Festive Beauty Look: NARS Guy Bourdin Collection!

 Blush: Coeur Battant; Eyeshadow: Cambodia; Lipstick: Full Frontal; Nailpolish: No Limits

All from NARS Guy Bourdin Collection

 NARS No Limits without topcoat

NARS No Limits with topcoat

Hey Beauty Lovers! Guy Bourdin is an iconic fashion photographer and he collaborated with NARS to create this a-mazing Holiday 2013 Colour Collection in time for Christmas! The pop of colours are pretty exciting and so I thought it would be fun to create a daring beauty look inspired by Guy Bourdin photography.

So to create this look I have chosen the Cinematic Eyeshadow in Cambodia, which is a pink copper. It's a new formula created exclusively for the NARS Guy Bourdin Collection, a velvet texture with high-impact colour. As a blush I went for the Coeur Battant shade, which is a dramatic magenta, you only need a light touch of it as it is highly pigmented. For a lip I kept the same tone and applied the Cinematic Lipstick in Full Frontal, which is a rose violet. The Cinematic Lipstick is also a new formula, making the lipstick super glossy with intense colour saturation. And on nails I'm wearing the No Limits nailpolish, which is a bright pink violet that dries to a satin matte finish.

LOVE

Autumnal Countering & Blusher With: Kevyn Aucoin and Nars!

 Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Bronzing Veil in Tropical Nights

 Nars Blusher in Sin

Hey Beauts! If I had to pick just one blush for autumn it would be Nars Sin, without a doubt. Sin is a gorgeous plum blusher with a beautiful gold shimmer, it looks stunning on. It's just the perfect autumnal shade, and as you can see on the [first image] above it does not look too shimmery however adds radiance and freshness, which we very often need during the colder time of the year when skin tends to get dehydrated and starts look duller than usual. 

This look is all about cheeks, perfect little blush sits beautifully on a well contoured cheekbones, which brings them out. The easiest way to find the right place for a contour is by sucking in the cheeks which creates a hollow under the cheekbones down towards the chin. An angled contour brush works best for me, I use Sigma Large Angled Contour F40 brush. 

My current obsession which looks beautiful with any blush, but particularly pretty with Sin is Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Bronzing Veil in Tropical Nights. If you haven't read my full review on the Kevyn Aucoin Tropical Nights bronzer yet, click here! It's a bronzer, which is incredibly sexy, and the shade is perfect as a contour it doesn't have orange or grey undertones in it, it looks very natural and has a satin finish. An absolutely beautiful cheek combo!

LOVE 

August Faves: 10 Best Loved Beauty Products!

Hey Beauties! I always feel a little sad at the end of August, because it means that summer is over. It was such a lovely summer during which I devoured a humongous amount of Italian ice-cream! But at the same time you also start looking forward to lots of cosy evenings spent home with a big mug of hot chocolate and melting mini marshmallows. And of course I also get excited about the coming AW13 beauty trends and new shades of the season. 

So it's time to let go of summer and embrace autumn. I decided to share with you the beauty products that I have really enjoyed and used consistently this month, trying to keep them within ten items: 

1. Favourite Eyeshadow: Too Faced Summer Eyes Palette, shades: Cocoa Beach and Toasted Coconut - to see the eyeshadows on click here!

2. Favourite Eyeshadow Highlighter: MAC Eye Shadow in Grain - technically it's three eyeshadows this month that got most love, Grain looks super sexy on the brow-bone.

3. Favourite Mascara: Cosmetics a la Carte Divine Lash in Black, I use it daily, love the brush and the volumising but non clumping consistency. Gives you full but natural looking lashes.

4. Favourite Face Primer: Stila Skincare Light Source, this spot correcting and brightening serum is great as a base, makes foundation go on beautifully, and it has a clean lavender scent. For the full review click here!

5. Favourite Foundation: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Light6 Ceylan. For a review and to see it on click here!

6. Favourite Lip Base: Cosmetics a la Carte Plump & Prime, makes any lipstick look even more beautiful. For a full review click here!

7. Favourite Lipstick: bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Be Free, super creamy!

8. Favourite Lipliner: bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipliner in Liberated, just the most perfect nude lipliner, favourite nude lip combo right now is this lipliner as a base and the Be Free lipstick over the top! To see the lip combo on click here!

9. Favourite Nailpolish: BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine in Greenberry, such a pretty teal, perfect summer shade! To see it on click here!

10. Favourite Fragrance: Atelier Cologne Gold Leather, just stunning, incredibly unique, deep sensual scent! For the full fragrance review click here!

LOVE

Summer Pastels Beauty Look with Nars + Nude Lip Combo

Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Light6 Ceylan 

Blush: Nars Blush in Gaiety

Eyeshadow: Nars Single Eyeshadow in D.Gorgeous

Lipstick: Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

 Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Light6 Ceylan 

Nars Blush in Gaiety

  Nars Single Eyeshadow in D.Gorgeous

Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Light6 Ceylan ; Nars Blush in Gaiety; Nars Single Eyeshadow in D.Gorgeous

Pinkish Nude Lip Combo: Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout + Topshop Lips in Rumour Has It

Hey Beauties! Here is a look I wore that kind of was inspired by chilled out summer's day... Although I have been sporting lots of dark-ish smokey eye since I have changed my hair style, yes(!) I actually had half of the length cut off and I'm also getting my heavy fringe shaped into light side bangs! Quiet a drastic move but I wanted a change after wearing long hair for like seven years and the full on fringe I was stuck with that really wasn't flexible, there was only one way I could wear it, and after a while I felt like it was hiding to much of my face. But I am absolutely loving having shorter and lighter hair now, it feels fresh and more chic. With new hair there is of course new make-up. I love playing around and finding new beauty looks to suit my new hair. 

And so I decided to create a pastel look, still keeping the black liner but the rest pretty light. Nars Single Eyeshadow in D. Gorgeous is a very pretty sheer matte lilac and it's from the Spring 2010 Collection. Matte eyeshadows aren't the easiest to work with especially when it comes to a lighter colour, but D. Gorgeous is smooth and blends beautifully, and of course since it is very sheer it's not a scary shade but actually a very flattering. Apparently Rihanna wore Nars D. Gorgeous eyeshadow to 2010 Clive Davis Pre-Grammys Party. As D.Gorgeous is a sheer matte it needs a nice base to come through nicely, I wore it over MAC Paint Pot in Nubile, which is a barely there nude shade with a light satin shimmer.

For a blush I applied Nars Gaiety which is from last years Spring [2012] Collection. I own a few beautiful bubblegum bright pink blushes including my favourite Dior Rosy Glow in Petal, but Gaiety is also very pretty. It is also quite sheer, but you can build up the pigmentation easily by layering the product. Gaiety looks almost matte in the pan but actually it has a finely-milled satin finish that creates a beautiful natural glow.

Although I'm decided to wear this pastel look with a pink nude lip to keep everything soft, I will still quickly mention my love for the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose [also from Spring 2010 Collection] - I wore it none stop for almost a week! That says a lot. It has been my 'it' lipstick this summer, I have no idea what it is about this shade but it's literally amazing! It's a stain lip products so I've been wearing to dinners, beaches, lunches, day and night basically without taking it off, it needs a little touch up after about five hours, but even then you still don't end up looking like you swallowed your lipstick with your meal. I had so many compliments when I wore Mexican Rose that I usually get for MAC Ruby Woo - so it's in that league! I will definitely create a separate look to showcase how stunning Mexican Rose is! 

And finally, I have mentioned before that I have discovered Nars Sheer Glow Foundation, which I had two small samples of. This is the full size, in the shade Light6 Ceylan. This foundation requires a lot of blending and I prefer applying it with my beloved RealTechniques Expert Face Brush. It has a medium coverage and I like the way it feels and looks on my combo/oily skin. And it lasts beautifully! If you are new to my blog I always set my liquid foundations with Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Rich Vanilla.

LOVE

Inspired by Lisa Eldridge's Classic Smokey Eye!

 This is my Instagram pic so the colours are a bit different...

You can see the swatches from top left to right:  

Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush in 4, Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner in Black,  

MAC Paints in Sublime Nature,and bottom two from L to R  

Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow in Taupe and Hot Stone

I'm a huge fan of Lisa Eldridge's work and so happy to see her doing beauty looks again. Her latest creation is the Classic Smokey Eye, to see her vid click here! I decided to recreate this look especially because I already had Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Taupe, which I haven't touched in ages. This Classic Smokey Eye is all about greyish brown shades, shades that naturally don't suit me, I prefer warm browns on me so I was really intrigues how this look would work on me. And I ended up loving it! This is why beauty is all about experimenting and being brave, I highly recommend to try this look, it has honestly become one of my staple looks!! 

I followed the exact techniques that Lisa Eldridge shows in her video, but used all the products I already have in my make-up collection. So do watch the vid of how to do this look, and I will just list the products I used otherwise this blogpost would be insanely long... 

Base [in the order I used the products]: 

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Light 4 Deauville, Liz Earle Light Reflecting Concealer in Medium 02 [just under the eyes], Collection 2000 Concealer in Light 2 [everything is rubbed off of mine, I still got the original one, best cheapest concealer ever - to conceal spots etc, not for under eyes], bareMinerals Matte SPF15 Foundation in Light W15 [all over to set the foundation],  Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer [doesn't seem to have a shade number, might have rubbed off - I always finish off my make-up with this concealer under the eyes], Aerin Illuminating Powder in Pretty Bronze [I love to contour under my cheek-bones with it, I even prefer it to Nars Laguna!], and finally Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush in 4 [I bust this baby out during summer, the prettiest bronzy natural blush I can think off]

Eyes:

Soap&Glory Archery Brow Tint & Precision Shaping Pencil in Love Is Blonde [I love the name as much as the pencil it self, I find the tint end a bit too hard but omg(!) is the precision shaping end amazing!! I will have to do blogpost about it separately it's that good, basically gives you the sexiest blode brow], MAC Paints in Sublime Nature [all over as a base], Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow in Taupe 4 [as the main eyeshadow], Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow in Hot Stone 56 [as the darker shade, very similar to what Lisa Eldridge used, a greyish dark brown], Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner in Black [one of my favourite black eyeliners, very intense and creamy so it's great for smudging, once it sets it stays put forever], before I apply mascara I always curl my lashes, it has become a religion - I use Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers, Avon SuperExtend Extreme Mascara in Black has proved to be a great companion [doesn't seem to ever end or dry out, love it!]

Lips:

And lastly for the lips I decided to keep it nice and simple as this looks requires lots and lots of blending, so I went for Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 03, I was obsessed with it couple of summers ago, and might go back to it this summer, these lipglosses are super simple to use, not sticky which is a major plus point and they just somehow make your lips look very pretty and natural! 

Hope you like this look, I certainly loved wearing it! The cool browns I usually try to avoid wearing changed my mind, thank you Lisa xox

LOVE

Inspired by Miley Cyrus BillBoard Music Awards 2013 Look!

Last week I came across the images of Miley Cyrus at the BillBoard Music Awards 2013, I really liked this grungy version of the classic red lip and smokey eye. This smokey eye is particularly great for hooded eyes as it doesn't have the winged liner that usually disappears in the crease when you look straight ahead. Also the matte red lip she wore had an edge to it, with that gradual effect. 

To recreate this look I have used on the Eyes: MAC Paint Pot in Nubile as a base, MAC Eyeshadow in Cork keeping it mainly on the lid and taking it into the socket, also blending it under the lower lash-line. For the eyeliner I used Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Noir Intense trying to visually elongate the eye without flicking the end up, just making the upper and lower liner meet in a straight line, slightly faking where the eye corner naturally sits. Also taking the Noir Intense on the waterline. I have smudged it slightly not taking it to far out, keeping it closely to the lashes - that is what gives this smokey eye a more modern edge. 

On the Lips: I have use a combination out of three products, which created the most long lasting red lip I have ever worn. To begin with I filled in the whole lip with MAC Lip Pencil in Brick. Then I went with Nars Lipstick in Jungle Red [it's one of those velvet textures], then I blotted the lips to take off excess, and to create that darker gradual edge I lined the lip edges with Chanel Precision Lip Definer in 54 Amarante. Blending Amarante with a lipbrush so that it fades out, and then finally I reapplied a touch of Jungle Red, working the colour in with a finger this time, makes it look more lived in. This is a classic look with an attitude!

LOVE

Glammed-Up NYE Look - Great for Events, Parties, Celebrations!

I'm back, yaay!! I have to say having a bit of a blogging break I really started missing it! So here I am with new products to feature, new ideas to share, and new looks to create... I love the first few days of the new year... Everyone is still very friendly and smiley and relaxed, still within the holidays mode basically.... I love love love this time of the year!! And for some reason this Christmas and New Year Eve I enjoyed even more than the previous years... Oh and it's quite funny how in Hampstead everyone is suddenly running again, I happily will hold on to my holiday calories, thank you very much... They shall keep me warm!

On nye I uploaded a pic of this glam deep red lip with a smokey eye look on Instagram and so here it is! I managed to snap a few pics of the make-up before dressing up as I was in a rush, so here is the make-up look I wore... Starting with the eyes I chose MAC Club eyeshadow... This eyeshadow has been on my MAC desired-list for a while, so I finally got it... Club is a beautiful duo chrome shade, it's a greenish brown metallic... I like duo chrome eyeshadows as it's so easy to create an impact without needing to blend in other colours... 

I also used MAC Texture [a soft warm brown shade] to just blend the edge, which is a very flattering trick I learned to do with any dark brown eyeshadow looks... To create a little more intensity I used Chanel Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Noir Intense on my waterline as well as dotting it under the lower lash line and smudging it and also applying it over the upper lash line without winging it out... I love wearing it for events or parties as it says put!

For the lip combo I used three products... First I applied Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Valparaiso [a dark plum], this helps to create a dark base to make the red that goes on top quite deep... For the red I chose Nars in Jungle Red, it's also a matte lipstick but it's in a different packaging as you can see, so I'm not sure if it's just a different type of matte or if it was discontinued as I had it for ages, but it's a blue toned classic red... As they both are matte lipsticks they lasted really long... But I also wanted to have that little bit of something special for nye, so I added a very pretty glitter lipgloss... Clarins Quench Lip Balm in 09 is a super beautiful coral with red and gold shimmers and glitter particles, great to give any red lipstick that extra pizazz,  woohoo!

LOVE

Dark Beauty Autumn Trend...

If you are not from the Great Britain you may think it's too early to be considering autumn just yet... But we have been having all four seasons at once this summer... Sometimes even, all of the four seasons happen in one day, yes we are very lucky to live in UK - United Kingdom of bad weather... This autumn is all about darkness... You can't be all smiley and happy to pull off this look... It just won't work... This look kind of says 'don't mess with me, darling'... I find this type of look projects strength and distance - like you don't need or want anyone close to you right now... I think it's perfect for a girls night, when you just want the men to stay the heck away... Aren't we all in that mood sometimes... Ahem...

The palette I used to create this dramatic dark eye look is the YSL Noir Terriblement, it has 4 black eyeshadows with different level of shimmer and sparkles, going from sheer to more intense, and the white eyeshadow to highlight your brow-bone... On the lips I decided to go for a chic matte finish, I first applied MAC Brick Lip Pencil which is a burgundy red and on top Nars Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick, which is a beautiful plum... Plum is a shade you will be seeing a lot this autumn! And as for the ring, I couldn't think of anything better to go with this self-sufficient look... It's a fab black crystal claw ring by Claire's... The claw ring sits on the distal phalange [the top part of your finger] - perfect for the sharp-claw day!

LOVE

Vampy Chic...

...wearing Chanel ceramic watch, 

which I have been really loving this summer!

Beaded Cross Necklaces: Topshop

Chunky Ring with Oval Black Stone: Claire's 

[coming out first week of August]

Finally I got around to play with MAC Cranberry eyeshadow I purchased a while ago together with Antiqued and Coppering [read more here: MAC Pro Colour x 4 Compact...], which have become my top favourite eyeshadows, ever... I though Cranberry might have too much cold pink undertones for me... But it ended up being such a beautiful vampy velvet colour... It's perfect for that dark chic look... Cranberry made my grey eyes look almost green, this colour would be amazing for making green eyes pop, just like Coppering for blue eyes... I love taking it quite far down under my lower lashes and the inner-corner for extra drama... 

With this look I love wearing Nars Sin blush [plummy colour with gold shimmer], not only is the colour perfect but so is the name... And as for lips, I applied Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout as recommended by Lisa Eldridge, and Lancome Piha Black lipgloss over it, it's a black with silver/black sparkles... I had this lipgloss in my collection for ages and couldn't make it work on me, but finally found a way to wear it and it looks stunning in real life... This limited edition Color Fever Gloss was created by Aaron de Mey, the fantastic makeup artist... Piha Blac was inspired by the black volcanic sands of Piha Beach in Aaron de Mey's native New Zealand... Isn't it just fabulous... Stunning little thing...

LOVE

Summer Blue Eyeliner & Red Lip...

Ever since I saw Lisa Eldridge creating this evening make-up look for her K.I.S.S. Valentines Look I wanted to try it on myself, but red lip and blue liner is a daring combo for me, and something I normally wouldn't go for... The navy and red Lisa chose had a lot less colour and looked very chic on her... I decided to go for a brighter summer version of that look... I think if you want to experiment with some make-up looks, summer is the time for it... During summer you can get away with a lot more than during the rest of the year... 

If you like this look and would like to try it, here is the list of things I used: 

Avene Hydrance Optimale SPF 20, Rimmel Recover Foundation in Ivory, Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF15 in Rich Vanilla, Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antigua, YSL Matt and Radiant Pressed Powder, MAC Paint Pot in Nubile, MAC Eyeshadow in Wedge, Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Furore, Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara in Black, Bourjois Liner Pinceau in Blue Calligraphe, and finally Nars Matte Lipstick in Jungle Red.

LOVE