A Little Amy

Get Ready With Me

One of my closest friends turns 21 tomorrow, so to celebrate we all went out last Saturday. This week's post is a get ready with me, detailing everything I wore to transform me from a drab duckling to a more sophisticated signet (quite the Wordsworth, I know!). Just think Princess Mia's Paol-over in The Princesses Diaries ;)







Rewind to the night before, where I tried to get a bit of a faux-glow going on using the Cocoa Brown "One hour Tan Mousse". As an avid tanner, I'm definitely late to the game with this cult product. This was only my second time using this tan and I have to say I'm quite impressed. I do prefer the Rimmel "Sun Shimmer Self Tan Mousse", but Cocoa Brown does the job too and is quite long-lasting. It generally lasts about 5-6 days on my skin and once applied with a mitt is completely streak free. I also like that it gives different depths of colour, i.e. wash off after one hour for a subtle glow, after two for more substantial colour, or after three for more intensity. On this occasion, I opted for more of a deeper colour because it was somewhat of a special occasion and because the colour of the dress I was wearing was quite pale. I also decided to give my makeup brushes a long overdue speedy clean, using the PS Love This "Makeup Brush Cleanser". This gem was only €2.50 from Penneys a few weeks ago and it gets the job done very quickly! I also used some conditioner to keep the bristles soft and let them to air-dry overnight, ready to use for the next day.







So for makeup, all of this went onto my face! Check it out:






I'm not a professional makeup artist by any stretch of the imagination, so take what I'm saying in this section with a generous pinch of salt! I wanted to go for a natural look makeup-wise to in keep with the soft, feminine vibe of the dress. To achieve a nice glow to the skin, I used one of my favourite foundations, Lancôme's "Teint Miracle" in the shade 01. This foundation claims to immediately brighten the complexion to deliver a fresher, more flawless look and also offers some sun protection with an SPF 15. I love the result it gives, certainly a brighter dewier look, however I know isn't for everyone. I have combination skin so love the radiance this makeup delivers, but if you lean more towards the oily side, I would say definitely avoid! It does not give a matte finish at all! The coverage of this foundation is very good, I would say medium and quite buildable. I didn't use any primer on this occasion, just used two pumps of the foundation and blended it in using the Bobbi Brown "Full Coverage Face Brush". I've been using this brush to apply my makeup for about two years and it's served me very well! It evens everything out and certainly speeds up makeup application because of its large surface area. Also the bristles are so soft, so it's a dream to use :)

 

  

 I set that in place using Bourjois' "Healthy Balance Powder" before moving on to contouring. To add some slight definition to the face, I used my trusty Sleek "Face Form Contour Kit" in Light. This trio is a great three in one to define the face using the matte bronzer, a beautiful pearlescent highlighter to use on the cheekbones and then a gorgeous deep pink blush with subtle flecks of gold with delivers a really natural looking hint of colour and warms up the face. For a bit more illumination, I also used my Mac Vanilla Pigment, just under the brow bone and in the inner corners. The Mac pigments are really versatile and can be used to highlight, as an eye shadow or even a tiny amount mixed in with a lip balm to give a sheen to the lips. They also last a seriously long time and a little goes a long way (I've had my one for about two years and plan on having it for another twenty two!) To fill in my eyebrows, I used the shade, "Faint" shade from one of the Urban Decay palettes and also the Rimmel "Brow This Way" in the darkest shade but applying it very lightly and just at the end of the eyebrow for a more natural look. Even though I'm blonde, I always opt for darker eyebrow shades as I find the lighter ones have such a warm tone to them and always end up looking ginger once applied! I applied a thin line of eyeliner and some mascara, before adding some false lashes. For lips I used a combination that I've been obsessed with lately; Mac lip liner in the shade "Dervish" and "Twig" as my lipstick. This one is such a wearable colour, as if applied lightly it gives that clichéd, but true result, "your lips but better" and if applied more opaquely adds a lovely deep pinky/brown hue and warms up the complexion. I used just a hint of Clarins "Instant Light Lip Perfector" in the shade 01 "Rose Shimmer" just to the centre of the lips to add a slight sheen....and voila, that's makeup done!

 I  kept my hair and nails very simple, just running my BaByliss "2285U Curling Wand" through the ends for a bit of softness and applying a few coats of Essie's "Neo Whimsical" to my nails. As a topcoat I used Sally Hansen's "Miracle Cure, which is just a clear nail strengthening treatment. When I can actually be bothered to rob this off my mum and apply it, I actually find it makes a difference. My nails are a bit pants and are always breaking, but this stuff actually gives them a bit of strength! I'm actually really impatient when it comes to doing my nails, so I'll go to any lengths to get them to dry a millisecond faster *queue vigorous dancing to Eye of the Tiger ;) The Essence "Express Dry Spray" might just be a bit of a placebo effect, but I do think it helps!































The dress I wore was a one I picked up in the Zara sale a few weeks ago for around thirty euro. It kind of has a Yoko Ono vibe to it, which I like :) It's still available on the website.

 

 

*Friends were recruited via the pink pages.

Thank you for reading, I do hope you enjoyed! Until next Monday,

                                                                                                            Amy.x