Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua Contest Entry

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great day!

I was feeling inspired by the amazing entries by @Kelanjo19 and @He1e for Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest and thought I'd give it a go. I've never tries Illamasqua before by have heard really good things about it. To make an entry you can find all the information here.

I felt really inspired my the pictures on Mizz Worthy's blog and this is my own take on the look. It's kind of gothic for blondes hehe! I've always wanted to wear some crazy eyelashes and do really dark angled make up in my favourite colours (blues/turquoises) but I would never wear this out. To add an 18th century vibe to all the drama made my freckle into a heart using kohl liner!

Products used were (in order):

Nina Ricci Exact Finish Eyebrow Pencil No4 in light strokes to define my eyebrows,Too Faced Shadow Insurance all over the eye lids,

No7 Metallic Eyes Pencil in 03 Blue smudged out with GOSH smudger brush,

Barry M Dazzle Dust in 10 on inner corners of the eyes,

GOSH Effect Powder in Spa on inner thirds of the eye lids using MAC 230 shader brush,

Clarins Colour Quarter For Eyes 03 Blue shimmers light blue colour on middle third of the eye lids using MAC 230 shader brush,

Giorgio Armarni Eyeshadow in 51 on outer third of the eye lids using the MAC 230 shader brush(I used sellotape to create the straight line),

Over the top of these colours I used a little bit of MAC Phloof! Frost in the inner corners of the eyes using the GOSH smudger brush. I also used this as a highlight colour using the Body Shop's large angled brush,

On the inner third of the eye lid I used MAC Jewel Blue Veluxe using the Ruby & Millie Eye Brush (M) - SHORT,

On the middle third of the eye I used MAC Cornflower Pigment Colour Powder using the Ruby & Millie Eye Brush (M) - SHORT,

Then on the outer corner I used Nina Ricci Plush Mono Eyeshadow Strass Effect 15 Nuit Noire using the Ruby & Millie Eye Brush (M) - SHORT,

I also used these colours in the same order underneath my lower lash line using the MAC 230 shader brush and blended everything a little bit,

I lined my inner lids and tightline with Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in black using the MAC 209 brush,

I then drew around the outer edge of the shape I created with with the GOSH Extreme Art Liner in 08,

I then dusted away any fallout using the Body Shop large powder brush,

I then applied Revlon Beyond Natural 210 Light Pale and APt Liquid Powder Mineral Foundation SPF15 in Porcelain using my fingers all over the rest of my face, neck and lips,

I then used MAC Select Cover - Up in NC20 underneath the eyes and over any discolouration,

I then contoured and highlighted using the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Blonde with the MAC 168 angled brush,

I then added the little heart using black Lancome kohl eyeliner,

Added Lancome Definicils and L'Oreal Voluminous both in black.

Glued on the eylure TOKYO LASHES (limited edition) and finally used GOSH lipstick in 134

Darling - volia!

What do you think?

I can't wait to see everyone else's looks!

Take care and thanks for stopping by.

LottieB xxx

Six months in PR

The past six months have certainly flown by, and I’ve been on a steep learning curve. My introduction into the world of PR has been interesting, varied and exciting; I learned something new every day. By working with Strive PR’s various clients I’ve gained insight into a range of industry sectors including technology, non for profit, HR, finance and more.

I’ve also discovered the importance of solid writing skills. In fact, I think this where I improved the most over the past six months. I’ve learned that the media are inundated with thousands of news releases and pitches every day, but only small fraction of those stories get published. Most are rejected usually on the strength of the lead or even the e-mail subject line. To be successful you need to get the tone just right, and style, spelling and grammar must be flawless. It’s an art, really...

...Read the rest of my blog post here.

Thanks for stopping by!

LottieB xxx

Gold and bronze defined look

Hi all,

I hope you are having a great weekend. Why can't it last longer? Sigh... It's been beautiful and sunny here today and I've been out on a long walk.

I tried out this bronze and gold look this weekend which is quite complimentary to all skin tones. You could just go darker or lighter accordingly. I hope you like it!

Products used were:

Base: APt Liquid Powder Mineral Foundation SPF15 in Porcelain

Contour: APt Liquid Powder Mineral Foundation SPF15 in Cream Beige and the dark side of MAC Love Rock Mineralize Blush

Highlight: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Blonde , a dab of Clinique Up-Lighting Liquid Illuminator in 01 Natural and APt Simply Minerals Rocks in the gold shade used on the eyes

Blush: The light side of MAC Love Rock Mineralize Blush

Concealer: Collection 200 Illuminating Touch in 1 Naked and MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC20

Powder: MAX Factor Natural Minerals Foundation 40 Creamy Ivory

Eye shadow base: Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Clarins Soft Cream Eye Colour in 01

Eyebrows: Nina Ricci Exact Finish Eyebrow Pencil No4

Eye shadows: MAC Frost Phloof!, MAC Metal X Cream Shadow Pure Ore (limited edition), MAC Soft Brown Matte, MAC Bronze Frost, APt Simply Minerals Rocks yellow, gold, beige and khaki shades

Eye liner: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in black

Mascara Primer: MAC Prep + Prime Lash

Mascara: Lancome Definicils and L'Oreal Voluminous both in black

Lipstick: MAC Syrup Lustre

Lipgloss: Too Faced Extreme Lip Pumping Treatment

Fix: Clarins Fix Make - Up (I think this was limited edition)

Tools of the trade for eyes: Shu Uemura eyelash curler, Mister Mascara eyebrow groomer, MAC 230 shader brush, MAC 224 blending brush, MAC 208 small angled brush, MAC 275 contour blending brush, MAC 209 liner brush

Tools of the trade for face: MAC 168 blush and contour brush, MAC 161 fan brush, Autograph foundation brush, Marks & Sepncer Shimmer & Smooth large body brush, Clarins buffer brush (limited edition)

What do you think?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I can smell a roast chicken cooking hmmm! :)

LottieB x

Make up storage

Hello ladies,

Hope you've all had a great week.

I'm also super nosey about make up collections, not necessarily because of the make up itself but because I'm interested in storage solutions.

I have my own little tower with different drawers for different things :)

On top are all my brushes, sharpeners, curlers etc. Each pot is for eyes, lips, face and then I use the silver pot for everyday brushes.

The next compartment is in three sections which I've separated into mascaras, pencil eyeliners and shade sticks and liquid liners.

The next drawer is for lipliners, lipsticks and glosses.

Then I have all my powder eyeshadows, cream eyeshadows, dazzle dusts, pigments and false lashes.

Next, I have all my highlighters, bronzer, tinted moisturisers, foundations, concealers, sponges and blushes.

The next drawer has all my nail stuff and polishes.

And the final drawer is full of samples and travel sized items for the gym or holidays.

The drawer set is just from B&Q I think is was about £25. Everything gets tidied and brushes get washed at the weekend. Then, during the week, I chuck the things I use every day into the purple vanity boxes (one for eyes, lips and face). They were a set from Superdrug for about £10. They sit on my dressing table.

The plastic boxes are great as you can see exactly what you need and they're easy to just wipe clean. Also, having a tower is great if you don't have all that much room.

I'd ideally like something prettier but am a bit stuck for inspiration. Any ideas?

How do you store yours?

LottieB xxx

P.S By the way, this all started with an innocent Mac make over when I started uni, be warned! However, I'm fairly certain I have finally found a group of people who think this is normal.

Photography contest

Good evening guys,

Hope you've had a productive and fulfilling day!

My fiance's company is running a competition for staff and partners to take pictures of the Isle of Man, maybe to be used in their next brochure. It has been really fun to collate all my favourite photographs I've taken of the lovely and beautiful place where I live.

What do you guys think?

Take care,

LottieB xxx

Drugstore only contest entry

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all having a great week.

Just in time, I did a quick look for @AbbieAndBrian's drugstore only make over contest.

She has a fantastic beauty blog which I've only recently discovered.

I've got a real mixture of high end and drug store make up so I thought it would be interesting to see if I could pull something together using just drug store make up.

Mainly based on the colours I have in my collection decided to go for a green and gold look with a hint of turquoise on the eyes with nude lips. Again, please excuse my scruffy eyebrows, I can't wait for a wax on Saturday!

Products used were:

Base: Revlon Beyond Natural in 210 Light Pale

Powder: Max Factor Naturals Minerals Foundation in 40 Creamy Ivory (I use this as a powder as it doesn't even come close to providing enough coverage for me).

Contour: Revlon Bronzer in 02 Sunkissed Bronze

Blush: Maybelline Pure Blush Mineral Powder Blush in 40 Quartz Peach on top of MEMEME Pussy Cat Cheek & Lip Tint

Concealer: Collection 200 Illuminating Touch in 1 Naked

Eyebrows: No7 Beautiful Brows Pencil 15 Blonde and No7 Lash & Brow Perfector

Eye shadows: Maybelline Color Definer Waterproof Shadow Stick, Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Spring Green, Barry M Dazzle Dust in 82

Liquid Eyeliner: No7 Stay Perfect Eyeliner in Jewel (this is a fantastic dupe for MAC Liquid Last Eyeliner in Aqualine)

Pencil Eye liners: No7 Metallics Eyes Pencil 01 Green on the outer edges of the eyelids, GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Liner in 006 and a tiny bit of Bourjois Kohl & Contour in 01 Noir Expert in the tightline

Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous in Black

Lipbalm: A tiny bit of chapstick, not sure what brand

Lipstick: GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in 134 Darling

Lipgloss: Barry M Glossy Tube in 2

Tools of the trade for eyes: Mister Mascara eyebrow groomer, Body Shop small shader brush, Ruby & Millie Eye Brush (M) - SHORT, square edged brush from Marks & Spencer (this came in a Christmas gift set), GOSH smudger brush

Tools of the trade for face: Body Shop blusher blush, Body Shop Powder Brush

Hope you guys like it, I'd really appreciate any comments or feedback! I've also included some pictures of the products used.

If any of my lovely friends in the UK who I haven't seen for a while are reading I just realised you will get a sneak peak of my engagement ring in the main picture!

LottieB xxx

P.S I find blogging about beauty so relaxing, it's the perfect way to wind down!