Lately I have very much been shying away from wearing black khol or liquid liner during the day as I feel like it's a bit too much at the moment. I prefer to keep it to dramatic night-time looks. I really do go through phases of liking different things and at the moment my favourite daytime makeup is finished off with brown, bronze, smokey grey or navy blue eyeliner. My favourite eyeliners have always been those of a gel consistency and these Clinique Brush-On Cream Liners are hitting the spot. Getting a liner with the right consistency is very tough because it has to be fluid enough to go on smoothly but viscose enough to adhere to the eyelid, not smudge and have decent staying power. Using the Clinique cream liners was a bit difficult at first because I was so accustomed to using the MAC Fluidlines which as we all know start to dry up a little bit over the months.
The Clinique cream liners are alot softer in texture so you need to perfect the application.
Once you have that down, you're flying to be honest. The Black one is probably the truest, 'blackest' liner I own and it really makes a great impact when you are doing intense, night time looks. The Smoke Grey shade is a browny grey, almost like a taupe colour. It's the perfect understated daytime liner to add a bit of definition without looking too made up. I always think it's really flattering when other girls feel the need to ASK if you're wearing makeup! I always reply with "I wish I looked like this with no makeup on!". They come with small application brushes but I didn't think much of these as the fibres were quite splayed out so they were too fiddly to use in the end and didn't give the precise line I was looking for. I would stick to using the MAC or Bobbi Brown fine eyeliner brushes as you get alot more control using them. These cream liners have good staying power and didn't smudge on me at all (please note that I only wear eyeliner on my top lashline - I never wear it on my waterline or lower lashline). The Smoke Grey shade is really unique and lately, it has become my go-to liner every day. Have you tried these? What's your opinion on them?
I have been on the search for a good powder to bring around with me in my bag and so far, this Clinique Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder is my fave. It's super compact and slim packaging is perfect for slipping into your mini makeup bag. I don't know about you guys, but I don't go anywhere without powder, lipstick and lip gloss. This neutral shade is perfect for my skintone, it blends in seamlessly and leaves a really nice, natural finish. I can't stand powders that are visible on the skin and look cakey. After applying this powder in the morning over my foundation, it lasts a good 6-7 hours before I have to touch it up. My skin is combination and I get shiny on my T-Zone so it's perfect for keeping my skin from looking sweaty or greasy. I must say that I'm not overly keen on the green marbled effecton the packaging but I can forgive that since the product inside is great. Apparently this is the most popular powder that Clinique make and I can see why.
As you guys know, my wedding makeup artist, Suzanne, used the Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter as a gloss on me and it gave me the perfect touch of juicy colour. I wasn't convinced the shade would suit me as it's brighter than what I normally wear but the shade is surprisingly wearable! I LOOOOOVE these Korres Lip Butters, I also have the Guava and Jasmine ones for a more natural lip. The guava one is perfect to apply over any lipstick to pale it out slightly and give your lips a gorgeous sheen. The Jasmine one is a perfect every day natural pink shade for that 'my lips but better' effect. They leave my lips so soft and smooth and I adore the scent of all of them. They last for ages even when you use them every day so in my opinion, they are definitely worth the money.
I really like using chunky eye crayons to get a smudged, laid back effect and this Jemma Kidd Iridescent Eye Silk Crayon in Tigers Eye is gorgeous! It has slight shimmer in it so it gives a really glamorous look to your eyes. The shade is a perfect chocolate brown with bronzey gold reflects that catch the light beautifully. It's super smooth to apply and doesn't drag on the delicate skin on your eyelids. Don't expect to get a precision application with this product, it's definitely meant for slapping on and smudging in. I love working it into my lashline and blending it with a cotton bud to get a really pretty un-done look.
This Jemma Kidd Ultimate Lip Care Protect & Shimmer in Rose is a really natural, glossy product that is definitely more in the lip balm category than the lipstick one. It's for those days when you want to look polished but in the most natural way. I love the pretty pink packaging and the shade Rose is a really lovely natural pink that would be perfect over something like MAC Hue. The best thing about these kind of products is that they are caring for your lips as well as making your lips look luscious.
I love the smokey eye look but because my eyes are deep set, I have to be really careful about the colours I use so as not to make my eyes look too heavy or tired. I generally avoid pure black and go for Grey, Brown, Dark Purple and Bronze. This Givenchy Le Prisme eyeshadow palette in Midnight Look is perfect for creating a softer navy smokey eye. The shades of blue in this palette are absolutely beautiful and have the prettiest sheen to them. The eyeshadows themselves have great pigmentation and are really smooth with no gritty glitter pieces. The palette has a bottom drawer that slides out to reveal three applicators but these aren't ideal for applying the shadows but they would be ok for touching up the makeup when you're on the go. I always feel that you have to be cautious with blue eyeshadow because if you get the wrong shade, it can look tacky. However, the shades in this palette are spot on because they are slightly metallic and verging on being silvery blues.
Are you a fan of smokey eyes or do you prefer to keep it more toned down? What products do you rate for creating a dramatic eye?
