I am a huge fan of Dior cosmetics. Ever since I saw on Lisa Eldridge's videos that she performed tests on different eyeshadows, and that the eyeshadows that broke down the least were made by Dior. Their eyeshadows are lovely and easy to blend, and I have spent my 'makeup career' amassing all kinds of Dior eyeshadow palettes. And let's not even begin to talk about their amazing lipsticks.

So when I was given the opportunity to create a makeup look using the products from the Mystic Metallics Fall 2013 collection, I jumped at the chance. I honestly just sat in front of the camera, took a look at the products, and slapped them onto my face - no planning needed with a line this amazing.



I hope you guys enjoy the video, and take a look underneath the video if you'd like to see a small review of the products mentioned!


Products mentioned:

Diorsnow UV Shield BB Cream - full review here.

Dior Fusion Mono Eyeshadow in Cosmos and Lune - these cream eyeshadows are similar to the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows, but are much thinner and lighter, making them easier to blend and less likely to crease on the eyes. Also, the shimmer in these eyeshadows is much finer than the shimmer in the Chanel ones. In my opinion, they make for a much more polished makeup look - perfect for dinner parties or dates :)

Dior 5 Couleurs in Constellation - A gorgeous palette with neutral mauve-y browns and two beautiful glitter eyeshadows in purple and a cool-toned gold. All colours were as smooth as you would expect any Dior eyeshadow to be, and extremely easy to blend. These colours are not as dark and as pigmented as some other Dior palettes, so if you want a darker smoky eye you'll have to layer them over a dark Fusion Mono eyeshadow, the way I did in this video.

Clinique Brush-on Cream Liner in True Black - one of my favourite gel eyeliners because it is creamy and never dries up. It has great staying power as well, and never smudges under the eyes for me.

Dior Blush in Rose Diorette - I absolutely love the brush that comes along with this blush - it is so soft and spreads the colour perfectly onto the cheeks. A big issue with me is that I can never find a blush brush soft enough to apply blush with. Most of the blush brushes are too hard and sweep away my carefully applied cheek concealer. With this brush, I experienced none of these issues, and the blush itself perfectly complemented the smoky eye look. The colour Rose Diorette is a deep rosy colour with a tiny hint of peachiness to it so that it leans a little bit warm.

Dior Addict Extreme in Fortune - slightly darker than the natural lip colour in a natural rose, this lipstick is beautiful if you're looking to create a natural makeup look. I personally like more nude lip colours, so I mixed the Diorsnow BB cream in with this lipstick so I could lighten the colour. If you have darker toned skin, however, this would be absolutely perfect - no adjustments needed.

Dior Addict Gloss in Magic - this is a lovely, lovely lipgloss. All it does is enhance your lipstick colour and give it a gorgeous shine. If you have a very warm skin tone, this could fix some issues you have with cooler lipstick colours - the gold flecks in the lipgloss may be able to warm the lipstick tone a little bit so it won't look too harsh against your skin.

The Dior Mystic Metallics Fall 2013 Collection is out on counters now. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

I know it's been a while since I've posted a makeup tutorial and I apologise! It's been crazy trying to form a new routine on top of trying to adjust to my new environment and lifestyle, so I haven't had much time to film and edit. I filmed this video a couple of weeks back, but only just found the time to finish the editing.

This is a quick, simple day-to-night makeup that I've been doing a lot since I got back, and I hope you guys enjoy it!



Products mentioned:

Biore Perfect UV Face Milk SPF50+ - read a little more about it here.

NARS Sheer Glow in Ceylan - this is a velvety, slightly matte foundation that still gives your skin a great glow despite its texture. It has a medium to full coverage, so it's great for people with slightly problematic skin, and it sits beautifully on the skin without any cakiness or heaviness.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette - my favourite brow product. Full review here.

Sleek Oh So Special palette - a beautiful palette with plummy tones that is perfect for all skin tones.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio (this is a mouthful!) - a fantastic trio of eyeliners with arguably the best formula on the drugstore market at the moment. It does not budge on even the most teary, oily lids, so if you're looking for a good quality eyeliner that stays put on your eyes, this is it.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara (another mouthful that almost doesn't make sense) - my favourite mascara to date. Gives you volumnised lashes with definition, and the comb wand makes it very easy to apply. This is also insanely waterproof.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Neutral Fair - this concealer doesn't look like it does the job when you first apply it - until you take a step back or catch a glimpse of your reflection in the car sideview mirror or a cafe window. Then, you realise your eyebags and dark circles are barely noticeable, if at all. Fantastic product.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2 - this is my HG concealer. It ticks all the right boxes for me - pigmented, easily 'mouldable' and blendable but doesn't move after it's applied, dual colours so you can mix the perfect colour for your skin...the list just goes on. I want to buy it over and over again even though I already have one in my makeup bag.

Clarins Illuminating Cheek Colour in Lovely Rose - this blush is beautifully made, and contains sections of matte blush powder as well as sections of blush containing a lovely subtle shimmer. On the skin it just lights up the face (hence the very fitting name) - it gives you a subtle glow that doesn't look like makeup. I received this blush from ry.com.au. They stock loads of Clarins products as well as other well-known makeup and skincare brands, and haircare and tools as well. They also do some pretty great discounts from time to time, so make sure you check in regularly to score a good deal.

Diorskin Nude Compact Powder Foundation - read my full review of this powder and its accompanying liquid foundation here.

Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss in #2 - a beautiful colour that photographs even more so. One of my absolute favourite daytime lip glosses because I am such a huge fan of nude lips, but full-on nude can be a little much when you have minimal makeup on in the daytime, so this lip gloss brings just that little bit of colour back into your face. #2 is such a flattering colour, I think everyone should own a colour like this!

I hope you enjoyed the video!

A brand new makeup tutorial is up for your viewing pleasure! :)


Products mentioned:

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation in Ivory (I'm Pure 4 Sure) (review here)
Lien Davies "How to Create Your Ultimate Brow Shape at Home" (review to come)
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo in Sable-Emouvant

Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown Velvet (available at feelunique.com)
This fabulous product is a mechanical, wind-up eyeliner that is intense and long-lasting. It doesn't budge on my oily lids and it is also very creamy and easy to use as it just glides onto the skin without tugging, and with strong colour. I find myself reaching for it more and more because it really helps create a beautiful smoky eye  and I find that it is a lot easier to use than a gel eyeliner, but with the exact same budge proof attributes of a gel liner.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara
This is fast becoming my absolute favourite mascara. It stays on, holds a curl well, and defines and coats my lashes beautifully, the way no other mascara can.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer in Light Medium
I love this concealer for its lasting power and its pigment. It coats almost any imperfection on my skin extremely well, is great to use with its doe-foot applicator, and is very easy to blend. I wouldn't recommend it to use for the undereye area though, because it is quite dry and may settle into fine lines.

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Spice (available at feelunique.com) (read a little bit about the Watercolour Blushes here)

Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee

Thank you so much for watching!

Hi guys! Here is a brand new tutorial in celebration of the fact that it is FINALLY Friday! TGIF! xx



I hope you enjoy watching this one :)



Products mentioned:

La Mer Moisturising Soft Cream (read my full review here)

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation - this is a fabulous, lightweight, new-gen foundation (very similar to the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua) that gives your skin an instant brightening effect. Its lightweight texture is perfect for the warmer weather, and it gives great coverage. What I like most about this foundation is that it has a lovely dewy finish, and it does indeed brighten your skin considerably.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit (read my full review here)
Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes in E103 (read my review here)

Vani-T Mineral Colour Crystals in Deep Russett - this absolutely gorgeous pigment was such a pleasure to use for this video. The pigment is very finely milled, has a lovely natural shimmer to it (no large chunks, yay), and applies and blends like a dream. Beautiful!

Prestige Total Intensity Eyeshadow in Black Magic - you all already know how much I love intensely pigmented eyeshadows, and I have been using Prestige's Total Intensity eyeshadows in so many of my videos because they are just that, and so much more. They have fantastic colour payoff, unique, beautiful shades, and are soft and buttery-smooth. Black Magic is a black eyeshadow with lovely, multicoloured shimmer running through it. I was expecting a lot of fall down with this but that didn't happen - another big plus.

Sleek Contour Kit in Medium (read about this and some of my other favourite contour products here)

Sisley Copper Touch - released with the A/W 2013 Belle de Shanghai collection (and a number of other preceding collections), the Copper Touch is a beautiful, iridescent bronze with gold flecks. I love using this in the summer, when I want my skin to glow. I am quite fair, so I love using this on my collarbone and on the tops of my cheekbones to give my skin a beautiful warmth. If you know that you're going to be under incandescent lighting when you're going out, slather this on. You won't regret it :)

MAC Mineralise Eyeshadow in Blue Flame

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Black - one of my favourite pencil liners, and for good reason! This gel/pencil hybrid is so intensely black and incredibly creamy. It blends like a dream, too. Once it sets, it is difficult to get this pencil to budge. Another plus point (as if there aren't enough already) - it's affordable. The total package!

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory - this soft, creamy concealer is hydrating, doesn't get into crease lines, and brightens up the face with great coverage. For all these reasons, I love using it in the undereye area. These concealers also come in a variety of shades, so if you're particularly dark under the eyes, look for a peachy/salmon colour, which they do carry in this line.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Vapor

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Cream Blush in Soft Peach - this is a new favourite cream blush formula, right after the original Daniel Sandler Watercolor Blush. It is more convenient to carry around than the original formula, which is why this gets a plus. As with the original formula, it is a dream to apply (just use your fingers!) and blends so easily, it's foolproof. You can get this at the click of a button at one of my favourite websites, feelunique.com, and the shipping is incredibly fast.

Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee - I LOVE this lipgloss! It is my go-to nude lip, and I can easily adjust how intense I want my nude lip to be, by adjusting how much gloss I apply, and then blend it out with my fingers.

Happy Friday, everyone! I bet you're all looking forward to the long weekend :)

I have a brand new makeup tutorial up for you guys who will be partying it up this weekend - it is the look that Berenice Marlohe (Bond girl from Skyfall) wore to the WB Post Golden Globes Party this year.

This is a really easy look to do, and I hope you enjoy the video!


Products mentioned:


La Mer the Moisturising Soft Cream
Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
Chanel LIFT Lumiere
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Strut
Prestige Total Intensity Eyeshadow in Obsession
Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner or Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal
Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express Mascara
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder
Vani-T Mineral Lip Definer in Pout
Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Vanilla Suede
Burberry Lip Cover in Nude Beige

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

A pet peeve of mine is when people don't blend their eyeshadow properly. Whether you are doing a smoky eye or a simple, everyday look, blending is key. When blended, eyeshadow looks so amazingly beautiful and I feel like just a little bit more effort would have made those eyes look so much more beautiful and put-together.


I picked up a couple of tips here and there about eyeshadow blending in my years of playing around with makeup, and I thought I might share them here.

First off, brushes! Now I must stress that you can blend eyeshadow without brushes, and you don't need to go out and buy these brushes. But brushes make the whole process a lot easier and quicker, and if you use the right brush, the finish is a lot more polished too. Here are my favourite brushes.


The MAC 239 brush, or Sigma E55 Eye Shading brush (or in my case, simply brush similar to these two brushes), is the perfect brush for packing on product when you first apply your eyeshadow. These brushes are great because they pick up and deposit a lot of product onto your eyelid. This way, you get a solid block of intense colour on your eyelid from the get-go.
You can also use your fingers in place of this brush, simply reapply a couple of layers to achieve the intensity you want.


The Sigma E25 blending brush (or its 217 MAC equivalent) is the hero of blending brushes. This is the perfect blending brush, whether you have large, small, or extra small eyes. This brush is made perfectly for blending out product and is fool-proof! It is tapered at the tip (forgive my brush - it's a little splayed because I had just cleaned it for this shot) so you can get to the very edge of the eyeshadow and blend it out into a nice haze of colour. It is also perfect for the crease


When you want your crease to look a little more defined, you need a brush that is more tapered at the tip, and I have found that the NP Set Crease Blender brush serves my needs perfectly. It is small enough so that it fits into my crease, and fluffy enough so that the crease colour doesn't get deposited as a strong line, and also fluffy enough so that I can blend my crease colour with it, without having to use another brush.

Now on to the actual techniques!

Initial Application


When I apply my base eyeshadow to my mobile lid, I like to use my fingers. This way, I can warm up the product, and really pack it on. Just circle your clean finger into your eyeshadow, then push onto your lid. You can twist or drag your finger a tiny bit after pushing the eyeshadow down onto your lid. This will pack it onto your lid. When I need a more intense colour, I use a primer and the MAC 239 brush.

Blending



When you are using light or neutral colours, your fingers are more than good enough to blend the colour out. Darker colours are less forgiving, so I would recommend using the E25 brush.

As you can see, darker coloured eyeshadows are much less forgiving and can look a lot more harsh when applied. The same goes with matte eyeshadows. They require a little extra attention and care, but in the end, the result is exactly the same.


When applying your crease colour, use a blending brush and apply directly into your crease (this should be where the very edge of your eyeshadow is). The reason why I recommend blending out your eyeshadow first before applying a crease colour, is that it makes it easier and quicker to apply eyeshadow this way, even though you could technically do both at the same time.
The crease colour should also blend into nothing towards the brow bone.

Hello everyone! As promised, I have uploaded my Glam eye makeup tutorial, and I am pretty excited about this one.

I originally saw this makeup on Leona Lewis on X Factor UK, and looked it up to see if I could find the products used on her, particularly the gorgeous glitter eyeshadow that was on her eyelids. I managed to find it, and purchased it online and when it finally arrived, I just had to do a makeup tutorial.

Here are a couple of pictures of the look:



And here is the video!



Products mentioned:


Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in #4
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
Australis 10 Hr Wear Waterproof Eye Pencil in Bombastic Bronze
Estee Lauder 5 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Bronze Sands
Collection 2000 Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Liner in Hustle
Clinique Brush on Cream Liner in True Black
YSL Touche Eclat
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface
Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Rose Gold
Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee


Thank you so much for watching, and I really hope you liked it! x