New Years Eve Makeup

With New Years Eve coming up later this week, I thought I would show you a makeup look I have been loving at the moment. The smokey berry and gold eye, paired with a red lip are the perfect combination to see in the new year. 

Eyes:

To define my brows I used Illamasqua Brow Cake in Peek. Using the Naked 3 Palette, I took the shade 'Liar' and pressed this onto the outer and inner corners of my eye, as well as under the lash line and blended this out using a fluffy brush. Next I took Illamasqua pure pigment in 'Furore' and pressed this into the centre of my lid. To create a strong flick of liner I used Maybelline Gel Liner and finished off the look with a few coats of Maybelline Falsies Mascara. This look would also look stunning with a pair of lashes to add a bit more drama to the eyes.

Lips:

On my lips I began by lining my lips with Illamasqua lip liner in 'Feisty' and added a darker shade into the corner of my lips using Illamasqua lip liner in 'Severity'. Finally I took Illamasqua lipstick in 'Isis' all over the lips. 

Skin:

I started by applying Illamasqua SkinBase Foundation on my skin and lightened my under eye area using Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Fair'. To contour I used Nars Laguna Bronzer and added a pop of pink to my cheeks using Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Nymph. Finally to highlight I used Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora and topped this with the Seventeen Shimmer Brick. 

What are your new years eve plans? I hope you all have a great evening seeing in 2015!

Sam x

My Birthday Makeup

So it was my 22nd Birthday on Wednesday and so I thought I would share with you my birthday makeup look. I went our for dinner in the evening with my family, so I wanted to keep the lip quite neutral to avoid ending up with either lipstick all over my face or a lipstick rim around my lips in a nice restaurant (not pretty!), however I paired this with quite a strong winged out eye.

Eyes:

I hadn't used my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette for a while, so I thought I would rekindle my love for it on my birthday. The rose gold and warm tones were perfect for the look I was going for. I began by blending 'Nooner' all over the lid and under the lower lash line. I then pressed 'Trick' into the centre of the lid, just to add a bit of sparkle and finally I took 'Blackheart' through the crease and slightly under the lower lash line just to create some definition. I finished off the eyes with a strong winged liner using Maybeline Gel Liner (my fav!) and lashings of mascara - Maybelline 'The Falsies'. I also defined my brows using Illamasqua Eye Brow Cake in Peek. 

Face:

On my skin I used Illamasqua SkinBase Foundation and Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I wanted a bronzed glow to my skin, so I used my Nars Laguna bronzer to contour and added Illamasqua Gleam to the tops of my cheekbones as a highlight. I went for a girly pink blush using Illamasqua Powder Blusher in 'Nymph'. 

Lips:

Finally for the lips I used Nyx lip pencil in 'Mauve' and added a small amount of Kiko 'Pink Carnation' over the top. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! What are your favourite makeup products to use at the moment?

Sam x

Purple & Gold Eye Makeup Tutorial: Inspired by Dixiewolff

Some of my favourite accounts to follow on Instagram are makeup artists and enthusiasts who post stunning looks, inspiring me to be more creative with my makeup. Therefore I thought I would do a series of tutorials on my blog, showing you looks I have created, inspired by some of my favourite Instagram artists.

The first in this series of posts is a gold and purple eye makeup look, inspired by the super talented Dixiewolff. If you haven't already checked her out on Instagram you won't be disappointed when you do! Georgia creates super colourful looks as well as everyday eye makeup. Every time she pops up on my Instagram feed I only wish I could blend like her! I thought I would have a go at Georgia's purple and gold look so here we go ....

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: To begin I just washed a white shadow over the eye just to cancel out any imperfections.

Step 2: Next, using a brown shadow, I took this all over the lid and slightly under the lower lash line, blending out the edges.

Step 3: Using a purple shadow, I placed this into the inner and outer corner of the eye, blending slightly in the crease.

Step 4: Then taking a gold eye shadow I added this to the centre of the lid and also ran it along the lower lash line. 

Step 5: Next, I took a bronzer and blended this into the crease and also took a gel liner and created a flick on the top lash line. 

Step 6: Finally I took some mascara onto the top and lower lashes to finish off the look.

And there you have your purple and gold eye makeup look, perfect for a party or special occasion!

I pared by look with super dewy and highlighted skin and a nude lip. For my eye makeup I used the Illamasqua Fatale Palette, Maybelline Gel EyeLiner (my fav!) and The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara along with some individual lashes.

What do you think of this look? What colours do you love to use in your eye makeup?

Sam xx

Tips and Tricks to Stop Eyeliner Smudging

One of my pet hates is getting to the end of the day and finding my eyeliner has smudged up into my crease. This used to happen on a daily basis for me and I used to find myself constantly checking and rubbing it away. There are a few tips and tricks which I have picked up to ensure the dreaded smudge line does not appear, so I thought I would share these with you.

The key is to apply lots of powder products into the crease of your eye, to counteract any oils lying on the lid and provide a dry base. This is particularly important if you have hooded eyes as your eyeliner will regularly meet with your crease. So what exactly will you need?

If I want to create a classic flick of eyeliner with no colour on my eyelid, I use a pressed powder (Rimmel Stay Matte Powder), a flesh toned powder eyeshdaow (Illamasqua Justify), a bronzer (Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer), a gel liner (Maybelline Gel Liner) and Mascara (Rimmel Scandaleyes). In order to apply these products I use an Illamasqua Blending Brush, Real Techniques Shading Brush, Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, Real Techniques Pixel Point Eyeliner Brush and an Illamasqua Fine Liner Brush.

Step-by-Step:

I have put together a step-by-step pictorial as to how I use the products to mattify my eyelid and prevent creasing.

Step 1: Apply a very small amount of foundation onto the eyelid.

Step 2: Take Rimmel Stay Matte Powder onto a real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush and press this all over the lid and up to the brow. 

Step 3: Take Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Justify on a Real Techniques Shading Brush and add this to the whole eye lid and take a small amount under the lower lash line.

Step 4: Take Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer onto Illamasqua's Blending Brush and Run this through the crease and up towards the brow. 

Step 5: Next I take Maybelling Gel Liner onto a Real Techniques Pixel Point Eyeliner Brush and Illamasqua Fine Liner Brush to create my feline flick.

Step 6: Finally I take Rimmel Scandaleyes and apply a coat of mascara to my top and bottom lashes.

And tada!!!! There you have a flick of eyeliner which will not smudge into your crease and will stay put all day!

I am so glad I have finally found my tip to avoiding my eyeliner moving all day, and as I said above the key is to use lots of powder products and word these onto the lid and into the crease. I have described how I use flesh toned products, but I also use coloured eyeshadows to add a pop of colour to the eyelid and prevent the eyeliner moving.

I hope you have found this post useful! To you have any different tips to stop your eyeliner moving?

Until next time, Samantha xx

The Body Shop 'Blue Moon' Eye Make-up Kit

With it being just 45 days until Christmas I have been more than excited to see all the Christmas collections being launched! I was lucky enough to be invited along to The Body Shop Christmas Collection Launch so I got a sneek peek into the Christmas products they will be selling this year. Along with being given the Ginger Sparkle Shower, Scrub and Moisture Collection (which I will review soon), I was lucky enough to receive the Blue Moon 3 Step Eye Kit. I couldn't resist but create a make-up look straight away and share it with you so here it is, along with my thoughts on each product ...

In this set you receive The Body Shop 'Super Volume Mascara', 'Carbon Blue Eye Definer', 'The Eyeshadow Brush' and 'Shimmer Cubes Palette 20' all of which can be seen in the image above along with the friendly character the 'Gingerbread Man Sponge' which is part of the Christmas gifts collection at The Body Shop this year! Personally I think this kit would make an excellent gift for someone this Christmas, as it comes with all the products to create a stunning smoky eye. 

Shimmer Cubes Palette 20:  

The 4 shades in this cube complement each other beautifully! They are all shimmer shades and the thin texture of the shadows allow them to be easily blended along the lid. 'Snow White' is a gorgeous white shimmer, which not only attracts me because of the name but also because the shade makes this shadow perfect for highlighting the inner corner of the eye. 'Indigo Blue' is the dark, almost navy, shade which I think is great to apply all over the lid as a base for a deep smoky eye. 'Starlight Silver' is as the name suggests a silver shade which would also look really nice all over the lid, if you just wanted the darker shades in the outer corner of the eye. Finally 'Midnight Black' is a gorgeous black shadow with the shimmer giving it a charcoal feel. This shade would look amazing blended into the crease and outer corner of the eye. It would also be the perfect shade to place under the lower lash line, if you prefer a darker shade to outline your eye. Overall this is a gorgeous palette which is great to create many different looks from a deep dark smoky eye to a subtle shimmer across the lid. 

The Eyeshadow Brush:

The eyeshadow brush is the perfect shape to press shadows onto the lid in order to prevent a great deal of fall down. With the brush being thin in width, I found this brush was great to push shadows into the crease and under the lower lash line, using the tip of the eyeshadow brush. With the brush being made from synthetic hair this prevents any dreaded hairs falling into your make-up!

Carbon Blue Eye Definer:

This product is perfect to use along with the shimmer cubes, as the shades look great together. I found this product worked best when I warmed it in between my hands before applying. This aloud the pencil to glide across the lid and easily blend into the lash line using the smudging sponge, to create a slightly more smoky look with the product. The pencil also applied easily in the water line. The shade of this pencil makes is slightly less harsh than a typical black pencil, whilst still outlining and defining the eye. 

Super Volume Mascara:

This is one of The Body Shops best selling make-up products so I was really to try this out for myself. Normally I go for a mascara with a thicker wand as I find these easier to pick up all my lashes. Therefore when I opened up this mascara to find a reasonably thin wand I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with it. However I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The wand separated out my lashes and added a length to my lashes which I was more than happy with. The wand did not pick up too much product and therefore did not leave my lashes looking clumpy, instead the mascara spread evenly across the length of my lashes and added a thin layer of mascara to each lash. 

My eye make-up look:

Using all of the products above a created this smoky eye look. I used the 'Indigo Blue' shimmer cube all over the lid and blended a small amount of 'Midnight Black' into the crease to add a bit of depth to the eye. I used the eyeshadow brush to apply these shadows and then blended them around the edges using a blending brush to create a soft smoky look. I placed 'Snow White' into the inner corner of the eye to add a slight highlight to the tear duct area. Next I took the Carbon Blue Eye Definer and placed this all around my eye and in the water line. Using the smudging end of this product I blended out the pencil on the upper and lower lash line, again to add to the soft smoky look. Finally I added two layers of Super Volume Mascara to both the upper and lower lashes. 

If I had to choose a favourite product from all those discussed above I would have to choose the 'Snow White' shimmer cube. Not only do I love the name of this shadow but it also creates a beautiful shimmer in the inner corner of the eye and, applied lightly, would look stunning as a highlight on the brow bone! 

I hope you have enjoyed this post! To have a look at the Christmas gifts from the Body Shop this year visit their website and look out for my review of the Ginger Sparkle Shower, Scrub and Moisture Collection coming very soon! Also let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of these products from The Body Shop before. I would also love to know of any Christmas collections you have been loving so far this year! 

Until next time, Samantha x

Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoos

After searching and searching for the shades I really wanted I finally got my hands on the 24 hour Colour Tattoos from Maybelline. After seeing other bloggers rave about these I really wanted to try them out for myself and see if they really did live up to the hype. 

I got the shades Permanent Taupe and Metallic Pomegranate. With berry shades currently being on trend I was really excited to try the Metallic Pomegranate shade! I can honestly say these products really do live up to the hype they have received. They are a gel-cream eyeshadow and this suggests to the me that the texture would be that of an eye product which really creases and moves about on the eye. These however are an exception; they stay put all day and do not crease at all. 

Metallic Pomegranate is a red berry shade with a slight shimmer and Permanent Taupe is a brown/ grey shade and has a matte finish. The shades look beautiful on their own or also mixed together on the eye. Permanent Taupe is also a great shade to use as a base if you are applying a lot of shadows on to the eye as it will really help to keep these into place. 

When applying the Colour Tattoos I used my ring finger and pressed it onto the eye lid and took a small detailing brush and ran the product underneath my lower lash line. Because I am a huge fan of a smoky eye I used a brown eye shadow, with both the Metallic Pomegranate and Permanent Taupe, and blended this into the edge of my eye lid around into the crease. A blending brush is also great to use with these products even if you are not adding eye shadow in order to buff out the edges and ensure you do not have any definite lines around the edge of your eye. One tip I would give is to not be shy with the product, I found they look better when I went slightly higher around the eye and really buffed it out around the edges. 

I can honestly say I love these and would recommend them for anyone looking to try out a new eye make-up product! They stay put all day and are really easy to apply. They are priced at £4.99 in both Boots and Superdrug and there is a range of amazing shades to choose from! 

If you have tried these too let me know what you think and what shades you have been loving in the comments below!

Until next time, Samantha x

Highlighter Heaven: Illamasqua Gleam In Aurora

First of all I want to start with a bit of a disclaimer. I am currently the social media intern at Illamasqua, so I am slightly biased to their products but everything I say in this post is my own opinion and I do genuinely LOVE this highlighter and it is my current favourite Illamasqua product that I have tried so far! So if you want to find out exactly what I love about this product keep reading ...

Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora is my current favourite highlighter and a product which is sure to be a staple in my daily make-up bag for a long time! Gleam is a cream highlighter which I love as I find that some powder highlighters tend to fade from my face throughout the day. Gleam however lasts all day and I leave the office at 5:30pm with a dewy fresh highlight to my cheeks.

Gleam has a slight shimmer to it, however this is not over powering and helps to add a glow to the cheeks. I apply this product using my ring finger and my finger marks in the image below show my love for the product! I generally apply it to the tops of my cheek bones and occasionally down the centre of the nose. It is easy to blend into the skin and does not leave my cheeks feeling at all sticky like some cream products can. 

The swatch below shows that Aurora has a gorgeous champagne colour to its pigmentation. Personally this is my favourite shade for a highlighter as I tend to prefer champagne shades to highlighters which have a pinky tone. 

Aurora can be purchased at illamasqua.com for £18. I may be interning at Illamasqua but I can honestly say this is one of my favourite highlighters of all time and I would recommend this to anyone wanting to try something new! 
What highlighters have you been loving recently?

Samantha x

High Street Make-up Must Haves

In this post I thought I would share with you the high street make-up pieces which are staples in my everyday make-up routine. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer:
This concealer has been a staple in my make-up bag for a long long time! I love how creamy it is and this makes it so easy to blend. I always apply this with the applicator under my eyes and around the nose area, as well as any where I have a blemish and blend it in to my foundation using my ring finger.

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil:
This product is a recent purchase of mine and I don't know what I did without it! Before having this I used a matte eyeshadow to fill in my brows but this pencil has made it so easy to make my brows look neat and get the desired shape with very little effort. I have this shade 002 Hazel and I find this to be the best colour to compliment my blonde hair. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder:
I saw many beauty bloggers rave about this powder for a long time so I picked it up for myself and I can honestly see what all the fuss is about! It helps keep my make-up base in place all day in the office and it doesn't leave my skin looking chalky which many other powders do!

Bourjois Bronzing Powder:
This is another product I saw on beauty blogs over and over again before I made the purchase. I love the way this product applies to the skin, giving you a smooth matte contour with no heavy patches which I have found some other bronzers to give. Another bonus of this product is the smell, it really does have a chocolatey scent to it! 

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner:
You may have seen my previous post a few months ago on this product. I honestly LOVE this gel eyeliner. I had never previously used a gel eyeliner before this purchase and always found my eyeliner to crease a smudge. However since using this my eyeliner never moves and I have found myself using this product in my eye make-up day after day!

Real Techniques Brushes:
I have also done a post on my love for these brushes before and therefore my love for them definitely has not died! I love they way they help me apply my make-up with ease and they will not be disappearing from my daily make-up routine for a long long time! The added bonus is they are made by the amazing Samantha Chapman from Pixiwoo! Check out my previous post to see which brush I use for what. 

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I would recommend these products to anyone wanting to try a new and affordable product. What high street make-up products have you been loving? 

Until next time, Samantha x