Category: Tarte

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FOTD | Go-to Night Out Makeup

If you’re at university, or you have been, you’ll understand the feeling that you may not have that much time to do your makeup before a ‘spontaneous’ night out. Or maybe you’re not one to spend hours getting ready. Recently I have found my favourite look for a night out that I can throw together pretty quickly, and as an added bonus, it looks really nice in photography. So if you’re into the bold lips, lashes and brows, keep on reading…

I’m always one to focus most of my time on my base. When it comes to a night out, I rarely skip using the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer as it keeps my makeup in place better than any other product I’ve tried. For foundation lately, my favourite has to be L’Oreal True Match – this is a great budget alternative for my beloved Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk (check out my full review here). I add the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer anywhere I may need some extra coverage, and I also take a shade lighter under my eyes and on the high points of my face to highlight. I set everything in place with a powder, either the Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural or the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light. I also found it important to add colour and definition to the cheeks or your face can look pretty flat in pictures. I bronze up the skin with Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder, and have been loving the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit to add shadows under the cheekbones and on the temples, and I also like using the lighter shades to set my under eye concealer and any highlighting I have done. I’ll top the look off with a little powder highlighter – my favourite recently has been the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. I add some to the tops of my cheeks, the tip of the nose, the cupids bow and the chin. 


This eye makeup is incredible simple and easy to achieve. I start by defining the crease, and I do this by building up different shades of orangey-browns, increasingly getting darker to achieve a blended and blown out look. Any matte browns will work for this, but I tend to reach for my Makeup Geek Eyeshadows, in particular Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee and Cocoa Bear. I will then pack a shimmery shade all over the lid, and my absolute favourite for this is Mac Tan Pigment. It catches the light beautifully and is amazing for any warm-toned look. I then create a winged out eyeliner with the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, apply lashings of mascara, and then a pair of false lashes. These will help your eyes really pop and add instant glamour to any look. The pair I’ve used in this look are the Eylure no. 121 which are thick, fluffy and are longer on the outer corner, which help to emphasise the winged-out shape of this look. I’ll then run some of the shades I used in my crease along the lower lash line to balance out the look. To finish off the eyes, I filled in my brows with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Blonde, going for quite a strong brow which I think works well with this look. 

Finally, the star of the show, the bold lip. I find that I can wear any colour with this look, but my favourite shade to wear by far is a bright pink. I’m definitely a lipstick addict, so I have several favourites, but the shade I went for in this look is Mac Viva Glam Miley Cyrus which I have a full post on here. With a bright lip, you tend to need a little added colour on the cheeks, so for blush my go to is Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed as it is a no-brainer shade that goes with any look.















































I hope you enjoyed this look, and perhaps if you’re not so into bold lips this may have inspired you to give one a go? I think they are so flattering and will also reduce your getting ready time as the eyes really don’t need as much work. Let me know your go-to look for a night out below! 

–RachelElizabeth
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BEST OF | Pink Makeup

Valentine’s Day may be long gone, but there’s no reason to put down our pink-hued makeup just yet. For me, pink screams Spring. There’s something about the colour that adds a freshness, a youthfulness and a brightness to any makeup look. Whether it is a bright pop of fuchsia you’re craving, or the more toned-down rose option, this post will include something for you…























I’ll begin with perhaps the most unapproachable area of makeup when it comes to all things pink – the eyes. I can’t say that I’m a lover of neon fuchsia eyeshadow (although I was known to rock that look many, many years ago) but here I bring you subtle rose-tinted shades that while they add a hint of colour, won’t stretch you too far from the neutral spectrum. The most obvious option is the well-loved Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, which is a stunning rose-hued neutral palette. I have posted three looks with this palette which you can check out here. If this palette is slightly out of your budget, or if you’re still on the fence about these pink hues, a great affordable alternative comes in the form of the L’Oreal La Paris Nude Palette which delivers many similar shades (full review here). The final stunning pink option (in the top image) is the Mac Pigment in Rose. This is a really interesting mixture of gold and rose, and it is intensely shimmery and metallic. If you’re a neutral lover and you want to add colour to your arsenal, this comes highly recommended.























From the hardest feature to the easiest to incorporate pink is the cheeks. A pink blush is the nearest to a natural flush without using a full-on red shade. Finding the right shade of pink can add a gorgeous youthful glow to the skin. The first blush I bring you is from my favourite formula, and it is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface. These are the most long-lasting and smooth blushes I have ever tried and (apologies to all my non-American readers) you need to try one out ASAP. Ordering from Sephora is achievable these days so it is a little easier to get hold off. This shade is a pop of light pink that isn’t too warm or too cool so it would suit a huge range of skintones. On the more budget-friendly side is the Gosh Blush in Flower Power. This is slightly easier to wear that the bubblegum hues and works great on those with more yellow undertones in the skin. Having said that, I also feel this is a universal shade, and the slight shimmer adds a really pretty, but subtle, sheen to the cheeks.























My favourite way to incorporate pink, and my favourite makeup category in general, is definitely lipstick. If you’re like me and love to experiment with your lip colour and wear bold, bright shades, then Mac Lipstick in Impassioned is one of my all-time favourite shades. This colour is probably the shade that suits me the most out of anything I’ve tried, but I can see this working on so many people, fair to dark skin. It is a yellow-toned pink that leans slightly towards red. Stunning. For a slightly more blue hued fuchsia shade, I can’t recommend the Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil in Fuschia Desire enough (check out my full review of these here). Moving on to the more parred-down options, for those who love nude-pink shades, Mac Lipstick in Creme Cup will definitely become an instant favourite. The formula is gorgeously creamy and the shade is very flattering. Finally, a favourite everyday shade of mine would have to be Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink in the Afternoon. This is a stunning warm-toned mid pink. It adds colour to your lips but it isn’t so much of a statement. This is definitely the one I’d recommend for those who are new to or slightly wary of pink on the lips.























And finally, we finish on nails. For the bright, in-your-face option, this Nails Inc Gel Effect Polish in Covent Garden Place is a fun and intense fuchsia, which i think looks amazing on the toes especially. This Barry M Nail Paint in Strawberry Ice Cream is definitely more everyday appropriate, but still adds enough pink to make it fresh and fun.

So that rounds up my pink-themed makeup picks. It’s funny because I wouldn’t really associate myself as a pink gal, but there’s something about pink makeup that is just really incredible, and it is a universally flattering shade. What are your favourite pink picks?

–RachelElizabeth

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What’s In My Makeup Bag – New York Edition! | Blogmas Day #14






















The time has finally come for my birthday trip to New York! This afternoon I am jetting off to NYC with the boyf to celebrate my 21st birthday! This was actually my present from my parents, and it is possibly the best a girl can ask for. However, I have committed myself to Blogmas, and I really want to keep up with posting everyday, so I actually plan on scheduling enough posts until I return on Thursday! I thought I would start off with what makeup I am planning on taking on my trip, as these are some of my favourite posts to read – everyone loves to be nosey…


I will begin by saying that I am by no means a light packer – I like to have options. Having said that I don’t think that I have gone too overboard; I will leave that one up to you.

Face
Because the days will be long, I definitely wanted to bring a primer. One of my all time favourites is the Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer (full post here), and as I’ve almost ran out, I thought I would be able to finish it off on the trip. I then decided to bring my tried and true L’Oreal True Match Foundation (review here)- I am bringing two shades (W1 and W4) because I fake tan, and once it fades I need to mix the shades. I am also bringing two concealers: the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard for blemishes and general imperfections and the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair to highlight the face. Moving on to powder products, I am bringing the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light (post here) to set my makeup, and the Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna and the Mac Blush in Harmony for general bronze and contour goodness (check out my recent post for more details on this!). I decided to bring two blushes – my all time favourite Tarte Amazonion Clay Blush in Exposed and Mac Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul. These are quite similar colours, but Exposed is matte and Warm Soul is very shimmery. Finally, I’m bringing my current favourite highlighter theBalm Mary Lou-Manizer (post here).





















Eyes
This category is one that I feel I have actually been quite selective. I had to bring my trusty Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base to keep my eyeshadow looking flawless all day, and I also decided to bring the Estee Lauder Pure Colour Stay On Shadow Paint in Chained for days when I want a quick easy option. I decided to stick to one palette that has everything I need, and this had to be the Lorac Pro Palette – I have a full review and swatches here. This is still quite new to my collection but it is probably my favourite palette, and I know that it will serve me well. Next is the Urban Decay Ink for Eyes liquid eyeliner and for mascara I am bringing the Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara. And of course I am bringing an essential to my makeup routine – my Tweezerman Eyelash Curlers and my current eyebrow pencil, the Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde. As a bit of a glamorous addition to my makeup for my trip I thought I would bring a pack of my favourite eyelashes, the Ardell Demi Wispies.  






















Lips
Probably my favourite category, and one that I always struggle to pack for! So I decided to bring the basic choices. For my nude lip option, I have picked the Kiko Precision Lip Pencil in 300 Caffe Latte and the Mac Lipstick in Kinda Sexy. This is one of my favourite go-to combinations at the moment. For a bold red, I chose another Kiko Lip Pencil in 306 Geranium Red and my current obsession, the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red. In case I’m feeling a bold lip that isn’t red, I decided to bring Mac Impassioned, which is another fave of mine. And finally, the newest lipstick in my collection, Tom Ford Leonardo (full post here) just because it’s stunning. For a lip liner to accompany that, I’m bringing Mac Beet Lip Pencil. 

Brushes
The final category is tools. For ease, I will list the brushes I am taking, and if you want to know more about my favourites, check out my posts on brushes here. So from left to right we have: the Real Techniques Setting Brush, the Sigma F25 Tapered Face Brush, the Real Techniques Contour Brush, the Real Techniques Multitask Brush, the Sigma E35 Tapered Blending Brush, the Real Techniques Buffing Brush, the Mac 239 Brush, the Real Techniques Blush Brush and the Mac 217 Brush. I know this may seem like a lot of brushes, but it means that I will have everything I could possibly need on my trip.

I apologise for the incredibly wordy post, but I hope that you enjoyed having a nosey in my makeup bag. Stay tuned tomorrow for all the skincare goodies that will be travelling across the Atlantic with me. 

–RachelElizabeth
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Monthly Favourites | November 2014

November is my favourite month of the year, so I thought it was pretty apt to do my first every monthly favourites this month. This month has been full of fun and celebration – both mine and my dad’s birthday fall in this month which is always fun. Let’s not forget I turned 21, which is crazy! I had such an amazing birthday this year, with my trip to Paris with my family, my best friends coming up to uni to visit and a great day with my housemates. I couldn’t have wished for more! Now, onto the products that I haven’t put down this month…

My foundation of choice has definitely been the Max Factor Luminizer Foundation (check out my full review here). If you love glowy and fresh looking skin, then this is definitely worth considering. I love this for an everyday base as its a good medium coverage, but looks really natural. This month I repurchased a long-time favourite – the Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna. It had been out of my life for a while, but I have definitely rekindled my love for it, and it is definitely my favourite bronzer ever (read my full ode here). Another cheek product that I can’t seem to stop using is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed. For me this is the perfect cheek colour – there isn’t one look that this doesn’t go with and I tend to grab this on default. It is somewhat sculpting as it has brown undertones, but it still warms up the skin and gives a beautiful flush. The last standout makeup item for me this month has been the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Taupe (full review here). This is by far the best brow product I have ever tried and I’ve even forgotten about  Mac Fling, which I never thought would happen. It makes it easy to have really defined brows with its defined point, but that also allows for the ability to draw natural hair-like strokes, making it a very versatile pencil.

Moving on to non-makeup favourites, something that has really impressed me this month is the Kiehls Ultra Facial Moisturiser. I am generally underwhelmed by moisturiser – my skin isn’t very dry so I’m not searching for that intense hydration, but I don’t like ones that don’t seem to give me quite enough. Picky, I know. This is a no-fuss dose of hydration that works great as a base under your makeup and also for overnight use. This month has also been great in terms of fitness. I have been loving the FitnessBlender YouTube channel, and I have done both the free 5 day challenges that they have to offer. They offer a great variety of HIIT workouts and strength training, and I am definitely feeling the benefits. I’m considering trying one of their 8 week challenges next…

All in all, I have had a great makeup month, and I’m really impressed with some of the new things I have tried. And now December has come around, I can finally get excited for Christmas! Speaking of which, I’m still undecided, but I may be giving Blogmas a go, which is blogging every day in December until Christmas… It will be a challenge, but I think I’m definitely up for giving it a go. What have been your favourite products this month? 

–RachelElizabeth
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Inside My Sister’s Makeup Bag

Introducing to RachelElizabeth, fellow beauty addict and my older sister Charli. We both started watching YouTube at around the same time (a long long time ago), and she, much like myself, has a rather large beauty stash. I’ve wanted to include her on the blog for a while, and as she often travels back home to visit I thought there was no better introduction than having a nose in her makeup bag. She is a Physiotherapist, so I asked her if she could explain the makeup that she wears on an everyday basis, and, of course, the fun things she adds to spruce it up on the weekends.


“Working in a hospital means I don’t get the chance to top up my makeup throughout the day, and as I have oily skin I like to use products that keep me as matte as possible. On a daily basis, I start by prepping the skin – firstly, I use the Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray and then prime with the Rimmel Stay Matte Primer. I find the combination of these products has been the best base to apply makeup on top of. For foundation, I use the Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NC15, followed by concealing under the eyes and any blemishes with the Mac Pro Longwear Concealer also in NC15. This concealer is the only concealer I have tried that doesn’t crease under my eyes, and it stays put on my skin even at its oiliest. To set this all in place and to add a bit more coverage, I use the Mac Studio Fix Powder, again in NC15. To bring a bit of colour and subtle contouring to the face, I switch between the Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in Shade 03 and Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna (not pictured above). My favourite everyday blush is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed as I find it is natural enough for daytime when used with a light hand. To fill in my brows, I use the MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit – the medium brown (top right) is the perfect shade for my brows. I used to use Mac Eyeshadow in Omega but I find the MUA option much more pigmented. I then set my brows with the Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Dark Blond. Finally, I curl my lashes and apply mascara. I use two different ones because most mascaras smudge on my lower lash line. My favourites are the Chanel Volume De Chanel Mascara for my upper lashes and the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara as it doesn’t smudge or transfer throughout the day. As a final step, I like to use the setting spray once more, just to lock in all the makeup.


“When I’m not working, I like to add a little more excitement to my makeup. In terms of eyeshadow, I like a light shimmery colour on the lids. For this, one of my favourite combinations is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 13 as a base and the Bare Minerals Nude Beach Eyeshadow. For a little definition, I like to take the bronzer I’ve used that day and blend into the crease of my eye. All three naked palettes are also my go-to eyeshadows. I love winged eye liner and for this I like the Bourjois Liner Pinceau Liquid Eyeliner – it is a nice matte black shade and it doesn’t transfer onto your brow bone. I also like to brighten my waterline with the Mac Chromographic Pencil in NC15/NW20. One of my favourite steps is highlighter, and for this I use the Chanel Poudre Signee De Chanel Illuminating Powder which I think was limited edition, but I love it because it has a very fine golden shimmer running throughout. For a more natural lip, my favourite is the Mac Lipglass in Nymphette as my all time favourite shade in lip gloss is pink with gold shimmer. For a brighter lip for spring and summer, I recently bought the Mac Lipstick in Full Fuchsia. This is great as it is not too matte but not too glossy, it wears really nicely and isn’t too drying.”

–RachelElizabeth


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Festive Makeup #2 | Christmas Day FOTD

Firstly, for all of those who celebrate, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and ate your weight in gorgeous food – I sure did… Secondly, I really liked how my makeup turned out yesterday, and I used a few new beautiful products so I thought I would share with you my face of the day.

Face
Because I wanted my makeup to last all day I primed with the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and then used one of my favourite foundations of late – the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (the old formula – I can’t comment on the current formula!). I then concealed withe the Mac Studio Finish Concealer and set it all with my gorgeous new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light  – will review this soon!

Eyes
I primed the eyes with the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I used the Charlotte Tilbury Colour-Coded Eyeshadow Palette in Dolce Vita on my eyes – I used the prime shade (a pale champagne) all over the lid, the smoke shade (a dark cool brown) on the outer corner and into the crease, and packed the pop shade (a gold glitter) on top on the prime shade. I then took a matte black, mine being from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, and lined the upper lash line and smoked it out a little. I then curled my lashes and applied the Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara.

Cheeks
I bronzed up the skin with Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna, then highlighted with the Kevin Aucoin Celestial Powder in Candlelight. For blush, I went for the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed (sadly not available in the UK!) to keep the cheeks neutral and so they didn’t compete with the red lip.

Lips
For lips I used the Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in F-Bomb, which is my first venture into this line, which I’ve been dying to try. Spoiler alert: this may be the start of a new addiction…























Gold and red are a classic combination for this time of year, but one that I think can work all year round. There were a lot of luxury products in this look that are heavily coveted in the blogging world, and I will make sure to let you know what I think after I’ve had a chance to work with them a bit longer.

Seeing as it’s Christmas, I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported my blog in this first month, and I am very excited and motivated for the months to come!

–RachelElizabeth
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Festive Makeup Look #1 | Quick Classic Glamour

We are now well into christmas party season so I thought I would do a series of festive makeup looks, suitable for lots of occasions. Today’s look is for those in a hurry, but still want to look glamorous. A classic red lip and winged liner combo is a look I turn to when I need to look nice fast, and it will make it look like you have put much more effort than you actually have. 

Base:
I started off with Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 52 with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush which gives me quick medium coverage, that isn’t completely matte but is one of those foundations that gives the look of a glow from within. I concealed under the eyes and on any blemishes with the Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NC20, then set everything with the Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus.

Eyes:
I first filled in my brows with the Mac Eye Brows in Fling and then set them in place with the Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara in Dark Blonde. I primed the eyes with Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and washed Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Vintage Lace all over the lid and up to the brows to brighten. I believe this shade may have been discontinued, but any shadow a shade or two lighter than your skin tone will work fine. I then contoured my eye slightly with the Inglot Eyeshadow in Matte 349, and by sweeping a light taupey-grey through the crease gives subtle definition without requiring too much blending and effort. I then lined the eyes with Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack with a Sigma E10 Small Eye Liner Brush, and created a medium-sized flick (winged eyeliner post coming soon!). Finally, I curled the lashes and applied lots of the  Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara.

Cheeks:
I contoured the cheeks with the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base (and I do find this fine to apply over powder) and applied the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed (sadly not available in the UK), which is a great goes-with-anything blush especially for bright lips.

Lips:
I lined and filled in the lips completely with the Kiko Precision Lip Pencil in 306 Geranium Red and applied the Kiko Velvet Mat Satin Lipstick in 606 Fire Red. A completely Kiko lipstick wasn’t intentional, but they are two red lip products that I have been loving recently.

This look could easily be added to if you have more time – some false lashes and glitter would be good additions. Next up in this festive make up series will be a going out christmas look.























–RachelElizabeth
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