Spring Trends :) What's coming our way

Hey Guys :) 

So, I have been browsing the Spring/Summer Makeup trends that have been hitting the catwalk recently on Cosmo magazine. Preparing myself for bright pinks and reds, I was surprised and a little bit off to be honest! 

I have seen a crazy amount of winged eyeshadow in dusky browns and golds ,even bright and dark purple! simple winged liner, green, pink and orange eye liner with a dramatic wing, in both eye line and water line! Twiggy inspired mascara (slightly clumped together lashes) bleached brows to heavy dark brows and completely natural looks with slight contouring! 

Personally I do like to keep my looks as simple as possible, favouring a smokey eye, lashes, liner and either nude or pink lips :) I find it very challenging to step out of my comfort zone, even though I know some of these looks would actually suit me or my family and friends! 

In fairness Ireland has only recently discovered the Kylie Jenner look! (God bless lip liner!) Even though we are one of the closest countries in Europe to America, why does it seem that we are so late in trends or adapting them. I sincerely doubt I am going to see some of my neighbours shopping in town with bleached eyebrows or Tiffany Blue eyeliner! We seem to have a look that we depend on and don't change. I for one know many that have adapted the 80's blue eyes and red lips and don't change it! Fair play to them I say!

SO, as part of my new challenge with my new "Streaky Face Blogs" I am going to try out some of these looks and hopefully give some inspiration to people that read them to step out of the comfort zone and have bright blue and peach eyeliner all over Ireland!:P (jokes) 

I just hope that it will give people the chance to see that the usual liner and lippy look you wear to work or on a night out might not be the only look that suits :) 

Watch this space ;) 

Here are some examples of Spring Summer Trends for 2015 :) 

Thanks for reading :D if you feel like trying any of these out, do, and let me know :) 

Sandy.S

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Smokey eyes :) How to:

Hi Everyone :) I'm really sorry about my delay in writing posts but I am back now and promise to be better with writing these :) 

So I have been trying out some looks with the eyeshadow palettes I have and I have decided to show you all how I create my smokey eye look as I have gotten so many compliments on them recently :)

It is quite tricky, but one little genius tip I will share with you is this...

Yes, sellotape! 

If I ever found it tricky to do a smokey eye before I would just use sellotape! Fortunately over time I have gotten used to doing them and can do without it now, but this is what I used at the beginning :) All you have to do is this, apply some sort of base over your eye, be it a paint pot, coloured primer or concealer to hid the veins and redness (if you have it), then get a piece of sellotape about 4 or 5 cm long, and place it just under where you either want your eyeshadow to stop, or eyeliner to go. If you are using it for eyeliner place it under the eye and join it up so that it is as if you were continuing on from your water line. You can even use it on your cheeks for contour! But I find it the best for doing smokey eyes, even just until you get used to doing them yourself. I also advise doing it before you apply your foundation as any fall off can be easily wiped off and foundation applied. 

So after I apply my sellotape I apply my eyeshadows. You can choose any colour/colours you like, depending on what you would like to go for. Usually I will use 3 or 4, sometimes 2 if it's only a simple look :) Normally I go for browns, golds and pinks, even black if very dramatic :) 

I start by applying the brightest colour to the inner corner of my eye and tear duct, usually a white or cream as it will reflect the light and make my eyes appear brighter :) I will use this colour again for under my brows. 

Next I will usually get a metallic or shiny based colour to apply on the middle of the eye or 2/3 part :) The reason for this is, the middle part of the eye is the part where the eyeball moves the most and catches the light,  therefore placing a glitter based shadow on that part of the eye will catch the light and give your eyes a more appealing look. I will pat this colour down, rather than brushing it as patting it down will leave more product on that part. 

On the third part of the eye and the crease I will place a darker colour, usually a dark matte colour, void of any glitter, a brown, black or even a dark purple or pink. I will then blend the three colours together using a thicker blending brush. You may notice the outer corner has lightened a bit, if so go back in with the dark colour and blend into the crease with either a small blending brush, or crease brush. 

I will then get the colour I used for the inner tear duct and place that under my brows and blend it into the eyeshadow over the crease so there are no thick lines of shadow, everything looks more natural and professional. 

 After this I go in with my liquid liner(you can use a pen or gel, whichever you prefer) and line the top of the eyes, the lashes to get rid of any shadow on them, and then the waterline just over the sticky tape. You can have it any length or any thickness you prefer (that's what she said :P ).

I will then line the water line with some black liner, if you have small eyes then avoid this or perhaps use white instead to make your eyes appear bigger. I then apply the darker shadow used under the lower lashes and either join that to the liner or just leave it under the lashes, depending on the look. Sometimes I like to use a sort of ombre effect under the eyes, of the shadows I have used previously. Again, that is completely up to you, it just helps to dramatize the look. 

If you wish to apply the lashes, first use an eyelash curler, one coat of mascara and then stick them on. I use my eylure adhesive glue, place it on them and leave it to dry for a couple of seconds, then apply the lashes (You have to do this as it will make the lash glue tacky, and therefore stickier and easier to apply) Once you have applied them how you want them, line over them once more with liner and apply some extra coats of mascara to make them blend into your lashes. 

After this apply your foundation, etc and get ready for your day out/work/coffee date/night out :)

I will include some pictures of looks I like to do and I hope this helped :) 

                                         

  

 

For any products I use, I usually leave a list of products under my Makeup Looks on my facebook page :) 

Thanks for reading and happy blending!! :D

Sandy.S

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How to get the perfect eyebrows :)

Hey again :) 

So I'm going to write about something simple this time, how can you get the perfect eyebrows?

I know I'm no eyebrow angel and to be honest, the only reason I ever plucked them in the first place was because my oldest sister used to threaten catching me in a headlock as I came into my adolescent years and pluck out random hairs with her fingers! But recently I've been getting a lot of compliments about them so, I will tell you how I get my brows the way I like them :) 

I know that around sometime last year the HD brow came back into fashion, and while it has slightly relaxed more so since, I would still stick with the fuller brow compared to a thin one. I used to over pluck mine and the arch began too soon. It completely threw off my overall makeup look and made my face appear that bit rounder...nobody wants that...

So I will insert a chart of eyebrow shapes to match your overall face shape, and show you some tips to pluck them to the shape that suits :) 

So, I have a bit of a mixture of long, diamond and oval lol :) The ideal face shape is oval apparently, so women tend to try and create an oval shape with contouring etc. Well, you can do it with your eyebrow shape as well !

So, first of all, decide what facial shape you have and what kind of eyebrows might work best with you :) 

Next Step:

Get a tweezers and hold it vertically, with the open end against your nostril, so that the top of the tweezers is lined up with the start of your eyebrow. Make a line, either imaginary, or with a pencil to mark the proper start of your eyebrow. Start to pluck and of the stray hairs that may be in the part between both of your brows (uni brow) 

Step 3:

Using the tweezers, once again place the open end by the nostril, but placing the top by the end of your brow, having the tweezers at an angle on your cheek. The outer side of the eyebrow is where you should pluck any stray hairs from. 

Step 4:

Starting just below the fullest part of your brow, use an eye pencil to draw a line along the bottom edge of your brow; it should be above any stray hairs and it should follow the natural shape of your brow's top line, which may be angled, slightly curved, or even straight. Pluck the strays below the line. Ultimately, your brows should be between a quarter inch and a half inch at their thickest.

Step 5:

Look straight into a mirror. The arch should peak above the outer rim of your iris and lie right on your brow bone.  Mark the point with your eye pencil, then remove a row of hairs along the bottom, from your inner brow point to the peak point. After the peak, shape the tail.

What do I do when I am doing my eyebrows as part of my makeup routine?

Well, I start off by getting an angled eyebrow or eyeliner brush and because I have dark brown/black hair I will use a dark brown pencil and do a very fine line underneath the brow and another at about 1cm from the top of the brow. I will blend it in to the hairs, then get a darker shadow and using my brush, do very thin lines through the brow, like small hairs, using the darkest shadow in the middle part to make it look thicker. I will use a spoolie brush to fill out the whole brow and keep the hair in place. 

If it is a dramatic look, I will use my trusty while liner or highlighting powder and pat down a small amount underneath the arch of my brows.

Et Voila! 

Beautiful HD eyebrows :D 

Hope I gave you some helpful tips !!

Thanks for reading :) 

Sandy.S

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Best Beauty Products of 2014 !!

So we're on our last few weeks of 2014...and what a year it was too! I feel like it is time for me to do a list of some of my favourite beauty products of the year :) Everything and anything will be included!! :)

So Number uno has to be the Naked 3 palette, I cannot say enough about this :) I am still discovering different looks to use with this, mixing this shade and that etc and I love it every time :) 

Number two is the Soap and Glory Kick ass Concealer, again I cannot fault this :) It comes with three steps, a yellow based concealer, a pink based concealer and a powder with puff :) I loved this stuff! If this came in a foundation I would have about 40 stores in my makeup kit. I wore it for my eyes, spots, blemishes, even just for touch ups on my foundation! Amazing and definitely worth the price :)

Max Factor Pan Stick Foundation. 

Ok I know you're thinking, caky, 13 year old foundation with orange lines around the neck. Well I don't actually use it for my whole face but I use it for contour :) My cheeks, Forehead and chin :) I just find it the best as it is in stick form, obviously easy to apply and blends so so well :) 

 The most affordable product is from amazon, a jazooli Contour palette. Now this product could not be compared to Smashbox palettes or Crown but if you're on a budget and you want to do something different, I suggest this ;) I think it was only something like 5 or 6€ on amazon! It has about 15 colours and is just perfect for dramatic contouring either for a night out or day wear :) 

Ultimate Blends Shampoo 

No matter which bottle you get in this brand, I highly recommend all of them! I have tried out most of them so far and I love them, more than Aussie and Herbal Essences :) I will definitely be the cause of this brand being sold out! :)

Nivea 'Soft' Cold creme moisturizer

I bought a 200 ml tub of this during the summer and I still have at least half a tub! I bought it wisely knowing my skin was going to be terribly dry during the winter months :) I use about a 2€ size amount and spread it all over my face(after exfoliation of course) and this does me perfectly. Ready to face the cold winter days :) 

Lush Sugar Scrub

So, speaking of exfoliators, I have yet to come across one as good as this! I used it after a night out of wearing fairly heavy makeup and my skin was red and tingly afterwards. Of course I thought "Crap I'm after pealing off about two layers of skin!" But it was fine, didn't sting, just a slightly tingling sensation for a minute and then I applied moisturizer. My skin was lacking of spots, blemishes etc for a long time afterwards and I highly recommend this! As a person with dry, sensitive skin this was a god send :)

These are the highest on my list :) Unfortunately I also have to include some products that were so poor I just threw them straight in the bin! One of these is an Original Source shower gel in Raspberry and Cocoa. The name of this jumped out at me. I have always been a massive fan of Original Source shower gels and I thought wow, raspberries and Cocoa, yummy! I tried it out straight away when I got home, eager to be smelling of some exotic dessert! But I was so dissapointed... Have you ever tried the cheap shower creams from Penneys/Primark range Ps. I love? There was a mango or a chocolate one. While the mango one was delicious, the chocolate one was like a cheap fake cocoa scent that made you feel sick using it!  Well this was similar...Maybe it is just me and I can't stand the cheap cocoa smelling products, I don't know. But while using this I had to wash it off and use another I had. Very disappointing. 

Anyway they are my top favourite beauty products of the year, simple and sweet, a bit like myself ;)

Hope you enjoy reading and feel free to comment your favorites underneath :) 

Thank you for reading :) 

Sandy.S

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Halloween Time :)

Hey everyone :) 

Sorry again that it has been SO long, but I'm back just in time for Halloween :) 

Because we have less than a week to go, I've decided to only do one tutorial, so I'm going to show some pictures below of looks I have done and hope ye can help me make up my mind which to show ;)

Creeeeepy doll :)

Disney Witch :)

Old man :) 

zombie :)

Demon/Ghoul

Cleopatras Ghost :)

Cleopatra :)

This is all of the options :) Please help me choose! lol :) 

Thanks for reading :D

Sandy.S

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