Tutorial: Natural Looking Makeup

This is my first makeup tutorial, and I decided to stick to looks which I love. I'll be sticking to what I know best. Since I'm no expert in eye makeup application, I will refrain from any looks which require complicated eyeshadow techniques. My tutorials will mostly center around soft, subtle daytime looks, as well as the occasional evening makeup.

I've been inspired my minimal makeup recently and wanted to do a natural makeup look. This look isn't trying to look like I'm not wearing any makeup, but instead it's using makeup to enhance my natural features.

The tutorial takes inspiration from women who tend to favour natural looking makeup, and have glorious complexion like Song Hye Kyo and Jessica Alba.

Please note: I'm not trying to look like them, and this tutorial is not based on their makeup application. I'm just inspired by their natural beauty.

*You'll see pics of me looking very different in various stages of this tutorial. I'm not confidant baring my unmade face to the internet, but decided it's necessary for the tutorial!*

Tutorial:

1. Foundation should blend in perfectly with the skin, having absolutely no difference in shade from your face. Apply foundation only on areas where it is needed. It shouldn't be obvious that you are wearing foundation, so use a light-weight formula and only apply a light layer during the day. A tinted moisturiser would be ideal. For a super natural look, I advise skipping foundation altogether and let your own beautiful skin breathe.

For this tutorial though, I'm wearing an illuminating tinted moisturiser. It evens out my skintone, but I have noticed this shade does dull my skin slightly.

Product Used: Madara Moonflower Tinting Fluid

2. Either forego eyeshadow, or use shades that are light, natural and flatters your skintone. I used a warm neutral brown shade on the upper lash line.

Product Used: Chanel Eyeshadow in Sand

3. Unfortunately, my eyes need eyeliner to make them look more wide awake. Apply a thin line of eyeliner (either brown or black) to the lashline. I used the blending tip end of my pencil liner to gently smudge line for a softer look.

Curl the lashes, and apply a coat of mascara. I tend to miss out the mascara during the day (mostly due to laziness), but when I do wear mascara , Clinique's Naturally Glossy Mascara would be my daytime choice. It's one of the more subtle mascara's out there. It lifts and lengthens the lashes without the clumping and false lash look.

Products Used: Benefit BADgal Eyeliner in Waterproof Black, Clinique Natural Glossy Mascara in Jet Black


4. Choose a shade of blush that doesn't contrast too much from your complexion. For a healthy, glowing, natural look avoid blushes which are too powdery. A cream blusher is highly recommended, or a powder blush which has silky smooth texture.

I'm using a powder blush from Guerlain, and tapped off the excess powder before applying it to the apple of my cheeks (the flashy part when you smile). This blush is halfway between a blush and a bronzer, and gives a very subtle browny-pink colour to the cheeks.

Product Used: Guerlain Blush 4 Eclats in Tendre Aurore

5. Apply a tinted lip balm, or a subtle shade of lipstick. I find Laura Mercier's Sheer Lip Colour in Baby Lips my perfect 'my lips but better' shade.

Product Used: Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour in Baby Lips

The finished look:

Affordable Beauty: My First e.l.f Haul

I've read so much about e.l.f. cosmetics from beauty bloggers and decided to give them a try. e.l.f. stands for eyes lips face. They are an American brand which strive to deliver good quality makeup at very low prices.

Products bought:

Conditioning Lip Balm in Blissful Berry and Romantic Rouge (£3.50 each)

Mineral Lipstick in Pouty Petal (£3.50)

Mineral Blush in Joy (£3.50)

Studio Blush in Tickled Pink (£3.50)

Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Raspberry (£1.50)

The first thing I noticed about the Conditioning Lip Balm is that the packaging is pretty huge! I'm not too impressed with how chunky they are, and it's quite difficult to access the balm if you have long nails.

The balms look bigger in real life than they do in these pics (4 x 4 x 3cm in dimension).

These balms have nice, thick consistency and have good pigmentation (more of a lipstick than a balm). In addition, they contain SPF15 to protect against the sun. The finish is creamy rather than overly shiny. Romantic Rouge is a sheer, rosy red. Blissful Berry is a warm, berry rose.

L-R: Romantic Rouge, Blissful Berry

Lip swatches of Romantic Rouge...

...and Blissful Berry

I love both shades, but my favourite of the two is Romantic rouge for providing sheer rosy red lips.

I tried a couple of items from their mineral makeup range. Their Mineral Lipstick in Pouty Petal is a light cool pink.

I absolutely adore this Mineral Blush in Joy. The texture is smooth and soft, and the shade is a gorgeous pale lilac pink. It gave my cheeks a very healthy looking glow.

Swatches of the Mineral Lipstick in Pouty Petal (L) and Mineral Blush in Joy (R)

Lip swatch of Pouty Petal

Pouty Petal turned out fairly pale on my lips. It's a pretty shade, but I find this would be better suited to those with fairer complexions than I. I would prefer a more pigmented lipstick, and this shade required a few coats of application to get the colour to show up on my lips.

Next up is e.l.f's Studio Blush in Tickled Pink, a pretty muted pink shade.

Here is a swatch of it on the far left, in comparison to Pouty Petal and Joy.

As pretty as the blush was, it didn't do much for my complexion and I much preferred the Mineral Blush in Joy.

On to the cheapest of the lot, the Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Raspberry that only costs £1.50

These glosses have the same twist application as Stila Lip Glazes. The packaging of the e.l.f. glosses were of lesser quality in comparison to the Lip Glazes. I'm not complaining though as they only cost £1.50. (even cheaper if you are in the U.S.).

Raspberry is a pretty reddish-pink:

The formula is thicker than the average gloss and it has a nice, creamy finish and my lips look plumper with it on. It has a sweet, minty scent. Like a lot of glosses they tend not to last very long. All in all, a good buy and I already have my eye on other shades in the range -namely Strawberry and Cherry Tart.

New: Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator & Cooling Eye Illuminator

Estee Lauder has recently launced a new campaign called 'Every Woman Can be Beautiful', which features 3 new faces to their brand including China's own Liu Wen.

Two new products have been released: Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator and Cooling Eye Illuminator. These products caught my eye (mainly because of how beautiful Liu wen looks in the campaign shots), because I love skincare items which have make-up properties.

Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator

This product comes in 2 sizes 30ml (£46) and 50ml (£62). As they are very expensive, I bought the smaller 30ml bottle.

According to Estee Lauder:

"The first fast-acting Serum from Estée Lauder Research proven to significantly reduce the look of uneven skintone: blotchiness, blemish marks, dark spots, discolourations. Instantly skin looks fresh and radiant. 79% of women saw an immediate improvement in the look of uneven skintone. Skin looks noticeably clearer, brighter and more even-toned. Dark spots appear reduced."

I love the pretty pearly blue packaging. The product is easily dispensed via a pump. Only a small amount is necessary per use. I would recommend using about half the amount shown in the picture below.

The serum is a lightweight pearly lotion.

The serum has a touch of gold pearl which, once blended, creates a gorgeous illuminating effect. Initially I was worried about glittery/shimmery particles on my skin, but all that was noticeable was a beautiful glow.

The illuminating effect is more obvious on my face. Here is a pic of me in a recent FOTD using the illuminator (I have added a touch of BB cream to nose and chin areas).

The serum makes an immediate difference to my skin. I feel radiant and confident with it on, and do not feel the need to cover up my skin. It brightens up my skintone and gives the skin a great glow. In addition, it does not irritate my skin in the slightest, and it feels lightweight and non-greasy.

As for non-immediate effects, I've been using this serum for over 2 weeks now and have noticed an overall brightening in my complexion which has nothing to do with the pearlescent illuminating qualities of the serum. I had uneven skintone from sun damage on my recent trip to Peru. After using the serum for 2 weeks, the slight discolouration on my skin has disappeared.

* I have to note that the discolouration on my skin was modest to begin with, so I don't know how this serum will fare with dark spots. *

I feel that this serum has evened out my skintone nicely, whilst brightening my complexion.

Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator ~ £40

I was very lucky to receive this Eye Illuminator as a gift. At £40, it's a very expensive product.

Here are pics of the long list of ingredients:

According to Estee Lauder:

"This highly concentrated complex targets the underlying causes of darkness and puffiness for dramatic brightening and de-puffing, instantly and over time.... Every stroke of the innovative ceremic tip cools, massages, helps de-puff and re-energize eyes."

The cooling ceremic tip. I can vouch that this tip does indeed feel cooling on the eye area.

It comes in 2 shades, and I bought the lighter shade of 'Light-Medium'.

The tint is a supremely sheer pale creamy-beige with a hint of pearlised gold. The texture is very creamy, but light and not thick enough to cover dark circles (though it does minimise their appearance). Once spread, the cream gives a brightening, illuminating effect.

I use this illuminator sparingly in the mornings and it instantly brightens up my eyes. I love the refreshing, cooling sensation the applicator gives, and my eyes instantly becomes less puffy. My eyes look refreshed, and I feel more wide awake. I haven't used this cream long enough to notice any long term lightening of my dark circles.

Reminiscing 10 years ago - Products I loved in High School

Hi everyone! This post will give everyone a sense of how old I am. It was just less than 10 years ago that I was in high school, learning about makeup and proper skincare. I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane and share with you the products I used when I was in high school.

I went to an English boarding school (a cute little pic of it below), and sharing a boarding house with girls was great for sharing beautyand makeup tips!

Though my makeup collection now is pretty large, in school I could count the amount of makeup items I owned on one hand. Gone are the days when I didn't ever feel the need to wear makeup. I used to go on dates without any makeup on. The girls in the boarding house used to drag me back and put some clear lip gloss on my lips, and curled my lashes to make me more presentable for my date. I did own some makeup though, I just don't know what I was saving the use of them for!

Here is a pic of my and my best friend 10 years ago (I am the one on the left). It was a school ball followed by a disco and I can't believe that we didn't bother with putting on any makeup. Oh how times have changed! The pic must have been taken after the ball as the boys in the background look a bit drunk. The girl in the picture is still my best friend to this day and was my maid of honour at my wedding 2 years ago.

My husband just saw the picture, paused and said 'you both look better now', then walked off before he could have a good laugh the pic. I feel like I better show a current photo of my best friend as that old pic really doesn't do her justice.

Now onto the products I used as a teen:

1. Benefit Benetint

Benefit products are pretty expensive especially for a high school student, so I saved up to purchase this. It was definitely worth the money as it gave a natural flush to my cheeks and lips. Almost a decade later, I still use this product (not the very same bottle though!!).

2. Body Shop Brow and Lash Gel

I can't quite see the point in using a clear gel as mascara, but nevertheless that's what I did back in the day. It gave such a natural look that I might as well have not bothered!

3. Labello Velvet Rose Lipbalm

The balm is a nice baby pink, though it goes on almost colourless on the lips. I remembered it being creamy textured and really moisturising.

4. Shiseido Pureness

This was my skincare routine for most of my highschool and university days. I found these products to be effective and fuss-free. The moisturising lotion was extremely lightweight and perfect for oily or teenage skin!

Which products did you use / are you using in your teens?

Weekend Haul: Chanel Rouge Coco, Models Own, Maybelline Dream touch Blush

Hi everyone. Hope you are all having a wonderful week! Here's a quick post on a recent weekend haul.

(L-R) Revlon ColorBurst in Blush, Chanel Rouge Coco in Organdi Rose, Models Own polish in Utopia, Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 01 and 02.

I've been admiring Chanel's Rouge Coco Organdi Rose for some time. I'm really glad I finally bought it as it's such a perfect everyday mauve-rose shade.

Here is a swatch of the lipstick on my lips. I love the texture of Rouge Coco. I like demi-matte formulas with a creamy finish.

Though I really love rosy pink and cheeks, lately I'm leaning towards more natural shades. These Maybelline Cream Touch Blushes are really popular. They're selling really well and everywhere I look, they are almost sold out. I bought shades 01 Apricot, 02 Peach

(L-R) Apricot, Peach

The blushes blended out:

I'm really pleased with these blushes. They're really easy to apply - you almost don't need a mirror! I love the shimmer quality they posses. They give my skin a really healthy glowy sheen.

I normally favour nude nail polishes, but couldn't resist Models Own Utopia. The shade is a light lilac and a great shade for when I want a fun, summery look.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Blush is a great natural, my lips but better shade. I like to use it on days where I want more natural looking makeup. The pic below is a bit dark, and in real like the shade is slightly more peach coloured.