Hot Ombré

After struggling to decide which of my new Motives lipsticks I wanted to wear today, I thought to myself "Why don't I just wear more than one?!".

I'm a big fan of the ombré lips trend and the different colour combinations available to try out is endless. I particularly like the use of a lighter shade in the centre of the lips as this helps create the illusion of overall fuller lips.

It's a fun way of mixing things up a little bit if you're looking to make a change in your typical makeup routine!

LIPS:

• Motives for La La lipliner in 'Raspberry' to line lips
• Motives for La La lipstick in 'Times Square' all over lips
• Motives for La La lipstick in 'Nice' on centre portion of lips
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Reverse Wing

Today I decided to do things a little differently - Whilst experimenting with some of my new products, I decided to extend my typical cat-eye flick up from the bottom lash line, rather than the usual method of extending it from the top.

I left the top lash line liner-free to create a dramatic contrast between the top and lower lash lines, and I chose to add super-long lashes to balance the look out a little.

I added a light neutral shadow to the lid to keep the look looking very clean, and simply added a burgandy shadow to the crease to add depth and to also help bring out the colour of my eyes.

What do you think about this reversed appearance? Would you dare to wear your makeup with all of the focus boldly aimed at the bottom lash line, rather than on top?

EYES:

• Motives by Loren Ridinger Eye Base
• Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Cream' eyeshadow (from the 'Lavish' palette) all over lid and brow bone
• Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Sienna' eyeshadow (from the 'Lavish' palette' blended into crease
• Inglot AMC gel liner in #77 to extend winged liner
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Covet Waterproof Eyeliner in 'Noir' to line lower lash line
• Motives by Loren Ridinger 'Smoke' eyeshadow (from the 'My Beauty Weapon' palette) placed along lower lash line and to smudge out liner
• Eyeko Curvy Brush mascara
• Eldora #H105 false lashes

BROWS:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in 'Caramel'
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in 'Caramel'

Alluring Autumnal

This year has flown by so quickly for myself that I can't believe that it's almost Autumn already!

I have a tonne of new makeup waiting to be played with and I'm feeling a little spoilt for choice but seeing as the new season is just around the corner, I was largely inspired by the typical colours that we normally think of when we hear the word 'Autumn'.

We typically vision the changing colours of the leaves, and for myself, I usually think of the blackberry's that grow during the run-up to the Autumn season.

With these images in my head, I chose warm toned coral and plum shades, along with a rich blue with a purple hue.

EYES:

• Motives by Loren Ridinger Eye Base
• Coral eyeshadow from the Motives for La La 'Muse Palette' all over lid
• Plum eyeshadow from the Motives for La La 'Muse Palette' blended into crease
• Mixutre of bright blue and plum eyeshadows from the Motives for La La 'Muse Palette' along lower lash line
• Motives by Loren Ridinger 'Onyx' eyeshadow to deepen crease
• Motives by Loren Ridinger 'Vanilla' eyeshadow to highlight brow bone
• Motives by Loren Ridinger 'Antique Pink' eyeshadow to highlight around tear duct
• Motives by Loren Ridinger Luxe Precision Eye Line to liner eyes
• Inglot AMC Gel liner in #'77 to line upper waterline
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Covet Waterproof Eyeliner in 'Steel' to line lower waterline
• Eyeko Fat Brush mascara
• Eyemimo #NTR06 false lashes

BROWS:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in 'Caramel'
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in 'Caramel'

Hair and Makeup Addiction Brushes: Product Info and Review

The very beautiful Djimbi over at Hair and Makeup Addiction was so lovely to give me the opportunity to try out the complete set of her very own makeup brush line.

I was SO excited about receiving these brushes after seeing so many great things being said about them on Instagram. Plus, a girl can never have too many brushes, right?

I've had some good uses out of my new brushes already since receiving them in the post last week, and can now write about how I feel about them and how well they work.

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Please note this post is image heavy.

Awesome Artwork

Hi everyone! I have something that I'd like to show you.

I was so surprised when I was tagged in this image on Instagram - I was extremely flattered that somebody had thought that my photograph was worthy of recreating as a piece of artwork!

Thank you SO much to @artbyellisha over on Instragram for taking the time to do this.

Can you believe this girl is only 16?! And already so talented?! Mind-blowing!

She has a tonne of other images of incredible artwork she's created over on her IG, and I urge you to go and take a look and support a fellow artist!

Delightfully Dark

Most of us have at least one black eyeshadow in our makeup kits. Some have more black shadows than they can count, but either way, we are all too familiar with a classic, dark smokey eye.

This particular matte black eyeshadow by Glamour Doll Eyes has a stunning subtle hint of aqua glitter hidden within it's darkness, making it anything but your regular black eyeshadow that you more than likely already have in your makeup collection.

I drew inspiration from the speckles of glitter and added a beautiful navy blue eyeliner by Eyeko - instead of a black - to add a touch of colour to this otherwise dark look. I think it's a gorgeous combination that would look especially terrific on you brown-eyed gals.

EYES:

• George at Asda black soft khol eye pencil all over lid as a base
• ELF Cool Bronzer blended into crease
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Ladies Night' eyeshadow all over lid and lower lash line
• Lightest shimmery eyeshadow out of the 'Love Kills Slowly' Ed Hardy Color Palette around tear duct
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid eyeliner in 'Navy Blue' to line eyes and lower waterline
• MAC 'Blacktrack' Fluidline to line upper waterline
• Eyeko Black Magic Mascara
• Eyemimo #NTR38 false lashes

BROWS:

• Urban Decay Brow Box in 'Ginger Snap'
• MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in 'NC20'

Captivating Copper Featuring Eyemimo False Lashes

Hey lovelies, just a quick post to show you how pretty the Eyemimo false lashes I just reviewed in my previous post are.

For this look, I used their #NTR48 lashes as they add enough drama without looking too heavy or hiding any of the eyeshadows.

As orange and coppery shadows are some of my favourite ever colours to use on my blue eyes, I paired up Glamour Doll Eyes 'Infectious' loose eyeshadow with my Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes to create this gorgeously glamorous combination.

EYES:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay 'Buck' eyeshadow blended into crease and outer lower lash line
• Urban Decay 'Blackout' eyeshadow to deepen crease and outer corner and outer lower lash
• Front Cover Cosmetics 'Biscuit' eyeshadow to highlight around tear duct
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Infectious' eyeshadow on lid and lower lash line
• Urban Decay 'Foxy' eyeshadow to highlight brow bone
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid liner to line eyes
• Inglot AMC Gel liner in #77 to line upper and lower waterlines
• Eyeko Fat Brush mascara
• Eyemimo #NTR48 false lashes

BROWS:

• Urban Decay Brow Box in 'Ginger Snap'
• MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in 'NC20'

Eyemimo False Lashes: Product Info and Review

Earlier this week, Eyemimo were extremely kind in sending me a very generous 6 pairs of their false eyelashes to try out.

I remember back when I was first getting into makeup, I HATED wearing false eyelashes - I could never apply them properly and I hated the way they felt against my eyes. But there are so many great false eyelashes out on the market now that are lightweight and feel so natural when worn that I just can't get enough of them these days.

Now I've had a chance to properly examine and wear each pair of eyelashes, I can now tell you a little bit about them!

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Beauteous Butterfly

I was recently set a small task by my lovely friend Ronnie over at Bows and Curtseys to create a look inspired by a photograph of her choice. The image she chose for me was a stunning photograph of a ravishing butterfly.

I loved how this image is primarily made up of soft pastel shades - something that I don't often use in my looks. So you can imagine I had a lot of fun playing with colours that I wouldn't normally reach for!

After having a good play around with my pastel shadows, this is what I came up with.

EYES:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay 'Ecstasy' eyeshadow all over lid
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Infectious' eyeshadow on center portion of lid
• Medium toned matte purple eyeshadow from BH Cosmetics 120 Color Palette (2nd Edition) slightly blended into crease
• Front Cover Cosmetics 'Super Pink' eyeshadow lightly blended above crease
• Mixture of Glamour Doll Eyes 'Jayne' eyeshadow and Front Cover Cosmetics 'Fern' eyeshadow along lower lash line
• Urban Decay 'Verve' eyeshadow around tear duct
• Front Cover Cosmetics 'Bluebird' eyeshadow placed in upper inner corner
• Urban Decay 'Yeyo' eyeshadow to highlight brow bone
• Natural Collection from Boots white eye pencil along lower waterline
• Inglot AMC Gel eyeliner in #77 to line eyes and upper waterline
• Eyeko Curvy Brush Mascara
• Flutter False Lashes 'Posh' mink false lashes

BROWS:

• Urban Decay Brow Box in 'Ginger Snap'
• MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in 'NC20'

Pleasing Plum

I had more fun playing with my new Glamour Doll Eyes eyeshadows today, and although I originally intended to use 'Candy Floss' to create a very vivid, hot pink smoked out look, I instead ended up combining Candy 'Floss' with their 'Just Bitten' eyeshadow, along with and Urban Decay's 'Creep' to create this gorgeous, shimmering plum shade.

I also added a silver eye pencil along the lower waterline. But me being me, I was clumsy and accidentally  mixed it up with the 'Creep' I had smudged into my lower lashes and it turned into a muggy dark grey colour, instead - Oops! Thankfully, it ended up looking all right and I was still pleased with how it turned out.

EYES:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay 'Naked' eyeshadow blended into crease
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Just Bitten' eyeshadow on inner and outer corners and along lower lash line
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Candy Floss' eyeshadow on centre of lid
• Urban Decay 'Creep' eyeshadow to deepen crease, inner corner and outer corner and smudged into lower lash line
• Urban Decay 'Virgin' eyeshadow to highlight inner corner
• Urban Decay 'Foxy' eyeshadow to slightly highlight brow bone
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid eyeliner in 'Black' to line eyes
• Inglot AMC Gel liner in #77 to line upper waterline
• Unbranded silver eye pencil along lower waterline (although it smudged with 'Creep' and turned into a dark grey)
• Eyeko Skinny Brush mascara

BROWS:

• Urban Decay Brow Box in 'Ginger Snap'
• MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in 'NC20'

Magnificent Midnight Featuring Glamour Doll Eyes

I could hardly wait to start creating some looks using my new Glamour Doll Eyes samples, so I decided to start off by putting together a very dark and whimsical midnight inspired look.

I can't express how much I'm in love with their 'Celestial Crow' eyeshadow, and I decided to throw a little bit of of one of my other personal favourites, 'Jayne', into the mix.

This midnight blue shade would look incredible on hazel eyes, so if you're lucky enough to posses those hazel peepers, I'd definitely recommend checking this eyeshadow out!

EYES:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Celestial Crow' eyeshadow all over lid
• Glamour Doll Eyes 'Jayne' eyeshadow around tear duct
• Urban Decay 'Naked' eyeshadow in crease
• Bodyography Expressions powder in 'Truffle' in crease and lower lash line
• Urban Decay 'Blackout' eyeshadow to further deepen crease lower lash line
• Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in 'Black' to line eyes
• Inglot AMC Gel eyeliner in #77 to line upper and lower waterlines
• Eyeko Fat Brush Mascara
• Flutter False Lashes 'Posh' mink false lashes

BROWS:

• Urban Decay Brow Box in 'Ginger Snap'
• MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in 'NC20'

Glamour Doll Eyes: Product Info, Reviews and Swatches

I am so excited to finally try out some Glamour Doll Eyes eyeshadows!

I've heard and read some great reviews about this Las Vegas-based indie brand, so when they allowed me the opportunity to try out some of their products, I was jumping for joy.

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I was told that I could choose 6 sample pots of my choice - and I must admit, I had such a hard time picking which shades to go for. They are all SO beautiful and eye catching, but I narrowed my choices down to:

Jayne, Celestial Crow, Candy Floss, Just Bitten, Infectious and Ladies Night

Please note this post will be image heavy.

Tip #1: Preventing Creasing On Oily Lids

Oily eyelids are a common issue for a lot of people including myself, and some find that using a primer alone does not prevent their eyeshadows from creasing as many brands say they will.

Depending on the primer, some may reduce creasing but don't stop it from happening altogether.

After battling this problem for months and trying to work out different solutions, I came across a few tricks last year that work for me.

After having tried a few different primers over the years, I found that Urban Decay's Primer Potion had always worked best for me. It still creases a little, but much less than other primers I have used so this is the primer I have resorted to using on a daily basis.

Below are a few tips that I've found help reduce creasing or keep it at bay altogether.

1. Before going on to applying any makeup, use a cotton pad or a cotton bud/Q-tip to gently remove any oil from your eyelids.
2. Lightly apply a translucent powder to your clean eyelid before apply any product or primer. This will help absorb any excess oil or moisture that your primer will otherwise sit on top of.
3. Avoid applying too much primer. Applying too much primer will result in the primer building up in the natural creases of your eyelids, meaning that it will begin to crease before it has even been set with any kind of powder
4. For VERY oily eyelids, try lightly setting the primer with translucent powder before you go onto applying your eyeshadow.
5. Try and restrain yourself from adding too much eyeshadow on top of your primer. We usually presume that the more product we use, the more we will set our makeup into place. But your primer will only be able to hold so much product in place before it will start to build up in all of the places you don't want it too.

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I like to Urban Decay's De-Slick Translucent powder on days when my eyelids are extra oily, which I apply with a large, fluffy blending brush from BH Cosmetics.