Bold Brows

Brows. Two little strips of hair that randomly sit on your face and make the world of difference.

To be honest, I do nothing to mine. Truly nothing, and I can get away with the laziness (for the most part) as they're pretty decent. But I've recently been testing out filling them in a little and I can't believe what I difference it actually makes!

Today I filled them in a fair bit more than normal, so it's quite bold but… I like it.

Everything else was kept nice and simple as I felt the brows deserved to be the centre of attention. Whenever I want everything else to be neautal it's always to Mac Ladyblush that I look, I'm wearing it on my cheeks and on my lips (wearing the same colour on your cheeks and lips always makes my face look so put together and I've been doing it most days)

I just pinned my fringe to the side as I couldn't be bothered attempting to tame it - plus I often think doing a simple little twist somehow makes it look like you put some effort into it instead of pinning it straight back… although that might just be me!

Bold Brows definitely aren't something I'm going to be doing everyday, or even every week, but it's something I think I might whip out now and again. Next time I'm pairing it with a strong cat eye so some real bold shapes!

let me know if you fill in your brows on a regular basis? I feel like everyone who blogs seems to,  hopefully I'm not the only one that usually skips this step!

Clean Out

Before I flew to New Zealand I made a consious effort to drastically cut down my make up 'collection'. And I did pretty well. Even so I couldn't take everything with me (shoes took priority over blushes). And now it's been over a year with only a slither of my make up and I've realised I just don't need as much, and in fact I prefer having a more streamlined selection.

I've been watching Christine from Pinksofoxy for a while and I just adore her decluttering videos - seriously you need to go watch a few! They're weirdly therapeutic to watch, not to mention motivating!

So this last week since getting back to the UK I've had a big clear out, and I'm really happy with the result. Everything now fits quite nicely in one drawer and most importantly I wear everything. regularly

It's not the prettiest storage right now but it is practical, and everything will be getting moved into my muji drawers in a month so I'll update you then when it's all looking pretty! For now everything is roughly separated my 'type' with samples kept at the back and my palettes on top.

It's nerdy, but the other motivation behind this was the desire to create a make up itinerary! I've now got a record of every single piece of make up I own and I can find out how many blushes, foundations or lipsticks I own in a second which I'm hoping will keep me in check for future online make up splurges!

It's been a few days since I cleared everything out, and it's so refreshing to just see variety without being overwhelmed!

Do Tell

Since this is my last few weeks of winter for a while (yay) I've fully embraced the darker palette winter offers - including this beauty of lipstick from Benefit

What I've been loving is that if I liberally apply it (as above) I get a great darker colour that's still very wearable but adds a little extra something! It's been great for days I can't be bothered to do anything fancy with my eyes, simple eye+beautiful lipstick is always a winter in my book.

But I can just pat some on the centre and blend it out to get a much more 'natural' look for days I'm just not feeling up to braving it. 

And I couldn't resist this oh-so-cringey photo showing off the lipstick and my current favourite nail polish - OPI Navy. It's so gorgeous on, it's very nearly black but it's got just enough blue for it not to look too gothic when I'm pale skinned. Also, I thought this photo showed my eye make up quire well too. So just ignore the cringey-ness of the photo and focus on the good bits!

A Little Tan

Today was one of those days that LM tinted moisturiser didn't cut it, I just felt like slapping it on. So today I whacked our my Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Punjab. 

You probably already know since it's been popular so long, but it's really not sheer, nor does it 'glow', intact it's medium-full coverage with a pretty matte finish.

 I have definitely had a real love-hate relationship with this, I bought it around Christmas when I was travelling and despite initially loving it, I found that it just seemed to do nothing special.

I was all set to write an 'it's ok, but it's really not all that review' but I've had a 16hour day and my skin is still looking surprisingly good - definitely more 'glowy' but coverage has stayed. And looking at how beautifully it's photographed I'm resigned to accepting it's just going to be one of those love-hate products. Some days it just seems to work out better than others.

I just threw on Maybelline's Fit Concealer and master precise liner, Benefit Hoola Bronzer and They're Real mascara, L'Oreal Brow Artist, Lancome's Oche Doree for a touch more colour, and ELF Runway

Whenever I wear something fuller coverage during the day I tend to keep my eyes light, today I went for my current signature look, Sleek's light gold from the Storm palette and Urban Decay Smog in the outer corner. And of course lashings of mascara and slightly flicked eyeliner

 Punjab is definitely my summer shade, so I decided to go along with the summery theme and whip out ELF's runway pink lipstick. It's a really pretty pink, and it's as close to nude as I can ever bring myself to go. I feel it just washes me out completely when I'm my usual skin tone, but with a little bit of a tan I understand why so many people love it. Creamy, opaque, somewhat matte, and just such a flattering shade if you have a little colour

I obviously reached for benefit hoola to contour those hamster cheeks, and then I dabbed on Lancome's ochre doree as something in between a blush and bronzer.

Seeing these photos I am definitely in no rush to go back to my old pale skin (prior to New Zealand I was mac NC15 to give you an idea - or in other terms, I was always lighter than the lightest foundation shade) having a little tan definitely suits this hair colour anyway!

Touch of Winter Colour

It's officially winter down under but I'm attempting to bury my head in the sand about the cold mornings as I only have a month left down here before I hit the sunny West Coast of the USA!

Although I still have a while left in the gloomy weather my mind is well and truly in summer mode, and that's definitely reflected in my refusal to commit to my winter staples.

I'm persisting with my tinted moisturiser and light shimmer colours. Today I decided to whip out revlon tutti fruiti lip butter for just a touch of colour as this never fails to 'lift' my face as it's just such a warm colour!

Eyes were light, shimmery and probably look the same as a hundred other photos as it's really my 'go-to' look. Urban Decay Sin in the middle and a couple of the lighter shades from ChiChi Glamourous Nudes Palette - which I've used a lot more than I thought!

I should mention, I've been trying out Laura Mercier's Primer as I've heard lots of good things, but I after a month of trailing with different products I'm not 100% sure it's breaking me out. And not just little breakouts, oh no. Every. Single. Time I use this I get a massive 'under the skin' spot (sorry for TMI) which for me is just crazy! 

I'm not sure why as the ingredients all sound quite promising, but something in it just makes me skin go crazy! I'm also not convinced it really made a difference in making my make up last longer either