Throwback Thursday: Make Up

Morning my lovelies!

So in true honour of #ThrowbackThursday I thought I would have a trip down memory lane and reminisce on some of the products that claimed full 'holy grail' status back in the day. Now I'm sure we've all had our fair share of mishap moments when it comes to beauty. It's funny really because I remember once upon a time I would shiver at the thought of wearing make up. My sister was always really into beauty and used to beg me to let her do my make up for me and I used to run to the hills! However, I remember it like it was yesterday when my mum first bought me a Miss Sporty Lip Balm and Mascara to take with for for a weekend away with my friends; part of me was super excited and the other part of me thought what the hell do I do with this?! I remember applying the Lip Balm & Mascara feeling very aware that I was wearing make up, even though in reality it was only very minimal. Who'd have thought a few years down the line  I would be here writing a blog that is predominantly based around make up?! It's funny how life works out isn't it.

So when I decided to write this post I seriously had to rack my brains to think of the 'stand out' products which hopefully you will all remember and relate to. So let's start off with some of the classics - Barry M & Gosh Dazzle Dust Eyeshadows. My god, who else remembers these? I swear my sister had purchased the whole collection. Those messy bright coloured pots of Eyeshadow Dust were pretty much the equivalent to MAC Vanilla Pigment back in the day, except for the contrast in colour! Whilst we're on the subject of Barry M, back in the day I would religiously collect the pinkest Lipsticks from the brand as possible. The colour pay off was terrible and you pretty much had to drag the bullet across your lips a millino times to get any sort of stain of your lip. I mean, I'm pretty sure Barry M have improved their formula now but having now been exposed to the likes of  MAC Lipsticks, I will never look back!

Who remembers the Loreal Roll On Foundation?! Like literally what the hell was that?! You genuinely got a roller to dip into a cream Foundation to paint onto your face. I have to admit, back then I was pretty impressed with the Foundation itself, it had great coverage but perhaps too much of a full coverage to what I actually needed.

Now let's get onto the luxury brands. My very first luxury brand discovery was the Benefit Box'O Powder which has sadly now been discontinued. I'm pretty gutted about it as well. It basically came in the standard Benefit Blusher/Bronzer Packaging and inside there was half Bronzer & half Highlighter. This was well before the likes of Contouring & Strobing were around but pretty much married up with the concept of Contouring thinking about it. It was almost a young 'Bronze & Glow' - just not as pigmented!

It wasn't until just before turning 16 that I realized the importance of eyebrows. To be fair I actually think I picked up the whole eyebrow thing before it was a 'necessity' however my application techniques weren't exactly brilliant. Let's be honest we've all had our fair share of brow disasters. It's only the past year or so that I feel I have perfected the perfect eyebrow look for me. It's funny really because the product that introduced me to the world of Brows was Benefit Browzings - a Powder & Wax duo, a product which is still very much a make up staple for me along with Gimme Brow, of course.

Now I'm sure everyone remembers their first trip to MAC. I do. I went on my 17th birthday with my best friend Emma to Debenhams in Meadowhall. Again, it's strange because the make up artist applied MAC Russian Red on me, which I ended up purchasing and since then I have yet to find a Red Liptick I love more than Russian Red! On the day I also purchased MAC Fluidline in Black & another in Brown. One intended for Eyeliner and the Brown one intended for Brows - this was a huge mistake for me and never again will I purchase a 'Pomade' for my brows. Although a lot of people use these formulas on their eyebrows and they look fantastic - for me it was just too intense. However, whilst writing this post I have reminded myself just how brilliant the Fluidline was an Eyeliner! I know what my next MAC purchase will be!

*image courtesy of DJ Imagery*

A Winter Evening - Date Night Make Up

Hey my lovelies, welcome to day 3 of BLOGMAS!

Today I wanted to share with you my currently most favored make up look for a date night. You guys know I like to step things up in the make up department when the weekend arrives, however even more so when it comes to date night. I never like to be overly fussy with my eyeshadows,  lets be honest, I'm not the biggest expert when it comes to the old smokey eye and blending the crease kinda thing. I feel though that a little shimmer and a strong brow is the way to go for a date night - nothing too extravagent but something that looks just that little bit more special.

So let's talk through the look... First things first though, I actually forgot to feature the focal part of the look on the photograph above and that is the Loreal Lumi Magique Foundation. You guys know that when it comes to the base I'm all about the luxury brands - YSL Touche Eclat, Double Wear, Studio Fix etc - you know the drill. Just recently I've been loving the YSL Touche Eclat Foundation more than ever but the other day I actually ran out so instead I opted for the Loreal Foundation. My mum uses it everyday and swears by it so I gave it a try. It is very similiar to the YSL Foundation - the finish is light on the skin, dewy and radiant. However you do need to use more product than you would the YSL one which is a shame but it's definitely a Foundation I would suggest investing in, it's only £10.99 and is pretty much a dupe for the YSL Touche Eclat Foundation apart from the amount of formula required. I actually mixed the Loreal Foundation with a pump of my YSL Rose Gold Primer (which I'm in love with) to add a bit more shimmer to my face and just brighten it up that little bit.

Moving onto the brows - I used the Benefit Gimme Brow in the Dark Shade to tint my eyebrows and add a bit of volume to them. I then went in with the wax part of the Benefit Browzings and filled in the gaps where my eyebrows are a little sparse! After that I then went over again with my Gimme Brow just to make the look a bit more natural and to set my brows in place.

For my lashes, on this occasion I decided to go for the Clarins Be Long Mascara - this is a travel mini that I received as a Gift With Purchase. I love this Mascara, it really lengthens your lashes but still looks very natural.

At the minute I am just obsessed with Golden/Bronze Shimmery Eyeshadow, you've gotta love a bit of Gold! I think this is a really simple but effective look to go for, it doesn't require any faffing but looks super glam. I went for the Kiko Water Eyeshadow in the shade Champagne 200 that I actually bought when I was in Milan. I just popped this all over my lid until the crease and then blended it out a bit to give a subtle effect. I also applied the product near my tear duct as I just think it looks super pretty! I am in love with this Eyeshadow - if you're a fan of the Naked Palettes this will be right up your street. It's also very long lasting and pretty much stays put all evening.

On my cheeks I just popped on my MAC Alluring Aquatic Bronzer  in the shade Refined Golden for a little sun kissed glow. I didn't go too hard on the Bronzer as I didn't want a sculpted contoured look, I just wanted to add a little colour to my face.

Last but not least, on my lips I used the Clarins Lip Perfector in shade - Petal Shimmer. I just love this Gloss as it's not sticky and in your face, it just adds a sheeny pink wash to your lips and works really well with the golden eyeshadow.

I hope you liked this post! Let me know what your favourite Date Night make up products are!