Prime and shine

Eye shadow is definitely one of my favourite stages of make-up. I love experimenting with colours, shapes and seeing how with different blending techniques you can manipulate the appearance of your eye shape. The one thing I used to struggle with was getting it to stay as perfect an our later as it did when I first did it. Especially with colourful looks it really didn't look good when the colours sunk into the creases of your eyes! So I invested in primers, the first primer I used was a cheap one from Asda, I didn't really see a huge difference so started using different kinds of eye shadows and although some eye-shadows do stay better than others the problem wasn't solved. I then decided to try the primer thing again but this time I did some research and heard about the Urban Decay eye-shadow primer potions. I got myself one and only then did I realise it was fully possible to have long lasting eye-shadow! I sort of became obsessed and started out trying different eye-shadow primers and after having tried almost every eye-shadow primer out there i have found the best two (even better than the Urban Decay one...)

1. Benefit Stay Don't Stray

This stuff will literally keep your eye-shadow unmovable for hours on end. Perfect for a night out where you are likely to get all hot and your make-up could melt, this will keep it in place.

It prevents creasing if you have particularly oily lids and  prevents smudging. LOVE this stuff and there is a darker shade for darker skin tones.

2. Helen E Stage eye-shadow primer

This primer I only got introduced to recently but I already love love love it! It gives even the most subtle eye-shadow colours more pigment. Its great for making colours stand out and the matte texture really helps keep the shadow in place. There is only one colour of this but I find it works perfectly on my skin which is dark, if anything it helps to make the shadow stand out more. 

So... just had a thought whilst writing this... Is mixing primers allowed? I definitely know you can mix face primers, so I'm officially going to go and try out mixing these two shadow primers and see how well it works. It can only be twice as good right?

Mwah x

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 ! :)

Mini catch up in photos

Just thought I'd make a little photo collage of things you've missed in the past month or so :)

Transitioned to shorter hair :) and a more vampy look!

...Started drawing (trying)

Made a tumblr http://beautyxyzee.tumblr.com/ (CHECK IT OUT)

A client I had for her graduation

My Halloween look, guess who...?

A beautiful witch and Poison Ivy, make-up by moi

My beautiful mum and sister, makeup for new years eve :D

Mwah xo

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

Halloweeeen

Okay guys, the excitement for Halloween has officially hit. Such a perfect time to experiment with looks and make-up ideas. I have already had a few ideas as to what I'm going as and have practised make-up for a few. Ill do a full step by step on/after Halloween of what I decide to go with so you guys can see what I went with and how I achieved it. Its a bit of an abstract idea but hey ho... :)

How stunning/scary! :O

I found this on lipglossnheels.blogspot.com 's blog :)

mwah xo

Makeup Show Live

Wow, so I've been back at Uni two weeks and things have been mad. Uni work, job work, re-Freshers, catching up with people... I've literally had zero time to myself (blogging time).

Tonight I locked myself in my room, incense burning, lights out, hair up and ready to get my blog on. Its been a while!

SO... The Make-up Show Live was amazing! The whole day was packed full with seminars, master classes and performances. I felt so lucky to be a part of it. I met the one and only AJ Crimson! The happiness was so real haha. He is such a sassy man and his makeup is actually amazing. I purchased some of the creme foundation in a colour 7 and colour 5 (he colour matched me!!!) and I wear it all the time, its so light but has an amazing coverage and just feels lovely on your skin. In a range of colours for all skin colours :)

Here is the man himself applying the creme foundation.

Buy yours now http://ajcrimson.myshopify.com/

I went with my bestie Lauren (check out her blog http://vividwinter.wordpress.com)

Getting ready was manic, we ended up waking up later than expected and then had to get to the place in time despite tube closures. Being rushed when your trying to look your best is hard, that's all I'm saying. After lots of panicking, hair doing, make-up applying and plenty of borrowing and swaping we finally got ourselves there on time.

http://vividwinter.wordpress.com

I met some awesome people on the day, and most importantly bought some make-up from new brands. My favourite new find was definitely Flori Roberts Cream to powder foundation. I actually love this stuff. They matched me from my Mac studio fix shade and found the exact match for my skin., I find it a cheaper but just as effective alternative to my stuido fix and seeing as my studio fix has ran out I bought it at a perfect time. 

http://www.floriroberts.com/creamtopowderfoundation.html

AJ Crimson did a really inspiring talk on the day which really gave me that extra push in pursuing this dream, his journey wasn't easy, and in life if you want something bad you put up with the lows to get to where you want to be :) If you didn't come this year make sure you make it to next years event as it really is worth every penny and was is such a fun experience.

mwah xo