Mini York Haul.

Recently I went to York for my birthday. Shopping wasn't the main focus of going to York, I just wanted to get away with my boyfriend and have a very chilled and relaxed time away. However, whilst I was their I picked up a few things, most of which I have had my eye on for a while.

Firstly I picked up the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. Not too long back, they gave me a sample of this moisturizing gel (which also comes in a lotion for dry - normal skins) when I baught a face wash and I really enjoyed using it. Therefore, I thought I would pick it up, due to my sample pretty much running out. I chose to get it in the 50ml tube version, rather then the bottle with a pump, mainly because its huge, 125ml to be precise, and because I like to travel a lot, the tube version was just much better. However, if you aren't traveling then the 125ml is much better value!

Website Description - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel is oil-free and non-comedogenic. It gives you the lightweight hydration without oiliness so your skin feels smoother, softer and more comfortable.

Secondly, I got the butterLondon Horse Power Nail Fertilizer. I've had my eye on this and the brand for a while, because I've read so many rave reviews about it transforming people nails and helping them being so much more stronger and healthier. Ever since I ran out of my Dr Lewinn's Renunail, I haven't really found anything that I particularly like, and even thought I liked the Renunail, it didn't really give the results I was hoping for. Therefore, I thought I would give this butterLondon alternative a try. 

Website Description - This nail rejuvenator is one of our all time favourite products! This product is 3 Free, and uses an herbal ingredient called ‘Horsetail’ (which is a herb...not an actual horses tail) to strengthen and repair nails. When used properly, the results are really quite staggering! Apply one coat every day for 7 days, then remove and begin again. Use for one month. Horse Power Nail Fertilizer can be used as both a basecoat & topcoat.

Next, I thought I would pay my usual visit to Dior, which as you all may know is fatal for my purse. This time I walked away with the DIOR Diorskin Nude; Skin-Perfecting Hydrating Concealer, which is what I believe to be the concealer version to their AMAZING Diorskin Nude BB creme. As soon as I tried this on the back of my hand I was in love with it. It’s so creamy and smooth…but more to come in the in-depth review of this little beauty. Originally, I was going to buy the MAC pro-longwear concealer, however when I tried it…I found it was just wayyyyy too cakey for me.

Website Description - The Diorskin Nude Concealer contains 45% Active Mineralized Water for 6-hour hydrating action. Its lightweight texture, like an eye contour care product, becomes one with the skin without leaving a trace to offer perfect correction and an ultra-natural result.

Lastly, whilst at the Dior counter, I was also going to pick up the DIOR Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara, I've heard so many amazing things about this mascara. However, the woman at the counter asked if I would like a sample sized version to try out first. Which I think is just genius, because mascaras for me are so hit and miss. I did try it out in York when we went out for the night, and the effects were beautiful, however I’m yet to compare it with my beloved L’Oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara.

Website Description - Bolstered by its backstage expertise, Dior brings you the latest chapter in the DIORSHOW mascara adventure, inspired by the big-screen eyes of movie star icons: ICONIC OVERCURL. Its secrets? An incurved brush, modelled after professional eyelash curlers, which delivers extreme curl and a stretch-effect formula for spectacularly shaped lashes. 

I will make sure to write an in-depth review about each of the products above some time soon. Giving you more detail about the products themselves and about what I think of them once I've given them a good try out.

The Truth.

We all have those friends who we thought were our best friends, and we knew everything about them. We trust them, tell them what we think are dark secrets, unknowingly one of my childhood friends had far bigger, heartbreaking secrets then I could ever have imagined. We drifted apart slowly, and looking back on it, I wish it had never happened. Nevertheless, she's started to write a blog about her past, and it's the only insight I've had about things which happened to her, even when I was around, and I didn't realise.

It's beautifully written, and it's heartbreaking to read. 

She's a brilliant writer and all she wants is to let go of her past, maybe even help someone out there. 

I'm addicted to her blog right now.

Please give it a read. 
Trust me, you'll regret it otherwise. 

http://afilipinasstory.blogspot.co.uk/

Match Your Skin Tone.

As you will know there are millions of different shades of lipstick, gloss and tint out there. You will also know, not every shade out their will suit you. Therefore this is a guide to what shades you should think about looking at, depending on your skin tone.

Super Pale

What to try: If you have super pale skin try going nude. Think peachy lipsticks and nude coloured glosses. If your wanting a really glam look with major impact, try a pure red lipstick.

What to avoid: Dark chocolate and burgundy shades, they're too contrasting with your pale skin.

Super Dark

What to try: Anything goes with darker complexions…lucky girls. Try orange or coral shades for a fun pop of colour and don't forget to load up on the gloss to showcase your full lips. Yes, everyone will be jealous, but that's kind of the point, right?

What to avoid: Stay away from milky or chalky colors with a lot of white in them because they're too contrasting, unless you're going for a mod 60s look.

Olive Toned Skin

What to try: If you have olive-toned skin (think Hispanic, Italian, Greek) then pretty much anything will look absolutely lovely on you. For a really amazing look, try coral lipstick…so hot right now.

What to avoid: There are some shades you should steer clear of. First of all, purple, it'll accentuate the yellow undertones in your skin and give you a sallow look. Secondly, brown, it can look too monochromatic. 


Yellow Undertones

What to try: Blue-based reds are perfect when you want to really dress up. Flesh tones with gloss are gorgeous for this skin tone. You can also try bronze shades for a somewhat monochromatic look.

What to avoid: Stay away from purple, it'll bring out the yellow in your skin and can make you look sickly. It also goes for anyone with yellowish teeth.

Pink undertones

What to try: Try peach tones for a softer look or orange based or brick reds for a classic pin-up girl look.

What to avoid: Blue-based reds will clash with your skin tone.

Tip: If possible always try a lipstick before buying, and also look at it in natural light, rather then in artificial lights. Trust me…the artificial lights around most make up counters make a lot of difference to the colour of products, specifically lipstick and foundation.

Tip: Brush lips with a toothbrush, this will gently exfoliate and promote circulation in the lips, causing temporary plumping. The enhance this effect apply lip balm such as vaseline, to your toothbrush before hand. 

Tip: If your wanting to make your lips look fuller, then avoid dark lipsticks or glosses. They can make your lips looks smaller. Instead, choose a lighter shade to give the illusion of fullness. Also, pick lipsticks with shinier finishes or apply gloss over the top. Shine reflects light, making lips look even bigger.

Tip: Applying a highlighter, white pencil, or a line of concealer a shade or two lighter then your skin tone to your cupids bow only, will give the illusion of fuller lips. Remember to blend in lightly.

Know Your True Colours.

The easiest way to make your eyes stand out is to use complementary shades of eye shadow that work best with your specific colour. It may come as a surprise, but you should not wear the exact same colour eye shadow as your eye colour, for example; bight blue eyes and a bright blue eyeshadow.

Here are some general guidelines:

For brown eyes, try pale greens or blues. This helps bring out the warm tones in your brown eyes and makes them appear richer. Use darker jewel tones, like dark plum, for a smoky and sultry look.

TRY THESE COLOUR COMBOS:

- Brown, beige, tan 


(make sure non of these brown colours are the same exact colour to your eyes)

- Gray, charcoal 


- Khaki, olive green, mocha 


- Bronze, gold 


- Violet, lavender, blue

For green eyes, use pink tones and reddish-berry shades for daytime wear and shimmering bronze and ruby shades for evening. The contrast of the reddish shades against the green of the eyes will make the colour of your eyes sparkle.

TRY THESE COLOUR COMBOS:

- Gold, bronze, copper 


- Brown, chocolate, mustard yellow 


- Peach, beige, champagne, taupe, apricot 


- Plum, mauve, purple, violet, pink

- 
Deep and mossy green shades 

(make sure non of theses green colours are the same exact colour to your eyes)

For blue eyes, try peach and orange shades for daytime wear and copper tones and burnt orange shades for evening shimmer. These complementary shades will make the blue of your eyes radiant.

TRY THESE COLOUR COMBOS:

- Pink, rose, violet, lavender 


- Gray, silver, copper 


- Dark blue, light blue, turquoise 

(make sure non of these blue colours are the same exact colour to your eyes)

- 
Charcoal, black, brown

TIP: Everyone's eye colour is different; a good idea is to shop where you can try out a few different shades of colours in the same families, allowing you to find the perfect match for you.

Accentuating Your Best Features.

The key to creating any amazing makeup look is to really focus on those features you really love. Whether that’s your lip, eyes or cheekbones, there are different ways to help you make these areas really stand out, allowing you to look and feel incredible. Therefore, I thought over the next couple of posts I would write about just how you can highlight these areas perfectly, giving little hints and tips that I have learnt myself, been showed, or read about.

Here are a few basic makeup tips...

Eyes; If you have great eyes, I’d say half the war has already been decided in your favour. However, you need to do your bit to draw attention to your lovely eyes. Begin by choosing a nice shade of eye shadow – one that compliments the colour of your eyes. Define your eyes by giving shape to your eyebrows and as a final touch use a mascara to give your eyelashes a sharper look.

Lips; Plump, pouty, inviting, Angelina-Jolie kinds of lips are oh-so-desirable! To keep them looking forever luscious invest in a lip balm with sunscreen. Keep your lips constantly moisturised. If you aren’t too much into lipstick, use gloss. For those that have no such inhibitions, there’s a virtually endless range of lip colours out there. Although you might think the bold, Las-Vegas showgirl lips are what turn guys on; I have it on authority those subtle shades of pinks and glossy peaches that are also considered very sexy.

Rosy Cheeks; Rosy cheeks aren’t just adorable in kids. Guys really like a well-defined jawbone, provided you’ve highlighted them with a blusher. For best results, don’t use the brushes that come with the blusher kits. Opt for the big brush instead. Now smile and rub the blusher onto the apples of your cheeks using upward strokes. Add a little shimmer over the blusher to go from beautiful to gorgeous – an unbeatable way to accentuate your best features.

Skin; If you’ve got lovely, soft, healthy, pink, clear and supple skin, you’re going to save a lot of money on all the cosmetics you would have had to buy. What most people are trying to achieve with makeup you have naturally. Which means you don’t have to worry about concealer or foundation - a freedom that very few us can claim to have. If you’ve got great skin, use makeup sparingly, probably for the eye if you have to, but let the beauty speak for itself.

And here are a few non makeup tips...

Hair; Women with lovely hair feel that leaving it open is the only way to show it off to its best advantage. While I won’t argue that it is one of the better ways, there are a variety of tricks you could use to highlight it. For instance, you could try experimenting with simple, yet interesting hairstyles and updos, tutorials for which are freely available on Youtube. If you’d like to keep it a little simple, you could also use hair accessories, clips, bands, beads, and scarves to draw attention to your crowning glory.

Legs; If you’ve got the kind of legs that would put a stilt-walker to shame, use it to your advantage. Guys go ga-ga over legs. Draw their eyes to yours by wearing a mini-skirt or a pair of shorts with sexy heels or mid-calf boots. For those on a slightly more conservative side, you could use skinny jeans and leggings. They are great ways to accentuate your best features.

Cleavage; Remember the episode where Phoebe describes Monica as having “breasts of a Greek goddess”? Well, if you have an amazing bust line and cleavage, you are already desirable to the opposite sex. And to pull them in like magnets, emphasize your cleavage with V-shaped necks. The more plunging they are the better, except you would want to stop where they make you look obscene. Use a good push up bra to perk up those assets and to make those boys go even wilder pick a silk or satin top.