Saturday Night Makeup | FOTD I

Let me start off by saying I cannot even begin to comprehend the reaction to last saturdays "selfie". Nearly 300 of you liked it so I must have been doing something right - I'm assuming its the makeup or the Shirley Temple curls because it can't possibly be my awkward pose.

I hate taking selfies although if you were to look at my phone you'd think the complete opposite because it is absolutely full of them. 40 odd photos at a time, each one taken at a slightly different angle in a bid to find one thats "workable". Oh the joys of being a blogger...

Anyway, I've been getting a lot of questions about the makeup I'm wearing in the photo so I thought you might like me to do a post on all of the products I used to create this look!? (Look at your one. She thinks she's a Pro MUA now - notions..)

So to the products..

Base: 
I started off with the Nivea for Men post shave balm. There has been so much hype surrounding this recently that it was inevitable that I would jump on the bandwagon sooner or later. So I bought it about a week and a half ago and have used it maybe 3-4 times. I dunno how I feel about it yet but I'll report back.

I used the Garnier Perfect Blur 5 seconds primer around my nose, under my eyes and on my chin. These are areas where I have larger pores and texture. I always use this and it's brilliant - quite similar in texture to the Porefessional primer by Benefit but a fraction of the price.

Foundation:

 I used the Urban Decay Naked Skin weightless Ultra Definition Liquid foundation in 3.5. If you like high coverage you'll like this however err on the side of caution if you're on the drier side because it can look a little cakey if you're not careful. I always add a little bit of the Nars Sheer Glow foundation to the centre of my face to ensure I still look a little dewy. 

Concealers:

I used two. My holy grail budget concealer is the catrice camouflage concealer both formulas the liquid or the cream. I used the liquid one this time as it was closest to hand. I also used the IsaDra Color Correcting concealer (the green shade) to combat redness. If you've followed the blog for a while then you'll know that about 2 and half years ago I had my eyebrows embroidered. Well the colour is beginning to fade and they look a little bit red now. For the time being I've decided not to have them redone so I apply around the brows before carving them aout with the catrice concealer. 

I used the SoSu Contour palette in shade 1 to highlight and shade 2 to contour. I've been absolutely loving this palette. It's so creamy it blends like a dream - If you pick up one product after reading this post make it the SoSu Contour Palette. It blows the Crown Brush one out of the water and I have my suspicions that it was created through them..

Powders:

I set all of this in place with the Catrice Prime and Fine powder before bronzing the rest of my face and deepenig up my contour with the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in 'Bronzed'.

I've been using a flormar eyeshadow as a blush recently. It's in the shade 'coral wind' and it's literally the only blush I've used in about 4 months. As for highlighter? It's gotta be MaryLou by TheBalm. Hugely hyped and worth every bit of it. Just thinking about MaryLou makes me happy! I apply so much of this I might as well use it as a setting powder.

Eyes:

I always start with my brows and I've been using the Inglot AMC Eyebrow gel in '16'. I love the contrast of the dark brows with my almost white/grey blonde and this is a nice ashy brown shade. I then go on to prime my lids and to do this I use MAC's Paintpot in 'painterly' and set that with Inglot 355 eyeshadow. I used a peach shade 312 as my transition colour and blended 335 into my crease and under my lower lashline. I applied shade 563 to my lids and blended it into the burnt orange. From there I applied the AMC Gel liner in '77' to my waterline and smoked it out in my upper and lower lashline. Applied a generous coat of MAC's In Extreme Dimension Lash Masara and a set of lashes. I wore the Kiss i-Envy Lashes in '01 Au Natural'

And finally to Lips.
I'm wearing a RImmel Lip Liner in the shade 'Cappucino' all over the lips except for the very centre where I put a little bit of MAC 'Syrup' to give it a slightly glossy finish. 

Hair: 

I used the Remington Silk curling wand with a 13mm - 25mm barrel - No hair spray afterwards and the curls held in place for 3 days!!

So there you have it.. All of the products I used on Saturday night. I chop and change the products regularly but for the most part the routine stays more or less the same. It takes me about 30 minutes to do the whole thing. 
If you'd like to see more of these types of posts just let me know and yes I am 100% aware of the fact that this is really long winded and I could have literally made a list but it's been a while and I'm excited to be back!!  

7 Questions from a Beauty Blogger to a Photographer

 

So as promised, 7 questions I've been dying to ask the photographer himself. You can find him @NOS_PHOTO on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.

1.We all love a good selfie. What advice would you give to ensure we always get it right? 

Lighting is the key I feel. We’ve all seen a grainy selfie in the past, and that is down to the lack of light. Personally, I think natural light is the best light but a strong lightbulb should do the trick. And I mean strong… Bad lighting can make you look haggard and I don’t think anybody wants that look intentionally. It helps if your light source is above your face slightly too as it defines your natural features. 

Raise the camera above your face. Everyone looks better from this angle. If you place your phone below your face you end up looking chubbier than what you actually are. Make your natural jawline visible!

2. Any advice for getting comfortable in front of the camera? 

Be confident. If you’re nervous or tensed up when a photo is being taken, this is how you’ll appear in the photo. I know it sounds obvious but I think it happens more often than many care to admit. Best tip is to relax, trust whoever has the camera in their hands and be as natural as you can be. 

3. What photo editing apps are on your phone? 

Good question! None. I don’t like to over-edit photos especially on a mobile device. Maybe I’m old fashioned but I like to do editorial work on a desktop, especially when I have professional software!

4. How do you avoid red eye or those demon eyes when the flash is on? 

Turn it off. Flash should only be used when necessary. The flash itself is lighting the inside of your retina up hence causing redeye. The only solution not to avoiding redeye completely and using a flash it to look away from the light. 

5. #foodporn snaps? Yay or nay? 

Yay if you’re an avid cook. 

Nay if it’s something you’ve ordered in a restaurant. 

6. How do you avoid bounce back on mirrored products in photos? 

I think flashes are the biggest culprits here so avoid at all costs. Bare in mind too if you’re photographing a reflective surface, it’s going to reflect everything around you. Try and photograph in an environment with the least visual clutter around you. For example, try not to take a picture of a mirrored surface when you’re in a room with heavy-patterned wallpaper because that’s exactly what will appear on the surface. 

7. What's makeup look should we avoid if we're having our photo taken professionally?

Avoid makeup that makes you vulnerable or uncomfortable. As professionals we have the skills to photograph almost any makeup, whether you’re going for an editorial shoot or a natural maternity shoot. Wear what style that you feel looks best on you and they’ll make for the best photography.

If you haven't checked it out already, you can read part one here on Niall's blog where I answer some of his questions.

 

 

IsaDora | Nude Sensation Fluid Foundation

 I've had this foundation in my stash for months. I received it at an event last year and used it a couple of times. I did like it at the time but my skin was in a really bad way - really dry and dehydrated. It would cling to the dry patches on my face and I quickly moved onto another foundation.

It's only in the past few weeks that I've rediscovered it and now that my skin has improved (slightly) I've been loving it.

IsaDora describe it as a 'super fluid foundation' with an 'airlight' finish and I have absolutely no reservations in whole-heartly agreeing with the statement.

It's very deceptive - the consistency is really watery but it's extremely pigmented with a medium-buildable coverage. The finish is slightly matte but the formula itself is hydrating so they kind of balance eachother out.

I love the matte look but because my skin is so dry naturally I've become accustomed to a dewier finish and find myself reaching for an illuminator without even thinking about it.

 It comes with a pipette despenser (or dropper) and 3-4 drops is more than enough to cover your whole face. I have it in the shade 10 Nude Porcelain and it's the closest match I think I've ever found to my own skin tone - I don't even need to blend it into my neck. It's slightly yellow toned too which I personally prefer. If you're a fan of Bobbi Brown bases I think you'll like it too!

They say you can apply it with your fingers but I'm a brush girl and have been using it with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and then going back in with a sponge to make sure it's completely seamless - sheering it out under my eyes and across the bridge of my nose to let my newly discovered freckles show through.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, it's what I've been wearing in all of my recent selfies and the comments speak for themselves. The finish is completely natural and it feels like I'm wearing nothing on my face.

As for price? It's in and around the €23 so it's a little bit pricier than your average chemist brand foundation but I'm getting 8-9 hours wear without the need for touch ups where I'd normally need to apply more powder to my t-zone after the 4th hour with another foundation.

Inglot Warm Neutrals

*Warning* 

This palette is the result of a self inflicted spending ban. 

It was my intention to get through lent without buying any makeup,clothes or shoes and I lasted a grand total of 2 and a half weeks before I pushed myself over the edge by stepping through the doors of Inglot on Oliver Plunkett St in Cork.

Its been on my wishlist for a while - I'm a complete sucker for warm tones anyway and was torn between a freedom palette from Inglot and the illusive Master Series Palette One from Blank Canvas but unfortunately it has been out of stock online for weeks.

In my defense I was pretty restrained. I did contemplate filling the palette on the day but having paid a trip to Mac just beforehand I said I better be good and settled for 5 shades in a 10 palette. Not to worry though.. It'll be full before long!

In typical me fashion I couldn't wait to take photos of the shadows before tearing into the and I ended up wearing a few of the shades on Saturday night.

I will definitely be doing a full review on them in the near future but for now I'll just let you bask in their glory and leave you with this..

If you do not own a peach eyeshadow, you need to leave whatever it is that you're doing and go out and get yourself one.. It will change your life for the better. Without a doubt it is the best makeup investment I have made in a long time. It won't matter how bad you think you are at doing eyeshadow - Peach makes everything look more blended! 

Shades L to R:607 -335 - 563 BP -312 -355

Makeup Additions | MAC, Charlotte Tilbury and Hourglass

To ease my way back into blogging after what seems like forever and since my last high-end haul went down such a treat, I thought I'd show you some of the gorgeous makeup bits that I have acquired over the past few weeks - the majority of which was very kindly gifted to me by my family for Christmas. 

Hauls are my favourite videos to watch on YouTube - I think they're a great way to introduce people to products they may not have heard of before and also a great way of enabling me to spend my hard earned money. Not looking at any bloggers in particular *coughs* Lovelygirlie.com *coughs*

So without further ado.. 

MAC:

 'Soft and Gentle' MSF - 'Painterly' Paintpot - 'Chili' & 'Mehr' lipsticks

Lipliners in 'Edge to Edge' 'Whirl' & 'Burgundy'

 Charlotte Tilbury:

'The Vintage Vamp' Eyeshadow palette

'Bitch Perfect' Lipstick

 Hourglass:

'Monochrome Rose' Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

'Ambient Lighting Wardrobe'

So there you have it, some of my new in high-end makeup bits, if you see anything in particular that you'd like some more information on or a blogpost about just let me know and I'll get on it.

Or of you have any product recommendations you think I should know about also let me know ;)

Duochrome Nails

I knew that New Look had brought out their own beauty range but I never really made time to have a proper root through it.

While I was queuing up to pay for a few bits last week, I spotted this nail polish out of the corner of my eye and said I'd chance it. I have a soft spot for Duochrome and with Christmas just around the corner I've become somewhat of a magpie for all things sparkly. If it was crap I wasn't going to be out of pocket by much - it was €3.99.

Let me start off by saying that Duochrome is very hard to photograph and these photos do the polish no justice. The shade is 99 | multi coloured and it really is gorgeous with bronze,copper and pewter glitters. 

It looks everything from rose gold to a metallic khaki depending on the lighting. 

The wide brush makes application really easy - two coats and its completely opaque and you're good to go.

As for staying power? I've had the polish on for 5 days and I have yet to see one single chip. To say I'm impressed with the polish is an understatement. I'll get so much wear out of the polish over the festive season.

Have you tried any products from the New Look pure colour collection? It'll be my first port of call the next day I'm in there.

Mac Nudes for Pale Skin

 Finding the perfect nude lip shade is a lot like finding the perfect pair of jeans - Difficult at best but once you find it you feel as though you can conquer the world.

Being as typically "Irish" in the complexion as I am only adds to the already up hill battle. 

That being said, after much deliberation I have compiled a list of three of the most wearable MAC nudes for pale skin.

A lot of your "true nudes" will make you look like an extra from the walking dead if you're pale along with adding a yellow tinge to your teeth in photos so I've avoided including any. Instead I have opted for neutral shades that will enhance a paler complexion while still giving the desired "nude" effect. 

 Left - Blankety -Amplified - Brown/Beige Nude

Middle - Creme Cup - Creamsheen - Pinky Nude

Right - Syrup - Lustre - Mauvey Nude