Friday, 13 December 2013

Top tips for buying fragrance

Perfume or aftershave is always such a lovely gift to give or receive. So if you are thinking about buying a fragrance for someone or if you just fancy a treat for yourself these are my top tips....

1. If it's for you don't go perfume shopping I you're already wearing perfume. By not wearing any it means you can try it on to see how it settles on you.

2. Give it time. If you are trying a new fragrance keep smelling it as it may change as it settles and new notes may come out. This could mean a perfume you really like you might not be as keen on or you could end up loving something that you did not like initially.

3. Use coffee beans. All good perfume counters will have them if you are trying lots of different frangrances you may not get the true scent. Smelling coffee beans will take you back to neutral so you can smell them more clearly.

4. Be open minded. Especially if the fragrance isn't for you. Listen to what the staff at the counter advises you ok they are very knowledgable and will be able to give you some great suggestions you may not have thought of.

5. Shop around. Shopping at big department stores is convienient but you do not always get the best deals. Shopping at stores dedicated to perfume will often have the best prices. In my experience The Fragrance Shop prices seem to be the best and the staff are always so kind and helpful so I would definitely advise them. They also have a store online.

Those are my top tips when buying fragrance. I am going to update some more blogs on ideas for what perfumer are hot at the moment so check that out if you need some inspiration.


Link for The Fragrance Shop link 
http://www.thefragranceshop.co.uk

Ciate Advent Calender: 13th December


Today I got Loop the Loop which is a pastel yellow shade. It is very pretty, I wouldn't normally wear this in winter but it will be perfect when summer comes.
Loop the Loop
Loop the Loop

Thursday, 12 December 2013

Advent Calender: 9th-12th December

9th December...
I loved todays colour! It is really not normally thing but I love it. The colour is  called Kiss Chase and it is the kind of colour I would call Barbie pink. It was really nice to wear something like this for a change and this is another one that is being added to the permanent collection.
Kiss Chase

Kiss Chase
10th December
Another delight today. This is right up my street and is the kind of colour I would definitely be drawn too.  In the bottle it looks grey....however once applied it has a really lovely lilac undertone. It is very understated in a sexy way which makes its name very apt: Pillow Talk.
Pillow Talk

Pillow Talk
11th December 
Today was not my favourite. I wasn't expecting to love every single colour so I am not too upset but this colour is just not my thing. It is a very pale pink called Amazing Grace. Very nice if you like a sheer polish. I imagine it is also a good one to have for the base of a french polish. Unfortunately I just really don't like sheer polishes, just not me. I find that the always look a bit streaky when you apply them and I generally just prefer something a bit bolder. 
Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace
12th December
Urrrggghh :/ was the first thought I had when I opened todays door. I really did not like the look of this one it is very strange sort of mustard yellow/green colour. But I was determined that I would wear every single one so that it what I did. To my absolute shock and awe I love it. when on the nails it really looks lovely. I would say it is more of a summer colour than winter and would look amazing next to a tanned skin. I learnt a very important lesson today....do not judge a polish by its bottle!
Hidden Gem

Hidden Gem





Ciate Advent Calender: 5th-8th December

So now I will show you what was in my lovely advent calender from the 5th - 8th December......

5th December...
Today was a colour called Hoopla...and my quotes are back yaaaayyy!! Hoopla is a really pretty pale pink. Again it has a really good depth of colour that looks really cute and girly on. Very pretty.
Hoopla

Hoopla
6th December 
I love pastels, especially in purple tones, so today made me really happy. I got Sugar Plum which is a beautiful lilac shade. I much prefer colours like this to pink...it is still ultra-girly but not just a typical pink. This is my favourite so far and I will definitely buy this again.
Sugar Plum
Sugar Plum
7th December 
Today was a little different. Fit For a Queen was behind door number 7. This is a metalic silver. I wouldn't wear the colour on its own, I would use it on the ring finger as an accent or as I have done today painted just on my tips for a french polish with a twist. 
Fit For a Queen on the tips
8th December
I knew I would get one at some point and today was the day. I got the caviar beads. I am afraid to say I am not really a fan of them....I don't particularly like the effect and it may just be how I am applying them but they don't last 5 minutes. Bit disappointed but I would have been silly to think I wasn't going to get one.
Caviar with Budoir




Ciate Advent Calender: 1st-4th Decemeber

This year for my wonderful mother treated me to this beautiful Ciate advent calender <3

If you are a nail fanatic like me you can guess how excited I was to receive this! Christmas came early!


Ciate Advent Calender


I am going to show you what I have got up to now 

1st December
As you can imagine I was extremely excited to open the first door and see what little treasure was inside and today's was....
Snow globe

Snow globe
I was very happy with what I saw. The first thing I noted was the cute quote on the door....I am a firm believer that a quote like this can make sure you have a good day. Then I saw the polish it is called Snow Globe. It is a clear polish with glittler flakes in it. I was very happy as I have been meaning to buy a polish like this for a long time. It isn't a polish that I would wear on its own as you will see through out I use it on my ring finger as a cute accent. Overall I was a happy bunny. 


2nd December.....
Today bought me a classic red. Every girl needs one and I was really happy with this one. The depth of colour was beautiful when on. I am a sucker for red!

Boudoir

Budoir

3rd December 

Hopscotch is a beautiful orange-red colour. It looks gorgeous on and will be perfect for summer or winter. I will be adding this one to my permanent collection!
Hopscotch

Hopscotch

4th December 
No nail polish behind today's door. Today i got a really pretty bow bracelet. I enjoy little pieces of jewellery like that so it was nice for a change. However, there was no quote on the window which I was disappointed by because I have really been enjoying those. 
Bow Bracelet

Ok so that's the 1st-4th done check out the other blogs if you want to see some more beautiful polishes :)








Christmas Day-to-Night Makeup

Christmas is a really busy time of year for most of us. With lots of parties and events to go to we don’t always have time to change our makeup if we are going out in the evening. So, with this in mind I have created a really pretty day time look that can be easily updated to a glamorous, vintage inspired evening look. Here’s how....



No makeup, day makeup and evening makeup

Daytime

Step 1: I applied Look Beauty Airbrush Foundation all over my face using a Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

Step 2: To hide the dark circles around my eyes and a couple of blemishes that are bothering me I used Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque with a Real Techniques Shading brush.

Step 3: My brows are naturally very light so I used my HD Brows Palette (Foxy) and an angled brush to define them. I use 2 colours on my brows a lighter one for the front end of my brows which blends into a dark colour at the ends. I do this because naturally our brows are not all one block colour and I just feel like it makes them look more natural.

Step 4: The eye shadow is extremely simple; I used a light gold colour from the Sleek Storm Palette and just washed it all over my lid. I then applied a generous amount of GOSH Growth Mascara. Which, is my favourite EVER mascara (I will do a full review on it soon).

Step 5: With it being winter I wanted to great a warm health glow on my cheeks so used Rimmel Stay Blushed! Cheek tint in 004 Sunset Cherry. I used my fingers to apply to the apples of my cheeks.

Step 6: I then applied Lush Lip Tint in Santa Baby over my entire lip. I did use a lip brush because I wanted it to be quite precise but you can just use your fingers to apply if you prefer. Also throughout the day I just used my fingers to reapply when necessary.

Step 7: Finally a light dusting of loose powder finished my look.
Step by step daytime 


Completed daytime


Evening.

The idea of this look is that there is no need to remove any of the previous make up you can just add to it to create a super sexy glamorous evening look....

Step 1: I took a mid-brown eye shadow shade from the Sleek Storm palette through the socket bone and just along the outside corner of my lash line to add a bit of depth and definition.

Step 2: I wanted to wear lashes with this look to add extra glamour. However, recently I have found if I wear lashes all night it really irritated my eyes. So, to combat this I took a pair of Eyelure lashes and cut them in half. I the applied one half of each lash just to the outside corner. This added abit of length and volume without being too heavy on my eyes. You can do this or if you prefer you can apply the whole lash – it’s up to you.

Step 4: Next I used the lighter shade from the Molten Metal eye duo by sleek. I used my finger and pressed it into the lid where the light gold shade was previously applied. This just makes it a little more special and glitzy :)

Step 4: Personally I cannot go on a night out without a bit of contouring. So I used abit of Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel just under my cheek bones. I think it makes me look better as it slims down my face abit.

Step 5: Normally if I am wearing a dark lip I would line my whole lip first. But, I already have my lip tint on from the day time so I don’t need to as this will act as a primer and make my lipstick last aaaallll night long. I used a lip brush to apply Sleek Stiletto lipstick (which is a matte red shade) all over my lip.

Step 6: I highlighted the top of my cheek bones with Estee Lauder Shimmer Powder.

Step 7: Finally I applied loose powder to my face and the look is complete.

Step by step evening

Completed evening makeup



I hope you have enjoyed this and if you try it out let me know how it goes :) 

Face products: Look Beauty Airbrush Foundation, Bobbi Brown Corrector, Soleil Tan de Chanel, Rimmel Stay Blushed

Eye Products: GOSH Growth Mascara, Sleek Storm Palette, Sleek Molten Metals Duo, HD Brow Palette

Lip Product: Lush Santa Baby, Sleek Stiletto