A Really Easy Galaxy Halloween Makeup Tutorial*

I’m usually one for blood guts and gore for Halloween, the more realistic the better. Check out my blog misscosmeticblogger.co.uk if you want proof!) However, when Vision Direct sent over some of their coloured lenses I had to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I thought that I would create a look that put a spin on the ever so popular galaxy makeup of last year!

My Valentine's Day Makeup feat: ShadowSwitch*

Brace yourself because for this post there's actually going to be pictures of my face on this blog! I know, it's a rare occurrence so be prepared, don't get scared. The reason my face will be appearing as I decided I'd do a Valentine's Day makeup look using the ShadowSwitch*. As Valentine's is on the awkward day of Tuesday this year I wanted to create a look which used as fewer brushes as possible and the ShadowSwitch* really does help. 

Don't worry if you're not a fan of the overly bold lips, I made sure to try the look with a couple of different lipsticks but I personally loved this one. I started off by using my Clinique Superprimer, applying it with my fingers to create a nice base, and to hopefully hide any dry skin that was lurking that day. I used my NARS Sheer Glow for my base as it's my go to foundation when I need to look flawless. I used my miracle complexion sponge as usual to make sure it was all blended in, no distinct foundation lines. For concealer I went for the NYX HD concealer as let's be honest not many concealers actually suit my skin but luckily porcelain does. Now the eyes are where I usually use quite a few brushes though for this look I only used one. I first used my KIKO Shadow Stick in Golden Beige to create a base, I also took it up into the inner corner as it worked as a highlight too. On the outer corner I used my NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Rust and blended it in with my finger to keep the intense colour. Now onto one of the only brushes I used, a flat quite thin one, and I used it to apply Punk from my Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palette in the crease and blended it out, I used what was left on the brush to add colour to my lower lashline. 

I used the ShadowSwitch* to then clean the brush, which FYI it does magnificently. You swoosh it round a little bit and it's clean, no mess, no water, no hassle but a clean brush. I then packed on some Bathwater from the same palette and packed it onto the inner third of my eyelid as well as my inner corner to add some brightness. I lined my eyes with a small flick of Kat von D's ink liner and added some Soap&Glory Thick&Fast mascara (my current favourite.) For brows I used Benefit's Goof Proof as it's travel friendly and I have the travel mini. Then my trusty MakeupRevolution Ultra Contour kit helped me add some definition into my almost non existent cheekbones, while Benefit's Dandelion added some colour to my cheeks. I powdered my t-zone with some of the Vichy Translucent Powder. Before I finished with my lipstick I sprayed my face with my Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray to decake (is that a thing?) any potential cakey areas. Then the fun bit: lipstick. Now the top photo I'm wearing MAC's Leap of Delight, a gorgeous deep purple which I managed to get in the sale. If you can no longer purchase Leap of Delight, NARS' Train Bleu matte lip pencil is a close match. 

In this slightly awkward pose you can see me wearing the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Monte Carlo. I love this if you want a bold lip but still very wearable lip. It turns into a lovely hot pink stain once it wears off.

And in this final awkward pose I'm wearing another NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Prague! One of my favourites at the moment.

I hope you like the look I created, let me know what makeup ideas you have for your Valentine's Day look.

Beth x

Seeing stars? Any products which have a * by their name have been sent to me. See my full disclaimer here...

StyLondon Gel Nail Wraps Review and Tutorial

I am awful when it comes to my nails and nail varnish; it gets picked off or I just don't paint them at all and they suffer. They break easily, don't grow and just are not nice to look at, so I hunted for some way to help me fall back into love with my nails. Nail wraps were the obvious solution and after trying some from StyLondon before I thought I would get some more and show you. StyLondon nail wraps, the gel ones at least, are £6.99 a set. Now that probably seems pretty high, the same amount as a nice bottle of nail varnish but these are a godsend for my poor little nails.

The packet comes with a nail file and buffer and 14 nail wraps. There are 7 different sizes for the nails so hopefully you can find ones that fit yours, you can trim them if required. The process of applying the nails isn't the most straight forward and might be fiddly at first but you do get better over time.

So here are my nails, this was when they were quite good, just imagine them bad... First off you have to take off any nail varnish you may still have on, then buff and file the nail to whatever shape you desire. (That's the easiest bit there is in the process.)

Next you have to find the correct size wrap for the nail.There should be one, it might not be perfect but you can trim it slightly and if it doesn't quite reach the sides there is a teeny amount of stretch in each wrap.

Once you have chosen the wrap you peel it off of the plastic and apply it to the nail. I then hold down on the nail for 30 or so seconds and then smooth the sides. You'll notice there is a lot of excess nail wrap, we'll get to that next...

So now you have to cut the wrap as close to the end of the nail as possible, (be careful not to cut the actual nail, I've done it, it is upsetting.)

Then you take the file and file the wrap downward around the edge of the nail so it should end up being your nail shape and look like an amazing piece of nail art. I like to smooth the edges with my finger to make sure that it is completely stuck down.

Adding a top coat is not a necessary step, these last around a week without, but if you want them to last a little longer I would add a topcoat. I used Seche Vite because it adds shine and dries super fast. I found that even with this there were certain fingers which I had to replace the nails on, my pointer fingers, luckily I had wraps left over which I could replace the fallen ones with. Overall I love the finish, stunning, detailed nails without a salon cost and without the smudging worry! If you do not have time to continuously paint your nails, nail wraps will be your life savers. I would definitely recommend these, their are styles to suit everyone. 

What do you think?

Halloween: Bleeding Burn FX

The next instalment in my Halloween series is another wound tutorial this time a burn tutorial! It is quite simple but does take time to complete, I find it is mainly the latex part! This is also a reusable prosthetic wound, you can stick it on again using latex. 

It uses pretty much the same products as my Mouldy Wound (a matte black MUA shadow somehow managed to escape the photograph!) Lets begin!

 The first step is to coat your arm in liquid latex and pat a piece of toilet paper over and wait until it dries. Once it has dried remove the excess paper. You have to repeat this step about five times, I used a hairdryer so it wouldn't take for ever!

By the end it should look something like this, after I took the photo I added latex around the edges to help it blend into the skin.

 You then need to use tweezers to open a sizable wound and they use a high coverage foundation and concealer to blend the wound into your skin.

 It might take a while to blend but by the end it should look ok!

Next you need to apply a matte black eye shadow to centre of the wound and around the inner flaps to create a burnt sooty effect.

Add a black gel liner to the inner rim and edges, I used a sparkly one to make it look a bit more like liquid.

I then used my cake blood around the outer, and inner rim. Also splodge the blood in patches in the centre of the wound.

If you have managed to blend the latex into your skin enough this is the last step. You need to then apply fake blood around the wound, and your done!

If however you didn't manage to blend it well enough you can take a black eye shadow on a smudger brush and smudge dark black around the outside and work it in towards the wound centre. Voila you are done and have a nice burn wound. To reuse it you need to peel it off slowly otherwise it will shrivel up!

MissCosmeticBlogger xoxo