Take Me To Arabia, Please

I have always thought that arabian inspired makeup is absolutely stunning, but it is a bit over the top for every-day wear in my opinion. Therefore I took upon me the task of creating a slight arabian-ish eye look that would be wearable for at least a party if not everyday. Continue reading below the pictures for a step-by-step tutorial.

How To:

1. Start off by applying your base and fill in your eyebrows (use whatever floats your boat for this step, really) I used Boots Tea Tree Pore Minimiser, Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation and Maybeline FitMe Concealer. And for my brows I used the NYX Eyebrow Pencil in Taupe.

2. Apply a shimmery, warm, nude cream shadow all over your lid. Rimmel Scandaleyes in Bulletproof Beige  is perfect for this. Over this cream, apply a similar shade in eyeshadow form, All That Glitters  from  MAC is what I used, which is a shimmery, golden pink colour.

3. Through the crease I applied Urban Decay's Buck (from the Naked palette) which is a warm, light brown. Focus most of the colour in the outer part of your crease and make it softer as you blend it towards the inner half. Also trace this colour along the lower lash line.

4. Eyeliner time! I used the L'oréal Gel Intenza Eyeliner in Violet Black with a small eyeliner brush by Sigma (#E10). This eyeliner is a deep violet shade with a hint of shimmer in it, and I created a thin line all across the upper lash-line as well as creating a long, thin flick on the outer corner. I also took it down to a little point in the tear-duct to create that feline, arabian look.

This is where I applied some false lashes, but feel free to skip that and just go for mascara on its own, I just felt like going all out.

5. For contouring I used Sleek Contour Kit in medium (along my temples, sides of my nose and under the cheekbones) and for blush I used a vibrant, shimmery orange-red colour  called P Pie which is also by Sleek. 

6. To finish it off I applied Rebel lipstick by MAC. This is one of my all-time favourite lip colours and I adore the combination of the golden eyes and the berry lips.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Please let me know if you try it and tell me how it went. Also let me know if there are any specific make-up looks you would like me to do! I am open do making it in video form if that is more preferable. Just pop it in a comment below and I will make sure to add your suggestions to my list :)

Lots of love,

Em

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A Pop of The Apocalypse

Well not the Apocalypse, but the Apocalips. The fairly new Rimmel product is everything but a dissapointment. Pigmentation - Check, lasting power - Check, smooth consistency - Check, and the list goes on. This is a badboy one should not mess with! I am serious - don't put this on and think you will be able to wipe it off without it leaving a trace. Hahah it does stain your lips for the hours it stays on, so if you go for one of the more boom in your face colours in the range, then make sure you know you want to wear it. Ok, so it might not be that big of a deal, some makeup remover will take it off but you get my point!  It is good.

In the pictures above I am wearing the lovely colour Stellar. A bright red with slight fuchsia under tones. As I mentioned, the consistency, longevity and pigmentation all fit a High End product criteria in my eyes, its only just that this is not a high end product! You get great quality, good colours and subtle shine with a slightly odd fruity scent for £5.99! It doesn't get much better than that, does it? 

I know these pictures doesn't have the greatest lighting, therefore I will leave the link to FleurDeForce's post on the same product (featuring all the other colours in the range as well) right HERE so that those of you who want close ups of each colour can check them out there :)

Before I go I just want to say that I have been loving connecting with you guys on Twitter lately, so if you want to chat, then head over here and say hi! 

Lots of Love,

Em

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Summer Edition

Spring and summer is slowly sneaking up on us and with it comes brighter, lighter and longer days which means that a change-up in the make-up and beauty bag might be about time. I have popped a few of my spring/summer beauty picks into my summery-blue H&M bag (much love for this baby) and thought I would share them with you. Included are 4 nail polishes in super bright, happy colours, a sunscreen, a body lotion, a lip butter and a BB cream! 

The body lotion is from a beauty store called Kicks who have their own beauty products including this Fruit Punch smelling treasure. It's light, non-sticky, moisturising, fresh smelling (fruity) and has a super cute packaging! What more can you ask for in a body lotion? Of course moisture is not the only thing our skin needs in the warmer months. As the sun appears more frequently we need protection against its evil twin (I'm looking at you UVA/UVB). I have a mini version of the Biotherm Lait Solaire SPF30 and I think I might go get a full size of it sooner rather than later because this is one heck of a good 'un. You know why? Because it does not go sticky and "oily" on your skin and face such as all other sun protectors. The scent is citrus-y and fresh and quite appropriate for summer :) As for face, I guess I am not the only one who prefer lighter bases during the summer months, and for now the L'oréal Nude Magique BB Cream is amongst the top competitors as my go-to light, dewy(but not shiny) summer base. It evens out the skin tone whilst providing a light coverage that leaves the skin looking healthy and glowing. I approve. Revlon Lip Butters have been under the spotlight ever since they arrived and I have selected the pink coloured Sweet Tart as my smooth, moisturising, summer lip colour. Then comes the nails. 4 were selected and they will stay close to my fingertips until the early autumn months. The lucky ones are Dior Acapulco, Essie She's Pampered, Essie Bahama Mama and Essie Mint Candy Apple (Featured in my March Favourites video). All are gorgeous in colour, opacity, longevity and consistency. Check, check, check and check!

Other than that I love loose and messy hair, laidback - slightly hippy/retro clothes, coral and peachy lip colours and converse shoes. They all go together so well in the summer months.

I would love to know what your summer/spring beauty picks are so let me know in the comments or maybe in a blogpost on your blog in you have one (just leave me the link if so). 

Lots of love,

Em

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Back in business

Okay, so it is officially time to get back into business with my blogging. The lack of updates lately is frankly embarrassing, so what better way to come back than with a big, red boom - or maybe I should say pout?

As you may know, I went to England for a week last week, and as always when I travel - I picked up a few bits and pieces. One of them being the TopShop Lip Paint in Yeah Right. This has to be one of the most opaque orange toned red lip products I have tried! I suspect it is fairly similar to the YSL Glossy Stains (I believe that is what they are called) and the new L'oréal GlamShine Stain Splash, and I know that it has a very similar consistensy, finish and lasting power as the Rimmel Apocalips. In other words, for those of you who have not tried any of the products I just mentioned (such as me before I went to England...a little late on the bandwagon you say?) then I will jot down their magical powers for you.

The Lip Paint has a very smooth, non-sticky consistency, it is extremely vibrant and stains your lips so that the colour appears very true to what you see in the tube (so be careful when applying it - and if you make a mistake clean it up immediately as it will stain your skin otherwise..). As for the finish, it is in fact quite glossy, but not as in the sticky glossy look you often get from lip glosses (you may get the hunch that I don't like lip glosses...and well, I don't ) but rather a slight "wet-looking" sheen. Gorgeous I think. However, the best is yet to come. After a while (30 min-1 hr) the finish starts to turn matte, and you are left with vibrantly stained lips that stay stained for hours! Eat, drink, talk - whatever, once this sets it does not budge! I wore it yesterday at a 40th birthday party and only had to top it up with a quick new layer after the dinner and by then I had been wearing it for a good 3-4 hours already and it was only fading in the center. I am impressed by this beauty and as for TopShop's makeup - Je T'aime! 

Pick it up for £10 at TopShop. They do not stock this colour online at the moment, but they do have it in a gorgeous orange called Low Down.

And a quick tip: Scrub your lips and apply a little lip balm before you apply your lip colour to avoid it sticking to any flakey or dry bits! The Lush Lip Scrub's are brilliant for that, and they are even edible so you can just lick it off afterwards! I have it in Bubblegum. Pick it up online or in a Lush store for £5.25.

I wish you all a happy and relaxing Sunday!

-Em

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Mila Kunis Inspired

I was playing around with make-up the other night and found myself crating somewhat of a Mila Kunis inspired look, and as a fan of her smokey eyes I figured I might as well make a post about it.

So, to create this smokey, eye-popping look all you need is a very dark brown eyeshadow, a lighter one (e.g. Espresso by MAC), a light brown with some slight shimmer (e.g. Soba by MAC), a black liner (e.g. Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in noir) and an optional highlighter for the inner corner of the eye (e.g. All That Glitters by MAC). For the face you need, except from a non-matte foundation of your choice,  a good, matte bronzer that will give your skin a naturally darker colour and glow (e.g. Chocolate Soleil by Too Faced), and a light coral-pink blusher (e.g. Fleet Fast by MAC)

For the eyes, you start by applying your dark brown shadow close to your lash-line and smudging it out and up across your lid, making sure it is darkest close to the lashes. I used the darkest brown in a mall palette by Isadora called 50 matte chocolates, which contains 5 matte, gorgeous neutrals. I applied and smudged this colour using a Sigma E30 pencil brush. Then I repeated this step for the lighter brown, Espresso, only this time I used a Sigma E25 blending brush which is a great, more affordable dupe for the MAC 217. Using a short shader brush, E20 by Sigma, I traced that same colour Espresso along the lover lash line to create that smokey feel all around the eyes. Then I dusted some of MAC's Soba over the lid to blend the colours and to make the look smoother and softer. To finish it off I applied some of All That Glitters  to the inner tear-duct using the Sigma E55 eye shading brush and then I lined the upper and lower waterline with the Rimmel eye definer. After curling the lashes and applying a good coat or two of the L'oréal Telescopic waterproof mascara  the eyes were done and looking a little like Mila Kunis' sultry and smokey eyes. 

The matte bronzer was swiped through the hollows of my cheeks as well as lighlty tracing my cheekbones and temples, down the bridge of my nose and along my jawline. The gorgeous and fresh blusher was popped on to my cheeks and poof! Just like that I thought I was looking at Mila Kunis' face.

Ok, maybe not, but I wish I did! She is absolutely stunning and although it is impossible for us mortals to reach that level of gorgeousness, the least we can do is try, eh? I hope you found this helpful and that I managed to make a half-decent recreation of a Mila Kunis look. If you try it, let me know! Or even tweet me a picture if you dare :)

I will now resume to my ever so exciting celebrity life as a Mila imitator...

...oh I wish...

-Em

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Everyday Shadows

It is not everyday that I actually take my time to stop by the step of applying eyeshadow in my makeup routine, but sometimes I get the urge to whack on a little somethin' somethin'. Yesterday I went to a concert with my mom so I decided to give a new shade a whirl. MAC Soba, in you come.

I started off with the base, the Maybeline Fit Me foundation in 120 to be exact. This foundation is pretty darn great, it has one of the best colour ranges, louminous finis, natural "barely there" appearance, whilst still giving a medium coverage that is buildable. Any extra concealing was done by Maybeline's Fit Me concealer in 15. A little bit of Chanel's Bronze Universal over the cheeks, nose and forehead and a light dusting of Topshop's highlighter in Cresent Moon, and face was done.

Then came the eyes. I used my trusty, personalized MAC quad containing Espresso and Omega, together with the new little baby under the name Soba. Soba all over the eyelid, Espresso in the outer corner and blended into the crease and  then Omega to blend any edges, was all I did to give a little depth to my eyes. For eyelashes, I curled them, then coated them with L'oréal Telescopic mascara in waterproof and Maybeline Illegal Lenghts mascara (also waterproof). 

Only one more thing left, and that's lips. I used MAC's Rebel lipstick which is one of my favourite lipsticks of all times. A coat of this, blotted with a pinkie finger and voilá! Done, and done.

I hope you liked this rundown of my FOTD (Face Of The Day - yesterday). I am trying to mix things up on my blog with a little bit of a lot of things within the beauty and fashion business, including some travelling, so I hope you don't mind the variety. As always, just let me know with a comment or tweet if there is anything you want to see, or don't want to see or just something you want to ask :)

- Em

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