Paradise

Paradise by grace-cottrell featuring motivational wall art

Nars Fez Eyeshadow

On a recent shopping trip in Manchester I found myself at the Nars counter as I had been on the hunt for the perfect brown eyeshadow to add to my collection. Brown shades are often overlooked yet this shade really caught my eye. Fez is a warm brown shade with golden undertones that catches the light beautifully. I found it to be the middle ground between MAC bronze and Mulch which I had also been debating. Unfortunately the Nars counter in Selfridges did not have this shade in stock but the sales assistant kindly pointed me in the direction of Space NK (I thought Space NK was only in London!) where the sales ladies were lovely I would highly recommend a visit to those who live in Manchester.

I had never previously tried the Nars eyeshadows as I feel their blushes are the brand's most coveted products however I have been really impressed with the formula. The shadow is buttery in texture, blending like a dream and provides even coverage. The lasting power is also very good and Fez remains on the lid a lot longer than the Naked 2 palette shades especially when combined with a primer or the Maybelline colour tattoo in 'On and on bronze.'

I plan to post a 'face of the day' featuring this eyeshadow very soon, let me know what your favourite eyeshadow single is!

Grace xx

Face OTD: Feel my pulse and Naked 2

Face

MAC studio fix fluid NC20

Bourjois healthy mix concealer 52

MAC Golden bronzer

NARS Deep throat blush

NARS Albatross

Eyes

Inner corner - Verve

Lid - YDK

Crease - Busted, Tease

Lashline - Busted

Mascara - L'oreal Voluminous

Brows - MAC Dirty blonde gelcreme and Maybelline Brow Drama gel in Blonde

Lips

MAC Feel my pulse lipstick

After getting stuck in the smokey eye rut I decided to opt for a bright lip today and used Feel my pulse lipstick from MAC's Temperature rising collection. I am absolutely in love with this true violet colour and the formula is one of the more hydrating cremesheens as I find some, especially Creme cup to be very drying on the lips. 

For my eyes I used the Naked two palette which I finally got round to purchasing. Whilst there is much  blogger and Youtuber hype about this product, I am going to be controversial and argue that I have experienced better quality shadows from lower range drugstore brands. Whilst this is a nice palette with a very wearable colour selection, I wasn't blown away by the pigmentation of the shades and I had a lot of fall out from 'chopper' in particular. For the price tag I find this product to be a little over-rated.

Despite my initial dissapointment, I will say that the palette makes it very easy to create a range of everyday eye looks and once built up, the colours are very pretty with YDK, Busted and Verve being my most used shades.

Party Makeup series: Navy and gold smokey eye

Products used:

Face

Foundation - Nars sheer glow Fiji

Bronzer - Bourjois delice de poudre ( Chocolate bronzer)

Blush - Nars Deep Throat

Hilighter - Benefit Moonbeam

Concealer - MAC Pro longwear NW20

Eyes

Base inner lid - Maybelline colour tattoo on and on bronze

Base outer lid - Maybelline colour tattoo endless black

Lid - Mac woodwinked

Crease - Black spark (Navy shade from a frontcover palette, dupe for MAC contrast)

Transition colour - Bronzer and MAC kid

Inner corner - Urban Decay virgin

Liner - Maybelline eye studio lasting drama gel liner

Mascara - AVON supershock max

Lashes - Eyelure individuals

Lips

Lipstick - Revlon lip butter strawberry shortcake 080

Naked Basics Palette: Taupe matte smokey eye

This look was inspired by Cara Delevingne in the Burberry AW 2012 campaigns. The look is a very blown-out taupe smokey eye that intensifies at the lashline. I really like this look as it is dramatic without being too dark, I used the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette to create this look and I highly recommend it. All the shadows are pigmented and buttery soft so they blend like a dream. Crave is my favourite matte black eyeshadow as it is so pigmented and intense compared to many other matte black shadows such as MAC Carbon which swatch grey rather than true black.

Products used:

Lashline - Crave

Inner lid, socket and lower lashline - Naked 2

Outer lid - Faint

Mascara - Revlon grow luscious mascara in blackened brown

Classic pin-up makeup

A crisp matte red lip and a sultry yet simple eye creates an old Hollywood, timeless glamour. This is a change from my go to smokey eye but the red lip is a classic and a look I plan to wear more in fall and winter.

For the matte smokey eye I used the Urban Decay naked basics palette. I swept W.O.S over the lid and blended a mixture of Naked 2 and Faint into the socket. I then deepened the outer corner with Crave, the matte black shade and applied Ardell demi wispies to give glamorous fluttery lashes.

I applied a little Revlon grow luscious mascara to the bottom lashes but I wanted the eye to remain relatively top heavy to give more of a sultry feel.

To create a bold matte red lip I first outlined and shaped my lips with Sleeks eau la liner in the shade Moulin rouge 307. I then filled in the lip with a mixture of MAC charmed I'm sure from the Marilyn Monroe collection and Russian red lipstick.

New hair!

It's been ages since I got my hair cut as I had been growing it as long as I could. However it was in really bad condition after I ombred it and it was so annoying not being able to just put it up when I felt like it. I wanted a change and so I asked for it to be cut just past shoulder length with a lot of layers for movement. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I feel like it's a lot more sophisticated.

For my makeup I paired a simple cat eye with MAC rebel lipstick which I haven't worn in ages.

Eye: 

Liner - Maybelline studio gel eyeliner softened with MAC carbon eyeshadow

Lid - Urban decay W.O.S

Crease - Mac kid eyeshadow

Lips - MAC rebel

OOTD

Cut out shoulder shirt - Forever 21

Guns and roses body - Republic

Leggings - Primark

Wedge boots - H&M

A day at the fair

It has been a beautiful bank holiday Monday and I've had an amazing day so I'm in a really good mood. We headed to Knutsford fair  and straight for the crazy fast spinning ride which was the worst decision ever as I felt ill for 2 hours afterwards! As a roller coaster lover, heights and fast speeds don't bother me but the spinning motion? just no. After the worlds crappiest burger, we left the fair and sunbathed in the park before heading home. To end the day I walked to a beer garden with Charlotte for drink.

I created a colourful eye look today and left my bronze smokey eye comfort zone. I really liked the results and thought I would share with you the products I used.

  

This is the overall look, I fancied a change so I curled my hair, plus I felt mermaid waves kind of went with the eye.

The lower swatch is of the colours I blended to achieve the petrol smokey eye. 

Base: MeMeMe dew pot in autumn smoulder

Inner corner: MAC Vanilla pigment

Lid:

Inner 3rd: Duo-chrome blue/green from an old YSL palette (A similar colour would be something like Tilt from MAC)

Centre: I used the shimmery teal green from my Rimmel quad in 014 Bold behaviour ( a dupe would be Teal or Gulfstream from MAC)

Outer 3rd - MAC Cranberry

Crease: I didn't really define my crease too much to avoid detracting attention from the lid. I used a tiny amount of Kid from MAC to transition the colours.

Lower lashline: I repeated the same colours as on the lid but used my Urban decay 24/7 glide on eyepencil in underground as a base as it is waterproof and will prevent fallout or transfer under the eyes throughout the day.

Mascara: Lancome hypnose star, really need a new one of these, mine has dried up loads!

The finished look:

Here is what the make-up would look like with false lashes. I used Ardell demi pixies as these lashes are quite subtle and so the eyeshadows are still the focus of the look. I chose not to wear lashes with the look as I wanted the look to be more grunge than glamour.

OOTD: Palm Print

So the weather is the nicest it has been in a while and so i decided to take advantage and pull out the Topshop crop top and palm print jeans that just make me feel as though summer is starting - Despite the fact they resemble marajuana... a lot. Here is todays outfit, sorry about the serious face I was just probably thinking about how much pain I was going to be in after walking a mile in these shoes!

Crop top             -  Topshop

Palm print jeans  -  Motel rocks

Wedges              -  H&M

Watch                 - Casio

I was having a very un-photogenic day so here is my EOTD:

Brows      - Mac fluidline gelcreme in dirty blonde

Base         - Maybelline 24h colour tattoo in on and on bronze

Lid           - No7 wheatsheaf stay perfect eyeshadow

Crease     - Mac kid eye shadow and urban decay naked 2

Waterline - Urban decay glide on eye pencil in underground

wing        - Barry M fine glitter dust shade 22

Mascara  - Revlon grow luscious blackened brown

I used a sheer black shadow to create a soft smokey wing and a cat eye effect that adds a subtle bit of drama to my go to gold/bronze smokey eye look. Also I am really loving this mascara at the moment!

Belated B-day gifts

In the weeks leading up to a birthday there are precise stages of present planning to make sure you get it right. However with me and my best friend of 5 years, this is taken to a whole new extreme! I'm talking questionnaires, excel spreadsheets, ranking most wanted items ect. When the perfect present has been found the buyer walks around with a smug smile until the day and the receiver begs and pleads to be given a hint. After all that anticipation its not surprising that presents off my best friend are the ones I most look forward to as she knows my taste exactly.
So here is what she got me:

The first item is the maybelline colour tattoo in timeless black, i already own the colour tattoo in two other shades - on and on bronze and permanent taupe although i think the names are different in the US. I had been after a black eye shadow base to intensify colours such as mac cranberry eye shadow after seeing how insane it looked on Pixiwoo's Nic in the Kristen stewart tutorial so this was perfect! The formula of these eye-shadows is amazing as they stay put all day and are really pigmented. I plan to review all the colour tattoos in an upcoming post.

The next item is the Barry M fine glitter dust in shade 22. It is a black loose pigment shadow with finely milled gold glitter. This shade is so beautiful and works really well over the black colour tattoo. I plan on using this in a gold smoky eye and along the lower lash line for added glitter.

I had been on the hunt for the perfect brown/bronze eye liner to use on the lower lash line and in the waterline as I find black can be too harsh and can make the eyes appear smaller, also it always ends up in my inner and outer corner which is not attractive so I was so happy to get this urban decay glide on eye pencil. The formula is pigmented and creamy and really does glide on. I can apply it with ease in the waterline without irritating my sensitive eyes and it lasts well on the water line.

Another present was the Barry M lipgloss in shade 11 which is a beautiful peachy pink shade. I am a huge fan of coral lips in the summer and this gloss complements coral tones perfectly and stops them from translating too red. Also this lipgloss over mac creme cup lipstick is the perfect baby pink lip. Also this product smells AMAZING! Like the pick and mix sweets you get in the cinema, it might not be for everyone but I seriously can't get enough of that smell!

omg I am so spoilt, the last gift was the Urban Decay naked basics palette which for a start just looks beautiful, I mean look at it. The palette consists of 5 neutral matte shades and a shimmery hi-light colour. This palette has become my go to everyday eye look and all the colours are highly pigmented, buttery soft and blend so easily. My favourite combination currently is WOS on the lid naked 2 and faint in the crease, with crave deepening the outer v with Venus as an inner corner hi light. I use foxy to hi light my brow bone. This look is perfect for pairing with bright lips for spring/summer

So that's all my presents of my best friend and I absolutely love every single one, she knows me so well :D