Wednesday 30 December 2015

New Years Eve Flawless Base





Now it doesn't matter which sort of look you are planning for your New Years Eve celebrations, if your base isn't the best it can be, all that time you've spent on your makeup would be wasted! Shiny forehead, rubbed off blusher and dry patches clinging to your chin....not a look that says "Give me a smooch at Midnight"  So I'm going to share with you my own routine I use to get a flawless base that will last all night.


First off, get that pretty face of your clean! Using this Micellar Cleansing Water will remove any type of makeup residue, leaving feeling fresh and clean. I've written about this product before so won't bore you again with just how brilliant this magic water is. Just trust me on this one.


Next I use the Clinique Sonic Brush for a deep clean that is much more gentle on the skin than any other brushes I have used in the past. Once I pat my face dry I then sweep the Clinique Clarifying Lotion over my face. You will notice that the cotton pads will look grey, this is all the dead skin cells that can lead to your skin looking dull, causes blemishes and dry patches foundation loves to stick to. Now I feel squeaky clean, time to put some moisture back in the skin. 


When it comes to putting moisture back into the skin, I always start off with a serum that will target my skin concerns and works a lot further down in the skin. Clinique Smart Serum helps with pigmentation, ageing and dullness, so I slather that bad boy on all over and on my neck working in upwards motions (sounds odd, but give it a go, you'll notice how lifted and bright your face looks when apply lotions that way) Next pop some eye cream on, I got this Clarins one for Christmas  using the ring finger for a more gentle pressure on the delicate skin around the eyes. Finally top it all off with some moisturiser, I am obsessed with the REN Global Protection Day Cream recently, but any type that works well for your skin. One trick to remember is that if your face feels tacky your skin is fully moisturised. Wait for that to dry off a bit then dive in with your foundation prep.  


Now I don't know about you, but I want to glow on NYE and this primer from Eve Lom is radiance boosting and anti age! It helps my foundation to glide on and stay put in my tricky oily areas. 


Like I said, glow is key, so add a small amount of Mac's Strobe Cream into your favourite foundation and apply it with a damp Beauty Blender for a truly flawless finish, it's best to use the sponge in bouncing movements and not rubbing. Honestly, if you haven't got a Beauty Blender, you simply must get one, I'm sure it's not too late to ask Santa, he may have one in his sleigh somewhere.


Finally, once your master piece is finished set it all with the Urban Decays Chill Makeup Setting Spray. Be sure to spray from a distance as if you spray it too closely it will only make your makeup wet....not the idea we are going for. 

Now you have prepped your skin, treated it to all the right moisture, used helpful tools and finally locked it all into place, you are NYE ready and can see in 2016 looking flawless. 


Happy New Year to you all xo 

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Festive Green

Nars single shadow in Malacca

Just look, look at this eye shadow.....is it not, stunning. I mean, it's the sort of shade that creates a gasp when you spy it on the counter, followed with a "oooooh", then followed with a swatch on the hand. It's when you swatch it you find it turns into a rich, dark cocoa brown with undertones of fabulous peacock greens. It has a beautiful iridescent shimmer that I feel can be used for a variety of striking looks! For me, I would love to play up the emerald green tones so use a damp brush and really pack it on! It gives a very pretty look too when just blended over the lids, simple and stunning. Not really my usual colour for this time of year but gives a festive nod to all things Yule Tide, with perhaps, an ever so tiny hint, of the famous Grinch.... 





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Tuesday 22 December 2015

Winter Frost


When it comes to Christmas nails, red no doubt wears the festive crown. With my addiction to Pinterest pages full of inspiration growing by the day, I've fallen in love with beautiful, frosty, white nails. 






Revlon's scented nail polish in Fresh Linen admittedly takes a while to build up to my desired colour, but it does feel cool to have some scented finger tips! OPI's Funny Bunny not only has a great name, but the best finish out of all the varnishes featured, my favourite. Toyshop's polish in Glitter Frenzy is hard to come by nowadays, but in all honesty, it is the most perfect varnish for a frosty, white nail. Your nails will look as though they belong to the Ice Queen from The lion, the witch and the wardrobe.... minus the Turkish Delight.  Finally MAC's Blue Pearl Topcoat is something special, topping off your base colour with this will give the perfect wintery look. So any of you fancy an icy pair of talons for this season? Let m know cake lovers. xo 


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Monday 21 December 2015

Christmas Metallics


Christmas is the time of year when metallic eye make up is a necessity, I honestly think you can't go to a Christmas party without wearing it, it's against the law! Well....obviously not, but I think it should be!








Nars Dual Intensity eyeshadow in Dione is wonderfully pigmented and looks great as a wash of colour all over the lid, or teamed with black for a full on dramatic eye. MAC's Paint Pot in Indianwood is my personal favourite to use when it comes to a bronze look, the pro longwear formula gives other shadows layered on top real staying power too. Charlotte Tilbury's Colour Chameleon in Golden Quartz is the most perfect metallic shade that has the added bonus of enhancing your eye colour. Thanks to warm undertone, this shadow really makes my hazel eyes pop. Lastly, Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Sandglow. Now, there is a reason this product has such a luxurious name as Caviar. Looking at in the pen it has a light pearl appearance, once applied to the skin it transforms into a stunning gold. I tend to use it mainly on my tear ducts to brighten my eyes and give them a little extra, Christmas sparkle, just what this time of year calls for. 

xo 



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Saturday 19 December 2015

It's about the giving

This time of year can get totally out of control, the presents, the food, the drink. It's easy enough to get lost in it all and suffer with a huge January anti climax accompanied with an enormous credit card bill. We never learn and do the same the following year all over again. 

It was one evening my fella mentioned he wanted to save up his tips, find someone homeless in our area and give them the money. This got us talking, after I made a little joke of him being the next Bob Geldof (I make awkward jokes when I'm speechless) we finally decided on using the money to buy soup that we'd hand out Christmas Eve. So we've stocked up and are ready to get it all sorted, a small gesture that will give someone's Christmas a bit more cheer. Here are a few more ideas for you to give a go this winter to help our homeless. 

1. Fundraising- These events can be so much fun, literally anything can be a reason to raise money for a charity. Take a look at the Shelter website for ideas here

2. Clear out that wardrobe- Admit it, there are at least 3 jumpers you don't wear anymore... which means your friends have at least 3 they don't wear either. Get your girls together and gather up warm layers to take to your local homeless shelter, or even head out as a group and hand them out yourselves. 

3. Blankets & Chocolate- Don't worry if you only help out one person, that is still making a difference. Foil survival blankets are easy to get online here, you could get one blanket and a hot chocolate from a coffee shop and pass them on to the first person you see. You could make someone's day for less than a fiver! 

4. Handbags- I first saw this idea on Facebook. Grab one of your handbags you don't use anymore and fill it with useful bits. It could be anything, from tampons to a toothbrush. Just think of what you would like to find in a handbag and you can't go wrong! 

5. Finally, don't blank someone that speaks to you asking for change. If you are against handing money over, simply apologise and say you haven't got any spare. Just acknowledging whoever is speaking to you would feel better than being ignored, and if anything, it's just good manners.  






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Wednesday 16 December 2015

The last minute guide to Christmas shopping

This is to all of you out there who leave the Christmas shopping until the very last minute...by that I mean.... you men out there, I know, a stereotype... But you boys are a little rubbish... So here are a few ideas for perhaps last minute gifts or even some stocking fillers for your lady. 


You can get subscriptions to almost every magazine out there nowadays, so why not get her favourite one for a Christmas treat? It's a gift that will keep on giving throughout the year too! This gift, in my opinion is great and shows a lot of thought, very easy to wrap too! Take a look at the various subs you can get here 


Now, even if your lady doesn't wear a lot of makeup, give this one a go! It is all about how you word yourself. Throwing over a designer lipstick without explanation will result in her thinking "right, he put no thought into this and just went for something expensive to show off" Yes, believe me, that's how we think. It isn't about the price tag or flashy brand, but whether you have actually thought about what you are getting. So why not try taking some time to look at some lipsticks and deciding which shade you like best. Then on the big day hand it over explaining that you spent a good amount of time choosing one you liked and thought she would like too. Perhaps you could match it up to a top of hers that is your favourite. Or even say she could wear it for a date night you have planned once Christmas is out the way. It wouldn't matter if she isn't the biggest fan of the colour, it would still be a lovely gift to receive. 


Every woman and their goldfish have a Pandora bracelet, but please don't just run in, grab a bead then run off again. Pandora also do a beautiful selection of other pieces. Take a look for yourself, the rings are my personal favourite here.   


Now, I know the situation. It's Christmas Eve and blind panic has kicked in so you just grab anything you can, really try and stay calm and trust yourself. You know your girl, and somewhere buried in your head will be all the times she's pointed out something to you whilst out and about. If that fails go with anything you see that reminds you of her and that you know she will love. From her favourite Lush bath bomb here or some amazing cashmere sock from The White Company here to even the smallest thing, like the compact pictured above. 

Taking the time to think about it all and wording yourself will be your life support during the crush in the shops. Oh, and perhaps next year, try not to leave it until the last minute....



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Tuesday 15 December 2015

Butternut Squash and Bacon Soup


Now trying out something a tad different today, This soup is everything a soup needs to be, creamy, warming golden goodness.....with bacon. I'm a mum now so I like to keep you all well fed and happy! I adapted this recipe from one I found on The Londoner, take a peek here

You will need

1 butternut squash 

1 onion (preferably red)

5 carrots 

4 peeled cloves of garlic 

streaky bacon, roughly 4/5 rashers 

handful of sage leaves

sprinkle of chilli flakes 

sprinkle of thyme 

salt & pepper 

1 1/2 litre of vegetable stock 

olive oil 

1 loaf of crusty bread 


Start by pre heating your oven at 200C. Peel your butternut squash and onion then grab your carrots and give them all a chop. Throw all those lovely veggies into a baking tray, then add your peeled garlic (I keep mine whole). Slice your bacon and add that to the tray with a handful of sage leaves and sprinkle of thyme. 

           
                                        
Give everything a good mix about then add a sprinkle of chilli flakes, salt and pepper and drizzle it all in olive oil. Give it one more shake up then pop it in the oven, aim for 45 minutes  of roasting and having your house fill with the most amazing smell! 



             
Before 


After 

Now throw your roasted gems into a blender and blast them whilst adding 1 1/12 litres of vegetable stock slowly until wonderfully creamy. If you don't have a blender, pop it all into a saucepan and get yourself a hand blender, do the same method of slowly adding the stock. 

You are ready to serve! Pop it into a bowl and wait for the 'mmmmmm's' or, perhaps try what I did and turn your yummy crusty bread into your bowl, adding some extra bacon on top obviously.... 

Huge apologises for the rubbish photo of the end result, however the soup was pretty much gone before I remembered to take a picture!


With thanks to the garlic and chilli flakes,this soup will help banish away any early signs of colds, sniffles and beginning of the week blues! Let me know if you give it a go and hope you enjoyed the different post today cake lovers xo 



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Thursday 10 December 2015

Getting to know your palettes


You are going to think I've lost the plot, but eye shadow palettes have their own characters... bare with me and let me explain myself. No matter how many you have, or how many you use, there's no doubt you have different relationships with your palettes. So I thought I'd share with you some I have with a couple of my own. 


The one I forget about // Smashbox Full Exposure Palette here

 Now, I really don't understand why I constantly forget about this palette. The colours are right up my street and look stunning on. Have to admit the shadows with sparkle in them won't be used by me a lot of the time. However, I love how Smashbox have done the thinking for you and laid out the shades in a way you can never go wrong with a look. One thing I would improve would be the pigmentation of the black, I am always after a black that really packs a punch and gives the ultimate smokey eye. 


The let down // Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette here

I had such huge high hopes about this rose gold beauty when it was first came out. The packaging alone is just stunning. I think I got this palette without really paying too much attention to the colours and whether I would actually use them.Before I knew it it was in my hand, paid for and settled in next to its fellow naked sisters (ohh err) There it has stayed collecting dust, I just couldn't think of a look, I'm not a pink kinda girl you see. With the current fashion and style of makeup being worn at the moment, I could possible change my mind....


The what did I do without you // Bobbi Brown similar here

 The tones, the shades, the packaging of this palette is right up my street. Perfect for a daytime look or a dramatic evening smoke out! I wasn't able to find this palette on the Bobbi site, however the one in the link has very similar tones. 



The too pretty to use // Givenchy here

Yes I will admit that my personal collection of makeup is enormous. I collect it, and those of you who don't understand this will think I'm crackers! I came across this palette during an internship and was allowed to take it home. I gazed at the beautiful leather inspired cover of the box for what felt like hours. Don't you think it's something you would find on the vanity of a stunning Geisha? No, just me? Well I think it's breathtaking and I am just too scared to use it, so it sits on my vanity just in eye shot for me to look at it dreamily.


The great for beginners // Bobbi Brown similar here

This palette is perfect for beginners! The colours all blend so smoothly together you can't really go wrong! Just like the other Bobbi palette mentioned earlier it also has the shades for day and night looks too.  

The Traveller // Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics here

When I pack for a holiday you can be certain that this little fellow is tucked away ready to go. Handy little size and not too bulky so the chances of the shadows breaking from being thrown about are very low. I also think that these particular shades really suit my eyes and complexion when I get myself a bit of colour! My trusty little travel buddy.

The ol' faithful // Urban Decay Naked Palette here

Behold, the Naked palette.... This palette offers so many different options of looks, you honestly do not know where to begin. For any self respecting beauty junkie, this palette will be in your collection, it's like the key to success. I know, you're thinking I'm mad, but it's true. It also has the most perfect shade of brown in it too. 

So there you are loves, any of you have the same palettes as me? What are your relationships like with them? xo