Saturday's FOTD: A Half-Baked Suspect.

It has been absolutely ages since I have done a FOTD post, getting waaaay too preoccupied with the new additions to my wardrobe clearly. Anyway, today I spent my Saturday gorging myself on heavenly food in the form of Wagamama's Katsu Curry & All Star Lanes Buttermilk Fried Chicken - Weightwatchers will be mortified with me & the weight gain! If any of you have an All Star Lanes near you, I would wholly recommend trying out one of their restaurants they do just the most American food & shakes omnomnomnom!

I know some of you out there must be loyal users of the Urban Decay Naked palettes, so did the title of the post give you a little hint about what products were used today? 

Here's another clue:

 

Eyeshadows: Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette - 'Suspect' & 'Half - Baked'

Concealer: MAC Studio Sculpt NC15

Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Ivory

Blusher: Benefit's Thrrrob 

Eyeliner: Rimmel Exaggerated Liquid Liner

Mascara: Diorshow Iconic

The all over base colour is 'Half-Baked' - the perfect deep, shimmering gold shade that since discovering it in my second year of university, has been a staple in my make-up bag. On the outer edges, I blended in 'Suspect' which looks a shimmery silver colour, but actually comes out with bronze undertones which I love. As its the weekend, I decided to thicken the flicks to make the most out of being able to be a little bit dramatic before heading back to work next week. Being a little of a fail blogger here though with no lipstick - but to amend this faux pas, I have been swatching several pink MAC lipsticks that I have my eye on for next payday - shall keep updated...

I always find that I can be my most adventurous with my eyeshadow shades, because the rest of my make-up generally stays in the same style, but the different shades show my mood or if I'm feeling more wild than natural. Do any of you feel this way about eyeshadow? Or is there another make-up item that you show your personality through?

Love,

Inside my Make-Up Bag #1: The Daily Essentials

Hello lovelies!

So, I have been blogging for a little while now and realised that I have never introduced you all to something that is pretty much essential to my blogging, and to my daily life - my make-up bag:

This beast is not all of my make-up, I still have quite a few eyeshadow palettes scattered over my wardrobe, but this is the majority that I use - not all at once though, that really would suggest I have no face at the beginning of the day! Anyway, in the picture it looks quite small compared to its actual size and weight of a tonne. It has products ranging from Rimmel to Dior, and countless amounts of eyeshadows & lipsticks - my two real beauty weaknesses. Today's post is just going to focus on the products I use daily for a daytime look:

Left to Right: Benefit's Thrrrob; No7 Stay Perfect Eye Base; YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum; MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer; Rimmel Exaggerated Liquid Eyeliner; Rimmel Stay Matte Powder; Diorshow Iconic Mascara; Benefit's High Beam; Benefit Eyecon cream; Benefit's Dr Feelgood; Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette.

My morning goes: get up, shower, get dressed, tie hair up in towel turban, and then go through the 20-30 minutes routine of putting on my make-up - I'm essentially put on a mask - yes lovely readers, I am actually a troll before I put these magical products on my face. So this is my make-up routine:

1)

Since getting the Harrods Glossybox, I have been using the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum as my primer because it gives a nice, glowy look and makes an even base for my make-up. It is a lovely silky mixture that dries instantly without making you feel like your face is cracking with some serums when they dry. I only use a little amount each time - the dropper definitely helps with this. 

2)

Next, I am thinking 'hey troll-face, your skin is still a sandpaper-y, better sort that!' and that's where the fantabulous 'Dr Feelgood' comes in. I absolutely love this creamy balm, that you just need to apply a little onto the sponge and smooth it over the face to make your face feel so soft plus an excellent base for make-up. I highly recommend this product for a good primer to give you smooth, matte skin.

3)

Onto the eyes! I carry sooo much baggage under my eyes I look like the luggage pick-up at Heathrow. Its a family trait to have dark circles under the eyes, and it is something that has always driven me insane. After much looking & testing, I finally found a concealer that worked perfectly to hide them - MAC Studio Scuplt in NC15. But it can show the creases after a while during the day, what stops this is mixing it with a moisturiser as a prime - thats where Benefit's Eyecon comes in that helps to lighten dark circles. Win win! 

4)

Its even more powder and prime time! With a quick sweep of powder over the face to achieve the 1950s matte look I adore & an even look, I move onto the eyes! The final primer is used which is Boots No7 Stay Perfect Eye Base that works wonders for keeping an eyeshadow in perfect condition all day. I just use a little on my finger and I'm ready for the most time-consuming part of my morning routine - the eyes:

5)

Starting with the eyeshadows from Naked2, generally I go for 'Half-Baked', 'Pistol' or 'Verve' as a day look, and sometimes blend them with 'Snakebite' if feeling particularly adventurous. Then its on with the liquid eyeliner - the concentration that comes with this takes at least ten minutes! I am incredibly fussy with my flicks, and try not to have it too thick over the eyelid for daytime, so if its too dramatic I have to then fight to wipe the excess off without messing up all the eyeshadow - fuss, fuss, fuss! I love the Rimmel Exaggerated eyeliner because the colour is jet black and the staying power is great, the only problem is it normally takes two coats to get it as dark as I like and then needs a few minutes to dry. 

Final stage - the mascara & highlight. I generally don't curl my eyelashes (huuuuge faux pas, I know) because it takes up that extra bit of time, so for me, its just a few lashings of Diorshow Iconic and sometimes Extase as well. Boom, longer & thicker eyelashes. Then its a little dab of Benefit's High Beam just over my eyelid to give my eyes an extra bit of brightness, and I'm done.

6)

 And its the last bit - the cheeks! I'm always switching about my blushers because I love trying out the different pink shades - always going for quite bright, flushed pink colours. I fell in love with Benefit's blushers from a long, long time ago, and one of my all-time favourites has been 'Thrrrob' which has that deep pink shade you get when you blush. I put my focus on the apple of my cheeks, putting the most of the colour there and then brushing it out across my cheekbones. 

Aaaaand that's it, that's how I look human at the beginning of everyday. I bet you are all a little bit terrified at what I actually look like without make-up, but yeah, that's not ever going to be posted about - ever! 

Hope you have liked this little insight into my make-up bag! The next one I am thinking about all my different eyeshadow palettes, would you be interested in that?

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Review: Rimmel Matte Pressed Powder & Macaroons!

"Happy Windsday Piglet" - Just thought it would be a nice way to start, especially since it has been a little windy today... Or so it seems through the bars of my cage... Over-dramatic, anyone? 

Anyway, as my readers might have picked up from other FOTD posts, I am a loyal to Boot's No7 make-up especially their 'creme touch pressed powder' which is the perfect base for my make-up and is one of my essential items. So when it ran out the other day I thought I might try something else that was a little cheaper and came across this little gem by Rimmel! 

For £5.49 (I think), I am seriously thinking of dropping Creme Touch and replacing it with this! The coverage is absolutely amazing and gave me this flawless skin look with only a little application whilst avoiding that 'caked on' look that you can get with some powders. This is one happy customer! Plus the colour was perfect for my complexion which is sometimes hard to cater for being so pale! The only downside is that it doesn't come with a powder puff or anything which is annoying but not something that is going to hold me back from buying again. 

Here's the rest of my look using my beloved Naked2 Palette and Rimmel Liquid Eyeliner:

 Eyeshadows: 'Verve' & 'Pistol' from Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette; Blush: Benefit's 'Thrrrob'; Eyeliner: Rimmel's Liquid Eyeliner; Mascara: Diorshow Iconic; Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte.

That last one is because my hair is getting dyed again tomorrow so think it will be the last time for a whiiiiile that I am going to be a redhead - shall miss it I think! But bring on the new spring/summer hairstyle!

And just as a random thing, since being stuck at home I have got into baking using the 'Great British Bake Off' recipe book. Yesterday, I made a victoria sponge, which like the title says, was the perfect victoria sponge - weight was definitely gained. Today, I upped the challenge and decided I was going to conquer Pina Colada Macaroons, from scratch. After a good hour or so of preparation and having my outfit covered in icing sugar (anyone want to donate an apron?), here were the results:

And they were goooood - not to blow my own trumpet or anything... However, they literally are just sugar, double cream and pineapple - but a gorgeous treat for every now and then, bringing a little Paris to Essex!

Now what to bake next??

Do you have an essential make-up item? What do you think of Rimmel make up?

Love,