Matte to Metallic SFX Workshop

On Sunday, I headed off to Glasnevin in search of the industrial estate which houses the From matte to Metallic studio. I had booked in for their SFx class which was to have a special focus on Halloween looks. Yay! The gorier the better was the motto of the day and I had an absolute ball! Jen and Ciara are such down to earth girls, they have no pretensions about them and they aren't trying to sell you products! Instead they gave us great tips, and great value ideas for creating these looks on a budget. The class ran from 11-5. It was a bit intense, sitting down and concentrating as Jen and Ciara demo'ed a few looks on the girls they had brought in to model. I think we were all so eager to get started! Below are a few pictures of one of the first looks coming together: 

 Here is an example of an acid burn and a bullet wound on one of their models. Ingredients found at home or in the baking section of a shop can be used to create the acid burn effect! Modelling wax was used to mould the bullet wound. It's so creative how these ladies work and I loved every minute of this class! 

 Torn flesh and half a skull but still looks high fashion! 

 We were shown how to create an infected zombie look bite. Jen and Ciara use the Necromaniac pallete, it is quite dear but the colours are so vibrant and long lasting. Blending different colours such as red and purple can give the bruise effect, while yellows and greens can give the appearance of an older bruise and also mimic infection. The teeth marks can be made with modelling max, and by pressing down with a thin spatula to make teeth marks. 

Next we got to work on each other! Here's a collage of the look I did on Helena.

I created the torn skin look with liquid latex and ripped up tissue paper. I waited for it to dry, then peeled back the layers. I bruised the look up and added fake blood. The bulletwound is made with modelling wax, and the pus look is made with Vaseline. Ewwww haha,as I said this look isn't for he faint hearted but is great for the shock factor at Halloween!

Helena created the above look on me with real nails! I love SFx makeup you can go as gory, bloody and messed up as you want, or you can reign it in and just do a simple scar or bullet wound. 

I'll be taking bookings for Halloween so head on over to my Makeup Artist page on Facebook, Blend it Beautiful to mail me for bookings :) 

Hope you like these looks! Let me know what you think in the comments below xx

Wet n wild nail polish and Catrice Gel Look Topcoat Review

                    

Shiny gel look nails with a cheap price tag are hard to come by and I had high hopes for this catrice gel like shine topcoat. At only €2.99 it was a steal, and maybe for that price tag I was expecting to much. I wanted to invest in the nude nail trend when I bought this Wet n Wild nail polish, but obviously me and nudes aren't meant to be! This is a gorgeous neon pink colour, called Dreamy Poppy. 

I was happy with the initial look of my nails. They were, bright, they were shiny and glossy and I suppose they gave that gel like shine. 

                             

But that's where I come to the end of the positives about these two products. There was no lasting power at all. Even with a topcoat on my nail polish chipped after THREE days. It even started peeling off in one layer, it was so strange. 

                             

 

It wasn't a pretty sight. So if your lookingfor shiny looking nails that last three days tops, then by all means buy the topcoat but apart from that it gets a thumbs down. I love the wet n wild colour, and will be testing it by itself to see if it proves any better! I bought these two in the beauty section in Penneys if you want to give them a go! 

Have you tried any gel shine top coats? Any recommendations? Leave them in e comments below :) 

Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze Review

                    

Cocoa Brown tan seems like it is everywhere these days and it's easy to see why after I trialled this fantastic gradual tan. I have used it three or four times and had a shower everyday but it still leaves a gorgeous sun kissed glow. It is very subtle so perfect for fake tan newbies. It is definitely so much easier to use than the day to night tanning mousse I have tried from Cocoa Brown before. 

I won't lie, it is a very unappealing looking brown sludge you apply but you can see the colour coming up instantly and it doesn't have a nasty smell. My family were complimenting me on Cocoa Brown's signature Tahitian scent. 

One thing I noticed is that it is incredible moisturising! My skin has never felt so soft and smooth I'm delighted with this product which I bought in Penneys for €6! Such a bargain and well worth it as I have a feeling it will last me a while. 

I apply it to my chest, neck, shoulders and arms daily and it gives me such a natural just back from holidays glow that doesn't streak one bit! I also love how incredibly moisturising it is as it's like a 2 for 1 -tan and body lotion!  The packaging even matches my nails.

                           

It's kind of hard to photograph as it's so subtle but this would be perfect for fair skinned girls as a night out tan or for anyone who is a tanning newbie, to be honest this is so easy to apply I think it will be sticking to this beauty daily now :)

                               

Tried to take some photos on the iPad, a tad difficult but you get the idea, my face and neck and arms match!

                                

Verdict: the perfect gradual tanner for that sun kissed look. It is impossible to streak and will leave your skin silky smooth! Have you used Gentle Bronze yet? 

   

The Little Black Dress of Mascaras??

There is a reason why this mascara Maybelline Great Lash has been around so long. From its iconic packaging to its fabulous angled brush it's easy to see why it is still a staple in a makeup artists arsenal. Yet it's still a little like a well kept secret as it doesn't seem to be a go to product for us regular gals. In fact I had never tried this mascara up until yesterday! In all my twenty years... I was informed on My Facebook blog page www.facebook.com/bloggingitbeautiful that this is one of the first mascara a many of you first got to grips with. This is the one that broke your blackest black lash virginity! 

When I was perusing Penney's as you do I saw this little pink and green beauty on sale for six euro! Such a bargain for what I was to discover is a fantastic eyelash coater. It's early days yet but one might call it the Little black dress of mascara. The old reliable you keep returning to because it makes you look fantastic. 

I am seriously impresses with this mascara first off because of the shamazing brush. I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't this fabulous thin angled brush. I wiggled this brush through the base of my lashes and upwards to fully coat them and I was rewarded with lashes that could rival a pair of falsies. See picture below...

Keeping in mind I was a blonde baby and have barely any lashes to speak of this mascara did an amazing job! 

Only downside would be it can get a little messy when you try to coat even the tiniest of lashes on the inner corners of your eyes. This mascara wore extremely well and did not flake off, which is a huge pet hate of mine. 

The verdict? Run don't walk to Penneys to pick up this LBD of mascaras, you won't regret it although you will need a steady hand. 

Review: Montagne Jeunesse Very Berry face mask

Apologies for my terrifying appearance ladies but it was all in the name of research! 

I picked up the Very Berry face mask by Montagne Jeunesse in Penneys yesterday, retailing at €1.35. I think these used to cost 99 c or they are 99p in the UK anyways as far as I know and probably also available in Primark ;) 

The mask is made with cranberries and blueberries and smells DIVINE. Literally smells like the most gorgeous smoothie ever although I wouldn't try tasting it! The mask is meant to moisturise, cleanse and rejuvenate which is just what I needed after a very tiring day trawling around the shops.

 

I cleansed my skin and smoothed the cream over my skin, then left it on for 15 minutes. Apart from a few funny looks from the fam, all went well with the mask. I didn't feel the tightness I normally feel with face masks. Off it came with hot water and cotton wool. My skin did feel a bit dry which kind of defeating the purpose of the mask but felt really clean and looked refreshed. I popped on a bit of moisturised, massaged it into my skin and my quick fix pampering was complete! 

Have you used these masks before? What did you think of them? Comment below!  Leace any recommendations also :) xx

Get Back On Track With Me

The time has come for me to realise that I am never going to achieve my fitness goals unless I give it 100 percent. I saw a fitness quote on Instagram 

, head over and follow me btw: bloggingitbeautiful that said 'tears get sympathy, sweat gets results.' 

Essentially it means that there is no point crying over not fitting into this or not unless you are going to make a change. Next week I am challenging myself to 'eat clean'. That means no more processed food, or bread or pasta or rice. Here is a sample of the shop that I'm going to do. I am also in part inspired by Pat Divilly Fitness. You can check his videos out on YouTube and give them an aul like. 

He follows a paleo eating clean approach, but I am going to take it one step at a time. 

Above is a sample of a shopping list. Breakfast will be oats with almond milk and berries or eggs with avocado. Lunch will be sweet potato, salad and a leant meat. Dinner will be similar and snacks can include Greek yoghurt, berries, cinnamon or walnuts. 

It's simple enough to start, which makes it easy...fingers crossed! No doubt I will be craving some bread or chips halfway through! The trick is to add spices and herbs I'm told.

Exercise wise I am planning to join a gym, and get back to running. One minute run, one minute walk and build it up slowly. 

Are you with me? :)

Answers to your most asked beauty questions!!

The number one most asked beauty question to me anyway is the following:

What is the best foundation brand to use?

My answer to this is that it is all relative. There are so many factors in the right foundation and that depends on your skin. Estée Lauder Doublewear Light is a gorgeous light, long lasting foundation that gives amazing coverage. Rimmel have also upped their stakes. Mac can be hit and miss, and I haven't heard good things about Inglot. If you have oily skin a compact foundation will be more suited to you as it contains no oil. I have a friend who swears by Mac Camouflage cream concealer as foundation. A liquid foundation or anything that is more fluid will obviously be suited to dryer skin. 

How to get A quick and easy smoky eye...

Pat a black gel liner over your lid. Pat a shimmery purple shadow on top, blend a matte black in your crease with a fluffy blending brush. Tight line your inner rims, run a pencil brush dipped in same shadow under your eyes and apply mascara et voila. Blend, blend, blend to avoid looking like a panda. Will put a tutorial up soon!

What can I do to get a flawless, long lasting base? 

First, you need to prep your skin. Bin the wipes, start cleansing, exfoliating and moisturising regularly. Next, prime your skin! Then taking a good buffing brush such as a Sigma f80, dip it into your foundation and start working the product into your skin. Pat it in to your skin. Layer it again. Follow with a compact powder such as Mac Skin finish in Medium to add extra coverage. Take Urban Decay setting spray to top it all off. 

How can I fill my brows in? 

I swear by an angled brush. I am using the MUA brow kit at the moment, in fair. I spray a little Mac Fix plus into the shadow, coat my angled brush and lightly mimic the hairs in my eyebrow with light strokes. 

False eyelashes are so hard to apply, any tips? 

Buy a decent pair. I can't stress this enough you will notice the different. Eye lure and Ardell are great brands. Trim them to suit your eye size and shape. Lash glue such as Duo glue is recommended. Let the glue set for about thirty seconds while flexing the band to retain the eye shape before applying. Then measure up against lashes. You will be applying it to the skin just above the lash line while your eye is closed. Press down firmly for about twenty seconds, then apply mascara to blend with your own lashes. 

So that's it ladies, my answers to the top 5 FAQ beauty questions, if you have any more questions leave them below :) 

Moving Out

I haven't blogged in nine days! Wow, that must be a record for me...the reason why is that I have just been so busy with moving out for the first time, and getting ready to start back into my second year of journalism. This will also be my final year of the Higher National Diploma, but I'm hoping to go on and do an extra year for a degree in Media Production Managment! :)

Anyhoo...back to the blog post...moving out for the first time! Okay, so I've only ''officially'' left home three days but it definitely is taking some getting used to!

First of, I am sharing a house with two other people. Neither are going to college, they are both working and are actually hardly ever there so its a bit lonely so far! It's also so much quieter than my house at home.

Another thing that is different is that I actually have to do all the cooking and cleaning up after myself. I wouldn't say I was spoiled at home but it definitely is a big step up from what I was doing for myself at home!

I did my first 'proper' grown up shop the other day, and it was so overwhelming. I was literally standing in the aisles of Aldi (fab German supermarket) wondering what on earth to buy, cook and feed myself with for the week!

It was only then when I realised how much thinking Mammy and Daddy do for you, when your at home under their roof.

Things I forgot to bring when I moved out:

1. Comfy slippers & Cosy dressing gown - You honestly really would miss these in the evening times, such a home comfort. For someone like me who probably spends 40% of my time in pjs this was obviously a stupid thing to forget!

2. A bin - kind of essential for a room!

3. Sunglasses and summery clothes - Kind of went straight in with my A/W wardrobe when it's actually gorgeous outside!

4. Pics of family and friends! You WILL get a little lonesome.

5. Crisps and chocolate - OK, I said when I moved out and shopped for myself I was going to eat like an eco goddess gluten free paleo fairy but to be honest nothing better than a little comfort food...

That's pretty much it...don't forget your books, notepads, stationary, important documents...I almost did that too! ;-)

Burn your (Penneys) bras!

No I haven't turned into an old school 'feminazi' I have just decided to reclaim my breasts from cheap, ill fitting bras.

The right underwear can make you look slimmer, improve your posture and support your chest. After suffering from back problems to the point where taking my bra off at the end of the day came as true relief I decided to try and find the root of the problem. 

                   

I have always bought Penneys bras just guessing my size. Due to weight gain, and just maturing in general my breasts doubled in size in a short time, yet I still was wearing bras with the wrong cup and back size! I think women have a bit of a thing about wearing a bigger back size but to be honest if you are broader in the back like I am it just makes sense! 

So I was wearing a 36C and have figured out I am more suited to a 38D or even a DD in some bra makes, that is crazy! I am a cup size and a band size bigger than I was wearing. My bra straps used to cut into my shoulders and my back, and it used to rise up when I walked. All the signs of a wrong fitting bra! Not supporting your boobies girls can lead to sagging and stretch marks, and who wants those...

So how can I figure out if I'm wearing the right bras size I hear you ask? Whip out a tape measure! 

1. Put on your best fitting bra. It shouldn't be padded but a bit of molding is probably fine.
2. Measure around your rib cage, right under your breasts. Keep the tape as straight and parallel to the floor as possible. Measure this tight! You don't need to be straining to pull it tight as a corset, or leaving marks on your skin, or anything like that. But you should measure this much snugger than you would normally measure another part of your body. Write down your rib measurement.
3. Measure around your breasts. Measure loosely this time. It might help to lean forward, especially if the bra you are wearing isn't particularly supportive. Write down this measurement.
4. The rib measurement you wrote down is your band size. If it's a fraction, just round to the nearest whole number. If it's an odd number, say 31, you should try both band sizes around this (A 30 and a 32.)
5. Now take the breast measurement you came up with. Subtract your band size from this number. (For example if you measured 29.5 and you were going to start with a 30 band and you measured 36 inches around your bustline, then the result would be 6.)
6. Each number is a cup size. It generally goes: A,B,C,D,DD,E,F,FF,G,GG, H,HH,J,JJ,K,KK... But, brands can be slightly inconsistent. Some brands might skip some of those, or substitute DDD for E, or something, so double check to make sure that you are buying the size you think you are! In addition, some brands or styles may run large or small and you may have to adjust accordingly.
7. If you thought you were a 36DD, and you come up with something like 30H, don't freak out! You aren't weird, I promise. So many people are wearing the wrong size that we have a really distorted idea of what a “normal” size is. Just give it a try. It's only a number!
   
   
   To be honest ladies there are lots of methods of measuring your bra size, and not all are accurate. To test out if the bra size is correct for you, look for bulging over or under your armpits that means the cup size is too small. If the band doesn't lie flat around your back, you might need to go up a size. Always remember to adjust the straps accordingly. 
   
   
   Another method of measuring your cup size is the Maureen Personal bra fitter. http://www.maureenpbf.com now I haven't tried this contraption personally but it may be worth a go. It is insane how many of us are putting strain on our backs by wearing the incorrect bra size. To be honest I might not even be a 38D but it is all trial and error, and it all comes down to a decent bra also. As hard as it is, I have said that I will not be tempted by Penneys bras and will in future invest in good quality bras. After all you wear these everyday! Marks & Spencers , and Arnotts, and Debenhams all have good quality lingerie. In particular the Debenhams floozie range is very feminine. 
   
   
   So give it a go ladies, you could be surprised with the results! Another tip is to always re-measure yourself after gaining or losing weight, and also pregnancy due to hormonal changes us lucky women's breasts are constantly fluctuating in size so you might find you could go up or down a bra size throughout the year. 
   
   
   Here's to perkier, more supported breasts just in time for October, breast cancer awareness month! Always be sure to check your breasts girls.

Berry and Copper toned Eye Look

 

Okay so I didn't even know what to call this makeup look but sure I am using berries and coppers in honour of autumn's changing colours so I decided why not!

 

These shades will work well with blue or green eyes, as the coppery orange colours bring out blues, and the purple tones bring out green tones. So it is a look that will really make blue or green eyed gals eyes pop!

 

I used all Inglot shadows for this look, but I am just going to speak in general terms of colours so you can recreate it with what you have at home without having to go out and buy specific shades!

 

First I did my foundation using KIKO skin evolution foundation in shade 'Natural Rose' I bought this foundation in Portugal, and barely use it, but it's not bad! It gives quite a glowy finish which I really like. Then I used my old favourites of Catrice translucent powder, Catrice matte bronzing powder and Catrice blusher in Apropos Apricot. I highlighted using MAC Soft & Gentle.

 

Now onto the eyes!! I used MUA's brow kit in fair to fill in my brows. I'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with my brows at the moment. I just can never seem to get them how I like them...any tips leave in comments below :)

 

I used a small fluffy pencil brush and a matte light brown back and forth in my crease, in small circles. Then I took a fluffy blending brush and followed the same routine to get rid of harsh lines. Then I took a shimmery burnt orange and ran it back and forth just under the crease again. I followed this on again on the outer edges with a burgundy shimmery colour. Then I blended all this out with a fluffy blending brush again. I took my pencil brush, dipped it into a matte dark brown and did a V motion on the outer corner of my eyes. I repeated this under my lower lids. In the corner of my eyes and halfway on my lids I patted a light shimmery pink shadow to add highlight and depth. Then blended it along the lid.

 

I used my black gel liner on the inner rims to 'tightline' and then did my flick on the upper lids, coated my lashes in Better than False Lash mascara from Catrice et voila!!

 

My lips are wearing Bellapierre mineral lipstick in Catwalk.

 

And that's it! Haha it probably sounds easier than it was, I love trying out new colours so if you have any suggestions of colours I should use leave them in the comments below my dears :)

 

 

A Fresh Start

September is the start of so many things, and as always the first of every month is the perfect time to make a change.

 

This month, I will be moving out of home for the first time. I will be in charge of my eating habits and don't want to get dragged into the 'student' habits of Koka noodles, pizza and chips.

 

This is my month to make a change, health and fitness wise. I have been saying it for so long and I feel like this is my moment to take control and stop living life with the glass half empty.

 

 

I've been out of work for the last few weeks with an injury, and haven't been exercising or able to make - over others like I love to do! (I'm a freelance MUA) I am determined to start getting back into things I love and start giving back to others who have given so much to me.

 

I don't know if this post is coming across as rambling but it is one of my first foray into the whole 'lifestyle' side of blogging and I just want to get my thoughts out and my point across. These kind of personal posts tend to freak me out, as I don't like to open up my private life to other people across the internet. That is one reason why I stick to beauty blogging, but I have decided to expand my writing a little bit and why not blog about motivation, and weight loss something a lot of us struggle with? 

 

Myself and another beauty blogger were talking recently of the struggle to lose weight, and how it has knocked our confidence and I really want everyone to know it is a mental thing and we CAN do it. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. It is a slow process and a tough one. It is a mental one more so than a physical one but I have conquered it once before so I can do it again.

 

I'm not sure how these kind of posts will go down with you, if you are used to my beauty blogging don't worry I won't be giving that up! But once a month or more I may be updating the blog with a little post like this with hopefully some results. This is a scary thing for me to blog about, so hopefully you will be supportive and share your thoughts below!

 

xoxo