Top Five Eye Makeup Brushes: MAC, RealTechniques, Sonia Kashuk...

 Top to Bottom:

RealTechniques Detailer Brush

N7 Eye Colour Brush

MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush 

Sonia Kashuk Large Crease Brush 

Bare Escentuals Heavenly Eyeshadow Buffing Brush

Hey Beauts! Having recently written about top five face makeup brushes that I use in my daily makeup routine I decided to also share my top five essential eye makeup brushes! RealTechniques Detailer Brush I use as an under eye concealer brush with Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, this concealer is thick and has a waxy texture which I find is best picked up by and applied with this brush as the bristles aren't too soft and keep a good shape.  N7 Eye Colour Brush is great for eyeshadows that have cream or mousse textures, the bristles are synthetic and very hard so they are great for layering and building up the product.

MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush is a new addition to my makeup brush collection. I have no idea how I could've possible managed without it before. It lays eyeshadow onto the lid in such a beautiful way, also great for taking it underneath the lower lash line for a smudged look. My Sonia Kashuk Large Crease Brush is pretty old, the packaging has been updated since - the handle looks a little different now but the brush is still the same. It's a great brush for taking the eyeshadow into the socket, perfect density and rounded shape. Bare Escentuals Heavenly Eyeshadow Buffing Brush is amazing for blending the edges, it has a straight cut of the bristles which makes it act as an eraser in a way.

LOVE

On Trend Beach Beauty Look: Bright Eyeliner!

Nails: Nails Inc. in Kensington Palace Gardens, from the SS13 Collection. 

I have also reviewed the entire collection, so if you want to see the other five shades click here!

Apart from BB Cream and lipgloss I don't wear much make-up to the beach but when I'm in the mood for something a little more fun I like to pull out a bright eyeliner, which is one of the major beauty trends this summer and probably one of the easiest as well. Bright eyeliners can look really modern and chic if you keep the rest pretty simple and fresh! When I went to the Stila event a few months ago I really loved the double eyeliner look, the make-up artist applied the bright teal shade to a bare lid above the classic black, which was super original and inspiring.

To create this look I have firstly applied a thick line [keep in mind that half of it will be covered by black] with N7 Stay Precise Liquid Liner in Mermaid, which is a very bright shimmery teal, really beautiful shade! Then over the top I applied a black eyeliner as normal making sure it follows the same shape as the bright liner. For the black I went for Bourjois Liner Clubbing in Absolute Black, which dries matte and I really love the saturated intense matte black contrasting the bright shimmery teal! For the lip I kept it very natural with the new Bobbi Brown Tube Tint in Air Kiss. 

I have done a full review on the Bobbi Brown Tube Tints with swatches of all four shades available, click here to check it out! And for the hair, to create this beachy wave all I do is the day I wash my hair I make a messy bun with one of those flat looking hairbands [I got mine at H&M] and sleep on it, in the morning I wake up to a fun looking curl which later relaxes into a pretty wave, and no need for any extra heat and curling tools! 

LOVE

Bright Peachy Pink Lip & Glam Winged Eye Look...

In the past week or two I found myself predominantly wearing this look - a bright lip combined with a winged eyeliner... I find when I am at my palest during winter my face looks pretty tiered unless I infuse it with a bright lip colour... This N7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in Tangerine Touch is gorgeousness in a bullet... It's a warm toned peachy pink... I think I picked it up during summer or just before but I'm pretty sure it was from the permanent line...  Tangerine Touch is so bright that it almost glows, yet it is wearable and pretty flattering too! Funny that, as I found it a little over-powering to wear during summer, but now I am absolutely adoring it... It's super pigmented and feels good even on my semi-dry winter lips...

I also found this little MAC Paints cream eyeshadow tube in Sublime Nature at the bottom of one of my make-up drawers, which was one of my first purchases at MAC few years ago! It's a nude satin shade, great as a base... Over the top I have been enjoying bareMinerals Eyecolour in Nude Beach... It almost feels retro now, but I must admit I still love a few shades of their original loose mineral eyeshadows that I like to go back to once in a while... Nude Beach is a beautiful glittery silvery nude with multicoloured shimmers, very glam indeed!

My most preferred way to wear bareMinerals original eyeshadows is simply with a classic winged eyeliner... Ever since that chic strong eyeliner Keira Knightley wore to Anna Karenina LA Premier I have been drawing mine quite thick, I'm sure it's just a phase... To see the look click here! This Chanel La Ligne in 10 Noir Lame is also something I have purchased back in the summer and only now really got into it... It's not very long lasting, especially if you are someone who likes to crack up so hard that you end up crying in the end, it does run, but I just love how pigmented and easy to apply it is... So here it is, this is pretty much what I wore before Christmas, during and after...

LOVE

Holiday Inspired Look...

It seems ludicrous to publish pics from summer where I still had a bit of colour going, from that one day of sunshine we had here in glorious London... But somehow I kept forgetting to do this blog post and now we are in the middle of drizzly autumn, while I'm wearing a linen dress with a headscarf in the pics, hey-ho! But maybe there are some of you lucky ones out there somewhere in hot countries or those from drizzly countries that are planning a holiday which involves heat and sunshine, that may find this look inspirational... Let me know if you do! And the rest of us shall reminisce about the few pretty sunny days we had this summer...

Back then, I have created a bronzy eye which I actually tend to wear a lot during summer... As a base I used MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist to make the bronze eyeshadow from the N7 Limited Edition Palette look slightly more deeper... I got this palette couple of summers ago and haven't used it much, but the eyeshadows are right on trend now so I gave it a good use this summer... I think I also used Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner to create that 50s flick, the rest I kept pretty nude... On lips I used the YSL Golden Gloss in 54, which came out with that Swimming Pool Summer 2012 Collection... And as of foundation, of course I used my favourite summer foundation of all time, the Shiseido Sun Protection SPF 30 Liquid Foundation in SP50, which is perfect for oily/combo skin as it always stays put! 

LOVE

Plum Fall 2012 Beauty Trend...

from the top: 

N7 Eyeshadow Palette 

[it was a limited edition gift with a purchase around Christmas time couple of years ago],

MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork,

YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown,

YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble,

Guerlain Terracotta Light in Sun Brunettes

swatches from the top:

YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble [a beautiful plum with multi coloured glitter],

YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown [a reddish brown],

MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork [a satin soft brown],

N7 Eyeshadow Palette [satin plum and taupe]

I decided to go for one-tonal make-up, creating a warm fall trend inspired look... Plummy shades are flattering both on brunettes and blondes... It's a nice way to use colour on your face but still keeping it within the natural colour scheme... For a flush of plum on the lips I used the YSL Golden Gloss in Golden Pebble from the Summer 2012 Collection... I kept it light-handed as I didn't want to cancel out the strong plum eye make-up... 

For the eyes I found this N7 palette I had for ages... Even though it came free with a purchase the texture of the eyeshadows is beautifully velvet with a satin finish... I find brown and plum eyeshadows come out best on MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork... I have stayed away from a black eyeliner for a change to keep it all warm... The YSL Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Amber Brown beautifully brings out the blue in blue eyes as it had a hue of red in it... And to warm up my complexion I used Guerlain Terracotta Light in Sun Brunettes, which has been my most used bronzer for the past few weeks...

LOVE

Summer Retro Bright Lip...

This is a bright lip summer make-up look I came up with, inspired by a retro thick cat-eyeliner... For lips I chose the Kate Moss for Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in a pretty peachy pink colour [#16]... This summer I have discovered a lot of things make-up-wise I never wore before, including bright lips... Check out my blog post on bright lipsticks I have been loving this summer... I realised when you put minimal colour on the eyelid it will not clash with a bright lip! Before I always found that bright lips made my eyes appear smaller and made me look altogether weird, but if you choose the right eye make-up to go with the bright lip it all can actually be pretty flattering... Here I went for minimum eye shadow, using MAC Paint Pot in Nubile and a light touch of MAC Wedge Eyeshadow in the crease, along with Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara and N7 Amazing Eyes Liner, both in black... And here we are... Hello darling Ginger Rogers!

LOVE

Summer Bright Lipsticks...

Wearing N7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in Tangerine Touch...

from left to right:

N7 Stay Perfect Tangerine Touch

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine En Vogue

Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss 16

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Stormy Pink

Topshop Rio Rio

Here are five lipsticks I picked for this summer that I think are fabulous! I tried to stay away from the lipsticks that I already have featured eventhough I really love them... The only lipstick I did include is the Topshop Rio Rio, as I have been wearing it with my bright coral sweater, it just pops like no other red... Anyways first lipstick N7 Tangerine Touch is the one I am also wearing in the pics, a beautiful coral, which is quite buildable, you can keep it light or go full on, very uplifting colour! Next I chose Chanel En Vogue it's from the current summer collection... This lipstick I'd recommend for someone who would like to try a bit of colour this summer yet doesn't like too bright lipsticks, as you can see on the swatch it's sheer... A really moisturising light lipstick with subtle gold shimmer running through, and feels like lip balm... Third colour Rimmel by Kate Moss in #16 is a wearable bright peach, and it smells heavenly, it smells of watermelon! 

As most of the colours I chose are gravitating towards warm coral/peach shades, I decided to include a blue toned pink, it is always a colour worth having in your collection as it brings a fresh touch to your face regardless how tiered you are, this particular colour is very flattering even though I generally stay away from pink lipsticks... And finally the colour I have already mentioned, Topshop Rio Rio beautiful, but daring, with this lipstick you'll get a lot of attention! All the colours I chose are incredibly flattering, and except for Chanel they all are drugstore prices... It's just that mostly when we wear bright lips during summer a lot of lipsticks can melt or break so I think if you want to throw them in your beach bag and run off to the sandy beach, enjoying the sun, the last thing you want to do is to worry about your lipstick... For more tips on how to wear bright lips check out my blog post on Estee Lauder Coral Fantasy, a stunning coral!

LOVE