Youtube#11 Bronzing Tutorial

Hey there!

I hope you've all had a great weekend? 
I've just filmed this quick little bronzing tutorial for you, I hope it helps you out, I know I certainly didn't do my bronzer this way before I became a make-up artist! Shameful. 
Anyway it's one of my favourite, quick tricks (and one of the easiest) to achieve a nice natural sun-kissed look. 
Let me know if you like it :) 

Youtube#10 Natural foundation tutorial

Hey there guys, hope you've all had great weekends? 
I can eat properly again now, so I'm very happy about that, I actually have a couple of restaurant reviews prepared for this week, so look out for those :)
I just thought I'd post up my latest video in case you miss it over on my Youtube channel, I hope you like it. I must admit, I did feel like a bit of an idiot filming myself in the mirror! Let me know if it helps any of you.

My Makeup: Purple Smokey Eye

When it comes it eyes a smokey look is one that I favour. I've never been one for dramatic cat liner and red lips, and recently I've been re embracing my Urban Decay Naked Palettes. Here I used the Naked Palette 2, which is their most recent release. In terms of preference I will admit that the Naked is my one of choice, purely for the range of matt and frosty eyeshadows whereas the Naked 2 contains more frosty shades. There were three shades I wanted to make use of, all of which were in the purpley plum tones, the colours weren't a million miles away from the shades I usually go for but out came the blending brushes to create a smokey eye!

I always start my smokey eyes with applying a primer, Mac Painterly Paint Pot being the usual one of choice for its colour correcting abilities as well as helping eyeshadow colours become more vibrant.

1. Packing on the shade YDK all over my lid staying below the crease

2. Taking a fluffy blending brush, Mac 217, with the shade Tease and applying that through my crease for some definition

3 & 4. With a clean blending brush I make sure there were no harsh lines by blending where the eyeshadow met my skin, using winds wiper motions

5. Using a Maxfactor brush dipped in Busted eyeshadow I applied that along the outer half of my eye, again making sure to stay below my crease

6. Followed by blending with a Mac 217 to make all the colours fade into each other

7. With the shade Bootycall on the Urban Decay brush that came with the palette I applied the colour along my brow bone to act as a highlighter

8. Then continued to do the same in my tear duct and inner corner

9. Using a pointed brush dipped in the shade Busted I ran the brush along my lower lash line for some definition

10. Using Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner in Blackberry I messily lined my eyes making sure to stay close to the lash line

11. Followed by blending the line with the same pointed brush and the shade Busted

Other products used:

Skin

- Estee Lauder Matte Perfecting Primer which has been my primer of choice recently, more to come soon!
- For foundation I've been reaching for YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation for it's illuminating properties and gel like texture
- I didn't want to add any blush, just a light sweep of Bare Minerals Bronzer in The Deep End


Which Naked palette do you prefer?

How To: Easy 'At Work' Hair Tutorial

When time is limited in the morning I've managed to get my routine of looking presentable down to around 10 minutes. Which is really short if you knew how long I normally take! I've got the makeup routine sorted, see here, as well as hair. This routine below usually takes me between 5 and 7 minutes and is super easy!

Using a new tool that I've been loving, the Enrapture Totem Styler, which is fancy wording for a curling wand, but expect a review soon - I'm loving it so far! Apparently you can create 27 styles with it, but here's how I achieve the one I've been doing in the morning for work!

1. Start by clipping my hair half up half down and pulling out the sorter front sections

2. Grabbing random medium sized sections (doesn't have to be neat!) and wrapping them round the curling iron making sure some curls are going away from my face (pictures 1 & 3) and some are going towards my face (pictures 2 & 4)

3. Repeat on the other side making sure to only curl the sections not in the clip

And that's it! That's all I've been doing to get my hair looking presentable for the office! The Enrapture Encode Totem Styler is amazing as it heats up really quickly and has temperature controls for each zone, I used the highest, 3-3-3. It's normally £79.00 but until mid August there's a 1/3 off Enrapture products making it a bargain at £49.99. Available here but like I said, stay tuned for more on it!

What's your usual hair routine?

My Makeup: Getting Patriotic With My Lips

Happy Jubilee Weekend! If you're in London at the moment you're aware that everyone, myself included, have gone a little Jubilee crazy. Everything from the outside of peoples houses to cars to t-shirts are all British themed! Last October I discovered Violent Lip Tattoos which are temporary lip stickers that last a good 4 hours minimum and look so cool! They aren't as pleasant to wear as the Clarins Natural Lip Perfector but like anything you get used to them and forget they are on after half an hour or so. 

For the Jubilee weekend I decided to go for the British Flag lip tattoos! Which I have to admit look really fun! Here's how I apply them 

You will need:

- A pair of scissors

- Cotton wool 

- Lip Tatoos

1. Carefully remove the lip tattoos from the outline

2. Press the lip tattoos up against your lip and measure the tattoo against your lip, starting at the cupids bow

3. Cut the tattoo along the lines that best match your lip

4. Peel the white plastic back off the lip tattoo

5. Opening your mouth press the violent lip against it again starting with the cupids bow

6. Wet a cotton pad, squeeze out any excess and dab the cotton pad onto the tattoo until the white paper can be easily removed

7. Set the lip tattoo by pressing the cotton pad onto your lips

There are sooo many Violent Lip Tatoos to choose from - full glitter, Kiss, Birthday Girl, polka dots and even sailor themed! For Halloween last year I actually based my outfit choice on Violent Lip tattoos! I chose Leopard Print and Queen Of Hearts      

Have you ever tried Violent Lips? What did you think?

My Makeup: Quick Smokey Eye With Constructivist Paint Pot

Whenever I don't have time to do a full on smokey eye before I go out I rely on my Mac Paint Pot in Constructivist - which I raved about fully here. I could never get rid of my paint pots, they are just the perfect base for eyeshadow, making them blend easier and last longer. This is just a really quick and easy way for an 'unkept' smokey eye look that I slap on when getting ready and time is limited!

1. With my finger I tap on some Mac Constructivist Paint Pot all over my lid making sure to stay below the crease

2. With a fluffy brush like the No7 Blend and Contour brush I sweep Mac Mulch Eyeshadow all over where I applied the paint pot to add to the colour

3. Using a different fluffy blending brush like the Mac 217 I blend the harsh edges out, in winds wiper motions, with a shade a couple of shades darker than my skin colour, Mac Cork eyeshadow 

4. Taking a pencil brush like the Mac 219 I apply some of the Mac Mulch eyeshadow under the eye

Continue to apply mascara and done with the eyes!

My Makeup: Everyday

When it comes to everyday makeup I don't normally have time to experiment and try new things, I want something that I know will last on my skin and doesn't take away too much from laying in bed! For eyes this consists of my two current favourite eyeshadows, Burberry Pale Barley - link to post *here*, and Burberry Midnight Brown - link to post *here*, as well as the other usual suspects, foundation, concealer etc. Here's how I do my eye makeup on a daily basis and the other products I use :)

 To ensure my eyeshadow lasts all day and doesn't crease I prep my lids with a light layer of Mac Paint Pot in Painterly - link to full post about it *here*

1. With a flat brush I pack Burberry Sheer eyeshadow in Pale Barley onto my lids, making sure to stay below the crease

2. Taking a big fluffy blending brush, such as a Mac 217, and the shade Midnight Brown and apply just in the crease to give some definition

3. Using my favourite highlighter pencil, Benefit High Brow Glow, *link*,  I line just below my brows to add a bit of shimmer and make my brows appear more lifted and my eyes more awake

4. With my Chanel Automatic Liquid Eyeliner in 20 Brown I line my upper lash line
5. Taking a small short brush like the Real Techniques Accent Brush and the Midnight Brown I lightly line the lower lash line. This will subtly make my lashes look thicker!
6. With my Pixi Bright Eye Liner I line the inner water line, this is the perfect shade of cream that will counteract any redness in the eye area...great for faking a couple hours of sleep!

Skin
- As a primer I use Shu Uemura Under Base Mousse *link* all over my face, this contains SPF 30 and UVA and UVB protection while also helping to keep makeup in place and skin matt
- Followed by Dior DiorSkin Nude Foundation, a simple mineral foundation and Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer under my eyes
- To warm up my cheeks a little I apply Mac Blush in Harmony paired with Dior Rosy Glow Awakening Blush *link*

Lips
- My latest favourite combination is the Dior Lip Glow *link* followed by Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in Lucky *link*

How To: Soft Beachy Waves

In this tutorial I will show you a step by step guide to getting the above look! A soft beachy wave – perfect for summer parties! It’s super easy takes about 10 – 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your hair!

You will need:

- – A very hot curling iron

- – A couple of hair clips

Start by applying your favorite heat protector to make sure you don’t damage your hair and brush through making sure there are no knots.

Divide your hair by your ears straight round your head and clip up the above section, like in the picture 1. Divide your hair in the back in half and bring it though onto your shoulders

Depending on how thick your hair is, start by taking a small section and wrap it round the curling iron. To make sure the curls look pretty and even, you want to wrap the hair away from your face. Let it sit for about 10-15 seconds and then let go

Continue to do this step in sections of equal parts making sure that as you wrap your hair round the iron you don’t let it twist. Also make sure to include your ends by tucking them in too!

In the section of hair above your ears repeat the above steps but making sure to start the curl at your ear level

After you’ve finished curling your whole hair take a wide tooth comb and brush through. Apply hairspray if you feel it’s necessary!

The curling iron I used in this tutorial was the Jose Eber 19mm!

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Grège 734

When I attended a recent event held by Dior at Selfridges - link - I had one question I needed answering. What eyeshadow palette was used on Natalie Portman for the DiorShow New Look Mascara Advert? Luckily I found my answer by a lovely lady working at Dior that evening! Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Grege 734. When it comes to eyeshadows Dior are in the top of my list of favourites in terms of colour choice, pigmentation and lasting power. Makeup Artist Lisa Eldridge actually mentioned in one of her videos that she had Dior eyeshadows tested in a lab and said they bind a bit longer than most eyeshadows! (see her video here) The neutral colours in this palette are very wearable and would suit all skin tones. In this tutorial I created a light smokey eye including all the shades in the palette (swatched below)

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Grège 734

I always start with priming my eyes with Mac Paint Pot in Painterly - link to post about it here

1. Using a Mac 239 brush I applied the light white shimmer shade all over the lid as a base colour

2. Using an Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush with the light brown shade, I defined my crease giving my eye some definition

3. With a clean Mac 217 brush I blended the two colours together, using windswiper motions, making sure the two colours faded into each other and there were no harsh lines

4. Taking the dark brown shade and a Mac 217 I swept the colour all over the outer half of my eye, bringing it up a little bit above the crease

5. Using a pointed brush with the tip dipped in the grey, I swept the brush in the crease for extra definition and dimention

6. Blend all colours together with a clean fluffy blush, here I used No7 Blend And Coutour Brush

7. With a pencil brush and the darkest brown shade line the lower lash line making sure to line really close to the lash line

8. Again using the Mac 239 and lightest white shade, highlight the inner corner of your eye opening them up

Other Products Used

 Skin

- Dior Diorskin Nude foundation for a natural semi-matt finish, followed by my Giorgio Armani Concealer set with Benefit Powderflage

- To bronze up my cheeks I used Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel

Eyes

- Dior Eyeshadow Palette in 734 Grege with a coat of my favourite lash primer, DiorShow Dior Lash Primer - link to post here, followed by L'Oreal Flase Lash Telescopic on my top lashes and Max Factor Masterpiece Max on my bottom lashes

Lips
- 17 Lipstick in Beehive followed by Giorgio Armani Lipgloss in 1

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Grège 734 is £40.00 and available from any Dior counters!

How To: Make Your Eyes Look Bigger With Makeup

Recently a reader emailed me with a question asking how to make their eyes look bigger with makeup so I thought I would do a 6 step by step post on how to!

You will need:

An Eyeliner

Some Eyelash Curlers

A flesh toned pencil

A light shimmery eyeshadow

An eyeshadow at least two shades darker than your skin colour

1. Line your eyes with an eyeliner making sure that the highest point of the line is above your pupil, this will make eyes appear more rounded

2. Curl your lashes & apply mascara. Big fluttery lashes give the appearance of big open eyes! My favourite lash curlers are the Shu Uemura ones - you can read my post about them here :)

3. Apply a flesh toned pencil to your waterline to open up your eyes. My favourite is the Pixi Eye Bright Liner as it's the perfect pinky flesh toned shade & is twist up so no need to stress about a sharpener!

4. Taking a pencil brush apply a light shimmer shade, such as Ploof by Mac, to the tear duct of your eye to highlight it. This will enhance your eyes and make them look more open. 

5. Carry on using that same shade along your lower lash line till just below your pupil

6. From where the light eyeshadow shade stopped, apply the darker eyeshadow along the rest of the lower lash line. Make sure they fade into each other by blending!