The Christmas wish list.

So it's not long until Christmas and I am muchos excited about it.

Mainly because I can eat like a little piggy and say my excuse is that I am insulating myself for the cold dark winter months. :)

But what I also like about Christmas is we get presents, which means every year I make a list of wildly exaggerated things I would like in my stocking but never get because either it is too rare, too expensive or just imaginary.

So instead of writing to Santa. I thought I would tell you the top five things I would like Santa to bring me.

Of course they will all be Make Up/Beauty related. :)

So in no particular order.

One.

A huge 100ml bottle of Christian Dior's pure poison.

My ultimate going out fragrance.

Consisting with notes of neroli, orange blossom, jasmine and amber.

This scent was the first perfume I truly fell in love with.

One of the few perfumes I ever got complimented on and the only perfume that me and both my sisters liked.

A classic.

Two.

I need some decent make up for the Christmas period so a box set would do the job nicely.

So for me it would have to be the Urban Decay box of shadows New York.

Not only does it contain 16 Eye shadows, two eyeliners and a primer but the box opens up with a 3D cardboard New York city skyline. Not only perfect for my dressing table but the eye shadows are all colours that are usable for not just for winter but summer and beyond.

A must have eyeshadow staple.

Three.

Nails are next on the wish list agenda and for a girl who is obsessed with glitter this has to be the perfect set for Christmas.

The all that Glitters set from Nails Inc.

Contains Purple glitter, pink/Bronze glitter and silver glitter.

Perfect for co-ordinating or clashing with outfits.

This is the product I want more then life. :)

Four.

For my body. It has to be a bit of the luxury brand Elemis.

I only used this stuff once but I was hooked from then on. It made my skin feel amazing.

It was the exotic spa secret set, which contains the magical exotic Frangipani monoi bath and shower cream, moisture melt and the bath milk. The smell is divine and for a small moment in time actually made me feel like Cleopatra.

Five.

The last thing on my wish list has to be something big but this is the one product I can't be without EVER.

So I would just like five of them just so if I lose one I have another one on the go.

So the last product on my wish list is Touche Eclat. In shade No 1.

This concealer/Demi god of a product was a staple of my hangover cures at university.

It made me look fresh and awake and for someone who has suffered for dark circles for years. It was the best product that not only covered them up but didn't make me look like I had polyfillered under my eyes.

Now one day I hope to own all these products and more but for now they are pipe dreams.

Well until the January sale anyways. :)

Have a great Christmas and hope you get all the beauty goodies you asked Santa for.

So can you split the difference?

So after my post the other day on eyeliner.

I am going to talk about the next trend in eye wear.

Which is split eyeshadow.

For anyone who doesn't know split eyeshadow is where you wear more then one colour on the eyes, split into blocks.

The can range from just two colours to three, four or even five colours.

This trend is always popular on catwalk shows but is it wearable in real life?

Picture one is the three colour split.

This eye is consisting of white, purple and green.

Picture Two is the split blend of dark to light.

Good for a more smoky eye and great for the night time.

Picture three is the horizontal split.

This eye is a white top half and purple bottom half.

Picture four is the most traditional three way split.

This eye is a white top half and purple/blue half and half split.

I love picture five but it is a little more complicated. This is a five way split.

This eye consists of a white top half but then four variations of brown from light to dark.

These looks are quite wearable day or night but I think that the key to getting this trend right is to balance the colours you are using.

You either need to compliment the colours like in picture five or you need to contrast them like in picture one.

Sometimes a bit of experimenting is the key to getting this look right.

The one major plus to this look is you don't have to be neat. I didn't use a brush for my pictures I just used my fingers to draw the blocks on.

The catwalk likes this look because it matches the colours of the clothes that the models are modelling and although we all may not be models. It is one look that we can steal and we don't need to be a size six either.

The many faces of eyeliner

Hello all.

Hope you are well.

I have got some great posts coming up for you in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

So today I am going to be talking about eyeliner.

Now eyeliner is very much a marmite make up product.

Mainly because the people who love it, like what it does to their eyes and to their features. The people who hate it hate how fiddly and sometimes complicated it can be to put on their eyes.

I have seen many a friend poke themselves in the eye or in my case wobble the line and watch it go into my hair or on my cheek.

Eyeliner can just seem like effort.

But with the variation of eyeliner now available. From liquid, pencil, kohl and even glitter. To where you can put it on your eyes, to how it can really highlight your features and how eyeliner can be fun even if you do make mistakes.

Here are a few ideas I tried out today. Sorry for the bad light. :)

Picture one is glitter eyeliner.

Done with Collection 2000 green and pink.

Picture two is gems stuck on to the eye as a makeshift eyeliner.

Picture three is the smoky eye look.

I place pencil brown eyeliner on the top, under the eye and also on the water line.

I think think this look looks amazing but with nude lips and mascara on.

Picture four is done with black liquid liner for a 60's vibe.

These are just a few ideas I did in a few minutes each.

There are many more ways, styles and type of eyeliner I could of shown but these pictures just give you a idea.

After all eyeliner shouldn't be scary.

If you worry about making a mistake. Don't worry just keep a pack of wet wipes handy and the more you panic the more mistakes you will make. Even whilst doing the eyeliner above I made mistakes. So just take your time and have fun and if your worried just practice at night a few days before you need to wear your eyeliner out.

Eyeliner is the most versatile piece of make up in your kit. It takes your make up from day to experimental.

So if you just have one black eyeliner pencil in your make up bag.

Route it out and have a go at a smoky eye (Picture three)

And then try out some other techniques with some other eyeliners, like glitter, colour or even liquid.

Nail Art. Genius or annoying?

So a new trend hitting the make up world is nail art.

Now nail art has been in style for a little while but it's what I call hammy nail art that has been taking over.

By hammy I mean nail art that looks like you have done it yourself even if a professional has done it for you.

One case in celebrity style is Katy Perry and her Russell Brand nails. They are very much the thing you used to do when you were 15 and you used to write the name of the person you fancied when you were 15 on your nails in permanent marker. Before you ask I used to write "Love Alonso" on mine because it was exactly 10 letters. Perfect for the 10 fingers I have.

Now Katy Perry isn't the only one with the Hammy nail technique. Rihanna also did this with the acid smile face. Now we know it was done by a pro but the styling is very hammy.

I love this idea/style/look for nails because it means you don't have to be professional to achieve this look. You just need a bit of creativity.

I am as anyone who knows me not in the least bit creative but I managed to achieve the hammy nail look within about 20 minutes. Not bad really considering the nail varnish is just Barry M (Cheap but amazing) and a nail art kit I bought from the pound shop and it will last for ages too. Result.

See below for my attempts

Now nail art genius or annoying is an app title for this piece. Mainly due to opinion that nails should just be simple. Some people think that nail art is a pain and I can understand their view. If your not nimble with small objects it can be annoying and very frustrating and if you make mistakes with nail varnish a lot. It just doesn't seem worth it.

Sometimes though the genius can come out in nail art and it means people with no creative flair (like me) can have a go and not only change their look but have fun too and what wrong with having a bit of fun with nail varnish.

Just look at this mushroom nail from my friend Nat Horton. If you can't smile at this. Then maybe fun isn't your thing. :)

Thanks to Funkytrend.com for the Rihanna picture.