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

The Everyday Face

For some time I've been meaning to do a makeup related post. In particular I wanted to show you my usual daily routine, not that it's all that interesting mind you, my love of M.A.C sees to that! I figured that you see everything else I wear though, so why not see the stuff that works the magic every day!

I'm a big fan of MAC makeup and use mostly their products for my face. They seem to have serious staying power, my face looks pretty similar at the end of the day to how it looked in the morning. Which I think is amazing, by that I mean the makeup not my face. Obviously. No one is that vain are they?! I also love their huge scope of colours so much so that I find it veeeeery difficult to ever walk away from the store empty handed! There's always one more colour I just really want!

What you see in the pictures below is the stuff I use for my everyday natural (-ish) makeup look. It's probably about a fourth of my total collection. Yeah, I love makeup. There are a couple of products I use from other brands, but not many of those are used for day wear.

Although MAC and the other products I use are all on the more expensive side I think it's worth it for something that I wear day in day out. Also I need very few re-applications (if any!) which in the long run probably makes it better value for money than some brands that you need to touch up several times a day.

Face: Clinique Moisturizer, Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat and MAC Foundation. MAC Blusher 'Dainty', MAC Mineralize Skinfinish 'Soft and Gentle'

Last Minute New Years Eve Inspiration!

2012 IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well, very very nearly! I've spent my day browsing the Internet for outfit inspiration. As a New Year's Eve rule I always opt for glitzy glamorous dresses. A little black dress is fine but I love a touch of sequin embellishment or a fully sequinned dress. It's New Years so anything goes! You can apply the same rule to footwear too, bring out the glittery heels and plenty of shiny accessories. If you can't wear sequins and glitter now then when can you?! 

There's still just enough time to place an order with next day delivery via ASOS. They have some really cute sequin dresses, like the ones above, all perfect for NYE! Hurry!

After sussing out the clothes I then went on to browse for make up inspiration. Of course what better place than Pinterest to find some ideas this year?!

                                                                   Source: glamorousmakeup.tumblr.com via Amelia on Pinterest

                                                                  Source: hellokittyems.tumblr.com via Amelia on Pinterest

                                                                         Source: Uploaded by user via Amelia on Pinterest

Source: makeuptalk.com via Amelia on Pinterest

A lot of sparkle right there, huh!! 

When it's New Year I seriously don't believe you can really over do the sparkles. Okay, that's a tad wrong. Maybe glittery body lotion is a bit 1999 but generally speaking it's the one night of the year where you can basically get away with as much glitter as you like!

Mind you, I don't fancy my chances at re-creating many of the looks above. I also don't know how practical it would be to do your lips like the last picture (I imagine it would make for re-application nightmares) but doesn't it look pretty. You'd always know which champagne glass was yours too!

So...what are you doing to celebrate tomorrow and what will you be wearing?

xxx

                                              

Nice Surprises Come When You Least Expect.

Surprises are always fun. Today was a good day because it was Friday and let's face it, it's hard for Friday not to be a good day!

I had an extra special Friday today though because my work gave me a gift for no reason apart from to show their appreciation for my hard work. I was right in the middle of a very typical Friday, tired, counting down the hours until freedom and then they presented me my surprise gift. It's the last place I ever really expect to be surprised so I was pretty taken aback. It was so nice of them, don't you think?!

What was even nicer is they'd actually taken the time to get a gift I'd love. Chanel lip gloss. Yes, happy recipient :)

When you see Chanel packaging you know you're on to a winner. Anything in there's bound to be good!

Chanel Intense Radiance Lip gloss {Glossimer} - '152 Blossom'

Such  a pretty shade - Chanel lip gloss '152 Blossom'.

It's a lovely medium pink shade with lots of sparkle to it. The micro-glitters twinkle blue, silver, rose and pink. It goes on quite sheer but is very glossy and enhances the pink in my lips nicely. The sparkles are clearly visible but in the right way, they don't look over the top and the texture is completely smooth. It's actually very similar to my favorite Dior lip gloss, Ultra Gloss in Empire Pink 557. I'm really happy with it.

The silver, blue, rose and pink micro-glitters up close and personal.

I haven't yet worked out how to photograph a close up of my lips without it looking odd. Does anyone else have that problem or is it just me and my odd mouth?! Hmmm...

So, instead here is a swatch on the back of my hand. It's taken indoors without flash on the left and with flash on the right.

Swatch 'Chanel 152 Blossom' - Left: no flash. Right: with flash.

All in all it was a lovely gift, totally perfect for me and I was really touched by their gesture.It's such a lovely feeling to be appreciated and I won't lie, it's even nicer when someone gives you a gift to show it!

~Have any of your employers ever bought you a gift and if so what was it?
~What kind of thing would you most like to receive as a token gift from your bosses?

xxx 

Talking about showing appreciation, I'd like to say thank you so much to everyone who has commented and those who have followed me and shown support! It means a lot to me. My first giveaway is finishing this Sunday so make sure you've entered here!

I actually planned on doing another small giveaway when I reached 100 followers but I had no idea that would come so quickly, before the first giveaway was even done. As it is, I'm planning a giveaway when I reach 200 followers. Hoping it will happen shortly thanks to all of you lovely readers :) Have a great weekend!!

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