NARS - blush and highlighting powder

Outside packaging

Compact - quite small, black, sleek (rubber casing)

Nars Gina powder blush - strong matt peach

Nars Albatross highlighting powder - soft, golden pearl sheen

Swatches - Gina, Albatross

These NARS powders are very finely milled,

therefore silky to apply. 

Gina is very pigmented so you only need a dusting to create a beautiful pop of colour on the cheeks.

Albatross looks best dusted across the

top of cheekbones/browbone with a thin fan brush. 

It is also stunning when popped on the

 inner eye and cupids bow (top of lip)

 - it really does finish the look,

that 'red carpet' finish.

- x -

EDITORIAL - Lace face

My inspiration for this came from the

theme of a masquerade ball - full of mystery

The character is the
 'Highway Woman'

 'she'll steal your heart'

Thank you to my beautiful friend for modelling this themed look

- x-

REVIEW - Nars multiple bronzer ('Malaysia')

Chic black packaging

Shade for medium skin with yellow undertones

Roll-up stick (like foundation stick)

This is a very versatile cream product. 

Like the other Nars multiples it can be swiped on the face and blended with great ease. 

- wonderful for contouring (making the face slimmer) - dabbed under the cheekbones, down the sides of the nose and on the temples. 

- creamy texture along with the fact it is matte

(no shimmer) - so it looks extremely natural.  

- 4 shades so can be matched according to

skin colour and tone

-can be applied with fingers or a dense cheek brush.

I like to apply it by dabbing it straight from the tube under my cheekbones and then blending it into my skin with the Mac 109 brush. 

For me, it is a staple - natural, bronzey, perfectly sculpted face.

- x -

STUNNING EDITORIAL LOOK

absolutely stunning - ethereal skin, strong bronzed cheekbone, metallic eye, muted lip





Thank you to my lovely friend/amazing model of this look

- x - 

Classic Look - Twiggy meets Bardot



With her big blue eyes and her glowy fair complexion -

 I wanted to draw inspiration from stars from the past. 

Brigit Bardot - with her warm dusky, nude lip, warm blond hair  

Twiggy - with those famous wide blue eyes and milky honey complexion. 

Combined they make the perfect classic blonde look -

good for both day and night.

- x -



EMMA WATSON inspired makeup

She started off as Hermione in Harry Potter -

now, a very pretty English actress, a Chanel girl and

the Burberry ad girl. 

Emma Watson's day to day look is very fresh English rose -

- fresh, rosy skin, groomed natural brows, subtle black flick and english-rose lips



Emma Watson (before hair-cut)




My take on the look - on my lovely and long-suffering sister x

With hair down x



 - x -





REVIEW : By Terry Baume de Rose

This stuff is a bit like pure lip balm gold. 

Very expensive though, is it worth the price?

Very luxe packaging



Product photo



Size - 10g, quite a lot of products (deep pot)

Price - £32

Packaging - Luxurious glass pot with silver lid

Scent - Soft roses, sweet (but not sickly)

Texture - A true balm, creamy and moisturising

PROS

Makes matte lipsticks look fresh not dry

Moisturises lips wonderfully (lips look so moisturised after)

Plumps lips too (due to moisturise, not pain!)

Can be used over lip colour for soft sheen

Feels expensive (so it lives up to the price!)

Gorgeous packaging

Soft scent

CONS

The price!! it makes it feel like you can't take it out in case you lose it...

Why buy it - compared to drugstore/cheaper lipbalms?

Cheap lipbalms can be nice but they rarely truly give you that fully moisturised feeling for long,

the product/container also don't usually last as long either. 

Baume de Rose is the queen of lipbalms and makes you feel like you have the queen of lips.

This is a luxury brand and therefore the price is high, it is however worth it (perhaps as a birthday present)

It is beautiful and lives up to all its claims

(disclaimer - I was not sent this product to endorse, these are my honest opinions)

- x -



LA / THE HILLS inspired look



Lauren Conrad - The Hills



The LA/The Hills look is always golden, glowy and polished (but not overworked!)

FACE product of the look - Chanel Bronze Universal

EYE product of the look - Mac fluidline 'blacktrack' (Lauren Conrad classic flick)

LIP product of the look - Nars lip laquer 'chelsea girls'



THE HILLS inspired makeup









MEGAN FOX inspired

MEGAN FOX

Obviously my friend does not have raven black hair (and has not been rumoured to have had a nose job)

but the makeup was inspired by Megan Fox's alluring smokey cat eye.

Hope you liked

- x -



my friend/model wearing the stunning Megan Fox inspired look



COMPARISON OF creme highlights

Mac creme color base ' pearl', No7 illuminator 'peach' (depotted), Mac lustre drops 'sun rush'

l-r Mac 'pearl' (very faint/subtle) No7 illuminator, Mac 'sun rush'

DESCRIPTIONS

M.A.C creme color base ' pearl '

CONSISTENCY- Comes in a pan (like a creme blush) cream - definately not liquid at all

COLOUR - pearly cream (more on the cool side rather than golden)

APPLICATION - patted on highlight areas with fingers or small dense brush

EFFECT- subtle sheen on top of cheekbone, browbone base, highlighting centre of lips (make look bigger)

No7 illuminator 'peach'

CONSISTENCY - thick creamy liquid (originally in squeezable tube)

COLOUR - light golden cream

APPLICATION - mixed with foundation for subtle glow, patted on cheeks and down nose for highlight

EFFECT - very glowy, ethereal golden look

M.A.C lustre drops 'sun rush'

(unfortunately limited edition but may re-promote)

CONSISTENCY - Comes in a mini squeeze circular bottle (like a small n/v size) quite liquidy, don't need much

COLOUR - golden-bronze

APPLICATION - best applied with dense cheek brush and buffed into cheeks for glowy golden cheek

EFFECT - golden, gilded

All of these are beautiful products but need to be worked into the skin well to make them perform to their best effect.

- x -

OLD HOLLYWOOD



Smoldering screen icon look - the infamous red lip



This look was inspired by the 40s/50s classic hollywood look

- the glowy porcelain skin, black liner flick and the curved red pout. 

 It looks wonderful on my model for this look with her curled golden, strong brows,  piercing eyes and of course, those cupid red lips. 

I added a bright white shimmer highlight to the tearduct and brow bone, black liquid liner across the top lashline, fake lashes and a pop of gold under the eye for the stand-out look.

The face was kept glowy and fair with slight contouring in a neutral shade to define the angles of the face.

The lips were filled in precisely with a sharp red lipliner (accentuating the top of the cupids bow) with a blue toned-red lipstick applied over the top.

- x -

CHANEL Bronze Universal

the photos - the gorgeously chic product x

FULL PRODUCT NAME

Soleil tan de Chanel



WHAT IS IT?

A massive cream bronzer, in a smooth chic Chanel container.

THEY SAY..

'The velvety finish of this light cream-gel bronzer leaves your skin with a beautiful sun-bathed look. Wear it on its own, or for a hint of outdoors radiance.'

SIZE

30g

(a bit smaller than a disc)

PRICE

£28

SCENT

Faint apricot - light and pleasant

USE

Can be used all over face as bronzing base, can be used as a bronzer on cheeks, used to contour, add warmth to face...

Best used with dense cheek brush (eg Bare Mineral Handybuki)

Apply after or before your creme/liquid foundation or concealer (but before powder)

GENERAL FINISH

Leaves a glowy bronzey finish and as you can probably tell I use it many times in my looks - suits most skin tones.

Does not look orange, muddy or powdery.
Lasts for ages - I used my first one everyday for 2 years!

It's just magnificent x

(disclaimer - i was not sent this product to endorse, i bought it with my own money)
 to give an honest review

JUST SOME MORE GOLDEN LOOKS

my luvly sister - working the golden glow
LOOK BASED ON PEARLS/BRONZE/ETHEREAL GLOW

LIP SWATCHES

Are you always looking for that perfect nude lipstick?

I have trouble with knowing what lipsticks will look like
even if you try them in store they can often look different when you get them home.

Anyway, I have done lip swatches of my nude lipsticks so hopefully this can help you.

My lips are medium pink and quite pigmented so nude lipsticks can sometimes be quite hard to find!

(Try dabbing 1 shade darker than your skintone concealer over lipbalm to blot out strong lipcolor)

Mac shy girl, Creme d'nude, Freckletone, Peachstock, ELF natural nymph, runway pink



MAC CREME D'NUDE





MAC FRECKLETONE

MAC PEACHSTOCK



ELF NATURAL NYMPH



ELF RUNWAY PINK

MAC SHY GIRL

 

DESCRIPTIONS

Mac Shy girl - Coral peach, slight texture to it, good with a golden makeup look, more peach than true nude but subtle enough

Mac Creme d'nude - definately better for fairer skinned pink toned people, true nude if it suits you, very creamy

(pale pink beige)

Mac Freckletone - brown-based peach, darker nude, better for olive/darker skins, good nude

(not pale though)

Mac Peachstock - my favourite! Opaque true pale peach (shame its limited edition) Best for medium skintones.

ELF natural nymph - surprisingly good for a £3 lipstick, really smooth, blanks out lip colour nicely,

like creme d'nude but more satin/matte (less creamy)

ELF runway pink - perfect pale pink, not too strong, good for most skintones

- x -











Celebrity inspired look - Cheryl Cole

You either love her or hate her (like marmite)

there is no denying she is stunning and always has flawless makeup.

Her look is usually a smokey plum-chocolate eye, glowy bronze cheek and a berry lip.

My friend/model - who has wonderfully proportioned dainty features - like Miss.Cole herself

kindly let me apply this Cheryl inspired makeup look on her. 



the after shot - beautiful brown eyes and a glossy berry pout x





For the eyes - 

plums and chocolates smudged out the outer eye,

bronze/hot orange in the crease,

 cream shimmer on the inner eye and browbone

and a black gel liner acress the top lashline and waterline -

topped off with multiple coats of mascara.

For the lips -

 a softening lipbalm

 rose lipliner (filling in whole lip)

 berry lipgloss to finish.

Hope you liked

- x -

COMPARISON OF PEACH BLUSH

As I have mentioned before I love peach -

 particurlarly cheek products

(adding a bright pop to the face)



Collection 2000 blush, Illamasqua Lover,
Mac Nuance, Mac Gingerly



Swatched l-r : Collection 2000 shade 4, Mac Gingerly, Mac Nuance,Illamasqua Lover

                                                                       DESCRIPTIONS

Collection 2000 blush - quite shimmery (gold shimmer) peachy pink, lovely for adding bright glow

Price - £3.99

Mac Gingerly - looks like a nude in the pan but adds soft warmth to face, its a sheertone so it is buildable.

(it is also Kim Kardashians fave mac blush)

Price - £16.50

Mac Nuance - mac mineralized blush meaning it is quite shimmery, peach bronze with slight hint of pink

Price - was £17 (LE)

Illamasqua powder blush 'Lover' - matt stark pastel peach, highly pigmented, quite bright, but if dusted lightly can add such brightness to face

(works beautifully with a bronze eye)

Price - £16

Overall, my personal favourite is Mac Gingerly as I like a more subtle cheek, but the others are also pretty of I want a brighter, more springtime look.



PEACHY NATURAL LOOK

I LOVE peach - it is brightening, flattering and youthful. 

I based this look on as few products as possible - a simple bronze peach look

(on my lovely friend who kindly volunteered her face).

It looks especially stunning with her green eyes and chocolate-auburn hair.

my lovely friend after - simply glowing!



Products used -

Vichy corrective foundation (mixed with moisturiser)

Chanel Bronze Universal

Mac lustre drops - sun rush (for soft gold glow)

Clear brow gel

Creme silver e/s - lid

Creme bronze copper - crease and under eye (make green eyes pop)

Bronzed brown e/l  - around eyeline

Benefit eyebright - browbone, tearduct

Rimmel volume flash

Mac peachstock

Shimmery peach blush - centre of lips

- x -

INSPIRATION for makeup artistry

(disclaimer - these pictures are not my own)



NATURE
sometimes the most precious things just happen - like the pearly morning dew

CITYS
The style, the essence, the people



ICONS
charm, charisma, pose



STARS/AWARDS CEREMOMY MAKEUP
hollywood glow, dazzling dresses, sheer elegance





FASHION/RUNWAY
always feel the season
2010 - soft molten colours, smudge not harsh, taupes/autumnal freshness



 I will do looks based on each of my inspiriations and post them in future blog posts.

These are my true inspirations as well as

beautiful small things I spot everyday -

a rose creeper up an urban fence, or the heavy cloud against the bright light in the distance, as well as unique people bringing their own style to the world. 

- x -