My Updated Evening Make Up

I've recently gone for the chop and because of this and as we are well into Autumn, I've decided to make some changes to my make up. 

This post is about an evening look with dark eyes and berry lips. 

Step 1: After the usual cleanse, tone and moisturise I apply Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as a primer. 

Step 2: Then, using my fingers I blend in Chanel's Aqua Vitalumiere foundation all over my face making sure to blend in at the neck. I'm still loving this foundation, it gives the perfect coverage for me. 

Step 3: I then use No7 Instant Radiance concealer to cover the dark circles under my eyes. I just dab it on and blend in with my fingers. 

Step 4: Next, I use Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer on any lumps, bumps and blemishes again, blending with my fingers. 

Step 4: To set my foundation I apply a thin layer of No7 powder in translucent using a Front Cover Cheek brush. 

Step 5: I then apply the best bronzer in the world ever, Chanel Bronze Universal to the hollows of my cheeks, temples and nose. 

Step 6: I'm still loving the Sleek Brow Kit that I blogged about many moons ago. I fill in any gaps using the wax and set my eyebrows using a small amount of the powder. 

Step 7: I'm still obsessed with my Urban Decay Naked 2 Pallette and I use my Front Cover Fluff and Buff brush to apply Booty Call all over my eye up to my brow bone. I then apply Verve to my lid using the same brush and then using a Front Cover Point + brush I add Pistol to the crease and underneath then eye.

Step 8: My Kiko black eyeliner is the best I've ever used, I never feel like I'm dragging it across my eye as it glides on so easily. I apply this to my upper lids and to the water line.

Step 9: I curl my eyelashes using my No7 curlers then quickly apply a thin layer of Dior Lash Maximizer before applying Dior It- Lash Mascara. 

Step 10: I then apply Mac Powder Blush in Fleur Power using my Real Techniques Blush Brush and Sleek highlighter using a small blusher brush.

Step 11: The final step is the application of No7 High Shine Intense Lip Crayon in Sultry Kiss. It's a lovely berry colour that's perfect for winter and as it's the shape of a crayon is really easy to apply. 

And there you have it, my autumn, smoky evening look. It's not the best photo but let me know what you think! 

Becky xx

My Holiday Make up Staples

Hello! 

So we've all been there, the weather is heating up or we've taken ourselves off abroad and we want to look sunkissed, beautiful and natural within the first 5 minutes of stepping off the plane (or is that just me?)

Well I can't guarantee that, but I can recommend some of the products that I use in the summer and some new purchases that I will be using in the warmer months. 

Foundation: 

When my freckles start to appear (my face doesn't tan) I either like to wear a very light foundation or none at all. The two products I've been enjoying the most are the No7 BB Cream and the Dior Airflash foundation (I know I regularly rave about this but it is a lovely light foundation for the summer) the only downside with this product is that it has no SPF.  I love the No7 BB cream because it looks very natural but leaves a smooth, dewy look to my skin and also has an SPF of 15. Plus it's very reasonable even before the £3 discount vouchers. 

Concealer:

I still get bags and blemishes in the summer so I do need to continue to use a concealer. I'm loving Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer at the moment as it isn't cakey but offers good coverage. 

Apologies that the photo isn't the best but these are well loved products! 

Eyes:

I don't like to wear too much eyeshadow or eyeliner in the summer. I just don't want to end up with sweaty panda eyes. I do however, like to give my eyes a wash of colour and I think bronze looks beautiful when you want to achieve that sunkissed look. A recent airport purchase was a Clinique Eyeshadow Quad in Morning Java. This is the first time that I've tried Clinique eyeshadows but I really like them. There's a highlighter, bronze, light brown and dark brown shade and they work very well together without looking too over the top. I apply the light brown all over the lid and the bronze in the inner corner of the eye and below the lower lashes. I use the dark brown eyeshadow as a liner on my upper lid, shove a bit of mascara on and hey presto! 

For an even easier eye look, I've just bought Maybelline's Colour Tattoo eyeshadow in On and On Bronze. The colour is a lovely bronze cream. It is quite metallic so I keep the application quite light in the daytime but it has a lovely sheen to it and works well with just a bit of mascara or a small amount of eyeliner on the upper lid.

Bronzer: 

A firm favourite of mine is Chanel's Universal Bronzer (and I'm glad after paying just over £30 for it!) I apply this bronzer to the parts of my face that would naturally catch the sun and I think it's amazing! So natural yet very effective. It makes you look as though you've been sitting in the sun all day. 

Cheeks:

When I'm wearing bronzer I don't always apply blusher. But on days that I do, I sometimes use the Nars blusher in Luster. This is a bronze blusher that helps to further enhance a tan. The other option is No7's Pop and Glow stick in Rose Blossom which is a pastel pink. This is a cream blusher which gives a natural glow to my cheeks that seems to stick around for a good few hours. 

Lips:

In the summer months I tend to favour lip gloss, particularly during the daytime. My favourite is No7 BB Lip Cream in Blush Coral. The cream itself is very nourishing and offers UV protection which is always a bonus. It's easy to apply and is fairly long lasting. The subtle coral colour also works really well with a tan. 

So that's it for my recommendations. Of course I still wear mascara and I have to tame my crazy eyebrows. My favourite mascara is the already blogged about No7 Exceptional Definition mascara in black. To avoid a shiny face I make sure that I apply a powder to set everything in place, I also like to use a highlighter on my cheekbones to enhance the glowy, sheeny look.

I hope that this post has inspired you to change up your summer looks, it would be great to hear of any other summer recommendations that you may have. 

Thanks for reading xx

I went shopping again...

Hello! 

Before I start writing some product reviews I just wanted to let you know that I've recently filmed some videos for my upcoming YouTube channel so please keep a lookout for those, they're just in the process of being edited. 

Right, so yes, I went shopping, I didn't mean to, it just happened but I'm so glad it did! 

The first product that I bought was the Chanel Universal bronzer that I had seen recommended in another blog. This is a light,creamy bronzer that can be applied to the face and body. I have been using this bronzer daily over the top of my foundation and I think it is amazing! I had no idea how I would go about applying this bronzer but the lovely lady in Chanel showed me how to apply it with a kabuki brush wherever I want it. I did find that the kabuki brush was too big for me, especially when contouring, so I use a smaller blusher brush to apply the bronzer. I swirl it in and use it mainly for contouring and a little bit of bronzing on my temples and nose. I love this bronzer because it looks so natural and there are no shimmery bits which Is great for me as I like to use a highlighter instead. The bronzer cost £32 which I actually think is a really great price for a product that I think will last a long time. It also smells amazing! 

The second product that I bought was the Rimmel Lasting Finish colour rush balm in 700 Not an Illusion. Again I've seen this balm on a few blogs and I wanted to try it for myself. It cost just over £5 and I think that this is another great buy. The balm is in the shape of a pencil and it glides on the lips really smoothly. It is quite pigmented so leaves a lovely colour but also some shine (not as much as a gloss though). I find the colour lasts ages and my lips are also left feeling fairly moisturised. There's loads of colours to choose from but I went for this colour as I don't have a similar one and I think it goes great with the bronzed/gold look. A great product overall and a bargain price! 

The final product that I recently bought is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Cool Medium. This concealer has been raved about a lot so I thought I should give it a go, especially as it was less than £5. I use this concealer for under my eyes and on blemishes and it's great. I think the colour might be a little bit dark for me but when it's blended in it's fine. It gives a great coverage without being too chalky or cakey and I love that I can use it for eyes and spots. My only issue is that when you close the tube, a bit of product oozes out of the side which is really annoying because it gets everywhere and  looks a mess. But, for the price I think I might be able to overlook that! 

 I also bought some new eyelash curlers on my last shopping trip. I had been eyeing up the Shu Uemura curlers but at £20 thought they were a bit pricey. Instead, I went for the No7 metal curlers that are priced at around £7.25. They look great and come with an extra pad to replace after a year which I thought was a nice touch. An extra bonus was that when I went to the counter, I bought some other products and the sales assistant put those through first so that I could get a £4 No7 voucher to put towards the curlers. In the end they were less than £4! I think the curlers are great too they grip tightly and give a nice curl to my lashes that seems to last. I am very pleased with my bargain buy!

The last product that I want to mention is on my wishlist and it's a Jo Malone cologne. I recently smelt the Vanilla and anise scent and it is beautiful. It costs £40 for 30ml which is why I haven't bought it yet but when I sprayed it on my arm I couldn't stop sniffing it. It smells very unique, like most of the Jo Malone fragrances but also very rich and long lasting, absolutely gorgeous. 

Anyway that's all from me for now. 

Thanks for reading,

Becky xx