Wednesday 31 March 2010

My First Make Up Tutorial For You

I wanted to do this FOR AGES, but I never got around to do it.. Bad girl..

But tonight's the night.. (yes, Dexter fan) *gg*

Here it is:


As you can see it's a purple one.

On to the things I used and how I made it. I always find it a bit boring to only see a list of the products. If I wanna see the products itself I need to look them all up. So I thought let's do it differently, how I would love to see it - with pictures.

Let's go:

The brushes I used:


Left: The eyes brushes: MAC 184, Coastal Scents crease brush, no name fluffy brush, MAC 226, Sigma 239, Medusa smudge brush

Right: Face brushes: MAC 224, MAC 168, Coastal Scents pink Duo Fibre brush, Sigma 168, Sigma 150, MAC 138

I always start with the eyes, cause I hate it when there is fall out and I have to start concealing over the foundation or removing it and then put it back on, so why the troubles when one can make it easy.

Products I used:


Too Faced Shadow Insurance
First row: Shroom, Lotusland, Creme de Violet
Second row: Grape (pressed pigment), Top Hat, Young Punk Mineralize Eyeshadow

First I applied the Shadow Insurance as my primer.
After that I applied Grape with the 239 brush.
In the crease I used Top Hat with the 226 brush.
On the inner corner I applied Creme de Violet and over it Lotusland with the other side of the 239.
To blend all the colours together I used the Coastal Scents crease brush which fluffy, but not soo super large.
As final step I sprayed the 239 with Fix Plus and pressed it into the Young Punk and tapped it all over the lid for a sparkling effect.
On the brow bone I used Shroom as my highlighter with the no name brush.
Under the eye I put on the inner part Lotusland and on the rest Grape and blended them together.

Hmm I just realised I made no pics of the mascara and the eyelash curler, well, next time - I curled my lashes with my shu uemura eyelash curler and applied three coats of my Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara on my upper lashes and one coat on the lower lashes.

On to the face:

Products I used:


Illamasqua Satin Primer, the new Mac Mineralize Foundation in NC15, Mac Moisturecover concealer in NW15, Full Coverage Foundation in NC15, Kryolan Translucent Powder, MAC Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre and Springshine Blush Ombre

I applied the Satin Primer all over my face with my clean fingers and let it sink in a bit.
After that I put the foundation on with the Sigma 168.
I applied the Moisturelash Concealer with the 224 brush under my eyes and the Full Coverage foundation which I use as concealer on my cheeks and chin with the same 168 brush.
I waited some minutes that the natural heat from my body melted it a bit and pressed it gently with my washed hands into my face.
Over that I put on the Kryolan powder which I adore with the sigma 150 brush which I adore as well.
As blush I used Azalea Blossom on the apples of my cheeks with the MAC 168 and with the MAC 138 Springshine as contour.
As last step, which I think is pretty important, I sprayed the duo fibre brush with MAC's Fix Plus and tapped it all over my face - this takes away the excess powder and makes it more natural, also Fix Plus helps to keep the make up put.

So how did you like that? I know it's long, but I think that was the best way. Please write in the comments what you think and if I should do it again. I enjoyed writing it. :-)

Love,
Guinevere

Saturday 27 March 2010

Need some Neon?

Sooo finally again a beauty post.

I have some China Glaze Neon polishes, but I was never that happy with them. I just couldn't make them pop and though I like matte finishes, I didn't like them on the neon ones.

So some days ago I tried them over a coat of white polish and WOOOAAAH the colours like exploded and were almost blinding.

So yesterday I painted my nails again in some of my neons and here they are:


Is that bright?? Freaking yes!!!

I used the Barry M "Matt White" as base for the colours:


and those were the polishes: Celtic Sun, Shocking Pink and Japanese Koi.


To get them shiny I just used the Fast Forward Top Coat and voila, perfect they are. :-)

So if you're unhappy with your neons, try it with a white base and a top coat, maybe you fall in love as I did.

Love,
Guinevere

Friday 26 March 2010

my dog and the shower

I have been busy the last few days and couldn't take good pictures for my new posts.
But I felt bad for not posting anything new so I thought, hey let's show you the crazy love my dog has for our shower and water in general.


It functions as bed, cooling spot, hide-out and what else he thinks it is for him. Sometimes it's even hard to get him out of the shower in the morning..


Yeah and that is him after swimming in his favorite pond..


What a beautiful animal isn't he.. ;-)

Love,
Guinevere

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Pigment Pressing Gone Wrong

Lately I pressed some of my pigments to make them handier. I love pigments, as many of us do, but they are a pain to work with some times.

Ever tried to work outdoors with them?? My last photoshoot booking was at a windy abandoned factory. Thank God there was no need for one, cause I'm sure I would have lost some of my 7.5gram.

Long story short, that's why I'm pressing all my MAC pigments. I press them with alcohol and it always worked well, but a good week ago I tried to press a matte pigment for the first time - Noctural Plum - and this was the result:


Looks like the desert on a super dry day..

Unfortunately I have no solution for this problem, I pulverised it again and put it back in the box. I just wanted to show you what happened when I tried it.

The consistency of the matte pigments obviously differs so much from the other ones that alcohol isn't enough. So if you think about doing it with alcohol, let it be. *g*

Do you have ideas? Maybe you found a solution, would be great to know.

Love,
Guinevere

Sunday 21 March 2010

Peeling Polish

As you all know nail polish isn't my greatest fan, though I love him to death. And last time when I applied OPI's Mad as a Hatter one could feel that again..

I did everything right: basecoat, 4 coats of the polish - you just need those coats to get an awesome glittery coverage - and a thick layer of topcoat. Plus a generous amount of drying time.

After 4 hours you could see the polish already was pushed back a little bit so I wanted to smooth out the edges and I literally could peel it off. In one piece!

Well I couldn't keep myself from trying if this would be possible on my other fingers as well and some minutes later I had a pile of polish on my desk and nothing on my nails..


Crazy, isn't it?

That's soooooo unfair, all that "work" and that's the thanks. It might have been on there for another day if I wouldn't have touched it at all, but I coudln't resist.
It's not that extreme with all my polishes, but definitely with the glitter ones and I just looove the glitter ones... :-(

At least I saved myself from an hour of painful polish removing.. But I would have preferred that. Any of you ever experienced this peeling thing?

Love,
Guinevere

Saturday 20 March 2010

A gorgeous dupe for Lush's Bath Bombs

First of all I oughta say that I'm not on a campaign "Sabotage Lush!". It's just they are super pricy and we all deserve our Bath Bomb baths when it's cold outside.

So I went to one of our drugstores, Müller (love it), and bought a Bath Bomb from their own brand.

It was a peach & jojoba one which smelled wonderful - for 1,29€!!!!!!


For reference, a bath bomb the same size from Lush costs about 6€. I mean that's a lot for a bath bomb which is gone after one use.

So I tried it out and documented it. lol For information: I don't own a bath tub, but my parents do and they live one floor above me so I "borrow" their fancy tub when I need it.

I'm not a bath tub fan in general, I always feel like laying in my own dirty water and this thought truly grosses me out, so I shower first. I know it's ridiculous, cause I shower every day and don't get really "dirty", but still.

So here the job this little bomb did:

Bath tub without anything in it, it only looks so turquoise in the pic.


The bomb going crazy.


Endresult. It still looked peachy enough that one didn't start to think about blood. *gg*


The bomb did great and it was soooo much cheaper. So I really would recommend looking for alternatives to the expensive Lush version. There are enough products out there that we don't wanna miss and that are expensive, let's save where it's possible. :-)

Love,
Guinevere

Friday 19 March 2010

Like it?

How do you like the new layout??

I just wanted something more than plane black, this isn't the perfect one, but it is a cute one. So until I find "the" background I think this works fine.

Love,
Guinevere

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!got2b schutzengel!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S HERE - it finally came to Europe!!!! The got2b Schutzengel or Guardian Angel, how it's called in the USA.

I've been dying to get this hairspray ever since I first saw it at folica.com. In the U.S. they actually have three different versions, one for blow drying, one for hair curling and one for hair flattening.

We only got this "universal" one:


Beautiful isn't it? Gosh I'm soo excited. I've seen it as a haul item from a german blogger two days ago and couldn't believe my eyes. Checked online if it's also on their official homepage and went right away to the next Mueller (drugstore) and bought it. It was 6,25€, which is okay I guess.

What it does is protecting your hair from the heat that comes out of the blow dryer and the heat that curling irons and flattening irons use.
I haven't used it yet, cause "unfortunately" I try to let my hair air-dry as often as possible to save my hair from unnecessary damage, but I will test it soon and let you all know what I think.

Look at that cute tag it came with:


So sweet, it says: got2b your guadian angel for hot styles. Love it!!! I mean look at those cute wings..

I hope we get her sisters one day as well, but right now I'm grateful enough. Oh, by the way it contains 200ml, if you're wondering.

Do you own this product? If so, what do you think about it??

Love,
Guinevere

Thursday 18 March 2010

Essence Glittery Topcoat

Suns coming out in Austria and so I thought let's do something sparkly. :-)


I think it's pretty nice. On its own and over something it would totally pop too. And as always Essence is gorgeous when it comes to price.

So, to all you american girls, congrats that Essence is now available in the U.S. as well. :-)

Love,
Guinevere

Monday 15 March 2010

My Manicure Routine

I have horribly dry hands during the cold time of the year and always, doesn't matter which time of the year, dry cuticles.

I wish I had those hands and nails that look gorgeous all the time without doing anything for it, but as you may know of some of my nail polish swatches I don't.

Nevertheless, I try my best and with my routine I get them to be pretty for at least two days and then the dryness comes again. I thought I share my routine with you guys, maybe you find it useful.

Let's start:

These are the products I use:


From left to right:

A file
A skin remover gel/oil
A nipper and a cuticle cutter
A cuticle peeling
A cleaning file
A cuticle oil

I have products I alternate, like the skin removing thing:


I use the China Glaze White Tea Extract Manicure Soak (which is divine) or the skin remover from our local drugstore Bipa

and:


The Orange Cuticle Oil from China Glaze or Lush's Lemony Flutter.

So now to the steps, though they aren't that difficult to guess. *gg*

I start off with the file to shape and shorten my nails if necessary. Then I apply the soak/skin remover oil and let it sink in for several minutes.

After that I cut the excess cuticles - be careful, don't hurt yourself, the cuticle trimmer can be pretty sharp. I know some think it isn't good for your nails, but honestly, this pushing cuticles back thing only works for people who already have "almost" perfect cuticles..

Then I apply the peeling and massage it in. Next I wash it off and file over my nails with the cleaning file that removes excess oil, dirt and give your nails an even surface.

Last but not least - very important step - I massage the cuticle oil/cream and let it sink in.

And that's about it, I do this once a week. This how the result looks like.


Nice, right? I wish it would stay longer this way than two days..

Hope this was kinda helpful/interesting.

Love,
Guinevere

Saturday 13 March 2010

LUSH Lemony Flutter

I don't own many Lush items which I have a reason for: I tell you at the end of this post. I own just a few, because I got a coupon and beside some lip balms I got this:

The Lush Lemony Flutter


It is specially designed for culticle pampering and to make other hard and dry skin areas like elbows soft again.

It has a very strong lemony smell, what a surprise.. it's Lush and I think it works quite well. I have an utterly bad case of dry culticles and it helps a bit to keep the dryness away.

The skin absorbs it, but not everything. I don't like products, which sit on your skin and you can't touch anything as long as you have it on, Lemony Flutter isn't one of those.

So I would recommend it, but I wanna say something about Lush as well.

I don't like Lush. I don't, I'm very sensitive to smells and I can't go in this store without going out of it with a bad headache.
To be fair, I can't wear perfume or sit besides people who walk around in a perfume cloud either, but besides the huge over smelling thing Lush does they are overprized.

The biggest reason however is that a dear friend of mine, who worked for them for a short period was treated so badly and maliciously by this company it still makes me sick when I think about it.

We are all free to have our own opinions and I know there are many Lush lovers out there and I don't wanna affront anyone. I just wanted to share my personal point of view and experiences I had with them.

Love,
Guinevere

NYX Las Vegas

I just wanted to show you a polish I adore: NYX's Las Vegas.


It's said that it is a dupe for China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, which is high up on my nailpolish wishlist. I don't own it yet, but from what I've seen I think this statement sounds accurate. :-)


It's sooo pretty.

I got bored and tried some free hand nailart, didn't turn out soo well, but whatever. *gg*


Love,
Guinevere

MAC eyeshadow disappointment

It's ball/dance/prom season in Austria. Dances have a long tradition in Austria, we have the famous Wiener Opernball which is known all over the world.

Why this intro? This time of the year has the wonderful effect that many people wanna get a nice make up and this is where I come in.

So in the last few weeks I had several freelance jobs which I really enjoyed. Purple is a very popular dress colour and so some of the make up looks I did orientated on this colour.

One colour I used or tried my best to was "Cloudburst" from MAC. It was released as one colour of the Heatherette trios which I depotted and that is what it looks like:


Why I want to draw a focus to this little devil is the fact that it sheds like hell and is horrible to work with. I had a fall out with this that only a mineralize loose pigment can top. It's been a while since I was so disappointed by a MAC product.

So if you ever see this colour and think about buying it: DON'T, don't even get near it, run - just run!!... *gg*

Love,
Guinevere

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Looking for some Heart?

Yesterday I tried something and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

I have some gorgeous NYX Girls polishes, who aren't that gorgeous at all when one tries to apply them nicely.


When I first tried to use them I got so disappointed that I stopped, put them away and thanked God that they haven't been expensive.

So yesterday when I was watching a movie I thought, give them a second chance and that's what it looked like in the end.


Beautiful, isn't it? I apologize for my horrible cuticles, I try my best to keep them pretty, but I fail regularly.

What I used in the right order:
  • Catrice Growth Support
  • China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
  • 2 coats of China Glaze "Light as Air"
  • a ton of play around with NYX Girls CN250 to get several hearts on each nail
  • a thick layer of China Glaze No-Chip Top Coat
  • OPI Drip Dry Drops

I gave each coat a ton of time to dry, especially after the last step with the drying drops. I doubt that most people out there have to wait that long, but as stated several times, nail polish hates me so I have to be super nice. *g*

Hope you liked it.

Love,
Guinevere

Monday 8 March 2010

Trip to Hungary

Yesterday I drove with my BF to Hungary, the border is an hour from Vienna and short after this border are some shops: Tesco, Müller, etc. that are open on Sunday.

We don't have Tescos in Austria and I looooove looking at products we don't have, may it be deodorants or Make Up.

So after being at Tesco and my boyfriend bought 7 packages of his favorite chips, that you can't get in Austria.. infant.. we went to Müller - a drugstore that does exist in Austria, but I'm on the hunt for the Essence trend edition "cute as hell" and it's sold out everywhere in Austria so I was looking for it there.

And as I go through the corridors I see a NYX cosmetics rack, I was so shocked - I was so sure this is only available in the states and Switzerland and there it was. A rack full of NYX, I simply couldn't believe it.. Made two pictures with my I-Phone.


Soo cool, I didn't buy anything (patting me on the back lol) cause I'm going to fly to New York in April and it is cheaper there. Nevertheless, how cool is that?

So if you live near Hungary and you are craving for NYX, there you can get it!!!

Love,
Guinevere

Zoya Midori + Esse Matte about you

I'm not a fan of the NOTD shortcut.. So let's just write it out to make it better and more harmonious: Nail Polish of the Day.

So what did I make for you: The one Zoya polish I own *gg* "Midori".
It's super pretty: a nice green with a golden shimmer to it.


I also put the Essie Matte about you topcoat on my pinkie. It really works great, with this you can convert any polish in a matte one.


Gorgeous isn't it?? Can't recommend it enough!!

Love,
Guinevere

Wednesday 3 March 2010

My skin care routine

I always like watching or reading other peoples beauty routines, so I thought, let's do it too. :-)

Those are the products:


I'm a real fan of the drugstore brand "Balea" from our local drugstore DM. It is cheap and qualitywise amazing!

In the morning: Creamwise I use a mixture of these two products or only one of them. They left one is a more light version, very refreshing and with a lot of moisture and the right one has a very rich formula. So depending on how sensitive my skin feels I choose.


In the evening: The Urea nightcreme of Balea with a touch of the Body Shop Vitamin C Intensive Night Treatment.
I bought the Vitamin C treatment some time ago and was super excited, but after I put it on my skin literally burned.. Too agressive, but I thought what if I dial it down a little, so I used 2/3 of the Urea creme and 1/3 of the Body Shop cream and it was perfect. :-)
Now I use it every night, except my skin feels super sensitive and dry, than I only use the Balea nightcreme.In addition I put on an eyecream with extra moisture and on the undereye area I put the Garnier Nutrition Caffeine Roll-On. Once the lines are there, they are there so I try to keep them away as long as possible. :-)


As you all know I own a Clarisonic Mia which I adore and I use it every day as well. Depending on how my skin feels I use it once or twice. Nevertheless, I use it always when I had make up on.


The process looks like that: I remove my make up with my shu uemura make up cleansing oil and then I clean my face with my Clarisonic on which I put my washcreme for sensitive skin.


And that's it. :-) Might sound difficult or complex, but it really isn't. Hope that was interesting for you guys.

Love,
Guinevere

MAC too fabulous

You can always count on the saleswomen from my local MAC store to don't know about their own upcoming collections...

So some days ago I called them to ask if there will be any limited editions in March other than the Spring Colour Forecast and what did they tell me - none!

Today I went to take a second look at the Spring Colour Forecast collection and what do I see there.. The fucking too fabulous collection!!!!!

And the lipliners, the ones I was interested in, the ones that are freaking limited are already sold out. But well, let's not linger in the past..

I took some crappy I-Phone pictures of the display and the swatches I made, they aren't great, but you get an idea :-)


The cremesheen glasses are going to be in the permanent sortiment, so I didn't bother spending time on them. Gotta focus ;-)

The mineralize blushes are really cute, I'm sorry you don't see them very well, but the are sooo shimmery, which you don't see as well. :-( Nevertheless, they are, and therefore too mush for my taste.
Although they look so beautiful and I'm a sucker for pretty thing, but I resisted.


And for the lipliners, very nice as well, but as said - sold out... Maybe you have more luck. :-) The red swatch beside the lipliners is the hot hot hot eyeshadow from the spring colour forecast collection, only so you know.

Love,
Guinevere