What I use to bronze, contour and highlight

Hi Beauts.

Only recently have I started to bronze and contour on a daily basis. I dipped in and out of it for a while but didn't really add it into my every day make up routine, because I felt I wasn't that good at it. 

However, for the past few weeks I've bronzed and contoured each morning, and have had a few comments on my make up from people I work with. 

So today, I figured I'd share which products and brushes I use as I thought it might help some of my fellow pale chicks out there. 

After applying my foundation and powder, I go in with my FashionistA bronzer in the shade 'LA' and use my Real Techniques blush brush. I never use this as a blush brush as I feel it's too big for what I want. This bronzer is pretty neutral with a small warmth to it which is perfect for my skin tone

Next for contour. I recently bought myself the NYX blush in 'Taupe' after hearing how great it is for a contour shade. It is definitely cool toned and doesn't look muddy. I apply this with a very light hand on my Barbra Daily angled blush brush. I can see where the product needs to be now, but found it very helpful to do the fish face when I was first starting out.

Third but not last is blush. I think everyone wears blush right? Again I apply this with an angled blush brush, and apply it on top and just above where I contoured. I'm currently using and loving the Make Up Revolution blush palette in 'Sugar and Spice. I love each shade, in particular then third from the left on the bottom

And last in my little routine is highlight. I've been loving The Balm Mary-Loumaniser lately and apply this to the very tops of my cheek bones with the elf blush brush, as it's quite a small brush and applies just enough product

Well, that's my easy peasy routine. As I say this has now become part of my every day make up and I really enjoy wearing it. On a day to day basis I do contour quite lightly and tend to deepen the colour for an evening.

What do you use for bronzing and contouring?

Stacey x

Marks and Spencer nail polish review

Hi beauts. 

After hunting down every brand I could that doesn't test on animals, I discovered that M&S are a brand that are cruelty free. I already have a lipstick from their 'Limited' range so decided to try out their nail polish too, the two shades I picked up are Lilac GD and Aubergine. 

Let's talk product first. For £3.50 You get 8 ml of polish which I think is pretty good, nobody gets through a big bottle before it gets old do they? They're the same consistency as any other polish I've used, and the application was smooth and quick. The great thing about these is how fast they dry, literally within 40 seconds! With Lilac GD I did notice that I needed to apply 3 coats, where as with Aubergine I only needed 2, I'm not sure if this is the case with all of the lighter shades in the range. 
Now for staying power, the big test. I applied the colour on a Monday evening and by.....it showed signs of wear and chipping.

I picked these two shades because purple is one of my favourite colours, and I think that Lilac GD is a very unique colour. It's a lilac and gold monochrome shade with tiny specks of gold glitter, the glitter isn't chunky but it is a bit of a pain to remove. The aubergine shade is exactly that, a deep reddy purple that is great for these winter months.

All in all I'm pretty impressed with these nail polishes so far, and can't wait to try more shades.

Have you tried anything from the M&S make up line?

Stacey x 

Along Came Betty haul

Hi Beauts.

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen the little stash of Along Came Betty goodies I bought. I wanted to do a little haul post and show you what I picked up, because I've been using them pretty much all week, and I LOVE them. If you have a a Tesco near you, definitly check them out.

Every item was only.....£1.50 each!! How crazy is that?!

* All concealed concealer kit in Light/Medium

* Fix me quick mattifying stick

* Starlight Shine highlighter in Glow

* Br-wow brow kit in Fair/Brown

* Wow lashes mascara in Black

* Double whammy lipstick and lipgloss duo in Poochy

Have you bought anything from the Along Came Betty range before?

Have Tumblr? Come say Hi

Stacey x

e.l.f Wish list

Hi Beauts.

Time for another wishlist, and today it is the wonderful elf's turn! Roll on Payday.........

Face:

Pressed powder in Porclain - £3.75

Blush in Gotta Glow - £3.75

HD blush in Headliner - £3.75

All over colour stick in Spotlight - £1.50

Eyes:

Glitter primer in Sheer - £2.50

Single eyeshadow in Amethyst - £3.75

Eyebrow lift and filler in Medium - £3.75

Mineral eye brighter - £3.75

Lips:

Lip exfoliator - £3.75

Long wear lip liners in Natural Blush and Mauve Luxe £1.50 each

Lip balm tint in Berry - £2.50

What's on your wishlist?

You can also find me on Tumblr :)

Stacey x

Christmas Eve make up

Hi Beauts.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!

I have to, unfortunately, brave the mad shoppers today (I shall be home in time to watch The Grinch though!) to stock up on stuff for the little fluff balls. So I thought I'd do a quick post of my eye make up because it's a little bit Christmassy :) Enjoy

Here's what I used:

From the Naked Basics palette, I used Naked 2 and faint. From the Naked 2 I used Foxy and Half Baked

What I did:

* I took Naked 2 onto a blending brush and applied this through my crease as a transition shade

* Next up on a flat shader brush, I packed on Half Baked all over the lower part of my lid

* To deepen the look, I applied Faint into my outer V with a pencil brush, then blended out with a fluffy brush

* Last but not least, I used Foxy as a brow bone highlight

Hope you're all having a fab Christmas Eve so far!!

Stacey x

Christmas Post - Smokey eye party look

Hi Beauts.

Today I wanted to join in the blogmas fun and do a Christmas post. I was playing about with some make up (as you do) and came up with this black smokey eye with a pop of gold:

You could use any colour glitter along the lower lashline, I've done a similar look and used purple and silver before and I think it looked pretty cool. If I may say so myself ;P

Here's what I used:

* After applying a base to make sure my eyeshadow would stay put all night, I used MAC Blanc Type all over my lid up to my brow as a base colour

* Then taking FashionistA bronzer in LA on a fluffy brush, I applied this to my crease to help blend the other shadows I used

* Next I used MAC Scene on a flat shadow brush and packed the colour all over my lid, then used the fluffy brush to blend out the edges

* To add a little more depth to the look I applied MUA shade 20 (a matte black) to my outer V and blended into the crease (it looked a little darker in person than the picture)

* For the pop of gold, I used Maybelline color tattoo in 24k Gold on a small angled brush and ran it along my lower lashline

* Finally I applied a little winged liner and mascara and I was good to go

(A full line of liquid liner along the upper lashine, and  a black pencil liner along the water line and tighline could make this look more intense)

Hope you enjoyed Beauts

Stacey x

Collection sheer loose powder in Translucent

Hi Beauts.

I already have my holy grail face powder, but being the make up addict that I am I always like to try new/other products. Whilst having a massive sort out I found the collection sheer loose powder that I had bought a few months back after watching a review on YouTube.

I've been using it every day since I rediscovered it and wanted to let you in on my thoughts. 

Packaging - Although this isn't ideal for travelling- it's pretty chunky and I'd be worried that the powder would spill everywhere -  it's great for sitting on your dressing table. It comes with a powder puff which I never use but it comes in handy for stopping the powder spilling into the lid. 

Product - This is a translucent powder which is great as it doesn't affect the shade of your foundation, and is super fine so it doesn't feel like your adding anything extra to you face. I didn't notice any oxidisation throughout the day, which I have noticed with other powders.

Application - To get the product out, I tip out a small amount (I take a small amount at a time as you can't put it back in the tub) into the lid and dip my brush into the powder then tap off any excess. The powder has a small amount of coverage which is another thing I like and doesn't look cakey at all.

Lasting power - I didn't need to re powder throughout the day, which I usually do unless I use my SEVENTEEN miracle matte. Again there was no oxidisation and my make up looked pretty damn good after 8 hours, apart from my chin which is the oiliest part of my face and the part I have most trouble with. I noticed no shine throughout the day which is once again another bonus!

All in all, I think this a pretty great powder especially for the price: £2.99. Bargain or what?!

Have you tried this powder? What did you think?

I'd love it if you gave my lifestyle blog a cheeky little follow? :)

Stacey x

What I'm taking to NYC

Hi Beauts.

SO, very soon I will be boarding a plane and heading to the big apple. I can't even explain how excited I am! I think I could probably throw up if I'm honest...but I won't, I promise. Anywhoo I wanted to do a quick post of what beauty things I shall be taking with me, I'll also be posting my outfits over on my second blog too.

So lets get into it:

*Dove soap* *The Body Shop mango shower gel* *Nivea Soft Moisturiser* *shampoo and conditioner* *Suncream (Boots own, SPF 20)* and *wilkinsons suncare after sun* 

*Facial buffer from Superdrug*  *Simple moisturising face wash* *small Bioderma* *Clinique 'Happy' perfume* *Nivea fresh deodorant* *Insette cooling face mist* *Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser* and *tropical batiste*

'First aid bag' *plasters* *Virasorb cold sore cream* *Germolene* *Nivea Chapstick* and *L'Occitane hand cream*

Make up - Face: *Garnier BB cream for oily/combination skin* *Smashbox photo finish primer* *SEVENTEEN Miracle matte pressed powder* *Collection lasting perfection concealer* *Topshop 'Innocence' lipstick* and *Clinique lipgloss* (I also have e.l.f blush - pictured below)*

Make up - Eyes: *Naked basics palette* *Smashbox photo ready eye primer* *MUA eyebrow kit* *(elf blush in 'mellow mauve) *MUA extreme felt liner* and *Smashbox full exposure mascara*

I'm actually quite proud that I managed to narrow down my male up to the above! It took some doing and some tough decisions were made :P

Do you usually over pack too? 

Stacey x