Ruby Who?

Coming home, even after just a month, is definitely a transition. In a place like Central Phuket, you find out a lot about yourself. You find yourself in so many ways, but you can also lose a part of yourself too. It's important to live your life as you. Nobody can write the chapters of your story except for yourself, so get creative.  

I have gotten myself into a bit of a rutt when it comes to makeup. I missed being dramatic and adventurous with my appearance like when working in the industry, so I am starting to put more of an effort into my creativity again and glamming it up!

Growing up, I was always under the impression that a woman with a red lip was the definition of confidence. I have gone through tonnes and tonnes of red lippes but I always go back to my trusty Ruby Woo. I am willing to sacrifice dried out lips for the matte finish that I love. If you're not a fan of your lips feeling like they have graized the deserts of the Middle East for days.... a matte finish may not be for you. However, I love matte because I know it is going to stay on my lips all day without moving. There is nothing worse than catching a glimpse of yourself and seeing your teeth with a beautiful corner colourfully coloured in with your favourite red. Or that perfect defined line you spent ages to achieve for that Angelina Jolie shape has decided to drift off to the side to have a chat with your nostrils. Never a good look. Ever. 

To achieve the perfect lip, follow these top tips:

I always do my lips as the last stage of my face, I feel like it brings everything together and finishes the look perfectly. While doing the rest of my makeup, I always use a good lip conditioning balm to nourish my lips before sucking all moisture out of them for the rest of the day with my matte obsession. By the time you get around to doing your lips, they will feel smooth and soft and perfectly prepped for your choice of colour. I always pat my lips down to get rid of any excess balm before applying my liner or lipstick as this will dilute the colour if not removed.

I always apply my lip liner before lipstick. This will define the shape and size of your lips while also keeping the colour strong , vibrant and will last make your perfect pout last longer.

After applying your lip liner and lipstick, line the edge of your pout with concealer. Make sure your concealer matches your foundation colour, you are not trying to highlight, just make your lines look nice and crisp.

Pop a bit of matte bronzer under your bottom lip creating a shadow which will make your bottom lip look fuller. A tiny dab of highlighter on your cupids bow will also draw the eye to your upper lip making it appear bigger, just make sure your not heavy handed as if you apply too much you're going to look like a Sweaty Betty.....never a good look!

Hope these tips are useful! Love Jen x

Road Trippin'

This weekend me and the boys headed down to Cork for a Muay Thai Boxing event. We thought it would be a good motivation trip before heading to Thailand to do the same ourselves with the natives. Eek. The boys were there to support some of their Thai Club friends and they did really well so it was a good trip all round. 

Here is the makeup I wore. It was a little rushed 'cause I did it at half nine in the morning and it had to last me until midnight. My outfit, I went for Topshop Joni jeans, a Topshop crop top and a flannel shirt I picked up in Singapore. I also had Timerland style boots from Penneys on.

It's all in the Detail

Today's makeup details:

Foundation: Revlon Colourstay

Concealer: MAC Select Cover

Powder: MAC Studio Fix

Contour: Inglot 504 Powder

Blush: MAC Melba & Pink Swoon

Brows: MAC Dipdown 

Eyeshadows: Makeup Geek Bitten, Coco Bear and Corrupt. Inglot 46, 405.

Eyeliner: Inglot 20

Mascara: Rimmel Extra Super Lash

Lipliner: MAC Whirl

Lipstick: MAC Blankety

Jen xx

Kiss Me Quick

Today, for Valentines Day, I decided to do a smokey eye without being too strong. A cut crease look with a subtle highlight and a thick flick of black gel liner. I customised my own lashes by cutting eyelure 202 lashes in half and layering them at the outer corners of the lash line.

I kept the skin quite simple (still full coverage, obviously) with a well blended contour and a hint of a peachy-pink blush on the apples of the cheek and the lips just HAD to be red with the day that's in it. Product list below.

I also got spoiled by my boyfriend with a bunch of red roses and a steak dinner. (No picture of the dinner because I'm the biggest fatty ever and launched straight into it) hehe. 

Hope everyone has an amazing day, be it celebrating a relationship or celebrating being single, have a good one! 

Face Products

Foundation: Revlon Colourstay Foundation mixture of Buff and Natural Tan

Concealer: MAC Select Cover Up NC20

Powder: MAC Studio Fix Powder NC20

Contour: MAC Sculpting Powder Definitive and KIKO Bronzer 101

Blusher: MAC Peaches and MAC Pink Swoon

Highlight: MAC Whisper of Guilt

Eye Products

Eyebrows: MAC Dipdown Gel Eyeliner and Essence Lash and Brow Gel Mascara

Eyeshadows: Inglot 373, 390, 357, 329, 63

Brow Highlight: Inglot 46

Mascara: Inglot False Lash Mascara

Eyeliner: Inglot Gel Eyeliner 77

Lashes: Eyelure 202

Lip Products

Lipliner: Inglot 59

Lipstick: MAC Ruby Woo

Love Jen xxx

A New Chapter

Each year we always have our ups and downs but let's hope this year is one to remember! Here is some pics of my makeup from last night that brought me into 2014! Product list below. Happy New Year guys Xxx

                    

                     

                       

Foundation: Revlon Colourstay Sand Beige

Concealer: MAC Full Coverage Foundation W10

Powder: Maybelline Fit Me Powder

Contour: Mac Deep Bronze Bronzer

Highlight: MAC Whisper of Guilt

Blusher: MAC Melba

Brows: MAC Dipdown Gel Eyeliner and Essence Clear Brow Mascara

Eyeshadows: Inglot 393,351, 360, 329, 63, 

MAC Cork Eyeshadow and I used MAC Melba and Pink Swoon Blushers to blend 

Inglot Gel Eyeliner 77

Inglot False Lash Effect Mascara

Eyelure 205 False Eyelashes

Lips: Current Lipliner and Diva Lipstick both from MAC

A Winter Warmth

Here in Ireland, we've gone from a really nice summer into a bitter cold September like the click of a finger, so we never really got a chance to say goodbye to our rare hot summer. With fashion, beauty and makeup we're not fully ready to jump into our big cozy winter coats just yet.

Today on the eyes, I decided to blend out a classic smokey eye with a fun pop of bright colours to bring a bit of life and that last bit of summer into your makeup without being too much.

       

I personally love playing around with colours to change up a neutral eye. On today's eye I blended out a brown and black smokey eye with pink, orange, red and purple to achieve a warm effect to the overall look. I used the same fluffy blending brush with all of the colours as it doesn't matter if the colours mix.

I used a pink toned highlight under the brow to tie in with the colours blended and to add a bit of depth to the look. I also kept the rest of the face quite simple so it is all about the eyes! These colours can look great on all skin tones, just add a little at a time to achieve the effect your comfortable wearing.

Love Jx

Are you Yum Yum for Candy?

Don't get me wrong, I've always been a fan of a bright matte pink lip.....just never on me! I looked at people on the street absolutely rocking the Barbie pout, and I was jealous!

Coming into the summer however, I was getting sick of my signature red lip, so yes people.....I bought MAC's infamous Candy Yum Yum, and I'm in love!!

Are you Yum Yum for Candy??

Jx 

Get the Look

I kind of did this look a bit backwards. I would usually do the eyes first so if there is any fall out, it can be easily wiped away without effecting your foundation, but due to this look having very natural colours on the eyes, I decided to do the face first.

The face:

I started by using the F55 small duo fibre foundation brush from Sigma and Revlon Photoready Airbrush Mousse Makeup in the colour Shell to the cheekbones, forehead, chin and underneath the eyes. I then used the same foundation in the colour Natural Beige on the rest of the face as this shade matches with the tone of my neck. This means any areas of the face covered with the shade Shell are naturally highlighted giving the face a more airbrushed look.
Using the same brush, I stippled a small amount of MAC NW15 Studio Finish Concealer underneath the eye area, around the nose and a small amount through the cheeks just to add a bit more coverage as these areas can tend to get a bit red throughout the day.
To set the foundation and to mattify the skin I used Inglot AMC Powder in the number 55 all over the face and contoured the forehead, nose, lip and cheekbones with Inglot Pressed Powder in the number 31 and a Sigma F35 tapered brush.
I applied a mixture of MAC Pinkswoon and MAC Fleur Power blusher to the apples of the cheeks using a Sigma F15 duo fibre blush brush to give the cheeks a more rounded appearance.

The eyes:

You want to achieve the 'no makeup' makeup look with the shadows on the eyes. Similar to contouring you want to create seamless shadows and highlights, so blending is key.

I firstly filled in the brows using an Inglot 17TL brow brush and Inglot 329 chocolate matte brown eyeshadow. I paid extra attention to the arch and extension of the tail and used very little product on the inside of the brow. This makes the brow appear more natural. To achieve a clean, sharp brow I carved out the underneath of the brow line using a flat concealer brush and Studio Finish Concealer in NW15. This colour is a few shades lighter than my skin tone so it will act as a natural highlight to the brow bone.

Using my ring finger, I applied MAC Painterly Paintpot and blended it from the lash line into the concealer underneath the brow. This will act as a base/primer to the eyeshadow and brighten the lid, yet still giving coverage to any blue undertones on the lid.

Using a large fluffy brush, I used an Inglot 4SS blender brush, and I applied Inglot 352 matte pale pink eyeshadow on the full eyelid. Using the same brush (because it's tapered) I applied a shade 2-3 shades darker than the lid colour to create a shadow effect and give definition to the crease. I used Inglot 357, a wam matte neutral tone to do this.

I used my favourite liner, Inglot 77 black gel liner, to create the classic 50's flick eyeliner look, making sure it was a thin line on the inside, getting thicker at the outside corner of the eye and extended out into a tapered flick towards the tail of the brow.

Lashes:

I removed the Inglot 16N lashes from the box carefully from the outside corner of the lash using a tweezers. I was extra careful doing this a I didn't want to distort the shape of the lash because this would effect how the lash sits on your eye making them unwearable. I then took some Inglot 22S long individual lashes and I attached these to the lashband of the 16N lashes at the outside corner using clear DUO Glue. I did this about a third of the way into the lash from the outside to achieve that winged, cat-eye lash look. I used the same clear DUO Glue to apply the lashes to the eye. Once set, I went over the lash band with the gel liner again.
I then applied Inglot False Lash Mascara and I wiggled the product through my own natural lashes. This application technique will weave your natural lashes into the false ones so the two sets of lashes appear as one and sit on top of each other comfortably.

The Lips:

I firstly applied a small amount of MAC Diva matte lipstick to the lips, not going too close to the natural outline of the lip. I then used Kryolan lip liner in the colour 910 to line the lip on the very outside of the natural lip line to give the appearance of a fuller lip. This is personal preference if you want your lips to appear fuller or not.

Thre ya have it guys!! Try it out yourselves

J xxx

Get the Look!! Channel your inner Monroe!!

Before I began this look, I firstly applied my oilatum moisturiser and let it sink into the skin for the duration of the eye application to allow it to work its magic!

Using an Inglot 4SS brush, I buffed MAC Prolongwear Concealer all over the lid from the lash line to the brow in the colour NW20 to act as an eye primer as this concealer does not crease.
Using an Inglot 17TL brow brush and MAC Fluidline in Dipdown, I carved my brow from the bottom of the arch and then downwards to extend the tail. I then cleaned off that same brush in a tissue and used it with MAC Cork eyeshadow to lightly fill in the inside corner of the brow to achieve an ombré effect. Using a Sigma F70 flat concealer brush, I then carved the underneath of the brow with MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW15 to achieve a clean, sharp look and to act as a highlight to the brow bone.
I applied MAC Painterly Paint Pot to the lid from the lash line up to the crease using the same F70 concealer brush to intensify the colour of the eyeshadows. Then, using an Inglot 9S flat eyeshadow brush, I pressed 373 Inglot matte white eyeshadow all over the lid up to the crease, packing on the colour to intensify the brightness.
Using the same 9S brush, I dipped the tip of the brush into MAC Cork eyeshadow that we used earlier and I pushed this colour into the crease above the white, the whole way across the eye. I then used an Inglot 6SS brush to buff out this colour and extend it upwards. I then used a mixture of 329 Inglot matte chocolate brown and MAC Brun eyeshadow, a dark cool brown, in the crease using an Inglot 10S small blender brush to define the crease. I also brought this combination of colours underneath the bottom lash line the full way across the eye.
I lined the lid using Inglot 77 Gel Liner extending the line outwards from the corner of the eye into a thick flick and along the upper and lower waterline. Again using the 10S blender brush I defined the outside corner and outer corner of the crease with a matte black, Inglot 63 eyeshadow. Don't be afraid to go over the liner a little.
I then applied some false lashes. I used Eyelure 202 lashes for this look and applied them with clear DUO Glue, available worldwide. I then applied Inglot False Lash Mascara to my own natural lashes to weave them through the false ones making it look more natural.

On to the face:
My skin feels nice and hydrated now so I can go straight in with my foundation. I dampened my Beauty Blender first and used this with my MAC W10 full coverage foundation and applied the product to the centre of the nose, the middle of the forehead, under the eyes and onto the cheekbones. I used the Beauty Blender to stipple this product right into the skin so there is no residue of any oils on the surface of the face.
I then used MAC NW35 full coverage foundation and the same sponge and applied it to the rest of the face making sure the two colours are blended seamlessly.
Again , using the Beauty Blender, I stippled Maybelline Fit Me concealer in the colour 15 underneath my eyes to brighten the area.
To set all the liquids on the face, I used Inglot AMC Powder in 55 and used my Sigma F25 to apply this to the whole face.
To contour I used my Sigma F35 and Inglots No.30 Pressed Powder underneath the cheekbones, around the hairline, down the side of the nose and underneath the bottom lip to give the illusion that these areas are more hollow. Use this product sparingly as it is very dark and highly pigmented so only a little is needed.
To add a bit of colour to the cheeks I applied Fleur Power Blusher from MAC using a Sigma F15 duo fibre blush brush. This I applied along the cheekbone to achieve the illusion of a natural lift to the face, especially for mature skins.

I lined the lips with Inglot 58 lip liner, focusing slightly on the outer edge of the natural lip line to achieve a fuller lip. I filled in the lips with MAC RubyWoo matte lipstick.


And there ya have it guys. All the steps you need to channel your inner Monroe! xxx

Luscious Lashes

Lashes can be a bit of a tricky one if you're not used to applying them, but don't worry, there are lots of tricks to help you achieve those sexy, sultry, luscious lashes!

Quick Tip:
Always apply liner before you apply your false eyelashes as it will fill in any gap between the real lashes and the false ones which you won't be able to get to when your falsies are on!
Liquid or gel liner is the best to use as it will glide on easily over the lash line, a pencil however will drag along the skin and may cause the lash to lift from the skin!

1. All lashes are made larger than the typical eye so that they fit all shapes and sizes. It is important to cut all strip false lashes to your eye size to avoid the excess drooping at the sides giving you that sleepy, dragged down look. If the lash fits the eye properly they are a lot more comfortable to wear and they are less likely to lift at the corners! Remove the lash carefully from the box using a tweezers gripping the outside corner if the lash (this is because if you damage the lash while removing it from the box, you are more than likely going to be cutting this bit off to fit your eye shape). Using the same tweezers, hold the lash upto the eye and see where you need to trim the edges to suit your eye!
Note: Always cut the lash from the outer corner. If you cut from the inner corner the lash fibres will look too long and give you an unnatural finish!

2. Using a cotton bud, take some eyelash adhesive (DUO glue is the best to use) and run the glue along the band if the lash. Make sure there is not too much or too little, just enough to cover the band!
Note: The thinner the band the easier the lash is to apply and blend with your natural lashes. If the band is quite thick it can be tricky to keep corners down and some you would need a thick liquid/gel liner to disguise the band with your makeup.

3. Wait! I know this sounds strange, but if you apply the lash straight away, the glue is so wet that it will slide on the eye and take ages to set, therefore ruining your makeup masterpiece!
Wait until the glue gets slightly tacky in consistency(around 15-20 seconds) and then apply. Place the outer corner on first and wait for it to begin setting, then bring the rest of the lash inwards towards the inner part of the eye. This will make the application much easier. Allow the lash to set before moving on.
Note: Do this looking into a mirror below you as it will be easier to place the lash on when the natural lashes are pointing downwards.

4. Apply more eyeliner. This will get rid of any visible lashline or any thick areas of glue. Always wait for glue to dry completely before doing this step.

5. Apply mascara. By applying mascara after the false lashes it helps to blend the natural lashes into the false ones so they sit better. Always make sure to coat the lashes right down to the root of the lash so it not only gives you maximum length but it costs any visible blonde hairs too.

6. Always keep your lash box. After your night out remove lashes and put them back onto the false lids in the box and you can reuse them again!!

And there you go ladies. Remember all lashes are reusable if you look after them so be careful removing them so they don't get out of shape!!

Enjoy your luscious lashes ladies

Jx