Sunday 15 April 2012

Pale English Rose

It's finally heading into spring here in England, although you'd hardly believe it, with the freezing cold nights, chilly days and the thunderstorm with lightning that we had only yesterday. But spring is officially arriving, the daffodils are out, the first green leaves are coming out on the trees and very soon the whole of England will be lush and green. Even though I have seen a lot of places in the world, I cannot help but think England can be one of the most beautiful places on earth when summer is in full swing.

As anyone that is makeup-mad like me will know that spring colours are IN right now, but I have never been one to conforming to seasonal colours. I like to head my own way and do my own thing. Also I happen to be an Urban Decay eyeshadow addict, and their colours are hardly neutral, but still... Today I decided to do a pale, English Rose look:
As y'all know, I have a pale-as-milk complexion, and this look is really easy to pull off. I used my Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in 1C1 Shell, all over my face. It is really full coverage foundation, and even though I kept the foundation use to a minimum, I still used a tad too much... Oh well, nevermind...
Agh! Super strange weird closeup! My eye looks cross-eyed... Hmmm... *Ahem* As you can see, I've filled in my eyebrows to make them much thicker than they really are to help give a more *cough* youthful appearance. I'm wearing my Max Factor Blusher in Classic Rose to help give me a nice colour on my cheeks after wearing such heavy foundation. My lips have almost no colour, which is very embarrassing; to get the achieved colour here I had Benetint stain on my lips, followed by Lancome's Le Rouge Absolu in Pink Diamond, followed by the tiniest touch of Nivea's Glamorous Gloss in Pink Sugar, for extra hydration as my lips have been super dry recently...
Ok, so for my eyes I used my Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and then applied two basic Urban Decay eyeshadows for a neutral, understated look; Sellout over the entire lid and over the entire lower lash line, with a dusting of Mushroom on the outer corners to add depth. I tightlined and carefully lined my upper lash line in Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Zero to make my lashes appear fuller. My Asian-inherited eyelashes are straight, so needed lots of curling with my eyelash curler and two coats of L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic mascara. Finally I finished off my look, lining my waterline with a white khol eyeliner pencil by NYC.

So there you have it; a pale English Rose makeup look that's perfect for spring and can be worn anywhere, any place, any time! Have fun guys x

Wednesday 4 April 2012

My tips and tricks of using Highlighters

I love highlighters. I have two; a liquid highlighter called "High Beam" by Benefit:
                               And I have a powder highlighter called "Light 01" by Bourjois:

Highlighters are simply fabulous. You don't have to use them all the time, but they are so useful that I find myself reaching for one or both of them every time I put my makeup on. If my skin is looking dull or fatigued and I want a quick pick me up, then I mix a few drops of High Beam in with my foundation. It gives my skin a healthy glow and makes me feel like a million dollars:

                                  LOL at my face powder in my hair, making my hair look grey!
Ahem... Anyway... To make my eyes look brighter, fresher and more awake (without the use of eye drops, because even though I LOVE them, they're not particularly good for your eyes), I use the bright, Bourjois highlighter in the inner corners of my eyes, around the tear ducts and blend down into the lower lashes for instantly brighter, less-tired-looking eyes:
I also like to use the powder OR liquid highlighter on the top of my cupid's bow on my lips because my top lip is teeny tiny. Apparently it can make your lips appear fuller, but I don't think it makes much difference to my lips *sigh*:
 I'm wearing lip gloss here to help make my lips appear fuller, which does a much better job - at least that's what I think.

So there are the joys of wearing highlighters on your face and how they can help you look or feel better when your skin is letting you down. Big Hugs x