My FOT(E)D

Otherwise known as my 'face of the last 6 months'. Once I got out of the habit of blogging, I spent less and less time deliberating over what makeup to wear each day and simply reaching for my trusted favourites. I started working in February and since then, my no brainer routine has become essential.

Face
Vichy Idealia BB Cream in Light
Ellis Faas Concealer in S202
Bourjois Healthy Mix Face Powder in Vanille
RBR Blusher in Gracilis

Eyes
NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
GOSH Velvet Touch Liner in Truly Brown
RBR Magnitude Mascara in black

Lips
BECCA Ultimate Colour Gloss in Hummingbird

As you can see, I've managed to hit pan on Solstice Halcyon and my GOSH Truly Brown eyeliner is a veritable stump. Although I use the RBR blusher and BECCA gloss daily, I don't appear to have made a significant dent in either.

I am on my second tube of Ellis Faas concealer. I really like the formula but unfortunately both pens I've owned have come apart from use (you may spot that the base has fallen off). I also have slightly mixed feelings about the RBR Magnitude Mascara and NARS Smugdeproof Eyeshadow Base. The RBR mascara gives me really full, long lashes but the downside is that it bleeds into my under eye concealer mid-afternoon. The NARS primer is excellent at preventing creasing but I also find it tricky to blend over. My tube is empty now and I haven't decided yet whether to repurchase or try UDPP.

I started using Vichy Idealia BB Cream when my NARS tinted moisturiser started running low. It certainly doesn't provide as much coverage as the NARS and I do have to powder to avoid looking too 'glowy', but I find it excellent at quickly evening out redness. I love the Vichy scent too which reminds me of summer holidays of my teens.

We have one in and one out here. I only have a tiny scraping of the NARS tinted moisturiser left (sad face). I suspect this is an item I will repurchase in the future, although at the moment I am determined to make my next purchase a foundation rather than a tinted moisturiser. The Maybelline 24h Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe is my most recent purchase. I must have super greasy lids as this creases on me if I don't wear it over a primer. I was disappointed by this, as I was hoping to use it as a primer on its own under eyeshadow.

Finally, I thought I'd share what's kept me away from beauty blogging - knitting! I graduated from crochet to knitting, so that I could make some cute dresses for Miss MB and then I just couldn't stop. Once I got the hang of it, I found knitting very relaxing and browsing wool and patterns is just as addictive for me as buying taupe eyeshadows. Unfortunately, it's impossible to blog and knit at the same time.

My colour choices in wool are freakishly similar to my taste in eyeshadows as you can probably see. Above is the Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light wool which I've just purchased from Loop Knitting to make a Vector Wrap (link to the pattern on Ravelry). Don't you think those colours would make a pretty eyeshadow palette?! Are their any other keen knitters out there?

DISCLOSURE: The RBR Magnitude Mascara and Vichy Idealia BB cream were received as PR samples.

A FOTD with MAC Style Snob and Club

I thought I'd share this face of the day from yesterday, as I was really pleased with how the eyes turned out. It was a bit of a random pairing of two of my well loved MAC eyeshadows, I've already mentioned MAC Club quite a few times but I don't think I've shared Style Snob before other than in swatch comparisons. Unfortunately, it is one of those 'taupes you can't have', unless of course you're lucky and find one in a blog sale.

I started off with a base of Le Metier de Beaute Dualistic pencil in Champagne smudged over the mobile lid. Despite the name, this is a lovely matte taupe colour. I find it lacks definition as a liner but it's excellent used like a paint pot. I patted Style Snob on top of the Champagne base, blended out at the crease and then pushed Club along the lashline, concentrating on the outer third of my eye.

Apologies in advance for the hair band. I'm dithering over whether to stick or twist with the short hair. As much as I love short hair, I don't love regular trips to the hairdressers...

Face
NARS TM in Finland mixed with BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl
BECCA Concealer Duo in Praline to cover blemishes, redness and also on my undereyes
Hourglass Duo in Sunset, blusher on the cheeks and a bit of the bronzer
MUFE HD Powder
Shu brow pencil

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
LMdB Dualistic Pencil in Champagne used as a base
MAC Style Snob
MAC Club
Clinique High Impact Mascara (magazine freebie)

Lips
RBR Lipgloss in Coy

Desert Island FoTD and Colour Ramblings

I discovered this FoTD post sat in drafts today and thought now would be a good moment to share. The products I am wearing are items I picked out for my Beauty Spotlight Desert Island visit. Based on my hair, these pictures were taken a while ago but the items I used remain firm favourites, irrespective of hairstyle.

Face
NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturiser in Finland
rms 'Un' Cover-up in 11
Hourglass Aura Cheek Stain in Rouge

Eyes
Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow
Kjaer Weis Wisdom
MAC Teddy eye kohl
Maybelline The Falsies Flared mascara

Lips
Ilia Arabian Knights lip conditioner

I was having a moan today on Twitter about my habit of wasting time filling up virtual shopping baskets, only to talk myself out of the spend. I know I'm not alone in doing this but it is an incredibly frustrating habit. I was eyeing up the Clarins lipsticks that are currently reduced on Escentual, but had to concede that the colours I was looking at (Rouge Eclat in Pink Berry and Woodrose) bear a striking resemblance to about 50% of the lip colours I already own. I curse my own inner sensible side for refusing to allow more dupes for 'research purposes'.

Another reason for vetoing more lipstick purchases is my current obsession with what 'season' I might be. I suspect London MakeUp Girl's recent Sci/Art analysis has sparked a veritable tidal wave of similar curiosity. I am clueless about which colours genuinely suit my colouring. I have been told that my uniform of black and white aren't particularly flattering but knowing which colours don't suit me, hasn't particularly helped me deduce which do. I remain hopeful that pastels or yellow aren't the answer! Both Grace and Stiperstones have suggested I might be a Light Summer, so I have been looking at the appropriate colour recommendations on Pinterest. I rather like the suggested colours and have been messing about with coloured scarves that are similar to the colours in the swatches. This blue/green scarf is probably one of my favourites, not least because it matches the colours my streak has faded to.

I think the time has probably come for me to save some pennies and investigate who offers colour analysis locally, so that I can get a professional opinion. I will also be interested to hear whether my rapidly greying hair changes things in terms of what colours I should choose. Watch this space!

Chantecaille Shine Eyeshadow in Bois with a FOTD

I thought this might be a useful follow up to the Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild post, not least because this eyeshadow is permanent whereas I suspect the Tiger palette is much harder to find. A few people commented that the texture of the Chantecaille singles is different to those in the palette. Bois is the only single Chantecaille eyeshadow that I own (despite swatching and lusting after many more) but I would have to agree that it is much smoother and less dusty than any of the eyeshadows in the Tiger or Turtles palettes.

Bois is one of the Shine formulas and it offers sheer rather than opaque colour. The swatch above is a couple of passes over the skin. The colour is a light sandy brown with golden sheen and I feel it's too warm to be described as a taupe. As much as I love neutrals, I'm always slightly nervous about wearing golden hues as I'm not convinced they suit my colouring. In the pictures below I am wearing Bois on the mobile lid with Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird on the outer corner.

I chopped and changed my lipsticks as I was undecided about a complementary pairing. In the first picture I'm wearing my old favourite Guerlain Beige Nude and in the second picture, I'd applied Ellis Faas L303. I also started the day wearing BECCA gloss in Hummingbird but didn't get a photograph with it on. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on whether this eye look is a hit or miss and which, if any, of the lipsticks look ok.

The Chantecaille Shine eyeshadows cost £23 and are available from SpaceNK and Chantecaille counters. Bois was a gift from a very kind blogger who knows how much I love eyeshadows!

Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild Palette

Almost two years ago now, I considered the Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild palette to be something I had missed out on. So, when I spotted it half price in the SpaceNK, I decided to treat myself to the one that (nearly) got away.

Overspray on..

Overspray off..

After all that waiting and wanting, I've not used this palette as much as I expected to. The colours are pretty, the grey taupe is my favourite, followed by the slightly plummy tinged navy. The base colour is a touch too dark and shimmery for me to use it as an alternative to my much loved MAC Brule. I'm not convinced that the blusher really works for me either and I prefer the blusher from the Chantecaille Turtles palette.

Without doubt, the colours look less multi-dimensional once the overspray has gone. I find the eyeshadows are quite powdery and they're not as creamy or pigmented as my favourite brands. I know I could probably have created a similar look using eyeshadows of a superior quality, however I am pleased with how this particular look turned out.

I applied the taupe from lash to crease using a MAC 217 and then applied the base colour from the edge of the taupe to the brow. I pushed the navy along the outer 2/3rds of the lashline using the tip of a MAC 239 brush, pulling it out slightly at the outer corner.

This close up tells me it's probably time to discard my mascara! On the rest of my face I'm wearing RBR Time-Defying Foundation in Quinoa Cream down the centre of my face, Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector and Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer on my undereyes and Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage SC-3 on the beast of a spot I stupidly fiddled with. I'm also wearing the blusher from the palette and a tonne of lip balm.

Messy Smoky Eye Look

I actually wore this makeup look several weeks ago for a dinner party but forgot to take a picture at the time. I decided to repeat it for a face of the day post as I was pleased with the result and it was quite quick and easy to apply. I took my inspiration from this Lisa Eldridge tutorial but instead of a cream eyeshadow, I used my Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadow in #4 which is a cream/powder hybrid.

When I did this look originally, I used Illamasqua Skin Base foundation. I only have a small sample tube of the Illamasqua Skin Base and I wasn't particularly taken with the formula when I first tried it. However, it's the only full coverage foundation that I own so I use it whenever I want a heavier coverage and I must admit that I've warmed to it a lot. You only need a small amount otherwise it looks cakey and I find it looks best buffed into the skin using a dense kabuki-type brush. Instead of Skin Base, today I used a sample pot of the new Rouge Bunny Rouge Time Defying foundation.

Face
Vapour Soft Focus Skin Perfector*
Rouge Bunny Rouge Skin Sanctuary Time Defying foundation in Linen Cream*
Ellis Faas Concealer in S202
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer in SC-3 on blemishes
Brows freshly dyed with Eylure Dylash kit in Dark Brown
MAC Strada blusher to contour
Rouge Bunny Rouge blusher in Gracilis*
A tiny bit of Rouge Bunny Rouge Sea of Tranquility on the tops of cheek bones

Eyes
Kevyn Aucoin eye pencil in Basic Black*
Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in #4 (Pulp Fiction)
Navy aqua cream from the MUFE Black Tango palette layered in the centre of the mobile lid
Maybelline The Falsies Flared mascara

Lips
Rouge Bunny Rouge Irreverence

I wanted to finish off with a few random brush thoughts. I used my MAC 217 to apply the Eyes to Kill eyeshadow, just as Lisa Eldrige demonstrates in her video. I was surprised how well the 217 applies this kind of product, I typically apply with my fingers but I've never been entirely happy with this. I will definitely use the 217 in future. I've been using my new Laura Mercier Eye Finishing brush to buff in concealer which it does really well, one of these days I will get round to using it with eyeshadows as I had intended.

Now this is probably a rather odd brush confession. I have been using my tiny Louise Young eyeliner brush to apply Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer. I've hardly used the Secret Camouflage since I bought it two years ago, as I've always thought the formula looked too dry and obvious. After watching Lisa use it in her videos, I decided to give it a try using a small brush. Unfortunately, all of my concealer brushes are too big for this kind of spot application, hence the misuse of the liner brush. Using a different tool has definitely changed my opinion of Secret Camouflage and I intend to buy a dedicated pinpoint concealer brush to use with it in future.

* Items indicated with asterisk were received without cost for review purposes

Christmas Face of the Day

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and you're looking forward to the New Year. I thought I would share the makeup I wore on Christmas day. I used one of the lipsticks from the Liu palette that I showed you the other day as the basis for my look. Initially, I applied the colour on it's own but I went back and added a bit of extra festive sparkle with Butter London lipgloss in Chancer. After lunch (and a glass of wine), I swapped to the more easy to maintain Ellis Faas L303.

Face
BECCA Luminous Skin Colour in Sand*
Ellis Faas Concealer in S202 on undereyes and around nose
Shu Uemura Brow Pencil (H9) in Seal Brown
Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata blusher

Eyes
Ellis Faas E105 cream eyeshadow
Kevyn Aucoin eye pencil in Basic Black* smudged
Maybelline The Falsies Flared mascara

Lips
LMdB Dualistic lip liner in Rose*, applied all over the lips
The darker of the two lip colours from the Guerlain Liu palette*

As I mentioned, I went back and added a bit of Butter London lip gloss in Chancer* and you can see how this looked below.

* PR samples are indicated with an asterisk

Swatches: MUFE Black Tango Palette

I had a request from the lovely Leanne of Do Not Refreeze for some swatches of the Black Tango palette I showed you yesterday. Thankfully the sun was on my side today.

Slightly out of focus so that you can see the reflects

The darker three colours all contain shimmery reflects and the base colour sets to quite a matte finish. All three are well pigmented too. The plum colour has a brown undertone with stunning red reflects. The blue and green both have quite a black base however they do read as a colour rather than an off-black, if that makes sense. The ivory highlighter shade has a frosty finish and is more sheer than the other eyeshadows in the palette.

This is the result of a quick play with the palette from yesterday. I applied the plum shade as a base from lash to crease and then applied Ikat from the LMdB Silk Road Kaleidoscope over the top. I used the blue along the lower lashes, the green on the upper lashes and the ivory on the brow bone. I lined both upper and lower waterlines with Kevyn Aucoin Basic Black pencil.

Vampiric Smoky Eyes with Dark Lips for Halloween

I've made good on my promise to play with my makeup more and for the last few days I've been preoccupied with looks for Halloween (more on this in my next post). After getting the children ready for a party at the weekend, I thought it would fun to have a go myself. I don't think it looks as OTT in the photographs as it felt in person, it's hard to know whether that's my conservative nature to blame or the flash! I love how the eyes and the lips turned out but I know I couldn't bring myself to wear the pair together ordinarily.

Face
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl mixed with Avene moisturiser
Illamasqua Skin Base in 06
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Delirium as contour
White portion of the Laura Mercier Tourmaline Shimmer Bloc as highlighter
Hourglass Vol 6 palette, brown and black mixed as brow powder
MUFE HD Powder to set

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Dirty Greasepaint Stick from lash to crease
Illamasqua black eyeshadow in Obsedian from lash to crease and blended out
Annabelle Studio Pigment in Karma pressed over the black on the lid
Pink eyeshadow from the Guerlain Rue de Rivoli palette to blend out at the crease
White eyeshadow from the Suqqu Lilac Allure palette on brow
Iridescent white/pink from Guerlain Rue de Rivoli over the white on the brow
Kevyn Aucoin basic black pencil on waterline and lash line
Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara
MAC eyelashes - I'm not sure of the number as these came from an event but I would guess they're #33

Lips
MAC Rebel lipstick
Butter London lipgloss in Chancer to add a bit of extra dimension


Disclosure: This look was created using a mixture of items purchased by myself and press samples. The Butter London Lippy in Chancer is a recent sample.

FOTD with my new Hourglass and RBR purchases

I bought a few new things from Zuneta recently and today was my first opportunity to have a play. I don't seem to have been experimenting very much with makeup recently. I think it's partly because I'm still restricting myself to using up the items I talked about in this post but also because I don't have as much time to myself. I decided that buying something colourful might help me out of this rut and Rouge Bunny Rouge Mysterious Tinamou eyeshadow is certainly outside my usual taupe comfort zone.

Today, I used Mysterious Tinamou as an accent colour alongside some favourite neutrals. I also gave my Hourglass Illume compact (Sunset) its first outing. Both items are pictured below alongside the other colour products that I used.

Hourglass Illume Creme to Powder Compact in Sunset // Kjaer Weis Eyeshadow in Wisdom // RBR Eyeshadow in Gracious Arasari (depotted) // RBR Eyeshadow in Mysterious Tinamou // Hourglass Femme Rouge in Fresco

Face
Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Relaxing Complex*
Max Factor Second Skin foundation*
RMS "Un"Cover Up in 11 on undereyes, around nose and on blemishes
Hourglass Illume compact in Sunset, I used both the bronzer and the cheek colour here

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
RBR Gracious Arasari from lash to crease
Kjaer Weis Wisdow in the crease
RBR Mysterious Tinamou along top and bottom lash line
Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara*

Lips
Hourglass Femme Rouge in Fresco

Scent of the Day 
Aftelier Perfume Patchouli Spice Body Oil & Hair Elixir - I applied this to my hair today and it smells beautiful, I get little wafts of scent as my hair moves. As you can probably see, I've decided to let my roots come through in a bid to see if I can embrace the grey. They do need taming though as hence the need for bit of hair oil.

Disclosure: I have labelled press samples with an asterisk, all the other items were purchased or won by me. 

Laura Mercier Mystere Duo Applied

The Laura Mercier Mystere eyeshadow duo was gifted to me by a kind friend a little while ago. I gave its first outing last weekend whilst I had a bit of time to play with my makeup in peace. As I often find that deep blues don't look as vibrant on the eye as they do in the pan, I applied over a dark base. On this occasion, I chose the liner end of the BECCA Line + Illuminate in Belize which is black with a hint of violet. I was really pleased with how rich the blue from Mystere looked over the liner but looking back I wished I had taken the colour all the way up to the crease.

To finish, I applied the taupe colour where the blue ends to soften the line and took it up the the crease. I lined the upper waterline with Kevyn Aucoin Basic Back and added plenty of mascara, I think it was Max Factor False Lash Effect in this case.

Eyes
BECCA Line + Illuminate pencil in Belize - liner end (original review)
Laura Mercier Mystere duo
MAC Brule on brow bone and to tidy up
Kevyn Aucoin Basic Black*

Face
Mix of Bourjois Healthy Mix and Max Factor Second Skin*
elf HD powder
Blusher unknown - the folly of waiting a week to write this post!
Laura Mercier Pink Tourmaline Mosaic Shimmer Bloc highlighter*

Lips
Rouge Bunny Rouge Irreverence

* Items marked with an asterisk were received as press samples

My Everyday Face

I feel like I need to start with a confession. This post is missing a vital ingredient, a picture of the products on my face. Things are dire at home at the moment, so faced with the choice of posting an incomplete piece or nothing at all, I went with the former and frankly writing about makeup is a welcome break from creating five point behaviour scales and reading social stories.

Although I was really worried about restricting my selection of products for a month, it's turned out to be very useful. Getting everyone ready and out to school is even more frantic than it was last year and fortuitously the products that I picked out for Operation Use it Up (plus a couple of additions) combine to make a quick and easy face.

I use a mix of Max Factor Second Skin and Bourjois Healthy Mix as a base and usually apply with a flat topped kabuki for speed. On the eyes I apply the Rouge Bunny Rouge Atlas Swallowtail cream eyeshadow from lashline to crease, line with BECCA automatic liner in Goa (sometimes taking it under the eye) and add a generous coat of mascara. The beauty of using Atlas Swallowtail is that it looks good on it's own but I can also add eyeshadow when I return home, if the mood takes me.

I use BECCA creme blush in Turkish Rose on my cheeks using my Hakuhodo G5552 brush. It has a slightly dewy finish so I can dispense with adding a separate highlighter if I haven't got time. Although I mostly favour Rouge Bunny Rouge Murmurings lipstick to complete this look, I have worn it with Chanel Bonheur, Hourglass Fresco and even Rouge Bunny Rouge Coy lipgloss.

I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed wearing the same thing pretty much everyday. It's quite nice to have a no-brainer look to reach for when I'm pushed for time and I fear it may have compounded my guilt at having so much makeup!

My Attempt at Re-Creating the RBR Santa Ana Look

As soon as I saw the latest Rouge Bunny Rouge look, Santa Ana, I knew I had to have a go at re-creating it. It's bold but seemed relatively easy to follow in terms of products. You can see a full breakdown and description of placement in Perilously Pale's post here.

I don't own all of the products used (as shown in the image above) so I substituted where necessary with products that I hope are of a similar colour or texture. The red lipstick - Raw Silence was a tough one, as I don't think I have anything quite the same colour or with the same creamy finish. I'm really tempted to buy the Selena Eye Kohl used in the look as the MAC pencil I used as a substitute seems to be reaching the end of it's useful life.


Here are the products I used:

RBR Face Contour Brush // RBR Blusher Brush // Max Factor Second Skin and Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation mixed // Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer // MUFE HD Powder // MAC Bronzer in Golden // Laura Mercier Pink Tourmaline Mosaic Shimmer Bloc to highlight tops of cheeks and brow bone

Sigma E25 Brush // MAC 239 // RBR Large Shader // MAC 219 // MAC Mystery Eye Kohl // RBR Eyeshadows in Umber Firefinch, Unforgettable Oriole and Olive Violeteare

Lips prepped with BECCA Lip Butter // MAC Liner in Cherry // Max Factor Colour Elixir in Ruby Tuesday // Tom Ford lipstick in Smoke Red // MAC lip brush

For the eyes, I used two of the three eyeshadows as used in the Santa Ana look and I substituted Golden Rhea with Unforgettable Oriole as the base lid colour. As I don't have the Loose Glitter Pigments in Sleeping Under the Mandarin Tree, I used a small amount of the Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc on the brow bone. I also applied some to the high points of my cheeks. Highlighter isn't listed in the product breakdown but I can definitely see a sheen on the tops of the cheek.

I primed my skin with Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and used a mix of Max Factor Second Skin and Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. As you may note, all three of these items are on my list of products to use up! I used a little bit of MUFE HD Powder on the T-zone. To be honest, I prefer a less matte base on my skin and would probably have opted for a tinted moisturiser had I not been trying to copy the look. 

I tried out two different lipsticks to try and replicate the colour of Raw Silence. Neither are perfect, so of course this gives me the go ahead to buy a new red lipstick without guilt (don't say anything!). Here's how it looks with Max Factor Colour Elixir lipstick in Ruby Tuesday...

And now, with Tom Ford lipstick in Smoke Red...

Right, I'm off out to do the second school run of the day wearing this look. Let me know if you have a go at copying this look yourself. Santa Ana will launch at Zuneta tomorrow and my sources tell me there will be a special exclusive gift with any purchase of Rouge Bunny Rouge to celebrate. Shopping lists at the ready girls!

Disclosure: Some of the items I used here were sent to me as press samples but not in connection with this launch (and not exclusively RBR). There is a fairly even mix of purchased items and press samples.