Beauty: An Autumn Makeup Tutorial

October 12, 20167 Comments

Get The Look

My favourite, however fleeting, season is here, and with that comes out golden shadows, plum coloured blushers and berry red lipsticks. While the style of my makeup generally stays the same year round, it’s the colours I change up with the changing seasons, so I thought today I’d share a tutorial oh how to achieve this autumnal look I have been wearing recently. Let get to it, shall we?!

Products used in order of appearance
Primer: Rimmel Stay Matte Primer
Eyeshadows: Teeez Cosmetics Spectrum of Stars in Vanilla Bunbeam, gold shade from NYX Beauty School Dropout palette, Teeez Cosmetics Spectrum of Stars in Sepia Shine, dark orange shade from NYX BSD palette and matte white shade from NYX BSD palette
Eyeliner: Revlon Color Stay Liquid Liner in Blackest Black
Mascara: Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash
Bronzer: lighter brown shade NYX BSD palette
Blusher: Plum shade in NYX BSD palette
Highlighter: NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick in Chardonnay Shimmer
Lipstick: Teeez Cosmetics Sealed with a Kiss in Dash of Plum
Larkspur Vintage | Autumnal Makeup Look 1. Prime lids and sweep a gold shadow along the top and below your lid; this part doesn’t have to look perfect, we are going to clean up the shadow with some blending later.2. Pack a shimmery orangey brown shade to your crease and the outer corner of your lid and then blend blend blend. This will create a subtle smokey eye. Finish it off with a matte white or cream shadow highlight underneath your brow and in the inner corner of your eye. Larkspur Vintage | Autumnal Makeup Look 3. Line your upper lash line with a cat eye/winged style.4. Add mascara to your upper and lower lashes.
5. contour cheek bones, jawline, temples and forehead with a bronzer.
6. Sweep blusher along your cheek bones and apples.7. Smooth a shimmery highlight along your cheekbones. Larkspur Vintage | Autumnal Makeup Look 8. Apply a berry red shade to lips.And you’re done! You have become a dreamy autumnal princess ❤

Do you think you’ll try this look out? What autumnal looks have you been wearing this season? And of course, if you have any questions, do no hesitate to ask in the comments below.

Beauty / Simple Summer Skin

July 29, 2015July 29, 20154 Comments

Dewy summer skin seems to be all the rage lately, and with good reason; it really makes your skin look alive and well. Take for example the two images above, on the left, my bare skin looking a little dull (also kind of looks like a mugshot) and on the right, my skin with a wee boost and a lively glow. This look is super easy to achieve with only a few products and minimal steps, so I’m going to show you how I did it below. I’ll share what products I used, but honestly, you can use whatever you have on hand…this is no fascist state.

Note: my foundation does not match my skin tone quite right, which I quickly realized while editing these photos! Thought my skin was a bit darker than it is…whoops, I’m a dumbdumb.

1. Mix a small amount of your face moisturizer with Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation and apply with your foundation brush (or fingers) in circular motions; I find circular motions help to really blend the foundation in (unless of course you’re a dodo like me and use the wrong foundation…)
2. Use Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer to highlight under the eyes and along the bridge of your nose, blending with your fingers
3. Apply a rosey blusher to the apples of your cheeks; I didn’t have a true rosey blusher on hand, so I mixed two colours (cream and pink) from this eyeshadow palette to achieve the colour I wanted
4. Blotting with your finger, use Revlon Skinlights Face Illuminator along the cheek bones, cupid’s bow, bridge of nose, chin and under the brow bone
5. Using a shimmery white shadow, highlight the cheekbones, applying with a blend-able eyeshadow brush (who said shadow had to stay on the lids…we do what we want here!); I used a shadow from the palette I linked above
6. Apply your Mega Color Stick (or any peachy lip colour) to the lips and dab a little pink lipgloss on top
And that’s it sweet ones! Fresh, dewy summer skin in a pinch ❤

*see more of my beauty posts here.

Beauty / 60s Makeup

July 2, 20152 Comments

It was only a matter of time before I decided to share a 60s makeup look. It’s honestly a bit more eye makeup than what I’m used to wearing, but it really reminds me of the makeup I used to do back in my goth days. I don’t know what it is about this very Twiggy-esque look, but it makes you want to pull all kinds of silly facial expressions…mostly surprised and sad ones. Maybe it’s the drawn on lower lashes that make the eyes so expressive, which makes the rest of your face want to follow suit… anyway, I dare you to try this look and not make a silly face, it’s impossible.
Shirt & hat: vintage; Shorts: F21 (similar, similar); Bow tie: handmadeGET THE LOOK
– start by priming your lids, then apply white or cream coloured shadow to your top lid; I used this primer and this shadow palette
– using a liner pencil, draw a black line all the way along your crease, from the very inner corner to the outer, making it as pronounced as you like. then with a black shadow fill out the crease and blend so you create a softer smokey eye; I used a shadow from the same palette above
– using a liquid liner make a cat-eye and join it to your crease at the end; i used this liquid liner
– with a black pencil liner draw singular lashes on your bottom lid, fanning outward, just the way your natural lashes do
-apply mascara and curl those lashes with a lash curler and then add even more mascara. if you want to get extra crazy, you could add fake eyelashes to enhance the look; I used this mascara
– apply a nude or light lip colour; I used a combination of this lipstick (in shade 14) and this gloss (in apricot pucker)

*see more of my beauty posts here.

Beauty / 1930s Makeup

June 3, 2015June 3, 20156 Comments

I’m fairly familiar with 60s makeup, but I have never really given styles from other eras a go, so when I found this image of a 1930s look, I thought it would be the perfect inspiration for this post. This look is made up of thin, somewhat rounded eyebrows – which I will admit was difficult and not as good as they could have been because my eyebrows are on the thick side – dark eyeshadow, plenty of eyeliner, blush galore and red lips with some dark shading. Overall, I really enjoyed this look and I’ll probably wear it more regularly now. I am however a bit disappointed with the lighting in these photos. I almost wanted to re-shoot these when I was editing them, but for once, I didn’t let my perfectionism get the better of me. It’s just unfortunate because the lighting washed out one side of my face, making the blush look less pronounced on the one side. Now more than ever I am wanting to get proper lights for when I shoot images like this. But, c’est la vie, for now. You get the idea and I hope I can inspire you to recreate this look yourself.GET THE LOOK
1. Start by applying your usual foundation, concelear and powder routine – I used Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation, Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer and MAC Studio Fix powder in NW15
2. Using an eyebrow pencil, followup the natural shape of your brow, giving them a thin, rounded shape (as best you can, for those who have thick brows) – I used Marcelle pencil in Blondine
3. Highlight under your brows with a light eyeshadow (ie, white, cream) and blend. Apply a grey or black shadow to the lid, blending throughout, giving a subtle smoky eye and make sure to apply some to your bottom lid – I used Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow for a highlight under my brows and I mixed a brown and purple shadow for my lids
4. Apply black pencil eyeliner to your top and bottom waterlines, and then apply your mascara to only the top lashes – I used L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara
5. Add plenty of blush to your upper cheek bones, quite close to your under eyes. This is the most pronounced part of the look, so don’t be skimpy on that blush – I used Revlon blusher in Melon-Drama
6. For the lips, using your brightest red, outline your lips with a lip liner and then fill in with your red lipstick. Now, to achieve the dark look in the corners of the mouth, apply a tiny bit of black eyeliner pencil to the corners and blend it into your red lipstick with your finger – I used MAC So Chaud lipstick and liner
7. I did not use any bronzer for contouring, so instead I used a face highlighter down my nose, on my forehead and chin to lighten my face up a bit. – I used Revlon Photoready Skinlights face illuminator in 200 Pink Light

And that is it! Let me know if you recreate this look, and do let me know of any other makeup looks (hairstyles, whatever) you’d like me to try.

Beauty / Daily Makeup Routine

April 22, 2015April 22, 20152 Comments

I get quite a few questions about what makeup I use, or how I do my insert word here ,so I thought it was about damn time I share. Originally, and the reason I had been holding off is, I wanted to make this in video format. But, I’m kind of a perfectionist and I watch a lot of amazing youtubers, so I sort of got in my head that I don’t want to make a video unless it is good quality. So one day, I hope, I will have the means to do that so you can hear my lil’ voice and we can connect in a different way. In the mean time, here is my daily makeup routine in picture format.

PRODUCTS Skin
+ Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream light 100
+ MAC Studio Fix NW15
+ Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in very fair
Cheeks and Lips
+ Revlon blusher in Melon-Drama
+ Revlon Photoready Skinlights face illuminator in 200 Pink Light
+ Burt’s Bees lipgloss in Evening Glow
Eyes and Eyebrows
+ Marcelle eyebrow pencil in Blondine
+ Lise Watier eyebrow shadow in blonde
+ Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow in Skinlights
+ L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara
+ Revlon Colorstay liquid liner
Brushes
+ Zoeva 102 silk finish
+ 142 concealer buffer
+ 106 powder
+ 317 wing liner
+ 231 luxe petit crease
+ 127 luxe sheer cheek To start (and my favourite part), I squeeze about a nickle size of my Maybelline BB cream on to the top of my hand and with my zoeva 102 brush I apply in circular motions all over my face, making sure I get as much coverage as possible and so it blends thoroughly. Next, I apply my concealer under my eyes and on any blemishes I may have (which I always do), blending with the 142 brush. I usually blend under my eyes with my fingers first, and then use my brush to buffer. To finish it off I use my MAC studio fix powder with the 106 brush all over my face to create a matte finish, which diminishes the shine that the bb cream causes. I have to say, I do like the dewy look that the bb cream creates, but I find my face feels incredibly greasy to the touch, which annoys me.
For my eyebrows, since they are pretty invisible (a ginger’s life), I first lightly outline my natural brow shape with an eyebrow pencil and then using my 317 brush and brow shadow I fill them in. To finish them off, using the brush on the opposite end of my brow pencil, I brush through my brows, evenly distributing the colour throughout, giving them a less harsh and more natural look.
Recently for my eyes, I’ve been using a cream shadow palette, which I like because it has all the neutral colours I enjoy wearing for a more natural look (and I also wanted to give cream shadow a go…my report, it is decent). Unfortunately, they don’t have a name for each colour in the palette (but the palette I’m using is called skinlights), so if you go off my third product photo, using my 231 brush and the second shade in, which is a light cream colour, I apply it right under my brows to give them a more lifted, awake look. On my lids I do a base of the fourth shade in, which is a flesh tone, and starting in the outer corner of my lids and blending inward and into the crease of my lid, to give an ever so slight smokey eye, I use the first colour, which is essentially brown with some golden tones.I’ve been doing a cat eye for years. I’m talking yeeeeears. I first learned how to do it when I was just a wee one because it was essential for stage makeup (I’ve been a dancer since I was 3, in case you didn’t know), so I feel at this point, I’m pretty well versed in the art of the winged liner…so I’ll share my secrets with you. To have my liner stay on as long as possible, I first use a pencil liner and then go over top of that with a liquid liner. This is also great because you can really straighten up those lines when going over it again with liquid. I start from the middle of my lid going outward and when I reach the outer corner where my two lids meet, I wing the liner up a bit, having it become even with my brows. After I will go to the inner corner of my eye, and turning the pencil on slight angle so I’m less heavy handed, I will make a thin line that joins to the line I have already made. From there I go over top of what I have just done with my liquid liner, in the same sort of process, only this is the time I really pay attention to steady my hands, and I’ll also play around with the thickness of the liner, ie., a thin line at the start that gradually becomes thicker near the end. And to finish my eyes off, I apply my mascara to the top lashes in an up and fanning out motion, creating that sort of doll-like effect, and I put a slight amount on my lower lashes just in the outer corners.
Next, using my 127 brush (my favourite one because I like the way white and pink look together) I apply my blusher. Because I don’t do any true contouring, I use blush as a sort of contour. So, I apply the blush on the apple of my cheeks, as well as my cheek bones (you know when you suck in your cheeks? ya, right in that spot). And to give my face a nice, bright look, I dab my liquid illuminator right above my blusher, on the cheek bones, which makes me feel angelic and wonderful.And last, but certainly not least, lip colour. Now, when I do really want to give my lips a punch, I use a true red lipstick (usually So Chaud by MAC), but since this is an everyday look, and I can’t be bothered to wear lipstick on the regular, I’m using my Burt’s Bees lipgloss. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of glosses, especially strongly pigmented ones. I have quite thin lips, so a more pigmented shade of lipgloss I tend to steer away from because it just doesn’t look right, but since I like this colour a lot, I make it work for me. I just dab the gloss on with the applicator, and from there I blend it in with my finger, so instead of it looking like I added a glossy colour to my lips, it gives a more flushed sort of look, like hey, my lips are just naturally this rosy. how cute of me.
And that is my everyday make up. Sorry if there was a lot of writing…man is it ever hard to explain in writing how you apply make up! Also, all of this takes me about 15 minutes, so if you think this is too much work for everyday, think again. And if you have any other questions or things that need clarifying, please let me know. I may do a post that is more in depth about my favourite products I use regularly, so let me know if that is something you would be interested in.