Tuesday 14 May 2013

Neutral Lipstick Selection

I have two favourite shades of lipstick that I’ve basically stuck to since I was about 18. I do realise that I’m stuck in a total lipstick rut but it doesn’t matter how many other shades I try, I always end up with these old faithfuls back in my handbag.

I don’t stick to one brand though, I just end up with the same shades from different brands. A useful result of this though is that I’ve discovered one MAC dupe and one quite close match.

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Above (all pics) left to right: MAC Honey Love, MUA Lip Boom in Ok.com, MAC Creme in Your Coffee, B. lipstick in Orchid

Honey Love is slightly darker than OK.com but actually the difference is not very noticeable on my lips, while Creme in Your Coffee is very very similar to B.’s Orchid.

MAC lipsticks cost around £14 in the UK whilst MUA Lipbooms cost £3 and B. lipsticks are around £8 (but are often on special offer at Superdrugs). The quality of both MAC lipsticks is very good but I don’t think I would repurchase Honey Love because it has a very dry texture, and while Creme in Your Coffee is very good, to be honest I find the B. lipstick to be just as good but it’s also cheaper and cruelty free.

Don’t worry about me having two of each shade of lipstick though, I promise that these are my everday shades and I’m sure to use all of them up (probably by the end of this year!) And when that happens, I will be on the search for the next creamy tea shade and reddish brown!

Saturday 11 May 2013

Saturday Makeup

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Hmm, cascading hair, smokey brown eye make-up and brown lips – seems like I went for a bit of glamour with my makeup today for no particular reason! I think this make-up is perfect for Saturdays though as the colours are pretty subtle for wearing during the day but there’s still enough depth to give a bit of added drama for going out at night.

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This is a bit of a “bargain” look as most of the products I used were from low cost brands (although a bit of MAC did sneak in there….)

On Eyes: Essence eyeshadow in Light the Fire, Place! blended with MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Havana in the outer corner; Essence Sun Club Gel Eyeliner in BBC All Night Brown; MUA Mega Volume mascara in brown.

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On lips: B. lipstick in Orchid

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Thursday 9 May 2013

Big Bang

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I got this Urban Decay Super Saturated lip pencil in Big Bang for Christmas but hadn’t played around with it until this weekend. I’m not sure if I really approve of lipsticks/glosses that come in pencil form that you have to sharpen because it feels like an awful waste of product. Anyhow I will try to remember to stick this one in the fridge for a couple of hours before sharpening it as that will make the product harder and hopefully cut down on waste a little.

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Big Bang is a beautiful bright fuschia with plenty of sparkle thrown in. It actually matches the colour on the barrel of the pencil quite closely. I wore this for four hours before eating some scampi and chips after which it was still on my lips, then I had to remove it with make-up remover as I was going to a party and wanted to wear a different colour on my lips. So to conclude, if you’re looking for a long lasting bright pink, this could be your lippie. Super Saturated lip pencils retail for around £14 for 2.8g in the UK.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

1920s Revisited

One of my friends had a ‘20s style birthday party last year, and it seems like the 20s are still in fashion as another friend celebrated her birthday with a ‘20s themed night out this weekend. Here’s a photo of a couple of us, with some different photo effects applied just for fun.

I did the make-up for my friend and me and did the same look on both of us just to save time. I was actually really pleased with how it turned out; 20s evening make-up is such a fun look to recreate because you can play around with smoky eyes, dark lips and bright cheeks!

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Above: original photo

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Some Quick ‘20s Make-up Tips

I love this youtube video by the fantastic Pixiwoo on how to create a very authentic ‘20s look.

And here are my own quick tips on how to create a quick and simple evening look with a ‘20s vibe. Disclaimer: These tips are about how to create a fun look, not about achieving a super-authentic ‘20s look!

  • On eyes go for a rounded eyeshadow shape in smoky colours and extend your eyebrows with some pencil/eyeshadow. I think eyeliner and mascara are optional as the smoky colours themselves already lend a great deal of intensity to the look. We’re not wearing any in the photos above.
  • The lip shape was quite rounded with a very defined cupid’s bow. Use a lip pencil to help draw on the perfect cupid’s bow, and try painting your lip colour on using a slanted eyeliner brush for added precision. Add some bright blush to the apples of your cheeks in a round shape.
  • Finish off with tons of face powder, and your ‘20s look is complete!

Monday 6 May 2013

Garden Eyes

Today’s a Bank Holiday and it’s sunny – double bonus! I took the chance to sit out in my garden and do a bit of reading earlier, though I didn’t sit out for too long as I didn’t want to get sunburnt. Still, it was nice to feel some sun on my skin and the buds, shoots and flowers in the garden gave me the inspiration for this simple bright look.

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Above: one of my fruit trees has flowers on it for the first time, hurray! I have forgotten what kind of tree it actually is but that just makes the anticipation of possibly having fruit in the autumn even more exciting!

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I used the same pink on my eyes as my cheeks; it’s actually the blush from the recent Sleek aqua collection in Mirrored Pink. It’s very heavily pigmented and as the name would suggest very shiny. I think I prefer it as an eyeshadow in fact. Which works for me as that means I now have an absolutely massive (8g) pink eyeshadow that I love!

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Sunday 5 May 2013

Germany 2012 – The Rest!

So here it is, only 4 months after my trip – a post on all the beauty goodies that I picked up when I was in Hamburg way back in Dec!

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P2 Moisturizing Ultra Gel (cuticle conditioner) and Base + Care Coat.

P2 is a German drugstore own brand that have some great products at amazing prices. Both these products cost around EUR2 each and this is actually the second bottle of the base coat that I’ve bought. I bought my first one a few years ago and thought it was so good that I used it all up, so I was very happy that I had an opportunity to restock.

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I haven’t actually used the Moisturizing Ultra Gel that much yet although I should because the reason that I bought it is that I suffer from dry cuticles. So I just have to hope that it lives up to its claim of being “intensiv feuchtigkeitsspendend” (intensely moisturising). I love how it looks in the bottle too with its tiny floating vitamin E dispensing red beads.

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I discovered a new brand of nail polish on this trip in a pharmacists (or drugstore, if you prefer!) called Budni. The Blackbird line of nail polishes costs EUR2.49 per bottle and is shelved in displays that look like birdhouses – cute! I’ve worn both these colours several times now and can heartily recommend them. You can see my swatches of the chocolate brown I Need You here and my swatches of the Azure blue Free As A Bird here.

I also picked up a couple of random items from some limited edition autumn/winter collections: a peachy coloured cream blush by the brand Catrice in the shade Rose’s Wood (Siberian Call collection) and a silver lipgloss again by P2 (Keep the Secret collection).

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The lipgloss is amazing; it’s really thick and pigmented and can be worn either as a very sheer layer to add a subtle glow to the lips or in a thicker layer as in my swatch above for opaque coverage. Definitely my kind of lipgloss.

The blush was a bit of an impulse buy as I’m not usually a fan of drugstore cream blushes but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the longevity of this one so far and I’ve discovered that the subtle shade is the perfect way to add a touch of colour to cheeks without overwhelming the face if worn with stronger eye or lip looks.

Next up, my personal beauty obsession – eye make-up! I bought: 3 powder eyeshadows, 2 eyeshadow bases, an eyeshadow stick and a mascara. Phew!

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Above: Emporio Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadow in shade 1 Blast of Blue (reduced from EUR30 to EUR15, hurray! Purchased at the Gaensemarkt Parfumerie, Hamburg)

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Catrice Instensif’Eye Wet and Dry eyeshadow in 050 Lunch at Tiffany’s, around EUR4

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Essence Home Sweet Home LE collection eyeshadow in 02 Light the Fire, Place! ca. EUR2

I do like the shade but I have to admit that I mainly picked this up because of the super cute knitted pattern!

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Above, left to right: Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in Blast of Blue, Catrice Intesif’Eye in Lunch at Tiffany’s, Essence eyeshadow in Light the Fire, Place!

My favourite shadow is the Catrice one; it’s wonderfully pigmented and easy to apply and blend, and it’s such an easy colour to wear. I got plenty of wear out of it through the winter, but I haven’t worn it so much lately as my attention has turned to brighter colours for spring and summer.

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I haven’t actually worn the Armani (above) much at all, despite it being a lovely colour, because it’s very deep and intense and more an evening/night time colour for me and I haven’t gone out that much lately. I am going to make more effort to wear it though as it is definitely one of the most expensive single eyeshadows I own, yet somehow it still seemed to be an absolute bargain as I bought it as it was half price!

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Above: Astor Volume Diva Black Velvet Mascara (ca EUR10), P2 Smokey Eye Stylist automatic cream eyeshadow stick (ca EUR3)

Again I did just buy this mascara for the beautiful packaging (but in my defence, I also had happy memories of good Astor mascaras that I owned when I lived in Germany years ago). The metallic-effect lid has beautiful "carvings” of roses in it.

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I almost like this mascara – the packaging is beautiful and it comes with just the kind of wand that works well on my stubby lashes – a sparse, narrow wand that simply dumps loads of product onto the lashes for a nice volumising effect, but unfortunately this mascara smudges on me, so it’s never going to make it into my favourites.

I don’t even know why I bought this eyeshadow stick, but it found itself into my shopping basket all the same. I think I must have gotten to the point where I was just grabbing products! I do use eyeshadow sticks and pencils but they’re usually in light colours, and I use them as eyeshadow bases. I also use this as an eyeshadow base, so I can’t really testify as to how it holds up when worn on its own, but it does do a nice job of keeping my eyeshadow in place so I have no complaints. It also works well as an eyeliner – you can create a very thick line or use the in-built sharpener (pull the silver end off the pencil) to create a fine point to draw thinner lines. Oh and I should mention that it has a lovely creamy consistency so it doesn’t drag across the lids as you apply it at all.

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And finally, the last two products of my somewhat random selection are two eyeshadow bases, again both by the brand P2.

Keep the Secret was a limited edition collection from Autumn 2012 – the silver lipgloss pictured above was also from this collection. Unfortunately the best thing about the Desirable Eye Base is the rather solid feeling glass packaging, as I’ve found it to be a bit of a flop as far as being an eyeshadow base is concerned. It reminds me a lot of Maybelline dream mousse foundation in both its colour and consistency, and didn’t seem to make any difference to the longevity of my eye make-up at all, which was sliding around all over my lids after just a few hours when I tried it over this.

I have higher hopes for the P2 Perfect Eyes! base which has somewhat simpler packaging but a plethora of positive reviews on the blogosphere already. However, I’m yet to give it a thorough road test myself. It’s part of the permanent collection though so I should definitely test it out before my next trip to Germany so that I know whether I need to restock or not!

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