Friday 13 May 2016

Blog Sale!

I sort of feel guilty, posting a blog sale after so long without a proper post. But needs must.
I'm clearing space in my drawers, getting rid of a mixture of high/low end makeup.
Everything has been sanitised with Beauty So Clean.

UK only, unless you're willing to pay what will probably be high postage.
For the UK it'll be 80p for smaller items, £2.80 for larger items/groups.
Paypal only, leave your Paypal email address below along with what items you'd like and I'll send you an invoice asap.
I will only post after payment is received.
No returns.
Struckthrough  means sold.

Palettes


Saturday 20 February 2016

Why I Love Makeup



I know, it's been a while.  It wasn't a planned break, it just sort of happened.

To get back in to the swing of things I thought I'd remind myself, and you, why I love makeup so much.  

All of these photos were taken in the second half of 2015 and yet all 16 of them are completely different and transform my face.  White winged liner, silver tears, gems, blue lips, big purple circles; anything is possible!  And the best part is if I don't like it or didn't execute it that well I can just wash it off and try again tomorrow!  Every day I learn a bit more and hone my skills.  Everyday presents fresh inspiration; a new colour combination, a new unconventional material to use or the discovery of a wonderful makeup artist.




If you feel stuck in a rut, or have never experimented before, then this is me encouraging you to play with texture, colour, shape and size!  Go crazy.  If you don't feel confident yet, no one else has to see it.  You can just experiment in your room in the evenings until you feel daring enough to show the world.

Maybe you'll never want to wear colourful makeup, and that's okay too.  I just encourage you to push your limits and keep growing your skills!  

What are your reasons for loving makeup?
I'd love to know which of these looks is your favourite?  I always have fun creating so each of them is a bit special but I am particularly fond of the look with blue eyebrows.

Also, I'm thinking of switching over to Wordpress.org soon and getting my own domain name.  It all seems very daunting at the moment so if any of you can give any advice I'd really appreciate it!

Rachel

I'd love it if you followed me here:

Sunday 8 November 2015

Makeup Staples: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara review

Just a quick one today to talk about my Holy Grail (HG) mascara which is Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara.  For years my favourite had been Clinique High Impact mascara until I tried this one early last year.  Mind blown.  I got this mascara for the first time in with one of their holiday palettes and fell in love immediately.  

Thursday 29 October 2015

Bonfire Night Eye Look - plus Fall/Autumn tag


Bonfire Night glittery makeup and fall autumn tag

Forget Halloween, I'm all about Bonfire Night.  It's always been my favourite night of the whole year.  It's always truly cold by then and is often the first outing of the scarf and gloves...and long socks and extra t-shirts and sometimes even a hat.  Growing up we had some really great public firework shows.  Childhood fireworks often seem so much bigger and better but the display I've been to for the last few years has actually rivalled those memories!

For those who don't know, Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes night) is the 5th November.  It's remembering the foiled attempt of Guy Fawkes and co. to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605.
It's always struck me as a pretty weird thing to celebrate (especially 400 years later) but I love it regardless.  It's a great excuse to have lots of fireworks and the occasional bonfire (it's been yearrrrs since I had a bonfire).  In my teens I used to host a house party every Bonfire Night after the local show.  Many fond memories.

I love to wear really sparkly, glittery makeup because I think it looks particularly good at night, especially with the fireworks glinting off it.  My local firework display is early this year, on Halloween actually, so I've started thinking about what I'll wear earlier than usual (yes, I ocassionally plan makeup looks well in advance).

Bonfire Night glittery makeup and fall autumn tag

Read on to see what I used and to read my tag answers.

Tuesday 20 October 2015

Makeup Geek Dupes for the Batalash Palette


A few months ago the makeup corner of the internet was a-buzz with talk of the LE Saucebox Batalash palette.  8 shadows of amazing (!!!) quality chosen by the Batalash girls. I didn't think I was going to be able to get my hands on it but then it became available on a UK site and the rest is history.

As of writing this, the palette has been sold out in the US for quite a while now but there are still some left over at Cocktail Cosmetics for any European makeup lovers.

The shade range is great.  There's a range of warm and cool; matte and metallic; neutral and colourful.  The eye shadow pans are huge, 4g each (0.5g more than a Sugarpill pan).  My only complaint about the palette is that the copper and the warm brown are very similar in colour and I would rather have seen something completely different.

Because the palette was so popular and the shades work so well together, I thought I would try to dupe it with my Makeup Geek shades.  I was only choosing out of the colours I already own from Makeup Geek and was very surprised by how similar a palette I could create!  Read on to see the dupes in all of their glory.

Sunday 4 October 2015

OCC Lip Tar Swatches - Light and Dark


Next in my OCC Lip Tar series are the lighest and darkest shades that I have.  Some of these I happily wear on their own, others are good just for mixing new shades or giving a colour a different finish.  I've made a video showing how each Lip Tar looks on my lips, below, and further down in the post there are photos showing the similar colours side-by-side.

If you are new to my blog then I'll just let you know that OCC Lip Tars are my favourite lip products ever!  I love how versatile they are and how massive the colour range is.  They are highly customisable and very hygienic so a great kit staple!



Friday 2 October 2015

Burgundy Monochrome Look with loose shadows from Aromaleigh


My latest video was a tutorial of a very burgandy/berry-toned look.  The eyes, lips and blush are in in sync and even though it's not something I usually do, I really like it!  I ended up using a fair amount of products but you can easily cut down on the number of shadows you use and you probably don't really need to wear 2 highlighters and 2 blushes.  You know me, I like to go overboard and apply ALL the makeup!

Here's the video if you'd like to watch.  If not, read on for a full product list and more photos of the look.