Celebrity Red Lipstick Love & MAC Ladybug

Red lipstick has been something that I have admired from afar for a long time but for some reason I've just never got round to trying it myself. The closest I've come has been the odd slick of red lip-gloss every now and then. The trouble is red lipstick can be quite daunting, it's a bold statement and if you get the wrong shade or pair it with the wrong makeup look it can look hideous. The word 'clown' comes to mind.

Done right though it can look amazing, adding a striking pop of colour to simple makeup looks or that final touch to a glamorous outfit. If you need some convincing there's plenty of celebrities who I think look fantastic wearing a red lip. Taylor Swift, Leighton Meester, Lauren Conrad, Natalie Portman, Blake Lively, Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson are my personal faves!

There's a lot to consider when picking a red lipstick, most importantly is hair colour and skin tone. To avoid a circus worthy red lipstick fail you should chose shades based on your coloring:

Those with fair coloring or blonde hair should generally avoid bluish tones or very dark reds which can make you look washed out. Opt for something warmer with a slight yellow hue like MAC Lady danger or Cockney.

If you have a darker complexion or are more tanned then it's likely you can wear both warm tones and cooler tones of red. I think that MAC Red and Russian Red look great on those with a darker complexion.

I finally faced my fears and picked up my first really RED lipstick. Given my coloring I opted for MAC Ladybug which is a yellowish red shade in a Lustre finish.

MAC 'Ladybug'

Tentative testing.

Mwwaaaaaaaah!!

What do you think of red lipstick, do you wear it often? Any great tips for not looking like a clown in it?

xxx

Five Things From This Week.

This week I had my birthday so of course I had to show you some of my birthday gifts from friends this year. They took on a certain theme - accessories, MAC cosmetics and pink. I'm a bit concerned that people think I'm a little like Barbie. Hmmm. Having said that I do love all these things, OPI polish, MAC lip products, eyeshadow, pretty hair accessories, jewellery and a gorgeous scarf, I'm a happy girl with some lovely friends.

I'd like to have fresh flowers in my apartment all the time. Sadly I just never seem to get around to buying them. Luckily I have a person who likes to buy them for me every now and then. Fresh flowers can brighten any space and add a fresh point of interest to a room not to mention the beautiful scents.

Glitter French Manicure

I'm a big lover of brightly colored nail polishes and occasional nail art when my patience allows. Sometimes though a simple nail is nice. I love the look of a french manicure, it's so clean and sophisticated. Plus, you never have to worry about it clashing with your clothes (that bothers me so much I have to re-paint my nails before I leave my home, usually at the expense of being on time). A fine line of silver or gold glitter polish is a great twist on a french manicure. Who doesn't like a touch of sparkle?!

Christmas isn't too far away now. I saw this great idea on Melina's blog, it's a Secret Santa for bloggers. I thought it'd be great fun to take part and of course hopefully make a new friend in this little world. Take a peek by clicking on the picture if you too feel like getting in the festive spirit.

Kylie Minogue with Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Black Tote Handbag.

Seemingly I am having a bit of a thing for Yves Saint Laurent right now. I spotted this tote in the store not so long ago and then this snap of Kylie Minogue with it. Lucky girl. Not sure about her velvet jacket and those pants. What do you think? It's not something I could get away with that's for sure. But the bag...oh the bag...that I could definitely get away with. It's such a versatile bag, clean lines, smooth leather and of course it's big enough to fit all my junk in. I would like this. A lot. Santa?

That's it for this week. I hope you all have an awesome weekend.

xxx

MAC Violetta For Marla.

 

That's the MAC lipstick shade the lucky winner of my giveaway picked. It's called Violetta and the girl who'll be owning it is called Marla.

I hadn't thought the process through enough and had to write out everyone's names on a numbered list to account for each person's extra entries. I then put the numbers into Random.org to pick as fairly as possible. That took a long time, 347-lines-long-time to be exact. Despite a sore hand I'm very grateful to all of you who took the time to follow me and entered. I wish there could be more winners but unfortunately you'll just have to hang on to enter my next giveaway which I'll start once I pass 200 followers!

I think Marla picked a really interesting shade (too bold for me to get away with it, eeek!) and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks on her in one of her makeup posts! Check out Marla's blog if you haven't before, she creates some very cool, unique and beautiful make up looks!

Thanks again to everyone! Stay tuned for the next giveaway in the coming week or two!

xxx

Marla from Makeup By Marla please send me an email with your address so I can get this prize on it's way to you :)
 i was an ugly duckling (at) gmail (dot) com

MAC Lipstick Giveaway!

To celebrate passing 50 followers and to show thanks for all the amazing support I've received so far I'm doing a mini giveaway. I really have been so happy at the response I've had from everyone reading my blog in these short few months! Since I'm a huge MAC make up addict I thought it would be appropriate to give away something from MAC.

So the winner of this giveaway will receive a brand new MAC Lipstick in a color of your choice! 

You can choose any color lipstick from MAC. Just take a look at their website if you don't know one you like already!

I love MAC Lipsticks and have several favorites. I'm sure lots of you have favs already or ones that you've been wanting to try out. If you don't own any MAC lipstick then it's even better for you because now is your chance to try one out. They're really great lipsticks in a huge selections of colors. I warn you it may cause addiction.

MAC Lipstick Ugly Duckling Blog Giveaway

How To Enter the Giveaway! (+1 Entry)

• Follow Ugly Duckling blog publicly via Google Friend Connect. Click 'Join This Site' tab on the left bar or click here!

• Follow this blog on Bloglovin'. To do this click here!  

Optional things you can do (for extra entries or if you're just feeling nice):

•  'Like' Ugly Duckling's Facebook Page. Click here! (+2 Entries)

•  Post about this giveaway on your blog using the picture above and linking back to this blog.( +5 Entries)
• Place a link using the photo above about this Giveaway, in your blog’s Sidebar.(+3 Entries).  

• Follow me on Twitter @Ugly_Duck_Blog (+1 Entry)

• Tweet about my giveaway. Make sure you mention me in your tweet so I see. (+1 Entries)

After you have completed your entries please leave a comment on this post. You can copy & paste the text below to tell me your info. Make sure you let me know which color lipstick too!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I've Entered! ♥

Bloglovin' name -  
MAC lipstick color name -

Extra Entries:
Link to blog post - 
Link to your blog (If posted on your blog's sidebar)-
Facebook name -
Twitter name - 
Did you tweet about my giveaway? - Yes/No

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This giveaway is open to everyone, anywhere in the world! The last date to enter the giveaway is Sunday 13th November 2011. I will announce the winner on Monday 14th of November!

Once again thanks again for all the support, comments and love so far!




xxx

Saturday Night is Date Night

It's not often that I walk in to a store and HAVE to buy something because I really L.O.V.E it. Yeah don't get me wrong, I feel like I have to have a lot of things I buy because I think I love them. But L.O.V.E kind of love doesn't hit me often. 

When I was shopping recently I walked into H&M and there on the mannequin in the center of the store I saw my new cardigan/shrug/wrap. Not too sure what it is actually but here it is on me anyway!

OOTD - Outfit Of The Day Date

So with a reservation, made by my lovely boyfriend, for one of my favorite restaurants I figured what better time for it (let's call it a cardiwrap for the sake of this post) to make it's debut. I paired the cardiwrap with a simple t-shirt, skinny jeans, caged back slingbacks, my favorite oversize black Bally bag and of course accessorized with some girliness. Girliness in this case was a black ruffle hairband, assorted gold and black bangles and bracelets and my gold Vivienne Westwood pendant.

Trying my best to look like a fashionista! Pahaha.

I like this look a lot. It was perfect for a chilly Autumn night out. It was casual enough for dinner but still glam enough for a bar afterwards.

Absolute best thing about the outfit: It hides a multitude of sins. Namely in my case my bum and tummy.

Translation: I could eat lots of yummy food and it didn't matter if my skinny jeans ended up a tad too tight!

Mostly MAC for a Sat!

Woah! So today is Tuesday here and I've only really just started to feel normal again after Saturday night. I think I had one too many drinks and about one seven too little hours of sleep. Now that I'm...*gulp*...25 I can't really do that kind of thing every weekend and I reaaally can't bare to wreak havoc on my skin like that too often. But you know what, it was worth it this weekend. It was one of my friends' birthdays so had to be done all in the name of friendship, you know. Had to be!

We went to dinner and then on to a bar followed by not one but two clubs, yeah that's right TWO clubs, because I'm hardcore like that! No, actually I'm not. Not at all. In fact I've actually managed to pick up a cold at the moment and I'm fully blaming Saturday!

I got home around 5.30am so it serves me right I guess!

Here's a snap of my make-up for the night....

Wearing mostly MAC because if you want staying power I can recommend no other brand! Seriously my face looked almost the same when I woke up on Sunday Morning (Errrm, yes, I didn't take my make-up off, ssshhhhh don't tell anyone!)

On my Face.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation - 'NC25'.

MAC Bronzing Powder - 'Refined Golden'.

Cheeks.

MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush - 'Peachy Keen'.

Cheekbones & brow highlights - Benefit 'Moonbeam'.

On my eyes.

Base colour - MAC Pigment - 'Jigs & Jive'.

Around eye/eyelid crease - MAC Pigment - 'Dark Soul'.

Highlights/corner of eye - MAC Pigment - 'Naked' - MAC Eyeshadow - 'Gleem'.

MAC Superslick Liquid Eyeliner - 'On The Hunt'

Eyebrows.

MAC Eyebrows Crayon/Pencil - 'Fling'.

Eyelashes

Eylure Naturalites False Lashes - 'Glamour 110'

MAC Zoom Lash Mascara - 'Zoom Black'.

Lips

Above picture - MAC Lip conditioner - 'Petting Pink'

Later pictures - MAC Amplified Lipstick - 'Saint Germain'  with a slick of MAC Lip conditioner in 'Fuschia Fix' for glossiness!

  

☺

Enough of my face, now as promised, here are some pictures of the night...

At dinner. I felt so proud of myself when I managed not to order a creamy risotto. Instead I chose a Niçoise salad made with seared tuna and quail eggs.

 It was delicious but I could have happily eaten four!

After dinner we headed to a nearby bar for cocktails. The birthday girl is on the right, I loved the sequined shirt she wore, she looked dazzling, literally and metaphorically speaking! And those hot pink novelty happy birthday sunglasses were just the perfect accessory! Hehe.

But in particular I'd like to draw attention to the lady on the front left, she's my co-worker and friend. If there's one thing I can tell you about most Koreans it's that they love to pose. The above pose is the most standard pose that you'll see all the girls and guys pulling out for pics here.

I like to mock my Korean friends, all in good humor of course!

I don't know why it's so funny...just because I'm not Korean!

Taking things one step further with a cheeky wink thrown in for good measure. This is just one of the many poses I have honed in my last two years in Korea. Putting my time here to such good use!

Most of the night I was drinking Long Island Iced Teas, my posing went downhill after the first two, man those drinks are strong. Do the trick though! On a dieting side-note: Don't check the calories in these if you are supposed to be doing just that (dieting) and want to fully enjoy them.

And so that was my night. Well actually it wasn't there was quite a bit more after that but I'm not going to post pics from later on because quite frankly, things got a tad messier and I don't want to embarrass my friends or myself for that matter.

How was your weekend anyway? Great I hope! ^-^

 
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 Lots of love ♥
 x x x