My NYE Sparkly Smokey Eye Makeup

This year my NYE celebrations weren't anything too crazy and wild but more a local, fun low-key affair! With a group of my dear friends, we had booked several tables to enjoy a delicious set course NYE dinner at The Oak, accompanied by a few glasses of bubbly of course. The Oak is a cosy restaurant in Notting Hill and upstairs they have a great bar, where we ended up dancing until the wee hours on the first day of 2013.

Outfit wise I was wearing my Zara combined leather look dress (as seen here) accessorised with a H&M bejewelled bib collar necklace. So for my makeup I wanted a dark smokey eye but with a bit of sparkle because New Years is the one night where glitter is always acceptable :)

Products used in this makeup look:

Mix of Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation &  Estee Lauder Double Wear Desert Beige (2N1)

FYF Mineral Loose Impeccable Powder (as seen here)
Benefit High Beam Highlighter on my cheekbones/bridge of nose (see how to apply this here)

Sleek Brow Kit to fill in my brows
Clinique Superbalanced Bronzer Powder (as seen here)
NARS Orgasm Blush

MAC Paintpot in Blackground (base all over lid)

MAC Carbon eyeshadow (lid)

MAC Haux eyeshadow (blended into crease to soften the black)

Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow from NAKED Palette (lightly blended in crease) 

MAC Eyeliner in Fascinating - white (applied to tearduct area)

MAC Vanilla Pigment (applied to tearduct and browbone areas to highlight)

AVON Supershock Gel eyeliner in black (applied to waterline)

L'Oréal Paris Super Liner Perfect Slim (upper lashline)

NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara

MAC Reflects Antique Gold Glitter (lightly padded onto lid for that perfect NYE sparkle!)

What do you think of my NYE makeup? I hope you all rang in the New Year with a BANG!

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?

Kate Hudson: Red Carpet Perfection at AmFar

How amazing does Kate Hudson look at the recent amFar Inspiration Gala in LA? She donned a sizzling red hot Prabal Gurung Resort 2013 gown, which showed off her banging post baby-figure!
It's probably one of my favourite looks I have seen on the red carpet for a while.

She completed the look to absolute perfection with a crescent necklace that nicely complemented the structural dress, a chic and pretty ponytail and a funky embellished clutch. And now let's talk makeup, I just adore her gorgeous bronzed smokey eyes!

As a blue eyed girl I have always found that bronze and coppery eye shadows really make my eyes POP so I can't wait to copy this stunning coppery look on myself! I am going out tonight so think will give it a go! Here is how to re-create this smokey eye:

♥ Line the inner rims of your eyes with bronze (or brown, if you don't have bronze) eyeliner.
♥ Apply a coppery bronze eyeshadow to your lid up to your crease and blend out gently. Also apply the bronze shadow quite heavily underneath your lower lash line.
♥  Dust a very soft shimmery pink/vanilla eyeshadow into the inner corner of your eye plus a smidgen above the folds of your eyes.
♥  To finish it off curl your lashes and put on your favorite va-va-voom mascara!
♥ And if you want a little more drama, smudge some black liner directly into your top lashes so it just looks like you have thicker lashes—not actually line of black on top.

Anyway I just can't stop gushing about how phenomenal Kate looked - what do you think? xoxo

Smokey eye & dewy glow FOTN $

This is one of my current favourite night time looks; soft smokey grey eyes with a glowy complexion...

Products used on face:

♥ Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation (review here)

♥ MAC Bronzer in Golden

♥ MAC Springsheen (blush)

♥ Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All over Radiance

Products used eyes:

♥ MAC Knight Divine eyeshadow (all over lid and lower lash line)

♥ MAC Haux eyeshadow (blended into crease to soften the grey)

 ♥ Kajal eyeliner in Pure Black (review here)

♥ L'Oreal Super Liner, perfect slim - love this precision felt-tip eyeliner (link)

♥ Blink & Go Mascara (received as part of my December Glossybox)

♥ Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All over Radiance (browbone highlight)

Lips: MAC & Marcel Wanders lipgloss in 'Julia'

The product I am absolutely loving at the moment to give me this 'glowy' look is my Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow all over Radiance Crème. I'd read many raving reviews about this product so I finally decided to add it to my makeup collection, and oh boy, am I glad I did!

Multi-purpose and versatile, Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Crème is a light-diffusing crème for lustrous skin. Wear all-over the face, under or over foundation or simply on bare skin. It has the added moisturising agent Jojoba to protect and hydrate your skin. It comes it two shades; 01 - Iced Gold and 02 - Rose Gold. I went for Iced Gold for more of a cold/golden glow. 

This is the product swatched on my hand. 

As you can see it creates the loveliest natural sheen; a true shimmer not glitter!

I normally apply the crème on top of my liquid foundation on my cheekbones, the bridge on my nose, as a brow highlight plus a tiny bit on my lip cupid's bow. You only need a small amount and the creamy texture is so easy to apply, I either dot it on with my fingers or use a small stippling brush. This is definitely my favourite highlighter at the moment!

I got my Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Crème for £17.00 online at FeelUnique.com (link) or you can purchase this product, or any others from the Jemma Kidd range, direct from the Jemma Kidd Makeup School website here. 

Invisible Fluid 'See No, Feel No' Makeup

A few weeks ago I was invited to the Estée Lauder HQ's for the exclusive world-wide launch of their latest foundation, Invisible Fluid Makeup.

Actually they are not marketing this new product as a foundation but as 'fluid makeup' and calling it the future of makeup with the slogan 'See no make up, feel no make up'.

See no makeup?
The liquid makeup has been advanced with their new exclusive IntuiTone™ technology. This exclusive pigment technology gives the formula the power to conceal while embracing natural undertones to influence the shade for an ideal match. So all you see is natural, radiant, perfected skin in every light. 

Feel no makeup?

Invisible liquid makeup is ultra-light and ultra-breathable. The formula actually contains air as part of its emulsion. For best results you need to shake the bottle before application to blend the ultra-thin formula with the entrapped micronized air particles thereby creating the lightweight, ultra-natural appearance from an airbrush application and achieving the ultimate portrayal of fresh, natural and flawless looking skin.

In addition to these unique technology benefits, long-wearing Invisible Fluid Makeup is oil-free, alcohol-free, fragrance-free and infused with skin-loving minerals. 

Invisible fluid makeup is available in 16 shades and at the event they colour matched me to find the perfect shade for my complexion. My shade is 2WN2.

As soon as they applied this onto my skin I just loved the feeling. They were right, it doesn't feel like your average foundation. It's so light, radiant and natural looking whilst still providing me with enough coverage. I have been using this foundation now for the last few weeks and am definitely a fan!

Because it is a lighter foundation it lets your natural skin come through providing a perfect colour match and basically giving me that 'my skin, only better' look! It also lasts all day and doesn't clog any pores. 

 Apply on clean skin, over your daily moisturiser. Use your finger tips, stippling brush or the Estée Lauder Foundation Brush to blend the foundation, working from the centre of the face outwards. This foundation is build-able to get your desired coverage level without it looking cakey or chalky.

Makeup wise I am wearing....

♥ Face:

No7 Airbrush Away Primer (my current fave primer!)

MAC concealer studio finish concealer in NC20
Estée Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup in 2WN2
Sleek Makeup Face Contour Kit (dark shade to contour under cheekbones)
Benefit Posietint cheek/lips stain applied on my cheeks as a blush.

♥ Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MAC Club eyeshadow

Estée Lauder Pure Black eyeliner (waterline and toplashline)

2True IncrediLash MascaraIn my books MAC Club is definitely my all-time-favourite eyeshadow!! It just has the most gorgeous duo chrome finish and effortlessly creates a two-toned smokey look!! You can view a video tutorial that I did using MAC Club eyeshadow here (link)

So what do you think of the new Estée Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup...is this something you have read about and curious to try the 'see no makeup, feel no makeup' revolution for yourself? 

Invisible Fluid Makeup is available in 16 shades, 30ml for £27 at your local Estée Lauder counter or online at www.esteelauder.co.uk (where btw they currently have a offer to receive a free sample of their concealer & lipgloss duo with any foundation purchase!)

M.A.C. Master-class at London Fashion Week 2012

Back in February I was very lucky to get invited by M·A·C to attend a special make up master-class at London Fashion week! I've never been to a fashion week before so even just walking around the fashion week grounds at Somerset House in London felt really cool. 

As the official makeup sponsor of London Fashion week 2012 M·A·C had their own suite set up for us to enjoy breakfast, browse around their new collections and get to see Pablo Rodriguez, MAC's senior makeup artist, recreate a catwalk look from start to finish.

Me with my exhibition pass, feeling pretty 'cool' ;)

Self portrait and goody bags!

The look that Pablo was going to show us was designed especially for Stephanie Rolland Spring 2012 show as seen on the runway at the Haute Couture Paris Fashion week.

This is definitely not your every-day kind of makeup! It's a very dramatic winged smokey eye but I think the look really suited the collection which contained a colour palette of black, white, red and lime green and where silhouettes were kept simple with highly sculptural and exaggerated flounces.

This is model Yasmin Le Bon closing the show wearing a blood-red gown that weighed over 45kg!

OK now to the look.... Pablo started using M·A·C Studio Sculpt foundation which he stippled on with a M·A·C 188 brush, then he dabbed Select Cover-Up Concealer under the eyes to conceal dark circles and then he set the base with Blot Powder using the M·A·C 168 brush.

The model looking very fresh faced ;)

For the eyes he lined both the waterline and upper inner lashline with Feline eyeliner. He then pressed M·A·C Fluidline Eyeliner in Blacktrack (one my favourite products) all over the eyelids and blended it out with the 224 brush.

To achieve the dramatic look as seen on the runway he applied M·A·C Pro Acrylic Paint in black with a mascara brush to create a feathered, paint 'splattered' effect and the lashes got a layer of MAC False Lashes mascara. To finish off the face he applied a new contouring creme with his fingers under the cheekbones and the cheeks received a lovely gentle flush of colour with M·A·C Pink Swoon blush. The final touch was a nude pink gloss on the lips in the form of MAC Lipglass in Underage. As you can see it was all really about the eyes with this look by keeping the rest of the makeup very simple! 

TADA the finished look. I love this edgy winged smokey eye!

It was really cool to see such a special look created up close and Pablo was truly amazing and answered all our questions :) Sometimes catwalk makeup can look very complicated but when you get taken through the steps you can realise it is not actually always that hard! I left feeling the master class feeling super inspired and passionate about makeup. 

Thank you very much M·A·C for my lovely London Fashion Week experience ♥ xoxo

Reflects Antique Gold Glitter Smokey Eye =

A few weekends ago I went out in London and decided to go for some SPARKLE!!! 

♥ Face:

Mix of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation with MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC20

Bourjois Healthy Mix Illuminating brush concealer

MAC Sheer Mystery Powder in Light Medium from the new 'Marcel Wanders collection'

Shu Uemura Bronzer in Dark Bronze to contour
MAC Blush in Warm Soul (one of my favourites, review here)

MAC charcoal brown eyeshadow to fill in brows

♥ Eyes:

MAC paintpot in blackground (base)

MAC Copper plate eyeshadow (crease)

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette - Blackout eyeshadow (outer V and lower lash line)

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette - Bootycall eyeshadow (brow bone highlight)

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk (tear duct)

MAC Vanilla Pigment (tear duct op top of the white eyeliner)
MAC Glitter - Reflects Antique Gold (applied on the centre of the lid)

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (waterline)

L'Oreal Super Liner (upper lash line)
NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara

MAC Reflects Antique Gold is one of my favourite MAC Pro products! The shade is a beautiful dusty brown gold glitter that looks like diamonds on your lids. This glitter is more fine milled than MAC's regular glitters and therefore manages to look more 'natural' and gives your eyes an elegant 'bling' factor instead of looking like cheap chunky child-like glitter.

You do need a good base to apply the glitter onto to ensure it sticks. I often use use a MAC Paintpot  (Blackground in this look, but you can use any kind of creamy based eyeshadow) on the lid and then gently pat the glitter with my finger op top. Yes there will be some fall out, but hey it's glitter you are working with so that is to be expected.  You can also use this glitter as a eyeliner or all over eyeshadow for a more 'foiled' look if you apply it wet with a mixing medium (like MAC Fix+).

I just adore this glitter! It adds a very sparkly amazing pop to your eyes and a little added pretty WOW factor for a night out :) I used to buy 1/4 teaspoon samples online (via eBay) of the glitter until I managed to order a full sized jar in via a pro MAC store. A little goes a long way so even a small sample will last you ages and I am sure my full sized jar will provide me with a lifetime full of sparkle!

Here I am with my girls at Beach Blanket Babylon sipping cocktails!

(their Pornstar Martini is just delish - they serve it with a shot of Bubbles on the side, need I say more?)

Flatmate makeover night $

A couple of weekends ago me and my lovely flattie had a party to go in the hill....Notting Hill that is ;) I love those fun evenings of getting ready at home with her, doing makeup, music playing, a drink in our hands and getting amped for a fun night out.
For my look of the night I went for grey and smokey eye:

♥ Face:

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - 2N2 Fresco

MAC NC20 Studio Finish Concealer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium

NARS Laguna Bronzer

NARS Orgasm blush

♥ Eyes:
MAC Paintpot in Blackground (all over lid)

MAC Knight Divine eyeshadow (all over lid)

MAC Pandemonium eyeshadow (lightly applied in the centre of lid on the top of knight divine)

MAC Wedge eyeshadow (applied to crease to blend and soften the grey)

NYC Jumbo eyeshadow pencil in milk to the tear duct

MAC Nylon eyeshadow (in tearduct over the white eye pencil to brighten the eye)

MAC fluidline in Blacktrack (waterline)

L’Oreal Super Liner (to line the upper lashline) - my current FAVE liquid liner!

Blink & Go Mascara

♥ Lips:

MaxFactor Vibrant Curve Effect lipgloss in Trendsetter (03)

Now check out my BEAUTIFUL flatmate....

Think she's pretty happy about living with a beauty blogger and 'getting her face done' by the Dutchess before a night out :) She was wearing a nice purple top so I decided on a silvery/purple smokey eye.

♥ Face:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

MAC Well Dressed blush (apples of her cheeks)

MAC Belightful Iridescent Powder (on cheekbones as a highlighter)

♥ Eyes:

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (primer)

MAC Paintpot in Bare Study (all over lid as base)
MAC Devil May Care eyeshadow, Silver (applied to inner lid)

MAC Shale eyeshadow (applied from center to outer lid and into crease)

Estee Lauder Violet Orchids 5 Eyeshadow Palette - I used the darkest shade in the palette in the outer V to darken the look and applied the grey shade in the crease to blend it all together in a smooth smokey look. 

MAC Fluidline in Black track (waterline)

L’Oreal Super Liner (to line the upper lashline)

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

Doesn't she have the most gorgeous big eyes? I think this light purple smokey eye looks amazing on her. I used to get quite nervous about doing my friends' makeup, because I am by no means a professional makeup artist but over time I have gained more confidence in my 'skills' and I just love seeing the end result by bringing a smile to their faces and making them feel beautiful, sexy and confident!

We had a great night out with some very funny moments! Ranging from crazy snow fights, hilarious conversations in bars to scoffing down banana bread in the kitchen after coming home in the early hours of the morning.

[Roz and Kerry approach the door of a cocktail bar.
An attractive man is leaving as they enter the bar].
Hot man: “Am I making a mistake by leaving now?”
Roz: “Errrrm,.... maybe” [smiles].
Hot man: “Where are you from? Are you Swedish?”
Roz: “No, I’m Dutch”.
Hot man: “Oh”. [Hot man turns on his heels and walks off].

So maybe from now on I should pretend to be Swedish, Ja?! ;)