Sun in Virgo: LOTD

I like being a Virgo, but there's been times I wished I was a Scorpio or an Aquarius. Something more interesting, I thought. You see, I didn't know many Virgos. Things have changed, more Virgos have been met and I know more about myself. I like the deep quirks in the Virgo personality, I like the idiosyncratic interests. Fiona Apple, River Phoenix, William Burroughs, Greta Garbo, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker all share the Sun sign, see not too boring!

I think of Virgo as a kind of Tim Burton character. A little bit quiet, a bit spooky, a bit introverted. Strong as steel inside, and misleadingly willowy on the outside. Bony faces seem to be typical for Virgo, I can sometimes tell a Virgo from their nose alone!

And Virgo's don't like to smile in photos. As you'll see if you click on the links to the famous ones. So, enjoy or endure...

For this Tim Burton-esque, undone look (Tim Burton is a Virgo and is always perfectly, totally dishevelled), I kept my face sleep-deprived and bare. I used some yellow colour corrector and concealer under my eyes, and focused on heavier brows and smokey eyes. 

Face: 

Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Cream Soda as under eye colour corrector

Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude 

Eyes:

Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadows in Vanilla Shimmer, Smokey Brown and Witchypoo (applied as liner)

MAC eye liner pencil in Smolder

MAC Plush Lash Mascara in Plush Black

I'll try to make myself look like a Libra next month! 

Lily Lolo Mineral Eyeshadow Swatches

I'm quite into the Lily Lolo mineral makeup brand and their mineral eyeshadows are very healthy little products. They're made of pure minerals and contain no questionable ingredients at all. Lily Lolo are a UK based company and they are certified Cruelty Free by PETA. They're pretty well priced too and will last for aaaaages. I've taken some pics of them on bare skin (I'm NW15-20 if that helps, cool-toned and pretty fair) appled normally and then with a damp brush. As you'll see, you can get a really dense shade with a damp brush.

Dry then Wet

Witchypoo

Smoky Brown

Soft Brown 

Mudpie

Vanilla Shimmer

And below is a quick peek at the shadows applied to the eye. Vanilla Shimmer and Smoky Brown predominate with Witchypoo applied as a fine eyeliner. 

I'm looking forward to saving up for some of the brighter colours! Check them out on their website, www.lilylolo.co.uk 

Makeup Brushes and Other Excuses

Something for the Weekend?

Silkscreen by Peter Blake

It's Friday, and in keeping with popular internet practice I've got some links for you! Limber up your clicky finger...

> Christine over at Temptalia has been reviewing some new BareEscentials eyeshadows, I like the look of this one.

> Here's Lily Lolo's guide on how to apply mineral foundation. 

> I love this girl's blog. She uses some mineral products, but mostly just creates very cool looks.

> For all you online shoppers, have you seen this? It's a foundation colour matrix, you put in your undertone (ie, cool, warm) and the shade (ie, light, medium, dark) and you get to see a comparison chart of loads of different brands of foundation. It's especially helpful if you know your MAC shade.

> Do you know your enneagram type? Here's a quiz to help you find out. Then check this out, fashion style for each type. I'm a 4 and violet is my favourite shade. C'mon and share, what's your number?

Have a great weekend people, thanks for checking out my blog xxx

Wash Your Face! Lush-y Routine

Skincare is of utmost importance when it comes to having cool make-up. You can't ask your make-up products to do the job of your skincare products. Though, you can do some clever concealing and correcting later. 


I've tried many different products and routines over the years and this one is suiting my skin at the moment. It is important to think of your skincare as being for your skin at the moment and not forever. 


My skin is combination and prone to the occasional spot. If I use products which are too harsh for it, it gets tight and spotty.  If the products are too rich, then my skin gets congested and dull. So I aim for balance. 


Step 1: Make-up & Grime Removal

I take off the day with Lush's Ultra Bland and a clean muslin cloth. I use Liz Earle's muslin cloth but to be honest, any clean facecloth does the job. A muslin is nice though as it's so pliable that you can get right into the corners of your eyes and around your nose easily. I recommend having a good few cloths so you can always use a clean one, I have about five. 

2. Gentle Cleanse

Just now I've been using Aqua Marina by Lush. It's a totally natural, preservative free cleanser. Made with a base of kaolin and calamine, it's calming, cooling and oil-absorbing. If your skin isn't on the dry side this is just lovely. 


You should just be able to massage a little blob onto damp skin then rinse off with water, but I find it a little sticky so I like to use another clean muslin to rinse off. 


When I was pregnant, my skin really dried up. I found Aqua Marina exacerbated the dryness so switched to the Lush classic, Angel's on Bare Skin. This is a ground almond and lavender cleanser which is a bit more moisturizing. I thoroughly recommend you try this is you have dry skin, the staff at your local Lush store will eagerly give you a free sample or demonstration. 


3. Moisturize


You might notice that I skip the classic "tone" step. I find it unnecessary with the products I use, I just splash with cold water after I've finished cleansing. 

I'm using Lush's Enzymion to moisturize with. It has lots of natural, fresh ingredients including lemon infusion, aloe vera gel and papaya. These allegedly help to mop up excess facial oils and to brighten the complexion. It moisturizes with cocoa butter, wheatgerm oil and evening primrose oil and harbours lots of lovely essential oils too. It does contain a tiny percentage of parabens as a preservative, which may be off putting for some. 


I've found this moisturizer to be effective and pleasant to use. It stops my skin feeling tight, makes it feel nice and smooth and has makes your face smell all fresh. 


Back when my skin was drier, I used Celestial by Lush. It's more suitable for drier, sensitive skins. It worked a treat when my skin was so dry that it itched. I might return to it in winter, as Enzymion just does enough just now. 


4. Weekly Face Mask

I never really went in for the whole skin treatment thing 'til recently but I've converted to weekly face masks. I use Lush's Cosmetic Warrior to keep spots at bay and keep my skin feeling comfortable. 

For slightly drier skins, try BB Seaweed. Oatifix is lovely for very dry skin. This range of face masks are so natural and truly fresh. They have to stay in the fridge as there really are no preservatives here.


What's your routine? Any natural, or nearly natural products that work well for you? Or do you have problem skin and struggle to find the right product?

Clean, Green & Mainstream!

I was chuffed to see that Sanex have brought out a shower gel that has no parabens, no colourants, no phthalates and no phenoxyethanol. They've brought out Sanex Zero 0%, which is biodegradable and kind on aquatic systems.

At last! I was just talking to a friend yesterday about how hard it is to buy ecological and economical products. I'm not sure how they're pricing the Sanex product yet, but I'd have thought such a big company would be able to make it affordable? I'll get some to review once I finish my Lush stuff.

LOTD and More Eyebrow Thoughts

I used the BareMinerals foundation again today, being more heavy handed in the hope that I would like it. Alas, it's not for me. I just felt it emphasized the imperfections in the texture of my skin. I wanted to wash my face as my whole makeup felt wrong. But I only have time to do one application, my baby girl doesn't nap for long! So today, a bit of winged black eyeliner and ORANGE lips! 

Morange!

After my recent post about eyebrows, I thought I'd show you a photo of this look without any definition added to the eyebrows. Eyebrows really do frame your face, and it's important not to forget them if you're going for a groomed look. The following picture should demonstrate this.

Freaky!

Yay! Eyebrows! Hmm, and a Wren.

Face:

BareMinerals mineral foundation in Fairly Light

Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Cream Soda as colour corrector under eyes

Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude

Lily Lolo mineral blush in Flushed

Lily Lolo mineral bronzer in Waikiki

Eyes:

Lily Lolo finishing powder in Translucent Matte on eyelids as primer

Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Soft Brown

Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Witchypoo applied with damp brush as eyeliner

MAC Plushlash mascara in Plush Black

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Yeyo on waterline

Brows:

BareMinerals Brow colour in Brunette

Lips:

MAC lip liner in Subculture

MAC lipstick in Morange

LOTD: Electric Eel & BareMineral review

Today, I have been mostly wearing...

Showing off the new brows

Face:

BareMinerals Matte mineral foundation in Fairly Light

Lily Lolo mineral finishing powder in Translucent Silk

Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude

Lily Lolo mineral shimmer powder in Stardust

Eyes:

Lily Lolo mineral finishing powder in Translucent Matte as a primer

MAC eyeshadow in Electric Eel

MAC eyeliner pencil in 

MAC Plushlash mascara in Plush Black

Lips:

Lily Lolo mineral blush in Flushed mixed with Lush's Ultrabalm

I'm not so sure about the BareMinerals foundation. It didn't feel to comfortable upon application, almost like my skin had been blasted by some nasty weather.  The powder felt rough on my brush too. I hope this isn't just me imagining things after the reading I've been doing on Bismuth Oxychloride. Please see the latter half of yesterday's post for more information.  However, I had the regular version of this product applied at a beauty counter a while ago before I'd read about this issue and had the same experience. 

As the day has progressed, my skin's felt quite comfortable. But looks wise, I'm not sure. Though I don't tend to go for a heavy look from foundation, this is really subtle. It hasn't evened my skin out in the way that I'd like it to. The foundation has imparted something to my skin, but it's not rocking my boat.  I expected to love the finish of this foundation, but no.  Lily Lolo is still the winner. 

I also mixed up some mineral blusher with some of Lush's Ultrabalm.  The look was quite sheer but this could easily be built up with more blush in the balm.  It lasted surprisingly well (lasted through lunch) and I'm looking forward to more experimentation. 

Still loving the BareMinerals Brows!

What's the Least: Minimal Makeup

I've been a very busy lady the last few days and my baby girl hasn't been sleeping well. I really could have done with a full face of make-up to compensate but have not had the time. It got me thinking, what's your comfortable minimum when it comes to make-up? What do you grab when you have no time but you know you're going to be out and about?

For me, the bare minimum used to be a bare face. But with being so tired, I think I worry people too much! My Dad told me I looked hungover last time I went make-up free (I haven't been pretty much tee-total for about a year and a half!) So now I prefer not to go out with out some under-eye concealer, eyebrows on and mascara so I don't look so peeky. Like so.

Under-eye concealer - Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude

BareMinerals by Bare Escentuals, mineral Brow Colour in Brunette

MAC Plush Lash mascara in Plush Black

That's my minimum, but I much prefer to add a bright lip! 

Pink and Purple?

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Girl About Town. 

New Brows

You've got to love a good set of eyebrows.  I used to abuse mine terribly by plucking them into a single line of hairs, but I saw the error of my ways.  Here's some pictures from the bad old days!

Eyebrow Assassin

Somehow the eyebrows AREN'T the worst thing about this pic!

Moving along swiftly! 

My point being that eyebrows are a good idea. I'm certainly not for going totally natural and giving up the tweezers altogether, but a fuller shape really is essential. It's taken a long time to get to where I am now as those little hairs didn't trust me enough to grow back to soon. But now I even like to fill them in and for a long time (since I was blonde) I've used Lingering by MAC. It's a very subtle shade, it didn't scare me the way the deeper colours did. So I went back to my natural brunette hair and didn't have the guts to go for a deeper brow colour. I still feared the brow. 

Brows filled in with MAC eyebrow crayon in Lingering and Omega eyeshadow

But not any more! In my crusade to clean up my make-up bag, I approached the lovely Glaswegian ladies at the Bare Escentuals counter in House of Fraser in Glasgow (Hello!).  I asked if they had something for my eyebrows and specified that it needed to be nice and ashy-toned. I really hate my eyebrows looking too red. They had just the thing. Brow colour in Brunette! See the difference below. 

I'm really chuffed with the colour. It's a darker shade than I'd have chosen of my own volition, but I'm really pleased that I went for it. I'm looking forward to using this with a more done look. 

So, how are the green credentials? I went for BareMinerals by Bare Escentuals for two reasons. One, they are a mineral make-up company and I assumed that they'd be "cleaner" than the other brands in the department store. Two, my beloved Lily Lolo don't seem to make a shade that's both dark and cool enough. I went out with Mudpie on a few weeks ago and my partner was like, "Nice orange eyebrows?!?!?!" Fail. 

But how green and clean is my new eyebrow makeup? I couldn't find the ingredients on the UK site, but the American site had what seems to be the same product under a different name. The ingredients there were as follows; Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxides. So, no preservatives, binders nor fillers but Bismuth Oxychloride. If you do some reading around the internet, Bismuth Oxychloride has a wee bit of negative press. Should I be concerned?

A Google search threw up lots of information, some conflicting. The bottom line seems to be as follows.  The compound can cause itching for some sensitive skins when used in cosmetics due to the shape of the molecule (it's crystalline).  It is also a large molecule and tends to slide off the skin, this is why you are encouraged to really buff foundations containing the compound into the skin. Some people have found that this prolonged buffing with a kabuki (particularly a poor quality one, I'd imagine) can irritate facial skin. There is no association with cancer, or bio-accumulation (build up within tissues in your body).  I have not been able to find any information about environmental effects of the use of this compound.  You can read some information on Bismuth Oxychloride here, here and here. I am also waiting for delivery of some green cosmetic resource books so I can add some more info later. 

My conclusion is that I am happy with the ingredients in the BareMinerals Brow colour. I may be warier of using a mineral foundation which contains the Bismuth compound in case it's scratchy, but I'd try cautiously. But as I'm not buffing on my eyebrow product, I don't think I should have a problem. I've now been wearing it for about 5 hours and it hasn't budged. 

Thanks again to the girls on the Bare Escentuals counter in Glasgow for the good chat, help with my purchase and free foundation samples that I will review shortly! Your friendly service really made an impression.

The (not quite) Look of the Day

My make-up didn't really work today, nothing could compensate for the sleep I needed! So here's some pictures I've had waiting on the back burner for you.

Face:
Lily Lolo mineral foundation in Candy Cane
Lily Lolo mineral foundation in Cool Caramel (for shading, I was playing around with using darker foundation to define bone structure)
Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude (on under-eyes and blemishes)
Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Cream Soda as under-eye colour corrector
Lily Lolo mineral bronzer in Waikiki (beautiful shimmer, lovely shade)

Eyes:
Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Vanilla Shimmer, Soft Brown and Smoky Brown
Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Witchypoo applied with damp brush as eyeliner
MAC eyeliner pencil in Smolder
MAC Plush Lash mascara in Plush Black

Lips:
MAC lip liner in Naked
MAC lipstick in Hue

Concealing Dark Circles

I have awful dark circles. Partly due to genetics, the veins are really close to the surface so I look bruised in the inner corners of my eyes. But partly because my baby girl decides how much I get to sleep! This is how I've been correcting them, see what you think.

Before: 

The worst eye, sexy huh?

Step 1:

Rather than just slapping on some concealer, I'm into using some colour corrector. Colour fun! My dark circles are pretty purple. The opposite shade on the colour wheel is yellow, see?  So use a yellow product to disguise purple rings. 

I use Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Cream Soda. They do a colour corrector called Peepo that is yellow, but I chose the eyeshadow because I am pretty fair skinned (NW15 in MAC) and thought Peepo would be too dark on me. But anyone with skin that's any darker than that would benefit from Peepo. Here's how it looks. 

Yep, it's a powder. But don't be scared, mineral magic! Apply it tiny bit by tiny bit with a concealer brush. I have a MAC one and a Lily Lolo brush and either do. This is one eye's requirements on the Lily Lolo concealer brush. 

And below is how it looks on.

Step 2: Conceal

Using the same brush, I sweep on some concealer in the right shade for my skin. I'm using a mineral concealer, which is totally unlike any powder I've ever come across before. The texture is a-mazing. 

The amount in the lid is plenty for an application.

Ta-da!

Here's that awful eye.

Step 3: Finish Your Look.

I can't do anything about my deep sockets, but I can fix up the colour quite a lot. I'll write more about the mineral products asap, I have so many posts to complete - lots of ideas!

Look of the Day

Today I kept the eye make-up simple to make the most of the red lips. I just added a little blush to stop my face looking too flat. I hope I can find a really clean lipstick that delivers this kind of colour! 

Face:

Really light dusting of Lily Lolo mineral foundation in Candy Cane

Lily Lolo mineral blush in Flushed

Dusting of Lily Lolo finishing powder in Translucent Silk

Eyes:

Under eye colour corrected with Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Cream Soda

Under eye concealer, Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude

MAC plushlash mascara in Plushblack

Brows:

MAC eyebrow crayon in Lingering

MAC eyeshadow in Omega

Lips: 

MAC lip pencil in Cherry 

MAC lipstick in Ruby Woo

Quick Make-up

I almost didn't bother with make-up today, but my face looked a bit pale and tired so out came the brushes! 

Face:

Purple rings under eyes disguised with Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Cream Soda

Obvious blemishes concealed with Lily Lolo mineral concealer in Nude

Light dusting of Lily Lolo mineral foundation in Candy Cane

Bit of colour added with Lily Lolo mineral blush in Flushed

Dusted over with Lily Lolo finishing powder in Translucent Silk

Eyes: 

Brow bone and inner eyelid swept with Lily Lolo mineral eyeshadow in Vanilla Shimmer

Rest of eyelid with Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Smoky Brown

Eye lined with Lily Lolo mineral e/s in Witchypoo on a damp brush

Inner waterline done in Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Yeyo with a smudge at tear duct too

Mascara on top and bottom with MAC Plush Lash in Plushblack

Brows:

Defined with MAC eyebrow crayon in Lingering

Filled with MAC e/s in Omega

Lips:

Lined with MAC lip pencil in Naked

MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

I'll do a full review of the Lily Lolo samples and products that I have. They're a new brand to me and I am rather excited about them.