GOSH Velvet Touch Lip liner : product review

While on my lunch break a week or so ago I popped into my local Superdrug to have a mooch around and see what beauty bargins they had on offer.

It's been a long old time since I purchased anything from the beauty counters in Superdrug. It took my back to school days when Superdrug and Boots were the only places to by any sort of make up in our town. 

So I wondered aimlessly down the isles and found myself in front of the GOSH cosmetics stand. I was originally lured in by their eye shadow palettes (which at the moment I don't need as I'm waiting to an order from morphe to come through). 

I continued to have a little look around and was really quite impressed with their lip liners. And to top it all off, they were £2 off making them a shockingly cheap £2.99 per liner! 

Let's face it, you can't really go wrong with a liner that is £2.99. If is great your on to a winner and if it's not you just throw it away, so no great loss. 

I originally picked myself up 2 shades. Nougat Crisp, which is a light brownie / peachie sort of shade (below)

Top let I have just the liner on. Middle bottom is with an Estée Lauder lip stick over the top. 

Cardinal Red which is a deep crimson colour (below)

I was so impressed with both of these colours. They are really creamy and apply so evenly. They are matte colours and are strong enough to be worn on either own or with a lip stick / gloss over the top.

Below I am wearing the lip liner with a slightly red lip gloss. 

Because I loved the colours so much I decided to pop in and pick up another shade as they were still on special offer.

I decided to pick up Flirty Orange which is a beautiful bright coral orange. Argh this is by far my favorite shade.

Below I am wearing just the liner on it's own on the top picture and then the bottom photo I am also wearing a lipstick over the top. 

Even when they are not on special, at £4.99 I think these are a real bargin product. I'm seriously impressed and plan to get the rest of range!! 

Defiantly recommend these babies to anyone! 

DLJ

Xoxo 

Brows : why should I even care?

It's no great secret that brows are a seriously important feature on your face. Not only to they frame your eyes but they also add structure and can completely alter your whole look. Knowing that would you really want to have uncared for brows?!

I have a real love hate relationship with my brows. When they are on point, I adore them, but when they won't do as their told, they stress me out. And yes I did just admit that having bad brows stresses me out!

What do you even need to consider when it comes to brow care?

Shape is of course the most important thing. Lots of people try to completely change the shape of their brows because they prefer how other peoples brows look. Nature has generally given you brows that suit your face! Sometimes I look at other peoples brows and think, 'oh my god, I wish my brows looked like that' and then I think about how those exact brows would actually look on my face, and I think maybe not!

Go with what you already have. It may be that you just need to define / tweak your brows slightly to get the most from them, but I always find that your perfect brows are just waiting to be discovered in your current brows!

(https://mangosalon.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/que-tienes-que-saber-antes-de-depilar-tus-cejas/

If you occasionally have a moment of madness (which lets face it we all do every now and then) and over pluck. STOP AND STEP AWAY FROM THE TWEEZERS! Do not try to correct your mistakes. Trust me, I have been there way too many times and should have learnt by now to listen to my own advice. According to Shavata Singh of Shavata Brow Studios, the hair growth cycle is around 8-13 weeks, so let your brows grow out again before plucking away any more hair! Or you could end up with brows like these...

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336644140869008614/)

I have to admit, recently I have been a bit lazy about getting my brows shaped. It's not because I like to pluck myself, I just find that by the time the weekend rolls around, I can't be bothered to go and get them done! I really need to get back into a routine of getting them done at least once a month. I notice such a HUGE difference in my brows when they are done professionally vs being done by me!

I find that the best way to do my brows is to fill them in first, then pluck around what you have draw on. Doing this will help to reduce over plucking and will hopefully mean that you can shape your brows exactly how you want them.

Once you have your brows on track, its easy to keep them looking good if you have regular visits, just pluck in between. Because my hair is so dark, I pluck either on a daily basis or at least every other day. Some of my friends who have really light hair just go to the salon once a month to have their brows shaped and then don't bother to pluck in-between. Quite jealous of them to say the least.

I always fill in my brows as they are a little patchy from previously plucking mistakes. Your hair might not always go back in certain places once your plucked it away, so be mindful before you start pulling. To fill in my brows I have recently been using Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. Over winter I used the shade Dark Brown which to be honest was a little dark for me, but once I have opened the pot and started using it there was no going back! I think just normal Brown for me next winter. At the moment I am using a much lighter colour, Taupe, ready for summer. I was worried it was going to be completely the other end of the spectrum and be too light, but I'm actually really liking it. It matches my own brows almost perfectly so its great for when I don't want to spend too much time on making my brows perfect but just want to fill in the gaps.

Picking the right colour for your brows can almost be as important as getting the shape right. I really hate it when you see blonde people with jet black brows (sorry if thats you!!) or people with brows that are just massively not right in colour. It really can make such a huge difference to your face and even the style of your make up. Even though I am now putting my Dark Brown gel away, when it comes to a night out when I have heavy eye make up and and bit of extra bronzer for example, I will reach for my darker shade as it will complete my look. So don't think that one colour suits all when it comes to picking out your colours.

Badly coloured brows are a bit issue. Making sure you pick a colour that looks natural is really important. If you don't pick a colour that at least resembles your natural colour, your brows are going to stand out like a sore thumb, as you can see below. Before you buy a brow colour, go into your local beauty store and ask the beauty consultant to trial some products on you to colour match you.

(http://www.lazerhorse.org/2013/11/03/incredibly-bad-eyebrows/)

If you want some brow inspiration, how about looking to these celebs who have amazing brows...

Cara Delevigne

(http://www.theonlinestylist.co.uk/2011/03/cara-delevigne-for-burberry-beauty-spring-2011.html)

Leighton Meester

(http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/are_leighton_meester_and_adam_brody_engaged-2013-11)

Kim K

(http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/tips/a2455/perfect-eyebrows-how-to-get-hollywoods-best-arches-455543/)

DLJ

Xoxo

Hooded Eyes

What is a hooded eye?

Well put simply, a hooded eye is when your skin on your brow bone covers the 'moving part' of your eye. For people with hooded eye, such as myself, this means that it can be difficult to see eye shadows if you just put colour onto your lid when you look straight forward. (pictured below)

How does having hooded eye effect your make up application?

As I mentioned above, the main effect of having hooded eye is that you cannot always see the eye shadow you have applied onto your eye lid. The majority of youtubers and instagrammers have very wide open eyes so applying eye shadow is slightly esker I feel because you have a flatter surface.

By having hooded eye, you need to consider where you are applying dark and light colours to give your eyes the effect of being wider and more open. A great video I found on YouTube is by MissMai27 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QIV8Eq41E) and really shows where you need to apply darker shades further up your eye to create the illusion of a more open eye.

As you can see below, I have added eye shadow to the lid of my eye, but when I look forward, the hooded part of my eye covers everything I have applied. This is my attempt at doing a hooded eye where I actually follow where my real crease is.

However, in a more recent post, I used a darker shade higher than my natural crease to create a false crease so that my eye appears much larger and more open. You can also now see the eye shadow colours when I look forward.

Who else has hooded eyes?

When you start looking at celebrities with hooded eyes, you can see having hooded eyes is actually a lot more common than you might think. Here are some examples of famous celebs with hooded eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence

(http://heiratelier.com/blog/2013/02/17/oscar-nominee-jennifer-lawrence-red-carpet-make-up/)

Blake Lively

(http://eqview.com/2014/12/03/style-file-blake-lively/)

Jennifer Aniston 

(http://www.primped.com.au/makeup/five-days-five-ways-eye-shadow-ideas-for-your-week-ahead)

All of which totally rock their hooded eyes! 

What can I do to make my eye make up better with hooded eye?

• Use a neutral, matte eye shadow on the crease of your eye to make it appear 'pushed back'
• Curl your lashes to open your eyes
• Don't bring highlighter too low on your eye. If you want to apply highlighter, do not apply it on your hood! 
• Try to use matte eye shadows rather than shimmery shadows 
• Apply eye liner to the water line instead of the top of the lid (see this video by Stephanie Lange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRZBpaudbM)
• Bring your eye shadow further up to create a fake crease 

DLJ

Xoxo

Wedding Prep : Skin

IAccording to my trusty wedding countdown ap, it is now just over 3 months  until I will be standing at the front of the church saying 'I do'.

But with so little time left, I really do need to start thinking about my skin. We all know that great skin isn't just about that your putting on your face, it's also about what your putting into your body.

Kick start...
My first stop for getting going on my skin cleanse is Boots. I dropped in yesterday to pick up some Perfectil Original. These daily multivitamins are designed to compliment your normal routine and contain over 20 micro-nutrients such as B2, B3 and Biotin.

Biotin is needed for cell growth, the production of fatty acids and the metabolism of fats and amino acids (according to good old Wikipedia). So in short, it is great for strengthening hair and nails. It is part of the 'B complex' group of vitamins and can even help with your eyes and liver. I currently already take B Vitamins as I find they give me a kick when I am tried and run down. However be warned they can turn your wee an interesting greeny colour.

As well as picking up some vitamins specifically for my skin, hair and nails. I also grabbed a mammoth tub Boots own Omega Oils 3, 6 and 9. Your body cannot produce omega 3 and 6 itself even though they are really important in maintaining cells. These fats are meant to be great for improving your health including your mental ability. Topping up on omega 3, 6 and 9 can help with your immune system, which means no horrible colds and bugs for the big day!

On the outside
I have also been making some changes to my skin too. A few weeks ago I had laser eye surgery which meant I couldn't wear foundation for a whole week. At first this was just horrific. I never leave the house without make up and hate being bare faced. But I seriously cannot believe how much of a difference it made to my skin. Being able to breathe for once mean my skin was able to unclog and has been so clear ever since. With this in mind, I am going to attempt to wear no make up the week before my wedding in order to give it a kick start.

I recently also purchased the wonderful and amazing GlamGlow. I mean this stuff really is fantastic, I cannot speak highly enough about the experience I have had with this product. I did a treatment this morning and am planning on keeping this up every 2 weeks before the big day, giving me another 8 treatments! (OMG it's really coming around quickly!)

I wrote a blog about GlamGlow back in February if you are interested to read some more... (http://thehighendmakeupgirl.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/glamglow-supermud-clearing-treatment.html)

I have also finally given myself a pretty good skin routine!! It's amazing how much of a difference this has already made to my skin in just a few months. Although if you read my most recent blog on assessing your skin type, Hello Fashion Magazine suggest that you should switch things up during the month to keep your skin happy.

Everyone's skin is different and you know your skin better than anyone else, so if your happy and you have great skin, then stick it what your doing!

I will be going an updated skin care routine next week, but below is a quick overview of products I am currently using:

1. Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil - 2 times a day
2. Creme De La Mer Soft Cream - AM
3. Creme De La Mer Treatment Lotion  - AM
4. Garnier Essentials Micellar Cleansing Water - 2 times a day
5. GlamGlow - every other week

DLJ 

Xoxo

Wedding Menu Tasting!

I thought I would do something a little bit different today. Last night I spent the evening at our beautiful wedding venue being wined and dined.

We were able to try a few different menu's and lots of different wines (which was amazing) ready for our big day.

For the evening I decided to go for a simple, elegant look using the following products on my face:

Primer Laura Mercier foundation primer 

Foundation Shu Uermura Face Architect in medium light amber 
Powder Shu Uermura medium light 

Under eye Mac NW15 pro longwear concealer 
Eye shadow Chanel Les 4 Ombres 34 Eclosion 
Mascara Benefit They're Real and Roller Lash as I forgot my lashes!!
Highlighter The Balm  Mary Lou Manizer 
Blush (not pictured) Benefit Rockateur 
Lips Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in place pencil in 08 spice with MUA cosmetics lipstain in Halcyon on top 
Brows Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade in Taupe 
Eye liner Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in Violet Ink

Outfit 

Dress French Connection

Shoes New Look

Handbag Pure 

Necklace Empire of Eden

Food 

Below is a little collection of some of the dishes that we had, I have decided to keep the meal we selected as a surprise for the big day! 

But here are a few we decided not to have.....

DLJ

Xoxo