Special Effects

I hope everybody had a lovely christmas spent with their families and I hope santa spoilt you all!

This post is going to be slightly different to a regular beauty post, this is all about special effects make-up. One of my hobbies is playing around with theatrical/special effects make-up. This post is not for the faint hearted!

Santa was especially nice to me and got me all sorts of goodies for this gory hobby.

Now added to my collection is, liquid latex by Mehron, two colour wheels by Ben Nye, some fresh scrath blood by Kryolan, and some nose and scar wax by Graftobian. All these products were purchased from the GuruMakeupEmporium , a UK based site specialising in all types of theatrical make-up.

The first piece I created with my new products was a 'chopped off prosthetic finger'. This is the first time I have created any kind of prosthetic and I was really pleased with the result.

I will be hosting a mini series with fellow blogger Odds And Sods, view her blog here. I will be posting a variety of 'how to' special effects tutorials.

If you have any questions about this kind of make-up feel free to ask.

Thanks for reading
Aliay

Xx

Elephant Juice

This is slightly of topic as it isn't beauty related at all. But this card is so cute, I just had to post about it.

As we all know the christmas season is upon us, and no doubt we are all recieving cards from our loved ones. I just so happend to recieve this adorable one from my better half.

He purchased it from  notonthehighstreet.com I love this website, the products they offer can be personalised, this always adds a nice touch to a present.

For those of you who don't know what 'Elephant Juice' means, it was a little thing that used to happen at secondary school. If you mouthed the words 'elephant juice' it resembeled the words 'I love you'. This was much to our amusement as young teenagers.

This is something me and my boyfriend still say to each other (we are big kids at heart), so when I recieved this card I thought it was amazing. 

What has been your favourite card this Christmas? 

Aliay
Xx

Mini Topshop Make Up Haul

My laptop is down so I am using my mobile to post, I hope the post turns out alright.
Anyway, back on topic, last week I went and purchased a few goodies from the Topshop make up range. This is the first time I have tried their make up and I am impressed! 

The 'lip bullet' in shade n39 is a gorgeous coraley-nude colour (great description I know). I struggle finding a natural lip colour that suits my skin tone. I am mixed race, and I tend to find a lot of nude coloured lipsticks look hurrendous on me. I tend to stick to brighter colours. So I am very grateful I found this shade, it allows for a more toned-down make up look. 

My lipstick collection consists mainly of MAC, so the lasting power of this topshop lipstick is not as long in comparison. But I don't mind occasionally reapplying as I am more than happy with the colour.

For more of a 'frosty' look I dabbed a little of the Topshop 'glow' over the top. Avoid using too much of this, it does not look pretty...believe me. I am yet to try using 'glow' as a highlighter, when I do I will update you.

What is your favourite nude lip colour? 

All About the Brows

My eyebrows have been through it all; over plucking, a bad wax, shaving off the middle. Lord knows what I was thinking! Oh how I wish I had left my eyebrows alone when I was younger…but I didn't so I have found a solution! The MAC eyebrow pencil. 
This is my every day 'go to' product, I won't leave the house without my eyebrows on (sad but true). 

This product comes in an array of shades, I use Stud (see swatch below). It is made of wax, which, unlike a powder, allows the product to stick to the sections of my eyebrows without hair. 

Once this is on, it will not budge. Like I said before, I won't leave the house without my eyebrows on, so I need a product that lasts. I have worn this to the gym, to several water parks, and whilst sunbathing, and at the end of all this, my eyebrows were still in tact. 

What I love about this product is that it doesn't require a sharpener, just one twist and more product comes out, perfect for lazy people like myself. 

This is my eyebrows before using the MAC eyebrow pencil, you see the difference?!

A swatch of this amazing product, I use stud, it is a very deep brown, it can be applied gently for a more natural look, but i personally prefer more of a block eyebrow, so I add a little more pressure. 

So, what do you guys use on your eyebrows?

Lush Lips

It's that time of year where the wind and rain beats against our windows, whilst we are inside, snuggled in front of a fire, with a hot chocolate to hand. These conditions are bliss, but, the bitter cold outside, combined with the warmth of our heating at home, ultimately leads to dry, cracked lips. This is not a pretty sight when wanting to wear your fave lippy (mine being Rebel by MAC). 

My solution to this is found in a little pot of lip scrub by Lush. 

This comes in 4 delicious flavours; popcorn, bubblegum, mint julips and a christmas special Santa (this is Cola flavoured). I couldn't resist the mint julip flavour, it tastes exactly like mint chocolate. 

So, how does this work, I hear you ask. It is simple, you simply get a little bit on the end of your finger and rub in circular motions all over your lips. When you have finished simply lick the excess sugar of your lips. Make sure you get every last bit, otherwise you will look like you've devoured a bag of donuts. When you have finished, your lips are left feeling smooth and refreshed, all ready for you to apply your lipstick.

This is a little pricey for a lip scrub, it retails at £5.50, however a little does go a LONG way, so it will last you a while! And lets face it, we need to be kind to our lips, and this one is a treat not only to our lips but to our tummy as well. 

To Prime Or Not To Prime?

So here it goes, my first post in the whole new world of blogging. 

It has only been in the past year or so that I have realised the importance of primer. I always thought it was a bit of a fad, and a way for companies to get you to spend more money, and let me tell you I could not have been more wrong!

I used a variety of different foundations; MAC Studio Fix, Illamasqua Skin Base, Bobbi Brown, Nars, you name it I had tried it. With each one I found I was having the same problem, the foundation looked amazing when first applied, but a few hours later it was none existent. I might as well have not bothered putting any on in the first place. 

Numerous bottles of foundation later I discovered where I was going wrong, primer! So, then it began, my hunt for the perfect primer. 

I started where any make up lover would start...MAC. Their primer was great and did its job, but as it was something new to me, I wanted to try a few more brands. My next stop was Smashbox, again it did its job. Both these primers were soft and silky and gave a great base for my foundation to cling too, but they didn't make me think WOW. 

Then a little later down the line, I found it, the primer that made me think WOW! The Studio Secrets Professional Primer by L'OREAL PARIS. This little pot is literally magic in a jar. It is the bee's knee's. 

This primer ticks all the right boxes. It is soft and smooth on your skin. Your make up will last ALL day. But what makes this primer stand out is the way it evens out your skin. I suffer from really bad 'blackheads' on my nose, one sweep of this and they are not visible. Now I'm not saying this will smooth out all blemishes, but it will smooth out those little ones, such as; blackheads, smile lines (I shouldn't have these at 21 years old but I do), any minor imperfections are gone. My face looks fresh after applying only my primer. This is something I will probably use on holiday where I don't want to clog my skin with foundation, but still want to have a polished look. 

This can be purchased from your local drug store. I got mine from Superdrug for just £14.29.