FOTD: Twinkly kingfisher blue and peach

Thank you all so much for your support, kindness and love regarding my previous post. I don't want this blog to become a woe-laden space of wailing - so here's a face of the day from last week where my hair didn't look so bad (H&M, your braided headbands have saved me!)

The main shadow shade is a beautiful dusty kingfisher shade by Marks and Spencer Autograph, following a recommendation by that most enabling of enablers, Lipglossiping. I purchased the taupe she recommended and this shade. The shadows are creamy, impressively pigmented and excellent quality for £6. I've also patted on the prettiest microglitter shadow I've come across, Ellis Faas Lights on E301, a beautiful white gold sparkle, over the turquoise. I really love Ellis Faas, the packaging is annoying but the products are incredible - especially the lip shades. I have the driest lips in the world, and the only matte shades I've been able to wear comfortably are EF ones.

Base:
L'Oreal True Match concealer in Cafe Creme under eyes


Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) as base
M&S Autograph eyeshadow in Kingfisher all over lid
Ellis Faas Lights in E301 over Kingfisher
17 Lacquer Liner in black for upper lid lining and flick
Avon Supershock pencil in black on waterline and to tightline
Maybelline Colossal Mascara
Rimmel brow pencil in dark black-brown

Face:
NARS Taos blush
NARS Albatross as cheek highlight
Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent

 Lips:
Clinique Chubby Stick in Mega Melon

FOTD: Interview Makeup feat. MUA Undress Me Too palette and MAC Plumful

It's been a while since we've seen my face around here, isn't it? Luckily we're getting some lighter days now so I can actually take some makeup pics that look ok.

For job interviews, presentations and the like, I nearly always wear a version of this look. It's polished, pretty (the last thing you want to be in an interview, unless it's for a makeup artist or other creative post, is edgy), and just makes me feel confident.

I can't quite believe that before Charlotte's post drew my attention to an inexpensive taupe shadow, which I then snapped up. that this colour was totally lacking in my eyeshadow collection. It's the perfect soft shade for brown eyes, and goes really well with purples and plums. Suffice to say, I'm obsessed with the colour now. I've always thought Elizabeth Arden makeup was boring and poorly pigmented but after seeing Charlotte's swatches and finding out it was THREE POUNDS FORTY NINE PENCE I ordered it. It's more purple in tone than MAC's Satin Taupe and is a beautifully soft, pigmented and high quality shadow. It's still in stock, too!

I managed to pick up the new Makeup Academy paletty Undress Me Too which is generally agreed to be an Urban Decay Naked 2 dupe. I passed on both Naked palettes and the MUA take on the original Naked because I have a lot of eyeshadows, am drawn to colour more than neutrals and the first Naked palette and its dupe had far too many grey-toned shadows for me to use. If there's a guaranteed way to kill my skintone dead and make me look tired, it's a dark grey eyeshadow. (Taupe, on the other hand has warmth to it which means it works with my skintone rather than against it).

The Undress Me Too palette is just lovely - the shades are all warm and wearable for me, and I'm so, so impressed with the textures of the shadows in this £4 palette. I thought the shadows might fade but after eight hours they looked as good as when I applied them. It's absolutely incredible value - and I'll be job-lotting this as gifts for my aunts and cousins the next time I go to Bangladesh.

I've waffled about Plumful before but now you get to see it on me. HOW pretty is it? It's now my most worn lipstick and one of few I would actually repurchase when I finish the tube.

Base:
L'Oreal True Match concealer in Cafe Creme under eyes
NARS Sheer Glow foundation

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) as base
Elizabeth Arden shadow in Smoke all over lid
MUA Undress Me Too shadow in Obsessed (cool matte brown) blended in socket and outer corners
MUA UMT shadow in Reveal (cool silvery shimmer) on inner corners of lids and on brow arch as highlighter
17 Lacquer Liner in black for upper lid lining and flick
Avon Supershock pencil in black on waterline and to tightline
Maybelline Colossal Mascara
MAC Brow pencil in Spiked

Face:
Sue Moxley blush in Breath of Plum
NARS Albatross as cheek highlight
Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent

 Lips:
MAC Plumful (Lustre) lipstick

Products I'm loving...

There's a few products that I've really been loving recently, and I wanted to share them with you!

Garnier Skin Naturals Dark Spot Corrector, £9.99

Much has been made of this product in the US and the reviews are excellent. I think it has faded my spot scars considerably but more than that, I think it's an absolutely fantastic serum/primer/multi-use product. I use it as my night cream now and it leaves my skin beautifully smooth and bright when I wake up. I use it under my makeup and it's non oily texture is a lovely light moisturising base. I use it under my moisturiser and it evens my skin tone and leaves it looking bright and fresh. I LOVE this. I recommended it to my sister and she's also converted. Again, with all skincare, I add the caveat that all skin is different and yours might not respond in the same way as mine, but when I don't use it, there's a discernible dulling to mine, and my skin is noticeably less soft and smooth.

MAC Plumful, £14.00

Ah, Plumful. I've been meaning to buy you for years, but only got round to it this summer. But, where have you been all my life? On me (with my deeply berry-pigmented bottom lip) this is a very pretty, almost neutral soft berry shade. Can a berry be a nude? (I suppose it can, if that's your original lipcolour). It goes beautifully with smokier heavier eye looks, but gives enough definition and colour so I don't look dead (or make my full lips look ENORMOUS, which beigey-peachy colours like Jubilee do). It is totally non-drying and a joy to wear.

Lanolips 101, £11.22

I have the driest, flakiest lips in summer as well as winter and I've complained before about my dry skin (over and over again!) But I've really sorted it with Lanolips 101 - it's very thick and I use it at night on my lips and any sore/dry patches I have and in the morning, they're invariably gone. Plus it's the best balm I've found for preventing those awful nose-flakes that accompany a cold. I've had 4-5 serious colds over the last six months (way to go, immune system!) and my nose has survived all of them without awful peeling! These balms are pricey, but a little goes a very long way, and I bought mine in one of those magical Boots 3 for 2 offers.

Lanolips Lemonaid, £9.18

Lemonaid is my day-on-the-go version. I love the zingy, zesty scent - it is such a pick me up to use (and if you suffer from travel sickness like I do, having something lemony around is very useful!), and the softer texture is much easier to use for day. I'm rather fickle when it comes to lipbalms but I wouldn't be without these two now. I only wish the packaging was a bit less dated looking.

Treat wishlist

I have a good few gift vouchers and Boots Advantage points racked up at the moment. I absolutely refuse to use them on anything practical, and have a few things on my wishlist at the moment I would like to spend them on instead!

Tom Ford Black Orchid, £45

I'm patiently waiting to clock up enough Boots points to buy this, it's a very me-with-a- grown up twist scent. But I'm sad to see that it's gone up by £5 since I first started saving my points towards it :( I was almost there but it's going to take just that little bit longer for it to be in (and on) my rabbit paws!

Laura Mercier Petite Baked Shadow Palette, Golden Metallics, £20

I swatched this in John Lewis the other day, and it's absolutely stunning and such an adorable mini palette. The shades are so sparkly and complex, with numerous different coloured sparkles. Perfect for festive makeup looks!

Estee Lauder Chaos polish, £14.50

A smokey taupe shimmer with pretty blue-green sparkles. Mesmerising when I swatched it.

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, £11

I don't have that many shimmery vamps in my collection, and this has got some shadeshifting magic to it which I can never resist.

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Illusoire, £23

This smokey, sparkly, plummy taupe is so very pretty!

Do you save up gift vouchers and reward card points? What's on your wishlist?

Capsule makeup wardrobe - summer edition

I travel back and forth across the South East a lot for work, as you may have gathered by now (especially if you follow my Twitter train rants). I can't cart my (substantial) makeup collection around with me, so I've got a capsule set of products that can go with a lot of outfits. In summer I like fresher, prettier and simpler looks - less eyeshadow, light bases, and summery lip and cheek colours so the capsule revolves around these.

I don't take all of this - it depends on how long I'm away or the outfits I pack with me. But at the moment, the products usually come from this lot.

From left to right:

1. Bourjois sharpener - for years I've been wrecking and wasting my pencils with bad sharpeners, but this one is amazingly sharp and sharpens even the softest pencils with ease.

2. Tweezermans - nuff said.

3. Shiseido lash curlers - I think these are better than the Shu Uemura ones if you have larger eyes.

4. My MAC 182 kabuki should be here but in wedding-day mayhem I have misplaced it. Or the cat has stolen it (which would make it the THIRD 182 she would have stolen and stashed away from me). In its place, an ELF brush.

5. Boots No. 7 concealer brush - love this blending brush more than my MAC one!

6. Maybelline Colossal 100% Black mascara - I've tried a few different mascaras of late, but this is still my favourite.

7. MAC concealers - 2, yup, because I'm between shades and shade groups in MAC. Once these are finally finished I'll be moving to NARS, I think.

8. UD Primer Potion. 

9. MAC Paint in Bamboom - this is the perfect nude shadow/base for my lids. For summer, I like to keep eyes simple with this and a jet black flick and mascara.

10. Kiko double-ended liner in purple and green. So sad these were discontinued. This is a perfect capsule pencil because both shades are amazingly pigmented and sparkly, and great if you want to sparkle-up a day look for evening.

11. Avon Supershock liner - the blackest black ever, and perfect for tighlining and the waterline. Cannot be without.

12. MAC Spiked brow pencil. Also cannot be without.

13. L'Oreal Super Liner in Black Lacquer - a new addition and it won't be going anywhere soon! I prefer a proper brush, but I've been searching for a really glossy liquid liner for ages for a proper 1960s flick and this is it! It does not budge, either. Ace.

14. I put MAC Satin Taupe here, but I would also probably pack Urban Decay YDK. Two neutral shadows that are great for smart work events but pretty enough for evening.

15. Maybelline Fresh BB cream - I really like the Garnier for cooler days as it is very rich, but this is oil free and has SPF30 and perfect for warmer days (not that we have had many!) It has just enough coverage for me, I prefer foundations for winter or special occasions.

16. Benefit Cha Cha Cha tint - so gorgeous and summery!

17. MAC Breezy blush - my favourite blush, the prettiest slightly shimmery, glowy dark pink.

18. Rimmel Stay Matte in Translucent - love this powder! 

19. NARS Albatross - THE perfect highlighter.

20. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in Rendezvous - this goes really well with the Cha Cha Cha tint and lasts without drying the lips.

21. Revlon JBK in Crush - such a pretty dark berry stain that can be built up into a dark cherry red lip. Goes really well with Breezy and a flick for a 50s look, but also the purple and green Kiko liners.

22. Revlon Colorburst in Pink Truffle - the perfect nude lipstick for my pigmented lips - goes really well with the shadows for a smart day look but is also really good for an understated lip to pair with the sparkly liners.

Phew! so that's my summer essentials. I think I'd pack a similar set for holidays, and although it's 20 products, it actually all fits into a really compact makeup case.

Beauty wish list

I have quite a long list of beauty products I'm "lemming" in Makeupalleyspeak at the moment so thought I'd write them all down in an effort to start eliminating things! What's on your list?

makeup wishlist by nazneen372 featuring a hermes perfume

1. Clinique Chubby Sticks new shades - I LOVE my Chunky Cherry one so much (I'd say it's in my top 5 all time favourite lip products, of which I have many). I'm particularly excited by the orange, purple and bright pink shades, especially as the current range are quite muted and don't offer many options for pigmented lips.

2. YSL Glossy Stain in Pourpe - I tested one of these out at John Lewis and it lasted hours. I'm loving bright violet lip colours at the moment and this will be lovely for summer.

3. NARS Lhasa - I need to have this tried out on me before I would consider investing, as I'm somewhat concerned it won't show up on my lids, but in theory, this lavender taupe shade just looks so very pretty indeed.

4. OPI Pirouette My Whistle - I love the pearlescent hexagonal glitter in this, so very delicate.

5. MAC Satin Taupe - I'm clearly loving taupes on the eyes and violet on the lips at the moment!

6. MAC Sable - another staple shade I feel I'm missing out on.

7. NARS concealer in Biscuit. When I got foundation matched with my now-beloved Sheer Glow, the MA also used this on me and it lasted and lasted. Once I've ploughed through the two incorrectly matched MAC concealers I have to laboriously mix together every day (in exactly the right proportions) this will replace them. And cut my makeup routine down by a good 5min!

8. OPI Go On Green - after years of loving dusty cream polishes, I'm really loving fleck, jelly and shimmer shades. This looks so delicate and lovely - I love the idea of it worn very sheer, for just a hint of iridescent beetlewing colour. (But also layered over dusty purple and teal shades).

9. Hermes Eau de Merveilles (one of the three versions). The wonderfully wise Fragrance SA in Liberty suggested this for me as a summer fragrance, and I was a bit sceptical but kept sniffing and sniffing at my wrists hours after testing. I love the very clear orange blossom note, which is heady, exotic, sweet and fresh at the same time.

10. Sleek Ultra-matte i-Divine palette. I have hardly any matte shadows in my collection and I think the dark palette would be rather useful paired with all my shimmer shadows.

FOTD: Gothic Forties

This is one of my favourite looks of late. I know every blogger and their cat has blogged about Armani Eyes To Kill Intense shadows, but I love the Purpura shade I was given for my birthday (and I've pretty much decided it will be used in my bridal look! I know standard practice is to opt for a natural, fresh-faced type of look, but meh, I'm not really a neutrals kind of girl). It was  a bit of an accident, this combination. I wanted to wear my new Revlon Just Bitten stain in Twilight as I was wearing this Warehouse dress, and I wanted to go for a Dita von Teese-esque frosty, cool look to match its awesome gothic Forties-ness. Yup, me, about the other side of the skin tone spectrum to Miss Teese. I initially planned on a silver shadow, but don't have a nice one, so I used Purpura instead. I love it paired with the vampy lip!

check out the stripy hair!

Impossible to capture its complex loveliness, the interplay of gold, silver, pewter and purple...

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion as base
Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in Purpura
Avon Supershock pencil in black on waterline
Maybelline Colossal Mascara

Face:
MAC Brow in Spiked
Sue Moxley Breath of Plum blush

Lips:
Revlon Just Bitten lipstain in Twilight


Enter my giveaway for sparkly Kiko goodies!!!

Kiko Double Glam Liner 05 Swatches

I thought I'd post a comparison swatch with Undercurrent and show the purple shade in all its glory for you all. Here's the pencil(s?) itself:

The two shades you get, both equally stunning:

And a comparison of the teal shade with MAC's limited edition Pearlglide Intense liner in Undercurrent, my favourite liner of all time:

L: Undercurrent, R, Kiko

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a dupe! It's not often I say that, because I'm very finicky about colour and won't say something's a dupe if it's even a tiny bit off. But it's not! It's a dupe! Any colour differentiation you see is just shadow, they're exactly the same. This might not excite you hugely if you're a)not obsessed with the MAC liner or b)not in ok travelling distance of Stratford Westfield. But for me it's a bit of a eureka moment! £9.00 is a bit much for two small eyeliners perhaps, but the quality is excellent and I would happily pay a fair bit more to have that teal-shot-with-gold shade in my life.

FOTD: Best purple liner ever! Kiko Double Glam Liner 05

So this is a FOTD that looks like several other FOTDs I have done in the past. However, I had to post about this liner. I don't know what it is about my most beloved shade, purple, that makes it such a tricksy thing. It's tricksy to photograph purple, and it's tricksy to find decent pigmented liners and shadows anywhere. From MAC to NARS to pretty much every other brand, with only the rare exception, you'll find a stiff matte purple shade that's chalky and blue-toned, and a pinky purple shimmer that's a bit cheap and nasty looking. Purple liners are even more disappointing, either pulling blue, red or hardly showing up at all.

For ages I've been looking for a great purple glitter pencil liner, one that would be what I'd hoped MAC's Rave liner would be. For swatches of that, check Temptalia. It's pretty, but gritty and not as pigmented as I wanted.

Finally I've found it. It's actually the other end of the Kiko pencil I travelled to Stratford Westfield to purchase, the dupe for my all time favourite eyeliner, MAC's Pearlglide Intense in Undercurrent (please bring these back, please!) But not only is the teal end of the dual ended pencil a perfect dupe for Undercurrent (hallelujah!), the purple is amazing too. It's almost too soft, so this first look is a bit wobbly, but amazing colour payoff, and once set it doesn't budge or flake (so one better than even my MAC pencil). It's quite pricey at £9 for what are ostensibly 2 small pencils, but so very lovely. The only drawback is that you can only get Kiko from the Stratford store at present in the UK (but I might have a little surprise coming up shortly that might compensate!!! shhhh!)

Two other notes - I'm wearing a lipstick that everyone in beauty-blog land has raved about, namely Boots 17's Mirror Shine lipstick, mine here is Belle (though I've acquired a few others). These are indeed amazing - particularly if you don't want full on colour and want something more moisturising and glossy (like my beloved MAC Slimshines, RIP). Belle's a pretty, plummy nude pink shade, and as close as I can get to nude without looking dead, weird, or dead weird. It's a v useful nude shade for pigmented lips, hard to find on the high street.

Also hard to find on the high street, apart from at Sleek, are decent blushes for darker skins. But this Sue Moxley one is really pretty - again, plum, my favourite. I remember swatching it against a MAC plum blush and it coming close to duping it, so I opted for this one. I'd definitely recommend, the only thing I've tried from the range, but I'm really impressed. It's got a little strip of shimmer that's useful to change the look from matte to sparkly, too.

crazy eye, but check out the sparkle and pigment!

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
MAC Paint in Bamboom as base
Kiko Double Glam pencil in 50 (purple end of course :) )
Avon Supershock pencil in black on waterline
Maybelline Colossal Mascara

Face:
MAC Brow in Spiked
Sue Moxley Breath of Plum blush

Lips:
17 Mirror Shine On Lipstick in Belle

FOTD - 1990s

Welcome to a retro-FOTD. I got all nostalgic when I did this look, because this is pretty much how I used to do my makeup in 1996 when I started wearing it - I had a cool-toned purple and light lilac duo shadow from Rimmel that was almost exactly this shade (I also had a matte chocolate and dark gold one, and those and a liner and Max Factor 2000 Calorie, were pretty much all the makeup I owned then). I wanted to try out my new brick-toned Max Factor lipstain, so despite the fact that it didn't go with my eye makeup, I wacked it on. The Max Factor lipstain tastes revolting and makes my lips very dry, so it's back to Revlon Just Bitten for me. The next on my list is Twilight, the really dark one - I'm in the mood for a deep, near-goth stain!

The pencil hasn't shown up very well here, but it's a very pretty new addition to the Bourjois Line - one of the Effet Smoky pencils in Sparkling Navy. It's described as navy, but I'd say it's a very cool purple, with a shot of gorgeous lilac glitter. It doesn't show up as well as I'd like on my skin tone, though, which is a shame, but I'd really recommend it to paler readers.

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
MAC Paint in Bamboom as base
Bourjois Effet Smoky pencil in Sparkling Navy on top lid and lower lashline
Avon Supershock pencil in black on waterline

Face:
Estee Lauder Blushing in Port Passion
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips:
Max Factor Lasting Lip Tint in 05 - which is apparently "Marshmallow" and a pink-nude, but weirdly brick red on me?

Now I want to go and watch Reality Bites, which I was obsessed with then, and still know all the lines to. Ahem.

FOTD - Super-natural

This is a FOTD from a while back (I have been meaning to get back to the blog for a while!) when I acquired the Garnier Caffeine Roll-On concealer in its newest "Dark" shade. I'd been hankering after this for a while, but was so sad to see that only two shades were available, both far too light for me. I was a bit tentative when I bought shade "3" because I thought it would probably still be too light (I'm shade 5 in YSL Touche Eclat). But it's perfect! I often go without makeup when I'm working from home, but with this light concealer I feel just a bit more perked up (I really hate my dark circles). I wanted to try it with a natural makeup look to see just how little makeup I felt I could get away with and still look ok. (For a fully made up look, I still use my MAC Moisture Cover Select concealer as the roll-on only gives sheer coverage). I felt confident enough to wear this to work; which is great because it's a practically no-effort job.

I've always envied those girls (and my mum) who can get away with just a slick of lipstick - with the Garnier concealer, I feel I can go almost as makeup-free. (Not that I do!!! Makeup is fun for me, and when I wear it, I love to wear it, and both the application, and the effect, are enjoyable for me.) Seems a bit cheeky to post as a FOTD when there's barely any face to it, but it's a bit different for me (and not having my signature flicked liner felt a bit odd to me!)

By the way, I really do love this gloss, one of the Poppy King for No 7 glosses. I know that many bloggers didn't like the pricing, but I got mine on one of the 3for2 deals, and the texture and shades are so much nicer than any other glosses I've found on the high street (which are usually sticky and in cheap, shimmery colours). These are shiny, creamy, and totally non-sticky. I heart!

Base:
Garnier Caffeine Roll-On in "Dark"
MAC MSF in "Dark"

Eyes:
Avon Supershock gel liner in black on waterline
Maybelline Colossal mascara

Face:
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips: 
Poppy King for No 7 lipgloss in Seduction

FOTD: Peaches and Plums

Here's a fairly standard FOTD, but using one of my favourite shadows of all time, MAC's Expensive Pink. Usually I tend not to use a crease shade as the shadow is so glowy but today I paired it with the plum shimmer Rockstar shadow from the Urban Decay Book of Shadows III, a favourite crease shade of mine. The two together make me think of sunsets.

I'm wearing one of the No 7 Poppy King lip glosses here in Confidence - I know some people have found the shade range a bit dull and the pricing high, but I got them in a 3for2 and I really needed some toned down glosses in my collection. The somewhat browned, muted shades I got - Seduction, Confidence and Glamour really work on my skintone as nudes that don't make me look dead. Plus they're inoffensively scented, non-sticky and glossy - a trio I think is hard to find in many high street glosses.

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion on upper lids
MAC Expensive Pink mixed on lids and Urban Decay Rockstar in the crease
No. 17 liquid liner in black
Maybelline Colossal mascara in 100% Black

Face:
MAC MSF Natural in Deep
Estee Lauder Blushing in plum with NARS Albatross buffed over the top
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips:
Poppy King for No. 7 Lip Gloss in Confidence

FOTD: Red lips!

I don't do red lips very often, but I do love the look when I do. But it's odd, I get stared at so much when I wear red lipstick. Very weird!

I'm wearing a New Look dress here that I got for £8 in the sale, and which has satisfied my hankering for a peter pan collar. I wasn't sure the taupe would work on me but it's just different enough from my skintone to look ok. I'll try to get an OOTD featuring it soon, because it's quite lovely. But here are two of my favourite bloggers wearing it in the meantime: Afeitar  and Dani Don't they both wear it beautifully? The hairband is from Primark, and is intricately beaded with pearls and grey stones. It's as close as I'll get to one of these babies, alas!

What I'm wearing:

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion on upper lids
MAC Woodwinked and Urban Decay YDK mixed on lids and a shadow I can't recall in the crease
Avon Supershock Gel liner in black
Maybelline Colossal mascara in 100% Black

Face:
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation
Sleek Scandalous blush with NARS Albatross buffed over the top
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips:
Rimmel Rouge Diva lipliner (a really fantastic red lipliner which is so pigmented and smooth it could also be used as a lipcolour)
MAC So Scarlet lipstick (LE from my beloved Cult of Cherry collection)

High End to Low End Beauty Switches

Of late I have seriously curbed my high-end makeup compulsion. Partly due to necessity, but partly also due to the fact that the UK high street is offering up some fantastic alternatives to high-end products, with amazing amounts of pigment, interesting shades, and great quality.

So here are the things I've switched budget-wise (with little or no compromise on quality):

YSL Faux Cils £21 >>>> Maybelline Colossal Mascara £6.99
saving £14.00

MAC eyeshadows £12.50 >>>> Sleek Palettes £5.99
saving more than £6.50 (because you have 12 for the price of half of one MAC shadow!)

MAC blushes £17.00 >>>> Sleek Blushes £4.99
saving £12

Chanel Liquid Liner with Brush £21.45 >>> 17 Liquid Liner £3.99
saving £17.55 (I did this switch a long time ago, but still!)

MAC Eye Kohls £13.00 >>> GOSH/Avon Supershock Gel Liners £6
Saving £7.00

I'd say switching mascara has saved me the most money as it's the thing I go through quickest, but even with the shadows and blushes I don't feel I've sacrificed at all in terms of quality with these switches, which as a woman of colour I could not have said even a couple of years ago with high street colour cosmetics.

Of course, when I'm after a very specific colour sometimes only high-end brands will do: a couple of years ago I went on the most epic hunt for a shimmery spring green shadow, that didn't lean too yellow (MAC Juxt) or too blue. The hunt took me to pretty much every counter I can think of, with only Shu Uemura coming up trumps. P  Green 450 cost me £15, but for that price I got one of the prettiest butteriest shadows in my collection, one that I cannot think of another dupe for, high or low-end. Though I won't give up high-end makeup altogether (and cannot seem to get on with high street lip colours at all!) there are definite savings to be made if one keeps an open mind and shops around! (I heart blog sales and Cheapsmells.com!)

FOTD: Riviera

This was the look I went for with my Paris print dress. I think it's late 50s/early 60s in inspiration. The lipcolour is a Gloss Stick in Ablaze, part of Topshop's new summer collection. MAC used to do a similar product called the Slimshine, which was glossy, sheer and ultra-moisturising but they stupidly discontinued them so I'm glad Topshop have taken up the idea (though there are only two and limited edition!) This looks like a red hot coral in the tube but on is such a lovely creamy pinky-coral, a colour I've never worn before but am now really taken with. (The other colour is a gorgeous creamy plummy pink colour). The packaging is a bit on the cheap side but the colours really aren't.

What I wore:

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Shu Uemura Pressed Eyeshadow in P Green 450 on lid and lower lashline
Bourjois Ombres a Paupieres shadow in Noir Emeraude in crease
17 black liquid liner
Maybelline Colossal mascara

Face:
Shu Uemura blush in P Red 19D
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips: 
Topshop Gloss Stick in Ablaze

NARS Lipgloss Friday: Turkish Delight

So we've come to the end of the NARS Lipgloss Fridays. And I do believe I've saved the best until last. Turkish Delight is Kim Kardashian's favourite gloss. I've always considered her to be on the darker end of the medium skintone spectrum but I'm obviously a lot darker, and her lips must be a lot less pigmented than mine. Because this is what it looks like on me:

Epic NARS lipgloss fail. I feel like I'm wearing the glue we used to use at primary school, which is not the greatest look. I'm not sure if this is at all salvable in any way, perhaps if I went for a fancy-dress 60s look with almost bleached lips and very dark eyes. I've tried that before though, and I'm not really a fan. Anyway, it's one I got in my Crazy Heart set, and thankfully I love the other four so much I don't mind that this one's a bit of a dud on me. It's a good illustration of how lip colours can look so very different depending on your natural lipshade. Not something every sales assistant on counters bears in mind (I have a lot of dud lipsticks that attest to that!)

I've enjoyed doing a Friday series - so am trying to think up another, though I don't have as many products of any one brand as my NARS glosses. Dear readers, are there any particular Friday feature you'd like to see?

NARS Lipgloss Friday: Orgasm

This is the penultimate NARS Lipgloss Friday - yup, we're coming to the end of my collection (finally!) I think this needs a lipliner or dark smokey eyes or summat to look good on me, it's a bit pale for my pigmented lips. It's a pretty peach with gold shimmer that'd look lovely most people - just not me, like this!

p.s. apologies for being quiet of late - I am having a rather hectic time of it at the moment and also have a wretched cold brought on by epic commuting...

FOTD: Psychedlic Chiffon

I just adore my Urban Decay Book of Shadows III (the packaging less so than the shadows, but I'm seeking to rectify that at some point!) And one of my favourite colours from it is the vibrant purple shade, Psychedelic Sister. As most of you may guess by now, purple is my favourite colour, but decent purple shadows are actually few and far between. They're often sheer, powdery, blue or cheap ultraviolet affairs. This most definitely is not!

It's awesome layered heavily for a smokey look, and usually I opt for vibrant over sheered out eye looks. But this colour I also love to wear ultra-sheer. It's very, very pretty this way.

I paired it this time with red cheeks and a sheer red gloss because I was wearing my bargain Oasis dress, but it looks even nicer with pink cheeks.

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister shadow from Book of Shadows Vol. III blended out on top lid and bottom lashline
17 black liquid liner (brush style)
Maybelline Colossal mascara

Face:
MAC MSF in Dark
Shu Uemura Glow On Blush in P Red 19D
MAC Brow in Spiked

Lips: 
NARS Misbehave lipgloss

NARS Lipgloss Friday: Easy Lover

I'm sorry to post so briefly this week, but it's been another hectic one. But here's a belated NARS Lipgloss Friday (it is still Friday for another 2hrs 51 minutes!) - a very pretty sheer hot pink gloss.  It is sheer but the colour is buildable - I've wacked on a couple of layers here to get a deeper pink. I love to wear these kinds of glosses with aqua eyes - a very fresh, girly look.

NARS Lipgloss Friday: Misbehave

I've been a bit quiet this week but getting back on track now. Today we have one of the glosses from my Crazy Heart set that my sister got me for Christmas. This is a stunning sheer red gloss with gold and red microglitter. It looks so glossy on the lips and is a very easy way to wear red. I think it'd look amazing over the Sleek Scandalous pout polish from their Valentine's collection.

Closeup of the shimmer;

Bet you're getting sick of my face from this one shoot!