Rose Gold Soft & Sweet Valentine's Day Look

Hi everyone,

I felt like doing a makeup look using my Naked 3 palette and what with Valentine's day just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to do it. Even if you aren't celebrating Valentine's day you could still do this look because despite using a lot of different eyeshadows, I would still say it is wearable. The brown liner makes it a little less harsh too.

To go along with the pink theme I used my soft pink Nars blush in Amour. It's quite subtle and looks really pretty when lightly dusted on the cheeks. I also used my current favourite lip pencil which is in a rather sorry state after I tried sharpening it (sob) but still works perfectly fine. 

Face:

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Cool Medium 2:

on blemishes

Manhattan Soft Compact Powder in 0 Transparent:

to set the concealer

Sleek Face Form palette in Medium:

contour, bronzer & highlight

NARS blush in Amour

Eyes & Eyebrows:

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil in Blondeshell:

to shape and fill in my brows

NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base:

all over my eye lid and crease

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette & MAC palette:

Nooner in the crease, Liar and MAC Sable on the lid & blended upwards, Strange in the inner corner, Darkside & Factory in the outer corner and outer lower lash line, Trick in the center of the lid and inner, lower lash line

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Whiskey & MAC Teddy eye liner :

on top and lower lashline

Chanel Inimitable Mascara

Lips: 

NARS Descanso lip pencil

2014 Favourites

Hi everyone,

I don't usually do blogposts about my monthly favourites but I wanted to do one big post about all of my 2014 favourites because there were quite a lot of products that I fell in love with last year. January is almost over but I thought I may as well post it anyway. Better late than never! 

I've already reviewed a few of them on my blog already and I'll leave links in case you want to read a more in depth description about any of those. There will also be a few I haven't blogged about yet so hopefully it will be an interesting read.

Skincare

Bebe More Melt Away Cleanser

This was my go to cleanser throughout 2014. It's cheap and works wonders! I'm pretty sure that it's part of the reason why my skin looked and felt nice throughout the whole year. It's paraben free and is great for cleanising sensitive skin. It has a foamy, mousse like texture and I found it to be moisturing. It's great for moving any excess makeup and leaves my skin  feeling extremely clean and soft. I'm on my second tube already and will probably repurchase it once that one is done. Read more about it here.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat

My skin can get quite oily during the summer and I used this on a daily basis. It worked extremely well at reducing the oil and keeping my complexion looking matte. It felt really nice on and didn't bother my sensitive skin at all. It's quite expensive but a tiny bit goes a long way and it has lasted me a really long time. 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +

I was a huge fan of the original Effaclar Duo and had been since 2012. Contrary to the original version, the Effaclar Duo + claims to prevent marks on the skin as well as correcting imperfections and unclogging pores (like the original). The consistency and texture has also changed. Where the first was more like a transparent gel, this one is creamier and white in colour. The first few times I used it, I was rather disappointed as it seemed to cause more breakouts but I was determined to stick with it as once again it's fairly expensive. After a while it cleared up my skin and I fell in love with it. I apply it after cleansing and toning, before putting on makeup.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I.

Another long time favourite that I've never blogged about. This one is targeted more specifically at preventing spots and imperfections. I can't fault it. It has always worked wonders whenever my skin decides to play up. I apply it to any spots and redness just before going to sleep after cleansing and toning my skin. That way it has time to work it's magic over night. 

Makeup & Brushes

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set

2014 was the year I decided to invest in these beauts. I did a blogpost on the original set here and my lovely mum bought me the eye brush set for Christmas. I adore these brushes, they're super soft and do their jobs extremely well. You get a bunch of different brushes, each with their own individual use (although feel free to use them for different things). The quality is incredible and I actually prefer them to my other brushes. 65€ may seem a lot for makeup brushes but when you calculate it, it works out to +/-5€ per brush which is amazing. Also there is the added fact that they are rose gold! So beautiful.

NARS Blush in Dolce Vita

I hadn't been using a lot a face products for a while but I fell back in love with this blush towards the end of last year (summer and autumn in particular). It's the most gorgeous deep red/pink colour and looks amazing on my skin (if I do say so myself). I've had it for over two years now and still haven't hit pan. As it's NARS, it is expensive but if you have money to spend and fancy getting a new blush, I definitely recommend it. I've written about it here.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 49 Liasion & NARS Lipstick in Heatwave

Both of these lipsticks were featured in my Top 10 Lipsticks for Spring/Summer which you can read here. They're both beautiful, both expensive, both amazing. i love pairing Liaison with a brown smokey eye and Heatwave with winged liner. They're both creamy but Heatwave has a matte finish and Liaison has more of a pearl finish.

MAC Palette

I almost completed my MAC palette last year and I found myself using it on a day to day basis. When it comes to eyeshadows, MAC is definitely up there with my top favourites. Amazing quality, beautiful colours and reasonably priced. The ones I used the most were Sable, Mulch, Patina, Charcoal Brown and Naked Lunch but I adore all of them. Read more about my palette here.

Hair Products

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Extreme

This has to be one of my all time favourite new discoveries of last year. I first started using it in March or April and have since repurchased it, despite it being fairly expensive. I really think that this has been the main reason why the condition of my hair has improved so drastically. It really is a hair saviour. Read more here.

Nivea Diamond Gloss Shampoo & Conditioner

Hands down my favourite shampoo and conditioner. They smell amazing and leave my hair looking glossy and feeling super soft. I always go back to these no matter how many other products I try. I wrote a more in depth blogpost about them here.

MoroccanOil & Kérastase Ciment Thermique

These two have been long term favourites of mine. I use them both religiously after every wash and they haven't stopped doing their magic. They make my hair feel so soft and manageable as well as keeping it in good condition. They also both smell amazing! Price wise, they are expensive but you don't need to use a lot and I find they last between six months to a year. Read more about the Ciment Thermique here.

COLAB Dry Shampoo London

I bought this a few months ago and it has since become a firm favourite. I have always had a love/hate (more hate) relationship with dry shampoos. Whether it was the smell or the fact that they didn't really help, I could never find the perfect one. Until now that is! The London scent is lovely and it actually helps make my hair look presentable on the days in between washes. It was also incredibly cheap for such a big can.

Favourite A/W Perfumes

Hi everyone,

I realised that I haven't blogged about perfumes in ages and what with Christmas being just around the corner (how is it already November?), everyone will be looking for present ideas. So I decided to put together a small list of my favourite seasonal perfumes, as it might inspire you to buy them for someone or even to add them to your own wishlist. 

I would say I have a reasonably sized perfume collection, although I'm sure other people would consider it small when comparing to someone else's collection. I definitely have certain perfumes that I tend to use more often during this time of the year. I would describe them as heavier scents, more intense than the ones I reach for during the summer. I'm not particularly good at describing scents, so I did a bit of research (google) in order to be able to write more than "it just smells soooo good!". And yes, I am the kind of person who keeps perfume boxes. Don't judge me!

1. Zara Femme Eau de Toilette

I can't find another name of this perfume, either it doesn't have one or it is just called Zara Femme (which, as I'm sure everyone knows, means woman). I bought this back in July while in Lisbon. I wasn't able to test it first, as they didn't have a tester version of every perfume and I will admit that I only bought it because the box had rose gold on it. Which is obviously not the recommended way to choose a perfume, but it worked out for the best because I adore the scent! I would describe it as sweet, spicy and slightly musky, but after looking it a up I found out that this website (which is really helpful!) describes it as a "chypre, floral fragrance" and that the top note is bergamot which is a bitter, citrusy, inedible fruit (I had to look it up as I had never heard of it before!). The middle notes are peony and vanilla which explain the sweetness and freshness of the perfume. The base notes are patchouli and musk.

I know from experience that reading about the scent still doesn't really help all that much and I would usually advise going and giving it a sniff, but as I said before they might not have a tester. I would say if you are a fan of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, you will probably like this one too, although it's a bit more musky. It obviously doesn't last all day, as it is an eau de toilette, but it's worth it for the price!

2. Jimmy Choo Eau de Parfum

This is my second bottle of the Jimmy Choo perfume, that's how much I adore it. My boyfriend bought me a gift set a couple of years ago for Christmas and it quickly became my favourite go to perfume. I especially love it during the winter, as it reminds me of Christmas. It's a very sweet scent but it's also quite fresh, fruity and once again slightly spicy which cuts through the sweetness nicely. It is described as a modern chypre, fruity scent and the top notes are mandarin orange and pear. The middle note is orchid and the base notes are patchouli and toffee, which is funny because I really don't like eating toffee but apparently I don't mind smelling like it! It lasts a really long time and the scent gets even better throughout the day. 

3. Lancôme La Vie est Belle Eau de Parfum

My boyfriend got me this perfume for Christmas last year and it has become another firm favourite of mine. The bottle is really lovely and the perfume itself seems to last forever, as I've used it so often and it still looks reasonably full. It's another really sweet scent and it reminds me of sweets and caramel! It's a mix of fruity and floral but a little less citrusy than the Jimmy Choo perfume. 

The top notes are black current and pear, which explain the fruity smell. The middle notes are iris, jasmine and orange blossom and the base notes are patchouli, tonka bean, praline and vanilla.

It lasts an incredibly long time and I always use it on my scarves so that they smell great all day. 

4. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum

This is the most expensive perfume I have ever bought! However, I've had it for two years now and it's still going strong. The bottle is absolutely gorgeous in a very simple way. The scent is quite sweet, in a fruity and floral way. Out of all of the perfumes, I find this one the hardest to describe and after looking at the website I can see why. There are so many different components to this perfume. The top notes are orange, mandarin orange, orange blossom and bergamot so quite orangey then! The middle notes are mimosa, jasmine, turkish rose and ylang-ylang and the base notes are tonka bean, patchouli, opoponax, vanilla, vetiver and white musk. I'm not going to lie, I had no idea what half of these things were so I had to look a few of them up. Fragrantica has explanations of all of them though, so if you are curious about what they are, go check it out. 

Personally I don't think this one lasts as long as the Jimmy Choo perfume or the Lancôme perfume and I do have to top it up throughout the day. 

Halloween Look

Hi everyone,

It's almost Halloween, which is really exciting! I used to always love getting dressed up but the last few years I haven't done anything special for Halloween, so this year I decided I would change that. I practiced my make up last week and thought I should blog about it, since obviously involved using a lot of make up. It was a lot of fun to do, if not a little time consuming (30-45 minutes!). As you may or may not know, my skin is quite sensitive and I don't like using cream or liquid face products, so for this look I mostly used powders. It's a lot messier than if you were to use cream or liquid products, but I actually like that effect. Halloween looks are never meant to look perfect and clean. It's also all about trial and error and looking back, I would change a few things. But for now I will talk you through which products I used and how I applied them. I chose a colour theme (black, purple, dark red) and tried to stick to it, but ended up adding some shimmery silver which made it less flat. 

Products: 

NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base

MAC eyeshadow in Dark Brown

MAC eyeshadow in Cranberry

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette Nooner, Darkside & Blackheart

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Verve, Busted & Blackout

Hema Liquid Liner

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

Chanel Inimitable Mascara

MAC Captive lipstick

I started by doing the eyes. I did the same thing on both sides, despite the fact that one eye would later be covered in dark eyeshadow. I used a primer and then applied Dark Brown and Nooner in the crease and Cranberry all over the lid and blended them out. I later added Verve on the lid, but only on the visible side. Then I used my liquid liner to create a feline flick in both the inner and outer corner of the eye and then continued that line on the top and bottom lash line. I smudged some Dark Brown and Nooner on the bottom lash line, as I didn't like how intense the liquid liner looked on it's own. I would recommend applying mascara when you've almost finished the whole look. I applied several coats so that my lashes would stand out a bit more. 

I used a pencil liner to draw a faint circle around one of my eyes, starting just over the eyebrow and then filled it in with a mix of Cranberry, Darkside, Busted and Blackheart. Then using my liquid liner, I drew little petals over the circle. I filled them in using Verve. On the other side, I did a few more petals over my eyebrow and added a few dots using the liner and Verve. I then drew some squiggles and spirals around my eye, again adding dots. 

I used Cranberry and Dark Brown to contour my cheekbones and my temples and then got a bit carried away and managed to put it all over my forehead. I blended them up to my cheeks and used Blackout to intensify the contoured areas. Then I started to draw the rose with liquid liner and I'm not going to lie, it took me several tries to get it right. I started with a circle in the middle and built it out from there by drawing angular petals all around it. I filled it in with Cranberry and added some more Verve on several of the petals. (I would suggest using filling in the area where you plan on drawing the rose first as it was quite hard to fill it in afterwards.) Then I drew more spirals coming out of the rose and added some thorns. 

I used the pencil liner to draw a tear drop on my nose and filled it in. Then I applied Blackout and Blackheart over the top to set it. Sticking with the dark red/purple theme, I used Captive on my lips and then used some Blackout on the center. For the teeth, I used the liquid liner to draw some lines over my lips and extended them out past my lips. Then I drew lines over the contoured part of the cheek and connected them to the "teeth". I added more spirals and dots and decided to end there. 

To make this look creepy, I decided to add a white contact lense. I really liked the contrast of having a white eye amidst all the dark eyeshadow.

Have a great Halloween! 

Intense Liner & a Hint of Plum

This look is quite similar to my last FOTD, except with a lot more eyeliner and even a flick! I don't tend to stress too much about how even the flicks turn out because I have accepted the fact that they will never be perfect. And no one is really going to be checking them either! 

Since this look was going to be focusing mainly on the eye liner, I decided to keep the eyeshadow rather soft and light, which is why I used a mix of Naked Lunch and Charcoal Brown. 

Whenever I do my makeup, there is always an inevitable point where it looks crap and I feel like wiping my face clean and maybe throw something. This point came just after I had done the eyeliner. The They're Real liner decided to choose today to be the day that it would be tricky to handle and had a lot of clumps that caught on my lashes, which is so frustrating. In the end I chose not to give up and after I applied my Maybelline mascara, it started to look like it was coming together. Because the liner was so thick, I ended up putting on a second coat of mascara, this time using the Chanel one. I didn't dare go too crazy though because I really hate clumpy lashes. This was almost too much to bare so I refrained from looking at my lashes for too long. The struggle is real, guys.

I chose MAC's Hot Gossip for my lips as it has a bit of a muted plum tone to it (ok, it is essentially pink on my lips but I tried to be autumn appropriate and that's all that counts). It actually went well with my top, so all was good in the world.

And yes, I am well aware that there was a piece of fluff on my lashes and it is horribly annoying but ho hum, what can I do?

(Retake all the photos but ain't nobody got time for that.)

Face:

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Cool Medium 2:

on blemishes

Manhattan Soft Compact Powder in 0 Transparent:

to set the concealer

Eyes & Eyebrows:

MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown:

 to fill in my brows

NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base:

all over my eye lid and crease

MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown:

 blended through the crease and a tiny bit on the lid over Naked Lunch

MAC eyeshadow in Dark Brown:

blended in the outer part of the lid and on the lower lash line

MAC eyeshadow in Naked Lunch:

all over the lid, blended

MAC eyeshadow in Sable:

 on the lower lash line

MAC eyeshadow in Naked Lunch:

in the inner corner of the eye, as a highlight

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner:

on the top lash line, starting from the inner corner 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero:

to line the top waterline

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

Chanel Inimitable Mascara

Lips: 

MAC Hot Gossip lipstick

Top 10 Lip Products For Spring/Summer

This year has been the year where I have really got into lip products. I used to always forget the lipstick step when doing makeup but I decided that this year I would try to make more of an effort. Lipstick alone can make you look fabulous! So I thought I would put together a list of my absolute favourite lip products that I love to use during the summer months. It's a mix of high street to mid range to high end, so price wise there's something for every budget. There's no particular order to these either. Let me know what your favourite lip products are for the summer!

1. Bourjois Color Boost in 01 Red Sunshine

This is a really nice, glossy muted red/pink colour and it's really moisturising. I especially love using this one when I'm in a hurry because it's so easy to apply. It's waterproof and stays on for quite some time, without staining the lips too badly.

2. Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi

I have to admit, the main reason I bought this is due to the name as Lodhi is my surname. But it's actually a really nice colour, especially if you have a tan. It applies really well too. Mine is in a sorry state because my dad accidentally squished it when I showed it to him.

3. Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream in 1 Cotton Candy

This is another favourite for when I'm in a hurry. I adore this shade of dusty rose/pink! It's really creamy when you apply it but it dries matte, which I really like because I hate getting hair stuck in my lipstick or accidentally smudging it.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in 053 Sorbet

This is the only lip butter that I own! It's a dark, glossy fuchsia pink and is really nice for when you just want a hint of colour on your lips. 

5. Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 49 Liaison

My sister got me this for my birthday and I love it. It's similar in colour to the Collection Lip Cream, but it doesn't' dry matte. I love this for when I do a smokey bronze eye, because it doesn't overpower the whole look. 

6. Nars Lipstick in Heatwave

This is my absolute favourite red lipstick. It's a gorgeous, almost orange red colour and looks great all year round in my opinion. It dries matte too, which is great for me, but if you don't like having a matte lip then just use some lip balm underneath (or over!). 

7. Nars Lipstick in Funny Face

This is my newest addition to my Nars makeup collection and I adore it. I love the name, Funny Face, because it reminds me of my favourite Audrey Hepburn film. And the colour is amazing. It's a blue toned fuchsia pink and again it dries slightly matte. 

8. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Impassioned

The photos don't do this one justice. It's my favourite MAC lipstick and is a sort of bright orangey/dark coral/pink colour. It tends to go more pink on my lips but I don't mind. I especially love this for nights out. Out of all of these lip products, this one stained the most.

9. MAC Frost Lipstick in Costa Chic

I wasn't sure about this one at first, since it's a frost, but I actually really like it. I do prefer using a tissue to dab off some of it when I apply it otherwise it looks a bit weird, but once I do that it looks fine. It's a light peachy coral colour and looks great with a tan.

10. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Chatter Box

Again, this is the shade of dusty rose pink I really like and I love using this when I use brown eyeshadows. I'm not sure why but it's my favourite combo. All of the MAC lipstick I've tried are really creamy and feel really nice on.