Makeover: Helen S

 Gosh, it's been a few weeks since I posted a makeover, I'm really sorry! I hope you'll all make Helen very welcome, she's a great friend of mine, and we've been makeup shopping A Lot over the years. Mainly because it took me a very long time to cure Helen of her frosted mauve lipstick fetish .... Here she is, all fresh-faced, and only slightly apprehensive about what the day is going to bring.

Helen popped along on Valentines Day for some chocolate, a girly gossip and a brand new look, we've worked on her "polished neutrals" for work before now, but this time Helen wanted something completely different and dramatic, suitable for a night out.  Having a look through both our makeup collections, we thought grey would be a great option to bring out the beautiful brown of Helen's eyes.  But, as always, before that, we started with the base, which in Helen's case was a mix of Bobbi Brown tinted moisturiser, and Mac Studio Fix powder:

Initially we had decided on Bourjois Liquid eyeshadow in Platinum Gris, but once it was on the skin, I realised that although it was certainly dramatic, it really wasn't dramatic in the right kind of way. So, immediately after applying it, we took it back off.

We replaced it with Benefit Creaseless Cream in Skinny Jeans, which has long been a favourite eyeshadow of mine, it's slightly more pewter, and as such tends to be a little more flattering on pale-olive skintones.

A dramatic evening look seems to demand lots of eyeliner, so we took the skinny jeans around the eye, and used a little black liner to define the top row of lashes.  Next stop, mascara:

We used Bourjois Ultra Care mascara - which is one of my all-time faves for makeovers -  and here we also added a pop of Bourjois Rose Coup de Foudre blush to Helen's cheekbones. Helen had never worn mascara before, but I'm reliably informed she's been out and bought one now!

 Breaking all my own rules (I wouldn't normally put pink with this look, but we were going for different) a slick of Lipstick Queen's 15 Minutes of Fame gloss in Minute 3 finishes off the look,and Helen's all ready to party!


















Here's the before and after:

Mini Makeover - Ruth

Yes, it's a mini-makeover again this week, mainly because I AM the world's worst photographer, and I owe Ruth a massive apology as a result.

Anyhoo, on with the "show", as they say!  Please meet Ruth:

Ruth is someone I've known virtually for longer than I care to remember, but up until her makeover we'd never actually met in the flesh!  Ruth runs Love it Love It Love It (should be live this weekend!) which is a website that sells the most amazing clothes for babies and toddlers in BRIGHT colours - none of this pastel rubbish.  Please go take a look if there's a child in your life, there are some gorgeous clothes on there, and I'm going to be placing a couple of orders myself soon!

Okay, because the photos I took were so dreadful, we're going to skip straight to the after:

Ruth was looking for a funky look, so I told her we were going to do PINK!  And we did.  I think Ruth was a bit scared I was going to make her look like a refugee from 1986, or something, but I think I succeeded in avoiding that particular fate. Well, hopefully ...

Products used:

Benefit You Rebel Light
Benefit Bluffdust
Milani Runway Palette in pink
Bourjois Ultra Care Mascara in black
Cargo Plantlove Illuminator in Wind
Lipstick Queen 15 minutes of Fame gloss in minute 3

Here's an entirely gratuitous pack shot of the Milani palette, it's not very pigmented, and the colours can be a little chalky, and difficult to blend as a result, but they're very pretty shades, and it cost only £3.49 from Beauty Base in Westfield:

Lipstick Queen Fifteen (okay, Ten) Minutes of Fame ...

I was at the Space NK Sale the other day, and I managed to pick up these babies:

and

And all for £22!  That's 10 Lipstick Queen lipglosses, that normally retail at £13.30 each.  Okay,they're only 2/3s the size of the full size product, but when that difference works out at 0.2gms, that not such a big deal, still a bargain!  Poppy King is kind of a heroine of mine, so I was delighted to be able to pick up more of her products, I don't think there's a duff one in the range, I love my saints and sinners lippies too.

The Berries set contains glosses 2, 5, 11, 14 and 15, which are described on the website as: Watermelon Pink, Pale Peach, Vibrant Purple, Gorgeous Grape and Sexy Wine.  Here's how they swatch on the skin:

 

 

My personal favourite from this pack is number 15, which is a gorgeous sheer red, and not as blue as the "wine" description makes it sound:

The Nudes set contains 1, 3, 4, 12 and 13, which the website describes as: Pale Ballet Pink, Smooth Apricot, Pale Peach, Deep Rose and Pretty Raspberry.  Here's how they swatch on the skin:

 

 

My favourite one of this pack is number 12, here's how it looks in wear:

Lipstick Queen Fifteen Minutes of Fame glosses are unscented, non-sticky and shimmer-free, which makes a nice change.  I find them lovely and emollient, and highly pigmented, and - for a gloss - fairly longlasting.  Go snap some up!

Lipstick Queen glosses are available from Space NK branches nationwide.