Behind the Scenes - LK Bennett

November 18, 2013

Recently I worked on a fashion parade for British label LK Bennett as part of the makeup team put together by The Session School. Held at the Marylebone Hotel, the parade was sponsored by Bellápierre cosmetics which was fantastic for the makeup team as we got to work with their beautiful mineral makeup.

Working with loose mineral powders can get a little messy backstage so organisation is key. A little bit of untidiness is worth it as these products give such a luminous glow. Since the show, I have been playing around more with these at home and I must say, i'm really impressed by the coverage they give. As well as the foundation, my special favourites are the highlighting and blush powders - divine!

Our lovely selection of Bellápierre foundations & nail polishes — Our lovely selection of Bellápierre foundations & nail polishes

Back to the parade. The hair was done by the fabulous Electric London team and the look they created was described as 'Marie Antoinette on crack'. Each hairstyle they produced was slightly different but working in the same theme and each was like a work of art.

The clothing was all modelled by employees of the LK Bennett brand, from front-of-house retail staff to behind-the-scenes stockroom employees, and they all did an amazing job. This was my first London fashion parade experience, having previously only worked at fashion events in Sydney, and I really enjoyed the backstage vibe.

The Spring 2014 collection from LK Bennett looks really lovely too.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

October 21, 2013

This post is more of a reveal than a review. I have been really sick for a horrible viral flu for the past 3 days so I have only been well enough to unwrap and drool over this, but not to actually try it out.

I use the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Mood Light' pretty much every day. You can imagine my excitement when I found out Hourglass were bringing out a limited edition product with three powders housed in the one sleek palette. The palette contains:

L-R: dim light, incandescent light and radiant light

'Dim Light' a peach-beige to blur imperfections and highlight.

'Incandescent Light' a limited edition shade which an opalescent pearl to brighten.

'Radiant Light' a golden beige to enhance and give warmth.

The size of each colour is smaller than you get when you buy them individually, but it is still big enough to get proper usage out of them and it is obvious cheaper buying them this way rather than buying them separately. Also included is a trial size of their Veil Mineral Primer. The palette costs £56.00 here. At the time of purchase Space NK had a £10 off deal which made it a great time to buy. Unfortunately it seems this product is yet to hit Australian shores, but you can buy the individual powders here for $62.00.

I was also thrilled to see that their Opaque Rouge lipstick in Canvas is finally back in stock. I tried to buy this shade months ago only to find it sold out everywhere so I bought the shade Ballet instead. Canvas is the perfect long-lasting nude. This consistency of this lipstick took a little getting used to for me as i'm an avid lipgloss wearer. I found it hard not to add gloss over the top and found if I did, it disturbed the setting of the lip colour and ruined the long-wear aspect of it. Over time I got used to the formula and as long as my lips are well hydrated, it no longer bothers me.

These cost £23.00 here and $42.00 here. If you are after the shade Canvas I would make haste as they are bound to sell quickly after being out of stock for so long.

Cheating a Radiant Glow

October 03, 2013

Lately it has been all about cheating my way to a radiant glow and in my quest for dewy, youthful looking skin I have come across some great products. There are many ways you can achieve a glowing look but my favourites are to either add a shimmery liquid to my foundation or to subtly high-light certain areas of the face.

My stash of illuminators and highlighting products

Revlon Photoready Skinlights have just been reintroduced to the Revlon range and I am really enjoying using them. The product is a lovely light liquid that you can mix in with foundation or use over the top of your foundation to highlight. There are 3 colours in the range, and I have purchased 'Bare Light' and 'Pink Light'. It is really simple to work with - just add a touch of 'Bare Light' to your foundation for a lovely all-over glow, or a few drops of 'Pink Light' patted along the cheekbones and under the arch of the brow to add a subtle highlight to the face. At only £11.99 a pop, I think they are a makeup kit must have. You can get your hands on these in the UK here. In Australia you can buy these are Priceline here for $29.95 and at the moment they have a 3 for 2 offer on. Run.

Clinique Uplighting is another great liquid product that is easy to blend. It comes in 3 shades - Natural, Bronze and Blush. It is good however I struggle a little with the packaging as I find anything with a pump dispenser pumps out way more than you need which equals a fair bit of wastage. The Natural shade is my pick of the three. It costs £21.00 and you can buy it here. In Australia this costs $48.00 and you can buy it here.

Those of you who read my post on the Liberty Beauty Gift Bag (here) will know that in there I received a small size of the Nars Illuminator in Orgasm. This is a cult product so I had high hopes going in and I wasn't disappointed. It is similar to the Clinique but in a slightly pinkier tone. It glides on like a dream, gives the perfect amount of highlight and can even act as a subtle blush. Definitely another Nars addiction happening here and I will certainly be investing in the other shade 'Copacabana'. There are 4 colours in the range and they cost £22.00 here. In Australia they cost $48.00 and you can buy them here.

One of my all time favourite cream highlighter is from the Australian cosmetics line Bloom. It comes in stick form which makes it very easy to apply without accidentally over-doing it. A little bit goes a long way and it lasts forever. It comes in one shade only which is a 'champagne sheen' but it gives good glow. It costs $35.00 and you can buy it here. They do ship internationally if you are UK based but the rate is quite high unless you spend $100 to qualify for free shipping.

Just remember not to over powder your face after applying these products or you will undo all your good work.

If you prefer your makeup in powder form, you may want to check out the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle. A light dusting of this on the high points of the face can be really pretty. I think powders are easy to be a little over zealous with so go easy with the application to avoid looking too sparkly.