MUA Neutral Peacock Eye

Hi Tory,

As anyone who knows us will know, we are both obsessed with knitting. We make no bones about this. We have both been known to weep and squeal and make very unseemly noises in our respective local wool emporiums, but we don't care, do we? Wool is lovely and makes gorgeous things and the colours are tremendous. That is all.

this just goes to show that you can be inspired by anything and everything

So it was with this in mind that I decided to tweak the Peacock Eye that I'd done a while ago, inspired as I was by a ball of Sirdar wool that has these beautiful blues and greens in amongst some rather lovely taupes. "Would that work on an eye makeup?" I thought to myself. I tried it, and it did, and this just goes to show that you can be inspired by anything and everything. Remind me to show off the fab socks you knitted me, which are still going strong.

Products Used

• MUA Professional Palette in Dusk til Dawn
• MUA Professional Palette in Glamour Nights
• MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade #5
• MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade #8
• MUA Mascara in Shade 5
• MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil in Rich Brown
• MUA Blush in Shade #6
• MUA Lip Gloss in Shade 4

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

MUA Innocence and Depth

Hi Tory!

Remember that video tutorial I did a while ago with the MUA Innocence trio of shadows? I was out shopping with my friend Tamsin at the weekend, after a nice long gossipy lunch... basically, she asked if I would help her pick out some new makeup, and it occurred to me that MUA single shade #12 (that perfect MAC blue/brown dupe!) would act as a great strengthener for the look.

make it a bit more 3D if you will

Not sure if I've gone into strengtheners with you BUT a little tip is to take a shadow that's darker than what you're working with and blend a tiny V shape at the outer corner of your eyelid and just underneath the eye to add depth to the shadows. Makes it a bit more 3D if you will.

So... Tamsin bought the Innocence trio, and the shade #12, and along with some lipsticks and glosses, Maybelline Great Lash in brown and a nail polish, she'd only spent £16. Not a bad day! Oh, one more tip - I always put a primer on my eyelid before patting on the more shimmery or metallic shades otherwise they tend to shift and crease over the course of the day.

Oh - and the Vegan Tiffin at the Mad Hatter in Brighton is fab. ;)

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

My Weekend

Hi Tory,

Vegan Tiffin, Soya Latte, mini makeup haul. Bliss.

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

TOWIB Beauty Bloggers

Hi Tory,

On Saturday, February 11th, I went to The Only Way Is Blogging's fashion and beauty blogger meet-up at the gorgeous Montague Hotel in London for a really rather fab day of meeting fellow bloggers and finding out some incredible information on how to blog successfully and properly. (Yes... I know you're in Lambeth and my friend Diane is in Ealing, but I still had the 'flu and I was SHATTERED at the end of it, so no visits... Bad me.)

Apart from being able to talk makeup - my favourite subject! - I met some wonderful people who I know I'll be staying in touch with. Hayley did a FANTASTIC job organising the event and I can't wait for the next one! I also got to meet the lovely Karla Powell, who is the official makeup artist for MUA! That was my SQUEE moment of the day. :)

I met some wonderful people who I know I'll be staying in touch with

We had a frenzied and fun activity of breaking the ice by running around the room getting as many URLs as we could, to encourage us to get the chat and bonding going. These are just some of the ones I managed to scribble down, but the full list should be going up soon on the Facebook page. :)

Gorgeous Blogs To Follow

• Truly Madly Beauty
• Burning Blonde
• Bitsy Von Tipsy
• Dolly Loves You
• Fashion Knows No Limits
• For the Love of Frock
• Get Lippie
• I Dream About Clothes
• Jaynes Kitchen
• Kings Road Rocks
• Lipstick Loves
• London Beauty Queen
• Skin and Blister
• So Many Lovely Things
• Unlimited by JK
• Style Speaks Louder Than Words
• Lips So Facto
• Charity Rose
• Glamour in the County
• Flutter and Sparkle
• Leopard Print
• Brighton Fashion Week

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

MUA Deco Chrome Eyeshadow Look

Hi Tory,

Part of my last mini haul was the gorgeous shade #26 from the MUA single eyeshadows' range... it's this beautiful eau-de-nil colour subtly shot through with gold that just said Art Deco to me, so I got to thinking...

it's this beautiful eau-de-nil colour subtly shot through with gold that just said Art Deco to me

My joint favourite building is the Chrysler Building with all those wonderful, soaring chrome chevrons, and I adore the fashion drawings of Erte with the vamp ladies in their watercolour Deco tea gowns. So these were my inspiration for this stylish and pretty Deco eye - all made with MUA, so kind on the pocket! I ended up wearing it to Bloomsbury for the TOWIB meet-up (a room full of makeup bloggers all chatting happily about palettes - bliss!), and I paired it with a strong berry lip and fairly dramatic blush.

Products Used

• MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade #14
• MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade #26
• MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade #15
• MUA Mascara in Shade 5
• MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil in Jet Black

Suggested Blush and Lip

• MUA Blusher in Shade 6
• 2True Glossywear Lipstick in 10
• Daphne Guinness for MAC Cremesheen Glass in Richly Revered

You don't have to use the Daphne Guinness gloss.. but, you know, it's Daphne Guinness. ;)/p>

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

Adele's Louboutin Grammy 2012 Nails

Hi Tory,

I didn't watch the Grammy's because I was frankly too busy watching the BAFTAS and coveting Meryl Streep's shoes, but the day after all the online beauty world was agog with pictures of Adele's rather fab Louboutin-inspired nails (to match her equally covetable shoes): colour on top, red underneath.

I was salivating. I went on YouTube to seek out tutorials - of which there were not as many as I'd expected, given that this is a 2009 trend.

colour on top, red underneath

It was??

Why did I not get that particular memo? If I had People, I'd fire them, quite frankly. But there it is, a trend that keeps on giving, and a rather gorgeous one it is too. I have pathetic nails at the moment so can't recreate it BUT I did find this rather helpful video showing how you can paint falsies in the same style. Boots, here I come!

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

MUA Strong Colours on Short Nails

Hi Tory,

There's an old maxim that you can't wear strong or dark colours on short nails - not true! As long as you keep them polished and tidy, you can wear any colours you like and still have fantastic looking nails.

Products Used

• Purple MUA Nail Polish in Shade 22
you can wear any colours you like and still have fantastic looking nails
• Red MUA Nail Polish in Shade 6
• Yellow Limited Edition Love Hearts MUA Nail Polish in U & I
• Blue MUA Nail Polish in Shade 9
• Black MUA Nail Polish in Shade 2

Break out the dark and strong colours!

Hugs and kisses,
xxx

MUA Professional Palettes: Sparkly Navy Eye

Hi Tory,

I just had to dive in and make a start with the two MUA Professional Palettes that I bought the other week, so here is a smart and chic navy and silvery grey eye with a bit of sparkle in it to be getting on with!

Products Used

• MUA Professional Palette in Dusk Til Dawn
a smart and chic navy and silvery grey eye with a bit of sparkle
• MUA Professional Palette in Glamour Nights
• MUA Mascara in Shade 5
• MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil in Turquoise
• MUA Blusher in Shade 6
• MUA Lipgloss in Shade 1

Itching to do some more tutorials - such yummy colours!

Hugs and kisses,
xxx