Quick Monday Tag

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Hello my lovelies!

Hope you're having a fab day! I thought I'd do a quick tag from Karen's Beauty Blog to get me back into the swing of blogging again. I can't produce any exciting posts at the moment as I am desperately seeking my camera charger. I hope I didn't leave it in my hotel in Italy :/

1. Mood:
Happy/busy.

2. Do you read or study with the TV or music playing in the background?
Yes I don't like complete silence.

3. Do you wear glasses?
Yes! I am very shortsighted and although I mainly wear contacts I occasionally sport some funky turquoise and lime green DandGs!

4. Outfit:
Comfy tracksuit.

5. Cold weather — love it or hate it?
I think I was born into the wrong climate.

6. Eyes/Lips/Cheeks:
Body Shop number 16/ MAC Syrup lustre/ Clinque almost bronzer 01 light/medium and Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Baked Mineral Blush 03 Peach.

7. What was the last nice thing to happen to you?
A big cuddle from my fiancee.

8. Something you’d like to remind yourself of today:
“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7: 7)

9. Guys who carry man purses — yes or no?
Definitely yes! There is nothing more annoying than, "Can you carry my keys, wallet etc etc?". Plus, I think man bags are hot!

10. Weekly goals: Do my reading for my marketing course and go to the gym or go running three times.

Please feel free to do this tag!

Lottie x x x

Tips for faking it, not baking it!

Good evening all!

Juliet at http://www.littledishy.blogspot.com/ (check out her blog for all things crafty) requested I do a blog post on some fake tanning tips so here are my two pennies worth:

1. Know when enough is enough - Embrace yourself for who you are!

How gorgeous does Nicola from Girls Aloud look now she's ditched the fluro orange look? It's okay to be a bit different. After all, "If everybody looked the same, we'd get tired of looking at each other."

2. Subtle is best

Johnson's Holiday Skin and the Dove Gradual Fake Tanner are brilliant for developing a natural looking glow. To build it up a bit more quickly choose the versions for normal to darker skin.

3. Add sparkles

For a bit of shimmer I love Clarins After Sun Shimmer Oil and/or Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula. Both look really pretty on paler skins.

4. Use your bronzer

For a quick fix of colour just use your usual bronzer with a large body brush (Marks & Spencers do a good version which doesn't shed).

6. Get an immediate tan - then wash it off

Rimmel London's Sun Shimmer Instant Tan Make up is great for a quick fix. It's perfect for last minute plans to go out if you want to wear a skirt or dress because it really is instant. I suggest wearing some thin surgeon's plastic gloves to apply so you don't get any product staining to your hands.

7. A recommendation

I don't normally get on with fake tan. In fact I have ended up "tangoed" more often than not. However, I finally discovered Shiseido Brilliant Bronze Quick Self - Tanning Gel which is brilliant. It gives a really natural colour and never goes orange. You only need a small amount and the bottle lasts for ages.

8. Enjoy the sun

But stay safe, always wear at least a SPF15.

9. Avoid sunbeds

We all know why...cancer, premature ageing, need I say anymore?

Hope this helps!

Does anyone else have any good tips?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Take care,

Lottie x x x

FOTD using Clarins shimmer palette

Hey guys,

Just a very quick post as I need to get our new house sorted; so much to do! It's gorgeous though :)

This is the look I created using the Clarins palette I pictured in my recent shopping trip post. I used Clarin's turquoise liner on the lower lash line and the Prestige liquid liner on top. I just used the usual suspect items for my face etc.

What do you think?

Hair is scruffy, earrings from Superdrug and tshirt from M&S.

Hope you're having an excellent start to the week!

Lottie x x x

FOTD - Aqua eyes with nude pink lips

Good evening everyone!

I'm finally caught up with FOTD. This is what I wore today:

FACE

Base: Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup in 210 Light Pale

Contour: Prestige Cosmetics Skin Loving sunbaked mineral bronzing powder in 03 Pure Shimmer

Highlight: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Blonde

Blush: Maybelline Pure Blush Mineral Powder Blush in 40 Quartz Peach

Concealer: MAC Select Cover up in NC20

Tools of the trade for face: MAC 168 blush and contour brush, Clarins buffer brush

EYES

Eyebrows: e.l.f Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara and No7 Precision Brow Pencil

Eyeshadows: Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Sea Foam and Cloud Blue from the Bobbi Brights Eye Palette; more info here

Eye liner: No7 Metallic Eye Pencil in Green on top, Clarins Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in 04 Turquoise on bottom eye lid, No7 Stay Perfect Eyeliner in Sapphire on top of finished look; review/swatches can be found here

Primer: MAC Prep + Prime Lash

Mascara: NYX 1000 Miles Long Mascara in black

Tools of the trade for eyes: Shu Uemura eyelash curler, GOSH smudger brush

LIPS

Lipgloss: Nivea Lip Care Caregloss & Shine

Headband is from Accessorize, cardigan from Zara and vest top from H&M.

Let me know if you would you like any further swatches/reviews.

Hope you've had a great day!

Lottie x

FOTD - Emerald eyes and berry lips

It's not all about coral, another hue I love is emerald. Here's a recent look look I did with green eyes and berry lips. Here's what I used:

FACE

Base: Revlon ColorStay makeup with SoftFlex SPF 6 Combination/Oily Skin 150 Buff

Contour: Prestige Cosmetics Skin Loving sunbaked mineral bronzing powder in 03 Pure Shimmer

Highlight: Prestige Cosmetics Skin Loving sunbaked mineral bronzing powder in 03 Pure Shimmer

Blush: e.l.f All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade

Concealer: No7 Instant Radiance Concealer in shade 1 underneath the eyes and Benefit Boing Concealer in light for blemishes

Tools of the trade for face: Body Shop Foundation Brush, MAC 168 blush and contour brush, Clarins buffer brush

EYES

Eye shadow base: e.l.f Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Olive

Eyebrows: e.l.f Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara and No7 Precision Brow Pencil

Eye liner: GOSH Extreme Art Eyeliner 12, No7 Metallic Eye Pencil in Green

Primer: MAC Prep + Prime Lash

Mascara: NYX 1000 Miles Long Mascara in black

Tools of the trade for eyes: Shu Uemura eyelash curler, GOSH smudger brush

LIPS

Lipstick: e.l.f All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade

Lipgloss: Lancome Juicy Tubes Fraise 017

Earrings from Next.

Do you like green too?

Thanks for stopping by!

Lottie x x x

FOTD bronze and gold eyes with coral lips

Here's another recent look. This is what I used:

FACE

Base: Rimmel Recover Foundation in 100 Ivory

Contour: Prestige Cosmetics Skin Loving sunbaked mineral bronzing powder in 03 Pure Shimmer

Highlight: Prestige Cosmetics Skin Loving sunbaked mineral bronzing powder in 03 Pure Shimmer

Blush: APt Mineral Blush Pressed in Desert

Concealer: No7 Instant Radiance Concealer in shade 1 underneath the eyes and Benefit Boing Concealer in light for blemishes

Tools of the trade for face: MAC 168 blush and contour brush, MAC 161 fan brush, Clarins buffer brush

EYES

Eye shadow base:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Eyebrows:

e.l.f Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara and No7 Precision Brow Pencil

Eye shadows: e.l.f Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Butter Pecan, APt Simply Mineral ROCKS gold and bronze colours

Eye liner: GOSH Extreme Art Eyeliner 02, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Bourbon, Bobbi Brown long wear gel eyeliner in black ink

Primer:

MAC Prep + Prime Lash

Mascara: NYX 1000 Miles Long Mascara in black

Tools of the trade for eyes:

Shu Uemura eyelash curler, MAC 230 shader brush, MAC 224 blending brush, MAC 209 liner brush, GOSH smudger brush

LIPS

Lipstick: Max Factor 825 Pink Brandy

Lipgloss: L'Oreal Glam Shine Juice 224

Coral cardigan is from New Look, neckelace is from M&S and earings are from Internationale.

What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Lottie x x x

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

I'm going back to MAC

Hey everyone,

I hope you all have had a happy, fulfilling and productive start to the week.

So, I am very excited to be going to Manchester this weekend and it's going to be very, very girly!

I guess this post is kind of the antithesis of a haul blog post because I am going to be writing about some of my MAC products which are gone but not forgotten.  I have 12 little empty pots altogether and I'll be taking them back to the store as part of the Back to Mac recycling scheme they do. 

It's cool because for every six pots you get to choose a lipstick of your choice to take home for free!  I think they are normally about £12.  It may be a credit crunch, but it's definitely not a creative crunch and I'm hoping to get some lovely pink colours.

So here's what's going back:

Studio Tech in NW20 This is great stuff.  It's really handy when you're in a rush to get ready as you can just put it on with the sponge which comes with it.  Alternatively you can use a squarebrush like the MAC191.   I think I'd probably but this again but it's not something I need urgently.

Powder Blush Satin in Fleur Power This was my first and only MAC blush so I don't have anything to compare it to in the range.  It's a completely different colour to the swatch on the website it actually really looks like the swatch for Frankly Scarlett on the website.    It's a very strong pink, it's almost a 'fake' colour rather than very natural so it depends on what you're looking for.  The pigmentation is very strong so you only need a little bit and it blends really well.  I'm trying a mineral blush at the moment but I'll probably go back to a MAC one at some stage and really want to try Well Dressed which is a gorgeous soft pink.

Select Moisturisercover NC20 I was using this as a under eye concealer.  On the plus side, it does what it says on the tin!  It moisturises which is great especially in the winter and blends beautifully.  I liked it but I'll be trying a few different things before I rush back.

Studio Finish SPF35 Concealer This is a wonder product and I think I shall probably be tempted to buy again. It covers everything even scars and apparently even tatoos!

Fluidline in Blue Peep I had such high hopes for this but sadly things didn't work out.  I had the idea of using a thin brush dipped in water to create the line, however, this seemed to dry it all up and then it started falling apart!  I really prefer their liquid liners but maybe I should try again?

Shadestick Shadow in Shimmersand I brought this in Paris and really loved it!  I was a little sad when I used it all up if I'm honest.  These shadesticks are fantastic bases for really making your eye make up pop and Shimmersand is a fantastic colour which would suit everyone.   I wanted to buy another one but the other day in Superdrug I came across a cheap alternative: Maybelline Colour Definer in 20 Satin Dragee which is beautiful!  I think it was about £6 which is half the price of the MAC Shadestick.  There's a wide range of colours and it even has its own sharperner on the end.   The packaging is bright green which isn't as luxurious as the shadestick but it's a lot smoother and softer, I guess depends what kind of texture you prefer.

Then finally onto eyeshadows, I have two Ricepaper Frosts, Idol Eyes Lustre, Pink Freeze Frost, Phoolf!  Frost and Brill Satin which I obviously was very fond of; I used them all up!  I've replaced Idol Eyes with Barry M Dazzle Dust in 10 and Brill with GOSH Spa.  These are pretty spot on in terms of colour but I haven't really had time to test them out much in terms of texture.  Ricepaper is the perfect golden neutral shade which goes with most looks.  Phoolf is a fantastic highlighter and I'm already on to my next one.  Pink Freeze Frosh is another very pretty and versatile colour which can be incorporated into lots of looks.

So that's all from me!

I hope this might be helpful to somebody thinking of trying out some MAC products.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on these products!

LottieB x

P.S I have a question, can anyone confirm whether there is a back stand at Manchester Airport Terminal 3?  If there is I might be able to save myself a few pennies at the duty free!

Beauty is skin deep?

Hey there fellow bloggers and bloggerettes!

So this is where I'm going to get kind of geeky.

Today on Twitter @thebeautybrains posted a link to costmeticsdesign-europe.com describing how, in an interview with the BBC, prominent Muslim feminist Baroness Haleh Afshar has suggested abolishing cosmetics because they perpetuate a myth of eternal youth.

Okay, this suggestion  is both implausible and impractical but it does beg the question, has the beauty industry gone to far?  This blog post by fellow twitterer @shepower really illustrates the lengths to which the industry will go to get their perfect picture.  How far are we all influenced by these types of images?  I briefly tuned into '10 Years Younger' last night and couldn't get through the program.  A woman is her fifties was getting cut apart on an operating table and it wasn't very pleasant.  Maybe it is easy for me to judge, only 24, no wrinkles (yet!) but I just hope that anyone who goes through with such a procedure has had counselling and support before hand.   Maybe what she really needed was some love and attention.

There is the argument that we are exposed to countless unrealistic ideals of what a women should look like day in, day out.  We can pop into a newsagents to educate ourselves with a newspaper yet we are bombarded with these perfect images on the front covers of magazines.  However, the truth is, no one is forcing us to buy these magazines or to subscribe to these ideals.

I really enjoy experimenting with make up and I don't think there is anything wrong with making the most of yourself.   In fact I think it's great!  I've found the make up blogging community to be really friendly and I love watching YouTube videos by the likes of Julie713 , Panacea81 and Lollipop26 and many more.  I think these videos are fantastic because they show a willingness to share ideas, inspiration and knowledge with others and we get real honest unbiased not to make expensive mistakes!  The reason I've been blogging about beauty is because I enjoy it and it's my view that if we know something which may help someone, why not share it?

However, I also think that as women, it's important to make the most of ourselves in every other aspect too.   I think it's very easy to get carried away and start foccussing on what's outside rather than what's inside our hearts and minds.   Beauty doesn't last forever and our products are just posessions.  We can also encourage and support each other in nuturing our inner gifts and talents.  I'm sure the majority of women out there have a very balanced view and know that what you look like doesn't completely make you who you are.

The irony is, and I'm actually ashamed to admit this: after reading Baroness Haleh Afshar's comments, I immediately and without thinking, did a Google image search to see what she looked like. 

Did you do the same?

As always I'd love to hear your comments.

Have a lovely weekend, I am wishing for snow here on the Isle of Man!

LottieB x