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.

Sleek's Gloss Me Lip glosses

As a beauty junkie I want it all, and I want LOTS of it. You can never have too much of a good thing which is why I'm completely indulging in lip glosses at the moment; gone are the days of old fashioned horrible sticky and plasticky formulas and we're now spoiled for choice with gorgeous shades from a variety of brands in all price ranges from premium beauty to more budget friendly options. The latest lip glosses to hit my radar is from one of my favourite brands: Sleek. Sleek has an amazing range of products in every colour of the rainbow, and they are all of excellent quality at very affordable prices - a beauty addicts dream! If like me you love to experiment with colour I can't recommend the amazing eye shadow palettes enough and have reviewed the lovely Garden of Eden previously (you can read that post here). But let's focus on these irresistible lip beauties - the Sleek Gloss Me Lip Glosses* (£4.99) come in simple and polished packaging that really show off the different shades, which by the way are completely true to colour from the tube so you don't have to worry about colour changes when you swatch them.

The formula is lovely and light without being runny (and it goes without saying that it's completely non sticky!), and it comes with an applicator that is quite long and thin, which makes it very easy to trace the contours of your lips for an even perfect application. I have to say that the applicator is a little bit on the stiff side for my liking, however it's not unpleasant to use in any way, and again for precision work that stiffness might be extra useful. When you apply the gloss it sets immediately on the lips with a silky smooth feeling and full coverage, so you can quickly build up the color and shine to the intensity that you prefer. You'll get hrs of wear from this lip gloss since it's so long lasting, on me it stays brilliantly glossy and next to flawless for about 5 hrs, and the pigmentation is wonderful and so intense that even after the gloss has faded, you can still see the colour as a stain on your lips. That does mean that you have be careful when you apply the more intense shades to avoid messy contours. The Gloss Me shades come in 12 gorgeous shades with 6 new shades added to the range recently from pale nudes to vibrant berry tones, and regardless of which colour you go for, the gloss is packed with shimmer that really makes your lips pop in the sun.

Left to right:

Hawaii Honey // Maria, Maria

Thai Orchid // Angel Falls

I've tried four of the most recent colour additions; Hawaii Honey - a golden coral pink, Maria Maria - a warm rusty amaranth red, Thai Orchid - a glorious intense blue toned Persian pink and Angel Falls - a pale silky beige nude. They are all so distinct pretty in their own right and work so well for different looks but the one shade I love the most is definitely Hawaii Honey, coral doesn't get any better than this and I already know that this is one shade I'll bring with me on holiday later on this month! I absolutely adore the Gloss Me texture and finish and for me, these are exceptional quality for the price you pay. You can pick up products from Sleek's fab range either directly from Sleek, or in Boots and Superdrug, so go on and Gloss Yourself Sleek!  

Sleek cheeks with a touch of Rose Gold

For one who loves makeup I have surprisingly few blushers in my collection and I seem to always use the same shade regardless of which look I'm going for. When I'm browsing the shops I never really get drawn in by blushers, or inspired by them in the way that other makeup products speak to me and there is rarely a color that screams: BUY ME! But since using different colors obviously creates different looks I know I should get some more blushers and more importantly, some more colors. I've mentioned before that I'm perfectly happy and probably won't think twice about splurging on some types of products - e.g. skin care, but blushers is definitely not one of those and my previous limited experience with premium brand blushers hasn't been fantastically positive. So having brushed lots of brands to the side I very quickly thought of Sleek since I've heard so many positive things about their blushers, and with 11 different shades and a few blusher palettes in their range I was confident I would find a couple of new colors for my cheeks. I picked up two new shades from the "classic" range of Sleek Blushers (£4.49) and the one that I'm showing today is the much talked about Rose Gold, which is considered a dupe for NARS Orgasm, but since I haven't actually tried the NARS blusher this isn't a comparison review, and I'll only focus on the qualities of Rose Gold today. 

The blush comes in fuss free and sturdy plastic packaging, and although it's not very glamorous or exciting it's functional and it does have a good sized mirror in the lid, which is always a bonus. Being such a reasonably priced product you shouldn't expect too much from the packaging, but a modest exterior shouldn't make you doubt the quality of the product, and to cut a long story short - the quality is excellent! The formula is very soft, smooth and creamy and you only need to dab your brush or the tip of your finger very lightly in it to pick up a good amount of product for a rosy cheeked look. If you use your fingers to apply the blush, you can really feel how silky and light and buildable the consistency is but it's also rich in pigmentation so you don't need an awful lot to create a lovely radiant glow. It's a fairly long lasting product and I would say that you get approximately 5 hrs wear from it - on me I've noticed that it's faded and doesn't have the same even coverage as when I applied it around mid to late afternoon, but to be honest it's about the same for most blushers that I've tried regardless of price point. The shade Rose Gold is a perfect muted coral color with a subtle golden shimmer, and on the cheeks it has a dewy bronzed peachy look which I think would suit fair to medium skin tones. It's a beautiful naturally radiant look and don't be put off by the shimmer, it's very faint and only adds a pretty highlighting touch and for me I think it'll be a perfect cheek color with a tan (just bring on the sun). I'm very impressed this budget beauty and it may have been my first Sleek blusher but it certainly won't be my last!

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!