Winter faves

This cold weather is doing nothing for my skin and christmas spirit is leaving me penniless! 

Some me time is in order for sure. I've messed about with my makeup and had a look at this seasons trends. So far these are a few of my favorites... :)

Nude lips and No makeup/ makeup.

My favorite foundation when I'm trying to look fresh faced and natural is Mac Face and Body. It glides on like velvet, it is really sheer so a little bit of powder over the top makes it a little bit more long wearing.

Rimmel have got some beaut nude lipsticks out at the minute, there is 100% a shade for everyone. I took Rachael's advice and bought a couple. My favorite at the minute is one of the Kate Moss range in 03, adding a slightly deeper lipliner gives an instant plumper pout. They smell amazing too.

Wine stained lips.

Waaaahay it looks like a few of us have been in style for years!

I have noticed a load of brands with lip and cheek stains knocking about. Body shop have deffo got one. I love a dual product, I feel like I'm getting more for my money.

The catwalk girls I have seen, have matte stained lips. So I would apply the stain and then blot off the excess with a cotton pad. A little bit of mascara and you've got a grungey 90's Courtney Love look going on. 

Red lips!

Yesssss thank Christ, I love my red lips.

Nice bright pops of red, or more of a two tone red. Using a darker lip liner and blending it in slightly with your lipstick  give definition and a ombre effect. MUA at super drug, do some fantastic lipliners for about £1!

Finally! I have a new found obsession with Benefit fragrances.

I am distraught that my FAVORITE "Lookin' to rock Rita' has been discontinued. WHY? Why do they do this to all the best ones. I love Coconut so this perfume is like my soul mate. Does anyone know of any alternatives?  Help.

~MJ xoxo

' I was blind, but now I see '

Our skin is our largest Organ and one that most of us majorly take for granted. It's exposed to the elements and if that wasn't bad enough we start slapping on the fake tan and 'expensive' skin care products that are probably doing our skin no good. I have definitely been naive when it has come to buying skin care products but as Bradley Cooper said in limitless 'I was blind, but now I see'. (I could have quoted this from many sources I chose Bradley as he's in my top 10)

Simple is not so Simple people.

Organic Natural skincare is the way forward. We need to start looking after our poor ever suffering skin. 

I've heard amazing things about Weleda but there is only a tiny range at my local boots and I'm very impatient when I get a bee in my bonnet so I needed another organic alternative.

Boots Botanics do an organic range. The range gives a percentage of how organic the product is. Unfortunately most products have to contain some sort of preservative.There are no truly effective all-natural preservatives, so that's why not all the products are 100% organic.

Botanics organic range is formulated without parabens, and is not tested on animals.

I'm not saying I'm going to be 100% organic just like that, it's going to take a bit of time and research to change stuff over. It tends to be a little bit more expensive but I think it's worth it. I will definately look at products differently from now on when I pick them up of the shelf.

So here is my new skin care regime. I used to always use makeup wipes, because they are quick and easy but they were just drying out my skin and probably making it look worse.

I like to have a face wash I don't feel clean with a cream cleanser. So far I LOVE the hot cloth cleansing balm, it feels really nice on the skin, it doesn't sting or feel itchy, and after using the hot cloth my skin feels mega clean. I have been using this morning and night.

I then spritz my face and neck with the rose water toning spray and wipe over my face with a cotton pad to check for any makeup that still might be lingering. 

I have been using the hydrating day cream morning and night too, I thought I'd try a few of the products to see how I got on before buying the whole range. It's quite thick so at first I didn't think I was going to like it, as I have an oily skin. It's actually really nice, it 

soaks into the skin really nice, and my makeup goes over the top lovely.

I have had a bad couple of weeks with my skin, and so far it seems to be getting better with these products, I'm going to take a few pictures over the next month to see if there are any definite improvements.

My skin before and after makeup.

I'm going to finish my post with a few ingredients you should watch out for, out of curiosity I checked the back of my simple cream cleanser to see if it contained any of these ingredients and it did. Like i said Simple is NOT so Simple after all.

Mineral oil aka paraffin, parraffin wax and petrolatum.

Mineral oil aggravates acne and causes the skin to age prematurely. It provides no nutrients and actually seals off the skin preventing it from breathing.

Alcohols aka ethanol, ethyl, methanol, benzyl and isoprpyl

Alcohols can really dry the skin out and rid the skin of vitamin A.

Parabens- artificial chemicals used as preservatives 

Parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors. They have also displayed the ability to mimic estrogen. The estrogen mimicking aspect of parabens may be contributing to girls going through puberty alot earlier than we used to.

Sorry for all the big words.

~M

Capsule Makeup bag (FOTD) pictorial

My Basic tools

Blusher/Bronzer Brush, Foundation brush, Eyeliner brush, Angled eyebrow brush and my eyeshadow blending brush.
Face

I started off with my foundation I applied it with my Duo fiber crown brush. I love this brush it gives a flawless airbrush finish. 

I use my concealer as a highlighter, this would probably be too heavy for a lot of people, you could just use a lighter powder or foundation. My bronzer I placed just under my cheek bones and across my temples. The concealer and bronzer together act as a subtle contour to bring out my cheek bones, my lips and make my eyebrows look lifted and neater. 
I then blended everything, and added some blusher to the apples of my cheeks, to give me a fresh faced pinched cheeks kinda look.

Eyes 

Firstly I used my mid brown right in the crease of my eyelid and blended up slightly.

This will just contour the socket to add definition to the eye.

I love a feline looking flicked out eyeliner, it can be a little bit tricky though if you don't 

do it often.

As you can see I started with my flick and worked inwards. I do 2 sections, one from the flick to the centre of my eye, I then drop down in a diagonal line and finish at the lash 

line. How thick you want these sections to be is entirely up to you, the thicker the section

 the more cat like it looks. The second section I carry on the line from the top of my diagonal line and bring it thinner towards inside of the eye. Finally I fill in both sections, and clean up any little accidents or messy lines using a damp cotton bud.

The brushes I use are mainly www.crownbrush.co.uk brushes.

They are fantastic value for money and the best brushes I have personally used.

The eyeshadow brush is from sigma I really like this brush it gives a lovely soft finish but it's the only brush from their range that I have used.

I hope this has been helpful! This is the first pictorial I have done so bare with me :)

Get your feline flicks on!

Ta Ta for now

~M

Capsule Makeup bag FOTD

Face of the day

This was a quick up and out makeup look for work.

FACE

I used Mac studio fix foundation in NC30 as my base.

My bourjois bronzer under my cheek bones and temples.

I concealed under my eyes to hide my dark circles using my MUA hide and conceal stick in fair. I also blended this above my cheek bones and around my nose as a highlight, at £1 a stick I think everyone should stock up on these. They are FANTASTIC value for money.

I brushed my pink blush over the apples of my cheeks and blended it slightly into my bronzer.

EYES

I used my light shimmer all over the lid then blended some of the mid brown into the crease of my eye, and some charcoal right in the corner.

I used the shimmer under my bottom lashes and again a little bit of charcoal in the corner to add some definition and make my eyes look more feline.

I used my Mac gel eyeliner to create my feline flick but I kept it quite subtle as I was just off to work after all. I finshed my eyes with a generous helping of my new rimmel mascara which I bought purely because of the name "Scandaleyes Retro Glam" but I'm really impressed with the false lash effect it gives.

LIPS

My lips were nicely moisturized this morning, so I just added a little bit of my pink gloss to give them a healthy shine.

Scandaleyes - retro glam available at Superdrug

Bourjois delice de poudre - available at Superdrug

MUA hide and conceal - available at superdrug

The wonderful Mac for everything else 

I hope this was useful, my next look will be a step by step using my basic tools.

Ta Ta for now

~M

The ombre lives on...

Contemplating a hair make over this season? I hope so because the must have colors this 'fall' are AMAZING. Out with the cool blondes and pinky reds... In with the multi-tonal honey blondes, hazelnut browns and striking coppers.

All the pretty hues you associate with autumn.

The ombre or dip dye do's are 100 percent hanging in there. 

I think it will be less of the contrasting brunette/blondes and more of the subtle Copper/Golds.

Here is a beautiful copper ombre I did yesterday.

If you are thinking of a change, it doesn't have to be a massive colour re-do or anything too scary.

You can be as subtle or as out there as you want. A few rich low lights in blonde hair can totally change a look without being too drastic.

Go for it, you'll look and feel fantastic this autumn.

~ M