FOTD - Recreating my wedding makeup look

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Today we're celebrating our wedding anniversary and although it feels like we got married only yesterday, it's been 5 years already. Traditionally 5 years is considered the Wooden anniversary - maybe that means that Him Indoors will give me a couple of acres of Amazon forest...  Since it's our anniversary I thought it would be fun to recreate the makeup look I was wearing on my wedding day and even though I won't be using exactly the same products, the colors will be very similar.

At the moment I have much more of a tan than I did at my wedding and for an every day look at this time of year I normally wouldn't even bother with foundation, but since I'm making a bit more of an effort with this look I applied the No 7 Instant Radiance Foundation (£12.50) in Wheat. In my opnion the No 7 foundations don't get nearly enough credit and mention in Blogiverse. Not only are they great value for money, but the matching service means that you will definitely get a shade that is as close to your skin tone as possible for a perfect seamless match. The radiance foundation is a lovely and light medium coverage foundation that adds a nice warm and natural glow to your skin but without that heavy, caked feeling on your skin. It's fairly long lasting so it should stand a fair chance during these hot sweltering days we've been having lately. Now, I know that a lot of wedding looks are quite soft, natural and paired down, but I like a defined eye - always have and always will and it's a look I wear most days of the year. So for my wedding makeup I didn't want the complete opposite or something totally out of character since after all, this is the day of all days to feel comfortable and great about yourself, so my makeup artist and I decided to do a lighter version of a defined eye that was still in keeping with what I would usually emphasize, using slightly softer colors

For the eyes I used Avon's True Colour Eyeshasdow Quad Nudes (£9) in Barely There. All of the shades have surprisingly strong pigmentation and the formula is soft and creamy that allows for gradual building up of the colours, which will last the majority of day before you start seeing them fade. As a base for the entire lid I used shade no 2, which is a beautiful muted, dusky rose colour which blends so well with shade no 4 - an intense sepia brown, and on the middle of the lid I added a light sweep of shade no 3, a chamoisee with a beautiful subtle shimmer. I also used shade no 1 as a highlighter and in the inner corner of my eye, and the pale but warm cream colour is a nice contrast to the other colours. I really like these Barely There shades and even though they definitely are on the nude side they don't disappear into the background and are anything but bland. To add some depth and eye definition I applied Rimmel's Soft Khol Kajal Eye Pencil (£2.99) in Sable Brown on the lower waterline. It has a wonderful soft and water resistant formula that stays in place even on the teariest of days, so if you've got a special occasion coming up - give this one a go!

The only mascara for me at the moment, which you'll probably remember from my July favourites,  is Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara (£9.99). Already from the start it has just the right texture, as if it's been used for a while and the wide, firm brush makes it very easy to apply layers upon layers to quickly volumise and shape the lashes as much as you want in a few seconds and the effect is amazing. It's very long lasting but also easy to remove in the evening. I'm very lucky with my eye lashes and even the bottom ones are fairly long, but these days many mascaras with their wacky and strangely shaped wands make it tricky to get a nice and smudge free application. The solution to that issuette is the famous Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara (£13) which has the tiniest brush I've ever seen, making messy lines under your bottom lashes a thing of the past. I prefer to use the shade brown since I personally am not a fan of the lower lashes being too distinct and spider leggy and I think it works well, even with black mascara on the upper lashes.

For my cheeks I used my beloved Sleek MakeUp Blush (£4.49) in the most stunning shade ever - Rose Gold. I love this romantic coral shade with its golden shimmer, that makes your cheeks look so dewy and glowy making it perfect for a romantic occasion. The consistency is silky smooth and blendable and the blusher is so richly pigmented that you only need to dab your brush in it to get enough product for both cheeks - in the photo I've literally just lightly swept the brush over the apples of my cheeks, and as you can see that's more than enough for a radiant finish. When I tried to recreate my wedding day look I wasn't surprised at all to see that I had almost identical shades for all the products but one - the one item that I had to rummage around for was a lip colour and the closest I could find in my stash was the L'Oréal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick (£8.99) in Rose Symphony. This is supposedly a dupe for the fantastic YSL Glossy Stains, and there are definitely a lot of similarities. Let's look at the formula; it's soft, moisturising, silky, non sticky, intensely pigmented and with a brilliant glossy shine and it comes with a great flexible doe foot applicator. It's long lasting and when the shine has faded you're left with a noticeable stain that lasts literally ALL day. It's an excellent product and definitely a more affordable option to YSL. Rose Symphony is a warm vermillion pink shade, and although the colour I wore on my wedding day had more coral in it and the finish was not quite as glossy, the overall look is very similar. I had so much fun recreating the look again and now I'm off to pack a bag since apparently I'm going away somewhere, and I mustn't forget to take all these items with me so I can create the same look for this evening.

Purple edition

Since it's Easter this weekend I thought it would be appropriate for the color edition this month to focus on purple. As a color it's a mix of mostly red with a portion of blue and it's one of the colors that was first used in art, but making purple pigments was a complicated and costly business which is probably why purple is traditionally often associated with luxury, royalty and dignity. Purple also symbolizes magic and spirituality and to me it's an elegant and harmonious statement color which I love to wear; from the darker more sophisticated shades in winter time to the lighter, more floral and romantic shades in the summer time. Interestingly enough all of my favorite flowers (except jasmine) are purple - lilac, sweet peas and hyacinth, and my birthstone is tourmaline so it seems as if I have a strong connection with this particular color and today I want to show you some of my favorite purple products.

Having fair complexion that still tans quite easily I guess you could say that I have a golden undertone to my skin, so I generally avoid purple or blue toned lip products since they tend to make my skin look very pale, and not pale and interesting but pale and sickly. But over winter I did experiment with deeper berry shades and I came across a product that positively surprised me in many ways - Rimmel's Stay Glossy Lip Gloss (£6.29). First of all I had been very skeptical to lip glosses up until fairly recently since I used to think of them as sticky sparkly and cheap lip goo, however this formula of cotton and silk is lovely, moisturising and completely non sticky. Even though the lip gloss feels very light on the lips the pigmentation is intense and long lasting - the claim is that it should hold up to six hours and on me it lasts at least four hrs, which is still pretty good. It's available in eleven shades and Captivate Me may look very dark and purple in the tube, but it's more of a dark raspberry pink on the lips and it creates a lovely sheer glistening look. So not only did this product prove to be nothing like the image I had of lip glosses but it turns out that I can actually do blue-toned lippies too.

I've mentioned before that I love to use a colorful eye pencil on my lower water line, to add a little something to a neutral make up look, especially during the warmer months of the year and when I've got a little bit of color. Since I now have a little bit of a tan, albeit fake - courtesy of the amazing Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning for face and decolleté (£19) that I reviewed yesterday, it's time to sharpen those eye pencils. One of my favorites eye pencil's is the L'Oréal Color Riche Le Khol (£4.39) in 114 Breezy Lavander, a beautiful intense metallic light lavender. The formula is a combination of oil and wax, making it very soft and creamy to work with and the pencil applies very smoothly without any need for pressing or tugging. Although it's not specifically water resistant it does have a long lasting wear making it great to use on the upper or lower waterline. Sticking with pencils but in a much thicker version, I've really taken to chubby sticks both for lips and for eyes - they are just so handy and practical. One of the most interesting and affordable formulas on the high street is Rimmel's Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick (£4.49). The consistency is very soft and buildable and you barely need to touch your eyelid with the tip to get an intense color payoff with a very subtle lustrous finish. The shade 006 Paranoid Purple is a gorgeous high shine Byzantium purple and although one light sweep with the stick is enough to get a nice color, personally I think this shade looks its best when you've built it up and you have a dramatic and daring look. The pigmentation may be intense but unfortunately it's not very long lasting, and on me the color fades after only a few hrs despite using an eye shadow primer - but that is the only down side with this product, and as such I think it's a great budget friendly option to the original Clinique chubby.

From top to bottom:

Rimmel's Stay Glossy Lip Gloss in Captivate Me

L'Oréal Color Riche Le Khol in 114 Breezy Lavander

Rimmel's Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick in 006 Paranoid Purple

A nail polish brand that I have raved about a few times before is the amazing Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Formula (£6.99) that combines base coat, strengthener, growth treatment and top coat with each color. It's taken me a while to completely trust this product, but having tried so many different shades of it now I have managed to wean myself off wearing a separate base- and top coat and so far it's never caused any problems with discoloration to the nails or the finish. It has a wonderful wide brush for easy streak-free application and strong pigmentation that will last for about 5-6 days before you might want to touch it up, with an excellent high shine finish. There are over 60 colors to choose from and this shade - Good to Grape is a lovely creamy and rich Wisteria purple that looks so graceful and pretty. If you haven't already tried this gem from Sally Hansen I would highly recommend it, after all you get 5 products in 1 for a very reasonable price and with a quality that puts a lot of premium brands to shame.

A nail polish from a premium brand that never disappoints is Estée Lauder's Pure Color Nail Lacquer (£14). The formula is excellent with high pigmentation for a beautiful opaque look and exceptional high shine finish and this one also comes with a nice wide brush for even coverage. With a lot of the darker shades you could probably get away with only applying one coat, but the shade Bete Noire is a magnificent dark royal purple with a slight shimmer that definitely should be applied in at least two coats so that the effect comes into its own. Since I'm a polishaholic and change my nail color more times than I can count every week, it's not necessarily a deal breaker for me if the wear isn't brilliant, however it is VERY important to me when it comes to premium brands since they usually come at a premium price and they therefore also should have premium quality, but I've always been very happy with the longevity of Estée Lauder polishes and I would say it takes about five days before the finish needs to be retouched. You can see swatches of both nail polishes here on my Instagram.

Last in this purple line up is a fragrance, and it's a celebrity one which can be controversial. I know that a lot of people have very strong views about celebrity scents, however I am an equal perfume opportunist and only look at the actual scent qualities, which I think should be assessed on their own and not whether you're a fan of the celebrity or not. I'm curious to know what your thought are on this, so please let me know in the comments below. Regardless - this is Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy EdP (£24) which comes in a pretty deep purple bottle with little pale blue crystals. It's a delightful, fruity, young and uncomplicated scent that makes me think of a warm summer night garden after the rain. When you first spray it on you can easily detect the piquant and fresh fruitiness of raspberry and cherries, which eventually give way to a more sophisticated note of colorful delicious and sweet freesia and orchids. The scent is grounded in warm and sensual notes of musk, and vanilla which gives it substance and keeps it from being too light and candy like. Even though Midnight Fantasy is an EdP and therefore it should be fairly concentrated and linger quite a long time on the skin, I do find that it's less intense than most of my EdPs and I would say that it lasts about 2 hrs on me before I feel that I need to apply some more. It doesn't matter though, I still adore this fruity, sunny and joyful scent and every time I wear it I get loads of compliments for it, so would I buy it again? - definitely! Would I recommend that you try it regardless of what you think of celebrity fragrances? - definitely!

I hope you've enjoyed this selection of a few favorite purple products. I'll be taking a few days break over Easter since we'll be going away, but I'll be back again as usual on Tuesday. Have a great Easter everyone! Xx

Face Five Challenge

Last year I did a post that counted how many products I used every day (you can read it here), and at the time 11 out of the products I'd used that day were related to makeup. So when the lovely Lauren at Will Sing for Makeup tagged me to do this challenge which is about creating a full face look using only 5 items (how CRUEL is that) I had to think long and hard about what I was going to use, which wasn't easy since I had to follow these rules:

1. Use only 5 products to create a complete makeup look

2. Each different product counts as 1 product. Multipurpose products count as 1 product, such as Benetint, Bombshell the One Stick, Nars Multipurpose Stick. 
3. No palettes are allowed. No trios, quads or multi-shade palettes.
4. Tag Five others to complete the Face Five Challenge

The key to get through this TAG for me clearly was to find great multi purpose products, so let's have a look at what I came up with. First of all I quickly eliminated primers and makeup setting sprays and for a while I even toyed with the idea of not using a foundation since my skin has been behaving pretty well lately, however since I was asked to create a complete makeup look I guess foundation should be included. To make sure that I didn't need to use a concealer I needed a foundation with medium to full coverage and you probably won't be surprised to hear that I decided to go with my beloved YSL Forever Youth Liberator Foundation (£37). I love so many things about this foundation; that it gives super coverage and still feels so lovely and light on the skin, that it includes skin care elements that drip feed the skin throughout the day, the long wear and the subtle glow that it gives. Deciding on foundation was an easy choice, but after that it got a bit more tricky and I thought of all kinds of product combinations that would do what I needed - could I use mascara on my brows? would it work with using a lip chubby on my eyes?

In the end I thought I would play it more safe and to go for a natural look using browns and corals. On my eyes I went for a Bourjois Little Round Pot Eyeshadow (£6.99) in shade 16 Orange Epicew, which is a lovely golden cinnamon color, and I love how it brings out blue eyes. The Little Round Pots are wonderful eye shadows bases - they are soft and easy to work with and you can be creative with the intensity of color using them wet or dry. I used the Rimmel Soft Khol Kajal Eye Pencil (£2.99) to line both the upper lid and the waterline. I really like using a brighter color on the waterline for a lovely contrast, but if I were to stick with the multi purpose product approach I don't think that my eye brows would look good in green or purple so in stead I went for the shade 011 Sable. It's a lovely soft and blendable texture and it's long lasting, which is always a plus when you wear it on the waterline. Since it's so soft it worked surprisingly well on my eye brows, although the color is a bit darker than I would usually go for. Mascara is a must wear for me if I'm going for a complete makeup look and since this 5 product look would be fairly natural and subtle I applied the YSL Babydoll Mascara (£24.50) in Brown for wonderful long, volumized lashed. I really love this mascara and the brush is great for reaching every single little lash which creates a very full and wide eyed look. 

Now I only had 1 more product left to use, but this was another easy decision for me since the last product I had in mind is a true 2-in-1 product - Benefit's Cha Cha Tint Lip and Cheek Stain (£24.50). When I first got this little product I thought the color was stunning but I was a bit worried about applying it. It's a creamy liquid tint that you blend into your cheeks but if you just take your take time and use tiny amounts to build the color up until it's right for you, it's very easy to use. The shade is a beautiful coral shade that sets into a lovely matte finish and it's very long lasting. I would usually only wear this on my cheeks since I prefer to use a very moisturising lip product, and although the color is very pretty, and if feel light when you apply it the formula isn't hydrating enough for me to wear as a lippy on regular basis. 

This was fun but surprisingly hard to do and I really had to plan which products I would use. The learning point I guess is that you can actually get by with fewer products - but why would you to yourself when there are so many goodies waiting to be tried out! As usual everyone is welcome to join in and I'd also love to see what the following lovelies can come up with using only 5 products:

Anoushka from Anoushka Loves

Catherine from Catherine Loves

Laura from Petit Moi Big World

Sarah from MyBeautySleuth

Shubha from Blue Velvet Addict

Have a wonderful day everyone! Xx

March favorites

What's the definition of a favorite product? An item that you love more than others, or an item that you've used more often than others? This month all my favorites are a little bit of both actually, although who knows what it'll be next month since my little club of favorites tend to change quite frequently... Let's start with something easy on the locks - hair oils are so versatile and easy to use, and one of the best ones I've tried lately is the lovely Easilocks Rose Gold Oil Heat Protector Pro* (£24.99) that I reviewed earlier this month (see article here). I had never tried this brand before but I was so impressed by how soft, shiny and protected it made my hair look and feel that I've used it a couple of times a week both before styling and as an intense treatment. The texture is light, silky and indulgent with a delightful floral and slightly spicy scent that I just can't get enough of.

My current eye shadow primer, the MUA Pro-Base Prime & Conceal (£1.50) was a bit of an impulse buy and I didn't have very high expectations of it, however this plain looking product turned out to be anything but plain (reviewed here). It's a multi purpose product which can be used both as a primer and a color correcting concealer. The consistency is velvety smooth and light weight and it's great at reducing redness and dark circles under the eyes, and also helps to make your makeup last longer. I've also used it on its own instead of eyeshadow to even out the skintone on my eyelids for a more bright eyed and rested appearance and have found that it's a great dupe for Benefit's Lemon Aid (£16.50). 

We've had some amazingly warm and sunny days in the UK with temperatures close to 20 degrees Celsius, so I've temporarily swapped my leather leggings for summery skirts but to avoid blinding the rest of the world with my whiter than white legs I've accepted some help from the fantastic Caudalie Divine Perfect Legs (£13), which is self-tanning product so easy to use that even I can get an even golden color. The consistency is ever so slightly thicker than most self tanning lotions and since it's colored you can see exactly where you've applied which makes is so much easier to get an even, non zebra like color. It also has a lovely fresh scent, unlike a lot of other self tanning products. If I can't manage to go on a divine holiday, at least I can have divine looking legs with a little help from this heaven sent goodie!

An oldie that I've rediscovered this month, which is almost as fun as trying something completely new, is Avon's Ultra Color Rich Lipstick in Instant Mocha. It's a lovely soft, creamy and moisturising formula with great pigmentation that delivers a beautiful opaque and slightly shiny finish, and since it's opaque you'll get hours of flawless wear without any drying sensation on the lips. The color is a delicious pink with a plum undertone and a lovely shine, and it's such a versatile glamorous shade. I feel a little bit bad for including it in this month's favorites since it's no longer in stock with Avon (why, why, WHY do you keep doing this to me Avon?!) and the few products I've found on eBay and Amazon are relatively expensive compared to the original price point. The closest I've come to finding a twin lipstick is MAC's Craving, which is equally rich, creamy and opaque - simply stunning...

When chubby sticks for eyes were first released I was a bit skeptical to the format, but many months and makeup looks down the line, I am a complete convert and can't praise the format enough. An excellent budget version is MUA's Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint (£3) in the shade Bring it Back, a brilliant neutral bronzed and slightly shimmery brown. It has a lovely and creamy texture and it's so easy to apply without any tugging on the eyelid for a clean and understated sheer coverage, great for a quick and easy groomed every day look with a simple eyeliner and mascara. It wears really well throughout the day without creasing and at that price, you can't really go wrong.

A palette I have truly loved this month is the beautifully delicate and pretty Dior 5 Couleurs Trianon Edition Eyeshadow Palette (£41) in Pastel Fontanges 234 (you can read a full review here). The colors are all lovely shimmery pastels with great pigmentation and wear, perfect for fresh faced, minimal and romantic looks for spring and summer. My favorite combination so far is to use the ballerina pink with the gunmetal grey, which really brings out blue eyes. I can say hand on my heart that j'Adore Dior!

Swatches from top to bottom:

Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick - Instant Mocha

MUA Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint - Bring It Back

Tanya Burr Lipgloss - Picnic in the Park

I've never really been a big wearer of lipgloss, mostly because I haven't found any with great pigmentation and wear - at least that is, until this year when there have been some real crackers on the high street. The latest one to impress me is the Tanya Burr Lipgloss in Picnic in the Park (£6.99) and its's nothing like the lipglosses I've tried before. The texture is light and very importantly non sticky with wonderful pigmentation, and when you first apply it has a gorgeous glossy look that after a few hrs wear looks like a stain. Out of the 12 colors in the range, Picnic in the park is my absolute favorite - it's a stunning brink pink shade with a slight blue undertone that is simply adorable on the lips, no wonder it's sold out in so many places!

Let me know in the comment section what it takes for a product to make your list of favorites, and what's new for March?

All good things come to those who duty free

As you may know I have been away from the UK for a while to visit my family, and when I came back not only was Him Indoors away on his travels and  I got back to an empty house - but my cat completely ignored me for about 24 hrs.... I was not feeling the love.. Well good thing I had a gianormous duty free haul to be happy about instead. It's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for me to have this heaven called duty free and not buy a single thing, but even I will admit that I went completely over board this time around. I tell myself that I do these things to relax before flying or so that you won't have to splurge... and if I chant those excuses aloud enough times, it makes it real. Anyway, let's just look at what I got over the last few days and I'll split the products into three groups; perfumes, skincare and makeup, but please note that this is just a teaser and that I will post detailed reviews of the products as I work my way through them.

Let's start with the perfumes, and the first one is so brand new that it's not even available in the shops quite yet, although it's supposed to be as of March - and it's the stunning Exotica from Roberto Cavalli. It's a lovely tropical and fruity scent and slightly floral scent and I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites this season. Next perfume is fairly new, it's the Elie Saab L'Eau Couture EdT (£31) which is a light and fresh, sophisticated spring like scent - and what a beautiful classic bottle! Last in the perfume bunch is Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche (£33) which is a beautiful green, spicy and fresh scent - very comforting and harmonious.

First in the skincare group is a great little kit that would make a fab present for someone, myself e.g... the Ole Henriksen The Whole Truth Kit (£45) contains three full sized anti ageing products - serum, moisturiser and an eye cream, to revitalise and brighten the skin, and I'm very excited to testing this out. I also got a new night cream that I had had my eye on for a long time, Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins (£34) which is supposed to add radiance to the skin and make it look wonderful and refreshed in the morning. I have high hopes for this and fingers crossed it lives up to my expectations.

On to the really fun bits - makeup! My favorite designers are Dolce & Gabbana - I love the passion, opulence, sensual playfulness and very distinct point of view of their designs and I have finally taken the plunge into their makeup range, which proved to be a slippery slope for me into complete decadence starting with the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad (£39.50) in Stromboli which has a beautiful bronzed, warm and earthy range of shades - stunning! That lead to a Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick (£24) in Cosmopolitan, which is a gorgeous creamy coral shade, a bit similar to MAC Vegas Volt which is another favorite of mine and I think it'll go beautifully with the warm quad. As a bonus I threw in Dolce & Gabbana's The Intense Nail Lacquer (£18.50) in Ibisco, which is a fresh and lovely warm pink and I'm really curious to see what the formula is like. i haven't even tried a single product yet and already I suspect that this is just the beginning of a new brand addiction. Last of the makeup is YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Luxurious Mascara (£23) in Brown for beautiful long lashes. Even though I adore the Baby Doll formula I wanted to try something different and having heard wonderful things about Volume Effet, I decided to take a bit of a risk and buy it, and if it's even half as good as the Baby Doll mascara, I'm on to a winner.

Let me know in the comments section which product you would like me to review first, and your wish is my command! Before you feel too sorry for me coming back to an empty house I guess I also have to mention that Him Indoors did eventually show up with a lovely bouquet of flowers, and the cat did come around and showered me with love - so I guess all good things to those who wait... or duty free...

100 000 Pageviews - Sephora giveaway

When I started blogging last July I wasn't really sure where it was going to take me and although I didn't exactly set myself any targets I had some very modest hopes about getting a few followers and pageviews. I never in a million years expected that a day would come when I would be thrilled to announce that I've reached more than 100 000 pageviews, which for me is a massive milestone. I couldn't have done any of this without the amazing support from YOU. As cheesy as it sounds I can't thank you enough for every visit, comment, tweet or e-mail from you and I'm so genuinely and deeply grateful for all the fantastic encouragement that you always give me. To celebrate I've got a giveaway of Sephora products for one lucky winner. The giveaway is open for international entries, and will close at midnight on March 29, and I'll notify the winner via e-mail within 24 hrs after the giveaway has closed.

Let's have a look at what's included in the prize. First up is a Sephora shadow-and-liner palette, called Miami Vibes No 11 which contains 4 long lasting eye shadows and a matte eyeliner. The colors of the eye shadows are called Golden Beige, Turqoise Blue, Hawaiian Beach and Deep Blue and the eyeliner is Dark Brown. This is one of those painting by numbers palettes and at the back are instructions on how to create two different looks - one natural, and one intense using these shades. It's a lovely warm and range of colors which will look lovely for spring and summer.

Next up is a matte long lasting blusher with moisturising ingredients that not only defines the cheeks and gives a lovely healthy glow, but also helps to make your skin look fresh and hydrated. This is in the shade Romantic Rose No 10, and it's a lovely golden peachy pink that would work with most skin tones. The last product is an nice and creamy ultra vinyl lipstick pencil for a glossy look, in the shade Miami Pink No 05 which is a juicy genuine romantic pink with a bit of a shimmer and it feels lovely and moisturising on the lips.

Again a big thank you to everyone for all the amazing support and for every comment that you leave that brightens my day. Good luck to everyone who enters and have a wonderful weekend!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dior's Trianon Makeup Look with Pastel Fontanges

As you may remember I've had a love affair with the Dior Trianon Spring Collection ever since I first saw the promo pictures at the end of last yea, and at the launch event at Debenhams I treated myself to some of the products in this stunning collection. I've done a separate review of the beautiful Trianon Eyeshadow Palette in Pastel Fontanges (you can read it here) which is pastel heaven in a lovely little Dior box with its sheer, soft shades and today I thought I would try to recreate the look from the promo photos.

Let's start with the complexion - usually I apply concealer over a foundation, but in order to make it look as light and even as possible I actually applied my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer (£5.49) under the foundation rather than on top. It's a great light and smooth concealer and I have somehow mysteriously managed to match it perfectly with my foundation. The delicate, petal look and feel of the Pastel Fontanges range of colors is matched with a flawless, youthful and dewy looking skin so to achieve something that's at least similar, I brought out my preferred heavy hitter when it comes to preparing your skin, the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Foundation (£37). This foundation gives excellent medium to full coverage for an even and flawless tone without feeling heavy on the skin and it also adds nourishment throughout the day to keep the skin supple and plump. The shade I'm wearing is not as pale and porcelaine as they've used in the promo photos, but it does have that subtle glow which I've then enhanced even further using the amazing budget beauty MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder (£3). I've completely fallen in love with this highlighter and wearing it on the top of your cheek bones, and maybe even a little above your cupid's bow gives a wonderful light and subtle smoothing shimmer effect. 

For my brows I used the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil (£2.99) in Hazel 2, which works perfectly for this look since it's not too dark, but it still gives enough definition of the brow arch. For the eyelids I used all of the shades in the Dior 5 Couleurs Trianon Edition Eyeshadow Palette (£41) in Pastel Fontanges 234, starting with a wash of the shimmery ballerina pink all over the lid as a base. It's a gorgeous shade and for me this is the shade that's easiest to wear out of the five since it works so well in combination with both neutrals and purples too. Having done the pink base, we move on to the slightly more intimidating light periwinkle blue - which in itself is beautiful, but in the promo photo there's a lot of it, applied all over the brow bone and under the eye. As you blend it in with the light pink, it creates a lovely contrast although I must admit that wearing a blue shade this shade, definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone. After that I mixed the light silver grey with the lemon chiffon color and added to the inner corner of my eye and slightly below to brighten that area, and to reflect the other shades. Finally I lined the lash line with the darker soft gunmetal grey to add depth and the combination with the ballerina pink is so lovely and I might even try a smokey eye look at some point using these two shades.

Since this is a very bare faced look I didn't want to volumise my lashes, and instead I went for length with the Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions Mascara (£8.99) which is great for a natural, combed through lash look and I've got a more detailed review of this mascara coming up on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that. I very lightly blotted the odd area with the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot (£12) and applied the finishing touch using the Tanya Burr Lipgloss (£6.99) in Afternoon Tea. Like so many others I've been completely bowled over by this gorgeous range of lip glosses. The formula is light, creamy, non sticky and moisturising with excellent pigmentation that seems to set on your lips almost like a glossy stain. You get hours of wear out these and re-applying it is a joy since it has a delicious candy like smell. This shade Afternoon Tea, is a subtle slightly muted rhubarb and cream pink, which is perfect for a "your lip color, but better" look.

 

I really enjoy wearing and experimenting with the gorgeous Pastel Fontanges palette and I had so much fun recreating the Trianon look. Despite being such a soft and delicate colors the look works surprisingly well for evening wear too, since the shimmering colors look gorgeous when the light catches them. It is a complete and probably slightly over the top indulgence in pastel colors and using lots of light blue on your eyelid might seem a bit scary - at least it did to me, but if you keep it well blended you won't be getting flashbacks to something out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you're interested in seeing more Trianon looks, have a look at Dior backstage (the link takes a while to load to be patient with it), where you'll find tutorials for another two lovely looks and you can read more about the whole collection. 

Makeup look of the month

After having indulged in quite heavy and elaborate makeup over the winter months, the month of February has been like a cosmetic detox for me and I've worn a minimum of products. Most days I've gone for the no makeup look using exactly the same products that I talked about in the Natural Edition, and when I've needed something a little bit more on the eyes and lips, I've worn the look that I'm showing you today - a time-saving minimal effort look that is still put together enough for work, or an evening out.

Starting with the eyes, I've kept it simple by applying the MUA Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint (£3) straight from the stick all over the lid, blending it up towards the brow bone with my fingers. The color - Bring it back, is a beautiful golden dark bronze and it's perfect for a light wash across the lid as a base or to use on its own as I have. To add some more depth, I've used the Rimmel Scandaleyes Micro Liner (£5.49) in Black as close as possible to the upper eye lashes. I wanted a very subtle and precise look so I kept the line very thin, starting immediately in the inner corner of the eye and then making it slightly thicker towards the outer corner to define the eyeshape. If like me you're still improving when it comes to eyeliner, this product is great to use since it has a very thin felt tip and I feel that you have a good control over it when you apply, so you get just the right amount you need. After that I've applied lashings of the Seventeen Falsifeye Mascara (£6.49) in Black to get really long, whispy and flared lashes which this mascara is great at creating, even though it's not strong on volumising the lashes. Finishing the eye area, I've at least temporarily gone back to using a trusted eyebrow pencil after a less than successful detour into eyebrow mascara country - best to be forgotten... At the moment I'm still using the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil (£2.99) in Hazel 2, and for this look which is groomed and well shaped, but not too dark - this pencil works well since it's easy to use to get the right definition.

Moving on to the face, I've kept it very fresh and natural with a dabbing of the MUA Bronzer (£1) in Shade 1 in the hollow of my cheeks and on the sides of my nose for some basic sculpting, and then a light sweep of it on my forehead and chin, where the sun would naturally hit the face. This shade is just right for me - it's golden without any orange or dirty brown undertones and it blends beautifully into the skin. I know I've talked a lot about MUA lately, and for good reason. MUA has made such an effort to make great quality product at affordable prices available to us and they keep expanding their range - enabling us beauty junkies, but I'm only too happy to be enabled when nothing is more expensive than £9! I've applied a little bit of the Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher (£7.99) in shade 16 - Rose Coup de Foudre, which is a gorgeous muted coral with a slightly burned undertone and a hint of shimmer to it. I've placed it a bit higher up on the cheekbones rather than straight on the apples of my cheeks for some more definition and it's beautiful for a fresh rosy appearance. Last but not least I've lightly placed some of the gorgeous MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder (£3) that I talked about earlier this week just above the blusher on the cheekbones for a dewy, light shimmer.

To finish the look and to balance out the eye makeup I've used the No 7 Moisture Drench Lipstick (£9.75) in Mulberry. I'm very surprised that this lipstick isn't mentioned more often, although of course competition is stiff when it comes to lip products but it really does deserve to be mentioned since it's incredibly moisturising, long lasting and gives a lovely satin finish. There's also a lovely range of shades available and Mulberry is a beautiful dark rusty red shade with just the right depth when you want a red lip but nothing too vibrant or too vampy - it's simply very easy to wear. That's the most worn makeup look this month - it's straight forward, but chic and appropriate for most occasions. I hope you like this type of post since I'm planning on doing them more often in the future so I hope you'll let me know in the comments what you think and I'm really looking forward to reading them. Have a great day everyone!

Dior's Trianon eyeshadow palette in Pastel Fontanges

A few weeks ago I shared with you my first impressions of the Diorblush Trianon Edition that I got after a great event at Debenhams to look at the beautiful new Spring collection. You may remember that I was a bit disappointed in the lack of pigmentation and really struggled to get any color payoff at all. With this fresh in my mind I have to say that I was a bit worried to try 5 Couleurs Trianon Eyeshadow Palette (£41) since the colors in 234 Pastel Fontanges are very sheer pastel shades, and I was prepared for the worst. The packaging is as usual glossy and sleek with a great mirror, two double-ended foam applicators and a handy velvet pouch to store the palette in when you're on the go. The applicators are fairly flexible to work with, and although I prefer to use brushes when I apply makeup at home they're definitely useful when you're out and about and you need to check your makeup. The eyeshadows are beautifully decorated with the embossed pearled ribbon and the cute little bow, and if like me you're drawn in by beautiful packaging - this will undoubtedly seduce you.

The colors in the Pastel Fontanges palette are pale and delicate with a luminous beautiful shimmer to them for a very fresh faced look:

Top left - a subtle light silver grey, which I've mostly used as a highlighter mixed with the lemon, or on its own in the evening.

Top right - a lovely soft periwinkle blue, that I've mostly used as a crease shadow in combination with the pink. 

Middle - a pale lemon chiffon color, perfect to use as a highlighter or as a base shadow in combination with the gunmetal gray, or another neutral shade. 

Bottom left - a creamy, soft gunmetal grey with a faint blue undertone, great for evening wear or as a contrast to the pink, blue or lemon. I have used this mostly as an eyeliner.

Bottom right - a gorgeous light ballerina pink which works really well as a base shadow in combination with any of the other colors of the palette or a glorious purple.

The texture of the eyeshadows on your skin is very creamy and blendable, and despite the sheerness of the colors the pigmentation is very impressive and I was surprised at how easy it is to build up color. Not only is the pigmentation great, but the eye shadows are also very long lasting without any creasing. I was absolutely amazed to see that the colors that I had applied in the morning were still in place, looking lovely and lustrous in the evening -  and I had only used my Urban Decay Eyeshadow primer and Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot powder to set them. 

The only thing I noticed was that the eyeshadows break up fairly easily, so you need to try and not be too heavy handed when you swirl your brushes, or you'll quickly see flakes of product falling out. Because of this I suspect that the beautiful pattern won't stay intact for long, and I've already noticed that the pink shade looks considerably less lovely than the other colors in a very short time. Since the eyeshadows are so shimmery I would also recommend that you try to be fairly precise in placing the product on the eyelid or under the eye, since it can be quite difficult removing excess shimmer without ruining the application or foundation.

234 Pastel Fontanges (in natural light)

234 Pastel Fontanges (in artificial light)

With this little box of beauties you can create some very pretty, subtle and fresh faced looks. Since it is a very pale and minimal look, it's essential that you've got a flawless foundation that has been properly set. Personally I think a matte look is the right way to go since the shimmery eye shadows in combination with a shimmery foundation is all too much and it would distract from the finesse of the eyeshadows. I'm thrilled about this palette, and so happy to find that there were no issues with pigmentation or wear at all, and I think that it'll be the perfect makeup to accompany a soft and romantic pastel colored summer outfit

In the Garden of Eden...

I love eyeshadow palettes, and I particularly love Sleek palettes so it won't be a surprise to anyone when I say that for me one of the most anticipated makeup releases this Spring was the Sleek i-Divine (£7.99) Garden of Eden, a beautiful colorful palette with three matte and nine shimmering eye shadows in earthy, muted purple and green shades for a vibrant, dramatic look. I love the whole concept of using the Garden of Eden as an inspiration for the nature inspired color range and the colors have fabulous tongue in cheek names like Fig, Eve's Kiss and Python.

The Sleek palettes are exactly that - sleek! The packaging is thin, light and since it has a large mirror in the lid, it's great for carrying with you in a handbag and it's so slim that it'll easily even fit into an evening clutch bag. Like many other palettes there's a double ended sponge applicator included which unfortunately is very stiff and unpleasant to work with, and I find that sponge tips that are this hard and inflexible usually break off after only a couple of uses. Saying that though, the quality (or lack of) of the applicator isn't a big deal for me since I'll use my growing collection of Real Techniques shade brushes in the morning when I apply the eye shadows, and I'll only ever use the sponge applicator for on the go touch ups.

The pigmentation in all of the twelve eye shadows is very intense, and even surprisingly so in the lighter as well as the matte shades. The consistency of the eye shadows is very creamy and because of the strong pigmentation you only need a light dab of the brush in the pan and you've got enough product to cover the entire eyelid. If like me you're a bit heavy handed sometimes and you swirl the brush around a lot in the pan you will notice that some of the eye shadows (particularly the green colors) very easily start to crumble - so best to use a light touch when you apply. Because of the creamy formula the product sets very quickly without creasing and once it's set - it stays put all day, so although the formula isn't specifically smudge- or waterproof it has great long lasting qualities.

So, let's have a closer look at these paradisaical, organic colors: Gates of Eden - Shimmering golden sandy brown, Eve's Kiss - Shimmering lavender pink, Paradise on Earth - Shimmering mulberry, Python - Shimmering muted plum, Forbidden - Faint shimmering dusky mute mauve, Flora - Matte maroon, Entwined - Shimmering light redwood, Adam's Apple - Matte green yellow, like a Golden Delicious apple, Fig - Shimmering light olive green, Evergreen - Shimmering grass green, Fauna - Shimmering jungle green, Tree of Life - Matte dark pine green

 

From left to right

Top Row - Gates of Eden, Eve's Kiss, Paradise on Earth, Python, Forbidden, Flora

Bottom Row - Entwined, Adam's Apple, Fig, Evergreen, Fauna, Tree of Life

It's plain to see that you can create very bold and vibrant looks with this palette, but even if you usually shy away from color and are more comfortable with natural shades this palette also allows you to create soft, subtle and dreamy looks using the shades in the top row. My favorite day time look using these colors is combining Gates of Eden with Entwined, and if I need a pop of color, I'll add Fig for a subtle green finish. For evening wear you can create a heavy smoky effect using e.g. Python, Flora and Tree of Life and you could even use this palette to follow the pastel trend by using Eve's Kiss and Adam's Apple. I've really enjoyed experimenting with the palette; it's a great concept, the eye shadows are wonderfully pigmented, long lasting and pleasant to wear. Regardless of whether you love color or prefer a natural look these heavenly shades are too much of a temptation to resist!

A date with Dior

One the things I was looking forward to the most in January was the release of Dior's Trianon Spring 2014 Collection. As soon as I saw the first promo pics go out I started saving up for all the beautiful products that were tempting me and finally the day came when I had a date with Dior at Debenhams to talk about and to try the new releases, one more beautiful than the other. The Trianon Spring 2014 collection is a very youthful and playful take on the era of Louis XIV and the opulence of the Trianon palace, and it mixes pastels that are sheer and delicate like rose petals with more intense pinks and lilacs.

Even though I easily could have got every single piece of this collection, I thought I would get colors that I don't currently have and that would channel that fragile and exquisite floral look from the promo pictures so for my eye shadows I eventually settled on the 5 Couleurs Trianon Eyeshadow Palette (£41) in 234 Pastel Fontanges. It's a very sheer palette with shimmery sherbet colors in a pale light blue, pale ballerina pink, ash grey, a muted vanilla yellow and a cadet grey with a blue undertone. When I had my makeup done we used the pink, blue and darker grey as a highlight and it worked really well with my pale complexion and it also kept it from looking too colorful or baby dollish.

Since the eye make up is quite mild and subtle I wanted a blush shade with a little more punch, and that again was different from all other shades in my collection, and although I absolutely love the shade 763 Coraile Bagatelle I decided on the Diorblush Trianon Edition (£30.50) in 946 Pink Réverie. It's a gorgeous intense rose pink with a fuchsia undertone and since it's so intensely pigmented so I was a bit worried on how it would look on the cheek, but as long as you build it up slowly it creates the illusion of the perfect rosy cheek.

When it comes to lipstick it was a bit more difficult for me to decide - all the shades are gorgeous and could easily see myself wearing any of them, but instead of keeping with the blue undertone that I get from the blusher, I actually decided on Rouge Dior (£26) in 757 Souveraine, which is a creamy shimmery coral that looks surprisingly subtle on, and it looses some of the intense redness that you see in the bullet, but for me that's what makes it a great combination with the pale eye look - since they balance each other very well and the lipstick doesn't dominate. To make the shade even more opalescent and fair, I got the Dior Addict Gloss (£22) in 442 Pétillante to use on top. Not something I would usually do, but it has such a gorgeous shimmer and I thought I could use it to pair down some of the other very intense lip shades.

I have only tried these products during my make over session, so I will do separate and more detailed reviews with swatches very shortly of each of the products, but I was very happy with the graceful look we created and I can't wait to try the products a bit more. There's nothing that will cheer me up like a pampering session and this one definitely ticked all the boxes. Not only was I treated to some bubbly and chocolate with the make over, I also had a mini treatment to try out several products from the Dior skincare range, which I had never done before and I also got a goodie bag with a mix of skincare (Dream Skin, Capture Totale and One Essential), a full size nail polish (Nuit 1947) and a sample of Hypnotic Poison to take with me home, to make the Date with Dior last as long as possible.

Natural edition

As you know I love to experiment with different colors for makeup and nails, but sometimes it's also really nice to strip everything away and go back to basics for a very natural look. But what does natural actually look like? I associate natural with colors that are similar to my skin tone like buff, beige, tan and wheat, but at the same time no one wants to look washed out or anonymous. Isn't it ironic how the "no makeup" makeup look really is quite difficult to do, and how we take great care to apply products and shades, sometimes lots of them that make us look as if we have absolutely nothing on? Regardless, here are some of my favorite products to achieve that deceptively effortless natural look.

A great foundation is the base for all makeup, and it's even more important when you're going for a nude, bare-faced look and for me the YSL Serum Foundation (£37) is perfect for achieving a flawless radiant look. Since I have reviewed this foundation before (see here) I won't go into too much detail, but it's a wonderful product that combines anti-aging and rejuvenating skincare with a medium-full color correcting foundation coverage. The formula has just the right light weight consistency and it's easy to blend into your skin using either fingers or a brush for a subtle and natural radiance. This is a very long lasting product and on me the coverage lasts about 9-10 hrs without any need to correct and it also moisturises the skin throughout the day. There's no denying that this is a luxurious product, but when you barely wear anything on your skin it's even more important to be 100% confident in the product that you do wear, and YSL makes your skin look and feel amazing.

The high street is filled with lots of wonderful eyeshadows, but finding one in a light natural shade with decent pigmentation can be difficult, but one of my favorites is the Bourjois Little Round Pot (£6.99) in 08 Beige Rose. For me this is such a classic and reliable makeup product and I have tried lots of different shades and effects and I've always been happy with the results. The powder is very soft and fine, but it doesn't crumble and it's easy to apply and blend. This shade is a great warm sheer vanilla color with a slight pink undertone and shimmer that looks very light luminous and natural on - perfect for an au naturel look.

Having found a great natural looking eyeshadow, you want to make it stay on as long as possible, and to help with that I use the amazing Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (£15) that helps your makeup last all day. The consistency is wonderfully smooth, creamy and quick drying and with this product a little goes a long way, so you could say that it's long lasting in more than one way e.g. I've had mine for almost a year... It comes in four different versions; the transparent original and three others that all have a very subtle color. I absolutely love the shade Eden, which is a nude matte color that looks so natural that sometimes I have even worn it just on its own on the lid without any eye shadow.

One of the easiest and best tricks to achieve a wide-eyed fresh and natural look is to apply an eye pencil on the lower waterline in a light shade. You can go for white if you wish, but personally I think that a nude shade works even better. Lately I've been using the Isadora Inliner Kajal in Blonde which is a soft and creamy kajal, and although it's not specifically smudge- or waterproof it's very resistant to daily wear and it stays put for hrs before you need to touch it up so it's perfect to use on the upper or lower waterline to add that little extra brightness to the eyes.

From left to right:

L'Oréal Color Riche Collection Privée Lipstick - Julianne Moore

Isadora Inliner Kajal - Blonde

Bourjois Eyeshadow - Rose Beige

For me the tricksiest product to find for a perfect no make up look, is a nude lipstick. I see so many brown and pale shades that look amazing on others, but they rarely work on me and most of the time I look completely washed out. So when the L'Oréal Color Riche Collection Privée (£8.19) was released I thought: finally, I'll be able to find a shade that's wearable. There are six different nude shades intended for different skintones, all embodied by a different celebrity spokesperson and since my colorings are fairly similar to Doutzen Kroes' that was the shade I immediately honed in on. As lovely as it was, it didn't however tick all the boxes for me and in the end I ended up with the Julianne Moore shade which is a very grown up and sophisticated gorgeous delicate peachy pink with a brown undertone. The formula is creamy and moisturising, and it wears really well throughout the day even after eating and drinking. The only thing I don't like about this product is the typical L'Oréal lipstick taste that I find quite plastic, strong and old fashioned, but the shade is absolutely stunning and for me it's also the first nude shade ever that I'm actually comfortable and confident wearing. I like it so much that I've already bought a few spare ones, just in case this limited edition disappears from the shelves any time soon - which would be a real shame.

Last in this row of natural looking products is a nail polish that I picked up fairly recently - it's the  Maybelline Color Show Nude Nail Polish (3.99) in the shade In Your Flesh. It's a wonderful, classic nude shade that creates the illusion of longer fingers and it's a very clean, understated and chic look that would go with most outfits. The formula is a little bit thicker than most nail polishes, but despite this it's actually very easy to apply evenly and even though nude colors are by nature quite sheer, the formula is pigmented enough that you'll get a nice opaque look after two coats. Since I'm going for a paired down finish, I'm not wearing a top coat in the photos and there's enough shine in the polish for a fresh natural sheen. The polish will last for about 3 days before you need to touch it up and it's nice and easy to remove.

It's taken me a while to find products in nude shades that I'm comfortable in wearing and that look just like my natural colors - only better. After many frustrating visits to MAC I have also accepted that more often than not, the most popular nude shades don't work as well on me as they might do on others and I've had to look for other color options. But a natural look doesn't have to be just beige colored and the key to carry it off and to avoid a bland, non descript appearance - is to find products that work with your own skin tone, that blend in seamlessly and that also enhance your colors in a subtle "je ne sais quoi" way. Have you found the colors that work for you? What are your favorite natural shades?