Summer eye look! Peachy golden shadow...

When I've got a little extra time in the mornings, I love to play around with different shadows and do a proper eye look.  Since it's been exam season for the last month too I've also been procrastinating a bit, oops, and spending some extra time on my makeup has become routine now!  I've loved wearing this particular look for the last few days, as it's not one that can be easily messed up, and I love the gorgeous peachy tones underneath the shimmer!

The finished look.  Apologies for the slightly dodgy lighting,
 the sun is just refusing to come out at the moment!

Firstly, I applied my Nars Pro Prime Eyesahdow Primer as if I don't use this my makeup melts off in a matter of minutes!  Then I added a thin layer of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'Creamy Beige', as this gives a slight orangey-tone underneath the other shadows.  (I'm not sure if this is still available as I had a lot of difficulty getting my mitts on one and this was several months ago.  I believe Mac Paint Pot in 'Groundwork' is very similar though, but it is quite a bit pricier!)  I then blended out the edges so there weren't any harsh dark lines, using my setting brush that had a little concealer left on it.  After that, using a fluffy brush I applied the Kiko Infinity Eyeshadow in the shade '219' all over the lid and also built it up a little in the crease.  I find that this, whilst being a beautiful rose gold shadow, can be a little too pink on my skin but over the top of a more orangey base it gives a lovely peachy effect.  These shadows are seriously longlasting though, and are extremely similar to the Burberry ones but are only a few pounds!  I also applied a little along my lower lashline using a smaller, pointier fluffy brush.  Finally I then applied a small amount of Stila Eyeshadow in 'Kitten' on the centre of the lids and blended it out towards the inner corner - this is so soft and pigmented that you need barely anything to give a gorgeous shimmery glow.

Finished off with a slick of mascara on the upper and lower lashes, it's good to go!

L-R:  Stila Eyeshadow in 'Kitten', Kiko Infinity Eyeshadow '219',
 Maybelline Colour Tattoo 'Creamy Beige' 

xxx

Collective haulin' :Beauty

I've been very well behaved the last few weeks, and only picked up a few beauty items!  There was a 3 for 2 offer on in Boots at the time, which I didn't make the most of (rather daftly) as I bought everything on separate occasions - but I'm overall really pleased with everything I purchased...

First of all, there was the Maybelline Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in the shade '310 Berry Much'.  I'm in love with the Nars Lip Pencils, but a) don't have anywhere nearby where I can go swatch them, and b) at £18 a pop they're a bit painful for my budget running up to christmas!  These have been hailed as an awesome drugstore alternative, and although at the time I was looking for the 'Red Essential' this shade caught my eye as it's the perfect plummy, vampy lip.

Continuing on with the bold lip theme, whilst I was picking up decorations in Wilko I spotted that the Essence counter had a bunch of their lip liners in stock.  At only £1 each and having seen fab reviews of them, I grabbed a couple and chucked them in my basket without a second thought!  The shades I picked were '14 Femme Fatale' (a true red) and '15 Honey Berry' (a lovely dark berry) which I thought would be great for layering up under bold lips these holidays.

The final lip product I picked up was the Maybelline Colour Elixir in 'Caramel Infused', which I ran out to get after hearing Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup say it was like the gloss equivalent of Mac Patisserie (my favourite MLBB lipstick!)  I've been wearing it every day for the last week, and am in love.  Although the scent is a little more floral than I'd like, the formula is amazing and the colour really sticks around - there'll be a full review to come soon I'm sure!

And last (and priciest) of all is a tube of Nars Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base.  I ummed-and-ahhed over this and the Urban Decay Primer Potion a while back, but settled on the UD as it was a smidgeon cheaper.  Recently though, it just hadn't been working for me - and with party season around the corner (jks, homebody granny here :P)  I thought I'd take the plunge and replace it with something new.  I'd been really impressed with the longevity of Nars' Creamy Concealer on my oily skin, so had high hopes for this :)  I've used it for the last few days though, and so far am super impressed!

xxx

Bargain of the Month Feat. Nars

When you're looking on Ebay for makeup, you've got to be pretty savvy with your shopping.  There are thousands of listings for counterfeits, most of which are for the cult products (Naked Palettes, Touché Eclat etc) but if you're careful you can find some real bargains!

This week, I managed to get my paws on a Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil for under a fiver!  It was this listing, and not only was the product authentic it arrived less than two days after ordering.  The shade is 'Baroque' - a beautiful cool toned plum with silver shimmer running through it.  The consistency is very similar to that on the Soap and Glory Sexy Motherpucker Gloss Sticks but a little lighter with more shimmer.  You can feel the glitter slightly when you rub your lips together but it isn't super irritating, and the product itself is very hydrating on the lips.  The silver shimmer also doesn't show up on camera, it just makes the lips look even glossier by adding a bit of extra sheen.

Another thing to note is that as with all the Nars Lip Pencils, you have to sharpen it once it wears down.  I can imagine there will be quite a bit of messiness involved when doing so with this one, as it's such a soft product - and hopefully there won't be too much wastage (here's to Nars introducing retractable pencils!)  There is also no discernible scent to the product, unlike the Velvet Matte Pencils, so if you're not a fan of the cherry scent then that's not something to worry about with this range.

The swatch on my arm is quite a lot more true to colour
(my mirror at Uni is underneath a slightly dodgy yellow tinged light!)

xxx