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. 

Smashbox Makeup Review

Although some products mentioned in this post were provided to me courtesy of Smashbox, the views expressed in the following post are entirely my own.

A few weeks ago Smashbox sent me some products to review including their Try-it Kit and a tester of their new Full Exposure Palette.

 I also had my makeup done by their makeup artist, which I have already reviewed in my Smashbox Makeover Post.

The Try-it Kit contains a travel size primer, 

lid primer, 

eyeliner

mascara

and lipgloss

I already owned the concealer  in fair/light and foundation in shade 1.

I started todays look by applying a pea-sized amount of primer all over my face.

The primer glided on really easily and wasn't oily or greasy on my face. I have been considering investing in a Smashbox primer for some time, but the price was always a major deterrent for me. Having tried it, I do quite like the formula and for someone with oily skin who really needs a primer it would be perfect, however my skin being normal/combination doesn't really need a heavy duty primer. 

After applying the primer I applied my concealer in any areas I felt needed a little help. I don't usually use the smashbox concealer for blemishes; I mainly keep it for my undereye area, however as this post is predominantly for Smashbox products I decided to try it out as a blemish cover also. I didn't really like it that much as a blemish cover. It was fine to cover redness but it didn't really do much to cover the spot on my forehead.

After blending out my concealer I applied some lid primer all over my lid up to my browbone. Since my Smashbox makeover I have been applying my eyeshadow before my foundation in order to stop fallout affecting the rest of my face.

The top row of shadows in the palette are shimmery

and the bottom row are matte. 

I used the matte cream colour all over my lid up as far as my browbone, before applying the matte beige on it's left all over the lid. I used the matte taupe colour on the right of the cream on the outer half of the eye and used the matte chocolate brown on the very left hand side to contour my eye. The finished blended look was this. 

I then used my Real Techniques Stippling Brush to buff on my foundation. I found that I used more foundation than usual due to it sticking to the primer more than it would to bare skin. I suppose this is really a testament to the quality of the primer. After applying I used my normal No7 Concealer to cover up any areas I felt weren't properly covered by the Smashbox Concealer. I then applied my Urban Decay Liquid Liner. 

I used the Smashbox pencil liner along my upper waterline. There was no transfer to my bottom waterline whatsoever. It also didn't spread throughout the day. I used my Rimmel Pressed Powder on my T-zone and chin. I filled in my eyebrows and applied my bronzer and highlighter to minimally contour my face. I used Bourjois Blusher in Jasper Rose on my cheeks. 

Before applying the Smashbox Gloss, I applied Benefit lip plump on my cupids bow and in the middle of my bottom lip. I used my Kate Moss lipstick in 03 under the gloss. The gloss didn't feel sticky when I applied it but it did leave a sticky residue after it had been on for a few minutes. It didn't last more than a half hour and was totally gone after I had eaten. 

The finished look: 

#OOTD

Yesterday I had college and I also had an informal interview. I wouldn't have time to change between the two so it was important to keep my outfit simple for college but yet appropriate for an interview. 

The red tartan dress I wore is from TK Maxx. I bought it there just after Christmas. I think it cost around €16.99. I bought the navy coat with the black fur detail on the collar in H&M in the Crescent Shopping centre in Limerick just two weeks ago. It was in the Sale and it cost just €20. It's really stylish and warm at the same time. Although we are coming into the Spring/Summer Season it will most likely be cold in Ireland for another few months so it's not too late to invest in a coat. 

My snood is from Penneys, although they may be out of stock by now. I bought it before christmas and it cost around €5. I love mustard and I think it's really flattering on every skin tone. 

My black boots I have already featured in an #OOTD post. They are from New Look and cost €44.99. I really love them because they are so pretty. They are a lot higher than they look though and can be super hard to walk in. They are also a little uncomfortable, not enough to stop me wearing them though. No pain no gain right? 

Yesterday my look was quite Wintery so I wanted to stick with it and wear a berry lip. In order to pull that off I needed to keep the rest of my face simple. I used Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation in 1 as a base and used Smashbox High Definition Concealer in Fair/Light to hide my dark circles. I'm having a slight breakout on my chin at the moment so I used No.7 Stay Perfect Blemish Cover in Medium to cover that up. To set my base I used my Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Peach Glow, because I was leaving the house at 8am and not coming back until close to 7pm, and I don't really like fixing my makeup in college. On my eyes I used the highlighter from my Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light  up as far as my brow bone. I then layered Sin from Urban Decay's Naked Palette all over my eyelid. I used Buck from the same palette to contour along the crease. I highlighted my tear duct and the very outer corner of my eye with Virgin from the same palette to open my eye. I just used Rimmel Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves mascara on my lashes and filled in my brows using L'Oréal Superliner Brow Artist in Blonde. I used a dusting of the bronzer from my Sleek Face Contour Kit to contour my cheekbones and Bourjois Blush in 95 Jasper Rose to add a little bit of colour to my cheeks. I lined my lips with my No.7 Precision Lips Pencil in fire and then filled them in using Collection Gothic Glam Lipstick in 2 Scorned. To make the colour last I covered that in Barry M Lip Laquer Crayon in 2. 

LFW Makeup Trends

Last week at London Fashion Week we said goodbye to some of our old reliables and said hello to some new, unique beauty trends for AW/14. Although the fashion world may be having a better time of it I am still waiting for the Summer here in Ireland so I've taken the time to pick out some of the key trends for SS/14. 

Some of the stronger trends such as the cat-eye flick and the metallic colour pallette are still hanging around though to ring in the summer.

A really prominent trend at LFW was the power lip, ranging from pastel colours and bright pops of orange to the light berry lip we saw gracing the runway during the Charles Anastase show.

I love a dark lip in the Winter season but I'm not sure about how well this will fare during the transition into Summer months. Maybe this trend will be wearable in Ireland where it is cold enough year around to make cheeks flushed and lips red, but somehow I think those of us holidaying in warmer climates won't be sporting the berry lip on the promenade. 

A much more wearable trend is the orange lip seen at the DKNY show. Orange lips are surprisingly flattering on almost every skin tone. Makeup Artist, Charlotte Willer used affordable high-street brand Maybelline to create the look. She mixed Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Electric Orange and Neon Red. 

The trick when choosing an orange lipstick for paler girls is to choose a lipstick with a red hue rather than yellow. In order to demonstrate how easy the trend is to pull off I attempted the look this morning. 

I used Mac in Lady Danger and mixed it with Mac in Russian Red because Lady Danger has a yellow base. I kept the rest of my face simple to emphasise the strong lip. 

Designer, J. JS Lee also featured a bright fuschia tone lip, similar to MAC in Pleasurefruit. I was never a huge fan of lip gloss as I find the majority to be sticky and unpleasant to wear and I am pleased to report that gloss has largely gone by the wayside for the Summer Season. Edging into its place is a matte lip. This look can be achieved by blotting lipstick and then dusting lightly with a translucent powder through a tissue.

Another strong trend to emerge this year was blue-tone eyeshadow. I am of the opinion that blue eyeshadow isn't the most flattering but I can just about tolerate a lavender eye similar to that seen at the Holly Fulton show.

Makeup artist Andrew Gallimore applied this lilac colour from just above the lashline to the brow bone, and while this looks stunning on the runway I don't think I will see it gracing the streets of Ireland any time soon. I created a similar, more wearable look today using the No.7 Neutral Radiance Eye Palette and the Urban Decay Bamboo Palette. 

No.7 Neutral Radiance

 I used the Blue-Lilac colour in the upper left hand corner of the No.7 pallette all over the eyelid to create a base. I then used the copper-pink colour you see underneath to contour the outer part of my eye-socket to create depth. 

 I then applied VZI by Urban Decay in the inner corner of my eye to really make the pinks and purples pop. I then blended them as far towards my browbone as I was comfortable with to stay in keeping with the trend. I ran the blue-lilac colour under the outer corner of my eye with an angled brush in order to also tie in the Ephereal look we saw grace the catwalk of one of my favourite designers, Julien MacDonald. Cheekbones were highlighted and faces were kept simple to emphasise the otherworldlyness of the models. The look took some getting used to and I did have a few double takes when I passed the mirror throughout the day, but I must admit it did grow on me. This is probably as blue as I would go with my eyeshadow but I would never say never. There was once a time when I hated tartan.
 
 

  Another way of wearing the blue eyeshadow trend was shown at the David Koma Show where the models eye was first covered with a gold eyeshadow as a base, similar to the Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow in Molecule D'or that I frequently use. The outer half of the lid was thickly lined with a navy eyeliner. Navy really brings out the colour of the eyes. This is another really wearable way to go with it.

The gold eyeshadow used in the David Koma show tied neatly into another trend to feature heavily in the coming season, metallic glitter eyeshadows. I find Urban Decay to be very reliable for glittery eyeshadows and if applied with their Eye Primer Potion the eyeshadows don’t have much fallout.

Thick flicks of eyeliner were also seen at the Sister by Sibling show and the Topshop show and it looks like this trend is here to stay. I am not a huge fan of this trend but it is largely down to my own ineptness. Liquid eyeliner and I are not a good match and no matter how I try I just cannot create the cat-eye flick I so crave. 
Topshop went for a bold eye look. Models sported a messy eyeliner both on the lid and on the waterline under the eye. They themed their makeup “Beach Party” and it certainly did smack of Oxegen. 

The models had bronzed skin and grungy hair and eye makeup. Although a fairly natural and non-preened look it was drastically different from the pretty, natural faces we saw grace the runway at the Temperley show. The soft sheer makeup was beautiful and really made the models look fresh as a daisy. Minimal makeup is easy to pair with a pastel lip and a white tone eyeshadow in the summer. I would recommend using a tinted moisturiser or BB cream to create this look.

One of my favourite reveals at LFW is that freckles are back! Being Irish I do have an abundance of freckles and a tendency to want to hide them. At the Paul Smith show the makeup artists actually drew freckles across the models’ cheeks and nose using an eyebrow pencil. Backstage at Charles Anastase each girl was given a beauty spot under her left eye because imperfections are beautiful. The natural and real nature of the catwalks really struck me this year and it is a trend I truly adore.

Despite this many models sported bronzed skin and although for the last few seasons pale skin has been in, it appears tan is back. When Topshop Models weren’t sporting their grungy beach look they were instead bronzed babes showing off a bright red/orange lip.

Big lashes seem to be in this season and not just on the top lid. The Makeup Artist at the Jean Pierre Braganza show applied false lashes to both top and bottom lids of the girls before sending them down the runway. 

Mulberry perhaps showed the prettiest faces at  LFW, although they did seem to go very heavy on the mascara. I’m not sure spider lashes will ever be “in”. 
 What do you think of the trends at LFW? Will you be sporting any of them in the months to come? Let me know in the comments below.

#OOTD

 Tartan Dress: TK Maxx: €16.99
 Blazer: New Look: €34.99
 Black Gold Heeled Boots:
New Look: €44.99

Rimmel London BB Cream: Boots: €8.95
 Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder: Boots: €5.99
 Sleek Contour Palette: SleekMakeup.com: €7.99
 L'oréal Superliner Brow Artist: Boots: €8.49
 Buck from Naked 1: Urban Decay: €44
 Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow in Molecule d'Or: Discontinued
 Sephora Colourful Mono Eyeshadow in Glittering Sand: Sephora.fr : €11.95 + p&p
 Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves Mascara: Boots: €5.65
 Rimmel London Lasting Finish By Kate Lipstick in 03: Boots: €6.99