Since Christmas, I have been saving up for a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. My love affair with them began with Irene Adler, I will happily admit, but the price tag meant I had to wait.
On Sunday, my dreams came true. I got a pair. I tried on several styles, and eventually bought Bianca in matt black. They are so comfortable, that when I put on my comfy boots to go home in, my comfy boots no longer felt comfy. It's like going from unbranded chocolate, to very expensive delicious chocolate, and back to unbranded chocolate; it is good, it is still chocolate, but it isn't quite right any more.
When there, I was invited to the Fall/Winter 2014 Collection reveal thing. That was today. I will explain in the video everything about that - what I thought about the collection, why I still can't believe I was invited, and so on. This post is more what I wore and what makeup I used; this is very much outside of my comfort zone, and I do not claim to be some sort of beauty guru, but I have been asked to do this, so I shall. I'm going to include links where I can, but as I'm typing this boots.com is down for maintenance which is out of my control, so I'll put as many details as I can instead. Because this is going to be so long, I'm going to insert a little break here, so if you're not interested, just skip right through.
Firstly, I'll use No.7 Awakening Eye Gel. I used this when I had early mornings in college, and it helps reduce the red I get around my eye if I'm awake too early. It helps with fine wrinkles too, or study lines as I like to call them. Sticking with No.7, I then use the Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum just where I get study lines - namely frown lines - just to help with those. I only really use the serum on the rare occasions I'm actually going somewhere important, so I'm not sure about long term effects. Short term, it does help to fill in the annoying little lines. That said, I much prefer Body Shop's Nutragenics firming serum, but argh the cost (no seriously, how much for a tiny thing?!), and I got a little free sample of the No.7 one.
All over my face and neck I use Full of Grace from Lush. It is a solid serum, so you know that you are using every last tiny bit without having to smash open a bottle. I use it twice a day, just by warming it on my fingertips. I'm a massive Lush fan, and this serum is divine. It works amazingly well under face masks too.
On top of Full of Grace, I use Body Shop's Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask which lasts forever. I barely touch it and it can cover my whole face. If my skin is particularly awful - eczema, etc. - I will put on a thick layer, let it sink in, then rub in what hasn't sunk in. If I don't use Full of Grace under it, my skin doesn't really like it as much, and this is when my eczema will scar.
It's only as I type it out when I realise just how much I use.
On to foundations! Yes plural. I think I need help.
I'm ridiculously pale; I could give vampires a run for their money. Part of it probably is a lack of sunlight and ill health. This means finding foundations that work on me are difficult. This is why I have four.
I powder my face before applying foundation. I have Emotional Brilliance from Lush (a gorgeous, translucent powder in its own right) mixed with Body Shop's Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation in Natural Ivory. The Emotional Brilliance powder is divine, and I love using it, but I love the tea strainer in the old version; I'm not sure if the new one has the little net part in the pot. Anyway, I have mixed the two powders together for the SPF, a teeny bit of coverage, and for the matt qualities of it; it does get rid of shine. For a concealer and for any times my skin is darker than usual (I never fake tan, I never real tan), I use Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Shell. It is the palest shade they do, and it is about two shades too dark for me. For a highlighter, and for under my eyes, I'll use Stargazer Liquid Foundation in White. Yes, white. It looks like Tippex. I use it over my eyes too as a primer, because it dries like a powder. It really does fix eye shadows in place. As an all-over foundation, I use Lush's Jackie Oates which is the only foundation I have ever known to actually work on my skin. Coverage is light, hence using foundations with higher coverage, and this one to blend. I utterly adore Jackie Oates. It feels so gentle on my skin. I then use the mix of Emotional Brilliance and Natural Ivory to set, and blend into my neck. I know it sounds like a lot, and it does take a bit of time, but I have tried just one or two products at once, and this routine works for me.
I'm almost regretting this, because I'm only just touching on makeup. For ease, I'm only going to describe what I used for the Louboutin event, which is also what I'm wearing in the video... and as I'm typing this, I'm yet to film it. It will happen.
On top of the white Stargazer foundation, I put a layer of Bourjoise Ombre Stretch Eye shadow in white with a gold shimmer. This has been discontinued, which is such a shame because I adore it. From the outer edge of my eye to about half way across the lid, I used Estee Lauder Berry Ice eye shadow, which I can't find online. It is a beautiful burgundy colour in a palette, which has been discontinued. I then blended it out a little to create a smoky eye look. Along that outer edge, I also used Stargazer Eye Dust in a rust-red shade. I don't use it often enough, but it is very pretty. I then continued the shimmer in Front Cover Eye Shimmer Powder in Desert - again, discontinued - which is a gorgeous pale gold shimmer dust. It perfectly matches the white/gold eye shadow, but without adding a lot of colour.
For the line and wing, I used Rimmer Gel Liner in black. I do have a trick for liner! Use a pencil first to create the line you want, because it comes off a lot easier than gel or liquid liners. Then go over the pencil line in the gel or liquid. I love this gel liner, and it really does stay put. I tend to sleep in my makeup (I'm lazy) and I end up wearing it the next day, despite using a lot of makeup remover.
For mascara, I use Estee Lauder Volume + Lift mascara. I got a free sample of it from a gift set thing, and I'm still using it up. I'm not convinced it does add lift and volume, but I have yet to find a mascara that actually does what it claims to do. I like black lashes, so I use it. I didn't actually use an eye pencil today. I ran out of time before I left, but I have 9 black pencils, so it would have been one of them. I haven't found one that lasts longer than 30 minutes.
I use just a little blusher - Estee Lauder Lilac Rose - but it too has been discontinued. I have been looking for a replacement for this. It is such a pretty colour, a pale lilac, that just somehow works on me.
So close to the end of the makeup...
Estee Lauder (sensing a trend yet?) do a clear lip liner. In all honesty, I'm not sure if it works, but I do smudge a little less when I wear it. As for the actual lipstick, I use Lush's Decisive. I did use A Million Kisses lip tint, but it was a limited edition item for Valentines 2013, and Decisive was the closest shade I could find. It is a cute cherry red, and it just lasts. It is so moisturising as well, it gets rid of the eczema I'm prone to get on my lips.
Makeup is done! Yay! That took forever. I'm going to do clothes/hair from bottom to top.
Shoes, as I said, were Bianca in matt black (not patent!) and they are so comfortable. I have no idea where I got the tights, but they are fleeced black ones, with a silky finish; I love them. The dress is from Hell Bunny, and I think it is called Eternity, but don't quote me on that. My everyday jewellery is from Highland Angel (pearl necklace and bracelet) and Mia Lia (rose gold bracelet and ring). The jacket I wore was from Dorothy Perkins when I was 13, so chances of them still doing that are slim. The brooch is from zamsoe; I love their brooches, and I wore the Swirl Pin with Abstract Rose with the dark red bead. Unless i get cold, I have no plans on wearing the jacket or brooch when I film, but I was photographed just in case. You never know.
Finally, that is everything. This took me two hours to type. I hope it was worth it.
See you next Tuesday!
E