Brigitte Bardot Inspired Look

Mood: Very Happy

Listening to: Klingande- Jubel

WARNING: This post contains heavy eye make-up and serious pouting. 

Hey beautiful bloggers,

I was reading this blog post by Vivianna does Makeup and I love how she captured Audrey Hepburn's classic look. Anyway to cut a long story short, the reason behind the post was because Max Factor have been celebrating 100 years since they launched their first product so they've been recreating some of the most iconic looks in the last ten decades with Gwyneth Paltrow as their model. The four icons from the last 100 years that were chosen were: Audrey Hepburn, from the 50's, Brigitte Bardot, from the 60's, Farrah Fawcett, from the 70's and finally Madonna in the 80's.

*Source*

I was very inspired to do a make-up look after reading this post and instantly I wanted to do a Brigitte inspired look from the 50's. Brigitte Bardot, in my opinion is one of the most beautiful, iconic people in history. One of many reasons I chose the Brigitte look was because I thought out of them all, I could achieve this look the most; plus we're both blonde so I could picture the look better in my head and I absolutely love the smouldering black eyes and pouty pale lips on her.

Personally, pale lips are not for me at all but I decided to give it a go and try and achieve pale lips without looking ill. I think I managed it.

Products used

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in Nude

Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyliner in Zero

elf Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon

Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Pink Bronze

elf Eyebrow Kit in Ash Blonde

Collection Concealer in Light 2

Eyeko Skinny Liquid liner in Black

YSL Rouge Volupte in 32 

Naked 3 Eyeshadow in Blackheart

I only had my iPhone as a camera, so apologies for the bad quality pics!

So to create this look I moisturised my face and added MAC's Prep and Prime as a base. I went with my Laura Mercier's tinted moisturiser as I didn't want a heavy foundation because Brigitte has beautiful and youthful skin and I wanted to focus more on the eyes. I also concealed under my eyes with the Collection concealer just to get rid of any dark circles.

 For the eyes I covered my lids with the elf Eyeliner Crayon and blended it for a neater look, I then added winged eyeliner using my Eyeko eyliner and then dabbed some Blackheart (A deep black eye shadow with red glitter flakes) on my lids just for a more heavier and dramatic look. I then lined my upper and lower waterline with the Urban Decay eyeliner and applied lashings of mascara.

 If I had false eyelashes in the house I would have definitely used them to finish off the eyes.

For my cheeks, I just dusted some of the Seventeen Instant Glow shimmer brick on my cheek bones, it's a gorgeous natural colour and slightly bronzes your face and just gives you a healthy glow.

For my lips, I lightly dabbed on some of my YSL lipstick and then added a bit of my tinted moisturiser to make my lips a few shades lighter. If you have a very pale lipstick, I would just use that instead but I don't own any pale shades so I had to work with what I had in my make-up bag.

Finally I finished off with my eyebrows using my elf Eyebrow kit and VOILA, the finished look!

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I adore the eye make-up and will actually use it more often. I actually don't mind the paler lips with the heavy eye make-up but I think I prefer a bit of colour. 

So guys, if you had to chose, what look would you go for? Let me know.

*This post wasn't sponsored by Max Factor or any other companies. All opinions and ideas are my own.

Love From Bethan

xox 

First look at First Aid Beauty Products

Mood: Refreshed

Listening to: Love Runs Out- OneRepublic

Hello beautiful bloggers,

Although I may have been lacking in beauty posts the last few months it certainly hasn't stopped me from buying new ones, trying and testing them and planning blog posts. Out of them all, I was most excited to plan and post this blog post as I've really been enjoying using these products.

So two products have recently come to my attention and after doing my research online, I decided to splash out and try them as I've read so many great reviews. The products I'm talking about are from a brand called First Aid Beauty, I had never heard of the this brand previously so I was curious whether to try their product s or not. Fortunately for me, I went with my gut instinct (and great online reviews) and purchased them. The first of the two is a Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay and the second is the Skin Rescue Purifying Mask with Red Clay. Both skincare items are from their Skin Rescue range which is said to detoxify the skin.

Pretty simple packaging

What drew me to these products first of all was the deep red colour of them, obviously from the red clay used within them. After doing a little research I found out that Red Clay is great for brightening the skin and is fantastic for absorbing extra oils in your skin. So it's a great product if you have oily skin (don't panic, it's also pretty amazing if you have combination, sensitive or problem prone skin.)

Look a bit like Ketchup here!

I'll start off by talking a bit about the Deep Cleanser. Like I said previously it has a wonderful red colour to it and it's a gooey gel consistency. It's quite sticky compared to other gel cleansers I've used but it's something you will get used to after a few uses. Another great thing about the cleanser is that it slightly foams when you circle it on your face and I feel like it really works into my skin and removes any make-up giving it a deep cleanse. The cleanser also says it unclogs pores and reduces the size of them, which is an additional benefit to a fantastic product.

Now, moving on to the second product; the purifying mask. What I really love about this mask is the fact it's peel off. There is nothing more satisfying after waiting 20 minutes for the mask to dry just to peel it off. Just like the cleanser it's gel based and it tightens pores and controls the extra oils in your skin. But because of the deep cleansing of this product I would limit the use of it probably to once a week just because it's okay to let your skin have some of its natural oils in it. I've really enjoyed using both products together and it really does make a difference to your skin pretty much straight away.

Peel off Mask

Another thing I adore about these products is that they don't use any harsh chemicals, colours or parabens. These things can actually do more damage than good to your skin, so it's nice knowing with these skin products they'll actually do you skin good.

One little flaw to the product is the price, I know everyone can't afford to splash out on beauty items all the time so maybe if they do interest you it's worth putting it on your birthday /Christmas present list. 

I purchased both from FeelUnique.com at full price but now they're currently on sale.

Cleanser- £14.40 (original price £18.00)

Mask- £17.60 (original price £22.00)

I hope you enjoyed my review of the products and let me know if you've tried any of the other products by First Aid Beauty.

Love from Bethan

xox

August Favourites

Mood: Shocked (That it's September already)

Listening to: Gabrielle Aplin- Panic Cord

Hello there beautiful bloggers.

If you haven't already noticed the summer nights are gone and it's back to dark evenings and wearing warmer clothes. Personally I'm much more of an Autumn/Winter girl anyway, I can't think of anything better than snuggling up in a warm jumper and drinking a lovely cup of tea.

Not to ramble on, here are a few of my products I've been using in the month of August. Sorry there are quite a few!

All products were purchased by myself and the opinions are all mine.

1. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

So you may remember me mentioning buying this brush in a previous post but since I've bought it I cannot stop using it. The brush is so soft and it blends liquid foundation really well, it honestly makes your foundation look flawless. The brush is really stable and has a low chance of breaking like a typical foundation brush. I was really impressed with the colour of it too as it looks really professional and it's really reasonably priced at £9.99.
Buy it here

2. BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Green Berry & Blueberry

So last month I was a bit obsessed with buying nail polish from BarryM and when I purchased these two colours I was not disappointed. The Gelly Hi-shine polish gives you and extra glossy finish and there's a wide variety of colours which are fun and bright. I've also got the colour Prickly Pear which a lovely light purple colour but these two are my absolute favourite, they're so pretty and I've really enjoyed wearing them this summer. The price of these are £3.99 each which is a bargain compared to some brands and the actual quality of the product is great. The polish glides on really easily and you don't need many coatings. I can't wait to try out some of the other colours!
But it here

3. MAC lipstick in Crosswires 

Last month I couldn't stop wearing this lipstick and I got really attached to it. It's a cremesheen lipstick so it's quite creamy, smooth and slightly pigmented so it's really moisturising on the lips unlike a lot of lipsticks. I think cremesheen lipsticks are one of my favourite lipsticks from MAC because although they're thick it's actually pretty light on your lips and doesn't feel too heavy whilst giving a great colour. The colour crosswires is a beautiful pinky-orange colour and it looked really pretty with a tan and I felt like it was a warming colour so it would look nice all year round!

Buy it here

4.  Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser & Instant Boost Skin Tonic

So last month I began using these products and I've kinda not looked back since. They are truly a God send and perfect in every way. I had heard so many great reviews of the two products so I finally gave in an bought them and I'm really glad I did because I can't imagine not using these in my beauty routine now. They smell really nice, just like if you were in a spa and it's really therapeutic to use (that could be just me haha) and it's easy to use. The hot cloth cleanser really gets into your skin and removes around 98.9% (not an actual fact, just a guess by me) of your make-up and the tonic really refreshes your skin. I use both products twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening to remove my make-up. I've already re-purchased these and they're currently on their way but this time I've gone for the limited edition Grapefruit and Patchouli cleanse and polish. Liz Earle does some fantastic monthly deals so I've scooped up this month's September deal which includes the cleanse and polish, skin boosting tonic, moisuriser and a complimentry nourishing body cream. I recommend you check it out too.

Buy it here

5.  Charles Worthington Frizz Free Leave in Spray

To be honest I only bought this because it was on the bargain shelf in Tesco and I thought it was worth a try. The product is a leave in spray to use on damp hair before you blow dry it or leave it to dry naturally. I have quite curly/wavy hair and it can frizz quite easily especially in the humidity so when tried this product I didn't really have high hopes but it didn't let me down at all! My hair was a lot smoother after using the product for the first time and it didn't make my hair greasy like previous products I have used. The smell isn't my favourite but if it does the job I can't really complain. I haven't used the shampoo or conditioner in this range and I went to look for it but I think they've taken the complete range off the shelves which I'm gutted about. I am now using it sparingly and trying to make it last. Please let me know if you spot these in any shops!

6. Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 107 

For a long time I've wanted to step out of my comfort zone and wear a red lipstick that suited me. I also wanted to use more matte lipsticks so killing two birds with one stone I purchased this lipstick. It's absolutely wonderful and I really love the colour. It's a beautiful wine red colour and it looks really rich and velvety. Like most matte lipsticks it can be quite tricky to apply but if you apply some vaseline under it it glides on much better although I find it okay to use without a balm underneath. I've used this product more towords the end of last month and I'm really looking forward to using it throughout Autumn and Winter. One thing I want to mention is the smell and taste of the lipstick, it's really nice but I cannot describe what it is like to save the life of me. I really recommend this product as it's great value for money.

Buy it here

7. Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in 01 Intense Black

Last but not least on my August favourites is this gel eyeliner. I have really been into using eyeliner on the top of my lids lately and I wanted to try a gel eyeliner. I heard good reviews of this product so I decided to give it a try. I really liked using the gel last month and it glided easily and lasted a long time without smudging. Exactly like it's name, the colour really was an intense black which impressed me as I find it hard to find a dramatic black eyeliner. There is also a brush included when you purchase the gel, although I do not use it (I use a real techniques eyeliner brush) I have tried it and it's not the worst brush I've used. I was certainly impressed by this product and I would re-purchase it.

Buy it here

So I hope you enjoyed reading my August favourites as much as I've enjoyed using them!

Love from Bethan

xox