Festive and Fiery - A Christmas Colour Explosion!

First off, I don't think it's any secret that I'm a drama queen, so I don't think that it's going to come as a surprise that it didn't take me long to create a video tutorial for this dramafest:

I LOVE how this turned out (full face pic at the end of the post), so I really hope you like it too :) It goes without saying that The Electric Palette is the focal point of this look - but the other absolute stars are the e.l.f. HD cream blush and the e.l.f. cream eyeliner. I love these products and they have permanent places in my 'makeup essentials' (and my heart).

As I mention in the video, I really feel like this season is the ultimate in terms of being able to experiment with colour, and more daring looks. If you're typically a 'neutrals & nudes' sort of gal - this is your time to mix it up! If you're a colour-junkie like me, then you're probably already in your element :)

So the product breakdown is as follows:

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion (anti-ageing)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (milk)

UD Naked 3 Palette - 'Limit' on crease

UD Smoked Palette -  'Kinky'  & 'Freestyle' as blending/transition shades

UD Electric Palette - 'Slowburn' (inner), 'Jilted' (outer) & 'Urban' (outer V & above crease)

e.l.f cream eyeliner - Black - mahoosive winged liner on upper lashline

UD 24/7 Liquid Liner - 'Perversion' (lower lashline)

UD 24/7 Glide-On Pencil - 'Empire' (waterline and a little on outer top lashline)

Eyelure Volume 100 Lashes

UD Naked Flushed Palette: Highlighter (inner corner highlight and mixed with Naked3 'Strange' for brow highlight.

Face:

Smashbox Colour Correcting Primer - Green

UD Naked Skin Beauty Balm applied with Urban Decay's Good Karma Optical Blurring brush

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick applied with Urban Decay's Optical Blurring brush

UD De-Slick Mattifying Powder (using giant fluffy powder brush from Barry M)

e.l.f. HD cream blush - 'Headliner' applied with e.l.f. small stipple brush

Lips:

Maybelline Baby Lips (applied before makeup started)

Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain - '001 - Honey' - a beautiful nude to complement any bold eye look.

I really hope you liked the look and the video - if you have any comments, questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you! You can tweet me at @CharleyShadow or just comment on this post or the YouTube tutorial!

Have a beautful day, lovelies!

Char xx

Bobbi Brown foundation routine!

Well, well, well. I don't know what to say. Even if I did, my mouth is currently full as it is eating my words and a teensy slice of humble pie. A few posts ago, I came out of my foundation-hating closet. Since then, I've discovered something wonderful and life/face-changing. The Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick. I went to a wedding a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to just even out my skin tone a little, as my face was looking a bit blotchy. I crept into John Lewis (I can't stride in with confidence. Deep down I feel that I'm not posh enough to be in there, and I'm afraid they already know) and quickly spotted my target- Bobbi Brown. I'd read a few reviews of the new 'Skin' formula Foundation Stick, so I definitely wanted to have a cheeky tester. One colour-match session later, I was walking out with No.3- 'Beige'.

My issues with cream foundations previously were:

a) potentially thick, cakey-looking makeup
b) fear of my skin breaking out into turbo-acne

My terror has been quashed; the texture of the Skin Foundation Stick is pure, silky, buttery, smoothness. Both lightweight and natural, my skin FEELS naked but looks flawless.

So let's get to it!

Moisturiser: Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream - LOVE IT. If you have dry skin, GET IT!
Primer: Smashbox Photo Finish Colour Correcting Adjust (green) Primer -Life-changing wonderment.
Foundation: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick in Beige, drawn on in stripes and buffed out with the Urban Decay Optical Blurring Brush.
Contour: Urban Decay Naked "Flushed" palette (bronzer only) on temples, hairline and hollows of cheeks, using a Sephora Kabuki brush.
Blush: e.l.f. HD Blush in 'Headliner' using the e.l.f. Studio small stipple brush. If you haven't used used this before, you really need the TINIEST little blob (the size of a grain of rice) on the back of your hand, work it into the brush fibres, then stipple and buff onto your cheeks. This product has a lovely soft sheen to it, so you may not need a highlighter.

That's pretty much it for the face! For the photos below, I've added mascara (Rimmel ScandalEyes Rockin' Curves in Extreme Black), tightlined with my UD 24/7 pencil in 'Perversion' and applied e.l.f.'s SPF15 lipbalm in 'Pink'.

Step 1: Moisturised

Step 2: Primer (I know, sexy green slime on my face)

Step 3: Bobbi Brown tiger-stripes!

Step 4: Buffed, blushed and contoured! Mascara time with this crazy-looking wand.

Step 5: That gust of wind was actually me batting my Rimmel-tastic super long lashes.

YAY! Flawless photo-finish skin!