EXPERIMENTAL EYES #1 - POP OF ORANGE

 Now Summer is here, I thought it'd be a good time to start being more experimental with my eye makeup and add in some colour. I always try purples and blues with little success and never really contemplated orange-coral colours until I saw 2 colours from my Sleek Blush By 3 in Lace that I thought could make an interesting eye look... and I really love the result. 

I used quite a large variety of products within the process so I'll try and keep this short and sweet. The Avon Eye Primer was the first step to blank out the lids and avoid creasing, followed by a coat of the Dainty Doll Cream Blush in Billion Dollar Babies (is it cheek products for eye shadow day today?!), as well as the MUA Colour Blast Shadow Stick in Stay all over the lid, with the Stila Smudge Stick in Oscar Fish blended into the outside corners. I then took the contour colour from the Sleek Face Form through the crease to warm things up as well as putting Half Baked from Urban Decay in the centre of the lids.

On the lower lashline I put the Stila Smudge Stick in Angelfish, followed by Chantilly from the Sleek Blush By 3 (also pushed into the waterline) as well as Crochet on the outer half. I did this with a small dense tapered brush to really pack on the colour and used the same technique to focus this bright colour on the outer crease. I took the brush I used for the contour colour very lightly to blend the edges.

The liner is a mix of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Blackest Black and Barry M's Blink Waterproof Pen. On my lashes is a coat of Soap and Glory Thick & Fast followed by the Sheercover Lash Fibres and then Too Faced Lash Gasm Mascara on top of them.

I said I wouldn't ramble but would you look at that... I did. With simple glowy skin and a nude pout I predict this look will be getting a lot more wear from me in the upcoming weeks. Also, watch this space, this morning I photographed a pink and gold look for you so maybe this can become a mini 'experimental eyes' series?

SLEEK BLUSH BY 3: LACE

Sleek blushes aren't stocked near me, but they are definitely some of my favourite blushes out there (my Face Form has huge circles gleaming silver in where I have hit pan for the reference), so when I saw the Blush By 3 in Lace for £5 in my local Tesco I nearly wept (with joy).

There are two matte shades, a bright vibrant orange called Chantilly, and a hot red-pink dubbed as Crochet. The formula of these two are nice, not too buttery nor too chalky but the right balance that allows them to really stain the cheeks and create a long lasting colour. The shimmer is called GUiPure or something(?!), but is a stunning colour. Think Sleek Rose Gold but lighter, and I really love the look of it swatched and kind of packed on - it reminds me of a sunset, what more could you want?

These could possibly be some of the brightest powder blushes I now own and I am really inspired to try more from the Sleek blush range now, let's hope Tesco get some more trios into the clearance so I can get a collection going! But, saying that I would definitely pay full price for these, as three blushes in one place for £9.99 is a brilliant deal, and what sounds like a travelling essential...

BRIGHT BLUSHES FOR SPRING

Another Spring-based post today, as will be the majority of my upcoming posts over the next few weeks, but today I am focusing on the cheeks, and in particular - blush. When Spring comes along, I like to crack out the brighter shades and add some colour to my makeup.

One that I'm sure you all hate me for banging on about on almost a weekly basis is the Topshop Cream Blush Duo in Up In The Air - a duo of a bright orange and pink with a cream to powder finish. Another heavily mentioned one is the Revlon Photo Ready Cream Blush in Coral Reef, a red coral which blends out to something a little more muted, with the same powder finish.

For a budget offering, the MUA Cream Blush in Bittersweet comes in at £2 a pop, and has a nice range of neutrals and brights. I particularly love this one as it is so bright in the pan and it really translates that candy pink colour onto the cheeks. Another MUA product is the Powder Blush in Shade 1 (which I'm not sure is still available), is a muted, powder version of the pink in the Topshop Duo. 

Last but not least, not only does the H&M Spring Flowers blush get points for the stunning pink-coral colour, it also gets the award for the prettiest packaging of the bunch. It's mostly matte, but that centre pale pink adds a hint of shimmer, but often I just avoid that if I want a matte cheek.

Blushes are quickly becoming my weakness, so we will have to wait and see which will be my purchased next...

MY FIRST KIKO PRODUCTS

Kiko. A brand I wasn't all that aware of, until when spending the day in London for my birthday with Megan, and we strolled past the store - and some purchases were made. I wanted to get a product from each category I guess; eyes, lips, and face, and I did that, and I love every single one of the products I got, and now I have a craving for more.

I got 2 shadows, 137 which is a stunning red, which instantly reminded me of MAC Cranberry, which made me throw it into my basket, and for £2.90 a shadow, it was rude of me to only buy one. So it appears I was liking the red eye colours on this day, because 133 was also purchased. This is more wearable, but still has those red tones in it. Basically, it's a warm darkish brown, which has those burgundy tones in it that make it that little more interesting. This and my crease get along very well.

The Natural Concealer in 01 made its way onto the till and now as a daily product on my face. I saw that this was slightly pink toned, and after hunting for something for under my eyes for quite a while at a reasonable price, this £5.50 offering intrigued me. Okay, okay, the coverage isn't that great, but it is light, sets nicely, doesn't crease, and gives a little correcting and brightening action under the eyes, and you know, I really like this little one.

Finally, the Smart Lipstick in 912 came home with me. This made me think of MAC Impassioned (Kiko, you are on point with the MAC esc. products), so I snapped it up straight away, and for £3.90 I have no regrets - in fact, I want more. This has been making me love a bright pout, and for a budget price, a few more shades are on my wishlist.

Have you tried Kiko?

 

BEST 5 OF 2013: LIPS

Once again, I am sitting at the laptop screen, typing up the (last) installment of the 'best of 2013' series going on here on my blog, and many others too. Today we are talking lips, and I have nudes, brights and some moisture going on in this post.

The first one is MAC Faux Lipstick which isn't one that gets a whole lot of fame in the blogging world, but I blimmin' love it, just the perfect your lips but better shade. Being a satin finish, it isn't too glossy, neither is it so matte it totally deprives your lips of either. Just a nice in between semi-matte. Lovely.

Second on the menu is the Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart which was the lip colour that I guess took me through that transition into wearing brights in the past few months. This is balmy, slightly sheerer that other lipsticks, and the formulation is perfecto. I seriously love this one, and just writing this gives me the urge to go and purchase the entire range.

The Maybelline Baby Lips made their way onto the shelves this year in the UK and although we have limited shades, I have all 3 tinted ones and also one of the hydrating ones (the other two are on my wishlist, I promise), and although for moisture they don't do all good for me, the shade Cherry Me has has a good lot of wear this past half a year.

Then, the GOSH Soft n' Shine Lip Balm in Scarlet. How long am I going to ramble on and on about this one? This is one of the first neutral lip products I really became loyal too, and I still love it now. Basically, a glossy, balmy, sweet smelling, pink/plummy nude which is my go-to on an everyday basis. I would compare the formula to the Revlon Lip Butters just not as thick, and perhaps the colour doesn't stick around for as long, but I adore this nonetheless.

Finally, another one I bang on about, and wear on probably a weekly basis. Yes, it is the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey the perfect pink colour which is toned down so I feel like I can wear this everyday. To show how much I love it, the bullet now resembles some kind of stump, lacking in its pointed crayon-like tip. And yes, I have definitely gone a little cray-cray. 

Oh how I love lip products, and I expect I will be trying a lot more in the upcoming year.

 

MY PICKS FROM THE CIATÉ MINI MANI MONTH

I thought I had resisted the whole 'beauty advent calendar' thing, but when I went to the Clothes Show Live on the 9th, the Ciaté stand were selling off the Mini Mani Month for £10. Yep, a tenner. I couldn't resist, and now I think I have enabled an annual tradition for me... Oops.

24 mini polishes are included, ranging from caviar, glitter, sequin, pastels, brights, and dark colours, and I will be sharing my favourites of the bunch with you.

L-R: Dallas Dolly, Snowglobe, Twinkle Toes, Pink Caviar

Starting with the 'effect' ones, my favourites have to be the Sequin in Dallas Dolly, which is just full on festive, with a range of glitters in gold, red, and olive-green tones. Another I like, but am yet to try is the Glitter in Twinkle Toes, a holographic glitter, which would be messy, but I think would be worth it for a New Year's Eve accent nail. The caviar ones are still waiting for my seal of approval, I like the effect, but they didn't last long. One I do like is a topcoat, which is called Snow Globe full of iridescent flecks and flakes, almost a pastel version of Gosh Rainbow.

L-R: Sugar Plum, Pepperminty, Hoopla, Candy Floss, Chinchilla

The pastels basically owned it in this calendar, and they will be getting a lot of wear throughout spring. I am slightly obsessed with mint green, so Pepperminty got me very excited when I opened the door. Hoopla is such a cute colour. It is peachy, pinky and just incredible. I don't even know how to explain it, I just love it. Another one is Sugar Plum, which is a pastel, pale, lilac-purple colour, which adore. The other 2 pastels are also stunning, and go by the name of Chinchilla and Candy Floss.

L-R: Playdate, Hopscotch, Main Stage

Onto the brights, and there are only 3 I would class as all that 'bright'. The first is Hopscotch, which is a true orange, and believe it or not, I don't actually own any of those (I have an OPI, but it is slightly more red I believe), so this will be worn a lot in the summer. Another is Main Stage, which isn't even all that bright, but I included it in this section anyway. It is a nice medium-dark pink/fuchsia colour, and is Playdate which is a bright, slightly red pink, which is just so summery, and I want to slather it all on my nails now. 

L-R: Starlet, Tweed and Tails, Encore!, Boudoir

Onto the dark colours from the bunch. First up, is Starlet a duochrome bottle of magical-ness. You think it's purple, then it is slightly olive, then it is full on emerald - love. Boudoir is just a classic red, which suits me really well (sadly a rare occurrence for me and red polishes), and is just so classy. Tweed and Tails is something completely original in my collection, being what I would describe as a dusty khaki, and is so Autumnal. Finally, we have Encore! which is a slightly darkened and muted orange, which is another autumnal one, although you could definitely make it work all year round. 

It seems I've been bitten by the beauty advent calendar bug, but I guess we will have to wait another year to find out if I buy one..

COLOR CLUB KALEIDOSCOPE COLLECTION

Color Club is a band that has great nail polish offerings, but we don't often see them on our shelves here in the UK. In the past, I have managed to find myself a pack of 4 from the Take Wing collection from TKMaxx, and that is what I have done again, except this time, it is 2 polishes, from the Kaleidoscope Summer 2013 collection, for £3.00.

The colours stood out to me when I saw them in the shop, unlike anything I already have in my every growing collection of polishes.

First in the collection is Abyss, what I have on my nails as I type this post. It is such a nice colour, a sea foam-turquoise hybrid. It is a lovely glossy finish, and pretty opaque too, 2 coats did it for me. I must say though, this is the thicker one of the two, which I wasn't sure about, but if you get a little more than you need on your brush, and you wont get any stodgy looking brush strokes. Aside from that, I am liking this a lot.

Then, we have Bright Night, a bright cobalt, purpley blue, in a creme-jelly mix of formulation, which is my favourite of the two, and what I actually bought the mini set for. I have also worn this one, the day I got it I had put it on. I love this, and will be featuring in a future post about my picks for Autumn nails, because I can tell I will get a lot of wear out of it.

One thing I could complain about this that these chip quite easily, like after a days worth of wear or less, but I do have problems with chipping on most nail polishes I wear, so I can't say that it is down to the formula.

I really hope that Color Club polishes will be more readily available in the UK soon, as I really do like the colours they offer.