MINK Make-up artist of the year

Soooo I entered the This is MINK's Make-up artist of the year competition the other week. It was an amazing experience, and I'm so glad I did it as I went away having learnt something which for me if the best thing you can take away from any experience in life. Unfortunately I didn't win :( but I came runner up so for me that was still pretty huge. The theme of the look we had an hour to create was Colour Blocking and Solid Neons. Because of where I live I never actually got a chance to practice on my beautiful model until the day but I had a clear idea of what I planned to do as Iv'e worked on her before and I had tried everything on myself as well just to be as prepared as I could with the circumstances.

I started off making mood boards and collecting tear sheets to help me visualise the look I was creating. The trials that I did on my face were all pretty 'safe' and had 'no depth' in other people opinions so it was my primary aim to create depth and more of an interesting look. I really switched up the look and went crazy with colour to follow advice I had been given and so I really felt a sense of personal achievement with my final look compared to what I had started off with, It was slightly a jab when one of my comments from the judges was that it was a bit too safe but at least it was something I know I'm still in the process of working on. I think my downfall in my execution is that I was focusing too much of flawless rather than wacky which is evidently what they wanted from us. Another down point is that I ran out of time and didn't have time to apply false lashes, which is another suggestion one of the judges recommended to improve the look.

Nevertheless I really enjoyed the experience and here is my finished look. As is only human, the more I look at it, the more I pick at it so now it's looks like a Picasso painting in my eyes #SelfCritisism

Mwah xo

Stay beautiful!

Just some of my thoughts expressed through poetry :)

Beauty starts from within.

It grows in entangled vines 

and wraps itself around the soul; adorning the piece with its beauty.

It grows leaves which find their way through the pores of the skin and miraculously rip through the imperfections and insecurities.

The beautiful marks it leaves, scar the skin with unchangeable battle wounds; wounds that a warrior would be proud to bare.

The beauty in beautiful is the perfection of the imperfections.

The more we try to hide the wounds we acquire whilst our inner beauty is finding its way to the surface; the quicker the leaves die and leave us empty.

Love yourself and allow the growth within you.

Don't go looking for beauty as beauty is already finding it's way to you from within...

Stay beautiful x

Mwah xo

Spring/summer 2014 Catwalk looks

When it comes to make-up there are no rules. Go as wild or understated as you like as your own personal make-up style is an extension of yourself. I love watching the catwalks at fashion week just to see what the designers have chosen to go with and why. A good way to get ahead on make-up trends is to do this and then customise it to make it your own.

I noticed in terms of skin it was all very natural and dewy. BB creams, tinted moisturisers and concealers were all over the catwalks. That bare faced dewy look is perfect for the spring/summer season. To get this look I would recommend using Smashbox photo finish foundation primer to create a flawless even base without adding colour and YSL's BB cream for that amazing dewy natural coverage as seen on Rosie Huntington. I always reccomend YSL BB cream for that dewy look over most other BB creams out there because I think it has the three must haves... 1.Flawless finish 2.Feels silky smooth on the skin 3.Smells gorgeous! :)

With regards to eyes metallics are the one. Its all about pops of colour on the lids. It adds a certain youthfulnes and the mettalicity gives it the right amount of sexy. I fell in love with this look on Chanel's Artful spring 2014 collection catwalk. The models looked like barbie mashups of 50's and 80's combined with a modern edgyness and some harajuku infuences with the paled out faces to solely emphasize the eyes. Besides the beautiful clothes the makeup was really on point. Intense eyes witout eyeliner is back! Mac paint pots are perfect for this look, Benefit also do gorgeous mettalic cream shadows that are so simple to use and create the look. By simply sweeping it across your lid wll just brighten up you face, coat your lashess in mascara and if your feeling daring ditch the eyeliner completely. It's such a refreshing change for a day look.

Lips - a slight step away from nude lips but not too far. Understated statement lips I would call it. Berry, Peach, Pink... you name it. It goes. Summery coloures with a sheer gloss to give a more natural colour is what I noticed a lot of. Babylips by Maybelline is perfect for this as it provides moisture and colour all in one. Save the matte lips for winter guys, its all about glossy vulumptuous lips this spring/summer. Cream lipsticks are also a great idea, go as bright and wonderful as you feel. a creme orange lipstick for me defines srping/summer in a nutshell, daring, bright and fun.

And as for eyebrows... Keep them wild ...but keep it clean. Keep it Delavinicious

Mwah xo



Mixology!

Okay so this post is all about how to mix products to make even more amazing products. Sometimes meaning you don't have to get a different product all together. There are some make up products I see and I'm just like... really? I could make that by mixing something I already have so here it goes...

Radiant foundation?

It's not everyday matte make up. Especially in this lovely weather, radiance is also a very sexy look to go for and this is how to achieve it without going out and buying a 'radiant foundation'.

Your fave foundation


        +

Your highlighter

















This works so well and really gives your foundation a radiant glow. I recommend liquid highlighters as they blend easier with the foundation. Just a pea sized amount mixed into however much foundation you would usually use and Voila! :)


Metallic lipstick?

Metallics are sooo in this season! From clothes and shoes, to make up. Precious metals are the way forwards. So here is the magic formula

A moisturising lipstick


+

A shimmery eyeshadow








I'm sure we all have both of these in our make up bags. I highly recommend benefits Creaseless eye-shadow as the colours are so gorgeous and metallic and super long lasting which would hold your lipstick longer as well. Using a lip brush (or your fingers) blend the two and apply for a glam pout!


So these two are the ones I use/love the most. Hope you guys try it out and love it!
Until next time :)

Mwah xo

Pow lips!

Okay, so I heard about this Clip Lipnicure stuff through tumblr on Julie begins Blog. Julie Begin is an international makeup artist who is also a key inspiration for a lot of my ideas. I love her boldness and experimental use of colour. Here is some of her work ...

Anyway, back to the lip stuff, so I had to order it to try it out because I was really looking for a lip stain that had a killer pigment considering I have quite dark lips. This stuff is genuinely amazing. I ordered the Guilty pink colour as a safe option not knowing if it would look to bright against my skin. So it came within 2 weeks of me ordering it and along with it I got some cc cream and two interesting paper masks which are actually quite nice (weird but nice). It comes in a cute little lop with an applicator top. The colour is AHHMMAAZZEEE... I was literally so shocked by how bright and well it coloured the lips. It is also non transferable and has a super matte finish so lasts literally over 7-10 hours (roughly timed). Iv'e been wearing it daily and have discovered cute different ways to wear it. by dabbing a small amount in the middle of your lips and blending it out gives a sultry look. If you line your lips with a darker colour and put the lipnicure after it gives a diva-licious pout. and obviously on it own it gives an awesome pop of colour.

Here is is on me... (apologies for the quality...)

This was using the lip liner method :)

Here are all the colours they do

Go grab yourself one :)

Mwah xo

What do you think?

I've been playing around with images. As I start to expand this onto different platforms I want a recognisable image that instantly translates to this, so this is what I have so far :) Let me know which ones you like and any improvements I could make

Mwah xo

p.s Follow me on Instagram beautyxyzee ! :)

It's been a loooong time.

Hey! so I apologise for being away for sooo long and never actually getting round to posting my Halloween pictures (ill post them after this blog post) . I let thing get waayy on top of me and I went into shut down mode but Uni and work all in check now I have time to blog agin! Wooo :)
It actually warmed my heart when someone came upto me and asked why I'd stopped blogging, I assumed no one would notice my absence but I now realise that I cant really think that sooo I'm back :)
Okay catch up...

So I'm even more obsessed with skincare than ever! Because its winter and the cold is sooo harsh on your skin its really important to keep on top of your skincare game. For moisture I highly reccomend the Vitamin E range from Body shop, they have face wash, cleanser, toner, serums and so much more. The serum and the Intense moisture cream are my absolute faves! Bobby brown extra repair moisturiser (which is also a primer OMG!) is my absolute saviour! Perfect for dry skin sufferers who don't want a primer that will dry out your skin, yes its expensive but it does last and does its job perfectly. You get what you paid for.

Around your eyes is such a delicate area so make sure you take extra care of that area. Bobby brown hydrating eye cream is perfect for combating dryness, dark circles, puffiness and any other eye related issue you might want to eliminate. Its not harsh at all therefore no stinging which is what I find with a lot of eye creams. Love it.

Lips! So I've recently become obsessed with lipstick and a key thing to having popping lips is to have well conditioned soft plump lips. Your lips can get dry easily especially with harsh weather. And believe it or not I have found a cure that actually beats good old Vaseline, YSL Top secrets plumping lip balm is the answer! The smoothing lip balm instantly fills in any cracks in your lips whilst restoring plumpness and moisture. It has a lovely feel on your lips and a tiny amount goes a long way. It works as a lip primer as it slightly evens out your lip colour as well, I love this stuff. Don't get me wrong I will always swear by Vaseline but when it comes to intense lip treatment you can use when you feel your lips getting very dry or even for everyday use this is the product.

Last but not least cold weather obviously causes dryness which causes flakiness which means you have to really get rid of the dead skin to keep your skin fresh, you have to make sure you use a face scrub that is gentle on your skin and wont leave it even more dried out than before. Benefit Refined Finish Facial polish is the perfect face scrub. The grains are all perfectly formed with no sharp edges so its gentle on your skin, the ingredients are hypo allergenic so your very unlikely to break out and it leaves your skin feeling fresh and healthy. Make sure whenever you scrub your face to lather your face in moisturiser afterwards because after any type of face scrub you need to restore moisture levels considering your taking away dead skin.

Really hope this helps

Mwah xo