Glamourous Evening Look w/ Red Lip!

Hi!
Long time, no see! Again. I'm a bad blogger and I should feel bad. Oh well, such is the price of blogging just to blog, I guess. If I don't feel like blogging, I won't blog about anything.

Anyways, I felt it was time for another tutorial and I haven't done one with a classic red lip yet, so here it is!

No naked face today, my skin was being a b*tch and I just couldn't deal with it. Thanks hormones. I moisturized and applied Max Factors Facefinity foundation in a 3/2 mix of Nude 47 and Light Ivory 40. In the middle of summer I got away with just using Nude 47, but I'm already getting paler again so had to mix in a little of the lighter foundation. I also primed my eyelids and brows using Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I also prepped my lips with Elizabeth Ardens 8 Hour Cream.

I concealed with the Catrice Camouflage Cream in 010 Ivory and did my eyebrows using Urban Decays Naked eyeshadow from the original Naked Palette. I set my brows with my Hema Browgel in Brown.

 For some light definition on my upper lid, I applied Urban Decays Naked 2 (Naked Basics) with a large fluffy blending brush. It helps create a nice gradient from a deeper crease colour and I like the definition it gives.

To deepen up my crease and outer corner of my eye, I applied Urban Decays Faint (Naked Basics) with a smaller blending brush (MAC 217) . I also applied this along my lower lashline with a pencilbrush.

For a neutral, but shimmery, lid colour I chose MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle. This is in theory a highlight, but the neutral colour of it makes it perfect for a bold lip, of any tone. I applied this with my finger for optimal intensity. I also used this on the inner corner of my eye.

For a fool-proof longlasting eyeliner, I firts lined my upper lashline with Essence Longlasting Eyepencil in 01 Black Fever. To make sure it didn't budge, I took an angled liner brush and topped it off with Urban Decays Crave (Naked Basics). I did a very simple liner with this look, just because it's what I felt like. I wanted the lip to the focus, but if you want you could totally do a winged cat-liner with this!

To finish off the eyes, I used MAC Chromographic Pencil in NC 15/NW 20, curled my lashes and applied a generous amount of Essence I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara.

I powdered my skin off, using Rimmels Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow. To define my face, I applied The Body Shops Honey Bronzer in 02 in the "hollows" of my cheeks. At least to sort of make it look like they're there! For a touch of colour on the cheeks, I used Benefits Coralista Blush. It's a warm coral with a gold shimmer. To top off all the shimmer, I used MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle on the tops of my cheekbones. For day time wear, I'd probably skip this much shimmer and either go for a matte blush or no highlighter, but this was intented for evening wear, so I went with it!

Now for the focus of the look, a classic red lip! Make sure you moisturize your lips beforehand and blot this off before you start on your lips. To create the perfect, long-lasting red lip, you should always use a lipliner first. The completely matte finish of this helps the lipstick stay on longer, and also makes sure that should the lipstick start to fade, it doesn't show. I used MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry and first lined my lips, taking care to be VERY precise with it. After I had lined them and I was happy with that, I completely filled my lips in with the pencil. A lipliner also ensures that your lip colour doesn't "bleed" into fine lines around your lips, should you have this problem.

Now comes the hard part of a red lip. Now, I personally believe that there is a right red for everyone out there, it's just a question of the tone of the red. As they go from very bright orange-red to deep blue toned reds to berry/purple reds. If you really want to perfect the red lip and don't know what suits you, try going to a MAC makeup counter and have someone there help you out. I pretty much know what suits me, and can therefore swatch things in a store and know if it works for me or not. The colour I used today is from the Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 10 from Rimmel. The line has two reds, this is a very neutral red, and will look good on most people of any skintone or -colour. For precise and long lasting applications I used a lipbrush.

The catch to making a lipstick last forever is partially the formula. The matter the formula, the longer it will stay. This formula is very longwearing, but not completely matte. To get ultimate wear of it, I applied a coat of lipstick with the brush and then blotted it on some tissue. This will remove excess product that would either end up on your teeth, on your glass or outside your lips. I then applied a second layer with the brush and blotted it too, applied a third layer directly from the lipstick bullet and this will last through an entire evening (if you don't eat too fatty, at least, as the oils will break down the lipstick). If you want, you can apply a gloss, but gloss will limit the longevity of the lipstick.

And here's the result. A very classic look, but suited for most evening events and will look perfect with your Little Black Dress. I love wearing a bright red lip, it makes me feel very feminine and sexy. Do you ever wear a red lip? If so what is your favourite? If not, why not? Let me know down below!

As a small extra, here's pictures of all the products I used, brushes excluded.


Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XXX

Belated Birthday Haul! (And a small personal update!)

So... Hi there! It's been a while (again, I know!) and quite a few things happened for me in real life, which is why my blog kinda had to go on the back-burner.

Small personal update: As some of you may know, I am currently unemployed and without income. So obviously makeup hasn't been anything I've been buying loads of either, seeing as I had no money.

Also, I've been overweight most of my life, and in 2011 I got a  Gastric Band and in the past 6-9 months, it's only been a nuisance providing problems with eating, much discomfort and not working as it should. I initially lost a fair deal of weight, and due to stress (and major lack of self-control because it was possible for me to eat a lot) I put all that weight back on. After going to the hospital for a check-up in June, my surgeon and I decided to remove the band and instead he will perform a Gastric Bypass on me. The waiting list for this surgery is +-4 months, so hopefully towards the end of this year, I'll go under the knife!

August 6'th was my birthday (26, whoa...) and for the first time in like 6 years, I got to spend it with my mother! She and her lovely husband came down to visit me from Denmark. We had a wonderful time together and did tourist things in Amsterdam! And after this wonderful segway, on to the lovely presents I got/bought for birthday money!

I celebrated my birthday with my family on Sunday the 4'th, and besides the stuff you will see here, I also go two season/year cards to two different zoos! Perfect gift for me, as there are few things I love more than going to zoo and from this month on, I'll be babysitting my wonderful nephew at least once a week and he lives close to one of them.

First we'll have a look at the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask. This is a calming/restoring face mask, for those days when you just feel that a (skin-) disaster is looming.

It's a clay mask with fresh blueberries in it. It's very relaxing to use, due to the scent of the blueberries. Normally relaxing scents makes me gag, as they tend to have either honey or lavender in them and I do NOT deal well with those scents. It leaves my skin feeling less irritated and very, very soft. (€11.65 , only available at Lush.)

Next up is the Tea Tree Water toner spray. This is a toner specialized for normal to oily skin, prone to breakouts and large pores.

I keep this in the fridge for a refreshing feeling in the morning. So far, I've been using it every morning and I do feel like it tightens up my pores and I've had no major breakouts/impurities since using it. I'm a fan! (€11.65 for the large bottle, only available at Lush.)

This fancy looking box is one my lovely sister-in-law brought, as she knows my insane love of bright nailpolish. This is the PUPA Crazy Crystals in 005.

The trick to this is applying an opaque layer of polish and while the polish is wet you dust the crystals over the wet polish, brush off the access with the wee brush and tadaaah! I will provide pictures of this at a later point, either on here or on Instagram. Gimme a follow @becca_kaya. As this was a gift, I have no real indication of price and I know that in Holland PUPA can be hard to come by. Some webshops carry it, some high end beauty stores and some beauty salons.

This pink beauty is from the new line of the lipsticks from The Body Shop: Colour Crush  Lipsticks. It is a moisturizing, creamy lipstick.

The colour is 210 Sweetheart Pink. It is a light, bright medium pink. It contains a very light glitter/shimmer but that doesn't really show up on the lips. It wears very comfortably, but as all creamy lipsticks, it does need a lot of reapplying. It's a lovely colour for summer and definitely for spring next year! (€12.00 available at all The Body Shop stores and in their webshop.)

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder. If you've been here before, you'll recognise this. Only this time I got it in the intensity 2, instead of 3.

I've had the 3 one for a while, and it was just too orange. (And kinda running out!) This one is a bit more neutral in colour and blends better with my fair skin to fake that tan!

If you're no newbie to cult beauty items, you'll know what this is and you might be as excited as I am! This is the Benefit Blush in Coralista. This is one of the most famous blushes out there and I've been wanting this for close to 4 years and it's FINALLY MINE! When should you splurge if not with your birthday present money?

The box is adorable, with beautiful animal print and a small mirror and brush inside. The brush isn't -terrible- and can be used in a pinch, but I prefer a duo-fiber brush. The colour is a beautiful coral (DUH!) shade with a gorgeous golden shimmer. ( €33 and available at all Benefit counters.)

Another cult favourite: MC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle. A beautiful neutral/champagne highlighter to compliment my growing highlighter collection.

Look at the shimmer... LOOK AT IT! AAAARGH! It's so beautiful. Obviously this is by no means a suble highlight, but none the less a great addition, seeing as it is neutral. Everything I have in my collection is either cool or golden and this is just... So perfect. I could keep ranting on about this beautiful product, but I'll let the pictures speak for me. Click them! (€28 and available at MAC Counters, MAC stores and the online MAC webshop)

Lastly I bought this wonderful camera back-pack with the money I'd gotten from my Grandmother. It's the Lowepro Orion DayPack 200. Goes perfect with my new Zoo cards!

The backpack part opens up to one large space, which can hold some bottles, food or whatever you wanna bring with you! The small netting on the back is a great place for your phone/keys/whatever you don't want to lose in the rest of the pack! The lower part zips open and comfortably holds your camera and at least 2 lenses plus extras. I am so happy with this purchase! (Got this for €45, on offer. Not been able to find it online for less than €55 anywhere else. Don't remember the store name either... Somewhere in Amsterdam!)

On the morning of my birthday my mother surprised me with beautiful diamond earstuds, that I unfortunately don't have a picture of, but I've been wearing them ever since!

What are things you've been wanting for a long while, but haven't been able to convince yourself to splurge on? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading!

XXX