Makeupspiration: Rihanna

Generally I love Rihanna's make up - even the blue lipstick! She always looks flawless, modern and effortless. So when I spotted this pic, I thought she looked incredible and that also this would be a look that I could easily copy: blue and black eyeliner with pink lips. 

I love how the double eyeliner with blue outside and black inside made my eyes really pop... Give it a try! 

Apols for the quick snaps and wet hair- I was running late to meet friends!

Products used: 

Face

Daniel sandler retexturising face primer

Revlon photo ready foundation, 003

Benefit boiing concealer,02

Laura mercier secret concealer (under eye), 2

Mac select sheer pressed powder, nc25

Benefit hoola bronzer

Sleek blush, fenberry  

Mac eye brows, lingering 

Mac fix+

Eyes

Barry m kohl pencil, 6 royal blue

Rimmel soft kohl kajal eyeliner pencil, 061 jet black

Maybelline great lash mascara, blackest black 

Lips 

Barry m lipstick, 62

Plummy lips

I loved the dark plum lips and colourful mohicans at the Fendi aw13 show! 

Unfortunately I can't copy the awesome hair or afford the incredible clothes but I did have a dark lips day :-) 

I like that the plum lips are set against a neutral, bare face with a lick of mascara and defined brows- perfect to offset the gothic look of the lippie. And perfect for work as not too heavy. 

I used my new sephora lipstick in bewitch me and although I loved the colour and blotted and reapplied a few times this lipstick does not last. I ended up wiping it off half way through the day as I can't sit at work and continually reapply, not convenient and not cool! Even if I wasn't doing anything (not talking drinking eating etc) this just seemed to disintegrate at the corners :-( Next time I'll use a lip liner underneath to see if that makes it last longer than a few minutes... 

Anyway plum lips are a big trend for autumn winter, it ties into a 90s grunge reasurgence where a dark lip was a staple. Enjoy experimenting! 

Make up look of the week: lime green eyes

I'm a big fan of lime green eyes, having worn them a few times now this year and in 2012, so I was delighted to see the shade so prominent on the costello tagliapietra ss14 show. 

Admittedly it's a tough colour to crack and if you're not used to wearing bright colours (and your friends, family, colleagues) aren't used to it either then you might get a few strange looks! This juicy, citrus shade certainly packs a punch so isn't for the faint hearted! On this occasion I was wearing a black and grey dress and wanted a shot of colour on my eyes to complement the darker outfit. I also had lime green sunnies and liked the idea of matching :-)

It looks like mac products were used at the Costello show, but I used the lime green shade in my coastal scents palette. My top tip is to ensure you use eyelid primer (my fave is urban decay) to make the colour last and stay bold. There's nothing worse than patchy, creased lime green eyes! 

Pics from the night out... Didn't manage to save the before-going-out pics booo.

 

My new fave product: Bioderma Sensibio H2O

When I arrived in Dubai I brought with me from UK a couple of bottles of my favourite toner by Nivea, a Pure & Natural one that smelled divine. 

Inevitably I ran out and - alas! - it's not stocked here so Bioderma Sensibio H2O entered my life. And I'm sooooo pleased it did! Bioderma is not a brand that I've ever seen stocked in UK but it is all over Dubai. Seriously, stocked everywhere. So I thought I'd give it a try. 

First off, I love the clean packaging and pink lid, secondly I like that it is for sensitive skin and thirdly that it's a toner and also an eye make up remover too.

It is super gentle on the skin, has a light smell and really does the job- taking off the last traces of make up after I've cleansed my face (I normally use a seperate eye make up remover by Shiseido which is pretty heavy duty and amazing in taking off heavy eye make up in one go). Sensibio is refreshing and feels just like water, but better, way better! 

It has cucumber listed in its ingredients which is known for being anti-inflammatory so this is v soothing.  The bottle also says it removes makeup by the 'micro emulsion of impurities' which I think means dissolves make up? Not sure on that one though and a quick google search and I'm none the wiser... 

Anyhow I'm now on my fourth bottle, so it's definitely tried and tested and a winner in my skincare routine :-)

The lowdown- if you have sensitive skin and hate toners that make your skin feel tight, stingy or tingly then give this toner a try! 

Berry brilliant

Am loving red, berry and burgundy lip shades, the perfect colour for 'winter' (even though I live in eternal summer in Dubai!). 

The dolce and gabbana aw13 show had some fabulous classic berry red lips with winged eyeliner and I also love the distressed / blotted / almost wine stained looks, although not sure I'd ever get away with that in real life... Everyone would think I'd half applied my lippie... 

Anyhow, I went for a clean, bare face with a dash of mascara and some berry powder blush and on my lips I used the awesome Rimmel Kate lasting finish lipstick in 107. This stuff is long lasting, matte, lovely smell, great wearable colour and doesn't dry out your lips. Have got a load of shades of the Rimmel Kate lipstick and it never disappoints. 

If you don't usually wear dark lips through the summer then now is the season to give it a try! Top tip: apply then blot, apply again and then blot - will last all day! And doesn't red just make you feel festive too?! Enjoy x

Product review: Avene gentle purifying scrub

I have really sensitive skin that doesn't take we'll to most face scrubs, either going very dry and tight, breaking out or feeling raw so I tend to avoid exfoliating. 

However the other day I had an amazing facial at the cure in media city which involved a scrub. My skin felt amazing afterward so I thought I'd investigate the best for sensitive skins. 

Cue: Avene gentle purifying scrub! I picked this up at boots, it comes in a box  and says it's for sensitive skin. It's a pink gel formula with really gentle small beads that exfoliate. And it actually works- it's so gentle that my skin felt nicely scrubbed, fresh and clean. No tightness, soreness or spots after woooo! 

Am generally really happy with this scrub, it has a nice, light smell and is a lovely pink colour. 

My only gripe is that when I took the bottle out the box at home it looked a third empty! See pic below! Ah well - thankfully a little goes a long way :-) 

I'll definitely buy this again! 

Sephora Binge Ooops!

Popped into Sephora in Marina Mall to have a look for an orange lipstick and came out with three lippies, two lip glosses, a liquid eyeliner and two make up brushes- Ooops!!! 

Here's the lowdown:

Make up forever intense colour lipstick in 40 (Dh105): a bright juicy orange lipstick 

Smashbox be legendary lipstick in fuchsia flash matte (Dh120): a vivid pinky purple, similar to my beloved sleek amped lipstick that I lost earlier in the year but haven't been back to uk yet to replace. Perfectly matte, highly pigmented- will see if it has the same staying power as Amped when I wear it! 

Sephora rouge high coverage lipstick in bewitch me (Dh75): a deep black cherry / purple colour. Will look awesome blotted with tissue and a bit raw around the edges.

Sephora ultra brilliance gloss in totally lucid shiny (Dh53): a clear gloss with a great applicator. A make up bag staple.

Sephora glossy gloss in cocktail on the beach (Dh65): a gloriously glossy orange / red shade. Am not one for gloss but this was quite a good dupe for riri woo lipglass from Mac.

Sephora long lasting Liquid eyeliner in metallic silver (Dh65): a fab thick silver with a precision pointed brush. Perfect to tie in make up with the current shiny metallic fashion trend.

Sephora pro bent liner brush 23 (Dh55): comes with a cute case, lightweight and feels great in the hand. 

Sephora concealer brush 100 (Dh80). Love the bright pink handle. I usually use my finger tip to apply concealer so am interested to use this and see if makes my application any better!  The brush is quite long and goes to quite a thin point at the end, not sure why or if it's just for looks! 

Blue eyes blue eyeshadow? DOOOO IT!

I have blue eyes and I always read how you’re not meant to wear blue eyeshadow if you have blue eyes as it dulls the colour and doesn’t enhance your eyes… what nonsense!   

I love wearing blue eyeshadow! Bright royal blue, navy blue, sky blue, baby blue – all shades on the blue spectrum and I never once think that it dulls my eyes – in fact it makes them pop!  

So I say to all you blue eyed beauties out there who haven’t tried blue eyeshadow – goooo on!!!! Just remember to keep it matte :-)

Royal blue eyeshadow courtesy of the bright blue in Sleek iDivine Ultra Matts v1 730 palette

Sky blue eyeshadow courtesy of Barry M Dazzle Dust, number 93 (available in biggers Boots in Dubai)

Trend to try: the return of grey

Grey seems to be everywhere at the moment: fashion, furnishings and of course, make up!  It’s a really versatile colour on the eyes that can be paired with many different lip shades including pink, red, black cherry but can also be used as the base of an intense smokey eye, with hints of silver and lashings of smudgy black. 

A few of my favourite grey items include: 

Rimmel soft kohl kajal eye pencil, stormy grey.  This is a brilliant pencil eye liner that is easy to apply, lasts all day (and night), is blendable and a lovely alternative to black eye liner.

Sleek Make Up Ultra Mattes v1 730, pale grey shade.  This is a light grey - almost white - that really packs a punch with a bright lip.  My favourite eyeshadow to make a statement without bright colour.

Maybelline eyeshadow mono, silken taupe.  A lovely gentle grey, this is perfect on its own for work, or built up as the base of a smokey eye. It has a gentle shimmer, which is very flattering. 

Mac eyeshadow, Knight Divine.  A darker, moody grey with silver shimmer – great for a dark, intense eye.

So dig out your grey products or splash out on some more as this is a really flattering colour - below is some inspiration :-)

Product review: Maybelline Great Lash – with a great big new brush ?!

Maybelline’s Great Lash mascara in Blackest Black has been my go-to mascara for the past decade (at least!) – other mascaras have been and gone, have caught my attention as a flight of fancy, but none have captured my loyalty like Great Lash.

So, when I moved to Dubai I was delighted to see that Maybelline was stocked out here and Great Lash was available – wooo hoooo I thought! 

Anyway, last week I went to buy some more and when I got it home I realised that there’s been a product ‘enhancement’… in the shape of a new longer, bigger brush.  

OK, I thought, I like some mascara’s with whopping big brushes (Rimmel Scandaleyes, 17 Blow Out) so was excited to use this. But my excitement soon waned when I put it on and it clumped, made my eyelashes sticky and spiky, blobbed on my eyelid and undereye area and was generally one big fat disappointment.  Rubbish. So I’ve been using it with the small brush from my old tube. 

Today I went out looking to buy some more with the normal brush and can’t find it anywhere booooo, so am hoping it’s not a permanent alteration *sob* - anyone know? Can you still get the normal one back in Blighty? Hope so! x

Focus on… my blush collection

Lately the weather has been soooo hot in Dubai that I’ve been wearing bare minimal make up to let my skin breathe, so that it doesn’t slide off my face and also because after an awesome holiday in Bali I’ve got a touch of a tan so have got a healthy glow naturally (doesn’t happen often!).  The four things however that I have worn every day without fail are the same eyebrow pencil, black mascara, undereye concealer and pressed power – but I’ve mixed it up by wearing different coloured blush. 

 

My blush collection is not huge, but I like to think that it’s varied…  I am addicted to Sleek Make Up blushes, that I brought over to Dubai when I moved here. The first Sleek blush that I picked up was Life’s a Peach and after that I was hooked!  I love Sleek blushes because they last all day, they’re really affordable and the colour is a true likeness when you put on your skin.

Life’s A Peach is a bright peachy orange, it’s matte (of course!) and gives a fabulous wash of colour on an otherwise bare face.  It really isn’t as scary bright as in the palette and you can build it up or just use a hint.  

I’ve also got Pixie Pink, a highly pigmented pastel matte pink, Flamingo – a bright, vibrant pink – with this one a little goes a loooong way.  Then there is Fenberry, (which was a limited edition and no longer available) a rich berry shade that is one of my favourites for warming up my face and complementing a strong eye with a rich cheek.  Coral is more of a dark orange / brown and is fabulous to enhance a tan or more neutral face and then there is Blush by 3 in Flame. This is a neat compact palette with three blushes – a bright matte poppy red, a matte brick red and a shimmery brick red.  I love the two matte shades, especially the brick red which seems to be the perfect match to my flushed cheeks, but I rarely use the shimmery shade (as you know I’m not a fan of shimmer!). 

My other blushes come from the Coastal Scents 6 contour blush palette – I use the two neutral pinky shades as blush – the other four shades I use for contouring… these are more subtle, natural colours than the Sleek blushes and don’t tend to last so long but are great for low key make up looks.

So – my advice – don’t be shy to try bright vivid blush colours!  When you’re wearing next to nothing make up, a bit of colour on your cheeks goes a long way but isn’t too out there (perfect for work!) and in the hot hot Dubai summer matte powder blushes stay put, don’t get shiny and seem to be sweatproof….