Blue Is The Warmest Colour

I'm no stranger to a blue eye makeup, see here, here, here, here and here. As you can see I've worn it time and time again in various shades and in various ways. The one shade I have yet to find is the perfect cornflower or powder blue, which I'm hoping Glossier Skywash shade Pool will be. I love how blue can look both modern and retro. The powdery blues of the sixties into the electric blues of the seventies and eighties. I'm well aware it's not to everyones taste, but I think whether done in a subtle way as a liner or an all out bright blue shadow like below, it's definitely an eye-catching statement and a bit of fun which is exactly what I want from my makeup sometimes. 

If you do an image search for blue eyeshadow looks, most of them are these elaborate cut crease looks with precise blending and liner and huge false eyelashes, but that's a bit too much for me so I wanted to create my own version with a bit of a nod to the sixties and seventies. I used three shades of blue from two different palettes, the BPerfect Carnival Palette and the new Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows Pastel Frost palette. I added the frosted blue from the Fenty palette on top of Sky from the Carnival palette because I wanted it to be vibrant but somewhat muted too. I added some elongated winged liner and individual lashes on the outer half of my eyes for some extra drama. 

As always with a statement eye look (and in general) I kept everything else looking minimal and fresh. My skin has been very dry lately and I don't know whether it's weather or pregnancy related so I've been using the Clarins Plant Gold oil emulsion to prep my skin after exfoliating, it's such a great product to use before makeup as it's a bi-phase liquid with the Clarins Blue Orchid oil and a melting emulsion which makes it hydrating and lightweight. I used the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer as it both adds hydration and helps foundation last longer. I then applied one of my absolute favourite base products, the IT Cosmetics CC Cream as it helps to colour correct and cover any redness. I wanted my skin to be as even toned as possible with this eye look, the CC Cream is full coverage but to me it doesn't look or feel like it. You can build it up if you want to cover more but I just use one pump all over my face and it covers what I want it to.

I used some cream bronzer and contour for dimension, something I find is definitely a necessity for me when I'm using a more full coverage base. I loved the idea of mixing blue and pink so I mixed Glossier Puff and Storm Cloud Paints on my cheeks and the Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face in Prism Rose on the high points of my face. I then finished the look with one of my favourite lip products, the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector. I've had many of these in various shades since they launched years ago, it's a product that I always have in my collection. They look, smell and feel amazing. It added just the right amount of shine and colour to my lips to not compete with the eyes and has that sixties feel I was going for. 

You could do the same look with any bright colour eyeshadow or a neutral if you're not into wearing bright colours on your eyes. I think the elongated liner transforms any eye look and I love how different it makes the shape of my eyes. I felt amazing wearing this makeup and isn't that the whole point of it!

Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer
*IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream (Fair)
*bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Yves Saint Laurent Beauty Touche Éclat (Rose Lumière)
*Clarins Glow 2 Go Blush and Highlighter (02 Golden Peach)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
Soapbrows Kit
Glossier Brow Flick (Brown)
*Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
*BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette (Sky, Recharge)
Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows 8 Pastel Frost (Muva's Boy)
*Glossier Pro Tip
Chanel Beauty Le Volume de Chanel Mascara
**Glossier Cloud Paint (Storm and Puff)
Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face (Prism Rose)
*IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Powder
*Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Pixi Glow Mist
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector (05 Candy Shimmer)
Ardell Individuals Knot-Free Naturals (Short and Medium)

Have you tried blue eyeshadow or would you?

Emma x



*PR Samples
**I bought Puff myself, 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.

Orange Crush

The other evening I got home from work and felt like playing with makeup, so using what I had already applied on my face at 7am that morning I added a few more elements and this is the result.

I used 'Lit' from the BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette, a shade I don't think I'd worn properly yet. I ended up with this soft winged graphic shape. I then added some Glossier clear lip gloss to balance out the bright matte eyeshadow. 

The rest of of face makeup had stayed in place quite well considering it had been on for about ten hours at this stage. The only thing I did was brush away some bits of mascara from under my eyes and brushed out my eyebrows. I think the staying power is all down to the beautiful Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and that I set everything with a little powder and the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. 

Sometimes I think only photographing my makeup for a blog post when I've just applied it is a bit misleading. Obviously it's going to look well when it's only just been applied but I was so impressed with how it looked after wearing it all day, I think it goes to show that prepping your skin well and using light layers and setting sprays does actually work. It doesn't always turn out that way, but I like to take note of the products I use when it does. 

Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen SPF 30
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (Shade 2)
bareMineral bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Power Duo (Brow Wiz and Dipbrow Gel in Medium Brown)
Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging
*BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette (Lit)
Marc Jacobs Beauty Velvet Noir Mascara
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
*Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Beam)
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (1 Fair)
*Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate (Platinum Rose)
*L'Oréal Paris Infaillible Magic Loose Powder
Glossier Lip Gloss

*Press Sample

This is definitely a love it or hate it look, what do you think?

Emma x

Truffle Shuffle

Last weekend I was sitting down to do my makeup and I couldn't decide what to do. I knew I wanted to wear these statement earrings I got in Mango a couple of months ago and I was inspired by the colour combination to try to match my makeup to the earrings. This look is definitely not going to be for everyone but I love how fun it is and I think keeping everything else pared back makes it a bit more "wearable", not that that's ever stopped me before!

I went back to my trusty BPerfect Cosmetics Carnival Palette and thought the shade Shuffle would work well as a match for the warm yellow/orange shade of the earrings. I've worn this eyeshadow a couple of times before and it's such an eye-catching, vibrant shade. I decided to try it with liner which I haven't done before and I think the contrast between the black liner and the bright yellow works really well. 

I wanted to leave the main focus on my eyes so I wore the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow on my lips. I love this gloss so much I recently bought one of the other shades, Fu$$y, which is more pink toned. Between this and the clear Glossier Lip Gloss, I've been completely converted back to glosses over the past couple of years, I especially love them paired with matte eyeshadows to add some dimension to my face. 

I've been playing around with the Soapbrows kit for the past week and a half and trying different combinations. I'm not crazy about how my brows turned out here, but I've since gotten the hang of using Soapbrows with a brow pencil. I just bought the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and I love how it looks so I'll take some photos of that for the blog soon. 

I've been doing the double highlighter technique a lot over the past few weeks and this time I tried it with the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter and Glossier Play Niteshine in Platinum Rose on top. I think you can see in the photos they give my skin a beautiful sheen. I used the Real Techniques Setting Brush to apply both, it's small and fluffy so it gives a soft, diffused look instead of  it being to concentrated, I find this works particularly well with the Niteshine as it's quite pigmented, but this way it's not as intense. I think this would be a great look for the Summer, I never thought I'd be so into bright eyeshadow but I've really been loving wearing colourful shades over the past year or so. 

Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen SPF 30
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (2 Fair Neutral)
Soapbrows Kit
Soap and Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil and Brush (Dark Chocolate)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging
*BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette (Truffle)
Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick (Amber)
*Glossier Cloud Paint Cream Blush (Storm and Beam)
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (Fair 1)
*Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate (Platinum Rose)
*L'Oréal Paris Infaillible Magic Loose Powder
Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer (Fenty Glow)

*Press Sample

Would you wear yellow eyeshadow? Have you tried any of these products?

Emma x

Independent Meow

Inspiration can come from the strangest places, this time it was from my niece's LOL toy, a colourful cat named Independent Meow. As soon as she proudly showed me her new toy I thought it would be fun to recreate the bright pink and black winged liner. Although I sent a photo of the look to my sister to show my niece thinking she would be very impressed but she just criticised it by telling me I forgot the blue glitter, my head wasn't white (although I disagree with that one) and I didn't have brown under my eyes.

Despite the harsh criticism of a four year old, I really loved how this turned out and it's reminded me to continue to look for inspiration everywhere. Obviously the pink eyeshadow is quite bright so I pared it with one of my favourite neutral lipsticks, Clinique Nude Pop and kept my skin fresh with the Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation. You can read my full review of it here. 

Rituals Sun Protection Face Cream SPF50
Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation (101 Linen)
bareMinerals bareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer (Fair)
L'Oréal Paris Unbelieva'brow Long-Lasting Brow Gel (Dark Brunette)
Keyvn Aucoin The Eyelash Curler
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging
Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
BPerfect Cosmetics Stacey Marie Carnival Palette (Funki)
Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara
Clarins Glow 2 Go Blush & Highlighter Duo Stick (Golden Peach)
Canmake Cream Cheek (07 Coral Orange)
Glossier Haloscope Face Highlighter (Moonstone)
Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder 
NYX Professional Makeup Suede Matte Lip Liner (Lavender & Lace)
Clinique Pop Lip Colour and Primer (Nude Pop)

What do you think? Would you look for makeup inspiration in the toy box?

Emma x