Seven Makeup Must haves!

Every girl has that one weakness, that weakness that no matter how hard you try always results in spending money you don’t have, on things you don’t need, but would absolutely die without.

For some girls that “thing” is shoes, for others its handbags and for many its clothes. For me, it’s Make-up. No matter how hard I try can’t seem to pass the MAC Make-up counter at any department store without some inexplicable gravitational pull forcing me to go and have a closer look at it. And once I’m there, surrounded by all of those perfectly packaged pretty pots of colour, encircled by all those flawless sales personal, I sigh and realise its too late. Once again my addiction has won the war and my savings account is in grave danger.

After years and years of succumbing to my little (ok…big) Make-up fetish I find myself never straying from 7 fundamental Make-up items. No matter what look I’m striving to achieve it’s almost certain that these 7 little wonders are going to feature.

No.1

Maxfactor False lash effect Mascara

Colour: Black

Price:

Expected life span: 3 months

Finding that perfect mascara is never and easy task, and just because it works for Suzy down the street, doesn’t necessarily mean its going to work for you. At the end of the day it takes a lot of trial and error to find that mascara that gives you everything you want and more.

After years of trial and error and purchasing products from convenience store mascaras to top on the range designer mascaras, the undisputed winner in my opinion is Maxfactor’s false lash effect mascara. Its oversize rubbery brush easily separates my lashes adding both length and thickness to them, definitely achieving a bolder than subtler look.

No.2

Bobbi Brown corrector

Colour: Porcelain Bisque

Price:

Expected life span: 6 months

This tiny tub of magic is great for hiding those dark circles under your eyes or that blemish on your chin. Giving you that porcelain perfection look time after time regardless of how heavy of a night you had the night before.

And best of all, because such a little goes such a long way, it can last up to about 6 months.

No.3

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

Colour: NW 20

Price:

Time: 2/3 months if used daily and as liberally as I apply it

I must admit I’m more prone to liking foundation that is going to give me a lot of coverage. If you’re more into the natural look, this product probably isn’t for you.

However, if you, like me, like your skin to look as flawless as possible, then this foundation is as valuable as gold.

Providing all-over coverage, I couldn’t imagine a night out without it.
Update: this is no longer my favorite foundation as it seems to darken over time. To find out all about my new favorite go here!

No.4

Clarins Colour Quench Lip Balm

Color: 14

Price

Expected life span: I’ve has this tube for ages and it hasn’t run out yet so can’t put an exact life span on it.

Lipstick/lip gloss is not something I regularly wear, firstly because most lipsticks/glosses/balms leave my lips chapped and feeling dry and secondly, because my fiancé has some strange dislike for it…

Anyway, I haven’t found a solution to my second problem, other than to defy him and put it on anyway *insert evil laugh.  I have however finally found a solution to my first problem, Clarins’ Colour quench lip balm. One of the only products I’ve found (and trust me I’ve tried many), which doesn’t send my lips into protest.

No.5

MAC Powder Blush

Colour: Margin Frost

Price:

Expected life span: Depending how often you use it up to a year or even longer

Blush is great for not only emphasising your cheekbones but also giving your face back some of that healthy colour which may have been masked by your foundation.

I love the colour of this blush, and the ease with which it goes on. Start of applying a small amount and build it up until you’ve got the look you were going for.

Hint: try applying a little big of blush to you eyelids with your blush brush. It acts well at creating the illusion that your eye is bigger and brighter especially if you’re going for a more minimalist look, or acts well as an eye-shadow primer.

No.6

Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder

Colour: Pale yellow 1

Price:

Expected life span: +6 months

One of the things I love most about this product is how long it lasts. Although more pricey than other pressed powders that I have tried, I have found it to last about 3 times as long.

Pressed powder is great for applying on top of your foundation. Not only does it set the foundation in place but it also creates a more finished and flawless look.

No.7

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish

Colour: Soft and gentle

Price:

Expected life span: +6months

I must say when I first saw this product I umm’d and ah’d over it for some time as its pretty expensive. But ever since I took the plunge and splurged on it I have not looked back. Not only does the product itself really last for a long time, but its great at creating a healthy and natural glow. Apply above your blusher and blend for best results.

My 5 favourite technological friends

There are a few materialistic items that I can shamelessly say I just couldn’t live without…well, I mean, literally I obviously could live without them, but realistically my life would be a much more boring place without them.

Because I love them so much, I thought I’d share them with you.

No. 1

Although all of the items in this post are in a close race for first prize, I’m going to have to give it to my Macbook pro. Firstly, because it is quite possibly the most expensive item I own, and secondly there is hardly a day that goes by where I don’t get some form of use out of it.

Source:Apple macbook pro15

No. 2

Second on my list is my newest little friend, the Canon  EOS D600 A.K.A the Rebel T3i. Although the camera has only been in my life for approximately three weeks now I’m not really sure how I ever lived without it. It makes even the most boring of walks exciting, with every outing transformed into a new photo opportunity.

Although I have always been interested in photography, this little beauty has awoken my inner-photographer. So watch this space for more on aperture, ISO and shutter speed (which I currently know very little about) and hopefully we can learn together.

Source: Canon EOS D600

No. 3

A close third on my list is another camera; this time it’s the Canon Power Shot S95. Purchased for me as a Christmas gift in 2010 by my amazing mum and perfect Fiancé.

At less than half the price of the Canon D600, and probably less than a third of the size, this little point and shoot goes everywhere with me in my handbag so that I never miss a photo opportunity. Its amazing functions give me a lot of the control I get with a DSLR but without the hassle of lugging a big thing with me everywhere I go.

Source:Canon PowerShot S95

No. 4

Next on my list of technological items I can’t go without is my Wacom Intuos tablet. If you’re unsure what a Wacom tablet is, never fear. Up until about a year ago I didn’t have a clue either. Effectively its an electronic drawing pad. You attach it to your computer via a USB to mini USB, open a program like Photoshop and away you go. It comes with an electronic pen and several different types of pen nibs. Great for getting those creative juices flowing, without the mess or fuss of paints, paper, easels and what not. I also use it in a lot of my Photoshop and Illustrator work.

Source: Wacom Intuos 4 

No. 5

My Sony PRS-505 e-reader comes 5^th on the list. It’s so compact and small and allows me to take 100’s if not 1000’s of books with me wherever I go.

E-readers such as this and the Kindle, to name but a few, make use of a special technology called e-ink which doesn’t harm your eyes as much as it does staring at a computer screen all day.

Source: Sony PRS-505 E-Reader

I would love to hear about some of your technological favorites so feel free to comment.

Stylish Surreal Portrait

I recently stumbled across a cool tutorial on how to make a stylish surreal portrait (think retro geisha)


I thought I'd share my results with you. It's a really fun and easy tutorial to follow so why not give it a go. http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-manipulation/stylish-surreal-portrait.html 

 I'd love to see what you come up with if you give it a try email me your results.


Please note that I can not take credit for this tutorial, asI did not make it. I just really enjoyed doing it myself so thought I'd pass it on.

Getting that Retro Film look

This tutorial is intended for photoshop CS5
Time required: 10min
Level: Basic/beginner


The potential of things one can achieve in photoshop seems to me to be only limited by one's imagination. However, for first time users, Photoshop can be an extremely daunting interface. In this tutorial we will transform an ordinary looking photo into something a little more funky and retro.

Tip: This effect will work best with high contrast outdoor photos


Step 1:
Open Adobe Photoshop, go to File>Open> and select an image you want to try this effect on.


Step 2:

On the right hand side of Photoshop you should see a layers panel (if you can't see it it, go to the top of the page click on Window>layers, and the panel should pop up). In the layers panel you should be able to see a small thumbnail of your picture with the label "background" and a small icon of a lock. This icon means that the layer is locked. In order to work on the layer we need to unlock the icon, to do this double click on the layer "background".


A new panel pops up titled New layer, next to "name:" type in "retro" and click "ok."


Step 3:

Go back to the layers panel and right click on the "retro layer," select "blending options" from the pop up menu. A new panel titled "layer styles" opens. On the left of the panel select "color overlay."
Once you have selected "color overlay" change the blend mode to "exclusion" and drop the opacity to about 25%.


Next to the "blend mode" you will see a box filed with a color, by clicking on the color a new panel will pop up and you can select any color you want to achieve the effect your looking for. I think turquoise #0ceef1 works well with this look.


Once your satisfied with the look of your picture, click "ok" and "ok" again.


Step 4:
Go back to your layers panel again and right click on the "retro" layer, select "Convert to Smart Object"

Step 5:
Go to Filter>Lens Correction, a window will pop up. On the right next to "Auto Correction" select the "Custom" tab.


Under the "Custom" tab go to "Vignette" and adjust the "amount" to approximately -60 or whatever you prefer.


Click "ok" once you're happy with the result.


Now all you need to do is save you're work and your done!

Finally here

Have you ever felt like its just one thing after another and you're never going to arrive at your desired destination...well for me,  getting a blog seemed like that task that I was never going to complete.

Its like you know exactly what you want to achieve in your head- but getting the computer to understand what you want just isn't translating properly.

Anyway, after weeks of what felt like a cruel joke my website and blog is finally up and running

So let the blogging begin!