Bonfire Night Eye Look - plus Fall/Autumn tag

Forget Halloween, I'm all about Bonfire Night.  It's always been my favourite night of the whole year.  It's always truly cold by then and is often the first outing of the scarf and gloves...and long socks and extra t-shirts and sometimes even a hat.  Growing up we had some really great public firework shows.  Childhood fireworks often seem so much bigger and better but the display I've been to for the last few years has actually rivalled those memories!

For those who don't know, Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes night) is the 5th November.  It's remembering the foiled attempt of Guy Fawkes and co. to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605.
It's always struck me as a pretty weird thing to celebrate (especially 400 years later) but I love it regardless.  It's a great excuse to have lots of fireworks and the occasional bonfire (it's been yearrrrs since I had a bonfire).  In my teens I used to host a house party every Bonfire Night after the local show.  Many fond memories.

I love to wear really sparkly, glittery makeup because I think it looks particularly good at night, especially with the fireworks glinting off it.  My local firework display is early this year, on Halloween actually, so I've started thinking about what I'll wear earlier than usual (yes, I ocassionally plan makeup looks well in advance).

Read on to see what I used and to read my tag answers.

My Duochrome Favourites

If you've read even a handful of my posts you'll probably know that I flipping love duochrome makeup.  It's my favourite finish every and if I find a new combination of colours then djashdwenfkn... I'm all over it!

If you're unfamiliar with the term duochrome it usually refers to a product that has a base colour and a different reflect colour; from one angle looking one colour but then changing when you move it.  Sometimes there are than two colours, but it's two more often than not.  Not to be confused with holographic which means it reflects rainbow (also looks amazing!)

Below are my favourite duochrome products for eyes, lips and nails.

A palette a day - week 3

A Palette A Day

The weeks go by so fast!  Week 3 of my Palette A Day challenge was definitely more of a neutral one, but largely is down to the palettes that got picked out.  It's all completely at random, they're written on pieces of paper and I pick one with my eyes closes.

If you want, you can look at Week 1 and Week 2's looks.

Read on to see what makeup mishaps I got up to last week.

Dupes for MAC Blue Brown Pigment

Dupes for MAC Blue Brown pigment

I love duochrome shadows, LOVE them!  One of the first ones I had was Urban Decay Lounge which it now turns out it a dupe for the more famous Blue Brown pigment from MAC.  I recently realised I had quite a few similar shades in both pressed and loose form so thought I'd compare them all.  All of them are a fairly warm medium brown with a green/teal shift to them.

Duochrome shadows are a really easy way to take an average, every day look and make it stunning.

Read on for close-ups and swatches plus my verdict on which to buy.

A palette a day - week 2

A palette a day challenge

If you saw my Palette A Day post last week you'll know that each day in July I'm using a different eye shadow palette, each day picking out one at random.  I'm using solely those shadows, no others.

It's a way for me to use ones I've forgotten about or ones I find tricky to use and so avoid.

Below are the looks from each day, along with which shadows I used.  As you can see, I was drawn to pinks and purples again this week.

Makeup Geek Week - A whole week of eye looks

All Makeup Geek shadows

Makeup Geek Week is officially over.  I thought I'd share with you all of the eye looks from the week.  I didn't do anything particularly fancy, all of it is wearable (for me).  There's a good mix of neutral and colourful looks, some with liner, some without.

All shadows are Makeup Geek.  Of course.

Keep reading for photos of each look with a description of the products used.

Look of the day - Purple Galore

Purple galore makeup

Sooooo I just watched a video where the lady recommended not wearing everything purple on your face.  Well, I did it and I'm probably going to do it again.  Purple is one of my favourite makeup colours so earlier this week I wanted to do a monochrome look with it.  I really liked the outcome and am considering doing a monochrome series with a whole host of colours but I'm not sure...would anyone actually want to see a whole look centred around yellow or green etc?

As I was using mainly cool-toned purples I thought I'd warm my face up with some fake freckles, not sure if you can tell above?  There'll be a close-up below.  I do naturally have some faint freckles but they never come out very dark anymore as I don't get much sun exposure ever.  I'm not sure how natural these ones look but I like them, despite my husband telling me it looks like a tub of cocoa powder exploded on me.

Read on for a product run-down and more photos.

Shaving part of my eyebrows

This post won't be for everyone, or at least the look isn't.  Maybe you're just curious as to why I've done this.  I've been wanting to shave off the tail of my brows for maybe a year so that I can change the shape.  I didn't do it earlier as I was starting work early in the morning and I thought if I was in a rush it might be problematic.  I've left the early mornings behind me so I thought, yes, it is time!

I wanted to shave my eyebrows off completely when I was 14-17 but like with all things, I was too scared. I was worried I would permanently damage my hair in some way and I think I was already concious that there might be photos to haunt me all my life.  Same with black hair, I longed for it but never risked it.  While the desire for black hair is gone, sometimes I'm still tempted to shave all of my brows off so I have complete freedom but I don't think I'll ever do it, partially because I'm too lazy.

Anyway, read on for before and after photos and how I shave the ends of my brows.

Battle of the liquid lipsticks

Battle of the liquid lipsticks

The matte lip trend has been going strong for the last few years and isn't going anywhere!  Matte lips are easiest achieved with liquid lipsticks, which come packaged like a gloss with their own wand, but dry down in minutes.  More and more brands are bringing out their own liquid lipsticks and to be honest, I don't mind as most of them are a bit different in some way.  Plus the more colour options, the merrier!

I thought it would be good to have a bit of a showdown between my matte liquid lipsticks, to see just how well they dry.  For each one I show a lip swatch (one layer) and then what my hand looked like when I kissed it 5 minutes later.  There's quite a difference in how they all perform.  I've got 12 brands to show you here so grab yourself a mug of tea!

My favourite Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils

It's no secret that I'm an Urban Decay junkie and one of my favourite products from the brand are their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  I was originally drawn in by their wide range of colours (which has since expanded) and kept using them because of the amazing quality.  They are the best eye liner pencils I've ever tried; they don't budge at all and the colour stays intense all day.  I love that they set really well, my eyes are slightly hooded and other pencils can transfer up to the top of my eyelid but these don't do that.

Read on to see swatches of my favourite eye pencils.

Sparkly lip glosses

Top to bottom: MUFE D18, Illamasqua Opulent, Revlon Crystal Water, MAC Rags to Riches and Funtabulous, OCC Dune

In general I hate glittery, sparkly, girlie things; I always think they're tacky.  But when it comes to make up I'm a total magpie.  Give me more!  I love glitter; glittery lips, glittery eye shadows, highlighter and plain ole' glitter.  Just see my face today here for more proof.

I thought I'd show you my favourite sparkly lip glosses as they are definitely one of the easiest, and least messy, ways to incorporate glitter into your look.

Spring Darling tutorial

You know what they say, more is more.  After finishing the look for the contouring post I decided that I actually wasn't finished, and wanted to develop my turquoise winged eye look a bit more with red/orange underneath.  I am really pleased with the results so thought I'd give you a bit of a look and tell you all what I used to achieve it.

My favourite green makeup

My previous post on the greens in the new MAC Toledo collection got me thinking about other greens I have and love.  Most of them are quite bright as you can see.  Green is a more difficult colour for me to use and I don't feel it suits me that much.  I tend to use a smidgen of green in a look rather than green all over as I find that a bit easier.

Outside of make up it isn't a colour I like at all, no green clothes, accessories, stationary and furniture.  Oh no.  But then again, there isn't really a colour of makeup I dislike.

Let me show you my favourites.

What difference do eyebrow products make?

In short, rather a lot of difference!  I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times before but eyebrows really do frame the face.  When they're filled in, eyebrows make everything else look a little bit neater (but not the mascara smudges, oops) and just finish off a look.

Here I used a light application of Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown.  It is a gel product which lets you fill in brows lightly or fully, you can even mimic individual hairs with it if your brows are sparse.

This is a very speedy application as it was a work day and I was in a rush as per usual.  It took less than a minute to do each brow but made a lot of difference, to my eye look and as you'll see below, my whole face.

Debu(t)ary: 5 Looks with the Nars Dual Intensity Palette

NARS Dual Intensity Palette

To go with my review of the Nars Dual Intenisty palette here, I thought I would show you some of the looks I've created using it.  All of these are what I would call work-friendly, but maybe most wouldn't.  Anyway, nothing too dramatic.

Debu(t)ary: Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel

Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel in Strike

Until last week Illamasqua only had one shade of their Precision Brow Gel, Strike, a medium brown which would suit most people.  I've been using this for about a month now and it's the perfect colour for my brows (I would also match their Brow Cake in Thunder or Anastasia's Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown).  As of the 12th there is also a colour for blondes, Awe, red-heads, Glimpse, and dark grey, Stare.

What to get in the Illamasqua SALE

Illamsqua shadows Vapour, Pivot, Burst and Vulgar

Illamasqua is one of my favourite brands and it is so exciting every time they have a sale.  They're a fairly pricey brand but their sale are always excellent, this one starting at 50% off.  I thought I'd round-up what I can recommend from what's on offer at the moment.  I made a few purchases from the sale currently on and there are some things I've bought from them before.  

Kat Von D Beauty plus Blue and Purple Winged Eye

KvD Star Studded palette

 This is a quick post to show how I achieved the above look. I had no idea what I was going to do when I started with this look but on reflection I was definitely inspired by Dominique and Stephanie who I follow on Instagram avidly.  I really love a lower winged liner that comes out almost horizontal.  I like that it totally changes my eye shape and I also find it easier to get matching on each side than a higher wing.

I thought today was a good day to post this look at Kat Von D Beauty has just gone live.  It's a site when Kat shares her makeup line along with fan looks using her products (use #kvdlook).  I've been excited about this since she first hinted at it online.

I used the Kat Von D Star Studded palette which  I managed to get on sale at Sephora for $28 (just under £18).

Because it's now sold out I'll recommend similar colours you could use instead.

Blue Lips

If Instagram ruled the world there would be blue lipstick everywhere!  While blue lips aren't exactly on trend in the real world, makeup fanatics are all over them at the moment.  Whether you want to create some cool (get it?) lip art or are brave enough to rock them out in public, here is my guide to blue lip products.  Why do I have so many?  I'm not really sure, but the last photo proves at least that they are all very different colours.

Depotting Illamasqua Eyeshadows into a Z Palette

I love my Illamasqua eyeshadows, Like really love.  I rarely use just a quad for a look though, I like to mix and match between the quads and monos and it can all get a bit cumbersome and finnickity and so I find I don't use them as much as I would like to.  Enter the Z Palatte (and all others like it of course).  It's a magnetic palette with a clear top which you can store your eyeshadows in.  You can buy pans at MAC, Inglot, Makeup Geek etc but for other shadows it's a case of digging out of the packaging, or 'depotting'.  I had read and watched many tutorials on how to do this but was still daunted.  I tried it a few months ago with not the best success but last night felt determined to try again.  Armed with slightly different tools, it was a breeze...almost.

Read on for how I did it and what my final Z Palette looks like.