Sunday Inspiration: Charlotte Tilbury and Liberty Ross

My new, virtual BFF - Charlotte Tilbury

This video was recently featured on Charlotte Tilbury's Youtube channel and ultimately served as my source of inspiration. To uncomplicate matters, I chose a few items from my own stash and performed a dry run yesterday and I'm actually quite pleased with the execution. 

My take

My take

Typically I shy away from using such dark colours on my eyes in fear of looking like a raccoon or a panda bear; the real-estate is minimal, but I soldiered on to see if I could make this work. To temper the intensity of the eyes, I kept things fairly neutral -- clean, sun kissed skin and full soft pink lips, all of which had to be framed with bold brows. 

A handful of the items used: NARS Callisto, Burberry's Trench, Chanel's Mirifique, Armanis' Rouge Ecstasy in Daybreak and Waterproof Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Black

A handful of the items used: NARS Callisto, Burberry's Trench, Chanel's Mirifique, Armanis' Rouge Ecstasy in Daybreak and Waterproof Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Black

The eyes

The eyes

I took a bit of a backwards approach and started with the eyes first as I knew there would be loads of fallout. The juxtaposition of the completed eye look and my ruddy, red skin was a bit shocking, albeit temporary. Do me a favour and don't let the strong eyes deter you, I almost threw in the towel due to fear and uncertainty.

Eye Breakdown

  1. Apply an eye primer and allow it to set;
  2. Curl your lashes;
  3. Tight line the upper lash line with black eyeliner;
  4. Grab a neutral beige eyeshadow, preferably without shimmer and blend it from the upper lash line to your brow bone;
  5. Next, reach for a sparkly black eyeshadow. If you don't own one, simply layer a wicked shimmery shadow over something similar to MAC's Carbon. Keep the darkness limited to the eyelid only; should you accidentally go past the imaginary line blend it out as if your life depended on it;
  6. Line the lower lash line with the same black eyeliner you used a few moments before and smudge it with the excess black eyeshadow applied in the previous step to make the lashes appear thicker;
  7. Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with a silvery pink eyeshadow to make your eyes pop;
  8. Apply lots and lots of mascara. We're talking truckloads;
  9. Fill in those brows and be sure to go a tad darker than usual;
  10. Finally, grab a cotton bud or Q-tip soaked in eye makeup remover and clean up any fallout.
Skin, lips and cheeks

Skin, lips and cheeks

Underpin your everyday makeup with a primer and medium coverage foundation; I used a pearl sized amount of Laura Mercier's Silk Cream Foundation to cancel out the redness in my cheeks, nose and forehead.

Skin Breakdown

  1. Apply primer, making sure to focus on any oily areas;
  2. If you have any blemishes or dark undereye circles, use concealer to erase these bad boys;
  3. Reach for that medium coverage foundation and blend all over, making sure to avoid messing up those beautiful peepers;
  4. Set the foundation with finishing powder or powder foundation;
  5. Contour the hollows of the cheeks, along the sides of the nose and the top of your forehead right near the hairline;
  6. Highlight the bridge of your nose, the cheekbones, the brow bone, the centre of your forehead and the cupids bow;
  7. Smile and apply a small amount of blush and blend upward towards the temples;
  8. Finish with lipstick.

A word of caution, I did experience fallout from my water eyes. Be sure to tote around a cotton bud or two.

Full list of items used:

//Video Source

A glimpse at the lips: Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Click.

Swipe.

Purse.

Smack.

Sorted.

Totes Bond-like packaging - you're either one click away from plush, kissable lips or unwittingly blowing up the likes of Nick Nack, Jaws or Oddjob. Whatever you do, duck if you should ever lock your gaze upon a flying hat.

Lippie lovers will experience a love/hate relationship with the sleek, black lacquered tube. It's fun, functional, but doesn't offer any clarity or a window into its soul. Want to know which colour you've plucked out of your bag? Flip that tube over and take a peek at the label. If you're looking for a transparent lover, Dior's Fluid Stick or Armani's Flash Lacquer might be safer bets, that's if you've got a hankering for luxe makeup. 

IMG_1074.jpg

What Chanel has here is a gloss cross lipstick. Highly pigmented, loads of shine, a hint of tackiness (me thinks for staying power), complete with a stained finish prior to expiring around hour four.

"A gloss for women who love lipstick.
A lipstick for women who love gloss."
- Chanel
The recessed opening which features fancy, schmancy engineering

The recessed opening which features fancy, schmancy engineering

Swatch of Supreme 17

Swatch of Supreme 17

Supreme 17 is a bottled version of Strawberry Shortcake. It's as if she was set loose in the factory and left to her own devices. A blue based berry glace, sans whipped cream.

Wearing Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Wearing Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss:

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 8 out of 10 bags — A hasty choice that paid off.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

  • Melissa lured me in with a tester and now I am the proud owner of Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara. #makeupenabler

Zoeva: The Luxe Complete Set

Zoeva = Color. Love. Makeup

Zoeva = Color. Love. Makeup

Watching my makeup garden bloom before my very eyes has proven to be emotional. For years I've been cultivating; each brush has a story, a birthplace and a special spot in my heart. And then I happened upon Zoeva, a one stop shop which helps to pretty our faces.

Buy one or buy them all.

Two reviews educated, entertained and eventually helped me to hone in on what I'd eventually choose. Before I dive in with loads of images and banter, please, for the love of makeup, check out the aforementioned reviews:

Zoeva's Luxe Complete Set

Zoeva's Luxe Complete Set

The Luxe Complete set features 15 brushes - five face brushes and ten eye brushes snuggled away in a handy black leatherette pouch with contrasting fuchsia pink grosgrain lining.

The Luxe Complete Set Clutch

The Luxe Complete Set Clutch

Words to live by

Words to live by

The face brushes are by far my favourite. Soft work horses with a magnetic attraction to the powders and foundations I use on a regular basis. Nary a struggle, these makeup brushes truly make applying makeup swift and effortless. A special shout out to the Luxe Face Definer's multi-tasking abilities; I use this baby to contour on most days, but it can also highlight or blur finishing powder with the best of them.

Did I mention soft? So soft.

The fab five face brushes from top to bottom: Luxe Cheek Finish, Luxe Highlight, Concealer Buffer, Silk Finish and Luxe Face Definer

The fab five face brushes from top to bottom: Luxe Cheek Finish, Luxe Highlight, Concealer Buffer, Silk Finish and Luxe Face Definer

The selection of eye brushes is overwhelming.

Blend, buff, shade, line, define, smudge, smoke, intensify. Repeat. If only these brushes came with a built-in makeup artist, it would totally make applying eye makeup so much easier. An artist I am not, just a mere mortal attempting a cut crease or a cat eye flick. That said, these brushes give me a glimmer of hope.

Another soft bunch. The road ahead is filled with endless possibilities.

The eye brushes working clockwise from the top: Soft Definer, Pencil, Fine Liner, Crease, Petit Crease, Luxe Defined Crease, Luxe Soft Crease, Brow Line, Wing Liner and Smoky Shader

The eye brushes working clockwise from the top: Soft Definer, Pencil, Fine Liner, Crease, Petit Crease, Luxe Defined Crease, Luxe Soft Crease, Brow Line, Wing Liner and Smoky Shader

Makeup look put together with 13 of the 15 brushes

Makeup look put together with 13 of the 15 brushes

Here's a side by side visual comparison of some of the brushes from my handpicked collection versus several brushes from the Luxe Complete Set.

One caveat to note, you will experience a small amount of shedding during the first week or two of use.

Aesthetically these brushes aren't too dissimilar from Sigma or MAC, but I appreciate Zoeva's affordability, selection and ultimately their philosophy. Not only are you getting quality brushes, but you're also paying it forward to women in need. Visit Zoeva's website to find out more.

As it goes with cookies, shoes, purses and lipstick, you can never only have just one makeup brush. 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Zoeva's Luxe Complete Set

  • $165.00 AUS ($11/brush) / €115 EUR (€7.60/brush) / $135.00 USD ($9/brush)

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 10 out of 10 bags — It's like that dream when P-Cakes set me free in a Sanrio shop with all the monies in the world and then we went to Disney Land.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

  • I also picked up a lip brush and a smudger. You know, cookies, brushes, etc.