Autumn Sunset Eye Look

So, I have been trying to get out of my comfort zone a little bit lately and get back into being more experimental with my makeup. I figure in a week or so when bub number two is finally here my care factor in doing my makeup is going to take a very big nose dive and I'll be lucky to get out of the house with some concealer and mascara on so I should be trying to make the most of it now while I still can.

The other day I was going through some of my old palettes and I came across one that I haven't given any love to in a very long time and that was my Savoir Faire Cosmetics 'Winter' kit.

I seriously loved this kit when I first got it but as what always happens when I get shiny new things some of the older stuff gets forgotten about.

So, here is the look that I created using the shadows in this kit the other day which I have dubbed my 'Autumn Sunset' eye look (yes, I am fully aware it is not Autumn in Australia right now but I just liked the name :-))

I used my three favourite shades from the kit to achieve this look which were 'Devout' (the pale beige shade on the top right) applied all over the lid as a base up to the brow bone, then I blended 'Spicy' (the coppery shade on the bottom left) into my crease before applying a light dusting of 'Kinetic' (the purple shade in the middle of the top row) onto the centre of the lid and blending out to the edges.

Here is a breakdown of the rest of the products I used for this look.

Face:
* Avon Ideal Shade Souffle Foundation in Ivory (I love, love, love this foundation at the moment for my dry and irritated hormonal skin!)
* Napoleon Perdis The One Concealer
* Physicians Formula Translucent Powder
* The Balm blush in Hot Mama
* Prestige Mineral Bronzing Powder in Sunbaked as a highlight

Eyes:
* Mirenesse Sexy Secret Eye Primer (this stuff seriously makes my eyeshadow stay crease free for an entire day which is a miracle with my super hooded eyes)
* Mirenesse Touch Up Brow Sculpter
* Mirenesss Inside Out 27Hr Eye Kohl in Amun
* Rimmel Wake Me Up Wonder Full Mascara in Black

Lips:
* Colour by TBN Lipstick in A Kiss is Still a Kiss
* Savoir Faire Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Fierce

Overall I really loved this look and didn't find it too much for wearing to work either even though it is a lot brighter than what I usually go for in the daytime.

Do you sometimes like the experiment and break out of your comfort zone during the day, or do you prefer to play around with different looks on the weekend or at night when it's a bit more safe?

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Michelle xx

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

Face of the Day - Using some old favourites

I only realised the other day how long it has actually been since I did a face of the day and put my big mug on the blog for all to see. I always want to show my face of the day but by the time I've put my makeup on in between stopping no less than 20 times to make sure my toddler isn't burning our house down in another room, then trying to remember to get some photos before we rush out the door, then trying to remember what products I actually used when I come to write it all down is a bit of a mission and a half these days.

This look is one that I wear quite often as I am a huge fan of a purple toned eye. I feel that purple seems to suit me more than most other shades and paired with a white or cream shadow it also makes me look a bit more awake than I really am too! I was also on a mission to use some of my older products that had been forgotten about on this day as well.

Here is what I used for this look:

* Mirenesse Absolutely Firm Treatment Primer
* Bourjois  Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in Vanilla mixed with a little bit of the Models Prefer Illuminizor in Illuminate to brighten my skin
* Napoleon Perdis The One Concealer under my eyes and over any blemishes
* Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Matte Finishing Veil in Translucent
* Australis Bronzing Powder in Golden to contour and Prestige Mineral Bronzing Powder in Pure Shimmer to highlight

* Clinique Quick Blush in In-A Rush Blush
* Avon Glimmersticks Brow Definer in Tawny
* Clinique High Impact Eye Shadow in Sugar Sugar all over the lid with CK Intense Eyeshadow in Merlot blended into the outer half of the lid and into the crease
* Camouflage Colour Skin Crayon as a liner - This doesn't have a shade name but is a browny/purple colour
* Almay Intense I-Colour Volumising Mascara in Midnight
* ASAP Pure Mineral Lip Pencil in Two as a liner with MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling

This is a nice subtle workday look for me that doesn't take much thinking and is pretty quick to do.

What looks have you been loving lately?

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Michelle xx

Dear Gel Eyeliner, Where Have You Been All My Life?

Ok, I know the gel eyeliner is probably something that most of you have known about and probably used for a very long time, but, for poor little old sheltered me this is quite a recent discovery that I found when perusing through some other blogs one day a couple of months ago.

At first I was like "Gel eyeliner??? Geez, Louise! I can barely handle using a pencil eyeliner and heaven forbid I even try to pick up a liquid liner, imagine the mess I could make with a gel liner?"

Anyway, the last time I was at Priceline they were having a half price on all Physicians Formula products and one of the first things that caught my eye was their Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel Cream Liner pots. They just looked so cute and so cheap at half price and so worth grabbing just to see the mess I could make with them......

There were three pots in the packet. A gorgeous dark plum, an intense black and a chocolate brown. See photo below for swatches:

Personally, I love the plum shade and have been using it quite a lot lately with a pinky/purple eyeshadow look.

I am actually blown away at how easy this product is to use. It only took me one go at practising to get the application almost near perfect. They came with a small applicator brush which just makes it so easy to create a clean, crisp line on the lid. It's definitely not something that I would use when in a hurry though as it's a makeup look that I still need to take my time at applying until I'm a bit more confident and skillful at it.

The gel itself is super pigmented and has unbelievable staying power. I have hooded eyelids so am normally rubbing most normal eyeliners off the top of my eyelid after a few hours where it ultimately transfers to but I haven't seen these budge at all yet, even after a 14 hour day, the liner stayed perfectly put. I'm not sure if this is the case with most other gel liners or whether this is just a really good formula but to me it's something that is a godsend to us hooded eyelid sufferers around the world.

So, that's officially another makeup product fear conquered sucessfully. What do we think should be next? Who knows, maybe I'll try and tackle that mysterious product that goes by the name of 'Bronzer' next.........

Is anyone else a fan of the gel eyeliner too?