Makeup Essentials

Left to Right: 

Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment

Chanel Lip Gloss Scintillantes

MAC Matte Lipstick in So Chaud

MAC Matte Lipstick  Ruby Woo

Lancome Juicy Tubes in Fraise 

MAC blush pot in Pink Swoon

Napoleon Bronzer Powder Compact

MAC Fluid Fix SPF15+ Foundation

O.P.I nail varnish in Brights Power

Chanel Eye Shadow Pallet in Raffinement

O.P.I nail varnish in Matte Top Coat

Chanel brow pencil

Nutrimetics nc Vitamin Oil

Chanel Intimitable Intense Mascara

Chanel nail varnish 

Chanel nail varnish 

Chanel Eye Shadow Pallet in Smoky Eyes

The fun stuff! 

As a girl, I could not wait to play with lipstick, nail polish, eye shadow and the like. Colour! 

These days I like to keep things pretty simple, natural and fresh. 

To learn new tricks I go and get my make up done often and ask a lot of questions, everyone has a different tip, trick and method. I guess since I grew up painting from an early age, I am confident with a brush, contouring and colours. Someone once commented on my portraits, and I had to point out that I paint a 3D canvas almost everyday... my face. I don't think I am all that flash with make up, but I have trained in makeup courses, so I have some idea of what I am doing. 

So the process is this... after moisturising and priming, if I am wearing foundation (I often don't- or instead use a tinted moisturiser with an spf) I paint on a small amount of foundation, the MAC SPF 15+ Studio Fix Fluid is my favourite for special occasions- fashion shows etc (I always use brushes and clean them often to keep them germ and oil free). I use a touch of concealer on my eyelids as a primer (never foundation as it is too heavy), conceal under the eyes, and a tiny bit above the lip, and blend this in. Only put concealer over foundation and make sure it is blended in correctly. I didn't add it to the collage above, but I find that Yves Saint Laurent's famous Touche Eclat is good. One is sold every ten seconds around the world, and there really is no comparison. It is illuminating and beautiful.

I tend to use bronzer, to sculpt the face and because it is flattering to my skin tone/ hair. I have used a Napoleon one for so long, but I just dropped the compact and it is mostly gone now, so I need a new one. I was happy with that one, but I might shop around before I get a new one. If you can recommend any let me know. Sometimes I will add a touch of blush to the apples of my cheeks as well. 

I always tap the brush before applying so that I do not get a heap of concentrated colour on the first touch.

Next I will shadow my eyes, I tend to use a light colour across the lid and work a dark shade along the lash line and right hand side of the crease- like a v-shape. Then I will use a third colour on the centre of the lid, blend it all in, and add a white illuminating shadow under my eye in the centre to open them up a little more and under the brows. If I am going out to some thing I will illuminate the eye bone, and the top of my cheeks too. I love the Chanel eye pallets, they are so good.

I am not really into liquid liner, I trust a sharp pencil instead- sharpen pre-use every time. I pull back the eye lid (to the side! That sounds so weird!) and draw little lines one way, starting with up, then go back the other way flicking the pencil down. There is usually a few tiny gaps, so I come back across to fill those in. I fill in my eye-brows because I plucked them as a teenager, and they never came back, (plus I watch The Blue Lagoon all the time so am constantly envious of Brooke Shield's brows). Then I prime my lashes, then coat with mascara- I really don't need to curl them as they already are so long and curly that they sometimes reach back and touch my eye lids, so curling them just feels like overkill.

An interviewer once commented that upon meeting Mary-Kate Olsen, that she was tiny, but her eyelashes felt like they took up half the room. I loved that. 

A good mascara can work wonders, I have tried so many, and while mine are naturally long, I love the Chanel Intimitable Mascara range the most. 

For lips, I prime them first, to ensure the colour lasts as long as possible, then pencil across the lip, just using feathery strokes. Finally I will line the lips, and using a brush fill them in with lipstick. I think the brush is the best tip. You can control the colour more, as the shape of the stick changes so much, sweats in summer and can break upon impact too easily. The better lipsticks I have found are MAC, Chanel, Tom Ford and Yves Saint Laurent. I love all of those, and I wear a lot of reds. Bright reds. 

I am not really into shine or sticky gloss, so I will only add a touch to the centre of the lips, not all over. I have used the Lancome Juicy Tubes glosses for years, so I have a ton of them. 

I know some manufacturers cram glosses with chemicals which dry out the lips, so you apply more, and in turn buy more. That blows. The skin on your lips is delicate, and deserves care. Over night a lip treatment works wonders as you sleep, I apply an Aesop lip treatment or even the trusty paw paw ointment (or Burts Bees). 

Nails... Use a sapphire file, to prevent chipping, a good quality one will last you forever. Push back the cuticles, massage in some vitamin oil, I use a Nutrimetics one, but Bio Oil is also good. The apply a base coat, two coats of colour and a top coat. I prefer a matte finish to gloss and hate pearly nails so the O.P.I. top coat is perfect. I like the range of O.P.I. colours, and the brush is a good size. Chanel always produce key colours each season, some that are so covetable that they sell out.
I love to pick one up as a little treat. 

Finally a smile and that is it. Phew, that was a long post! Thanks for baring with me if you read this far. 

Would you believe I can be done in minutes? Yep, makeup takes me as little as a few minutes from A to Z if I want it to, but at other times, I take my time and play. It is fun.
That is it for my Beauty Essentials posts, but I loved writing them, so I may do a few more Beauty posts down the track. Possibly with more of a natural product focus.
xx Nell.

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Night Markets

I headed to the On William Night Markets last weekend. The previous ones for Christmas were so much fun, with amazing stalls. This time my friends and I wandered up and down Hook and Lock Lanes, eating and browsing. Being Australia Day we were keen to avoid the masses watching the fireworks, and all in all it was a good decision. The markets were fairly quiet, which meant that there was plenty of good food on offer, including amazing soft shell tacos, japanese pastries and paletas (delish mexican icey poles) from La Paleta. 

I also got my nails done by Bobbi-Jo of Jazzy Nail Art. This time she was sweetening nails with cupcakes, pineapples, donuts and sprinkles. If you ever want to get some nail art happening, seriously get in touch with Bobbi. The Jazzy Nail Art facebook page has all the details. 

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Remedy

 

Jazzy Nail Art! If you want to get some Jazzy Nails happening I can highly recommend Bobbi Jo, she does mine, these were so cute. Check out the link below to her site. x

Remedy

With the beautiful Le Fanciulle girls Trish and Steph with their gorgeous pal Sinéad

With the darling Kate

Hosted by the lovely Hannah and Emma from All of the Above Creative at 140 Perth Remedy celebrated Spring Fashion, embracing local Designers and Artists, with funds being raised for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.

The walls lined with beautiful pieces up for silent auction, vintage apothecary bottles sprouted yellow blooms, pretty live music, great wine and sushi made the entire night a full sensory Spring experience. Girls dressed in beautiful vintage yellow toned dresses, hair adorned with yellow flowers skipped around making everyone feel welcome, while towering models were prepped for the runway. Please excuse my lack of quality pics, I ran out of the house without my camera! (Stupid move! Which I will not repeat!)

Local designers Zsadar, Garth Cook and Little Gracie, Peppermint Milk, On A Whim, Tindale, The Butcher and The Crow, Raspberry + Pop and Kim Barton all presented looks, which were donated and up for auction.

 Artists Pippa McManus, Andy Quilty and Anya Brock all donated pieces as well.

I managed to catch up with the incredible Maevana of PeppermintMilk who I know has been flat chat getting her pieces ready for Perth Fashion Festival. Back during our WAAPA days, I would see her in the Costume/ Design hallway and just die over her clothes. There was one pale blue dress she wore which I swear was the BEST dress I have ever seen! Considering her labels aesthetic is at once feminine, sexy and has a nod to costume history, I know she is busy coming up with all kinds of magic to share. The boning that goes into each dress alone, as well as exquisite fabric choices speak for themselves. If you get along to the WA Designer Collections show be sure to check out her pieces. 

I was so happy to meet Trish and Steph of Le Fanciulle, who are the most fashionable Med students ever. How on earth they manage to blog, DIY up a storm and study Medicine is beyond me. You ladies rock.

I was happy to tote some personalized nail art care of Jazzy Nail Art. Bobbi-Jo gave my nails matching peter-pan collars to my Lover Winona Skater Dress. If you are wanting to jazz up your nails for PFF, a special occasion, or you know, the occasion of 'life' get in touch with Bobbi Jo through the Facebook page link above or email jazzynailart@gmail.com 

Thanks to Kate for being my date (and taking some pics for me) and to Lover for making amazing dresses. Seriously, can I wear that one all the time? Please? 

xx