Look of the day

Here's the look I went for today. I went for dinner with family so I wanted to look put together but I had some errands to run first and I didn't want to look completely overdone. I went for a really simple face and lip and then I really pushed it with my eyes.

As usual I started with the eye. I primed my lid from lashline to browbone with MAC Pro Longwear Painpot in Soft Ochre.

I then covered the lid in MakeUp Geek Shadow in Unexpected.

I applied Urban Decay Buck into the crease as a transition shade before with a small brush applying Makeup Geek Shadow in Burlesque

into the outer corner of the eye in a v shape. Using my MAC 217 brush I then swept a black shimmer shade from Soap and Glory

into the crease to darken the look. I depotted this from a palette so I don't know the name of the shade. When I was done I applied a small amount of MAC Naked Lunch under the browbone. You can see this in the picture directly above the black shadow.

There was a little bit of fall-out so before I primed my face using NARS Pore Refining Primer, I did need to clean up a little using my Garnier Micellar Water. I mixed a small amount of my Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation in Shade 1 with my MAC Studio Fix Liquid Foundation in NC25.

I also added in a little bit of NARS Liquid Illuminator in Orgasm.

If I really want to sculpt out the face I like to cream contour. I have a few steps to this. Firstly I'll conceal under my eyes using my Inglot AMC Concealer in Shade 64.

I'll then take my Benefit Watts Up across my cheekbones and out in a fan between my eyebrows up to the forehead. I have slightly oily skin lately so I don't like to take the shimmer highlight anywhere else on my face. I'll sculpt out underneath the cheekbones, into the temple, down the side of the nose, the jawline and under the bottom lip with my Maybelline Fit Me Stick in Soft Honey,

Then anywhere I haven't put light or dark I'll fill in with MAC Prep and Prime Highlight Pen in Radiant Rose.

I then blend everything together using my Damp Sephora Sculpting Sponge. Don't forget to blend the contour along your jawline down onto your neck or you'll end up with a serious line.

At this point I'l start using my powder products. Once I switch to powder products there will be no more cream products applied to my face. Applying creams after you apply powder causes makeup to separate and just look generally patchy.

Using my damp sponge I'll be setting anywhere I would usually get shiny using Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent. For me this is down my nose,  on my chin and I also use it to set my undereye concealer.

In order to really sculpt out that contour I'll go over the dark areas with Benefit Hoola and along my cheekbones with MAC Soft and Gentle. Blend, Blend, Blend. Blend until your hands hurt.

I lined my upper lashline using Maybelline Master Graphic Liner and my upper water line using a basic black pencil liner. I lined my bottom waterline using NYX Wonder Pencil in Medium. This is available from Sam McCauley Pharmacies. I applied MakeUp Geek in Unexpected on the outer half of the lower lashline and Urban Decay Buck on the inner half before applying Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara all over my top and bottom lashes.

I swept MAC Blush in Fleur Power across the apples of my cheeks. I finished the look by applying MAC lipstick in Creme Cup all over my lips and spritzing MAC Fix+ all over the face. This gives a really dewy finish to the face.

Heres the finished look.

L'Oreal La Palette Nude: HOT or NOT

About a month ago I picked up L'Oreal La Palette Nude in 02 Beige at Sam McCauley Pharmacy for just under €15. The palette originally came to my attention after my favourite youtuber, GlamLifeGuru posted a first impressions video on it.

My first problem with the palette is that the version (the only version sold in Ireland) is a totally different colour palette to the one she was able to buy in America.

The palette I have looks like this:

The Palette available in the States looks like this: 

I do wish that the US palette was available here also. I don't understand why the palettes in each zone have to be different. 

Here is a swatch of each shade. The top shade is swatched dry and the bottom swatch has been wet with MAC Fix+ before swatching. 

As you can see the colour pay off from each shade varies dramatically. 

LEFT: Applied Dry            RIGHT: Applied Wet

The first shade in the palette is a frosted cream colour. The colour pay off from this shade is very poor and is barely visible on camera either wet or dry. In person, it gives more of a sheen to the skin than applying any colour.

The second shade is a pearlescent gold with a peach undertone. It's a lot deeper than it looks in the palette. This is one of my favourite shades in the palette. Applying this colour wet actually sheers it out instead of intensifying the colour. This colour is a close dupe for Urban Decay Half Baked but not identical. Urban Decay Baked is a good deal more coppery than this shade. 

                L-R: Urban Decay Half Baked, Loreal Shade Dry, Loreal Shade Wet, Urban Decay Baked

The third shade is a matte cool brown. The colour pay off is poor from this shade and you really need to dig in in order to get it to swatch more opaque. It is a close colour match to Buck from the Urban Decay Naked Palette, but again it is not identical in person. 

L-R: Loreal Shade Dry, Wet, Urban Decay Buck

The fourth shade is a taupe with a silver/grey undertone. The colour pay-off is great from this shadow. It swatches creamy. Wetting this shadow intensifies the colour and makes it more creamy to apply. It is an almost identical dupe for Urban Decay Bust. 

L-R: Swatched Dry, Wet, Urban Decay Bust

The fifth shade is a shimmery, more than pearlescent lemon yellow. It's even more yellow in person than it's showing up in pictures. It's a very strange shade. I don't own anything else like it. I also don't feel like I'll ever have a use for it. If you tend to wear a lot of greens on your eyes you could probably use this colour. I'll probably depot it and give it to a friend. I think this is the only shade in the palette that I won't use at all. 

The sixth shade in the palette is a cool toned matte brown. It's slightly darker than the matte brown we discussed earlier. The quality of the matte shades in this palette leaves a lot to be desired. They come off very patchy and washed out when swatched dry and when swatched wet they are still powdery and lead to quite a bit of fall out. This shade is no different. I do not have another matte brown this dark and cool. 

The seventh shade is a slightly warmer version of the last. It's also the first matte shadow in the palette to swatch dry without being patchy. It's a good dupe for Buck from the Urban Decay Naked Palette, which means that it's also quite similar to the third shade in this palette. 

L-R: Third Shade Swatched Dry, Seventh Shade Dry, Wet, Urban Decay Buck

The eighth shade is a cool toned bronzed gold with a shimmer. It's one of my favourites in this palette and swatches beautifully. I almost always wear this wet. It intensifies the colour and makes it go on the lid nice and creamy. It's an identical dupe for Urban Decay Smog. 

L-R: Dry, Wet, Urban Decay Smog

The second to last shade in the palette is a cool toned grey/black brown. Dry, it swatches out no different than the other matte browns in the palette but as you can see, wet, the colour gets a lot darker and more intense. It is really powdery though and a nightmare as regards fallout. 

The last, and I certainly mean least, shade in the palette is a matte "black". I say black but I'd call it more grey. It's really washed out and when black shadows are a dime a dozen this one just doesn't cut the mustard. 

This palette is a bit hit and miss. While the matte shadows are a major let down,  most of the shimmers are beautiful and there are some exciting dupes for Urban Decay shadows. If you own the Naked Palette I wouldn't advise you to get this, or if you're looking to expand your collection of mattes (as I was), this isn't for you. If you don't own the Naked palette, this might be worth looking into as a more affordable option if you don't mind dealing with a few duds.

All in All I'm going to give this palette a NOT for me because I just didn't need it in my collection but for beginners out there this could be HOT.

Desk to Dancefloor

This is going to be my first video post so please excuse the quality. This is one of my go-to daytime looks and I'll be posting Part 2 very soon, detailing how to transform it to this

in just a few simple steps. 

Let me know if you prefer the video format in the comments below or if you'd prefer to stick to standard blogging. 

If you recreate this look don't forget to post it to the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/queenoftartanblog

and tag me on twitter: https://twitter.com/KateMRay

Kate xxx. 

I'm back!.. Did you miss me?

It's been almost a full year since I've last posted anything here.

I am alive. I have missed blogging but I just haven't been able to find the time or the inclination to bring myself to post.

This year was my final year of University and I honestly feel that it was the most stressful year of my life. I made a huge mistake three years ago in choosing what to study. I have discovered over the last few months that I'm not the only person who makes the wrong decision. There are far more people who make a mistake than you would be likely to think. Making a mistake like this honestly has knocked my confidence so much in the last few years. It's so hard to motivate someone to do something they really don't want to do, and as someone who is competitive, a go-getter and motivated in general it was very hard for me to deal with the changes in myself and my general attitude towards things over the last three years.

Having finished University this week I can tell you that a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I can not wait to get back to my passions, beauty and writing. I've been thinking up posts over the last few weeks but I'd appreciate any ideas you guys can offer me on what you'd like to see me write about or if there's a product you would like to see trialed. I'll also run a competition in the next few weeks so keep an eye out.

All My Love,
Kate xxx