Tutorial: Wintery Blues

Another tutorial! 

First of all, I apologize for the less-than-great quality of both my video and my photos. I film off of my MacBook because that's the only way I can see if I'm in camera or not. My point-and-shoot, though it has amazing quality in comparison to my computer, is just too hard to ensure that I stay in the screen. I've tried a couple of different set-ups, but unfortunately, this is the only way I have to film tutorials. 

When I'm filming, I'm using a mirror that stands slanted, like I picture frame. This makes me have to face down so I can see myself in the mirror. Therefore, I again apologize for any time when I may lean too far down and you can't see everything I'm doing. I'm working on fixing this and will be investing in a better mirror soon. 

Finally, I apologize for the photos. I use my point-and-shoot, which I love and it takes amazing pictures, but I'm one of those people who has a billion bad angles on camera (not so much in person necessarily). So this doesn't help me take good pictures (I broke my nose years ago and it never got fixed; crooked nose does not like to make appearances on the internet). Though that's just me being whiny! :) Mainly, it's difficult for me to get a good photo of my full-face makeup because I, again, can't see what's in the screen, and the lighting in my room (the sun) isn't very reliable. I'm also working on this. 

So! These were the only half-decent pictures I was able to get this time. Hopefully the colour isn't too washed out and you can see what it looked like for the most part! Also, I added transition effects in the editing cuts, as well as the name of my blog in the bottom right corner; should they stay or should they go? 

Products Used:

Eyes:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 'Milk'

Inglot Eyeliner Gel Matte #88

Inglot Freedom System Shadow in 'Matte 367'

MAC Eyeshadow in 'Illegal Cargo'

MAC Eyeshadow in 'Warm & Smoky'

MAC Eyeshadow in 'Idol Eyes'

MAC Eyeshadow in 'Snowball'

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in 'Perversion'

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in 'Binge'

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in 'Waterproof' 

Cheeks: 

Benefit Face Powder in 'Hervana'

MAC Eyeshadow in 'Phloof!'

Lips:

MAC Frost Lipstick in 'Soft Sable'

MAC Dazzleglass in 'Pleasure Principle'

Tutorial: Neutral Purple

Products Used: 

Eyes:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance

BH Cosmetics 120 Palette: 

Inglot Freedom System Shadow in 'D.S.496'

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in 'Perversion'

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in 'Ransom'

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in 'Stray Dog' 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 'Milk' 

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in 'Clean Definition'

Cheeks:

Benefit Face Powder in 'Hervana'

Lips:

Stila Lip Glaze in 'Grapefruit 07'

Inglot & MAC Haul

So, I finally got to shop at Inglot, which if you've followed me for awhile, then you know I've really been wanting to go there. I was so impressed with the shadows I got from my mom when  she had gone (especially the matte shadow!) that I knew I had to buy some more from them.


Normally I wouldn't make a special trip all the way to London because the train ticket is so ridiculously expensive, but I had to go down to the Spanish Consulate in London anyways. Therefore, it made sense for my mom and I to combine the two things.


Going into the store was really fun. There were so many shades of lipstick! I've never seen so many colours of lipstick before. But I was there for the eyeshadow. It was fun to walk around and be able to make my own palette, swatch all the different colours, etc. I would have loved to have had enough money to buy the giant matte shadow palette! So pretty.


I wasn't too impressed with the help though, partially because there were just two girls working, but partially because the girl who did help me spoke very quietly and had a difficult accent to understand. The combination of the two made it hard for her to help me out, but that's entirely my own fault :P I wish they would have had more people working to truly be able to help everyone in there. The girl who helped me was multi-tasking and I felt pretty bad for her.


After I spent all the time I needed to at Inglot, I went to the MAC store they had there and bought a couple things from the Glitter and Ice collection that I had been eyeing. I'm extremely tempted to go back and buy some more stuff! I usually don't get too impressed with MAC collections, but something about this one caught my eye.


I'll have a video of these products (along with one or two others) as well as accompanying blog posts up within then next few days. I can't promise they'll all be up since I'm in the process of packing my stuff to move, but I'll do my best!

Brown & Bronze + First Real Tutorial!

FIRST REAL VIDEO TUTORIAL IN 6 MONTHS!
If you can even call my half-assed attempt at a tutorial from 6 months ago a proper video at all haha! I don't think it even counts.

So I decided to go ahead and film a tutorial for once because, let's face it, a lot of people prefer to see videos than have to read a lot. So I'm going to be trying this out once in awhile. I can't promise that it will become a regular thing (especially since I'm never alone in the house and I would rather nobody be there to hear me talking to myself lol) but I will definitely be doing a video here and there. As long as these are well received and not completely dumped on!


So! Here's the look!

I'm very sorry the quality of the photos isn't very good, but my lighting (or lack of) wasn't cooperating. So my computer webcam is going to have to do for now.


Product List: 


Primer: 
Two Faced Shadow Insurance


Shadows:
MAC Paint Pot in 'Constructivist'
Urban Decay's shadow in 'Chase'
Inglot Matte #
Inglot D.S. #


Eyeliners:
Stila Smudgestick in 'Stingray'
Urban Decay's 24/7 Liner in 'Corrupt'


Mascara: 
L'Oreal Telescopic Waterproof


Blush: 
Benefit's Face Powder in 'Dallas'


Lips (applied before video):
ChapStick (Apple flavoured!)

Happy Halloween!

Now, Halloween is one of my favourite holidays. However, this time I have no parties to go to and nobody except my mom to celebrate (I'm moving in a month and don't know anybody here!). So this year, rather than dress up completely for no reason, I decided just to do an orangey eyeshadow. I did end up putting on a black maxi dress and will add some black lipstick later for the benefit of the trick or treaters though :) I'll vaguely resemble a witch haha!


Here is the look!

It's simple because obviously I'm just staying at home, but I didn't want to do nothing!


Face: 
Garnier B.B. Cream
Benefit powder in 'Dallas'


Shadows:
Two Faced Shadow Insurance
Urband Decay's shadow in 'Flow'
BH Cosmetics 120 Palette 2nd Edition (most of the oranges from the 2nd row)
Inglot eyeshadow in a shimmery white


Eyeliner & Mascara: 
MAC Fluidline in 'Blacktrack'
Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Corrupt'
Stila Smudgestick in 'Stingray'
L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in 'Waterproof'


Most of the orange shadows I used were just to make sure the colours blended out nicely, no necessarily for their actual colour. It's simple, but I hope you enjoy it :)

September Favourites

September Favourites 2011

I know, I know, I'm extremely late on this post! But I don't remember doing an August favourites so I really didn't want to miss this one. I've been very busy the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to blog hardly at all. I'm back now though and should have some posts coming out regularly! 

On to the favourites! (From left to right):

Benefit Face Powder in 'Dallas': 

'For a natural, fresh glow lightly sweep this dusty sunset plum powder across cheekbones and chin, or anywhere you want look to linger (avoid eye areas).' 

I originally bought this to use as a contour colour and have been loving it for quite some time. Only recently did I start to use it as a blush when I wear darker looks on my eyes. I don't own very many blushes (including this one, I have three!) and the ones I have besides this are very light pinks. This one has a deeper, really nice plum colours which suits the brown colours I've been wearing for eyeshadow lately. 

This has a great, light shimmer and lasts pretty much all day (in my opinion, not many blushes last allllllll day). It's also very subtle, which is the main reason I love it! 

MAC Paint Pot in 'Constructivist': 

I am absolutely in love with this product! I use it with practically every look I've worn all September and all October (so far). It works great as a base for other shadows, but can be used on it's own just as well. If I'm using it as a base colour, I'll usually apply it with my fingers and spread the colour on in a thin layer. If I'm using it for an actual shadow then I'll apply it using a fluffy brush. 

This is my first cream shadow ever and I can't wait to get another paint pot! These are great! It doesn't crease at all, lasts all day, and I'm pretty convinced that if I went swimming with it then it would last really well (unless I wiped it with a towel, duh). 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector (B.B. Cream): 

I wrote a tiny little review on this in a previous post (http://ziggybitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/battle-of-tints.html) in which I talked briefly about the texture of the product. Now that I've had more of an opportunity to actually use the product, I can say that I really like it! 

I still prefer my Origins VitaZing moisturiser, but this is a good replacement for it. VitaZing here is around £20 something. It's a little pricey. When I get more cash on my Debenhams Beauty card (which means I have to buy other stuff...grrr) then I can purchase the VitaZing for a lot less. But in the meantime, this is great replacement. 

The only downside is that it's not nearly as moisturising as VitaZing is. However, as long as you make sure to use a good night-time moisturiser, you should be fine :) 

Armani Code Perfume: 

I love this perfume! I've been wanting it for over two years! No kidding! One of my best friends used to wear it all the time and although I really loved it, I didn't want to smell the same as someone I spent so much time with! Plus, it's more expensive than the rest of the perfumes I own...put together. My perfumes are cheap! I finally bought it when I was at the Belfast Airport since it was so much cheaper and...come on...I've been wanting it for two years! 

Here's a good description of the scents if you're interested. I'm horrible at scent descriptions! To me it smells citrus-sweet? Haha! 

http://www.theperfumeshop.com/fcp/product/womens-fragrances/giorgio-armani/armani%20code/2832

EcoTools Travel Powder Brush: 

This came in a set of other travel-sized brushes (I love them all!) and I'm amazed at the quality! It was under £20 for all of the brushes (I believe there were six) and they are nothing like I thought they would be. This brush is super soft and applies powders like a dream. They have full sizes and I may just have to purchase those at some point too! 

That's all! I forgot to take a photo of the Urban Decay 15th Anniversay palette, but because I reviewed that already (http://ziggybitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/urban-decay-15-year-anniversary.html) I'll just say that it definitely has earned a spot in my September favourites! 

Phew! Super long post! Hopefully it gives you all the information you could want. Next time I think I'll just do a quick video instead of all the typing :P 

Inglot

If any of you are into makeup and watch makeup gurus on YouTube, you'll have heard about Inglot. They are known for their incredible colour pigmentation and their overall great quality. They also have really good palettes as well that have magnets to hold several palettes together. 

For a long time they didn't have an online store, so I wasn't able to order any of their products from the London store and haven't been able to get down to their store in person yet. However, my mom went down their the other day, saw the store, and bought me some eyeshadow :) I had to tell her what colours I wanted over the phone, so it was sort of a guessing game in that sense, but I'm really happy with what I got. Let me just say, I am definitely pleased with the products and seriously need to get my ass down to the London store to play with makeup! 

Packaging

I think this may be my favourite kind of palette. It's simple, it's portable (in this size) and it provides easy protection for the eyeshadows. The only thing I can say that is bad about it is that once the shadows are in, they are kind of difficult to get out. I chipped the edge of the yellow one attempting to find out what colours they were (they are numbers, not names, and I failed but will totally find out what colours they are!). 

Packaging without the lid. 

Eyeliner Gel Matte

Gel liner smudged and lined, shadows. 

The shadows are definitely pigmented and swatch beautifully. The liner is very creamy, which I didn't like as much. I prefer the texture of the MAC Fluidline better, but this can work nicely as a base for an eyeshadow. It did take me forever to get the liner off though and it kind of stained my hand a little bit. 

Overall, these are incredible. I love them! I'm so desperate to go to the actual store and get to choose more stuff. They lived up to my expectations and I'm so excited to actually use them, especially that matte brown! 

Go and get some Inglot products! 

Battle of the Tints

Photo by Me

I've been using Origins VitaZing (a tinted moisturiser) for quite awhile now, but am starting to get to the end of my tube. Because it's such an expensive product (over £20!), I don't really want to re-purcahse, especially because when I bought mine, I only paid £5. It well worth paying the whole price, but I'd like to try something cheaper before I fully commit to making this a beauty essential. 


So! The battle begins! Today I'm wearing MACs Studio Moisture Tint (Shade: light) in an attempt to see if I like it better than VitaZing. For those of you who haven't used this before, it's not a replacement for moisturiser at all. It's basically a very sheer coverage foundation that is slightly more moisturising than normal, thicker foundation would be. 


I already owned this and have used this before, but wouldn't know if I'd like to wear it on a daily basis. I do really like the finish of it and it feels really smooth. VitaZing has a super soft finish as well, but you feel the texture of your skin underneath more than the MAC product. 

MAC Studio Moisture Tint

Center: Product. Right: Blended in.

(When I say "right", I mean to the right of the blob of product. Haha!)

Today I bought two new tinted moisturisers/tinted products. The first product was the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector: Daily All-In-One B.B. Cream. It's supposed to perfect, hydrate, and protect your skin. I haven't tried this on my face yet, but I have swatched it on my hand. 

Miracle Skin Perfector: B.B. Cream in 'Light'

Center: Product. Right: Blended in. 

The texture of the product is really soft, but it's also thick. I think I was expecting it to be thinner and more of a cream rather than a foundation. 

The next product I got was the Nivea visage Daily Essentials: Tinted Moisturising Day Cream. I also have only swatched this on my hand, but it's definitely a lot more of a moisturiser than a foundation. 

Nivea: Tinted Moisturising Day Cream

Center: Product. Right: Blended in.

They only had one shade of this product: natural. I think I would be better off using a lighter shade. This may blend in or it may not, but it's slightly darker than the other products I own. We shall see!

If you follow me on tumblr, you'll know that I love the Origins VitaZing. Like I mentioned before, I just wish that it didn't cost so much! 

Between the VitaZing and MAC products, I still prefer VitaZing. It's nicer to apply because of it's texture, whereas the MAC tint I have to blend into the skin quickly or it will set on my face all streaky. 

Final reviews on the other two products will be posted once I've had a chance to actually use them on my face :) 

Staying Classy (Or trying to)

I joined my mom on one of her interviews for her dissertation. Because it was a pretty fancy deal (slacks and heel people, both things which I rarely ever wear) I decided to do my makeup in a more classy way that usual. So, for the first time ever, I decided to go with winged black liner and red lips! This was the result: 

I took the picture on my computer webcam, so I apologise if the quality makes any detail difficult to see. 

Products Used: 

Eyes: 

MAC Cosmetics Fluidline in Blacktrack

L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara

Rimmel London Kohl Pencil in Jet Black

Lips:

MAC Cosmetics Frost Lipstick in New York Apple

I've never done winged liner, purely because I suck at doing it and making both eyes look the same. After this little experience I'm going to watch some tutorials and practice a little more before I do this kind of look again! 

Mini Haul

Carmex Mint
Aussie Curl Definition & Soft Feel Serum
MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist
Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette