Super Noir winged liner tutorial

Create a statement eye with a chunky winged out liner. Check it out below...

Illamasqua Extinct Christmas gift set

 This Christmas Illamasqua have created four different sets that include a selection of their best selling products.
 We have one of the sets in Go nude to show you. If you love a 90's lip as much as us then you will be all over this set.

 It has all the essentials you need to create the perfect nude lip in tones that will satisfy most skin tones.

The lip liner in the shade Woo is a nude terracotta. It's the sort of shade that will team up nicely with a brown, peach or even pink lipstick. It creates a natural shadow so you can easily enhance the shape of your lip by ever-so-slightly drawing outside of the natural lip line.
 The lipstick in the set is Starkers and is pretty much identical to the liner but with a slight satin finish, not sparkly, but just a moisturised sheen.
Finally, slick on a layer of the lip lure in bloom to give it a buttery pinkish finish.

The other sets for Christams include a classic festive red lip set, contouring and strobing set and shimmering pigment set.

These kits are available now here for £40.00 each.

Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe

A lot of people would be happy to receive these beautifully packaged Too Faced palettes under the tree this year.

There are three palettes and a mini Better than sex mascara housed inside the hotel inspired box.

 The Peppermint Mocha palette is a blend of warming pinks and chocolate matte and metallic shades along with a satin pink blush.
 This palette is also scented with mint.

The gingerbread palette, you guessed it, scented with ginger holds chocolate infused shimmer shades, lilac, creams and a black for definition. The blush is taupe shot through with a fine golden shimmer.

 The eggnog latte palette is scented with cinnamon and is our favourite out of the three. A nice mix of golds and a gorgeous shimmering silver and gold pigmented brown. There is also a deep forest green to add a bit of colour. The blush is a soft peach.

The eye shadows blend out well and are nicely pigmented. The small, slim book style packaging means you can slip them into your handbag or makeup kit to change your day look into a more festive look for drinks after work this Christmas.

The Grande Hotel Cafe is available now for £46.00 here.







 

NARS Radiant creamy concealer

We have been using this concealer for a while and are happy to see that NARS have launched 6 new shade extensions to sit along side the 15 existing shades.

This concealer is great for people who prefer a full coverage from their concealer. It's great for blocking out high colour, blemishes, scaring and awesome on dark ashy tones under the eye.
 If you want to contour but are scared to use the standard contouring products then this concealer is great to use for this. It has a radiant finish it brightens the skin softly so pop it wherever you want to highlight.

The doe foot applicator dots on a small amount of product which enables you to blend and build as desired. The creamy texture means it's not the best for textured skin or those with fine lines but if you just need a good cover with one sweep then check it out.


The shade extensions....

We are so please that these extensions cater for warmer, deeper skin tones.
These are available now for £22.50 each here.

Chanel Libre: Synthetic De Chanel

Synthetic De Chanel is the first Collection Libre created by global creative make-up and colour director Lucia Pica.

Usually this time of year everything is all sparkles and glitter but for this collection the main inspiration has been industrial shades. Rubber, glass and steel are key influences. It offers something totally different to the standard Christmas palette and it's right up our street.

Architectonic is a harmonious blend of five shades from matte blue and charcoal through to mirror grey. It has a mix of matte and satin shades which give a beautiful industrial metallic shimmer when layered together.

These shades blend better than any of the Chanel shades I have tested before. The pigment is strong and the creamy powder hybrid means they blend out like silk on the skin.

The Calligraphie De Chanel is a wonderful cream liner which comes complete with a mini angled liner brush. It is a hyperblack shade which resists both water and humidity. It dries off to a matte black precise finish.

 Normally I would always use a longer brush to create my liner looks but the mini brush is great to keep with the product for touch-ups on the run.

I adore wearing pink on the cheeks whenever I wear a grey eye shadow so I was happy to see a vibrant pop of fresh pink for the cheeks. It breaks up the intense grey of the collection and gives your complexion a flushed rosy finish.

I have seen tons of vibrant pink in the shops this season and the nails for this collection are keeping up with this trend. There are three shades in liquid mirror, hyperrose Glass and pink rubber.

Beautiful collection which bucks the trend this Christmas. This collection is available from 4th November from all your usual stockists and online.

Bobbi Brown Dare to Shine Nude library

We all love a nude library at Christmas don't we? It's not what you think, it's even better.
 For this Christmas Bobbi Brown have launched a book style palette of her best selling and most loved nudes all held together neatly in a beautiful silver crested compact.

It opens to reveal a page of lilac through to navy and tortoise shell nudes. Its opposite page is a large mirror. The next page in the library holds warmer stonewashed and honey toned nudes.

All together there are 40 nude eye shadows in this palette in a mix of matte, satin, metallic and shimmer finishes. It really is a thing of beauty.

This palette is to celebrate 25 years of Bobbi Brown and reflects all the colours she sees naturally in the faces of the women she creates looks for.

If you are a nude eye shadow fan then you need this on your Christmas list. It's £145 so might not get anything else other than a tangerine but who cares.

This is currently out of stock on the Selfridges website but more stock should be arriving so add it to your online wish list..

Cruella Deville Halloween tutorial for kids

Did you catch our super easy and ridiculously cute tutorial on Edie for Halloween?

Sephora Makeup Haul PT2

Here's Nic's collection of pieces she purchased from Sephora....

Rituel De Fille

As it's Halloween coming up we thought this collection from Rituel de Fille fitted nicely. Founded by three sisters who took an interest in the magical and natural side of cosmetic ingredients. They think of creating makeup as creating a potion and try to use as least ingredients as possible whilst not compromising the formulation. All products are 99% natural, and handcrafted without parabens, phthalates, synthetic dyes or synthetic fragrances.

We have a selection of the collections products to share with you...

 For the lips there are the Forbidden Lipstick which have a bold pigment with a softly satin finish. They feel comfortable on the lips and wear off nicely.
 Also for the lips if you prefer a bold colour which has been sheered down with a more moisturising finish there are the enchanted lip sheen.

 Bloodroot and Blackthorn are the two lip sheen's with a softer finish.

For the cheeks we have two cream blushers. I like the texture of these. They are creamy but after blending out with your finger the turn to a powdered matte finish.Nice to pat onto the apples of the cheeks. The lilac shade in Desire makes an interesting contour shade also. 

 


For the eyes we have these beautiful hexagonal shaped mini pots of cream metallic eye shadow. The provide a gorgeous high shine finish and a strong colour pay-off. The little pots make for an interesting display on your dressing table but you need a relatively small brush, or finger to be able to get the product out, especially as you get nearer to the bottom. Really nice addition to your autumnal makeup bag.


































If this brand looks like something you would enjoy then you can purchase over at Cult Beauty here.

Sephora haul and a bit of a rant

We hear Sephora is coming to the UK..Hurrah!!
 Check out our recent purchases we made whilst we were over in America..

Sleek Rockstars collection

Two new palettes landed on our desk last week from Sleek and we thought they would make a nice addition to your Christmas makeup bag this year.

The hidden gems palette hold 6 powder shadows which have a good colour payoff and an intense shimmer finish.
 Each shade is bold enough to wear on its own but also make a good accent colour to add to your statement eye look to give a festive finish.

Beautiful shades which are like little fireworks on the skin. They blend nicely and hold their sparkle well.

The other palette from this collection is the Diamonds in the rough palette. These are much more muted tones in an array of peachy shimmery shades.

 They would look beautiful worn on their own or used as a highlight. Four of the shades are powder and two are cream.

These are so beautiful and would really compliment a medium through to darker skin tone. If you find that your eyelids are ashy toned and need a lift then these peach tones will help liven up your skin tone.

The hidden gems palette is available from 19th October at Superdrug and the Diamonds in the rough palette from 26th October in Boots. Both palettes will be available from Sleekmakeup also.

How I did my makeup at school

We loved creating these retro tutorials, it felt really nostalgic. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Marc Jacobs Air Blush

We have been asked for lots of quotes on the draping technique recently. We wrote a post a few months back on this here. Marc Jacobs have launched a blush range which celebrates this trend.  Each blush comes in a plastic patent effect mirrored case and features two tones of complimentary powder.

 The stripes of the blusher are inspired by a Marc Jacobs  One stripe of colour is much lighter than the other and also has a slightly more satin/pearlised finish. The two shades blend softly over the skin to give a multi-dimensional finish.

The shades are all very soft and a lot of building up is required to get a stronger colour payoff. These blushers are designed to mimic the tones in the skin and serve to enhance the skin tone rather than mask the skin and provide a solid colour.



You can pick out the individual shade on a smaller blush brush or you can swish your brush all over for a mix.

Very natural and add a nice soft radiance to the skin. Do they differ from any other duo blush? Not really.

I think you could use any similar blushes to create the draping effect but they are a nice product to build your blush naturally. Great if you are concerned of applying blush to areas of the face other than the cheeks without looking over made.
 These blushes are available here for £28.00 each.

Face Lace for Halloween

Well we couldn't let the Halloween season pass us by without an update on the latest offerings from Face Lace.
 Beautiful, intricate lace adornments to wear layered over makeup. Perfect for a last minute Halloween party look when you simply don't have the time to get overly creative. Maximum impact with minimum effort.

These are available now here.

Brow by Mii

We have been loving the soap brow look recently but if you are not keen on this technique you should check out the sculpting brow builder by Mii.
 It's basically a brow texturiser and tint. The tiny firm brush has well spaced teeth which enable you to separate the brow hairs creating a full but soft brow look.
 The creamy product has extremely fine fibres which coat your own natural hairs and build them to appear thicker.

If you like to use a brow pencil normally to build the shape of the brow then you can use the very end of the wand to delicately paint on fine hairs. The natural tint will stain the skin and give the appearance of a thicker brow without the fake drawn on finish.

Available in three shades of Remarkably fair, Remarkably medium and Remarkably darker.
 These are £14.95 each and available here.

Guerlain Eye Palettes

Guerlain have launched some beautiful eye shadow palettes which each hold a harmonious blend of shades in a mix of matte, shimmer and satin textures.
 Each individual palette is a one stop shop for a capsule shadow collection. Wear shades on their own for a natural day look or layer up the blend for the evening.

We have 3 out of the five palettes to show you. Each palette has a base colour which can also be built up as the highlight or lifting colour. Two nude basic shades and then two deeper shades,one matte and one shimmer, to intensify.
 Each shadow is also embossed with an elegant pattern which makes them look even more attractive.

01 Rose Barbare

03 Coque D'or

06 Bois des indes

The palettes have great tones but we found them to be very sheer. To get a good amount of intensity you need to wear them either over a cream shadow or layer them up with a firm brush. The texture feels almost creamy to the touch and there is zero drop down. Perfect for people who like a natural or sheer smokey eye. If you prefer a dramatic eye then they may not be bold enough for your taste.

These palettes are £43.00 each and available now.

Ultimate retro glam Ava Gardner Tutorial

Check out our tutorial which is perfect for hooded eyes and is inspired by Ava Gardner.

Pixiwoo Book Tour dates

Wahoo we can finally confirm our book tour dates! 

Please note that Jarrold Norwich and Waterstones Bluewater are ticketed events. If you intend on coming along to either of those signings you'll need to purchase your tickets by following these links.

Jarrold:http://www.jarrold.co.uk/events-diary/events-list/pixiwoo-book-signing-22-oct
Bluewater: https://www.waterstones.com/events/pixiwoo-book-tour

We are so excited to meet you all and share our book with you.

Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Box

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For the month of October Estee Lauder are launching their Breast Cancer awareness campaign. This year see’s eight iconic E.L brands packaged together in an exclusive beauty box.

It will be available to purchase on the various brands websites from today (Monday 3^rd October. It is £20.00 with a RRP of £66 and £12 from the sale of each box will be donated to the Breast Cancer research foundation.

To date the Breast Cancer awareness campaign has raised nearly £50 million to support global initiatives.

The beauty box doesn’t disappoint and contains some great mini basics to get your day started beautifully.

• Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair

Had to be in there really didn’t it? Repairing serum to pop on before bedtime. It’s a great product to use if your skin is in need of some healing or just a massive dose of TLC.

• ·      Clinique Moisture surge

Cream-gel hybrid making it suitable for both combination, dry and obviously dehydrated skins. Can be used as your regular moisturiser or tapped over the skin during the day as a great little pick-me-up.

• ·      Clinique Take the day off

Awesome makeup remover that lifts away even the most stubborn of makeup. Safe and gentle enough to use around the eyes and makes light work of a heavy lip stain.

• ·      Estee Lauder Sumptuous knockout Mascara

The rugby ball shaped plastic wand ensures the lashes at the centre of the eye are widened and lifted. The tiny teeth separate each lash and as this is a mini mascara it’s great to pop in your bag to build lashes from day into evening.

• ·      Aveda Hand relief

Super rich moisturiser for the hands which helps relieve chapped and dry hands. Contains fruit extracts to get rid of the dryness and added vitamin A and E to soothe. Great for the winter months.

• ·      Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

One of our all time favourite primers to use. Mattes the skin and provides a base layer to the skin which allows your foundation to adhere and remain in place all day long.  Especially great for weddings as it photographs so amazingly well.

• ·      Origins Drink up intensive mask

Does what it says on the tin. Rich, nourishing and intensely hydrating. The best thing is that you can apply it before bedtime and leave to marinate on the skin until washing it off in the morning.

• ·      Bumble and Bumble Thickening hairspray

Handy 30ml bottle makes it great to sling in your overnight bag. The fine mist achieves styling lift and gives great body to fine hair. This is heat activated so apply throughout hair before styling.

If you would like to show your support for this years campaign you can do so by following @BCAcampaign or using the hashtag #BCAstrength

This box is available now here.