Bird Makeup - Utilising Crazy False Lashes With Even Crazier Makeup

So I recently wrote a blog post about a Nyx haul I did, and in that haul was this handsome pair of lashes with red feathers sprouting from their outer corners. Thus, this look was born.

I recently saw a showing of a performance of The Tempest at The Globe (the original performance being at the Globe, I saw a recording of it at a cinema, where it was so nice not to have to stand throughout the entire three hours). In this performance the actor who played Ariel had this really cool makeup on, which was a wash of red extending from his eyes towards his temples. I was inspired. So with this in mind and these beautiful lashes, I came up with this look.

 All the shadows I used are Inglot. The red is shade 382, the yellow is 343, the white is 373, the peach on the lid is 612 and the dark purple in the crease is 452. On the lips I used No 7 Lip Pencil in Fire, with Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 01 over that, followed by Barry M Lip Gloss in Valentines. On my skin I used a mix of Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation in Light Vanilla and Stargazer White Foundation. I blended the red eye shadow into my cheeks as a blush, used Sleek Contouring and Blush Palette to contour and used MUA Pink Shimmer Highlighter on my cheekbones, nose, cupids bow, chin and forehead. 

 For my brows I put Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk on to a spooley and pulled it through the hairs. I also used Milk on my waterline and inner corner. I used Bourjois Liquid Liner for a Cat eye to better blend in the lashes. The lashes are, of course, Nyx Super Power. I also used Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yellow as a base for the yellow shadow.

Et Voila!

Haul Of All Sorts - Literally No Excuse For This One, I Have A Problem

I've been popping up and down to London like nobody's business these past few weeks house hunting (which is a soul sucking experience). This has given me the excuse to be around well stocked Boots and Superdrug stores (I shop to forget). And, well, you get the idea. I bought some things and thus far I'm loving all of them.

From Left: Real Techniques Stippling Brush; Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge; MUA Lipstick in Shade 1; Seventeen Rock Hard Nail Effects in Blue; Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects in Charm Bracelet; MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter in Pink Shimmer.

 Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge: 

This sponge is just so God damned brilliant. It just makes foundation and concealer look like I've always wanted it to look. Smooth. No unfortunate thick patches of colour, or streaks. This just blends it all away, baby. I wish I'd bought this sooner. The shape is great for doing different areas of the face, like I use the point for under my eyes and around the nose and the flat section for the rest of my face. I use this to blend in concealer and to blend foundation after it has been applied.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush: 

Again, I love this brush. I've a few Real Techniques brushes already in my collection and not a one has disappointed me. The bristles are wonderfully soft, the handles nice to hold and I'm rather in love with the different colours. I have a friend who needs all her brushes to be black with a silver ferrule - like Mac brushes. I, on the other hand, rather like the hodge podge of colours that my collection is. 

 The sparse bristles at the top allow a nice light, even coverage, and boy does it deliver. My face is looking pristine with this brush coupled with the sponge.

 MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter in Pink Shimmer: 

I'm an avid watcher of Nikkie Tutorials on YouTube and she has recently been recommending this highlighter. Now, seeing as this is MUA and therefore hella cheap, I made it a goal to purchase this.

 Seeing as I own a total of two highlighters, this seemed like a good investment to me. I have a liquid highlighter that is very gold toned, and a powder highlighter that is also gold toned, but to a lesser degree. So having a colder, pink based highlighter seemed like a good idea. The packaging isn't the best quality, but I think it looks good and it will hold together.

On the left is the highlighter blended out and on the right it is a single swipe of my finger. So it has good pigmentation, and the shimmer is just darn pretty. Which is all I really want out of a highlighter.

 MUA Lipstick in Shade 1:

This is another product recommended by Nikkie Tutorials. She recently did a review on her blog of MUA lipsticks, two were disappointing, this one was not. And she's right, cos this Lipstick is great. The best bit? It cost £1. The packaging isn't the prettiest I have, but it's functional, and I like the colour being at the bottom (it's actually functioning lipstick too!).

The colour applied like a dream boat. Smooth and pigmented in one swipe. The colour's also just great. Because who doesn't like a nice, rich red? The wearability is also pretty great, considering I wore it on a night out and I only had to reapply once. If your lipstick's still intact at four in the morning, it's a keeper.

 Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects in Charm Bracelet and Seventeen Rock Hard Nail Effects in Blue:

 Now a friend of mine has been wearing Charm Bracelet for about two months now and every time I see it, I want it. I mean, just look at it. So I finally found it in a Boots and snapped it up. The colour does not disappoint (for both of them). I have been doing two coats, but one is perfectly acceptable, especially for Charm Bracelet. Also, being the formula that it is, it dries in no time and doesn't smudge, which makes me so happy.

These have both had two coats of colour.

Now here's the crux, these chip like little bitches. Like, I will have at least three nails chipped at the end of each day. I tried applying top coat, no dice. The only consolation is that it dries so quickly that fixing the manicure is a breeze. Also, the texture enables that even with many patch ups, the nails still look nice. So, this has been the longest manicure I have in a while, and that says something.

Emmeline out.

Nyx Haul - For When Needing To Replace One Thing Turns Into Buying Four Things

So, Nyx's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is a certified staple in my make up collection. It's a rare day that I do not reach for this product (sky falling? blue moon?). So when I was down to a measly stub it was time to stumble back to the Nyx website and do some buying. Because who just orders one thing from online? Not me, certainly. Like, I'm paying for postage, I better make the most of it. Thus, Nyx haul.

Now, I have a bit of a split position on Nyx products. Some I absolutely adore (jumbo eye pencils, yo), others I'm fairly ambivalent about (glitter cream palette, anyone?). I've tried their nail polishes, that, whilst having an incredible range of colour, are a bit so-so on the formula side. Their eye shadows are buttery and pleasant to work with, but I very rarely use single eye shadows any more. I'm pretty in love with their Glitter on the Go shakers, but they're being discontinued. So, with these past experiences, I cruised on over to the false eye lashes. I was not disappointed. I also bought a lipstick, because I just want to love them, because a lot of them are named after Greek Gods, and that is a very fast way to get into my heart (and also my collection - see also Nails Inc polishes named after London Streets).

First things first, we have these BEAUTIES. Like, hot damn. These are the parrot lashes. Who knew I wanted to look like a tropical bird? Now, wearable is not a word to be caught dead in the same room with these lashes. But that's OK. Wearable isn't everything and I love doing crazy editorial looks. Also costume parties.

Just take a minute to fully appreciate these lovelies.

Next up are the Super Power lashes. These are more toned down than the Parrot lashes and I can conceivably see myself wearing these out. Because red and black are match made in the fiercest heaven.

I'm just in love.

Now we have the lipstick. It is called Hestia, who is the Greek Goddess of the Hearth. Now, this lipstick is far from homely. It's sex in a creamy and well pigmented formula. I often find Nyx Lipsticks a bit too creamy, I feel like they're just going to slide off my lips, despite having a respectable amount of staying power. I just feel like the formula is just sitting on my lips, rather than sinking in and feeling a little more natural. However, this lipstick felt a little nicer, to the degree that I will be reaching for this lipstick a lot. Because, guys, this colour. Dark red lips I feel are my spiritual lipstick home. I constantly get drawn to them, when buying and reaching for one to wear.

The ease of application caught me off guard. I was expecting to have a streaky and unpleasant mess with my initial application, but I got a nice even coverage that I went over to just build the colour a little. I'm one happy bunny with these purchases.

Water Colour Nails - For When You Feel Bad For All The Nail Polishes You're Not Using

 So I recently started using Pinterest, which is great, but also steals quite a bit of my time. I keep seeing cool nail things that instantly make me want to try something new. Discounting this one 'fish net manicure' that suggested using the netting from a loofah to give you cool nails and just didn't work - like I swear to God, I tried so hard and got nothing save a huge fucking headache - I've been loving trying all these new things. I can't tell you what picture in particular inspired this manicure, but using sponges on my nails has always worked well for me, so I was on board for these nails.

 Excuse my shitty, mismatched nails

 Here is everything you will need, different colour combinations such as blues and greens would also look awesome. From left to right: Rimmel Nail Nurse (as a base coat), No 7 Nail Colour in ME! ME! ME!, Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Rose Hip, Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya, Topshop Nails in Listen To Me and Ciaté Speed Coat Pro for the top coat. Also a sponge, this is integral to the look.

Start with the base coat (duh), and wait for it to dry fully. Then do two coats of Papaya, waiting to dry between each coat. (The paint in my image has a weird texture because of the plastic, not the formula).

Now paint some of ME! ME! ME! on the sponge and blot off some of the excess paint.

Now pat the colour onto the nail, starting at one corner and blending it towards the middle. Wait for it to dry.

 Next do the same with Rose Hip, starting from a different corner and blending so there is plenty of overlap. Again, wait for it to dry.

Now pat Listen To Me in the centre of the nail, blending out a little, but less than the other colours. Wait to dry, longer than I did as I smudged the colours together a little (if you like how that looks, wait until it is no longer tacky, but would dent if you touched it).

Finish with a healthy dose top coat. Voilá.