What's been on my face

Hey Dolls

I've had a couple of questions about the make up I was wearing in my last post been wearing .  With the exception of my eye make up, I've pretty much had the same products on my dressing table for the last couple of weeks.

Chanel Mat Lumiere

It took me a long time to work out that the best way to apply mat lumiere is with my ELF powder brush - this paired with Maybelline Dream Matte Powder gives me amazing coverage that lasts all day.  As an experiment, I tried applying it again with my fingers - the coverage was patchy by lunch time.   My skin has never looked so good without looking like I'm wearing lots of make up.  Chanel, please don't discontinue Mat Lumiere :(

Dior Bronze 002 Honey Tan

I've spoken about honey tan before as a cheek product rather than an all over bronzing product.  This is predominantly because of the subtle shimmering particles in the powder...

Similar to NARS Laguna and the Bourjois chocolate bronzer, when applied to the skin, the shimmer doesn't translate as you can see in the photos in the post below.  Instead, honey tan gives a really pretty, bronzed look to my face without looking muddy or orange.  It has definitely taken over Laguna as my favourite bronzing product - I really want to try the matte version next!

M.A.C Dainty Mineralize Blush

I honestly forgot how much I loved dainty - it's such a natural and subtle blush that gives a peachy-pink flush with a pretty shimmer.  This means I don't need to apply a separate highlighter - another lazy girl must have!  It blends really prettily onto the cheek and has brilliant staying power.  Dainty has quickly become my perfect blush for everyday.

NARS Oasis Lipgloss

I seem to be on a bit of a NARS lip product kick at the moment - Oasis is part of the NARS autumn collection and it is beautiful! It is a plum gloss with flecks of gold glitter however, although the colour looks quite intense in the tube, it is quite sheer on the lips.  I've found that it is ideal for layering on top lipsticks - if you have NARS Dolce Vita you NEED Oasis, they look amazing together! The one downside is the gloss is quite sticky - not dazzleglass sticky but you can definitely feel you have gloss on your lips.  You can see what it looks like on it's own in the post below.

Lots of Love

Nic

xx

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Hey Dolls

Autumn weather is creeping in and I'm so excited!! I am not a summer person - I get grumpy when I'm too warm, I like to wear a lot of black and hats and scarves are some of my favourite accessories.  Over the last two weeks, I can really feel the seasons begin to change - in the morning it smells like autumn! This has led me to think about what my personal Autumn/Winter trends are going to be...

Fur Trimmed

In winter, I love anything with a fur collar, so when I spotted this fur stole in H&M for £12 I actually did a little jump of excitment! It is so soft and has a crocodile clip which attatches itself securely without mauling any of your jackets and clothes.  It not only looks lovely attached to the collars of coats and jackets but also worn on top of dresses as I've done here - it completely changes how it looks! I think this colour fur looks particuarly pretty with cream! If you don't want to buy a new winter coat this year, I think this would be a perfect way of changing up your old ones!

Chunky Gold Accessories

I am a gold girl at heart and these are two of my current favourite gold accessories.  The necklace is from Topshop, I think it was around £16.  It looks amazing with quite a high necked black body con dress I have - it almost makes it look like the dress has a metal collar attached! I got my gold Michael Kors watch as a graduation present. It pretty much hasn't been off my wrist - If you're deliberating over getting one DO IT - you won't regret it!

Black and Dramatic

Make up wise, it's the darker the better. I pretty much skip over all autumnal colours and go straight for dark brown and black eye make up with big lashes and even bigger brows.  The longer I've blogged, the more focused I've become on eye brows - it's now one of the first things I notice about people!  As ever with my hair - the bigger the better! Black eyeliner and Dust It will be my best friends forever <3

What are your personal Autumn/Winter trends going to be?

Love Nic

xx

Brown Tones

Hey Dolls,

I have fallen in love with brown toned lipsticks - this is not a statement I ever thought I would make. I generally stayed away from any form of nude or natural lipsticks, instead much preferring bright toned pinks and purples.  However, I have since realised that these are not practical for everyday wear, when I'm stumbling around in the dark at half six in the morning.  

I have picked my favourite three lipsticks that have definite brown tones, all of which are in different price ranges - Chanel Rouge Allure 81 Insouciante, NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita and L'oreal Colour Riche 254 Kiss & Blush.

Chanel Rouge Allure, 81 Insouciante

Out of the three, this is the most brown, though there is a hint of a muted pink that makes Insouciante so wearable.  The Chanel Rouge Allure lipsticks are amongst the most amazing I have ever tried, they blend seamlessly and opaquely onto my lips and leave a beautiful sheen.  The colour is long lasting and doesn't settle into the lines of my lips.  It is the most expensive of the three at £24 but for the quality of the product, I believe it's worth it!

NARS Sheer Lipstick, Dolce Vita 

I have only had DolceVita for a week and already cannot believe I've never owned it before - it's beautiful! It's much rosier than Insouciante but there is definitely a beigey/brown hint that makes this lipstick so natural.  I've never tried a lipstick that is as moisturising - it literally glides onto the lips.  I really want  to try the matte pencil version as I read they used it on Christina Hendricks on Mad Men - her lip colour was always beautiful! If you're not too sure about brown toned lipsticks, I think Dolce Vita is an excellent place to start!  NARS Sheer lipsticks are £17.50.

L'oreal Colour Riche, 254 Kiss & Blush.

Kiss and Blush is the least pigmented of the three but leaves a pretty brown toned sheen to the lips.  The Colour riche lipsticks are supposedly tailored according to hair colour, however 254 is made for blonde's and I think it looks OK on me!  Again, this is a good alternative if you want to dabble in beige/brown lipsticks as it isn't very expensive - around £8.  

Lots of Love

Nic

xx

Revlon Just Bitten

Hey Dolls

A latest beauty addiction of mine is lip stains.  Having fallen in love with Stila's stains, I decided to try one of Revlon's Just Bitten stains - I chose a beautiful red shade called gothic.  The stain is quite unique as it is double ended - one end has a felt tip stain and the other has a lip balm.

I use the stain first so as to get the true red of the stain and leave this to settle for a couple of seconds before applying the balm which adds a slight sheen to the lips.  The balm is OK, it definitely leaves my lips feeling moisturised (but a little 'slippy' if that makes sense?) however, each time I use it I'm a little scared that it's going to fall off! If there was any way it could be put on a slider I think this would be much easier!

Even with the balm, it is a lot more drying than the Stila stains I love - I think this is largely to do with it being a felt tip applicator, this means it's  a much drier formula, however it is a lot less messy and you have more control.  It lasts a good amount of time (on par with Stila) though it will fade throughout the day.

I really love the colour of gothic, I think it's a really wearable red that can be worn sheerer than I have here.  However, I just wish the formula wasn't as drying and I think if used without a lipbalm you would definitely experience some feathering. 

What are your lip stain recommendations? Or do you prefer lipsticks? I think my favourite time to use a stain is when I'm going out for dins, otherwise I manage to get lipstick everwhere - no bueno!

Love Nicola

YSL Creme de Blush - Fuchsia Temptation

Hey Dolls,

I am slowly working my way through all of the posts that have been requested over the last couple of weeks (months).  In July, I posted my favourite three YSL products.  One of those included was their cream blush in Fuchsia Temptation.  At the time of writing, I had a horrible cold so wasn't able to show what it looked like on.  The lovely Alex asked if I could come back and show how it looked - I'm so sorry it's taken me so long!

As you can see, on the cheek fuchsia temptation isn't nearly as scary as it looks in the pot.  It gives a lovely, natural colour to the cheek due to its cream to powder formula.  As I mentioned in my favourite three post, I've never felt a powder blush that is so silky to the touch and that blends so easily.  It doesn't drag when blended, meaning I can apply it on top of powder using a MAC 187.  It smells beautiful - of watermelon and which actually lasts quite well.  The lasting power of the blush is amazing, and I normally don't have to retouch during the day until late afternoon.

I also popped on the lip combination I spoke about in that post that I haven't had a chance to show yet - Rouge Pur Couture 11 and Golden Gloss 42 - so pretty!

Love Nicola

xx

Shu Uemura Love!

Hey Dolls,

This week. my friend Kirsty asked where the best place was to buy amazing false lashes.  In my mind when it comes to lashes, there is only one counter that delivers both amazing products and service - Shu Uemura.  If you haven't ever bought a pair of shu lashes before, I can't recommend them enough - they last up to ten applications, the first time you buy your lashes they are trimmed to fit your eye and each time you want to wear your lashes, you can ring up the counter and they will apply them for you free of charge (everytime I've done this, they also do my eye make up for me too!).  My favourite pair are the smoky layers. On this visit to the Shu Uemura counter, I finally gave in and bought one of their most famous products - their eyelash curler.

I was always a little dubious about how different these curlers could be compared to others I had tried - I was wrong! The hinge of the curler is patented and feels quite stiff when used, gripping all of my lashes and applying a lot of pressure without 'crimping' my lashes.  Shu uemura describe the curve of the curler as 'mushroom' shaped...

This again helps to grip all of my lashes - even the baby lashes in the corner! What I love most about the lash curlers is, my mascara doesn't have to work as hard...I've only had to apply one coat of mascara each morning and with the help of Shu's curlers, this looks like the equivalent of 2 or 3 coats - it's another of my lazy girl must haves! I've included before and after shots below...

.

As you can see, in the bottom photograph, my lashes appear longer with a natural curl - there is no perceptible line where the curler has been applied and my lashes are curled rather than pointing at an angle- all problems I've found using other curlers.  The secret to this is,once you've positioned the curler, hold it in place for a couple of second in an outwards and upwards direction and repeating this several times.

These have now beome a part of my daily beauty routine, I think I'd be a bit lost without them! If you're curious, go and have a chat with one of the staff at a counter, they'll be more than happy to demonstrate them on you! The only drawback for me is when I wear my glasses my lashes bounce against them - I'm definitely not complaining!

Lots of Love

Nicola

xx