Deal Alert!! Discounted MAC Cosmetics Available in the UK!!

Hey my Cherubs!!

I really needed to share with you this awesome deal that I stumbled across the other day! As some of you may know, MAC cosmetics are NEVER discounted, MAC never have sales and so the only way to find permanent MAC items at a discount is if you are very lucky on Ebay or at a CCO or other discount outlet, and in the UK these are very, very few and far between!

Well, I was stunned to see that Debenhams online are selling a few MAC items, including BRUSHES!!! at a slightly discounted price!! OMG! I REALLY want to pick up a few things but cannot afford to at the moment, but please let me live through your purchases vicariously and go and check out the range. Just go to www.debenhams.com/beauty and click on MAC.

To top it all off, guess what?? Free shipping (within the UK) for a limited time only!! WOOHOO!! Go crazy guys and share your haul with me!

xoxo Angel5ace xoxo

Primers versus Bases - Get the Most out of your Eyeshadows!

Hi Cherubs!

I was recently asked a question about what the difference is between eye primers and eyeshadow bases, particularly as I personally tend to use both under my eyeshadows.

If you have read my article "Beginners Guide to Primers" (here is the link if you havn't) www.frivolousbyangel5ace.blogspot.com/2010/11/beginners-guide-to-primers.html you may know a little about the role of primers for the eye. For me, personally, the main reason for uing a primer is staying power. I HATE creases in my eye make up and I hate it when eyeshadows fade and/or smudge. Primers can also really bring out the colours of the eyeshadows, HOWEVER, I do find that the best primers for staying power such as Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion, tend to dry fairly clear. This can be a good thing in terms of ensuring the colour of the primer doesnt interfere with the colour of the eyeshadows I am putting on top, but if I want a shade of eyeshadow to really POP and show true to colour with no skintone showing through, I use an eyeshadow base.

The key properties of an eyeshadow base are that, firstly, it is opaque (i.e. once on you can't see the skin underneath it), secondly it is a cream or gel base (i.e. not a powder or a liquid). Bases are either neutral coloured, or, if you are using a particularly vibrant shade of eyeshadow, you can use a base in a colour matching the colour of your eyeshadow.

One of the easiest ways to obtain a base for your eyeshadows is just to get a coloured khol pencil, or even just a plain old black kohl pencil and rub that over the eyelids, blend and then pat your eyeshadow over it. You may have seen me use my black kohl pencil as a base for dark eyeshadow colours, particularly for smokey eye looks. If, for example, you were to use a purple eyeshadow you can just pick up any old cheap purple shade of kohl pencil and use that in the same way. NYX do some AWESOME jumbo eye pencils which are very very good as bases as they are creamy and well pigmented and come in every shade you can imagine. Barry M also do some similar jumbo eye pencils.

Of course, various cosmetic companies do make specific products to be used as eye shadow bases. MAC make Paint Pots which come in various colours. One of my favourite paint pots is Painterley. This is just a neutral cream base, however it contains silicone so it smooths out the eyelid and also sets dry. It is the perfect neutral base for all eyeshadow colours. On its own, it doesn't have the best staying power, but when used over Urban Decay Primer Potion, the combination is amazing. Benefit also do smudgeproof cream shadow bases in lots of lovely colours.

If you really can't afford to get a separate base, just apply your primer and then put a thin wash of any thick concealer you own. This will have a similar effect.

For me personally, I find that as I am Asian and have NC42 skin, eyeshadows, especially the lighter shades, don't show up that well or you can see my skin showing through. Painterley Paint Pot is a light skin tone shade which really helps to show the colours I like to use and as it sets to dry quite quickly it helps my makeup last that much longer. It is a dream product to me and well worth paying that bit extra for a top quality product.

Hope that was useful, if you have any questions, please let me know!

xoxo Angel5ace xoxo

Video Tutorial! Smokey Cat Eye Using the Sleek Storm Palette

Hi Cherubs!

As promised, here is the next video tutorial detailing how you can create a smokey cat eye using the very affordable and very high quality Sleek Storm palette! As you all know, I LOVE the Sleek makeup line as a fantastic, purse-friendly cosmetic option. Their eyeshadow palettes are legendary and I can totally see why - great pigmentation, durable, blendable, soft, beautiful wearable colours and all for a bargainous £6-£7 at your local Superdrug or online.

The smokey cat eye is a look that combines a sexy, feline inspired eye shape with the smokey blending techniques. It is fairly easy to do and hopefully my video will help you to acheive the look. You do not, of course, have to use the gunmetal shade from the Sleek palette as the main colour, try it with a matt grey shade, black, blue or even purple - whatever you prefer!

I accidentally deleted the part of the video showing how I finished the look, but feel free to complete the look however you like as this is a very neutral eye look, albeit slightly dramatic. My preference, would be a muted pink cheek with any nude lipstick or gloss.

Blogger is awful for uploading videos so instead please click the link to my Youtube channel to access the video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=smM3xVi_KY8

Products Used:

FACE

NARS Firming Foundation in Syracuse

Benefit Erase Paste No 3

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC42

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark

EYES

Painterly Paintpot as eyeshadow base

NYX Jumbo Black Bean pencil

Sleek Storm Palette - gunmetal shade, skintone matt shade, brown matt shade, black matt shade, champagne shade

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Eye Liner in Carbon Black

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

MAC Spiked Eyebrow pencil

Stila No 15 double ended brush

MAC 217 blending brush

Stila No 2 brush

Manicare Foundation brush

xoxo Angel5ace xoxo

VIDEO TUTORIAL!!! Jennifer Lopez "On the Floor" Music Video Make Up Tutorial Step by Step!!!

Hello Cherubs!!

I would like to present my first ever video tutorial! I will show you how to create a look similar to the one Jennifer Lopez wears in her music video to her number one single "On the Floor" featuring Pitbull. This is the look she wears in the majority of the video when she is dancing in the silver jumpsuit. I know I look nothing like J-Lo (wish I did! Haha!) and you may feel the look is different to hers also, but please bear in mind this is just my interpretation of her look!

PRODUCTS USED

FACE

NARS Firming Foundation in Syracuse

Benefit Erase Paste in number 3

MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NC42

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in medium dark

CHEEKS

NARS Laguna Bronzer

Body Shop Bronzing Pearls

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle

EYES

Benefit It Stick

Urban Decay Polyester Bride eyeshadow (off-white shade with silver micro glitter)

Copper eyeshadow, and brown eyeshadow from the 88 Palette

Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Bone for the highlight (matt cream colour)

Ben Nye Monster Wheel white shade as the eyeshadow base

L'Oreal Lineur Intense eyeliner in Carbon Black

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Half lashes (I think these were Primark lashes that I cut in half but I can't remember exactly) and Duo adhesive

MAC Spiked eyebrow pencil

Collection 2000 clear mascara to set eyebrows

BRUSHES

Manicare flat foundation brush to apply foundation and concealer

Crown Perfectly Pink bullet crease brush to apply white glittery eyeshadow

Crown Studio Oval Shadow brush to apply copper colour

MAC 217 brush to apply brown colour to the crease

Stila No 2 brush to blend colours and apply highlight colour

Bare Escentuals Handy Buki to apply bronzer, blush and highlight

What do you think of the video?? I really hope you like it! More videos are in the pipeline, starting with a smokey cat eye tutorial coming soon!!

xoxo Angel5ace xoxo