Imagine That *FOTD*

Hi Lovelies!!

I'm here today with a simple make up look! I had found myself stuck in a rut with make up, with very limited time to have fun with it (which is the whole point, right?!) However, I had a day off work and neglected all other responsibilities to have a bit of a play around.
(Please do excuse the photos, I have a new camera that I'm trying to get the hang of!) 

Products Used:

Collection Concealer (1-Fair)

MAC Studio Fix Fluid (NW10)

Collection Shimmer Shades (Way to Glow)

Dainty Doll Cream Blusher (001)

Too Faced Candlelight Glow

L'Oreal Bare Naturale Mineral Powder (Light Ivory)

Benefit High beam

Urban Decay Brow Box (Sugar)

Urban Decay Ammo Palette

Illamasqua Pure Pigment (Alluvium)

MAC Pencil Eyeliner (Black)

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Lush Bubblegum Lipscrub
Illamasqua Lipstick (Corrupt)
MAC Lipstick (Sounds like Noise)

Face

I started off by covering blemishes and red patches with the Collection concealer, blending out with a small brush. I then used a larger brush to apply my foundation and then used my fingers to make sure it was all blended evenly. 

For contouring, I used the Collection Shimmer Shades palette and simply grazed my brush over all of the shades and then blended upwards towards my cheek bones, then lightly dusted powder along my temples and jaw line. (This is supposed to make your cheek bones look more defined...whether this works or not on me, I'm not convinced!) 

To add some colour to the apples of my cheeks, I applied the Dainty Doll cream blusher with my finger tips. To lift my complexion, I used the Too Faced Candle light glow and applied this over my cheeks and slightly down my nose with a brush. 

To seal this all in, I used my trusty L'Oreal Bare Naturale face powder. 

Eyes

I always start off with my eyebrows, by the time my is covered in make up they seem to disappear and I look like a bit of an alien. At the moment, I'm using the shade 'Sugar' from the Urban Decay Brow Box. I simply use an angled brush and powder over my natural eyebrows. 

For the main look, I used 'Polyester Bridge' from the Urban Decay Ammo Palette and used this to cover my eyelids and slightly under my brow bone. I then used 'Alluvium' by Illamasqua and applied a thin line along my eyelid crease and eyelash line (about half way along) then used a blending brush to blend it outwards. To add a bit more definition, I used the MAC black eyeliner along my lash line and slightly under my water line, again blending it out to keep the look subtle. 

To finish it off, I applied a thin layer of Benefit They're Real Mascard. 

Lips

I opted for a slightly more daring look. 

I posted a tutorial on how to do gradient lips, take a look! 

And there we have it! I'm left feeling like I've made a valiant effort with my make up whilst not going too wild with it, giving myself a new everyday look!

What do we think? :)

-K
x

Make up Wish List

Hi lovelies, 

I'm back, finally, with a beauty related post! I feel like all I ever do is apologise for my sporadic posting, I have a lot going on at the moment so my attention is being sucked up by other matters; that sounds slightly ominous and I'll share a bit more about this in the near future. For now, I just wanted to share the beauty items I've been lusting over. 

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation-

Usually I prefer foundations with a high coverage, but I want to get into the habit of wearing a lighter foundation and using concealer to cover blemishes. I just feel that this might help improve my skin, and to be honest, I'm not a really a fan of the heavy foundation look anyway. 

Revlon Colorburst lip butter in 'Tutti Frutti'

The world outside of my bedroom may be covered in snow right now, but my head has thrown itself into spring/summer and I'm all for trying out the coral look. This lip butter seems to be quite sheer, so for someone who is usually a red, purple or pink lipstick fan, going for coral in this form doesn't feel quite so intimidating.  

Sleek MakeUp Ultra Mattes Palettes Bright-

I'm not sure what's happening to me, but I'm seriously drawn to these vibrant colours and if my 'au naturel' palette is anything to go by, Sleek eyeshadows are so good! I really want to experiment with these eyeshadows, and I think my attraction to these colours is a sign that my body is so ready for summer. 

Magnifibres Brush-on False Lashes-

I've heard such great things about this, and I seem to have become a little bit obsessed with eyelashes. I just think that nice eyelashes can add that nice polished finish to a look- so if this helps me achieve that, then I'm a fan. 

Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 

This combines two products that I really want to try, just because the brand is talked about a lot, as is the idea of using a muslin cloth for skin care. I'm yet to try any Liz Earle products, but it's definitely on the to-do list. (And if it helps my skin-hoozarr!) 

Cream Pigment in Hollow 

I've only tried one Illamasqua product before, and I wasn't that impressed. However, i'm willing to let that slide for this product! I believe it's meant to be used as an eye shadow, but I think it would be a nice to use for some subtle contouring! 

Too Faced Brow Envy-

I recently purchased the Urban Decay Brow Palette, and I really do like it, but there's something about this that makes me want it. It's on my to buy list...when I need it, and when I can bare to part with the money. 

Clarins Satin Finish Lipstick in Rouge Eclat-

I know, I know- do I really need anymore red lipsticks? When it comes to this, yes, yes I do. I say no more. 

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream-

I first bought this in Macy's (New York) back in June 2011, and I felt a little bit sick after parting with so much money (as I also bought a Bobbi Brown foundation and concealer at the same time) but after discovering how long this lasted for, and how much I loved it and now miss it, I really don't feel guilty. It was a good life choice. Or so I keep telling myself. (I wouldn't say no to the foundation and concealer again either!) 

Are there are any beauty products that have really caught your eye recently? I thought my compulsion to buy beauty products was finally slowing down, but I think this list sort of proves other wise!

-K 

x

You can also follow me on twitter @AGP_x

Are you drunk with lust tonight? *FOTD*

Products Used:

L'Oreal Paris Lumi Magique

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream 

Too Faced Candlelight Glow

Benefit Highbeam 

HD Brow Palette

Model co Eyeshadow Duo (Bronzed Goddess)

L'Oreal Gel Liner

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Helen E Lipstick (Rasperry)

Dainty Doll Loose Powder 

From the perfect start, to the finish line. *FOTD*

Today's post is a bit of an experimental one! I thought it might be quite nice (possibly more so for me) to start a 'Face of the day' (FOTD) post. Now I can't say I'll be doing this every day once I'm back at Uni, but sometimes I find it's nice to document what make up looks I've been particularly happy with so I can go back to them if needs be! Hopefully, some of you might find this helpful too.

Today's look was based around a suggestion by Hannah (who blogs over at Daisies and DMs) so thank you for that!

You might have seen yesterday's review post on Illamasqua's Liquid Metal, and I wasn't completely sold on it! Ditto for the Too Faced Candlelight Glow. Hannah suggested (/requested haha) I try the Liquid Metal over the top of black eyeliner. So...hopefully I've done it correctly and this will give a good idea of what the outcome is like with the combination of the two. 

(Excuse the light glare!) 

As you can see this is a fairly simple look, nothing too fancy but I think quite nice for a night out or something! I'll include a list of products at the bottom of this post, but for the overall look I'm simply wearing foundation, highlighter, blush, red lipstick, and black eyeliner underneath Liquid Metal. 

Now for a close up!

I much prefer the look of the Liquid Metal over the top of black eyeliner (I simply used a kohl liner to cover my lids and used a brush to blend it outwards, and then a different brush to blend on the Liquid Metal.) However, my previous problem with the Liquid Metal of creasing is still there which is a shame! More experimenting to be done. 

And talking of experimenting, I think I'm getting to grips with my Too Faced Highlighter. I started off with my Tarte Amazonian blusher and brushed very softly up on to my cheekbones- paying particular attention to the very top. I used the highlighter above the blusher and again down the side of my nose. I think I quite like the way this looks. Unfortunately it doesn't show up quite so well on camera. 

Make Up Used: 

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer

L'Oreal True Match Foundation (Rose Ivory)

Maybelline 'Fit Me' Liquid Concealer (Fair)

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blusher (Dollface) 

Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder

HD Brows Eyebrow Palette (Bombshell) 

Bourjois Contour Eyeliner Pencil (01 Noir Expert)

Illamasqua Liquid Metal (Surge) 

Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara (Black) 

Tarte Glamazon Lipstick (Wild) 

-K

x

Too Faced Candlelight Glow *review*

I have made my first step away from the world of blusher and into the land of highlighter.
I was a little dubious about how well I'd get on with a highlighter as I suffer from what I lovingly call 'moon face syndrome,' by this I mean I have a round face and pale skin yet my cheekbones are quite high (that is...once you get through my hamster like cheeks.) So, I wasn't sure if a highlighter would be of any benefit to me.
This is the first time I've used a highlighter, so I still have to figure out which technique will suit me most. (If anybody could help me without with that...that'd be great!) But as this is my first highlighter, I thought I'd go all the way and invest in the 'Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Power.' 

You can buy it here :)

I purchased mine from escentual.com as I had a 10% off code for my birthday. 

At £25, I think it's fair to say I was expecting an almost-miracle. 

This is also my first Too Faced product, I've heard many good things about the brand but I still wasn't too sure what to expect! 

The main thing that stands out to me about this product is the overall look of it, it's incredibly feminine with a romantic feel about it, and that sucks in the girl in me. 

The product is bigger than I expected, although I think this is mostly due to the packaging rather than the amount of actual highlighter inside. 

What I do love about this is that there are two shades, and you can use them either individually or blend them together with your brush. I opted to blend them together so I still had a bit of colour on my cheeks as opposed to just highlighter. 

On the left you have the highlighting powder with the pink tone, and on the right is the golden tone. On the swatch they look very shimmery, but once it's blended in I've found I've been left with a small amount of shimmer and a nice, natural looking glow. 

As I said before, I think it's going to take some time before I really get the hang of how I can get the most out of this, but for my first highlighter- I'm pretty happy with it! 

Would I say it's worth the money? Eh...perhaps not! But then this is the only one I've tried so perhaps this is as good as it gets. I'm eager to try some more just so I can really compare the results! 

I've applied this down from my temples and onto my cheek bones, and added a small amount down the sides of my nose. 

Overall, I really do feel like I'll benefit from this! As I'm so pale (and I now have black hair again,) I can always use the extra lift on my skin to make look less like the living dead. Anything that can add a bit of life into my skin is always welcome! 

Unfortunately you can't really see it in the photo... but I think that just goes to show how the swatch really amplifies the colour and that it really is nice to blend in order to achieve a natural look. 

Have you tried any highlighters? If you've had any great success with one, please do let me know! I feel like this may be my new obsession...for a short while at least! 

Do you find one product reviews like this helpful? I have a few products that I've been thinking about reviewing, but then I don't want to bore everyone! 

On that note...my new Illamasqua eye shadow has just arrived, so keep an eye out for a review on that! I'm very excited to give it a try.

-K

x