I’ve really been experimenting with different types of textures & formats on my eyes recently (as opposed to plain powder eye shadows) and recently I have been opting for cream & crayon types of products to add a bit of colour to my eyes. 

Enter the new Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paints… 




L-R: Mercury Silver, Slate Grey, Rich Russet, Golden Bronze, Maganese Purple.

I’ve already featured the silver shade on my blog in this look of the day here – http://www.katiesbeautyblog.com/2013/06/makeup-of-daysilver-black-liner.html where I used it to add a soft silver line above my usual black liner flick, which added a dazzling flick of colour when I blinked, but I’ve also been using these as an eyeshadow base – patting some onto my eyelids and blending quickly.  You d0 need to work quite swiftly with these as after they dry they do not budge.

In terms of colours – I think they are all stunning but would love to see a champagne gold shade which would look incredible for wearing as a daily base blended out (and highlighter).  My favourite of the shades is Rich Russet as it’s a wearable, neutral taupe-based brown which will look flattering on all skin tones.

These are available now on Rimmel stands for £4.99 each.  A little goes a very long way so these work out to be super affordable.

Are you a fan of cream shadows?  Which is your favourite colour from the above?

xx

I’m currently away on holiday (just chilling in the South of France) but still wanted to get my August Favourites up for you this month.  As usual, I also filmed a video to go alongside this post about why exactly I’ve chosen out these particular products as my monthly favs!

August Favs!

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation– I have already reviewed this foundation here, and it’s definitely been my most reached more base product of the month.  I adore the medium, buildable, silky texture of this foundation, which leaves my skin looking natural yet flawless.  I have the shade Siberia which is the ideal match for my ghostly pale skin.

Real Techniques Duo-Fibre Brushes– I can’t tell you how much I have been loving these brushes.  I found them quite difficult to use at first but once you get the hang of it, they change how I’ve been applying makeup.  As the bristles on these brushes are quite sparse and not dense at all, they buff the smallest amount of product into your skin for the most flawless, airbrushed finish.  I love the powder & contour ones for creating the perfect base!  Review post of these brushes will be coming up shortly!

Rituals Fortune Oil in Sweet Orance & Cedar Wood– I’m normally super boring in the bath, just using a ‘female’ shower gel to wash with, but ever since the launch of the Rituals ‘Buddha’ range I’ve switched up my products.  This shower oil is just gorgeous, leaving my bathroom smelling lovely and also leaving me silky soft.  It is also so good at shaving with!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Desperation– Last month all I wore was liquid liner, but I’ve got back into eye shadow in August and this has been my most used.  Desperation is a grey-taupe toned shadow which looks stunning in the crease on my eye.  I was wearing this in my July Favourites video just in case you were wondering!

L’Oreal Super Liners in GelMatic Taupe and Liquid in Black -  I think I’ve found a new favourite range of eyeliners (please note this is a BIG deal for an eyeliner fanatic like me)!  I wear liner daily and these two products have not left my makeup bag all month.  The first is the L’Oreal GelMatic liner in Taupe which I love to wear smudged underneath my lower lash line.  The shade is identical to my favourite eyeshadow shade in the HD Brows palette (watch favourites video for comparison) and really brings out the blue of my eyes.  Second is the eye liner, which has the softest, thinest brush which allows perfect liquid liner application.  If you’re  a liquid liner virgin then I think this will really help you get the hang of it!  Also, these two are so affordable and easily accessible on the highstreet!

My favourite Summer tunes this month have been – Fever House by Whisky Jax,  Selena Gomez – Come & Get it and Naughty Boy – La La La!  I’ve also just started reading Kiss me First by Lottie Moggach which is good so far.  I’ve also downloaded Tampa by Alissa Nutting and The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell on my Acer Tablet to read on holiday.

I hope you are all well!  I’m filming a little blog whilst being away so let me know if you’d like to see it and maybe a holiday post when I’m back?  Lots of love!

What have been your favourite products this month?

Katie xxx

Everytime Illamasqua release a new collection, I absolutely can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.  Not only is the makeup very obviously beautiful, but there is always some fantastic meaning and conceptual idea behind the range, which I love to lap up.  For this A/W, Illamasqua are back with the Sacred Collection. 



 

The Sacred Hour Collection is inspired by two important parts to the day; the sacred hours of dawn and dusk.  This collection allows us to ‘embrace our inner warriors, enhance our features and express our inner fire and strenghth.  I had an incredible chat with Alex Box (Illamasqua’s Creative Director and a personal hero of mine) about the range, and we ended up discussing the notions of ideal beauty, and what it is.  Why do we feel insecure if our makeup has smudged a little, it shows that we have got through the day (each day makes us stronger) and those little imperfections make us, us.  It’s all about self-reflection, appreciation & empowerment, ladies! 

Firstly, I’m going to talk about  Shard, the blood redish purple lipstick which I can’t get enough of it.  It can be applied heavily for a dark, pigmented lip, or can be patted on and built up to create a sexy ‘just bitten’ look, which makeup artist Alex Box adores.  I love the idea of wearing a lipstick which looks like I’ve just had a passionate snog round the back of the building (so naughty) and this lippie does just this.

Next up, the New Reflection Palette which made my eyes light up like a magpie.  This contains 4 creamy, silky shadows which are light which makes them a dream to blend and layer up.  In the photo above I used the lightest shade to cover my entire eye, and then pended up Acute (the ash taupe) in the crease of my eye.  The look is simple but up close it’s mesmerising (and quite literally dazzling).

I also have to rave about the Velvet Blusher, Peaked, described as a Dusky Rose, I would never have looked twice at it but it’s the only blusher I’ve been wearing over the past week.  It adds the most gorgeous, mature blush of colour to my cheeks.

Finally in the range are false lashes (and bloody big ones at that, as well as two nail polishes (I have Hemlock above, a pale opal green shade which looks stunning layered over darker shades).

The Sacred Hour Collection is out now from Illamasqua stores & stands!

Do you have your eye on anything in this collection?

Katie xxx

The Body Shop recently re-launched their lipstick range with 25 gorgeous new ‘Colour Crush’ lippies which had me swooning from the get go.  I have full swatches coming up from the whole range, but for now, I thought I’d pick out my favourites to show you today!

L-R #335, #210, #205, #240, #115,#110, #105, #220



#220 Dare To Bare– A very pale, almost grey nude.  I feel like this is only a step darker than my natural skin colour and so it looks incredible with smokey eyes, but not so great otherwise.  I think this will be a favourite for many!

#110 Coral Blush– This is the shade I was instantly attracted to for it’s peachy undertones and nude base.  Exactly the type of everyday lip colour I normally wear.

#210 Sweetheart Pink– I can’t tell you the last time I wore a bright pink lippie – it’s a rare occurrence but I absolutely adore this pale Barbie pink.  Again, it won’t be for everyone as it is ridiculously pale but on good skin days I’ll definitely be whipping this out.

#105 Coral Cutie– This has already been feautred on my blog as it’s probably my favourite of the bunch – a bright orange based red which is super on trend at the moment!

#205 Passionate Pink– Another pink, this time a darker, blue toned pink which is on the verge of being almost neon.  Gorgeous bright shade for summer!

#115 Enraptured Red– The most perfect postbox red – one slick of this intensely pigmented lippie and you’ll have a pout like Marilyn!

#335 Hot Date– I chose this shade out as I thought it was endearing; a muted purple shade which will be so hot come autumn.  I like to think of this as colour with a mature twist.

#240 Damson in Distress– I have a thing for dark, purple lipsticks at the moment.  I think they are incredibly sexy and alluring and this one compliments my pale skin perfectly.  It’s love!

What I think:  These lipsticks are incredibly pigmented, soft and creamy; my perfect lipstick combination.  I really love the shades available and think the quality of them is really high.  These retail at £10 each which is slightly above your regular high street lippie, but their colour pay-off alone makes up for it.  One thing I’m not too keen on is the smell – it does put me off a little but not enough to not wear them.

Have you had a peak at the new Body Shop lippies?  Which of the above catches your eye?

xxx

I’m already a massive fan of the Real Techniques Brush Range so when I heard they were launching a Limited Edition set I was very excited.  I’ve already featured them in my August favourites, but read on to hear more about what I think about the Duo-Fibre range!


 

The bristles on this brushes are very sparse and not dense at all, meaning the colour pick-up is very sheer and light.  When I first used these I was a little disappointed that it didn’t coat eye shadow and powder on as thickly as it should, but then I realised I had been using them entirely the wrong way.

These products work best (in my opinion) for creating a completely flawless, natural face.  I now use the duo-fibre Face Brush religiously for applying blusher or bronzer and it does THE most incredible job (more so than any other blusher brush I have used).  I often have the problem of applying a little too much blusher and it completely ruins the look.  With the Face Brush however, as it picks up the most tiny (yet even) bit of product and I am able to build up my blusher to create the most incredible glow – I literally look glowing when using these brushes.  This goes for highlighter as well (the smaller Eye Brush being perfect for adding a flush of shimmer on cheek & brow bones).

The Eye Brush is also great for blending out eye shadow (rather than applying it) and the Contour Brush works well contouring (obviously)!  Duo-Fibre brushes in general are great for both powder, cream an liquid products so they are great for experimenting with to work out what works best for you.

These will not be everyone’s cup of tea but I for one am a massive fan.  This limited edition range retails for £23.99 in all Boots stores, check them out if you can!  I thank Sam Chapman for releasing these!

Are you a Real Techniques fan?  What do you think of Duo-Fibre brushes?

xxx

Now I’ve never written a review of a restaurant OR about food of any sort on my blog before, but if there is one thing you should know about me, it’s how much I love food.  I think about food pretty much most of my day.  When I’m eating lunch, I’m thinking about what to have for dinner, etc.

I adore going to restaurants and eating out – it’s a proper treat to me and so I do it a lot (most of my money is spent on food).  I know this is a beauty blog, but if you guys don’t mind, I’d love to start writing a few more lifestyle/foodie type posts on here too!

I’ll start off with a review of Meat Market, a pretty tiny restaurant hidden just off Covent Garden.  It’s the sister restaurant of Meat Liquor, Meat Wagon etc (neither of which I’ve been to) so I was very excited to try this. 

My first visit was on a weeknight with some workmates and I had the Dead Hippy burger, which consists of 2 beef burgers, lettuce, cheese, pickles, minced onion and dead hippy sauce (a little like burger sauce).  It was lovely but I couldn’t help but feel like the actual meat didn’t have much flavour – the flavours of the sauce way overtook the meat, which was disappointing.  The chips are amazing, full stop.  There isn’t much available on the menu in terms of drinks so I just went for coke which came in a refillable paper cup.  (I was a little disappointed that there was only one flavour of milkshake available – vanilla)!

The meal was very messy so if you do go, make sure you’re not wearing white.  The interior is very small, with only about 10 high table and stalls and I’ve heard it can get quite busy if you go at weekends.  The restaurant is also above a market with no real windows (only clear plastic sheets) so it was freezing cold in there – just a word of warning!

I’ve since been back again and tried the Black Palace burger which I preferred to the Dead Hippy (although I can’t really tell the difference between the two).  I would recommend this place if you are after a real American, sloppy burger but it definitely wasn’t the best burgers I’ve eaten in the world.

What’s your favourite American-style restaurant?  Would you like to see more foodie posts?

xxxx

Primers are always something I have a love/hate relationship with; to me, if they don’t have an added benefit other than ‘helps your makeup stay on longer’ it just seems like an extra, unnecessary step to add to my daily makeup routine.  When I heard that Clinique were bringing out specific face primers for specific skin concerns, I became intrigued… read on to hear my thoughts!

My main skincare concern (which I’ve spoken about a lot on my blog over the years) is of course my acne-prone skin.  I’ve suffered with it since the age of 18 and it’s finally calmed down a bit this year (with the help of GP described medication).  I still get the occasional blemish (my skin is not yet perfect) and when I do they tend to linger and scar, leaving me with a very unattractive dark red marks.  The only way I’ve found to cover these are to layer on the foundation and apply concealer on top, finally adding a coat of powder to set, although by lunchtime they are always visible again.

One of Clinique’s Super Primer is the Colour Corrects Face Primer; a yellow/orange toned cream which helps colour correct discolorations and blemish marks, leaving you with a silky soft, even base to apply the rest of your makeup.   In a sentence, I’m pretty smitten with this primer.   I can’t tell you how (I’m not scientific enough) but this really does leave my skin looking even with even greater results after applying foundation.  I’m not saying it will fade blemishes, but it definitely makes them less visible after applying foundation and for that, it’s become a staple in my daily face routine!

The NEW Clinique Superprimer Face Primers are available in one universal formula and five tinted formulas designed for specific skin care needs. 30ml RRP £20.00 / €27.00  

Shop now at www.clinique.co.uk or visit a Clinique counter to discover your skin type.  Ask for a foundation fitting and you will receive a complimentary 5-day sample of your chosen formula.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Clinique via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Clinique

There’s something about YSL that makes me go weak at the knees; perhaps it’s the luxurious gold packaging, or gorgeous colours that makes me feel like a princess whilst applying it all.  Anyway, I decided to do a YSL ‘Face of the Day’, using only their products.  Here is what I came up with!







Firstly, I applied the new Youth Liberator Serum Foundation (in the shade B10, the palest available) with my fingers all over my face for a natural & dewy, yet flawless base.  I decided on a natural eye without my beloved liquid liner (shock shock, horror horror) and instead opted for a subtle smokey look.  I used a selection of the shades in the Palette City Drive ‘Classy’ Palette (from the A/W 2013 Collection) which consists of 4 shimmering shadows; three neutral browns & a grey.  I used the browns on my eye lid and smudged the grey shadow below my lower lash line, before coating on the BabyDoll mascara onto my lashes.

For the lips, I used a combination of my current favourite lipstick, Rouge Pur Couture in the shade #51 Corail Urbain, which is the most stunning peach coral also from the A/W 2013 collection.  I paired it with a slick of one of the new Rebel Nude Glossy Stains in the shade #105; you know I can’t resist a good peach lippie!  Cheeks were left bare as I’m yet to purchase a YSL blusher (I’m on the case) but this adds to the natural/subtle look.

I hope you liked this post!  I’m planning to do a lot more ‘one brand looks’ in the future, so if you have any you would like to see first then do let me know!  The YSL A/W range is out now in stores, as is their new Rebel Nude Glossy Stains & Youth Liberator Serum Foundation.

Do you like YSL products? What brand face of the day should I do next?

xxx

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all well.  As usual, I’m back at the end of the month with a post and video showing you my favourite products from the past few weeks!  This month does have a slight theme to it, which is high-end! 

I’m not normally one to wear a full face of expensive products (I can’t resist my usual high street brands) but this month I’ve seemed to be using quite a few of them.  I think it’s as we are entering autumn, it’s getting colder and the days shorter, it’s been nice to treat myself to some more luxurious products to combat the blues.  Anyway, here are my top beauty picks!

September Favourites!

YSL Rouge #51: To perk up my face and stop it looking too dreary in this cold weather, I’ve been using this.  This is the most perfect bright, orange coral lippie which leaves my pout looking vibrant and kiss-able.  It’s pigmented, smells gorgeous and the packaging is to drool over.

Clarins Ever Lasting Foundation in #103: I have done a full review of this which you can read here, with before and after pictures!  This has been my most worn foundation of the month, it leaves my skin looking flawless yet natural and I can’t get enough of it!

Magnifibres:  The thought of putting fibres anywhere near my lashes makes me shudder, but boy, I couldn’t live without this beauty now.  It’s an odd product, but if you are a hater of false eyelashes, like I am (who wants gluey, uncomfortable falsies on all day?) then you will adore this.  After applying your usual mascara, coat them in a topping of this whilst still wet, allow it to stick for a minute or two and then apply another coat of your mascara and you will have the longest, fluttery lashes your town has ever seen.  I have been wearing this daily, I just can’t get enough of it!

Murad Clarifying Mask: I’ve been suffering with terribly oily skin for the past few months and whilst moaning to my girlfriends about it, Zoe recommending using a clay mask.  I dug around in my skincare sample box and found this baby.  It’s a clay mask, suited best for oily skin and it really does the trick.  I leave this on for 10 minutes, wash off and my face is almost oil free for a week.  I’ve used it so much now I’m going to have to invest in a full size soon!

What products have  you been loving over the past month?

xxx

One of my 2013 Summer songs is definitely ‘Come & Get it’ by the gorgeous Selena Gomez (it’s been in my head for the past month)!  Because of this, it’s only seemed fitting to dig out Selena’s ‘Nicole by OPI’ nail polish range.  Nicole by OPI seem to love their celeb collaborations (I’ve reviewed the Karadashian Collection here) so read on to see what I think about these!

L-R Scarlett, Spring Break, Hit the Lights, Selena, Naturally, Love Song.



My favourite of the bunch is ‘Selena’, a salmon pink peach which is just the prettiest colour & makes me feel ultra girly when I wear it.  ‘ Love Song’ is a close runner-up with it’s lilac-blue toned purple shade – I don’t think I actually own a colour like this which is why I love it so much.

Spring Break (a hot pink) and Hit the Lights (a vibrant yellow) are stunning shades that were spot on for summer and will help to add a flash of colour to your autumnal outfits.  Scarlett is my least favourite of the bunch; a shimmery purple-toned pink.  I just think it looks like a cheap shade (I’m really not a fan of shimmer polishes) and the colour itself I find uninspiring.

There we have it.  These polishes retail for £8 and are available in Superdrug stores!

Are you a Selena Gomez fan?  Which of these is your favourite?

xxxx

I haven’t mentioned it on my blog yet but I recently went on holiday for 10 days, to the South of France with my family.  We stayed in the most beautiful villa in a town called Grasse, which happens to be the perfume capital of the world (post on this coming soon!).  Anyway, whilst I was there I filmed a video showing what I took along with my on holiday!

Products I took away with me!

Body & Hair:
SuperGoop SPF 50 Sunscreen
Haiwaan tropic Dry Oil Spray SPF 20 (only for legs!)
Kiehls Ultra Light Daily UV Defence SPF 50 Face Moisturizer
Batiste Dry Shampoo
Caudelie Divine Oil Spray (for moisturizing body after washing)
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream (for lips!)

Makeup:
Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Eye Palette (beautiful neutral shades for daily use)
L’Oreal Super Liner in Black
Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara
Sleek Au Natural Blusher
Urban Decay Primer Potion (a must-have in the heat)!

I run through all of the products I took with me in the video above so have a gander at that if you’re interested! 

What are your holiday beauty essentials?  Do you think I took too much?

xxxx

For the past six months or so I’ve been toying with the idea of adding some colour into my hair.  I do own some pale pastel shade clip in extensions (see blog post here) which made me fall in love with ‘mermaid/my little pony hair’ (if you so wish) but they’re quite old now so I was thinking of taking the plunge.  When I heard BLEACH London (only one of the best salons for bright colours) were holding a little event to celebrate bringing out an ‘at-home’ dye range, I got quite excited.  The following ensued…

 

Upon arriving at the event I girlishly squealed at how I’ve wanted to add some colour into my hair and the incredible girls at Bleach said they could do it right then.  I obviously said yes and chose out four pastel shades which were to be applied to my locks; Awkward Peach, Washed Our Mermaid, Parma Violet & Rose.  I wanted random streaks of pastel tones running through the ends of my hair and it was really as simple as choosing strands, coating them in the new dye, leaving it for 10/20 minutes and then washing out. 

The whole process above took around 30/40 minutes – so quick and ridiculously easy.  I’ve had so many compliments already on my hair (even my Mum loves it) and my dream to resemble at My Little Pony has finally come true (you can see the finished look above, next to Lily’s new pink dip-dye).

The At-Home dye will last between 2-10 washes making it perfect for those who want to experiment.  Also in the range is DIY Dip Dye, Bleach, White Toner along with Silver Conditioner which I’ve already been eyeing up.   The best thing about the range?  It retails between £5-7 and will be available in Boots stores from this week – easily accessible and affordable, I will definitely be stocking up on these shades so I can keep my mermaid hair for a little while longer.

Have you ever tried pastel shades?  Which dye will you be picking up?

xxxx

This bottle of goodness has definitely been doing the rounds recently,  I couldn’t help but put my thoughts in too!  As you probably already know, I am a huge fan of dry shampoos; I use them multiple times daily to re-invigorate my hair & to give it some oomph & volume (as well as helping to mask day old hair). 

When I got my hands on this I couldn’t quite get my head around it: it’s not a dry shampoo, but it gives the voluminous effect of one?  I’ll admit it took me a good week or so to get used to this product and to learn how best to use it.  I find lifting up the top sections of my hair, spraying this in & then rubbing/massaging it into my roots gives the best effect; leaving my hair with character & a light, voluminous texture. 
I love the fact that this doesn’t make my hair feel crispy or dirty, and because of this I even use it on freshly washed hair, like in the photographs above!  I can also vouch that it is truly invisible on darker hair, leaving no dusty white tell tale signs at all.

This retails at £21.50 for a relatively big bottle - cheaper than the much raved about Oribe  Spray but quite a dent in your purse compared to your trusty Batiste!  I actually have quite a few different variations of texturizing sprays now so maybe I’ll compare them in another blog post?

What’s your favourite texturizing spray? Would you like to see a group review?

xxx

I didn’t actually start using hair oils until around the start of 2011 but they have now become a staple in my ‘getting ready’ hair routine!  Read on to see a few of my favs!

BC Oil Miracle Light Finishing Treatment– I have been using this for a couple of years now and I really like it.  It has a light, almost talcum-powder like scent and as it’s a light oil, it’s perfect for use on both dry and wet hair, without leaving it greasy looking.  I am currently trying to finish this one up so it might feature in an empties post soon!

Ojon Damage Reverse– I wasn’t a fan of this the first couple of times I tried it as I found that it didn’t help comb through my hair when wet, but I’ve found that it works better just applying the tiniest bit through the ends of my hair when dry, to smooth and add silki-ness.  If I curl or plait my hair, I might just smooth a tad of this over my ends to finish the look off.

Mythic Oil Colour Glow Oil– This is the newest oil in my possession and my first impressions of it are positive.  It’s the only oil in this bunch which has a pump which makes using it much easier (and less messy than pouring it into your hand), it smells good and leaves my hair silky.

Morroccan Oil– I’ll say now that this is my favourite oil of the bunch!  Firstly, I LOVE the smell of this so much. Secondly, it is the perfect thick texture of oil which I apply after washing my hair, to help comb through.  I only have a sample size of this which I’ve nearly run out of so I need to get another one soon!  I don’t quite know how I managed to live without this to tame my hair which gets knotted so easily.

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment– I like this oil and use it often but it’s nothing to rave about, I prefer the incredible hair mask that’s available in the Macadamia hair range (review here)!

I realised after I took the photographs for this post that I do actually have a few more oils which I use so maybe I’ll do a part 2 at some point, if you are interested at all?

What’s your favourite hair oil?

xxx

I’ve never filmed a Halloween Makeup tutorial before but this year I’ve been feeling quite creative and decided to jump on the bandwagon!  The Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ Sugar Skull look is one that I have done many times as a fancy dress costume and as it’s one of my favourites it seemed to be the obvious one to film!

Halloween Tutorial: Sugar Skull!

Products Used:
White Face Cream (from Asda)
Illamasqua Concealer in White
Rimmel True Match Translucent Powder
Rimmel Scandaleyes Liqiud Liner
Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow in Neptune
Barry M Dazzle Dust in #98 Petrol Black
Rimmel Scandaleyes EyeShadow Stick Crayon in Black
Sleek LipLiner in Moulin Rouge #307
17 Cosmetics Liquid Liner

This look is super easy to do but very striking and you can change it up as much as you want adding your own mark on it, for example some people add cobwebs or roses to their chin and foreheads (instead I prefer a few squiggles and a heart between my brows).

I really hope you enjoy the video tutorial and do let me know if you would like to see any more tutorials from me!

What will you be dressing as this Halloween?

xxx

It’s become quite rare that I get really, really excited for a new launch but when I saw the Bobbi Brown Chocolate Range popping up on blogs I knew it was practically made for me.  I was lucky enough to get sent the whole range (I know, right? I couldn’t believe my luck) and it took a lot of self restraint to not dip my fingers into all of these products before I had a chance to photograph them.

The crowning glory of the range for me is of course the Rich Chocolate Palette, which I have already featured on my blog (here).  It contains the most beautiful 7 neutral, easy to wear chocolate shades which will suit any skin tone.  There is not one colour in this palette I haven’t used and loved!

Another product I have been using daily is the Black Chocolate Extreme Party Mascara which I’ve been preferring over a typical black lash; it makes the look much more subtle but in some ways more sultry.  It manages to give my lashes a big lift as well making them appear longer. 
I’ve been pairing the mascara with a slick of the Dark Chocolate Ink Long-Wear Gel Liner for a day time look at work (again, something I’ve never tried before).  I also have to recommend the Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Bittersweet for a beautiful wash of colour of the lid.  I like to apply this as a base and build up the shadows from the palette on top for a more intense, smokey look.

Also in the range are two matching sets of lipstick and blush; one almost nude pink set (Baby Pink) and another mature mulled berry shade (aptly named Berry).  Both of the blushers are incredibly soft and pigmented and paired with the lipstick creates a gorgeous day or evening look.

I absolutely adore every product in this collection and urge you to check it out on counters or online here!  I have a step by step tutorial of a smoky neutral look using this range coming up on the blog soon!

Do you like the look of this collection? Do you prefer to wear brown products as opposed to black?

xxx

I’m back with another Halloween tutorial which will hopefully give you some more makeup inspiration this Halloween!  You may have seen on Twitter & Instagram that this was the look I wore to the DailyMix Halloween party last Monday and below you can see a tutorial on how I created the look.

It’s loosely inspired by Lady Gaga in her Born This way video (I even got the bow-tie to match) and so Andrew and I thought it would be the perfect ‘couple’s Halloween costumes’.  You can see more pics from the party PLUS the tutorial video below!

Halloween Makeup Tutorial!

All you need for the look is a bit of foundation, powder, eyeliner & black eyeshadow!  I used all high-street products; Max Factor Foundation, Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner Pen and the Body Shop matte black eyeshadow. 

Do let me know if you enjoyed this tutorial!  I’ll be back soon with more!

What are you dressing as on Halloween?

xxx

I had a bit of a hair mishap recently and realised last week that the ends of my hair were well and truly frazzled.  As you may know, I HATE going to the hairdressers; I’m very rarely happy with the end result and often go home crying (sad, but true).  Because of this, I tend to have as few trims as possible each year but as my hair was in a desperate state I decided it was time!

I went along to Lockonego in Knightsbridge for an appointment with Clairol’s UK Ambassador Jonathon Long, who gave me the most incredible cut and talked me through the 6 new nice’n easy Colour Blend Foam shades (which sound pretty incredible, Jonathon even said he prefers them to some of the more high end dyes)!


Actually embarrassed about how much I resemble Hagrid in the ‘before’ picture!


Jonathon working his magic & the after shot – feeling like a movie star!

The experience itself was lovely.  Jonathon & I talked through my hair and what I wanted doing and then I had an incredible hair wash (with a girl with super strong hands, it was almost like a massage) and a Morroccan Oil treatment was put through my hair and left in whilst trimmed.  It was then washed off and blow dried before adding a few more final touches and thinning parts of the hair out so they fall better.  I thought I’d post some before and after hair pictures here just so you can see the difference and judge for yourself! 

My hair now feels so much lighter and easier to manage, although it doesn’t quite cover my ‘chest area’ (if you get me!) anymore (feel less like a mermaid than I did) however it was much needed and I’m so, so happy!

Lockonego is based in Knightsbridge (website here - http://www.lockonego.com/) and the Nice’n Easy Colour Blend Foam is available in highstreet stores now at £6.99!

Have you ever been to Lockonego?  How often do you get a trim?

xxxx