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

Magnetic Attraction

Let me begin this review by saying that the new Giorgio Armani Lip Magnets are on a different level to any lip product I've ever tried. The Lip Magnets have been inspired by two iconic Giorgio Armani products: Maestro Fusion Makeup and Lip Maestro velvet lipcolour.  

The Lip Magnets are described as a second-skin matte colour because their finish is four times thinner than that of your average liquid lipstick. Armani are proud to have created the first inverted emulsion in a lipstick. Water, pigment and fine oils are combined, the water gradually evaporates from the lips so that the oil and pigment fuse to give a highly concentrated lip colour that is long lasting, hydrating and comfortable on the lips. In other words, this is a very technologically advanced lip colour. 

I attended a press preview of some of the new Winter launches for Armani and when I first saw these I thought they were nail polishes. The packaging is actually inspired by fragrance vials, it's sleek and durable and I love that Armani uses red instead of the usual black or gold. The calligraphic applicator is another innovation, I was surprised at how the shape allows for such definition. International Face Designer for Armani Laura D'Ambrosio went through the products with us and she explained that the shape of the applicator negates the need to use a separate lip liner as you can achieve such precision with the diamond shaped wand. You can overdraw your lips and not worry about feathering so those liner lovers needn't worry.

I love that I can layer the product and it doesn't build up and crack, instead it dries down to a satin matte finish. I probably have about three layers in the photos below and it looks perfect. The scent is inoffensive so if you're sensitive to scented beauty products I can't see that being an issue. They are supposed to last up to 8 hours and I found that they really do last well even with eating and drinking it stayed in place. The great thing is that because the formula is so thin you can continue to reapply if there is a need to throughout the day. 

I was given the shade 403 Vibrato which is a deep brick red and the perfect Autumnal shade. It's not too dark so I think it would suit a variety of skin tones. It looks beautiful with a minimal face of make up but I really loved it how I wore it in these photos, pared with the shade Garnet from my LORAC PRO eyeshadow palette. I'm very excited to wear this lots throughout Autumn and Winter. I just need to decide which shade I want to get next.

There are 18 shades available in reds, pinks, plums, corals and nudes. They retail for €29 which I think is very reasonable considering the likes of Charlotte Tilbury and NARS are €30 and this lasted a lot longer than some of my Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks which usually require a lip liner to get the equivalent lasting time.

They are available from Brown Thomas instore and online. If you're in the market for a new lip colour I highly recommend taking a look at these in person. As a lipstick fanatic I can honestly say these are some of the best lip products I have ever tried in my life.

Have you tried anything from Giorgio Armani Beauty? What's your current favourite lip product.

Emma x