YOUTUBE // Spring/Summer Beauty Loves

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Inglot HD Illuminizing Loose Powder in 45

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Radiant Light

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Barefaced Beauty

Nowadays less is becoming more!

Look at celebs such as Nicki, Beyonce and Angelina.

Most days it's hard to spot if they are wearing makeup, in most cases, these ladies make their eyes the focus and their faces the backdrop.

Barefaced Beauty is the way forward, even Balmain used the 'less is more' makeup ethos using concealer and lip conditioner on the models.

So how do we go about turning ourselves into Barefaced Beauties?

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - Mood Exposure

If you're a regular beauty blog reader you would have seen the name Hourglass Cosmetics pop up more than once on your reads.

Famous for their Mineral Veil Primer and Ambient Lighting Powder, Hourglass is viewed as one of the must have brands to hold in your make up collection.

I had never tried any of Hourglasses products before but decided to take the plunge when I heard of one of their newest products - Ambient Lighting Blush (RRP £28.00)

What They Say:

"This groundbreaking hybrid combines the customized lighting effects of Ambient Lighting Powder with a spectrum of breathtakingly modern hues. The result is a natural radiant finish with seamless, soft-focus and buildable colour...Ambient Lighting Blush uses Photoluminescent Technology to exhibit depth and dimension..."

Well...let's just try to simplify this shall we?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush is a blush twinned with that extra special Ambient Lighting Powder glow. This glow gives the blush another dimension, taking away that flat one dimensional colour that you can get with some blushes.

I picked up the shade Mood Exposure, mostly because it was described as a 'soft plum' and out of all the blushes I felt that this shade would compliment my skin tone the best.

Application

Fairly simple, just lightly swish and apply!

My Thoughts

Well...let's get straight to the point.

I was extremely underwhelmed from the start.

Upon first glance the plum tone in Mood Exposure did not seem strong enough for my skin tone.

It also looked very flat in the pan but I put that to the side because of the inclusion of the ever famous Ambient Powder.

However when I used it I was still underwhelmed.

Now don't get me wrong! 

This is a really pretty colour, a subtle but natural looking plum blush.

The consistency of the blush itself is also very soft, almost buttery and the blush is very easy to blend.

On the swatches below it looks a bit ashy on my skin tone but once applied it does appear warm, but this, to me, was it's only selling point.

I've never used or swatched the Ambient Lighting Powder but from the talk of it I expected more of it with this blush.

As you can see the finish of this blush is satin, almost matte from my swatches.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Ambient Lighting Powder but I was expecting more of a glow as standard.

All in all I feel that the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush in Mood Exposure is over hyped.

Whilst a pretty colour I don't think that the addition of the Ambient Lighting powder added anything to the effect of the blush.

When I wear this I find myself layering other blushes on top, it simply does not have that X-Factor that Hourglass claims it has.

If you're looking for a super subtle looking blush I would somewhat recommend this but it would be cheaper and easier just to use a light hand with the blushes you already have.

I would have to say, I wouldn't buy this blush again but I have not yet given up on the Ambient Lighting Powder. 

I'm hoping the Powder's will impress me more than this blush did.

If you wish to pick up this blush you can purchase it from Space NK HERE.

If you're in the US you can purchase these blushes directly from Hourglasses website HERE.

Do you own any of the Ambient Lighting Blushes?
What do you think of them?

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Petrol Black

My experimenting bug is back in full force meaning I'll be bringing more looks to the blog, I'm so excited to be sharing these with you guys! These looks will serve as good practice for me in the long run as I'm not so great with eye shadows.

Last night I decided to Shop My Stash once again and see what I could come up with.

I came across my Barry M Dazzle Dust in Petrol Black that I had fallen in love with on first sight but had failed to use.

It is such a gorgeous shade I had to create a look with it!

Petrol Black is a stunning duo-chrome black pigment with green iridescence; similar to the effect of spilt petrol I guess!

It's so hard to describe as a colour so feel free to check out some swatches HERE

For a full list of product be see below:

Face

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX12 (to mute out discolouration) 

Illamasqua Skin Base in SB15

LA Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in Fawn (under eye/t-zone highlight)

MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC50 (to set concealer)

Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in #60 (to set remainder of face)

Sleek Contour Kit in Dark (for highlight and contour)

ELF Bronzer in Turks and Caicos 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure (applied lightly)

Urban Decay Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder in Naked Dark (applied to perimeter of face)

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

UD Naked Palette - Virgin (brow bone highlight)

UD Naked Palette - Buck (transitional colour)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Petrol Black

Wet N Wild Comfort Zone Palette - Silver (inner eye highlight)

Maybelline Master Drama Khol Liner in Ultra Black (lower lash line and tight line)

MUA Smokin' Palette Chaos (lower lash line)

MUA Waterproof Every Lash Mascara

Lips

Generic Brown Pencil 

Sleek Pout Paint in Mink

MAC Cosmetics Freckletone lipstick

NYX Megashine Lipgloss in Miami Babe

I also tried out a new hairstyle with my twists, not sure I love it just yet but it's cool to be trying out new styles with braids!

If you want to try it out yourself click HERE for the tut!

Hope you enjoyed this look and stay tuned for much more!

:)

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Recommended Blushers For Dark Skin Tones

Hey gorgeous readers!

I'm very excited about this post!

I want DOS to be the place where WoC can go to get an insight into beauty products that they may want to add to their collection.

So I've decided to make a post for my blusher recommendations of WoC or women of deep skin tones. Now this may not appeal to all and these recommendations are certainly not the be all end all of blushers, but they are blushers that I own and love to wear regularly.

I'll be separating this collection of blushers into manageable sections by colour so feel free to scroll to the colour you are most attracted to!

Deep Purples

Inglot Freedom System Face Blush in 63

This blush is so hard to describe colour wise but if I had to put it into words I would say its a rich matte deep magenta with pink undertones.

It is super (and I mean SUPER) pigmented and ultra soft. 63 is particularly amazing for deep, rich chocolate tones to bring a flush of magenta to the cheeks.

A little really does go a long way with this blush but it is definitely a winner.

ELF HD Blush in  Showstopper 

ELF's HD blush in Showstopper is a deep matte aubergine purple once again fabulous for rich, deep skin tones.

This blush is perhaps the most pigmented blush I own, it took me a good few tries to work out how to use this successfully.

A pinpoint amount of product is all you need for both cheeks. 

Amazing value and long lasting, this is a great blush all round!

Bronze

Sleek Blush By 3 Palette -  Muscovado (middle blush)
A deep bronze blush with gold shimmer, this is the perfect blush for a night out, it brings warmth to the cheeks as well as a glow without overpowering with pigment. 
This is also a similar dupe to MAC's Format blush.

MAC Powder Blush in Format
One of the WoC go to MAC blushes, Format is my favourite blush to use on a night out, it has a dark rose undertone bringing warmth to the cheeks without making you look like a clown. 
The bronzey tones really help to give a sun kissed glow to the skin. Format really does compliment deeper skin tones, it's also beautifully pigmented and easy to apply and blend!

Sleek Blush in Honour (LE) Similar to Muscovado and/or Sunrise

Honour is a LE blush from the Sleek 2012 Collection (sorry guys) but wanted to show you guys how it looks, if you do not have Honour, you can find a similar dupe with Sleek's Sunrise and/or Muscovado.
Honour is a deep bronze/rose gold blush which goes on sooo smoothly to create a natural glow for the cheeks. Many say Sunrise is an exact dupe but I find Sunrise slightly more on the pinkish side. 
If this blush is a bit too dark for your skin tone you can use it as a mild bronzer instead.

Oranges

NYX Powder Blush in Cinnamon

One of my most affordable orange blushes. NYX Cinnamon is a matte bright orange blush, perfect for everyday wear.

Some may be afraid when I say orange on the cheeks but this is the PERFECT colour for creating a really subtle, healthy pop of colour to the cheeks for deeper skin tones.

I tend to wear Cinnamon in the day, I layer it over a slightly warmer blush, this way Cinnamon acts like a pop of colour to the center of my cheeks. The instant warmth it brings is fab!

NARS Blush Taj Mahal 

Probably one of my favourite blushes of all time!

Taj Mahal is an investment blush for me. NARS blushes do not come cheap but I knew I had to get Taj Mahal the first day I saw it swatched! 

Taj Mahal is a warm toned shimmery orange which works ever so amazingly well on deep and deep dark skin tones.

I normally use Taj Mahal when I'm going out due to the shimmer, my favourite way to apply it is over MAC's Format to give that pop of colour I was telling you about above, however this is also a fantastic blush to wear on it's own, perfect for that summer glow look!

Taj Mahal is amazingly pigmented and a little goes a long way, I absolutely love it, you can see me wearing Taj Mahal HERE.  

I cannot wait to add more NARS blushes to my collection...I'm already eyeing up Exhibit A

Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Excite

Another matte orange blush, Excite is more cooled toned compared to Taj Mahal but it has red undertones. This adds to it's pigmentation making it super bright which can be a bit frightening in the pan but fear not! Once applied to deeper skin tones, this blush blends out to the warmest of oranges, giving the skin a healthy flush of colour. Excite is soft and buttery on the skin and a little goes a long way, the picture above unfortunately does not do it justice, however for swatches you can see my review HERE.

Pinks, Peaches & Terracotta's

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blushers in Dare and Glamour
Two very different pink based blushes but both easy to apply and amazingly long lasting. 
Dare is warm and deep on the skin, perfect for deeper skin tones as it eliminates any ashy-ness that cooler toned pink blushes can bring to deeper skin tones. The tiny flecks of shimmer make this a perfect blush to wear everyday for that subtle healthy glow.
If you would like to see how this looks on my skin tone click HERE

Glamour on the other hand looks like a WoC's nightmare and if I'm being honest I was gutted when I saw how pale it was in the bottle but this lil blush deceived me! Glamour is a matte warm terracotta pink (almost apricot) liquid blush perfect for everyday wear. As this is warm, it blends out to lend the perfect flush of pink to the cheeks on deep skin tones, however, if you are of a dark deep skin tone you may want to reach of Dare instead.

Milani Baked Blush in Terra Sole
I'm not sure whether this blush is discontinued, I hope not! I picked Terra Sole up from Beauty Joint last year and have not looked back since then. Not only are Milani blushes fantastic in price they are also really pigmented. Terra Sole is my "bronzing blush" and the blush I reserve for summer.
This matte terracotta blush has a slightly peachy undertone which is great for adding warmth without overdoing colour.
This is another great blush to use as a bronzer if you are of a lighter complexion. If you are a dark deep complexion you may want to avoid this blush, as it is matte, it may not provide any obvious pigmentation to the skin.
You can see how Terra Sole looks on my skin tone HERE

Inglot Face Blush in 41

My favourite everyday blush, this matte warm terracotta blush is perfect for WoC. It gives me a healthy natural looking flush of colour which sits well with my NC50 skin. This blush is very pigmented and soft and easy to blend. I find I do not need a lot of product on the brush when using this.

Sleek Blush in Sahara
The blush that all WoC need in their life! Affordable and super pigmented!
Now, I think the shade of Sahara may have changed over time and unfortunately it's not as orange as it used to be, it's now more of an orange terracotta but nevertheless I still love it!
Perfect for all WoC from olive skinned beauties to the richest cocoa of beauties, Sahara is essentially about layering until you get the effect you desire.
Applied lightly and you get the warmth you're looking for, for deeper skin tones feel free to go in with a heavy hand for a pop of colour on the cheeks, this is demonstrated fantastically by the ever so stunning Erica of Glamorous Gleam HERE.

ELF Mineral Blush in Peachy
One of my more affordable blushes.
When I first viewed it I was scared that it might be too ashy but blushes can be deceiving especially pink blushes. On applying this blush I was very impressed.
This is a warm peach toned pink blush with shimmer, perfect for the healthy glow look. This blush is super easy to blend and goes on smoothly, not as pigmented as some of the other blushes in this post but for £5.00 you can't really complain! 
This would be a fabulous blush for my olive skinned beauties!

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Grinding Blusher in Apricot
Last but not least the NYX HD Studio Blusher in Apricot.
I was initially sent this blush to review by the loves at NYX, this was a new product so I wasn't too sure of what to expect but when I did apply it I fell in love.
Apricot is a heavily pigmented matte peachy pink that creates that signature pink cheek that lighter skin tones ladies may achieve with other pink blushes on the market.
Apricot is also a warm pink meaning it works well as an everyday blush eliminating the frosty cheek look.
You can read my review of the Apricot HERE you can also see it in action via my YouTube tutorial HERE

Further blusher recommendations for deep skin tones:
NYX Cocoa Powder Blush
NYX Copper Powder Blush
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure
Sleek Flushed Blush
Sleek Blush by 3 in Pumpkin
MAC's Sweet As Cocoa Blush
MAC's Raizin Blush
Graftobian HD Blush in Autumn Breeze
Graftobian HD Blush in Cherry Glaze
La Femme Blushes
NARS Exhibit A Blush
NARS Dolce Vita Blush
Jordana Cinnamon Spice Powder Blush
Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blushers in Trip & Acid

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Valentines Day Look: Bronzed Glow

With Valentine's Day almost upon us I thought it would be good to create a few looks that you could wear on a date or a night out with your girls for all the single ladies up in hurr!

This is the second look I came up with (you can see the first HERE) this is a really subtle but effective look, here, instead of a bold red lip we're making the focus your natural glow.

Now, a natural glow can be hard to create especially if you're not an angel but fear not! 

With the right products it can be achieved!

Click To Enlarge

Brows 

I started off by filling in my brows with a generic soft dark brown pencil, I then set my brows with Maybelline's Brow Drama in Dark Brown. To clean up my brows I applied MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50 at the top, NC45 at the bottom for a natural highlight.

Face

Start off with your favourite flawless finish foundation, mine is MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NC50.  
Once buffed into the skin well, start highlighting. 
We want our highlight to be noticeable but in a good way, I would recommend going in with a full coverage concealer no more than 3 shades lighter than your skin tone. Here I am using the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX11, this concealer is great and really effective in creating a glow/highlight to the desired areas. I applied the SSE to my t-zone including my philtrum and my chin. I blended this in with a fluffly brush and then set it all with a light beige eyeshadow from my JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette.
I've found the key to a natural highlight in blending out harsh lines, I used my 

Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to blend out concealer as well as to set my face.

I also used my Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano to contour (my new favourite contour powder!)

I then went in with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure, this a great neutral plum toned blush with not too much shimmer, really subtle but gorgeous.

Afterwards for warmth and more of a glow I used my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68 for bronzing around the perimeter of my face and my neck. For more highlighting I used Illamasqua's Powdered Metal in Ether along the same areas in which I used SSE.

Eyes

I started with MAC's Studio Finish Concealer in NC45 for a base. I then applied La Femme's Sparkle Dust in Antique Gold all over the lid (applied with a damp brush)

I used fluffy brushes to apply the Dark Brown and Black e/s from the JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette to smoke out the edges.

I always use Inglot 335 e/s  as a transitional shade, it's the perfect warm terracotta colour for my skin tone.

For a bit more shimmer I placed Inglot 406 e/s on the exact center of my eyelid lid using my finger for precision. This gives a 3-Dimensional effect when your eyes close, a little something extra that can help a lot with simple eyeshadow looks.

I wanted to keep this look soft so instead of a black liner I used a soft brown pencil in my waterline, I smudged this out with the brown e/s from the JC Paris 28 Neutral Palette paying more attention to the outer third of my eye for definition.

Next I applied several coats of my favourite mascara Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof Mascara in Black.

Lips

Lips are very simple!

I firstly started out with NYX Lip Pencil in Brown to outline my lips.

I then went in with the beautiful nude Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Dulce Caramelo, however this didn't really provide enough coverage for me so I went in on top of that with my Kiko Lip Gloss Pencil in 11.

I then applied my favourite lipgloss NYX's Miami Babe to warm up my nude lip.

Last but not least, I finished with my setting spray, the NYX Makeup Setting Spray in the matte finish.

And viola!

Done!

A wearable and relatively easy glowing skin look for Val's Day!

Your date is sure to be impressed!

MWAH...don't forget to send me one back, I don't have the lurgies...I promise!

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Confession Of A Makeup Addict

If you're a fellow makeup lover, you know what it's like when you see a product you MUST have!

Apparently, lately, I've been seeing A LOT of products that I have to add to my collection.

I've really been trying to test new products lately so most of the above I have never used before but have heard great things about! This includes the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (not pictured) and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush.

I am aiming to do a haul video as well as posts on these products, so stay tuned for more in-depth posts and initial reviews!

To see how I use some of these lovely products you can check out my FOTD's on Instagram HERE.

I'm excited to use them all!

Ah the life of makeup lover!

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Lush List: Christmas Wants

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Here it is!

My beauty Christmas wish list!

Is is a little bit ambitious? 
Yes! 
But that is the beauty of a wish list.

I've added beauty cult products such as Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder and the Kevin Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer as well as MAC's Heroine lipstick which apparently will be part of their permanent collection very soon!

What is on your beauty wish list for Xmas?
Let me know!

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Lush List: Luxury Loves

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I love affordable make up, it's accessible and 9 time out of 10 it is good quality but every so often you want something of great quality!

My Lush List contains some luxury products that I have been lusting over lately, prices that may break the bank but give you the best version of your make up buy!

Do you have any luxury products that you've been lusting over?
Let me know!

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