My Birthday at The Making of Harry Potter

Hi everyone. It's was my birthday on the 12th, and my husband took me to WB's The Making of Harry Potter Tour. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan! My husband also took me to Hever castle (the childhood home of Anne Boleyn) - I love British history and am a massive Tudor fan, so it was a wonderful birthday surprise!

There are hardly any pics of me in this post. Had really bad insomnia and only had 1 hours worth of sleep the night before! So basically, I look terrible! I also must warn you that there are a lot of Harry Potter references, so apologies to those who aren't Harry Potter fans!

The Great Hall.

Props from the Yule Ball  (The Goblet of Fire).

Harry Potter's bed!

I love this - all the key wands, framed.

The Gryffindor Common Room.

Some nice pendulum. I can't for the life of me place where this is supposed to be. Most probably somewhere in Hogwarts. 

The class I would love most to participate in has to be Potions with Professor Snape,

Umbridge's office at The Ministry of Magic

Death Eater costumes. Including my favourite character - Bellatrix Lestrange. In fact I dressed up as her once for Halloween. I've managed to locate a couple of pictures of this event. I must warn you - it is a poor effort on my behalf. It took me 10 minutes to put together using an old dress and belt, some stockings and a garbage bag. 

Not sure who the guy next to me is meant to be. All in all, everyone put in minimal effort. Must try harder in the future! 

However, I managed to locate a couple of girls dressed as Harry potter and Hedwig (the Hedwig costume was great!). Here is our 'duel' using twigs from a branch, with Hedwig caught in the middle. 

The Weasley's kitchen

Can anyone help me place where this door features in the films? I read the sign next to it, but forgot what it says. 

The Broomsticks. The highlight of our day was we got to ride on one of them! With fake wind blowing in our hair, and a green screen behind us, we were transformed onto film flying over The Black Lake and Hogwarts.

Another highlight was sampling Butterbeer! Doesn't quite look the same as it does on screen, but tastes really good. Quite sweet like ice cream soda with a bit of a butterscotch taste. 

The Potter's House in Godric's Hollow. 

The Hogwart's Bridge

Goblin Masks. 

Diagon Alley.

The tour also included detailed sketches and great artwork.

Massive model of Hogwarts. Incredibly detailed and highly impressive. 

I highly recommend the tour. It was really well done and great value for money. A must for Harry Potter fans. 

TIP: We went on a Friday to avoid hoards of children. There were a handful of kids, but the crowds were mostly adult Harry Potter fans. We even saw quite a few old age pensioners. 

My husband baked me a birthday cake last year. It didn't turn out so well, so he bought me one this year. Love the cute candles he got me.

 

 Me at Hever Castle. 

As I mentioned earlier, I love Tudor History - I probably have well over 10 books on the subject!

Beginners: Flattering Makeup For Asians (East Asian)

Hi everyone. I decided to do a new series for Beginners to makeup. So all of my dear friends from Blogger, you're probably going to find this series fairly redundant and boring as you probably know a lot more than me about makeup. But to those of you who are new to makeup, this new series addresses helpful (I hope you will find them helpful) tips and tutorials for makeup and skincare.

Today's beginners post focuses on makeup that is flattering on Asian skintones. Asian in the UK refers mostly to South Asians such as Indians, but this post refers to East Asians such as myself.

The picture above is of Lin Chi-ling portraying legendary beauty Xiao Qiao in the film Red Cliff. Her makeup consists of pink cheeks with pinky red lips, which I find extremely flattering on Asian women.

I did not even begin to try and look like Lin Chi-ling, but here is a look I did using blue-based pink cheeks and plum/red-pink lips. I may do a look in the future where I try to replicate her makeup.

I have left out foundation for this look (as they seriously irritate my skin! I know, how sad), but for those of you who prefer a little coverage, a tinted moisturiser or light BB cream is great for flawless healthy looking skin. A favourite tip of mine is 'less is more'. Start with a light layer and build on it if necessary. That way you would not end up with too thick a layer of base makeup.

Cream coloured eyeshadow on the upper lids helps to brighten the eyes. I used the cream shade from the Revlon Glam Eyes in Orion.

Curl lashes with a good eyelash curler (I highly recommend Shu Uemura's, or my new favourite - Koji no. 71) and a quick flick of lengthening mascara for the appearance of fluttery long lashes. I used Clarins Instant Definition Mascara.

For those wanting to give the appearance of even bigger eyes, a nude eyeliner at the waterline of the bottom lid does a great job of subtly opening up the eyes. I used Dolce & Gabbana The Eyeliner in Nude.

I find blue-based, cool toned light pink blush really flattering on Asian skin, especially on fair Asian skintones. I love Nars Blush in Gaiety (applied with a light hand). I've seen numerous pictures of this blush on blogs and this blush varies from vibrant medium pink to a brightening light pink on different skin tones.

For those with fair skin and wanting a paler, less vibrant, less blue based blush, Illamasqua Katie is a great choice.

I find plum-based pinks on lips very flattering, and love the new Bourjois Smile Enhancing Gloss in 04. Since this gloss has teeth whitener on one end, it further flatters the face by whitening the smile. For a subtler look, I applied this gloss onto my lips and smudged it slightly with my finger to blend the colour with my natural lip colour.

Lip stains provide equally flattering lip colour. I am in love with berry or cherry red stains which gives that 'just been kissed' lips, as well as brightening up the whole complexion.

The look below is exactly the same, except I have swapped the lip colour for a cherry red stain. I used one from the Korean brand Baviphat.

Berry/cherry lip tints instantly lifts the complexion, for a brighter, healthy look (great for days when you feel your complexion looks a little dull or if you didn't get much sleep the night before).

Review: Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

Dearest readers, I'm so sorry that I've been away for so long and neglected my blog. My husband and I are planning to move to Melbourne, Australia and things have been pretty hectic. I must have been away a long time as Blogger now has a completely new look. I'm really not used to it! 

Here is a quick review I made on Liz Earle's Sheer Skin Tint. I am in love with their Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. They have recently come out with an exciting makeup range of which I have only tried the Sheer Skin Tint.

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

Bare 01 Fair Skin Tones

According to Liz Earle:

The perfect way to enhance your skin. Our rich and creamy, yet lightweight formula leaves all skin types looking naturally dewy, even and radiant. With mineral UV SPF15, it’s enriched with our own blend of natural source vitamin E, borage and avocado, specially selected to work in harmony with our skincare range.

My review is based on some samples I received, hence I do not have my own picture of the actual product.

The tint on my hand. ingredients include Avocado Oil, Borage Oil, Vitamin E and Mineral UV SPF 15. It is available in 3 shades; Bare, Beige and Beach. I have the sample in the lightest shade Bare 01. Bare is a light beige which matches my NC15-20 skin.

Tint blended out:

My thoughts:

The texture of the tint is really thick and creamy. It's a very smooth cream which takes a bit longer to sink in due to its thickness. 

Liz Earle suggests you apply the tint onto the forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, then blend with fingertips over your face. Coverage is good, better than most tinted moisturisers - somewhere in between a tinted moisturiser and a foundation. I found it to to be very long lasting, however my skin felt a little oily at the end of the day. 

The finish is superb. It's nice and glowy without feeling too greasy (until the end of the day). It makes the skin look lovely and radiant. 

The tint on my skin:

Pros:

Contains mineral UV SPF 15

Did not irritate my sensitive skin

Good Coverage

Glowy, radiant Finish

Cons:

My Skin started to feel a little greasy by the end of the day

This texture means it can feel a little heavy on the skin

Quick Review: RMK Creamy Polished Base

RMK Creamy Polished Base in 01

According to RMK:

Made with a blend of three powder particles in different sizes and shapes to cover all kinds of unevenness on the skin surface. Its creamy texture delivers an even and moisturizing veil, leaving your skin supple within and a polished half matt touch on the surface. Choose from 00 to filter for a perfect translucency, and 01 or 02 helps to brighten the complexion.

My Thoughts:

The packaging, like all RMK products is simple and fairly sleek. I chose the shade 01, which is said to give the skin a brightening effect. 01 is a very pale pinky beige with shimmer particles. When the base is applied and spread, it turns a little translucent. The texture is fairly thick for a base, and if I wear foundation on top, it can feel a little heavy and my face feels slightly overloaded with product. I did find the product to make foundation stay on a little longer.

The creamy polished base can be worn alone, on top of moisturiser (my preferred method of use). If does give the skin a brighter look. I also really like the finish which is radiant and dewy.

Sadly, this base did irritate my sensitive skin a little, so would be careful when using it in the future. Or I may return it. I bought it in Selfridges which allow for makeup returns if you have an allergic reaction to it.

Just the creamy polished base on my skin:

Pros:

Contains SPF10

Brightens the complexion

Can wear on its own or under foundation

Prolongs the wear of foundation

Cons:

Can feel a little thick for a base

Irritated my skin very slightly

Quick Look: Half-Baked and Harlot

Today's look features golden brown shadow and violet pink cheeks and lips and was used using only 4 products.

I used my favourite Shiseido Integrate Gracy's Eyebrow Pencil on my brows.

For eyeshadow, I used Half-Baked from my new Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (courtesy of Riya). Half-Baked is a gorgeous golden brown. To focus attention on the eyeshadow, I went with fairly subtle eyeliner. I tightlined my eyes with Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Cocoa.

On my lips and cheeks I used Beauté Liqui-Gel Stain in Harlot. Harlot is a vibrant violet pink, so I sheered out the stain slightly for a less vibrant look.

A non-makeup product I used today was my new Caudalie Soleil Divin. I've been using La Roche Posay Anthelios XL for years, and was looking for something different which looked less shiny on the skin. So far I'm very impressed with this sunscreen. It does make my skin look a little fairer, but doesn't leave a 'white-cast' look. It has a semi-matte finish whilst giving my skin a terrific radiant glow. I like that it's oxybenzone free whilst giving my skin great sun protection.