Spring Make Up Look | Tutorial

Well it's officially spring, and that means new make up looks and purchases - yay! Not that you ever need an excuse to purchase new beauty bits and bobs, but it's a handy one to sway parents, partners and friends to accept your need for more. I quickly put together a little make up look suitable for those warm spring days, so I hope you like it!

To start with, after cleansing, toning and moisturising, I used my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation for the base. I then added a tiny bit of the Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer to cover my dark circles. For the brows I just lightly filled them in with the Sleek Brow Kit, and that was that for the full base. I don't powder because I have naturally dry skin and I find it irritates it, so I've started leaving the powder out of my routine.

For the eyes I used the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette and dusted Burnout all over the lid. In the crease and outer v I used Trick, which I then brought under my lower lashline. Over the top of this, I used Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Torment to line my eyelid and brought it slightly under my lower lashes, then smudged this liner for a softer look. Finally a couple of coats of my Max Factor Masterpiece mascara and the eyes were done.

For the cheeks I used my trusty Benefit Benetint, and finished the look with a nice pop of MAC's Watch Me Simmer on my lips. Watch Me Simmer is discontinued, but I'm told that Maybelline's Color Sensational Vivid in Shocking Coral is a really good dupe, so pick that up :) It'll save you money in the long run!

I think this look is really light and springy, and I absolutely love how it turned out. Let me know what you think!

What I used with links to where to buy:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation - £10.99
Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Concealer - £6.99
Sleek Brow Kit - £8.49
Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - £37
Illamasqua Medium Pencil - £13
Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara - £9.99
Benefit Benetint - £24.50
Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids (Shocking Coral is a dupe for Watch Me Simmer by MAC) - £7.19

Thanks so much for reading,
Kerry x

5 Minute Make Up Look | Tutorial

"How do you liiiike your eggs in the morning?" With a large side of another four hour's sleep, please! But, it's a week day, and that means it's time for work or school... yet before you know it, you fall back to sleep, and by the time you open your eyes again you're late (or very close to it at least). In this situation, you are forced to make one of the most difficult choices of your life: do you put your make up on and be even later, or do you go without make up in order to save time (GASP!). What if I tell you you don't have to make that choice? Try this five minute make up look for these days in particular!

For this simple, yet feminine look, I started out with a base of my Missha M Perfect Cover BB cream (in shade 13) after my usual cleanse, tone and moisturise routine. There's no need to blot this with powder for me due to my dry skin and the fact that this BB cream dries matte and will stay matte all day long. I did add a touch of my Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer to hide my dark circles, though. I then added some Benetint for my blush and dabbed it in lightly with my fingers. Under this I swept just a couple of swipes of bronzer for a subtle contour. I don't know what bronzer it is because I've had it since I was about 10 and there's no name on it, but it's decent enough. Next came the eyes. Just a quick dusting of Maybelline's Pink Gold Color Tattoo all over the lid, followed by a slick of liquid liner and a couple of coats of mascara. In order to make the whole look "pop", just choose a bright lip of really any colour. Here I've chosen the Viva Glam Rihanna lipstick from MAC. I loved this look, and will gladly wear it again.

I haven't done my brows because I ran out of brow product a little while ago, but something like Anastasia Dip Brow would be fast and look fabulous! 

Products used, with links where applicable:

Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream - Various shades and prices on eBay, just check :)

Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer - £6.99

Benefit Benetine - £24.50

Unknown bronzer (just choose your favourite bronzer for this look)

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold - £4.99

Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Liner - £5.29

Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara - £9.99

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna lipstick - £15

So what do you think? I hope you like this look! Let me know if you recreate it, would love to see :)

Thanks so much for reading,

Kerry

Break the Rules | Valentine's Day

Hi guys and welcome to my new series called Break the Rules. To sum it up, I'm going to be doing looks or tutorials, or maybe even reviews, that break the norm of the occasion or season in which it takes place. Today is the first edition, and it's all about Valentine's Day! I've created a look that deviates from the traditional red and pink make up but is still fitting the theme of delicate and pretty. Want to see what I came up with? If you said no, tough, because here it comes anyway!

I stuck with the purple theme pretty heavily and because of the bold lip, kept the cheeks and eyes a little bit more neutral, although not completely. I start out doing my eye make up first because I find that concealer and foundation often buffs away any fall out from eyeshadow and smudges from mascara. So here's the look I created for the eyes:

I started out using an eye primer (the Urban Decay Primer Potion) and then coated the entirety of my lid in a nice lavender shade from a really cheap palette that I got years ago for Christmas. I'll find the name and put it underneath the look, along with everything else used and prices for them. I then used some burgundy/plum eyeshadow (from the same palette) in the crease and light outer V to keep the look soft but still contoured. Finished it off with a thin coat of Rimmel Exaggerate liquid eyeliner, stopping at the lash line instead of going into a cat eye, and a few coats of Max Factor Masterpiece mascara. I ran out of my usual brow product so I had to make do with an auburn eyeshadow from the same palette that isn't quite right, but it'll do for now. I think it created quite a pretty and feminine look that breaks the red/pink rules of Valentines day, but still sticks to the romantic theme.

Moving onto the face now:

Started out with the usual cleanse, tone, moisturise routine. Then I used my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation all over the face in 51 Vanille Clair, buffing it in with a Real Techniques Buffing brush. It was then time for the concealer. I always have quite dark circles, genetically, but I found that the Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer does the trick. It's not the best illumining concealer out there, but I thought I'd try it out and it's decent enough. I much prefer the L'oreal one though. Just a quick dusting of my Revlon PhotoReady powder and all I need is some blush and a tiny bit of bronzer. I always do my bronzer first, and this time I'm using the Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in the lightest shade. Just a quick dusting as I don't want an overly dramatic look for my cheeks. A little bit of 17's Blush Powder in Plum Puff and the face is done!

The only thing left is to add a slick of MAC Violetta on the lips and the look is complete! So what do you think? Do you like it or dislike it?

Products I Used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) - £16
Badgequo Collection Classic Eyeshadow Palette - £7.91
Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner - £5.29
Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara - £9.99
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation - £10.99
Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Concealer - £6.99
Revlon PhotoReady Powder - £11.29
The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder - £13.00
17 Blush Powder - £3.49
MAC Violetta Lipstick (Can't find a link) - £15.00

Thank you so much for reading,
Kerry x

DIY Face Masks for Dry Skin!

Hi lovelies, today I'm going to be sharing my top three DIY face masks that you can make at home and really do work! I've suffered from extremely dry skin since I was very young and have done a fair amount of research into what benefits the skin as a result. These are my top three favourite recipes, and I'll be sure to do a segment on oily skin within the next few posts.

1. Milk Mask
This recipe will make enough for two people so it's great if you fancy a face mask with a friend, but personally I just cover what's left and put it in the fridge until the next day when I then use it again. This is my personal favourite mask because it's so hydrating, plumping and refreshing all in one!

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of powdered milk
1 tablespoon of runny honey
1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel
2 drops of essential oil
1 tablespoon of pulverised almonds (this is optional though)

All you have to do now is mix it all together, put it all over your face, leave for 15 minutes, then rinse off! It really is as simple as that :)

2. Avocado and Honey Mask
You have to use a really ripe, incredibly soft avocado for this, and this particular recipe is great for maturer skins because it has firming properties as well.

Ingredients:
1/2 a very ripe avocado
1/4 a cup of honey

Mush the avocado up to a pulp in a bowl, stir in the honey, apply onto the face, leave for ten minutes and then rinse off. Another easy recipe there!

3. Dark Chocolate Mask
Despite popular belief, dark chocolate is actually incredibly good for the skin if applied topically. This one does take a little bit more work than the other two, but if you fancy trying it, go for it!

Ingredients:
1 bar of dark chocolate
3 tablespoons of salt
1 cup of milk

Mix your salt and milk together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Then melt the chocolate by putting a saucepan filled about a quarter full of water over a hob, and placing a small bowl above the water making sure it isn't touching the water at all. The chocolate then goes in the bowl and stir until fully melted. Stir the milk-salt mixture into the chocolate slowly until it is all combined and leave to cool to room temperature. You then apply to the face (the chocolate can get drippy so I suggest going shirtless or using a towel over your clothes), leave for 15-20 minutes, then wash off.

So hopefully some of these work for you :) Are there any other good facial mask recipes you guys recommend?