Wednesday 31 July 2013

Make Up Look: Summer Dayz

The last day of July, already!? Can you believe it!?

I wanted I post a make up look at I have been frequenting this summer as my go to "day look", I like to think that it's very summery and love the ombré effect on the lid. In all honesty, I was not trying to do an ombré look, it just so happened that my day eye make up is also ombré, as well as pretty!


I love the pop of colour in this look, coral is such a huge colour for summer and can be seen in all trends; make up, nails and fashion. Usually, I go for a neutral eye and like to incorporate a bold colour on my lips to have some fun, but I wanted to push myself to use more colour in my eye makeup. I have been very attracted to coral these past couple summers, but now my obsession is at an all new high! I love to mix it in with neutrals and other trending colours like teal, yellow and blue.

I put together a whole look, with a blush in the same coral family, a peachy highlight and nude lips to keep it super wearable. I think the mix of colours are super flattering and can be worn by so many!



Lets get started with how I completed this look, all with step by step instruction and product list.




First, for all my make up looks, I make sure that my face is clean and moisturized. It's essential that I keep my skin hydrated under my makeup, so I will always apply face and eye cream first. Along with moisturizer, I always prep my skin for makeup by applying my favourite face and eye primers. For my face I used Benefit's "Porefessional" (so far, my all time favourite primer), and I used Urban Decay's "Eyeshadow Primer Potion" on my lids to make sure that the makeup I was about to put on would stay put.




After my face is primed and ready for makeup, I will apply my foundation. I am using my (favourite!) Dior Airflash Foundation in shade "300" and I blended that out with my Beauty Blender to even it out. Once my foundation was done, I set it with my MAC Studio Careblend Powder in "Gold-Go-Lightly" from their "Surf, baby!" LE Collection. While my face is setting and blending into my skin, I usually shape my eyebrows. I use a dark brown matte eyeshadow with a small angled brush to fill and shape my brows. To highlight my brow bone and correct any excess brow filling, I use a matte very pale pink shadow. (Both shadows that I use for my brows are from a Cargo palette that I have had for a while, I haven't posted photos or named colours because Cargo products are no longer available.)







    

Now on to the eyes, I love this look because it really is very simple - I only used 3 shadow colours! Super easy right? I always work from the brow-bone down, so I used Urban Decay's "Buck" matte eyeshadow from their Naked Palette, above the crease and also under my outer lash line. I connected the colour from under my outer lash line to the shadow on my above crease to make a large "Outer V". I made sure to really blend it out so it made a nice natural arc above my crease and smudged out under my outer lash line. Then I used MAC's "Free to Be" Matte eyeshadow from their "Liberty of London" LE Collection on the outer corner of my lid, making sure to really build the colour so its saturated and bright. I had then smudged out the shadow to the middle of my lid, so that the colour is not so intense and ready to blend with the colour I will apply to the inner lid and corner. I had also used this colour under my lash line, connecting it to the existing brown and blending. My last and final colour is MAC's Mylar eyeshadow (the one I have pictured is from an old palette that I found, but Mylar is on their permanent line. It has to be or I'll be so sad, it's my favourite whitish colour from them!), I applied it first to the inner corner of my eye and inner lid, and used the leftover colour in my brush to blend it into the coral colour in the middle of my lid. After my shadows were done, I applied a nude eyeliner on my waterline, and there - my lid was done! Easy, right? Right!






Once my eyes were done, I did some correction with concealer and I use Benefit's Boi-Ing Concealer in "Meduim". I always have to use concealer, especially on my dark under eye circles, and I feel that it really cleans up makeup to make it sharp and polished. After concealer, I applied my "Ripe for Love" Blush from MAC's Temperature Rising Collection (Haul & Review, click here) as its in the same family as the coral eyeshadow that I used on my lid. I used my new "Adored" Mineralize Skinfinish from MAC's Tropical Taboo Collection (Haul & Review, click here) to highlight my cheekbones and cupid's bow.



















Now, the last finishing touches for this look, and any look really, are lashes and lips! Before applying my lashes, I put on a couple coats of my MAC Pro Longlash Mascara in "Pitchblack" to my upper and lower lashes. For this look I used a pair of half lashes that I have had in my kit for a while now and are my favourite at the moment. They are no longer sold in stores or available to purchase, so I have to make sure I take good care of these babies! I used Duo Eyelash Adhesive (the best!) to apply my lashes on the outer corners. The last and final step, I used one of my favourite neutral lippies - MAC's "Mocha" Satin Lipstick from their "Surf, Baby!" LE Collection. I didn't use any lip-liners and just applied the lipstick to my clean lip.
















There you have it lovekatz, my summer go to day look. Hope you all like it and try it out for yourselves! I just love the pop of coral for summer and the neutral lip keep it sweet and simple enough to wear everyday. I hope that you lovelies will try this out and hope that you love it as much as I do! Remember that you don't have to use the exact colours I did to get this look, use what you already have to make variations depending on what you like and your skin tone. Don't forget to tag your summer go to looks on Twitter and Instagram, #makeupmasochist , I would love to see your favourite looks or recreations of this look!







For more information on the products I used, please visit it websites below:

www.maccosmetics.com
www.sephora.com
www.urbandecay.com
www.benefitcosmetics.com

I would love to know what you think in the comments box below or if you have any makeup requests or questions. For more makeup looks and inspiration, be sure to email subscribe to my blog (Top right corner) to get notified everytime I post! You can also follow my blog in Bloglovin' (Makeupmasochist) and for more photos and a glimpse into my daily life, follow me on Instagram (@fernonje). You can also email me makeupmasochist@gmail.com , I love hearing from you!

If only summer would never end...

xoxo
Ashley

MAC Tropical Taboo - Haul & Swatches

Hello dearies!


If you know me well and have been a reader for while, then you know I have a really hard time passing up a limited edition collection from MAC. I really, really tried to fight temptation this time, but alas, my will power was not strong enough to battle the beauty that is MAC's Tropical Taboo Collection!

Initially, I was really excited and drawn to this collection, but was disappointed in the fact that the lipsticks are Mineralized Rich lipsticks and only one shade was limited edition. "Midnight Mambo" is the only limited edition colour and since I had recently, these past few months bought very similar shades, I passed it up and passed up the entire lipstick portion of this collection.


Originally, I wanted to buy all of the lipliners that they had available, but because I was fighting temptation and held off for so long before finally caving in, the lipliners had all disappeared from my MAC location! :(! I had missed out on "Ablaze" Lipliner from the "Fashion Sets" Collection and was really hoping it would still be there, but no such luck. I guess I will have to wait for it to be re-promoted with another collection.

Aside from the lipliners, I was really intrigued by the Mineralize Eyeshadows from this collection. I loved to see how the two colours combined to make a completely different colour that you would not have imagined! They are full of sparkle and glitter, these fantasy colours are like a dream come true! 

As some of you may know, I am not a huge fan of Cremesheen Glass - not because I don't like the product, but because you get less product for more money. I love Cremesheen anything and it seriously pains me to pass them up, especially limited edition colours. These colours are so pretty and some so vibrant that I just couldn't leave them behind this time.

I love the Mineralize Skinfinshes, permanent or limited edition! I am a huge fan of "Soft & Gentle" as a highlighter, which is permanent but re-promoted with this collection. It's a staple in my kit and it was be something that I always will replenish, so long as they make it. When I saw the limited edition colours from this collection, I knew I was in trouble! I love the way they make skin look and how they are the perfect finishing touch for all makeup looks!

So here is the run down of what I got from the collection with swatches:

Mineralize Eyeshadows:




"Time to Tango" - I would describe this colour as a medium cool toned lavender grey, with silver and gold shimmer. I actually requested from my sales associate one with more gold in it, she had brought me a few to chose from and I chose the one with the most gold. I love lavender and purple together, but I love that it is also a cool toned, silver shimmer so you aren't limited to what you can do with gold and silver shadow. I find this colour especially, very dreamy. I think it was the prettiest colour of the collection.




















"Cha-Cha-Cha" - I would describe this colour as a blackened royal blue with green and blue shimmer. The base actually is a blue-brown-black, and the green shimmer and blue glitter, almost remind me of MAC "Blue-Brown" Pigment or "Club" Eyeshadow. That was a big influence on why I chose this colour, I love "Club" eyeshadow, but I wanted a colour that was similar but able to be more sheer. I find that applying this eyeshadow dry that it is much sheer-er and needs layers in order to build and even out colour. Blends very nicely which was surprising, I thought it would take more effort to blend.





















Cremesheen Glass:


"Narcissus" - I would describe this as a vibrant, medium- dark purple with a touch of magenta. This was initially the Cremesheen that I was most drawn to, as I don't have this colour or similar in my lipgloss collection at the moment and have a lot of lipsticks that I would love to layer this on top or make a recipe with. It's super bright and it goes on bright and stays true to the colour in the tube when worn.





"Fever Isle" - I would describe this as a vibrant medium-dark coral red, with gold shimmer and warm undertones. This colour is EVERYTHAAAANG!! Such a pretty colour, with lots of shimmer and shine perfect to make any pout pop! I love this colour and can't wait to use it on those summer nights out! Great to pair with my "Hibiscus" Lipstick from the "Surf, Baby!" LE collection!




Mineralize Skinfinish:
"Adored" - I would describe this as a light peachy-pink, with champagne frost and sheen. I love highlighting and I love using their Mineralize Skinfinishes to really bring a look to the next level. I love that this has a little bit of light coral, which I think would be fantastic to use when layering over the same tone blush. Coral blushes are my favourite and I think using this to highlight with make a perfect combination for a flawless skin look! A little goes a long way, depending on lighting and application it can emphasize pore-size.




Well there you have it dolls, this is what I scored from the Tropical Taboo Collection and I can't wait to play with my goodies! I will absolutely be posting a make up look and tutorial using my new pretties, so if this is something that you're interested in seeing, make sure to check back often! I can't wait! Ooh the possibilities!!

Have you gotten any items from this collection, and how much are you loving them?!?! I would love to know what you bought and what you thought about this collection in the comments box below! This is just my personal opinion about the collection, let me know yours! Don't forget to tag me on Instagram or Twitter with hash tag #MakeupMasochist, I would love to see the looks you came up with using items from this collection!

For more information, be sure to check out your nearest MAC counter and you can also still get some items online, here's the website below:

www.maccosmetics.com

For more MAC collection hauls and reviews (because we know there will be more, many more!), be sure to subscribe to my blog VIA email (top right corner) and you can also follow my blog on Bloglovin' (MakeupMasochist). For more photos and a glimpse into my daily life, you can follow me on Instagram (@fernonje), and if you have any suggestions or questions email me at makeupmasochist@gmail.com

Until the next collection - that's what, in 2 weeks? Lol

xoxo
Ashley

Friday 26 July 2013

Nails of the Week: Summer Diagonal Tip Manicure

Happy Friday loves!!

I usually find myself wanting to do my nails around the end of every week, I guess it's my own mental schedule to make sure my nails are on point for the weekend! This week I was thinking about two of summers biggest colour trends - Bright Coral and Light Teal - so I decided to combine the colours and make some sort of design for this weeks manicure.


The colours I decided on were this lovely "Summer Coral" Nail Polish from H&M (I got this as a gift a couple years back) and I brought out my "Pistachio Cream" Nail Laquer (Baking Beauties Collection) by MAC Cosmetics. I wanted to do something different than just painting my ring finger a different colour from the rest and French manicure seemed a little boring for these bold, fun colours. The first thing that came to mind was cheetah, but I am saving that for a different and special occasion. Second thing that came into mind was a diagonal French manicure, but I wanted to do it with my own flare and do a really thin transition tip as apposed to the chunkier tip as mostly seen with this style.

I choose the light teal as my base as I thought that the coral would really pop and chose my ring finger (as usual!) as my transition nail. Now that I had it all set and planned out, I got started.

As every time I do my nails, I get my nails ready by removing any old nail polish and making sure my nail beds are clean and free of debris. I didn't shape my nails this time as I they are still shaped the way I like from my last manicure, but I did do a little cuticle cleaning. I applied petroleum jelly (Vaseline) around my nail beds to make clean up easy later, making sure not to get any on my nail beds. I made sure I had the time to commit to this manicure, about an hour before I really had to do anything - so I was good to go!





















I started with my first coat...


And a second...


And a third...

Both polishes needed three coats for opaqueness and to even out the streaks. Both colours look much different worn and dry then they do in the bottle. Pistachio Cream dries to a baby blue (looses some of its seafoam green-ness) and Summer Coral dries to a more bright red orange (a noticeably darker shade of coral than in the bottle). For both nail polishes, I found that you needed to have a lot of product in the brush applicator to be able to work with the product. A drier brush with less polish will cause tugging and textured streaking.

For the transition diagonal tips, I used just regular household scotch tape. I made sure that my nails were completely dry before adhering the tape to the fresh polish, this is to avoid the fresh polish to come off along with the tape. I chose to do the right side corner/ tip, so I stuck the tape on a slant and made sure that it would cover most of my nail bed - allowing for the diagonal tip to almost reach the middle of my nail edge but not reach the middle of the nail edge. Once I had the tape in the right angle I painted 3 coats of the transition colour, making sure that the base colour does not peek through.

I don't let the transition colour completely dry before removing the tape, this way it's still liquid-y and some of it won't lift with the tape, I find it gives a cleaner edge. Once the transition tips are dry, I painted on a coat of my OPI Top Coat to even out the texture and smooth out the polish.





















I had gotten this Glycholic Hand Scrub by Julep with my Julep June Box and I have been using it ever since. I use it about 1-2 times a week and usually after my nail polish has completely dried. The best thing about this product (besides how soft your hands feel after!) is the smell!! OMGEEEeee!! IT SMELLS AMAZING!! Once my polish is dry, apply the scrub and it helps get off any polish that's on the skin around the nail bed, while exfoliating and softening the rest of my hands. After rinsing, I just pat dry and let the excess air dry.









Usually after usung an exfoliating product, I have to make sure I apply a super moisturizing hand lotion. this helps protect the new skin and makes hands even softer! Hands age much like your face does, it only makes sense to exfoliate and mosturize them like you would your face. I am using this Herbacin "Kamille" Hand Cream, its very buttery and has glycerine to protect skin and keep moisture in.











And voila!




Cute, edgy, fun, summer manicure that's super easy and everyone can do on their downtime - no more visits to the nail salon (for now)! This design gives me a pop-art feeling, it could be the colour combination too, but I feel like I should hang up some Andy Warhol! It's also David Bowie-esque.

Do you like to combine bright colours or trendy colours for you manicures? Would you try out this style or colour combination on your next manicure? I would love to know what you think in the comments section below!! Show me you manicures with this style or colour combination on Twitter and Instagram by tagging your uploaded photos to #makeupmasochist !! I'm excited to see what you beauties come up with :).

For more nail art and manicure ideas, be sure to subscribe to my blog with your email and it will notify you in future manicure posts! You can also follow my blog on Bloglovin', just click on the icon on the top right corner of the page to follow. For more daily photos and videos, and a look into my day-to-day life - follow me on Insatgram (@fernonje). If you have any questions or suggestions on future manicure posts, email me makeupmasochist@gmail.com !

Have a good weekend!

xoxo
Ashley