EOTN & fancy dress.

18th Birthday of a friends' son on Saturday eve and it was fancy dress.  The words that strike fear into the heart of anyone that abhors attracting any more attention than is absolutely necessary, I hate it.  Anyway needs must, I settled on Puss in Boots on basis that I had black leggings and black boots and could hire a shirt and a hat with a feather in it and once I removed the hat I would be dressed in "normal" clothes!  I have nothing but admiration for people that go all out for fancy dress, I just have no desire to go out looking any worse than I need to!  Anyway having settled on the outfit on Saturday eve I decided to do a pretty full on eye make up, with no time to spare I suddenly realised that it might have been an idea to have had a bit of a practice.  Initially I thought I'd go for a full on black smoky eye but decided that could look a bit hard so I thought I'd add some silver and then I had a flash of inspiration and thought "cat"!  Which meant green, in my head at least.  So this is what I came up with:

I use black pencil to do the flick out at the side first (still not happy with that I am not sure it works on me and on one eye it went up and out and the other along and out which took some sorting!) then on the lash line top and bottom.  I filled in the outer triangle with Creep from the Naked palette, then decided to put Gunmetal the same palette on my mobile lid.  Then added a dash of GOSH Golden Green next to that and finally Halfbaked into the corner and taken underneath my eye on the inner corner as well.  Blended like a demon.

I was really pleased with how it turned out and if I am being honest I didn't think I looked too bad in the full Puss in Boots costume, so here's a couple of pics!

 Bloody hell!  So come on then, fancy dress - love it or loathe it?

FOTD - when bad eye shadow happens to good people

After yesterdays rather dull neutral FOTD I decided today I wanted to incorporate the blue in a more wearable, day friendly eye.

Please bear in mind that I get up at 5.50am. I have to be ready to run Em down the hill at 6.50am and in that time I have to shower, beat my hair into submission and do my "face". Mistakes are not an option. So this morning I slapped on my UDPP and grabbed the blue matte Revlon shadow and whacked it all over the mobile lid. So far so blah. So thought I'd try blending. Now have an eyelid with nasty patchy stains and blue eye shadow all over one hand.  At this point my options were a) do breakfast for guests with one blue eye or b) slap some blue onto 2nd eye and hope applying foundation would balance things out.  Once I had smeared blue eye shadow over 2nd eye decided only way out was to then apply the same blue to the crease.  At this point I looked like the "before" from "Ten Years Younger" as in "Debbie is aware that she has been stuck in an eye shadow rut for 20 yrs and is still wearing the same blue eye shadow she wore in 1986".  In an absolute panic I wiped a smear of Buck from the Naked palette into the crease and attempted some kind of blending action.

see what I mean? Not exactly fab is it but not a bad recovery if you had seen the dire big blue mess I was before adding the brown!
 
Emily came in and took one look at my blue stained hands and masses of tissues all covered in blue matte eye shadow (bloody stuff wont blend but it does get everywhere!) and said I looked like a kid who had nicked her mums make up kit. And she still expected a lift down the hill.

I had a go at mixing some of the GOSH Cappuccino and the Revlon Matte in Mink to make a slightly darker nude lippy.  Off for a facial this pm and need to buy a nude lip pencil, as my Bobbi Brown Cocoa one leans too orange to work with this colour.  Also need to invest in some kind of lip buff and lip primer I think.
Onwards and upwards folks, not a triumphant fotd but I think its good to share the lash ups too! 

FOTD - 21st Feb

Was taking pics for a guest post I am writing for another blog - watch this space! - and thought this would be a good fotd pic.


Eyes - tightlined with Darkhorse, Sin on mobile lid, Buck in crease.  Brows Clinique superfine liner in Soft Brown. L'Oreal Mascara.


Lips - Bobbi Brown Cocoa pencil and Buff Heather Cream Lipstick


Face - Lancome Teint Miracle and MAC Creme blush in Lillicent.


Googled tightlining recently, just hope I am doing it right? Loading very straight Ruby and Millie eye liner brush with powder shadow, putting into lash line and wiggling it down onto base of lashes?  Whether my techinique is actually tightlining or not I love the effect.  Wish wish wish I had taken a pic sat eve as I did a full on smoky eye with Creep as tightliner top and bottom and into crease with Sin on mobile lid, black kohl liner on water line top and bottom and stacks of mascara and just made sure that my eyebrows were extended a smidge further out than would be usual for day time. It was a much more made up look than I would have considered even a few months ago. In my opinion they looked bloody fab - and UDPP underneath made sure it all stayed perfect through a marathon 7 hrs of drinking, dancing and merriment!  Also used the last of the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua for the evening, its a bit too dark for the day but perfect for a night out so am building up my secret stash for an Chanel purchase asap!

FOTD - Sin and Hustle

Eyes - UDPP, Sin on lower lid, Hustle into crease, Darkhorse upper and lower lash line, smidge of naked below lower lash line to soften.  L'Oreal telescopic mascara. Clinique ultra fine brow pencil in soft brown.

Face - Bobbi Brown Moisturising foundation (its an on/off love affair and I can't commit!) MAC creamblush in Lilicent and Pixi highlighter (so not me, so loving it!)

Lips - Bobbi Brown lip pencil in Cocoa, Creamy lip colour in Heather Buff.

Sin is super shimmery so decided any brow highlighting would be a lily gilded.  Hustle is lovely, blended into sin it takes on an almost purpley hue, very soft and neutral looking.  Seriously have never had so much fun doing my eyes!  

UD - Naked just messing!

Boring evening with nowt on tv so thought I'd have a bit of a play with my Naked palette.  Weirdly for a big night out I might give this one an outing.  Half baked lower lid, Gunmetal into crease blackened into crease with a dash of Creep, Sin on brow bone, whisky water line top and bottom and Gunmetal lower lash line.  Pixi highlighter on cheek bones - took me aaaaaaaaaages to find them, MAC cream blush in Lilicent.  Oh and the other eye is Toasted and Hustle - which isn't as shimmery as I had thought so going to get an outing soon - with a bit of Virgin and Half Baked thrown in for good measure.  S'cuse dodgy flash photo's.  Sat in guest house breakfast room looking like a hooker, must dash before someone comes in and offers me a tenner.

Quick FOTD

Eye - Whisky liner, Virgin all over, Buff in Crease, Face - Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Beige Tendre, Dusting Diorskin translucent powder nose and chin, MAC cream blush in Lilicent, Lips - was Bobbi Brown Cocoa pencil and Cream lipstick in Heather Buff

No prizes for guessing what I used!  Whisky liner top and bottom, Virgin all over and for a change (!) Buff in crease, its quick, effective - I think, and I don't have to think about it, with UDPP under of course.  Having used the palette a couple of times now I would have liked a matte light shadow - virgin is a tad shimmery for me to be completely happy with it on lid, fine for brow highlight and perhaps if Hustle and/or Toasted could have been matte too, not used them yet and tbh am a little put off by the shimmery'ness.  Tomorrow might try my UNE matte cream shadow all over and maybe try Toasted or Hustle in the crease. 

UD NAKED - EOTD!

Late to the party doesn't really cover it I know, but hey I'm there now.  A tiny part of me was really worried that this might just not live up to the hype, even if that "hype" is other beauty bloggers raving about it and we all know no-one slates a crapster like a beauty blogger, so if they say it's good, you know it will be.

As you may have anticipated - it's love.  With bells on.  I know everyone that blogs already owns this but I have a couple of friends that don't blog who are interested so please bear with me through a couple of swatch pics before a couple of EOTD's.

So photos:
 
Outdoors, overcast day. 


Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar

 
Buff, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse


Toasted, Hussle, Creep, Gunmetal and Zero (black) and Whisky (brown) eye pencils.
Thanks for the loan of your arm Em!

To paraphrase Forrest Gump "this palette is like a box of chocolates" it was so hard to decide which ones to dive into first so I thought I'd play it safe.

I read on the fab A Model Recommends an interview with MUA Geraldine Shaker and when asked what her single most anti-ageing make up trick or technique was replied " Shade the socket of your eyes with a dark eye shadow – this will knock a decade off older eyes." which sounds like a sound plan to me!  Bearing that in mind I have done a couple of EOTD's.


First up yesterday:

Yikes, someone please remind me in future not to do that scary hair scraped back thing!  This is whisky pencil upper and lower lash line, blended.  Virgin all over lid to brow and Buck in crease.  Frankly I think I have the eyes of a 9 year old!

Now today:

This is whisky upper and lower lash line, Buff all over lower lid, Buck into crease and Virgin to highlight on brow, also used the UDPP on this one, so 13hrs later not a crease in sight.  Have had this palette 24 hrs and already feel like I have got my eye shadow mojo back - first time I have had 3 eye shadows on my eyes in what feels like ages!

I love how smooth all the shadows are, they all blend so easily and wear beautifully.  Sadly think the Bobbi Brown taupe is going to be very overlooked now.  I am dying to have a play around and do something a bit more exciting but think will have to wait for the weekend for that, am thinking might have a go at my first smokey eye!  Oh, one downside the lid on the black pencil, Zero was wedged on so hard had to get Steve to tackle it and in doing so he snapped the pencil.  Which might have been a trauma and I can sense some of you gasped at that! but I don't wear black eye liner and Em does, so I donated her the black and kept whisky (which I am unexpectedly loving, just as you had predicted Fee!) all for myself, so win, win!

 

 

Monday morning just got a whole heap better....

 









Swatches to follow for my non-blogging friends (Victoria that's you!) who don't already own this.  Huge love to Leanne OCD and Steve for this, it's like Christmas all over again!

UD - Naked Palette update

Have had email from Debenhams to say mine has been dispatched!  Am sooooo excited.  Seriously not been this excited since I asked Santa for a doll and a pram for Christmas, walked past it in a daze on Christmas day as he had put it at the end of my bed and not under the tree, then cried when he thought he had forgotten and then cried  harder when my poor mother hauled me back to my bedroom to see it!  

In exciting other developments it appears that it may now have a brush (great post Lyuba!) and not the 24/7 eye pencil, which frankly would be a massive plus for me.  Had already planned to donate the pencil to Em, sorry chick your loss but I'll let you have a swipe of Half Baked from time to time to make up for it!


Right, back to pacing up and down in front of the letter box.