FOTD - A Subtle Everyday Blue Eyeshadow Look

The other day I was feeling a little flat and decided to have a bit of a play with my pro-palette to create a pretty but subtle blue eye look.

Blue eyeshadow is always something I get nervous wearing but I am slowly starting to find certain ways to make it work without making me feel like I've stepped out of the 80's.

This look is very subtle and a nice way to add a pop of colour to the eyes for an everyday look without looking too overdone.

The eyeshadow shades I used are circled below:

On the top palette I used the two pale cream shades blended together all over the eyelid to start, then I applied the light blue shade on the bottom palette to the outer corners and blending into the centre of the lid. I then took the slightly darker light blue and added a little more colour transitioning out towards the outer corner. Then I took the darker blue and blended it very carefully into the crease as well as using it to line below my eyes. I then took the gold shade on the bottom palette and added this to the centre of my lids and blended everything like there was no tomorrow. I then finished the look off by lining the top lids with the black shade.

Here is a breakdown of all the other products I used for this look:

* Napoleon Perdis Sheer Genius Liquid Foundation in Look 2.
* Savoir Faire Concealer in Light
* Physicians Formula Translucent Powder
* NP Set Shimmer Highlight Duo in Peach/Pink

* Ardell Brow Defining Kit
* Almay Intense i-Colour Volumising Mascara in Midnight for my top lashes
* Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara in Black on my bottom lashes

* Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Just-Pinched Pink
* Face of Australia Lip Quench in Pink Champagne

What do you think? Can blue eyeshadow be an everyday shade?

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Michelle xx

Blue Eyeshadow - Yay or Nay?

The other night we went out to dinner and I was inspired to do a blue eyeshadow look as the dress I had on had some bright splashes of blue through it.

I know most people associate blue eyeshadow with the 80's but I really like it and I think that if the colour isn't too heavy it can look quite pretty so long as you keep the rest of your makeup subtle.

For this look I busted out my 120 pro-palette and did a blend of the three blue shades I have circled below. The palest shade on the top row is what I applied all over my lid, with the first light blue shade on the second row applied to the centre of my lid. The darker shade on the second row is what I blended into the outer corner and into the crease.

The rest of the products I used to complete this look were as follows:

 

Face:

* Avon's Ideal Shade Souffle Foundation in Ivory

* Mirenesse Touch On Concealer in Golden Cream

* Physicians Formula Transluscent Pressed Powder

* Bourjois Bronzing Power in Fair to contour

* Bourjois Blush in Rose Pompon

Eyes:

* Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Macara in Noir Max

* Mirenesse Seamless Velvet Shadow in American Star (Shimmery cream shade to blend the blues together and highlight my brow bone)

Lips:

* Nude by Nature Lipliner in Chique

* Mirenesse French Kiss Lip Cocktail Lipstick in Bellini

 

What do you think? Would you brave blue eyeshadow or do you think it should be left to the 80's?

Have a great day!

Michelle xx

FOTD featuring Arbonne Cosmetics

A couple of days ago I reviewed some products from the Arbonne Cosmetics range here and decided to post a quick FOTD which I did incorporating all of those products for what I think is an easy and very simple daytime look.

For this look I used the following products:

Face: Nude by Nature BB  5 in 1 Miracle Cream, Mirenesse Touch On Concealer in Golden Cream, Arbonne Cosmetics Blush in Blossom, b Collection by Bloom Cheek Tint in Napa Valley (to highlight), Australis Bronzing Powder in Golden (to contour)

Eyes: Arbonne Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Divine Plum blended out all over lid, Mirenesse Touch Up Brow Sculptor, Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Mascara in Black

Lips: Arbonne Cosmetics Lipstick in Scarlet

I'm absolutely loving bolder colours on my face at the moment now it's getting a bit cooler temperature wise.

Is anyone else embracing darker shades now we're heading into more chilly weather?

Michelle xx

FOTD - My Attempt at a Wearable Blue Eyeshadow Look

Howdy everybody. I've decided I'm going to try and make a really good attempt at posting more FOTD's from now on.

I usually always have such good intentions of doing this whenever I get ready but then most of the time I'm in such a rush and completely forget to photograph myself before I leave, or, I usually forget to keep out the products I use and then can't remember what they were afterwards!

The other day I felt like wearing a blue eyeshadow look and ended up with the below finished product. It was actually quite basic and quite a wearable look for the day I thought:

Once I broke down what I used to create this look I realised there were a lot of Mirenesse products for some reason. This was a total coincidence and really wasn't intentional at all! Here is what I used:

Face
Innoxa Tinted Moisturiser in Nude Beige
Natio Mineral Pressed Powder in Medium Tan
Mirenesse Cheeky Blush in Russian Rose

Eyes
Mirenesse Seamless Velvet Shadow in Greek Goddess
Bourjois Smoky Effect Eyeliner in Dark Purple
Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Mascara in Black

Lips
I mixed together my Napoleon Perdis Lip Patrol lipstick in Private Kiss and Mirenesse French Kiss Lip Cocktail in Bellini to create a really nice and soft pink shade.

I really like the Mirenesse eye shadows and wear them quite often. They are a lovely consistency and really easy to blend out. The blue shadow with purple liner was a combination I haven't tried before but really liked once it was finished.

Mixing different shades of lipstick is something I have been experimenting with a lot lately as well.

I also love days like this when my skin is behaving and I can get away with a bit of tinted moisturiser and powder and not worry about foundation or concealer. It doesn't happen very often but I certainly embrace it when it does.

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Michelle xx

Simple Shopping Trip FOTD

So the other day we were going out for a bit of retail therapy (gotta love end of financial year bonus time at hubby's work!) and I decided to do a very simple look that would last the day without any fuss.

For some reason I seem to always gavitate to purple eyes as it's the one shade I can work with quickly without looking like a clown. Since buying my 120 colour pro palette a few weeks ago I vowed I'd try to get more creative with my eye looks but I haven't even broken the plastic off of it yet, eeek! To tell you the truth, I love colour on other people but I'm scared to death of trying it for myself. I will eventually though, I promise!

Anyway, here is the simple look I went for:

                     

Face:
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 115
Australis Paparazzi Perfect Blush in Poser

Eyes:
Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadows in Plum and Lilac (the two purple shades on the right of the palette
B Collection by Bloom Shade & Line Eyeliner in St Mark's Square on the top and bottom lash line
Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara in Black

Lips:
Revlon Colourburst Lip Gloss in Hot Pink

And that's it! I've been trying to minimise using powders and concealers too much lately due to my skin being a bit sensitive after I was sick with the flu for so long so a light foundation is all I've been putting on lately.

Do you have a certain shade or combo that is your 'safe' look like I do?

Michelle xx

Personal Makeup Tutorial FOTD

Yesterday I had a two hour personal makeup tutorial with a local makeup artist. This was a Xmas present from hubby because he was sick of hearing me say that I would love to do certain looks but had no idea of the techniques involved.

It was actually a bit daunting for me as I'm a bit funny with one-on-one situations and can get a bit uncomfortable when the spotlight is aimed directly on me but the makeup artist was absolutely lovely and did her best to make me feel comfortable and answer any questions I had while giving me plenty of hints and tips to take away and try for myself.

At first she showed me a simple but really pretty day look which involved a light pink blush along with a lilac lid with a coral coloured crease which sounded kind of weird but ended up being a colour combination that looked lovely.

Then, because I said that my weakness was a smokey eye look she showed me how to turn my simple day look into a more intense night time look without it being too overpowering (or unachievable for me to attemp again at home).

Here are the photos of the finished product. I totally forgot to photograph the day time look before she started changing it unfortunately but she shaded in a picture she had for me with all the relevant colours so I can remember how it looked and try it at home for myself.

Please forgive the awkward face angles. I still haven't mastered the art of photographing myself yet :-)

Over the next few days I'll be posting about the hints and tips I took away from this tutorial so stay tuned!