FOTD using UNE Foundation and Sleek Jewels palette and NOTD 1/9/2010

It feels like England is clinging on to Summer now with a little burst of sunshine, even though technically it's September, we're now officially Autumn. This time of year usually means finding transitional makeup, makeup that's suitable for both seasons. For me, that usally means finding rich, plummy, golden colours, at least for my eyeshadow. A palette I find perfect for those rich, beautiful colours is the Jewels palette by Sleek, so I dug that one out and will show you a quick FOTD.I used the champagne gold colour all over the lid, it's a perfect wash colour, and probably one of only two colours I can use all over the lid. Then for the crease I picked out the plum/purple shade, and used the silver on the inner corner. Still a pretty neutral look, but the purple livens it up a little. Sleek is fantastic for their pigmented eyeshadows, they look so multi-dimensional once applied, so much depth to the colour. The only problem is finding a palette with an entire range of colours that I can wear. I wish they would bring out a neutrals palette, like the Urban Decay Naked palette, it would be pretty near perfection in a £5 palette. Close up of the eyes - I used Sleek Jewels, No. 7 Amazing Eyes eyeliner, (I found another liquid liner that actually compares to my HG Loreal Superliner!) it was given to me by my Mum since she couldn't apply it, and it's surprisngly very good, and I'd say pretty fool-proof too, if you're a shaky-hand-eyeliner-applier as I am.

Other products I used

EYES: Bourjois 1001 Lashes mascara, topped with Rimmel Volume Flash the Max mascara; Eyeshadows primed with TFSI;

FACE: Une Skin Glow Foundation in G06 (Love this, review to come soon); Rimmel Clarifying Powder, MAC Refined Golden bronzer.

LIPS: Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Rose Pearl.

And not to leave my nails out, since I really love this colour, I painted them in Barry M's Racing Green, which is truly a gorgeous colour in it's own right, it reminds me of old Jaguars, not just the colour but the finish aswell. I decided to turn it matte out of curiousity, and it turned out pretty good. It's a slightly irridescent colour, and you can still see the other dimensions to this colour, just in matte form. I'm going to be sporting this a lot through Autumn I think. I prefer dark colours for my nails so I'm not going to miss the summer pastel shades too much.

What are your favourite colours for autumn?

Maybelline Colour Sensational lipsticks

I was first introduced to these wonderful lipsticks when I won Ambre Rose on a blog competition (I love fellow bloggers!). Ambre Rose is in the pink family of these lipsticks and the other week I was browsing Superdrug on The Strand (probably my favourite Superdrug, it's so well stocked and organised) and Maybelline had 3 for 2 on certain products.

Impressed the first time round with Colour Sensational, I knew I could trust the quality of these and there were so many great shades to choose from. I like how the shades are organised into colour families, it makes it a little easier choosing the right colour for you. Nothing from the Plums appealed to me, I don't know if plum would suit me, I've just always avoided it so I guess I'll never find out. So I got 3 from the remaining 3 families, Pearl, Brown, and Red.

Red is again a colour I struggle with, I think it's the fear factor that stops me reaching for red lipsticks. Amongst the red family, there were a few coral numbers which is a colour I adore. I found the perfect lipstick to wear under Revlon's Coral Reef lipgloss. It's almost an exact match, unfortunately the pictures below don't show the vibrancy. It's called Coral Pop (number 420) a peachy/red tone that's quite bold and so best paired with a toned down eyeshadow look. I think you could still go quite bold on your cheeks though and pair this with a coral blusher like MAC's Peach or a nice bronzer. The consistency of this one is a little more drying than the others, I would recommend exfoliating your lips before applying as even the tiniest amount of dry skin seems magnified by this. Having said that, the pigmentation is fantastic, as is how long this lipstick lasts, I'd say a good few hours and because it's quite a matte finish, doesn't rub off on your glass when you drink. Applied well, it looks great.

Next we have Rose Pearl (822) from not surpringly the Pearl family. These shades were released later than the other colour families and are probably the most appealing to me. I think these are the hardest colours to find as I haven't found them in all the Superdrugs I visit. Rose Pearl is this gorgeous shimmery shade. It looks like a nude in the tube, but with a very fine bluey silver shimmer to it which is more apparent when applied. Think crushed pearls on your lips! I think nude fans will love this shade, I wear it mostly during the day time but this would look so glamourous with a smoky eye instead of a classic plain nude lipstick.

And finally, Velvet Beige (630) from the Browns family. I think this might be my favourite of the three I bought because I took a bit of a risk with it and found a colour that I never go near, but actually really love and think I will reach for this the most. I happen to be a big fan of browns but I usually go for the nudey browns, for example my favourite shade is MAC's High Tea. This is still a nudey brown but somewhat darker than I've tried before.
I love darker colours that suit my skin tone because I find them more long lasting than lighter shades. My lips are really pigmented too so I need quite a strong colour that's just as pigmented to show up on my lips. Velvet Beige leaves my lips with this wine stained colour that really warms my entire face up. At the risk of sounding like an idiot, this is also a lipstick that makes me feel "sophisticated" and "grown-up"! I guess it's a shade I associate with older women than myself, but I think if something looks right on you, or more to the point, feels right on you, you should wear it, over something you feel you should be wearing for your age. I love the creamy texture of Velvet Beige, (it's funny how all the Colour Sensational lipsticks feel like they have different consistencies, yet they still have that same marzipan smell!) it's moisturising without being overly glossy. This will definitely be my most used lipstick over Autumn/Winter.

FOTD 16th April 2010 using NARS Sheer Matte Foundation

Here's some pictures of the makeup I wore today, as I haven't done one of these in an age. Below is with flash...
and in natural light...
I kept my eyes pretty neutral using MAC's All That Glitters on the lid, Wedge and Tempting in the crease, Woodwinked in the outer corner. I lined with Loreal's Superliner in Carbon Black, and used Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara on my lashes.

I kept the eyes simple since I wanted to do a statement lip as shown in the trout pout below.

I'm wearing MAC's Pink Nouveau which is a hot barbie-esque pink. In real life it's pretty dramatic but I realise in the photographs it's not that bold.

On my cheeks I wore my favourite bronzer MAC's Refined Golden, it's a beautiful shade that came out with the Style Warriors collection but I believe is part of their permanent collection anyway. It's a gorgeous shade, not too false looking, very suitable if you have yellowish tones to your skin. I'm definetely a fan of bronzers in general so I'm happy that my winter skin has gone and I'm back to my "natural" shade. I don't deliberately tan my skin but I only have to catch a glimpse of the sun and I tan. I think everyone has a shade they're meant to be.

I am wearing NARS Sheer Matte foundation in these photos which I'm pretty happy with. I will post a review of this foundation soon as I've only read people's opinions of the Sheer Glow.

FOTD and EOTD

Here's a quick face and eye of the day post as I haven't done one of these for a long time. I'm back at the parentals this week and really had to limit what I brought with me because I'm off on a hen party tomorrow, then travelling back home to London on Sunday and didn't want to haul a big load around with me. When I'm forced to pack lightly, I find out that I really can cope with just a few pieces of makeup. So here's a FOTD with a few of my favourite makeup items that I brought back with me.

On my face I am wearing MAC Select foundation in NC25, set with Rimmel Clarifying Powder. I am wearing Too Faced blush in Papa Don't Peach over my cheeks and cheekbones with MAC's Springsheen concentrated on the apple of my cheeks. On my lips is my new favourite lipstick: MAC's High Tea.

All the eyeshadows are MAC, and here is one of the looks I've created with my pan collection so far. I have green eyes, so I find warm, golden shades really bring out the colour of my eyes. I applied All That Glitters all over the lid, with some Woodwinked on the outer corner. I also used Woodwinked to line the underneath on my eyes which you can't really see in the picture, but gives my eyes that extra pop, and it's the perfect consistency to line your eyes with. I believe it's a veluxe pearl shadow, which just glides on effortlessly. I used Twinks in the crease which is a gorgeous dark, dirty plum colour, it works really well with the golden shades and is really warming to my eyes. Shroom is a safe highlight colour for anyone in my opinion, I used it here on the browbone and the very inner corner of my eye just to finish the look. My eyes are lined with Loreal Superliner (my fave) and I'm wearing Rimmel Glam Eyes mascara and Bourjois1001 lashes on top of that.

FOTD

This was actually face of the day a couple of days ago. It was super hot today, so fotd quickly melted! Hopefully you can see the Patina eyeshadow on the lid here. The finish of MAC frost eyeshadows is quite subtle, but pretty, and I love the irridescent effect. I'm wearing Patina on the lid, Tempting in the crease, Hush as a highlight, and the darker shade from the Nars duo; Paris in the outer corner, Refined Golden as a bronzer and the lips are au naturel.