Christmas Party - 1920s Inspired Makeup

December is always a month full of parties and events which is great because it often gives you an excuse to dress up or sparkle in your best outfits! A few weeks ago we had my office Christmas party and this year it was 1920’s themed. It wasn’t meant to be a very strict theme but it encouraged everyone to make an effort to look old school glamorous! Most people straight away started planning ‘what to wear’ but as a typical beauty blogger my main focus was on how I wanted my makeup to look for this party. After googling for 1920’s beauty inspiration I came across this image (link) of Charlize Theron which I absolutely loved so I decided to go for a very dark berry lip with a nude/rustic look for my eyes.

This is my finished look of the night:

Products used: 

MAC studio finish concealer NC20 

Clinique stay matte foundation – Shade 9, Neutral (link) 

MAC bronzer in Golden 

The Body Shop – cheek colour in Sweet Nutmeg, an oldie but a goodie! (link) 

MAC Mineralize blush in Warm Soul (as seen here) applied as highlight on cheekbones 

MAC Pigment in Vanilla applied to tear duct & brow bone 

Urban Decay NAKED palette – eye shadow Virgin (all over lid)

Urban Decay NAKED palette – eye shadow Naked (blended into crease area) 

MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow (Duo) - Play on Plums (as seen here)

Applied the plum/burgundy shade along my lower lash line. I really love this limited edition eyeshadow duo and am gutted it is running on empty; can anyone recommend a good dupe for the plum/burgundy shade? 

L’Oreal Super Liner in Black – my current favourite liquid liner pen! (link)

NARS NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara (as seen here)

On my lips I'm wearing Berry Vamp by LookBeauty from their Loud Lips range. The packaging of this lipstick is a bit cheap but the colour is really stunning and the fomula is smooth, highly pigmented and long lasting. Not bad for only £7 (link) I have changed from being more of a sheer lip gloss girl to quite loving a darker lip – what do you think of this lip shade?

Jewellery wise I kept it simple and wore these vintage clip-on earrings that used to belong to my grandmother! My hair was done by the lovely Jess from Powder Puff & Pin Curls, who specializes in vintage hair-do's! She came to our office and did the hair of about ten ladies to get us all looking in style for the 1920's party. I will post some more photos of the party in another post :)

Dress wise; I couldn't seem to make up my mind and with December being so busy, I just hadn't had time to find the perfect outfit! Until last minute that was,  because the night before the party I saw this dress in Zara and it was love at first sight! I didn't own a long black evening dress yet so I felt it was a much needed addition to my wardrobe ;) The dress is part of the new collection by ZARA as seen here in their Woman Lookbook Twelve. I adore this recent collection by Zara, it is so classic and elegant.

 ZARA Combined Lace Dress - £69.99 (link)

The dress falls beautifully and the fabric is very soft and pretty. I love how the added touch of the lace in the back makes it that little bit sexier whilst remaining classy. For me, it was the perfect Christmas party dress and I really liked my slightly different to usual look! What do you think of my 1920s inspired look?

Clinique Chubby Sticks now more intense!

Following on from the success of their cult Chubby Sticks range (read my review here) Clinique is now releasing a new line and this time round their crayon style lipsticks will be INTENSE! The new moisturising lip colour balms will feature a new fuller coverage formula that will give you bolder colour pay off. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense will be available in 8 shades: Curviest Caramel, Chunkiest Chili, Heftiest Hibiscus, Mightiest Maraschino, Plushest Punch, Roomiest Rose, Broadest Berry, and Grandest Grape retailing at £16 each.

The chunky pens are perfect for applying on the go, because your simply twist up the base to dispense more product. Plus whilst now adding a more intense touch of colour to your lips the formula still contains the loveliest ingredients including shea butter, mango seed butter and jojoba seed oil to deliver plenty of moisture leaving your lips soft and soothed.

As mentioned there will be 8 shades in the range and lucky me was able to get my hands on two shades before they are released nationwide in mid-November.

Let me introduce you to Chunkiest Chilli and Plushest Punch:

 Chunkiest Chilli is a slightly brown brick red shade and Plushest Punch is a bright fushia pink shade.

I have swatched both Chubby Sticks below; first swatched normally and then swatched slightly blended out for if you prefer a softer look as a glossy balm but still with plenty of colour pay-off. 

Top: Chunkiest Chilli

Bottom: Plushest Punk

The bright punchy pink is definitely up my alley but when I first saw the brownish red Chubby stick I didn't think it would suit me at all. However I was pleasantly surprised and quite like this more brownish natural toned shade at the moment for a chic autumn look.

If you are a fan of the original Chubby Stick formula but prefer something with a bit more of a kick then I'd say definitely check out the new Intense range when it comes out in November! 

The Evelyn Lauder Dream Collection

It's that time of the year again, when Estée Lauder think PINK in honour of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. And this year is no exception, as they celebrate the campaign’s 20th anniversary. This year’s theme for the campaign is Courage. “Believe in a world without breast cancer. Believe we’re here until it’s true.”

The 2012 collection is in memory of the late Evelyn Lauder, to honour Evelyn’s dream of putting an end to breast cancer and raising money and awareness for the Estée Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Also this year’s new Pink Ribbon design features a touch of blue to represent the approximately 1% of all breast cancer cases that are diagnosed in men.

Here is a rundown of the products that are part of the collection this year. First up the Evelyn Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley Dream Lip Collection.

This lip-loving duo includes a full-size Pure Color Lipstick in Candy, a shade chosen by Evelyn Lauder and a Pure Color Gloss in Pink Innocence, chosen by Elizabeth Hurley, all featured in a chic pink snakeskin-printed clutch.

Candy is a pigmented and slightly shimmery pink lipstick. As all Estée Lauder lipsticks the formula is smooth, long lasting, creamy and has a nice lovely smell. The Pink Innocence gloss is a light, more frosted pink gloss that glides on easily. I love the design of the container!

The rest of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Collection includes:

♥ Evelyn Lauder Dream Compact - The compact is filled with Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder. Estée Lauder will donate £55.00 (the full RRP) from every sale in the UK of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Compact to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®

♥ The Evelyn Lauder Dream Pin design sparkles with contrasting soft pink and hot pink enamels, accented with 2 stones – one BCA pink stone and a blue stone to represent the approximately 1% of all breast cancer cases in the United States that are diagnosed in men. Estée Lauder will donate £10.00 (the full RRP) from every sale in the UK of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Pin to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

♥ Perfectionist CP+R Wrinkle-Lifting Serum with Pink Ribbon Keychain.
"This powerful anti-wrinkle serum is proven to significantly reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles with exceptional speed." I've read a lot of good things about this product so this might be a good time to try it out, because it's supporting a good cause at the same time! Estée Lauder will donate £10.00 (RRP £68.00) from every sale in the UK of Perfectionist CP+R with Pink Ribbon Keychain to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

Is there anything that has caught your eye from this collection? I think it is fantastic how Estée Lauder continues to raise awareness and funds for this very important cause. If you want to make a contribution you can also choose to make a small donation here to their Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Every little bit will help to put an end to this terrible disease.

The Evelyn Lauder Dream Colection is available from Estée Lauder counters nationwide and at www.esteelauder.co.uk from October 2012.

Bourjois Paris Flowers - Summer Trend look+

Back in June Bourjois launched their 2012 summer collection inspired by the beauty of tropical flowers from Latin America with a palette of bright blue teamed with spicy orange.

They created the above look using the following new products from the collection:

Bourjois round pot eyeshadow in no.16, a spicy orange

Bourjois round pot eyeshadow in no.02, a vivid blue (blue canard)

Bourjois 3D effet lipgloss in no.53 Corail artistic (one of my favourite glosses this summer!)

Bourjos Volume Glamour Max Waterproof mascara

I liked this colourful summery look, so I decided to recreate it myself :)

I applied the burned orange eyeshadow (16) all over the lid and into the socket line. Then I dampened the eyeshadow applicator and applied the bright blue shade (02) close to the top lash line for that fun splash of colour!

Other products used in his FOTD:

Clinique stay matte foundation in #9

Vichy dermablend ultra-corrective stick (review here)

UNE BB cream bronzer (review here)

NARS blush in the shade Orgasm

 

What do you think about Bourjois new summer collection? Is this look something you'd ever wear?

 

The full Bourjois Paris Flowers collection is available now at Boots & Superdrug stores nationwide and online.

Chanel Les 4 Ombes in Mystic Eyes

Last year for my birthday two of my lovely friends got me some Chanel makeup as a present (see my birthday presents post here). All my friends know me well enough to know that with a gift like beautiful makeup they pretty much can't go wrong ;)

The Chanel eye palette they got me was the Les 4 Ombres Palette in Mystic Eyes and it's been one of my favourite quads ever since! I never got round to reviewing it on the blog so only about a year late (woops) here is a recent face of the day using this versatile and gorgeous eyeshadow palette!

Now let's look at the palette a little more up close shall we?

As to be expected from the luxury brand Chanel; the packaging is gorgeous, compact and easy to use.

The palette comes with four eyeshadow shades in a smudge-proof formula, that can be applied dry for subtle shading, or dampened for more intense colour. 

Colours clockwise from L-R:

♥ Neutral deep chocolate brown with tiny gold flecks

♥ Light shimmery vanilla pink 

♥ Silvery shimmery grey taupe

♥ Warm shimmery light gold brown 

The pink and silver shades are a bit more sheer but the light brown and dark brown shades are both very pigmented. The whole quad is quite shimmery with the pink and silver being the most shimmery of the bunch. And as with all Chanel eyeshadows (I also have their Les Ombes Enigma Quad) the staying power is superb, and the colour payoff is excellent.

I love how you can play with these seemingly neutral colours to create a natural or dramatic smokey look. The shimmer in this quad just seems to make my eyes sparkle that little bit more! Here a slightly closer look at my neutral 'Mystic eyes' face of the day:

Products used:

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation (review here)

Stilla brighten and correct concealer (link)

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (review here)

Estee Lauder Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush (as seen here)

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Silver shade applied to tearduct and inner 1/3 of eyelid

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Light brown shade applied to outer 2/3 of lid and in the crease

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Pink shade applied to the brow bone as a highlight

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Dark brown applied along lower lashline

Blink + Go Mascara (as seen here)

On my lips I am wearing the other Chanel present the girls got me last year...

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire (56) 

Imaginaire is a semi-sheer, milky medium pink colour with a hint of coral and some tiny tiny gold sparkles. This is one of my favourite lip glosses. The colour pay off is very pigmented and rich on my lips whilst still showing a hint of my natural lip tone. And the formula is smooth and glossy, without being tacky or sticky - just how I like it! When I wear this gloss I always feel girly and sophisticated :)

I absolutely love both these Chanel items so am very grateful to my friends for buying these for me! What do you think of the Mystic Eyes palette or the Imaginaire lip gloss? xoxo

If you please....(with MAC Tan pigment eyes)

One of my favourite lipsticks at the moment is 'If you please' from 17 Cosmetics. It's a bright pink shade from their Supreme Shine collection and only costs about £4.99 from Boots!

It's such a fun bold pink colour that you can apply lightly or build it up for a more intense look...

When I wear this lippy I like pairing it with one of my holy grail MAC pigments in Tan. 

You can read my post about how to use and apply MAC Pigments here: link!Tan is a muted pinky brown bronze colour that really seems to make my blue eyes pop!

When I wear this shade people often comment on how bright my eyes look that day :)Products used on eyes:

Estée Lauder Double Wear Shadow Crème in Buttercream (base)

MAC Tan pigment (all over lid and lower lash line)

Estée Lauder Pure Color Eyeliner in Blackened Black  (tight lined the waterline; top & bottom)

Incredilash Mascara by 2True Cosmetics

From the 17 Supreme Shine Lipstick range I have both 'If you please' and 'Hot stuff'. I think the packaging of these lipsticks is really nice; they look very high end for only a few pennies!

If You Please (left) and Hot Stuff (right)

Hot stuff is a stunning hot red shade! It's rich, highly pigmented and slides on smoothly leaving your lips with a lovely shine but not sticky or glossy. 

There are 13 shades in the Supreme Shine Lipstick range and for £4.99 I think they are great value for money. You can find them online here or at your local Boots store.

Clinique Mighty Mimosa chubby stick lip balm

If you are a fan of Clinique's Chubby Sticks you will be happy to learn that from the 1st of June they are adding eight new shades to the range! Clinique Chubby Sticks are very popular, even winning an ELLE Beauty Award, because their multi-tasking, nourishing balms are packed with nutritious ingredients to keep lips soft, while also providing a sheer hint of colour. 

I'd never had the pleasure of owning one of these, so as you can imagine I was very excited to see if its reputation lived up to its hype when Clinique sent me of their new colours 'Mighty Mimosa' to try. 

The Chubby Sticks is basically a moisturizing lip colour balm that gives your lips a nice wash of sheer colour. It comes in a pencil style applicator that rolls up for ease of use.

Mightly Mimosa is a gentle natural pink which feels super soft on your lips because their award winning formula is packed with Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter and Jojoba Seed Oil.

Clinique Mighty Mimosa

Top: swatched on hand

Mid: natural light

Bottom: with flash

FOTD makeup used:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Gel Serum Foundation (review here)

Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder (link)

Bourjois Bronzer

MAC Well Dressed Blush

MAC Warm Soul as highlighter on my cheekbones (review here)

 Urban Decay Sin (applied all over lid)

Urban Decay Naked & Buck (applied to crease and along lower lashline)
MAC Espresso eye shadow (lightly in outer V)
L'Oreal Super Thin Liquid Liner

17 Va-Va Voom Mascara

Conclusion?  I have been wearing this lip balm quite a lot recently and think the Chubby Sticks live up to their reputation; a lip balm in a pencil shape that keeps your lips from drying out whilst providing them with sheer long lasting colour! Perfect :)

The other new shades in the collection include; Heaping Hazelnut, Bountiful Blush, Two Ton Tomato, Oversized Orange, Curvy Candy, Pudgy Peony and Voluptuous Violet. 

Have you tried one the Chubby Sticks before?

Priced at £16 each, the new shades are available at Clinique counters nationwide from 1st June, 2012 or visit www.clinique.co.uk for more information. 

Burberry lipcover in Rosewood

I am currently loving my Burberry lipstick in the shade Rosewood; seriously how gorgeous is this lippy?

I discovered this lipstick because it was one of the items in my March 'The Harrods Edition' Glossybox. 

I have to say the March Glossybox was filled with some amazing products:

♥ Ojon Restorative Hair Serum

♥ Clarins Extra firming body cream

♥ 4ml Eau De Toilette of Fendi's new Fandi fragrance

♥ Erno Laszlo - 5 piece cream gift set

..but this mini Burberry lipstick was definitely my favourite! 

Isn't this the cutest and tiniest lipstick you have ever seen? 

The packaging of the mini version is exactly the same as their full sized lipsticks with its polished gunmetal case and Burberry check embossed lipstick bullet.

It's a rosy brown shade that I think would suit most skin-tones. It's a quite a natural look but it does give a nice touch of elegant colour to your lips. The formula is 'soft satin' which feels very light whilst being creamy and moisturizing.  The lasting power is really good and it has a pretty satin/glossy finish to it.

Other products I used for this look: 

CID i-Perfect Foundation

MAC Peachykeen blush

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

MAC Belightful highlighter

Estee Lauder stay-in-place shadowcreme in Golden Sands

Urban Decay NAKED2 Palette (Suspect & Snakeskin)

Estee Lauder Pure color Kajal eyeliner in Pure Black

Blink+Go Mascara

What do you think of the Burberry lipcover in Rosewood? A full sized version of this lipstick retails for £23 (link) which isn't cheap but this is a shade that is very timeless so probably worth the investment!

I always love the makeup looks as seen on the models on the Burberry runways or in their advertising campaigns so this lipstick has got me excited about trying more from their beauty collection. Do you have any Burberry beauty products that you would recommend? xoxo