The Inspiration Post #8

August has been yet another month to go in so quickly, I always find myself double checking the date when I start to think about my inspiration posts at the end of the month!  This month I've found myself searching the internet a little too often for gorgeous art prints.  Yes, it's probably strange, but I'm obsessed.  I love the foil lettering, the watercolour art and the cutest quotes to fill my walls with.  I'm about to start putting together a room to store my fashion and beauty purchases with space to sit at a lovely dressing table and get myself ready everyday - and so far the search for art prints is what's taking up all my time!

I've shared below a few of my favourites that I've come across so far, however I'm still on the hunt - if you know of any other websites or designers with gorgeous prints please let me know..!

Namast'ay in Bed / Chloe Vaux

This is a print I desperately want to purchase and have next to my bed..! 

Watermelon / The Lovely Drawer

Such a simple yet bright print - would look great in a statement frame (I'm going to hunt Homesense for one soon!).  

Shades / Rifle Paper Co.

Love. Love. Love. It's all about the sunglasses.  

Flamingo / Cat Coquillette

Such a cute print, there's just something about flamingo paintings!

But First, Champagne / Chloe Vaux

I mean, life motto right?

Always New York / Miss Poppy Design

Always!

Hope you enjoyed seeing the inspiration I'm loving to decorate my rooms, I'd love all of these in a gorgeous collage of pictures on one wall - I might start to build up my collection..!

What are you favourite wall art prints?

♥︎

Face Highlight Guide: MAC, Benefit, Urban Decay & More

Last week I blogged about my Face Contour Guide which you can catch up on here and this week I'm going to share with you products I use to highlight my face after I've contoured (or you could skip the contouring step if you'd like).

Highlighting can create a lovely illuminating aspect to your make up look and really enhance your bone structure when teamed up with some contour.  I use a few different products when highlighting for different effects.

MAC Strobe Cream

A gorgeous cream highlighter is MAC's Strobe Cream, a creamy white shade with a silver sheen which I apply under or mixed in with my foundation.  This creates a dewy texture to your base make up and really brightens up your complexion, I tend to use around a pea sized amount of this cream product across my face and acts as a great skin pick-me-up!  

Benefit Sun Beam & Watt's Up!

I have mini Benefit Sun Beam and Watt's Up! (from my gorgeous Benefit advent calendar on the run up to Christmas!) and they work as great additions to my highlighting routine.  Both products are golden and champagne shades which I tend to prefer over pinker highlighting shades, and use either of these across the top of my cheekbone where the light hits and up towards the top outer edge of my brows (in a sort of sideways v shape) and they add a rich luminous look to my skin. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer & Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush

This drugstore concealer is easily one of my favourite concealers ever.  I use the shade fair to highlight areas of my face which the light hits - a V shape under my eyes, over the middle of my forehead, the middle and each side of my chin, down the centre of my nose and above my top lip.  

I apply my fountain first of all and then blend these areas afterwards to ensure there are no harsh lines between foundation and highlight.  I apply this concealer with the Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush, it's like a large concealer brush so it helps to blend in larger areas of your face.  Light concealer or foundation is a great way to brighten areas of your face easily, just make sure you're blending it all in!

Urban Decay Bootycall Eyeshadow & Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer Brush

The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette has easily been my favourite for a long time, and one of my favourite shades is Bootycall (3rd from the left).  This eyeshadow is a champagne to cream toned shimmer which really adds illumination when applied to your eyes.  I use this on the inner corners of my eyes and on my brow bone, on my cupids bow, below the indent on my chin and dust lightly down the centre of my nose.  The Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer Brush is great to blend the eyeshadow into these areas and helps to highlight and define the light areas of your face.  

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow & MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush

The Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Highlight is such a gorgeous, luminous golden shade and really radiates light from your face.  I use this product on my cheekbones and above the edge of my brows, lightly down the centre of my nose and on my cupids bow and below the indent on my chin.  I would use either this highlight, the Urban Decay Bootycall or the Benefit highlights on these areas - I wouldn't use them all for the one look on the same areas of the face.  

The Charlotte Tilbury Highlight leaves a natural looking, luminous tint to your face and helps to shape your face while adding a natural glow and dewy look to the skin.  I love to use the MAC 168 brush to sweep the product across areas of my face - it's so soft!  

What are your favourite products to highlight with?  

♥︎

Face Contour Guide: Charlotte Tilbury, MAC & Chanel

Contouring has fast become a go-to technique for make up lovers everywhere, it helps to add depth and definition by focusing on the angles of your face.  I've started to work on my contouring skills with a few different products which I find work for me, I'm by no means a contouring expert, however I'd like to think I've mastered the basic contouring skills.

When contouring I focus on various areas of my face - the hollows of my cheeks below the cheek bone, my temples, below the jaw line, sides of my chin and sides of my nose.  

I focus on using 3 products in my make up collection when contouring depending on how intense I'd like my angles to look.  

Chanel Soleil de Tan Chanel & Zoeva 110 Face Shape Brush 

Chanel's Soleil de Tan Chanel is a great product, it's a cream bronzer which is extremely buildable.  With my Zoeva 110 Face Shape Brush I start to blend the product in sweeping motions into the hollows of my cheeks, my temples and below my jaw line (I prefer to use a powder contour around my chin and nose).  In circular motions I gradually build up the bronzer to the level I would like, which I do try to keep natural and not too dark as I am pretty pale.  

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow & Real Techniques Contour Brush

I've posted another blog post all about my love for Charlotte Tilbury's Filmstar Bronze & Glow here, for contouring I love to use the Sculpt side of the palette.  The powder is a soft brown pigment with a slight sheen and I follow the same circular technique as above but with my Real Techniques Contour Brush, gradually building the colour into the hollows of my cheeks, my temples, below my jaw line and use what is left on the brush on the sides of my chin and sides of my nose to create a slimmer look down the centre of my face.
I'll also use this on top of the Chanel cream bronzer to set the product and build on the contour further if I need it.

MAC Bronzing Powder & Zoeva 106 Powder Brush
I use my MAC Bronzing Powder to bronze my neck and below my jaw line, it's easy to do with my fluffy Zoeva 106 Powder Brush, it's a great bronzer which has lasted me a pretty long time (despite clearly hitting pan on this one!); I have the Golden shade which has a slight shimmer and the powder itself isn't too dark when applied with a fluffy powder brush.  I sweep this bronzer across my face to warm up my complexion slightly, it's a great all rounder to either darken tanned areas or warm up lighter areas of your face.

Do you have a favourite contouring product?
Let me know if you're a pro at contouring and can give me some hints and tips!

♥︎

Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Set

It has only been over the past few years that I have really appreciated the importance of great tools when applying make up, brushes are my favourite way to apply all types of make up daily.  
It will probably be no surprise to you that I am in love with the Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set (as I think every other beauty blogger loves them too..!).

First of all, the set looks absolutely gorgeous.  The brushes are stored in a sleek clutch bag and have the 8 brushes inside.  The brushes have matte, dark coloured handles with rose gold detailing and white or white tipped bristles, they really do look stunning when sitting out on your dressing table.

Another great aspect of the set which I was shocked by was the price, it's €65 for the set which I think is such great value for money - especially considering some other premium make up brushes are £20 a pop.

I've went into a bit of detail for each individual brush below, the set is a mix of natural and synthetic brushes.  Natural brushes are great for applying powder products and synthetic is better for more of a cream product, so the kit really has a great balance of brush types.  

My personal favourites from the set are 102 Silk Finish, 110 Face Shape and 231 Luxe Petit Crease.  

Face

106 Powder Brush / Great synthetic brush for applying loose powder, I don’t wear powder much but I like this for a dusting of bronzer across my face.  

102 Silk Finish Brush / A great synthetic brush for applying cream foundations, the bristles are tightly packed in so they really work in the product well with an nice even coverage.  

127 Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush / A natural bristle brush for applying powder blush - so soft!  I love to use this to highlight my cheekbones too.

110 Face Shape Brush / Synthetic contour brush which I love to use with my Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, it has tightly packed bristles too so it works great with a cream bronzer!  

142 Concealer Buffer Brush / Synthetic tightly backed bristles really help to blend concealer in well to the face, it’s great for around the nose, chin and eyebrows.  It’s like a mini Silk Finish Brush, so cute.  

Eyes

227 Luxe Soft Definer Brush / A great natural brush for blending eyeshadows, so soft and really great at buffing eyeshadow.  

231 Luxe Petit Crease Brush / A blending crease brush with natural bristles, I love this! Such a great size and great at blending colour into the eyelid.  

317 Wing Liner Brush / Synthetic brush for eyeliner and the perfect winged look, however I also love this to fill in eyebrows too.  It’s nice and thin which makes it much more accurate.  

What's your favourites from the set?  Let me know in the comments below!

♥︎

Topshop Blue Rinse

With nail polish I tend to mix it up and change my nail colour every week; however over the past few months I seem to be going back to this same shade and I'm still not bored of it.

It’s Topshop Blue Rinse nail polish, a gorgeous, pastel, slightly grey toned blue polish which I’m obsessed with! It’s still a pretty bright colour while looking like more of a muted blue tone, blue nail polish wouldn’t usually be my go-to colour but I’m so impressed with this one.

It’s opaque enough that I can get away with one good coat although two would be recommended. My only gripe with this nail polish is I’d love for it to have a curved flat brush – makes application so much easier!

That being said I do still have quite a few Topshop nail polishes and tend to spend more time than I’d like to admit to lingering around their nail polish stands in Winter (those glitter polishes though..!), yet this Spring colour is definitely creeping up towards my number one favourite shade.

Have you tried this shade yet, or do you have any favourites I can try?

♥︎