Rebel: Dangerous Look

I had been waiting to get my hands on 'Rebel' by MAC for absolutely ages. It is such a popular colour that whenever it is in stock, it seems to sell out, so I was overjoyed yesterday when I finally got it. For me this is my favorite shade imaginable. I always prefer darker toned lipsticks because I think they are much more flattering on my skin tone, so I am always intrinsically drawn towards plum tones like this. It was also my first proper MAC lipstick purchase (gasp). I have always thought that they are rather pricey for lipstick, considering the amount of good dupes on the high street, (I hear Topshop lipstick is almost exactly the same). But I finally gave in because this shade is unlike anything else I have and I know I will wear it all the time.

 Rebel is a deep, rich purple with hints of creamy pink underneath, so it's not too vampy. It is such a statement lipstick and you can't be a wallflower if you have this on so it gives you added confidence. It is one of those rare shades that really makes you feel glamorous and sophisticated. It is such a gorgeous sultry shade, particularly flattering on pale skin tones I think as it really heightens your lip colour. I also tried the matching lip pencil and the lipglass of the same name; I had to stop myself from buying both! I think the matte finish of the lipstick works well on its own, although it did look fabulous with the gloss on top.

 Rebel has a satin formula which makes it quite moisturising on the lips and it leaves a slight shiny appearance. After this was applied on me in the store, It was still looking almost perfect by the time I was ready to apply my make-up for the evening. You don't need to build it up too much like some lipsticks as the colour pigmentation is great, although the satin affect wears off, the vivid purple plum colour stays on all evening, I didn't have to reapply once and that's after eating and drinking too! This almost dangerous colour is right on trend at the moment, its such an amazing shade and has quickly become my favorite ever ever. 

Because this is such a bold, diva like shade, I had to stop myself from going crazy on the eyes too. I wanted the lips to be the main focus of the look, so I simply used the two lightest shades in my Urban Decay Naked palette, Virgin and Sin. I layered these across the lid, with slight contouring in the outer corners for definition. I went for my trusty winged eye liner look, using my favorite Maybelline one. I layered mascara and then applied false lashes to complete the look. 

Have you guys tried Rebel or know any similar shades?
xxx

How to be a Heartbreaker- Valentines Day Make-up look

Hey guys! I would just like to apologize in advance for the length of this post- but this is one of my favorite make-up looks ever and I can't wait to share it with you. Its also very theme appropriate seen as its Valentine's day tomorrow, its a great look to wear wherever and whoever you will spend it with. Marina and The Diamonds is one of my favorite music artists ever, and her make-up in her video for 'How to be a Heartbreaker' is absolutely divine. She has a few looks in the video but the one I recreated is my personal favorite (above). It is actually quite a simply look with the main focus being the eyes (hence the following abundance of eye closeups!) paired with neutral pink lips and bronzed skin. 

For the all important eyes I used my Urban Decay Naked original palette, which has become a firm favorite in my make-up kit (see my full review here). When using this palette only I also know that I don't have to use a primer underneath as the eye shadows seem to really stay place on me, however of course, if they don't I would recommend a primer. First take the lightest colour, 'Virgin' which is such a beautiful pale pink, off-white shimmery highlighter. Apply this across the entire lid, right up to the brow bone as we want particular shimmer here. Then apply a slightly darker shade, 'Sin', in the middle of the lid to add a bit more depth here and create an illusion of a bigger eye, a good trick also if you have hooded eyes like me. Then I mixed together a bit of 'Sidecar' and 'Hustle' and placed this on the outer corner and through the crease. I took this higher than my usual crease as this is how Marina wears it in this shot, which further creates the illusion of a much larger eye. You should therefore take 'Hustle' quite high up and into the crease, quite deep into the socket. The next step is to blend, A LOT. When you wear quite a heavy eye make-up like this, it is best to have a few clean brushes handy so you can switch. If you carry on using one with a lot of product on this will just smudge as opposed to blending. Also keep a tissue handy so you can wipe off the excess product, saving you from using a lot of brushes which not everyone may have. Once this is blended enough to look fairly soft, take Virgin again on the brow bone to blend into the darkest colour, and take a fair bit into the tear-duct to accentuate and brighten the eye, making the look a lot softer.Then find a narrow brush and, blending together 'Hustle' and 'Sidecar', take under the eye halfway and blend. This is the shadow part done, now you need to take your favorite gel eyeliner as this is one of Marina's staples. Try and get your line as thin as possible, with the line slightly thicker in the center to follow the natural shape of your eye. Then wing out slightly to a point, joining up with your bottom lash line. You can also use a brown kohl pencil to line your bottom waterline. Then apply absolute lashings of mascara, particularly on your lower lashes as this is a real feature of Marina's look. She wears individual false lashes on the lower lash line, however I have tried to create this effect using mascara. I then took some MAC lashes that I cut slightly shorter than the usual lash length to just attach to the end of the eye and create a flared, winged out look, as Marina's top lashes are not overly heavy. Team this with super defined, dark strong brows like Marina's and keep them in shape with some brow gel. 
Finally, use the gel liner to create Marina's signature heart on your left cheek if you wish!

Finish off the look with sculpted cheeks and an all over bronzed glow using the excess on your temples, forehead and nose. Then use a super pretty pale blush to add a slight dash of colour- Sleek's Pixie Pink is perfect for this. Skip the highlighter as the eyes are the main feature and Marina's skin looks more matte than glowy. Use your favorite nude pink lipstick for a subtle finish to the look; I used a nude MAC lipglass over a Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in shade 'Sky Line Pink'. 

xxx

Non-Beauty Haul

First of all is something that was an actual steal. I went into the Fiorelli outlet store in Cheshire Oaks and found this gorgeous new purse that I was in desperate need of. This purse is part of their new stock, and currently retails at £39 in their main stores and department stores. I got it at £8. It was such a ludicrous bargain that I couldn't resist showing it off. Unfortunately though if you like this, it is £39 everywhere else which I wouldn't have paid. Such a good quality leather purse that will last for years so at £8 I couldn't believe my luck!

Next is something that I'd wanted for so long I can't even explain. This was a belated birthday present from my aunt, and I love it so much. Its a gorgeous purple leather satchel, by The Leather Satchel Company, with my own initials on it how cute!

Next I treated myself to this beautiful, classic dress from Topshop at £40. It is my favorite colour being electric blue as I think its the colour that's most flattering on my skin tone. When I saw this dress on the hanger I didn't like it to be fair. The wrapped panels just sort of hung awkwardly, seemingly quite unflattering. However I had loved it whilst gazing through their website so I decided to try it on anyway and oh my god it just shows you should always try clothes on before you buy, because it can completely change your mind about something. I swear this is the most flattering dress ever. The wrapped panels are so figure hugging that they make you look super slim, and I love dresses with long sleeves which is a bonus. I think this is my new favorite dress ever, its so simple but I think its a classic piece that I'll get lots of use out of. 

Finally I got an outfit that I had been pondering over for a while. I had wanted disco pants for a while as I think they are a fantastic alternative for jeans for an evening party look, they still make you feel dressed up but not too over the top if you don't want to go for that sort of look. These ones I snatched up from Misguided and I think they are a real bargain- £25. They are literally an exact duplicate for the famous American Apparel ones which retail at around £75, which is far too over priced. These come in various colours, (I was torn between navy), but I went for the black as I think they are quite understated and generally more wearable. They look great teamed with any form of crop top; I went for this burgundy sleeveless one from ASOS, which again was a real good price at £12, and is a great staple for your wardrobe as it can be worn with so many different outfits. 

xxx

Maybelline Colour Tattoo: Review

This post is far too long overdue as I've had these little beauties sitting right on my desk waiting to be reviewed for weeks now. I discovered Maybelline's Colour Tattoo eye creams after hearing a lot of hype about them recently, particularly on YouTube and the whole blogging scene. I don't normally go for eye creams as I have so many powder shadows that work great, teamed with a bullet-proof primer of course! I have quite oily eye lids so I bought these with slight skepticism, thinking they might just crease and literally fall off my lids as some cream based shadows have done previously, yet I was really happy with this product. First of all, they glide onto the lids really smoothly, and can even act as a great base for shadow if you want to really layer colour on top. You can apply these with your finger quite simply, or use a spare concealer/ cream shadow brush as long as it is synthetic. These have really unique staying powder which is unusual for cream shadows; I didn't even need a primer with these which is great. They stayed on all night, literally until I decided to take it off. Super saturated colour with excellent pigmentation that will not fade. 

I went for the shadows 'On and on bronze' and 'Pink Gold'. I much prefer the bronze colour as brown shades are my absolute favorite for my eyes; I think they really make blue eyes pop. The pink however, is a much softer, more subtle every day shade which I'm sure will come in handy. You can pick these up for £4.99 each, so if you haven't tried these yet I seriously recommend them. It is such an easy, quick and effortless way to create a dramatic look, literally just one sweep across the lid and your eyes appear transformed. 

(above, 'On and on bronze', then 'Pink Gold'. Also check out the amazing first set of lashes- Eylure 'The Chelsea Look)

xxx

Gunmetal: New Eye Make-up Look

***

This is just a quick post to show my most recent make up look, once again for another 18th party. I was desperate to use my Urban Decay Naked palette which I've already used so much already; there is an absolute abundance of looks that be can be created with this palette (see my last post for review). I also know that a lot of you have it therefore this look will be really easy for you to recreate. I used the four colours that I was most excited to experiment with:

'Toasted'

'Hustle'

'Creep'

'Gunmetal'

First I began by using the lightest of the four colours, Toasted, and put this all across the lid, taking it quite high up. I always find that if your using a light colour, going quite far up with it is acceptable; not with a dark one though. Toasted also makes a great alternative highlighter as it is a light shimmery pink, perfect for accentuating your eyes. I then used some Hustle in the center of the lid to create more depth and structure to the eyes, followed by the contouring of my favorite colour- Gunmetal- in the crease, taking it quite far along the eye. I winged this out quite a bit and blended- a lot. It is much easier to blend with a clean eye shadow brush so always make sure you have one handy. You can get into quite a bit of a mess if you used one with shadow on. Once this is blended so there is no harsh, obvious lines, take the darkest colour, creep, and take this just into the crease. Then blend this into Gunmetal to really make your eyes stand out, also making them appear larger. The key to this look was false eye lashes, which have become a staple in my make-up kit for parties lately. They add instant evening glamour and really frame your eyes. I used my new favorites from Eylure's 65 celebratory year collection in The Chelsea Look. They are really full which I love yet they do not make your eyes look too heavy. To create a more natural look, use mascara to go over the false lashes, thus adhering your natural lashes to the false ones. 

I really like this look because I think the contrast of the more delicate pink of Toasted balances out the sharp and deep Gunmetal. As they are both also really shimmery, I think it works well in creating a pretty and glamorous look.  

Urban Decay Naked palette

I know this product has been reviewed to death but seen as I've only just jumped on the bandwagon I'm excited to reveal my thoughts on the cult product that everyone seems to have. Ever since I started blogging which was in November, I have heard an unbelievable amount about the Urban Decay NAKED palette, more than any other product on the blogging scene. This of course, means that surely it must be pretty special if everyone uses it and raves about it, prompting me to finally bite the bullet and invest in it. I have heard the Naked 2 palette is supposedly even better than this, however I thought I may as well start with the original first as this is the one that started the hype.

First of all, the packaging is pretty special as it comes in this gorgeous velvet case. It is an ideal size for carrying around, especially if you travel a lot which is understandably, why a lot of make-up artists class this as a must have for on the go. This palette comes with a shadow karma brush which is really soft and the ideal flat size for layering base colouring on the lids. The sizes of each of the 12 shadows are also ideal; they are large enough to get good use out of them but not too huge a size that you won't get through. 

As a lot of people can guess, given by my abundance of eye make-up posts, eye make-up is my favorite aspect of the face. I am particularly drawn to nude shades and deep browns, therefore this palette is perfect for me. I honestly believe that this is the only palette you will ever properly need; it contains all the basic every day shades, but also several more glamorous shades to give you the possibility to create a variation of different looks, you are not just confined to the same tones in shadow like some palettes. It is an extremely wearable palette that will give your look an extra glamour, yet you can still keep it fairly natural. The majority of the shadows are extremely shimmery which is ideal for me because I love this quality, yet if you don't like the shimmery look it may be a good idea to go with another palette. There are nonetheless, a few matte shadows here to give you the variation to mix it up a bit. As would be expected from Urban Decay, all these shadows are extremely pigmented with intense colour, and they stay on really well all night, although a lot of this is also thanks to a brilliant primer. 

The first half of this palette- 'Virgin' to 'Half Baked'- contains what I would class as the more wearable, neutral shades which are great for day to day wear, but are still looks that will take you through to evening wear.     

The first shade, 'Virgin' is the most beautiful highlighter ever as it is not just a solid white shade which is what I normally wear, it has specks of pale pink shimmer which catch the light and of course, highlight the brow bone and tear-duct. 'Half Baked' is the shad I've probably heard the most buzz about, it is a pale gold colour which is really shimmery but also extremely wearable. Great as acting as a base colour and then contouring the eye with the darker tones (see my previous post). 

These next set of shades- 'Smog' to 'Gunmetal'- are a lot more exciting in colour. These are all really shimmery but still manage to be super pigmented also, often a flaw in some shimmery eye shadows. I absolutely adore 'Gunmetal' because it is not just a block black, it is a really dark almost black navy with hints of silver. This makes it not as heavy, it is a lot more wearable and subtle; glamorous as opposed to dark and quite overpowering. I think this would be absolutely divine in the crease, with 'Hustle' or 'Toasted' underneath to create a different kind of smokey eye.

Overall I adore this palette and can't believe it took me so long to finally buy! From now on this will be a firm staple in my make-up kit as there are so many different looks I can envision already. I can at last see what all the hype is that circulated this product, despite the price tag of £36 which I thought was a little steep, I think this product is ultimately worth it. However I would say only buy it if you know that you will wear all/the vast majority of these shades. I brought this because I always wear browns and nudes, fairly neutral colours but also deeper darker tones. I'm not a huge fan of one-off block colour shades which you can only wear with certain outfits, whereas with this palette I know I will get a lot of use out of it as I adore all the colours. If you think that this palette is too extortionate, you should opt for the MUA 'Heaven and Earth' palette which I also have, and it is actually a pretty good dupe for this. It has a lot of similar nudes, yet not the darker tones yet another of their palettes include these. The colours are also great, yet the Urban Decay shadows do have better staying power I've noticed and are generally better quality, which is no surprise due to the hefty price. Altogether though, with the brush and 12 shadows included I think it is a pretty good investment, it is something that you will have for ages and you'll be surprised by the amount of looks that you can create with this palette alone. 

If you are one of many who have also tried this, what do you think of it?

Have you tried the Naked 2 palette?

xxx

Last Night's Make-Up

Last night I went to an 18th party and thought it would be a good opportunity to use my brand new Urban Decay Naked original palette. I had been lusting after this cult product for months but finally decided to 'invest' in it (review coming soon). I love this palette simply because it has all the shades that I  personally would ever need. I much prefer muted nude and brown tones as opposed to bright colours, all though of course they are always fun to try out too. 

I decided to use three of the colours which instantly stood out for me: 

'Half Baked'

'Smog'

'Dark Horse'

Over lashings of primer I applied 'Half Baked' across the entire lid, taking it quite high above the crease. I then took the colour 'Smog' and applied this through the crease, and winging out slightly. I then blended this thoroughly as to avoid any harsh lines, and then took the darkest shade of the three 'Dark Horse' to darken the crease further, thus creating more depth to the eye, thus making them appear slighting larger. I then blended 'Smog' and 'Dark Horse' together and took this under the eye slightly, making sure to join this with the slight winged out shadow from the crease. An almost sideways triangle is created but it is key to blend this so it fades out and is not as harsh. I blended all three colours seamlessly, and then took the shade 'Virgin' which is the lightest in the palette and thus makes the most beautiful highlighter ever. It is an off-white shade, with flecks of pale pink sparkle which really creates a strong highlight- perfect for the brown bone. I dusted this across the brow bone and then blended one last time so it faded into the darkest colour. I then added a slight bit of 'Virgin' across the tear-duct to open and enhance the eye. I then of course, applied a subtle stroke of my trusty Maybelline gel liner across the top lash line, layered on a thick coat of my Opulash Optimum Black Mascara by MAC, and then used some ultra-thick false lashes by Eylure to top of this look.

I know many of you have the Naked palette so would be interested to know if you love it as much as I do even after one use! I know there are so many looks that can be created with it which is really exciting!

xxx

The Body Shop Haul

Hey guys! So lately I went to The Body Shop and found they had an unbelievable sale, a great chance to pick up some bargains! I don't have nearly as much body products as I do make-up, so I was in desperate need of some pampering. 

First up, this dual pack of shower gel was a real steal at only £8 for two huge bottles of 750ml. They came in the scents Moringa, and olive. I gave one of these to my sister but I have been using the Moringa one this week and absolutely love it. It smells delicious, a really sweet honey smell but with a hint of exotic moringa leaf  extract. All The Body Shop products are really natural and Fair Trade which is a bonus, and the gel is soap-free which makes it really delicate on the skin. An all-round great bargain that makes your skin feel lovely and refreshed. 

My favourite products from The Body Shop have to be their luxurious body butters. I always have one of these in to treat myself, lately I have been using the duo one for dry skin. However when I saw this offer of FOUR amazing body butters for £19.20- that's less than a fiver for each one, when they would usually retail for £12 per one! I gave two away to family and kept the Raspberry one and the Almond one. The raspberry one is really creamy and rich, smells a bit like yogurt but good enough to eat! The almond one is my favourite as it smells exactly like it says- it reminds me of almond cake which is delicious! As always with The Body Shop, besides keeping your skin smelling sweet all day, they keep your skin moisturized for ages, I slather it on before bed and wake up with super soft skin. Great value and if you have never used on of their signature body butters, I would definitely check them out at some point!

Have you guys tried these Body Shop products, or anything else I would love?

xxx