Cute Little Collar

After scouring the high street I finally found the perfect collar necklace to transform many outfits, into a cute preppy look.

This is from New Look and is a bargain at £4.99.

I have been wearing mine over the festive period, and I think it'll last into the spring/summer season too.

E x

Must-have Lipstick Colours

Every makeup bag should at the very minimum a pink, red and nude lipstick. This will mean you are ready for any makeup look, fashion trend or season.

I think the intensity of colour, brand and lipstick shade should depend on the individual, as not one colour fits all. Red's (I have found) can be particularly hard to get the right one, so just spend time trying before you buy, as most makeup counters will be happy to let you try their products. And if you're buying from Boots or Superdrug, make sure you've got a tissue to thoroughly wipe the lipstick bullet before and after you apply it to your hand.

I recently had a splurge in Mac when they had a 20% off event at Seven Dials Covent Garden, and amongst other things, came away with the following lipsticks:

Pure Zhen - nude
Sweetie - pink
Cockney - red

I feel I am a lipgloss girl at heart, but the creamyness of these lipsticks meant they weren't too harsh for my face and not too much of a drastic change to the look I usually create with lipgloss.

E x

Bargain Miracle Cream...

I can't believe I was only told this year that Sudocream was amazing at treating and healing spots!! Its dramatically makes spots reduce in size and redness over night when applied just before you go to bed.

So spread to word, Sudocream really does work. And at £1.99 in a handy travel sized tube, its perfect for your handbag.

E x

Elizabeth Arden Eye Brow shadow

Its quite tricky to find the right colour and type of make up to use on your eye brows. And even though this might not be right for everyone, I have certainly found the perfect one for me - the 'Dual Perfection Brow Shaper and Eyeliner Ombre Perfection' in shade 03 Sable by Elizabeth Arden.

This is a shadow, but its ombre texture gives it a thicker slightly gel like texture; this makes it stay put all day and glide on your skin perfectly. I have had it for 2 months now, and even though it has been used every day there is literally no dent into the shadow at all - so I think this is going to last me a long time, which makes the price tag of £17 a bit more bearable. However you can get it from Feel Unique with 10% off and free delivery.

I use a Mac angeled brush to apply to my eye brows; which allows me to control the amount that apply. I much prefer this over using a pencil, as I find its all or nothing with them, and I don't always want strong eye brows.

E x

Chrimbo Nails

I don't think you can get more festive than these nails..

I've used a red with gold shimmer in, then gold tips and glitter gold all over.

Merry Christmas everyone!

E x

No-Makeup Makeup

I tend to go through make up phases where I ever so slightly experiment with my eye make up so I don't get stuck using the same eyeliners and shadows in my collection.

My most recent phase, is the matte eye shadow 'natural' look; where you use colours to complement the natural skin colour, and accentuate the eye shape. I tend to normally go for shadows with a hint of shimmer in them, so this was a subtle change for me.

I use Mac's Paint Pot in 'Painterly', which gives an even skintone to my eye lid, then the two matte shades in Urban Decay's 'Naked' palette in the socket. 'Naked' sweeping up to the brow bone, then the darker shade 'Buck' deeper into the socket to add definition.

I then added a line of black gel eyeliner and black mascara.

This look should remain natural, and the intention being a better version of you without make up on!

E x

Curley Lashes

I've never had much look with eye lash curlers, so I've always put it down to having such long straight eye lashes that there was no hope for me. That was until I was recommended the Shu Umera eyelash curler, and miracles really do happen! For the first time, I had curled lashes that stayed put all day!!

The trick is to 'pump' (or squeeze) the curlers at the roots of the lashes for about 5 times, then move further up the lashes and squeeze again. If your lashes are long you could probably fit another squeeze in towards the end of your lashes. This creates a gradual and even curl, not a sharp right-angle line which would look really harsh on the face.

I've tried this with two mascara's now, and it was actually the cheaper mascara that worked better with curled lashes. I think that was because the YSL mascara I used was quite heavy and may have 'pulled' my lashes down, where as the Maybelline just sat on top and set my lashes into position.

I'm not going to use the curlers every day as I'm scared that it will weaken my lashes and make them snap. So I'm saving this for special occasions only, when I fancy that extra boost in my eye makeup, or even when I'm only wearing mascara to open up my eyes even more.

Well worth the investment of £20.

 

E x