Megara Makeup Video

Photo How-To part 2

Brows

MAC Moisture Cover Concealer NW25

Dot under eyes and blend with ring finger

Sleek Blush in Life's A Peach

Photo How-To

This is a photo tutorial showing you how I create a daytime look - VERY pic heavy so most of it is after the jump. Go easy on me as there is a totally bare-faced picture in here....

NO MAKEUP AT ALL

MAC Pro Longwear NW25

Sleek Curious iDivine Palette

 I bought this palette at "Cheveux" on Williamson Street in Liverpool. They sell discontinued and discounted Sleek products and I picked up this iDivine palette for only £4.88! It's a shimmer palette with a mixture of colours, darks and neutrals. It's really pretty and pigmented - I wasn't expecting much as Sleek palettes haven't always been such good quality. The finishes range from high shimmer to satin. There is a fair amount of fallout, even when swatching, but I'm going to let them off because it's the really soft texture of these shadows which I have the feeling is going to make them really really easy to blend. The colours are brilliant, and I am so excited to use that yellow! 

Hope you enjoy this and if you get a chance, do check out "Cheveux". They sell mostly Afro hair products but a small amount of cosmetics too, and all at very reasonable prices. 

FOTD: Sleek Respect iDivine Palette

This look was basically an excuse for me to test out the sampler of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation that I got the other day when I was in town. I also got a sample of their brand new Maestro foundation, but I think I might film using that because based on testing it out at the counter, I think it's going to be special!
Amazingly, my skin is absolutely awful today and I've managed to totally conceal it. I did this by first going over any red blemishes (there were quite a few) with Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Bedaub, a mint green which is great for cancelling out redness. I then went over this with the VERY pale Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 115. I don't know if this has always been too pale for me or if I have magically gone three shades darker, but this foundation (that I used to use a lot) was basically coming out white on me. However, I just wanted some extra coverage on my problem areas. After this I used the GA sample - which was very generous, I'll definitely get another few uses out of it - all over the face, dotting an extra layer on places I was worried about. It feels soft and pleasant on the skin and just melts in. It does seem to smell like emulsion paint, but given that my skin looks that THAT ^ I'll let it off.

Eyes are pretty fun today, using O'Jays and James Brown from the Respect palette. O'Jays was patted all over the lid and blended. I then ran James Brown through the crease and above nearing the browbone, blending a lot. To lighten the effect closer to the browbone I put a tiny amount of Urban Decay Half Baked on my blending brush as I blended it upwards, and dotted some of it into the inner corners of my eyes.

Lips are lots of balm (I'm dehydrated!) and a tiny amount of Chanel Rouge Allure in Lover, just enough to give my lips a little more pigment.

Enjoy!

Accessorize Merged Eyeshadow - 9 Cosmic Rays

Hello!

This was free in Superdrug's 3for2 on cosmetics deal, but normally priced at £3.95. It's a 'merged' eyeshadow which is probably slang for "a cheap rip-off of MAC Mineralize". It's called "Cosmic Rays" and is actually, against all odds, a really nice eyeshadow. Smooth and pigmented, but very glittery so beware of fallout. 

Close up for shimmery goodness!

Top swatch using mostly green
Bottom swatch using mostly gold

Sleek & PPQ Shangri-La Collection - iDivine Respect Palette

Here's some beautiful swatches for you guys: this palette is amazing. It's a brilliant mixture of darks, pale neutrals and red-oranges. Basically I have been eyeing this for quite a while because it combines my two loves: Motown and makeup. The shade names are right up my street and they're properly amusing. So this is a mostly picture post because I think this palette MOSTLY speaks for itself... with a couple of notable exceptions...

There's a nice mix of mattes and shimmers here,  seven mattes and five shimmers. I actually quite like that there's more mattes than shimmer as it will force me to experiment with them a little more! With five very soft neutral matte shades ranging from white to cream, taupe and soft beige-brown. The texture is gorgeous but these are a little sheer for my liking. I'm sure - if they're anything like the other Sleek shadows - they're pretty buildable though, so let's not worry!

The black, bright pink and dark aubergine matte shades are just perfect: gorgeous texture and highly pigmented. LOVE THESE. It's gonna be smoky eye central up in here, let me tell you that. I looked into Topshop today and everything was plum and gold, so I'm gonna do a lovely eye with this palette based on that mix of colours.

 The shimmers are like any Sleek shimmery shadow: PERFECT. I love them. I literally don't think there is a better drugstore formula eyeshadow out there, and at £7.99 for 12, you're not gonna get much cheaper. 

So, the shimmers. Well, aside from the fact it's named after Otis Redding, which guarantees me loving it... OTIS RED DUDE. LIKE SERIOUSLY. RED SHIMMER. Where has this been all my life??? And Aretha Orange? Oh man. In case you can't tell, I am totally enamoured of this palette and I will not apologise for being majorly freaking excited :D  

Gladys White - James Brown
Roberta Black - Vandellas

 To shorthand it: go to Superdrug - or www.sleek.com - and buy this. Right now. You won't regret it. If you're scared of brights, you can use the matte neutrals as a pale wash of colour along the lid, along with some James Brown in the crease (JAMES BROWN IN THE CREASE PAHAHA) and use a bright as a liner with a narrow, stiff brush. Oh I could try and talk sense for a little while...but I cannot. This is so freaking beautiful. Just buy it. Go on. I won't tell anyone. 

Shalamar - Count Basi Beige
Cameo Cream - Motown Mink

Aretha Orange - Otis Red
O'Jays - New Jack Pink