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Snow Queen Shoot :)

What an amazing day we had….So festive, so creative, so brilliant!!

Now I know this isn't something you guys may create often, but if your feeling artistic, or inspired then be sure to try out this look, as it is relatively simple, and easy to carry out and the results are so effective! Fancy dress, themed party, this would be great for :)

So I created two looks for this shoot, one more traditional Snow Queen look, and the other was slightly less 'classic'



The first look I created focused on the White Lashes from Eldora Lashes, they were the centre of the look!

For the Face I used MAC Studio Fix mixed with MAC Lustre drops, although a foundation that I am loving at the moment, which is so similar to the MAC one is one by Fashionista, and its £3!!!! Insane!

Mixing the lustre drops with your foundation will give you a beautiful subtle glow, which looks incredible in editorial/fashion shoots!

I then powdered down the face using MUA's translucent powder, contoured slightly using my Dermacolour pallet and then got on with the eyes!

I used my NYX white milk stick all over the lid, upto the brow to give me a white base to work with!

I then applied a pale shadow - MAC's Jest all over the lid up to the brow, giving the illusion of a larger lid!

I applied White Mascara from Stargazers to the top and bottom lashes, using a flat tipped brush to ensure maximum coverage of the natural darker shades of the lashes!

I then applied my lashes, prior to application I did enhance the lashes slightly using glitter, and small bits of iridescent 'snow' just to add interest to them! I applied the glitter and snow using my Crown Brush Silicon Applicator and eyelash/glitter glue :)

I also took my pink blusher in Nymph from Illamasqua, and applied using a crease brush, into the crease of the eye, and on the apples of the cheeks!

For the Lips, I took my pink blusher mentioned above, and lined the lips with a pencil shader, and filled them in using MAC's Vanilla Pigment, putting some gloss in the centre of the lip to add extra lustre!!!



Then the fun bit…I took my eyelash glue/glitter fix gel, and applied them to the face where I saw fit to have glitter/snow (everywhere) and got to work sticking the bits in place, I also took the interest down onto the neck!

The final thing I did was to dust off any unwanted glitter, using my ELF Fan Brush, and Sticky tape if it were required, and I then took my vanilla pigment and highlighted the centre of the nose, the bow of the lips, the cheekbones slightly and the brow bones!!!

I could have continued adding and adding but we were on a schedule, so I put the hair up in a classic bun, incorporated some of our lovely sprayed thistles, put my model in front of the camera and got on with look two!

Now the second look originally was going to be the 'unique/different' one but it turned out more classic than the one mentioned above!



I used for this second look, a foundation by maybelline 'touch of fit' which was a shade darker than the models skin, but this was the idea, no line was visible on her neck due to me covering her neck in Glitter (YAY)

I applied the foundation all over the face, down onto the neck, concealed slightly using my MAC Studio Fix concealer, contoured quite heavily using my dermacolour pallete, this was also intentional, as it was going to provide a base for the cheek interest!

The cheeks were contoured and highlighted using pigments, I used the Bronze Copper Sparkle MAC pigment on her cheeks, blending it into the face makeup, no definitive line is desired!

I then took my light blue/dark blue/silver glitter, and covered her in glitter :) My fave!!! Using my Crown Brush Applicator, and the Glitter Fix gel from Stargazers I applied the glitter to the cheek bones, the hair line, I used the glitter to structure the face, the jaw and then down again onto the neck!!


I then created a simple smokey eye on the lid, applied mascara to the lashes, and stuck my Eldora H160 lashes in place, these lashes are my favourite used to date, they really are lovely, natural, flirty! AMAZING

I groomed the brows, gelling them into place, and then moved onto the lips, again I took my blue, freshwater MAC eyeshadow, and lined the lip line with the pencil shader, taking my vanilla pigment into the centre of the lips, and again adding gloss to the centre to add extra lustre!!!

Finally I applied more dustings of snow and glitter, into the hair, and I applied some glitter to the tips of the lashes!!




I put the hair up in a sophisticated yet messy updo, put sprayed thistles in her hair, and again placed my model in front of the camera…..

Any unwanted glitter is easily dealt with! Just have sticky tape on hand :) Oh and dry shampoo to help make the hair grey! :)




If you have any questions about anything to do with this look, then do ask, brushes specifically used, techniques etc! Ask Away!!!


Till next time…

Lots of Love

Alex

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Bobbi Brown Sample reviews!

Helloooo Lovelys!

I recently made some purchases on Bobbi Browns website and they were doing an amazing offer of spend over £50 and get 3 free samples! With Blogging now being something very much on my agenda daily I saw this as a perfect opportunity for another blog! :)

I'd purchased my items, was heading to the checkout at which point I got the opportunity to pick three samples... It was between mascaras x 2 a cleansing oil and a lip gloss! Now I don't particularly wear gloss solely on it's own, I sometimes team it up with lipstick to add extra lustre, but I went for the mascaras and the cleansing oil!






The mascaras were an Everything Mascara, and Lash Glamour Extreme mascara,  now for me and this may only apply to me but I really do not appreciate the plastic wand mascaras, although I did try it out for the purpose/benefit of this blog! 





The plastic mascara, Lash Glamour extreme, wand was great, it lengthens lashes and it separated them, no clumps were present it was brilliant! But I personally just don't like working with the plastic wands, call me old fashioned but I find the brush wands with fibres on to be more suited to mascara application, but that may just be me! 






The other mascara, the Everything Mascara, the one I prefer to work with did just as good as job as the other, these mascaras both provided me with lengthy black lashes, but still not the curl I am desperate for! Now this will be partly due to the fact my eyelashes are stubborn and won't curl, I really need to get my hands on some heated curlers!

But as mascaras go! They were good! Although I shall be sticking to my scandal eyes mascara! This is my all time fave! I love it! 






My favourite item of the three which I will be purchasing in full size is the cleansing oil! This product is a rare find! It's so luxurious, and lovely! Leaving your skin feeling just perfect! 

You apply the oil, from the sample i'd say 10 ish drops, from full sized bottle, 2 pumps? Making sure your face and hands are dry, massage the oil into your face, working the oil into your lashes to bring off any eye makeup! Once you feel you have removed all of the makeup, wash it away with warm water and tadaaaaa you will be makeup free!

This stuff is like magic! It's so lovely, smells lovely, and it didn't leave my face feeling oily at all! It just left it feeling smooth, soft, clean and fresh! I then applied my silver serum, mentioned in my previous blog, and then my day/night moisturiser! 

I would 100% recommend the cleansing oil! And I will definitely be trying other items from their skin care range... But mascara wise I shall be sticking with my Rimmel Scandal Eyes for now! 

Hope you enjoyed! Any questions feel free to ask! 

Lots of love

Alex
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Skin Shops Skin Miracles….

When I was sent these products I was so excited to finally have a skin care regime…

I have to admit before my blogging kicked off I was terrible, makeup wipes used to do me, and I would rarely moisturise, my skin needed minimal maintenance, but I figured I needed to up my game, and actually invest in a skin care routine to hopefully slow down the ageing process, that I think I have now fallen into…

Skin Shop offer a wide range of skin care products, for all ages and all skin types!




I received the Kalme Range, which I have loved using!!!

I received a cream cleanser, a daytime moisturiser, a daytime defence serum, a nightime moisturiser, an eye gel, a lip balm, and my favourite product of all, A Silver Serum!!! Already sounds fantastic doesn't it…I also received some Caviar Face Masks, which I treated myself to last friday night, and they were incredible!!!




So the Cream cleanser, I used after wearing makeup from a night out and face makeup it shifted, eye makeup it shifted but didn't get rid of completely, once I had applied more it did eventually budge the mascara and eyeliner/shadow, but ultimately it wasn't as successful as some of the other makeup removers I have used…I then tried it, with removing general day to day minimal makeup and it did the job just fine! It left my skin feeling clean, fresh and hydrated! For those of you not wearing much makeup, this is a great product that I think you will benefit from, and its aim is to reduce red ness which a lot of us suffer with especially over the winter months, so its a great find for the winter months, and a product that you should definitely look into adding to your skin care regime….

Now that is the only negative thing I have to say about these products, the rest were incredible…




The daytime moisturiser was lovely! It was light, had a fresh scent, and really hydrated the skin, I work outside a lot and these products have really assisted my skin in fighting the cold! If you have oily skin, Id go for something a little less hydrating, as this gives my skin a sheen, and I have normal skin, but once the skin has had chance to absorb, it isn't noticeably 'sheeny' :) This is lovely on its own, but it can also be teamed up with makeup, providing you with a good base!





The serum that I received was also great, I get really dry bits around my nose in the winter, and this has completely stopped that! The serum sits nicely on top of the moisturiser, enhancing the look of your face once the products have completely absorbed! They leave you looking fresh faced, glowing, and healthy!





Now the night repair moisturiser I applied just before going to bed, I applied it generously to ensure maximum hydration of the skin whilst I was sleeping! This smelt so natural, quite earthy, I thought it resembled tea! But it felt so nice on the skin, its quite thick, but you can feel it working its magic! I applied this each night, and this is also aimed at relieving redness that our skin can develop in the colder months, and I have been so happy with the results!





Every night and every morning after moisturising I would apply the dry eye gel! This was light, cooling, and smelt fresh! This would really lift the eyes, making them feel bright, and awake! Use this after taking off your makeup after a night out, and it will really aid the repair of the skin after the mass use of makeup on them! :)





The other product I used which I was a bit apprehensive about was the Liquorice Lip Balm, Solely because I don't like liquorice, if you like liquorice you will love this balm! It makes your lips soooo smooth! It also boasts to prevent you from getting Cold Sores if you are prone to those! :) If you find yourself getting cold sores, especially in the winter, purchase this lip balm, which will assist in the prevention of those annoying sores that you would rather not be sporting throughout the year :)







Now my favourite product out of all of the ones listed, was the Silver Serum, I could write a blog solely on this product! I recommend it to everyone, no matter your skin type, your age, whatever! You need this product…It claims to fight the bad bacteria our skin produces, which produces spots and blemishes, and it promotes the good bacteria on our faces, that keep us looking youthful, healthy and glowing!

I applied this product whenever I could…I had a few blemishes prior to using this two weeks ago and now I am completely blemish free, I started to notice an immediate difference, and after 3 days I was mostly clear! Now I don't have bad skin…but this really aided the overall appearance of my face! My face appears smoother, my makeup is sitting better on my skin, I have a more flawless appearance without makeup! I would 1000% leave the house without makeup now!

I used this product, before applying each of my moisturisers in the morning and at night, after cleansing! Its light, fresh, smells divine, and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth! Its a MUST have in your skin care regime!!






Now the final product was the Caviar Face Masks, I asked my friend if she would like to join me in a face mask, friday night session, and who would turn it down….not her!! :) Caviar Face masks were at the ready, we were makeup free and ready to apply our blue (avatar) face masks…They were slimy, in texture, and bright blue! They were easy to apply as they moved around to the shape of your face, moulding to the contours! We then lay there for half an hour, both experiencing different sensations, of cold, tingling etc..but the end results were amazing! We removed the masks, and our skin felt and looked instantly brighter! Fine lines (only 22) were less noticeable, and the overall appearance of our skin had improved!!! I then applied my silver serum…my night time moisturiser, and hopped into bed! I felt facially amazing!!! :)

These products are definitely ones I would recommend adding to your regimes…They have many products on their websites, as mentioned before, for different skin types! So if your looking for a different problem to be tackled be sure to check out the website…another benefit, all ingredients are natural! :)

So for me Skin Shop products should definitely be on your christmas lists!! :)

Thanks for reading,

Lots of Love

Alex

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Snow Queen Shoot!

Looking forward to the Snow Queen collaboration taking place on the Wirral this weekend, two lovely models will be put under my brushes to be turned into Snow Queen inspired visuals! 

Photography will be taken care of by the lovely Danni Booth! 

And together I'm hoping we get some great shots!!!
Glitter, fake snow, white mascara and my lashes from Eldora Lashes have been purchased! Sooo... Please watch this space for upcoming details, blogs and images! :)





Lots of Love
Alex
Xxx

Avant Garde…Gold Flake Makeup

This look was so much fun to create, Avant Garde is such a broad aspect of Makeup, it allows artists to really express themselves, get creative, and ultimately have fun!

I had seen something similar to this look on Illamasqua, and used this and the look done by Karla Powell as my inspiration! I bought the flakes a month or two ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to be able to use them, and I was finally able to do so on Saturday….

So first of all what equipment will you need?

Face -
Art Deco Foundation - 1 or 2 shades darker than the natural skin tone
MAC Skin Mineralize powder - Soft and Gentle
MAC Lustre Drops
Ben NYE - Gold Shadow (Azlec Gold)
Gold Flakes - Ebay
Glitter Fix Gel - Stargazers (Amazon)
Kryolan Camouflage Palette (D15)

Eyes -
Emite Eyeshadow - DAMS (from my Glossybox)
NYX Mascara
Lashes - any that you love use! Eldora are my FAVES at the moment!
ELF Gel Liner
NYX Pencil Liner

Lips -
Gold Ben NYE Shadow
MAC Gloss

Tools -
Blending Brushes/Contouring Brushes - see my brush blog for essential brushes!
Face Brush
Silicon Applicator from Crown Brushes

So firstly I started with the face, applying Art Deco foundation 1 or 2 shades darker, using my short stipple brush from Crown Brushes, I built the foundation up to get maximum coverage. I then contoured the face using D15 in the kryolan camouflage palette, using my ELF Concealer Brush, be careful with application of this it is very dark so you won't need much. We opt for a grey coloured medium, as people often think using a brown shade of contouring medium works best, but actually grey is your best bet, as we are essentially trying to create a shadow!

Once the face was finished, I then took my ELF concealer brush and applied the Gold Ben NYE shadow to the areas in which I wanted the flakes, or some highlight/interest. I highlighted the edge of the face and all of the areas in which you would usually choose to highlight with a normal highlighter.

I built up the Gold shadow, to add some depth to the look, and also providing a good solid base colour for the flakes to sit on.

I applied the Gold Shadow to the jaw line, the cheek bones, above and below the eyebrow, along the bridge of the nose, on the hairline, and down onto the neck, highlighting the clavicles. I applied until I was satisfied with the colour of the product on the skin.

I then took my Glitter Fix gel from Stargazers, and applied it to the skin in areas that I wanted the Gold flakes to stick.

I also tied the hair back, applying wet look gel to the front, running it through the hair with a comb, to give it a sleek look, and I then applied the gold flakes into the hair line, running back into the hair!

The tool that made this look so simple to do, was the silicon applicator brush, by Crown Brushes, this truly was a god send!!! The applicator, picked up the flakes allowing you to transport them to the face without them dropping all over the floor, and allowed you to place on to the primed area with ease.








I stuck the flakes where I had firstly put the Gold Shadow, focusing on the framing of the face!
I took the flakes down onto the neck, at which point I decided to change my medium, I decided to use glitter, to cover the neck, using rather big glitter particles to cover the neck, again using the Glitter Fix gel.








Once I had applied all of the Gold Flakes I then moved onto the eyes..The look was sultry, dark, smokey, jet black eyes!

I have used a few black shadows in my time, but this has to be the most, deep, black I have come across, it is AMAZING. Its the one I received in my Glossybox this month and it is incredible. The pigment is so strong, it applies beautifully, blends amazingly, and has minimal fall. Although I did apply some translucent powder underneath the eyes to allow any drop to be removed with ease!


I applied a shadow base, NYX White Milk Stick, to the lid, for the shadow to adhere to, and taking a round contoured brush, again from Crown, I applied the black shadow, winging it out slightly, and continually blending until I achieved that dark black sultry, smokey eye. I also applied the Ben NYE Gold Shadow to the inside corner, to give it some interest, and contrast.








Another great brush for this look, is the Mini Contour (Crown Brushes) this really enabled me to get close to the lash line, applying the black eyeshadow precisely, as it is so small, but then being able to blend it out, with it being fluffy! This brush is a gem, and one all MUA's and makeup lovers need in their kits!

Apply your mascara, and Lashes and your eyes are almost done. I decided that I wanted to apply some gold flakes to the inner corners of the eyes this was simple to do, just apply the Glitter fix gel to the amount of the lid in which you want to cover and then apply the flakes using your silicon applicator!








I kept going over my Gold Highlight as I LOVED the colour, it was amazing, and it just got more beautiful the more I applied…I literally could have spent hours on this look, faffing, and perfecting!

I then finished the look with the lips, I again used the Ben NYE shadow and applied it to the lips, and applied gloss over the top in the centre of the lips, to maximise them!!






This looks was one of my favourites done so far, Avant Garde is supposed to inspire and create imagination paths within individuals, and thats what it has done for me, viewing the likes of Illlamasqua and Karla Powells work…I hope this inspires some of my readers, as I have already had several ask where I got the gold flakes from, so I hope to see a few of you re-creating and experimenting!!!
I would love to see some of them when your done…send them my way :)








Anyway, Enjoy, be Creative, Break Boundaries, and don't hold back!!

Lots of Love

Alex

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