Wednesday 30 May 2012

Some Iconic fims that influence/d trends in Fashion and Make up......

The new film of the Great Gatsby got me thinking...................as I have seen so many references to Gatsby looks and influence from hair, make up and costumes before the film has even been released, but what I have seen looks sumptuous.
Mia Farrow from another Great Gatsby adaptation.
The tragic and very Beautiful Sharon Tate in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, smooth slightly bouffant hair, doe eyes and apricot lips still seen on emerging talent like Lana Del Rey.
Catherine Deneuve in the iconic Belle De Jour, the hair, the face, her clothes- flawless.
Vidal Sassoon creating Mia Farrow's Pixie crop that made her an icon in Rosemary's Baby.
Kitsch, camp fabulousness that is Barbarella
Dolce Vita, statuesque and just so beautiful.
Cabaret, Liza Minelli looked amazing as the good time girl Sally Bowles.
Not so well known, but an iconic beauty Natassja Kinski in Cat people.

Metropolis
James Dean in Rebel without a cause.
When Mickey Rourke was *hot*- Angel Heart and Lisa Bonet- just beautiful.
Richard Gere dressed by Armani
The Outsiders an 80's classic that is still influencing shoots now.
Groomed preppy style and again Mickey Rourke looking pretty fly.
Aah you kept with me, so you deserve a treat- that's right the original Miami Vice, these 2 spawned so many copycats, with sockless loafers, white suits and rolled up sleeves- yes didn't look quite so hot away from the Art deco strips of Miami and yes it was a TV series but hilar non-the-less. 

There are so many other films that I could mention, so maybe this is part 1. xxxxxxxxx

Monday 28 May 2012

Kevyn Aucoin- The Volume Mascara..........review.

Pros-
  • Small precision brush means that you can build up easily without overloading lashes.
  • A medium thickness texture that does not *smudge*.
  • Richly pigmented so gives a decent colour payoff
  • Removes easily and it is pretty *clean* in the way that it comes off
  • Lashes do not look spidery or *clump*

Cons-
  • Really not the *wow* mascara I was hoping for
  • I did find that after a while it left black dots (more like fibres) under my eye
  • It irritated my eyes a little
  • I did not find it immensely volumising
It was fairly decent but definitely not *showstopping if you find traditional brushes impart far too much mascara, then this is definitely for you.
But....if you want 2 coats for full, lush lashes then I still stand by Make Up Forever Smokey Lash mascara as the absolute best mascara that I have ever used (so far...........) xxx


Friday 25 May 2012

My favourite eye liners of all time...................

Best *cake* eyeliner- La Ligne De Chanel- I adore this, it is a compact with 2 shades, 1 inky black and 1 black with a little iridescence, it is a true Chanel icon, just mix with a little water and a fine liner brush to achieve the ultimate retro line. The slightly iridescent side looks fab brushed over the matt close to the lashes for a little texture.
Best Pen liner- Shu Uemura- an amazing precision liner with refillable ink and a finely pointed brush






Best ink-well style liquid liner- myface slinky, a beautifully tapered brush and comes in the most fab selection of colours. Intensely pigmented and the longest lasting liquid that I have ever used.
Best Gel liner- MAC Fluidline- It is a rich gel texture and is fantastic for creating *winged* eyes, it is a close call with the Bobbi Brown liner but I find that a little *stiffer almost more like a creme, where as this just glides seamlessly *note* can dry out quite quickly so always replace the lid and keep it on its lid, so that moisture is regulated.
Best Pencil liner- Make up Forever- Aqua Eyes, it glides on imparts an amazingly pigmented line and is super long lasting and can be smudged out for a simple smokey eye or left to *dry* for a precision look.
Best liner for the Waterline- POP inliner, the waterline can be so super sensitive, so you have to be so careful about what you use and the POP inliner has been developed specifically to be used on that delicate part of the eye.


Eye Liner............60's style some Inspiration.

La Bardot- a 60's smokey liner to really frame her eyes.
Francoise Hardy- a gentle flick graduating from the outer corner to *lift* the eye
Claudia Cardinale- A cat eye, that elongates the eye
Sofia Loren- sexy eyes that are lined in a rounded shape on the upper lid to minimize the lid.
Liv Ullman- a pale shadow on the lid with an even liquid line
Ewa Aulin - a tapered line with a concentration to the outer corners to enlarge the eye
Twiggy- rounded liner even in the crease *falsies* and painting the lower lashes all contribute to create her trademark saucer eyed look.
Julie Christie- a sensuous enhancing line that just follows the natural shape of the eye.
Edie Sedgwick- full line on upper & lower lashes offset with full brows
Patti Smith- an androgynous  beauty with liner creating a focus on a *bare face*
France, Italy, Sweden, England & USA, this is a little gallery that shows the diversity from the Fresh faced Francoise, kittenish Bardot, girl next door Liv, grown up sophistication of Julie to the punk Patti.

I love them all xxx

Nails Inc Porchester Square..........I love this colour.

Ok, loads to do, copy to write, tips and tricks to impart for a website so what do you do?

I do a little mini manicure of course :) funnily gets me focused, I used an essential oil based scrub from the American brand Cake that feels beautiful and smells like malted vanilla, cleaned nails thoroughly with the Andrea Fulton  nail varnish remover- AMAZING and has one of those nail salon style pump tops- bonus :)
A soft chinchilla grey with a touch of lilac shot through, I LOVE it, I am kind of over neon pink and garish colours and this is just muted perfection but with a twist. Nails Inc Porchester Square.
Nails Inc name their varnishes after different places in London (generally the more des-res places) and Porchester Square is very much that and is an elegant part of Bayswater. A little geeky fact coming so skim it if you want :)
Porchester Square
It was completed between 1855 and 1858, Porchester Square was one of the last areas of Bayswater to be built. Eight different builders were involved with different parts of the square as can be seen from a variety of exterior details on the houses. The architect most closely concerned with Porchester Square was George Wyatt, but the final word on both the general layout and the architectural detail would have been with George Gutch who in 1822 became the surveyor of Bishop of London's Paddington estate
Back to nails ha ha ha. Nails Inc do some beautiful neutral (flat shades) I procured the above image from ASOS.   Ooh, what shade next.............love Devonshire Row, or maybe Brompton Place or  it is all about purple tints on the nails for me right now xxx


Monday 21 May 2012

There's a pink for everyone.........gather round!


Pink is a combination of red and white. The quality of energy in pink is determined by how much red is present. White is the potential for fullness, while red helps you to achieve that potential. Pink combines these energies. Shades of deep pink, such as magenta, are effective in neutralising disorder and violence. Some prisons use limited deep pink tones to diffuse aggressive behaviour.
Pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance.
Put some pink in your life when you want:
  • calm feelings
  • to neutralise disorder
  • relaxation
  • acceptance, contentment
Need to be calm? *yes*, relax? *yes* to neutralise disorders? I think I better start saving for therapy 1st but because this is all about pink- *yes* !!!!

Pink is so on trend right now you know when Chanel has a collection around pink- it is time to get rosy :)
See what I mean, Chanel, in it to win it :)
 Love or Loathe pink, it is here to stay, so I am going to give you my rundown of pinks to make you wink........................................ Lips and cheeks.

#1 Kick Ass Pink: 
NARS Schiap- Does this shade *suit everyone* no- but does it look AMAZING because the colour *owns you? YES!
 #1 Juicy/Glossy Pink:

Stila- Grapefruit Lip Glaze- as sugary and fabulous as the glaze on a Krispy Kreme- just gorgeous.
 #1: Pink lipstick that EVERYONE can wear:
NARS- Dolce Vita, a shade loved by everyone, a true classic.
 #1 Grown up Glossy Pink:
Tom Ford- Sahara Lip gloss- Just a beautiful classy grown up, glaze of gloss in a soft rose shade.
 #1 deep pink lipstick:
Chanel- Mademoiselle- a very sumptuous, chic deep pink that looks amazing on deeper skins.
 CHEEKS:

#1 Kick ass pink Blusher
myface- Paradiso Pink, just the perfect intense pink for that *pop* of colour.
#1 covetable Limited Edition pink blusher:
Chanel from the Knightsbridge- just classic kitsch Chanel and oh-so fabulous.
  #1 Wearable, sheer soft pink blusher:
Pixi Sheer cheek gel in *Natural*- so easy to blend and very long lasting not too girlie-a shade
All time favourite Pink Blusher:
NARS-Amour  blusher- Just so easy to work with and very buildable NARS classic

Saturday 19 May 2012

Flawless skin look and Review of the best Stick Foundations...

Flawless skin using Becca stick foundation, with metallic liquid liner and strip lashes. 
#1. Becca Foundation stick- £28.00
The diversity of the shades make this a fantastic choice for all skin tones.
This stick foundation is perfect, it comes in 30 shades, has a full coverage with a velvety finish but blends out beautifully and never looks *cakey*. The perfect go-to for flawless skin in a few seconds.

#2. Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation
The BBU (OLDER & BETTER)  Palette- the right hand wall is the 17 shades of foundation stick.   

New Version of the BBU Palette, still a great idea, but the 1 version was perfect  The Bobbi Brown foundation stick in some ways is the *original* it is the 1st one that I encountered with a true pro quality. It gives a really perfected look, blends out easily and the BBU Palette saves so much space in your kit and no spillages (yay!)