Two-tone Lips

We all know that two-tone, or ombre, hair has been all the range over the last few months but I've also seen some pretty impressive images of two-tone lips so I decided to give it a go myself. There are some amazing outlandish examples, but as I was going out for dinner last night I decided I'd opt for something a little more subtle like the pink example to the left.



To achieve this, I used two lip brushes to apply the product (1), Mac Pro Longwear in 'Dress it up' (3), Illamasqua 'Welt' (2) and Mac Pro Longwear paint pot 'Chilled on Ice' (4).

I started with foundation covering my lips as this provides a good surface for the colour to stick to. I roughly outlined my lips using the thinnest brush and the dark Illamasqua lipstick and then used the brush to drag the colour into the middle (but not all the way). I then applied the lighter Mac shade into the remaining space and proceeded to blend the two together which gave quite a subtle look.

I think the next time I try this, I may use a third even lighter call as my end result was very subtle to the point where I'm not convinced the photo does it justice - I promise it was much better in person!

To finish the look I used my fingertip to add the 'Chilled on Ice' paint to my lips which gave it a gorgeous glittery sheen.

What do you think?

Time for a Perk Up?

One of my biggest niggles when it comes to my makeup is the shadows I get under my eyes. I recently purchased Benefit's 'Perk Up Artist' - a small kit containing a corrector, concealer and brightener. 

It's important to note that any products designed to cover dark shadows should not just be applied over the darkened area but also slightly below, extended towards the bridge of the nose and also above the eyelid to ensure the cream is properly blended with the foundation. Otherwise you risk just highlighting the problem.

The first thing I noticed about the creams is that they are very greasy and therefore do not apply in the way you would expect a typical concealer or foundation product to. This made is really difficult to use with the brush provided as I found it smeared around the area and so I decided a better technique would be to use my little finger to press the product into place. 

For those who aren't familiar with correctors - their purpose is to neutralise the blue/red undertones commonly found under the eye area and create something of a base for the concealer to sit on (effectively making it more effective). The corrector did seem to work quite well with my skin but the concealer was a bit too yellow for my tone and therefore I felt it was quite prominent on my face. Another thing I found was that as I mentioned before, the creams were really quite greasy and this made it hard to effectively layer them on top of each other as they seemed to just mix together despite me leaving 3-5 mins for each layer to settle. 

Finally, I applied the brightener which is designed to reflect light from the undereye in order to make the area appear lighter. 

I took the below picture to demonstrate the results of the Perk Up Artist kit (please ignore my devastatingly short eyelashes) which was used on the right eye as you look at the picture, with the left eye only being covered by foundation.

Just foundation                             Perk Up Artist used

 Although I can see a small difference, I think that is mainly due to the shine of the product, again caused by the greasiness and I wouldn't feel happy with this result for a night out as I tend to prefer my make up matte. Night clubs cause enough sweat without my makeup adding to the look!

Even an hour after applying this I felt like if I were to touch my under-eye I would remove the product which again isn't much use. Although you could apply powder on top this would defeat the purpose of the brightener, meaning you'd have to apply highlighter on top of the powder and before you know it you're carrying round three blocks of makeup just for your under eyes! 

I did wonder whether my shadows were simply too much for the kit but I checked Benefit's Q+A section on this product and one of their make-up artists clearly states "Yes, Perk Up Artist is good for dark eye circles". Sadly, I disagree.

I definitely won't be buying this product again unfortunately, after paying £23 for it from Debenhams I'm quite disappointed with the results. I'm hoping to invest in the Bobbi Brown concealers in the next few weeks which I have used previously so I'll do a compare and contrast post for you to see the difference.

Let me know if any of you have had a good experience with any of the other Benefit products, I'm starting to lose faith!

Let's talk basics

Foundation can absolutely make or break your look. It can cover all multitude of sins and is the best way to ensure bronzers and other products really last and look good on your skin.

When I was around 5 I started competing in dance tournaments around the UK and this was really my first introduction to makeup. My favourite part of every show or competition was always when my mum would sit me down and whip out her makeup bag to dab a bit of foundation onto my face and ply my lips with some shocking shade of red or hot pink. A couple of years after  starting secondary school was when I started noticing the pressure to “look good” and girls would start arriving to classes with a full face of make up on. I joined in but perhaps was thinking about the good old dancing days too much when it came to foundation. Like a lot of girls that age I was convinced my skin was an absolute monstrosity that must be covered by something more perfect and so the foundation would be piled on and not always the correct shade. After a few instances of this my mum finally threw out my pot of Rimmel Air Mousse (I think that’s what I started with anyway) and gave me a proper lesson in how to apply. Despite some initial protests that you could still see too much of my own skin, I fell in love with how my skin could suddenly brighten up and look more flawless whilst still looking like.. skin.

And so started my love affair with dewiness. Over the years I’ve tried quite a few foundations ranging from Rimmel to Bourjois to Chanel but my absolute favourite that I have come back to time and time again is Dior’s Forever.