Tag Archives: Maybelline

Flog or CLOG?

4 Aug

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Let’s face it, it may as well be the Chloe Maxwell blog/flog.

Here she is again, on her way to a friend’s Goths n’ Geeks themed party, rocking some goth makeup by me of course.  And wearing one of my former favourite tshirts too.  Oh, I do like a tshirt with a hood, I do.

Red eyeshadow by Napoleon Perdis (donated to me by the thunder down under, Miss Jacqui Mossop, who handed it over some years ago with a “I don’t know what I was thinking, here, you take it” – and I’ve had a surprising amount of use out of it.)  The colour might not be your/anyone’s cup of tea but the product itself is good; highly pigmented, super-fine powder eyeshadow that applied and blended really well over my Makeup Forever eye primer.

The black around her eyes is Snazaroo face paint, which made Chloe’s eyes water to buggery – don’t put that shit on your waterline, people, it doesn’t belong there.

The red hair spray is something from Superdrug, I dunno, Chloe bought it.  Ergo it was probably cheap, but it applied well and came out sans drama.

Chloe’s pallor is largely natural but she is also sporting:

  • Benefit Realness of Concealness yellow concealer under her eyes to counter her blueish-purple douche bags;
  • Sephora skin primer to fill in/smooth over the skin surface for flawless foundation;
  • Maybelline Dream Matt Mousse in its palest shade (although only where needed, most of that is her own lily-white complexion);
  • a touch of Boots No 7 green primer on her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose as she was heading to a party with drinking so this was all in aid of keeping her snowy-white and not looking like a red-faced drunkard in any photos.

The black lipstick is Illamasqua, and an excellent example of how dark lipstick on a … not-Angelina-Jolie-lipped lady can visually thin the lips quite spectacularly.

I am personally crusading to bring the thin lip back in to fashion.  It seems I am alone in this quest, as I couldn’t find a photo of a human with lips thin enough for my liking, and so… to the cartoons.  Some of my favourites have got it goin’ on, observe:

I know she's traditionally considered a villain but I think Ursula is misunderstood.

I know she’s traditionally considered a villain but I think Ursula is misunderstood.

Ursula is an excellent example of working with what you’ve got; her hair, nails and makeup are flawless (just LOOK at that uniformly purple skin!) and she refuses to be body-shamed into putting on a cardigan.

She’s also not afraid of drawing attention to that slimline lip there.  I hope to look something like this when I’m in my 70s.

Pink, purple, stripey and a lil bit sleazy. Miow!

Pink, purple, stripey and a lil bit sleazy. Meow!

No lips to speak of on this guy, yet he still cuts a fine figure.  I like the cut of the Cheshire Cat’s jib in general actually; why give everything away when you can be all smoke and mirrors?

I hope, like him, that when I disappear/fade away/shuffle off this mortal coil, I’ll be so unfathomably fabulous that no one will ever quite believe I was here in the first place.

Here’s to doing it differently, lovers xX

MUA Mascara, Shade #7 (pink)

16 Apr

Here it is, no other eye makeup except for the pink mascara.

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And this below is the pink mascara with black eyeliner under my top lashes and on my waterline.

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And last of all, this (below) is pink mascara applied on top of black mascara, with black eyeliner as before.

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I had more luck applying it with my own mascara brush (which is only an old Maybelline one that I cleaned up, from a Colossal Volume tube) as the mascara wand that it came with sucked.  It also took a good few layers to get this colour intensity.  You could be subtle and just put a touch of colour on the tips of your lashes, if you like.

I would say it worked best for me using black eyeliner (the middle picture) – on its own it was a little bit pink-eye, but with the black eyeliner it was a bit more punk.  It worked better using only the pink mascara (as opposed to layering it over black mascara, as it just made my lashes too chunky).

I’ll give it a go some day with some electric blue eyeshadow or liner, for contrast.

Best thing about this mascara?  It was £1 😀

nailed it: carbon grey with studs

31 Mar

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This is Maybelline Forever Strong Super Stay 7 Days gel nail colour in Carbon Grey #815.  So far it’s been on for 3-4 days and showing no signs of wear – impressed.  It’s a really nice dark gunmetal grey with just the right amount of shimmer to it, and the finish has stayed really shiny.  I applied two coats to get the opacity I like.

Along the tips of my nails I put some little diamond stickers just for fun.  The purple nail is a Sephora colour.

High five!

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29 Mar

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I’ve not been up to a great deal, makeup-wise, this week, so basically today’s post is a million self-photos.  I can only apologise.

I’ve gotten into “the UK’s #1 foundation”, which would be Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse.  I first used it in the shade ‘Cocoa’ to achieve this effect:

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… and found that indeed, it did apply like a silky-smooth dream.  So I bought it in the lightest shade they make it, 004 Light Porcelain.  The first day I wore it I was terribly impressed with how well it lasted, didn’t make me look greasy, didn’t need powder etc.  I asked my most honest critic, Chloe, whether it made me look ashy, pasty, greasy, flaky, chalky or dead, to which she replied “no.  I… didn’t even notice you… had skin, it’s so good.”

These photos were taken after probably 8 hours’ wear, but they don’t really show the foundation up all that well.  They do, however, show that I need to sleep for ten years or so.

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Here are some more photos I took today when wearing it again.

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natural daylight, minus any other slap

natural daylight, with all other slap and minus attractive hairdressing clip

natural daylight, with all other slap and minus attractive hairdressing clip

me, pensive on windowsill

me, pensive on windowsill

Today I wondered if it was a bit too pale, perhaps I should have gone the 2nd lightest shade.  When it’s on sale at Superdrug again I might give it a shot.

Until then, here I am in my new Iron Fist skull suit.  Just for fun.  Cast your vote now on whether I should keep it or send it back.

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I’m somewhere cool, not in my bedroom in Scotland standing next to a plug-in radiator

 

Titanium Dioxide strikes again!

25 Mar

mr burns

Just when you thought you had all the knowledge-power needed to win the war against makeup supervillain Flash Face

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… THIS goes and happens.

The flash has picked up that Irene’s hair is loaded with Schwarzkopf got2b Volumising Style Powder; a product which has gotten quite mixed/negative reviews online.

As I have a mullet…

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Me and Chloe, ruling the world

…which is quite short on top, I find this product pretty good for fluffing my hair up.  Sure, it makes your hair feel a little matted, and yes, when you try to shampoo it out, your shampoo won’t lather.  If you put conditioner on it first it comes out fine.  I think the trick is to just use it sparingly… I seem to recall it took a good few days for Irene’s lovely hair to return to normal after this!

Do you know of any volumising powders/dry shampoos that are big-hair perfection?  Especially any that are darker in colour- a good dry shampoo that doesn’t just look like you’ve dumped a whole lot of talc in your barnet?  Do tell 😀

PS Today’s product recommendation – Maybelline Master Smoky shadow-pencil, which is a fat eye crayon number with a pointy foam smudger thingy on the end.  Pointy foam smudger thingies are great for sharpening/cleaning up a winged eye; use a clean one to give a sharper edge to a flick you’ve created using eyeshadow, for example.

The Master Smoky pencil itself is soft, full o’ pigment and excellent for darkening up underneath your top lashes, if you want them to look thick and fluffy and amazing.  That there tip, courtesy of Kevyn, is a great way to really define your eyes – it’s subtle but makes a helluva difference, I think.  Give it a go.  Any big-fat eyeliner pencil is good for cutting your teeth on that one.  They’re easier to apply.

St Patrick’s Day facepaint

15 Mar

So, my Snazaroo colours have arrived from eBay – Grass Green, Bright Green, White and Black (in case anyone wants a pint of Guinness painted on their cheek).  I wasn’t able to get hold of any green glitter anywhere in Oban; seems everyone has the same idea, AND is more organised than I am.

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And here I am, on reception in the hostel, practicing painting shamrocks on the back of my hand.

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In other green makeup news, I used the ole Illamasqua sealing liquid on Chloe the other night, in a St Paddy’s take on the classic feline-flicked eye.

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She commented that once it had set, it felt a bit tight and weird on her eyes.  I haven’t had that problem using it on myself, but maybe I was laying it on her a bit thick.

Another cautionary tale; I started doing the flick using the Maybelline Eye Studio 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in black, but it didn’t really work out.  As regular readers are aware, I am a huge fan of those lil pots of metallic colour perfection, but I can now say I think they’re best suited for a wash of colour, a smokey eye or as a primer on which to build powder colours.  For precision work, I had trouble getting a clean and opaque line.

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Yes, Colin does have leopard-print lips there.  Just a few teasers for an upcoming post 😉  Right after this last photo was taken, Nothing Compares To You by Sinead O’Connor came on, which is Colin’s favourite song, and we had a huge and very emotional sing-along – so there’s the answer to yesterday’s caption competition riddle, for those following on Facebook.

Stay tuned, and I hope you don’t feel too green the day after your St Patrick’s Day celebrations!  xX

tan body, white face

5 Mar

Have you ever been all dressed up for a night out, bit o’ skin on show, done up to the nines, feeling fab… only to find Facebook peppered with photos like THIS the next day?

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Oh no, the dreaded GHOST FACE!  And all because of a sneaky, cheeky little ingredient that’s found in almost all skin makeup; titanium dioxide.  Sounds evil and poisonous, but in fact titanium dioxide is one of the most effective absorbers/refractors of skin damaging UVA/UVB rays from the sun.  As most makeup, moisturiser and face powders have a Sun Protection Factor in them these days, it’s almost certainly on your face right now as you read this.

Titanium dioxide also happens to be the most commonly used white pigment in the world, because it’s the whitest thing there is.

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It’s in everything.  Milk.  Paper.  Toothpaste.  Ink.  The lines around the edge of the tennis court.  Sunscreen.  And like I said, almost certainly in your foundation; definitely if it’s got an SPF in it.

And it’s how you can end up with the white-face-brown-body effect; the bright light of the flash is picked up and reflected by it, potentially leading to this:

busy fake tan

You have to go looking for them, but there are foundations that don’t contain an SPF and/or titanium dioxide.  For foundation for flash photography, Revlon Colourstay and L’Oreal True Match are decent ‘high street/drug store’ ones, or Make Up Forever (a bit pricier).  MAC Face & Body foundation is one that’s recommended by a lot of makeup artists for use in flash photography.  For anyone wishing to recreate my natural sun-kissed glow, I used Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Cocoa.

It also depends a bit on your skin type; while an oily finish will make skin look shiny ergo paler under flash, one that’s too matte can be ashy and ageing.  But in the interests of avoiding the ghost-face thing, look for a matte rather than shimmery finish.

If you’re just working with what you’ve already got, have a look at the ingredients in your foundation; titanium dioxide is usually listed as one of the last ingredients.  So if you know that it’s there, and you know you’re going to be flash-photographed, you can do something about it.

It’s not just fake tan that can give the unwanted contrast; even if you’re just naturally olive skinned and wearing makeup that looks like a perfect match in the mirror, the flash can still pick it up.  To give an even all-over colour in flash photographs, just mix a bit of your foundation into a body lotion (or use a moisturiser with SPF) and apply liberally all over your chest/shoulders/neck/arms/wherever there’s bare skin near your face.

If you use any kind of setting/finishing powder over your foundation, this can be a culprit too!  An even WORSE culprit, in fact, as powders don’t often label themselves as SPF, but usually they do have titanium dioxide in them.  So you’ve really got to go looking to see if it’s there.  I’m still searching for the perfect powder but I think MAC Blot Powder is pretty damn close – and it comes in a lot of shades so you can get the perfect match.  And hopefully avoid this:

Eva-Longoria-white-powder Nicole-Kidman-White-Powder-Make-Up-Malfunction-Photos

More on the perils of finishing powders here.

So now you know!

Oh god this had better wash off…

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door

batsy

Batsy - dog with fake tan

blending is the secret

8 photos of my eyebrows.

25 Feb

Take 2 x eyebrows…

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and one of these guys…

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… and if it’s nice n’ sharp, you can start at the outside of the brow, using the pointy pencil tip to pick the hairs up and colour them against the grain, which keeps it off the skin.

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This creates a fetching wild-n-bushy look:

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… which I like to smooth out with one of these:

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The Maybelline Eye Studio Brow Master pencils come with one on the end; most brow pencils do, and if not, just use an old clean mascara wand.

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Brush from underneath up and out, then from on top brush any long stragglers back down to join their friends in your perfectly arched neat line-up.

So THAT’S how she does it…

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Re-sharpen the pencil then add more where/if required…

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et voila.

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More eyebrow tips:

Adding a light-coloured powder or pencil (well blended) underneath the arch of the brow can really lift the whole face and highlight the eyebrows nicely.

Put down the tweezers.  Step away from the tweezers.  If you’ve been plucking your brows for years and have gotten into a bit of a pickle and found yourself with misshapen, skinny, stubbly worms on your face, I challenge you to let them grow wild and free for… 6 months.  You’ll thank me.  It’ll be hard at first, and if you need to deal with a monobrow or hair on your actual eyelids, be my guest.  But for a much more flattering, youthful brow, more is more.

cara delavigne

Cara Delavigne knows it.

In these photos I am also wearing:
Garnier BB Miracle Skin Perfector – 02-Light
Rimmel Match Perfection Silky loose face powder – 001 Transparent
Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo gel-cream eyeshadow – Permanent Taupe
H&M Eyeliner – Chocolate
Boots No.7 Intense Volume mascara – Brown/Black

contemplation…

23 Feb

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(Photo by Grant)

This is me, on the beach with Chloe, and as you can see, we’re both wondering how the hell I’m going to come up with today’s post.  My phone-camera is broken, and the digital camera has been missing for days.  I haven’t been able to capture any of this week’s ground-breaking makeup artistry!  DISASTER!

You probably also noticed how amazing our eyebrows are.  I get mine threaded at Superdrug every time I’m down in Glasgow, and as regular readers will also know, I’m a huge fan of Maybelline’s Eye Studio Master Shape brow pencil, either in Blonde or Soft Brown, depending on how much drama I plan to bring with my brows.  My hair, eyes and skin are pale and there’s something I like about having high-contrast dark-dark lashes and brows against that light background.

I’ll show you how it’s done when my technology situation improves, but for now, here’s something for you to contemplate – courtesy of http://www.mandatory.com

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illamasqua sealing gel

15 Feb

Just a wee experiment with this product, which I bought a couple of weeks ago and only today got around to trying out.  It’s been raved about by all and sundry, the new miracle product to mix into your powder eyeshadow to instantly turn it into a high-density liquid liner.

I have been using a similar miracle product for years – called “water” – but I’m always up for trying these things out.

These shots were all taken after about 14 hours of wear and tear, including me intermittently rolling my eyes then squeezing them shut in frustration for 8 hours straight at college.

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oop, let’s see if we can crop that down a bit, less nose, more eyelid.

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and even closer…

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What we have here is MAC eyeshadow powder in Coppering (a daring reddish shade that if applied right, makes blue eyes insanely blue, and if applied even a little too heavy-handedly, makes one look as if one has a scorching case of pink-eye), mixed with a little – and I mean a tiny drop – of Illamasqua Sealing Gel, applied with a flat brush in a thin line, slightly winged out in a flick on the outer corner of the eye.

There’s a bit of Maybelline gel-cream eyeshadow (24 Hour Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze) on my eyelids, although it’s mostly worn off, and Boots No. 7 brown mascara.

If you can only set aside 10 seconds for eye makeup yet want to look incredibly incredible, get your ring-fingertip into a pot of Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo and smear it on.  You cannot f_ck it up, I swear.  Shimmery, flattering colours for everyone!  The 24-Hour claim is a bald-faced lie, obviously, but the good news is that you can just pat it back into place if it does travel or crease during the course of the day.  Maybe she’s born with it, or maybe that’s just me and my greasy eyelids.

The MAC Coppering/Illamasqua Sealing Gel is all the way along the top lashline, right down into the inner corner of my eyes, and there it stayed all day, not a smudge or a wrinkle or a fade or a blur in sight.  I’m well impressed, Illamasqua.

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Sealing Gel, welcome to my makeup kit.

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