Wednesday 15 February 2012

Style Crush: Kourtney Kardashian

I have always lusted after her style! For me she has hit the nail on the head when it comes to personal style. She's a petite girl and she never lets anything swamp her. She also isn't afraid to try anything and always pulls it off so well. She can wear edgy, casual, chic and glam and still stay true to her own unique style. So nothing ever looks too contrived.

I also adore her as she's never without a blouse on. Blouses are my wardrobe staple because they can suit any occasion and any body shape. Here are a few I ADORE and am lucky enough to own:

My favourite place to find blouses such as these is Asos as they host a variety of brands on their site so you can find lots of different styles and at great prices! In my opinion Asos is the best place to search for practically anything. They are always up to date with the latest trend, their sizing is on point and they cater to people of all heights and sizes. I am rarely disappointed when placing an order on Asos and if I am it is a bonus for my wallet!

So to conclude this style post, in my eyes Kourtney Kardashian can do no wrong when it comes to her styling (your own opinion of who she is as a person aside, that girl has style ;-)
I also adore Miss Kardashian because she is always in a fabulous pair of Louboutins. 
I mean how can you not love her for that pure fact?!

Thank you so much for reading!
Until next time x x

Monday 6 February 2012

Neutral > Colour

I used to be obsessed with coloured eyeshadows when I first started using makeup. My favourite colours to use were greens, blues and silvers; usually very sparkly and usually by Barry M (Glitter Dust.) But through the years and through experimentation, I feel like I've learnt which looks best suit me. And that is not to say I will never use a coloured eye shadow again- I do however believe there are eye shadows colours best suited for certain eye colours. My eye colour is brown (I like to believe a Mahogany Brown as it has a reddish tinge in the light) so I don't think there is a particular colour I shouldn't wear, however I feel neutral shades and lighter tones compliment them best. In the spirit of budget buys, I am now going to list some of my go-to drugstore shadows...
L’Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Brown Eyes Intensifier colour 511
I adore this colour. It is part of L’Oreal’s range of makeup that is suited for particular eye colours and I believe they hit the nail on the head with this one. It does compliment brown eyes so nicely! It is a sheer pinkish/cream/silver. It is perfect as an all over wash of colour but can also be used with a shimmery dark grey/brown for a smoky eyes effect.
    
No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow 25 ‘True Gold’
Yes, unfortunately mine recently broke *cries* luckily it broke into large pieces so it is still usable! This eyeshadow does what it says; it is a gorgeous true gold colour. It looks amazing with falsies and a smoky eye for a night out but also works lovely as an everyday colour. On its own it has a glittery gold effect, so it can be kept quite simple for the day. But if you include primer and build it up, it does become a brilliant bright gold. I also get questioned a lot on what shadow I’m wearing when I have this gem on!
       
BOURJOIS Eyeshadow 05 ‘Brun’
A lovely shimmery brown that blends so well with my skin tone that it is almost hard to see! But I love that quality about it as it is great for the days when you want a more natural makeup look. Or the days when you don’t have much time to spend on your makeup, so I will do a quick dust of this on each lid and then apply liner and mascara and my eyes are done! It is also a great shade for when you want to wear a bold lip, as with this shade on, all the focus will be on your lips.
I tried to keep this post as short and sweet as possible. I hope it was still informative, I couldn’t really think of how many more ways I could explain how much I LOVE THESE SHADOWS. I believe they will compliment any kind of skin tone, it just depends how much of the shadow you apply. If you are someone who constantly wears bright colours then I would suggest considering trying neutrals for a change, you might end up liking them more or finding them better suited for certain occasions.
Thank you so much for reading!
Until next time x x x

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Prime Time

Not so long ago, Sarah and I were browsing the makeup aisles in Superdrug when I discovered that she had never used primer. I was absolutely shocked as since I can remember I had always used a base for my eyeshadows. I believe it started around the Barry M Glitter Dust faze where I thought ‘how do I stop this dust falling all over my face?!’ So I began using creamy eyeshadows as a base. This worked well for a few years and was very affordable; however since trying proper eyeshadow primers I have noticed a huge difference. 1) The eyeshadows were usually coloured, therefore you would have to use it as a base for a colour that complimented it well. 2) Some were quite watery, so you would have to wait for it to dry a bit before applying, and sometimes the colour would dry too quickly and the shadow wouldn’t stick/ apply evenly.
 
Now since discovering eyeshadow primer, I have also ventured out into using other primers. I am now going to list the 3 I use and give you my honest opinion on them...


URBAN DECAY Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Since purchasing this more than a year ago I have used it EVERY SINGLE DAY. It has a neutral colour when you apply it so you can use it as a base for any colour ranging from white to black! It applies evenly so gives a lovely even finish when you apply your shadow. It will not budge (so don’t worry about creasing and smudging throughout the day) and when removing my makeup using water, after the first splash my shadow is still intact. The primer itself has lasted me ages, only now is it beginning to run out and I’ve had it for more than a year. In my opinion this is 200% worth trying out if you have had an issue with eyeshadows in the past.

URBAN DECAY Eyelash Primer Potion
There is not a day that goes by that I do not use this product! It might not seem an essential to everyone, but it is an essential to me! If you are like me and have an obsession with thick, false looking lashes, and used to use 3 mascaras at one time to achieve that effect... then your troubles are no more. Not only does this provide an EXCELLENT base for mascara, it also gives you the impression that you are using two mascaras (just so you don’t need to go cold turkey on your habit ;-) but honestly, it separates my lashes perfectly so there is no clumping when building up mascara and it gives the illusion of thicker lashes as the mascara coats the potion already attached to the lashes. So if you are not too fussed about shadows and are big on lashes instead, invest in this miracle product!

 L’OREAL Studio Secrets Resurfacing Primer
I don’t tend to use face primers as often as I use the other two primers. I guess because I’ve been blessed in having quite even skin, so no matter which foundation/powder etc that I’m applying, if done properly, it gives an even finish. However I do believe face primers are worth trying anyways. The L’Oreal primer gives a smooth, velvety effect when applied and it is good if you are like me and put a load of face cream on before foundation, so the primer gives a non sticky surface to work with. I do also notice that with primer my makeup stays in place a lot better, so I will use mine mostly when I’m going out in the evening and I don’t want things like poor weather and sweaty clubs to ruin my makeup. But in terms of using it in the day I wouldn’t really as I’m one of those people who prefer my makeup once it has set on the skin throughout the day.

All in all, I think primers are essential in creating a good base for makeup. If you haven’t yet tried a primer and are considering it, I would suggest deciding which area of makeup is the most important to you, be it: your skin, eyelids or lashes and start with one of the three and once you get the hang of that, branch out to the other areas if that interests you. Apologies that the products I mentioned are a bit on the pricy side, I just wanted to give an honest review and these are the primers I use and swear by. However as I am pro drugstore products I will tell you that MUA do an eyeshadow primer which my friend now swears by, and it is less than £3 and if I can remember correctly MUA also do other primers, so check their makeup counter out. Or if you want to start out like I did with creamy/liquid eyeshadows, that is fine also, the one I used to use was MISS SPORTY Eye Illuminator.
Thank you so much for reading!

Until next time x x x