Hello?  ERM, long time no post! Sorry about that, life kind of got in the way a bit.  But I have a few posts worth of pic saved up for you and so look out for those over the next week or so.  I'm starting with a Face (and outfit) of the day. Well night, technically.  This the makeup I wore for my boyfriend's birthday meal last weekend.

Party makeup season is pretty much here and this kind of fits in well with that. I wanted something glamorous and a bit sparkly too.  So I went for a shimmery smokey eye and classic red lip.  I kept the hair down and with soft waves so it wasn't really the focus.

 

I've been growing my brows out lately and have been going for a fuller look. They need a bit of grooming, but I'm definitely preferring them this way! A bit more unkempt!

 

Full List of products used:

Face

No 7 Instant Radiance Foundation, shade Warm Ivory - CV

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, Shade 2 Light - CV

Pixi Brightening Peach Corrector - CV

Soap & Glory Glow All Out - AV 

Barry M Natural Dazzle Bronzer - V

Revolution Blush Palette, Sugar & Spice - AV

Revolution Setting Spray - AV

Eyes

Limecrime Eyeshadow Helper - V

B. Vivid Eyeshadow in Cinnamon - V

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow, Peach Smoothie, Mocha, Corrupt - CV

Makeup Geek Pigment, shade Insomnia - AV**, applied wet

Lightest shimmery shade from the MUA Undress Me Too palette on the inner corner and the lightest matte shade to highlight the brow bone - AV

Makeup Geek Gel Liner, shade Immortal - CV

Barry M Lash Vegas Fibres Mascara

Kiss Lashes, easy lashes??  Applied with Duo Lash Glue - CV

Anastasia Brow Wiz, Ash Blonde - AV

GOSH Clear Brow Gel - CV

Lips

OCC Anti Feather Pencil - V

Limecrime Velvetine, Red Velvet (I am 99% sure that is what is on my lips!) - V 

**I'm not 100% sure that this pigment is vegan, I thought it was when I purchased but now just awaiting confirmation from MUG! If not, a similar look would be acheiveable with a brown shadow on the lid and a pigment with a teal reflect patted on top (for example, Concrete Minerals pigment in Wicked or Sugarpill's Lumi).

 

I also tried to take an outfit shot, it's a bit rubbish I know, but I LOVE this dress. It's by Cameo Rose and I got it in New Look.  The shoes are from a little cheapy shop that has since closed down sadly. But they are super blingy and high and I love them!

IF YOU'RE STILL READING....

It's almost party season guys, so I'm thinking I'm going to do a series of posts of ideas for party makeup, maybe even pic or little video tutorials of the eye makeup!  What do you think, would you like to see something like this and if so, what type of looks do you want tutorials on??  Let me know in the comments below or come chat to me on social media - links to the right! :)

Love & Stuff
Sal xXx

14:02

Good afternoon, it's Monday again (already) and today I thought I'd go through what is pretty much my everyday makeup in the summer. I wore this yesterday to go out and I wear pretty much the same for work most days when I need to look neat but have my makeup done in less than 20 minutes!

In summer I don't want to wear a tonne of foundation, so I prefer to go for a light foundation, like my Gosh CC Cream (CV) that you knows I love, or the No 7 Superlight Foundation (CV). Yesterday I went for a BB Cream, this one is from superdrug in shade light (V) and the BB Concealer that goes along with it, also in light (V).

Although these are the lightest shades, they're really a bit too dark for me right now, because I'm pretty pale. So I probably won't wear them again until after I've been on holiday and got a bit of a tan (fingers crossed!).

The concealer doesn't really give much coverage, certainly not enough to cover my under-eye bags! So I generally just use it to highlight a bit, like this...

 

So for under the eyes and to cover the redness on my cheeks I used ELF's Maximum Coverage Concealer in the shade Sand. (V)  I wouldn't say this is full coverage - light to medium more like.

For the rest of the skin I used ELF's HD liquid blush in Superstar (V), SEVENTEEN Skin Wow! Highlighter (CV) and Barry M's Natural Dazzle Bronzer (V).

 Brows I just used a little bit of the GOSH brow pencil in Grey/Brown (CV) to fill in the gaps and then GOSH's clear brow gel to keep them in place (CV).

 I also kept the eyes really simple, I used the lightest matte shade from the MUA Undress Me Too palette (AV) all over the lid and up to the brow. I added a bit of dimension in the crease with the same bronzer I used on my cheeks. I added a quick sick of black liquid liner (Limecrime's Uniliner in Quill- V) and then my favourit Barry M Lash Vegas Fibres mascara (V).

 At the last minute I decided to add some gold on the waterline and used GOSH's Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Antinque Gold (CV).

Lips were a quick dab of Barry M's Loudmouth Gloss in Chatterbox.

 

And that's that!

I quite often change it up a wee bit by using a colour pencil instead of black liquid liner, but aside from that, my makeup is like this most days.

What's your go to products?

Love & Stuff
Sal xXx

13:18

Helloooo, how was everyone's weekend? Outstanding. Swiftly moving on.

The PPK challenged me to try out confetti liner from a picture tutorial that was posted on the forum, so thought I'd have a play with it and a few similar looks to see how easy it was and if I'd actually wear it. It was pretty easy and I would definitely wear something like this as a fun way to jazz up some simple makeup.

For all looks I put the GOSH brow pencil in Grey/Brown (CV) on my brows, put a bit of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (CV) over the entire lid and set it with loose powder. I put a bit of Barry M bronzer (V) in the crease as well, just lightly.  Then Barry M Lash Vegas with Fibres mascara (V).

I used a Real Techniques silicon liner brush for all the dots you see. I used a Louise Young Synthetic Fine Liner Brush for the gel liner tutorial below and the angle brush I used to clean up with was by Barry M.

Starting with pretty much the look that was on the tutorial. The liners I used were all Limecrime Uniliners (V), shades I used were 6th Element (orange), Citreuse (green), Blue Milk (light blue) and Orchidaceous (purple)

Then I tried putting down a white winged liner first and just using blues/greens.  This is Barry M white kohl pencil eyeliner (V), set with Sugarpill's Tako eyeshadow (V). The colours are Makeup Geek Gel Liners in Fame, Electric & Mystic (CV).

For something a little different I did the same white wing as above, then mixed Sugarpill's Goldilux pigment (V) with Neve's mixing medium (V)

I dotted this on in random splodges

Then turned it into animal print with some Limecrime Quill Uniliner (V)

Lastly I reversed this and did a wing with Limecrime's Quill Uniliner and dotted some white spots on with Illamasqua's Precision Liquid Liner in Scribe.

I also thought I'd do a little pic tutorial for anyone who struggles with eyeliner.  It really is just practice and you'll always have crap days and great days / uneven wings ... blah blah, but in case you need a few tips, here's how I do mine.

This is the same whether I'm doing gel liner with a brush or liquid liner.  If gel, I scrape some of the liner out of the pot with a clean brush tip or spatula and pop it on a palette if it's a client or the back of my hand if it's just for me.  Then load up the brush and kind of twirl it on the back of my hand (or against the neck of the tube if liquid) to get the brush to a point again.

I always start in the middle of my eye with the brush on it's side, short strokes, resting my fingers on my face.

The turn the brush and use the point to get the inner corner and join up to the other line, while you have less product on the brush.

As you can see it doesn't haven't be perfect at this point.

Then draw on the wing, while you still have less product on the brush

And then draw another line to make a triangle and join up with the liner.

Then just fill in the triangle and go backwards, perfecting and smoothing out the top line.  Any wobbles in the wing fixed up with some makeup remover (non oil based works best) and an angle brush.  You can use concealer too, if you prefer.

Eh voila

So there we go, I'm not the world's best liner of eyes but I do ok on the days the eyeliner gods deem me worthy! So hopefully this will help start you off if you struggle a bit with liner.

Love & Stuff
Sal xXx


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12:16

The Sleek Rio Rio Palette & OCC's Hoochie Lip Tar! Full Face of the Day post today, with a list of all the products I used at the bottom of the page.

On Monday I posted swatches from the latest offering from Sleek and here is the makeup that I created with it this past Saturday.  It was probably a bit much for a birthday party in a friend's garden, but hey... I like to overdo.

I started with a purple lip, using OCC's Hoochie Lip Pencil and the Lip Tar of the same name. I absolutely loved this lip, it's a gorgeous colour!  I did end up changing it though.

Artificial light full face

Artificial light:

 Daylight:

Artificial light

Daylight:

 Daylight full face:

As I mentioned above, I actually ended up changing the lip tar out for another OCC produc; their Stained Gloss in Aurora, because the Hoochie was lovely and would've been great for a night out, but was a bit too much for a garden party! haha.  So here it is with the alternative lip (and a moody face).

And a bonus wet hair/concealer highlighting sexeh face!  Hmmm!

Full list of products used:
Face:
No 7 Superlight Foundation in Calico (CV)
OCC Conceal in R1 (to correct my dark circles) and Y1 (blemishes) (V)
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade 2 Light (under eyes) and 1 Fair (to highlight as in the above dumb selfie! (CV)
SEVENTEEN Skin Wow Liquid Highlighter (CV)
Makeup Revolution Liquid Blush in O' Boy (AV)
Marks and Spencer Autograph loose translucent powder (CV)

Eyes
OCC Conceal in R0 as a base (CV)
Makeup Geek eye shadows in Peach Smoothie & Latte (crease) (CV)
Sleek Rio Rio i-Divine palette, shades: Sao Conrado on the lid & Bossa Nova in the crease. (AV)
GOSH Velvet Touch Pencil in Sky High on the waterline and lower lash line.  I set the lower lash line with a bit of Leme from the sleek palette too. (CV)
Barry M Single eyeshadow in E1 Cream on the browbone (V)
Limecrime Uniliner in Quill (V)
Barry M Lash Vegas Blackest Black with Fibres Mascara (V)
Anastasia Beverley Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde (AV)

Lips
OCC Hoochie Lip Tar & Hoochie Pencil (V)
(& OCC Stained Gloss in Aurora in the alternative pic) (V)

Happy humpday!

Love & Stuff
Sal xXx

13:10

So instead of doing a Friday Favourite this week I'm doing a Friday Feature, on the new shades of the Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers from MUA (AV).  When I saw the picture of these on the facebook page I was really excited because usually, this type of long lasting, matte liquid lipsticks only come in super dark / vibrant colours and I was looking forward to trying something more wearable for the day.

The colours are actually darker than they look in the tubes and I have struggled to get accurate pics of the colours.  They are all slightly brighter than both my hand and lip swatches are showing up on my pc, even though they look about right on my camera. 

From left to right, the shades are Tranquility, Halcyon, Serene & Aflush

The formula of these is tricky, as are all of the products like this that I have tried but with a bit of extra work, they are worth it because they really do last a lot longer than a regular lipstick!

Starting with Tranquility, which is a lovely light browny nude.  When I was applying this I was thinking ERGH vom. But once it was on I actually really loved it.  This one was the easiest one to work with and went on smoothly and easily first time.

Then Halcyon, which is a bit more of a brick type shade in real life. Again, another one I thought I'd hate but ended up liking. I think though if you have a lot of pink or red in your skin tone, this one wouldn't work for you!

Then we have Aflush, which is quite a lot brighter than I could get it to show in the picture. It's actually a lovely bright pink, not as bright as Criminal which I will talk about below, but very pretty and still a nice bold lip colour.  In fact, my brother's comment about this lipstick after I came downstairs from taking this photo wearing it was 'erm, you know it's that bright right?'. So I think he was unimpressed but I personally love it!

I left Serene for last because this is the one I struggled with the most.  It took 4 separate occasions of me trying to get this on nicely to be able to get this photo, which I'm disappointed about because I really LOVE the colour. Also, as you can see, I smooged my lips together before it was dry and got a bit of transference, as you can see in the pic below! Harrumph!  I've got some tips for working with these colours below, because they are a bit of work.

So basically if you want to try these, make sure you exfoliate your lips if needed and apply some lip balm. But before you apply the lacquer, wipe your lips completely dry. Any oil on the lips will stop them going on smoothly.  Work quickly and don't try to apply too thinly. Just try to get it on as even as possible and perfect the edges with your finger if you smudge it outside the lip line too much.  Don't rub or press your lips together to distribute the product. Keep your lips apart until totally dry otherwise they cake up a bit and look patchy.  If you need to add a bit more to patchy areas, wait until they're fully dry and add a tiny bit more.

With regards to wear, once they are dry they don't transfer onto your glass / hand etc!  I found that after just being out for salsa class with one or 2 drinks with a straw, these lasted pretty well, just a wee bit of a touch up needed...

After wearing it out for dinner and having (fairly oily) Italian food, it didn't fair quite so well. The oil breaks down the product and it wears off quite a bit...

I found that putting a bit of gloss over it makes it a bit more comfy (if you don't like the matte feeling) but anything petroleum based breaks it down pretty quick.

Removal... easy but it'll take more than a quick wipe off on a tissue. I use an eye make up remover to get these off, as it's less harsh on the lips than rubbing it off with a tissue or makeup wipe.

My overall opinion of these is that I like them a lot.  They last a long time with only minimal touch up needed and with a bit of patience, look really good.  I still prefer the Limecrime Velvetines I have which I have found don't need to be touched up at all during a night on the drink (admittedly I haven't tested them on how they last during dinner!)

So that's the new shades. I also have 3 of the older ones so I thought I'd post a swatch of those and also some comparisons to similar shades from other brands that I have.

Top to bottom: Criminal, Funk, Atomic

Some comparisons then:

Left to right: MUA 'Serene' & Makeup Revolution 'What I Believe' and MUA 'Aflush' & Makeup Revolution 'Keep Crying For You'. 

The top two are MUA 'Criminal' (L) and Makeup Revolution 'You Took My Love' (R) - these two are almost identical!

And here is MUA's 'Atomic' (top) and Limecrime's 'Suedeberry' (bottom). Suedeberry is a bit more pinky and lighter and Atomic is a truer orange.

So that's all for this week. Hope you have a fab weekend.

Love & Stuff

Sal xXx

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12:25