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.

Once again, we made it to the weekend. Happy Weekend folks! It wasn't such a tough week in the end. Yes, Tuesday sucked (I didn't really talk about it, here) and there was the stress of getting my hair done (that's here) of course but other than that it's all gravy baby. Yep, I did just write that.  So here's five things from my week.

OOTOD (Outfit of the other day) - More metallic jeans.

I'm a little worried I'm starting to become obsessed with the metallic trend. I bought another pair of metallic jeans, super skinny ones this time. You know the kind...where you can't even bend over they're so tight. But they were just so shiny and silver and...shiny!

Silver Metallic Skinny Jeans - H&M. Black & Silver Studded Boots - Zara. Bracelet - Vivienne Westwood. Silver Bangle - Mont Blanc. Heart Necklace - Swarovski. Other Necklaces - F21.

'Eyelash Styling Tool'

Korea has an unbelievable amount of random beauty implements which usually I have no idea what they're even for! This though, I understood and loved. It's a tool to separate your eyelashes if they get clumped together when you put on your mascara. I don't have this problem often thanks to awesome MAC mascara but occasionally a couple will decide they want to hang out. Annoying. Previously I used a small pin to separate them but thankfully now I have a much easier and safer way of doing that. Ingenious invention.

I would like want need this Yves Saint Laurent Leopard Print Belt.

Saw this when thumbing through a Korean glossy. Leopard print YSL belt, love it! Want it. Need it? Probably not but still....it's pretty isn't it!

God damn Auto Captcha.

Dear Auto Captcha,  I. HATE. YOU. That's all. Ax

Does anyone else ever have serious problems trying to read auto captcha? This week I seem to have struggled more than ever before. I cannot tell you how many times I've got it wrong. I mean, what does that even say??

This week's MAC purchases.

I had to visit MAC to pick up a gift for a friend's birthday. And of course once in MAC, some gifts for myself. Those shop assistants see me coming, I'm sure. I needed the mascara. MAC's Zoom Lash mascara is all I ever use, it's awesome. The other two things I got tempted into buying by the pretty but persuasive shop assistant. I usually use Studio Fix Foundation but Pro Longwear turns out to be a pretty good foundation for everyday wear. The last thing is 'Pink Venus' lustre eyeshadow. I may swatch it one day but to be honest it looks awful on me, gives me a puffy eyed look. I don't know why I bought it. I was tricked. Darn her!

That's my week in pictures. I'm thinking about making this a weekly feature if you guys like it, so let me know what you think. Going out for my birthday tonight so I'm going shopping now to try find an outfit now. Wish me luck! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

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

MAC lip conditioner - Petting Pink, Fuschia Fix, Gentle Coral and Soothing Beige

Friday after work I decided to pop into my local MAC store. I picked up a few of my favourite MAC make up items. Amongst the many things I love from MAC my favourites have to be their Lip Conditioners.

First I bought a color free lip conditioner from them. It was really good but as soon as I tried one of the Tinted Lip Conditioners that was it, I WAS hooked. Not only are they the best lip balm I've ever used they also look pretty on, adding a gorgeous touch of color to your face.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner with SPF 15 in Petting Pink

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  <3

So since I am OBSESSED with these gorgeous lip balms I feel it necessary to tell you guys about them.

MAC make four different shades of the lip conditioner along with a color free one too. The colors available are Fuchsia Fix, Gentle Coral, Petting Pink and Soothing Beige. They are quite sheer to begin with but if you apply them thicker then the color becomes bolder and brighter.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner ~ Top to bottom....
Fuchsia Fix, Gentle Coral, Petting Pink & Soothing Beige

I love these and use them everyday to keep my lips feeling soft and looking pretty. Give them a try!

xxx