Soft and Neutral (Using Lorac Pro 2 Palette)

 

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I recently featured this softly defined, neutral eye look on my Instagram page (find me at @makeupbysairalee) and thought it would be nice to accompany it with a ‘how to’ post.  

Neutral tones on the eyes can be combined with any lip colour that you like, be it a bright red lipstick or a nude lipgloss.  

I wore this look with one of the new MAC Liptensity shades in ‘Life’s Blood (a rich, deep blood-red) and Too Faced Sweethearts Blusher in Peach Bellini (look out for posts on both of these products in the coming weeks).

I used the Lorac Pro 2 Palette to create this look but you can use any brand of eyeshadow you like which has similar shades.

Here’s how to re-create this look:

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Sneak Peek: Benefit Brow Products

 

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Last month, I visited the House of Fraser counter in Glasgow to learn more about their brow products.  I haven’t used brow products much before and so I really wanted to learn more on how to fill in my brows properly.  One of the make-up artists, Rachel, was super helpful and showed me how to fill in my brows using a few of their products.  She introduced me to the Goof Proof Brow Pencil, as I said I wanted something which would give me a natural look (click here to read more about this product).  

Rachel advised me that shade 3 would be the best match for me.  I’m sooooo happy I asked for her help with shade choice, as I would have probably chosen shade 5 to match my brows exactly.  I would have never thought to have gone for a slightly lighter shade but it turns out that shade 3 is the perfect match for me.  I also asked for a shade match at another counter in Glasgow and the make-up artist matched me to shade 3 as well.  So it was really helpful to see that the advice is consistent across branches.  

I purchased the Goof Proof Pencil and since then, I’ve gone on to purchase a couple of the other products from the range: Ka Brow (a cream-gel brow product) and Ready, Set, Brow! (a clear shaping and setting brow gel).  I also just picked up Gimme Brow the other day (a tinted eyebrow gel).  I got Gimme Brow quite a while after I got the other products, so that’s why it isn’t in the ‘sneak peek’ photo above.  One of the nice points about the Benefit brow products is that your shade is consistent across the range.  So if you are a shade 3 in one product, you are a shade 3 in all of them.  It makes it so much easier to know which shade to buy!

Click here to read my post on the Goof Proof Brow Pencil.  

Click here to read my post on the Ready, Set, Brow! 24 Hour Setting Gel.  

Look out for posts on other Benefit brow products over the coming weeks!

Aside note: I also ended up getting a brow wax at the House of Fraser brow bar (Emma did it for me) as I felt like it would be nice to get them professionally shaped.  Emma really set me at ease and took me through exactly what she was going to do.  I was absolutely delighted with the results.  My brows looked just like I wanted them to: natural but nicely shaped and tidied up.  Having them professionally shaped has made it so much easier for me to fill them in properly as I can see the shape more clearly.  So I would really recommend the brow bar at the House of Fraser counter in Glasgow! If you are thinking of getting your brows done at a brow bar but are a little nervous about it, it’s worth speaking to the make-up artists first and having a look at their brows while you were there.  I did that and it really helped me feel that I would get my brows done in a way that would suit me.  If you want to know more about the brow wax process, let me know and I will try to write a separate post on that aspect.

Have you tried any of the Benefit brow products? What do you think of them? Let me know in the comments section below.

Minted Neutrals

 

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Adding a sweep of coloured eyeliner to an otherwise neutral eyeshadow look is a nice way to introduce colour to your make-up.  This technique is particularly nice if you fancy trying out colour but find it a little daunting. 

Tip: Sticking to neutral tones of eyeshadow also means you can experiment with different colours of liner.  Try purple, blue, bronze and silver for a twist on the same look.

Click here to read more about the Kiko Lasting Precision Automatic Eyeliner I used in this look.

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#3 Make-Up News

 

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Here is some new make-up news for this week:

Allure Magazine has reported that MAC will be coming out with a new eyeshadow formulation: MAC Spellbinder Eyeshadows.  These eyeshadows are touted as being intensely pigmented and providing super-rich payoff on the lids.  I can’t wait to check out the eight jewelled toned shades when they launch online and in-store (sometime between October – December 2016).  You can read more here.

If you are a fan of the Anastasia Glow Kits, you might be excited to hear that the brand is releasing an Ultimate Glow Kit for the holiday season.  The Ultimate Glow Kit will contain six gold-toned highlighters, ranging from snowy white to sparkly amber.  I have the Gleam Glow Kit and love it, so I am looking forward to seeing the new Ultimate Glow Kit when it launches.  You can read more and see photos at Temptalia here.

Too Faced has just posted a sneak peek of the upcoming Sweet Peach Glow Palette.  You can see the sneak peek photo on Two Faced Jerrod Blandino’s Instagram page here.

This seems to be the season for colourful eyeshadow palettes.  Kat Von D has just released the Metal Matte Eyeshadow Palette which contains 22 eyeshadows: 9 metal crush eyeshadows in all new shades and 13 rainbow mattes, ranging from light to dark tones.  Looks amazing! You can see the palette on the Kat von D webpage here.  Urban Decay will also be releasing the ‘Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette’ for Holiday 2016.  The palette will contain 18 colourful shades ranging from white, bold and deep bright colours.  You can see a sneak peek photo on the Urban Decay Instagram pages here.

Nude colours more your thing? If so, you might like the new Bare Minerals Gen Nude Collection.  The Gen Nude Collection has 60 lip shades across 4 different finishes, including lipsticks, glosses, liquid lip colours and lip liners.  The range promises to provide nudes in a range of colour tones, such as beige, pink, peach and mauve.  Worth a look if you love nudes! You can read more on the Bare Minerals website here.  If you also like the idea of trying out the lipsticks but aren’t sure where to start, Bare Minerals is releasing an 8-piece collection of mini-sized Gen Nude lipsticks.  You can read more about the 8-piece collection here.

Do you like this sort of post? Any types of launches, make-up ranges or products you would like to read more about? Let me know in the comments section.

Pink Unicorn

 

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I’m a huge fan of the Kiko Water eyeshadows and so I couldn’t resist picking up another one when they had a sale in store.  I just love the shimmery, candy pink hue of this particular Water eyeshadow.  I mixed it up a little by applying purple in the crease and and a silver liquid liner along the upper lashline.

Click here to read more about the Water eyeshadows and see swatches of the other shades that I have (210, 212, 219 and 221).

Here’s how to re-create this look:

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Maybelline Color Drama Intense Lip Paints

 

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Maybelline recently released the Color Drama Intense Lip Paints in the UK (aka Color Jolt Intense Lip Paints in the USA) and they have quickly become a favourite of mine.  The lip paints are smooth, pigmented and feel so light on the lips.  I think they are a good dupe for the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks – just as pigmented but at a fraction of the price.  Click here to read my post comparing the Maybelline and Too Faced products.

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Aztec Goldmine (Using Urban Decay XX Vice Ltd Reloaded Palette)

 

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For this particular look, I took inspiration from the print on one of my favourite skirts.  I love the combination of the gold, teal and black and thought it would look really interesting on the eyes.

I used the Urban Decay XX Vice Ltd Reloaded Palette to create this look.  You can read more about this palette, see photos and view swatches here.

Here’s how to re-create this look:

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#2 Make-up Organisation and Storage: Eyeshadow Palettes, Brushes and Mirror

 

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This post is based around how I store my eyeshadow palettes, my brushes and the mirror on my dressing table.  I store my eyeshadow singles separately in my dressing table drawer so I will do a separate post on that aspect of my make-up collection.

If you want to know more about any of the products in the photos here let me know.

Note: I’ve separated my make-up organisation and storage into articles based around different parts of my make-up collection.  Once I started writing, I realised that keeping it as one post was going to be too long and a bit overwhelming.  You can read my other articles on how I store and organise my make-up here.

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Elemental (Using Urban Decay Moondust Palette)

 

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This is the first of my looks using the new Urban Decay Moondust Palette.  I really wanted to create a smokier look using one of the Moondust eyeshadows and so I used a deep metallic cranberry paintpot as a base.   This particular paint pot adds a really pretty plum hue to Element eyeshadow.

Tip: Experimenting with different colours of eyeshadow base can bring out different tones in whatever eyeshadow you choose to use.

You can read more about this palette, see photos and view swatches here.

Here’s how to re-create this look:

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#1 Make-up Organisation and Storage: Lips and Cheeks

 

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One of my readers (shout out to Julie!) said that she would love to see how I organise and store my make-up collection.  I really enjoy reading this type of post on other sites so I thought, ‘why not put something together on my own site’?

It’s always fun to see how other people store and organise their make-up.  It’s also fun to look at pictures of other people’s make-up and see what they have in their personal collection!

Note: I’ve separated my make-up organisation and storage into articles based around different parts of my make-up collection.  Once I started writing, I realised that keeping it as one post was going to be too long and a bit overwhelming.  This first post is based around how I store my lip and cheek products.  If you want to know more about any of the products in the photos here, let me know.

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