FOTD// Peachy Keen

My go-to eye look recently has been pretty simple and sticking to mattes. However, I really wanted to play around with a little bit of colour and see what would work to make my eyes 'pop'. So I pulled out my LORAC Mega Pro Palette and inspired by the shades 'Apricot', 'Blush' and 'Merlot' created this fresh face of the day with peach tones throughout.

Starting with the base, I applied the Australis Primer all over the face and went straight to concealing using Benefit's Erase Paste under my eyes and then Maybelline Fit Me Concealer over blemishes and red spots. I'm obsessing over mineral makeup at the moment and the Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation and Finishing Veil have been favourites for a long time. Unfortunately they don't sell the finishing veil in Australia anymore but I highly recommend the foundation! To finish off the face, I added some warmth with Benefit Hoola Bronzer as well as the Shimmer Powder and Blush Stick from the Essence 'Bloom Me Up!' trend edition (which I forgot to photograph -oops!).

#dathighlight

For the eyes, I started by using the Max Factor Excess Shimmer Eyeshadow in '20 Copper'. This shadow has a really strange, mousey texture that I found is easier blended out with your fingers. All the other shadows I used were from the LORAC Mega Pro Palette. Through the crease I used 'Khaki', then starting in the inner corner I used 'Blush', 'Apricot' in the centre of the lid and then 'Mulberry' blended through the outer V. I applied 'Grey' right along the lower lash-line and blended 'Merlot' along the outer third of the eye up to the top lashes. I absolutely loved the look of the shimmery peachy shades with the dark berry shades to deepen the look!

To finish off the eyes, I curled my lashes and applied a few layers of the Elizabeth Mott It's So Big! Mascara. For eyebrows I've gone back to using my Essence Eyebrow Designer in Blonde to create a natural, full brow. To complete the look I chose the new L'Oreal Color Riche Collection Exclusive Lipstick in 'Eva's Nude' for the lips which is such a beautiful peachy nude and I absolutely love the sheer, moisturising formula.

#moustache

xx Catherine

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Party Perfect in 5 Steps

With the new year just gone, I saw so many amazing glam looks up on Youtube. To be honest, I was a little intimidated because a lot of these looks featured complicated looking smokey-eyes. I love spending an hour or so getting ready but I can't even imagine how much time I would need take with my blending brushes to make sure my eye look was on point.

So instead of crying over my lack of makeup skills, I thought I would share with you how I like to do makeup for a special occasion. You can mix it up with shades or different finishes but when I get ready for a party it comes down to five easy steps:

1. Flawless complexion with a fresh, glowy finish
2. A pop of colour on the cheeks in a peachy coral or bright pink (a little bit of shimmer never goes astray either!)
3. A sweep of bronzer all over the face
4. Neutral eye look complimented with lots of lashes - add a bit of liner if you like!
5. ...And for the lips I usually chose something fairly neutral, with a glossy finish to make my lips look plump and juicy.

I did the above look on my friend Natalie for a Christmas party she was going to. I used the base products mention in my sweat-proof makeup post to create a light-weight but flawless base, MAC Melba to add brightness and warmth to the face and shadows from the Lorac Mega Pro Palette for the eyes. In particular, I used the shade Apricot to tie in with the blush and make the eyes pop! P.S. how gorgeous does Nat look?

xx Catherine

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Makeup and Outfit of the Night: Law Ball

Last weekend was the annual Law Ball for my university Law Society so I thought I would share with you how I wore my makeup and also some photos of my outfit as well! I've also tried to link as many of the items from my outfit as I can.

I had been planning my makeup look for so long and really wanted something really soft and pretty using corals to compliment the colours of my dress. I took a massive risk and wore a foundation I never had worn before - the Bourjois Healthy Mix - but I was so happy with the finish. To finish off my base, I set my foundation with the Face of Australia translucent setting powder, contoured with my favourite Body Shop bronzer and added a pop of colour to the cheeks using Posietint from Benefit. I created my eyeshadow look using the 'Oh So Special' palette from Sleek and smudged a darker shadow along the lash line instead of using a liner. Finally, on my lips I wore 'Coral Bliss' by MAC one of my new favourite lip colours.

My dress was a gorgeous, floor length gown which I ordered online from Miss Selfridge. It fit beautifully and the intricacy of the beading and sequins was stunning.

Because of the detail of my dress, I went pretty simple in terms of my accessories. I wore simple pearl earrings from The Peach Box and tied those in with a few gold and pearl rings from Colette. My gold and crystal bracelet was also from Colette. I wanted to wear simple nude polish on my nails to add further sophistication to the look. This polish was 'No Angel' from the Face of Australia Screen Siren LE collection.

I also did makeup for my beautiful girlfriend, Maddy. I chose a purple palette for her look to really compliment the green tones in her dress. To even out the complexion I used her favourite foundation from CK One (Calvin Klein's makeup range which can be bought at counters in Myer). For eyeshadow I used the Marc Jacobs Eyeshadow palette in 'The Tease'. I had such a fan girl moment over this palette and it is now at the top of my wishlist! I also created a winged liner look with the Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner. For a flush of colour on the cheeks I used Lollitint by Benefit and finished off the look with Rebel by MAC on the lips.

I was so happy with how Maddy's look turned out and probably the best makeup I've ever done on another person!

I had such an amazing night seeing all my friends looking so beautiful, dancing and of course drinking champaign by the bottle!

I hope you enjoyed this post! What's your favourite look for a formal event?

xx Catherine

Winter Beauty Edit: Everyday Makeup Look and Eyeshadow Tutorial

It's day 3 of my WBE and I will be sharing with you my go-to everyday makeup look for winter. In the colder weather I prefer a medium coverage foundation that gives a velvety matte look paired with shimmery neutral eyeshadows and a bold lip. Check out my video tutorial on how to create my eyeshadow look as well as tips and tricks to remember when doing your eyeshadow.

Products Used

Face

• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
• Laura Mercier Oil Free Supreme Foundation in Blush Ivory
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in no. 15
• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
• The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in no. 1
• Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

Eyes

• Elf Eyelid Primer
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
• Chi Chi Nudes Eyeshadow Palette
• NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte
• Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Lips

• MAC Rebel Satin Lipstick

I hope you've all been enjoying my Winter Beauty Edit and make sure you come back tomorrow and Friday for the final instalments.

xx Catherine

FOTD: Arctic Monkeys Concert

Last week I went to see my favourite band live, The Arctic Monkeys. My outfit was pretty standard - band shirt and denim jacket, so I thought I would do something really exciting with my makeup. Something about this event screamed a red lip to me, so I paired a classic red lip with a winged liner and long lashes. Read on to see how I got this look!

Mum Knows Best - Mother's Day Special

With mother's day coming up this Sunday I thought I would dedicate this post to my mum!

I recently did makeup for my mum when she went out for her birthday dinner with friends. I used my Kate Somerville CC cream on her which looked amazing but was a shade too light. Then added some of her favourite blush from Natio and a natural eye look using her Benefit 'Big Beautiful Eyes' Palette. Finally, mum finished the look off with her favourite lipstick from Maybelline.

My mum just turned 49 and has amazing skin and so I thought I would ask her for her beauty secrets.

What's your best beauty tip?

Moisturise everyday and always wear lipstick! Moisturising is one of my anti ageing tips as dry skin makes you look old. I also feel naked without lipstick.

What is a new product you've tried recently you really like?

I really like the Australis Fresh & Flawless powder! It gives neat, even coverage. It lasts longer than other powders I've tried and gives a smoother coverage.

Most embarrassing beauty moment?

I have dark curly hair and got it dyed blonde when I was a teenager. I couldn't afford to keep up with the regrowth and had a lovely dark stripe down my head and the blonde turned orange !

I hope you enjoyed this post !
xx Catherine

Spring Inspired FOTD

 

I wore this look out to a friend's birthday the other night and absolutely loved it! I was inspired by my new hair colour which is much lighter than my natural hair so I decided to go with something more along the lines of spring trends despite it getting colder down here in Australia.

$20 Makeup Challenge

I have been planning this post for a while and am so excited to finally share it with you! The $20 Makeup challenge is pretty self explanatory - create an entire face of makeup with products that cost less than $20 combined. It is definitely harder than it seems, especially in Australia where its difficult to find a drugstore foundation for $20 or less. However, there are quite a few affordable options available in Australian stores and I have chosen products from four different brands to showcase them. I've got little reviews for all the product as well!

Drugstore v High End

For something a little bit different I decided to try to do a look using only drugstore products and then try and recreate it using only high end products. I chose to do a bronze smokey eye, with a red lip and highlighted face. I also used mineral foundation in both looks.

Drugstore

High end

I wanted to show how drugstore products can be used to create very similar effects for just a fraction of the price. Although I do love my high end products, if you're someone who isn't willing to spend a lot of money on cosmetics, which is totally reasonable, you can still create beautiful makeup looks with budget friendly products. 

My advice - its all about the application. Drugstore products applied with care and the right tools can create really fantastic results. I think having a good set of brushes is key and there are definitely a lot of affordable options - my brushes of choice are the Real Techniques brushes.

Let me know which look you prefer!
xx Catherine

What's on My Face? #2

What's on My Face?

Wearable Bright Lip Look

I'm really enjoying mixing it up a bit with my makeup for uni and this bright lip looks is one of my favourites. With flawless, glowing skin, natural blush, lots of lashes and groomed brows a bright lip is totally wearable for everyday. This is Maybelline's Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick in Vibrant Mandarin and one of my absolute favourite lipsticks ever. The formula is beautiful, so moisturising and just glides on the lips - its also very long lasting. There are so many beautiful bright colours in the range and I definitely recommend you check them out.

Have a beautiful day !

xx Catherine

15 Minute Makeup

It seems like time is always of the essence these days and to have an hour to sit down and do your makeup seems like an impossible luxury . However, looking great doesn't have to take a super long time. With the right tools and products you can be glammed up in the smallest amount of time. This is a look I wore for a night out with friends.

Read on to see how I did this look 

Sleek iDivine Sunset Palette: Swatches + Demo

This is an absolutely gorgeous palette and I was so impressed with the quality of the all the colours, particularly because they were all shimmers or metallic shades. I also think the inclusion of the matte black shade is a fantastic addition to the palette and I used it to line my top lashes and well as the outer corner of my bottom lashes as an alternative to a liner pencil and to smoke out the look. Although when I first opened this palette the brightness of the colours made me wonder how and if I would ever use this palette but I was able to create a really wearable look that I would definitely recreate for a night out. The fact that the shadows were so easy to use and blend together I know I'll definitely be pulling out this palette a lot. I'm particularly obsessed with the rose, bronze and pink shades in the second photo of swatches.

Expand to see how I did the rest of my look!

FOTD: Tanya Burr Inspired Look

I was inspired by this tutorial uploaded by UK MUA Tanya Burr on her Youtube channel. I think this is a perfect eye look for everyday and you could definitely mix up the lip colour with whatever you feel like that day!