Happy Hump Day %

Hi my ladies,

I found this site called The Rules of Ladies and really loved some of the 'rules' :)

Check out some of my favourites below!

No.51- Don’t wait for Prince Charming to come and save you. 

Remember, being independent is more attractive to men

No.68- Never apologize for what you feel. It’s like saying sorry for being real.

No.64- Don’t just expect to find love, wait and it will come.

No.44- You can never be beautiful unless you’re happy.

No.31- Remember; if he wants to, he will.

Now just need to try and remember these! ;)

♥ Happy Hump Day ♥

xoxo 

I am a Girl About Town..

After attending a recent M·A·C event I was left feeling super inspired to be a bit 'bolder' with my makeup choices! I was craving to wear a bright pink lip :)  
On the model at the event, they used M·A·C Show Orchid lipstick so a few days after the event I found myself at my local M·A·C store drooling over all their lipsticks to find myself a bright pink lippy! After a lot of umming and ahhing, I chose Girl About Town! This lipstick is described as a 'Fabulous Fuchsia' colour and has the Amplified Creme formula. 

M·A·C Senior Artist Neil Young told us a little tip that day "Whatever I want the focus to be, whether it is brows, eyes, lashes, lips or skin thats the first thing I start with." So when I started to create my Girl About Town FOTD I did my foundation, applied the lipstick and then looked to see what it needed to complete the look (eyes, face wise) I think it's a great tip because it means you don't go over the top with too many parts of your makeup. So here it is, my (M·A·C Inspired) FOTD:

♥ Face:
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NC20
MAC Studio Fix Foundation (NC20) mixed with MAC Strobe Liquid
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium Light
MAC Bronzing Powder in Golden

MAC Wedge Eyeshadow to fill in brows

MAC Brow Gel (in clear) to set brows in shape

♥ Eyes:
MAC Paintpot in Groundwork (all over lid)
MAC Paintpot in BareStudy (lightly dapped into tearduct & under brows)
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (lined upper lash line with MAC 210 brush)

MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara in black

♥ Lips:
MAC Girl About Town Lipstick (amplified)

So what do you think; like my new bold lippy look? 

Also if you’re always looking for the next, great mascara, here’s one to try. It’s MAC Haute & Naughty Lash (as used in this face of the day).

It has a two-in-one dual wiper system with two different sizes — one big and one small — that lets you choose if you want naturally defined lashes for day, or instantly combed and voluminous lashes for the the evening. One wiper refines the application for a clean sweep, while the other loads the lashes for greater impact.

I've been using this mascara regularly and love the results. If you like longer and defined lashes, the Haute & Naughty Lash does this amazingly well. Plus it gives you the option for thicker dramatic lashes too, which is pretty convenient to have in one mascara. The mascara is long wearing, doesn't clump or flake and is very black so I think this is a great 2-in-1 product. Available at MAC counters now for £17.50 or USD $18.

NARS - Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself

The other night I was invited to Harvey Nichols in Knightbridge to check out the new NARS makeup book, plus to experience one of their amazing 'MakeUp Your Mind' masterclasses for myself!

In 2001, François Nars published Makeup Your Mind, a best selling beauty manual featuring glossy photographs uniquely overlaid with clear instructional guides. The first in a series of three books, featured professional models photographed 'before' (without makeup) and 'after' (with makeup), demonstrating the transformative effect of makeup effect plus instructions on how to achieve the looks at home! 

In his new book, Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself he takes the before-and-after concept to the next level by transforming 56 real women and men scouted on the streets of New York City. The people vary in age from 16 to 64, and represent a wide range of countries including Russia, South Afrika, Guatemala and Sweden. I love the fact that in François books, he doesn't just write about the makeup application, but shows readers how it’s applied by including “before” and “after” pictures overlaid with clear paged diagrams, it gives you a great instant visual of the transformation!

"My hope for this book, and for my makeup, is to give you the information and tools with which to express yourself in as many different ways as you can dream up" - François Nars

At the event I got to have a good look through the book and check out all the amazing transformations!
Then I got told to pick a look that I liked, for one of their talented makeup artists to transform moi :)
I chose a look called 'the Ballerina' because I really liked the soft eye matched with a bright pink lip!This is me at the end of my Makeup Your Mind Masterclass showcasing the finished look! I really loved the result, because it's quite different to my usual makeup looks! On my lips he used the new 'Carthage' Pure Matte Lipstick, which has just launched as part of their Summer 2011 Collection. I want.... ;)

Also check out this cool website they created for the the Makeup Your Mind book! Here you can select some of the looks from the book and 'try it for yourself' - it will provide you step by step instructions how to recreate the look!

Inspiring customers to have fun with different makeup looks, you can now experience one of these great Makeup Your Mind Masterclasses for yourself at Harvey Nichols at only £35 for a 2 hour class, which is redeemable on product! Plus you will leave with a personalised face chart & complimentary travel size 'Orgasm Illuminator'.

If you are looking for a beauty manual book then I think Makeup Your Mind; Express yourself is fantastic because it provides very detailed instructions to create so many different looks ranging from natural and demure to dazzling and outrageous. It's also lovely to see the looks on real men and woman with different skin tones, face shapes, ages and ethnicities. I also really like that on the clear overlay it will say 'champagne eyeshadow' for example so if you don't have the particular NARS product used, you can still recreate the look with a similar product that you do own.  The book provides insider knowledge from François but also encourages people to be who they are and express their individuality through makeup. In a recent interview with François he talked about how he came up with the looks for each subject:
"Instead of crafting each look based on what suited the individual's personality, I focused on bringing out her or his natural beauty, rather than concealing it. Ideally you want someone to say to you, "you look great!" rather than, "your makeup looks great". You should always see the person first and the makeup second" I think this is SO true!

Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself (£29.99) is available now at Harvey Nicols and narscosmetics.co.uk 

Plus check out this amazing video tutorial by Sam of Pixiwoo, where she recreates an emerald green eyes look from the book! xoxo

Me & my 'Stripes' addiction...

Morning everyone,

Urgh I am NOT happy with Blogger today! They did some maintenance to their network and somehow they managed to lose everyones posts and comments since Wednesday 11 May. They are promising this will be restored but I'm slowly losing hope that my last NARS post will actually return :( I will wait another day before I will start to (painfully) rewrite it, boohooo!! However in the meantime thought I'd quickly post two OOTD pictures! So yes, I think I may have a 'stripes' addiction. When in the shops I'm always picking up the items with stripes thinking, oh I want! I try to control myself though, just so I don't end up with a wardrobe full of striped clothes haha :) Some people say stripes aren't flattering but I totally disagree, love them! Here two recent outfits showcasing my addiction to stripes...

Pink Cotten Striped Jumper from ZARA. Get it here for £25.99 

Blue Skinny Jeans from ZARA

Tan leather flats from Primark

Black long sleeved V-Neck top from ASOS. Get it here for £12

Black & White striped blazer from ZARA. Picked this up in last summer's sale for about £10! Bargain :)

Dark Super Skinny Jeans from River Island

Black patent flats from Primark

Do you love stripes just like me? xoxo