Animal Instinct contest

I have wanted to enter this contest for a while as I love animals and thought that this was a great theme. Thank you Panda Does Makeup aka Rebecca!!

My inspiration was a giraffe as it is my favourite animal. I think they are beautiful, gentle and serene creatures :).
This is a giraffe I met in Moscow zoo.. I think he took quite a liking to me ;).

I took inspiration from his rusty colour, angular pattern and of course those adorable long eyelashes and round eyes to create this mask.
Products used:

Face:
Revlon colourstay foundation
Bobbi Brown concealer

eyes and mask:
UDPP
Rimmel soft khol pencil in brown
MAC- vanilla, wedge, espresso, gesso e/s
Inglot dark brown e/s
ELF duo cream eyeshadow in butter pecan (the dark brown side)
MAC painterly paint pot (to clean up edges of shapes, I used this as pretty much a concealer)
Covergirl lashblast mascara
Red cherry lashes

Lips:
Rimmel soft khol pencil in brown
BarryM 101
MAC Vanilla e/s



My bf thought this was hot, but weird... with more accent on the weird ;) hehe.

Hope you guys like it anyhow!!
xxx

Acheive That Radiant Glow: Using MAC Pigments

Hi Beauties!

The summer is here and there’s nothing sexier than that radiant Glow during the warm days/nights.

Here’s a really great tip:

Cool OR Latin Skin Complexions:
Using MAC Pigment in Melon:
Mix a tiny drop of the pigment on the back of your hand with your moisturizer. Use the balls of your finger tips to tap a bit of the mixture on to the highest point of your Cheekbones and blend it out softly.

Warm OR Women Of Color Complexions:
Using MAC Pigment in Melon AND Tan:
Mix a tiny drop of the pigments on the back of your hand with your moisturizer. Use the balls of your finger tips to tap a bit of the mixture on to the highest point of your Cheekbones and blend it out softly.

BONUS Tip: Use tiny bit of the mixture on your Cupid's Bow (right above your middle upper lip) and really wow them!

Voila! Now you have high cheekbones, highlight and that sexy glow!

XOXO,
Awilda

Help me decide!

I have a wedding reception coming up on 1 August and even though I have something to wear at the back of my wardrobe...I've been lusting after this Coral Reiss dress...ahhhh....sorry, was doing it again there! I have also made public my desire for the Cream Faith platform sandals pictured here as well. There's a nice round bag in Reiss that would be perfect but it's £79 and I think this Cream Bow Bag from Accessorize for £22 could do the job just as well. I wanted to add another dimension of colour to the outfit so I'm thinking of adding touches of this aqua marine colour by adding the Cuff from Coast and this pendant from www.asos.com. What do you all think of this outfit? Is it appropriate for a wedding reception? I really wanted to wear something fresh and bright and this coral colour tends to suit me. I did think about adding gold accessories but I think the aquamarine adds something a bit different. What do you think?

Can a girl have too many lipsticks?

I was reading Bubblegarm's post on making your own lipstick palette to take on holiday...what a great, practical idea! I love it! She just bought a cheap eyeshadow palette, scraped out the eyeshadows (I would be tempted to make sure the eyeshadows aren't usable before doing this!) and then melted down a bunch of her favourite lipsticks into the moulds, one by one.


The only thing I was worried about was possibly ruining the texture or colour of my lipsticks by melting them...I wasn't sure if it would make them go rancid or something!ha ha. Apparently though, after some research, if you add a very small amount of vaseline (so as not to dilute the colour pigment) then this keeps a nice smooth texture to the lipstick and stops the pigment from crystallising once it has set into the mould. Make-up artists often use this method, so I'm told. The other great idea I came across was someone using a watercolour palette from an art supplies store. They are a cheaper alternative to buying one from a make up store or website and look how nice it turns out...



This pic is courtesy of www.vanityclinic.com. I am so going to try this out for myself! It looks like a professional palette bought from a store! The only thing that doesn't sit well with me though is cutting off the tops of my favourite lipsticks :( ...yes, yes, I know I am being silly but the little OCD fairy inside me doesn't like things like that. She likes things to be neat and tidy and she certainly doesn't like decapitating lipsticks!!! I'm sure I'll get over that though as I'm going on holiday in 9 days time so I need a space saving idea for my makeup.

Apparently, you can also press your pigments into a palette like this too! I love the thought of making my own custom colour pigment palette to take anywhere with me. You can press the pigments into the watercolour palette by mixing them with a small amount of Rubbing Alcohol (70%) which has a citrus scent to it - once you're finished mixing, the consistency should be like cake icing. This ensures that your pigment will set quickly. You then press the pigments down using a coin covered in clean sturdy fabric (denim is ideal) using suitable force. When you feel the coin slot in the pan, you can add one or two more to make sure the pigment is pressed as much as possible. You then place some very heavy books on top of your pigments and leave overnight. All you need to do then is label them! I am going to try this as soon as I can! Have fun!