L.F RAMBLES - HELLO REALITY

CHIARA FASHION

As mentioned in my photo shoot post, this is the item I picked out for myself as a gift. I'm totally into the sneaker-wedge (Isabel Marant) trend right now. SHAWTY NEEDS SOME HEIGHT - I'm 5ft 1 ish! These are really comfortable and I like the deep red suede-effect going on. Adds some colour with out saying POW.

NUXE REVE DE MIEL ULTRA-NOURISHING LIP BALM

It's expensive BUT it delivers.

AZENDI JEWELRY

My friend got me this as a belated birthday present... thanks! Totally unexpected and I'm glad she decided to go down the simple design route. Say no to 'bling' ALWAYS.

EMMA HARDIE

My latest skincare fix. A lot of hype with this line, but so far I'm really enjoying it. The infamous cleansing balm is pure luxury and makes the skin so smooth - I use this as a second cleanse though, just to limit my usage and extend the product longevity. Also buy the cloths and ditch the muslin!

HELLO KITTY LIBERTY LONDON MUG

I like mugs... and prints.

THREADLESS SHIRT BY MAXWELL HOLYOKE-HIRSCH

I've recently become a bit of an Ebay whore and this shirt caught my eye. I love the illustration especially the birds with hats! It's got a felt finish too which is pretty neat :)

DR BRONNER'S MAGIC PURE CASTILLE SOAP

I've raved about his products before but this is the only cleanser I use for my brushes now. To make the soap last longer dilute into a separate bottle - no need to use it neat! Clean and conditioned brushes guaranteed!

 My Die Antwoord shirt. 

LAURA MERCIER TINTED MOISTURIZER
This has been on my wish list for years. Is it worth the hype? I won't be using this till I cut down my already huge foundation/base stash.

Hey guys, small update and haul. How is it August already? AND WHY DO I START BACK AT UNI NEXT MONTH. NOOO. It's been a good summer and I've definitely enjoyed time off and come to some realisations that have clouded my head for awhile. It's funny how your outlook can change in a couple of months - I'm in a more optimistic mindset. Ready to finish my degree, hopefully amazing adventure teaching times in Korea with Allan (yep, total 360 outlook) and follow whatever path comes my way after that.
Also on Monday I got some really good news..... I got the job at Boots again. I presumed I didn't hear anything because they were waiting nearer to Christmas shop period, but apparently I should of heard from them sooner. I was speaking to one of the managers today and they said out of 40 interviewed, they only accepted 4! I'm so happy because I think during my interview I was really nervous. I've been called in early to do some extra shifts so it means I get a proper uniform and I get to work the tills this time! I'm kind of excited my name will be on the receipts because my name is quite unusual.... but this won't be good if I make a mistake haha. Yep! So I'm back in Newcastle now instead of being looked after by my parentos.... bye Summer. Hello reality :)

L.F DOES S/S - GOING BACK TO NATURE

SOURCE

I love this fragile petal armoured mask. 

My more subtle take on going all au natural. And I have weird eyes going on.

KEY PRODUCTS:

MAC LIPSTICK - HONEYLOVE

CONTOUR CREAM/POWDER

BECCA EYEBROW POWDER - ASH

FLOWERS

DUO ADHESIVE

Hey guys, this week I'm going back to basics, and incorporating in some mother nature. If you do intend on recreating this/doing this on a model, you should probably plan what flowers/plants to use and how they would structurally work on the face. I was working on the existing flowers I had in the house, so I just worked with what I had. I was lacking on petals so I decided to make a feature of one side and on the other have more of the buds, and with the power of duo adhesive - I'm some sort of flower hippy! The rest of the face I kept very clean and minimal with some highlighting and contouring.

So I've used flowers, thread, gems.... what else is on the list?

INSPIRATIONAL VIDEOS ROUND UP 8

I've recently been obsessed with watching Eat Your Kimchi videos and stumbled across a video where Martina gets a makeover by the talented Saemmool Jung. Jung is responsible for doing all the famous K-pop stars, and even though I'm not familiar with that fandom, it's interesting to see what trends/styles/looks are popular on the other side. It might sound a bit 'weird', but even when I first started out with makeup, I never specifically hunted down looks or tutorials for Asian eyes etc. I just see make-up as make-up, and faces as faces... it doesn't really matter to me. BUT a lot of my Asian friends, tend to relate more to looks done on Asian models - which I can see why if you are unfamiliar with make-up. Anyway.... check out Jung's channel, she creates very beautiful faces and her videos are beautifully shot and edited.

I love how NARS shows us the production of their campaigns - from styling to on set. The make-up has a very decadent glamour edge..... so ready for fall!

Mary Greenwell creates an effortless chic look for day or night.

Define, contour and highlight - the best way to cheat yourself amazing face structure.

Need skincare advice or a new regime? Watch this video.

Bowie meets punk? 

Fall trends we'll be sporting this fall by legendary Pat McGrath.

MUM GETS A MAKEOVER 6

KEY PRODUCTS:

NARS BLUSH - ORGASM

PIXI EYE BEAUTY KIT - NO.3 MAGIC

BECCA BROW POWDER - ASH

ELF TONE CORRECTING POWDER - COOL

Hey guys, here's my mum again! She usually moans that the make-up I do on her is too 'natural' or boring, so I decided to play up with the eye shape by adding some drama and lift. This look could of possibly been more 'night' than day, but the satin finish eye-shadows tones down the intensity - so I think gives an overall soft finish appearance, without looking too overbearing. Everything else was kept soft and fresh to give an appearance of youthfulness (which we all want) :)

CHIARA FASHION BLOGGER EVENT SHOOT

Spencer from Le Bibliotheque rocking a green smokey eye, bronzed skin with glossy lips.

Rachel from Lost In Lipstick with a soft brown smokey eye, defined brows and red lips.

Em from EmTalks sported a warm brown smokey eye, peachy fresh skin and soft nude lips.

I'm usually a behind the scenes girl, but I got asked to take some shots of me doing my thing... so here's a totally non-contrived shot of me touching up Rachel's lipstick. 

Disclaimer: all photos belong to Chiara Fashion.

Hey guys, so last week I had the awesome opportunity to work with Chiara Fashion to be the make-up artist for their blogger makeover event. This was a great opportunity to not only work with a fashion brand but also to get to know some bloggers in person.

I do blog, but I wouldn't call myself a 'blogger' (especially compared to the standards today) - I just keep this as a personal journal. So it was very exciting to meet the girls who do it on a  larger scale and get some insider knowledge on how they keep it up and their motivations in starting in the first place.

The concept of the day was that the girls chose their own outfits and they'd be a photo shoot documenting their looks. It was a pretty hectic schedule so I was doing each girl one after the other, meaning I didn't have time to come onto set to do any touch-ups (until the last girl). I also met a lovely Chiara colleague who also does hair and make-up, so we worked as a duo making up each girl - she did an awesome job on the hair!

I want to say a massive thank-you to the team at Chiara Fashion for inviting me over and spending the day at their studios. I had a really lovely day meeting the bloggers (I'm not just saying that) and being part of the makeover team.

If any of the items from the photos takes your fancy head over to Chiara Fashion! They have some really lovely pieces and I was very luckily gifted an item from their store which I will feature in my next post.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. Which look is your favourite?

L.F DOES S/S - COLOUR SURGE

SOURCE

I was initially drawn to the block colours and the bold eyeliner stroke.

Rainbow.... ON MA FACE.
KEY PRODUCTS:
OCC LIP TAR -  RX
SUGARPILL COSMETICS PRESSED EYE-SHADOW -  BUTTERCUPCAKE, FLAMEPOINT, DOLLIPOP AND LOVE+
MAC EYE-SHADOW - AQUADISIAC, PASSIONATE AND BITTER

Hey guys, back in full colour force. I need a 'stop' button sometimes, once I get going I just keep going and going and going and going. It's slightly drag/alien-ish but I just wanted to experiment colour - as you can see no doubt!
What do you guys think?

WEDDING BELLE

Beautiful Fiona!

KEY PRODUCTS:

SLEEK MAKEUP POUT POLISH - ELECTRO PEACH

BECCA BROW POWDER - ASH

MAC BRONZING POWDER - MATTE BRONZE

MAC POWDER BLUSH - SPRINGSHEEN

ILLAMASQUA SKIN BASE FOUNDATION

Hey guys, this is a quick post of my friend Fiona who has been on my blog a few times. It's really nice to catch up again and whilst on our girly day out in Manchester, I become the make-up 'expert' for the girls at Selfridges. Fiona is particularly interested in contouring and after browsing the halls we found MAC's bronzing powder in matte bronze to be a really good product for contouring - I'm pleasantly surprised too but there's no real orange-ness to it. A nice product for both bronzing and contouring if you are looking for a multi-use product.
Also a mention on Illamasqua's skin base, I introduced Fiona to the counter and we had a really pleasant experience (Trafford Centre). Fiona got matched up whilst she was learning about contouring and her skin afterwards was so FLAWLESS and her skin is quite problematic (eczema) - so a really good test. I used the foundation on the day of the wedding ceremony and I was really impressed with the application/finish/look.
I'm quite tempted to invest in these foundations for my kit. I can't speak for oily or combination skin but for dry to normal skin types, this foundation is worth trying!

L.F RAMBLES - SUSHI AND TORTOISE

CALOURETTE

I caved in and bought the ring I've lusted over for about 2 years or so. Calourette having a major sale on wasn't an incentive or anything.......

Glittery nails holding glittery polish. When did I get this girly?

Preppin'

20s or.....

30s?

Illamasqua Leeds had a Hollywood screen sirens drop in session and me and Sophie dropped by to learn some tricks. It was a really enjoyable session apart from the weather that day.... so hot and humid! Eurghhh. 

My grim looking bruise from after the Die Antwoord gig. I thought it was kind of pretty in a weird way.

52 editions of British Vogue's. My parents were so annoyed at me. But my defence is: I paid £20 for all of them and I have a well known obsession with collecting fashion publications.

BAEKDU

My first time trying Korean food. Or knowingly anyway. I'm not sure what I was expecting but my friend's were hyping it off the scale beforehand. The food was nice but it reminded me of Thai food? I'll give this place another visit, but I'm still a sushi girl at heart. 

I think our friendship went to the next level when Allan allowed me to let rip with a shaver on his head!

Pre DIY head shave and with 2 year old tortoise Quinten! Obviously the most logical thing for my jobless friend is to buy a new pet. Fingers crossed he gets a job - I know how hard it is.

WASABI NOODLE AND SUSHI BAR

This place is AWESOME. I think at lunch they have a £1 per sushi plate offer which is a really good deal if you are looking for a quick lunch. Upstairs they also have a dessert room which is SO good. I recommend the shaved ice and pandan waffles (green tea flavour) - might want to share them out though because they are quite large.

MEL BY MELISSA NAVY PUMPS

So comfy and they smell nice! Is that a weird thing to say?

Another pair of Converses because my last pair has been worn to shreds.

Apple passwords are a pain in the ass I swear.

Some Chinese fashion publications I found in my mums office. It's quite interesting to see the trends from across the pond.

My inner make-up artist side loved the cute kitsch-ness of this red lip enamel necklace.

My mum made me this giant pillow from some fabric we found at the market. I like the chirpy gecko :)

Hey guys, another round up from my Iphone! Some exciting news I have for you is: I have a job interview this week and I'll also be working on a photoshoot with some bloggers for a fashion brand. Woo!

L.F DOES S/S - PEARL GLOW

Peter Philips beautiful accompaniment to Lagerfeld's ocean wonderland. I remember first seeing this and being in total awe. Effortlessly elegant = Chanel.

SOURCE

Perfected skin with subtle placements of pearl detail adorning the face and and hair.

I wanted to play up the eyes more so I did some crease work with flashes of frost paired with winged eyeliner. For the lips I went for this bitten lip effect and used concealer to make them appear smaller.

I noticed a small smudge of mascara on the right pearl but otherwise I'm quite happy with the outcome. Has some kind of Elizabethan vibe?
KEY PRODUCTS:
PEARL STICKERS
DUO ADHESIVE
BEAUTE LIP STAIN - FEVER
MAC LIPSTICK - CYBER
ILLAMASQUA CREAM PIGMENT - HOLLOW

Hey guys, I guess a more tame look from me this week. I've had Chanel's S/S 2012 favourited on my 'to do' list for awhile and here it is. I'm usually drawn to more extreme transformations but the simplicity of the pearls adorned all over the model looks so chic and understated. I've changed a few elements but I hope you like it. 

L.F DOES S/S - TWO TONED LIPS

Sophie brought along another Illamasqua card, this time showing how to do a two toned lip. Lips is a territory I'm slowly getting into, so I wanted to try a new technique on Elly. 

Plain face Elly with just MAC's snob on.

 After! It's quite a heavy look with the full brows, eyes and lips.... but I think she pulls this off perfectly. The tones compliments her skin tone and enhances her existing features.

Flash shot to bring out the colours more.

KEY PRODUCTS:

MAC LIP PENCIL - VINO

NYX LIP PENCIL - PINKY

MAC EYE-SHADOW - GULF STREAM

ILLAMASQUA PURE PIGMENT - ALLUVIUM

MAC BLUSH - SPRINGSHEEN

Hey guys, so this is Elly's look! Elly showed me her purchase of Illamasqua's pure pigment in alluvium, which was this beautiful blue-purple shade and so blue smokey eye was the route I decided to go down for her. I used a few different tones to add depth and the teal blue running across the crease I think softens the whole look. I was a bit undecided on which colour way to go with the lips but I'm a total sucker for a dark lip and I wanted to use MAC's vino which was in Elly's make-up bag.

Do you guys like the transformations?