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

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

Face Of The Day- Lady Danger

The other day I went into Arnotts to get another MAC Prep + Prime Lip because I haven't had one for a while and I was really missing it. I had been saving up some empties for Back to MAC so I got Lady Danger lipstick which I've never owned before but have wanted to try for years. 

I tried it the next day with very minimal makeup and loved it immediately. It's the perfect yellow based red that I've been wanting for Summer. I had more time today to play around with my makeup so I went a bit crazy and paired it with some gold eyeshadow from the Lorac Pro palette. I thought it was a bit much at first, but I kept the skin and brows quite simple so it wasn't too overpowering. There's something completely clashing about the gold and red combination but because they both have warm tones it somehow works (hopefully!)

I went to an event for the brand Artistry last week, I had heard of them but didn't know much about their products and had never tried any myself. I got chatting to one of the Artistry ladies and she very kindly ended up giving my their Ideal Radiance Illuminating CC Cream to take home with me. I was so excited to try it out as I always love to discover new brands. I used this for the first time yesterday and I was hugely impressed with how my skin looked. It blended out easily and gave my skin a subtle luminosity. It has broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and SPF 50 so it's perfect for trying at this time of year. I want to write a full review of this and compare it to the IT Cosmetics CC Cream which I'm also trying out at the moment so keep an eye out for that.

I curled my lashes with the Eyeko Lash Curler before starting my eye makeup. I used Glossier Boy Brow on my brows (you can read my full review here). Then I applied some Urban Decay Primer Potion and the Gold shade from the Lorac Pro palette. I blended it out and added some of the matte brown shade Taupe under my eyes with a little bit of Gold blended in too. I love this palette a lot, it's got a great selection of shades and the pigmentation, especially in the satin shades is amazing. I applied a thin line of Kat Von D Tattoo Liner and my current favourite lash combination Lancôme Cils Booster XL and L'Oréal Miss Baby Roll mascara (which you can read about in more detail here). 

I blended some Glossier Stretch Concealer under my eyes with a Real Techniques Mini Eraser Sponge. This was only me second time using it so I want to give it more time before I write a more in-depth review. To finish my face makeup I used the Collection Precision Contouring stick in Light which I've been loving recently. It's a great shade for fair skin and it's hard to overdo it because it's not too pigmented but is creamy and easy to blend so it looks quite natural. I added a small amount of the Bourjois Aqua Blush in CocoriCorail which is one of my all time favourite liquid blushes and if you don't have one do yourself a favour and get one, they're so amazing, especially during the Summer (see them in action here). 

I finished my skin with the No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter which I love for adding a quick glow to the tops of my cheeks, down the centre of my nose and on my cupids bow. It's subtle and blends easily so it's a great one for the Summer when you want a quick glow to your skin.

To finish I used my new MAC Prep + Prime lip and let it sink in for a minute before applying Lady Danger. I didn't use a lip liner because I didn't want the lips to look too overdone. This lipstick totally lives up to my expectations. It's matte so it lasts really well and doesn't feather but it definitely benefits from using the lip primer first otherwise it could feel quite drying. I think I'm going to be wearing it a lot in the Summer with just CC Cream and lots of mascara. 

To completely finish off the look I lined my lower waterline with my KIKO Glamorous Eye Pencil in 401 which is a gorgeous bronze shade (and now seems to be discontinued) but I love how it looks against my green eyes. This is a lot more makeup than I would usually wear on a daily basis but I love playing around with different colour combinations at the weekend when I have a bit more time.

What do you think of this look? Have you tried any of these products?

Emma x