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

Festive Gold with a Berry Lip

Howdy!

I have finally done it - I've made and uploaded my very first YouTube tutorial, where I show you how to get the below eye look.

I'll be honest with you- I know my photos aren't amazing. I'm aware that the camera I filmed the tutorial on isn't the best, but personally, to me the person in the video/photo is more important than the quality of the picture. I've seen YouTubers and Bloggers alike who have amazing super sharp HD cameras, but it's done nothing to improve either patchy makeup or a poor explanation. I don't mean to be mean - my point is I've always thought that if your content is sub-par, no amount of fancy technology is going to help you.

Anyway, I created a fun, festive look that I think would look great against lots of different skin tones and eye colours! I've shown this with a berry lip, but of course you could pair this with a nude or a rosy, more natural pink :)

Here's a very quick breakdown of the products used.

-Urban Decay Primer Potion (Anti Ageing)

-NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Milk) as base on lid and browbone

-Urban Decay Original Vice Palette - 'Laced'  (crease/transition),  'Penny Lane' (outer half of lid),  'Blitz' (inner half of lid), 'Anonymous' and 'Laced' mixed (to blend out dark colour above crease)

-Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette - 'Toxic' and 'Coax' mixed (very outer corners of lids)

-Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - 'Blackheart' (outer V & blended above crease)

-ELF Cream Eyeliner (Black)

-Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in 'Perversion' (Applied over cream liner)

-Eyelure Volume Lashes (No. 100)

-LAQA & Co Lip Lube (No name on product, but I believe it's 'Menatour')

-Naked Flushed Palette Highlighter (Brow and Cheekbone highlight)

I'd love it if you'd like to pop over to my little corner of YouTube and have a nosey at my tutorial, and any shares, likes or feedback will be hugely appreciated!

Have a beautiful day lovelies!

Charley xxx

A Two-For-One Treat: I'm Going Bold!

Hello there lovelies!

Okie dokie, let's not mess about, the time has finally come for me to roll up my sleeves and crack on with a tutorial.

As I've been a bit naughty, and done three different posts with zero eyeshadow looks, I've decided to do a bit of a bargain for you, with a TWO FOR ONE tutorial, mostly using the Urban Decay Vice Palette (original).

The theme of today's two-for-one will be 'Ways To Go Bold'.

The basis of each look is the same, but when we get to that last 10%, I'm going to give you a couple of cheeky options to decide between to change it up!

So here are our options (try to ignore my crazy hair):

Route 1: Smokey eye with a bold red lip

Route 2: Neutral lip with a bold smokey eye (yellow)

Right-  I started with my Urban Decay Primer Potion (anti-aging), and covered my eyelids, browbones and undereyes.

e.l.f. angled contour brush and 'Laced'.

Using my e.l.f. angled contour brush, I took 'Laced' from the Vice (original) and swept it across the crease, as a transition for the smokey magic that is to come!

After this, I applied a light layer of 'Desperation' - a smokey brownish-grey to the crease and outer V, and blended out to a soft finish using my e.l.f. eyeshadow 'C' brush. I LOVE this brush for blending and buffing out harsh edges- it is a DREAM to work with!

Applying 'Desperation' with the eyeshadow 'C' brush

Using a dense eyeshadow crease brush (bought YEARS ago at H&M, not entirely sure if they still stock it, but I love it!) I dabbed a tiny dot of 'Black Market' into the crease and outer V to create a more slightly more defined cat-eye shape, then further blended out any harsh lines.

I took my e.l.f. small stipple brush, and used it to apply my e.l.f. HD blush in 'Headliner' for a soft, understated flush of colour on the cheeks.

This is the point at which we decide whether we're rocking a bold lip or eye. Thus far, the eye is fairly neutral, with no shadow on the inner two thirds of the lid.

Route 1: Apply 'Echo Beach' to the inner corner, and blend out to 'Nevermind' in the centre of the lid. Crack out the boldest, brightest lip colour that you have in your arsenal - I went for my Urban Decay (I know, surprise surprise) Super Saturated High Gloss Lip crayon in 'F-Bomb', a classic red. If you fancied doing this in matte, you could opt for the UD 24/7 lip pencil in '69'.  Finish off your eyes with lashings of your mascara of choice, a dash of eyeliner (as IF you even need to guess which brand of eyeliner I used) and you are DONE!

Here are the final results of Route 1...

Route 2: First we need a bright eye colour to fill in that inner/middle section of the lid. I'm sure you know that the Vice Palette has a whole myriad of options, from a glittery hot pink ('Noise') to the most outrageous electric blue you've ever seen ('Chaos'). But I'm trying to move out of my comfort zone here, and I recently picked up the pressed-powder-insanity that is Sugarpill's Buttercupcake, a vivid matte, mustard-esque yellow.

I smudged on a little of my NYX jumbo eye pencil in 'Milk' for a solid, white base, and using a precision eye brush, I patted Buttercupcake onto the inner two-thirds of the eye, and blended into the edges of the darker crease/outer V colours. As ever, the mascara and liquid/pencil liner combo finish this look off beautifully. If you curl your eyelashes, I imagine this is when you would do so- my own lashes are fairly long with a decent amount of curl naturally, so I've never curled mine, and as such, am not much of an expert.

My go-to neutral lip choice of late is my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balmstain in 'Honey'. This is a beautiful dusky pink with the perfect amount of understated shine.

So! After all that hard work- this is where Route 2 brings us...

How perfect is that Revlon Balmstain for a neutral lip?

I love the contrast of the yellow shadow and UD's jet-black 'Perversion' liquid liner.

The looks obviously aren't HUGELY different, due to them being based on the same fundamental products, but  I love them for different reasons; I think a statement lip always looks glamorous; but who doesn't love a fierce eye look?

Which is your favourite? I'd love to know your thoughts!

If you have any 2-4-1 ideas you'd like to see, let me know! Two ways to rock glitter? Two easy Valentine's looks? Let me know, either in the comments below, or on Twitter using the hashtag #241- you can find me at @CharleyShadow !

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Seeya again soon lovelies!

Charley
xxx