All posts filed under: Tips & Tricks

Adventures in Contouring: Illamasqua Cream Foundation

Published by

I could never get contouring right. I have been blessed with a really round face, so usually a contour just looks out of place. I stopped myself from buying bronzers when I reached 3 (though I only ever use one for contour attempts), but when I saw this Illamasqua Cream Foundation in a darker shade on sale for £5 from £23, I thought it was worth giving it a try. It comes in a pinched-square standard Illamasqua packaging. I actually looked for the technical term for this… and it turns out it’s just a square… in hyperbolic, non-Euclidian geometry… … so never mind. It’s just a ‘pinched square’ as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, it comes with a full-sized mirror and a sponge that I don’t use because I don’t intend to use it on my face. I got the shade 320, which is just a couple of notches darker than my original skin color. It’s actually a pretty great contour color. I like how the cream foundation stays put. Product Description: “Create a base …

5 Things Friday: Change Your Makeup Game

Published by

If you’ve ever longed for a simple step in your makeup routine that will add just a little bit of ‘oomph’ to it, well… I’ve got five! Obviously, you don’t need to do all (or any) of these steps, but they totally improved my makeup. At least, in my opinion! 1. Finishing Powder If you don’t want a defined highlight, but want to keep a little glow all over your face, grab a finishing powder like this gorgeous tin of Guerlan Météorites. They add just a bit of ‘wow’ to your face that most people will notice, but can’t quite place. Other favorites are the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. 2. Primer This is a tricky product, but investing in a primer is seriously one of the best things I’ve done. They make my foundation—liquid, powder or mineral—go on much more smoothly, and they extend the wear time of my bases. This is my favorite, the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, but worthy contenders are the Ellana Minerals Make it Last Primer* and the BECCA Resurfacing Primer. …

Depot and Press: Loose Eyeshadows and Bulky Lipsticks

Published by

One of my beauty resolutions and goals for 2014 was to press my pigments and depot bulky makeup. I’m a sucker for packaging so this is often very hard to do for me, but pigments and loose eyeshadows are often stored in little unattractive pots and baggies, so it hasn’t been particularly painful. I won’t presume to know how to do this properly, so this isn’t really a tutorial but more of a “look what I did” post. If you want more information on pressing pigments and stuff, these are good resources: Kate of Drivel About Frivol Notepad on Makeup Alley Materials: Basically, I just used empty 26mm pans (the same size as MAC eyeshadows), a presser, and a binder from TKB Trading. Their service is excellent, as are their products, but I just paid way too much for these. Just saying. Also, I used alcohol to mix the eyeshadows into a dough-type consistency, and several toothpicks to mix them all up. This is my makeshift palette, which is basically a container for pillboxes. I …

Slap Dash: An FOTD and some tips on putting makeup in the car

Published by

Here’s a quick-ish FOTD that I came up with in the car, on the way to a doctor’s appointment and a whole day out. Eyes: MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist, a bunch of Inglot Eyeshadows that barely showed up, K-Palette Real Lasting Liquid Eyeliner in 01, Le Métier de Beauté Anamorphic Lash Mascara in Noir. Eyebrows: Graymelin Seven Tatto Eyebrow in Dark Brown, The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit in 02. Face/Base: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Mood Light. Cheeks: Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Face Kit in Cheeky Chic Lips: Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Fresco Way too much work—and product— went into this look, and you can’t even see it. Which made me want to draw up some tips on putting together a face when you’re in a hurry and only have your time in the car/on your commute to put together a presentable face. Here’s what I’d do instead: EYES: Use a cream shadow (that doesn’t crease) and a pencil liner, since it’s easier to do a smudge-y line. One color …

5 Ways to Wear a Vampy Lip & a Review feat. 3CE Lip Color in Vamp*

Published by

One of the items from the November bntgirls box is the Stylenanda 3CE Lip Color in a very autumnal shade, Vamp. Let’s get packaging out of the way… I am in love with the semi-matte, black, square tube (almost the same as Tom Ford lipsticks, which are just a little shorter) and the clean design with the brand on just one side of the packaging. I love the box as well; I don’t know what it is about it! I don’t normally keep boxes but I just might for this one. Described as a cool and mysterious bloody burgundy, Vamp seems to have a cool edge to it that makes it a more modern shade of red. It’s still red, but it’s not the same red that you saw your mom wear when you were growing up. The woman who’d wear this red doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d clutch her pearls in distress. Or something. You get the idea. These lipsticks have a beautiful texture, which I guess is a good thing …

Make That Face Monday, Monday, Monday: Tegan and Sara (Heartthrob Album Cover)

Published by

Riding on a show high, here’s a very easy talk-through tutorial on this lewk by the Quin Twins, donned in a photography used for their latest album cover, Heartthrob. Tegan and Sara is a Canadian pop duo that recently performed here. I am still kind of reeling from the awesome experience, which I have posted about on my blog here, in case you care to read about it. 🙂 http://youtu.be/RXnSu56CXAU Anyway, I chose this look because it is deceptively neutral. It is quite wearable and “safe,” despite having orange and violet eyeshadow, a super strong contour and frosty/pearly pink lips. I love how it kinda dupes everyone into thinking that you are wearing neutrals/an “everyday” look because it’s not so loud and not so bold. I don’t know, I didn’t notice their makeup was so colorful, did you guys? That contour, though! I can’t recreate/wear/pull it off. Also surprised at the pinkness of the lip color selection! And with all the tough-face posing I was doing, I just had to take a break and smile …

Using Dark Bases on your Eyes

Published by

One of my weaknesses are cream eyeshadows. Most are wonderful as eye primers, though even if there isn’t much of a staying power, the many different colors of the cream shadows make for great bases, which would add subtle differences in the eye makeup. I suppose it’s the same idea behind layering eyeshadows, but sometimes the textural difference can add a little bit more complexity and depth to the look. This, for example, is a look made with the same exact shadows from the Urban Decay Naked Palette placed on top of MAC Paint Pots, a very light neutral cream called Painterly—which many use as their everyday eye base—and a warm deep brown called Constructivist: As you can see, the differences are quite subtle. Constructivist, when applied on the eyes, adds depth and tonal difference in that it makes the eye look warmer and pinker. Not a big difference, I agree, but the application of the cream was quite sheer. A fairly popular option: creamy shadow pencils such as the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil, Milk …