Freshers Beauty Advice! // Night Outs!

Hey Everyone,

So, this year I am fortunate enough to be re-living my freshers experience; as I am helping out with the Welcome Team at the University of Sussex! (If you are heading to Sussex this year, please come and say hello!) 

This post is going to be focused on Night's Out make up - it is basically quick and simple make up that can be done in 10-15 minutes. So, even if you are not a fresher; this will be good for quick make up for anyone! 

I wanted to do this post as I vividly remember having little to no time to do my make up during Freshers Week! Why? Because you are busy doing all the activities in the day such as exploring the campus/town, or freshers events planned by the uni, or induction classes for your course etc. And it is so important that you eat before a night on the town. This meant that there was no time to sort my face out. So, a quick look will mean you can spend more time socialising with your new friends/housemates and having fun! 

So, here is a guide to quick make up looks for Nights Out during your busy Freshers week.

1. If you have wonderful skin then I wouldn't bother with this first step. However, if you are like us mortals then a good coverage Foundation is essential. I would say a full to medium coverage foundation is best; which then means you can skip concealer. I love my MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation as it is pretty full coverage and looks good in photos (particularly flash photography!)

2. Simple eye make up is key to making this look quick. I would stick to a stick or cream eyeshadow as it is one step and can instantly transform your look from day to night. I have three to recommend the Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 06, Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint in Rich Russet, and (a more luxury product) Surratt Smokey Eye Baton in Cendres (Click here to see review). If you do struggle with creasing then a little eyeshadow to lock in the colour wouldn't go amiss - just use a fluffy blending brush to blend the edges (MAC 217 for example).

3. A good black liner is a must for University; what ever formula works best for you! (Eye Kohl: MAC Feline Pencil, Gel: Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner (77), Pen: Stila Stay all-day liquid liner in intense black) Good for last minute cat faces and winged liner, (if you are like me and can’t live without!). Though I always like to have a cheap one (Barry M Black Kohl Pencil) that I’m okay sharing with my friends! 

If you want to change you look up a bit for the night then why not try a coloured eyeliner. I've been loving my Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner in (75) which is lovely deep purple (Click here for swatch - at 1:25). Or if you are feeling really glam, you could try a glitter eyeliner! The Urban Decay Heavy Metal liners are the best by far!

4. If you know the night is gonna be a long one then a neutral pink lipstick or lipgloss is probably the safest thing to put on your lips. It's safe as when it rubs off it won't leave any weird patches and it won't transfer to other people (if you get my drift ;) ) Some of my favourites are the Clarins Instant light perfectors and the Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Nude Kate Lipstick (Click here for review). For a cheaper alternative the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks are lovely!

5. You need a black volumizing mascara - I've been loving my Maybelline the Falsies! If you know you get panda eyes from your mascara, I would suggest a water proof formula (L'Oreal Volume Million Express Waterproof) on the bottom lash line!

6. Then finishing touches - Powder products! Don't forget a good blush to bring some colour into your face. Now is the time for a quick contour and highlight. I didn't include this in my picture; as I don't actually own this but I would recommend a palette of some description. The most affordable one is the Sleek Face From Palette; as it has all three! 

Don't forget to powder! I like the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural  as it gives a bit of extra coverage without being cakey!

Optional items: Lashes and Glitter! If you have some extra time then these two options are a fun way of dressing up for a night! When ever I wear the MAC 3D Glitter, I always get compliments and it is a great conversation starter! I know lashes can be expensive, but as long as you take them off carefully and clean them, they can last a good few wears. The ones I have been loving are the Eldora real hair lashes; as they are super comfy and look awesome! (Featured in August favourites).

I hope you have enjoyed this post, I'd love to know what your go to Night Out products are - leave them in the comments below! 

As always, I hope you have a lovely day!
x

Best of 2013!!!

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all had an awesome start to 2014 yesterday and I wish you the best year (better late than never :P) So, to start my blog in 2014 I am going to look back to all the products I loved! I won't be reviewing every product; that would be a mammoth of a post! So, I'm simply sharing my top picks from 2013.  

Face products:

Foundation - Make Up Forever HD Foundation

BB Cream - Kiehl's Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream 

Primer - Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Oil Free

Under-eye concealer - Bobbi Brown Corrector

Blemish concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection concealer

Cheek products:

Blusher - Laura Mercier Powder Blush in Rosette and Apricot Blossom

Contour - MAC Powder Blush in Harmony 

Highlighter - the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer 

Eye products:

Eyeshadow - MAC powder eyeshadow in Satin Taupe, Mystery, Cranberry and Sketch

Eyeshadow Palette - Urban decay Naked Basics palette

Cream eyeshadow - MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre 

Eyeliner - Stila Stay all-day waterproof liquid eyeliner in Intense Black

Mascara - Maybelline the Rocket Volume Express Mascara

Lip products:

Lipstick - MAC Rebel and Tom Ford Blush Nude

Lipgloss - Lancome Gloss in Love in 312

Nail Products:

Nail Colour - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 660 Pat on the Black and Chanel Nail Colour in 565 Beige

Top Coat - Sally Hansen Insta-Dry 

Special Mention:

Yankee Candle in Black Cherry

Perfume - Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a lovely day! 

And again - Happy 2014 to you all!! :D

Emma

x

Trip to London!!

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend :)! So, as you can tell from the title of this post I went to London yesterday! I love London (especially the shopping!) and I just wanted to share my trip with you :)

I had a very early start so I could catch my train, which left at 7:49 a.m.! But I had enough time to take a quick picture of my outfit and make up.
Firstly, I'm wearing my leather jacket from River Island (which I mentioned in my Investment series), Top Shop cardigan and Snood from French Connection. My top and jeans are also from Top Shop (Leigh jeans). Finally, my boots are from Levis.
I curled my hair with my curl formers, which I slept in over night :)!
My make up I kept pretty simple and won't go into too much detail. I'll just say what is on my eyes: Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 06 and I used Urban decays Dark horse eyeshadow (from the original Naked Palette) in the crease. Then, as usual, I draw my cat flick with Stila stay all day waterproof liquid liner in intense black. Finally, for mascara, I layered two to make them extra full and long lasting. Using Clinique's high impact mascara in black and over the top of that I used Maybelline's the Rocket Volume Express mascara in waterproof.

After, shopping (haul coming up!) we went to Belgos in Covent Garden for lunch! I love muscles, and I had with chips and a peach flavoured beer! 

The show was amazing! Jude Law was good live - very surreal seeing such a famous actor in the flesh! (:P). 

Overall, I had a wonderful day and I am so grateful to my parents for taking my sister and I!

I hope you enjoyed the post and have a lovely day!

Emma

x 

Everyday Make up Routine

Hey Everyone,

Remember how I said I would do one post a week minimum, I believe that will very quickly turn to 3 or 4 times a week hehe :) I'm just so excited about what I want to talk about! :P I apologise for the quality of the pictures, I shall be sorting out my lighting soon!

I thought the next logical post would be to show you my every day make up look, so you can get a feel for my style. Though having said that, my day and evening looks can be very similar - I'm not shy when it comes to make up ;)

This is where I do my make up every morning before uni, and just for you, I made sure it was relatively tidy. And yes that is a fridge on the end - I have to have somewhere to put my fresh face masks and eye packs ;)

Don't I just look so "fresh" at 7:45 a.m. (excuse the sarcasm :P) As you can see my daily face is pretty natural (apart from the eyeliner) and I like to let my natural skin show through a bit :) 

Primer is essential for me; I have combination skin with an oily T-zone. So, I find a primer really helps my make up last all day. I'm currently using the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Oil Free, I got this as a gift for my birthday in January and I haven't looked back since. It is an amazing primer, just wish it had a better price tag - £28 :/ but having said that I will definitely be repurchasing. Then for eye primer I've actually been using the MAC paint pot in Soft Ochre. Now, I was never a fan of these paint pots until I tried this one, I believe it's because this is more matte so provides the perfect base for my eye shadows.

My every day foundation for the past 2 months has been the Laura Mercier Tinter Moisturizer - Oil free in the shade Nude. Don't let the name fool you! This is not your average tinted moisturizer, I would definitely describe it as more of a light coverage foundation. It hasn't broken me out and I would say it is a natural finish, letting your skin show through. Then for those problem areas (nose, chin and odd blemish) I use Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer in the shade Light 2. Again, this has been a staple in my make up collection for over a year and I wouldn't be caught without it! Then for those under eye bags I use Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque. I know these are very obvious choice concealers (seeing how much they are talked about on the internet) but they are honestly amazing, and do their job so well! Though with the Bobbi Brown concealer, you only need a very small amount and remember to powder it or it might crease a bit!

Let's face it (pun intended), one of the focal points of my face are my eyebrows! I've been blessed with caterpillar-like brows, which can be slightly scary at times, BUT I love them! So I show them some love with the Make Up Forever Aqua Brow in shade 30, I know people say I don't need this but I have a bit of sparseness through the arch of my brows and then to set that in place I use MAC clear Brow Set (another must-have for those with thick brows!)

So, for eye shadows I've been using Urban Decay's Naked Basics Palette - which is AMAZING and so cute :P I use the third shade (I always go from the left), Walk of Shame, all over the lid. Then, I use the fourth shade, Naked 2, through the crease and then I use the tiniest about of Faint (fifth shade) in the outer corner. To finish off, I used the first shade, Venus, as an inner corner highlight.

Then, I go onto eyeliner! My favourite part :D I'm currently using the Stila Stay all day waterproof liquid eye liner. I did an in depth review on this product if you'd like to check that out :). To finish off the eyes I used Maybelline the Rocket Volume Express Waterproof mascara. As you can tell I like waterproof products, because I just feel they last so much longer on me and I do tend to get oily eyelids.

Nearly there - I promise ;)

When I started writing this post I had no idea actually how many products I use on a daily basis! And to make it worse I use 3 cheek products! The first is to contour, I use MAC Harmony blush which is a matte neutral shade, it's a little bit warm for me I think but I do really like it.  Then for blush I'm using Daniel Sandler Watercolour fluid blusher in Cherub, which is a really pretty pink shade. To highlight I'm using the Balm Cosmetics Mary-lou Manizer (such a cute name!) and it honestly is the best powder highlighter I have EVER used! If you need a highlighter I totally recommend this one! 

To finish off the face, I set it using MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in the shade Medium, this is a cult make up product. It's a lovely face powder, with a bit of extra coverage and a natural soft finish. Last but not least...lipstick. I love a good nude/pink (always on the look out for new lip products) and I love the Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani in the shade 103, which is just a stunning nudey pink. Moisturizing to the lips, not very long lasting but what nude lipstick really is?

I know that was a very long blog post but it appears I use A LOT of products :P

I hope you have a lovely day,

Emma 

x