MAC STUDIO FIX & STROBE CREAM

I've been flaky about foundation for years, drifting from one to the other based on what was on offer in Boots, or whatever vaguely matched my skin tone (and looking back on old photos, I think I was generally unsuccessful with my guesses). I'm wary about full coverage foundation (it just feels too heavy!), but I have wee red cheeks, and feel like I've forever been looking for something that balances out my skin, but doesn't feel too intense on my face.

Enter MAC. I was invited along to 'rediscover' their Studio Fix foundation and get properly colour-matched for the first time. I've only tried MAC foundations once, and didn't get on well with them, although this was back in the day when I used my fingers to apply foundation (the horror), so on reflection, I think I was definitely part of the problem.

Strobe Cream* - £25
MAC Studio Fix* - £23.50

Studio Fix is billed as a modern foundation that combines a natural matte finish and medium to full buildable coverage with various UVA, UVB and SPF protections. I was matched with shade NW10, and learned where I've been going wrong all these years - I've always tested foundations on the back of my hand, and the make up artist explained that really you should be aiming to match the tone of your neck and chest, so the colour all blends perfectly. 

I flagged that I was not a fan of heavy coverage (and that had put me off MAC in the past), and then was introduced to my new favourite thing, Strobe Cream. This is a super shiny hydrating moisturiser that is packed with iridescent particles to give you a lovely glow. You can either put it on before foundation, or mix it with Studio Fix for a lighter application.

Left - bare face
Right - after applying Strobe Cream

I left MAC with a full face of make up feeling lovely and glowy, but I knew the real test was whether I could actually do this at home with my scrappy make up techniques. Turns out, I totally can!

I've been using these products for just over a month, and I'm in love. My new routine is to moisturise as usual (using Aveeno, the very best moisturiser), and then use Strobe Cream instead of a primer. You can hopefully see above the effect it has - my skin goes from flat and dull to seriously glowy, and it provides a really good base for the rest of my make up. I use a damp make up sponge to apply foundation, which solves all of my coverage woes - Studio Fix is really easy to build up so I can get it just how I like it, and using a sponge means it applies really evenly. 

I add cream blush, and a bit of powder using the make up sponge (just under my eyes and around my nose/bits where it might start to slip) and that's it. The end result looks really natural, it feels light on my face, I've been really pleasantly surprised by how it lasts pretty much all day, and I think I've found a colour that actually looks like my skin. I'm so pleased!

I'll admit that at £25, it's unlikely I'd have tried Strobe Cream without prompting (as I am make up stingy), but now I have I am HOOKED. It's so great, it works so well under foundation, and you only use a tiny amount, so I reckon it's going to last quite a while. You can buy mini versions and I'm pretty sure MAC counters will give you a free sample to try, so I'd totally recommend giving it a go.

HOW TO: 60'S INSPIRED MAKE UP & WIN TICKETS TO HAIRSPRAY!

I love playing with makeup, so I was absolutely up for the challenge when Hairspray the Musical UK Tour asked me to take on a 1960's inspired make up look!

I wanted to try something that was different from my everyday look, but didn't look too costumey, so I went for dark eyes, big lashes, and a bouncy ponytail. If you fancy adding a bit of 60's inspo to your life, here's how I did it...

To start, use a neutral eyeshadow lightly on your eyelids (I used a cream pink shadow). Get a dark brown or black eyeliner, and line the crease of your eye. Get a small fluffy brush, and smudge the line so it isn't quite as harsh. 

Line your upper lash line with black eyeliner. I used a kohl pencil at first on my eyelid, smudged it slightly with my finger, then went over the line closer to my lashes with black liquid eyeliner. Wing your eyeliner into a 60's cat eye flick! (I've got an eyeliner tutorial here if you need it).

Nextine your bottom lash line with black eyeliner, and smudge slightly with your finger or a small fluffy brush. Use a white eye pencil to line your water line - this feels a bit weird if you've not done it before, but just do small strokes to avoid stabbing yourself in the eye.

Then, for a proper nod to Twiggy, get some liquid eyeliner and paint little eyelash dashes underneath your eye. Add false eyelashes and mascara, and you are done!

Hairspray is on tour around the UK until the end of May, and they've very kindly given me a a pair of tickets to their Edinburgh performance in the Edinburgh Playhouse on Monday 22nd February.

For a chance to win, just follow the instructions below! The winner will be picked on Monday 15th February. Please only enter if you can come to Edinburgh that evening (obv). Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

EVERYDAY MAKE UP

It's been absolutely ages since I last wrote about my everyday make up, so here's an updated look at my make up bag and the things I use every single day. It's changed quite a lot since I last blogged about it - I also didn't realise that I was using so many Maybelline products!

Maybelline Baby Skin Primer
I love this primer. It smooths your face, sorts out your pores, and makes make up so much nicer. It's also less than £8, and a tube lasts for ages.

No7 Stay Perfect Foundation (in Cool Vanilla)
I started using No7 after working with them on a Christmas make up post last year (you can see the festive tutorial here!), and instantly loved their products. I've converted to their foundation - it's light, so it doesn't feel like it clogs your skin, but can be built up very easily if you need more coverage. They've got a massive range of shades too, so it's been easy to find one that suits my skin.

No7 Concealer (in Cool Vanilla)
The matching concealer is great, and does a very good job of hiding blemishes. I've had TERRIBLE skin lately (I blame stress and December indulgence), so I've been plagued with millions of spots, but this has done a good job of hiding them.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadow (in Pink Gold)
For everyday eyeshadow, I absolutely love this shade - it adds a little bit of shimmer, but is subtle enough for daily wear. It's similar to Benefit's Creaseless Cream, which I also love, but is cheaper. The name isn't a lie either, this eyeshadow will not budge AT ALL (so remember to take your make up off at night!).

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
This has been my staple mascara for years, it's the best!

Maybelline Brow Satin Eyebrow Pencil
I blogged about this eyebrow pencil in detail here, and I still absolutely love it. I have been terrible with my eyebrows recently and haven't had them done professionally in months - but luckily this eyebrow pencil is saving the day until I can get myself to a brow bar!

Benefit Fine One One
This is a brightening trio for cheeks and lips, with three cream colours (pink champagne, sheer watermelon, and soft coral) to work as a blush, highlighter, and lip colour. I tend to brush this on really lightly in the morning, and then build up the colour more in the evening if I'm going out.

URBAN DECAY VICE4 PALETTE

I am a huge fan of Urban Decay, and pretty much since I was a teenager I've been obsessed with their eyeshadow palettes. For the holiday season they've just released a limited edition Vice palette, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one early (but not lucky enough to stick to a blog schedule last month, due to house trauma - oops!).

Vice4 palette* - £43

The Vice4 palette comes with 20 never-before-seen eyeshadow shades, along with a massive mirror, a double-ended shadow and crease brush, and a cute coordinating bag.

The palette is filled with rich, deep jewel tones and has a nice mix of matte and glittery shades - perfect for cold, wintery days. Urban Decay boast that every shade features their 'pigment infusion system' giving a rich, velvety, blendable colour that lasts. I know from experience that their glittery shades last FOREVER, but you'll get the best results with their shadows if you use an eyelid primer too.

My favourite colour in this palette is Bitter - a red brown matte eyeshadow that is really striking on. I used that for the base of a smoky eye look, with Delete (a deep chestnut brown) in the corner of my eye, and a light brush of Flame (a bright orange with gold micro glitter) in the crease of my eye.

I love this makeup, and it's perfect with a red lip. The palette sits at the very top end of my make up price point - it's £43, which I think IS expensive (although I realise some people spend a fortune on make up), but I have loved Urban Decay for a very long time - I think the colours are beautiful, you'll get so much wear out of it, and it would make a brilliant gift for a make up lover (every palette I've ever been given has been loved to death!).

HALLOWEEN HOW TO:PASTEL GOTH MAKE UP

Happy Halloween everyone! It's been such a fun month playing about with Halloween make up tutorials again this year - I've been sparkly and glittery in galaxy-inspired make up, looked a bit startled in Queen of Hearts make up, grunged up as Furiosa from Mad Max, and embraced my gory side with bloody stapled face make up. It's been a bit rough round the edges at times, but it's been fun to do, and that's sort of the whole point of these tutorials - if I can do them, you can too!

River Island got in touch to challenge me to put together a #RITrick or a #RITreat make up look, so I couldn't resist doing one more post. I was sent a selection of accessories and make up to inspire me, including this adorable comb-in hair chalk - which I knew I wanted to use! It reminded me of the type of thing I would have loved as a teenager, so that's what inspired this look - it's grungey, but still a bit pretty, and requires nothing other than a steady hand putting on eyeliner (the mantra of my teenage years!).

So, if you want to look a little spooky, and don't mind channelling 16 year old Juliet, here's what you need to use:

• Black liquid eyeliner
• Black kohl pencil eyeliner
• Eyeshadows in a variety of pastel colours (I used yellow, pinks and purples)
• Black eyeshadow (I used a NARS Shadow Stick)
• Mascara
• False eyelashes (I used Eylure volume lashes)
• Purple lipstick (I used Barry M)
• Fake spiders
• Hair chalk

Start by building up the colours of your pastel smokey eye. I used a glittery light yellow in the corner of my eye, then layered a pinky-peach colour on top of that.

I then took a fluffy little brush and a slightly darker pink, and swept this quite dramatically all around my eye, pulling the colour down onto the tops of my cheeks (I wanted to look a bit grungey - almost like the area was bruised) and sweeping out towards my ears.

I then added purple eyeshadow to the outer corners of my eyes, and used a brush to blend these all together. So far, so colourful!

Now to get a bit darker! Blend in black shadow along your lower lash, and use your finger to make it a bit smudgey (the NARS shadow stick is great for this). Take your kohl eyeliner and carefully go along your waterline, and then use liquid eyeliner to create a cat's eye with a dramatic flick.

Use your liquid eyeliner to draw on small spiders around your eyes (or the best spider-like blobs you can do!). This bit is completely inspired by Valfre - an illustrator who draws super sassy girls with star freckles (she also makes the best accessories, check out her phone cases!).

Then to finish up, put on purple lipstick (I used a light purple, and dabbed a darker purple eyeshadow onto it), and pin some spiders in your hair! Use the hair chalk to brush through the ends of your hair, for a pinky/purpley vibe. Dress top to toe in black, and scowl at anyone you see. Have fun!

HALLOWEEN HOW TO:BLOODY STAPLE FACE

I've got another Halloween tutorial for you, and this time I've gone mega gory. I love a scary Halloween costume, it's the only time of year that you have an excuse to cover yourself in blood and spook your pals (that's a normal thing to like, right?).

One of my favourite make up looks I've ever done was my bloody zip face, so I took inspiration from that to do a slightly different version. Say hello to staple face!

You will need:

• Red eyeshadow
• Black eyeshadow (I used a NARS velvet shadow stick, kindly sent to me by HQHair)
• Foundation
• Black eyeliner pencil
• Mascara
• Liquid latex 
• Staples
• Fake blood

Start by taking your red eyeshadow and putting on your eyelids, along your lower lash line, down into your cheek and into the bridge on your nose. If you've ever followed any of my zombie tutorials before, you'll recognise this step - it's my go to way of looking grim! I used a sponge applicator to add the shadow, and used my fingers to blend it into the skin.

Now get the black eyeshadow and add it to your lids and along the lower lash line. Smudge a little on top of the red shadow along the bridge of your nose (or whatever looks best for you - you just want to look grungey and a bit bruised!)

Add eyeliner along your waterline. 

Take the liquid latex and paint a strip along the bridge of your nose. Let it dry for a minute or so and paint another layer on (this bit is quite boring and you will look ridiculous). 

Once it's suitably thick and has dried, tear little holes in the middle of the latex - these are going to be your cuts, and the flaps of latex suddenly become flaps of disgusting skin (ew!). I used a kirby grip to do this bit, but you should be able to use your fingernails - just don't use scissors in case you cut yourself!

Use a sponge applicator to dab on fake blood in the latex holes. I did a few layers of fake blood to try and make it look splodgy and realistic, and also added a little bit of black eyeshadow onto the bloody bits to stop the colour looking too uniform.

Now, add your staples along the bridge of your nose. I just stretched the staple so it would comfortably slot around my 'wound', placed it on, and dabbed a little bit of liquid latex onto the ends to hold it in place.

Once your staples are on and the latex has dried, use foundation and the red and black eyeshadow to go over the latex edges. This will blend it into your face and looks SO DISGUSTING.

Enjoy freaking out your friends! 

HALLOWEEN HOW TO: GALAXY MAKE UP

Ever felt stuck for what to wear to a fancy dress party? Why not go as the ENTIRE night's sky, with this galaxy-inspired eye make up? Yes, it's ridiculous, but it's halloween! When else are you going to get away with painting your face with every colour you own?

This look takes a little bit longer than my previous tutorials, but I think it's worth it - it's so fun to do, and the finished result is a pretty and surprisingly wearable look. Plus you are pretty much guaranteed that no one else will turn up in the same costume as you.

You will need:

• Purple, blue, silver and green eyeshadows (I used the Urban Decay electric palette and some MUA eyeshadows)
• Glitter (I used an Urban Decay loose glitter)
• White face paint
• Black liquid eyeliner
• False eyelashes
• Mascara
• Pink lipstick

Start by colouring in your face! I wanted this make up to focus around my eye area, rather than taking over my ENTIRE face, so I applied eyeshadow to my forehead, around my eyes and down my cheekbones. I used a mixture of turquoise green, purple and bright blue, and blended these all together. 

Using your purple eyeshadow and a small brush, fill in your brows.

Use the purple, turquoise and green shadows on your eyelids, and sweep the colours along the lower lash line too. I had originally planned to go from a silvery blue in the inner corners to a dark purple at the outer corners, but I am rubbish at blending, and just mixed the colours together instead. I think it works!

Add a bit more depth to your starry-forehead by dotting glitter across your skin, and then using the white face paint to add little stars. I painted stars above my brows and around my eyes, and painted a little moon on my forehead, just to mix it up a little.

Then add a flick of liquid eyeliner and apply false lashes. There's a lot going on with this look, so I think it's helpful to bring out your eyes as much as you can, and massive fake lashes definitely help! I bought these ones from the halloween section at Claire's accessories, and I really like them. You can also trim them to size, if you feel they are too big for you.

Put on pink lipstick, and then dab on some purple eyeshadow over your lips.

That's it! Wear with a black outfit to let your space face do the talking, or pair with a galaxy-print dress to go full solar system.

HALLOWEEN HOW TO: QUEEN OF HEARTS MAKE UP

Next up in this year's halloween tutorials, something a bit more colourful!

Escapade fancy dress challenged me to recreate a classic halloween look (and kindly sent me some face paints to play with), so I went for the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

This is such a quick and easy look to do (I might as well rename all my halloween tutorials as the lazy girl's guide to halloween!), and also works really well if you're a red head already.

You will need:

• White, blue and black face paint
• False eyelashes (I used these black pointed lashes)
• Mascara
• Red lipstick (I used a Lipstick Queen lipstick pencil, which is AMAZING)
• Small brushes

Start by covering your entire face with white face paint. I used a sponge at first, but found it was easier to get even coverage by dabbing it on with my fingers.

Then use the light blue face paint to cover your eyes, from the lids to the brows. It'll take a couple of coats to properly colour in the area, so let the face paint dry before you go over it again to stop it streaking.

Then take your black face paint (black liquid eyeliner would work for this as well), and paint thin eyebrows above your natural eyebrows. Dot a beauty spot on your cheek too.

Add the false eyelashes. Some people find it quite tricky to put lashes on, but it just takes a little bit of practice! Apply the glue to the lashes and then leave them for about 30 seconds - this means the glue will go a bit tacky, and you'll find it easier to put them on. When you've placed them in the right position, gently press them on and then keep your eye closed for another 30 seconds, to give them a chance to stick in place.

Then finally, use your lipstick to draw a small heart shape on your lips. I was kindly sent this Lipstick Queen pencil in Cupid's Bow by HQHair and I love love love it. It's a lipstick and lip liner in one, it's seriously pigmented and it stays put for HOURS without budging. It also (weirdly) smells amazing too!

Pair this look with your most regal dress and lots of heart-shaped accessories. Off with their heads!

HALLOWEEN HOW TO: FURIOSA (MAD MAX) MAKE UP

It's October, which means the countdown to Halloween can begin! I'll be posting weekly halloween tutorials every Monday in October, which should hopefully inspire you if you have a Halloween party to go to (or just fancy being spooky). I'll say again, I am obviously not a makeup artist and I don't pretend to be! This is just my take on how to do different makeup looks, using items you'll have in your makeup bag.

First up in my halloween how-to series: Furiosa from Mad Max!

I saw Mad Max earlier this year, and I absolutely loved it. Yeah, Max is the title character, but Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron) is the star of the show. She fights the patriarchy, drives fast cars, and shoots down baddies, all while looking totally badass with one arm, and a shaved head covered in black oil.

Her look is really grungey, so I thought it would be a fun one to try and recreate for Halloween. It's so easy to do, I almost feel guilty for posting this as a tutorial - it's definitely a good look if you feel lazy but want to make an impact, or have no time to get ready.

To get Furiosa's super tough look, you will need:

• Black cream eyeshadow (I used a MAC paint point)
• Black powder eyeshadow
• Black pencil eyeliner
• Black cream eyeliner (I used an amazing Urban Decay cream eyeliner)
• Mascara

Start by painting your entire forehead with the cream eyeshadow. You could use black facepaint for this too, but I like using eyeshadow - I think it looks less 'flat' than paint would. Use a brush or your fingers, and get a fairly even coverage of black, and make sure to colour in your hairline too (It'll look even better if you brush streaks of black in your hair).

Next, bring the cream eyeshadow down so it covers your eyes and the bridge of your nose. Then get the black powder eyeshadow and dab this across the whole area. This adds a bit more texture to the black area, and also helps the cream stay in place.

Finally, line your eyes heavily with the cream eyeliner and use your fingers or a small brush to smudge out the line. Use the eyepencil to fill in your waterline, and the cream pencil to go over your brows. Add mascara and that's it! To complete this look, you just need to pull your hair back into a tight ponytail, and perfect your best mad-at-the-patriarchy look.

AUTUMN BERRY MAKE UP

I've already written a couple of Autumney posts (here and here), and I promise not to bang on about it for the whole of September, but I wanted to share a make up look that I've been loving recently.

I absolutely love copper eyeshadow, and it's become my go-to shade for evening make up. I've got a Sleek palette (you can see it here) that I love, and re-purchase every time my favourite colours run out, I reckon it's the best budget eyeshadow out there! I put the copper shade on my eyelid and a little along my lower lash line, and add some liquid eyeliner.

I think the colours go nicely with my hair, and feel suitably autumnal and lovely. Talking of my hair, please don't judge me! It's in such a terrible state at the moment - I had to cancel my last hair appointment and I've not got round to booking another one yet, so the colour is weird and it feels all straggly and not good! Poor hair. To try and disguise it for this post I tousled it a bit, and put on my brand new Crown & Glory floral crown, which came in my September Glitterati box - I love it! I'm trying to channel woodland princess, rather than girl-in-need-of-a-hairbrush.

Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick - Shade 30 - £5.49

To go with my coppery eyes, I used my brand new Kate Moss Rimmel lipstick in shade 30. I am building up quite a collection of Kate Moss lipsticks, but they are ace! They last really well, are kind to dry lips, and are easy to put on if you are a lipstick-novice like me!

This is actually my first move into darker lipsticks, and I was really nervous that it would look ridiculous on me, but I think it works. The colour is lighter than it looks, and it's a really nice plum-purpley-pink. The lipsticks are less than £6 too, such a bargain!

HOW TO: GRUNGEY MAKEUP

It's fun to play around with makeup. After years and years of doing the same thing with my makeup (liquid eyeliner and a fairly dramatic cat's eye) I shook off my eyeliner addiction, and have just had fun doing what I want, when I feel like it.

Usually I go for a fairly natural look (mainly because it's quick and easy), but I recently had an excuse to do really dark, grungey makeup and I loved it.

I thought it would be fun to do another makeup tutorial and show you how I did it. It's pretty easy, and most of what you'll need is probably in your makeup bag already. 

I used my favourite makeup palette (can you tell? Sorry it's so obviously used and not picture-perfect clean!). This is a Sleek Makeup palette and I love love love it, their palettes are only £7.99, have beautiful shades and are really long-lasting too.

To start, I just went through my normal makeup routine - filled in my eyebrows, used primer and foundation (which looks a bit yellow in these photos, but it was just the weird evening light when I was taking these shots!), and added a little cream blusher.

You then want to start on your smokey eyes. Use a little gold pink eyeshadow across your whole eyelid, then add a dark purple colour over the lid, using the gold pink shadow to blend it all nicely at the crease. This is a bit easier if you have actual eyeshadow brushes - I didn't, so I just used a few of these sponge applicators instead. 

Build the purple shadow to the colour you want (think grungey and dark), and then add a line of that eyeshadow to your lower lash line.

To make your smokey eye super dark, get a bit of black eyeshadow and add this to your eyelid, close to your lash line. Blend the join between the black and purple shadows. 

Then add black liquid eyeliner on your top lashes, line your waterline with a kohl eyeliner pencil, and add mascara. And that's it!

MAYBELLINE BROW SATIN

One of the very best makeup lessons I have ever been taught is to pay attention to your brows! Looked-after eyebrows frame your face, make any type of makeup look better, and just make you look like a much more polished human!

It took me years to learn this though. I have really fair (almost blonde) brows, and because most of my teenage life was spent with a fringe, I did not touch them at all - until my best pal pinned me down with a pair of tweezers and an eyebrow pencil, and showed me the wonderful world of brows!

I get mine tinted and shaped fairly regularly at a Benefit Brow Bar, but as they are fair, I need product to keep them well defined between appointments. I've tried pencils, waxes, powders and all sorts, but now have a new favourite - Maybelline's Brow Satin Eyebrow Pencil.

Left: No brows. Right: Brows!

Brow Satin is a precise pen and filling powder duo (which basically means a mechanical pencil at one end and a creamy powder shadow at the other), that comes in four shades: dark blonde, medium brown, mahogany red and dark brown. I've been using mahogany red (which feels like such a treat to have an eyebrow product aimed at redheads!).

It boasts that it blends seamlessly for natural and fuller looking brows, and I definitely agree with it (I hope you do too!). It's easy to be heavy-handed if you are just using a pencil (remember, small strokes everyone!), but this has such a soft and creamy consistency the colour doesn't ever feel blocky.

To use the pencil Maybelline recommends that you fill your brows in with the pen, then blend with the powder. I didn't read any instructions before using this (because who reads makeup instructions?), so instead I've been using the powder to fill in the thickest inner part of my brow, then using the pen to define the arch and outer end of my eyebrow,

Either way, it's a super easy product to use, and has found a very welcome home in my everyday makeup bag. Brow Satin costs £5.99 (bargain) and can be bought in Boots and other highstreet shops.