Bad Blood

Last weekend before we were self-isolating and before I spent the week sick in bed I created this look  that was inspired by something a bit unusual. I've said here before many times that inspiration can come from anywhere and last Saturday I was inspired to use shades based on the colour of blood, both wet and dry (this is down to a couple of nose bleeds I had during the week).  I understand that it seems gross but I thought the colours were both different and complimentary and I wanted to create a look that included both. 

If you image search the colour of dried blood you'll understand, it's like an earthy, reddish brown. I had a look at my palettes to find similar shades for my eyes and I came up with the Urban Decay shade 'Punk' and the Anastasia Beverly Hills shade 'Red Ochre'. I used both of these on my lids and under my eyes in a more circular shape and just used mascara to define my eyes for more of an imperfect, grungy feel. I tried it with two different lip pairings- a pink/nude gloss, Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in the shade Fussy and then a more bold blood red, Urban Decay Rock Steady Vice Lipstick.

I wore a medium coverage foundation, Bite Beauty Changemaker, as I wanted to cover any redness in my skin since I knew I'd be wearing reddish tones on my eyes and my lips. This foundation evened out my skin and gave coverage without being too full on. I used a more neutral colour blush, Glossier Dusk, with a slight amount of Storm mixed in to again avoid my cheeks looking too pink or red. I finished my skin with the Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face as there is very little pigment, it's more about texture and brings the skin to life if your base happens to look too dry or flat. 

I really love how both versions of this look turned out and I hope no one was too grossed out by my inspiration. Which version do you prefer?

*Glossier Futuredew Oil Serum Hybrid
Bite Beauty Changemaker Supercharged Micellar Foundation (L15)
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer (Baked)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer (Light/Fair)
Soapbrows
Glossier Brow Flick (Brown)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
*Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette (Skimp and Punk. This palette is sold out but Punk is in the Born to Run palette too
Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (Red Ochre)
Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara
**Glossier Cloud Paint (Dusk and Storm)
Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face (Prism Rose)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Powder
*Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Pixi Glow Mist
NYX Professional Makeup Suede Matte Lip Liner (Lavender & Lace)
Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer (Fu$$y)
*Urban Decay Vice Lipstick (Rock Steady, this shade seems to be discontinued by the UD shade Gash is quite similar).

*PR Samples
** I bought Dusk, Storm is a PR sample

***Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.

Ice Cream Kisses

If you follow me on social media you'll know I'm a huge fan of makeup artist Jo Baker. I'm constantly inspired by her work and how she merges red carpet with editorial to create the most unique and beautiful makeup looks for her clients. I'm especially enamoured by her work with actress Lucy Boynton. Obviously Lucy is stunning but I love how the makeup seems to suit her style so much, it doesn't take away from her outfits or overpower her delicate features. It's so refreshing to see such different red carpet makeup and I always look forward to seeing her posts on Instagram and the inspiration behind each look. 

One of the recent looks that blew me away was at the Vanity Fair Oscar party where Lucy wore a pastel Miu Miu dress and the makeup was incredible. You can see it here. It was quite simple but went perfectly with the overall look and I immediately wanted to try my hand at recreating it. Jo used a lot of Chanel Beauty products and the glitter under the eyes was Lemonhead LA Violet Hour Spacepaste. I didn't have this one but I did have Mulholland which is a rose gold. On my eyelids and on the lower lash line I applied a mixture of two shades from the Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows Pastel Frost palette, a pink called Ice Cream Kisses and a Lavender called Lady Pimp. I then added a touch of the Bodyography Glitter Pigments in the shades Eclipse and Halo just in the centre of my eyelid. 

I used the Glossier silicone detailer brush to apply the Spacepaste under my lower lashes. I brought it down lower than I usually would with eyeshadow but I think it works because you can really see the glitter and it makes it into more of a feature. I applied a couple of coats of Le Volume de Chanel mascara, I definitely don't have Lucy Boynton's amazing lashes but this mascara gives me lots of volume although not as much length as I'd like. 

My friend very kindly picked me up the new Bite Beauty Changemaker Foundation when she was in New York. I've only tried it a couple of times but so far I love the finish, I think I just need to figure out what way to best prep my skin before using it. I've also been using the Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face since I got in the The Loop Duty Free on the way to Paris. It's such a gorgeous multi-use product. I've tried it under foundation and on the high points of the face which is how I used it for this look. It really does give that glass skin look without much pigment. It does have some micro glitter in it but that doesn't bother me.

On my lips I wanted something with a light pink hint to it that wouldn't wash me out so I used the Bellàpierre Cosmetics mineral lipstick in the shade Catwalk and a little bit of my beloved Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector on top. I recently repurchased my favourite Glossier Cloud Paint shade Puff which is a light pink that works really well for this tonal look. 

Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face (Prism Rose)
Bite Beauty Changemaker Supercharged Micellar Foundation (L15)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat (Rose Lumière)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
Glossier Brow Flick (Brown)
Glossier Boy Brow (Brown)
*Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows (8 Pastel Frost, Ice Cream Kisses and Lady Pimp)
Bodyography Glitter Pigments (Halo and Eclipse)
Lemonhead LA Spacepaste Glitter (Mulholland)
Chanel Beauty Le Volume de Chanel Mascara
Glossier Cloud Paint (Puff)
Bellápierre Cosmetics Mineral Lipstick (Catwalk)
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector (05 Candy Shimmer)

What do you think of this look? Would you wear it?

Emma x

*PR Samples
**Glossier products are affiliate links, if you choose to shop via those links I will receive a small percentage of the sale but it won't cost you anything extra.

I Can See Your Halo

A couple of weeks ago I saw this look by makeup artist Isabel Y Rosado and straight away saved it knowing I wanted to try recreate it. I loved the simplicity, yet it's still quite a statement. I also love the combination of a pale silver shimmer with a peachy nude lip colour, there's something a little bit retro about it to me. 

After applying the Clarins Skin Illusion foundation, I used the bronzer end of the Clarins Duo Stick to give a bit more of a Summer glow. The main component of this look is the Bodyography Glitter Pigment in the shade Halo. I find these pigments work best applied with your fingers as it gives the most colour impact. Sometimes I use a more dense synthetic brush just to blend the edges a little. I then applied lots of the Hourglass Caution mascara which is my new favourite mascara, however I don't know that I'd repurchase it for €30, I've tried mascaras that are just as good for half that price. 

I used my new favourite brow technique which is taking either Glossier Boy Brow or Soapbrows and brushing up my brows and then adding in some extra faux hairs with Glossier Brow Flick only where needed. That way they look natural and full but not too done which is my preferred brow look. 

I wanted my cheeks and lips to match as much as possible so I mixed a little of Puff Cloud Paint in with Dusk just to keep the shade neutral with a hint of pink. I did the same kind of thing on my lips mixing Bite Beauty Meringue in with Charlotte Tilbury Bitch Perfect, I didn't want the colour to be too opaque so I applied a little of each over well moisturised lips and patted it in. 

I wanted the highlighter to mirror the rest of the look so I used Moonstone Haloscope which is a more cool toned shade and then a little Platinum Rose Niteshine over the top just to get that hint of warmth in there too. 

I really love how this whole look turned out, I definitely could have done more of the pigment on my lids but this is a more pared back version of Isabels look which also had a bit of a gloss finish on the lips too. I think this eye look would look amazing with liner and with a darker lip colour too. I'm looking forward to playing around with it some more. 

SkinCeuticals Mineral Radiance UV Defense SPF 50 (Universal Tint)

Pixi Beauty Glow Mist

*Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation (101 Linen)

bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (01 Fair)

*Clarins Glow 2 Go Blush and Highlighter Duo Stick (Golden Peach 02)

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)

Soapbrows

Glossier Boy Brow (Brown)

Glossier Brow Flick (Brown)

Bodyography Glitter Pigment (Halo)

Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler

Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara

Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Puff and Dusk)

Glossier Haloscope Face Highlighter (Moonstone)

*Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate (Platinum Rose)

*L'Oréal Paris Infallible Magic Loose Powder

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick (Meringue)

Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick (Bitch Perfect)

*Press Sample

What do you think? Do you like cool toned eye looks?

Emma x

Total Eclipse of the Halo

Anyone who follows makeup artist extraordinaire Katie Jane Hughes will have most definitely heard of the brand Bodyography, more specifically their famous Glitter Pigments. Some time last year I happened upon them in Sally Beauty in Dublin and vowed to go back and get some at some point. Then last week I went in to stock up on hair products and saw that the Glitter Pigments were on half price clearance, so I went a bit mad and bought six of them (I did give one to my sister though). I looked up swatches in the store and settled on Eclipse (a burgundy/pink), Halo (a silver diamond), Stellar (a rose-gold copper), Caviar (a smoky brown) and Bubbly (a yellow gold).

I tried out Eclipse first and applied it with my finger, which is the recommended way to use it as it gives the most payoff. I saw KJH using Halo in the centre of her lid so I tried that and I love how it looked. I decided to keep the rest of my makeup quite tonal again and used a mixture of Glossier Cloud Paint in Haze and Beam to create a pink shade for my cheeks and then a concoction of three lipsticks, Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk, Bite Beauty Meringue and Revlon Rise Up Rose. That day I actually went and bought Charlotte Tilbury Lost Cherry lipstick, I asked the sales assistant if I could try it on first and I really loved how it looked with the eye makeup, so I wore the exact same makeup the following day with my new Lost Cherry lipstick. 

I was recently sent a press sample of the bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation and the matching Luxe Performance Brush (and a back up of my favourite bareSkin Serum Concealer. I've never tried a foundation from bareMinerals before but I've heard great things so I was really looking forward to trying this. I've tried it a few times so far and despite it being a full coverage, matte finish foundation I'm actually surprised by how much I like it on. I don't need to use powder and I find it looks better after it's been on for a while. I'll do a more in depth review with before and after photos once I've been using it for a bit longer. Has anyone tried it?

Also if anyone is looking for a good waterproof mascara, I can highly recommend the L'Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Waterproof mascara. I was probably the least fun I've ever had shopping for makeup as I bought it to wear to me granny's funeral, but honestly it didn't budge and I really put it through it's paces! It's a bitch to remove but if you like a waterproof mascara, this looks amazing and doesn't move. It's a weird recommendation I know, but I thought someone might find it useful as I bought it in a bit of a haze.


*bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation (Fair)
bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
*Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage Concealer (010 Beige Porcelaine)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer (Light)
*IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil
Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascara (02 Browny Brows)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging
Bodyography Glitter Pigments (Eclipse and Halo)
Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
NYX Professional Makeup Epic Ink Liner
L'Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic Waterproof Mascara
*Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Haze and Beam)
Glossier Haloscope Face Highlighter (Moonstone)
Kat Von D Beauty 'Lock-It' Translucent Setting Powder
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick (Lost Cherry)
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat (Pillow Talk)
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick (Pillow Talk)
BITE Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick (Meringue)
Revlon Superlustrous Matte Lipstick (Rise Up Rose)

*Press Sample

Emma x

Purple Haze

Last week when I was doing my makeup I wanted to wear a colour I hadn't worn in a while. Wasted, a matte purple from the BPerfect Cosmetics Carnival Palette was calling to me as I hadn't actually tried it yet. The look was inspired by this one from Viola of Killer Colours and this one by Celine Bernaerts. I liked the idea of taking just one vivid matte shade and blending it out and that's the basis for the whole look. It looked great on it's own but I decided to take inspiration from Celine's look and add black liner for more of a contrast. You could definitely add a bigger wing and lashes for more drama or pare it back and just wear the purple on it's own with lots of mascara. That's what I love about bright colour, you could do this kind of look with literally any bright matte eyeshadow and it would look amazing. I definitely want to try it with yellow or the same cornflower blue that Celine used.

I then added some of the Clarins cream bronzer stick to warm up my skin a bit and I reconnected with an old friend, the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid Highlighter in Moonstone which I bought in the travel size about a year and a half ago in Sephora but haven't used in ages. I've seen Makeup Artist Nikki Wolff using it on her Instagram quite a bit as she's a brand ambassador for Becca. I applied it on the high points of my face using the Real Techniques Setting Brush and it gives such a gorgeous luminous sheen to my skin. I definitely want to get the full size but I think I might try the shade Pearl which is a bit better suited to fair skin tones. Instead of using a setting powder I very lightly dusted the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light over my face. 

I kept my cheeks and lips in a more peachy tone. I used the Peach shade from the Clarins duo stick on my cheeks and mixed two lipsticks to get the shade I wanted for my lips. I also want to give a mention to the Lancôme Teint Idole Foundation Stick which I actually prefer to the liquid version. It's so handy, you can just apply it directly onto your face wherever you need coverage and it's such a  creamy formula, it blends out so easily. It's a great option if you do your makeup on the go or if you need to do it quite quickly. I also needed three concealers as my dark circles were more pronounced than usual and I had a few blemishes. 

*Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Oil-Free Foundation Stick (010 Beige Porcelaine)
*Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Camouflage High Coverage Concealer (010 Beige Porcelaine)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer (Light)
bareMineral bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
*Billion Dollar Brows Brow Powder (Taupe) (Review Here)
Glossier Boy Brow (Brown) (Review Here)
*Clarins Glow 2 Go Duo Stick (Golden Peach) (Review Here)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Anti-Aging)
Sephora Collection 12hr Colorful Contour Eyeliner (02 Clubbing Stilettos)
NYX Professional Makeup Epic Ink Liner (Black)
*BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette 
Marc Jacobs Beauty Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid Highlighter (Moonstone)
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Travel Size (Dim Light)
Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick (Bitch Perfect) (Review Here)
Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick (Meringue) (Review Here)

*Press Sample


What do you think of bright colours like this? Would you wear purple eyeshadow?


Emma x

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipsticks

This is my first review of the products I bought in Sephora when I was in New York. I didn't actually buy a lot in Sephora, after my splurge in the Glossier Showroom (read about my experience here) I just went with a select few products that I had wanted to try for a long time and aren't available to buy in Ireland. 

Bite Beauty is a Toronto based company founded in 2011 by Susanne Langmuir that solely creates lip products. The products are cruelty free, all natural, made with food grade ingredients and are apparently edible (although I haven't nibbled on either of my lipsticks just yet).

I had heard about Bite Beauty throughout the years from various bloggers and Youtubers and it caught my interest being a brand that focus on just creating lip products. The Bite products include lipsticks, liners, a primer, glosses, scrubs, a mask and lip wipes. I had originally wanted to go to the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in Soho to create my own lipstick shade, I even went in when we were on our way to get lunch to ask about it but they had no spaces that day so I researched it a bit more that evening. I read a lot of reviews and they were so mixed that it put me off. I didn't want to risk spending the money on something that didn't have glowing reviews so I opted to check out the collection in Sephora instead. 

When I visited Sephora I knew I wanted to buy something from Bite, I browsed the miniatures section at the checkout first and spotted The Perfect Pair Amuse Bouche Lipstick Sets both of which included two shades of mini lipsticks for $15. One of the sets had the shades Rhubarb and Thistle, the other which is the one I ended up getting contains Fig and Meringue. I went for that set because I wasn't mad about the shade Thistle in the other set. I wanted to buy the Agave Lip Scrub and maybe a full size lipstick but I thought it would be better to go for some miniatures because it's a good way to try out a brand without spending too much money. The 2 mini lipsticks are 1.55g of product each, the full size Amuse Bouche lipsticks are 4.35g for $26, so it's good value and I played it safe with shades I knew I would wear a lot. 

Fig


L-R Fig, Meringue

Meringue

There are 34 shades in the Amuse Bouche collection. They're made from 12 edible oils to keep your lips hydrated and nourished and triple milled pigments with added nutrients, vitamins and omega oils in a citrus scent from fresh pressed fruit. Fig is a rose toned nude and Meringue is a peach toned nude, both of which are very wearable and flattering shades.

When I first tried them I was so impressed with the pigmentation and texture, they're so easy to apply and feel creamy and hydrating. I actually really like the scent, it's citrusy but not overpowering at all. Despite the formula being "edible" I wouldn't be licking it off my lips, but it's good to know I'm putting quality ingredients on my lips that actually give nourishment as well as excellent colour payoff. I'd love to try one of the brighter shades to see what the pigmentation is like. I also love the packaging which is a bit different than the usual lipstick packaging. It has a matte finish in a charcoal grey and the little bite taken out of the lid is a cute detail.

Part of me wishes I'd gone to the Lip Lab, it seems like such a unique experience, you get to choose your custom shade, finish and scent which is a lipstick lovers dream. It's $150 for 2 lipsticks of your signature shade or $55 if you just want to choose from the Bite shade library and then choose your finish and scent.

Bite Beauty is exclusively available at Sephora which means it's difficult for us Europeans to get hold of, but I was informed by fellow Irish blogger Siobhan from BeautyLymin of a service called My Mall Box that allows you to shop online with US websites, consolidate your orders and they have them shipped over to Ireland. I feel like I'll definitely be using the service in the near future after discovering so many great brands in New York.

Has anyone else tried Bite Beauty? What do you think about the Lip Lab experience, would you try it?

Emma x