Summer Radiance with Jane Iredale's Magic Hour Collection

                                       

   

 After returning from holiday with the best tan I've ever had (sorry to boast), I'm really enjoying exploring make-up that compliment it. 

Just recently, it was Jane Iredale's 20th Anniversary and to celebrate they released the Magic Hour collection. They were kind enough to send me some samples to try out, and I have been testing it for a few weeks, but never has it suited me as much as it does right now. 

The collection consists of the brands new Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner, Comfort In Touch Highlighter, Golden Girl Purepressed Eyeshadow Triple, and New Shades of Lip Fixation. Packed full of golden, warm and shimmery hues, this collection is a tan's best friend. 

I've been playing around a lot with the Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner because since using MUA's gel, I'm preferring it to liquid and pencil. Obviously Jane Iredale's is of a better quality and the brush that comes with it is perfect for applying thin, subtle wings. It dries pretty quickly so there's no smudging and you don't need a lot at all, so even though the pot is small I know it's going to last. 

The Comfort In Touch Highlighter was in all honesty my first ever use of a highlighter, so I don't have much to compare it to but I soooo love it. It's subtler than blusher but with a more enhancing effect on the cheek bone area, reflecting light and adding an elegant shimmer. Just one stroke of the stick at the very top of my cheeks was enough to create this effect. Again, a small but long lasting and worthy investment. 

As far as eye shadows are concerned, Jane Iredale's are as good as they come, especially when it comes to pigmentation. The three shades in the Golden Girl Purepressed Eye Shadow Triple work and blend so well together to create a golden and shimmery look that is perfect for both day and evening. 

To finish this look off perfectly, all that's needed is a summery lip. Jane Iredale's New Shades of Lip Fixation has really surprised me. It's pink for a start, a shade I never thought I'd be found wearing. The pink half of the stick is rather watery in texture which worried me a bit when I first tried it, but once it's been applied it darkens, dries and turns matte. It's at this point that you add the peachy, translucent and shimmery gloss on top to create a lovely vibrant apricot lip that contrasts brilliantly with tanned skin, and in fact emphasizes it. 

So head on out there and get your tan on, because make-up is much more fun with one!

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My Daily Mask

Happy Saturday people!!!

What are you guys all up to this weekend? 

I'm off to see The Book Thief with my Mum after waiting for what feels like decades for her to finish the book that I lent her. 

So I have a lot of plans for make-up and hair posts for this blog, which I'm really excited about. But before I start any of that, I thought I'd share with you my daily make-up routine. The majority of these products will most probably feature in future posts and for me, they're the Crème dela crème

Products I've used:(Top left to bottom right)

Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation Brush

bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Mineral Foundation in Medium Beige

BareFaced Beauty Mineral Blush in Selene

Bourjois Powder Brush

Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Mascara

Art Deco High Precision Liquid Liner 01

Betty & Walter Rose Lipbalm

For me, bareMinerals is the Holy Grail of foundation. I bought it on a whim after testing it in Debenhams. I've tried so many foundations over the years from Estèe Lauder to Yves Saint Laurent , mainly because I struggle to find one that suits my olive skin. I also have quite a dry T-Zone and was finding that all the liquid foundations I was trying would just cling to the dry areas, and it would look gross. 

With bareMinerals, the range of colors is incredible, and because of it's mineral nature and blendability,  it adapts to my skin tone. 

One thing I really disliked about liquid foundation was that I didn't feel like it looked natural, and I was so conscious that I was wearing it. 

The Body Shop Foundation Brush is amazing at blending, and by the time I'm done, I'm left with flawless, natural looking coverage that feels so light and lasts all day, and that's without even using primer. 

BareFaced beauty is a similar brand in the sense that it really focuses on the skincare benefits of using minerals. The color looks quite harsh in the pot, but I use a very tiny amount for some natural looking warmth. 

It's a pretty good job that the base of my daily routine is so natural looking, because as you can probably tell from the picture below and previous posts of mine, I choose for my eye make-up to be the main attraction, and with all the other foundations and blusher's I have tried with this particular eye make-up style, it was just way too heavy. 

I'm pretty sure that if, like me, you're a winged eyeliner fiend, then no matter how many years you've been doing it, you're never quite satisfied with the outcome, with one wing ever so slightly wider/longer/thicker/angular than the other. For years I used pencil, thinking that I couldn't move onto liquid eyeliner until I was a wing master. I finally made the move, but nothing I tried cut it. That was until I was asked to do a product review for Art Deco make-up, and they sent me their precision liner. With this product it's the closest I've ever got to creating wings that I'm happy with. 

I found liquid eyeliners with short, hard brushes difficult to use when creating a wing that flows, so the long brush on this product is perfect. 

I also use this tutorial that I found to create the shaped wing that I like. 

http://www.topinspired.com/top-10-eyeliner-tutorials-for-irresistable-cat-eyes/

So there it is. I wear this look so often, and it works with practically everything, giving a delicate yet alternative edge to an outfit. For an evening look (which I'll do in another post) if I don't feel like changing my eyes, I'll pair this look with either a dark brown or a dark purple lip just to add a more sultry, gothic touch, but at the same time keeping it feminine. 

I hope you're liking my blog so far. I'd love to get some feedback, so feel free to tell me what you think about it so far. 

Who of you out there is a fellow winged eyeliner lover like me, and what products/techniques do you use to create the perfect wing? 

Steph x 

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