Review: Nail Art Nail Tattoos

I absolutely adore doing my nails, It's one of the best things I do to relax. So when I got my fingers on these nail tattoo stickers I was rather happy.

When I opened the packaging I was pleasantly surprised. They're in pretty nifty packaging which just folds back flat, meaning they are easy to put away once you have finished your nails.

 First of all, even if you are rubbish at all the slinky painted nail designs and dont fancy paying loads for decent looking nails, these will be right up your alley, they're not overly expensive but look really pretty.

There are enough stickers in the pack to do a full set (all ten fingers) six times. On the model I only used one finger on each hand, just for a bit of a difference.

For starters I put on Collection 2000 Nail hardener as a base coat as it makes it easier for the colour to look even. The models nails are painted with 3 coats of Collection 2000 hot looks sherbert lemon.

After waiting for them to dry, you simply gently peal the nail stickers from the backing paper, and place them on the nail in which ever funky design  takes your fancy. Very carefully push down to make sure it's secure then coat them in a top coat to seal them in.

Simple as that!

Nail Art's Nail Tattoos are available for £5.99 from skinartuk.com.

Jo xo

*PR sample sent for review. All views are my own

Makeup Kit/Bag Essentials - Prep & Prime

Over the coming weeks I am going to introduce you to a few products the I cant live without on set and in my personal makeup bag. The best place to start is at the beginning so, all of these products will be products used to prepare the face prior to having makeup applied.

The reason for priming the face is to help your makeup stay put longer, especially under the heat of studio lighting. Each of the products below are products I swear by some are new finds others are old loves.

1. Queen Eyelash Cream*

This product is specifically for the eyelashes as I am sure you have guessed by the name!
This product is applied using your fingers (with a spooly if working with a model) to the top and bottom lashes. This product helps keep the lashes separated, conditioned and protected. Since I started using this I noticed that mascara stays put longer, there is no flaking and fewer lost eyelashes.

The great thing about this cream is that you can get a nice natural curl with it so, even if you didn't want to wear mascara your lashes still look amazing. It sinks into the surrounding skin quickly, leaving no greasy residue and works great at night as a treatment for your lashes to help keep them in great condition.

Queen Eyelash Cream retails at £10.25 for a 12ml pot which is available from their website: http://www.queen-cosmetics.com

2. Pure by Phytocare Paw Paw Ointment*

Paw Paw Ointment is always raved about by a lot of Make-up Artists but for whatever reason I never got around to trying it. I recently got sent this amazing product and it has now replaced Carmex as my go to lip prep product.

This 100% natural balm can be used for an array of issues. I use it mainly to prep lips, you can see an immediate difference in extremely dry lips and there is nothing worse than applying lip products to dry flaky lips.

This wonderful product leaves lips soft, supple and nourished. I have even used this product around my poor cold filled nose, you know the kind of nose I am talking about, the bright red cracked skin nose! The product doesn't leave a greasy or sticky residue and when applied to sore cracked skin it doesn't sting.

Pure offer this product in the following sizes 25g tube for £9.99, 100g tube for £19.99 and a 200g jar for £35.99. The lovely people at Pure have given me a discount code for my readers which will give you a whopping 25% off when you use PUREpapaya25 (valid until 31/12/12) on their website: www.purepapaya.co.uk

3. OCC Skin: Primer

I brought my first bottle of this amazing liquid back in 2010 at IMATS and I have been in love ever since, I cant tell you how many bottles I have since been through.

What I love about this primer is the texture, its a liquid rather than a gel or cream type product. When applied to the skin it sinks right in rather than leaving a greasy film on top of the skin.

I have very large pores and this has been the only primer so far that has stopped foundation and other products sitting in the pores. This product also has the best performance in the studio, It helps foundation stay in place under the hot lights and the need for re-applying and touching up is lessened.

I also use this product instead of water to apply shadows and loose pigments because it doesn't crease as much as it does when using water.

You can purchase this item for $25.00 from OCCmakeup.com or for £14.99 from The Makeup Artist Boutique

What can't you live without in your Makeup bag/kit?

Ems xo

*PR sample sent for review. All views are my own

OCC Heroine Collection Now On Sale Worldwide

OCC have today released their new Fall/Winter Collection named Heroine. The new collection was inspired by the teams favourite horror movie heroines.

The new Lip Tars are as follows:

Black Dhalia

Lydia

Marion

Psycho

Starling

Sybil

The collection went on sale Worldwide today in select Sephora stores, OCC's website and here in the UK at The Makeup Artist Boutique
Ems xo

Review: Hi Brow 24 hour Brow Powder Compact by LaLa

Most of us girls, and some guys, love to have perfectly shaped and defined brows because perfect brows frame the face. I personally go days without wearing any makeup but, I always make sure my brows are tamed and shaped because it just seems to bring the face to life.

This clever little kit includes a highly pigmented brow powder which comes in 4 shades, I have the shade Dark Brown, A highlighter, A Double ended brush featuring an angled brush and a standard shadow brush and finally 3 brow stencils.

I really like the powder its highly pigmented and once applied it does last on me for at least 12 hours before fading and when I say fading its the smallest amount. As for the highlighter its just the right shade not too glittery and leaves a lovely sheen to the brow bone.

I did a test with the brow powders running them under cold water using no soap and rubbing for around 5 mins and I think the image below speaks for itself!

I am normally not a fan of brushes that come in any kit but, this brush isn't actually too bad, the angled end is quite compact as you would expect for this type of brush. The hair used on both ends is super soft.

Finally the stencils, I personally don't like stencils anyway but they do come in handy to use as a guide to shaping your brows. Tip: Fill in your brow with product using the stencil of your choice and then pluck any hairs that have not been covered by product for that perfected brow

I do think the thickness of the stencils need to be addressed as the thickest stencil is not thick enough, it is practically the same size as the medium stencil with a slightly thicker arch, This is my only down point on the whole product.

The price of the product may seem a little steep but in my opinion with what you get in the kit, pigmentation of the product and the length of time you can have it on without the need to reapply I think its worth it.

Hi-Brow by LaLa retails at £29.95 and is available at Lash Perfect Lash Bar and bylala.co.uk
 
*PR sample sent for review. All views are my own

EOTD - Tropicana

Products used:

Rimmel Brow Pencil in  Dark Brown
Hi Brow by La La 24hr Brow Powder in  Dark Brown*
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Buttercupcake
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Flamepoint
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Love +
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Poison Plum
Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Tako
ELF Liquid Liner in Black
Smashbox Bionic Mascara in Jet Black* 

I'd love to hear what you think of this look

Ems xo

Items marked with an asterisk are PR samples 

 

OCC New 2012 F/W Lip Tar Collection - Heroine

OCC are set to release their new Fall/Winter Collection named Heroine. The new collection was inspired by the teams favourite horror movie heroines.

The new Lip Tars are as follows:

Marion - Deceitfully Dirty Rose
Psycho - Dripping with Blood Red
Starling - Deeply Rusted Red
Sybil - Midnight Brownout
Black Dahlia - Blackened Red
Lydia - Darkroom Plum

The collection goes on sale Worldwide on September 17th in select Sephora stores, OCC's website and here in the UK at The Makeup Artist Boutique and Love Makeup.

I personally cannot wait to try out Black Dahlia!

Ems xo

EOTD - Poisoned Pastels

Products used:

elf Eyelid Primer

Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Surge (Fundamental Palette) used as Highlight

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Bedaub (Fundamental Palette) used all over the lid

Sugarpill Poison Plum Eyeshadow used in the crease and outer corner

Illamasqua Precision Ink Liner in Abyss

Illamasqua Masquara in Raven

elf Cream Eyeliner used on water line

Hi Brow by La La 24hr Brow Powder in  Dark Brown used lightly on Brows

Images really don't do this look justice I really need to get a new camera and I should point out that unless I post a look on Instagram I don't retouch any of my pictures.