My Make Up Staples

I thought it was time to show you what I mean when I say my staple products. Although sometimes I vary them a bit (eg. if I need waterproof mascara or a foundation with less coverage), but generally these are the products I reach for most often nowadays.

Guerlain Blanc de Perle foundation in 02 Beige Clair. Guerlain Divine Pressed Powder (this is an oldie!), Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Mac highlighting palette (homemade and no idea which shades it contains), Cargo Last Activator mascara in black and Mac Brow Set in Show Off,

So now you know what I mean when I say my staples.

2012 Favourties - Part 2: Eyes

I buy and wear a lot of eyeshadows, eyeliners and mascaras, that is one thing I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. I have very undefined eyes, so I cannot be without eyeliner and mascara, eyeshadows are more of the fun part, I really enjoy playing with colours and have got pretty good at doing quite fancy looks.

I'll start with eyeshadows. One of the brands I mostly raved on about on here in 2012 is L'Oreal, I love their Infallible eyeshadows. Nowadays I tend to gravitate towards high end eyeshadows, but every so often cheaper brands that come out with something amazing and I'm not that much of a snob not to check them out. I did a series of reviews as I bought 20 shades of them, here's the recap post that is linked to all the reviews.

My other favourite eyeshadows that I often compare the L'Oreal Infallibles to were Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill and Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows. You can find several reviews of these on the blog as well, just do a search. I loved the Infallible eyeshadows most for their affordableness and big colour selection (although we don't get quite as many in the UK, but thank God for eBay and US sellers).

Carry on reading after the jump to discover which other products I loved in 2012!

FOTD: Mac Glamour Daze Plus My New Hair Colour

Here's the look I did with some of my Mac Glamour Gaze goodies. I think it looked really lovely. I also wanted to show you my new hair colour, well, it's not so new as it's the second time I've coloured it this colour, but I also decided to add some colourful extensions. I've had a lot of compliments and I really like them myself, so I thought I'd share.

Anyway, back to the look. To create it, I used the following products:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Mac Ready to Party Extra Dimension eyeshadow in the inner corner of the lid
Mac Divine Blue Extra Dimension eyeshadow in the middle of the lid
Mac Stylishly Merry Extra Dimension eyeshadow in the outer corner of the lid and the crease
Mac A Natural Flirt Extra Dimension eyeshadow on the browbone to highlight
Mac Feminine Edge fluidline on top lashline
Urban Decay Zero 24/7 eyeliner on lower lashline
Cargo Lash Activator Mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation in 02 Beige Claire
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Gentle Mineralize Blush
Mac Whisper of Gilt Extra Dimension Skinfinish

Lips:

Mac Full Fuchsia Lipstick

See more pictures after the jump!

FOTD: Clothes and Jewellery Inspired Look With Urban Decay Book Of Shadows

I have pretty much run out of things to blog about other than a few random nail polish posts, due to the fact that it's been half-term school holiday and I haven't been able to take any pictures and do swatches. But fear not, my children are back in school and my husband is back at work tomorrow, so I will spend the day taking pictures, swatching products and there will be many new product reviews to come (because I have been buying things nevertheless!).

But for now, here's a look I did a month or so ago. This was actually inspired by the colours on my top and the necklace I was wearing that day. Do you do looks inspired by clothing/accessories?

To create this look I used the following:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Urban Decay Shattered eyeshadow in the inner corner of the lid
Urban Decay Scandal eyeshadow in the middle of the lid
Urban Decay Last Call eyeshadow in the outer corner of the lid and the crease
Urban Decay Virgin eyeshadow on the browbone to highlight
Urban Decay Electric and Rockstar 24/7 eyeliners on lower lashline
Cargo Lash Activator Mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Pet Me Mineralize Blush

Lips:
Guerlain 166 Shalimar Rouge Automatique Lipstick

See more pictures after the jump!

October Favourites Video

I did a little video about the products I've enjoyed using this month, check it out!You can also subscribe to my channel by clicking here!

Looks Featuring Urban Decay's Vice Palette and Ocho Loco 24/7 Eye Pencil Set - Part 2

Here's another look I did with my new Urban Decay Vice Palette and Ocho Loco 24/7 Eye Pencil Set. This time I used some of the neutral eyeshadows, which are actually really really nice. Again I felt this would've looked nicer with a more shimmery highlighter, but I wated to stick to the palette.

To create this look I used the following:

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Greed
Urban Decay Vice Palette Echo Beach eyeshadow in inner corner and above crease
Urban Decay Vice Palette Nevermind eyeshadow in outer corner
Urban Decay Vice Palette Muse eyeshadow in crease
Urban Decay Vice Palette Anonymus eyeshadow on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil Hustle on lower lashline and waterline
Cargo Lash Activator mascara (aren't my lashes looking great by the way?)
Mac Show Off Brow Set

Face:
Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Dollymix powder blush
Mac Perfect Topping mineralize skinfinish

Lips:
Nars 413 BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil 
Urban Decay Stardust Sparkling lipgloss in Glitter Rock

See more pictures after the jump!

Looks Featuring Urban Decay's Vice Palette and Ocho Loco 24/7 Eye Pencil Set - Part 1

For the past week or so I've been playing with my new Urban Decay Vice Palette and Ocho Loco 24/7 Eye Pencil Set and this is one of the looks I did. I was quite happy with this, although I think it would've looked better with a shimmery highlighter, but since there isn't one included in the Vice Palette, I decided to just stick with what was available.

To create this look I used the following:

Eyes:
Too Faced Insurance Policy
Urban Decay Vice Palette Provocateur eyeshadow in inner corner
Urban Decay Vice Palette Rapture eyeshadow in outer corner
Urban Decay Vice Palette Vice eyeshadow in crease
Urban Decay Vice Palette Freebird eyeshadow above crease
Urban Decay Vice Palette Anonymus eyeshadow on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil Psychedelic Sister on lower lashline and waterline
Cargo Lash Activator mascara
Mac Show Off Brow Set

Face:
Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream
Guerlain Voilettes Invisible Skin Fusion Loose Powder in 03 Beige Naturel
Mac Conjure Up mineralize blush
Mac Pleasureflush mineralize skinfinish

Lips:
Nars 413 BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

See more pictures after the jump!

Bargain Beauty Find: Cargo Lash Activator Review

A little while ago I noticed that having stopped using Rapidlash some months ago my eyelashes have gone back to their original lenght (ie they are very short), so when I noticed a shelf with reduced products in Boots, I decided to try out Cargo Last Activator mascara.

Unlike Rapidlash this is not a serum, but an actual black mascara that you can use on its own or under your regular mascara. It is supposed to "promote lash vitality", which I understand as help make your lashes longer and stronger.

I have been using it in conjunction with Rapidlash, on its own without another mascara on top. It has a long wand with a very flexible brush head and plastic spikes. They separate my lashes well. The formula is a little show drying and it smudges on me if there is much humidity in the air, I often have to wipe it from under my eyes. It's not too bad, but certainly not as good as my favourite mascaras from Guerlain (Le 2 and Noir G) and Givenchy (Phenom'eyes). It's an okay formula, but doesn't curl my lashes at all, and it doesn't really make them look very full or long. Okay, I know, it's not a miracle worker, but still.

I can't really comment on whether it has helped with the growth of my lashes as I've only been using it for about 3 weeks and I'm using it with Rapidlash, but my lashes haven't been falling out and they do look a little longer than when I started using it.

I was very lucky to have picked this up for £2.50 because it actually retails for £20 (it was up on the Boots website when I last looked but it isn't right now), but maybe that particular branch was not carrying the Cargo line anymore. To be honest, I'd say it's a good mascara for £2.50, but not for £20. I certainly wouldn't pay full price for it. If I wanted to spend £20 on a mascara I'd buy a Givenchy Phenomen'eyes mascara or a refill for my Guerlain Noir G mascara.

I haven't included any pictures of me wearing this on my lashes, but basically every eye look I've done in the past 2 weeks will have featured it, so take a look at my previous posts.

See more pictures after the jump!