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?

Make-up Product of the Month - September: Rimmel Clean Complexion Clarifying Powder

I wanted to give a little rave about a product I’ve been using a lot this month: Rimmel London’s Clean Complexion Clarifying Powder. I believe this is available in a few shades, but I bought the Transparent version, number 021 because I didn’t want the hassle of matching it up to my current foundation. I bought this because I find that when using a liquid foundation, if it isn’t MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid, then I need a powder to touch it up and keep away that shine. This product works beautifully for that and I love the fact that it contains natural minerals. I’m still a tiny bit sceptical of mineral products and how natural some of them are, and I’m not sure how this powder differs from Rimmel’s Stay Matte powder in Transparent. I haven’t used it so I can’t compare, but it is possible this is the same product marketed a slightly different way. Either way, it’s still great and I find if I apply on top of my foundation in the morning, I only need to apply it again in the afternoon to get my make-up looking new and refreshed. It’s very easy to apply but I would stress that this product is for setting your foundation and taking away shine, it will not provide any extra coverage. As for its claims it contains ingredients that help minimise breakouts, again I’m not so sure, but it certainly hasn’t increased my breakouts, so if this is a problem for you with other powders you have used, by all means try this.Clear complexion is widely available and is really cheap! I believe I only paid £3 for this. It’s quite easy to overlook because of its cheap and non-descript packaging, but it does the same job as its more expensive rivals so for that reason, I am featuring it as my MUPOTM. The only downside (and I have to say this because let’s face it most products have something you’d like to make better), is that it doesn’t come with a sponge applicator. Because I use this on the go, I prefer a sponge applicator just because it’s so easy, but I guess this leaves you the option to use a brush to apply it with if you would rather.