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

xxxx

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

xXx