as you can see I have used it before on the makeup looks posted so far. This little beauty gives gorgeous colour, smells sweet, is non-sticky AND has SPF15. It doesn't get much better than that! I brought it into work aswell and my fellow makeup lovers absolutely adored the colour and feel, so I was asked to get one if possible for one person. I searched high and low for the limited edition "raspberry souffle" but it indeed was "limited edition". Until I decided to ask my local Superdrug if they had any left, and sure enough, they had quite a few in the drawer! I snapped up two (a spare for myself of course!) and bought the "pink cadillac" whilst I was at it.

I'd defo recommend the Sleek Pout Polishes, aside from the fact it has SPF and smells lovely, Sleek do lovely colours, albeit very few. 

<3

Totally Guilty!

I have to say, I'm either getting older and my tastes are changing, or I'm a total consumerist and am falling for the advertising gimmicks. I'd rather admit to the former although I'm sure the latter is more close to the truth! *blush*

So Gucci Guilty was released in store, and although the sensual poster of a good looking man and woman were plastered all near the fragrance, I only realised after seeing the video advert who on earth the couple were! None other than the ultra sexy Chris Evans; NO not Billie Pipers ex! God forbid he ever were in the ad, that's a whole other picture!! It was indeed the Fantastic Four's mister "flame on!" and boy does he turn the heat up in this ad!

  

It reminds me of the film Sin City, black and white video, with coloured hair/accessories, and I have to say I'm a big fan of that style, whether art, pictures, or video.

This ad totally made me change my view of the perfume. Originally, when I had smelled it in store, I wasn't too phased by it. The packaging reminded me of the Batman logo as you can probably see below:

 

But on being at work yesterday, Gucci Guilty was at the front of the store and I looked at the product in a new light.. possibly swayed by the giant poster of Chris Evans, which I found in the sample I got:

After smelling it all day, I began to like it more and more.. not only that, the bottle is pretty (and would sit nicely next to my diamond-gold Paco Rabanne) ;)

But I'll be waiting a while before I buy this.. I have too many fragrances already!

<3

Jessica Alba look

Ok Jessica Alba is undoubtedly one of the hottest celebrities, and is my favourite. What I love most about her is the fact she wears very subtle makeup like eyeliner and mascara and still looks great.

When trying to find a picture of her wearing visible makeup, it was pretty hard!

But I managed to find one of her wearing fairly dramatic makeup, so I decided to try it out. Here's the look:

It looks quite 60s to me, Twiggy comes to mind, just less dramatic eyeliner. I don't usually like using very dark colours in the crease of the eyes because it can give the impression of a panda, but I attempted the look and it didn't look too bad! I didn't have the exact matt minty/pastel blue as used with JA, but I found a cool blue (shattered) with tones of green-gold from my first Book of Shadows, and mixed it with the Models Own (MO) "white pearl".


Here's what I used for the look:

> UD Primer Potion (UDPP)
> UD Book of Shadows I - "shattered" and "perversion"
> MO "white pearl"
> Barry M "30" or "white"
> MO black kohl eyeliner
> Eyelash curlers
> Dior Iconic mascara
> UD Surreal Skin concealer in "hallucination"
> myface.cosmetics concealer in "213"
> Clinique "sunset glow" blush & "almond blossom" bronzer
> Elf lip gloss in "honey"


First I used the MO eyeshadow shading brush to apply MO white pearl to under the eyebrow/brow bone. I then put "shattered" all over the eye, from the eyelid to the brow bone, going over the white shadow. I then used the MO angled/liner brush to add a line of perversion to the crease of the eye, blending very slightly, then more so with the MO blending brush, adding very lightly some more perversion to try and achieve the desired look. I made sure I was careful to try and not add too much black because of the aforementioned panda eye scenario, and also from the side view of the Jessica Alba pic, the black isn't very visible.

I then used the Barry M white eyeliner on the lower water line, and a little of the MO white pearl on the lower lashline, using the MO angled brush. I then lined the top eyelid with MO black kohl eyeliner and then curled the lashes with the new Elf eyelash curlers I bought, followed by Dior Iconic mascara on top and especially bottom lashes (using zigzag motions).
After applying the two concealers under the eye, I used both of Clinique's blush and bronzer, applying the sunset blush to the apples of the cheeks, and the bronzer to the tops of cheeks, to give a slight shimmer.

Finally I used Elf lipgloss in honey for a nude-ey golden touch à la Jessica Alba and this lipgloss smells and tastes like sugar!
Et...

Voila!

 

 















I actually think the look ended up looking more Kim Kardashian than Jessica Alba, but they look similar to me anyway and both are certified hotties, so can't be all that bad!

<3